Busy Weekend & Free Printable!

Man this weekend was fun filled and exhausting.  It's amazing how a 1 hour time shift can throw off a baby's schedule!  We enjoyed a nice dinner at Outback on Friday night.  We hadn't been there in forever!  So we looked up the menu and decided what we could eat while staying within our remaining weight watchers points for the day.  The wait was only about 30 minutes and Deuce had a blast playing with the puzzle thing.  They always remind me of the doctor's office...

Saturday morning I got up EARLY to meet my mom for a quick shopping trip while the boys went to the Y to work out/play ball.  Yes, I skipped the opportunity to work out for shopping with my mom.  Shame on me.  We had plans to be in Graham at Annie & Ashwon's by 1 for the basketball game so mom & I had to be back home by 12.  We made a few quick stops and picked up some great deals.  Then we headed down the road.  After a nail biting game and a great meal (I'll have a full post complete with pictures later) we started our journey back to Greensboro.  Deuce only had 1 quick nap so he was exhausted.  Sunday we got up to get to church and made it back home to watch the ACC Championship game.  Not much to say about that game other than crappy playing and a few bad calls.  All of this come-from-behind playing the Heels did this weekend sure can wear a fan out...

After the game we went outside to enjoy another beautiful Sunday!  Ed & I went for a walk through the neighborhood with the baby in the stroller while TJ played with all of the kids in the neighborhood.  He didn't come in until the street lights flickered on.  Remember those days?  Oh, to be a kid again.  Deuce loves riding in his stroller.  He is very observant and now that he is big enough he loves to sit up and look at everything we pass.  He enjoys waving at everyone too.  We grilled Turkey Burgers last night and they were AH-MAZING!  TJ is so picky so we didn't tell him it was turkey.  He also claims to not like cheddar cheese.  Well that's all we had at the house so we just made his burger and threw cheddar on top of that bad boy without telling him.  Gave him some ketchup and watched him throw down!  He devoured that thing!  Then kept saying how good it was.  Boy was he surprised when we told him that it was ground turkey with cheddar cheese.  You know what he said, "Well I guess I like cheddar cheese on turkey and that's it."  Yea, suuuuuure!

So I mentioned last week that I have been planning out all of our meals and posting it on the fridge every Sunday.  This way I know what I will be cooking for dinner, what needs to be thawed, if we are eating out, etc.  I also make any notations on the calendar with any events happening that week (meetings, hair appts, you know the weekly stuff it takes to run a family) so that if Ed forgets that I told him 3 weeks ago I have a hair appointment at 5:30 in Chapel Hill, he will know to handle dinner on his own and not wait until I get home at 10pm to find out what I'm cooking.  I'm not saying this has ever happened before...

So I have made my calendar available to you if you want to have it for yourself!  Download it HERE.  Click on "File" in the upper left hand corner and you can save or print it.

Here are some pictures of Deuce & Aja during the Clemson game on Saturday.  They are quickly becoming best friends.  I have plenty more and I will post them soon!

Dinner Date with Aja

Deuce had a dinner date last night.  He met up with Aja at Armadillo Grill in Carrboro.  Armadillo is where everyone from Chapel Hill High used to go eat so they decided to make that the location of their first dinner date.  Us mommies supervised while they ate side by side, sharing a bowl of refried beans.  Yes, I said refried beans.  Aja is half Mexican so she thought it was appropriate and Deuce is not one to shy away from the ladies...or turn down any food. (I apologize for the pics.  I forgot my camera so these were all taken with my phone.)

Aja was scoping the situation to make sure she was cool with it.

They engaged in heavy conversation consisting of mostly "oh's" and "uh's" and "ya's" and a few squeals every now and then.  They clapped for each other, waved bye-bye and shared their toys.  They also got out of their high chairs and walked in circles around them, as well as the tables nearby.

And don't worry Ashwon, when Deuce tried to cop a feel, your little lady tried to bite his hand.

