Whole 30 Day 15

And so we begin week 3!  I spent part of last night preparing my first fully homemade beef jerky.  And today it dried in the dehydrator for 4 hours.  What's weird is that it doesn't have much taste.  So next time I will increase the amount of spices.  But everyone likes it and I like knowing exactly what is in the beef jerky.  Because I made it myself at home, I also know that it is definitely Whole30 compliant and I don't mind the kids eating it since there is no sugar in it.  I wonder how fast we will end up eating it.  Should be an easy way to get a little more protein into the kids' breakfasts even when they won't eat eggs.

Today was a pretty low key day but my ankle was really hurting.  I hobbled to the bathroom this morning and then put my air cast on when I got up to make breakfast.  That didn't seem to be helping so I wrapped it in the ace bandage for the rest of the day.  I'm starting to worry that the injury might be worse than I initially thought.  If it's still bothering me by Friday I think I might try getting an injury screening at Athletico when James has his soccer.  I finished all my work before heading to the school today, which was nice.  Because my ankle was hurting I wasn't able to do anything very productive this afternoon.  I did clear off the top of my dresser and then I watched 2 episodes of Fuller House.  I really miss the old, wholesome shows that were on when I was kid.  Everything these days is honestly just junk.  I might let my kids watch a little more tv if things like Full House and the Cosby Show were still on.  This probably makes me sound old, complaining about how things used to be, haha.  The kids had a great afternoon with James at his acting class and Carolyn at softball.  It will be interesting to see how she does in a real game this Spring.  She almost caught a fly ball another girl batted tonight even.  There are 4 more weeks left of this class.

Breakfast - eggs fried in coconut oil, blueberries, strawberries, green pepper
Lunch - Leftover Mahi, broccoli
Snack - beef jerky
Dinner - Slow cooker Italian beef (everyone really liked it, but next time it needs a side with it or more vegetables)

Tomorrow I meet with Carolyn's teacher to see how she did on her testing and figure out the plan going forward.  It's so wonderful to have a responsive school.

Whole 30 Days 12-14

This has been a long but fun weekend.  I went to bed early Friday night to snuggle under the covers and read.  Friday was a great day where I had time to do some cleaning around the house which let us enjoy the warm weather even more.  The kids had a good afternoon playing with a balloon after their snack until we went to James' soccer.

Breakfast - Tea with lemon
Lunch - 3 eggs fried in coconut oil, leftover steak, orange
Dinner - leftover sauce with zucchini noodles
Snack - Banana

Saturday we spent the morning at the park. I was hopeful that my ankle was on the mend and was able to kick around with the kids for a little bit.  But as the morning went on I felt some twinges and quickly realized it wasn't as good as I thought.  Carolyn had an indoor soccer game and then we spent the afternoon at a winter carnival at the church where I attend MOPs.  The kids had a blast and we think we'll head back there for their egg hunt in a few weeks.  They'll actually hide the eggs so it should be more fun.  We then went to church and out for dinner before I headed out from my MOPs MNO.  I brought celery and guacamole there so I would have something to munch on.  It was a lot of fun to talk with other moms and just hang out.  It made me miss the moms' group I was a part of before we moved.  I hope that we'll start to make friends with some of the other parents at the kids' school and maybe start to hang out with some other families as our kids get older.

Breakfast - Omelet with avocado, green onion, cilantro, green pepper
Lunch - Apple with almond butter (ground in store, no additives), something else that I can't remember now
Dinner - Meatheads burger on lettuce with tomato, pickle, mushrooms, and mustard
Snack - celery with guacamole

Today was another awesome weather day and we spent nearly the whole morning at the park.  I played catch with Carolyn for a bit.  She can catch!  It was so awesome to be able to play catch and have her actually catching the ball in her mitt consistently.  The kids also took turns hitting and they're both getting pretty good and hitting a live ball.  This Spring should be a lot of fun for both of them.  After lunch we had quiet time and James and I both feel asleep.  Since I was up late last night and we spent the morning outside, it was what I needed.  My ankle has been really hurting for most of the day and I have had to wear the aircast.  So I decided to skip soccer tonight in hopes it'll be fully healed by next week.  It's a weird pain at the front of my ankle and rec soccer isn't worth taking any chances.

