The Tater Tot Casserole Cookbook #Free #KindleUnlimited on #Amazon #Ebook

I compiled this cookbook a few years ago with the help of our babysitter (back when we needed a sitter!) who was always like a daughter to us, Jordan McGarrigle. UPDATE: she is in COLLEGE now! Can you even believe this stuff?

Anyway, the book includes 34 tater tot casserole recipes (including a gluten-free and a dairy-free and even a vegetarian) plus some dessert recipes! You will love it and it will make your meals easier than ever with a lot of variety to boot!

Here is the latest edition to the fully updated and improved cookbook: Fully Loaded Tater Tot Casserole ... and it's a little bit different but I think you'll love it! Perfect potluck take-along or comfort food after a long day and customizable!

You don't have to have a Kindle to download the book. You just need an Amazon account and you can load it to your cloud reader and read it on your laptop or iPad or PC or whatever floats your boat.

If you have Kindle Unlimited I offer it FREE!

Here's the download link. If you love it, please leave me a review! And please share the love by tweeting, Facebook sharing, pinning, etc.!

If you are just finding this post and it's not free anymore (I make it free every 3 months or so), please purchase here and THANK YOU for supporting me!



Thank you for supporting my love of writing, kids and fun!

5K Runs and Walks in #KansasCity: Wild Women Timber Challenge 5K in Bonner Springs, KS

I want to share my excitement over being addicted to walking with you, fellow Kansas Citians! I still don't have a running bra, folks (TMI), so I will not be found jogging the 'hood anytime soon. Maybe when I'm 50.

I'll be posting upcoming walk/runs as I find them. This does not mean I'll be participating in all of them, so don't show up expecting me to sign copies of my Tater Tot Casserole book or anything ... ha! 

I MIGHT or MIGHT NOT be there, depending on household funds at the time (it costs to enter a race but, oh, the free and healthy goodies at the end and would they please start giving V-neck T-shirts for races for the women so we don't all look like dudes?), Mr. Kerrie's travel situation, my sanity level, etc. Enjoy the race info, and go out and find some in your town!

What: Wild Women Timber Challenge

When: Sunday, July 24, 2016 at 8:00 a.m.

Where: Bonner Springs, Kansas

"The 3rd annual Wild Women Timber Challenge (WWTC) is the ONLY 5k mud run/obstacle course just for HER. This year we are pushing you even harder with a new course layout and the behemoth Schutte Lumber giant. The WWTC course is not just rugged or tough… it is WILD! Come push your team to the limit and have a great time doing it.

Be prepared for well over 30 course designed obstacles and literally countless more provided by Mother nature. We are talking about 100 ft bluff climbs, handheld zip lines, mud pits, the infamous wrecked vertigo bus and so much more. But don’t take our word for it. Check out our Facebook 5 STAR reviews and all the awesome pictures from last year.

We are taking the foam and color runs to a whole new level. Our foam pit is a legit obstacle and colored chalk is worn as a badge of defeating the beast of a course. Do you have what it takes?"

Check the link (above after WHAT) for more info! Are you planning on giving this one a shot? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

P.S. I get my info from the fabulous KC Running Company website.

On a personal note, here's my walking story for National Walking Day a couple of years ago with an update.

When you're all done, you'll be hungry! Grab a copy of my Tater Tot Casserole Cookbook and whip up a batch of happiness for dinner!

How to Style Your Dorm Room Right

Practical interior DIY: how to style your dorm room right

Please enjoy this guest post while I take my girls for haircuts today and hang out at the pool doing meal planning and budgeting stuff!

Staying in dorms usually forms the best memories in life. College life is the craziest one. You learn and have so much fun in those years. It’s like the last phase of fun, enjoyment, and carelessness before you enter the practical world. Your ultimate goal should be to have fun and enjoy the time there. One way to do that is by making your dorm room pretty cool so that your friends would want to hang out there most of the time and you can have a blast while studying or just gossiping. We have a few tricks for you to make your dorm room chic and happening. Don’t worry, we will not suggest anything crazy; all these tips are pretty practical and handy. Here we go;

Storage Baskets

You don't get the most space in dorms and you will find yourself always short of space. Storage baskets can be a good solution for that. You can get three and put them under your bed to store different stuff. They will feel like magic as you will have more space and all the things that used to lie around here and there in the dorm will have a proper place.

