I recently discovered a new healthy drink that I love making and I love drinking - Water Kefir! I seriously cannot clearly define what kefir is, but what I do understand is that water kefir is basically a probiotic drink made with filtered water, sugar and water kefir grains. It's super easy to make. I purchased a starter kit, and once the grains were hydrated, all I have to do now is switch the grains into fresh sugar water (I use organic sucanant) and then let them sit for 24-48 hours. I like to do a second fermentation with a tablespoon of sugar and about 2 inches of fresh ginger chopped into little sticks. This second fermentation sits for 48 hours and creates a ginger beer that is so fizzy, I literally have to open the bottles in a bowl, in a sink. We don't drink soda and so this is a really fun "treat" for us. I want to try making cream soda.

The girls don't like the ginger beer, but they'll drink regular water kefir mixed with juice (very small amount) and I put the water kefir in smoothies.

Like I said, I love making water kefir. It doesn't take all that much time, it feels like a treat and I feel like I'm taking better care of myself and my family and that's rewarding in and of itself. I love that I'm getting some great probiotics into my diet (I don't eat yogurt, and even then, yogurt from the store doesn't contain as many probiotics as we think it does), and ginger is a natural anti-inflammatory. One big thing I've noticed as I've begun consuming water kefir is that my sugar cravings have dropped significantly. I know that gut health affects sugar cravings and I think this is a big connection for me. Water kefir is also praised for increasing immunity and I want a healthy immune system.

I wanted to share this on my blog just because I love it and I find myself telling so many people about it. I decided to also share it here. I hope you try it!

Greta's horse dress is pretty much the same as Holly's dress. I made similar changes to the pattern to get what I wanted. I did choose to make the dress a little longer than I typically make dresses. It took a bit of bribery to get Greta into the dress for a couple pictures. I really love it on her and I'm hopeful she'll get a good amount of use out of it! I've noticed a pattern with my girls. Sometimes a dress doesn't become really loved until it's been hanging in their closet for 6 months minimum. And typically, that means the season has already passed...

One thing I made this month was a horse dress for Holly. She hovered over me, waiting not-so-patiently for me to be finished. Since I finished it, she's worn it a ton! I love this stage that Holly's in. She loves the things I sew for her, really expresses appreciation and proudly boasts to whomever she sees telling them, "my Mom made this dress for me." It's really cute, and it's a lot of fun to sew for her!

The dress is a modified bubble dress from Oliver + S. I lengthened the skirt by quite a bit and added around 10 inches to the skirt width. The fabric is Wee Wander from Sarah Jane Studios. I'm in love with all the fabric from this line. It's incredible, imaginative, vibrant and so perfect for childhood. I'm definitely buying more to make more dresses for my daughters.

I'm so grateful this dress is such a win. I love it on Holly. I love Holly. She's such a wonderful child.

(I made Greta a horse dress too. We'll see if I can convince/bribe her to wear it and snap some pictures. My children come by their stubbornness honestly...)

Greta's birthday dress (and a dress I made for Holly from the same pattern) was such a big hit that I made the girls each one more. I used the Sally dress pattern and Tamara Kate "Flight Patterns" fabric. I love that this pattern has no buttons, no zippers, no closures. It comes together fairly quickly and it's easy for the girls to slip on. They both love the big pockets! I love the pink on Holly, but for whatever reason, I really prefer anything but pink on Greta. She's more of a red, green and yellow girl to me, so it's very rare that I make up anything pink for her. These yellow butterflies are just right for Greta in my opinion. I love sewing for my daughters - I wish I had more time for it. Whenever I'm working on something for them, they're always anxious for me to finish. I'm looking forward to summer sewing!

I really enjoyed taking photos of this cheerful family. Parking was tighter than it's ever been in my experience at Ranchos San Antonio, so I was only able to get photos of Momma and kids there and then we went to a nearby park to get family and couple pictures. Despite the craziness and inconvenience, everyone was happy and willing! It was fantastic! And would you take a look at their little boy's eyes? Charmer!