Recent Reads

Linking up today with Steph and Jana to talk about some of the books I’ve read lately. I hit my mid-year Goodreads goal of 100 books on July 2, so I am super excited about that! Half of them have been fluffier easy reads, but I have enjoyed reading so many books this year and having people to chat about them with. I think I might need to dial it back a bit this summer but I don’t mind!!

I am not sharing all the books I read here anymore, but I do post about them on Goodreads 🙂 I read a random assortment of books this month and none of them are over the top recommendations, but you might find something that interests you here 🙂

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I started this once and ended up putting it down because I wasn’t in a YA mood. The second time I picked it up, I loved it. Can’t wait for the movie and now I need to get to the others in the series. It is VERY YA but very sweet and the family dynamics are adorable.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was on the fence about whether I liked this book the entire time I was listening to it. It was SO sad and disheartening in a lot of ways. It was hard to read. It was well written and intense, but it was SO hard to read at times. I can see in some ways how it would be worth the read, and maybe I read it at the wrong time or something but it felt extremely heavy to me. It did make me think a bit about parenting though…

Kiss of the Spindle by Nancy Campbell Allen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Absolutely loved this…I think I possibly loved it more than Beauty and the Clockwork Beast which I also really enjoyed. The characters in this Sleeping Beauty steampunk retelling were SO likable and fun and highly readable. Sleeping Beauty is not my favourite fairytale and I still absolutely adored this retelling. I highly recommend if you like proper romance or steampunk but it is a bit of an acquired taste, maybe. 🙂 Thank you to Edelweiss & Shadow Mountain Publishing for the advanced readers copy of this lovely book.

The Girl in Times Square by Paullina Simons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was on my TBR for AGES because Kristen had rated it 5 stars almost 10 years ago. haha. I was super intrigued by her rating and figured this book would be really good. It was really good and it certainly held my interest throughout. My only complaint was that it was INSANELY long and it felt like I just wanted to figure out what was going on. It didn’t feel long while I was reading it, but I just wanted to get to the end. So I guess it was a bit of a practice in delayed gratification? haha. I guess I want my thrillery-what’s-going-on-here books to be more around 300 pages, but that’s my problem. 🙂 Really enjoyed a few of the characters in this book, despised others, but overall I am really glad I finally had the chance to read it.

Sting by Sandra Brown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was my first Sandra Brown book (shocking, I know!) but she is very familiar to me because my mom has probably read almost all of her books. I like this genre in the summertime – romantic suspense, I guess? This book was good, but not my favourite. I will definitely pick up a few of her others though. I didn’t see a few of the twists coming.

Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies about Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be by Rachel Hollis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked the format of this book and it is definitely one of the more motivating I’ve read in this genre. Her story is definitely inspiring and I like that she wrote this book from a place of vulnerability. I don’t always have the attention span for these self-help motivational books despite loving the concept behind them, but this one really held my interest (and it was relatively short and to the point, which was a huge bonus).

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is getting a ton of hype this summer for good reason! I really loved this one – super fun characters, great pace, great chemistry – loved Stella and her personality and her interesting job. Michael was great too as the male lead – very different from others I’ve read lately, so that was quite refreshing. I listened to this and I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more in print but I *couldn’t* wait that long to get it from the library!! I will absolutely be buying this sometime.

A few romances I enjoyed this month:

Grin & Beard it and Beard Science by Penny Reid for the Reid-Alongs in anticipation of the next Winston Brothers book coming out in July!
Blush for Me & The Beauty of Us by Kristen Proby
One & Only and It Takes Two by Jenny Holiday (thank you, Netgalley! FUN Canadian author alert!!!)

I need to expand my horizons a bit and I also want to get back into audiobooks – I let that slide a bit this month but I am antsy for a good one!!! Any recommendations? 😉

CURRENTLY READING: All Your Perfects (my first Colleen Hoover book), and I need to start something else today… probably One of us is Lying because it is due back to the library soon!

14 Things on our family’s summer bucket list

Today is FRI-YAY!!! I need to catch up on reading and posting blog comments this weekend. I also need to catch up on vacuuming and laundry etc. Haha. I intended to post this last week, but I grossly underestimated how busy I’d be “momming” on the last day of school and didn’t quite get this post finished! oops! Here it is today…a few goals and plans we have as a family this summer!!

