Whole 30 Complete!

I did it, I completed all 30 days.  I might try to find batteries for the scale in the morning to see if I've lost any weight.  But I must admit I don't feel like much changed this past month.  It's hard to tell with the recent time change and cloudy weather.  I have more interest in exercising, but that's because at least the weather has been warmer.  So I don't know how I feel about this whole experience.  I am looking forward to making some fun things for St Patrick's Day and having something different for breakfast the next few days.  We'll see how I feel going back to some of the things I was eating before.

Breakfast - Eggs with salsa, spinach, clementines
Lunch - Leftover chicken soup
Dinner - English roast, cauliflower

Whole 30 Days 27-29

I've made it 4 weeks and 1 day!  Officially in the home stretch, with 1 day remaining.  I am starting to think that I might be losing weight, just little bits all over instead of all off my stomach like I would prefer.  Saturday was a busy day.  After making omelets for all of us in the morning, I supervised the kids cleaning their rooms.  This proved to be incredibly challenging for James.  When they finally finished we headed over to the library to return a couple books and grab others I had an hold.  I talked to one of the librarians for a bit and she told me she had recommended me to reorganize the library at the school.  She couldn't remember my name or my kids' names at the time though, so I'm "safe" unless I want to out myself to the assistant principal.  From there we headed over to Carolyn's soccer, which ended up being fairly disappointing.  Then I took the kids to Jon's track meet and we watched the final race.  We can home for a late lunch, which proved to be too late for James.  He fought us through the entire nap time.  I laid down for a bit and ended up falling asleep, so Jon took the kids to church.  We all had dinner together and then put the kids to bed.  Jon and I watched Augie lose in the elite eight.

Yesterday was a pretty low key day.  The kids played around the house, dancing to the Beatles (thank you kindergarten teacher), a little reading, and some random art projects.  We had a family nap time and I fell asleep for a bit.  I haven't been sleeping the greatest at night, so I've been really tired.  The time change certainly isn't helping with this.  Carolyn had her second to last basketball game, we had dinner, and then put the kids to bed.  I played soccer last night and got in a good workout playing center mid.  I discovered I can score a goal on the kick-off.  I guess my ankle must be pretty well healed.  I hate playing at 9:15 though, I didn't fall asleep until close to midnight.

I've been exhausted all day today.  I had to wake both kids up.  I struggled through 4-5 hours of work, volunteered at the school, and then went for a run to try to wake myself up.  The cloudy day didn't help wake me up any either.  Hopefully we can get some sun soon, as I know that will help greatly.  The run helped to wake me up mentally, but of course now my body is tired.  James had his last day of acting class today.  I got to in and watch a bit.  It was fun, but I think he might be ready for something more.  Depending on schedules next year we might look into them doing some sort of play.  Although they kind of already do that at school, so maybe not.  I got back and forth on kids' activities.  There is a part of me that wants to just cancel everything and play more.  I might not feel that way with giving up gymnastics though.  No practice/game will now be longer than 1.5 hours.  So the days we have practices won't be as long and we should have some time to play before heading out.  We'll see how this Spring ends up playing out.

Saturday
Breakfast - Omelets - spinach, pepper; Fruit
Lunch - Leftover casserole
Dinner - Leftover casserole

Sunday
Breakfast - Fried eggs, clementines, spinach
Lunch - Beef jerky, fruit (ran out of leftovers)
Dinner - Over roasted pork chops (new recipe), sweet potatoes cooked in ghee, broccoli

Today
Breakfast - Fried eggs, spinach, fruit
Lunch - Beef jerky, pear (not real hungry)
Dinner - Chicken soup - broth, chicken breast (I should probably do thighs next time for a higher fat content), carrots, celery, zucchini, red/green peppers, onion, herbs/spices.  This ended up turning out really well.

And now, I think I'm going to go take a bath and relax before heading to bed a bit early.  It feels much later than it is.

