Garden Update

The garden is coming along fairly well. I am still having problems keeping the dogs out, even with all the fencing we built. They like to dig a hole and sleep there, by the gate. Some of the plants have not rooted, but I have had luck with a few! The two roses I planted are doing well. The geranium bloomed as well - and by the way it's white, not red. Oh well. The pink-yellow Dahlia is growing but the dogs trampled it one day so its base is not very stable any more. I built a mound of dirt around it to help so I think it will be fine. Also, the other, yellow Dahlia is sprouting new leaves too, and a Hibiscus that I thought was dry actually has a new green leaf! The jasmine seems dead though :( So far then we will have two rose bushes, two dahlias, and a hibiscus. I am happy with that!

 These are the two roses.

The pink Dahlia.

 See the tiny green leaf on the hibiscus?

 Geranium...

Tiny sprout on the yellow Dahlia!

Shopping Spree!

I haven't been shopping in a LONG time. This morning, I decided to check my US bank account because I remembered they were charging me monthly to have the account. I checked it and they have charged me $12 a month for 3 months so far....I would like to keep the account but I can't afford the monthly fee and I can't avoid it :( So I decided I will just close it and look for a different bank the next time I'm in the country! Which means....spending time!!! I'm going to empty the account!

It's August which means summer clearances in the US so I figured I could shop online and get some good deals. I'm so excited because I found Leyla some super cute clothes and Fide's going to bring them in September! Here are a few that I bought:

Aren't they so cute?! I tried to get a variety of colors and shirts that would be easy to mix and match with pants she already has. And, I got everything for an average price of $6 with free shipping!

Girly Girl

Getting ready for church last Sunday morning - braided her hair and just had to take some pictures!

 She was really hyper and I made her sit down to take her picture so at first she was a little upset. But still cute!

 Then she perked up!

 (We were cleaning the cushion on our couch)

Drinking water from a water gun, haha.

She's Graduated to a Spoon!

Fried Chicken and Biscuits

I made the perfect fried chicken last week. I had heard that dipping it in buttermilk first helps but had never tried it - this time I decided to try it. Egg has never worked for me so I was just dipping raw chicken in flour and while it was good, it came out a little dry and flour-y tasting. So, I dipped it this time in buttermilk, then flour, then buttermilk again, then flour again. It came out super duper crispy and wonderful!

I also have been experimenting with biscuits for about 3 weeks. First I made a really simple recipe that came out alright but not great. Then I dried a buttermilk Cracker Barrel copy recipe. The flavor was great but they were a little dense. I decided this week to use a little more baking powder and butter (I don't think my flour is self-rising) and they came out beautifully :) I was in heaven!

Playing in the Pillows!

Learning to Talk

Leyla is so cute trying to talk!! She is trying so hard! Each day she learns a new word and tries to put words together. These two videos are ones I took today of her singing/babbling and saying her new words!

Afternoon Bottles

Leyla knows when it's time for her "pepe." She grabs my hand and takes me into the kitchen and points where they are until I give it to her! This day, I was in her room working so she brought her bottle and decided to use me as a pillow!

Breakfast with Daddy

Every morning when I'm getting ready for school, Leyla wants to eat cereal with me. She has learned pretty well how to use a spoon finally! But sometimes it puts me behind, so this morning it was Daddy's turn!

Gardening

For the past few days, I have been collecting flower cuttings and bagging them. I have never done it before in the US and had no idea it was even possible - but almost all my plants here were grown that way. I looked it up and it's called "vegetative propagation." Basically it's cloning a plant. You just cut off a branch and stick it in some dirt, and about a week later it has rooted and is strong enough to start growing again.

I have collected hibiscus...

 Jasmine...

 Roses...

 ...and what I think is a Dahlia of some sort.

We have been working in the yard clearing space and removing rocks and pebbles. We also brought rocks from the river awhile ago to make flower beds, so I've been rearranging those and then cutting sticks to act as a fence so the dogs won't run them over once we plant them. Marcos is in the mountains and has no idea what we've been doing! Leyla has been a big help ;) She likes to be outside with us and tries to "help."

We already have several colors of vinca, a geranium that hasn't bloomed yet, a bougainvillea, and an interesting impatiens variety.

  I hope to spread a little more white with the Jasmine and plant some other flowers to have a little more color variety, since most of them right now are pinks and purples. But, everything is coming along nicely for now and I'm crossing my fingers that the flowers root successfully and we will have a beautiful garden in a few months!