Cookies and Tennis

My two favorite guys had a movie night/campout in the livingroom Friday night.
They do this about every 5 or 6 weeks.
I'm usually not invited....but that's okay, I'm not a big fan of the movies they like anyway.
I'm good at making and getting the snacks together for the campout!
I made these cookies.
I cannot find the site where I had seen them a while back.



It's just a chocolate chip cookie recipe wrapped around an oreo.

I think they were a pound each.

They were heavenly.

I gave some to the neighbor who plowed our driveway again.

We watched the men and womens Australian Open Finals this weekend.

I'm glad it's over...we have spent too much time in front of the t.v. the past two weeks.

Eric and I are too old to stay up until midnight everynight...we don't function as well the next day!

It was really cool that Novak Djokavich and Andy Murray were the in final.

We watched them play together in New York this summer for the US Open Kids Day.

One last thing about tennis...and then I'll be done.  Promise.

Brady had a match last night against a 16 yr old boy who is on the highschool team.

Now, he's not the greatest player, but at 16, you're much more coordinated than you are at 7.

Brady didn't seem nervous at all to be playing him.

In fact, he was very confident.

Brady lost 9 games to 4.

Afterward,  Brady was excited and thrilled with how well he played.

To me, Brady's attitude is more important than whether he wins or loses.

But I will say this...at the rate he is going...in 9 yrs, Brady will  not be playing against any 2nd graders.

That just wouldn't be fair.  :)





Stuck Behind These Two Guys

Oh the joys of living in Lancaster County!

I really wish there was a sarcasm button on my keyboard....

I could use one of those!



Have a great weekend!

Brady's Bedroom







Today we had another snow day. 
Brady and I decided to tackle his bedroom.
It was long overdue for a good cleaning.
Lots of dust behind his bed and on his bookshelves.
Even the baseboards were dusty.
The top of his desk could not be seen.

We marked three boxes.
Keep.  Garage sale.  Donate.  And one big garbage bag.
Brady asked if he could donate some of his nicer things to a children's hosptial.
I'm not sure where he got this idea...and I don't even know if it's possible.
He just likes to make things more difficult for me!



His room smells so good now...almost like I imagine a little girls room would smell!
We got rid of almost all the toys in his toy box.
It makes me sad that he is outgrowing toys.
He would much prefer to play games, read, or work at his desk
I guess he is growing up.
What's the use of keeping things he doesn't play with anymore?
It's hard for me to get rid of somethings...so I have to do it quickly.



I want to put baskets in the desk to hide the mess...but Brady says he doesn't want them.

Daddy made the big bookshelf/toybox and Brady's desk.
He also made Brady's bed...I will save that for another post.
It's soon time for the bed to go....I may not be able to let that one go.



Brady's been outside playing with a friend for a couple of hours now.
He doesn't always have someone to play with...so it does my heart good to look
out the window and see him having fun.
Isn't that what snow days should be all about?!
That, and maybe a little cleaning!

Another Not So Guilty Pleasure





Do you remember this two ingredient WW muffin recipe?

Well, I tried another one...and it was really good!

(especially if you're trying to watch calories!)



=



Mix the two ingredients together and pour into a 9x13 pan.

Bake @ 350* for about 30 minutes.

I've been looking for a "lite" blueberry filling...just can't find one!

Super easy and satisfying...give it a try!

I Prefer Weekends!

We had a busy weekend...it was so nice to get out of the house.
We've been a little cooped up this past week!



Date night!
Brady went to the rec center for kids night-pizza & swimming
Subway (pretty exciting date, huh?!)
Walmart
Home Depot

Brady's 1st basketball game!
McDonald's
tennis clinic
boot shopping
Australian Open
Spaghetti
new rules
Million Dollar Baby
Walmart again
Home Depot again

awesome brownies found here
laundry
For Get It
pistachios (Brady and I are slightly addicted!)
Barnes & Noble

checking out Grandma & Grandpa's new house
pizza and stromboli
birthday cake
Grandma & Grandpa and Uncle Brice watch Brady's tennis match
hot fudge sundaes



Hope you guys all had a great weekend!

~Kerri

Me Stylish?!







