The Perfect Spice Rack

How A Hangry Grouchy Chunkamunk Survived Whole30

Last month, my husband and I completed the Whole30 (for the second time since October 2017). I did this for a variety of health reasons, with the primary one being that I was recently diagnosed with lupus and looking to reduce inflammation within my body. 30 days no sugar, no gluten, no dairy, no grains, no legumes. Which also means: no honey, no maple syrup, no fake sweeteners, no preservatives, no alcohol, no rice, no oatmeal. Which therefore means: every pseudo-healthy recipe people have ever given you is pretty much off the table. I was terrified. I cried a lot. I made a journal that reads like a prelude to a serial killer's log of kills and body locations. But we survived! And I lost 14 lbs and looked and felt better than I had in years. Here's some advice and ideas for how to effectively survive and thrive on the Whole30: 1. Eat the same things as much as you possibly can. This eliminates the need to be creative and cook 3-5x per day. My firs...

7 Things I'm So Glad I Ignored About Parenting Lists

For two years before our daughter Amelia was born and we adopted her, I scoured Pinterest and the internet for articles about parenthood. I wanted the cold hard truth, the whole story, as told by other women who were just as excited and terrified of becoming mothers as I was. I gravitated towards the buzzfeed generation's style of writing; seeing things written out as a concise list gives me an inexplicable sense of organized excitement. "20 Things No One Tells You About Motherhood" "35 Dads Who Have Totally Nailed This Parenting Thing" "42 People Who Might Be Parents or Might Be Stock Photos" "19 Reasons to Have a Kid for the Tax Deduction" "How Infertility Changed Me- a Story By a Slice of Pizza". Most of those article names are things I made up but in my two year stretch of trying to conceive obsession, I honestly would've clicked on every single link. But out of all those articles and lists that I actually read, I don...

Six Months

When I think about the fact that, as of today, I've been a mother for six months, I feel surprised. Such a short period of time, and yet it contains a lengthy list of changes. I was a mom long before I ever had a child that shared my last name. So is every other woman who longs for a child but cannot or has not been able to have one. It seems as if there is no way someone that was so recently a teeny tiny bundle of cells could change my life so completely in only half a year. But she did. And now, here we are, preparing for another baby to arrive by Christmas. I know the general opinion on a pregnancy after adoption is that we should be overjoyed at such a miracle. Don't get me wrong- WE ARE. But, I made peace with my infertility diagnosis. When Millie was born, my need to conceive a child of my own evaporated. I saw her as my own daughter, no different than if I had given birth to her myself, and it didn't matter that she didn't share mine or Eric's physical fe...

Mama's Gotta Eat

Search This Blog