{to: me, from: me}

I am really not wanting to bore the crowd.

{the entire three-reader audience I have}

But, because I am putting so much time into it

and it is going amazingly well, I really want

to journal at least the beginning of this trek.

Snacks were a success today.  They ranged from

apple straws,  organic yogurt, and fruit.  Tonight

I had to make a few tweaks.  It was the most difficult

meal for the boys and they did eat something different.

But, Scott and I had homemade bean and low fat

cheese burritos on whole wheat tortillas with homemade

salsa.  Noah did try, but he couldn't even get it down.

Evan, the one that will pretty much try anything, passed. 

After Noah's incident, I definitely did not push it. 

So, Noah had low sugar oatmeal {not steel cut, but I 

was short on time at that point with organic, natural, 

unsweetened applesauce and a bottle of water.  Evan

had turkey pepperoni with applesauce and a 100%

juice Caprisun.  We are far from being "there".....

whatever there may be.  But, the last several days 

have definitely been an improvement for all of us.

And, I haven't weighed yet, but will tomorrow.

But, very happy to report the jeans are definitely

fitting better.  The jeans I had not worn all summer.

And, not because of this insane heat, but because

I couldn't breathe due to constriction!  

and, for the record....in no way is this a weight loss
attempt for the boys.  at all.  purely striving for better
nutrition.  in my regard...i've been attempting to lose
weight since may and it is coming off at a snail's pace.
so, i am hoping this helps speed that process up.

{convicted, yes}

Whatever word you want to use....burdened, guilty {although I know that

is not the same thing as convicted}, concerned.....or, a mixture of all of the above.

Over.........food.

There you have it. 

Basically because of my nutty schedule that I have, my family

is putting junk into their mouths.  Literally. 

So, I spent HOURS in the grocery store this week reading and 

reading label after label.  I toted bags of groceries home with a feeling

of uneasiness as much of these items the boys have never tasted. 

Our pantry and refrigerator has been filled with processed, nutritionless junk.

I had a "family meeting" last week and told all of them that we would

be transitioning to some big changes.   I explained my reasoning and 

that as the mom of the house I felt a huge responsibility and knew I had totally

made a gradual slip into a territory I didn't want any of us to stay in. 

Surprisingly, they accepted the challenge with smiles.   Then, it began.

And, I have slowly implemented more things in.  I have completed

some major tossing out of the cabinets.   And, I have a progress report to

announce!  It is going SOOOOOOOOO much better than I could have

ever anticipated.   Basically, we are going down the path of

things being "God made" and steering away from things that do

not fall into this category the majority of the time.  Will we still have

treats?  Absolutely!  But, they will be "treats",  not staples in our diet. 

Here are a few things the boys {all three} have tried and LOVED. 

Morning Star veggie corndogs,  almond milk {huge success},

no more processed cereals....Kashi's, tons of fresh fruits, 100%

whole wheat rounds, natural peanut butter, pure fruit spreads instead of jelly,

whole wheat spaghetti, eggs, organic and greek yogurt {jury is still

out on the greek for the boys}, rice chips, whole wheat pita chips just to name

a few, bottled water instead of juice, milk or SODA. 

 And, I have so many things to try and that is the part they

are enjoying the most.   They are actually meal planning which is funny!

But, things to try are......Morning Star chicken strips,  hummus {we will see!},

natural almonds,   air-popped pop corn {have done this in the past, just

not in a while}, homemade french fries and chicken strips,  homemade

salsa {they have never wanted to eat salsa before},  turkey sausage 

roll ups on wheat tortillas, etc, etc, etc.    

I just want to be a good steward with their health and mine of course!

Will keep you posted!!!  So far, so much better than I thought it would be!