1) Go to 3 new-to-us beaches – we are surrounded by beaches in our beautiful province. We normally go to one or two that are closest to us – and while there’s nothing wrong with this (it’s still the beach and STILL awesome), I want to take the time to try out a few new ones too.

2) Go on some family bike rides – this might not happen until Molly gets a bit better on her two wheels, but hopefully by September!

3) See The Incredibles 2 or another family movie – Lucy’s never been to a movie theatre so this seems like a perfect rainy day activity for us.

4) Read 5 chapter books aloud – We have plans to read The Trumpet of the Swan since we loved Charlotte’s Web so much, and I’m also working my way through the Magic Treehouse books with Lucy now (Molly loved these a couple of years ago and still enjoys reading them herself). I want to try The Penderwicks too.

5) Try out 2 new board games – we are finally getting to the point where we can play games as a family and I think we need to do it more often so that our girls can learn how to lose gracefully (this will not be easy since both of their parents still struggle with this skill…lol).

6) Instill some more independence in my children – aka I don’t need to always get them their own glass of water and they are for sure old enough to put dishes in the dishwasher…etc.

7) Take a photo a day – of something!!!

8) Learn to play the piano – Molly is starting lessons in the fall but I want to work on piano with her before that too.

9) Visit this fun train in Windsor: It’s described as a 1/8-scale railroad, almost 1 km long. Super fun, I think!

10) Learn more about Anne of Green Gables in PEI – I’m so excited to go back to PEI with the girls and we have a lot of fun plans while we’re there, including visiting Green Gables house and seeing the Anne and Gilbert musical in Charlottetown PEI this summer (I am SO excited for this).

11) Enjoy some special playdates with good friends. We have several families that we love playing with, and I really want to have some adventures with them this summer

12) Enjoy some time at the splash pads nearby – there are a few we haven’t been to yet and I can’t wait to hit these up with the kids, maybe even with their friends too!

13) Spend a great day at Upper Clements Park 🙂 We haven’t been there since 2016!

14) Get better at swimming!! Swimming is something I am really good at because I did it competitively for 6 years as a teenager. One of my children, on the other hand, is still extremely scared of the water. We live by the ocean, so it’s important to me that my kids know how to swim well. They don’t have to love it all the time or pursue it, but they need to know how to swim. 🙂

Our girls are at an incredible stage of life right now and I already have a feeling that this summer is going to be equal parts exhausting and wonderful!!! 🙂

14 Summer Goals/2018 Summer Bucket List

Happy SUMMER!! We had a glorious first day of summer yesterday, and today is just as gorgeous. Life is SO busy these days – summer brings soccer, socializing, and time outside. I *love* it in some ways, but there are definitely less moments just sitting around and relaxing, lol.

This is my first summer working part-time, and I can’t wait! Our girls will be home with me 2 days a week plus weekends (with Brian too of course). I’m a bit nervous because they sometimes start bickering when they have so much extra time together, but I’m also going to keep us busy and I can’t wait to adventure around the city and province this summer and really enjoy my time with them to the fullest. So my 14 Things Friday for today includes a list of a few goals/plans for the summer for me personally. I’ll share our family’s “bucket list” next week hopefully!!!

1) Stick to an exercise routine: running, biking, and yoga.

2) Read 5 “older” books. Almost everything I’ve read this year was published in 2018 or 2017. I can’t NOT be reading what everyone is talking about, guys!

3) Blog twice a week.

4) Slow down and appreciate the extra time I will be spending with my children this summer

5) DECLUTTER, especially in our basement

6) Continue learning French (duolingo)

7) Create a streamlined list/packing plan for camping

8) Enjoy more live music – I never, ever regret this when I make time for it.

9) Spend extra time with my adorable niece – because we love her so much!!!

10) Write 5 letters or send out 5 small packages to friends – just for fun!

11) Get to bed earlier

12) Work on Brian’s 3D printing business – he wants to start selling more of his fun items 🙂

13) Try 5 new recipes

14) Say yes more often – to friends, to the kids, to whomever – if there’s no real reason to say no, I want to be able to say yes we can go to the playground, yes we can meet for a BBQ…etc.

