I can't sleep...

I need to get some things out of my head so that I can fall asleep without thinking about them. I am planning a fun day with the kids tomorrow and the last thing I need is to be TIRED! It is the one fun thing we are doing during break, I don’t want insomnia to rob of us the joy the would bring. Today marked the first day of physically looking at houses. We have looked online for about 2 months. We saw 5 houses, one was a last minute idea. I will go in order. I brought my camera and a notebook with. I took notes but didn’t take any pictures. Sorry!

#1 Was a 3 bedroom 2 bath with full unfinished basement. The house was really outdated but had some really nice qualities about it too. The 3rd bedroom was really small. Though the master was a great size and had a huge glass sliding door to the patio. It had a shared master bath which is really nice, we could close it off so it wasn’t shared. It has a really nice size mud room with laundry and a HUGE pantry. J and I started talking about our kids probably not wanting to be in bunk beds through high school. The basement was really big but we would probably never finish it so would that space really be the deciding factor? The living space on the main floor was just not big enough in my opinion. Another down side is that it backs to a little lake. Our Realtor didn’t believe we could put a fence up since none of the other houses had one up. I just don’t know if I would feel good about that. Not that I ever leave my kids outside alone but things happen fast, you know? In my head this house is out, not so sure what J thinks.

#2 Just down the street was a 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath with a partially finished basement. This house was AS IS. It had a newly done kitchen with stainless steel appliances. I really liked the layout of this house. The bedroom sizes weren’t bad and it had hardwood in the bedrooms and carpet in the living room and family room. As we were walking around J noticed the ceiling in the kitchen was boiling. He touched it and it was moist. The second time he touched to make sure it was really moist he poked is finger through it. We went to see what could be causing the wetness but aren’t sure which bathroom it could be coming from. This house being AS IS with our issues with mold. We both without really talked about it said this house was out completely.

#3 We were on our way to another house when we asked our Realtor if we could check out a house in the same neighborhood. She called and we were able to go in. It was a 4 bedroom with 2 1/2 bathrooms. Master had it’s own full bathroom. Though it was pretty small. Most everything in this house was old but livable. It had a HUGE (20x20) family room off of the kitchen. The living was a verily good size too. The dining room was pretty small though. The kitchen was old but we could make do for awhile in it. The rooms were not very big. The master with the bath was only 12x10 not sure if we would be able to fit our bed and dressers in it. There was a 14x10 room that would probably work better for us and we would give the other room to GG. This house has a lot of potential but we would have to spend a lot of money to make it the way we would want it. The yard on this house was nice. It had a spot already laid out for a garden and it was fenced. The garage was an extra deep one so tons of storage. It also had a full unfinished basement. This house is up in the air. If we could get it at a good price and could save enough money within a few years to update it.

#4 The was a 4 bedroom 1 1/2 bath house. It only had a living room no family room. It also had a full unfinished basement that was very big but these people had SO much stuff in it it was really hard to get a feel for the size. Actually the whole house had a TON of stuff in it. The garage wasn’t attached to the house which was a big negative for me. I just wasn’t very impressed with the inside. The yard was pretty descent. Oh yeah and our Realtor asked that no one was home and there were 3 people there. When she went to look at it she said there was like 15 people in it so I guess that is an improvement. It was just weird to be looking around with the people there. I think J and I are on the same page that this house is not as big as we want.

#5 This house was beautiful. It had 3 bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths. It had a very nice open floor plan that we like. The negatives were it had a detached garage, the kitchen was really small, the dishwasher was in the basement (weird), the coat closet was in the 1/2 bathroom and you had to go into the bathroom and shut the door to open the closet. Other than that it was nice but too high priced.

I feel discouraged that we aren’t going to find a house we can afford. I just keep praying and asking God that J and I agree on the houses and that He would lead us to the right one. I think this process is going to be a long one.

It runs in the family!

