My First Whole30: Week 2

Let me just say, starting out week 2 was way harder than I had anticipated. You figure you already have one week behind you.....week 2 should be a breeze! Again, nothing breezy about this week so far. I think this week's challenges have been cravings more than anything. I feel like I've never really stuck with anything past the "when the going gets tough...." phase, so this is something new I'm trying. I'm not going to lie though, I can't stop thinking about the donut. It's ridiculous.

Let's get down to it though:

Monday:
Breakfast: Whole Grapefruit
Morning Snack: Raw Walnuts (prob half a cup or so)
Lunch: Tuna salad on field greens with avocado and cherry tomatoes
Afternoon Snack: Raw nuts with dried fruit
Dinner: I went to Ghengis Grill and got chicken and beef seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne added onions, jalapenos, green and red bell peppers. Ate it with Cabbage

I want a donut.

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Strawberries, blueberries and banana
Morning Snack: baby carrots and guac
Lunch: pulled pork on top of field greens with pico, guac and salsa
Evening snack: Half a banana and raw mixed nuts
Dinner: roasted chicken thighs and roasted broccoli

Seriously. One donut.

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Whole Grapefruit
Morning Snack: Walnuts
Lunch: Tuna salad and half a tomato
Afternoon Snack: frozen grapes
Evening Snack: fruit (strawberries, blueberries)
Dinner: Paleo sloppy Joes (click here for recipe) in baked sweet potatoes - THIS WAS AWESOME!

Here's the deal. I'm hungry a lot. I'm also pregnant. What I'm hungry for, I can't have....so I am stocking up on healthy snacks which is sort of the point here I guess. I think the key to this is just being prepared. As much as I was not looking forward to going into week 2, I made it to the grocery store, packed snacks for the week, planned our dinners and always make sure to bring my lunch. Dan is getting more into it too and has found some really awesome smoothies at the store with nothing un-natural in them (Odwalla is the brand in case you're interested)! I have to admit....water is getting pretty old at this point, so that was a nice change :) Being that we are on Wednesday, I think we may just make it through to week 3. Here's hoping....

Thursday:
Breakfast: Odwalla Smoothie drink and handful of cashews
Morning Snack: walnuts
Lunch: Paleo Sloppy Joes (leftovers)
Afternoon Snack: frozen grapes and cashews 
Evening Snack: Cashews
Dinner: Salmon, roasted squash, sautéed mushrooms  (YUM!)

Ok, I think I am getting this now. There was a box of donuts in the break room this morning. It turns out someone at work is trying to torture me. I didn't have one. They were even the frosted kind. WITH sprinkles. I feel like passing up the things that I want is getting easier. I am still hungry a lot but instead of day dreaming about the chips and cupcakes, my brain is starting to go towards healthy things that I'm allowed to have anyway. Is this my light bulb moment?? Maybe ;) 19 days left and we will see....

Friday:
Breakfast: Grapefruit, handful of mixed nuts and dried fruit
Morning Snack: Celery and Almond butter
Lunch: Paleo Sloppy Joes (seriously, make this and get it in your face ASAP)
Afternoon Snack: frozen grapes
Evening Snack: chicken salad/tomatoes
Dinner: fish tacos (tilapia in lettuce wraps with guac, pico and salsa)

Last night Dan and I were talking during dinner (which was DELICIOUS btw) and the time we have spent on this "diet" so far has been really beneficial for both of us (Dan has lost 11 lbs and I.....well I have not) I didn't realize it until I sat down for the first time last night AT 9 how I wasn't terribly tired. I feel like I am finally starting to reap the benefits of this clean eating! I was telling Dan my "plans" (which is basically just a list of foods I'm going to cram in my face on day 31) for when my 30 days was over and to my surprise, he wants to keep on this path. Now I'm sure we won't have as many restrictions, and I will definitely allow myself an indulgence (donuts...obviously) every once in a while, but turns out, eating healthy does not necessarily mean eating food that tastes bad! Who knew? Now, with the weekend upon us, we shall see what happens....

