P365+1 - Days 25-29

29 - 1/29/12:  Daddy's Boy

28 - 1/28/12: Look who figured out how to turn the light off and on...our little climber.

27 - 1/27/12: The boys have matching orange tape.

26 - 1/26/12: Late afternoon nap in the sun.

25 - 1/25/12: Keeping you guessing :P

Injury: was not on my B2B training schedule

It's been a while since I have posted anything here...in fact it has been since I committed to running the Brew-2-Brew run as a solo with my sis. About a week ago I fessed up to Chanti that I hadn't been posting anything because I didn't want to jinx myself. Running 44 miles is a HUGE undertaking (that many call crazy) and not that I am one that believes in psychics or anything like that...but I really didn't want to post something one day like "had a great 22 miler today" and then have to post the next day that "have an injury and can't run for a week".

The biggest thing I was really concerned about when committing to an Ultra was injury and now it's here. The training miles are intimidating and the 44 miles in one day is really hard to believe but I knew I could do all of those things. The one thing I didn't feel like I had any control over was random, overuse injuries.

The issue...I am having a problem with my left calf (in the front where my shin and calf muscle meet up high). A feeling very close to what I had happen in August. But the difference here than then, in August I wasn't training for anything and I took 2 weeks off and then came back slowly (1 mile at a time) until I was back to normal. I really don't have time to take off in this B2B training schedule. I REALLY want to make it to race day so I know I need to get better. I wish I could run through it and run right out from under it. I dream that one morning I will wake up and it will feel like nothing was ever wrong. But alas, that has not happened.

So what have I done...I skipped by 10 miler the day after my 22 miler last weekend. I waited a day and iced and then ran an easy 4 only to find that it wasn't ok. What's crazy is that my calf doesn't really hurt when I am running but after is when it hits even after stretching, massaging, and icing. Robert (CRC Chiropractor aka Dr. Bob) has been working on it with ultrasound and Spidertech tape and we thought we had it taken care of but we figured out we were wrong after my 10 miler yesterday.

The new plan...it's back to rest (no running), icing, ibuprofen, and will try some pool running and swimming this week. Dr. Bob is out of town as am I so no ultrasound until Thursday night. Maybe some more spider tape as well.

Also, get eraser out and do some work on the training schedule. I still have time if I can get this issue under control. MUST GET BACK ON TRACK for B2B. The sister is counting on me :)

Run on!...while I try to rehab.
Brooke

Roasted Balsamic and Parmesan Cauliflower

Another great recipe I found on Pinterest, Balsamic and Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower from EatingWell.com. We love cauliflower around her but usually just steam it and add some butter and Cavendars Seasoning. Sometimes we make macaroni and cheese with weenies (hot dogs) and add chopped up par-boiled broccoli and cauliflower. It's a great way to get Greyson to eat vegetables. I must admit...he didn't like this recipe much at all.

I followed the recipe almost to a T. I didn't have dried majoram but did have ground marjoram so figured it would be just as good. I also added the balsamic vinegar at the beginning and didn't wait until it was time to add the cheese. I don't really think that made much of a difference and it was still yummy.

Balsamic and Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower 
8 cups 1-inch-thick slices cauliflower florets, (about 1 large head; see Tip)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon ground marjoram
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan

Preheat oven to 450°F. Toss cauliflower, oil, vinegar, marjoram, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast until starting to soften and brown on the bottom, 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle cauliflower with cheese. Return to the oven and roast until the cheese is melted and any moisture has evaporated, 5 to 10 minutes more.

Brookies...aka Blondes

So I found this recipe for "Brookies" on Pinterest (of course). I thought it was cute that they called what I would normally call Blondies Brookies instead. Who wouldn't want to make a dessert named after them so of course I did and my teachers benefited...and with my small addiction to cookie dough how could I resist.

The author of the recipe at bakerella.com described them as cookies with the shape and texture of a brownie and she called them official Congo Bars. I have to say that mine didn't turn out as hers sounded and appeared but they were still pretty good. Next time I make them I will be adding more vanilla, a bit more salt, a few less pecans, and will use extra large eggs instead of just large.

Brooke's Brookies (with my changes)
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 lb. light brown sugar
3 extra large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
12 ounce package chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet think milk might be better)
2/3 cup chopped pecans

Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
Combine butter and sugar using a mixer until blended.
Add eggs, one at a time to sugar mixture, mixing on low in between each addition.
Add vanilla and mix.
Add flour and mix until combined.
Stir in chips and then pecans.
Coat a 13 X 9 pan with non-stick spray and spread batter evenly into dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until top is golden brown. 