The kids are sitting at the table coloring after being outside this morning. I went to do more laundry and when I came upstairs this is what I heard. After the post I wrote this morning I quickly grabbed my video recorded and got them singing. As I upload this video I have heard, Shout to the Lord, Away in the Manger, their school fight song among other random songs. I would rather hear them sing then fight ;)

video

I feel like I should walk around with my video camera because at any given moment Peanut will burst into song. My favorite is when she starts singing Jesus loves me. She doesn't know how to stop the song so it repeats over and over until she gets tired of singing. One of my other favorite songs she will break out singing is Mighty to Save by Hillsong. You might not be familiar with it so here are the lyrics and if you want to hear it just search Mighty to Save on Youtube! She busts out in JESUS CONQUERED THE GRAVE! Yes she shouts it.

Everyone needs compassion,
Love thats never failing
Let mercy fall on me

Well everyone needs forgiveness,
Kindness of a savior
The Hope of the nation

(Chorus)
Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is mighty to save,
He is mighty to save
Forever, author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as you find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again

I give my life to follow
Everything that i believe in
Now i surrender (and i surrender)

(Chorusx2)

Shine your light and let the whole world see
We're singing, for the glory of the risen king, Jesus
Shine your light and let the whole world see
We're singing for the glory of the risen king, Jesus

(Chorusx2)

Shine your light and let the whole world see
We're singing, for the glory of the risen king, Jesus
Shine your light and let the whole world see
We're singing for the glory of the risen king, Jesus

Menu March 29 - April 4th

Monday: Jason's Deli (our last one!)
Tuesday: Fish with brown rice and salad
Wednesday: Church (Sloppy Joes)
Thursday: Italian Brussel Sprouts with quinoa
Friday: Chicken Chili (this has become one of my kids favorites!)
Saturday: Pancakes
Sunday: Happy Easter!!! Turkey Meatloaf with fried shredded carrots and fruit smoothies

Spring Break!

The kids are off all the week and then next Monday. This year is gonna be pretty lame. Last year we went with another family to an indoor water park this year we have nothing big and fun planned. As of yet. I would have to talk J into something first but that doesn't look very likely as we are trying to save money to buy a new house that won't put us in starvation mode! I actually have to find someone to watch the kids Wednesday morning so we can go look at houses. Our realtor doesn't want the kids along as they can be too distracting which I can totally understand we just need to find someone to watch them! I haven't really been on this blog much but there has been so much going on in my head. I am actually struggling to try and articulate it into a post.

One of the biggest things that I am struggling with and thinking about often is food. I am such a weak person when it comes to sweets. I love them. I really do. My husband has bought ice cream again and I am doing everything I can to not open the freezer for fear if I see it I will want to eat it. Or worse yet I will eat it. We had our small group over on Friday and I did eat the dessert. UGH! I hate that, why can't I just say NO. I have no will power. Why do I have to be tempted by sweets EVERYwhere I go? It is just so not fair. I want to be normal and eat whatever I want and feel fine but that is just not the case. I feel silly typing that it isn't fair. My kids say that all the time. God never promised fairness. I need to go make my grocery list for this week.

House Update...

We don't have one...in all seriousness we have started the process in looking. How our Realtor works she sits down with us to get an idea of what type of house we are looking for size wise and all that other jazz. Then we look at houses online to fine ones then drive by the ones we are interested. We were able to eliminate a few houses just by driving by them for various reasons. Then she previews the houses that are still on the list. She picks the top 3 to 4 houses she thinks we would like and then takes us to them to see. We are at the process where she is previewing the houses. Next is setting up a time that we can actually go look at the houses. The biggest problem we are facing now is that the kids are off of school all next week and the following Monday. She doesn't want to wait that long for us to see them but she doesn't really think it would be beneficially to have the kids with as well. I just keep falling back on the knowledge that God is in control of all of this and that He has the prefect place for us to be living we just have to listen to His leading.

Menu March 22-28

I talked to a sweet friend of mine today and she told me she likes my menu posts! I didn't think anyone read them and that they were just for my record. Glad to know people are enjoying them :) This week is kind of weird though so sorry in advance.

