Rearrange my life

Okay, I know it's been FOREVER!  So I will try to post at least a few times a week!
Here is an update.
    Payton was officially diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on January 6th.
    We moved to Arizona.
     We have lots of new doctors, teachers and friends.
      I rearranged my living room yesterday and it feels awesome.
      I am working on my books (really, I can't believe it either).
Seriously, it's been a crazy few months.  But after about a month in this house, something was bugging me about the living room.  So yesterday with the girls help, I moved the furniture around.  Several times.  Sometimes, even on paper you can't tell.  You just have to move it, and move it again.  And keep going until it just feels right.  Now, every time I walk past it, I sigh.  It feels right!
   Next will be the master bedroom, but first I have about three more boxes that need tackling.
Have an awesome week!

Chickpea salad

So I attempted the 27 day cleanse.  Got to about day 10 and felt hungry and deprived. Seven pounds lighter, but it didn’t seem worth it.  So I am just trying to eat better.  My friend Anna gave me this idea, and it was delicious!!  No feeling like I am missing something.  And super easy too!!

Faux chicken salad AKA Chickpea Salad

1 15 oz can chickpeas (or garbanzo beans, same thing) drained and rinsed

2 Tbsp sour cream, plain greek yogurt or mayo

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

tomato sliced

sprouts

whole wheat pita bread

Put chickpeas, sour cream and sunflower seeds in a bowl and mix.  Use about 1/3 of mixture to top pita.  Add tomatoes and spouts.  Enjoy.  YEP, it’s really that easy folks!

Technorati Tags: chickpea,chickpea salad,garbanzo beans,vegetarian,healthy eating

New Beginnings

School is almost in…have I said that before?  I am really excited…as you can tell. 
Along with getting a few hours to myself, I am going to try doing a cleanse.  I know, I know.  I probably don’t have the will power.  True.  But my friend Anna, who is beautiful and skinny already, has lost like 11 lbs.  THAT my friends is MOTIVATION! 
She is doing the Green Smoothie Girl Detox.  So, I am going to do it too.  Nope it’s not all green smoothies.  There are supplements and stuff that I am not going to do, sorry Green Smoothie Girl.  But I am going to my best attempt to do it 100%.  Okay 97%. 
I am excited to not have to think about what’s for dinner.  Or breakfast or lunch either (at least for me). 
If anyone wants to join me, go right ahead.  Have some buddies along is always helpful!

Technorati Tags: green smoothie girl,detox

Miracles every day

    Well, we had an MRI and optho apt in the last 10 days.  When the doctor was going over Avery’s field of vision test, I seriously almost cried.  It looked like it did after her surgery, but before her sight started to go.  She still has peripheral vision issues, but she has a much wider range she sees now.

   I had asked the oncologist if it was the pressure from the fluid or the tumor making her sight go.  He said we don’t know.  So we just did a year of chemo that we may/may not have ever needed.  It’s always something that has weighed on my mind.  Especially when she was so sick. You try to do the best for your kids, but medicine is a lot of guessing.  But after seeing the optho report, I feel that we did the right thing.  Maybe that is just me making me feel better about dumping toxins into my 10 year old.  Maybe.

   I also have a new assignment at church.  Compassionate Service coordinator.  For those not of my faith, that is the person that arranges for meals, cleaning and babysitting for those families in need.  Like when they have a baby, or a kid with cancer.  I laughed when I got it.  Hopefully that means we are done with this chapter in our life.  I mean, how do you call someone to bring dinner to your own family??  Awkward.   Anyway, I am just hoping this is the Lord’s way of telling me we are good.  And I can use what I learned to help other families.  I can do that.

  My dear friend Kathy experienced a miracle too.  In her Counting to Ten, she talks about last weekends events.  Kathy herself is a miracle in my life.  She is little and feisty, and loving and always there when I need her.  She has been a HUGE blessing in my life.  LOVE her!!!

  So here is to counting your blessings. 

Cute new do’s

   We all just got cute haircuts for the new school year.  Which, by the way, I am COUNTING down the days!!  10 days to go!!

   We just got this package in the mail from a friend in Arizona with the cutest headbands I have seen!  A girl named Becki is behind the whippy cake company and donated these. 

I don’t think she makes headbands anymore, :(, but she does do some consulting.  She has almost the same haircut as Avery!!  LOVE it!  I can’t wait to sew some dresses to match!!!

  Thanks Becki and Marion for thinking of us!!

Technorati Tags: whippy cake,whippy cake headbands

Corn Cakes

 

Okay, food is a big deal at our house.  Avery needs to eat as much as possible, Payton needs to watch her carbs (both for too high and too low) and Nathan needs to slow down.  Seriously.  How much can a 14 year old eat??  Don’t answer that….

Anyway, I found something similar on Pinterest….love Pinterest, but I wasn’t found of the fact it was only white flour.  Too many carbs.  So I took out my trusty Better Homes and Gardens red and white and found a corn fritter recipe.  It was close to what I was looking for and I added a few things and voila…a pretty good dinner.  Actually this would make a fantastic brunch, or yummy quick lunch.  It works for just about anytime.  And I KNOW it sounds weird to put syrup on it.  But trust me, SUPER yummy.  You CAN do just butter, if you want.  But it’s not as good.

I doubled the recipe.  I have a 14 yr old boy to feed.  So if you more than four mouths to feed I recommend you do the same.

Corn Cakes

Makes 6-8 cakes

8 slices bacon cut into 1/4” pieces

1/2 onion diced (I used white, but green would be awesome)

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup corn meal

2 tsp. baking powder

1 cup corn (frozen or canned works)

1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

1 cup milk

1 beaten egg

In a cold skillet, put in bacon.  Turn heat on low and start to cook, stirring every few minutes.  When fat starts to melt off and bacon is about half way cooked, add in onion.  Continue cooking bacon until crisp and bacon and onion is translucent.  Take off heat and let bacon cool (I put it in a bowl to cool faster).

In a large mixing bowl add in flour, corn meal and baking powder.  Stir.  Add in milk and egg.  Stir to just combined.  Then add in corn, cheese, bacon and onion.  Stir again.  On hot skillet cook like regular pancakes (about 1/2 cup batter at a time). 

Serve with buttermilk syrup, regular syrup, or the way I did was add in blueberries to the buttermilk syrup.  It was SSSSOOOO good.  Not kidding. 

Even ALL the kidos ate it too!!

MMA and Avery

     My cousin Sean lived with us a few years back.  Pre-brain tumor.  He was just beginning to train in MMA, and Las Vegas has some great gyms.  Avery and Sean hit it off.  He would show her some moves and how to protect herself.  She is VERY competitive and we learned early on she would pass out before she would tap out.

   Sean has been training and fighting ever since.  He has been getting better and better.  He is working his way up to bigger fights and more money. 

   But is also has a big heart.  He called us a few months back and wanted to do a fight to promote pediatric cancer.  There was a girl named Tenley that also had a brain tumor that would be at the fight.  They were going to raise money for Make-A-Wish and the Tenley foundation.  AWESOME!  We were in.

   Little did we know, Tenley (who is 9) has the EXACT same tumor as Avery.  A bit different location, but the same kind.  She was diagnosed in July of 2010 (a month after Avery) and did her Make-A-Wish to Disneyworld in April 2012 (a month before ours).  Kind of mookey. 
   Avery and Tenley hit it off at the fight.  It was great to see Avery just goof around and be a kid.  And the fact they have so much in common was heartwarming. 

   Sean won his fight.  Yes, Avery watched and cheered him on.  Along with me, Chris and Nathan.