The Havlirs are Going Whole 30: Thoughts Before We Start.

We have decided to jump on the band wagon and try the Whole 30 program. For those of you who are unfamiliar, it is basically a clean-eating program designed to improve your health and change your eating habits by eliminating certain foods:dairy, sugar, grains, legumes, and alcohol.

I'm more interested in the changing your health because with the exception of Hailey, who is still a toddler, we have a pretty healthy relationship with food. (At least I think we do, I may think differently in 30 days). I had a group of friends who went through this program a few years ago, but at that time, I figured that any discomfort that we've been putting up with was not worth sacrificing being able to enjoy carbs and sugar.

But things have changed. At my last check-up, I've developed pre-diabetes, my cholesterol was on the high side and my hemoglobin was also on the high side. Hailey's eczema has started to flare up pretty badly and is showing up in more spots. Nathan's allergies are still a constant thing and I want to see if we can make your immune system less sensitive by reducing the inflammation that may be present.

So, tomorrow we start. Tonight, I went through my pantry and I cleared out all the food items not allowed for 30 days and I either packed them away, or put them on a high shelf where I couldn't reach.

I didn't realize we had so many non-compliant foods in the house, and we eat fairly healthily!


This clearing left the rest of my pantry very sparse. I was even able to move some small appliances, and other things that I commonly use to fill the space.

I've been clearing things for the past 2 weeks, trying to use up all the non-compliant foods, especially those in the fridge. And then this week, I started to ease you guys into this idea of eliminating some of our favorite food items. 

The most important thing that I needed to do was to make sure Hailey would accept a compliant version of ketchup (chup chup). So, I solicited her help in making "Hailey's chup chup" and even let her sample it on the spot. 

Success! And then to test it out, we had corn dogs for lunch that day and I served the "ketchup" with it and she gobbled it up. Whew, I'm glad she likes it. Nathan, on the other hand, hates it and Hannah is "ok with it." 

I then cooked all the kids' favorite meals, but made them 80% compliant and would say things like, "except for the rice and corn, everything on this plate is OK for Whole 30! "

"Everything in this bulgogi is compliant except for the white rice"

Everything on this plate is Whole 30 except for the wheat crackers on your plate. 

And with that, I think I slowly won them over. Now, with Hailey, who is 3, when I plop down a sweet potato "toast" tomorrow with avocado and egg, she might freak out because she already complains how she doesn't like lunch and dinner and only wants to eat breakfast and chup chup all day long. The kids are so used to eating pancakes, waffles, cereal or oatmeal that to have something savory for breakfast might cause them to throw a coup. And to have you guys drink water instead of juice or milk? Treason! And don't even get me started on snacks! 

We are going to need lots of prayer.  

I'll probably check in every few days during this process and maybe even post some yummy meals that I come up with that are whole 30 compliant. 

Pre-Halloween Preparations

Dear Kiddos, 

This week was kind of a fall break for us. Even though we technically did school, we kind of went with the flow. I finally bought cucumbers and you guys got to try out the soothing effects of cucumber. It didn't last long before you both were bored and restless. But they did make cute photos. 

We spent a lot of time playing outside, hiking, and riding bikes. Hannah, I've noticed that this week you and Hailey have been playing a lot more. You both play house, pretend to be a seal family and there's always princesses involved. In fact, for awhile, Hailey you were on a pants/shorts strike because "Princesses don't wear pants!" You pretty much  wear a dress everyday. (princesses don't wear skirts either, so you don't wear skirts)

One afternoon, we received a surprise visit from one of our pastors and he brought along the church's service dog and goody bags. Since the bags had peanut candies, we decided to redistribute the candy. Hailey did a great job sorting the candy by wrapper type. And as each of you grabbed a selection of candy, it was interesting to see Hannah's face as you tried all the peanut-containing candies that we normally don't have at our house. I was thinking how weird it is for you to be 6 and never had a Snickers or Butterfinger before. 

On Saturday/Sunday we went on our neighborhood scavenger hunt. We've been bike riding around the hood, but having something to look for made the ride less monotonous. There was definitely less complaining about sore legs too. 

As part of the festivities, we also made caramel apples. 

