Preschool Change of Plans

We were planning to enroll in Leland in preschool next fall. He was going to start going two days a week and if that went well, we would add a day. Because he has a December birthday, he won't start Kindergarten until he is almost six years old, so after the first year of preschool, we were planning to send him full time for his second year.

One perk of my job at GTA is that my kids get free preschool. It is a pretty amazing benefit, but despite the money it would save, I wasn't ready for Leland to leave Julie's and I didn't think he was quite ready for the structure of preschool. So I was planning to ease us both into this by going part time at first.

Because Julie will be unable to work for the foreseeable future, we have decided to enroll Leland in preschool after spring break. I don't want him to transition to a new daycare only to have to transition to preschool in the fall, so he will just be thrown right into it next Monday.

I think he will do fine with most of it. He is very outgoing, not shy at all, and loves meeting new people. Also, two of his friends from Julie's will be there, so I think that will really help. He might struggle with the structure a bit though. The kids in preschool have been doing circle time all year and probably sit for 10-15 minutes at this point in the year. Leland probably won't be ready for that, but his teachers are aware that he's a "young" three year old, and I think they will be supportive of him throughout his transition.

For me, one big challenge will be packing a lunch for Leland. My school doesn't have a lunch program so everyone brings a lunch and snacks. I hate packing my own lunch every day - I love our half day Fridays when I can go out for lunch or order something to be delivered. That won't be an option for Leland, so I will need to pack his lunch Monday through Friday.

The fun part about packing a lunch for Leland? A new lunchbox!

I wanted to get him a matching backpack and lunchbox and I spent entirely too much time thinking about what to get him. I was hoping I could take him to pick out his own backpack and lunchbox, but there aren't many options in stores this time of year. Basically, our choices in stores were Disney Princess, Frozen, or superheroes. Leland isn't into any of those so, instead, I picked out some adorable and very "Lelandy" things online and I can't wait to get them. I think Leland will LOVE them.

In one week my baby will start preschool. Where does the time go?

My Heart Hurts

If you follow me on Instagram or if you're my friend on facebook, then you know that this has been a crazy emotional week for my little family.

Last Saturday, I got a phone call from Ian, our daycare provider's son. He said that his mom (Julie) was in an accident while zip lining. She was with a group of girls from a local high school soccer team that she works with (she does all of the photography for them at games and such), and long story short, she hit the guard rail at the end, fracturing some vertebrae and damaging her spinal cord.

She remains in ICU, and is currently experiencing paralysis of the lower half of her body. Because she still has some swelling, doctors are unsure what to expect as far as her being able to walk again. She will probably be moved this week to a rehab hospital about two hours away, and our biggest hope and prayer is that she will be able to walk and continue doing the job she loves. However, it will take a long time to get there. It will take at least three months for her vertebrae to fuse and heal, and then if she can regain feeling in her legs and feet, a great deal of physical therapy to walk again.

Julie is being amazingly positive through all of this. She said if she can't walk again, she wants to figure out a way to continue doing daycare out of her home, but will need Ian as an assistant to do the things she can't do. The woman is a saint. It hurts my heart to hear of the possibility that she may not walk again, but hearing her positive outlook reminds me of why we love her so much in the first place.

I have been pretty emotional all week about Julie. She is not just our daycare provider; she is our friend and family. The boys miss her and Leland keeps asking when Julie get better. We told him she hurt her back and is in the hospital. He hasn't been able to visit her yet since she's in ICU. But hopefully he can this week before she is moved to Grand Rapids. 

Then on Thursday, Dave's boss, Mike,  unexpectedly passed away.

Dave has worked for MAC Custom Homes for 15 years. Since MAC is a small company, and Mike handled pretty much everything, Dave worked closely with him for all those years. Over the last 13 years that Dave and I have been together, I have gotten to know Mike, his wife Robin, and one of their daughters pretty well. We love them and truly consider them members of the family. Actually, I consider them closer than some of my family.

Hearing of Mike's passing has been devastating. It's all Dave and I have talked about, and many tears have been shed. I went to see Robin yesterday, and was barely able to keep my composure. Once I got in my car to leave, I just sobbed. I just can't imagine a MAC Christmas party without Mike. Or even Dave going to work and having someone else being in charge of it all. And when I think about Robin going home or running MAC without Mike, I am just overcome with sadness.

You can read his obituary here.

It has been an emotional week for our family, to say the least. I can only imagine how hard it has been for Julie and Mike's families. If you are a praying person, please pray for these two families as they cope with the challenges that lay ahead.