Whole 30 Day 26

I am fully in the home stretch now.  No more meals to plan even, as I will be done by the next grocery shopping day.  At that point I'll probably need to make some of the family favorites that were eliminated during this time.  Today was a pretty good day.  I got in some work this morning, started a batch of beef jerky, through in the laundry, and went to MOPs.  It was a fun meeting getting to listen how other moms are meeting this year's theme - celebrate lavishly, enjoy rest, and notice goodness.  I think I've been doing a pretty good job with these lately as well.  I have particularly made it a point to notice goodness in the last couple months.  I find myself pointing out flowers when I'm on walks with my kids.  And I am trying to just enjoy being with them.

This afternoon I had a quick lunch and then went for a walk.  After my first lap I ran into a neighbor.  She was taking her dog for a walk, so I went with her and we talked for a bit.  It was pretty nice to talk to someone I haven't seen in a bit due to the construction this fall and then the cold winter.  That's one of the nice things about Spring, it's brings everyone back outside again to see each other.  We're having a neighborhood Easter egg hunt next week which should be fun as well.  When the kids came home we played in the back yard for a bit.  I restrung the rebounder and they kicked/threw balls at it.  I sense it will get a lot of use this Spring/summer/fall, so long as we are sure to have some time at home.  We finished up the night at James' soccer, where he always has fun.  Next week is his last class though as we prepare to play AYSO and be outside again.

Breakfast - Eggs, spinach, orange
Lunch - Leftover casserole, banana
Dinner - Leftover chili, beer jerky, tea

Time to embrace some rest and go to bed.  Hoping the rain stays away tomorrow so we can enjoy some time playing.

Whole 30 Days 23-25

I am hanging tough.  This has been one busy week!  Tuesday night was Carolyn's first reconciliation.  It was an awesome service and the kids did so well.  My favorite part was the song they all sang together twice.  I could listen to little kids sings all day long I think.  The asst principal commented on Carolyn's leadership during the service as well, saying she was the first to start singing and the first to step into the aisle when they all needed to go up together.  It is so awesome to see the adults at her school recognizing her talents and abilities.  Both kids have crashed quickly the past 2 nights to make up for being up late on Tuesday.  Tuesday afternoon the weather was beautiful so I got to play ball with James in the yard while dinner cooked.  It's interesting to hear the things that wander through his head while playing catch.  He even started to learn some multiplication since he was asking about it.

Yesterday I went for another run and my ankle felt pretty good.  I skipped the brace since jogging is just a straight movement and I found my ankle felt better as I went.  I completed nearly 2 laps, jogging for 1 minute, walking for 1 minute for 10 minutes and then jogging for 1:15, walking for 0:45 for the next 10 minutes.  I felt pretty good afterwards, although I did ice when I got home.  Last night I had a MOPs steering meeting and beforehand I was lamenting how I was on day 24 and didn't feel like I saw any change in my body.  A couple people then said that they could see a change in my face.  So perhaps if I bother to put batteries in the scale when I reach day 30 I will notice a change in weight.  It was wonderful on Wednesday so I sent the kids outside to play ball while I finished dinner.  Before that they both helped chop vegetables for dinner.  It's so wonderful to see them helping more around the house.

Today was another good day.  I worked most of the morning, took a nice bath with the epsom salts, worked some more, and then went for a 2 lap walk.  It's nice to listen to KLOVE radio while I walk, streaming through my phone.  Tonight I played soccer and while my ankle is definitely sore now, I was able to play pretty much uninhibited.  I definitely need to keep running to get back in shape, but I think I'm pretty well beyond the injury stage, YAY!  I am definitely ready for a weekend with not much to do though.

