The Kerrie Show Summer Reading List 2016 #SummerReadingList

I'm not gonna lie to you. Last year's summer reading list did not go well. Maybe because I chose all nonfiction and couldn't find any fiction to really dig into. Here were those. All worthy books, but I think I skimmed them and gave them all away. Dream Lovers was so depressing that I could not continue. The homeschool books didn't offer a lot of new info for me. Ask made me realize I want out of direct sales like YESTERDAY. We are thinking about moving STILL so I am trying to cut down on clutter and am using the library more for print books and free audiobooks and ebooks.

Here are the 8 I am tackling this summer and I'll check back in with a post about each one later on. Keep in mind audiobooks count as "reading" a book in my world ... you are still taking in the content into your brain. I have one of these books in print from the library and on loan as an audiobook from the library for free so I can switch back and forth when I'm going on a walk and need audio versus when I force myself to sit down and read a physical book.

1. The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate by Gary Chapman. Yes, this has been around a long time and, no, we have never read it. Aron and I saw it when we had our overnight date back in March and wondered which love language we each were. We knew we were not the Receiving Gifts one for sure but hmmm ... So I got the book and so far we have only taken the quiz at the back. We are hoping to have lazy nights on the porch checking out more of this book but, honestly, since we are both an 11 on Physical Touch, I think we are probably just fine. My second one is Quality Time, also not rocket science, but his second one is Acts of Service, so we should at the very least read THAT chapter so I know more what he would like from me other than just the basics of doing laundry, dishes, cooking, etc. **Did you also know there is a book for Singles and for Children about the five love languages?! Aron and I have pretty much figured out that each of our kids is a different one of the five!!!!!
2. Seven Desires: Looking Past What Separates Us to Learn What Connects Us by Mark & Debbie Laaser. When we saw The Five Love Languages at the bookstore, Aron brought up this book he had also heard good things about so I also bought it post-overnight-date. The seven desires are: to be heard and understood; to be affirmed; to be blessed; to be safe; to be touched; to be chosen; to be included. Hearing a few of those really resonated with me and made me think certain things not only about being in a marriage but also about being a kid. For instance, to be included can mean being included in a mom's night out with friends you are getting to know and it can also mean being asked to sit at the lunch table at school for a kid.
3. The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic: How Engaging 1% of Catholics Could Change the World by Matthew Kelly. I saw this on a table in our church entryway and normally don't go for religious books but I had to pick this one up. The four signs are: prayer, study, generosity and evangelization. Anyone who knows me knows I prefer to evangelize with my life and not by going after people to get them to convert to my religion. But I could be misunderstanding the word evangelization, which freaks me out for some reason. I picture used car salesmen.
4. A Place of Yes: 10 Rules for Getting Everything You Want Out of Life by Bethenny Frankel. This is an older book but I've always wanted to read it ever since I watched the author on The Real Housewives of New York City and there were episodes where she was talking about writing this book. I'm not sure I can get through this book since she's probably going to talk about the early days of wedded bliss and motherhood, when these days she is going through a horrid divorce. It just makes me kinda sad but I bet it's packed with fun advice.
5. After Her by Joyce Maynard. I first heard about this author in the 1990s when she was writing raw stuff about her experience being pregnant and giving birth. While on our overnight date, Aron picked out a book pretty quickly but I had a lot of trouble. I checked out the new stuff and there was a Joyce Maynard book and I knew the name, but the new book was hardback and expensive. So I figured I would give Where Love Goes a shot, since it was the only one on the regular shelf I thought I might like. Loved it (heartbreaking story of divorced couple and what comes after, starting new relationships and what that looks like for the CHILDREN, which many parents SAY they are considering but really they are pretty much thinking with their LONELINESS and their sexy parts). Anyway, I was hooked on this author and happy to see she has written a lot more! This one is "a haunting novel of sisterhood, sacrifice, and suspense." Oh, and she wrote Labor Day, which became a movie that I saw and LOVED and it was NOT what I expected at all. So you get three links here and you're welcome!
6. The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard. See #5 and this one is about "friendship, family secrets, and the strange twists of fate that shape our lives." Good enough for me.
7. Trim Healthy Mama: the easy-does-it approach to vibrant health & a slim waistline by Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison (I also have the cookbook). I used to get a little magazine called Above Rubies that was full of inspiring stories from real women raising a bunch of kids, some homeschooling, some homesteading, and so much more. It was great to read about the struggles and triumphs of moms like me and unlike me. These are super healthy sisters and I'll have what they're having (which is stuff like collagen for your skin, hair and nails and joints and also a lot of other cool things I had not heard of).
8. Quality Lesson Plans for Secondary Physical Education by Zakrajsek, Carnes and Pettigrew. My friend at coop (and Joel's Confirmation sponsor!) gave me this one because she was the coop gym teacher this past year and I will be doing it this coming year and, boy, do I need help. I'm not sure if my parents have stopped laughing about this development, seeing as how I was not exactly the best at sports growing up (severe understatement).