Enjoy them, because in a week we will be starting the Whole 30 program. It's an elimination diet where you don't eat added sugar, grains, gluten, legumes, or dairy for 30 days.  After 30 days, you reintroduce those things that were "forbidden" one at a time, to see how they affect your body (if any). Hailey, your eczema has been pretty bad to the point where you are waking up several times at night. You still toss and turn all night when you sleep, so I'm hoping we can find some answers in the next couple of months. 

It's pretty cool to see you 3 playing in different combinations. Again, it always works best when it is 2 of you at a time; they say, three is a crowd!  

 With COVID still a threat, we decided not to go trick-or-treating this year. We will be joining our pod of friends in a backyard halloween celebration with pinatas, crafts and movie night. I'll be sure to post pictures from that. We are hoping to still be able to fit into last year's costumes since we are still into Pokemon and you all are OK with wearing the costumes again. 

Well, that's really it for the week. It's a short post. Everything is pretty much the same ol'! 

Until next week, 

Love, 

Mommy

7 Months of Social Distancing: Hailey is Done With Diapers...I'm Not Sure If I am Though

Dear Kiddos, 

After a disappointing visit to the Wildflower Center on opening day, we came back a few days later, and found a much smaller crowd. We were able to explore each fort for a little bit and made way for others as they approached. 

You all did a really good job with mask wearing and we kept them on for most of the time. Except for snacking and towards the end of the visit when Hailey was getting hangry. 

You guys picked up some super straight sticks and decided to make wands with them. We had a mini lesson on how to use an increasing number grit sand paper to create a smooth finish. 

Other than that, homeschooling is going smoothly. Hailey, you sometimes join us for school, sometimes you just putz around the house, scheming on how to get my attention while the kids are working.

One day we went to the neighborhood playground to play. The big kids ran through an obstacle course where you guys had to do burpees and push-ups. Hailey, you were brave enough to climb the "rock wall" for the first time in your life. Nathan and Hannah both shimmied up this structure at 1, but you are definitely the more cautious of the bunch and finally mustered up the courage to conquer it! 

We made a quick stop to the church pumpkin patch to pick up some pumpkins. We had to stop and dance with (according to 3 year old Nathan) the best dancer in the world. 

On Sunday, we attended a wedding over Zoom. We all got (mostly) dressed up for the occasion. 

We've been growing mushrooms this week and oh my, they grow so quickly! It took about 7 days to get to this point. 

1 day later. 

The next day (day 9).

We made some Chinese Shao-bing for breakfasts. 

We made pizza in honor of my friend's birthday. (She had asked us all to make something bread-ish, which reminds me that I need to send her the recipe...) Hailey, you and the other kids made your favorite pizza: pineapple. 

Today, you were all very industrious and wanted to get ahead with your work. Maybe I'll figure out something special for you guys to reward you for your effort. 

Hannah finally worked hard, cleaned upstairs, swept, and folded laundry to earn enough money to pay back Nathan. But then Nathan, you did something super sweet and unexpected: you used your money to buy Hannah a new beyblade (toy top that you all are very interested with playing right now). When I asked you why you did it, you said, "Because Hannah is such a nice sister. I want to buy it for her." 

Hailey, you are still a toddler with polar temperaments. At your best, you are expressive, funny, silly and a happy baby kid, sorry, you constantly remind me that you are not a baby anymore. At your worst, the smallest bump or a wrong look in your direction triggers the biggest inconsolable meltdown. 

I think it all boils down to how well you slept, and now I'm suspecting eczema to be the culprit of bad quality sleep for you. I'm going to be more vigilant about keeping it under control and see how that affects your sleep/temperament. 

 I think we are finally done with diapers. After a little over 8 years of changing diapers, Hailey, you now refuse to wear diapers at night and so far have had only 1 accident at night. You are ready, but I don't know if I'm ready... the thought that my baby is not a baby is so bittersweet. 

Solar Cookers, Well Check Drama and Family Flu Shots

Dear Kiddos, 

We've had quite the busy week filled with all sorts of new experiences. Earlier in the week, you girls were in a make-up fad. You would disappear for up to an hour at a time, leaving the house eerily quiet, too suspicious for my comfort (especially when Hannah is involved), and when I would check to see what you were up to, this is what I would find.

Except Hannah was smearing on some unknown make-up product that you got at a birthday party who knows when that left basically a greasy residue on your little sister's face. She felt beautiful, but she was a greasy mess. I broke out my face paints and finally (after years of pleading) let you use them to paint Hailey's face. 