Tuesday
Breakfast - Eggs fried in coconut oil, zucchini, fruit
Lunch - Leftover stir fry
Dinner - Lemon chicken, sweet potato "fries", cauliflower

Wednesday
Breakfast - Eggs, fruit
Lunch - Leftover chili
Dinner - Tex Mex Casserole (new recipe that was okay, but not a huge favorite, likely not worth the effort again)

Thursday
Breakfast - Eggs, fruit
Lunch - Leftover casserole
Snack - Banana, cashews
Dinner - Chicken spaghetti w/ zucchini noodles for me

Looking forward to a low key day.  Since I played soccer tonight I'm thinking I will not run tomorrow and instead walk and do some kettle bells.  I did some on Wednesday and got tired pretty fast.  Now time to crash and let my muscles recover.

Whole 30 Days 21 and 22

I'm into the final stretch!  Over 2/3 of the way done and 3 weeks complete.  8 days remaining at this point.  I continue to be pretty disappointed by any effects to my body.  I'm waiting for the amazing effects everyone always talks about.  So I played soccer last night.  Now the funny part is that I didn't realize the ankle brace I had ordered was delivered yesterday afternoon.  I thought the box was just the epsom salts, but discovered today when I went to delete the email about it being shipped that more than 1 item was in the box.  So I could have worn the brace last night, and probably played much better.  I quit about 5 minutes into the second half.  My ankle was just too stiff to make much of an impact.  Although I did score a goal, so I guess that was good.

Today I tried to push my ankle a bit more and went for a run.  This resulted in some definite soreness throughout the rest of the day.  I kept it wrapped with an ace bandage, which mitigated a majority of the pain.  I think taking a bath with the epsom salts right after running helped with any swelling that might have come.  My ankle is definitely still quite loose and I feel a lot of clicking and popping as I moved around.  Hopefully as I get back to exercising this will minimize and I'll have my regular ankle back - this is just too loose.

The number one disappoint through all of this has been my lack of energy.  Tonight I am fighting to keep my eyes open as I type this - and it's 8:30!  So while I could continue to write a bit more about how our days were, I am going to go clean up the kitchen and then head to bed.

Day 21
Breakfast - Eggs fried in coconut oil, orange
Lunch - leftover chicken soup
Dinner - Shrimp stir fry (cooked in ghee with zucchini, broccoli, carrots, onion, garlic, and 3 different peppers

Day 22
Breakfast - Eggs friend in coconut oil, zucchini, orange
Lunch - Leftover stir fry
Dinner - Chili (ground beef, zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, onion, garlic, chili powder, ground turmeric)

Looking forward to letting my head hit the pillow!

Whole 30 Day 20

I am so close to completing 3 weeks.  And yet, I honestly still don't see any changes to my body.  My ankle has been feeling significantly better today, which is awesome.  It likely helps that I wore gym shoes instead of my winter crocs for the majority of the day.  I did a lot of walking, too.  At rest time my hamstring was really bothering me.  But as the day has progressed it hasn't been as bad.  Fingers crossed, I'm thinking I might even be able to play tomorrow.

We started off today making toy wagons at Home Depot.  If you have a store near you, check it out to see if they have the free kids workshops.  The kids get to learn to use a hammer and then decorate what they made.  We had not gone for about a year and both kids were excited to see that they could nearly do the entire project themselves (I just lined things up and they did the hammering.)

      

I had my first dress shopping experience with Carolyn today.  I was amazed that even though 7yo girls don't really have "body types," some of the dresses just looked silly on her.  She liked a couple of the dresses, but then put on the one she chose and her whole face lit up and she declared "I love this one."  We got to the check out to discover a stain on the front of the dress, but luckily there was another one that was just fine.  Taking her shopping made me think back to all the times I went shopping with my mom for special dresses.  I know it will get harder from here, but this was a lot of fun.  I have a very excited little girl now.  She even announced the purchase to the priest tonight while jumping up and down.  We will work on the veil for her over the next couple months.

After a busy day today, I am looking forward to relaxing tomorrow.  All we have is a basketball game for Carolyn.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the kids play with each other.