But then, at the end of the night, Aja leaned in for a goodbye kiss....

And Deuce was quite the gentleman, politely pecking her on the forehead.  Or maybe it was more like slobbering on her forehead??

The cute couple and the chaperone's.

(Photo courtesy of Annie & the weird guy that took the picture for us)

We got back to Greensboro way passed bed time.  A dinner date sure can wear you out as was witnessed this morning on the way to Grandma's!

And before we went to dinner, Deuce and I stopped by one of daddy's favorite spots in the whole wide world to snap a picture.  We had to check out the progress and give him a report.  Everything is looking good!

Diet Rainbow Cupcakes?

I have avoided sharing something about us for awhile now.  Ed & I have been doing the Geer version of Weight Watchers since the first of the year.  I have been reluctant to disclose this info for the simple reason that if everyone knows, I expose myself to the possibility of being held accountable for failing publicly (like I always seem to do with diets.)  I joined WW like forever ago and went for a few weeks, then quit.  Paid them my money and got all of the crap that they distribute.  Well it's not crap, it's good information but you know what I mean.  In all of the house moves I have done since I was a WW member, I have never been able to throw away my weight watchers stuff.  I mean, it does work...if you stick to it.  But you see, that's my problem  Those greasy McD's french fries call my name every durn time I go there so I just give in way too easily.

Anyway, Ed said to me that he wanted to get back into shape and wanted to do it together so I volunteered my WW info.  I didn't think he would go for it.  Seriously, what dude enjoys "counting points" for everything that goes in their mouth?  Heck,what woman enjoys it for that matter?  We discovered that our phone has a free WW app that allows us to track all of our food points and our exercise points so we don't have to hand write everything down like it's 2005 or something.  Plus I already had the materials and everything you could ever need is posted on the Internet so he was on board with it.  I volunteered to cook as often as possible (gasp!) and we were ready to go.  So...since January 3rd, I have planned our meals out for the week, gone to the grocery store every Sunday and cooked a WW dinner at least 4-5 nights per week.  Ed has lost about 17 pounds and I have lost 12.  It's been 2 months and we are still doing it!  Pretty soon we will both have met our target & will just be working to maintain.  Ed keeps telling me I need to post some of the recipes out here because we have found some really good ones.

So last night I made some rainbow cupcakes in preparation for St. Patrick's day next week.  I wasn't sure how they would turn out so I made a trial batch.  This is why I was freaked out & had to make a trial batch: the ONLY 2 ingredients are cake mix & 12oz of diet soda.  Yes, that's it!  So you slowly pour the diet soda into the cake mix (you don't really want it to fizz up) and slowly stir all at the same time.  Once you have all of the soda in the mix continue to stir until it is completely absorbed and your batter is thick.  It actually looks just like regular cake batter.  If you are making chocolate cupcakes then a diet dark drink is supposed to be better.  I made white cake so I used a Diet Mt. Dew.  I actually wanted a Sprite Zero but there was none at the store and I wasn't trying to buy an entire case of them so I have no idea how much the different soda affects the flavor.  Then you just bake the cupcakes like normal!

I wanted to try the rainbow ones so I separated out the batter into 6 cups.  Then I used food coloring to make the colors of the rainbow.  I started out with just a little color and then added more until I got the color I liked.

I started with the bottom layer, which was purple.

Then I added a little of each color on top of the other.  Make sure not to spread the colors out, although you will be tempted to do so.  This will result in the the mixing of colors/layers.

I made a mistake in judging the amount of batter I used though.  You only need a little bit of each color.  When I started out I wasn't sure that I had enough of the colors and before I knew it, I had too much batter in each cupcake liner.  I also didn't keep my layers separated too well as they didn't really "layer."  Therefore, my cupcakes were huge and cooked up and out over the rim of each liner and my points were most definitely skewed. 

