Spring break

We are frantically packing and getting ready for our Spring break trip to Mexico, but before we go, here are pictures from Marsha and Steve's Spring break with us!

Molly, Marsha, and the ducks

Jason with his parents (photo credit goes to Molly)

Playing at the park

Steak and shake! Steak and shake!

Molly/Mommy time at the nail salon

Dancing days

We gave ballet another try and Molly seemed to like it ... but she still ended up deciding to switch back to gymnastics. Oh well! While it is definitely fun to watch her walk the beam and jump over the vault, I will miss watching her point her toes and hold ballet poses. These may be the last ballet photos I ever post. But stay tuned ... I'm hoping to sign her up for hip hop over the summer :) 

Sassy face. This comes out whenever she has an audience

Toe tapping

In motion

Paying attention to the teacher

20 days in the (w)hole

Jason and I are about two-thirds of the way through the Whole 30 and I feel like we've turned a pretty big corner. It's taken a while to get to this point though. According to the Whole 30 timeline, we should have started feeling really good around Day 12. In reality, we were both still feeling tired every day and dealing with on and off late-day headaches. That's probably because our bodies were still reeling from the lack of sugar and carbs and also working overtime to shed our extra lbs.

Today ... I feel great. I feel good about what I'm eating. I feel lighter. Healthier. Just ... better. I think I'm starting to really experience what this program is all about. I'm also looking forward to the end! The last day is now just a week and a half away, and so I'm thinking about what I am going to get to eat again when this is all over. Cream in my coffee is first on the list!

But even after I start reintroducing forbidden foods back in, I think I am still going to try to stick to an 80/20 Paleo diet. I don't think I have it in me to be all in, all the time. Some of the food blogs say it is all or nothing, but others say you can still reap the benefits by eating most of your meals according to the rules and then splurging a few times a week. I like those blogs better :)

I've found that I really like cooking Whole 30 recipes. For one thing, most of them are pretty simple and use relatively few ingredients. I guess that's the whole point, right? No more wandering aimlessly around the grocery store and then coming home with a hundred dollars worth of stuff that can't make a meal. Now I know exactly what I need and what I can use. It's less intimidating and I've actually started taking on most of the planning, shopping, and cooking. Jason still handles most (well, probably all) of the meat prep though.

We'll see how it goes! I still have 10 days of the Whole 30 before I start my 80/20 Paleo adventure ... and a week in Mexico for Spring Break where I will be following few food rules, if any!

Happy 3rd birthday to James!

Although the Whole 30 diet kept Jason and I from enjoying a piece of this lovely Paw Patrol cake, we still had a wonderful time celebrating the big 3 with our nephew James.

Three years old

It looks like Molly is featured in this photo, but that's because James will only look in the direction of the camera for a split second at a time. I do not have the shutter speed to get grins on both kids. As you can see, they are growing up fast!

All good things must come to an end

Obviously, we're devastated about the series finale of Downton Abbey. Although it was a total feel-good finale where everyone finds happiness and love, I still felt sad the whole way through just thinking about how much I will miss the characters.

What else will we have to look forward to on Sundays? Well ... I have a few things up my sleeve. I've been testing out a few new shows and am looking forward to seeing what sticks.

• There's Vinyl, the new Martin Scorsese/Mick Jagger 1970s rock and roll throwback show on HBO. It's completely entertaining, slightly ridiculous, and has the added bonus of Bobby Cannavale, who is an amazing force of nature
• We're one season into Mr. Robot, the moody hacker show on USA that recently won the Golden Globe for best drama. Jason and I were so hooked on the first season, we watched all 10 episodes in about a week -- no easy task when you really only have the hours from 9 to 11 pm to work with!
• I am almost finished with the second season of Transparent on Amazon, which I love. Jeffrey Tambor is amazing, of course, but I find myself almost more interested in the side plots. Especially the one with the son, Josh, who had an affair with his nanny 20 years ago and is still dealing with the fall out
• That's probably enough TV for me, but I couldn't help also checking out the new Showtime show, Billions. It stars Damian Lewis and Paul Giamatti ... who could resist? Not me. I'll be finishing out the season on nights when Jason draws!