Today was a very tough day....

Kids are arguing, being disobedient, and disrespectful to me and to each other.  I have done A LOT of yelling this week.  We did get a few chapters of reading done for schoolwork today in between the madness.  Monkey flooded the guest bathroom and completely soaked/flooded the carpet in the hallway.  It took me an hour with the carpet steamer to suction up most of the water.  And another 30 minutes to clean up the bathroom and wring out all the soaked heavy towels he used to try and clean it up himself.  Not to mention the hours it will take me to wash the added loads of laundry :(.  And that was just TODAY.  Monday we had a great day..a fun filled day at Legoland for a field trip.  Then Tuesday hit.  Both kids were tired and cranky.  My daughter had a dentist appt.  Right before leaving for the dentist appt., my son decides to throw a massive tantrum and freak out.  So he was crying and screaming bloody murder during the car ride to the dentist while my daughter was freaking out about going to the dentist in the seat right next to him.  After 20 minutes of trying to calm her down at the dentists, we had to reschedule for next week.

Then I get a message from my Mom to call her back and it's not good news.  I already knew...it was going to be about my cousin.  My cousin, N, was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in May.  It had already spread to his bones and his brain.  He was told chemotherapy would prolong his life up to 6 months.  He passed away yesterday afternoon at 4pm Hawaii time, 6pm my time.  At 6pm yesterday, I was at my sons cub scout den meeting having fun decorating pumpkins and chit chatting with the other parents.  At 6pm yesterday, I was enjoying life and thanking God for His blessings.  At 6pm yesterday my Aunt walked into my cousins room to find her son passed away.  At 6pm yesterday my cousins wife was told her husband, her soul mate, her best friend, was dead.  My cousin N is about 15 years older than me.  The Pacific Ocean always separated us.  Yet I have very fond memories of him, his wife, his two sisters and their families.  N and his wife always made time for me and my sister whenever we were in Hawaii.  N took us out in his fishing boat to go snorkelling every time we were in Hawaii.  He would go fishing several times during our vacation because he knew that my sister and I LOVED all kinds of seafood.  He would cook everything for us!  And it was SOOOOOO delicious!  He made fresh ahi poke, lomi lomi salmon, and sashimi.  Not everyone can make these dishes.  You gotta have skills to make them right.  And he had skills!  This one hits my heart hard.  We were pretty close.  He is the first of my immediate cousins to pass away.

My heart also hurts because I do not know if he believed in God and Jesus Christ.  I prayed for him and his family several times over the last few months.  I wanted to call him and have a conversation with him, but I didn't.  Instead I made him a blanket and sent it to him.  I included a brief note saying that as i made each tie along the fringe of the blanket, I said a prayer to God for him and his family.  I told him how my daughter, his 5 yo niece tied the last 5 knots and said her own prayers for him, a person she had never met.  Her 5 prayers were as follows:

1- That God heals his body
2- That he knows that Jesus is his Savior
3- That he knows that Jesus loves him
4- That he know that I love him
5- That he feels better.

I was hoping that our blanket and the message we wrote him would open his heart to God, if it wasn't already open.  But I fear that I didn't get to him in time.  We sent the blanket out about a week ago.  So my tears shed today were for the loss of my cousin, but also tears of regret and anger at myself for not being brave enough to share God's Word with him and his family sooner.  I can only hope and pray that God took care of that for me and my cousin in His Time and His Way. 

After all the craziness with my son this week and the news of my cousins passing,  I feel physically and spiritually depleted.  So I am taking the rest of the week off.  No school work, no co-op classes, no gymnastics classes, no volunteering.  Just time in prayer, time in God's Word, and time with family.  Afterall, aren't those the most important things in life?

Now that all the "bad" stuff is out....let me not forget to mention the "good" stuff.  Even in tough times God still continues to bless me and my family.

His Love Covers Me Blanket Ministries received another request for 100 little kids blankets for Operation Christmas Child through Maranatha Chapel a few days ago.  When we got this request, we were totally out of fabric.  We had used all the fabric we had to complete 100 blankets for Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego just the week before.  On Sunday, my family bought enough fabric to make 40 of the blankets.  I told God, I know He will provide the rest.  And He did!  Through the generosity of Kalin and Angel Blanket Ministries (www.AngelBlanketMinistries.org) .  She sent us enough fabric to cover the remaining 60 blankets and then some!  I came home yesterday afternoon to see two HUGE boxes on my front door step.  And all the prints she sent are exactly the right kind of colors and themes we need...all kids ones!  God is amazing in how HE provides exactly what is needed and the exact right time.  These blankets need to be made and turned in the beginning of November!  So we have just the right amount of time to get the completed.  Whooohoooo!

Praise God that our home in Austin, TX finally sold and the closing date was on Monday!  And the money is already in the bank.  Now we can use the money we used to pay out in mortgage to tithe more to church, to spend more on donating to various causes, to save for the future and to fix up a few things around our San Diego home.

Praise God for the 3% raise my husband received for this coming year.  In an economy such as ours and in a industry such as what he is in, receiving a considerable raise like this is hard to come by.  Guess that means I now have 3% more to spend on His Love Covers Me Blanket Ministries..yay!

Praise God for my being able to spend a whole weekend worshipping and praising Him with friends from San Diego Bible Church and 9000 other women in Christ at the Beth Moore Livingproof Live event in Long Beach this past weekend.  Hearing 9000 women singing praises to God must have been such a "sweet, sweet, sound" to God's ears in Heaven :).  I know it was an amazing sound to me!  And Beth Moore was her typical uplifting and funny self....GURLFRIEND!  What made it an even more special weekend was the my sister and Mom were able to join me!  That was the first time all three of us attended an event in faith together.

Praise God for the little boy in S. America that my family "adopted" through one of the outreach programs at the Living Proof Live Event.  I can't wait to see what God does with this relationship!

Praise God!  Praise God!  While I know my flesh is weak today, I know GOD will strengthen me tomorrow and everyday after that!

Blessings,
Sandra

HIs Love Covers Me Blanket Ministries

So excited about this!  My friend, F, called me in mid August with a calling in her heart.  She said she wanted to start up a blanket ministry and asked me to help her.  I said "Sure! But I don't sew that well".  She said "Don't worry, we are making no sew polar fleece blankets." 

To say that God is blessing our ministry is a gross understatement.  HE is allowing our ministry to fly and soar in such a fast past that it is AMAZING!  By the end of August we had our first two large requests.  100 blankets for older children at Children's Hospital in San Diego and 30 blankets for little kids at the Salvation Army's Pine Summit Campground.  And when we started to doubt if we could fill both orders, God blessed with a huge monetary donation from a friend of F.

F and I are delivering 30 blankets to Pine Summit tomorrow.  I can't wait!

Our first blanket making event will be this Tuesday, October 9th from 7pm to 9pm at San Diego Bible Church.  www.sandiegobiblechurch.com Can you imagine all the blessings that will come from a group of women gathering to help us make these blankets on Tuesday night?  Oh, I can't wait!  Our women's fellowship group at SDBC has been so supportive of our ministry. 

If you would like to make a donation to our ministry, please contact us through our Facebook page at www.facebook.com\HisLoveCoversMeBlanketMinistries. 

Here is a list of things we could use:
1- Polar fleece material in 1 yard cuts
2- Gross Grain ribbon in 7/8 or 1 inch widths
3- Monetary donations
4- gift cards to fabric stores like JoAnn's Fabric Store, Yardage Town, or Hancock Fabrics
5- Discount coupons to JoAnn's Fabric Store Yardage Town, or Hancock Fabrics
6- Your time...please come to one of our blanket making events.
7- Your prayers for our ministry to continue growing and for all the people who receive our blankets. 

Thanks!
Sandra

Getting Back to Running

So I am at the end of 5 weeks out of a 12 week Couch to 5K running plan through www.active.com.  The first 4 weeks were pretty easy.  Walk a few minutes, run a few minutes, walk a few minutes, run a few minutes.  Then this week it was walk 5 mins, run 5 mins, for a total of 32 minutes.  Okay, no problem.  Day 2 training for this week was walk 5 mins, run 8 mins and repeat for a total of 31 minutes.  Again, okay...no problemmo.  Then BAM!  Day 3 training was walk 5 minutes, run 20 WHOLE FRIGGIN MINUTES WITHOUT STOPPING, then walk 5 mins for a total of 30 minutes.  The run itself was actually enjoyable.  The Fibromyalgia aftermath this morning however, IS NOT FUN!  Boo!  Can we just say pain sensory overload to the brain receptors?????  Usually I look ahead in the log book to see what the next days training is because I am excited to see what new challenge is coming.  My next run is in 2 days on Sunday...and I am not looking ahead this time.  I am praying that 2 days of rest will be long enough for my body to recover so I can run again on Sunday. 

I wish I could just spend all day relaxing at home, snuggled up in bed watching tv.  Instead we will be heading to Costco in a few minutes, then straight to our homeschool groups monthly Park Day (the kids get to decorate pumpkins..yay!), then to gymnastics lessons, then we are kid sitting a friends son for the evening and having a movie night at home.  At least I get to be out in the sun (always makes me feel better) and get to watch the movie "Battleship" again (my Uncle is in it as an extra..woohoo!).

On top of "normal life" we have added two exciting new adventures to our schedule.  First is a new blanket ministry that I have started with my friend called His Love Covers Me Blanket Ministries.  You can check us out at www.facebook.com\HisLoveCoversMeBlanketMinistries. Second is CUB SCOUTS!  We just signed Monkey up to be a Cub Scout Bear last night.  I can't wait for all the camp outs and fun activities...for him, I mean (hee hee!).  The hubby and I are just as excited as Monkey is to be in Cub Scouts :).

New Fave Paleo Bar

Just saw these little gems at Sprouts yesterday.

http://www.goraw.com/products/Live_Pumpkin_Bar  There are a few other flavors and I picked up two of each to try.  So far the pumpkin one gets 2 thumbs up!  Yummy!  Crunchy and sweet and salty all in one.  Will be ordering more either through Amazon or the Go Raw website.

Brain Highways Encinitas

Last night we took both kids to check out the Brain Highways program in Encinitas.  www.brainhighways.com.

It was recommended to me by a handful of homeschooling Mom friends over the past 2 years.  I finally got off my duff and looked it up online a few days ago and found that they had a free screening last night.  Basically their thought is that people have certain behaviors because there lower brain were not fully developed in early childhood (infancy and toddlerhood).  But the lower brain can be corrected and developed through certain exercises.  They had the kids do a series of specific exercises/activities to "screen" them and as they were doing each exercise they noted and explained why the kid was doing certain things with their body.  Like what their feet did when the child was asked to crawl on all fours across the floor.  How their hands were placed when crawling.  What their eyes did when asked to focus on a moving pencil, etc.  Before actually seeing the "screening", I was at best 50/50 that it was something that could help my kids.  I thought for sure that my Hubby would think it was a joke.  But after seeing and hearing, I no longer think it's a joke.  And surprise!  Hubby said we should sign both kids up before we even walked out the door to drive home.  AND he didn't even ask how much it cost (which is usually a deciding factor for him).  And he didn't even flinch when I told him how much it would cost. 

Because of schedule conflict and prioritizing who needs the most "help", we are signing Monkey up for the Sunday evening class followed by the Sunday Drop In Class, and having Bean join us to do the exercises at home while we homeschool.  Our sessions start in November.

I will post up our progress later.

My Fave Paleo Things

www,livingspoonful.com  I just found these SUPER YUMMY and Super Good For You, Paleo friendly crackers!  The pizza and Italian Herb ones are the BOMB!  Both my kids love them just as much as I do!

www.nomnompaleo.com  I love this site and all the recipes she posts up.  My favorite so far is the Pressure Cooker Bone Broth Soup.  Of course I altered her recipe a bit and will add whatever veggies I have in the fridge to it.  Also, after straining out all the bones, I add all the veggies back into the soup.  My non-veggie eating Bean Girl LOVES this soup...veggies and all.  Says it's the BEST soup EVER!

On Facebook:  PaleoOMG.  I love seeing all the Paleo recipes for sweets and baked goods.

All of cookbooks by Everyday Paleo.  www.everydaypaleo.com.  All of the recipes I have tried from her first two cookbooks have been winners in my family.  Can't wait to get my hands on her two newest cookbooks!

Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook.  This is my second most used cookbook...lots of good stuff in it.

Curriculum for This Year

We happily use Tapestry of Grace Year 1(www.tapestryofgrace.com) for bible history, secular/world history, geography, and reading.  We are studying the Ancient Civilizations this year.  So far we have studied Egypt and Mesopotamia.  The kids have made Creation Books, their own Egyptian costumes, Manna bread,  and cuneiform writing blocks.  We have gone to see an wonderful exhibit on Ancient Egypt at the Museum of Man at Balboa Park in San Diego.  Next week we will go and see the Creation Museum in Santee, CA.

For Monkey: We use Teaching Textbooks Math 3, Explode the Code workbooks for handwriting practice (it's actually supposed to be used to help struggling readers) and a Reason for Spelling book C.

For Bean:  We use Singapore Math 1A, Get Ready for the Code (to help her learn to read), and A Reason for Spelling book A. 

Start of 2012-2013 School Year

We officially started our school year on Tuesday September 4, 2012.   The kids were SUPER excited!   I was SUPER excited!  We got every bit of the schoolwork I wrote into my weekly planner DONE each day..whoohoo!

Monkey concentrating on his Explode the Code worksheets

Then came week 2 and week 3 and the mental and emotional crashes from both kids as well as ME!  We were lucky if we got half of each days schoolwork done.  And there were lots of yelling and tears from both sides of the school desk :(.  You would think that since I have experienced the "It's No Longer Fun, but Actual Work, Beginning of the School Year" melt downs from the kids for 2 years (this being our 3rd year homeschooling), that I would have dealt with it better.  But nope!  Even though I knew it was coming, I still reacted badly.  Which then got the kids more frustrated, then I got more frustrated...and the wheel of bad reactions just keeps going.  You get the picture. 

Needless to say I spent lots of time praying or rather asking, then demanding that God intervene before I totally lost it on one or both of my kids.  Why am I torturing myself?  Why am I torturing them?  Am I really the right person to teach them?  Satan kept creeping into my mind with self doubt.  So much so, that I couldn't sleep last night and my tummy was irritated all night long.  Finally at 5am I got up and got on my hands and knees and prayed.  I had 3 people on my mind all night.  One of them being Monkey.  He is my most challenging child of the two.  He speaks Boy and I speak Girl.  He is an Audio Visual and out of the box learner.  I am more of a Kinesthetic and in the box type of learner.  We clash...A LOT!  So I prayed that I was teaching what GOD wanted to me to teach them (in both academics and in life training).  I asked if I should continue homeschooling.

God answered me today.  When the kids got up I told them that we wouldn't be doing any schoolwork today because Mommy felt sick.  I went to lie down on the couch in the livingroom and immediately Monkey pulls out the Twister game.  Monkey and Bean play Twister for about an hour.  Both were having fun and LEARNING..even though I wasn't "teaching".  Through Twister they were learning colors, shapes, the right and left sides of their bodies, giving and receiving directions (from each other...and not arguing about it..SMILE), and body flexibility.  Woohoo!  A couple hours later I had a chiropractor appointment and I told the kids to pack up a few things to keep them occupied at the Chiro.  Bean brought her Disney Princess book and a stuffed animal.  Monkey packed his portable DVD player, earphones, and his co-op 3 ring binder.  While waiting for my appointment, Bean and I read her book, with me pointing to the words that I know she can read by herself.  Meanwhile Monkey sets himself up on the floor...



Monkey at the Chiropractors Office multitasking.  Watching a "Where In The World Is Carmen San Diego" geography/history DVD while writing the names of all the characters of his favorite TV show "Good Luck Charlie" in his notebook.

God showed me today that my children are learning what HE wants them to learn and that even though it may seem like I am not getting through to them, HE is giving me what I need to teach them in life and academics.  Little morsel of knowledge are seeping into their ever growing brains everyday, in everything that we do together.  God also reminded me that when things are getting crazy with homeschooling, to back off, cool down, and allow my kids own creativity and desire to learn to take off because in the end, they really do like "school".  And often times their best "schoolwork" is done in the most random places at the most random times.  And by looking at this picture..in the most awesome costumes!  :)  I have a really smart and handsome "Wolverine" Monkey Boy!

And so her brother doesn't get all of the spotlight, here is my cutie patootie Bean Girl (aka Wonderwoman)

Wonder Woman

Paleo Diet and Health Update

I am soooo bad with keeping this blog updated.  But the good news is that means I have been busy all year...which means that I have been feeling better...which means that I have had the energy to do all the things that have kept me busy all year :).

This was a picture of me and Bean in July 2011 before I started the Paleo Diet.

This is a picture of me with my Sis in August 2012.  One year after going Paleo.  I dropped 26 lbs. just following the Paleo Diet.  My Fibromyalgia pain is about 90% controlled.  It only flares up when I cheat on my diet. or overdo it physically.  I haven't taken any narcotic painkillers in about 9 months.  I take non-narcotic Tramadol about 3 times a week still during flare ups. I went from a size 14/16 on the bottom to a size 10.  From a size Large to XL on top to a size Small.  I went from 175 lbs down to 149lbs.  Instead of having only 4 good days a month, I now only have 4 bad days a month.  I finally feel like I have my LIFE BACK!  I am active with my kids, instead of just being in their lives floating around and just getting through each day, I am actually enjoying each day, making plans for the future, and getting back in shape.

For the last 11 months, I didn't really work out other than just being active with my kids and playing with them.  But a month ago, I just felt STRONG.  I felt my body was ready to start being physical again.  So I made a plan through www.active.com to start run/walking again.  I am following their Couch to 5K running plan.  My goal is to run/walk the Girls On The Go 10K in March 2013 in San Diego.  http://www.girlsonthegorun.com/.  I have also started bike riding twice a week with my kids and lap swimming 1-2 times a week when I can squeeze it into the schedule.

On the Homeschool front...you all know that I homeschool our 2 kiddos, right?  We have Monkey (age 7 and starting second grade) and Bean (age 5 and starting Kindergarten).  Although both kids are ahead of their grade level in most subjects (just a little bragging here).  We have finished our 3rd official week of school.  We are using a Classical model curriculum called Tapestry of Grace Year 1.  I am more of an ecclectic type of teacher, so I have to modify this curriculum to fit our needs...but what homeschool teacher doesn't modify just about everything they use in the classroom?  I like it because it is a strong reading based curriculum that teaches Christian Bible History and secular/world history at the same time using lots of classical style books.  We also use Teaching Textbooks Math 3, Singapore Math 1A, A Reason for Spelling, Explode the Code, and Get Ready for the Code. 

Like I mentioned before, I am finally able to actually make plans for the future and not worry about  having to cancel at the last minute because of my Fibro pain...whoohoo!  So this school year, I decided to co-lead a class for our weekly co-op through CFS Poway.  www.cfspoway.org.  A year ago, I would not have been able to make this kind of committment. 

For my homeschool followers, I will do another post specifically on our homeschool life so as not to bore the folks who just want to follow my Fibro/Paleo journey.

Well, that's my well overdue health update.  Hope all of you are doing well.

Homeschooling Fun

This is what happens when you tell a homeschool kid that "Because Mommy feels sick today, we won't be doing schoolwork today."  First, they jump for joy!  Then without even realizing it, they start doing schoolwork on their own..yay!  While I was laying on the couch this morning, my kids decided to play Twister.  In doing so they learned their colors, directions, taking turns, right and left side of their bodies, shapes, and did a little PE.  Woohoo!  Then a couple hours later while waiting at the my chiropractors office, Monkey (age 7) decided to watch a "Where In The World Is Carmen San Diego" video while writing the names of all the characters in the TV show "Good Luck Charlie".  Proof that my wiggly boy CAN multi-task and FOCUS when he wants to :). Not pictured is Bean (age 5), who was the spinner girl for Twister and who decided to read her Disney Princess book at the chiropractors. 

With the last 2 weeks of homeschooling and just daily life training with Monkey and Bean being a VERY TRYING time for Me, this is a very nice way to end our week.  I have been praying a lot to God over the last 2 weeks for guidance and assurance that I am parenting and teaching my kids according to God's Will and not my own.  Today He showed me that even though I am not the best "teacher" or the best Mom at times, my kids are learning what God wants them to learn. 

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I have been eating Paleo for about a week and a half now. My Fibro pain is almost gone and I feel very energetic! I have loved almost every new Paleo recipe I have tried. And the best part is that I can now tolerate onions, tomatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, and bell peppers. These veggies are all part of the Night Shade family of veggies and are known to cause inflammation in the body. I have stayed away from them for a few years now. Before Paleo, if I ate any of these veggies, 20 minutes later I would be curled up in bed with debilitating Fibro pain. I have eaten them all in the past week and a half and have had little to no reaction from them. I think that before my body was so inflammed from all the grains I was eating (mostly rice and beans since I have been gluten free for 4 years) that eating any of these veggies just sent my inflammation over the top.

I am having a little Fibro pain now, but that's because I drank half a Coke this afternoon that is chock full of High Fructose Corn Syrup (corn is a grain).

I know it's only been a short time, but I am fully on board with eating Paleo. I know I will have days where I struggle and will want to cheat and that's okay as long as I get back on the Paleo wagon right after.

I know that there are many women out there who are suffering from debilitating Fibromyalgia pain and other symptoms related to Fibro. I highly recommend that you try the Paleo Diet for 2 weeks and see the amazing results that I have experienced. Yes, I know I sound like an infomercial for the Paleo Diet...but it is working for me. The first time in over 4 years of struggling with this disease that I have found something that works for me.

And yes, I make my family eat all the Paleo meals. So far my hubby has liked everything. My kids have each liked most of it.

I have been opiate free since Day 1 of starting the Paleo Diet. I have had to take Tramadol a couple of times and Advil a couple of times, but that following a day that I cheated with either some candy or a Coke. NINE WHOLE DAYS without taking Vicodin...woohoo!

My tree climbing Paleo Monkey!

Sliced apples, with cinnamon, nutmeg, coconut flakes, and drizzled honey. That's dessert for tonight :).

My Paleo Munchkin eating the Everyday Paleo Spaghetti over Spaghetti squash "noodles" from the "Everyday Paleo" book. This kid never likes to eat to veggies. She had no idea that she was eating squash today. She scarfed down this plate and asked for seconds..woohoo!

Everyday Paleo Spaghetti. Doesn't it look just like regular spaghetti?

Paleo Pizza from "Everyday Paleo". I had to substitute Flax meal for the Almond meal that the recipe calls for. It was tasty! And yep, my Paleo Munchkin pulled off all the fresh veggies on top but ate the "crust" and sauce. I am more than okay with that since flax seeds are VERY healthy. My Paleo Monkey who normally eats everything put in front of him didn't like the taste or texture of the flax meal "crust". But he is new to eating Gluten free stuff. My daughter and I have been eating gluten free for 4 years now, so we are used to eating all kinds of strange gf stuff.

Forgot to mention in earlier posts that most of my recipes I am trying comes from the "Everyday Paleo" book. And any recipes that call for Almond Meal, I have to substitute flax meal because of our nut allergies.

Tuna Guac over Romaine lettuce. Tuna Guac is my adaptation from "Everyday Paleo" Tuna Boats recipe. I basically take all the ingredients and blend it up and make it a dip.

My kids lunch today. Organic broccoli, carrots, and celery with tuna guac dip.

Fresh fruit salad with two slices of nitrate free chicken sandwich meat.

Slow roasted pork tenderloin with grated cauliflower. I adapted this from the "Everyday Paleo" recipe for Pork Tenderloin with cherry sauce.

Midday snack...apple slices with blueberries and a dollop of sunbutter. My son loved this one too!

Pics of the Paleo Meals I have made

Bacon, nectarines, with zucchini, celery and avocado fried in the left over bacon grease.

Kids "Slaw" from "Everyday Paleo" book. My son LOVES this!

Honey mustard, sunflower baked chicken. Recipe from "Everyday Paleo". I adapted this from the Pecan glazed chicken recipe in the book.

Dry Rubbed, Slow Roasted whole organic chicken. Recipe from "Everyday Paleo". I added grated up carrots and zucchini and rapini to the recipe. Man this was MOUTHWATERING good!

Bacon, sliced up tomatoes and red bell peppers fried in the left over bacon grease with half a fresh avocado.

First Paleo Challenge

Tomorrow we are heading to a kids birthday party. I will be bringing my own food and enough to feed my family of 4. I hope that the host family and other attendees don't think I am being rude by bringing my own food. And I hope that I don't cheat on my diet. I also really don't want my kids to eat all the "junk" food that will be there. I have noticed great improvement in my son's behavior since going totally gluten free all week through the Paleo Diet. I think he will be okay not eating the food, but not eating a piece or two of birthday cake will be hard for him. My daughter has had food allergies all of her life, so not eating the food and cake at the party won't be an issue for her.

Pray for us!

Day 5 Paleo

Breakfast:

SP Complete Dairy free shake with half a plum, strawberries, and flax seeds in coconut milk.
A handful of olives
A slice of cantaloupe.

Lunch:
guacamole/tuna blended...adapted from Every Day Paleo recipe over romaine lettuce leaves.

Snack:
Cucumber slices dipped in the left over guac/tuna dip.
2 cantaloupe slices
a few handfuls of homemade trail mix

Dinner:
Slow cooked pork tenderloin with shredded cauliflower, zucchini, and carrots.

Snack:
SP Complete Dairy free shake.

Day 3 Paleo

Breakfast:

Hard boiled eggs for hubby and son


Turkey wrapped cantaloupe melon for me and my daughter (we are anaphylactic allergic to eggs).

Snack:
SP Complete Dairy Free shake, with coconut milk, sunflower seeds, and a banana.

Lunch:
Left over meatloaf and Cauliflower rice

Snack:
Home made trail mix (coconut slivers, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, dried raisins, and dried cherries)
Cut up strawberries and apples

Dinner:

Honey mustard and sunflower glazed chicken (adapted from the "Everyday Paleo" Honey Mustard and Pecans chicken)
Kids "Slaw" from the "Everyday Paleo".

I just sliced up the chicken and put it right over the Slaw. So yummy!

Snack:
left over Slow Rubbed Chicken and Cauliflower Rice.

How do I feel after just three days? My pain levels have remained at a constant 1 or 2 since Monday. My energy is much better....no afternoon slump. Since I am constantly eating good whole foods, I rarely feel hungry. So far I have no cravings for sweets. My fave drink is Coke or Dr. Pepper. Haven't had a craving for that either. I felt so good that I went for a bike ride with my son today AND went to my yoga class tonight. And so far no pain increase from the physical activity. Before I would have to take a Vicodin after exercise to calm my Fibro pain down.

Yes it does take more time in the kitchen, but I am already sold! I think I spend about 3 hrs a day (20 mins on breakfast, 20 mins on lunch, 20 mins on snacks, and 30 mins of prep time and 1 hr of cook time on dinner) on prep and cook time for all three meals plus snacks. And come to find, I actually LIKE to cook :). So far I have just followed recipes from the "Everyday Paleo" book. They are easy to make and tasty!

And yes, I am making my 6 and 4 year olds do this same diet. I am not a short order cook, they eat whatever meal I am preparing. So far my son has liked almost everything Paleo I have made. But as far as food goes, he is the easier one because he literally eats just about everything. My daughter so far has liked all the meats and fruits, but has never cared for veggies so that's a struggle. But she did LOVE the meatloaf with all the shredded carrots and zucchini in it :).

We even went to the movies this afternoon and my kids didn't bug me about getting them anything from the snack bar. They were totally happy with their homemade trail mix, cut up fruits, and water.

Yesterday we went to the Wild Animal Park for a few hours and I just took homemade trail mix, a couple of frozen juice boxes (for them, not for me), some left over meatloaf, and some cut up fruit and there were no complaints or requests for snacks at the snack bar.

Today I also made my own fruit infused water. A few slices of fresh lemon, a few slices of cucumber, and a handful of boysenberries in a huge pitcher of water. I made it last night and let it chill over night in the fridge. Daughter didn't care for it, but my son loved it! And I loved it! Hubby was so-s0. He prefers his water plain. Next time I want to try to make the Rosemary Water that J had at her dinner party.

Day 2 Paleo

Breakfast:

SP Complete Dairy free shake with coconut milk, sunflower seeds, and a plum.

Snack:
Cut up apples and baby carrots

Lunch:

Apple, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, on top of mixed greens, with Walden's GF Italian dressing with left over bacon bits (from Day 1 breakfast). It was so yummy I had two platefuls!

Snack:

Left over meatloaf and cauliflower rice

Dinner:

Slow Cooked Dry Rubbed Chicken (recipe in the "Everyday Paleo" book). SO FRIGGIN YUMMY!
Left over Cauliflower Rice. I made a HUGE batch on Day 1. All 4 of my family members gave this dish a huge thumbs up. It was a little spicy for my son, but both kids ate it anyways.

Snack:

SP Complete Dairy free shake, water, ground flax seeds, and boysenberries.

Day 1 Paleo

Here is what I ate all day:

Breakfast:

GF/CF Organic Bacon by Applewood Farms
half an avocado
Dairy free shake by Standard Process mixed into Coconut Milk with a banana, peach, and ground flax seeds.

Lunch:
Avocado and tuna with spices (recipe is in the "Everyday Paleo" book)

Snack:
cut up apples, plums, and sunflower seeds
baby carrots with guacamole (the individual packs of Wholly Guacamole)

Dinner:
Meatloaf that J made at her dinner party. Filled with coconut flour (to absorb moisture from the veggies), shredded zucchini and carrots, sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, and garlic.
Cauliflower "rice" that J made at her dinner party. You just grate up fresh cauliflower using your food processor then put it in a frying pan to tenderize it a little. Pull the pan off the fire and then mix in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sea Salt and pepper to taste. For my kids and hubby I made some with Organic butter instead of the Olive Oil. This literally took 10 minutes to make. Then you just put the cooked meatloaf right on top of the Cauliflower and let the juice from meatloaf sink in. So yummy!

Snack:
another SP Complete Dairy free shake with banana in it.

Trying a New "Diet"

Basically what I had been doing for my Fibro was no longer working. I switched to a gluten free diet almost 4 years ago. My pain decreased, but was still there. I switched to an egg and dairy free diet on top of my gf diet about a year ago. Pain decreased more but was still there. Avoided all veggies in the nightshade family. Pain decreased more but was still there. So after 4 years of enduring this crazy disease called Fibromyalgia, I am once again changing up my diet. My good friend J and I have been on a similar journey the last 4 years trying to figure out what is the cause of our crazy symptoms. We both shared similar issues. I have been working with my current Naturopath for about 3 years and feel that I have reached the end of my treatment with her. My syptoms are not getting better and when asked if there was anything else she could recommend that answer in a round about way was "no". So I knew I needed to move on. I immediately called J and asked her about her Naturopath and the treatments she was doing. At the same time, J put a bug in my ear about the GAPS Diet and Paleo Diet. A couple weeks later J invited a bunch of us gals over for a Paleo Dinner Party. She showed us how quick and easy it was to prepare a Paleo meal. We had meatloaf, appetizers, Rosemary water (so yummy!), Spaghetti Squash "spaghetti", Cauliflower "rice", bacon wrapped dates, and prosciutto wrapped cantaloupe. It was all soooooo yummy. And best of all, it was the first time ever that I was able to eat outside of my house and NOT have a painful reaction after. Then she gave a short but very informative presentation on the "Do's and Don'ts" of Paleo and what is the best and healthiest food choices. A lot of the info I already knew, but there were a bunch of things I didn't know. So I wrote down the names of the books that she had on hand and went home and downloaded what I could to my Nook. After reading "Everyday Paleo" and seeing all the yummy and easy to make recipes, I announced to my hubby that WE as a family would be giving the Paleo Diet a shot. Afterall, it couldn't hurt me anymore than I was already hurting. Right?