Day Two (According to Zak)...

Caroline asked me to post my thoughts on this sugar detox diet.  To be honest, I never read blogs, never think about blogging, and rarely share my feelings, so bear with me.  I also never go on diets either, but when I saw my triple-chin in the mirror the other day, going on a diet didn't sound like such a bad idea.  It's only three weeks-how bad can it be?

But the cold hard truth set in almost immediately.  The past two days have been really, really tough.  Yesterday in particular, the first day of this torture, was AWFUL.  The whole day I felt like curling up in the fetal position and sucking my thumb.  Today was still not great but better than yesterday.  I found myself daydreaming about a huge stack of pancakes at IHOP or a nice 20 piece pack of nuggs from McDonalds.  Sounds pretty good right now actually but I digress..

I have found myself starving hungry every minute of the past two days.  Even after eating.  My usual routine in the morning is to pound an ice cold Mountain Dew and then scarfing down about 10 mini Snickers. Today  I am embarrassed to say I ate carrots.  Then at lunch, when all my friends went to Pam's Farmhouse, I ate a salad.  I almost caved knowing they were crushing some old-school home cooking and I was eating spinach like a rabbit.  

The worst part about this whole deal has to do with what you are allowed to drink.  And no, I'm not talking about booze.  I need a Mountain Dew like a crackhead needs Jesus.  We can drink water, and oh, that's right, water.  We did try this English tea garbage that tasted like the urine of Satan; it was nice to have something different from aqua but I don't think I can take the taste anymore.  

But I think that this diet is slowly working.  Our cravings for Krispy Kreme donuts are slowly going away and my caffeine headache has subsided.  And my pants fit a little looser now than they did even 48 hours ago. So we will trudge on until we complete this adventure.  I am very proud of C-money for sticking with this.  If she quit right now, I probably would too.  I couldn't ask for a better partner.  

Day Two: 21 Day Sugar Detox

Well I have to say, today was not nearly as bad as yesterday! Am I still hungry? Yes! But the headaches are gone and the strong sugar cravings are almost gone. The icing on the cake was when I weighed this morning I was down 2.2 pounds!!! Thankfully that was enough to get me through day two in hopes of a brighter tomorrow!

On the menu today was:

Bacon and avocado for breakfast with 1/4 of my green apple. I know I know sounds disgusting but I set out to make these detox friendly pancakes with that nasty coconut flour and lets just say I spit out the very first bite. That stuff is NOT for the weak of heart! It seems like what eating coconut flavored saw dust would be like.

In between breakfast and lunch I snacked on more carrots! Before lunch we headed to the grocery store to pick up some deli meat to snack on and I got oven roasted turkey and Genoa salami. I must say- I LOVE the salami and have eaten a TON of it today! Really and truly an obnoxious amount.

For lunch I had cheese, salami, carrots and the other 1/4 of my green apple!

After lunch was more carrots of course and a Tbsp of almond butter.

We really splurged with dinner as I made a delicious NY Strip steak that Zak and I split bc it was over a pound. We also had avocado and some steamed broccoli with a homemade cheese sauce that I made with just milk, butter and sharp cheddar.

Then for desert I had the other 1/2 of my granny smith apple! Those apples are worth a million dollars when its the only sweet thing to touch your tongue ALL day!

Overall I am feeling encouraged and hopeful that tomorrow will be smooth sailing and we will be in the groove! But for now, we're just hanging in there!

Day One: 21 Day Sugar Detox

Well I would be lying if I told anyone that today was easy. I am STARVING!!! The truth is, Zak and I both are. Just to outline what I ate today:

Breakfast this morning I had two scrambled eggs and almost immediately was hungry because I usually pair my one egg with a small starch like half of a banana. Then by mid morning when I was ready to chew my arm off I started eating baby carrots for an exciting snack! :) (excuse the sarcasm)

Lunch I must admit was the best of all the meals today as I grilled a piece of chicken, ate 1/2 a small avocado, some whole fat cheddar cheese and 1/2 of a green apple. ....followed by more baby carrots (Have I mentioned that I don't really even like carrots).

