Ethan is DONE!! He had his last 2 finals yesterday and was home by 1 pm.
Here’s his 1st Day vs Last Day pic!
It felt a little anticlimactic.
We always had a tradition, when the boys were younger, that I’d take the day off and we’d do something FUN on the last day of school (which, was always a half day, and in June, so a warm day).
Many years we’d go out to lunch and then mini golfing. One year I know I took them to a movie and for ice cream. I even remember in 2020 when the “virtual school year” ended and the world was still closed, we went and got drive thru Dairy Queen hot dogs and blizzards and ate them out on our deck.
Let’s see, in 2020 Ethan was 11, almost 12:
And here in 2016 Ethan would have been 7 (almost turning 8), and Asher was 6!
Yesterday I did not take the day off, and Asher had school all day. Ethan also had to turn around and go back to tennis practice at 4:00 (which is not over quite yet).
Ivan and I ended up going to a movie last night, which would have been fun to bring Ethan along to!, but the timing didn’t work with tennis…. and anyway, we needed him to pick up Asher from swim practice. Hahaha. (And I honestly think that at 16 years old and after a week of finals + tennis practice, he really just wanted to hole up in his room and play video games with his friends all night.)
Hopefully we can do some sort of belated “last day of school” something this weekend!! Or maybe today I can sneak out from work for a break with him and we can go get ice cream. (Except I can’t have ice cream right now on Whole 30! 😫)
Speaking of Whole 30, let’s do a Day 3 Update:
Day 3, Wednesday, 5/21:
What I Ate:
B: banana + black tea (early), then at 8:00 I browned some 99%/1% ground turkey I had thawed and sauteed with mini peppers, onion, jalapeno and cilantro. (yes, turkey for breakfast… just felt like it!)
S1: apple + almond butter, plus a few raw almonds + grapefruit La Croix
L: leftover salmon, broccoli/carrots, pecan salad (spinach + arugula), with a side of a clementine and a few sugar snap peas. –> this was a late lunch, almost 3 pm, because after breakfast and snack, I was not hungry!!
S2: pistachios (many!!) + a large unsweetened iced tea with lemon –> this was my movie snack.
D: 2 eggs, jalapeno, mixed with some leftover potatoes (late dinner after movie!)
How I Felt/ Observations/ Thoughts:
-energy is GOOD! No lingering lethargy from Day 2.
-I felt suuuuuper full after that big salad, uncomfortably so. I recall this issue from the past, when I’ve counted macros. When you’re eating “healthier”, you often tend to eat higher volume foods. My body is not really used to that! For example, a little dinky PB sandwich goes down a lot quicker (and smaller) than that big salad with all the chewing and chewing….
-after school, Asher made some toast before swim practice. It smelled SO GOOD. Hahaha. I had brief visions of warm, crusty bread with butter melting on it…. mmmmm. lol! The feelings passed, though.
-we went to a movie! I have never in the history of my life gone to a movie and not eaten popcorn. 🤣 (and preferably, I would want a big soda + some candy!!) I was a little “bummed” feeling about not having popcorn but stayed the course. I packed a big bag of pistachios in my purse and ordered a large unsweetened iced tea with a fresh slice of lemon and this was, delightfully, some of the best iced tea I’ve had recently! The salty pistachios were also surprisingly crunchy and satisfying. Who knew this could be okay?! It helped also, that the popcorn Ivan ordered never arrived! It’s one of those bistro theaters where you order from your seat. They brought my iced tea, then brought his beer…. and the popcorn never came! Ivan was too lazy to go seek it out and we just had it refunded at the end. The Whole 30 gods were smiling upon me. 😉
-on the way home, we passed some restaurants and I had thoughts of, Oof, how will this work when inevitably we eat out?! I had a few doubts about if I’ll be able to stick to it… but then I reminded myself it’s only temporary!
-while eating my air fryer potatoes w/ eggs: “yum these potatoes are seriously delicious”
-maybe it’s a placebo effect, but I swear my skin already feels more “glowy” and brighter!! Is that possible after 3 days? Probably not, lol, but the idea of it is motivating me!
-had some thoughts about what comes next. Like, let’s say I feel amazing + my skin totally clears up. (Fingers crossed, we can hope, ha!) Okay… but then what? Clearly I can’t do this in Copenhagen, but could I keep, say, dairy and sugar still cut out?? Or just eat whatever and figure it out upon return? Please just don’t let it be the corn… (A life without popcorn + tortilla chips + salsa would be a very sad life for me!)