Another Higgins Runner

We have a runner on our hands...



Michael and G worked on this forever the other night and I get to share their hard work. :) And by the way, the whining at the end was because he wanted to see himself on the phone.

Brooke

Welcome to This Boy's Adventures

For our CarePages followers, we are excited that you have decided to check out Greyson's new blog. As I mentioned in the last CarePages update, I have been looking for another option that is more flexible and allows  bit more creativity and control and a Blogger blog seems to be the answer for now.

There are a few changes I thought I might point out... The most important one to me was that Blogger allows visitors to subscribe by email. This is different because instead of just being told their is a new Update (what a new story is called in CarePages) in an email it will actually email you the new Post (what a new story is called in Blogger). All you have to do is find the "Follow By Email" text field in the top right corner and enter your email address.


Other cool things you may want to look for are the Blog Archive, Picasa Photostream, and a search feature (top left corner). I will tag all health related posts with an LM so if that is what you are interested in reading then all you would have to search for would be the initials LM and that should bring up all posts related to Greyson's Lymphatic Malformation.

All 96 Carepages posts have been transferred to here but due to constraints on the CarePages site we can not transfer comments. All updates, comments, and Gallery items will stay on the Carepages site and I will not be deleting any of the content.

The goal for this blog is to add more posts and pictures about ALL things Greyson and not just the health related happenings. If you are interested in keeping up with us then we invite you to come back as often as you like. If not we understand and thank you for all your support up to now.

The Higgins

P365+1 - Days 17-24

16 - 1/16/12: Our runner.

17 - 1/17/12: My high-tech crown. (FYI - this was an actual mistake that was posted as the 1/16 picture but as I looked back I realized this was my 1/17 pic...sorry)

18 - 1/18/12: Gramps & Greyson

19 - 1/19/12: The first "play date".

20 - 1/20/12: Greyson loves his "Another Monster at the End of this Book" eBook.

21 - 1/21/12: OMG - what a sweet face. He thinks he's pretty funny pretending to sleep on the table at lunch.

22 - 1/22/12: Dinner fun.

23 - 1/23/12: My eMINTS teachers

24 - 1/24/12: Teddy bears like cheese too and Greyson is good with sharing.

*picture #17 was accidentally posted as day #16 but it has been fixed now.

Candy Making - Pecan Pralines

I had some time at home today since our trip to KC for Greyson's check-up was canceled...thank you Croup. :( During nap #1 I tested out a recipe I found in my December (I think) Southern Living for Pecan Pralines. The recipe called for whipping cream and I had enough to make half the recipe. Figured I needed to get it out of the fridge so I won't be tempted to continue using it instead of skim milk in my morning coffee.

Praline Pecans

I have made a similar Southern Living recipe in the past (Praline Pecans) and they were THE BOMB, so I was almost positive these were going to be guaranteed yummy and man was I soooo right.

While the Praline Pecans are sugary coated crunchy goodness, the Pecan Pralines are chewy rich caramel bites with vanilla (used my new Vanilla Bean Paste from William Sonoma) and toasted pecans. The picture makes them look a little crispy sugary candies but mine turned out more shiny and chewy (think I should have stirred them a bit longer). The recipe was easy to follow with just a few ingredients and took less than an hour to make and clean up. They look very professional and would make a great gift during the holidays wrapped in parchment paper and placed in a festive box.

The Recipe...

Pecan Pralines

2 cups pecan halves and pieces

3 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup butter

2 Tbsp. light corn syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract (vanilla bean paste works wonderfully)

Wax paper

1. Toast pecans in the oven at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until toasted. 

Stir halfway. Cool completely.

2. Bring brown sugar, whipping cream, butter, and corn syrup to a boil and let continue to boil for 6-8 minutes when it reaches 236 degrees (soft ball stage). Remove from heat and allow it to cool to 150 degrees, stirring occasionally. 

My New Favorite Ingredient

 3. Quickly mix in vanilla and pecans with wooden spoon. Continue stirring until it begins to lose its gloss. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto wax paper. Let stand for 10-15 minutes until firm. Enjoy!

My Pecan Pralines

 

*Praline Pecan image from Southern Living and the rest from my new camera.

Resolutions

I have to admit...I have never been good at making or keeping New Year's Resolutions. I am a rule follow at heart but for some reason I never connected Resolutions to Rules but more just viewed them as suggestions or ideals.

The other day though, I ran across someone's blog post. Someone who was sort of in the same boat as myself and found something I might be able to get behind. What if I tried to live by these this year...

