Happy Monday!

The weather here in Memphis finally turned around and decided to let the sunshine come out.  The last several weekends have been full of rain and clouds.  It sprinkled a little on Saturday but Sunday was 70 and sunny and the perfect day to be out and about.

On Saturday, Ryan and I both got haircuts.  This isn't Ryan's first, he actually got his first haircut in January but a little Joe Dirt mullet started growing back so it was time for him to hit the salon with me.  He has been absolutely the best when he has gotten his hair cut.  I hear horror stories all the time about kids being terrified but all we do is plop a cup of puffs, yogurt bites, or cheerios in front of him and you could literally do anything to the kid's head.  But man does he look so cute afterwards.

Fresh cut

We then spent the rest of our Saturday cleaning the house a little and reading a few books.  I have been reading books to Ryan in the evenings since he was born but it has only been very recent, that Ryan has actually let me finish reading a whole book without taking it from me and throwing it.  Now, he actually brings me books or tries to read them himself.  Persistence pays off folks!

He was so proud of himself!

Sunday, we went to church and ran some grocery errands at Costco right afterwards.  Then got home in time for lunch and Ryan's nap but he decided he did not want one.  So, the afternoon was spent at the park to wear him out some more and enjoy some sun.  He loves being outside which makes me really excited for all of our outside adventures to come!  By the evening, Ryan had the worst little 'tude since he didn't get his nap, but went down quick.  However, due to teething, he decided to get up screaming 5 times last night so this momma had zero sleep.  I may have already had several cups of coffee this morning to rev my engines.  I felt so bad for him though.  When I dropped him off at daycare this morning, he was still so sleepy from his rough night.  It's moments like that where I wish I could just cuddle at home in my pj's with him all day in bed.  Nothing beats a baby snuggle or a baby giving you his kisses.

Still trying to teach him to pucker up.  He likes giving slobber kisses instead.

And that was it!  The weekend flew and now its back to work. We did find out that Ryan will have his baby dedication at church on April 18th and I am so excited.  It is very important to me that Ryan grows up in church like Russell and I both did.  We really enjoy our church family at Living Hope and look forward to Ryan growing in his faith.  We do nightly prayers with him and I look forward to when Ryan can join in with us and say his little toddler prayers.

I hope everyone has a great week!

XOXO, 

Sherri

Dessert for Breakfast? My love for Cookie Dough Overnight Oats

With Russell on the road traveling during the week, life is hectic!  Juggling getting myself and Ryan up and ready for daycare and work leaves me little time to make a wholesome breakfast for myself.  Lets be real, I am one who MUST GET 7-8 hours of sleep every single night to function semi-normally, so me getting up very early to make a great breakfast just ain't happening.

Daycare provides breakfast for Ryan, so that helps me a ton, but what about myself?  A couple months ago, I stumbled upon a recipe for overnight oats that has changed my life!  Overnight oats calls for making your breakfast the night before and letting it set in the refrigerator.  Now I know what you are thinking... cold oatmeal?  I am definitely a lover of a warm bowl of oatmeal so the idea of cold oatmeal was something for me to get used to.  BUT, when I stumbled across the recipe for Cookie Dough Overnight Oats from Sara @ Fresh Fit N Healthy, I decided to give it a go and it did not disappoint.  

The ingredients are simple, and you add protein powder to it as well, so this really does fill you up.  Best news of all is that it tastes soooo close to real cookie dough so it's like eating dessert for breakfast!  (The inner kid in me is jumping for joy.)  The recipe is actually enough to make 2 bowls of it and it keeps great in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, so you can just take 5 minutes of your evening to make 2 days worth of breakfast = SCORE!

I changed the recipe just slightly from the original in this post, but here you go:

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Overnight Oats

by Sherri Schwartz

Prep Time: 5min

Cook Time: 3hr

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Ingredients (2 servings)

• 1c. of oatmeal (I use the Quaker Oats Old Fashion Oatmeal)
• 1c. Almond milk (You can use any milk, but switching to almond milk lowers the fat and calorie content. I use Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk)
• 1tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1 banana mashed (I use my ninja food processor to make it nice and smooth, but a fork mashing would do just fine)
• 2 scoops of vanilla protein powder (I use True Athlete's Natural Whey Protein)
• a dash of salt

Instructions

After mashing your banana, combine all ingredients and split into 2 containers. Let it sit overnight before eating. This will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. If you want to have some in the evening (because it tastes that yummy) just make sure it is in the fridge at least 3 hours before eating. Letting it sit thickens it up and enhances the flavor.

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Since my discovery of this recipe, I have literally had this for breakfast every day since I stumbled on it.  It takes 5 minutes to make the night before and its the perfect grab-n-go to eat at work at my desk.  (Or scarf down before you head out the door.)

Hope you enjoy!

XOXO, 

Sherri