Bickmore Buzz Oct. 1, 2017

October First! Hooray! The mornings here are so lovely, but when I walk to pick up Van in the afternoon, it's HOT. It's been hovering in the 80s. My weather app shows cooler temps with some rain this week. That will be so nice. I love rainy days.

William celebrated his 9th birthday yesterday! I'm writing a separate post all about that. We love William and we're so grateful for him.

Fall is here! The teachers decorated the school with scarecrows and cornstalks. Van is doing awesome on his bike. His friend Colton is a fantastic bike rider so his skills help motivate Van to get better. Van read a total 165 minutes for his read a thon. It was so cute listening to him read his Dr. Seuss books everyday after school. One day he read for 60 minutes. He didn't want to stop after 20 minutes. The school practiced their tornado drill this week. Van said, "Ugh! It's so long. You have to sit down and put your head down in your knees. But there's no alarm. The principal just says 'This is a tornado drill. This is a tornado drill'." Van is my fly killer. Whenever he sees a house fly, he grabs the swatter and kills it. He'll even pick them up with his fingers and throw them away. Eww! One time he was shocked that he killed it with his bare hand. Van loves to cook in the kitchen. He's getting better and better at cooking his eggs for breakfast. He loves to crack the eggs, stir them up with a fork, pour them in the pan, and push them away from the edges as they cook. He finishes them up with salt and pepper and voila! Eggs for breakfast. Tonight, we popped popcorn on the stove and drizzled the kernels with melted white chocolate. He loves that treat. I had to opt out and eat mine plain with salt and cinnamon because.....

I'm on Day 7 of a plant based, clean eating diet. This summer was full of terrible eating. We were on the road a lot and ate lots of fast food. Once we got settled here in Missouri, I started cooking meals with more protein (chicken and sausage) and less carbs. The meals were delicious and I was excited to have some new options on the menu. A year ago, I eliminated drinking cow's milk and started drinking almond milk. I cut out ice cream and only ate a small amount on special occasions. I found that high fat dairy was really affecting my gall stones and heartburn. Fast forward to the past few weeks. Around Van's birthday I was eating way too much pizza, I scarfed down way too many pudding cups and sandwich cookies. I was snacking on lots of processed foods and my body reached a breaking point. I found that whenever I would eat something that normally wouldn't make me sick, made me feel nauseous and I could barely finish it. It's like my body was screaming for more nutrients and wholesome goodness. My friend Renee was telling me that she and her husband were eliminating meat and dairy from their diet for a few weeks because they watched the movie "What the Health?" on Netflix. I expressed that I have felt for a long time to become a vegetarian but just like everything else in my life, when I find out about something that I want to be better with, it lasts a few days and then it's back to same old same old. Our conversation really inspired me. So, Isaac and I watched the movie. We made the decision to try it out and really try it out. By "it" I mean a plant based, clean (no processed foods) diet. I decided to go on a two week cleanse to get rid of the toxins in my body. So I went to the store and stocked up on vegetables, nuts, and seeds. It's been really hard. In the beginning I was starving because I was so used to grabbing crap to eat so when I got hungry on this diet, I wasn't sure what to eat for a snack. I've spent a TON of time in the kitchen prepping meals. Hopefully with practice, that will get easier. I've had fatigue somedays, depression and headaches. The withdrawals from refined sugars and meat are real folks. I sympathize with smokers who quit smoking. It's not easy to give up something your body is used to and craves. On Day 3, I was ready to quit. I texted my friend Natalie and said, "This diet is for the birds. Can't wait for Saturday!" She texted back, "Haha You've got this!" It was the perfect response--it kept me going and pushing forward. Yay for good health! I'm looking forward to this week. I feel empowered knowing that I'm giving my body what it needs. I also feel like this diet suits me. I love fresh fruit and vegetables. Tree nuts give me canker sores (ouch) so I'm sticking with seeds and beans for protein. I've never eaten so many avocados or sweet potatoes in my life! I've had sweet potatoes for lunch, sweet potato toast, sweet potato nachos and tacos, sweet potato fries. They are delicious! Almond butter on a piece of celery is so tasty for a snack. Cooking oatmeal in almond milk, topped with sliced bananas, dates, raisins and chia seeds---deeeelicious! There are so many resources out there on Pinterest for Vegan recipes. I have time to work in the kitchen right now so I'm glad that I'm doing this cleanse and thinking about my health. My goal is to make it through this week and see if I can add another week and so on. 

Isaac had a doctor appt and likes his new endocrinologist. He's getting ready for his defense on Oct. 11th. He likes our new diet and has also wanted to become a vegetarian for a long time for ethical reasons. 

I felt inspired after listening to General Conference to help my neighbors, study the Book of Mormon, pray fervently, love my enemies, and be more humble, a lot more.  

Overheard at our house:

"Mom, you ruined the cake just like Van's" I made a vegan chocolate cake for Will's birthday. In my defense, I've made it a few times prior to this and Will LOVES it. The difference is this time, I drizzled his piece with agave and he wanted just a plain piece. It cracked me up because I truly am a terrible baker. It's not my forte at all so when I have to bake a birthday cake, you get what you get!