Week in Review: January's Done, Science Fair Won, Fattening Up a Skinny One

Happy Last Friday of January!  For anyone participating in a Dry January, or Whole30 or Gluten Free January - you made it!!  And yes I am patting myself on the back there, as Phil and JP and I have successfully given up gluten for this last month (minus the eggo waffle I absentmindedly ate one morning when really sick and totally forgot about gluten).  

JP has had really good results going GF including less bloating and he's also lost a good chunk of weight between eating better and his job as an ER Tech which gets him lots of steps and then he goes to the gym straight from work.  Phil and I have been eating too many chips and chocolate to have lost much weight but I think I feel less bloated overall, like I don't have days when I feel gross/stuffed.  I absolutely hate that feeling and try to never overeat so as to avoid it.  The real test will come tomorrow when we introduce gluten back in.  I'm dreaming of a cheeseburger on a brioche roll.  One addition to my diet that I want to keep is eating Oats Overnight for breakfast.  It feels like a luxury to pick a flavor each night, shake it up with unsweetened almond milk, and grab it in the morning.  Yum!  Plus oatmeal = good for my cholesterol levels.

Are you tired of hearing about gluten?  Me too, moving on.

Alexander went ahead and won 3rd place for his 8th grade science fair project which means he is supposed to compete at the regional science fair in a month... which happens to be the same day as their huge end-of-season swim meet.  Dude, we said just get an A.  Kidding, kidding (kinda) we are very proud of him.  

After 14 science fair projects, we finally cracked the code on how to set up a trifold board with ease.  The secret is in creating documents with the perfect dimensions and background colors and borders that get printed at Staples, instead of printing a whole bunch of papers and cutting and cropping and placing on construction paper.  

Old way of creating the board:

New way of creating the board:

My my how he's grown in a year!

JP decided he needed a new hobby (can you tell he misses his friends at college?) and started whittling wood.  I don't even know.

Andrew had a great time going to the March for Life last weekend.  He stayed at a friend's house with 20 other guys/gals and on Friday night, the family graciously hosted all the Franciscan students who were in the area for the March, which meant there were about 80 kids!  The parents are also Franciscan alumni and the dad's dad was actually my business teacher at FUS back in the day.  It's a lovely small Franny world.

I was promised lots of photos but this is the only one I got.  Still love you Andrew!

It's Catholic Schools Week and we had a major parenting fail when we didn't even register that there was a Parent Picnic on Monday, where parents can bring lunch to their kids and eat with them.  Our kids ended up sitting with friends but man did I feel guilty.  I'm not sure how other parents manage to leave work and eat with their kids in the middle of the day, but they do and we didn't.  

Today was Dress like Your Future Career Day and Brendan put on an Ice Cream Cottage shirt and hat (his idea!) while Declan put on a Messi jersey because what sports-loving boy doesn't dream of being a hugely successful professional athlete one day?  When we were leaving for school, Brendan said under his breath, "I should have dressed like an architect but I have no idea how architects dress."

Proof that they wore their uniforms to Mass to earn a dress down day pass.

To be shown at Declan's future ordination ;)

Xander swims four days a week, but on the days he doesn't have swim team he likes to go for runs, but on the days it's too cold/icy to run, he pulls out a P90X video and does an hour workout.  I just love that our kids have inherited our love of being active and (trying to be) fit.  Lead by example, they said.

Declan, who has no issue staying active for most of the day, was found sitting still and playing Krypto, a math game our family loves (and an easy way to sharpen math skills!).  I had made pumpkin muffins that morning, and Phil had put a pork shoulder in the crockpot for pulled pork and it was just a dreamy wintery morning scene.

I started buying Carnation Breakfast shakes for Declan to drink at night, as a way to get more calories and nutrients into him.  He is sooooo skinny and is always either starving or full and I worry about his nutrition.  Any tips for fattening up skinny boys who run around all day and would rather graze then eat huge meals are appreciated. 

Lucy Doodle always sits so fancy - more poodle than golden methinks.

This weekend includes a track meet, playoff basketball game, fundraising dinner for Maggie's upcoming mission trip, a kid birthday party, Religious Ed, and volleyball practice.  Phil and I are also hoping to find time for a date in there for those brioche rolls :)  

Have a great weekend welcoming in February everyone!