On the Road to Paleo

Our family has decided to go Paleo.

Why?

Our family has a handful of health issues (food allergies, chronic heartburn, diabetes) and I am confident that this new way of eating will enable us to be more healthy as a family.

Starting tomorrow, I am going to replace one meal (dinner) with Paleo. The next Monday, we will replace lunch and the following week breakfast. I figured dinner would be the easiest as it gives me more meal planning time. With three kids, breakfast is rushed due to getting them out the door to school and lunch is packed which is going to take some serious meal planning to accomplish.

Why not cold turkey? I think my kids will adjust better if we ease them off slow.

We are also going to start weight lifting and walking as a family. Maddie cannot even open a single serving of fish crackers or brush her hair without whining that her arms are burning. Poor girl is a stick and needs some serious muscle.

This is not going to be a temporary diet, but rather a new lifestyle. I think it will be the hardest on the kids.

Will they occasionally get to cheat? Yes. With birthday parties, sleepovers and other events, that would be impossible to make them stick to the Paleo lifestyle and I don't want to make this new eating plan a negative thing or punishment.

I have been watching and reading on what processed food is doing to our bodies and I want to teach my kids to eat healthier and limit sugar and processed foods that are detrimental to our health.

I have a friend who has been Paleo for a few years now and has pointed me to some great blogs and websites with recipes and advice.

So what can and can't we eat?
  
CAN:

• Grass-produced meats
• Fish/seafood
• Fresh fruits and veggies
• Eggs
• Nuts and seeds
• Healthful oils (Olive, walnut, flaxseed, macadamia, avocado, coconut)

CAN'T:

• Cereal grains
• Legumes (including peanuts)
• Dairy
• Refined sugar
• Potatoes
• Processed foods
• Salt
• Refined vegetable oils
  

Considering that Maddie is allergic to wheat and dairy, I think we will do well. I will randomly keep you updated on our progress. ~S

Websites to check out if curious:

http://thepaleodiet.com/about-the-paleo-diet/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz2JDYhhCxX
http://paleomg.com/
http://everydaypaleo.com/
http://paleopot.com/
http://www.chowstalker.com/

Christmas Wrap-Up

Christmas was okay this year. Mainly because Matt & I picked up so many extra hours (both worked Christmas Eve and Christmas).

We still managed to do our usual holiday activities: Fantasy Trail, Nativity display in Clackamas with the Marsh Family, PIR Lights & Storybook Lane at Alpenrose Dairy. My parents were here and it was fun to see them open their presents as well. I managed to do most of my shopping online and within my budget. Hurray!

Here are some pics (mainly for my record)...

Opening stockings Christmas morning

And the stocking were hung with care...

We left out cookies, oranges and carrots for the reindeer

Christmas morning

Buddy the Elf's last day with us

With the Gold kids at Storybook Lane

Two trees and a wreath from our fundraiser tree farm :) Our first year with a tree in our room.

We made a gingerbread house too :)

Matt helped with lights this year. Turned out great!

Downstairs tree.

January Wrap-Up

The last two weeks have been fun. Work has been light and so I have been spending a ton of time with the kids. Matt and I have also been on many dates thanks to some gift cards (movies, comedy club).

This last week we went to Mt. Hood to sled. It was so much fun. I went snow shoeing for the first time and am addicted. What great exercise! I think Matt and I will try to do it more often. Being in Mt. Hood made us want to move closer to snow. We even looked at some properties in the area for fun.

I am pretty proud of myself too. It was 14 degrees on the mountain and all I had on was a tank-top, cardigan, hat and gloves. We tried to find me a winter coat on the way with no success. I am glad Matt bought me some Danner boots a few months back.

Considering that we lived in Utah for 23 years, it is hard NOT to be around snow :(. I love everything about it: driving in it, the brightness, the cold, the crunching sound as you walk on it and watching my kids sled like I used to when I was little.

We sold our kids' outdoor playhouse as well. We decided after much thought to do something fun with the money instead of saving it or putting it in the donation fund for my procedure. The last six months with Matt on graves was hell and we wanted to celebrate him being done, so we got a hotel while at Mt. Hood.

While we were there, we went to eat at a pizza place called Ratskellar. I was so excited! I ate at Ratskellar when I was a kid (in Utah) all the time with my family before it closed down. I have never seen one since! So fun to eat there with my kids :). It was just as good as I remember.

We also went shooting (Matt, Ashlin & I) while the kids were in school. Ash and I (after shooting) went exploring in the woods and had fun taking pics. 

Here are some pics. ~S

Dinner at Zig Zag Inn

Mt. Hood Sledding (Jaiden)

Matt snow shoeing

We made Ashlin a bed with two leather chairs at the hotel for fun :)

Ratskeller Pizza!

Resort at the Mountain (Matt & Jaiden)

Shooting in the Mountains

Ashlin's pic. Pretty good.

Madeleine (she is getting so big!)

Ashlin

Me & Ash

Resolutions

I am not one for Resolutions, but I figured I would throw some out there.

For 2013 I Want To:

Laugh More

Appreciate the Small Things

Go on More Dates

More Nights at the Dinner Table (Graveyards prevented this)

~S

A New Year

All of our fundraisers are done.

I am waiting on the Scentsy and Craft Boutique funds to come in (around $200 total) and my brother has promised a donation as well. That should bring us up to around $5,650.

We are getting so close to 7k!

Since the doctor requires the money for the Stem Cell procedure up front, we will make the first appointment when we reach 7k. At that point, all we will have to worry about is travel expenses.

In the Spring, we have two more fundraisers planned: A plant sale & silent auction thanks to two of my very good friends :)

My husband is also thinking of doing one in the next few months.

I am nervous about the actual procedure. Will it work? How much pain will it cause? What will my recovery be like and so forth. But, I have faith that this is the right direction.

At the end of the month, I am getting a biopsy for skin cancer (Vulvar Cancer). Because I have not responded to the conventional (and only) treatment, too much scar tissue has built up and cancer is a concern. Pray it will be negative as a positive result will delay the Stem Cell procedure.

Thanks for listening. Happy New Year. ~S