Thank you to Jenny at I Am An Organized Mommy

 and J at For Real, This Time for passing this award onto me!

They both have great blogs!  Jenny lives not too far from

where I grew up in Ohio...and where my family still lives.  For

that reason alone...I feel like I know her and that she is my neighbor!    Jenny is super organized

and crafty and has three adorable children and one big tall principal husband!

On J's blog, I am continually inspired everytime I read one of

her posts.  I think we have a lot in common.

 I could sit and talk with her for hours

about losing weight, gaining weight, exercise and self esteem.

I love how honest she is...and I love following her on her

weight loss/get healthy journey.

**********************

The "stylish" part of the award kind of makes me laugh...because I'm one of the least stylish people I know!  But that's okay...

it's kind of like that Brad Paisley song..." I'm So Much Cooler Online"

That's kind of like me!

Don't get me wrong...I would love to be sylish!

It's kind of an ongoing goal I have...I just

never seem to be able to pull it off.

The rules for accepting this award are to share

7 things about yourself and nominate 5 blogs

to receive the stylish blogger award.

Since it's a stylish award...I thought I would stick with that!



*********************

1.  I'd love a stylish hairstyle!

I always say if I could lose 30 lbs...I would go short!

I love her hair!

2.  Ruffles are so stylish right now...

I love this look.

However, I think my boobs are too big for ruffles!

3.  I love this clip!

Although at 40...I probably would look silly with this in my hair!

4.  Boots

I love these!  See women/girls wearing them all over!

I just can't see myself in them.  I have a feeling I would look pretty frumpy!

5.  skinny jeans

Actually, I would never be able to put an outfit like this together...

and look as cool as this girl!

(ok, really I just want to be tall!)

6.  A stylish camera strap

Oh yea, I'd need a camera to go with that! :)

7.  Cool hats!

The  only hats I own are baseball caps!

Here are the 5 blogs I am nominating for

the Stylish Blogger Award:

1.  Lorri @ Lizards and Lollipops

2.  Kat @ Pretty in Pink and Green

3.  Holly @ The Erwin Journey

4.  Karina @ Bunches and Bits

5.  Donna @ Starkey Hollow



Thanks again Jenny and J for the award!

He Teaches Zumba?



My husband told me a while back that a guy he works with in the office recently became a certified Zumba instructor. ( If your're not familiar with Zumba, it's a Latin inspired, calorie-burning dance fitness class.)  I laughed a little...mostly because I just didn't think it could be true.  I mean, Jim doesn't really look like the dancer type.  Or the kind of guy that would want to teach a fitness class.  Jim is married and has several children...and I just thought it was probably a joke.

Well, yesterday I was able to see for myself.  My husband sent me this video clip of Jim teaching a class.  I LOVE it!  It made me laugh...a lot...but mostly, it made me feel really good.  I mean, who says you have to be small, cute and buff to teach a fitness class?    I think it's admirable.  This guy obviously stepped big time out of his comfort zone and went for it.  He really enjoys teaching Zumba and he has been losing weight in the process.



Have a great weekend!

Just When I Think My Little Boy Is Not So Little Anymore.....

he decides to take DUCKY to school for stuffed animal day!

Not his iguana, moose, frog or karate bear.  He chose DUCKY...the stuffed

animal that he has slept with every night with since he was born.

Such sweet innocence.  I long for him to stay little forever.

But don't worry...I'm fully aware this isn't the case.

(Saying a prayer this morning that no one makes fun of him today at school!)



Have a great day!

~Kerri



I Hope I Haven't Misled You



You guys always leave the nicest comments about my son. Hahahhahaha! 
Sorry.   I am just feeling the need to set the record straight!
Last week was a difficult week for us.  Brady was in rare form.
His listening skills leave a lot to be desired and he's been very selfish the last few days.
That, and he always thinks he's right..which drives me crazy.
I'm not sure if he's bored being cooped up inside the house or what.
We are feeling the need to tighten the reins and gain back some control.
It usually only takes a few days to get back on track....but I find every so often we need to do this.

Looks like a brat here, right?!