Leland and Mommy Date

Last week, Leland and I went to the Mustang Madness game at my school, which is a staff vs. varsity basketball game. Usually, I like to play in the game, but this year it was scheduled the same week as conferences and I just couldn't do it. But I thought Leland might enjoy a night with me hanging out at my school.

We started out by attempting to check out the silent auction. Leland wasn't interested so we played in the small gym for a bit.

Leland did pretty well hanging with the big kids.

When the game was about to start, we went and sat down. But Leland just wanted to play basketball, not sit in the stands. I got him some popcorn in hopes that it would satisfy him so we could watch the game. Well, that worked for about 10 seconds and then he was on the move again.

Eventually, I gave up and just took him out to the preschool playground to play.

After that, we caught a tiny bit of half time, which was one of my former students riding his unicycle. And then Leland lost it. It was 8:00 on a Friday night and he was TIRED! I hauled him out of the gym kicking and screaming and we headed home.

Aside from the end where he was throwing a fit, we had a fun (and BUSY) night. Leland loved checking out Mommy's school, which is a good thing because he'll be starting preschool there right after spring break. But that's a whole other post.

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers

A few days ago, Shannon posted about the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. She was nominated and therefore had to answer 10 questions and then nominate 10 more people to answer her own questions. Well, she cheated and didn't nominate anyone. She just said anyone who was interested should do it. And since I'm a sucker for these kinds of things I've decided I'll do it.

1) Who is your role model and why?

Hmmmm...I would say my Grandma Josie is my role model. Not because she's done anything extraordinary in her life. I mean, she didn't cure any diseases or start a charity or anything. But she's simply the very best person I know. She is funny. Through all of the difficulties in life, including her Parkinson's Disease, she maintains her humor. She is just fun to be around and everyone adores her.

2) If you could only have chocolate or cheese for the rest of your life, what would you choose?

Yikes! My two favorite things. I think I would have to go with chocolate.

3) How different is your life now versus how you expected it to be ten years ago?

Ten years ago, I would have guessed that I would be teaching, but probably at a different school. I always thought I would start having kids younger, so at the age I am now, I would be done having kids. But I'm not. At least I hope I'm not.

4) What are your three favorite physical features on the sex you're attracted to?

Smile, eyes, and a clean shave.

5) Who was your first childhood crush?

Besides New Kids on the Block and Zach Morris? I'd have to say my friend Ryan. We were boyfriend and girlfriend for most of elementary school and junior high, and then we were just good friends. We still keep in touch, and I went to his wedding last year.

6) If money was no option, where would you vacation to this year?

Australia or a Caribbean cruise

7) Favorite movie of all time?

Mary Poppins

8) What is your biggest fear?

I have two. One is something happening to my children. And the other is something happening to me or Dave and leaving my children without a parent.

9) How do you relax?

I sleep. Especially now that Alden finally sleeps through the night consistently. This is a new development in the last 10 days. Glorious!

10) Do you feel confident enough to poop in a public restroom?

Ha ha ha. Hey, if you gotta go, you gotta go.

So, I've answered Shannon's questions. Here's the kicker, I'm going to cheat even worse. Not only am I not going to tag anyone, but I'm not going to write my own questions. I'm not sure I could come up with questions better than Shannon's, so should you decide to participate, I think you should use her questions.

After Whole30

Yesterday was my last day on whole30. So, what now?

Well, first I'd like to share my results. Over the course of 30 days, I lost 10 pounds and 9+ inches (in my bust, waist, and hips combined). The biggest loss was in my chest, and I'm incredibly thankful and excited about that, though I wish my belly would have lost more. Those two areas are my biggest concerns.

I am down one pants size, which makes me happy, and I am hoping to go down one more, so that next school year I can be happy with the size uniform pants I wear.

I now weigh below 140 pounds for the first time since before my first pregnancy. My first pregnancy started at 140. With Leland I started around 150, and with Alden I started at 140. I haven't been below that for a long time, and now I am. My goal is 130-135 pounds (Remember, I'm short, but also have big boobs - those aren't going to disappear no matter how much weight I lose. They were big even when I was super skinny in high school).

So, enough with words, here are before and after pictures.

I do see a change here, but not as big of a change as I would like. I feel like my belly and boobs still look bigger than I would like.

I think the side view is so much better than the front view. My love handles and side rolls are smoother than before, and I didn't even realize they were an issue before. I focused so much on my belly that I didn't pay attention to the sides.

I purposely chose those yoga pants because they were a little too snug when I started whole30. I wanted to see if they fit me better after, and they do. They are much more comfortable now, though still a little snug in the waistband.