Breakfast - Eggs fried in coconut oil with salsa, beef jerky, strawberries, blueberries
Lunch - Banana, cashews, grapes
Dinner - Leftover chicken soup

Whole 30 Day 19

And another day is in the books.  Today was filled with a lot of work, MOPs Bible study, and some time with the kids.  I was very thrown off this morning when the bus appeared.  Today there was not supposed to be bus service, so we were having a more leisurely breakfast and I was slower at getting lunches together.  James was still in his PJs when the bus pulled up.  I've never seen him get dressed so quickly!  But I git in work, threw in the laundry, and then headed to bible study.  I ended up not really eating lunch today as I was being lazy and not all that hungry.  The good news is that my ankle seems to be doing much better today.  I think part of my problem is likely some electrolyte/mineral imbalances.  So I added a banana in today, at more cashews, and ordered the epsom salts that I've used previously.  My left calf has been cramping a fair amount overnight, so I need to work on getting that to relax.  I've been massaging my right calf throughout the day and it feels really tight too.  I should probably try to remember to add more salt to food too, since I know when I eat healthy the only way I get salt is by adding it myself.

I am ready for the weekend.  Not too much going on, which will be nice.  Carolyn has 1 soccer game and 1 basketball game.  We also might go make toy wagons at Home Depot.  But we'll see how everyone is doing in the morning and what the weather looks like.

Breakfast - Omelet with green pepper, strawberry, blueberry
Lunch - Banana, beef jerky, grapes
Dinner - Zucchini noodles and leftover meatball stew

Getting close to the final week, only 11 days left!

Whole 30 Day 18

Another successful day!  I finished the majority of my work in the morning so after helping the 3rd graders I headed to the library.  I got the kids a new load of books and myself some too.  I stopped at the bank to order a new debit card since my replacement never arrived back in October.  And then I made it to Athletico.  The trainer did a bunch of different things to my ankle.  She used a vibrating tuning fork to check for a fracture.  That was interesting, but I think I get how it would work.  Part of what's strange about this injury is only one motion really hurts.  I can turn my ankle in and out, I can pull my toes up.  But I can not push with much force.  We even pinpointed that pushing with my big toe causes the most pain.  I've had a lot of sprained ankles in my life, but never pain in this manner.  She did say it makes sense that the air cast doesn't help much since the pain is forward/backward sensitive.  The ultimate decision is that this is muscle based.  So the solution was some kinesthiology tape for a little support, using the ace bandage as needed, and starting strengthening exercises.  I will start those tomorrow as tonight I'm in a bit of pain.  I think my gait has changed and as such muscles in my entire right leg are aching.  Carrying all of the library books probably didn't help either.  It's looking like I probably won't be able to play soccer this weekend either.  Hopefully I'll start to see improvement now since I have an idea of what I'm dealing with.

I received the results for James' Northwestern testing today.  With everything else going on I had forgotten I was expecting them!  When the email came in I was surprised.  And then I opened the attachment and I was even more surprised.  James scored in the 99.8 percentile for both math and reading on the KTEA!  No wonder he reports being a bit bored during math and reading lessons at school.  I kind of already knew this, but it's nice to have it verified.  He has been so excited this week to work on math homework that is challenging for him.  He finished a page of 3-digit addition and subtraction (no regrouping/borrowing) in about 15 minutes.  The smile he had on his face afterwards was awesome.  And he was so determined to get it done.  His KBIT score is pretty awesome too.  It's going to be fun to see where these 2 kids end up, knowing they both have a very good start.

I am officially ready for the weekend!

