Monday, March 25, 2013

My Sweet Niece

My niece spent the night on Friday so we could take her softball shopping on Saturday.  Two years ago when she started playing t-ball we took her shopping for softball gear, but she's outgrown most of that stuff.  Uncle Tony and I absolutely had a blast helping her pick out her new gear.  She got new cleats, a bat bag, a bat, softball socks, softball pants, and a few wiffle balls for backyard batting practice.  She is now decked out and all set!

Saturday morning, while we were still hanging out at the house, she made a few signs for our bedroom door.  I think these will be hanging there for awhile....



The Welcom(e) sign with our names is so people will know which room is ours when they come to visit.  The other one is my favorite though and just makes me smile.  I'm not really sure which figure is Uncle Tony and which one is me.  lol  Hubby thinks it's awesome because we are holding hands.


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I thought I would share my breakfast shake from this morning because it was ahh-mazing!  It is a recipe from our Nutrition program at work and very, very simple.

PINEAPPLE MANGO BREAKFAST SHAKE
1/2 cup Frozen Pineapple
3/4 cup Frozen Mango
1/2 Banana
1 TBSP Peanut Butter
1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
1/2 cup Water

*I used almond butter instead of peanut butter because we are out of PB.  You can use whatever you have on hand, but it should be NATURAL PB or almond butter.

*I found the recipe to be too thick with only 1/2 cup water, so doubled that.  You can play with that for desired shake thickness.

*I found frozen mango chunks in the frozen section at the grocery store.  They didn't have frozen pineapple, so I used canned.  I opened two cans of pineapple chunks, measured it out in 1/2 cup increments, and then put it in individual small containers for the freezer.  That way I can just grab what I need throughout the week and know it is already measured out.  This breakfast takes less than 5 minutes to make.

23 comments:

  1. I love being an aunt! We are so lucky, aren't we? Those pictures are great. How special. We had smoothies for breakfast yesterday! I forgot the p. powder, so we use greek yogurt instead. Thanks for sharing the recipe, I will be sure to add it to my list!

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    1. Being an Auntie is absolutely the BEST!! We definitely are lucky :) Greek Yogurt is a good substitute.

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  2. Very cute pictures! And that recipe looks delicious. I have all those things at home & plan to try it tomorrow. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. You have to try this shake, especially if you already have the ingredients at home! I swear, it was like having dessert for breakfast.

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  3. Those pictures are so adorable! I love seeing what comes into children's minds at times. They are so unpredictable and so full of imagination!

    That shake sounds really good!

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    1. Haha! Yes, they can definitely be unpredictable at times, that is for sure. But oh so fun at the same time :) Things like that just melt my heart.

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  4. i have a whole stockpile of "neice drawings" from when I visit my sister and her kids =) they are kept in my "treasures" box

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    1. I need to start a treasure box! My own Aunt always kept every letter, drawing, or anything else we ever did with the intention of giving it all back to us one day. She just gave us our stuff this last summer. So fun to go back and look through it all again, seeing the stuff we did when we were little.

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  5. Love the drawings! I always post stuff that my niece has drawn on our magnet board in the kitchen (although she's only 3 so it's largely scribbles). So cool that you can be involved with her the way you are!

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    1. I have scribbled drawings on my fridge too :) I am so lucky to have such a good relationship with my niece and nephews. Sounds like you are too!

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  6. Wow that smoothie recipe looks delicious!!!! And those pictures are just too sweet. I love being an Aunt, it seems like your niece is very close to you. That's great!

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    1. My sister and my niece lived with us from before she was a year old until she was four. It was pretty awesome.

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  7. Oh, goodness. So cute. My niece and nephew are hundreds of miles away, but I always wish we were close enough in distance to do things like this. Also, your smoothie recipe made my mouth water!

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    1. Do you get to skype with your niece and nephew at all? I can't imagine not getting to see my kiddos.

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  8. So cute! My nieces and nephews do similar things when they come to visit and I keep them all. They also painted pictures for me to try and cheer my up after losing William. I framed them and hung them in our kitchen and they make me smile every time.

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    1. Aww, that is super sweet Stasy! I'm sure that is very special to you! My Aunt has framed at least one drawing/coloring from each of her nieces and nephews and has them all in one of her guest rooms. It's pretty cool actually.

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  9. hi from iclw!
    did you keep the pineapple juice in with your chunks or drain it out?
    the shake sounds SO good. cant wait to try it!

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    1. Thank you for stopping by! I drained the pineapple juice out of the can. It is REALLY yummy!

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  10. mmmmmm smoothie! Love your signs. You have a very special relationship with your niece.

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    1. I am so thankful for that special relationship with her :)

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  11. That picture of you and Tony is SO precious. I think it's hilarious that you don't know which is which, and I agree with Tony that it's adorable that you're holding hands. So sweet.

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  12. Eliana has a special love in her heart especially for the 2 of you and those brothers of hers will too! Nothing like the love of a child to take away any pain or wrong in your day if only for a moment!! And for them, extended family is so important and they are very lucky to have the two of you, especially when they recognize the love you have for each other!!! I have been reading your posts, then write my comment for the last couple of days (I'm old and I forget what I was going to comment on sometimes) and then go back and read the comments as it pleases me that your fellow bloggers get you so easily from your blog and there is so much support and love from them to you and vice versa. But I had to smile when you brought up your Aunt. I so enjoyed all of those letters, pictures from my nieces and nephews (especially since we live 300 miles away as it kept us bonded) through the years and just so you know, one day those pictures in the kid room will be coming back to all of you too!!! As I dust them off, they still make me smile and think of each of you!

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