So, where do I go from here?

Well, this week, I am going to enjoy some foods I have missed. First up is pizza, followed by some brownies. Later this week,  I will have some lasagna, because that's what Dave missed the most. And I'll probably make or go out for pancakes on Saturday. But after that, I'm going to try to eat similar to whole30 as much as possible.

I plan to try to eat paleo for at least half of my dinners each week, and since I usually eat leftovers for lunches, that'll make half of my lunches good too. For breakfast, I will try to continue eating eggs, but I am pretty sick of them, so I'll have some yogurt a few times a week. My plan is to avoid grains, sugar, and dairy still, but not as strict as whole30. I won't restrict honey if a recipe calls for it, and I will have a "bad" meal here and there. But I will use the new knowledge I have gained throughout this process to help me achieve my goal of 130-135. And now that the weather is getting nicer, I will be able to get out and exercise. Walking and running is on my agenda this spring and summer. 

I don't have expectations of flat, hard abs, but I would like to feel good about how I look again and feel comfortable in my clothes.

Whole30. Done.

I haven't posted about my whole30 experience nearly as much as I thought I would. I guess because I've been too busy planning and prepping every single meal and snack for the last 30 days. It really is time consuming.

But today is day 30. It's my last day. I will make one more meal and later I will go to bed, and it will be over. Craziness.

I shared some recipes/ideas in two other posts, and today I will share some of our most recent dinners. I was really good about taking pictures and saving recipes during my first week and this last week. But in the middle, I kept forgetting. Oops. Here are some recent dinners (some recipes I had to change a bit to make them whole30 compliant, but most are compliant by themselves):

Steak fajitas - I had mine with just the veggies and meat and a little guacamole on top. The rest of the family had tortillas, cheese, and sour cream. I didn't feel like I was missing much - they were SO good!

Pulled Pork - Seriously, why have I never thought to add bacon to the crockpot when I make pulled pork?! Life changing event here, people! This was yummy. Again, the family had theirs on buns with BBQ sauce, while I had mine plain. It was a little dry that way, but still tasty.

Balsamic Mustard Steaks - These definitely had a different flavor, but I really enjoyed them.

Apple Spice Pork Chops - Dave worked late that night so he didn't see me making them, but when he ate them later he said, "Ummmm....there's fruit on my pork," and then a bit later said, "This is the weirdest thing I've ever eaten. I really don't want to like it, but I do." I liked them.

Ginger Chicken - These weren't a huge hit for us. They were fine, but not very flavorful. I think they need more spices, and certainly more ginger. They weren't bad, they just weren't as good as other things we have been having.

Chocolate Chili - Again, this wasn't my favorite meal, but it was okay. I feel like it had too much cumin, even though I used about half the amount that the recipe called for. I think it would have been better with some cheese, beans, and maybe some sour cream, which of course are whole30 no-nos. Dave had it with cheese and sour cream and liked it.

Spaghetti (squash) with meatballs - Dave was beyond excited to have meatballs because I never make them. This meal was a huge hit with me. The boys liked the sauce, but preferred regular spaghetti noodles. Honestly, I would prefer regular noodles too, but these weren't bad by any means. Just something different.

Creamy Chicken Casserole - I shouldn't even include this because it was so gross. But the truth is, sometimes you hit the jackpot with a recipe and sometimes you just don't. This was a bad one. Dave says it would have been better with sausage instead of chicken. He may be right, but my issue is the coconut milk. I just didn't like the sweet flavor with my squash.

Tonight we will have Sweet Potato Chili. Several people have told me it's amazing, and I'm hoping they're right so I can end this on a great note.

Overall, I think this was an amazing learning experience for me. For one, I learned how bad I ate before. And not that I ate a ton of processed foods or anything, but lots of mindless eating. Oh, my kids are eating crackers? I'll have some too, even though I'm not hungry and I don't even like goldfish that much. I also ate much larger portions of foods and depended a lot on carbs to fill me up.