I calculated my points based on the batter info on the side of the box.  You don't have to calculate based on the prepared or anything because all you are using is the diet soda which is 0 points so my cupcakes should have been 2 points each.  Then I used FF whipped cream instead of icing.  This added 1 point.  Notice the layers are more like blotchy patches.  Will try harder next time!

I will say they tasted pretty good!  They are definitely not as sweet as cupcakes with regular icing so if you are biting in with that expectation you will be disappointed, but they were not bad.  Next time I might try to add some fruit to the top with my whipped cream or something.  And you can totally still do the rainbow effect with non-WW cupcakes and regular frosting!

And Deuce is learning to blow kisses & now knows how to wave bye-bye every time.

And although I hate that Ed's dad was sick on Monday, I got to stay home with the babe and I must say that I do enjoy those days where I can nap with my little guy.

The History of His "Air"ness....& the Shoes.

I have been waiting to write this post for awhile now.  I am so excited about it and I thought today was the perfect day with it being the eve of tomorrow's big game.  Let me first start by showing you a photo of my husband's side of the closet.  (Honey, please don't kill me...)  And this is only a PORTION.  They leak over to my side and can be found on the floor and throughout the room.  My camera lens would not fit them all.  In case you have no idea, these are his collection of Air Jordan's.  All in the original boxes, faced out to display the name of the shoe. 

My husband loves his Jordan's.  He can tell you the original colors of each pair, when they were released, why they were designed that way and if the pair you have are authentic or fake (note: don't wear any fake ones around him).  Each pair has a special meaning to him.  They will most definitely be the heirlooms that are passed down to the boys much like the pillow on the bed in the nursery that was my grandmother's.  Or the rocking chair that I rock Deuce in every night when we read that my grandparent's rocked me in.  For him, it will be shoes.  I know it.  And I appreciate it and respect it.

With that being said, I have yet to finish decorating the nursery.  Yes, I know my child is quickly approaching 1 year old so it's way passed due but I have been struggling with what to put up there.  I just can't fathom spending money on "baby" stuff that will be taken down when he is no longer a baby, which will be pretty dang soon.  So I have just left the walls pretty blank.  There is a mirror over his changing table and a really cute picture of him blown up and framed over his crib but that's about it.  Oh yeah, there is a magnet board that my sister made (which is totally awesome by the way) that matches his room and holds pictures of him from the day he came home from the hospital.  But there is a big wall over the spare bed that just sits blank, staring at me every time I walk in there.  It seems to be screaming at me, "I'm naked & you haven't done anything about it!"

So while perusing one of my favorite websites, etsy, I typed Air Jordan's in the search box.  I was directed to a whole bunch of non-jordan items and a few worthwhile ones.  Near the end of the search list, I found a painting that I loved!  And it was reasonably priced.  While that painting quickly sold, I contacted the seller and inquired about custom paintings.  And that resulted in the creation of 4 Air Jordan paintings for the nursery.  Ed narrowed down his absolute, top 4, favorite pairs of Jordan's and I sent them to Mike, the artist.  He created 4 custom paintings for me.  You can check out his shop here.  His work is hmmmm, eclectic, but the paintings of the shoes look awesome!  These will make their place in the nursery and I'm sure will hang in Deuce's room for years to come.

I haven't decided how to hang them yet so I will post a final picture once I make a decision.  Here are the paintings and a little history of each.  All history is directly from Foot Locker.

In 1984, after winning a national title at the University of North Carolina and a Gold Medal at the Olympic games in Los Angeles, Michael Jordan was selected 3rd overall by the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Draft. That year Nike also signed Michael to a five-year endorsement contract worth a reported $2.5 million (plus royalties). There was initially some skepticism over the hefty contract being given to an unproven marketing commodity, but MJ was quick to prove the critics wrong.  In 1985, Nike gave Jordan and his signature line of sneakers and apparel a unique logo — clearly, this line was created to be very different from Nike’s previous basketball efforts.