Saturday:
Breakfast: breakfast casserole A LA Margaret (eggs, sausage, spinach, green peppers, onions - sautee peppers and onions, add spinach until wilted, brown sausage. Add sausage, onions, peppers and spinach to greased casserole dish, pour over 10 (that's what I used at least) beaten eggs. Cook at 325 for 25 minutes. DELISH!
Snack: Odwalla smoothie
Lunch: pulled pork on field greens with pico, guac and salsa
Snack: Strawberry and Banana Smoothie
Dinner: Steak medallions with roasted potatoes and sautéed onions (from Patrizios - it was to die for!)

I was really surprised to discover that while eating out, we were able to stay on plan! Dan even ordered red fish with julienne vegetables. I mean seriously, where did my husband go?! We didn't touch the bread, but we DID have a little wine (it's a personal choice that keeps me sane). That was my cheat for the week.

Sunday:
Breakfast: 2 eggs over easy, bacon, sliced tomatoes
Lunch: chicken salad, sliced tomatoes, odwalla smoothie
Snack: strawberries, blueberries and I snacked on the tuna salad I was prepping for the coming week
Dinner: Ribs (there may or may not have been non-compliant bbq sauce on them), roasted potatoes, cole slaw - we had friends over for this dinner so dry ribs were not a choice....we'd like for our friends to come back ;)

So I made it through week 2. I had a couple of slips as far as the wine and the bbq sauce, but I have to admit this is beginning to get easier. Except when I'm really hungry.....because then all I really want is donuts. Still.

I should mention that on Saturday morning I took my kids to Kristin's house for a play date with hers and Deanna's kid. I picked up donuts on the way. Ya'll.....I went INTO a donut shop....and I didn't even have a bite of a donut ya'll.

We made a trip to the grocery store yesterday to prep for the week. I made chicken salad and tuna salad (we are clearly fans of the meat salads), chopped up fruit and divvyed out snacks into bags for the week. This is getting easier. I can make it 2 more weeks. I think you'll notice I'm eating a lot of the same things, but in some of the research I did for this, I read that you need to keep it simple. We try to pick a meat and a veggie for dinner and keep lunches pretty light. Once we get back to just Paleo I'd like to try out some new "sweets" recipes and will definitely be reintroducing coffee to my life. I just wanted to show ya'll one thing though. Check out my fridge.....

I've never been this kind of proud of my fridge before. I can literally tell you the ingredients of everything in it! Because it's all real food....go figure. Anyway, there's my dork moment. I know no one really cares what the inside of my fridge looks like ;) I've only got 2 more posts like this, so if I haven't lost every reader I have, just know that at the end of this lies a doctors appointment with adorable baby boy updates :) I know you're just waiting on the edge of your seat, haha.

Baby3 13w4d: We're Having A.....

Well the news is in. The Joneses are welcoming a Baby BOY this summer!

Despite me KNOWING this baby was another girl....my mother's instinct was off. We could not be more thrilled to be adding a baby boy to our (no so) little family! We are working on names now, which are WAY harder than girl names.....

So now that the BIG news is out, let me take some time to let you into my scary, worries-to-much, overthinks everything, mom-guilt ridden brain.....

Let's talk about what baby #3 means. The gender of the baby certainly doesn't have anything to do with the myriad of questions flooding our brains from the moment we found out. I mean, how does it work....logistically? How much is daycare for 3 kids? I've researched - it's A LOT! Is it more than I make after insurance and tax? It's close. Is it worth going to work and literally not bringing home ANY money? Debatable. BUT....if I stay home, Dan will take a pay cut to cover our "new", crappy insurance - that we, in fact, use very regularly. We would be out of pocket any childcare expenses we do have....and we WOULD/WILL have childcare expenses regardless of our decision regarding me working. Patience.....Sanity.......Free Time.....ME Time......all if it will be gone. Work or no work. But in a sense I also feel I'm being granted the chance for something pretty amazing here. I am being given the choice to watch my babies grow up. And not from a video monitor from 8 feet up and 40 feet away sitting at my work desk and trying to peek in between bites of my lunch.....but up close. I mean......I feel like I should be questioned as a mom for passing something like that up. That's my big struggle. Why is this such a hard decision for me? Does it make me a TERRIBLE mom for having to think twice about getting to spend every day with my children??