Breakfast - 3 eggs friend in coconut oil, bacon, orange
Lunch - 3 hardboiled eggs, celery with guacamole, apple
Dinner - Mahi, new recipe (that Carolyn asked for seconds on) with brocolli

Nearly 2 weeks into this I have to be honest and say I'm a little disappointed.  I don't feel like I've lost any weight or inches.  I don't feel like I have any more energy.  I was hoping to notice some sort of difference at this point.  But I am committed to keep going in hopes that at some point something in my body will reset.  I'm thinking I'm not seeing any major changes yet since I do typically eat pretty healthy and gave up wheat years ago.  We'll see where this takes me!

Whole 30 Day 11

Still going strong and my ankle is healing.  I made it all the way until 6pm before putting the air cast back on.  My ankle just started throbbing so I put the brace on to get me through dinner and bed time with the kids.  I did get in a 2 mile walk with my neighbor and stood for almost all of James' 45 minute basketball class, so that makes sense.  I'm still debating whether or not I will play soccer on Sunday.

Speaking of James' basketball class, the teacher is driving me crazy.  I'm not the only one and we have started talking to the park district supervisor, so I am not just complaining here.  This coach is trying to use running as a punishment with kindergartners.  And it's not even because they are doing something wrong.  Today they started with passing - 10 minutes late because there was a problem with one of the baskets and the coach left for 10 minutes.  If a kid dropped the ball, the entire class had to run.  There was no instruction given on proper passing or catching technique.  Then they moved on to shooting.  There were 8 kids there today and they stood in line watching each other shoot.  The coach made a big deal about how they needed to make the shots, but again gave little instruction on how to shoot.  The only direction was where to stand - which shouldn't matter since in basketball the goal should be to shoot from everywhere on the court.  Then they did laps.  A few of these involved the kids dribbling, which was excellent.  I am not one to think that 5-6 year olds need conditioning though.  Running a lap with the ball over your head isn't appropriate at this age.  Just running laps isn't needed either.  They finished with everyone lined up on the baseline and 1 kid at a time was chosen to shoot.  If the shot was missed, the whole class had to run.  I signed James up so he could learn how to play basketball - how to dribble, how to pass, how to shoot - not how to stand in a line or how to feel bad when he misses a shot.  I have informed the park district we will be cancelling our enrollment for next session if a new instructor is not found.  James has never complained about any activity I have put him in, but he actively doesn't want to go to this class.

Breakfast - 4 eggs fried in coconut oil, orange
Lunch - Leftover roast, green beans, potatoes
Dinner - Zucchini "noodles", Meat sauce (Kids and Jon had corn based pasta)  James enjoyed using the slicer to make my noodles though

I am really looking forward to tomorrow.  I have minimal work to do and nowhere I have to be.  I finally will have time to work on some things around here, maybe I'll find places for the things the kids got for Christmas!

Whole 30 Days 9 and 10

I'm 1/3 of the way done with this challenge!  I continue to do well on it.  I don't notice any weight coming off though, which is a bit of a bummer.  The good news is that my ankle seems to be healing pretty quickly.  I was able to do all the grocery shopping today with no brace.  I decided to put the air cast back on for the rest of the day though as my knee was starting to bother me.  I must have unconsciously been walking differently but now that I'm using the brace my knee is fine.

It's been snowing here since about 10am, but there's barely a dusting on the grass.  I was hoping this was the big snow we've been waiting for.  With the temperatures forecasted in the 50s this weekend it looks like this snow may be void of any playing in the snow.  I suppose the Spring sports are likely excited about the early warm temperatures!

Day 9
Breakfast: Eggs fried in coconut oil with salsa, Blueberries
Lunch: Leftover chicken stir fry
Dinner: Beef roast, sweet potato "fries", green beans

Day 10
Breakfast: Eggs fried in coconut oil, orange
Snack: Banana (at 12 since I wouldn't get lunch until after 1)
Lunch: Leftover chicken stir fry
Dinner: Tacos - new recipe for the meat from The Frugal Paleo Cookbook which got 5 star reviews from both kids.  Kids had theirs in corn tortillas topped with tomato and cheese, I had mine in romaine lettuce topped with tomato.

