Mutiny!

I was supposed to post this last weekend, I'm sorry! Time got away from me and I just didn't get around to it. So now here it is, the final installment!

We are now finished with our Whole"30"(Whole 14). My re-introduction plan went nothing like planned, instead we finished with a bang on Mother's Day Sunday, with tears and "We want pizza!!" cries for mercy. So I caved. And we had dairy and grains the next day. And gluten the day after that. I tried to limit how much, and I'm still working at keeping our diet much more "whole" aka real foods, but we are pretty much back to normal. Our dairy consumption has decreased quite a bit, as has our sugar consumption (when Mom's home that is). But we are back to having rice, bread, or pasta with lunch or dinner, although my goal is to have salad as a main meal at least a few times a week. So here's the last of my daily posts, enjoy!

Day 9: Prep day and grocery day! Sweet potato and zucchini pancakes, spinach and eggs, sausage. Yummy! Finally found a lunchmeat we can have at the deli counter, so I stocked up on that. Prep included MORE hard boiled eggs, MORE mayo, ranch, making "pudding" for tonight and pulling meat out of the freezer to thaw for the week. Had salad for lunch and made skillet beef stew that we dished over roasted potatoes.

Day 10: Mornings are HARD. They have been the hardest for me, since now instead of drinking my coffee and having my Bible study time, I spend the whole morning cooking breakfast in time for Zach to take some to work, and packing lunches. Cooking breakfast everyday takes a lot of time. I have to start about 6am. Make these YUMMY crispy chicken thighs for dinner, they were a hit with everyone! Had some green beans from the freezer and I forgot what else.

Day 12: Day 11 meals: carrot and sweet potato "pancakes", leftovers and veggies for lunch(BLT salad for me), and dinner was this yummy Almond Dijon Crusted Fish that my kids called pizza. It doesn't taste like pizza, but it was good and they ate it. Had broccoli and 3 pans of potato "chips". NO leftovers, geez!

This morning was fried eggs over sautéed kale with chopped tomatos and avocado. I was so ready to be done with this last night, Tired of no "easy" snacks or meals, having to prep EVERYTHING. Went grocery shopping today, I LOVE Safeway's clearance meats! We ate bananas and larabars and deli turkey slices in the car between stops. Dinner was Enchilada zucchini boats and Zesty Lime Shrimp and Avacado Salad. Yummy! Watermelon for dessert, happy Cinco de Mayo!

Day 13: I thought about candy all day. And how on earth am I going to add food back into our diet and still keep it healthy and whole without caving in to the easy of prepackaged?
Smoothies for breakfast, turkey rolls and salad for lunch, crockpot kaluah pork and roasted cabbage for dinner (yummy!). Apple slices and fruit leather for movie night. Almost done!

Day 14: I put creamer in my coffee this morning. It was too sweet. Z took all 3 kids fishing so I got some quiet time. To cook breakfast and make dried mangoes for snacks. Nutcakes with strawberries for breakfast! Soccer today, everyone wants to be done and keeps begging for sweets and things. Came home and whipped up some deviled eggs, chicken vinaigrette coleslaw and chopped veggies for lunch and then back for the 2nd soccer game of the day. It was like 92, so hot! And then my family surprised me for mother's day a day early and we went to DQ for blizzards after the game. Did I mention that it was 92? And you do all remember that I'm 33 weeks pregnant, right? Anyway, it was delicious, but I only got thru about half of mine and I had a splitting headache from the sugar that didn't leave all day. Made super good sweet potato sliders with guacamole. So cute and so yummy. I used plain ground beef and skipped the bacon, we added lettuce and tomato. Still trying to figure out this whole adding foods back in and keeping it healthy thing. Even Z agreed that incorporating more whole foods and keeping most of the sugar out is a good idea.