If you are a writer, parent or someone who EATS and are looking for something to add to your summer reading list, consider MY books, here, both of which are available as print books and in Kindle format ... AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO OWN A KINDLE TO GET THEM! You can "follow" me as an author on Amazon if you never want to miss an update or new book! Both are permafree on Kindle Unlimited (just $10 a month and you can read all you want!)

*Disclosure: I have put links to purchase books on this post and if you do purchase I might get a few pennies. Just wanted you to know!

How to Have a Fabulous First Communion #CatholicHippieMom

The milestones are just flying by while I'm homeschooling, carpooling, going to track meets and soccer games and practices, going to co-op, running errands, making meals, doing dishes and laundry. FLYING BY! I'm trying to grab on to them and enjoy them as much as I can. Sunday was my fourth kid's First Communion ceremony and my last kid to wear a beautiful white dress and veil and shoes ... which of course then starts me thinking about my kids getting married and then I'm a blubbery mess. So let's get back to the photos of the big day!

Yeah, this one is the WORST for making me cry! Imagine this in 15ish years!

Heading into the church. Her dad and I stood right there in June 1998 watching some of our newly married friends come out of the same church before we were even married ourselves.

Waiting in the vestibule.

She made this at her retreat the day before.

Processing. Not prah-cessing, but PRO-cessing.

She also got to help take up the money!

Waiting for First Communion and a little nervous.

We love Father Saiki!

Grandma Mac!

Bridget, the Director of Religous Education and overall sweetheart.

Eva and Samuel, partners in grime.

Eva Gavin, my Eva's godmother and my friend for 14 years and one of the neatest people I know.

Yes, My Little Pony is on the cake!

Parental units in front of the house.

Poppy!

Remodeling a Kitchen on a Budget Without Losing Your Sanity #DIYKitchen

Just kidding! Some sanity was lost, but not much. Nobody was injured in the making of our kitchen, the dream kitchen for some fabulous person in the future. Thought you'd want to see some pix. There is already some interest in purchasing our home so bring on the bidding war ... we are hoping to get half a mil for it so we can find our dream property in the country on 10 acres complete with butler, cook, and personal trainer so TELL YOUR FRIENDS about our lovely home on the corner across from an elementary school at 9028 Grant Street in Overland Park, KS!!! (I put the address because I like to Google addresses I find on Realtor.com or Zillow and there's never anything cool or personal about them ... and I want potential buyers to know we put a lot of love into this kitchen to make it nice for them and that we believe in karma and did not create a crappy product just to hurry up and move!)

BEFORE PICTURES:

Here is my wonderful husband's handiwork. Countertops bought at Home Depot and installed by TopMaster and they did a great job. Undermount sink so I can wipe junk right into it and not into my hand ... woo hoo! New faucet. New hood. Newish gas stove and dishwasher. New backsplash, which took Aron all weekend to put in and looks amazing. Yeah, I know the white fridge doesn't match, but the buyer can move their own stainless one in to matchy matchy.

Aron will make doors for the pantry and redo the floor to be some sort of wood or lookalike ... I don't know what I'm talking about.

AFTER PICTURES:

April 6 is National #Walking Day! My Walking Story

My awesome new shoes from Elite Feet in Leawood, KS that practically cured my plantar faciitis, which I was worried would keep me from walking anymore. Mention my name and I get a $10 credit!