V's

While rocking the Air Jordan V in 1990, Michael Jordan made his sixth straight All-Star game appearance, won his fourth straight league scoring title and was named to the All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team. Although the Bulls lost to the Pistons in the 1990 Conference Finals, Jordan was on the verge of one of the NBA’s greatest dynasties — and driving the footwear industry to new heights.  Another first was the Grape Purple /Emerald colorway that had never been seen on a basketball shoe.

VII's

Michael Jordan wore the Olympic-inspired version of the VII as he led the "Dream Team" to a Gold Medal at the 1992 summer games in Barcelona. That pair featured the number 9 on the heel, reflecting MJ’s jersey number on Team USA. MJ won his sixth straight scoring title while wearing the AJ VII and was again named first team All-NBA, first team All-Defense and an All-Star for the seventh consecutive time. He was voted league MVP for the second straight year and won his second NBA Championship ring and Finals MVP with the Bulls.

X's

Michael Jordan returned to the NBA on March 19, 1995, against the Indiana Pacers. He wore the "Chicago" colorway of the Air Jordan X.  Nine days after Jordan told the world "I’m back," he torched the Knicks for 55 points in his return to Madison Square Garden.

XI's

Thanks to great performance coupled with an innovative design, the Air Jordan XI is one of the most-loved sneakers ever. Sole Collector magazine voted the XI the top shoe of all time.  While wearing the Air Jordan XI, Michael was elected an All-Star for the 10th time, the All-Star game MVP for the second time, scoring champion for the eighth time, and was again league MVP. The Bulls won the NBA title for the fourth time, and as he was for the previous three championships, Jordan was again the Finals MVP.

And here is a picture of the bare wall that will soon be covered by these paintings:

And here is my child sleeping hard this morning.

And this is his face when he is irritated because I woke him up with the click, click, click of my camera.  It was time to go to work anyway...

GO HEELS!!!

Why We Didn't Make it to Church...

When you are broke you have to resort to staying home = Geer family stays home A LOT!  And when you have to stay home, you need to play outside or go for a walk, or grill out or do something to keep from sitting on the couch all day in PJs catching up on DVRd episodes of Grey's, Private Practice, Y&R and oh yes...90210.  (Or maybe that's just me that tends to do that when I stay at home all day.)  So we took full advantage of the amazingly warm February Sunday that we had and hung out outside.  And yes, we skipped church this Sunday to do that.  Sorry God, please forgive us.  Plus, gas is really expensive and driving 30 minutes each way to High Point would really put a dent in the gas tank budget that is already non-existent for the week until payday on Friday.

Well I should start with my little monkey, Curious George.  He is everywhere and in to everything.  I feel like we watch him pretty consistently and he is always right there beside one of us but I will admit that this past week I have caught him with several small objects in his mouth.  Objects that I would have never seen on the floor because they were all clear and small.  And yes, we do believe in vacuuming in our house but that obviously doesn't eliminate the potential for something to end up in his mouth because the $400 vacuum didn't pick it up!  So I have been trying to watch him like a hawk at all times, even if it means that I am going to be an extra 30 minutes late to work because I can't take my eyes off of him for more than 10 seconds to put on my makeup or load up the car.  He has become fascinated by a basket that holds some of my toiletries and after several attempts to put each item back as he took it out, I have resorted to just letting him rip it all apart while I tell myself, "I'll just get it later, I guess."  Kind of like I'll get to the clothes later, and the dishes later and the vacuuming later....wait, I mean I do vacuum.  Sometimes.  10 months later & I'm still figuring this motherhood thing out.  Everyday is something new & different.  But it's awesome!

So anyway, back to the Sunday we skipped church for.  It was so warm and beautiful outside!  After spending a good portion of the morning tearing the house up, Deuce needed a nap with daddy before heading outside.  Oh, how those are the best naps!

