Day 25 = The End

Yesterday was day 25, and I had sweet potatoes for breakfast, some guac-mash for lunch, and some pecans and two tangerines for supper.

With that said, day 25 is the last whole30 day for me. I decided after talking with Jason that the last 4-5 days are not going to make much of a difference in the long run. The truth is, I have seen no major or minor changes in the way I feel since starting paleo. The expectations of lesser body/joint pain, better sleep, and more energy were sadly disappointed for me.

Don't misunderstand, I KNOW that doing a whole30 has changed people's lives! It just didn't change mine...at all. Granted, being aware of the things that are put into our food has definitely been a wake-up call - there are so many added things that simply don't need to be in there. And it is good to know that my original instincts were correct, and that I have a hard time digesting tons of produce. I thought I might have a gluten allergy, but we will see how things go as I slowly add things back into my diet.

Overall I am still glad that I took on this challenge, if for no other reason it was good for my self-discipline. I also had a wonderful time bonding with my paleo pal, Michelle - this has been fun to do with her!

The only real result from the whole30 (or whole25 in my case) was a loss of 10 pounds. I'm not sure how much of that was water weight from simply changing my diet drastically, but time will tell. My plan is to continue my weight loss through weight watchers, which focuses on teaching about balance in your daily food intake. I have done it before and had success until I got pregnant again and had to stop. I am looking forward to finishing this goal and maintaining a healthy weight for life.

Thanks so much to all who have been such an encouragement and help during my paleo challenge! I appreciate all of your kind words and helpful tips/gifts. Keep reading the blog, paleo was just one side to Caranci Chronicles - now there will just be more room for pictures of the kids! :D

Day 24

Quick recap on my recent food: dinner on Monday (day 23) ended up being some guac-mash, made with some sauteed chicken, peppers, and onions. Yesterday (day 24) was a banana and pecans for breakfast and lunch was some turkey meatballs and boiled eggs (not sure why, but this is the first time I boiled eggs while on whole30; surprising because I really like them).

When it came time for dinner, Jason and I decided to have sirloin salads - lettuce, onions, tomatoes, carrots, olives, and grilled sirloin with dressing (balsamic mustard for me, italian for him). It was good!

In other news, the kids went to the doctor and we found out Eden has double ear infections, Harry has one ear infection with a blister inside his ear, and on top of that we still have the RSV (respiratory virus) that will take about 2 more weeks to get over. So both kids are on antibiotics and surely we are on the road to recovery now! Thank you to all those who have been praying for us, we sincerely appreciate it!

Today we are all home, trying to recover and maybe get a few things done. We will see how we feel and what all gets accomplished, but at this point I would be glad just to have some clean laundry. :)

Day 22 - Day 23

Yesterday was...rough. The kids are NOT well, and it has been very stressful. Jason went to church and I stayed home with the kids. Honestly, I cannot remember what I had for breakfast (maybe eggs?), didn't eat lunch (a nap was more important), snacked on some nuts before handbell practice, and had salsa pork chops and leftover sweet potatoes for dinner. I snacked on some grapes through the day too. Basically, we were just trying to survive the day. The kids do love having Jason home though and enjoyed some time playing with him.

We have also been painting in our bedroom over the weekend, so we had to move the twin mattress that stays under our bed into Eden's room temporarily. The kids have enjoyed having it in there, and Eden used it as a new trampoline of sorts. Even Morgan was happy to hang out on it for a while with Harry and catch some TV.

(seriously, how cute is Harry in his little shirt and khakis? That is courtesy of Uncle Pete and Aunt Caty...it is 12 month size! For those of you who know, that means Harry and Eden are now wearing the same size. :)

Today I had eggs for breakfast with some turkey meatballs, nothing for lunch but snacked on some grapes and apple slices, and I'm not sure what we will have for dinner, but probably steaks.

23 days down, 7 to go!

Day 21 and Family Time

Nothing super exciting to report on the paleo side of things, but we had a good dinner last night of steak, green beans, and sweet potatoes. Today I had a salad for breakfast, leftover meatloaf and green beans for lunch, and dinner is probably going to be eggs and turkey meatballs.

In other and more exciting news, we had a great family day today. We were super busy with painting and little projects through the house, but the kids had some fun too. Here is Eden with her baby - I asked her what she was doing and she said taking a walk and singing to her baby. :)

Harry was in his bouncy a lot of the day because he LOVES it - here he is with his head leaning against the front...it's almost naptime. :)

Even the pups found some down time.