P365+1 - Days 14 & 15

1/15/12 -Homemade Barbacoa Beef Torta. Not as good as Al Tena but close.

1/14/12 -I love me some P.F. Changs

P365+1 - Day 13

1/13/12 - Sometimes you can learn a lot from taking a picture that everyone would think is a mistake.

P365+1 - Day 2-12

1/12/12 - M: this book, G: no, M: this book, G: no, M: this book, G: no, M: this book, G: (shakes head and smiles)

1/11/12 - Is it the Tickle Monster, Elmo, or Greyson?

1/10/12 - He now really thinks the iPad belongs to him with the iGuy case.

1/9/12 - a sinus infection...great (sarcasm)

1/8/12 - Another 1st - corn on the cob.

1/7/12 - Long drive home (even longer with a hangover)

1/6/12 - The Cotton Bowl...and we cheered for both teams, but maybe the Hogs a little louder :) 

Woo Pig Sooie! fyi - that jumbo-tron is HUMUNGO!

1/5/12 - Sunset on the road and no special effects...

straight out of the camera with an Instagram effect.

1/4/12 - Packed and ready to go to Gramps and Grandmas.

1/3/12 - G: TB, TB, TB (translation=T.V. please Daddy)

1/2/12 - Doing a little work under the hood.

P365+1 - Day 1

1/1/12 - Going for a ride. One of G's favorite things to do with Gramps and Spot.

Project 365+1 - 2012

Round two...here we go!

My first attempt at Project 365 was a success!!! I took one picture a day for a whole year. Not all pictures were great but they all counted and that was the goal of the project. This year I am going for it again but with two goals and some minor changes to how I posted my pictures.

Goal: Again, I want to take a picture each day documenting my life. I got a new camera for Christmas so a second goal for me this year is to become a better photographer and learn to use the manual side of my DSLR. My third goal is to learn some new editing tricks with Photoshop (of course), SnapSeed, Picasa, and Picnik.

Posting Pics: Last year I chose to post pictures one week at a time and sometime around October my life became pretty crazy and I continued taking pictures but quit posting them for a while and ended up catching up in the last week of December (not really what I wanted to do). I also posted them so that the oldest showed up at the top of the post and the most recent was at the bottom of the post. This made sense for that post but then if you tried to scroll through from top to bottom they weren't in order.

SOOOOO....Here is the plan this year.....

1. Take one picture a day for 366 days (it's a leap year)
2. Use iPhone, Sony Cybershot, or New Canon EOS Rebel T3i
3. Learn/use some new editing techniques
4. Post pictures in my blog in descending order - posts may include just one day or many

Watch for my next post. It will be 1/1. Bet you can't guess who will be in the picture :)

Happy New Year 2012

Greetings to all of our friends and family that follow Greyson's Carepages site. We hope that you had a wonderful holiday filled with relaxation and good times and wish you a happy 2012.

Things are still going great here with Greyson. He is doing quite well and was even dismissed from Occupational Therapy right before Christmas. The OT said that if she didn't know what to look for she wouldn't know that anything was any different with him than any other kid.

Greyson is growing like a weed and doing so much these days. He has lots of words in his vocabulary (his favorite today is Bubba, my dad's horses name) and he has also started repeating lots of words that we say. I figured that out one day when I said "crap". Guess we have to watch that now. He is on the run most of the time and likes to spin, "dance", and do somersaults (with help from us). One of his favorite things to do now is to hide. He got some tents for Christmas that we have set up in his room and he runs and hides in them and then calls to "Mommy" or "Daddy" to come find him.

He is scheduled for an MRI and Ultrasound on Feb. 8. They are checking to see if anything has come back. We will send the images to his doctors at Nationwide Hospital. We are hopeful, but if needed we will head back to Columbus and take care of things. He will still have another surgery to take care of the spots of lymphatic tissue in his hand and arm, but that won't be until maybe late next year.

Thank you again for all the support. We will send an update after we get the results of the tests in February. Take care.

Brooke, Michael, and Greyson

Foto Friday - Project 365: Day 365

365 - 12/31: One of my New Year's Eve dates.

It's amazing....365 days in a row I have taken at least one picture. A year ago I wanted to start taking more pictures on a regular basis and thought that Project 365 might help. Having a great subject like Greyson makes it a little easier but there were days when getting a picture taken was tough but I made it. They weren't all great composition or interesting to everyone but they documented a year in my life and I remember EVERY one of them. Will I try it again??? Maybe??? Guess I will see tomorrow.