Day 15: Breakfast and lunch we were good, I made enough leftovers so that I didn't have to cook on Mother's day. Added in a little dairy. And then dinner rolled around, and I didn't really plan dinner. And MUTINY ensued. Dominoes pizza was ordered. Popcorn was had by all. So much for a slow introduction. My family is OVER IT. I noticed that the kid's noses were a little more drippy again(allergy season), and I felt hungry when I woke up in the middle of the night after popcorn.

Things I've noticed: Joey thinned out quite a bit, Gideon is starting to as well but he cheated a lot more than Joey did. I discovered some delicious recipies that I will definitely be making again, and I have learned that when I have sugar now, I get a headache. Dairy in small amounts is OK, but if I over do it I don't feel great. I'm still trying to not go overboard on the grains either. With the sugar back in, it makes everyone grumpier, so we're trying to limit the junk food for sure.
Joey asked if we could do this again next year, it might become a yearly tradition. I'm OK with that.
I hope you enjoyed following along, and stay tuned, I'm hoping to post about my little square foot garden later in the week!

Cheater, Cheater Pumpkin Eater... and a Revised Meal Plan

It finally happened. In a big way. For one meal. And now we're back on track for the remainder of our family adventure. It was race day, and in our household, race day = cheat day. It has since we were married. That's 11 years of you run hard, you eat what you want. Only I didn't run. I just walked all over and trucked 3 kids around with me and logged 4.8 miles and managed to keep us eating whole 30 style while travelling and staying in a hotel. Except for that one post-race meal. Do I regret it? Kind of, I didn't HAVE to do it, I wasn't having major cravings, I could have picked salad off the menu. But I didn't. At least we all shared the bacon cheese fries and the oreo milkshake. How did I feel? Bloated. Tired. Not energetic. But other than that OK. Just not great. I'm learning that some people react more strongly to things, be it dietary changes or poison ivy. My husband and my oldest didn't feel great, but the rest of us seemed OK other than just feeling kind of blah.
Here's a few things that I AM noticing a difference in: heartburn(which is seriously ONLY pregnancy related) is GONE. Have not had an issue with it once, whereas normally in the 3rd trimester I can't sleep without medication for it. I'm really not hungry all the time like I thought I would be. I feel like I'm sleeping a little better(maybe the heartburn thing?). And I definitely have more energy in the afternoons, I don't crash after lunch, I can keep going even if I'm a little tired.
So here's my prep day advice:
1)Hardboil eggs, they are amazing go-to snacks and salad additions. We went through 2 dozen of them the first week.
2) Chop a bunch9and I mean a TON) of veggies and fruit, carrot sticks, bell peppers, celery, apple slices, melon. They are super easy to grab snacks, and it saves time in the morning when you're trying to pack 2 lunches and make breakfast for everyone at the same time.
3) Put nuts into Ziploc bags according to serving size, or else you'll eat the whole bag at once.
4) Broil up some chicken breasts to use in salad or wraps, and precook your bacon and sausage. Saves a ton of time in the early mornings!
5) Have a favorite berry, melon, or fruit ready to go for the kiddos, I bribe them with it to get them to finish their spinach. They also love pistachios.
6) Premake your mayo (I'm using this recipe from www.whole30.com and I use my food processor, haven't had it fail yet!) for the week, I made it 3 times last week! It's a base for ranch, tartar sauce, and lots of other things. Plus its just so yummy when it's homemade! I also recommend going ahead and have some dressing(ranch or otherwise) ready to go so again, you're not making it at 6am.
7) Paper towels work wonders to keep your chopped veggies fresh. Dampen it for carrots and celery, put a dry one under your bell peppers.