Dinner on the other hand was another story. I set out to make a yummy roast, but after cooking it for an hour (per my directions) it was dry as a bone. Never the less, Zak and I attempted to eat it along with basically the same sides I had for lunch with the addition of a spoonful of unsalted almond butter which I promptly added salt to.

I also made these Carrot Pumpkin Spice muffins that contained NO sugar and therefore were awful. The brighter side is that Will absolutely LOVED them which made me feel good because they are super healthy!

I know I know, I sound very angry tonight and am hopeful that by this time tomorrow I will be more encouraged and have less of a hunger headache...but for now this is where we are at.

* Oh and Zak did great today- no cheating! I was beyond proud of him!!!

21 Day Sugar Detox

Yikes! I truly cannot believe that Zak and I are actually going to begin an official 21 Day Sugar Detox TOMORROW! I bought this e-book yesterday so we could stock up, read up and ultimately get prepared for Hell week!

Why on God's green earth are we doing this? Well for many reasons, but largely because both Zak and I are ADDICTED to sugar. It seems after every single meal I want to have something sweet regardless of how healthy the meal I just ate was. ...and so after a weekend of eating some majorly delicious Monster Cookies  (compliments of pioneer woman!) it is time to detox.

Will and I trek ourselves to the YMCA EVERY SINGLE DAY and I tracked the calories I am burning which ranges from 500-700 calories per workout, but the scale continues to glare back at me! NOT BUDGING...ok well maybe budging a few pounds up or down, but the truth is that I have been battling this 30 pounds of excess since Will was born. (Thanks Will :) )

So what does this involve? Well, it basically means no sugar (or fake sugar) of ANY kind for 21 days! I seriously don't know if I have every gone 21 days without sugar which is why this is going to be a great challenge. According to the material we can expect to have "flu like" symptoms for the first 3-4 days accompanied by headaches and over all meanness (ok I added that part!)

We begin tomorrow morning so tonight when I get home from small group it's time to finish reading the program guide and then chuck EVERYTHING from the pantry and the fridge. This means fruits, ANY processed foods and of course anything sweet along with my beloved Diet Coke's!

I plan to blog each day (briefly) about the process as well as accountability! The idea that any one who reads the blog will know if I cheat is somewhat sobering. I'll let you know how it goes!

* disclaimer
I have low hopes of Zak sticking with this so I shall cling to Jesus and if Zak stays on the boat great but I have VERY low expectations since he usually lasts between 1-2 days on any given restrictive eating!

Will: 15 Months

Last Monday morning we had Will's 15 month well check up. We laughed, we cried and then Momma cried a little more on the way home when she got a speeding ticket...but I digress...

I wish I had more pictures to show as this was just at his doctors apt., but if I get a chance I'll try to take some 15 month pictures this week and get them posted to the blog! These past 3 months have a been a blast. What a fun stage- so much personality and lots of snuggles.

Here's the skinny on Mr. Will:

Weight: 25 lbs, 14 oz (87%)

Height: 32.75 in (90%) We continue to have a tall little boy!

Head: 47 cm (52%)

 Waiting for the doctor to arrive and kindly sharing his goldfish with Dada. Not sure why he wasn't excited to have the goldfish that Will had just pulled out of his mouth to share???

Eating: Well...I have to confess that this is my least favorite part of motherhood thus far. I am trying my darnedest to create an environment where Will can try all sorts of foods and develop a taste for healthy and nutritious foods. Each week seems to be hit or miss. Some weeks he LOVES bananas and other weeks he won't touch them. However, if he likes what you put in front of him he will eat you under the table!!! He usually loves; peas, grapes, bananas, eggs, macaroni and cheese (what kid doesn't?), oranges, yogurt, pizza (again, what kid doesn't?), he loves Mexican food, Chinese, Japanese....really anything with a sauce. He seems to be over the bland food choices and wants foods with more taste. He is completely off bottles (praise Jesus!) and drinks lots of milk (both 2% and whole) from his sippy cup. He loves juice but we try to limit that and drinks water really well. He started using his spoon and fork several weeks ago and LOVES feeling like a big boy feeding himself. By the end of the meal he is a complete MESS!