Any fun plans for the summer? Or the weekend? We have a busy weekend coming up, but it will be fun too! Next weekend is Canada Day, already!!! yay!!

14 of MY Must-read Authors

Happy Friday!!! This week has been a bit busier than usual, but it’s been full of incredible activities that have been good for the soul, so I can’t complain. I got over my cold and got some good rest this week too. We had our first SUPER summery day followed immediately by a day that required me to wear my winter coat…so that’s Canada for ya 😉

Today we’re off to visit with some of our close friends visiting from Ontario and I can’t wait to see them. I decided to share 14 authors whose books I will always pick up – meaning if they publish something new, I am on it. I haven’t necessarily read every book by these authors yet, but I’m sure I will someday for most of them. I think every reader has an auto-buy author out there – who’s yours?

1) J.K. Rowling – Of course, Harry Potter everything, but I also liked A Casual Vacancy more than I expected to. And she is writing a new children’s book (Best news ever!!!!) I enjoyed the first Cormoran Strike book that she wrote as Robert Gailbraith but haven’t read the rest of the series yet. (More crime/PI/nothing like HP but well written). She is awesome on Twitter and I love that she uses her fame for good.

2) Louise Penny – if you’ve read any other posts on this blog, you probably know that she is one of my favourites and I will follow Gamache to the end of the world. Next in the series comes out in November and all my limbs are crossed that Netgalley gives it to me sooner because it has been a year since I’ve been in Three Pines. (These books get really good around Book 4 – A Rule Against Murder). She was amazing to meet in person and she sends out a nicely personal newsletter every month, which I love.

3) Taylor Jenkins Reid – I’ve loved everything she has written. My least favourite was Forever Interrupted and my favourite is either One True Loves or After I Do.

4) Fredrik Backman – he’s not for everyone, but man I love his writing so much. Beartown and Us Against You are my favourites but I also loved A Man Called Ove on audio. I still have to read Britt-Marie was Here and then I’ll be caught up with him.

5) Katherine Center – I bought 5 copies of Happiness for Beginners and gave 3 of them away. I kept on and I have plans for the last copy. I love this book so much. I also really enjoyed How to Walk Away, her newest book, and The Lost Husband. I need to get at her backlist sometime. Here’s an Instagram post I shared last year in which I attempt to replicate the cover of The Lost Husband:

When I first saw the cover for #thelosthusband by @katherinecenter, I really wanted to create a picture like the cover! Since we started gardening this weekend, Molly (aged 5 3/4) took this photo for me. #prettybooks #bookcover #katherinecenter #goodbooks swipe right to see the actual cover.

A post shared by Heather Hines (@heathershurrah) on May 29, 2017 at 1:52pm PDT

6) Rainbow Rowell – I had kind of forgotten about her but I re-read Attachments earlier this year and remembered that I love her books. Except Landline – I didn’t love that one.

7) Dan Brown – say what you will about him, but I love the Robert Langdon books. The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.

8) Julianne Donaldson – I wish she would write another book because Edenbrooke is unparalleled in historical proper romance, in my humble opinion.

9) Sally Thorne – The Hating Game is so funny, so readable, and SO good. I can’t wait for her next book early next year. She also has an awesome facebook page that she is really active in and I love her as a person.

10) Helen Hoang – The follow up to The Kiss Quotient comes out next year and I’m sure it will be wonderful.

11) Liane Moriarty – I’m dying to read her new book that comes out in November. I have enjoyed her books immensely and I still have 3 left to read. Big Little Lies in particular is a reading experience I will never forget (SO intense) but What Alice Forgot is probably my favourite of hers.

12) Andy Weir – The Martian will probably always be my favourite by him, no matter what else he writes, but I still liked Artemis and these books are a bit outside my comfort zone so I like that about them.

13) Gretchen Rubin – she just has such interesting ideas on habits and life and I love analyzing people’s personalities and figuring out why some things come easier to some people than others.

14) Mariana Zapata – I hope she has a new book coming out sometime soon because it feels like a million years ago that I read Lukov (it was in February, lol).