That's what I've learned. I hope it's helpful! And see below for my revised and revisited meal plan and journal.
Day 4 (the end): Dinner didn't go as planned. Z ended up working late, so we rushed and took him dinner, and as we were driving home an hour past dinner time with 3 hungry kids, pizza just sounded so EASY. It's not my favorite food, it's just easy. Plain and simple. So we survived the trip home, and I shredded up some sweet potatoes and carrots, mixed in eggs and cinnamon and fried it up like pancakes. Topped with banana slices and applesauce, YUM! 2 of the 3 critics loved it. Joey said "Let's KEEP this recipe!" Even Sarah was on board, "Can we eat this for dinner tomorrow night?" Gid on the other hand, let me just say: it had sweet potato in it. He has a huge aversion for some reason. Oh well.
Day 5: Hashbrowns, eggs, avocado and tomatoes for breakfast, chicken salad wraps for lunch (I never knew I liked chicken salad, maybe it's the homemade mayo), and failed zoodles with steak and roasted broccoli for dinner. At least they ate the broccoli. Gid and Sarah ate a bunch of stuff today, between Bible study snack and Costco samples. HYPER! They went to bed early.
Day 6: Crazy run around day! Smoothies and eggs for breakfast, got home with 10 minutes to make and eat lunch, so I ended up using the only lunchmeat I had (sugar and soybean oil and who knows what) to make veggie wraps to eat in the car. So disappointed that it wasn't even a yummy or good cheat! I would much rather have had a big yummy sandwich from subway, would have been just as fast and tasted better. The worst part is that as we were driving I remembered that DUH I did have a plan, heating up leftover stew. WAA. So I was totally tempted to throw in the towel because by the time we got home I was SO tired and we still had soccer practice, but I got up off my buns and made dinner that I left on the stove so that we could eat after soccer. Baked salmon, roasted potatoes and roasted cabbage. It was yummy, and so worth it. Even Z said as soon as we got home "Awesome. I liked all of it." Made it totally worth it!

Day 7: Insanity and craziness! Nut/coconut/banana pancakes for breakfast(YUM). I had a plan for eating on the road. But then we had a sick kid in the morning. So plans changed, and I was going to stay home with the kids. And get caught up, and prep food for next week, and find some lunchmeat we can really eat. And then everyone was fine, and everyone still wanted to go. SO I threw together everything I had planned and packed and we were in the car and on the road in an hour. I grabbed every easy thing to eat in the house: fruit leathers, apples, bananas, larabars, nuts, chopped veggies, more fruit, and all our leftovers (salmon dinner, and the stew I forgot about) and we were off. We snacked the whole way (after eating BLT salad for lunch YUM), and then met friends when we arrived. I borrowed their microwave to reheat leftovers and voila! Dinner.
Day 8: Breakfast was good! Larabars, bananas, and eggs and fruit juice from the hotel breakfast. And then lunch happened. It was race day, and if you run hard, you get to eat what you want. It's a family rule that has been established since we were married. So Carl's Jr. it was. And cheeseburgers. And bacon cheese fries(we all shared one). And even an Oreo milkshake that we all split.(Hey, don't judge!) And after that meal, we were back on track. We all felt bloated, full, and tired. Several in the family had some intestinal discomfort later in the evening. I really didn't feel horrible, just felt blah a not great. For dinner, I had fresh veggies, fruit, deviled eggs and grilled chicken. Win. Back on track.

Excerpts from Joey's log:
Day 4: I like the banana crunch better than the applesauce crunch. I am starting to like the diet. I think I can live for two more weeks.
Day 5: I like the diet but it's almost over (I showed him that we are almost halfway!). Although I would like sugar once again.
Day 7: Here's a poem: I wish for good foods, oh how I wish for vegetables. Oh how I wish for fruuuuit. Oh how I wish for protieen. Oh and how I wish for you is called good foods. (He sang it to me.

Menu Plan (Revised version):
Fri: Smoothies and HB eggs
      Turkey wrapped veggies/leftovers
      Baked Salmon w/ roasted cabbage and potatoes

Sat: banana nut pancakes with cinnamon and apples
      salad
      eating out (aka: salad. This turned into leftovers heated up at a friend's house)

Sun: Larabars, fruit, eggs
       Restaurant - race day cheat (or lettuce wrapped burger)
      potluck (grilled chicken, fruit, veggies, deviled eggs)

Mon: sweet potato/zucchini pancakes w/ applesauce, scrambled eggs w/ spinach, sausage
       steak, avocado, pistachio salad
        skillet beef "stew" and roasted potatoes
       chia banana pudding (tastes great with fresh berries!)

