Peanut Butter Cookies with a twist!

Yesterday I came across these cookies on Pinterest.  They are made with a secret ingredient.... no butter, no oil, no eggs and no flour *garbanzo beans!  They were surprisingly good!

I have also (thanks to the Blog world and Pinterest) found the 100 Days of Real Food blog. I have become obsessed with reading her post and have gone back almost two years.  Recently I have been trying to do a better job of watching what we eat - not in fat content, but in wholesome ingredients.  I have a lot to learn!  I was thinking of trying to do 10 days of real food - and the best part - Justin is on board.  This is going to be a challenge.  I  am up for trying all kinds of new things. He, however, is very picky and not a huge fan of wheat flavors, veggies or fruit...hmmm... this is going to take lots of planning and research on my part.
If and when we do this, I will try to document as much as I can!

10 under 10

Saturday morning I tagged along with a few (awesome) girls for a run.  They are training for a marathon and were running 17 miles.  I knew going in I wasn't going to do 17 - I was thinking I would do seven or eight.  Turns out I did 10!!  I could have stopped around seven, but I was feeling good so I kept going.  Once I hit seven, I was determined to make it my longest distance run ever!  Not only did I run 10, I ran each one under 10 minutes :)  I kind of wished I had stayed with them to see if I could have completed 17.
I am pretty sure I am signing up for the Thanksgiving 1/2 marathon in Atlanta.  Hopefully the girls will let me join in on their weekly long runs and I'll be ready in no time!

Flashbacks

Tonight as I was transferring my iPhone pics to our new mac,I was in shock with how quickly I forgot what it was like with twin babies. I sat and watched so many videos from the early months. Claire noticing her hand for the first time, first solids, max and Claire laughing at each other, Claire being a wild woman (that hasn't changed), so many sweet coos, first time crawling and walking! I had tears in my eyes. Those days seemed to never end and now I barely remember them. I think it may have given me baby fever ;)

Moving on.... Today we went to a splash park for the first time. It was so much fun and the best part - free!!






Claire and her boyfriend, Trevor!



Already looking forward to our next visit!

Oh - have to share our dinner. I had made the kids mini pizzas on a sandwich thin and they tasted so good. Justin and I had already planned on having tilapia so I just added the pizza topping to the fish!



I mixed 1.5 tbs low fat cream cheese, 3-4 tbs pizza sauce and a few dashes of oregano then topped with fresh spinach and a little bit of Italian cheese.
It was so good!!

Kelly - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pancake Squares

I love pancakes.  But every time I make them at home, they turn out funny - either too greasy, flat, or just not  what I was expecting.  Always a flop.  So when I found this recipe for pancake squares on Pinterest, I knew I had to try!

I followed the recipe and added a tsp of vanilla.  I tried to stick to the recipe to make sure I didn't mess it up. 

They turned out great and were so tasty.  I put a little bit of butter and maple syrup.  I also tried a piece with honey and it was delicious too!

Now that I know this is a good recipe, I'll try some add ins next time. I am thinking whole wheat flour, chia seeds, cinnamon, and even chocolate chips :)

Just a little tired...

We survived our second "drive through the night" trip.  After 500 plus miles, we are home from Long Beach Island, NJ.  And as usual, had a blast and wished just a few more days!  There are not enough hours in the day to do all the fun things we wanted to do.  We did, however, have lots of fun on the beach, playing cornhole, jumping in rain puddles, 2nd annual family shoot, and even a little flip cup with the adults!

Flip cup.... lots of fun and so many laughs!

Max and Claire know when mommy and daddy stay up late having too much fun....they always decide to wake up as early as possible the next morning!  They didn't sleep past 6am one morning.  At home it's not a big deal, because usually it is just me.... but this week there was a minimum of eight other people in the house.  

Love this! Daddy's girl!

walking down the beach with Grandma!

Max wanted to play cornhole too!

can you tell it was a bit humid?!

We had so much fun doing family pictures last year, we had to do it again!  I love how these turned out!  Now I just have to go through the 100+ that were taken and pick out my favorites to frame!

Love this sweet face!  He looks so BIG in this picture!

The Whole Gang!

There was a pretty big storm on Thursday, leaving lots of puddles on the street.  Max, Claire and their cousin had so much fun splashing around.

Already looking forward to next year's trip!  I am so lucky to have such wonderful in-laws and their extended families!  Many of Justin's cousins have kids around the same age.  Max and Claire were able to meet five little cousins this week!

Let the unpacking begin.. :(

LBI

We are here! We made the long, 10 hour drive. It wasn't as smooth as we had imagined. We started the trip at their bedtime (7:30) thinking they would sleep the whole night. Not so much. They didn't fall asleep until 9, then woke up at 11:30 when we switched drivers. They were awake until almost 2! We finally arrived at 5am and stayed asleep in the car until 5:45 so we wouldn't wake up the rest of the house.

They have had so much fun playing with their cousins! Yesterday we took them to fantasy island. Max was not a huge fan of the rides.

















Kelly - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

No big deal...

Last Saturday (thanks to my Mom  for watching kids and Justin's parents for sending us) we headed to Philly for Justin's Aunt and Uncle's 50th wedding anniversary! We were so excited to have this opportunity!  Justin's family knows how to have a good time and are some BIG dancers!

When we first got there we went and had lunch with one of my sister-in-law's friend then did some shopping.  Besides the heat, I really enjoyed walking around Philly.

look familiar? told you...every time we try to take a picture..

My in-laws.  Love how happy they are!

Sister and Father-in-law "skating" ... always draw a crowd!

Love her!

All the Fredricks dancing :)

I seem to have a lot of these.... mostly at weddings :)

Crazy, but love him!

Now it's time for the Jersey shore!!  We've been looking forward to this trip all summer.  While cleaning the car, we decided it would be a good time to turn the car seats around.  I have been nervous to do so, but Max is huge and not a good traveler... I went to a consignment today to buy some new dvds for the trip.  Hopefully with seat change, dvds and night driving we will have a smooth, 10 hr drive!