Recent Reads – SUYB June 2018

Linking up with Steph and Jana today for Show us Your Books June!! I’m going to try my best to reply to comments via e-mail despite blogger still not EMAILING ME any comments.

Here are some of the books I read in the past month since the last link up. I didn’t share every book here – you can check out my Goodreads for everything I read 🙂

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Despite hearing from several trusted bookish friends that this book was incredible, I put off picking it up for quite awhile because it just didn’t sound like my kind of book. I think I actually finally picked it up at EXACTLY the right time though because it held my attention the whole time and I absolutely loved this story.

Cyril’s character was so wonderful. The story of his life was at times heartbreaking to read but there was also so much happiness at times too. Overall, this was such an interesting look at a setting and time period I was completely unaware of, and I appreciated that so much for what it was. One other thing I loved SO much about this book was the way it was written. Often times, an entire chapter would start right in the middle of a different part of Cyril’s life and you could kind of guess or figure out how he got there until it was made obvious. That element was SO much fun as a reader.

This story was highly readable and although it *is* long, I was quite consumed by it, which isn’t always the case with this type of story. There are parts of it that are a bit racy/overly descriptive and a fair amount of swearing/talk about sex but it is all in the frame of a character trying to figure out his sexuality and what to do about it in a country where homosexuality is not accepted.

Send Down the Rain by Charles Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book absolutely took me awhile to get into, but at about 30% I was all in and finished the remainder of the book in a day. I think it was because it was a bit unclear at the beginning what (and who) the story was actually about. So if you’re a bit lost at the beginning, forge ahead!!! For some reason (probably the setting and the back-and-forth of the past and present) this book reminded me a tiny bit of Beach Music though it is not nearly the same epic as that one was. Still, the ending of this was superb and the whole storyline was unlike anything I’ve read lately so I really, really liked it. This will certainly not be my last book by this author. Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas-Nelson publishing for the complimentary advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

How Hard Can It Be? by Allison Pearson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It took me way too long to finish this book, but once I really got into it, I really, really liked it. I haven’t read the first Kate Reddy book but this one was hilarious and the parenting/relationship issues were spot-on and very funny. I’m sure this might have been even more funny if you were closer in age to Kate, but I still really related to her dilemmas. I had a bit of a feeling that one of the major plot points was coming, but it didn’t matter in the least because there were a few big surprises and the ending was quite heartwarming. Definitely appreciated the British setting and phrases too 🙂 This would make a great summer read if you like contemporary family type fiction. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me an ARC of this funny book.

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really loved this one – super fun characters, great pace, great chemistry – loved Stella and her personality and her interesting job. Michael was great too as the male lead – very different from others I’ve read lately, so that was quite refreshing. I listened to this and I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more in print but I *couldn’t* wait that long to get it from the library!! I will absolutely be buying this sometime.

A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved the characters and the set up of this novel. It was just so fun and different! Such a unique fictional cultural component. I figured a few things out ahead of time while reading this but it didn’t take away from the plot points. Highly recommend this one if you are looking for a bit of a departure from the usual royal romance reads.

The Thing About Love by Julie James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, this was a super enjoyable way to pass an evening. I had forgotten how much I loved FBI fiction. 🙂 This had been on my radar for awhile and a friend mentioned it last week which gave me the nudge to read it immediately. These characters were so much fun – and I really liked their undercover project too. My favourite read from her so far.

You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Although this book was inspiring at times, there were parts that I totally didn’t agree with. I listened to it and I’m grateful to have the kindle version too so that I can see some of her lists in print.

If you’re looking for a bit of extra motivation to change your life in some small way, this one is a good one to pick up. Just don’t paraphrase parts of it to your husband unless you want him to DREAM BIG and start talking about quitting his day job to follow his dreams. 😉

Listen to Me and Close to You by Kristen Proby
My rating: 3-4 of 5 stars

This might even be 4 stars based on enjoyment. These characters were adorable. I liked the second one a bit better than the first in the series even though both were fun and I will probably continue with it because my library has them all 🙂 Kristen, you will probably like this series!! (and the author’s name! haha) Total fluffy enjoyment perfect for the beach or pool or a random weekend night.