Tues: egg & sausage "muffins", leftover pudding
       chicken veggie lettuce wraps
      skillet chicken thighs w/ artichokes

Wed: Smoothies, HB eggs
     BLT salad
     baked fish w/ potato "chips" and broccoli

Thurs: fried eggs w/ hashbrowns
     tuna patties w/ broccoli & apple slices
     taco salad

Fri: egg, spinach, bacon "quiche"
     leftovers/chicken salad wraps
     crockpot kaluah pork over steamed cabbage

Sat: sweet potato & carrot pancakes
     deviled eggs, chicken wraps or salad
     hamburgers w/potato "buns"

Sun: banana nut cakes
     leftovers
     grilled salmon & veggie skewers

Mon: Reintroduce legumes:
     eggs, bananas w/ Peanut butter
     taco salad w/ beans
     crockpot chili

Tues: smoothies w/ eggs
     salmon patties w/ broccoli and fruit
     baked potatoes & chicken

Wed: Non gluten grains
     eggs, sweet potato pancakes
     corn chips w/ guac & salsa, turkey wraps
     stir fry chicken & rice

Thurs: baked egg muffins
     leftover chili
     BLT salad

Fri: Dairy
     yogurt & fruit or non gluten cereal w/ milk
     cheese w/ salad or in wraps
     crockpot roast w/ potatoes, carrots, celery
     ice cream

Sat: larabars, HB eggs, fruit
     deviled eggs, lettuce wraps
     leftovers

Sun: gluten
     pancakes
     Sandwiches
     pasta/spaghetti

Day 4, How Long Can We Make It?

OK, so to be honest, I'm the only one who hasn't cheated yet. Day 4. But, like I said, I'm not being super strict, and the goal is to cut WAY back on sugar and increase awareness of how much junk we eat! I made a meal plan, which is below, and which has also drastically changed since we started 3 days ago. Go figure. I know better, the cardinal rule when doing anything with kids, Keep It Simple, Stupid! So instead of trying multiple new recipes in a week, stick  to one, or maybe two, and just try to modify what you usually eat. I have been surprised what my kids will actually eat when they don't have other options. It also helps to bribe them with "approved" things they like...("If you eat all of the spinach in your eggs, you can have some apple juice when you're finished!" Or "If you eat everything on your plate we can have watermelon for dessert." Juice is always a treat in our house.) And they will almost always try one bite of anything. So here's the first 3 days, with the meal plan below. Also, keep reading to the bottom to see my 7yr old's take on all of this! (He wanted to contribute as a guest writer.) I'm not sure how long we'll last, but if we can get through 2 weeks I'll be happy!

Day 1 My kids ate salad. And S ate spinach in her eggs without complaining. Homemade mayo is way easy to make, and SOO yummy. I'll never go back. Notes from today: I wanted to give in to the constant requests for goldfish. You NEED to have TONS of snacks on hand. Literally. A truckload. The morning went OK, but by afternoon, everyone was STARVING and nothing I gave them seemed to fill them up. Also, be sure to pre-make some condiments and dressings, it saves a lot of time in the kitchen. We had scrambled eggs with spinach and kale, a giant salad with leftover roast beef and every veggie we had thrown in, and for dinner, asparagus, steamed broccoli, roasted potatoes, and rainbow trout the kids caught this morning. I wish I could give them cereal for breakfast...

Day 2: I got a lot of negativity today from the whole family. That makes it harder. But we NEED this, the sugar is everywhere! Everyone is starving in the afternoon. Again. I need to get more protein and fat into lunch so they're not asking for more food every 10 minutes. I'm going through eggs like crazy, I started the week with a dozen hardboiled eggs and I have one left. Seriously! And homemade potato chips are a huge hit, I need to make about 4 baking sheets at a time though. Looking forward to smoothies for breakfast, something different than eggs! We had homemade hash browns with fried eggs on top and sausage, lunch was BLT salad, and dinner was buffalo chicken and sweet potato casserole for Z and baked chicken and homemade potato chips with steamed broccoli for kids and I.

