Painting!

I love it when I have a day with nothing planned (except for working out) and no place to go! Today is that day for us! Aside from taking my mom to the airport this morning, Keenan and I stayed in our PJs (a onsie, for him) and played at home. Since he has enjoyed playing with the box, I thought it would be fun to paint it. My original plan was to paint it as a car, but then Keenan said he wanted it to be a “Choo choo train.” We started out painting it as a train, but then it ended up being a smattering of different things and colors, so it is just one big colorful box! In the midst of painting the box, Keenan managed to paint himself, too! 🙂 In order to get all of the paint off, I gave him a quick bath, which he kept saying, “not bed time, no bath!” He sure is a child of routine, since he knows he doesn’t take a bath, unless it is bed time! All, in all, we had a great time painting outside this morning and Keenan can’t wait to play with his “painted box!”

His painted box!

Paint ALL over!

Before I forget, we tried something new for breakfast this morning. I saw a recipe for chocolate protein oatmeal the other day and decided to give it a try. I like oatmeal, but I rarely eat it, because it hardly contains any protein and it is loaded with WAY too many carbohydrates.  If I eat a bowl of regular oatmeal, I am usually hungry within 2 hours. When I saw this recipe, I was intrigued! It contains over 23 grams of protein!
Since I made it for the first time, I followed the recipe exactly, except I only had vanilla protein powder.

Chocolate protein oatmeal!

Chocolate Protein Oatmeal: (Serves 1)

Ingredients:

– 1/2 cup whole oats

– 3/4 cup water

– 1 tbsp flaxseed (ground)

-1 tbsp almond or peanut butter

– 1 tsp cocoa powder (unsweetened)

– 1 banana mashed

– 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder

Directions:

1. Mix oats, flaxseed, almond or peanut butter, cocoa powder and water together in a microwave safe bowl.

2. Cook in microwave for 2 minutes and stir.

3. Mix in mashed banana and protein powder. Enjoy!

Notes: It was good, but I think the chocolate protein powder would have made it more flavorful. Also, I think the peanut butter would have tasted better with the chocolate, so I will be sure to use it next time! All, in all, it was very satisfying and kept me full until lunch time. Keenan enjoyed it, too!

Enjoying his chocolate oats!

After breakfast, taking my mom to the airport and painting, Keenan and I had some “piano time” and then it was time for lunch. Since Keenan seemed more tired then usual, I made him a quick lunch of his favorite: peanut butter and honey sandwich with some carrots, applesauce and a glass of milk (in his fishy cup!). I felt like yogurt, so I made my “usual breakfast” for lunch, except with a peach this time! Also, look who got new slippers today…”Elmo” ones, thanks to Nonna!

Sporting his new “Elmo” slippers and enjoying his lunch!

After Keenan’s nap, we will head to CrossFit and then home for dinner. I am trying another crock pot creation/experiment for tonight’s dinner. I put 3 frozen chicken thighs at the bottom of my crock pot and topped it with a can of black beans mixed with onion, green and red bell peppers, salsa and lots of cumin, oregano, garlic no-salt seasoning from Costco and garlic salt. I’m letting it cook the rest of the afternoon. The last 30 minutes, I’m going to add some plain Greek yogurt and let it sit for 20 minutes before eating. I’m pairing it with a salad and dinner will be complete! I saw a similar recipe through a random search online that gave me the idea, so we’ll see how it turns out. I’ll keep you posted and be sure to take some pictures to share tomorrow!

Speaking of Keenan’s nap, I am still trying to work on getting more sleep these days. I know I said a while back that getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night was one of my goals, well… it still is! I have to admit, I haven’t been good at going to bed on time lately. It seems that there is always something to do and the only time I really have is after Keenan goes to bed, thus making my nights long. I always have the best intentions on going to bed early, but before I know it, it is already past 11 p.m.! Anyhow, I have been reading more about sleep and how it affects so many aspects of your life (not that I didn’t know this before). A lack of sleep can increase your risk for developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. Insufficient sleep affects hormone levels that regulate appetite (eating more to stay awake), metabolism and stress, not to mention making you more irritable and decreases your ability to focus/concentrate on certain tasks. In addition, not getting enough sleep can lower your immune function, making you more prone to catching a cold. Inadequate sleep also affects your workouts, such as not having enough energy to get through them, which can decrease the intensity and power of your workout.  Also, your body can’t properly rest and repair itself, such as recovering from a strenuous workout. Sleep is a major part of our lives and it is important to make time for it. My goal for this month is to set an alarm at 9:30 p.m. every week night to remind myself to get ready for bed, allow some quiet time for reading and shutting out the lights by 10:30 p.m. Since I worry about Keenan getting enough sleep, it is time I take care of myself, and make sure I get enough sleep to be the best that I can be (no matter what is done or not)!

Question: How many hours of sleep (on average) do you get a night? What kind of bedtime routine/ritual do you have to help yourself unwind before going to sleep?

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