End of the Year Cub Scout Campout

   At the end of the school year the Cub Scouts do an end of the year camp out. This is the time that the boys all 'graduate' to their new den. Carter crossed over to a Tiger this year. He is pretty excited since this is normally the first actual cub scout level. He was a Lion this year which is a new (and not nation-wide) program. There aren't really any badges to earn. So, Carter was excited to a get a Tiger book and objectives to meet. He also will now get to wear a real cub scout uniform (his favorite part)! Also, Cory took over as Pack Master this year so we will have a very exciting year ahead of us!
   For this camp out Cory and Carter drove up on Friday night and camped out with the pack. Clay, Vivi and I joined them mid morning on Saturday. The boys were all still on a hike (a VERY long hike) and we were able to all eat lunch together and stay for the 'Crossing Over". Immediately afterwards, me and the little ones raced back to Edwards to say goodbye to our WONDERFUL neighbors who were leaving that week. Cory and Carter stayed for the rest of the day and the evening activities and came home very late on Saturday night since Cory had to leave to go to Phoenix the next morning. He's still there and me and the kids are in TX for a visit. Here's a few pictures I captured with my phone while we were up there at the campsite.
 

Kindergarten Program

The Kindergarten classes did an end of the year program on the last day of school. They didn't do any kind of graduation, which is fine by me, and I'm assuming did this performance instead. There were plenty of cute songs and we've been singing "This Land is Your Land" for months now. While I know that in a few weeks I'll be begging for school to start again, I am so GLAD it's over for the summer. Carter and I (and the rest of the kids) were all needing a break from the everyday school happenings. I have some video of this performance as well but can't figure out how to get them to play on blogger.

Carter and his EdBest Austin

Say "Cheese!"

Viv's best friend Emma (Which happens to be Austin's little sister)

Carter's teacher Mrs. Berglund. We will miss her for sure!

In laws for Memorial Day

Cory's parents visited for Memorial Day. We hadn't seen them since Thanksgiving, so it was nice to catch up. We hung out at the house the first day and took a quick trip to town to play some mini golf. Carter, Vivi and I actually all got hole in ones! There was one time, that I still remember, when I was about 5 that I got 4 or 5 hole in ones in one game! I don't have much skill, but every now and then, good luck will seep from my pores. I always seem to be far away from Vegas when this happens. I hope that Carter and Vivi get some of my good luck genes.

The next day. we decided to venture out and hit Santa Monica Pier. Everyone was tall enough to ride most of the rides, so we got the all day pass and everyone had a great time! We tried to put everyone on a "swingy, back and forth boat ride" and Vivi did great....until they put down the seat belt bar. She burst into tears and we had to take her off. Poor kid. This is new territory for me. The boys will always try something and tell me afterwards whether they liked it or not. But Vivi seems to be a bit more scared and reluctant to try a lot of things. I'm not sure how to handle it. With the boys, 'force it until it works' has actually worked out well for us with food, roller coasters, discipline, etc. But leave it to that next kiddo to throw a wrench into things when you think you've got it figured out. If you need more proof of this, have at least 3 children and see also: potty training.
Vivi has all these delicate....emotions. What the heck?

Cory and Viv posing on the pier

Luckily, Vivi was not scarred for life and rode all the kiddie rides just fine

We had a pretty good time at the pier and the kids did really well. They're all getting old enough to handle days out without much tumult. It wasn't too crowded amazingly! It started to get pretty bad at around 2-3pm - when we were leaving.

View from the Ferris Wheel

End of the pier. Just previous to the photo we all had giant margaritas at the restaurant there at the end.

It was chilly at the top!

Chillaxin' on the sand

After we left Santa Monica, we drove down Hollywood Blvd to point out the stars on the ground and the Chinese theatre. I had forgotten about all the sketchy characters that hang out on Hollywood for tips (Scary looking Elmo, Mickey Mouse, etc.)
The boys flipped their lids because there was a Sonic the Hedgehog, A storm trooper, Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker and Batman all hanging around. One of the boys (I don't remember who) started screaming to PULL THE CAR OVER, WE HAVE TO GET OUT! But after the long day, we weren't about to pay $20 to park for 5 minutes and brave the insane Hollywood Blvd crowds. Eek.

Two stinkers

Better Than Me

Have you ever enjoyed something so much that you wanted to share it with someone you love? You know, maybe a movie or a good book. Perhaps a game or a hobby.

I do! I think, "Wow, this is neat. How much neater would it be with someone I like to be around?" 

I've done this throughout my life and the two times that stick with me are the times I regretted it. Like, really brain? Thanks. Because I was lacking in the regret department over here apparently. 

The first time was in high school. I was dating a really nice, smart boy. He was a year older than I was, and didn't have a 7th period. (The last period of the day). He could have normally just gone home around 1:00, but I convinced him to stay at school and take Advanced A&P with me. I needed the class (he didn't) and I needed a ride home (he had a car). Win, win, right?

So, I convinced him to stay and take A&P with me, we got to be lab partners (I mean, really, what's better than getting to be lab partners with your boyfriend in high school?) and everything was going swimmingly. 

Until I realized he was making a slightly better grade than I was. I mean, I was one of the top students in the class (this was my thing after all). but if I made a 97 on a test, he made a 99. Or if I made a 103 (we always had bonus questions on the end of exams) he would make a 104. I was kind of outraged. I mean, this wasn't even a class he really wanted to take. He was just taking it because his girlfriend was taking it. Granted - he was (and still is, I'm assuming) an extremely intelligent guy. But this was MY thing. HIS thing was the Amateur Van Cliburn. MY thing was supposed to be A&P. It was something I was naturally good at, and he was beating me. 

Fast forward 10 years, and I should have known that this was a recurring theme in my life. I've ended up with another extremely smart man, who is better than me at everything. 

In the beginning, we used to play games (we still do occasionally), but after being beaten by 150 points on Scrabble every time, it's lost its thrill. I refuse to play Words with Friends on our phones together. Card games are out of the question. 

So, last week when Cory finally asked what the heck I was doing on my phone every evening, I showed him this addictive little game called candy crush. He thought it looked pretty dumb at first and held off for a day or two. But I'm sure he just couldn't resist the pulling temptation of "I-have-to-beat-my-wife-at-everything" and he downloaded it on the ipad. At first, he asked me to explain what the point was and what certain actions did, etc. So, I was feeling awfully smug since I was about 26 levels ahead when he started playing. I thought to myself, "He won't catch up to me. It took me several days to get here. And I'll be 26 levels further by the time he gets to this level." 

Why? Why did I think that would be the case? Has it ever been the case? No.

SO of course, this story ends with him coming home from work two days later, and already having passed me up. I think to date: he is twice as far. 

I mean, did any of us really think it would end any other way? Of course not. 

In the famous words of Homer Simpson: "Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try."

Stranger

I'm in an awkward social predicament. Everyone has those, and it seems to be that the longer you let it go on, the worse it gets.

There's a lady that I see almost on a daily basis that knows my name. She says hi to me, I wave and say, "Hey! How are you!?" back. She knows my kids' names. And the thing is, I know WHERE I know her from. But I don't KNOW WHO SHE IS. She is the mom of some cub scouts in our cub scout pack. I even know which neighborhood she lives in. I know her dog's name (because she came into the vet on the same day we were there and picked up medication for her dog)! I see HER ALL THE TIME. But I do not know her name. 

I even tried process of elimination. I dug up a cub scout program that had the boys' names listed to match her to her kids. (See, I'm serious about trying to stealthily find out who she is so that I will never have to admit I don't know her name!) But there were a few too many to reliably know which one was her. If you count the total amount of time I've known her, It's been about 7 or 8 months. But at the beginning I didn't realize she knew who I was and wasn't too concerned about needing to know her name. But then, she started chatting me up, saying hi and I was like, "Ooh, I should know her name. Oh, I'll figure it out soon enough." But then, I would forget until the next time I saw her and every avenue of "who is that" I tried to go down lead to a dead end. I don't know how many more options I have left other than just asking her outright what her name is. But it's been 7 or 8 months. She's going to know I haven't known her name for the whole time! 7 or 8 months is a long time!

One More

Here's my last Paleo post for awhile. I have a few minutes and several of my girlfriends have specifically asked about this issue, so here it goes.
Why I like Paleo for ME.