Bookshelf

Dorms and books are a pretty understandable combination. So you should have a bookshelf to store all the books there. Even if you are not a fan of books generally, there will be plenty of course books. So keeping your books organized and in place is a good idea. Bookshelves always look a bit heavy due to the clash of different book covers. You can avoid this clash by arranging your books in accordance with their colors.

Study Lamps

Study lamp is a must in a dorm room but rather than going for a boring study lamp, find a unique and unusual lamp that can bring energy to your study table.

Quilts

We all know students don’t get to sleep much. They are always short on sleep. So whatever number of hours you get to sleep, buy quality quilts to enhance the experience. Also, you can buy some fun and peppy quilts to add oomph to your bed. It’s hard to find such quilts online in Australia but beddingSquare.com.au is a perfect place to get best collection online quilts. Another online store in Australia which sells quilts online in best price and quality is IZZZ.

Motivational Posters/Frames

Student life and motivation go hand in hand. It is the most clichéd way to decorate the dorm but you should get a poster or frame for your dorm as it will help during exams or bad days.

Cushions/Pillows for the floor

Since you want the dorm to be welcoming to your friends, setting up a sitting area on the floor with the help of cushions or pillows seem like a fun idea. You can get different ideas online depending on the available space in your room.

Fancy Alarm Clock

If you are a student, you should never underestimate the power of an alarm clock. You mobile phone can serve as an alarm clock too but the real thing is matchless. Also, a fancy alarm clock adds design personality to the area. You can get a vintage or digital clock for the side table in your room.

Babies Need a Bassinet, Some Bedding, Clothing, a Full Tummy & Love

Please enjoy this guest post today while I am busy packing up my house to put things in storage while we continue our house hunt and work on preparing our home to move! We are moving because our family grew so quickly and they are getting bigger and bigger, so today's post about what babies need is pretty fitting!

Babies need a bassinet, some baby bedding, clothes, a full tummy and love

There is a thing about newborn babies ... their parents think that they are going to have the most wonderful and unique child in the world. Most parents-to-be act as if they are going to welcome the king or the queen of the world.

So, as per this assumption, their prep always goes overboard. Because in their minds they are preparing for the king/queen so everything has to be top notch, there have to be at least two or three backup options, and everything in the market for the baby must be bought and brought to the nursery.

Not to be a downer or a spoiler ... your enthusiasm is absolutely right and your baby is actually the king/queen of the world in your eyes, but make sure your rational self is somewhere breathing in all this baby excitement and hype.

Your best guidance comes from the people around you who have been down the same road of parenting recently. So when they tell you there is no sleeping after the baby, they are absolutely right. Also, you should ask them about their baby equipment shopping experience. 

Too Many Baby Bedding Options

Here’s another funny story: new parents buy a bassinet, a crib and a co-sleeper for their newborn. Three beds for a tiny human being. Although it should be sensible since all babies do is sleep all day, three beds are too much.

Of course, three beds will translate into countless amounts of baby bedding. Even if you have bought the baby bedding online in Australia on discount from mybabystore.com.au, your budget will be exceeded tremendously. One of the other places where you can have a look at baby bedding can be IZZZ, which also contains a good collection of online baby bedding in Australia.

Did you catch the cycle here? You bought three beds and the subsequent expenses increased. So by buying extra, you are increasing your future expenses too.

Too Many Gadgets

Browse any online store for newborn goods or go to any shop for baby stuff and you will be bombarded with plenty of gadgets that will be promising a different and new thing.

There will be bouncers, baby monitors, baby cry detectors, baby’s milk temperature checker, poop advisor, and what not. Everything related to your baby has turned into a marketing gig for many brands out there.

Interestingly, the thing about gadgets for baby is that they are very cute and welcoming; you simply want to buy them at first glance. However, when tempted, call your rational self and ask if your baby will truly need it and make a purchasing decision based on an honest answer.

Too Many Clothes

Your baby will grow quickly. So all the zero-size clothes you have bought for him or her will not be used. They will stay brand new. The simple rule is to buy enough clothes for one or two months and then go shopping again and buy new clothes as the baby grows. Don't forget you will also probably get many new clothes as gifts.

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!