Day 3: Smoothies for breakfast! It's yummy. Hard to get up early enough to make 2 meals to pack and send to work for Z. S & G were whiny today, they miss the sugar. S had a meltdown because she wanted a granola bar, but eventually she bucked up and ate turkey wrapped veggies for lunch. On the other hand, J came home from school with a great attitude, said "I think I can actually live on this diet. For a couple of weeks, I mean." Everyone liked lunch(win!), sliced turkey spread with homemade mayo and wrapped around bell peppers, shredded carrots, and avocado slices. Dinner was also a hit with most of them, Rustic Beef and Cabbage stew. I wanted more, but it filled me up! It was awards night at Awana, and they served cake. So go figure, all 3 kids indulged. (Am I a horrible person for half hoping that they would have a tummy ache?) Z was strong for me though, and after I got the kids to bed I had an apple with almond butter to make up for it. I miss my extra buttery popcorn with butter on top! Z is still drinking energy drinks, and doing his workout protein shakes. But he's trying, and I appreciate it!

Day 4:(So far), Had scrambled eggs with kale and sausage this morning. Bribed the kids to eat it with promises of watermelon. Lunch was leftovers for Z, lettuce wrapped chicken and veggies for J, and I made chicken salad for me and for tomorrow. Couldn't get the younger two to eat that, so I chopped up chicken, cucumbers, and bell peppers. They complained until I gave them toothpicks to spear it all with and then they ate it all happily. Woohoo! Juice may have been a bribe factor. But they did ask for more cucumbers, and they said they were full, and there hasn't been a snack request. Baked some kale chips, interested to see how they taste and if the kids will eat them. Doing steak and kale salad for dinner tonight(that's the plan anyway).

Joey's version:
Day 0(The day before we started, all in his own words): I think I'm gonna throw up. Excuse me, where are my manners. My name is Joey. I will see you more this frightful journey. I am feeling nervous. As I was saying, I'll see you later in this journey. By: Guest Writer
Day 1: Not as bad as I thought. But I needed to go to the bathroom a lot. Sounds like some horrible meals. But still OK. See you later.
Day 2: I needed to go to the bathroom a lot. Bad tasting salad. See you later.
Day 3: I liked the food in my lunch! I'm don't think I'm going to die anymore.

Meal Plan:

April/May 2016

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
24 B: spinach, mushroom, & potato egg scramble w/ avacado L: salad & fruit D: grilled steak, squash, and asparagus P: grill chicken & steak for salads	25 B: fried eggs over potato & carrot pancakes L: BLT salad D:Baked salmon w/ roasted cabbage & almond sauce P:	26 B: smoothies L: salmon & lettuce wraps D: Crockpot rustic beef & cabbage stew P:	27 B: scrambled eggs & veggies w/ fruit L: deviled eggs w/ turkey wrapped veggies D: Buffalo chicken stuffed bell peppers P:	28 B:  hardboiled eggs, fruit salad L: leftover stew D: Baked chicken w/ roasted potatoes and broccoli P: soak nuts & coconut for breakfast	29 B: cinnamon apple “porridge” L: seafood salad D: leftovers/salad P:	30 B: banana “pancakes”, scrambled eggs L: turkey & veggie rolls, fruit salad D: Restaurant salad in Spokane P:
1 May B: gone/ larabars and fruit and hardboiled eggs L: burgers w/o buns? D: Homegroup P:	2 B: scrambled eggs w/ veggies L: chicken salad wraps D: spaghetti w/ zoodles  P:	3 B: chia banana pudding L: BLT salad D: skillet chicken thighs w/artichokes P:	4 B: fried eggs over zoodles w/ tomato & avacado L: turkey wraps, veggies, fruit salad D: baked fish w/ sweet potato fries and kale P:	5 B: sausage & egg “muffins” L: tuna patties, broccoli, apples D: grilled steak & kale salad P:	6 B: smoothies L: buffalo chk. salad D: crockpot kaluah pork w/ steamed cabbage, roasted broccoli P:	7 B: spinach & egg bake L: deviled eggs, turkey/veggie wraps, fruit salad D: hamburgers w/ sweet potato buns P:

