I'll Have My Own Theme Song

 

 

I started the morning as I always do… chasing, tickling, changing diapers, pouring juice, bouncing baby, scrambling eggs, building puzzles, making bottles, starting laundry, emptying the dishwasher, drinking cold coffee, sending Hubby out the door with a quick kiss and a look of panic (DON’T LEAVE ME!!!!), reading books, wiping drool… you get the picture. It is my crazy, loud, colorful, amazing life. I love it. I love the sounds that wake me up in the morning. I love the skinny arms and legs and wild red hair bouncing into my room at exactly 7:03 every morning. I love the sounds Squish makes as he wakes up and waves his arms and legs around like a frantic little chicken greeting the day. I love looking around at the piles of toys, soaked through with Buggie's big imagination, strewn all over the living room and providing me with an obstacle course in my kitchen. I love that I belong to these little people and they belong to me. And I love, LOVE the incredible blessing of each. ordinary. day. It’s a miracle, isn’t it? That we might have all these beautiful ordinary days all sewn together?

It’s messy. It’s chaotic at times. It strips me of my desperate desires for “me time” and brings me to the foot of the Cross every day… sometimes in wild joy that I can’t even contain, sometimes in desperation and exhaustion, but always, ALWAYS in gratitude.

 

So it was an ordinary morning when I turned on the TV to start Pandora- our always-on-backgound-music that plays approximately 20 hours of our day…when I saw a story on a morning show (I can’t remember which one- I get the anchors confused, ok?) about this fad diet called “Whole 30”. I paused for a sec before going to the music menu because the screen was filled with pretty pictures of food. I like pretty pictures of food. And I listened. This Whole 30 thing sounded cool! Kind of hard but hey, I like a challenge! And look how cool I would be… all up-on-pop-culture-and-what’s-hip and all!! So I filed it away under “things I’ll do when the kids go to kindergarten” and started the Sesame Street Pandora station.

 

But during nap time that day I started thinking… when was the last time I felt really energized by doing something for myself? My life “BC” (Before Children) was full of personal challenges that focused on improving my wellness and endurance and intelligence and blah blah blah…And now my life is full of THEM and it’s better and more satisfying than it has ever been, but there’s a part of me that misses setting a goal and reaching it. So I Googled. And I read. And I thought- I CAN DO THIS! I’ve always been a careful eater (ok ok, maybe 80% of the time) but this was taking it to a new level. Here are the words that excited me:

Fresh Veggies!

Fresh Fruit!

Lean meats!

Clean eating!

 

Here are the words that terrified me and sent me into immediate depression:

NO SUGAR!

NO BREAD!

NO DAIRY!

 

Kill me now. No dairy??? Is this for real? What about my yogurt? What about my creamer? What about CHEESE FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE!

But still that little voice inside me said, “Hey. Let’s do this.” I’ve always been one who’s excited by a chance to do something crazy. I’ve bungee jumped off of a bridge in Africa. I’ve been skydiving and even dyed my hair jet black in college. I’m a thrill-seeker. A wild-woman. I can do crazy. And what’s crazier than GETTING RID OF CHEESE???

 

I spent about a week doing some research, gathering recipes, cleaning out my fridge and pantry (this was actually fun because I decided to eat most of what we had instead of throwing it away… aka: Nutella party). One of the things I kept reading about the program was that planning ahead is key, and I am a planner, so I’m already half-way there, right?? 

 

The basic idea behind Whole 30 is that it is a kind of cleanse or “reset” for your system. You strip away all the processed foods, sugars, grains and dairy and are left with sort of a “Paleo-to-the-next-level” diet for 30 days. It’s not intended to be a lifestyle, although it sounds like plenty of people just keep it up after the 30 days is over. From what I’ve read, I think the next step is to go into a Paleo diet when you’re done. These 30 days are supposed to help heal your gut, reset your cravings, and in my haven’t-done-it-yet opinion, bring you to the point of absolute despair and desperation. Sounds like fun, right?

 

Now truth be told I can’t get rid of ALL these foods in my house… I have a husband, a three-year-old and a baby to think about. Hubby eats yogurt and granola every morning for breakfast. That’s right, folks. Every. Morning. He’s a creature of habit, that one. So this little adventure will really only affect his dinners. He’s ok with that. My three-year-old eats whole grains and dairy but I am actually going to start to limit those more than I have in the past. He eats fairly well but there are far too many whole-grain goldfish swimming around in his tummy. We shall see how he handles this…

 

So, after a big, embarrassing dinner last night consisting of Rosa’s tortillas and cheese dip (come on, I had to say goodbye!!) I am taking a deep breath and jumping in. For those of you who do daily life with me, I apologize in advance for the sugar-deprived dragon you might meet in a few days. Feel sorry for her. Pat her droopy little shoulders. Dry her salty tears. And tell her she can do it!! Can you hear that??? That's my super-hero theme music, people!!!!