Gum Blowing

I really like blowing bubbles with my bubble gum. My sisters and I used to buy big rolls of Bubble tape and stick the whole thing in our mouths.
My girls have never seen my excellent talent of blowing so much that my jaw hurts and my TMJ acts up and my jaw won't stop popping. The other night I put 6 small gum balls in my mouth and chomped away. I started blowing bubbles and got the best reactions from the girls. Lindsey would tell me "blow agin Mommy, agin" and she would watch me and stick her tongue out to imitate it. It was so funny and cute. And then when the bubble would start going she would back up and get scared and then squeal when it popped. It was hilarious so I did it over and over and got a few priceless pictures. Emily wanted me to show her how to do it, but she just had her teeth brushed.

Bubble is getting ready...


Bubble getting bigger...

POP!!

I just hope that if I teach Emily how to blow bubbles it won't end up like this:

What We Are Learning

Find out what the girls have been learning at our Homeschool Blog.

Lost and Gained

We did loose the house that we really loved. It was such a good find that we were not the only ones that wanted it. It is hard to see a house that amazing go, but we feel it was best for us at this time to not have all of the added expenses that the house would have brought. We have accepted the condo and are now moving forward with closing. We are looking at 3-4 weeks closing and then 30 days to move and get everything ready to move in. That is what we will be spending most of our time on and we will keep everyone updated with it all.

Politics

My thoughts and feelings on the "stimulus". Oh, the anger and the frustration.

Frustrating "Stimulus"

Life Reflections

Why is it in life that there really are ups and downs for everyone? Why when things seem to be going so well for Robert and I and we are close to buying a house, a miracle for us, why do other family members struggle so much? Health problems and financial struggles. We have had our share of both and are beyond grateful to be on the positive end of both problems. And we feel so helpless that those we love are having such a difficult time. My sister-in-law Lori is recovering from her second round of radiation and received some bad news today of another tumor that the treatment didn't kill. My other sister-in-law Jill has had a very difficult recovery from her brain surgery and my heart goes out to them! I wish I could do something more. My heart aches for them and their families. They are both amazing women who have such strength and power. They have both welcomed me in with open arms into the family and I am so grateful to them for that.

There are so many ups and downs in life and I have learned to be grateful every moment because no one ever knows what the next moment will bring. It sure doesn't help to complain about small petty things. I know that God allows trials into our lives and there must be opposition in all things. We don't always get the answers we want, but He is always there to carry our burdens and we just need to have complete faith in Him and submit to His will in all things. It is a lesson that isn't easy and I know I will struggle my whole life trying to learn and re-learn this concept. I am so thankful for the good years and the bad years and I wish I could make the bad years for my loved ones easier than they are. But there really are some things only He can do.

Where Oh Where to Move?

I think it is time for our house hunting update. The condo we have waited MONTHS on finally accepted our offer. Which is great and all, but they accepted it right when we found the most awesome house EVER! And because it is a house there is no HOA to deal with and that makes the prices about the same. This house isn't in our most favorite area, but its not that bad either. If we could we would exchange the condos location for this house's location.

The neighborhood it is in is pretty cute. The house sits on nearly half an acre, 5 beds, 2 baths, 2 fireplaces, huge backyard, good storage, crown molding, 2 car garage, etc. the list goes on with how cool this place is. We really like it, but we have a pretty good chance of loosing it in a bidding war. So at this point we are happy to have a potential place to live, but we are dragging our feet on it hoping we will get this super cool house. I don't even know what I would DO with 5 bedrooms! The thoughts of not having to deal with HOA, people next to us, on top of us, parking, etc. would be so great. And to have a yard... Well, right now there is nothing I can do but wait and know that whatever happens will be what is supposed to happen.

Gluten-Free Sweet and Sour Chicken

After my adventures at Pei Wei I decided to find my own recipe and tweak it a little. It was SO yummy! And it really isn't that hard to make. I have found a new favorite recipe and I am so happy to find something new and different.

"breading":
1/2 Cup brown rice flour
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp pepper
minced garlic clove
1/4 tsp salt

Put chicken pieces in container with tight lid and shake to coat chicken. Fry chicken breast pieces in the oil of your choice until crispy and done in the middle.

Suace:
1/2 Cup sugar
2 1/2 TBS cornstarch
1 Cup orange juice
1 TBS GF soy sauce (I use liquid amino acids)
3 TBS tomato sauce

Whisk and add small amount of cornstarch to avoid clumping. Coat chicken pour over rice and veggies. MMMM....