The Start of Something Good by Jennifer Probst
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This passed the time (literally one evening in one sitting) just fine but a friend asked me about it several weeks after I read it and I barely remembered it – so there’s that. It wasn’t bad, but I’ve liked a couple of her other books better.Thank you to Netgalley and Montlake Romance for the ARC of this novel. All opinions expressed here are my own.

The List by Patricia Forde
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This had been on my Netgalley shelf (thank you, Netgalley and Sourcebooks Jabberwocky for the ARC!) for WAY too long (like over a year?!) so when I saw it on audio on Hoopla, I downloaded it immediately. This wasn’t my favourite for this genre but it was definitely a unique concept and I appreciated that about it. It’s about a society in which words are limited to only 500 and Letta is a wordsmith who is responsible for sharing those words with people. It was an easy read and had some interesting ideas, but it fell a bit flat for me overall. Most of all, I am just super in love with the cover…isn’t it gorgeous?

And…the best reading experience I had in the last month was this one with my daughters (All the tears! All the emotion! What an amazing story!!!)

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Reading this with my children was such a joy, tears at the end and all. I had forgotten what an amazing book this is. Charlotte’s friendship is something that I wish to strive for in my own life. A few favourite quotes:

“Why did you do all this for me?’ he asked. ‘I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.’ ‘You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die. A spider’s life can’t help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.”
― E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web

“It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.”

I also re-read The Royal We this month after watching the royal wedding and THAT WAS LOTS OF FUN!!! :):)

Currently reading: Spin the Golden Light Bulb and Everything I Never Told You <— finding this one a little bit heavy but still good so far.

By the way, I can’t stop talking about how incredible Us Against You is and it came out last week, so if you’ve already read Beartown and enjoyed that, you should definitely consider picking this one up. If you haven’t read Beartown yet, what are you waiting for? 😉 (I know we all have different tastes but these are books I *cannot* stop recommending).

14 Things I’d Like to Do Someday

I have the WORST cold ever the past few days, so this list is a bit more of a smorgasbord than I expected it to be, but all of these things are VERY true and on my list of dreams somewhere!!! Some of them are definitely very achievable and others – maybe someday!!! Here are 14 Things I’d Like to do Someday for Fourteen Things Friday.

I am also having a lot of issues with comments on the blog lately but hoping to work through that this weekend. Is anyone else struggling with this?!

1) Visit New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, Scotland, and Ireland. <– these are the biggest places on my list of places I’m dying to visit

2) Go on a belated honeymoon for our 10 year anniversary – we never really went on a “real honeymoon” because we already had Molly so we are setting our sights on hopefully doing something in 2022!

3) Visit Harry Potter world in Florida / / See The Cursed Child in London or NYC !!!!

4) Have a job (maybe even part time) that relates more to my love of reading – maybe even just volunteering a lot at a library 😉

5) Complete a sprint triathlon – I think this is totally more doable for me than a half or full marathon…I just don’t like running that much!

6) Join a Master’s swim club – I can see this happening sometime in the next 10 years or so – the closest one to us isn’t super close but I’d like to get back into competitive swimming.

7) Take a yoga course (not YTT but something more condensed) – someday!

8) Do a long-term French immersion program – I mean a month or so in a French community. This will surely not happen until my children are grown.

9) Play the fiddle more in public – I used to do this all the time at sessions and it has fallen by the wayside. I’d also like to play in a wind ensemble/orchestra or join a choir again someday – not sure when!

10) Write a book (possibly a children’s book – TBD) I have afew plans for this but none of them are anywhere near fruition.

11) Learn how to skate, snowshoe, or ski better. We live in Canada, come on!!! I need to embrace winter sports a bit more.

12) Spend a week at Celtic Colours – this is a huge music festival in Cape Breton in October and some year I just need to book the week off and spend it down there with kindred spirits

13) Meet a favourite author – anyone will do! I’ve already met Louise Penny but I would love to meet J.K. Rowling or someone else!

14) Grow old with this guy: (Happy 6th anniversary, Brian!! [tomorrow])

We are celebrating by going out for supper if I’m feeling better!! XOXOX

Have a great weekend everyone!! See you back here for SUYB on Tuesday June 12!