Breakfast - Eggs fried in coconut oil, beef jerky, strawberry, blueberry
Lunch - Leftover offal meatloaf, sweet potato fries, brocolli
Snack - grapes
Dinner - Chicken Tortilla-less soup

Whole 30 Day 17

I have had another successful day.  It is very tempting to grab a little bit of sugar from the kids' Valentines stash at this point.  When I needed something of a different taste I grabbed a prune today.  I have to say that the longer I go in this the more disappointed I'm becoming.  I don't feel a change in energy and my clothes aren't fitting any looser.  With 13 days left I am wondering if there are any changes that are even happening.  But I will stick with is in case something is just not visible yet.  It doesn't help that my ankle is still not better and it has turned super cold again.  I made an appointment for an injury screening at Athletico tomorrow to see if things are worse than I originally thought.  I continue to have pain at the front of my ankle and could barely walk last night.  Today I have used a combination of the ace bandage and air cast to get me through the day.  If I walk with my ankle nearly locked I don't experience pain.  But this is very difficult to do for any amount of time and the muscles quickly tire.  So we will see what a professional has to say.

Not much exciting went on today.  I didn't have a ton of work, so I nearly finished it before going grocery shopping.  I finished up this afternoon as I was given a new mentor on my team.  I found some time to make sweet potato chips.  They didn't some out as crispy as I had hoped.  So I think I will try baking them in the oven next (I had used the dehydrator.)  I am considering trying to make some dried fruits, maybe some bananas or something.  These could be really good to pack for our plane trip this summer and/or even for the kids to take in their lunches for school.

Breakfast: Eggs fried in coconut oil, beef jerky, orange
Lunch: Leftover offal meatloaf, cauliflower, sweet potato fries
Dinner: Meatball stew new recipe from Frugal Paleo Cookbook over zucchini noodles (kids had corn based pasta).  This meal took a lot longer to prepare than I thought it would, but everyone loved it and both kids have declared they want it for lunch tomorrow.  So this will go into our rotation for days I have more time to prepare a meal.

Time to go put together a library list so Carolyn can have some new things to read!

Whole 30 Day 16

I've made it through another day.  The weather was pretty crazy today and we now have a dusting of snow on the ground.  But not quite enough to actually play in still!  Today ended up being pretty busy.  This morning I payed the bills, got in some work, and started laundry.  Then I headed over to the school.  I had another wonderful meeting, this time with the principal and Carolyn's teacher.  First the principal wanted to check in how things were going for James.  This was great for him to even ask, since the meeting was about Carolyn.  I let him know things seem to be improving.  Once Carolyn's teacher joined us we went over the plan for the rest of the year.  With each unit, Carolyn will complete the pretest and if she already knows the material she will go the third grade classroom for math that day.  This will allow her to stretch what she knows and do more problem solving activities.  The school is to planning to get new math materials this summer, which does put the whole system in a bit of an awkward spot.  But the plan seems to be to have some pretests ready for Carolyn to take late summer to determine what the best system will be for her at that time.  Carolyn is very excited about this opportunity, so we will see how it works.

I came home after helping in third grade, had lunch and worked the rest of the afternoon.  After dropping Carolyn off at gymnastics, James and I had a nice afternoon together.  We read some books and tried some of his new math packet that came home today.  He finished over 4 pages, one of which was double digit addition and subtraction (no regrouping)!  He really amazes me sometimes.  We did a little of mobymax tonight as well and he does a nice job using their strategies to see the different ways to learn the basic facts.  It will be interesting to see where he is at by the end of this school year.

My ankle was doing fine for most of today, but suddenly started really hurting about 30 minutes ago.  It's so strange as it's still the front of my ankle that hurts.  I'm starting to worry that this is going to be an injury that takes a long time to heal and flares up at random.  Hopefully tonight is just a fluke and with some rest tonight I will be better tomorrow.

Breakfast - eggs fried in coconut oil, beef jerky, orange
Lunch - hard boiled eggs, clementines
Snack - beef jerky
Dinner - New meatloaf recipe from the Frugal Paleo Cookbook (will not make again), baked sweet potato fries, cauliflower

The recipe I tried tonight had liver in it.  I was hoping to be able to hide the taste with the ground beef and bacon, but even I didn't like it.  I will eat the rest of it for lunch this week, but this will not be a new recipe in our rotation.  Liver is supposed to be a super food, but it's not something that seems will fit into our family tastes.  You live and you learn!