Before we switched our diet I was just like every other mom. Chugging the coffee, snacking on whatever the kids didn't eat, eating a 'guilty pleasure' snack during nap time because dadgummit, I deserve it, and crashing at about 3pm every day. It was all I could do to make it to bedtime every evening. Even during nap time most days I would pop in a movie or turn on netflix for the boys and try to catch at least half an hour of shut eye while Vivi was asleep. I was just dragging. I even went to the doctor back in the fall and had all my hormones checked. It all was more or less totally fine. No reason to think there's anything wrong. Both of my doctors said, "You're a mom of three small children. You're going to be tired."
But here's the thing. I wasn't just tired. I was anxious. I've dealt with anxiety since about the time Carter was born. I wasn't ever an anxious person as a teenager, and I never had an OCD tendencies then either. As I've gotten older, they've gotten worse though. And I had noticed both of these issues were ramping up with a vengeance. My anxiety/OCD was getting to the point were I had considered going back to the doctor and have her prescribe me something for it. I was avoiding phone calls (talking on the phone to strangers - for example making doctor's appointments, getting dog medication refills, customer service - is the worst for me) and going to functions. And I was like, this is getting ridiculous.
So, one of the first Paleo blogs I began reading was written by a mother of three small children who turned paleo and saw all of these results with her mood and fatigue (and sex life - I know, too much info!) and I was intrigued.
You always hear, "Eat right and exercise and you'll feel great!" Well, I've done the whole 'eat right and exercise' thing. And while, yes, I am generally in better shape, I have NEVER noticed a change in my fatigue or anxiety.
Also, this lady talked about how she slept so.much.better. at night.
And the best perk of all - she said her belly fat disappeared almost immediately. I am not a big person. But the one thing I struggle with is my mid section. I do not gain weight anywhere else (unless I'm pregnant!). I don't gain it in my arms, or thighs or hips, but all I have to do is eat one tortilla chip and my middle gains 5 pounds! I have the 'muffin top' and I don't feel comfortable wearing fitted shirts that cling to my belly.
Listening to this girl's perks had me sold - for at least a 30 day trial.

When we started Paleo, I had a terrible first 4 days. I was literally going through sugar withdrawals. My blood sugar was so out of control (because it was used to getting a huge spike every 2 to 3 hours!) and I felt terrible. On day 4, I actually called Cory at work (something I never do) and told him to get home, bring something with bread in it, and that I was going to bed. Luckily he was busy for another few hours and I had finished my tantrum before he could make it home. And, he didn't bring the bread.

After day 4, I started feeling good. I noticed that I wasn't dragging at nap time. I had the energy to actually stay awake and cook during nap time. Or clean. Or play with the boys.

My anxiety just about completely disappeared.

I sleep completely uninterrupted. Before hand, I had been restless and waking up for no reason throughout the night.

I LOVE MY BELLY. IT IS FLAT FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL. And, I immediately dropped 10 lbs without stepping foot into a gym.

I'm just not tired during the day like I used to be. This is probably the best perk of all. Feeling like I don't have to go on like this for the rest of my life. I don't feel doomed to years of fatigue just because "I'm a mom."

Now, let me caveat all this with saying, If you have small babies who do not sleep through the night, or are still nursing regularly, I don't think Paleo is going to be your cure-all. You're obviously going to be tired because you're physically losing sleep. But I wouldn't be surprised if it helped some!
The thing is, I was getting 'enough sleep', but I was just so tired still. I thought I was tired because I was just so busy with kids. But I wasn't. I was coming on and off sugar constantly throughout the day. When I stop to think about what I used to eat everyday, and none of it's "BAD" in the eyes of most, no WONDER I felt like I did.

Basically - I've never felt better. And for the first time in a long time, I am looking forward to swim suit season.

More Paleo

One of the reasons I can't seem to get my 2nd Paleo post up is that I never remember to take pictures of what we're eating. I have the layout of this post all planned in my head. I'm going to take wonderful pictures, cite where I got the recipe, and voila! Almost like a real blog! But I just can't ever get it done.
One thing I was discussing with Cory last night before bed was that I really feel like my plate is full right now. I have a good handle on everything that I'm doing right now but I literally cannot add one more activity. A lot of that time is cooking. I spend a good amount of time in the kitchen these days. Sometimes I am fine with it, other times I really just want to thrown a frozen pizza in the oven.
I am still planning on taking pictures and showing you guys what we eat around here. I want  people to know that if I can keep my family paleo, than ANYONE can. It's difficult, but it's not out of reach.  In order to make this diet fit our budget we buy our pastured or organic meat, seafood, oils, nuts and other specialty items every two weeks at Whole Foods (about 1.5 hour drive away) and we buy our produce (it is not organic) from the commissary. We get our pastured ground beef and pastured eggs from the local organic co-op. We do get some fruits and vegetables with the co-op as well, but not enough to make it through the week.
Here are some examples of what we eat throughout a typical day:

Breakfast:
Eggs and bacon or eggs and sausage. We usually cut up some bell peppers or squash and zucchini and sautee those to put on our eggs. I also save the 'bits' from when I slice sweet potatoes with my food processor. You know, those little pieces that aren't quite round and not thick enough to make a sweet potato chip? Yeah, those ones. I cook those up with our eggs for some good carbs.

Every now and then I'll make a sausage, veggie, egg quiche or lemon blueberry muffins (these are made with almond flour and coconut oil instead of wheat flour and vegetable oil)

Also, paleo cereal if I have some on hand. I make this about once a month and once it's gone, it's gone. I just don't have the time to make it as much as I'd like.

Snacks:
Honestly, we eat mostly fruit and nuts. When I'm feeling extra adventurous I force the veggies. Carrots, kale chips, real pickles (not ones pickled in vinegar, ones that are fermented) and cherry tomatoes. The kids like these okay and eat them when I insist. Also, they like to eat a lot of hard boiled eggs and salami and avocados.

I usually have zero problems getting the kids to eat what I tell them. Because there are literally no other options. We have no crackers, no macaroni, no chicken nuggets even in the house. And we haven't for 4 months. They know that whatever I'm offering is probably just as good as the next option, so they take it without complaint. Every now and then I'll get some push back about fruits versus veggies, but it's not often.

Lunch:
I make my own chicken nuggets probably once a week. They're coated in egg, almond flour and shredded coconut. The kids love them. So do I. And I love to put the chicken nuggets on a spinach salad with some olive oil and a drop or two of honey for myself.
Flank Steak and bell peppers, you can also put this over some spinach
The kids also eat a lot of dinner leftovers. When I make dinner, I make a lot. I need to make enough for Cory to take at least one serving to work the next day and for the kids. This isn't exact. But it makes my life a lot easier during the day.
Shrimp salad - avocado, cilantro, shrimp, lime juice and some olive oil and salt. We all devour this.
Sausage, squash, zucchini and shallots. I use nitrate free links that I slice into little bite sized pieces. Dice it all up and cook it in a pan. We eat this probably once a week.
When we're out of leftovers and I'm too lazy to cook we eat nitrate free lunch meat, avocados, carrot sticks with almond butter and berries. We add a hard boiled egg in there or substitute an orange. But, you get the idea.

Dinner:
I love my cookbook Practical Paleo
I use these websites pretty religiously:
Deliciously Organic
Paleo Plan
Paleo Parents
Paleo Mom
We eat meatloaf, spare ribs, steaks, meatballs, chicken, some lamb and seafood mostly. I usually only make one other 'side' and it's a vegetable. Green beans, asparagus, brussel sprouts, cooked carrots, broccoli, sometimes a salad.
We don't eat casseroles anymore, they almost all require grains or dairy. But this week my favorite blog just posted a chicken and 'rice' casserole (It's riced cauliflower!) and I am making it TONIGHT. I cannot wait!

Desserts:
We do eat dessert! Probably twice a week. My cookbook has several great ones, and Deliciously Organic has the best ones in my opinion. Her coconut tart and grain free cookies are my favorite!
The difference with most of our desserts is that instead of sugar we use honey or maple syrup.
We do have a few recipes we use on occasion that use sugar but are still grain and dairy free.

Other Random Things I Make:
Mayonnaise
Garlic Lime Dipping Sauce for my
Sweet Potato Chips
Bone Broth
Chicken Stock
Bacon wrapped dates

I am still learning and trying to add new things to our Paleo diet to make it more well rounded. We still need to incorporate more fermented foods and it's my next 'thing' I'm going to attempt. But it's just seemed more intimidating (fermenting my own food - because buying real fermented stuff is expensive, Sheesh!) than other items.

I know there are many more things to add and discuss, and I'm still planning on writing a post about just the benefits that I've seen so far. And I WILL post pictures.....one day.