So I made it. 3 weeks officially ends tomorrow. And phase 2 officially begins tomorrow. I start adding foods back in. I think dairy is a trigger so we are starting with that since my body will be most sensitive. The last few days have been iffy anyway so to be honest, I'm not sure I should start tomorrow. I think I am intolerant to pistachios and possibly white wine vinegar (or maybe regular vinegar). Hard to tell, though, bc I am also in the middle of my cycle and that screws me up anyway. I definitely have a hard time processing lettuce (or when I eat 2-3x a day I do).

In the past week I feel like I have finally figured our stuff I can eat and be happy. Like, olives on a bison "burger". I used brown rice flower, water, and flax to make a flat bread bun, threw a bison patty on it, covered it in olives and devoured. Brown rice pasta salad is also good but I'm thinking the dressing I am using is causing issues. Or maybe it was just the lettuce and the dressing is getting a bad wrap.

We are also wrapping up homeschooling ALREADY! It's crazy to me that we have come this far so fast. We started multiplaction today. I am sure that we are going to do it again next year. I just wish I had someone to set up crafts/activities for me for major holidays each month. I know there are some "craft in a box" mail order places but they are all so expensive! One I was looking at the other day talked about going online and downloading something. Well, I don't need to pay $40 per month to download. I can search and download myself.

Little Monster is winding down in preschool. This is the first year I haven't like school at all for him but it feels like we are putting more time and energy into it than we are getting out of it. His birthday party is in about 4 weeks and I'm SUPER pumped about it! Since they are about 6 months apart, I don't get too frustrated or burnt out on parties.

In 10 days in. In 8 days I lost 8.5lbs. Crazy!! I tasted more new foods in 8 days than I did in 29 years...for example: buckwheat pancakes, cashew butter, cauliflower, quinoa, sweet potatoes, papaya...I'm sure I'm missing some. I have definitely expanded what I eat but it still isn't easy.

It seems like I am fine one day and the next I'm falling apart. The worst part is I can't keep up w/ the rest of my life b/c I'm too busy cooking and cleaning the kitchen. The laundry falls behind, school for Little Bit, my rest. I'm getting tired of that.

I am also having a hard time being around food. Little Monsters' Easter egg hunt was yesterday and it bothered me to be around the choc chip cookies, popcorn, m and ms...but I was ok today w/ the kids having pizza. Hmmm...wonder where my weakness is.

And it isn't helping that I'm coming off of my effexor. I think that has multiplied my issues by a million. I took my last dose last night. I hope the last little bit of withdrawals go by fast.

We are still clicking on with school but it has gotten to be so routine that there aren't a lot of things to update. Little Bit has come so far, though! She is reading chapter books and loving it. I think it really clicked with her last week. All of a sudden I noticed her wanting to take books to bed with her or taking them in the car. I'm so excited for her. I can't imagine not loving to read. I hope Little Monster is the same way.

I started an elimination diet on Wednesday. I am going to try to keep track of the changes in my body as I go but we'll see how far I get :) Wednesday was hard. It was really hard not to get a frappuccino after working out, not being able to take a sip of anything (orange juice, milk, gatorade, etc) except water, not being able to grab a jelly bean or piece of chocolate, no potatoes, no bread...you can figure out the rest. Thursday was a little easier in that aspect but then yesterday was BAD. I think the hardest part is making food for the kids. I can't even lick the peanut butter off the knife. I completely lost it this morning. It gets to me that I don't have a choice in this. This isn't a fad or just for fun. Its for my life. I know it will get easier as I start introducing things back in but these 3 weeks are going to suck. The most I have learned so far is not to try something new when I'm hungry. If I don't like it, I just get angry that I can't grab anything else easily and I can't fill myself up.

Just a few noteworthy Little Monster conversations heard in my household lately
*about a month ago I lost my voice. Little Monster cried and cried, concerned that I would never get it back.
*last night Little Monster had a bedtime breakdown b/c daddy and him had donuts w/ dad today and he was sad I couldn't go.
*Little Monster asked me tons of questions about dying the other day (he is extremely sensitive about that, which works as a pretty good inspiration to NOT run in the parking lot). After our talk he went to daddy and told him that he's going to die one day. Then he said "daddy, you can't die. You have to pay the bills"