In math this week, you are learning about rounding and estimating. In this picture, you are building numbers with blocks. I'm actually having you read the numbers back in chinese to me because the chinese language works better with place value. English always has to throw in these weird things like "eleven".  

As a culminating activity to review energy forms and transformation, we finally added our last components of our solar cookers and tested them out. 

You guys prepared pizza crackers and smores. 

We first set the solar cooker in front of the garage, but the sun quickly moved, leaving our preselected spot shady. The ambient temperature outside was 79 degrees F. The solar cooker got to about 110 degrees and plateaued. 

But then we moved the solar cooker to a sunnier spot and Hannah's solar cooker, which was the larger of the 2, reached a maximum temperature of 129 degrees, 40 degrees hotter than the outside temp. You guys were outside for about 3 hours total, collecting the temperature data every 5 minutes. 

After an hour, we tested Nathan's smaller cooker. You had guessed that it would get hotter, because there is less space to heat up inside. It turns out that in this case, bigger is better. Yours hovered mostly at 119 degrees, but did reach 124 degrees for a few minutes. 

Nathan, you have declared that everything cooked in a solar cooker just tastes better because it was cooked for free. (Not to mention pizza and s'mores are delicious)

This year we got flu shots as a family. It was a pretty interesting experience because our friend, who is a pharmacist was able to immunize us all up right in his driveway. Daddy and Hannah went first while I tried to distract Hailey. Nathan, you were a bit nervous and tried to run away a few times, but you finally bit the bullet and got it over with. Hailey, you, despite my efforts of distraction, figured it out pretty quickly and declared that you did not want a shot. You screamed and cried but then was easily placated with a cherry or watermelon lollipop (hot debate between you three). 

Instead of our tradition of going out for ice cream after shots, you all settled for brownie sundaes at home. 

Hailey, you wanted me to take a picture of your snowman. You've actually been pretty interested in the character Olaf lately. You even carried around a carrot for 2 hours, because you could use it to pretend that you were Olaf. Three year olds are funny. 

Hannah, I've been promising you a spa night for the longest time, and we finally did it this week. We all smeared on face masks, painted our nails, and relaxed. 

I took this picture as a reminder to document the fact that you are obsessed with "chup chup." We've been going through this stuff at a record pace. I recently went to Costco and stocked up on chup chup and while you were eating lunch, I showed you all 3 bottles at once. You opened your eyes wide and exclaimed, "Chup chup!" You know it's for dipping, but sometimes I will see your little side eye check to wait for a moment when no one is looking before you scoop up a spoonful of ketchup to eat. 

The one good thing that came out of this is that you actually like to eat raw tomatoes. 

This morning we took a walk to the lake, which is now so dry and low. You guys collected some grass seeds because they reminded you of paint brushes and you guys want to try painting with them. 

Hailey, you were quite brave today as you had no issues venturing off on your own. 

And Hailey, you are slowly becoming a medium sized girl as you are becoming more responsible with putting on and taking off your shoes on your own, putting away utensils, taking clothes out of the dryer and even being completely potty trained (even night trained) at 3. 

I took all 3 of you in for your well visits at the same time. All 3 of you are doing great on growing. The only issue that came up was with Hailey. The doctor had heard a heart murmur in the past, but we were waiting for it to improve on its own, which happens in most cases. This time, he referred us to see a cardiologist for a consultation. Because your cousin had the surgery (and turned out fine) I'm thinking that it is likely that you may also have to have surgery to fix the leaky valve. I'm praying that you don't have to go through heart surgery, but we'll just have to wait and see. Our appointment is on election day, which doesn't make a difference because we will be voting early! 

Update: I talked with our family doc today and he told me that he's being cautious and you probably won't need surgery. 

I've also been taking it easy because I'm recovering from a cyst removal and haven't been able to lift anything heavier than 10 pounds. Now that my scar is healed up a bit more, I've been able to give Hailey a bit more cuddles and hugs, but I still feel a sting when I overdo it. Nathan, you are upset because I can't play Beyblades with you. Well, the stitches are coming out soon and you guys will be able to get all the hugs, boingy boings, and Beyblade battles that you want. 

Until next week, 

Love, 

Mommy