The train wreck happened...

and you know what? There were no fatalities. Casualties, yes, but nothing I can't recover from.

Here's what I have learned (or rather, been reminded of):
When oldest dd has school holiday(s), all bets are off. Normal life, whatever that is, will be resumed after, and only after, she returns to school and her much needed routine.

Yesterday, my options seemed pretty limited: (1) keep everyone alive, stay somewhat sane, and eat whatever could be easily procured or (2) very possibly commit mass murder, but stick to my food plan. Faced with these choices, I picked the former as the hands down winner. I have no qualms, no regrets, no second thoughts. I am happy to say that we all made it through the day, and were even intact and in relatively good spirits throughout. I did have to pull my mom voice a couple of times, and explain in no uncertain terms that my patience rope was short...and that I was near the end of it.

So, food yesterday? Well, it could have been worse. I think that may be rationalizing on my part, but there it is. Egg and cheese wraps, and then pizza. Ok, a lot of pizza. And yes, I did get my coffee. Here's the interesting thing: I didn't even drink much of it! My small victory was that I ingested not one sugary morsel.

On the other hand, I hooped, and laughed, and my kids hooped, and we even introduced hooping to a friend!

Observations: five days of precisely following The Plan = My body felt great!!! Two days of mostly not being on the plan = I am already achy.

Adopting this way of eating is clearly an incredible boost to my body. It takes a LOT of work, at least right now, but feels totally worth it. At the same time, I have one incredibly challenging family, which demands a great deal of my energy. I am not sure exactly how this new food plan will all work out; it appears that it will be yet another thing to juggle in my life. What I *do* know is that I am convinced of its importance, and am going to keep working on incorporating it into my life. One day, perhaps sooner than later, it will feel seamless and natural.

Okay, enough of the philosophical musings, and on to real life. Realistically, today doesn't bode well for following the plan to the letter, either. However, I'm betting I can get pretty close. Cross your fingers!