Although Harry seems to be better with his cough, Eden is doing a little worse. We are continuing treatments with the nebulizer and I'm hoping that all this sickness will leave our house soon! Thankfully Jason hasn't had much trouble with it and mine was minimal. Harry is on the mend too, so we should be closing in on it.

All in all, a nice day at home with everyone. Got a lot of stuff done in the house too, but nothing enough to post. Maybe on Monday... :D

Day 20

So...I'm not sure what happened to day 18, but I just realized it is not in the archives. Hhmm. I think it is because we have been so sick that I haven't really been eating much and forgot to blog about that day altogether! Sorry about that...best as my memory serves, I probably had eggs for breakfast and no lunch. I'm pretty sure I had sweet potato chips and garlic salsa from TJ's for dinner (because I wasn't hungry when dinner time rolled around and just wanted a little snack before bed). It was my first time tasting the salsa, and it was great! A little spicy, but Jason says I am a spice weenie anyway (in other words, I can't handle it). But still good! Probably will pick some more up on my trip next month.

Speaking of which...I'm super excited about going to Charlotte with my Mom in February to celebrate my 30th birthday! We will be going for 3 days, staying in a nice hotel, shopping, and eating at great places along the way. I can't wait! We are planning to hit IKEA, Trader Joe's, Concord Mills, and a few other spots too. I'm not just looking forward to the fun stuff, but also spending some time with my Mom. :)

Today, I had (SURPRISE!) eggs for breakfast with a banana. I don't know about lunch, but I'm planning on steaks again for dinner with green beans and maybe some more sweet potatoes (I have totally been on a sweet potato kick recently).

I think (hope) that we are maybe starting to feel better now - I definitely have more energy today and Harry was laughing up a storm last night and this morning so I think he is feeling better too. Eden seems a little low-energy, plus she coughed almost all night...but I hope that means it is just working through the next phase and she will be better soon too. We were able to find some ribbon and put up her curtains yesterday too - here she is modeling her new window clothes:

Looking forward to a nice Saturday tomorrow, with Jason home ALL day! No working for him, praise the Lord. Should make for time to check off some of those endless "things to do" in the house. :D

Day 19

Today has not been a good day. Not because of paleo, but just in general has been a really crummy day. Harry had his 9 month check up, so while he was there we had the doctor look at all of the cold-like symptoms he has been having (as well as Eden and me). Turns out we all have a respiratory virus called RSV. Nothing serious, but in kids it can be a little more stressful than adults. We just have flu-like symptoms (oh-so-fun) but the kids have a horrible sounding, deep cough, with wheezing. They gave us a little machine to do breathing treatments with the kids, so I'm hoping that all will be cleared up soon.

His regular appointment went well too, he weighed in at a whopping (almost) 17 pounds (in the 4th percentile) and his length/height was in the 60th percentile. So basically he is long and skinny. :)

Since I am suffering at home, not feeling great, all I have eaten today is eggs for breakfast and a handful of grapes at lunchtime. I am undecided for dinner...maybe nothing. Just not that hungry, probably because we have all been so sick. I think I will probably just go to bed.

To leave you on a happy note, we had a visit from Miss Hollywood. She is just so stylish! :D

I was tagged!

So I am somewhat new to the blogging world, but I have heard of these tag things where someone tags you in a post on their blog, and you re-tag them back. My sister-in-law, Sarah, of http://gijoeswife.blogspot.com/, tagged me in a little fact post. So here it is: (warning, it's a long one!)

The Rules

1. You must post the rules. (and link up who tagged you)
2. Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.
4. Tag however many people you want
5. Let them know you've tagged them!

The Facts:

1. I would still rather be with Jason than anyone else I know. He is my best friend and I have more fun with him than I could with anyone else. He is the best part of me.

2. Our kids are hilarious. They make me laugh all the time! And what is interesting, is that they are not just funny, but they have the same kind of sense of humor that Jason and I do. So we all think that we are all hilarious. :)

3. I LOVE pinterest, home and garden TV, and all sorts of crafty things. But I am totally one of those people who will pin a ton of stuff I want to do, and never do one of them.

4. I would rather be home than anywhere else. I used to be a “social butterfly” in high school and college, but now that I am married with kids I love being home. I love my friends and always have a good time when I go out with them, but it is always a chore to get ready and actually leave the one place I would rather stay. My favorite thing to do is to get some snacks and head down to the “man cave” in the basement and watch a movie with my Shmoopy. Playing outside with the kids is a very close 2^nd. :)

5. I love flip flops. I wear them about 10 months out of the year, as much as I can get away with it. What can I say, my feet get hot and they like to be free!

