My family wasn’t military, but we moved every couple of years and think even if kids get “used” to it, it’s not great for them. The last time we moved I was 17 and I decided to flip an emotional switch off. I was tired, I was done. I do think all kids react differently (my sister fared better emotionally, I think, even though we had the same parents/most of the same experiences. Her transitions just happened to be at easier times — e.g., new at the beginning of middle school and as a high school freshman… whereas I, for example, went to a different middle school every year and then two high schools). If I had kids, I’d do my best to avoid shuffling them around. I hated it.

@Rangerchic Woohoo! Congrats on finishing. I finished a few weeks ago and still kept eating how I was. I made exceptions while going out and such, but it really helped me get some better habits back into my life. I might do another Whole 30 when I get back from Cape Town.

No, it’s not great but it is what is best for our family and him in the long run. I am not going to feel bad about moving him from friends who do drugs. He isn’t even allowed to spend time with them outside of school but we cannot control what he does during school. If he wanted to put down the video games, and do something to work toward being able to stay and attend college here, then we would support that. We encourage it but at the end of the day I cannot throw him over my shoulder and shove him into after school activities. He does not wish to so he will need to come with us or if he chooses move with him mom (unlikely). Not to mention, he has said he wants to move as well as he doesn’t like it here much at all. He also chose to move here to begin with, leaving his prior friends he had been with for many years.

My mom started this when I grew up and I still do it. I keep something like the Dove chocolates or a Hershey’s I can snap off in the freezer and have one piece a night. Good way to feel like you had a little treat without overdoing it.

not a bad idea on the chocolate. And I’m not opposed to it. I just really had to get off the sugar – for awhile so I don’t fall back into bad habits. It’s really a lifestyle change overall. And I want to make sure it’s cemented before indulging. Though I do love to bake and I love dark chocolate so I’d like to start making my own desserts with dark chocolate eventually.

We always include candy in our stockings! This year though I did ask for it to be a small amount instead of all the candy because it gets hard to eat all of it! I think this year I’ll be asking for the dark chocolates instead of my normal favorites (butterfinger and reese’s pieces).

It’s a slippery slope for me with sweets of any kind. I discovered unsweetened dried mangos toward the end of Whole30, and I have no brakes with sweets. It doesn’t matter if it’s ice cream or dried fruit, it turns out. I can have bags of chips in the pantry for weeks without reaching for them, but I wouldn’t trust myself to eat just one square of chocolate. I’ve been eating more dairy at the moment cause I’m at my parents’ house and they always have a nice variety of cheese here and my stomach isn’t thrilled.

Is it all cheese that messes with your stomach Copa? With my Crohns my gastro doc told me hard cheeses were easier to handle than soft cheeses (which I find to be pretty true – though I still eat pizza occasionally because pizza!).

I loved when my girls were little because they liked to play with play-dough. I would play with them because it’s so much fun! They had some of those little “shops” – like the barber where you could push play dough through the head to make hair and scissors for a hair cut. Awe – good times!