Monday: Jason's Deli (kids eat free) only one more left and no more free kid meals
Tuesday: Some sort of Eggplant. My wonderful mom-in-law made it from a no sugar no flour recipe. We will give it a try tonight!!! So excited I don't have to cook :)
Wednesday: Church (tacos)
Thursday: Monkey is in a play from 4:30 to 5:30pm so will we grab a bite to eat afterward. Otherwise it will be a 7pm dinner!
Friday: Baked Mostaccioli our small group is coming over for dinner so they will bring the sides; drinks, salad, fruit, garlic bread, and dessert!
Saturday: Chicken in Sour Cream sauce. I plan on doing a post with this recipe soon as it is J's absolute favorite meal that I have ever made in 10 years of marriage so he says ;)
Sunday: Fish with brown rice and fruit smoothies. J picked the fish so I'm not sure what type it is!

This week actually this month isn't that normal as we don't usually eat out this much. Maybe once a month but the Jason's Deli deal was just too good to pass up. All six of us ate dinner last night for just under 14 dollars and that is with the tax.

Concert

On Thursday night, the 18th, J and I went to the House of Blues in Chicago to see the band Needtobreathe. We were really close to the front, there was one girl between me and the front, that is how close we were. It was awesome. They played all the songs I wanted to hear plus many more! They ended the night with an encore set that ended in them playing Washed By the Water completely acoustic and unplugged. You could hear a pin drop in that place as he belted out the song. I was able to find a video on YouTube of that last song yesterday and thought I would share it with you. It was so cool. I think the person that recorded it was a few feet behind me as I could of been the one recording it from that angle.

I just LOVE his voice. It was an amazing night!

Awana Games

The day finally came for GlamorGirl and Monkey...the favorite AWANA GAMES. Though I will say it was a very long day for the other two kidlets. We got there at 11:30am and left at 5pm. Monkey went first at noon. The first event is the sparky crawl. It is crazy. There are four teams lined up making a square. At the whistle they have to crawl across to the other side. But they have people crawling in every direction at them. Monkey was the first one out of all the teams to make it across on the first race, he was like floating through everyone. But we didn’t win, that game. Oh well he did great though! Another one of my favorite Monkey moments was when he did the relay race with the bean bag on his head. He was the last runner which meant that he had to run in to grab the pin. He was excited and nervous about it. The team of three he was on rocked it. He got there so fast that the second place person came in at least half a minute later! They play games like this for about an hour. They keep score and at the end they announce the winner of each circle. There are four circles and 2 heats on each one. Lots of kids :) After everything was said and done for the Sparky team they won FIRST place. It was neck in neck with another team but the won by a point or two! So proud of those kiddos. As soon as everyone cleared out from them the Girls and Boys TNT teams came out. GG is obviously on the girls team! The first even that GG was in was some sort of a relay race. The team that they had picked out was lightening fast! They won by a land slide! I think they had the three fastest girls on the team running ;) But I have to say that the best event for the girls was the bean bag grab. They have one in the middle and each team has a bean bag. There are 6 players on each team with a number. When they call the number that number tries to get the middle bag and their color bag. When GG’s number was called she got to the middle one and got in a tug of war with two other girls. One of the girls let go so it was just GG and they other girl she held on for dear life and DRAGGED that girl to her side of the square. She ended up winning the middle bag plus the other bag the girl had in her hand and her team color bag. It was awesome to see her go for it. That one doesn’t give up that is for sure. In this same event the last girl called went for the middle and saw that the three were fighting for it that she ran around the circle and got all 4 color bags! Our girl’s team had some smart little cookies on it. The girls team ended up getting 2nd place but did an outstanding job! It was so great to be sitting with our Bethel fans cheering on our Sparky and TNT teams. If you read this and you are from our church you MISSED out on a great time. I also have a picture of the two of them in their team shirts holding the number of fingers for the places they got, which is really cute. But you will just have to believe me because the chances of those pictures actually getting on to this blog at the time are slim to none!

Give this one a try!

Two things! First the house closed on Thursday so we are officially HOUSELESS!!! That is such a weird feeling. Anyways, I just wanted to get on here real quick and let you know that the Butternut Squash with Dill Soup was a HUGE hit with everyone except Red who said it was too spicy. I will use less cayenne pepper next time :) For anyone interested this is *MY* version of the recipe from Eating Your Way to Good Health Cookbook.

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large onions, sliced and halved
5 cups Vegetable broth (I only used 4 and next time I’m going to try Chicken broth)
1 cup hot water (I used 2)
1 butternut squash
1/2 tsp allspice
2 tsp dill (dried)
cayenne pepper to taste (I think I used a little too much!)
sea salt and pepper to taste
I added 2 bags of boil in bag brown rice to the ingredients.