Whole 30 Day 8

Another day completed.  I sprained my ankle at soccer last night, so I did not sleep well.  I have kept it wrapped in an ace bandage, under ice, or in my air cast all day.  I spent a chunk  of the morning trying to remember where I put the air cast.  Funny enough, I had put it somewhere I would need it most... in my soccer bag!  I could have put it on last night and probably walked a bit better.  I have wonderful teammates though that helped me to the front desk, where we got a rolling desk chair, and then a teammate drove my car home while someone else followed.  I am feeling significantly better today and will ice one more time before bed.

Despite the pain of my ankle today, it's been a decent day.  I managed to complete all of my work this morning before heading to the school.  So this afternoon I spoke with Doris (my late grandfather's girlfriend) for a while and then worked on Carolyn's scarf.  It was really nice to hear from Doris - so mentally aware for 98, she was working on her taxes!  The scarf is coming along nicely as well, 2 of the letters completed and then it will go more quickly.  I might finish before winter ends.  The kids had their activities this afternoon - acting for James and softball for Carolyn.  Carolyn is really enjoying the classes and the coach has suggested she try out for the fastpitch this fall.  We'll see how things continue to progress.  I did find out about some possible summer opportunities for her to play which actually sound like they fit into our schedule pretty well.

While Carolyn was in her class, I sat with James and read some books.  He picked up one and I asked him to try it.  I had to ask him if it's a book he's read before as he was reading it SO well.  He has progressed so much this school year with his reading it's amazing.  I was shocked to see the words he was able to read without even sounding them out.

I started the kids working a bit on mobymax again.  It's interesting as both seem to love the science portion of the site.  It talks them through some lessons and then has them answer questions.  They are both working through their math facts as well.  Carolyn finished the addition in 2 days and is over 30% of the way through subtraction.  This was kind of expected and she's excited to move on to multiplication soon.  James again has really surprised me is at 52% for the addition already.  I do give him 10 seconds compared to Carolyn's 6 seconds as it takes him longer to find the buttons to push.  Plus I'll probably reset his account at the start of next school year and move the time down then to be sure he knows them all.  I am really interested now in what his NU CTD test results are going to look like.  Both of these kids continue to amaze me on so many levels.

Breakfast - 3.5 eggs fried in coconut oil, green pepper, blueberries
Snack - tea with lemon
Lunch - Leftover chicken stir fry
Snack - cashews and brazil nuts
Dinner - Chicken "nachos" - I pulled my portion out and put the chicken over romaine lettuce then added the avocado, cilantro, and green onions - the rest of the family I put corn tortilla chips into a pan, topped with the chicken and then melted monterey jack cheese on top, topped by the avocado, cilantro, and green onions.  This has become a new family favorite and is quite easy to prepare.

I got a spiralizer in the mail today.  I can't wait to give it a try.  So much so that I think I might change up our meal plan for the weak and do pasta on Thursday, giving myself zuchinni noodles instead.  I am excited to use it for making stir fry as well.  I have a feeling the kids will enjoy use it too.

Whole 30 Day 7

I made it a whole week, woohoo!    I have almost officially finished 7 days.  Just have to make it through tonight without eating anything off plan.  Today I have really wanted something sweet and I'm not sure why.  I am starting to miss honey in my tea.  I don't really like the taste of tea without it.  I am going to look for some other options of flavors this week though.

Today was a laid back day for the most part.  Spent the morning cleaning up a bit and then the kids built with their tinker toys for a while.  I got a little further on Carolyn's scarf while they were planning, which was nice.  then we did the first of our Spring planting!  I started the onions.  I am going to try putting seedlings in egg shells this year.  We certainly have enough of them and it is supposed to make them super easy to transport, plus adds some good nutrients into the soil as they decompose.  I also filled the pot I got for Christmas with soil and we planted some herbs and spices.  We'll see if we can get anything to grow.

This afternoon we went to Kids Science Lab and the kids had a blast.  We finished up at Carolyn's basketball game and then came home for dinner.  Both the kids helped prepare dinner tonight by slicing peppers for the stir fry.  They love helping, so I need to find more ways for them to be able to help prepare meals.  It's never too early for them to learn the skills they'll need to feed themselves as they get older!

Now I'm trying to figure out the best way to have the energy to play soccer at 9:15 tonight.  I will more than likely play the entire 40 minutes since we only have 1 sub.  So hopefully I can make it.