Back in the 1990s, before I became a mom, I really enjoyed walking to lose weight, to feel good listening to music and talk radio and to just get away from work on my lunch break. I just always felt better after a walk. It all started when my mom took me on a few walk and talks. My dad walked for a living as a mail carrier. Then I met a man coming out of my abusive marriage and his name was Steve Walker. No joke. His mother would walk the number of miles equal to how old she was going to be each year. So if she was going to turn 75 on Sunday, she would walk 75 miles from the previous Monday through Sunday. That’s over 10 miles a day! 

The day came when she talked us into doing a 5K with her in the cold. A 5K is only 3.1 miles … totally doable for many people. Keep in mind I was 23 years old, so walking 3.1 miles on Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza should have been no problem. Let’s just say I was a bit sore because I wasn’t used to walking so much. Even though she has passed on and Steve and I only lasted a couple of years, what she did never left my mind.

I met my husband Aron in 1995, we married three years later and had our first child in 2001. In the years before I became a mom, I walked a few 5Ks for various causes (one with my friend Shelley for breast cancer) and walked on my lunch break from work quite often. Sometimes I would walk around the park behind our apartment.

October 2000 found my husband and I walking a half marathon (13.1 miles) in Downtown Kansas City after zero training and coming straight back from a two-week New England vacation. Little did we know our son Joel was walking with us in my womb! I was proud that I had gone from walking 3.1 miles at age 23 to 13.1 miles at age 29. Yes, I was sore by the end but it was so worth it! 

So why didn’t I keep it up? Why didn’t I prioritize my health, as well as something I loved doing? It was like a hobby that kept me healthy in body and mind. And I just stopped doing it.

Well, I fell in love with mothering like falling off a cliff … I was all in and there was no way back for me. I was a breastfeeding, cosleeping, diaper-changing, puke-cleaning, cloth diaper-washing, baby-holding machine. My son Joel was very fond of being held and I was fond of holding him, so putting him in a stroller often made him cry. I did not want him crying so I just skipped strollers altogether most of the time.

I should have left the house alone for a 20-minute walk sometimes but I was a new mom and didn’t trust just anyone to care for my baby. Besides, when I was out of his smelling range, he would cry. Again with the not wanting him to cry. It was just easier to stay home and with him, I reasoned.

When I was pregnant with our second child, Michael, I got the chance to go to California with Joel and my husband for his work. I walked around an office park pretty much every day just to have something to do and Joel did just fine in the stroller as a toddler with some Cheerios and a sippy cup. 

We added four more kids to our family and rarely would I go on a formal walk. Walking around the zoo or a nature park or to the park, sure. But it was not often that I would put on my headphones and tell my husband I was heading out for 20 minutes, because my kids were all attached to me and I didn’t want to leave them anyway.

I walked a 5K with my son called Battle of the Bean a couple of years ago and it was amazing! They are for a good cause but they can get costly. These days I’ll pick a kid who wants to come walk with me and we just go for 20-30 minutes. We chat, we learn the days of the week, we gripe, we just hang out. It rocks.

Mostly I head out alone for 30 minutes to return a RedBox or a library book or hit the grocery store. When summer hits I'll walk as early as I can in the morning then maybe again at night with my husband or with a kidlet. When it's warm I wear my OOFOS sandals because they are like butter on my feet. Check out my review here!

UPDATE: now we live in Peculiar, MO, the country. My walking days are quite different now: more quiet, cars not zooming past me, no retail or other establishments close enough to walk to (I miss walking to the library), much more quiet and oh so beautiful! Now and then I'll walk some of our neighborhood loops and enjoy a podcast or journal into my phone or listen to music. I'm 47 now and would love to do some 5K walks again! I'll keep you posted!

I hope you have a happy walking day ... I'd love to hear your walking story!

Tax Day Freebies 2016 #TaxDayFreebies

Here are some tax-day freebies! Enjoy!

By the way, are your taxes done? Who does them at your  house?

I used to do my own before I was married, then Aron took them over and does them quite well. Even though we get money back on federal for being breeders, he still procrastinates doing the taxes. It's kind of a pain, and I don't blame him. It's nice to lead an uncomplicated life so the taxes are pretty simple.

Those poor rich folks and their complicated taxes ;-)

So, yeah, our taxes have not even been started. We've been busy with this: