Aidan is 11!

Happy 11th birthday to my biggest boy! We've got a LOT of changes and transitions happening in our family right now, not the least of which is us moving (our last night in the only house he's ever know is on his birthday!) and starting 6th grade in August at a brand new school without any of the friends he knows from elementary school. But I'm proud to say that Aidan is handling everything like a champ so far, and setting a great example for his brother and sister like always. I love this handsome fella with all of my heart!



And now I'm going to start what I hope will be a nice new birthday tradition: an interview with the birthday boy. I think it'll be cool to look back on his answers to see how they change over the years. Makes me wish I'd started it sooner! Though I will say that he's certainly not long-winded like his mom...:) I had to dig for a few more details here and there.

• How old are you?   11
• What is your favorite color?    Sky blue
• What is your favorite book?    Divergent
• What is your favorite food?    Pizza
• Who is your best friend?    Will
• What is your happiest memory?    Going to Great Wolf Lodge with my family
• Why do you like being a kid?    Because I can have fun
• What is one word to describe yourself?    Awesome
• If you could be any animal, which one would you be?    A Lion
• What’s your favorite thing about school?    Reading
• What makes you laugh?    My brother
• What do you want to be when you grow up?    A Businessman
• What do you love most about your brother and sister?    They are awesome
• What is your favorite thing to do with your family?    Watch TV
• What do you think you will be doing 10 years from now?    Working
• What advice would you give your parents?    Do your best!

Mom's note: we certainly don't spend all of our time watching TV, but we've found some family shows we like watching on the weekend (The Amazing Race and Once Upon a Time are two that we really like).

Adventures in moving

Back when I last posted in March, we were still in winter hibernation mode and getting stir crazy. A few weeks later, that quickly turned into full on house-hunting mode, and we've been busy buying, selling, purging and packing ever since. But I really want to document this crazy and exciting time in our lives, so I'm going to (do my best to) post more about our adventures in moving.

It all started in early March, when we were waiting to hear back on our lottery application for the charter school we wanted Aidan to get into for 6th grade. We always knew that 6th grade would be a deciding year for whether we would HAVE to move in order for Aidan to be in a good school, because the year-round middle school we applied to (in addition to the charter school) is by lottery only, and unfortunately our base middle school was never an option we'd consider. We did get in to the year-round school, so we knew we could stay in our home, but the ball got rolling anyway.

Adam and I have always known that this home wouldn't be our forever home. It's in a prime location for us in a great neighborhood (aside from the less than ideal base schools), but we wanted more. More space, more storage, more insulation (one bedroom is almost unusable in the winter and summer!), better kitchen (holy hell, how have we lived without a kitchen island for 12 years?!), you get the picture. We love our home, but there are a thousand nit-picky things we wish were different. Building a home is something we've always talked about, and the timing was right to start considering.

So the tour of a million and one model homes began, and it was fun! For me and Adam, at least. The incessant house touring definitely got old for the kids pretty quickly. :)



We really got a sense of where we wanted to be, what was available, what we could afford, and what our must-have features would be. By April, we were officially under contract to build a home with Meritage. We had to move quickly to take advantage of builder incentives (free solar panels!) and get the lot we wanted, which was pretty intense, considering the huge expense of a new home. After going through a roller coaster of emotions more times than I can count, we ultimately couldn't be more excited about where we're moving!

Of course, the whole selling our house thing is a whole other story...

Stir crazy

The last two weeks have been totally crazy. I was in the office for only 1 out of the 10 working days, and the boys' school was closed for 8.5 of those 10 days due to snow and ice. That's a LOT of time to be cooped up. And you know it's bad when then kids groan about yet another school closure because they just want to see their friends (and get away from their mean old mom who won't let them eat snacks every minute of every day), even if it means going to school!

Our first "winter weather event" happened on Monday, February 16. I was already home with Lorelai for President's day (daycare teacher workday) so it was no big deal when school got out early. We ended up with more sleet than snow, so many secondary roads were skating rinks. With more snow on Wednesday, school was out all.freaking.week because it was just too bitterly cold to melt the ice/snow. I guess I didn't really get how bad some roads were until we picked Aidan up after a sleepover on Saturday morning. 5 days later, and his friend's road was still solid ice.



We thought we were in the clear last week. Monday was a normal day at school and work. And then everyone was completely surprised when we woke up to more snow coming down on Tuesday. Some buses had already left to get students by the time the school delay call came in at 6:30am. By 7:45, it was very clear the roads were too bad to go to school, so we were at cancellation number 5. I think we ended up with 2-3 inches before it stopped. The kids loved it though--real snow, better than the ice last week.


Adam ventured out to work every day, making me a nervous wreck (I'm paranoid) when every single time, he forgot to text me that he got there safe.


The biggest punch in the gut from good old Mother Nature came at 1am on Thursday when our power went out due to the heavy, wet snow taking down trees and power lines. It sure was gorgeous though!


We don't even own a snow shovel--we had to borrow the neighbor's.


We keep our downstairs thermostat really low at night so it didn't take long without heat to drop down into the 50s. We tried to warm the house with our first fire in the fireplace in I don't know how many years. Since before Logan was born maybe. It became very clear that the poor Duraflame log was not cutting it. Those things are not made to give off much heat.



My work laptop was completely dead, and with no indication that our power would be back on soon, I couldn't run my cell phone battery down by calling in to my work meetings. Worst use of a vacation day, ugh. With no power and no coffee and most importantly no heat (I was SO cold even with multiple layers under blankets!!), we packed up and headed to Adam's work down the road. Thankfully the main roads weren't too dicey because some plows had made it through. We happily mooched off their power, wi-fi and coffee until our power came back on that afternoon. And then my mom happily mooched off our power until hers came back on that evening. :)


This is the clubhouse of one of the apartment complexes Adam manages. Cinnamon roll keurig coffee and a huge media room for the win.


Of course (because we're in the south) the secondary roads still weren't safe for buses by Friday, so that was cancellation numero ocho. Ouch. And now the boys have officially lost the first week of their 3-week intersession at the end of this month. At least there's no Saturday school for us, so that's an up side?

The snuggles were also a big up side. :)



This has been the first "normal" week in a long time, and now we're looking at another wintry mix on the way tonight that could possibly delay or cancel school tomorrow. While I actually didn't mind going into full hibernation mode--no makeup/yoga pants/curled up under a blanket at the table in front of my computer and only stepping outside to take a couple of quick pics of the kids, I was happy to be back in the office this week. I will echo the sentiment of pretty much everyone when I say I'm SO DONE with winter. Hurry up, Spring!

Easy Paleo Chili

One of the best (and most surprising) things about my Whole30 journey has been discovering, and successfully making/enjoying(!) lots of brand new recipes. A lot of these are by way of "paleo-ifying" some of our normal dishes. Enter paleo chili--all the comfort for these cold winter nights without those pesky forbidden beans.

My silly husband would beg to differ that this is chili at all because there are no beans, but if you're in the market for a paleo/Whole30 compliant chili dish (or you just really don't like beans!), you've come to the right place. I ended up merging a couple of different chili recipes together to come up with something that I will totally continue to make even when I'm done with the Whole30. I made this when Adam was out of town the other week and the kids gave it rave reviews. So naturally, I had to make it again this week so he can try it. I'm definitely doubling the recipe below so I have plenty of leftovers!

Paleo Chili

(adapted from the back of the Hunt's Fire Roasted tomatoes can, using zucchini as inspired by this recipe)

Ingredients:

* 1 pound ground meat (I used ground chicken)
* 1/4 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 cup diced green and/or red peppers
* 1 large zucchini, diced
* 2 cans Hunt's Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, undrained
* 1 can (6oz) tomato paste
* 1 cup water
* 1 tbsp chili powder
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp cumin
* 1/4 tsp paprika


Directions:

1. Brown your meat with the onion, drain fat if necessary.
2. Add zucchini to begin sautéing.
3. Meanwhile, blend one can of the tomatoes until smooth.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer on medium low, stirring occasionally, for at least 15 minutes. Feel free to let simmer for 30+ to let the flavors develop more.

Makes 4-5 servings. Enjoy!

Lorelai's hair

Lorelai's hair is beautifully long and silky, and has grown out into what looks like a perfectly layered cut without ever having it styled. She's come a long way since her reverse mullet. Just about everyone comments on how long and pretty her hair is. She loves it and calls it her princess hair. I love it. Adam loves it. The boys even love it. In fact, at Christmas, we were on Grandma and Grandpa's porch and the light and a breeze hit her just right—Logan said in awe that it looked like her hair was glowing.

That said, I'm pretty sure we're at the point where she needs her first REAL cut. And when I said as much at the dinner table last night when Adam mentioned making an appointment with our hairdresser, I got a unanimous "NO!" from everyone at the table--Aidan and Logan included. But the thing is, it tangles so easily and I'm the one who has to comb it all out every morning and every night. Her ends are crazy split. It's so long that she always has to wear it pulled back to school. We've even gotten into the habit of doing sock buns at night to keep it from tangling so much while she sleeps. But of course that ends up looking like this in the mornings, making me completely rethink cutting it at all, because holy hair envy, batman!


Too bad it doesn't look like this for long though--the curls are pretty much all gone by the end of the day.