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for a random mid-week movie night! We had no major plans and it was a cold, rainy night, and we’ve been itching to go to a movie for a while. We went to see Thunderbolts, the latest Marvel movie. It was good! As usual in those superhero movies, I spent approximately 25% of it being a little confused as to who was who and what was happening 🤣🤣 but overall it was fun!
GRATEFUL KAE 
Your review of Thunderbolts is the same as mine for any Marvel Movie. I don’t know who is who, and if I’m watching, it’s because I’m hanging out.
BRB, gotta make up a batch of air fryer potatoes.
That’s good that the fatigue cleared up on day 3! I’m continuing to take notes.
I know that feeling of being uncomfortably full from a salad. I also get it from apples.
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Hahaha, I’m glad I’m not the only one with the Marvel movies!!!
I think that apples do not like me, in general! This apple yesterday was the first apple I’ve eaten in a long time, as I suspected it made me bloated, and sure enough, after the apple + almond butter, my abdomen looked distended. I know apples are on the high FODMAP list- I think I may keep them out of my line up for a while!
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Yay Ethan! I guess it’s hard to have a special last day of school celebration when one kid is still in school. I’m sure Ethan didn’t mind one bit- he was living his best life in pajamas, playing video games (btw- at our school, he could have worn that outfit to school. They’re not really supposed to wear pajamas, but people do. And slippers.)
So, you’ve inspired me! I’m going on a restricted diet to deal with some health issues. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, but there’s never a good time. I’ll be traveling again in July, and that was going to be my next excuse for not doing it. But then you said you’re doing the first 25 days of Whole 30 and I thought, JUST GET STARTED. I can see where I’m at in July and go from there. I haven’t started yet- Monday is D Day- I have to get some special ingredients and do food prep. I’ll be talking about it on the blog soon.
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Ooh, interesting!! Can’t wait to hear more about it, Jenny! You already seem to eat so healthy, so I’m looking forward to hearing more specifics!
(Also- Ethan actually might have worn that to school, lol! I’m not positive. Usually he wears sweatpants, but maybe on the last day he celebrated with PJ pants?? I’m not sure!! His school is generally casual except on liturgy days they have to dress up. Next year they’re switching from shirt/ tie to a school polo, which I think is a good idea. Easier to just grab the polo on those days!)
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I’m so glad you’re noticing improvements already. As I said yesterday, the first time I did Whole30 I felt AMAZING. I just couldn’t keep it up. I’m not good at being restrictive and it takes work. That said, I also think it would be 100x easier now that the kids are older.
What I HAVE been doing has been cutting out basically any and all processed foods (since reading Ultraprocessed People). It felt like a big deal when I started, but really hasn’t been that difficult after all. No thickeners or artificial sweeteners. If I don’t have the ingredient in my kitchen to start with, I try not to buy the product. My digestion is soooooo much better. Like the best I can ever remember. And now I’m using some of the Glucose Revolution hacks. I find the two things together are working wonders. My groceries do cost more (for example, I basically only eat prosciutto now if I want a “sliced meat” since it’s just pork and salt and everything else seems to have a bajillion ingredients, and that’s more expensive than most other “processed” meats. My mayo has bare basic ingredients and cost double what Hellman’s does. But I’ve been so happy with the changes.
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I have that book sitting here waiting to read! I am a bit afraid of what it will say, though. hahaha. I also really want to read Glucose Revolution. I looked it up after you and Stephany both mentioned it! Seems so fascinating. I am so glad you’re finding success on your health journey!! Will be amazing if you’ve “figured out” what your body needs! The mystery part is so frustrating.
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Leftover Salmon! That’s the name of a band! I am glad you were feeling full after the salad because sometimes that is the feeling I miss when I try to do any kind of restriction. I often lean towards cheese or beans or meat to add protein which I feel makes me feel more full vs just veggies. However, I have been eating way too much bread lately as it’s easier while I am on the move a lot. I am looking forward to my next month long stay where I can grocery shop for more fresher things! I am glad you are feeling better already! Placebo or not!
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All right. Now I’m familiar with your tradition of taking the day off and doing something fun on the last day of school, Kae. I think no lingering lethargy from Day 2 will mean that you’ve now entered a different stage. Although, I would’ve not anticipated that you had never in the history of your life gone to a movie and not eaten popcorn.
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i understand how much bloating you could get if suddenly eat more fiber rich food. It will adjust for sure!
what movie did you watch?
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Wow, the difference between Ethan at the beginning of 10th grade and on the last day is STARK. It must be crazy to see those changes!
I really should do Whole30 to figure out why my digestion is so messed up right now. But I don’t do well with restrictive diets (I would have been SO SAD to go to the movies and not get popcorn!!).
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