Right now, here's where I'm at. I currently have a job that I like as much or more than anyone that I know likes their job. I don't love it, but I don't dread going. I feel like I am valued as an employee and a person. I have been able to enhance my skills and marketability many times over through the opportunities my company has provided me. I have a great deal of flexibility and a boss who is completely sympathetic to my plight as a working mom. I am able to work from home if need be and I am generally not SO BUSY that I work more than 40 hours a week. And I have really decent insurance coverage. It's not a bad gig.

But do you know what else isn't a bad gig?? Not having to rush out the door every morning. Not worrying that if my kid is sick I will miss a deadline or let something (far less important) fall through the cracks. Not rushing to pick my kids up at night and then try to make the most of our 2-3 hours together before we all crash out from the sheer exhaustion of the day (a day we spent apart). Not trying to cram all of our fun AND cleaning/house work into 2 (VERY SHORT) days at the end of the week. That sounds pretty good too.

Here's the kicker though, neither of these jobs is easy. There are definitely desirable aspects of both, but I cannot say with 100% certainty that I wouldn't regret giving up my job....OR passing up an opportunity to be with my kids. And you don't have to tell me that I can find a job, but will never again get this time with my kids.....you don't. I know.

So, what do we do? Well, the answer is.....I don't know. And maybe that makes me a bad person. It certainly does in my brain. But now it's out there. It's how I feel. Completely uncertain and overwhelmed with (to be honest) first-world problems. Poor me. Yea....I don't feel sorry for me either.

Do you know something I AM certain of?? We're going to have another baby. Our first baby BOY! An awesome baby who smells like Johnson&Johnson lotion and who I can dress up in ridiculous outfits and tote around in a car seat for months on end. One I get to snuggle and see smile for the first time....one that will eventually call me 'Mama'....now THAT  is pretty cool. Sort of makes the other stuff not matter right now.

Enough with all the whining.....let's talk about the whin-ERS :) Mia is 3 going on 15. She has, overnight, turned into this "mommy-pleaser" (at her own discretion, but more often than before). She wants to help me with EVERYTHING. She needs constant reassurance that she's doing OK and that I'm proud of her....and I always am. She has decided recently that she is terrified to be alone in her bedroom at night, so she has taken up sleeping on the couch. I don't even have the energy to fight it. I really don't. As long as she's not in my bed, I just keep telling myself - she won't do it forever! Dear God, let that be true. Bella is 14 1/2 mo and full on walking now, and running, and getting into EV-ER-Y-THING! Seriously. Everything. She has started listening and following instructions too though! This would probably be more useful to me if I didn't have to spend all my time telling her to put all my stuff back in my vanity or all the cups back in the cabinet or all of Mia's panties back in her drawer....but hey, she's still got that killer smile, which makes that stuff easier to swallow ;)

As for me, aside from the inner turmoil, I'm doing well. I'm 13w4d pregnant I don't really feel it. I think reality will hit when I can't button my pants. It's coming.....I know it's coming.