 

8 B: breakfast “porridge” L: D: grilled salmon, potatoes & asparagus P: grill steak/chicken for salads	9 B: eggs, veggies, fruit L: chicken club salad D:  crockpot chili P:	10 B: smoothies L: salmon patties & broccoli D: sausage & potato bake P:	11 B: eggs, sausage & potato hash L: steak salad D: stir fried chicken & veggies P:	12 B:  banana “pancakes”, eggs L: leftover chili, veggies D:  baked chicken and roasted veggies P:	13 B: fruit salad, hardboiled eggs L: BLT salad D: crockpot roast w/ potatoes P:	14 B: baked eggs w/veggies L: chicken salad wraps, fruit salad D: lemon garlic shrimp skewers w/ potatoes and asparagus P:

Whole 30 Family Experiment

I know it's been awhile since I've posted, but I have a hard time thinking of anything "blog-worthy". But here it is, finally, and I hope you enjoy the journey with me.

At the suggestion of a friend, we are going to attempt to do the "Whole30" diet for the next 3 weeks (I know, it's not the full 30 days, but it's what fits our schedule right now, so I'm going for it!). Some of you may be familiar with it, but for those of you who are staring at that number with confusion,it's basically 30 days with no sugar, no dairy, no grains, no legumes, no alcohol(non-issue since I'm currently 30 weeks pregnant with kiddo #4), no additives(MSG, carrageenan, sulfites, anything you can't pronounce). (Check out www.whole30.com) And all 5 (well, 6) of us are going to attempt this. This means my kids will be faced with lots of foods that they "don't like" (we'll see how hungry they get). Now, I'm not going crazy, when we're at church and the kind older ladies give them a cookie, I'm going to let them make the decision whether or not to eat it. After their soccer game, I'm not going to tell them that they don't get the snack that all the other kids do. And telling my husband tat diet soda isn't allowed? Yeah, I'm not even going to go there. I'm going to leave it up to them. But we have been doing a lot of talking about making healthy choices, and I'll be warning them that if they DO choose to eat those things that they may not feel so great.

Why are we doing this? Well, I need a sugar reset. Seriously. And I think an overall reset will be good for all of us. I'm hoping that we can all learn to like some of these foods a little better, and in the future that we'll make better choices overall, whether it's grain and dairy free or not. (I do plan to add these things back in! I mean, there's only so long I can do coffee without creamer.) So consider this my intro. I spent the past week meal planning, reading, and food (and family) prepping. I'll be posting throughout this journey, and stay tuned for future posts!

Happy Easter

As we approach another holiday weekend,  I find myself reevaluating what is really important. There is so much commercialism that bombards us and especially our kids, I want to make sure my kids know what Easter is really all about. Now, I'm not super mom. I haven't been on pinterest at all, we did one craft that had no spiritual purpose, and I'm working really hard just to read them our Children's Bible every night leading up to Easter,  but even then I'm questioning myself. Shouldn't this be the most important part of our every day? Why is it just this week (that happens to be spring break) that I'm making time to emphasize Jesus? Is it because we're not behind schedule by 7:15 every morning this week, do I blame our busy school day schedule? Or is the problem with me? Have I not made knowing Jesus and being in His Word a priority in our house? I'm learning and realizing that I need to make some changes. Maybe a little more structured reading time when we can actually read God's word together. Maybe a short memory verse we can work on together.  That means a little less cleaning,  a little less coffee (ouch), a little less breathing space for me, but I so desperately want for my kids the life changing experience of knowing Jesus as their personal savior.
Easter is a season of hope, forgiveness, and new beginnings. Spring is finally here,  and our Saviour is alive! I am so excited to share that joy with my family. And so grateful that Jesus has redeemed me, in spite of past mistakes,  and what better time than now to start new, make a new priority that is a little less focused on being on time and a lot more focused on making time for Jesus.