So outside we went.  To play and bask in the warm sun that has been hiding for far too long.  There are two reasons why my child is outside in just a diaper in February.  1. It was like 80 degrees.  2. He has been going through so many clothes due to an explosive be-hind and he drools so much that his little chest gets sort of rashy from being wet all the time that I wanted his sweet, soft skin to breathe some fresh air.  Plus he took off after the basketball in the dirt so why mess up anymore clothes?

Aunt Laura got TJ and new skateboard for Christmas and Sunday was really the first time he had the opportunity to try it out.  Ed kept egging him on telling him to go fast down hills and stuff thinking he would be scared or fall or something (isn't that what all dad's do?  pick on their kids?)  but TJ did quite well on it.  And then after Deuce saw him on it, you know he had to try.

And munchkin is becoming more advanced with his crawling.  He has moved up to the caveman walk on all fours.  A sure sign that he will be standing on his own and taking steps in the near future.

Monday brought the new work week and in true dirty butt fashion, as we were heading out the door (me with baby on hip, diaper bag, bottle bag, my lunch bag, keys & cell phone in hand while trying to close the door) felt/heard a bomb exploding on my hip.  Seriously?  After I had loaded up everything in my arms and was rushing, while trying not to twist my ankle in my not-so-high heels.  And then the smell hit me and I had to drop everything (excluding the baby) and hold him out at arms length to ensure that I didn't mess up my super cute silk shirt and black pants I had taken 20 minutes to pick out an hour and a half earlier.  O.M.G.  This one required a total wash down!  So I had to take a deep breath and smile knowing that I was going to be late to work, and just make sure I didn't get anything on myself.  Because then I would have had to spend another 20 minutes picking out clothes and then another 10 ironing, etc. etc. etc...  Grandma has taught Deuce to scrunch up his nose and curl out his lips and make a pee yew sniffing sound so when he blew out his diaper and then did his sniffing thing I just had to stop, smile and make a mental note of how cute my little dude was, even with the rankest doo doo seeping through his clothes.

"Yeah I did it, so what?  Plus I wiggled one arm out of these stupid straps.  What 'cha gonna do about it?"

I made sure to pack plenty of extra clothes and when I picked him up Monday, sure enough, he had been changed.  I honestly believe it's his teeth.  This morning I checked his gums and there were two blister-like "bubbles" right in the middle of his bottom gum.  Progress!!!  They are going to pop through at any minute!  Other than all of the super, dirty diapers they don't seem to be bothering him too much.  Thank goodness! 

Broccoli = Power Food

I wanted to share this great recipe for Broccoli Salad that I have been making a lot lately.  Ed absolutely loves it and it is very good for you.  It has a good mixture of tangy vs. sweet tastes to satisfy your palate and it's the perfect side item to compliment your main dish.  Ed is very big on fruits & vegetables at every meal so this fulfills his request!

The necessary ingredients:

First mix the dressing ingredients:

Add the broccoli as it is cut and then the apples, onions or other additions as they are prepared, mixing with the dressing often.  As much as I love onions, they give me headaches when eaten raw so I prefer to sautee mine prior to mixing.

Final Product Photo from Kitchen Parade.  I don't put mine in a serving dish - straight to the plate for me -  so I thought this photo looked better.  Mine looks pretty close to it though huh?

This can be refrigerated for several hours before serving but it tastes much better when served at room temperature.

Nutritional Facts:

PER CUP (makes 7 cups): 66 calories, 2 grams total fat, 0 grams saturated fat, 11 grams carbs, 2 grams fiber, 68 milligrams sodium, 0 milligrams cholesterol

Ingredients:

DRESSING: 6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, salt & pepper to taste

SALAD: 1 pound fresh broccoli (mostly crown, some stem, fresh - not frozen), 1 apple cored & chopped (I used 2 - 1 green & 1 red), 1/2 sweet or red onion diced

ADDITIONS OR SUBSTITUTIONS (may affect nutritional content): toasted nuts, dried apricots, grapes, fresh blueberries, banana chunks (add bananas just before serving)

ENJOY!!