14 Things I Might Never Do

Happy Friday!!!

This has been a busy week with sooo many thoughts swirling around in my head. The long weekend was magnificent and left a lot of time for relaxation with the family, visiting with friends and extended family, and getting things done around the house indoors and outdoors. I also saw I Feel Pretty (so many thoughts on that), got completely addicted to all things ROYAL WEDDING, and listened to the majority of You are a Badass (some food for thought in that one!). I’m really starting to embrace the lovely weather and soak into the summer pace of life around here.

The funny thing about life is that you can’t predict the future. However, I know myself pretty well and today I’m sharing 14 things I *might* never do. Some of these are uncertain still (the dog in particular) but I’m confident that for the next little bit, these are things I’m not interested in:

14 Things I Might Never do:

1) Skydive – I have absolutely zero interest in ever doing this. Kudos to those who do, though!

2) Bungee jump – Same as the first one – looks kind of cool but no thanks!

3) Go on the gravitron or the zipper or another super spinny ride – I have been sick to my stomach twice on this ride (that’s right – I didn’t learn the first time ;)) My tolerance for amusement park rides has gone WAY down in my thirties than in my teens. Imagine that 😉

4) Move out of Nova Scotia – This one could happen, I have no idea what the future holds but I highly doubt we will ever move out of Canada permanently.

5) Own a dog – We had always talked about owning a dog, and it is still on the table but I’m not feeling the pull yet. I LOVE dogs, but I’m just not sure if we are ready for all of the responsibility yet (and may never be). We are allergic to cats so that one will likely always be off the table, unfortunately. IF and when we do ever decide to get a dog, I really want a hypoallergenic one 🙂

6) Run a marathon- I might work up to a half marathon someday, but I just don’t know if I have the desire to run for longer than a couple of hours at a time.

7) Go to a NFL game – maybe this will happen someday but we aren’t big fans of any of the teams so I don’t think it’s super likely. I’d rather go to a baseball or hockey game any day 🙂

8) Have another baby – Anything can happen but we are pretty decided on sticking to being a family of 4 🙂

9) Get my PhD – When I finished my Master’s degree tons of people inquired about this and while I may further my education someday, I don’t see myself ever going this route (WAY too much research and schooling for me ;))

10) Read War & Peace – my grandfather once told me that this was the best book ever read. I was a teenager and I tried 5 times to get started with this book before finally telling him that I just couldn’t do it (years later). He replied that he had never read it either. HAHA. I do, however, want to give Anna Karenina a shot on audio!

11) Eat Brian’s hot peppers – Brian grows some of the hottest peppers in the world. I can barely tolerate jalapeños so these are a no-go for me.

12) Be a bridesmaid again – Almost everyone I know is married, but I really enjoyed being the matron of honour for my sister!!!

13) Go waterskiing – I can think of a lot more fun things to do in the water

14) Get a tattoo – I am a bit too indecisive for this although I have nothing against them in general.

What are some things you might never do?!

Next week I am hoping to share 14 things I WANT to do someday! It’s a bit more fun!! 😉 Happy weekend everyone!!!

14 Things that Help me to be a Better Mom

TGIF!!! Holy smokes, this week got the better of me. No idea what was going on but I was exhausted, on the verge of tears sometimes, grumpy, and distracted. Heading into the long weekend with a more positive outlook after a great night of sleep last night 🙂 Thank goodness!! Weird feelings. Happy May Long weekend!!

In belated honour of mother’s day last week, I wanted to share 14 things today that help me to be a better mom. These are personal and they are just things that work for me. But who knows – whether you’re a parent or not, something here might resonate with you too 🙂 Being a mother is just one part of my life, but sometimes it can feel very all-consuming so I was happy to take the chance to reflect on it here.

1) Working part-time – I’m not cut out to be a stay at home mom, I don’t think. NOT that there is anything wrong with that choice. I also found life to be very overwhelming with babies and working full-time. So when my current position became available at 60%, this was really the best of both worlds for our family. My husband’s job is often extremely stressful so this works for us. I won’t work part-time forever, and I know not everyone is lucky enough to be able to do this even if they wanted to, so I try not to take it for granted.