Saute onions in olive oil for about 5 minutes (unless they start to brown). Add broth and water. Cover and bring to boil cooking 10 minutes on med-low heat.

Make the brown rice like the box says but a little less time.

I quartered the squash, removed the seeds and steamed them for 10 minutes without the skin on. The recipe said to halve them then microwave them for 10 minutes, we don’t have a microwave here. Add the squash, allspice, and dill. Cook over low heat for about 8-10 minutes until the squash is tender. Add the other seasonings and brown rice. It was yummy.

Peanut the one who has the hardest time with new recipes asked for seconds!!! I was so excited and I knew then this was a winner and could be added to the menu :) My goal is to find at least 25 good recipes that we all like so that our meals stay fresh and don’t get mundane. I think I have about 10 or so. I should go through and see what I do have.

Want to be a Kid

We close on our house tomorrow making us homeless. But not really we have a place to stay but it isn't ours. I just want someone to pick a house for me. There are so many houses out there. I just want to be a kid and have someone else do the grow up stuff. Don't get me wrong it is very exciting going to pick a new house the only problem is it is very scary at the same time. Because of my health issues we have to be very careful what house we choose. I pray that the people we encounter in this journey will be very honest with us about the questions we have about their home. There are A LOT of dishonest people in this world and that is what makes this SO scary. I don't want to end up where I was 8 months ago. I need a safe place to heal my body and the kids' bodies so that we are completely healthy again. Over the next few weeks or months however long it takes we will be in search of a new residence. Which means that most of my computer time will be spend looking at houses online. Please pray for us as we start this journey all over again. Though it is nice to know that the other house is (almost) sold and that we can look without having a mortgage hanging over our heads. Also I pray this time will strengthen our marriage and not drive a wedge between us. This is STRESSFUL people and when you have this kind of stress you need to be covered in PRAYER. Thanks I will try to update as we go along but don't hold me to it. I will still try and keep up the menus as I like to go back and see all the different things we have been eating and trying!

Menu March 15-21

Monday: Jason's Deli (only a few more weeks of the free kids meals)
Tuesday: Baked Cabbage
Wednesday: Church (Stew)
Thursday: White Chicken Chili
Friday: Butternut Soup with Dill
Saturday: Spinach Patties (I use ground turkey)
Sunday: Leftovers

Pretty simple week and I am trying 3 new recipes! Baked Cabbage, White Chicken Chili and Butternut Soup with Dill. :) Happy eating...

My Adventure in watching 8 kids!

Yesterday we the day we moved all our stuff to storage. I know you are probably thinking but I thought you said you don't have anything. Well we don't but we do. Let me put it this way. We rented a 10 x 10 unit and that was all we needed for everything. We don't have much. The only big things we have are 4 dressers. Anyways, J needed help with 2 of the dressers because they are HEAVY. His friend Jason said he could help the only problem was his wife was at church working and he had the kids. He has 4 their ages are 3, 2 and 8 month old twins. We actually planned the day pretty perfectly. We got to his house as he put all his kids down for a nap and then I laid my two youngest down. One of the twins woke up so I had 3 kids awake. Then she went down for a nap when the 3 yr old woke up. I got there at 2pm and I only had 3 kids up until 4pm and then the others slowly started waking up one at a time. Kristy got home from church at about 5pm so the day was a pretty easy day. The men weren't going to get done until 6ish so we made the kids some food and then ordered Chinese for the adults. The kids played and watched a movie and we got home at 9pm which was really going to be 10pm because of the time change. It really wasn't that big of an adventure because when the babies were awake GG was all over helping with them. She is such a great help I can't say that enough about her. Even Monkey is learning how to help in different ways then her!

White Chicken Chili

Today I have spent the morning making 2 batches of White Chicken Chili for the freezer. I have used all my frozen meals I made over Christmas break and I need to start replenishing them so today I did two. Next weekend will be too busy but maybe Wednesday I will have a chance to make a few more. Anyways, I cooked the chicken and taken it off the bone. I am making some chicken broth to freeze as well. It is so much cheaper this way then buying it from the store! I use it in my asparagus soup as well as the broccoli soup. I wanted to leave you with this recipe for the White Chicken Chili. This is the first time I am making it but my friend made it a few weeks ago and it was YUMMY! This is my version because I shouldn’t eat everything she put in hers.

