Sugar and Spice

Homemade spice gifts from my garden

Today was fun in the kitchen day!  We were stuck in the house because one of the kiddos had a fever.  I decided to make the most of it and do some work in the kitchen.  I had to make some loaves of bread today anyways, so that must have got me started.  Plus I had some great looking pumpkins still sitting on my front steps that totally didn't match our Christmas decor :)  I love making my own pumpkin puree and all the pumpkin treats that go with it.  I had big dreams for today, but limited supplies of oil, so we could only do so much. I even felt generous enough to let the girls watch and help.  Serious patience...serious. 



Spices from the back, so pretty!

Two summers ago I had so much fun growing my own Oregano, that this past summer I decided to use my front flower bed to grow herbs and spices.  The two top pictures show my results.  After leaving a little behind for my own supplies, I was able to fill 12 baby food jars with my own harvested spices.  It was a long process, weeding, harvesting, drying and crushing the plants.  But the end result makes it all worth it! I look forward to expanding my herbs next year.  We did attempt at growing our own pumpkins from last year's seeds, but I think we started too late, because we never had any flowers turn into pumpkins :(


Pumpkin seeds to eat and for next year's garden

10 cups of homemade pumpkin puree

Lovely pumpkin bread with my new pumpkin loaf pan

 Our children are growing like weeds, our other little Sugar and Spices :)  Makayla has lost a total of 5 teeth, what a busy Tooth Fairy!  Caroline continues to grow in her reading skills, I am very proud of how far she has come this year.  We are trying to teach Sydney to potty train...trying...and trying.  Julianna has learned how to stand herself up on her own, we are just waiting for her to take that first step!  Abigail just smiles and smiles, she is so close to a giggle. Our 5 little blessings!