Post Birthday Brain

Well yesterday was a great day. I always love celebrating with my kiddos, even if they don't have a party-just making their day special means so much to me.

On Sunday, we took the kids to the snow as an early "pre celebratory" event. We ate a nice dinner at the restaurant in Kings Canyon. Elyse had invited a friend, but the friend cancelled at the last minute so we went just as a family. It was by far THE most amazing day at the snow. I took TONS of pictures and will post them soon in a special post just for that day.

Then yesterday, we had planned to go to Visalia to meet my parents, eat sushi, and celebrate some more but Chandler has been sick all week,(he's coughing like a seal as I type) then my mom came down with it, so we felt it would be best to postpone our plans.

So we set Chandler up with plenty of books, games, and snacks and he was fine with us taking Elyse out to buy a gift and to dinner.

We took her to Boot Barn because she is going to start horseback riding again and needed new boots. My lands, have the prices ever gone up since I last bought riding boots! Poor dad nearly choked on his tongue when we saw the price tags. I should have researched that a bit more before going inside that's for sure. But we agreed and settled on a good pair that will last her a long time-and if any consolation is needed for the hefty price tag, at least we wear the same size so if she grows out of them I can keep them. 😍

Next, we went to Yoshinos's for sushi. The kid is a sushi fiend. We were a bit apprehensive as we have been spoiled by a lot of amazing sushi and we did not wish to be disappointed. We were not! It was great-except the non sushi eaters had little choices and the ones they did choose (teriyaki salmon) was a bit spendy. ($8 for a child)

Anyhow, I'd ordered a small portion, believing I'd scoot by without binging on the rice/sugar filled fried delicacies. Anyway I wasn't very hungry. Eating low carb has that effect. I'm hardly ever hungry.

Elyse had ordered small also, but was still hungry when hers was gone. She had admired dad's choice, so we ordered one to split. It was great. We paid extra to have it baked. (Love baked sushi!)

So I was resolved to the fact I had completely blown my diet. Of course birthdays are known for that. But I really had hoped I would be able to stay on track because that seems to be the bane of my existence. Birthday binges. Celebrations. Parties. Weddings. They all result in one thing. SUGAR.

Earlier in the day, I'd had a brainstorm for making a dessert Elyse would like. She is quite health conscious and has mentioned many times how much she would love to get an Edible Arrangement. I looked up the website to place an order and nearly plopped out of my chair. $85 for a mediocre bundle of pineapple and strawberries?!?!? Plus tax and shipping??????? No thank you! My daughter is worth every penny of course but I know she would much rather have that amount of cash to buy something tangible.

So my busy brain got to work. With the help of Pinterest, I put a plan into action and headed to Walmart. 45 minutes and $35 later I was back home laying out my supplies. It was easy and so fun. It turned out great-she had no idea I'd made it, except when she recognized a ribbon I'd used before. It was a huge hit-she ate till she was stuffed.

But while I'd been so hot to trot to get it made, I'd also taken a few bites of strawberries that I normally wouldn't even notice. (I've never cared for strawberries) Oh. My. Word. They were amazing. Trust me, I knew what strawberries taste like, but I guess going sugar free for so long made the flavor really pop in my mouth and before I knew it, I was inhaling them as I worked. Not sans chocolate either. Yes it was demonic possession for sure.

The guilt was so heavy. So eating the sushi that night basically was just my way of saying Que Sera and throwing it to the wind. Happy Birthday.

I went to bed last night with horrible heart burn. I never get that. I woke up at 1:00am with a scratchy throat. I panic when that happens-with the kids having been so sick the past few weeks, I absolutely cannot afford to get sick!!! I got up and took an array of immune boosting supplements. I slept fitfully. I woke up at 6am and tossed and turned to go back to sleep. By the time I did, my alarm went off. I hit snooze once. When the alarm went off again, I knew I had to get myself out of bed to get Elyse off to school.

I didn't notice anything abnormal while getting dressed. I am not a morning person so I generally attribute any ill feelings to that. I didn't eat or drink anything before driving E to school. We were chatting and whatnot when suddenly I felt really lightheaded. When I got home, I stumbled to the coffee pot. I took care of menial chores and took a B-complex vitamin. I cut up some fruit for the kids and sat down to help Caeden with his math.

Then nausea started in...and brain fog. Major brain fog. Lightheaded and yucky. Just BLEH. I felt weak and sort of clammy too. Gahhhh I can't get sick!!!!

I drink water. And cave to the starvation I'm suddenly feeling. Cave to hummus and pretzels.

And sit down to snoop on google about the effects carb binging has on the body. Here is what I found. I literally laughed out loud when I read this because it pinpointed my problems to the T.

Incredible. Kinda sad too!!!!! It means that as long as I'm living these foods will affect me this way. Because to be honest, I've always struggled with feeling ill after eating a lot of carbs. So there it is. I now know what triggers my health issues. Sugar. Rice. Wheat.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/what-happens-to-your-body-when-you-carb-binge/#axzz2JfrihSVb

Pictured below are some iPhone snaps of the fruit bouquet and my girl and I doing the sushi binge.

Overall, it was a great day and even though I'm having a major carb hangover today, I'm so thankful for the great day we had.

Now I need a job to help pay for those boots!!!