Breakfast: 4 eggs fried in coconut oil with salsa, blueberries
Lunch: Romaine lettuce, tomato, tuna, grapes
Dinner: Chicken stir fry (kids had this with rice) - chicken, onion, garlic, water chestnuts, bean sprouts, green/yellow/red peppers, carrots, zucchini

Ready to tackle week 2!  I think I might spend time looking over my Frugal Paleo book for new recipes to use in the coming weeks.

Whole 30 Day 6

Another awesome day with beautiful weather!  It was unseasonably warm today and we took nearly full advantage.  At 9:15 this morning, we got out the door to head to the park.  Of course, first we had to put air in the bike tires and raise James' seat.  Then we spent the morning at the park, playing soccer, playing basketball, and the kids poked around in a puddle for a while.  A couple of our neighbors met us there which was nice too.  At 11 we hurried home to change clothes and pack up for the rest of the day.  It was hard to pull the kids away from just playing with their friends.  But Carolyn had soccer at 11:45 and 12:30, then service buddies at the library at 2:30.  In between we had a picnic at the park and the kids played a bit.  James stayed at the park until 3:15.  It was so wonderful to be outside in the fresh air.  I am hoping this leads to great sleep tonight.  We finished the day with Carolyn singing in the children's choir for the 5pm mass tonight so bedtime is a bit late.  Fingers crossed!

Food was a little challenging for lunch today, so I chose just go on the lighter side.

Breakfast - 4 eggs fried in coconut oil, orange
Snack - Banana
Lunch - cashews, brazil nuts, 2 clementines
Dinner - pork chop, carrots dipped in guacamole

Almost completed a full week!  Tomorrow is a laid back day so staying on track should be pretty easy.  The first week of something new is supposed to be the hardest, right?  I did realize today that when it comes to playing with the kids, I am incredibly out of shape.  Carolyn is pretty fast on the basketball court so I need to get back to regular exercise so I can keep up.  Hopefully this change in diet will reset my body and I can lose weight will regaining some strength as the year goes on.

Whole 30 Day 5

I made it another day!  Yes, I think I might just celebrate each day that I'm successful.  Rejoice in the small things, right?  Today was a bit harder and I found myself thinking I wanted something sweet.  I turned to grapes to take the edge and it worked for the most part.  I work up this morning with calf cramps.  I have been plagued by these since I stress fractured both shins playing college soccer (even 19 yos should not overtrain jumping on/off things).  I know that cramping can be due to dehydration and a lack of magnesium.  So today I had a bit more water and ate some cashews to try to help balance things out.  I do feel like my body is starting to try and flush some things out, so I should probably drink even more water than usual.  Perhaps a mug of tea before bed once I'm done with work.

This was really a great day though.  At MOPs we found our creative side and painted small canvases.  It was a lot of fun and I think I could get into it regularly if I had time.  I might start stocking up on some paints.  I was thinking that maybe I could buy a big roll of paper and the kids could decorate it and then we could use it as wrapping paper.  So much more fun than the store bought stuff, right?  And the kids could have an artistic outlet at the same time, and maybe even me.  The goal was to make a deeper connection with God.  I've being doing well with that lately so this was a really enjoyable meeting for me.  Can see the "ENJOY" and butterfly?  I love the bright colors and the subtleness of the word and butterfly make them feel lighter to me.  I've never really considered myself an artsy person, but I might be developing into more of one as I get older.

I dropped my car off for an oil change and walked home after the meeting.  First part of my workout for the day.  I had lunch, worked, and switched the laundry before going back to get my car.  The kids came home shortly thereafter and James snuggled in my lap for a long while before we headed to his soccer.  I also got in 2 sets with my 10lb kettlebell.  I think I might feel it a little tomorrow.  Carolyn tried to join in with the 5lb one, she is amazingly strong for a 7yo!  After soccer we came home for dinner and bedtime.  Carolyn just came out a few minutes and I want to record this interaction.

