Whole30 and some updates

Hi friends,

An update has been near the top of my list for a while...but somehow its June 23rd and I CANNOT remember how we got here. Officer and I are experiencing our only free Saturday in 2 months and last free Saturday until my sister's wedding in August. We enjoyed this. Let me tell you.

But anyway, Officer and I have been doing crossfit for almost 3 months now and our gym launched a Whole30 challenge for both June and July. Officer and I adopted paleo eating at the beginning of April with a cheat day every Saturday so we thought this would be easy. We. Were. WRONG.

Whole30 details and rules can be found here. All our best recipes were found here. And motivation found here. 

Crossfit has transformed life for Officer and I. We love it. We cant get enough of the self competition and the results. It has been difficult, however doing Whole30 has been one of the hardest things I have ever done mentally.

First week: I was a wreck. Did a little traveling and couldn't eat anything. Anywhere. Diet coke has been my biggest withdraw. I mean it has hardly gotten easier for me. I miss it every day. It has taught me SO much though about how we get addicted to things and how AWFUL I ate before.

I have learned how to cook so many wonderful things. I crave eating at home more than I do out now. I never EVER thought I would say that either! I have learned healthy substitutes that taste wonderful to me. And life without dairy has made me feel so much better all the way around. Life without dairy has launched Officer to almost 20 pounds of weight loss...hello results.

Here are some of our favorites:

Favorite mains:
Pulled pork
Cowboy breakfast skillet

Favorite breakfast:
Breakfast fritata (we make this at the beginning of each week and then cook throughout the week)
      -12 whisked eggs
      -browned turkey sausage
      -broccoli
      -spinach
cook for 15 min on 375...done. Too easy.


Favorite sweets:
Banana Icecream
Raw brownies (I make these weekly and use raw almonds instead of walnuts)
Banana muffins

We are entering our 4th week of Whole30! I took a break last week to try out my first ever cleanse with Isagenix. Here is were you can read more and I will be doing a whole post about the cleanse. I recommend a yearly cleanse to everyone and I think this will be the one I do every year. Isagenix is the protein I now use and I love it. It is perfect for paleo life style because the sugar content in Isalean is low enough that it doesn't taste too sweet as many proteins now do.

Updates coming this week!

School of Rox- 10 months

Dearest Fox,

Stop it. Stop growing at warp speed and tackling new growth hurdles every day. It doesn't even seem right that another month has passed.

This month was/is defined by quite a bit of chaos in that its been busy. We attended Aunt Gu's graduation from nursing school, had your first lake experience, another night of just you and your dad, SWAM in the pool, went to the lake, went to the zoo, and had your dedication. What special days.

You my sweet love are a riot. You LOVE attention and feed off of people's energy. You are a lot like your parents in that way and we get the biggest kick out of it. I have learned you know how to play games and are such a woo-er. However, you like your alone time too.

You have turned out to be a big stuffed animal/doll girl. This (apparently) is very un-like your mom and very much like your Aunt Gu. You are currently attached/can't sleep without a doll, a pink piggy and a lamb. You put all three of them up to your face, squeeze them tight and bite their noses. All of your stuffed animals when playing get a bite on those and a hug. I also got a bite on the nose this month and that is when I realized it was probably a kiss. You melt our heart fox. Some might say its a bit much that a 10 month old sleeps with 3 "toys" but you didn't pick up on a passy or sucking your thumb so I say go for it. You are definitely grizzly, which growing up for me what a high compliment. You are go big or go home.

New tricks:
-clapping
-shaking your head yes, although you MUCH prefer no
-one time this month you YELLED no to your cousin when she tried to take your puff. HILARious
-pushing buttons
-pulling open drawers
-open and closing doors
-standing with out holding on to anything for quick little burst
-eating baby granola bars
-drinking out of ANY straw!!

Growth wise you are still in the same clothes and weight- maybe this month.

We love you baby girl. We are approaching your first birthday and plans have begun. I cant believe we are 2 MONTHS away from this day. I have been soaking up every moment with you lately. I am thankful the Lord has given me the ability to slow down and enjoy you even more! We dedicated you to the Lord on June 10th in front of close family and friend Fox and it is my absolute prayer you quickly know the Lord. What a special day it was and you got to do it with your bud Darby. Such a big month!

Love,

mom & dad

Aunt Gu's nursing school graduation- 5.20.12

Fox baby dedication- 6.10.12

Passed out after Aunt Gu's honors ceremony. This never happens.

Being silly with dad on Memorial Day at the lake- 5.28.12

The zoo. Not scared at all. 5.25.12

Hanging out at the lake w/Darby (learning to share) 5.27.12

Such a fashionista. always.

SO PROUD of you NAT! 5.20.12

Asleep at graduation

Sippy cup skipped and straw accomplished!!

Wednesday Wife Letters- me

Dear Mrs.

This week has been a beating and its only Wednesday...

Its good though. Good things are happening. It's just craziness.

Officer and I have been planning and dreaming for the future lately. I am the realist so I rarely indulge in dreaming with Officer, but when I do I enjoy it.

I am a big picture person. This I have learned most since being a mom. I used to argue with people and say, "no, seriously I am detail person," when they would look at how I work and the way I organize. Silly me, I don't keep lists, I live in chaos and I function best thinking about the big goals, not the small ones. I really am blessed by this way of processing because it saved me from a lot of trouble. I am always thankful to the Lord for that. But I am not a detail person...not even a little bit.

As I look at a living room with books and toys scattered about, a completely empty toy shelf (because they are all on the floor), a kitchen table covered with beach towels with art projects sitting on top, a baby gate in front of the tv and entertainment piece that makes the tv slightly harder to see, and a stack of papers to file, sort and figure out...I feel a bit overwhelmed, but also right at home. 

Motherhood has brought all of these things out. I have written about this before because it has shocked me. I am much more of a free spirit than I ever thought, I spend 99% of the time not being put together and with out make up. This is not at all how I used to be. My style has shifted to more of a bohemian urban style, I am still very into fashion but I find myself drooling over things I would have thought were weird before. Fox is on a pretty specific sleep schedule but everything else is pretty free. We are teaching her baby signs and are enforcing rules and discipline along the way but I am not falling on that side of the street as naturally as I thought I would. It is definitely my desire, but I thought it would come easy to me. It doesn't.

I don't always wipe a toy off after someone else uses it, and I make baby food but I also give her bought baby food. Ha, again things I didn't see myself naturally doing. She is around kids all the time, we use public bathrooms and she has been sick more than her fair share of times. I am not judging if you do differently. Since being a mom, I have learned we all have to do what we think is best and everyone has different experiences that shape the way they do things. I am simply saying the way I do things.

Fox is social. She gets giddy when she sees other babies and kids, and loves interacting with them. She is also independent and keeps herself entertained a lot of the time. She is a charmer, adventurous, has the smallest pain tolerance, and she is so funny. I adore her. She is my heart and brings me so much joy. She is all the good of my officer and me. Officer is such a good completer and partner to me. Times are not always easy, we work hard at our life, but God is refining us and making us more like him one shift at a time.

This probably seems random, but that is what happens when you haven't posted in a month. Life is crazy right now and I often want to control it all. The Lord is teaching me the sweetness of being utterly out of control. Because he's got it.

~an Officer and a Mrs.