A few things that helped me make it through my 30 days:

• Planning! I'm big on meal planning anyway, but I generally only plan dinners - and only the main part of the meal at that. On whole30, I had to plan every meal, every side, and every snack in order to be successful. It was a lot of work, but a lot easier once those meal times rolled around. I knew which veggies/fruits we were having with our meals, and that helped a lot.
• Prepping the night before. I get home at 5:15ish and we're all pretty hungry at that point already. So to get dinner on the table by 6:00 is a must. In order to do that, I try to prep as much as possible the night before, after the kids are in bed. I know a lot of people prep on Sundays, but my Sundays are just too busy with church, weekly cleaning, and family time. Sundays are such a precious time with my family and I'm not willing to sacrifice that time. 
• Variety. My goal in this process was to never repeat a dinner. Obviously my other meals and snacks were repeated, but I managed to make it all 30 days without any repeats for dinner.
• Sales! I don't know why fresh strawberries have been on sale so much lately, but I am so thankful they have been! Seriously, 5 containers for $5?! Amazing, and just what I needed! It's hard to find affordable produce in the middle of winter, and it's easy to get stuck eating just bananas, apples, and oranges all the time just to save money. I was thankful for sales and coupons for lots of different foods.
• A few staples - almond butter, wholly guacamole, and Larabars. Almond butter was great with celery or apples for a snack. Wholly guacamole helped me eat some really dry chicken as leftovers, when I really didn't want it. And Larabars were a great quick snack if I was in a pinch. And actually, I think I had one for lunch once when we were out and about and I was starving.

I wouldn't say that doing whole30 was easy, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I honestly imagined myself feeling completely deprived throughout the whole thing, but I never really did. The last week was probably the worst, but that was more because of stress and just feeling too busy to cook I think. I was around my fair share of delicious-looking non-compliant foods (pizza, candy, birthday cake, etc.) and I never felt like I was missing out on anything. But I did miss having quicker options, especially on nights when Dave was working late and I was on my own with the boys, which was A LOT!

Surprisingly, I think the one thing I missed the most was cheese. I thought for sure it would be sugar/chocolate. But it was most definitely cheese. I guess that makes sense, because I add cheese to almost every meal I make. The two things I am looking forward to most are pizza and brownies. We are going out for pizza on Wednesday (I have parent-teacher conferences on Tuesday so we can't go then).

Stay tuned for my after whole30 post, with before and after pictures, weight results, and where am I going from here.

Cousin Fun at the Splash Park

Last week, Dave's brother and sister-in-law were in town and they stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge. We didn't get to see them much, with work and such, but they invited us to come play with them at the water park (or the splash park, as Leland calls it) on Thursday night.

Under normal circumstances, receiving this invitation when I'm already at work would make this impossible for us. Usually, I carpool with my friend Courtney to school. So I would have to drive her most of the way home before going, which would make us get there pretty late. Also, I obviously didn't have our swimsuits, which would mean going all the way home - again, making us arrive late. But that day, I didn't ride with Courtney, and Dave happened to not be working that day, so he brought our suits to us. It worked out perfectly.

When Leland found out, he was ecstatic. If you remember, that is where we had our swim lessons last fall.

First, we had dinner in their hotel room and Leland and Kennedi played a little Polly Pocket.

Then we went down to the splash park to play. Leland pretty much never stopped moving.

At one point, Leland jumped into the kiddie pool and landed on knee, scraping it on the floor. We went to the first aid station and they fixed him up with a bandaid and then they gave him this wolf to keep. He didn't care about it at the time, but once we got home, he was obsessed. He sleeps with it every night and likes to carry it all around the house.

We had so much fun playing at the splash park, but the best part was seeing these two hang out together. They are just too cute and I love that Leland has cousins close to his age. I only wish they lived closer so we could see them more.

The Halfway Point

Sunday was day 15 of my whole30, which means I'm halfway through this process.

Overall, it has been going well. I have made 15 different dinners that we have all enjoyed, with the exception of one that we decided wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. I'm enjoying breaking out of my usual types of meals and Dave loves it too. I still don't feel like I'm being deprived of anything, except when my family had pizza on Friday and I just had salad. Thankfully, they got pepperoni (which I don't like), so it wasn't complete torture.

Breakfast continues to be a struggle because I just don't love eggs and that's pretty much the only breakfast food that I can have unless I spend lots of time cooking, which I don't have time for before school. On weekends, I try some different things. I am trying to make eggs in different ways, and have different things with them, like fruit or meat. Bacon is my favorite. Thank God for (whole30 compliant) bacon!

Snacks have also been a bit tricky because my usual go-to for snacks are things like yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, or something with peanut butter. The first week, I was eating a lot of fruits and Larabars for my snacks because I just I didn't know what else to eat. The second week, I started having almond butter with fruit (smaller portions of fruit than the week before), and almonds for my snacks. This week, I have some veggies planned (celery with almond butter or homemade ranch dressing). I think I'll see better results if I cut out the Larabars, because even though they're just fruit and nuts, they're still a lot of calories.

I also have steered clear of white potatoes. They are allowed on whole30, but they didn't used to be, so it makes me feel like maybe they're not the best choice. I did have some roasted white potatoes a few nights ago, but that's the only time. I'm hoping that will help my results as well.