A little background... the interrim pastor is working with her class since they are making the First Communion this year.  He promised a full size candy bar to anyone in the class that could memorize the 10 commandments and write them down in order.  On the first try Carolyn got them all right but switched the order of 2.  So of course on the second try (the next day), she got them all right.  Today they had their next meeting with the pastor and she brought home her candy bar.  She got up from bed to tell me the candy is in her backpack - a big Reeses Peanut Butter cup.  She asked if she should take it out as she wanted to give it to me to share with Jon.  I was quite confused by this and in light of currently during the whole 30, quickly trying to figure out how to refuse the candy without making her upset.  I asked why she would give it to use when she received it for her own hard work.  Her response?  "You and dad helped me, so I was thinking I would give it to you."  I actually had tears in my eyes.  I told her the idea was very sweet of her but that she should get to keep it and if she wanted she can share it with James.  This kid has a heart of gold I tell you, just amazing.

Breakfast - 4 egg muffins, blueberries, cashews
Lunch - Leftover pepper steak
Snack - cashews
Dinner - leftover pork chop, pear

25 more days to go, I can do this.  Oh, and with a crazy twist of fate, I won a huge jar of coconut oil today at MOPs - it was handed out to anyone doing a Whole30.  Although I wonder if the person that handed it out has read this at all, haha.  Time to go fully relax before heading to bed!

Whole 30 Day 4

I made it through another day.  I felt like I had lot of free time today.  Things didn't start out so great as I discovered at breakfast that the special tea I bought was the wrong stuff and it smells and tastes like coffee.  If you know me, you know I strongly dislike both.  So I guess this will become Jon's tea from now.  He's been stealing my plain green tea at night for a while anyway.  I'll have to look for something different when I head to the store next week.  With the weather warming up I don't really need it at the moment anyway.  I fit in all of my work before heading to the school.

At the school I was caught off guard by 2 things.  First, I usually help with math but today was handed a reading packet.  Um, okay, but that's definitely not my specialty.  We made it through.  While I was working with the kids the principal came in and acknowledged he had forgot to update me on the math things for Carolyn.  He assured me they were working on it and asked if I could stop by on my way out.  Last week was a 4 day week ending with an institute day and this week is a 4 day week.  I totally get how things get lost.  He was genuinely apologetic.  So when I was done tutoring, I stopped by.  Turns out, testing for Carolyn and another child in her class started just after we discussed doing so.  So as not to overwhelm, it has been broken into chunks and she wasn't even aware that she was being tested.  This is good and bad.  Carolyn tends to not even try when presented with a challenge.  She was told to leave things blank if she couldn't figure it out.  To my child that means "if you aren't sure of your answer, don't give one."  We'll see how the results turn out once they're done and determine what to do in the next couple months and then next year.  I love how wonderfully flexible the school is being.  And I think it's awesome that another child is benefiting from my relentless question asking.  We also talked about James a bit.  I relayed the experience of our conference last week, that did not go as well as I had hoped.  He agreed to speak with the teacher to see what we can do.  It will be interesting to see what happens here.  I mentioned that was a little surprised that James scored so well on his NU CTD tests, as he is just harder to get a good grasp on than Carolyn was at this age.  There's a little more immaturity from him and there's also a whole lot of boy that she's obviously missing.  I was surprised with the praise for James that the principal offered, saying that he wasn't surprised that he scored well.  This principal is very involved in the school and supervises recess multiple times a week.  If you know my kids, you know they are often drawn to adults and like to share a lot (earlier this week Carolyn shared about me being sick and the teacher signed her out for me - a little crazy.)  He commented that James is able to carry a conversation and discuss things much more in-depth than a kid his age.  I'm interested to see what the scores come back as.  And now I wonder what it would be like to be around a typically developing child on a regular basis.  Although, is any child really considered typical?  I think the water is really muddied here.  I am just so glad we found a place where the school wants to work with us to ensure that each child is challenged.  That's all I've really ever wanted - stretch their brains.

This afternoon I had a chance to go for a walk twice around our neighborhood and finished up James' scarf.  The kids each had their activities and then James and I came home.  After reading for a bit, he got ready for bed and we read another story.  He's really into this old Sesame Street Bedtime Stories book that is from my childhood.  All my favorite characters and wonderfully silly stores.  Big bird is not an ugly mud monster!  We finished before Jon and Carolyn arrived home so he asked to snuggle.  Snuggling turned into him clapping my hands and them a silly game.  I love listening to him laugh and I think I could do it all day.  I know moments like these will get fewer over the years and I really took a minute to cherish the time with him.  I'm looking forward to Carolyn being done with gymnastics so we can have more relaxed nights with her as well.

