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.
By eating healthy foods, including eliminating wheat and most grains, enjoying time outside without gadgets, and teaching our children about the world, we hope to raise our children to enjoy life and be free of physical maladies. Follow us on our journey towards general health and a sense of well being.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Saturday, February 20, 2016
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.
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.
Friday, February 19, 2016
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!
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.
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!
Thursday, February 18, 2016
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!
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!
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
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!
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!
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
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.
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.
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.
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