I'd love to post more pics, but I generally don't have any on my computer, so if you want to keep up with the Joneses in that sense, follow me on instagram: http://instagram.com/maggi507/

My First Whole30: Week 1

****Let me preface this by saying that if you are looking for the gender of our baby hidden in this blog, you are wasting your time. We were unable to see the gender last Monday at my appointment, so we are anxiously awaiting the results of the lab test which should come in this week****

It's a new year. I made resolutions like anyone else, only mine can't include immediate weight loss, because lets face it, there is no way I'm going to come out the other end of this year weighing less than I do now. Even if I somehow miraculously lose the baby weight in 4 months (HAHAHA!!!!), I will likely not be smaller than I am now. I'm ok with that. What I did resolve to do was to be HEALTHIER. Ah, see what I did there??? Look at me, being a grown up and looking out for my body. I hear people getting up in age have to do that. And judging by my increasingly early bedtime and sudden dire interest in my colon health, I think I fall in that category. I am not the kind of person who "diets" well. I am seriously able to rationalize a piece (or 4) of pizza into an OK dinner by cancelling it out with exercise I have not yet done, and will likely not do. Better yet, I will blame it on the weekend, or Friday or Thursday (because you know, Thursday is almost Friday which is almost the weekend), or just "put it off until Monday" altogether. Same thing with dessert. I really need black and white rules. I need someone to tell me "eat this" and "don't eat that" and "this is why pickles and cinnamon toast crunch is not an acceptable dinner". I need that. So, I found it. I was Pinterest-ing one day (remember when Pinterest wasn't even a word?? now it's a verb. Who knew? Kind of like "texting". Yea, that used to not be a word like 5 years ago. Seriously.) and looking up Paleo recipes that I thought my husband might eat when I came across Whole30. I did some research and turns out it's like a reset for your body. It's January. It's literally the month of the year that people reset things. So, why not?

Here are the rules. Basically, you eat REAL food for 30 days. No sugar, no grains, no dairy, no alcohol (if I were not currently pregnant, I'd be out on this business), no MSG or other crap that people put in food to make cheese its taste like heaven. JUST. REAL. FOOD. So, I'm doing it. One day at a time. And I'm going to attempt weekly updates with what I'm eating and how I'm feeling. There is a book called, It Starts with Food  that I am planning on reading this month that describes how to do what you're doing with Whole30 and why it's important. I'll give my cliffs notes version of that as well in case you're interested (assuming I actually buy it and have time to read it before the month is over - we'll add it to the old "To-Do").


Week 1 -
What I ate:
Breakfasts - Grapefruit, raw nuts (Walnuts, pecans), hard boiled eggs, Chicken salad (I was starving Friday morning!), eggs over easy with sausage and bacon and half a grapefruit, apple with almond butter and walnuts
Lunches - Tuna with avocado on spring mix with Cherry tomatoes and an apple, tuna salad on romaine hearts with strawberry/blueberry/blackberry mix, Cobb Salad (chicken, bacon, egg, avocado, tomatoes, vinegar and oil), chicken salad on field greens with cherry tomatoes, Cobb Salad with Avacado from Panera (minus the bleu cheese/only reason I usually eat salads), cobb salad from Chick Fil a with grilled chicken (I forgot to specify no cheese or corn, but tried to eat around it....kind of),
Dinners - Grilled Salmon on spring mix with avocado, onion, tomatoe and a red wine vinegar, olive oil and lemon vinegarette, Bunless bacon burgers with baked sweet potatoe fries, leftover burgers, tuna salad and chicken soup (weird dinner night), Tuna salad (Dan was out, I ate leftovers), pork carnitas in lettuce wraps with guac and pico, pork carnitas (click for recipe) in baked potatoe with salsa, chicken legs and roasted red potatoes
Snacks - Raw nuts (walnuts, cashews, pecans), snack mix with dry roasted almonds and pistachios and dried fruit, frozen grapes, celery with almond butter, Fruit (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries), green smoothie, Strawberries, raw nuts and dried fruit, larabar (cherry pie flavor)

How I feel:
First of all, I researched what to expect on this because I am serious about it and I'd really like to know what I'm in for. I found a lot of things, but they all seemed to be right along these lines:


