Homemade insect repellent

I just ran across this insect repellent idea on http://mothering.com/health/the-natural-first-aid-kit under the tea tree oil heading.  I am excited to give this one a try.  I feel much better about putting these ingredients on my kiddos.  Just hope it works!

Fill a spray bottle with:
1. 3 ounces water
2. 1 ounce witch hazel or aloe vera juice
3. 24 drops tea tree oil.
*Tea tree oil can also be applied to insect bites to stop the itching.

Jealous, just a little

I am just wondering what the gift is for supportive wives who sacrafice time, money, and fun so that their husbands can graduate with honors from law school and pass the bar exam?  Hmmm- I am just waiting for my rolex or a little blue box from Tiffany's :)

Breakfast & Lunch & Dinner

I love making meals that last all day, are inexpensive, and somewhat healthy.  This is the chinese ham bone soup I ate the other night at the Full moon party. 
1 Ham Bone with meat
1 Head of cabbage
Salt and garlic
1 big Ginger root- cut into pieces
boil and simmer...yummy!

I also added 1 can of nothern white beans- just for Grant.

New goals

In lu of Lian Ma Ma leaving I have made some new chinese language goals for me and the kids.  I was starting to learn a little chinese just from John trying to help me communicate with her about stuff around the house and baby things.  She was very interested in me helping her learn English and she loved watching the "Baby can Read" DVD's that I have for the boys.  She would pull out books and we would work on her English together.  So I went on Amazon and to read all the reviews for the chinese language DVD's for kids.  The Baby Can Read program does not currently do one in Chinese, so I found a few other programs and some flash cards that I ordered.  Hopefully they work out ok.  We'll see..

Tuttle Chinese for Kids Flash Cards Kit Vol 1 Simplified Character
Journeys to the East - The River Dragon King (Learn Chinese for Children)
Let's Go Guang! Chinese for Children, Vol. 1 - Meet Guang, the Chinese Dragon | Multimedia Learning Kit

Sad night for me...

Tonight was a sad night for me.  I have been dreading this evening for the whole week.  I knew that we would be going over to say our goodbyes to Lian Ma Ma.  She leaves tomorrow for China.  I have been crying all week about it.  Crazy- I know.  She is such a sweet lady to me and I am already missing her.  She was Grant's ayi for a few months (2 years ago) and Garrett's for even shorter, but I always felt something special whenever I was around her.  She was one of the only people that visited me when we lived in Land O Lakes 2 summers ago.  I only had Grant and he was a difficult 5 month old.  She would bring me dinner and come over and hold the baby.  The first time Grant crawled was in her house.  We gave her rides to the Chinese Christian Church and this year we even took her up to our farm in Brooksville.  Deep down I always knew that she would be a great investigator for the church- I was just waiting for the right time.  Last week, before I found out she was moving, I ordered $100 worth of Mandarin Chinese church stuff off the website.  A few days later I found out the bad news about her going and I was worried that it would not get here in time.  I was lucky to receive all the materials on Saturday, so I picked out just 1 book to give her.  It is all in Chinese so I asked John if he thought it would be ok.   It is "The Latter-day Saint Woman" Part B- (This manual contains 35 lessons to help women and young women learn the principles and doctrines of the gospel, live righteously, develop homemaking skills, and use their time and talents to bless others. It is used as a resource for Relief Society instruction and may also be used for instruction in home, family, and personal enrichment meetings.)  I told John to tell her that it would be great reading for the plane.  I hope she likes it, we'll see.  She gave us her address and I am going to write and send her some pictures that we took this evening of her and the boys. Tonight is finally over...thank goodness.  Now I am just waiting for the sadness to go away.

places I want to live...

Am I the only one that dreams about living in cool, exotic places all around the world?  I really want to to do the home exchange program.  You know switch with someone for like a month... I have a list...

1. Beijing, China- He ge zhuang village- the last village in Beijing
2. Southern China
3. Zurich
4. Aix en Provence- country house
5. Nice- country house

When John and I go on our first vacation- which will hopefully be next summer.  We will either head to Beijing China or my pick- southern France.  The French Mediteranean is so beautiful and I would live anywhere near there in a second.

Check out http://www.homeexchange.com/- so cool....

alternative flu prevention

This is a great flu prevention for the whole family.  You can use this whether or not you vaccinate for the flu.  It is also works great for the nasty colds that come along too.

Clinically-Proven
• 88% effective in the prevention of influenza
• 82% effective in the treatment of primary flu-related symptoms of chills,
  muscle aches and minor fever (see references)

http://www.rockwellnutrition.com/ or just google it!