Breakfast - Egg "muffins" (bacon, green pepper, mushroom, egg), blueberries, banana, tea
Lunch - leftover mahi, carrots with guacamole
Dinner - Pulled pork, cauliflower

The cupcakes are almost gone and tomorrow I'll give the kids some more of my Valentines candy in their lunches.  I am looking forward to the warm weather we're supposed to have tomorrow and Saturday!

Whole 30 Day 3

Another pretty easy day.  I found myself feeling stuffed the majority of the day.  This is probably due to eating nothing on Monday.  I am making it a priority this year to enjoy my kids and take time to get them outside.  Since it was sunny, we went to the park this afternoon.  I spent time swinging on the swings with them.  I pretended to play on one of the zip line type things but I'm nowhere near strong enough.  I am tall enough to touch the ground though and the laughter from both the kids was wonderful.  I can't wait until the weather gets a bit warmer so we can go without being all bundled up.  I'm looking forward to spending large portions of the day at the park this summer playing on the structures as well as in the open fields with soccer, softball, and baseball things.

Breakfast: 3.5 eggs fried in coconut oil, orange, mushroom, a few raspberries (finished the kids' meals after they went to school)
Lunch (Late, after 1pm): Leftover mahi, broccoli
Dinner: Pepper steak (kids had this over rice)

As I was making dinner I discovered the can tomatoes had sugar in them.  What is with that?  Oh well, I'm doing the best I can here, right?  On the right rack at least!

Whole 30 day 2

Another pretty easy day as far as eating.  I seem to be fully recovered and can eat what I want again.  The cupcakes on the counter are calling my name a bit but the kids will eat them up soon enough.

Breakfast - 3 eggs fried in coconut oil, orange and 1/4 of an apple my daughter left on her plate
Mid-morning - Tea to warm up
Lunch - 1/2 lemon chicken breast, 3 large carrots dipped in guacamole
Dinner - Mahi where I left off the mayo we usually used so had lemon, onion, garlic, salt and pepper with steamed broccoli.  Kids had some rice with it.

I am feeling quite full today and after working for over 7 hours quite exhausted. The good news is that I am caught up with work, so tomorrow I can return to my regular schedule.

Awesome Kids, Whole 30 Day 1

It's been a LONG time since I wrote here.  A lot of life has happened and we've been very busy.  We have had a rough start to this year as far as health is concerned in our home.  We started off with Carolyn having pneumonia.  Once she started antibiotics, it was a pretty quick recovery.  But when we took her in her oxygen level was down to 84, which was quite scary.  A week after she recovered, I developed bronchitis.  That took a while to go away.  This past weekend James was up most of Friday night sick and spent all of Saturday in bed with stomach pains and a fever.  I then woke up Sunday night with the same thing and spent yesterday in bed.  Thankfully I am feeling much better today and have even been able to eat.

I have to spend some time talking about how amazing my kids are.  Jon left for a track meet yesterday at 5:30, so when the kids got up at 7:30 and 8 for a day off, they were disappointed to hear I was sick.  Luckily, we had planned to spend the day at home.  For breakfast they pulled the leftover oatmeal from the fridge and microwaved it themselves.  They then played nicely together all morning.  When Carolyn decided at 10 that she needed some space from James, she went to read in her bedroom and he did some building.  It was absolutely amazing.  At 11:30 they made themselves some lunch by taking out the leftover pizza from Sunday.  At 12:30 they both went into their rooms for quiet time and I took a nap.  While I am fully aware that James did not nap as I asked him to, they were both quiet until 2pm.  Then my MIL came over and kept them entertained.  I can firmly say that because my kids did such an awesome job of letting me rest yesterday I am feeling much better today.

I had decided a while ago to start the whole 30 the day after Valentine's day.  Being sick again within a month only served to magnify that my body needs some sort of a reset.  Day 1 was pretty easy since I couldn't really eat.  So here is what I had:
Orange
Banana
Leftover Chicken Soup - this didn't work out for my stomach
Pear
Tea - no honey
Jello - homemade, but slightly cheating since it was made with juice.  I needed something though and I was fairly certain this would stay down.