Week 1, In The Books

So, we have officially survived week one of clean eating in the Schrock house! Let's all take a minute to not only celebrate the victory of clean eating for a week, but also that no one in my house has been killed by this:). I will say it wasn't easy, but also not has hard as I had thought. Although, my gut tells me the hard part is just beginning. But more on that in a sec. The first night I made lasagna. No biggie, the kids like it (kind of). Dylanne likes it and Micheala just east the garlic toast that I usually make with it. Well, this lasagna had zucchini instead of noodles. Now, if I actually knew what I was doing I would have taken the outer green off the zucchini before I put it in the lasagna, but I honestly have no idea what I am doing, so fail there. I don't think anyone would have realized there was a different if they didn't see the green. The girls were reluctant to try but they also know how upset I was after the doctor's appointment last week so they were willing to try. Well, they picked the green pieces out, but ate the rest. Dylanne even had seconds and Micheala ate all of hers. Now, I should probably also disclose that the only other option I told them they had was dog food, so maybe that played a roll. Now, my third child, I mean husband wasn't quite as accepting. He was actually really mad at me for putting (dare I say it) a vegetable in the lasagna. I think he thought his throat was going to swell shut. He ate a bite just to shut me up and then he ate his serving and I think seconds, so win!!!! Besides that we have had a baked potatoe bar twice, which Dylanne loves!!!!!! I make huge batches of clean pancakes and then they eat them everyday for breakfast. We have had a roast and hamburgers with no bun. I also found a great recipe for homemade granola bars that everyone loves and probably make a batch a few times a week. They are filling and so good! I did have to tell Mike that there was flax in them because he was eating a lot! Other than that I have noticed the girls are eating much more fruit which is awesome. I myself just notice that the urge to eat just to eat doesn't seem to be as strong anymore so that is amazing!!!!! I am also noticing more muscle definition in my arms so that helps with motivation as well. I think poor Mike keeps searching for our typical comfort food and there isn't any. Bless his heart for not being mad at me (or at least not telling me he is) because I know he just wants to sit on the couch with some chips. I also think he is scared to eat anything because he doesn't know what it really is. Last night he asked me if a bag of popcorn was just popcorn. Poor guy. He will get there too!:) All, in all I think so far it has been good, but remember I said the hard part is just beginning? Well, I think the girls are done with pancakes, etc so now I can tell they really just want mom to be done with this crazy thing she is doing so we can all go back to "normal". Well, all that means is I have a challenge on my hands to continue to find new recipes etc. Like I said, we won't ever be 100% perfect on this, but I would like to be close at least inside our house!

Changes

I decided to blog again. I'm not really sure why. I think it is therapeutic for me. Lot's of changes going on in the Schrock house and I guess I am not really sure what to do with all of it. Our newest change came last week. Micheala had her 3 month diabetes/thyroid check up. Usually these are pretty good visits with the biggest challenge being what the heck is going on with her thyroid. Not this visit. Mike just started his new job and so I didn't really ask for him to come along because these visits really aren't that big of a deal. We love the doctor and things go smoothly. Besides, Mike and Micheala goof around so much at these visits and I had things I wanted to get done that night, so if I don't take him the visit will be shorter. Or so I thought. Let's just say that the visit didn't go as well as we would like and I came away feeling like the world's worst mother!! Ugh! I did text Mike half way through the appointment and told him I will never go again without him. I really needed his support. In short, Micheala's diabetes isn't under good control. Part of that is the natural process of growing and needing to change some settings on Micheala's insulin pump. Easy. The other part is that Micheala has a really poor diet. Ouch! Honestly, did I know this? Yes. Did I want to hear it? No. Did I need to? Obviously. I think of us as a typical family minus one thing, we are all extremely picky eaters. A house full of us and what you get are simple things, but because of our schedule, easy things. In short a lot of processed foods. Now, Mike and I changed our diets for the most part about a year and a half ago and we do pretty well. We do have some periods where we realize we aren't doing as well as we should and we get back on track. Unfortunately we have always let the girls kind of eat what they like, which is usually something from a box. I know, call the cops on me now. Micheala is the worst eater of all of us! She would live of off Garlic Texas Toast, bacon and rasberries if we let her. The rasberries aren't bad, but we live on a budget! Anyway, after getting punched in the stomach through words that day, it was a long ride home. Micheala knew I was upset and she was extra sweet and clingy. But, I managed to not cry (at least not in front of the doctor's or Micheala). Nope, I got a little bit pissed off! Not at anyone else, but myself! After all, I am the MOM and I am supposed to do better and I took this as a direct result of my lack of being a good mother. What really stung was the month prior at Dylanne's 9 year check up we were told she was overweight and had gained too much weight over the summer. This wasn't really the doctor's fault, the CDC set the standards (researched this) and yes according to the charts Dylanne is overweight. Not a great thing to hear, especially when your daughter is 9 and already calls herself "thick". Anyway, my hopes and dreams of the Mother of the Year Award quickly flew out the window that day and I decided to get to work. I have kind of played around with clean eating and the Paleo diet. I like to read about them, but I have never fully put them into practice. I mean after all they take a lot of planning and prep work and remember we are a busy family. (Don't you love my excuses:). The next day I took vacation day off of work. Took the gals to school and then went home and did research. Just so you know I almost research anything that comes into our lives. It's just who I am. So after finding a few recipes I thought I could handle and our picky house would eat, I went on my way to the grocery store. 2 hours in Fareway that day!!!!! I read every label and almost gave up half way through, but stuck with it. Let me just say, this isn't an easy journey we are on. I am actually writing this blog on day 7 the experience and I am still struggling through, but I am trying. What else can I do?