Day 1: My head was pounding way too hard to think anything was "breezy".
Day 2: My headache continued....consistently. I had read that the headache is part of your body detoxing, but knowing myself  I would imagine it was the detox in combination with my complete caffeine withdrawal. You are allowed coffee on this plan, but not cream and sugar. So I can no longer tell people I'm a coffee drinker. I just can't do black coffee. Not even to rid myself of this terrible headache. I tried two different types of hot tea, but in case you're wondering, hot tea does NOT taste like coffee with cream and 2 sweet 'n lows. Not even a little.
Day 3: I still had a headache, but it seemed to be managed pretty well with Tylenol (whereas on days 1 and 2, it was not). I also discovered that while hot Green Tea is nothing like coffee, it is palatable enough to enable me to drink some caffeine. I feel like with lemon and sugar, it wouldn't be bad. Again, NOT coffee, but a mediocre substitute.
Day 4: I felt pretty normal. No headache and I don't feel hungry. Although, it should be noted that I am eating every 2-3 hours during the day.
Day 5: I walked into the kids' school in the morning and a little boy was eating a donut. It was one of the big ones, covered in chocolate and sprinkles and it was in the shape of a person or tree or something. I'm not sure how long I stared at him, but it was long enough to creep him out. Donuts will be my first post Whole30 breakfast. And maybe lunch. Possibly dessert....I know this picture says you're not supposed to be "Sleepy" until day 6, but I was all over that dwarf on day 5. All. Over. Maybe I got to skip a day of "I hate you and all things", it's hard to say. I am 13 weeks pregnant with a 1 and 3 yr old and a full time job. When I haven't slept in 3 days and have 5 deadlines all RIGHT NOW and my 3 yr old has decided that not only will she boycott sleeping in her bed, she no longer wants to poop EVER...then YES, I hate all things. Especially on mandatory poop days. Day 5 though, I did not hate anything on an out-of-the-norm level.
Day 6: I really felt normal today. I had energy enough to take Mia to Urban Air and do a little bouncing myself (a dangerous undertaking for a woman who's had two vaginal births and is currently pregnant), take all our inside Christmas decorations down with the "help" of my sidekick, Boo. I was the normal amount of sleepy for someone who is 13 weeks pregnant with two small children and I did not bite anyone's head off. *WIN*
Day 7: I woke up STARVING. I wanted to gnaw my arm off. I wanted donuts and coffee with cream and sugar and a chicken biscuit drenched in gravy. And it pissed me off when I sat down and ate an apple with almond butter....and dry walnuts. I mean REALLY pissed me off. I picked up my kids from my parents' house, bit Mia's head off about 6 times when she walked through the door....then I caught a glimpse of how ridiculous I was being. I apologized and pulled myself together. The rest of the day was much better. Rough morning though. Rough. Morning. Wow.

So I made it, kind of. I have a confession to make. On Sunday, we went to lunch at Red Lobster. I was weak. I had 2 cheddar biscuits. They were so warm and gooey and they were just calling to me! I also ordered shrimp tacos (not a bad choice), but they were in tortillas, and I didn't care. They also had ranch. Also, didn't care. One thing that this program specifies is not to let yourself cheat. And you know what.....I did. And again, I don't care. I'd say for a week on this program I did pretty good. I have broken myself of coffee (although I will have coffee again in 21 days). And I have been able to curb major sugar cravings with fruit and salty cravings with nuts. I have planned for/cooked every night and made my lunch or had a compliant salad every afternoon. I'm proud to have made it through week 1! I can't say I won't have another "cheat" during the next 21 days.....let's face it, I'm not the only one calling the shots in my skin these days....but I'm going to try to stay on program. It's only another 3 weeks, right? ;)

What I can tell you is that I feel good. My goal with this program and this pregnancy is to BE HEALTHY. I found that I was eating a bunch of CRAP. I was embarrassed by what was in my fridge and what I was choosing to snack on AND what I was choosing to feed my kids. I wanted to change that and if I am going to be a cliché, well then, the change starts with me. Right? So, since I took on this 30 day plan, both my husband and myself are making better choices with what we put in our bodies (if you know my husband, McDonald's BIGGEST advocate, then you know this is HUGE for us/him). Our kids are eating healthier(-ish, let's face it, my 3 yr old has a very specific palate, I feed her whatever she'll eat) and I am no longer ashamed of what is in my refrigerator or what's in my body.