6. I have a french fry philosophy. Yes, there is a definite system to picking out the best fries in the bunch. I have been known not to eat certain ones because of specific features. For example, the best ones at McDonalds are the ones that are short and square in shape, with a little bit of crisp to them. Best ones of all time are crinkle fries. :)

7. I am a little OCD. I have learned how to let a lot of things go in the last few years, but I still like for everything to be in order. My mom said as a child I used to cry when I couldn't get my shoelaces to measure exactly the same when tying my shoes, so I guess that is a good indication that I really like things to be matched and symmetrical. Having kids changes that to a point, but if I had my way and could manage it, my house would be straightened all the time!

8. My favorite smells are associated with home – my mom always used mulberry scent in our house growing up, and it is still one of my favorites. Cinnamon and apple are next on the list, and I love any kind of “homey” smell – pumpkin, spice, cloves, etc.

9. I love road trips. I haven't taken many since being married, mainly because Jason does not like them, but I love to pack everything and everyone up for a nice long ride. I love listening to the radio, talking with no interruptions, snacking on packed goodies, stopping at gas stations for a special drink, and eating at Cracker Barrel. Chalk it up to all the trips we took as a family when I was growing up. I loved them.

10. I love getting the mail. It is like a daily present!

11. I am a bit of a reality TV show fan...not all of them, but my favorites are the Amazing Race, Biggest Loser, Survivor, and America's Next Top Model (the only reason I like that one is because I love to see how the photos turn out, the drama irritates me).

    
    

    The Questions:

    
    

    1. What movie could you watch over and over again and never get tired of?
    Sense and Sensibility - Colonel Brandon is my favorite character!
    
    
    2. If someone gave you a one week vacation to anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
    Right now, I would have to say Hawaii because my little niece is about to be born! I want to see her so badly, but I don't know when I will get the chance. If she was not coming, I would say Italy - but I would have to be able to take Jason. :)
    
    
    3. Favorite food/recipe?
    Pizza and brownies (I'm not hard to please)
    
    
    4. What's your favorite guilty pleasure TV show?
    America's Next Top Model - absolutely nothing redeeming about this show, but I love the photography stuff.
    
    
    5. Harry Potter or Twilight and why? {And yes, you have to choose! =P}
    Harry Potter - way better story and I love how many books there were. The creativity JK Rowling had when writing this was really great. I loved how you got to see the characters grow up too - a story from beginning to end.
    
    
    6. What kind of person do you want to be when you "grow up?"
    Like my parents. :)
    
    
    7. Something your mom said repeatedly throughout your childhood.
    Home is a safe place.
    
    
    8. Name one thing you've done you thought you'd never, ever do.
    Become a homebody. I always used to be outgoing and social...not so much anymore. :)
    
    
    9. What room in your house is your favorite?
    The "man cave" - aka, the family room downstairs. Although, once we get all the furniture upstairs, my fave room may become the music room. There is a fireplace and once we get the cozy chairs it may trump the man cave.
    
    
    10. If you could be anything, have any job, what would it be?
    I have it - I am a mom and I love it. I didn't used to think I would like it because I wasn't a natural with kids. But it is completely different with your own, and I count myself blessed to be able to stay home and raise them. If I didn't have kids, I would say maybe a stewardess - sounds weird, but I love to travel.

    11. What's your favorite thing about blogging?

    Keeps my family and friends up to date and I don't have to stay on the phone, lol! (I have a slight aversion to the phone, unless you are my parents or Jason)

    
    

    New Questions:

    1. Favorite pastime or hobby?

    2. Favorite vacation spot or dream vacation spot?

    3. Favorite childhood memory?

    4. What day would you say has been the best of your life so far and why?

    5. Favorite movie quote?

    6. Favorite board or card game?

    7. What is a unique name you always wanted to name your child or pet?

    8. Favorite character from a book or movie and why?

    9. Favorite place to shop?

    10. Favorite fruit and veggie?

    11. What is something you have always wanted to do, either a hobby or a one-time thing, that you haven't done yet?

    
    

    
    

    Tagged!

    Jennie @ EasyPaleo.com

    Michelle @ miscmama.blogspot.com

    Katie @ LifeLoveandPursuitsofKatie.com