She actually got her first official hair cut back in August, which she really needed to get rid of 4 years of dead ends. But we were all so very against losing any length at that point, so our hairdresser worked her magic and you couldn't even tell she got a cut--it just looked smoother and healthier at the ends.







Who knows--I may end up chickening out when the time comes, but for now, I'm going to start trying to convince the masses that shortening it just a few inches will really not be such a big deal. And no, it won't turn brown and lose magical powers (poor Rapunzel!).

It's a cliche, but...New year, new me

2014 most definitely did not live up to the expectations I had of it. In fact, it will go down in history as one of the suckiest years in memory. Sure, we had some great times as a family, but oh my goodness--the deaths. There was just so much more death than I've personally ever dealt with, and each one just had a cumulative effect on me, piling on top of all the emotions I had surrounding my dad's death in May. From July to December, we said goodbye to two of Adam's wonderful grandmothers, his aunt, and my uncle.

And to top it all off, I've been struggling with the worst acne I've ever had (yes, including my teenage years and pregnancy) for the last 6+ months and it's really taken a toll on me emotionally. I know it might be vain, and I know I don't have it as severe as many, but at 34 years old, it feels pretty ridiculous to be dealing with this. Not to mention painful. When you cry looking in the mirror and slather on the makeup even when you're not leaving the house because you can't stand the sight of your own face, something's got to change.

The hitch is, I've become more aware of all of the chemicals we put on and in our bodies, so I've been trying to avoid running to the dermatologist for an Rx to some chemicals that aren't really good for me. And I'd really rather not stain any more of my clothes with Proactiv. So I joined DoTerra as a wellness advocate in May of last year and have loved using my oils. But I'm pained to admit that they're just not working on my face. I eventually came to the conclusion that I have to take a more holistic approach to healing and start from the inside. It's either hormones or my gut, but something is out of whack.

Enter the Whole30.

I actually gave up dairy for a month at the end of October hoping that might be the culprit, but I only saw marginal improvements. My face got worse again after indulging in too many Thanksgiving treats, so I decided to significantly cut back on my refined sugar intake (and still had very minimal dairy). Then I went off the rails on Christmas day with several desserts. Sure enough, my face was a painful cystic, zitty wreck a couple of days later.

Conclusion: I HAVE to kick my sugar habit. And it certainly won't hurt to eliminate other inflammatory things that could be wrecking my gut and making their way out through my skin. So for 30 days: no sugar, grains, alcohol, soy, legumes, dairy, or other nasty things like MSG or sulfites.

It initially sounded too challenging and restrictive, but my skin issues are enough motivation for me to go as drastic as I need to. I'm a week in, and so far I'm doing great! Probably since I already eliminated some of the things on the list, I haven't had any kind of withdrawal symptoms, anger or unbearable cravings. I've been eating well, and it really feels like I'm accomplishing something. I might even be seeing an improvement in my skin.

Of course I still have a ways to go till day 30, but I'm really motivated to keep going. Which is no small feat with something as restrictive and psychologically challenging as the Whole30 is.

Whole 30 day 8: that big old pot of spaghetti (squash) with mushrooms on the
side means I'm certainly not feeling deprived tonight! YUM

I fully welcome 2015 and as many positive changes in myself as I can. And I'm using all of the positive mental attitude I can muster to believe it'll me MUCH better than last year. But the bar is pretty low...:)

Happy New Year!

Merry & Bright

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!



I'm currently lounging on the couch watching the kids play in their fort after a morning watching Elf. A lazy morning turned into a lazy day when our plan to visit with family were cancelled due to Adam's sister and her kids coming up from Atlanta and promptly coming down with the flu. :( Our fingers and toes are crossed that they all start feeling better soon so we can see them before they have to go back home. We love spending time with family, and Aidan, Logan and Lorelai really want to play with their cousins!

In happier news, I've successfully achieved a (mostly) stress-free Christmas season for the second year in a row! After years and years of holiday stress getting the best of me to the point of not fully being able to enjoy the season, I think I finally have things figured out. They keys are simplicity and online shopping. Oh, and setting the bar just a little bit lower for myself. :)



We've shopped for others, donated gifts, decorated our house, read Christmas stories, watched Christmas movies, listed to Christmas music, enjoyed our elf on the shelf, trimmed my mom's tree, made chocolate covered popcorn (my version of "baking"), and I've personally enjoyed some eggnog. I think our bases are pretty covered as far as holiday festivities go. The last thing we need to check off the list is opening presents and hanging out with family!



Now we just need to wrap the last few gifts and wait for Santa to arrive. Hopefully he'll bring a Christmas miracle and our family will feel better tomorrow (and no one else gets sick!).