1 lb Skinless chicken breast ( I used the whole chicken so it isn’t ALL white meat)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/4 tsp garlic
1 T oil
1 can chicken broth (I used homemade)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp pepper
14 tsp cayenne pepper
8 oz sour cream
4 oz heavy whipping cream
Saute chicken, onion and garlic in oil. Drain. Add other ingredients except the creams. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add creams. I took out 2 cans great northern beans (can’t have) and 2 cans of chopped green chilis (she didn’t use them and it was spicy enough!)

This afternoon the kids and I are going over to a friend's house who has 4 kids (the wife is at church) and I will be watching all 8 so the husband can help J move my dresser and his the only two big things we own.

Menu March 8 - 14

Wow I am not doing very good at getting the menu out! Well this last week this is what we ate just for record sake.
Monday: Jason's Deli (kids eat free on Mondays)
Tuesday: Beef Stroganoff with strawberries
Wednesday: Church Noodles with Meat balls
Thursday: Baked Eggplant with quinoa, mashed potatoes, and homemade apple sauce.
Friday: Italian Beef and Squash and fruit
Saturday: The plan is Fish but we are moving so who knows!
Sunday: Leftovers ;) or Fish...

Mama Bear came out...

Last night, yes it has been over 24 hours since this occurred. I just needed some time. Typically at on Awana nights J is with me. Most of his time is spent in the gym watching our oldest. I have the baby in the coffee house were it is a much safer environment. The kids usually play hockey or some other rough sport. Well J had to work last night, meaning that our kids played in the gym without the protection of their father. Unfortunately it also happened to be the night that a single mother of 3 troubled kids decided she was going to drop them off at church an hour early. Even though she has been told she can't do that. I fell really bad describing these kids as "troubled" but they really truly are in every sense of the word. The youngest we will call him M, loves to watch horror movies he is 6 years old. He gets sent home from Sparks almost every week. He has a temper and is very disobedient. There is tons of grace trust me but the leaders have a duty to keep the other kids safe while in their care. The two older ones have issues too but for times sake we will just focus on M. My boys asked if they could play in the gym and I told them to stay together. GG was off with the girls in the church they aren't big into sports. After about 20 minutes a kid runs into the coffee house telling me that Red is crying. Two seconds later a mom on my way to him says Red is hurt he was punched and told me who. I then started running. I know this kid has had problems. I got to Red and he was sobbing. He really got hurt. I asked him what happened. He then proceeds to tell me. "M pulled my hair and then pushed me to the ground. He got on top of me and was punching me." I was LIVID. It was a good thing I was holding Red when I saw this kid. I made him apologize to Red. To which he did and then started telling me that Red gave him a cut on his head. Yes there was a cut on his head but it was scabbed over. I looked at him and said, "He did not do that to you it has a scab on it. Would you like to tell me the truth?" He insisted that Red hit him too. I felt myself start to loose control so I took Red and walked away. The other mom was there so I knew he wasn't going anywhere. I took Red to his grandparents were he would be safe. I asked Red if he hit M. Red said that he pushed him to try and get him off of him. I asked why he didn't yell. He said he yelled for Monkey. But Monkey had left the gym to go to Children's Choir about a minute before this all went down. Then I came back to the kid. I looked him in the eyes and said, "I talked to my son and he did say that he pushed you because he was trying to get you off of him. You were really hurting him." This little punk says, "well he shouldn't have pushed me." More talking was done by me and the other mom. Finally my friend asked him why he attacked Red. M's reason was that Red was going to tell on him and he didn't want to get in trouble. The thought of getting in trouble made him mad so he hurt him. He just couldn't help it. He was mad. Let me tell you I was mad. Guess what? I didn't lay a hand on that turd. Oh I wanted to. The mama bear in me was in full force. I ended up keeping my boy with me until it was time for clubs to start and he went in his room. This kid is 2 years older so they are not together. It seriously took me 20 plus minutes for my hands to stop shacking I was THAT mad. All day long today I have been praying for this little boy who probably has the crappiest home life. It is just so sad. In talking with my friend who lives next door and learning more about him and his family it is just so sad. Divorced home, dead beat dad, mom has new boyfriend that isn't that great, and the mom is hurt and taking it out on the kids. Who then take it out on other kids, like my sweet Red. I am hoping the end result is that this little boy still comes on Awana night but only at the right time. That was my evening last night my day today wasn't much better! But in a totally different area of my life, moving, enough said!!! One more week, one more week, that is what I have said about a bajillion times today.

Change

I'm not a big fan of change. Though it seems like everything in my life for the last, about 7 months now have been nothing but change. All the food we eat is different, the place we live, the things we have in our house (because it isn't ours), the new house we are going to be buying, all the new furniture (once we have enough saved up to buy some). Those are the big things but the little changes in my day to day are what is just got me all out of sorts. For instance, our taxes we normally have them done the first week in February. Well it is almost the middle of March and we still don't have them done. It has to do with the fact that we got rid of ALMOST everything we own to goodwill and so we have to list it all out and assign a dollar amount. It is just so time consuming. I am hoping to everything ready to go by this weekend though it isn't looking to good. Other things are how My BABY is growing up so fast, the rest of the kids too for that matter. Red is not going to be a Cubbie next year and Monkey is going to be in Boys TnT and old enough to go to sleep away camp this summer. There is more I can list but I won't because it is just sometimes too much to take in. I know that things change I get that I just feel like everything is changing all at once and I have no resemblance of normal or comfort of the old anymore. Also like my friend Tammy says, not all of those changes are bad changes. I think I feel unstable because of the change. I need some solid footing right about now.

My *smart* little Girl

As a mother you always think your child(ren) are pretty smart and talented and all that other stuff. You know you are bias when it comes to your children period! At least I know this fact about myself ;) Yesterday I was at school doing my lunch duty like I do every Monday. While I was at school I had a conversation about GG being double promoted. Meaning she would skip 4th grade. I know my daughter is smart she gets straight A's on her report card and most of them are A+'s to boot. Her last year IOWA test scores also tell of how smart she is. I just never thought about pushing her ahead. I know she gets bored sometimes at school but sometimes life is just boring. Well I had a nice talk with her teacher after school. She has about 5 kids in her class that could easily skip to 5th grade GG being one of them. She told me that GG would have no problems keeping up academically and socially as some of the others might. She said it is completely up to us as her parents. Like I said I never even thought about that being an option. So J and I talked and it was so great to know he was on the same page as me and keeping her where she is because that would mean she would have one less year to be home with us and one less year to be a kid. I think there are 2 kids skipping next year but like I always say, I'm not their parent. I think this is the best thing for GG and I think she was happy to know that she was going into 4th next year and not 5th. I feel there is no need to rush her childhood...maybe when Peanut is that age...just kidding.

GlamorGirl is writing a story and it is incredibly good writing. I won't write out the whole story as it has about 4 chapters but I will give you a little peek into her head and writing skills.

"Hey! Wait up" Johny called to Peter. Peter stopped. It was no use in trying to get away from 5-year old Johny now. Usually if Peter saw Johny coming and Johny didn't see him, he would run around the corner and hide. Or he would petal as fast as he can to get away before Johny spotted him. By this time Johny had caught up.

This is only a fraction of the story she has written! It has your interested piqued doesn't it?! Maybe one day her story will be a children's book...

Two things...

First thing is that the guy buying our house wants to close 6 days earlier. That is so GREAT. That means we can actively start looking sooner and maybe we could get in on that $65oo credit for home buyers. We shall see. We know that we absolutely don't want to rush into buying anything that we aren't completely sold on. With that excitement it means that we have 9 days to pack up the rest of the house and garage and get it into a storage unit. That is a BIG task. At least it is getting warmer outside so that I can pack without freezing my little tushy off ;)

The second thing is just plain maddening. We got home from a nice dinner out where all the kids ate free. To find on the credit card statement that someone stole our card number and charged $495 to an online lego store. This is the part that I am very grateful that I am married to a police officer. He just took over. Called who needed to be called and he just handled it. AWESOMELY. Though I will say that the company that charged our card would not tell us where the products where being sent so annoying. I guess they have to protect the criminals, so stupid. That is really all I feel like writing.

What an honor!

I have received the Beautiful Blogger Award! Thank you Kristen! I guess now I have to give this award to 15 other bloggers...

1. My hubby because he is the best. I love him so much!
2. Adina she is a dear friend who just gave birth to her 3rd boy. She truly is lovely in every way possible!
3. Corrie she is a riot. I have known her for years. She was in my wedding while she was still in H.S. Love this girl!
4. Andrea is my encourager and support! I don't know how I would have gotten through these last few months without her help and knowledge. She is a true blessing. One day I will meet her!
5. Melissa she is a hard core mama. She went to school with my hubby and in reading her blog have found that we have a lot in common. Wish we lived closer to them.
6. Amber my dear friend who finally got her miracle baby boy.
7. Sarah is a super cool mama of 4. Another mom I wish lived close by so we could hang out.
8. Lisa has such great posts that are inspiring and sweet. The homeschooling mama.
9. Kelly a high school friend with kids the same ages as my youngest too. Fun to catch up with her through her blog and facebook!
10. Tee she has a really funny blog about her dating adventures and other funny things.
11. Happi is a blogger turned real life friend! Though we need to get together more often.
12. Deb a blogging mama of boy/girl twins. I always wanted twins!
13. Jenny The lead singer of Addison Road (GG's favorite band). So down to earth and funny.
14. & 15. Kristin and Becki their blogs her are private but I just had to give this to them because they are too cool not to have it!

There are my 15 and now I have to write 7 things about myself.
1. I haven't worn socks since getting my Uggs for Christmas. It totally saves on at least a half a load of laundry a week!
2. My goal these next 6 months is to consistently floss my teeth before I go to bed no matter how tired I am. That is not my strong suit.
3. I haven't had to go to the ER this winter, haven't been able to say that for 2 years.
4. I am the healthiest I have been in a long time. Eating only whole foods is the best.
5. I am freaked out about buying another house but at the same time really excited. Weird I know.
6. Can't wait for summer or warmer weather, cabin fever much?
7. I want to take a college class on nutrition. I need the motivation to learn more about food and combing foods and so forth.

Wondering

How do these women make money blogging? I want to get in on this gig but HOW??? I just read this one mom's blog talk about how her blog was a full time income for her family and it allowed them to pay 100% cash for their first home. Where do I sign up? Ok seriously, though I get some random emails from people wanting to put ads on my blog is that what they do? One was for some oils and such...hmm not sure I want to go there! I don't need or want that kind of traffic. I'm thinking I should find a job that Peanut can come with me like I had at the YMCA about 5 years ago. The making money at home on a computer just seems so appealing to me but where to begin or even how is the biggest question I have. Any one out there know the answer? Please help this mama out. Yes I am blogging at night because my hubby is at church doing his Deacon/Elder thing. Just something I have been wondering about I should email the ladies at 5 minutes for Mom. Though I don't know if I want to be *that* busy either oh the dilemma!

Moving along...I have gotten a few emails about my menus. I figured if I have gotten more than one email about it other people might be wondering too. Well I make most of our food from a cookbook called Eating Your Way to Health by Doug Kaufmann. The baked goods are mostly from http://www.scdrecipes.com/recipes We really like the lemon poppy seed muffins but make sure you put the honey in it because they don't taste so great with out it! I also was going to leave you with the recipe for Chicken Fajitas, are you excited???

Marinade:
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 cloves garlic minced
1 1/2 tsp cumin
salt to taste

Salsa:
tomato chopped
half an onion chopped
1 tbsp fresh lime
1 fresh chili pepper thinly sliced (optional)

Vegetables:
1 green pepper sliced
1 red or yellow pepper sliced
the other half of the onion sliced
1 clove garlic minced
olive oil

Marinade the chicken, I usually do it for a few hours before hand. Prepare the salsa. Saute the vegetables until they are tender. Make yourself a fajita! We used spinach shells, yummy. We also added brown rice and mozzarella cheese.

Struggling

I have wanted to write about this for sometime but I got a little nervous that it wouldn't happen. But as we are moving along and getting closer I am feeling more at ease. We have a contract on our house!!! We are to close 3 weeks from today. It has been a huge blessing though a huge burden as well. We of course, lost a LOT of money on our house, being as we bought it at the height of the market and sold it at the bottom. Not only that we have to replace almost everything we owned ie furniture, beds etc. The big stuff basically. If I sit and thinking about all the money that is going to be needed to replace them I just want to cry. However, I know that God is bigger than our furniture. If we need to eat picnic style for a year we will make do, if we have to continue to sleep on air mattresses we will make do, if we don't have a couch or other places to sit we will make do. It would be so much easier if we didn't have to buy it all new. The risk of buying something used that has been in a contaminated environment isn't worth the risk to our health. As you know just having our furniture at the other place for 10 months was enough to have lingering health effects on me and the kids. I wish that I had a part time job that could help off set some of the cost as I know J as the provider is feeling it more than me. I just manage the money he has to make it. I did put in an application to sub at the kids' school so we'll see. I still feel like my main job right now is making sure we eat right and completely detox our bodies. God will provide I know he will no matter what.

A Late Monday Menu...

March 1 - 7
Monday: Asparagus soup with bread (sourdough)
Tuesday: Stuffed Peppers and cheese cake
Wednesday: Church (Hot dogs) my kids don't normally like hot dogs but this week they wanted to go! weird
Thursday: Chicken Fajitas and brown rice
Friday: Sauteed Onions and Squash (this if from last week)
Saturday: Garlic Chicken with onions and peppers
Sunday: Fish and brown rice

Last week was a little different because of the funeral so we had items from last weeks menu!

A Poop Kind of Day

I wasn't really looking forward to this day to begin with since it was the day of our dental visits. My poor little Peanut woke up with her left eye glued shut with eye boogers. It took both J and I to help get it opened. Seeing as most of our day was going to be spent at the dentist I really didn't know how we would be getting in to see a doctor. My plan was to go to my chiropractor appointment and then take her to the school nurse before Red and my dental appointments. During my chiro appointment Peanut says she has to poop. I put her on the potty and she goes then she says she is all done. You know the rest...wipe, dress, blah blah blah. I continue with my stuff and she says it again. Red helps get her on the potty as I was detained at that very moment. A few minutes later she is done. I go to wipe and it was ALL over her butt. I look at her underwear and sure enough she had pooped her pants. I'm thinking GREAT now I won't have time to get to the nurse before our other appointment. As I was cleaning her up it wasn't as bad as I had thought and we made it out of there in pretty good time to stop at the school. The nurse looks at her eye and says it doesn't look like pink eye but to keep an eye on it. We leave and get our teeth cleaned. Red went first and the lady told him to make sure that J and I floss his teeth. He comes out after the cleaning and says, "mommy you have to dental my floss." I just thought that was the cutest thing ever! After my cleaning Peanut says, "My turn now." They are going to see her next time when she is 3 years old. Just a side note I just signed her up for the 3 year old preschool. It was so sad to think that my baby is old enough to be going to school. Moving along with the poopcapades. Fast forward a few hours...Peanut is napping at school and Red's teacher comes to get me. Apparently, he had gone to the bathroom for a long time and when he came back to the room didn't smell so good. I pulled him out of class and asked if he pooped at school. He said yes and that he wiped himself. Another GREAT moment. I took him to the bathroom so I could check him. I wouldn't have thought he wiped at all if I had not seen some of his crumbled up poop filled toilet paper on the ground. OY. I had to give him a makeshift bath and then get him new underwear and pants. I could not get the stink of poop off of his hands though. I sent him back to class. After school the older two kids had their appointments as I was sitting with Red in the waiting room doing his reading homework with him I just couldn't shack the smell of poop. I took a closer look at his shirt and I found a couple different spots of poop that he must have wiped his hand on when he got poop on them. I made him take the shirt off because it stunk so bad. So there he sat in the dentist waiting room with no shirt on in the middle of winter. At least he had a coat to wear. I will say that I think I am DONE with poop for awhile. Why in the world did two of my kids have almost the same identical mishap on the same day?! It was pure craziness. I think God was strengthening my patience.