The Balancing Act

I've been hearing a lot about balance lately, but somehow it seems to escape me. I just finished doing the Bible study "Makeover: Revitalizing the Many Roles You Fill" by Jen Hatmaker with a dear group of friends. Over at The Better Mom they have been doing a series on finding balance as a busy mom. Whether you work, stay home, have kids, are single, finding balance is something that we all struggle right now.
I posted last week about our adorable new puppy and the challenges of housebreaking her. This week I'm recovering from a cold and trying to figure out how to begin training for the 18.12 mile race I signed up for, and include that into everyday life of trying to have some devotional time, play with and teach my kids, have time with my husband each day, cook healthy meals for my family, train a dog, get the chores done and laundry folded, the dishes done, help at church, and be there for the friends God has blessed me with. Juggling kids activities, church activities, at home time, cleaning, exercise, and everything else seems a little intimidating.
We just began a new study on "Gideon: Your weakness, Gods strength". I'm excited to see what God has for me to learn as I find my place in this current season of my life. And I have blocked out this afternoon for sitting down and planning my "schedule", to include all the things God has put into my life. I think the key for starters is coming up with a plan, and then tackling it moment by moment with the strength and grace God gives us. I'll keep you posted!

Bonus: A link to my current new favorite recipe for homemade granola bars:
Inspired Taste Soft and Chewy Granola Bars

The Tickle Fight that went right

Today was a day. You know, one of "those" days. The ones where everyone and everything is just off. It started out fine, I only cleaned up puppy pee once before 8am. Then we went grocery shopping,  and I lost my keys somewhere between unlocking the car to load groceries and returning the cart. Not a huge distance to cover, but they were gone. So I had to re-unload kids and go and ask inside if they'd been returned. Thankfully they had,  although I have to admit I was a little annoyed that someone's good deed took an extra 15minutes of my time. Because you know if they would have left them where they were I would have found them in a minute. But it's ok, they were doing their best and I wasn't late for anything. Just a little hiccup.
Came home,  unloaded kids and groceries, (I can't remember if I cleaned more dog pee), made granola bars, and then it was time to get my oldest off the bus. It was early for the first time ever, so I almost missed it. He misbehaved at school,  so up in smoke went my dream of a nap. (No screen time if you get in trouble at school.) So we spent nap time writing apology letters (I almost fell asleep spelling "sorry"). Then the boys played. And made jokes. All about farts and poop. All afternoon. I was so tired of it. I sent them outside to play(twice), hoping that would burn off some of the crazy energy they seemed to have today. They came in, still telling weird 3 and 5 year old style farts jokes (like "why did the giraffe cross the road? So he could fart!" Which to boys is apparently hilarious), and proceeded to run laps around the living room for the next hour.
It was at this point I had given up. I know I did stuff, but it sure doesn't feel like I made any progress. I vacuumed the living room,  but only because my middle son had emptied out the dustpan of hair from yesterdays haircuts all over the living room. I sat down as the boys ran laps around me, doing my best to ignore the insanity and obnoxiously loud farting noises, and I felt useless. What was the point? What is the purpose to all this? I'm so tired but I haven't done anything worthwhile. And then it hit me. My perspective needs adjusting. That's when the tickle fight commenced.
Have you ever tried to tickle three children at once? Its hilarious,  and nerve wracking, and exhausting. But it works. My attention was all they needed to get over that edge. My attitude changed, so did theirs. So we tickled. And then I made dinner, and they played *somewhat* quietly (the fart jokes never stopped), and I was reminded of my purpose. The point of it all. To show them the same love God shows me. In spite of my tired, my grumpy, to just jump in and engage. The moments (yes, "those" ones), didn't stop, but my attitude was better.
And maybe,  just maybe, there is something a tiny bit funny about farting giraffes. At least its funny to watch them think its funny.