Sleeping: Will pretty consistently sleeps from 7:45pm -7:45am (or 8am) so we really can't complain. Once a week or so he might lose his paci but otherwise he sleeps great! He no longer takes a morning nap but goes down sometime between 12:30 and 1:00pm and sleeps between 2 and 3 1/2 hours depending on what our morning looked like. I LIVE for nap time. It is the only time I can get anything done around this house! Praise Jesus for nap time!

Milestones: At 15 months it becomes more and more apparent that we are dealing with a growing little toddler and baby days seem a thing of the past. If this child lives to be 16 it will be a sheer miracle. We definitely have a bruiser on our hands. Just last week he busted his lip open and I thought he was going to lose a tooth, but after 30 seconds of hard crying he picked himself up and off he went. Will is talking up a storm (we mostly have no idea what he is saying but believe you me he has a lot to tell you!) He is absolutely obsessed with all things cleaning ie; brooms, dust pans, our swiffer and of course the most beloved VaVA (our vacuum cleaner). He also loves helping with the laundry. He will pull everything out of the laundry basket and put everything back in. And while at 12 months he simply loved to dump all his toys, blocks etc out, he now enjoys the task of putting everything back up as well. My sweet little type A child (just like his Daddy)! He also loves to respond to commands like "bring momma your cup" or "throw the ball."

He is definitely a favorite in the nursery both at the Y and at church for how easy he is (at least he shows them his best behavior). He is definitely large and in charge though and unfortunately takes what he wants...we are working on sharing with not too much success. He is able to identify most of the familiar people in his life and his latest favorite thing is when we pray "In Jesus name..." he proudly says "AAAAnen!" It is the sweetest thing and melts my heart.

Words so Far: Momma (yey!), Dada, CeeCee, Nana, Dawwwg, Meow, Mooo (for cow), More, Juice, Mmmhmm (for yes), Woof Woof, All Done, nana (for banana), Ball, Uh Oh (which I hear 1000 times per day), No No (he says while shaking his head), Thank you, Hey!, Shoes, Wow, Whoa, VaVa (vaccuum) and Anen (Amen). I am sure I am missing a few but those are definitely the majors!

All in all if I could freeze time I would! I love this toddler stage of life. For sure, discipline is in full force and Will gets his hand popped at least once a day but the idea that these are the moments that establish the basis of character and respect leaves Zak and I grounded with our knees on the floor praying to Jesus for his guidance in this thing called parenting!

Snow Days...

Will was super excited to watch the snow fall and wait by the door for Daddy to hurry up and get home!

...and the only thing better than Daddy getting home before nap time is an exciting reading of "The Little Blue Truck!" (Will's favorite book of all time and for those of you who don't know there is a sequel!)

A little taste of honesty from a (temporarily) insecure Momma!

For many of you this post will seem like complete non-sense but for me its been real. My chatter box of a little man has been talking up a storm (granted most of it is unintelligible and I haven't the slightest idea what he is saying). He is taking in the world around him and he has a whole lot to say about it. For a long while everything that was furry with four legs was a "Daaaaawwg!" But now he is gradually differentiating the differences as he tells us what the cat says or the cow. He knows how to say Nana (my mother in law), Cee Cee (my mom), Dada (let's be honest ALL DAY LONG) and lastly he knows how to say Momma.

You see the trouble is he chooses not to say Momma and instead has been calling me Dada! Obviously when you are the one who is home all day there are plenty of opportunities to talk about Dada or others but I haven't made it a practice to talk about myself other than to say "Will, you need to listen to Momma" or "Come back over where Momma can see you" but it seems odd to take him to pictures of me throughout the house and practice. Even now, when I pick him up from the YMCA nursery he gets the biggest smile on his face with pure delight, points to me and says "Dada!" I shake my head with disappointment and say "no buddy, it's Mama!

I know it seems ridiculous and mean to be frustrated or hurt with a 15 month old for not calling his Momma by name. However, this week that's exactly how I've felt as he walks around our house saying "CeeCee!" I carried him for 9 months, birthed him and care for his every need 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Is it too much to ask to be called by name???