So, today is our first real snow day.  We had an ice storm during the night.  No school.  Usually you  know I am thrilled about this...a nice day home with my son  all to myself.  Yikes!  Well, I was kind of looking forward to him going back to school today!  Hopefully we will have a better day than the one we had yesterday.  So far so good.   He's trying really hard this morning to be extra nice!  I know, it's still early...but I'll take what I can get today!




Have a good one!

Martin Luther King Jr.





Last week Brady and I laid in bed several mornings and talked about Martin Luther King, Jr.  (Definately not my choice of coversation!)   Brady wanted to tell me all kinds of stories about MLK and why we observe Martin Luther King Day.  He obviously was learning about this in school...and he takes in and remembers everything his teacher says.  On Friday, he was so excited to find this book when he was at the library with his class.  I love that he is excited about learning...I hope this continues on forever.



Enjoy your day!

Favorite Finds!

I tried this oatmeal  for lunch yesterday at McDonalds and it was AWESOME...

and I'm not even a big fan of oatmeal!  It seemed too good to be healthy...so I came home

and googled the nutrional info and it's 260 calories for a good sized container.
I will look forward to having this again sometime SOON!

These caught my eye the other day over near the deli at Walmart.

I'm a huge fan of anything "buffalo" so I had to try them.

They are amazing!  They have the perfect taste and aren't really spicy at all.

I have tried other pretzel thins before and never really enjoyed them.

But these, I need to find a special hiding spot for so I don't have

to share them with anyone!

*******************

I would love to do a link party of "Favorite Finds" sometime.  There's only

one little problem...I don't know how to have a link party!  

Maybe someone else could take this on?  We could call it Favorite Finds Friday!

 Wouldn't it be fun to see what other people are buying and enjoying?! 

 I love when other bloggers recommend things they have tried and loved.

Here are a few things I have tried recently that have come from other bloggers!

Nicolle shared her love of these bath salts with her readers.

They can be found at Walmart...a big bag for $4.00.

I tried the lavendar (sleep) salts and now I find myself wanting to take

a bath every evening!

Jen blogged about how much she likes the new Key Lime Dessert gum....

so, of course I wanted to try it!  And she was right...it does take just

like Key Lime Pie.  You can even taste the crust!  So good!

Ever since Sarah said she loves the Target brand cucumber cleaner for her

kitchen...I wanted to try it.  She has a beautiful kitchen.

She was right.  It smells great and you can't beat the price.

I'm on my 3rd bottle.  Right now I have the sea minerals...

but I too love the cucumber scent the best!

***********************

I hope you will share some of your favorite finds too!

Suggestions and recommendations from blog friends

are the BEST!  

Top 5



My Top 5 posts in 2010

according to you!

#5  Dollar Yard Sale Chair

#4   Keeping It Real



#3   A True Winner

#2   We Are A Family Of 3

And the post with the most

comments in 2010 is....

#1   Pantry Update

Thank you so much for reading my

blog and leaving such thoughtful comments.

Blogging is so much more fun for me

because of YOU!  Thanks for making

my first year of blogging such a positive

experience!

~Kerri



Ten on Ten: January

The object is to take a picture for ten consecutive

hours on the tenth of the month.

The purpose is to find the beauty

in the ordinary moments in our life.

Up at the bus stop...doesn't it look cold out there?!



Stuck behind a buggy on a hill......



Step  class....



Lunch out with a friend......





Chicken and aspargus soup and a half a chipolte turkey wrap....



 Running a few errarnds....



 I went outside and took this picture...thought it was more fun than the

laundry and online banking I was working on....



I want to throw this shelf and everything on it away...maybe not the shelf...hubby made it.
Just tired of all our "country" stuff!



Super quick dinner tonight...baked potato with chipolte salsa and

baked cauliflower (made with evoo and cayenne pepper).

We like it HOT! :)



Brady's first basketball practice....



So, there you have it.  Once again, I was debating about whether or not to participate

in ten on ten today because my day wasn't going to be very exciting.  But as I look

back over my pictures, I realize it was a good day.  I was able to get my son off

to school (I'm so thankful for that) and I got a great workout in, had lunch with

a friend and got a few things done at home.  Particpating in ten on ten

really does help you find the beauty in the everyday moments.

Ten on Ten