Kendrick Family Life and Adventures

Enjoying studying outside. Good Morning All, I have really enjoyed being in my backyard this week. I have been enjoying the flowers in hanging baskets, the roses blooming (were already here when we moved in), and the birds in the feeder. It has been a nice week. The garden is sprouting and everything but my peppers have seedlings. Even the pumpkin and potatoes are sprouting. The bush beans are thriving amazingly well. This container is Cukes, Squash, Bush Beans, and Sunflowers Potatoes Pumpkin I noticed two day ago though that something was eating my sunflower leaves. Some of them were eaten all the way down and I could not find the culprit. Poor sunflowers So, I researched a few organic homemade pesticides to try in the garden. Here are a few I found: Mineral Oil Mix 10-30 ml of high-grade oil with one liter of water. Stir and add to a spray bottle. This pesticide works by dehydrating insects and their eggs. ...

I know to most out there this sounds weird, but to my fellow frugal/prepping/getting back to nature/tired of chemicals friends, this may interest you. This coincides with my reasons for making my own laundry detergent (which by the way the Orange oil in this batch I made the other day smells wonderful still) The main reason for trying this is because of the skin sensitivity of my daughter and I. She is getting to the age young girls get too when it is time to wear some deodorant. A friend of a friend posted this recipe a few days ago and I just so happened to be running out of my own deodorant, so I decided to make this today. The ingredients are: 6-8 Tablespoons Coconut Oil (I was able to find this at the grocery store next to the Olive Oil) 1/4 cup Baking Soda 1/4 cup Arrowroot powder or Cornstarch Essential Oil (optional) I did a little reading up and arrowroot powder is preferred because some people get irritated by the cornstarch. I am using co...

Well, today was supposed to be laundry day but I ended up having to run some errands outside the house today. I did manage to make my soap however. I have been making my own laundry soap for about 3 years now and I have only had to make about 5 batches. Yes, you read that right. Each batch normally lasts me around 6 months or so and this last batch lasted 8 months! Most ask, "Why make your own soap?" There are several reasons I make my own: 1. Skin sensitivity - my daughter and I have sensitive skin. We tend to break out from items that have too harsh chemicals or fragrances. 2. Cheaper! - It is much, much cheaper to make my own than to buy it from the store.(I will break down the price below.) If I purchased the skin sensitive detergents I would pay an arm and a leg! 3. It is easy! - When I first entertained the idea of making my own laundry soap I thought, "There is no way! It has to be hard!" Boy, was I wrong. It took me about 30 minutes from s...

Hello All, We have another beautiful day with our cold front here in Texoma. I am so enjoying this weather. Yesterday we made homemade granola bars. I had several requests for the recipe so I decided to post it here so everyone can access it. Homemade Granola Bars: 4 cups oatmeal 2 cups flour 1 cup coconut (optional) 1/4 cup sugar 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt (I usually only use 1/4 tsp) 3/4 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup honey (OR 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup molasses , OR 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup corn syrup depending on your taste) ...

 Hello All:  I hope every one's week has been going well.  I am so pleased with this week so far. I have been eating very well and have been active everyday this week even the day I did not feel like it. My weigh in this morning was 307 exactly! That is 16 lbs. lost since start just under 8 weeks. So I am still on target for the 2lbs. a week loss.  One of the ways we have been trying to eat healthier is to decrease the amount of red meat we eat. Now if you know how much we ate before you would understand this is a big deal...lol. We had some form of red meat with almost every meal. It is cheaper. Ground beef is one of the cheapest meats you can find and when you are on a budget you get what you can afford which unfortunately is not too kind to a healthy lifestyle. Once we made the commitment to making eating healthy a priority we adjusted out grocery budget and focused on the healthier items instead of junk. My couponing helps a lot as well since what I save I can...