Speaking of results, I am not supposed to weigh myself until the end of the 30 days. But I cheated the other day and found that I have lost 3 lbs so far. I was sort of disappointed, because I was hoping for more. But then I measured myself and I have lost 1.5" in my waist, so that made me feel better.

Financially, this challenge is a little difficult. I am easily spending $20-30 more in groceries each week. But I remind myself that we're spending less on eating out, so it probably evens out. We usually eat dinner out once a week, and one lunch (or maybe two) on the weekends. Also, because I'm spending more, I'm racking up my Meijer rewards faster, so that helps. I look forward to spending a little less on groceries when this is over. I'll still probably follow the general paleo (not whole30) plan, but with some cheaper options. And it won't be 100% of the time.

Some foods since my last post are:

Clockwise:

• Zoodles with spaghetti sauce - sauce from Against All Grain, slightly modified for whole30
• Blacken-seasoned cod fillets - NOT a favorite of mine, but Dave and Alden loved them
• Bacon-mushroom turkey burgers - these were SO good! I was a little leary of putting apples (yes apples) in my burger, but it was yummy.
• Bacon-wrapped teriyaki chicken with broccoli-apple salad - The salad was an attempt to have more raw veggies in my diet instead of just cooked veggies. It was delicious.
• Buffalo chicken tenders - I was surprised how much I liked these since I'm a wimp about spicy foods, but they were GOOD. And the boys loved them too.
• Chicken salad lettuce wrap

Other meals we've had were simple steak or chicken with different herbs and spices, and I didn't always take pictures.

I also made my own mayonnaise and ranch dressing this week. I'm generally a fan of Miracle Whip instead of mayo, but when you're on whole30, you take (or make) what you can get. Also, it's used to make the ranch dressing which is AH-MAZING so there's that.

Here are recipes for both:

For mayo:

You'll need an immersion blender. Don't even attempt it without one like I did. It won't work. But I got my immersion mixer for $7.88 at ABC Warehouse (SCORE!) and then it worked beautifully.

1 Cup light olive oil or avocado oil

1 egg at room temperature

1 tsp. white balsamic vinegar

1 tsp compliant dijon mustard (I used Meijer brand organic)

1 pinch of salt

Add all ingredients to mason jar or container (I mixed mine in a 2 Cup glass measuring cup) and sit for 2 minutes, letting all of the ingredients sink to the bottom. Insert immersion blender and use on high, slowly bringing the blender up ad down through the mixture until it's mayonnaise consistency. And that's it!

For ranch:

I would suggest using much less parsley and dill than in the recipe above. I used a little less, and it still seemed like way more than necessary.

So, there you have it. Fifteen days down, fifteen to go. I got this.

In case you're wondering, I'm already planning pizza (not pepperoni) and brownies for my first non-whole30 meal.

Double Date

This weekend, Leland and I met up with some sweet friends to see a movie at the State Theater in town. The State offers 25 cent kid's matinee movies on Saturdays. Actually, you may remember that that was where we went for Leland's first big screen experience in December. It's so nice to see a movie in a gorgeous theater for next to nothing, especially when you're with a toddler or preschooler and you're not sure if they will make it through the whole thing.

And snacks are cheap too. A small popcorn (which is actually pretty big in my opinion) is only $2.00 and normal-size candies are $1.00. I got Leland some popcorn and Reese's Pieces for $3.00!  Between the cost of parking, our tickets, and snacks, I only spent $5.00. Amazing, really.

(Side note: Dave and I saw a movie a few weeks ago at a different theater, and it was over $30.00 for tickets, popcorn, and pop. And that was a matinee!)

But anyway, we met up with Fischer and Magi to see Big Hero 6. I was never really interested in seeing that movie in particular. It's just not my kind of movie, but Leland has seen previews for it and wanted to see it. When I saw it was playing downtown, I couldn't say no.

Cutest boys. And can I just say that Leland ate all of that popcorn (and Reese's Pieces) by himself! I can't have it on whole30, so he went to town on it.

I was pleasantly surprised. It was actually a really sweet movie, and we all loved it. One of my favorite things about going with Fischer and Magi was the conversation between the boys during the movie (another bonus to seeing a kid's matinee movie...no one gets too upset about kids talking during the movie).

I don't remember who said what, but this is a bit of a conversation that happened during the movie:

-What happened?
-I don't know.
-He got fire on him.
-Yeah, he did.

It was so much fun getting the boys together for a little double date. We're definitely going to have to do more of these.