The truth is, my mischievous little Will knows that I am Momma so for now that will have to do....

Just getting organized...

Just before bathtime last week, Will found this bag of shredded bills and papers that Zak had been working on and thought he'd help by taking it all out of the trash bag and threw it all over the room. I really just had to laugh and smile at how much fun he was having! #pricelessmoments

Christmas Day!

Christmas this year was absolutely wonderful. I started the decorating early and savored every single minute of the Holidays. Largely in part because last year was a complete haze...

Christmas morning we made sure to wake up before Will so that we could go in with the video camera and wake him up with lots of excitement! Well... we did get a quick video only to find out that he had wet through his pj's! I quickly change him and we headed downstairs to see what Santa had brought before heading over to my parents for Christmas Day...

Opening Will's new Story book Bible that we have heard such good things about!

Not my best look- no makeup and wild hair but I always joke that it doesn't look like Will has a Mom because I'm always the one taking the pictures! Soo...here we are opening his stocking!

 ...and of course Will's favorite gift of all his VaVa (what he calls the vacuum cleaner). Zak and I went out before Christmas to try to find Will a non-girly kid sized vacuum. And this red Dirt Devil Vacuum actually works and sucks up stuff (kind of like the one's restaurants have) and he absolutely loves it. He basically just runs around our house saying "VaVa! VaVa!!"

Around 10:30 we headed over to Mom and Dad's to celebrate. We wisely decided to let the Will and Lucy open their gifts first, eat lunch and then once we put them down for their afternoon naps at 1:00pm we opened our gifts! VERY GOOD DECISION!!! Here are just a few shots...unfortunately, most of mine are on my laptop that died so I may add a few more later, but for now here's our Merry Merry Christmas 2012!

 Hanging out on Pop's lap! 

Will wearing Dada's ridiculous new hunting hat!

Could this little boy get any cuter!?!?!

                            

The whole family!

Christmas Eve with the Shipman's!

This year we got to spend Christmas Eve day and night with my beloved In-laws. I can't tell you how blessed I feel to have a mother in law and father in law that not only do I love but I really really like!

So Christmas Eve morning we all got up, got showered and headed over to the Shipman's house to have Christmas Take One! We ate a super yummy breakfast with my favorite Monkey Bread followed by opening gifts!

Nana and Grandpa got Will this super fun riding choo choo train that Will absolutely LOVES! He seriously rides it all over the house while loudly saying "Choo Choo, Choo Choo!"

Will opening his stocking filled with Lizards and yummy snacks!

 Currently Will's favorite thing in all the world is a Dog! Nana just so happened to put in a good word with Santa for this live acting puppy that walks and barks!

Yes.... this target practice Deer is seriously set up in my backyard.....there are no words for this.....

I didn't get too many pictures of Christmas eve with all the cousins and the little girls but here are just a few pictures of the chaos! We had a fantastic time sharing a nice meal together and opening presents with the kiddos!

Will NOT sharing! 

Extended Family Christmas'!

I know I know...I've been in a blog funk and posting ALL the pictures from Christmas has felt like the dreaded biology term paper that is looming over me. That coupled with the fact that my laptop just died on me a couple days after Christmas has left a few holes in the pictures I took for Christmas. For the sake of having a complete family record I may add a few pictures once we can retrieve all the files from my old laptop, but for now here goes!

The first weekend in December we headed down to my sweet Grandma Ruthie's house at the Lake for a wild day of Christmas. I say wild because there were over 20 of us plus 5 kiddos all under the age of 4!!! Pure pandemonium, but all in all a wonderful time!

Left to Right
Caleb, Carson, Will, Reagan and Miss Lucy!

What I LOVE about this picture is that we have this exact same picture on the same swing with all the parents of these kiddos which is so neat!

The next extended family Christmas was on the 18th at Aunt Virginia's house in Burlington. Also a lively crowd and a super fun day of yummy food and wonderful time with family. Will especially had fun since Aunt Virginia has a horse!

What a great time we had celebrating with both of our families and how blessed we are to have both of our families in state!