I, as I'm sure you expected, have not bought the book yet. It turns out making dinner every night from scratch and prepping lunch for the next day takes TIME! Who knew?! I'm still shooting to buy/finish it before the next 21 days is up though.

So, that was my week. Hope it was as interesting for you as it was for me. I'll post next week as well, and the following....until I no longer have any blog followers. Who knows, it may not take 2 more weeks ;)

What I can tell you, is that you should expect another post this week about what will be joining the Jones Family in July....Boy or Girl. Feel free to cast your votes in the comments! :)

Thriving in Chaos (Bella 14 mo, Mia 3yr 2.5 mo)

Chaos. We Joneses apparently thrive in it. If we are not planning a party, we are selling a house or buying a new house or changing jobs or changing schools or buying cars or tending to sick babies.....always something. It's been that way since Dan and I started our lives together. It's like we are in overdrive. Nothing at a leisurely pace. Do you know that we have only been together for 6 years?? While that's a long time compared to my prior relationships, in the grand scheme of things, it is no time. In that 6 years, we dated, were engaged for a year and married, had 2 babies, lived in 2 apartments and 2 houses, and between us we have had 10 job changes/promotions (I've had 4 within the same company). There has literally not been a year that didn't have some sort of life altering event in it. It's been a wild ride....but an amazing one. And we discovered in November of 2014 that 2015 will be just as life altering.....Baby Jones #3 is on the way!

So. Here we are. We are both in careers we enjoy, have children who are happy and becoming more independent every day. We are starting to get more regular sleep and now we are faced with our new reality....another baby. I mean, I am pretty sure I know what to do with another baby, but for real - WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH ANOTHER BABY??? Who has 3 kids?! In 4 years no less?? *thumbs pointing in* This guy, apparently. So, it is with excitement and lots of unanswered logistical questions that we will welcome our third baby in July of this year....Year 5. (The implications of our new addition will have to be its own blog post....trust me when I say, I have all sorts of notes going on in my head :))

I am very aware that not everyone gets pregnant solely by drinking too much wine and taking a romp in the hay. I have had too many friends struggle to get pregnant or lose babies to take this for granted for even a minute. Now, I can't say there wasn't a certain amount of shock and adjustment after the two lines showed up on that test (or those 4 tests....), but once I got past that moment, I became so very thankful for yet another opportunity to be a mommy. This time, I don't have the same fears I did with #2. I am now well aware that I can love another little human just as much as I love the 2 that are already outside my body. I don't fear that I'll have enough patience or time.....and that is mostly because I know for sure that I will NOT have enough of either. But I know I will survive. And I will look at this sweet new baby and I will fall in love, just like I did 2 times before. Because they are precious. Even when they are not a part of our immediate plans.

So, as of today, I am 11w4d pregnant. I am due July 26. I have my first trimester screening on Monday and at that point we could find out if we are destined to be a family of Jones Ladies or if a little prince will be joining my princesses. I can honestly say that either way, I'm good. I mean lets face it, we make some pretty adorable little girls....but of course the pressure is on for a boy given that girls have now over taken both Dan's family and mine. As of this point, I feel pretty normal. I've had some nausea, but nothing severe and I haven't put on any weight (YET), so there is nothing to really remind me on a daily basis that I have a tiny human growing inside me.

In the spirit of thriving in chaos......2015 is certainly gearing up to bring it.

As usual I'll keep you all posted. Happy New Year!