january

oh, january: you and your sub-zero temperatures and viruses and winter blues. i've been sick since last saturday. my mom and susie have been really helpful to brett and me by watching stella and doing other stuff for us. tuesday i helped out in the children's program at bsf. twice during the bsf year, each discussion group helps out in the various rooms as a way of thanking the teachers/caregivers who teach and love our kids every tuesday so we can listen to the lecture and discuss the lessons in our groups. i woke up still feeling kind of sick, but once i took a shower and got going, i felt better, so stella and i drove out to wayzata, i dropped her off at her room, and got my room assignment. i was in the room with mostly 3 year olds: six boys and one girl. i assisted the two regular team leaders. it was fun. i played dinosaurs, blocks, a tool set with these fun, energetic little ones. i helped prepare the snacks while the teachers corralled the kids; i helped model behavior and actions for the next activity, make sure they were sitting still for story time, etc. toward the end of the two hours, i was starting to feel really winded, and i could tell that the cold medicine was wearing off. when it was time to go, i picked up stella, we chatted with my grandma for a little bit, and then headed home. stella was so tired she fell asleep for the last few minutes of the commute, but when i lay her down for a nap, she only slept for about ten minutes, and that was that for her nap.

yesterday i woke up feeling even worse, and lost my voice, so my mom said to hang out at her house for the day so i could rest. i set up camp upstairs in one of the rooms with a tv and a comfortable couch, and enjoyed multiple episodes of house hunters. my mom played with stella, and eventually susie came over to play with stella, put her down for a nap, and then she took stella to ridgedale to walk around and share some teavana strawberry tea. stella had a blast - apparently the highlight (other than riding the super fun escalator) was sharing tea with aunt susie and being allowed to throw the paper cup in the garbage when they were done! on the way home, i heard her squeal-say susie's name, then say something about "tea" and "garbage." good memories for stella joy. they also bought some little girl hair binders at claire's, so stella has been sporting pigtails and ponytails. :) it was very challenging to maintain a commanding presence with stella while not having a voice/having to whisper. at one point in the day, i whispered something to her, and she whispered back. ha ha!

today, i have a little bit of my voice back, but it's still very hoarse. stella is now coming down with a cold, which makes me sad because i know i probably gave it to her. my energy feels near-depleted from lack of sleep (lots of coughing and being up with stella last night). thankfully she is napping right now, so i hope to rest, too.

brett's boss's four-month-old son was hospitalized at children's last night for rsv, and his wife has been sick, too, so i really feel for them. brett has extra to do since his boss has been out the last couple days. brett has been working so hard, and i am so proud of him.

we have stuck to the whole30 eating plan, although it was harder for me the past four or five days because of being sick, so i ate off-plan a few times when it came to snacks, but i have been back in the saddle today. brett is feeling great on whole30 and has noted that he is not feeling an afternoon slump like he used to; he has more energy and feels more even-keeled most likely due to the fact that he hasn't had sugar, so no ups and downs from that.

these banana-apple-almond-macademia "cookies" get me through some hard times

i've been eating lots of salad with balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil

bunless burger with mixed vegetables

chicken soup with kale, spinach, carrots, onions, dill, and celery

a typical whole30 grocery list

almond chicken bake with broccoli and sweet potato

kale-mushroom-summer squash frittata 

orchard turkey burger with mustard vinaigrette

trying to sit on brett's lap while he was fixing the drain

recipe sources:

almond chicken bake

banana apple nut "cookies"

orchard turkey burgers with mustard vinaigrette dressing recipe i found online

chicken soup