Spring Days

Chloe Jo and I have really been enjoying the last couple of weeks. There has been a lot going on, but as of last weekend, I have a break in big events until the end of May. While I love being busy, I also like having a lot of time at home.

Last week, we bought a 3 containers of strawberries and made Slurp. My family calls homemade strawberry jam "Slurp" because it is slurping good. HA!

Chloe Jo was thrilled to help me made slurp. She has helped twice in the past, but I'm not sure she remembered. I usually make enough to last for a long time so I only make it about once a year.

If you want to make Slurp, the recipe is in the box of Sure-Jel (you get this in the canning department). We make the Easy Freezer Jam recipe.

CJ was a great helper this year! The last couple of times, she was still too young to be able to do anything without my supervision. This year, she was careful and did great!

Mashing up the strawberries.

The stove is not on, yet in these pictures. She isn't quite ready for that!

Heating up the sure-jel.

Mixing the strawberries, sugar and sure-jel together.

We were able to make several jars of jam and are planning to share with friends and neighbors! Of course, if we share, that means we will have to make another batch and that's a-okay with us!

This week, I have been able to get several things done around the house. I've had a pile of stuff in our room that I've been needing to take up to the attic for about a month. I finally got that done a couple of days ago. It's not really that it's a big deal, it's just I always forget to park in the drive so I can get the attic stairs down and then I never want to take the time to do it. I know. Excuses.

I also bought some more vinegar so I can make more carpet cleaner. There are a few more spots I need to scrub, but I wanted to wait to see how the spots I have already done did after a few months. I have to say, I am so happy with the homemade carpet cleaner (you can find the recipe here). None of the spots have come back and the carpet looks great still. I also have several places to do in the car and some on our dining chairs. Must get to that today.

The comforter in our bedroom has been needing to be replaced since we moved here. It is stained on both sides and it is just getting frayed and ratty. I have been keeping my eyes out for a new set, but I didn't want to pay a lot for one. I finally found one at TJ Maxx this week that was on clearance for $44.00! I was so excited and it looks so nice in our room and with the headboard I made. I will eventually change out our curtains since they no longer match. I'm so happy with what I found!

Yesterday was full of planting a few trees in our yard. Our yard had 1, very dead, tree when we moved in last summer. I knew I wanted to plant some trees, but I do not have a green thumb at all so I wasn't sure what to get or how to plant them. I did a lot of research on it and finally decided to go with maple trees. They are supposed to be some of the best trees for our zone. The Arbor Day Foundation sent me 10 free saplings after I became a member for 6 months for $10.00. I was great with that because I don't feel like I've wasted a ton of money if the saplings don't make it. I followed the instructions very closely and we now have 3 Maple saplings in our yard. We have a Silver Maple in the back, a Sugar Maple in the front and a Red Maple on the side.

Today was a big day as we enrolled Chloe Jo to start pre-k in the fall. She started out happy and excited to go enroll.

She was not so happy here because the sun was in her eyes. She hates taking pictures outside!

By the time we got finished with enrollment, she was crying. I think it was just overwhelming for her because we met the secretary, the nurse, a pre-k teacher and several other people. Poor thing. I'm going to continue talking to her about how much she will learn and all the friends she will have and hope for the best.

So very blessed,