2) Wine – every once in awhile. Especially helped relax with a newborn from time to time 🙂

3) Coffee – 2 a day at exact intervals. ❤

4) Sleep – for me and for the kids. We have strict bedtime routines for our kids and I try to get 7 1/2 hours per night if I can – it makes SUCH a big difference in our energy levels and mood.

5) Yoga – once a week at a formal class which is incredible, but a couple of nights a week on my own. Even just taking the time to take deep breaths when I am frustrated really helps.

6) Simply on Purpose on FB and Instagram – I love her and her parenting advice. Truly inspring.

7) Screen time limits – again, this one isn’t for everyone and I respect that, but our girls know that they only get maximum three shows on Netflix per day or a movie on a weekend, and that means that they are not constantly bugging me to watch something all day long if they have already had that time. It is usually in the afternoon and much less on weekdays when we have limited time together as a family. It works for us so far (I’m not naïve enough to assume this will always be the case ;)). We also have designated times when my husband and I are not with our phones – aka at the dinner table, for instance.

8) 3 in 30 Takeaways for Moms podcast – I just started listening to this a few weeks ago and I am obsessed. Each episodes is approximately 30 mins long and gives you three immediate take aways to implement with your parenting, if you choose to do so. Amazing guests and discussions.

9) Having mom friends – I recently made an amazing mom friend. I am so happy to have this person in my life because she has girls who are similar ages to my own and they all play well together. We have similar parenting ideas and values. It is amazing. A lot of my friends are mothers now and I love having people that can relate to it. That being said – any friend is a great friend – being a mom isn’t a requirement!!!

10) Quality time with my husband and with each child – This is 2/3 of my family members’ love language (my husband and my oldest daughter). My youngest daughter’s is probably physical affection – she is soooo cuddly 😉

11) Saying yes if I can – Cup of Jo posted about this recently and I found myself nodding along. Why not say yes if there’s no harm in doing so? There are so many “no” moments but I’d like to add some yes moments every day whenever I can.

12) Exercise and fresh air – the cure for everything, sometimes.

13) Different meals – lots of people out there disagree with this, but for us, what works right now is having slightly different meals than the kids. We like sauce! And spicy things! The kids don’t. We eat low carb mostly – the kids do not. For suppers, I make a plain-ish meat, a side for us, and a side for the kids. (EASY sides). Then some vegetables that are either raw chopped veggies for the kids or frozen veggies. It’s a bit more time consuming but it keeps us all healthy, so it works?!

14) Music & dance parties – as often and as silly as possible. Music really makes everything better. Everyone grumpy one morning? Hard to be grumpy when you are listening to Disney songs! Just my humble opinion 😉

Recent Reads (SUYB May!)

This past month of reading was good, but also weird. For awhile, I had about 5 books on the go and still wanted to pick up another one. Haha. It was a good mix of fluffier enjoyable chick lit books and some more serious DEFINITELY amazing books. There were a few duds and a DNF too. Linking up with the wonderful Steph and Jana to chat books for the show us your books link up today!!!

BOOKS I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND depending on your tastes

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 6 of 5 stars

I actually raved about this book in my post yesterday – long story short – Beartown and this book are absolutely worth anyone’s time in my humble opinion.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the advanced review copy of this book. It exceeded my expectations which were already remarkably high and I can’t wait for the third in this trilogy.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The audiobook version of this was very well done -I enjoyed it immensely although it did take me a little while to get into it, which is often the case with these types of books. I will admit that this book wasn’t really what I was expecting it to be – but it was definitely thought provoking and I felt torn at times about what I wanted for the characters. The characters absolutely made this story though…as the reader, you get to know the characters so well through their letters while Roy is in prison, and their parents both play important roles in the story as well. This deeply moving book will stay with me throughout the year.

Down a Dark Road by Linda Castillo
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I’ve read book 1 and now book 9 in this series and I need to read all the ones in between. Kate Burkholder is a wonderful character and the Amish setting makes these books extremely interesting. This particular mystery was emotional and intense. Although I do recommend this book, it’s probably better to read the series in order if you can get your hands on them.

Thank you to Minotaur and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It took me awhile to get into this book because it had been almost a year since I’d read the second one, but then I started it on audio after awhile and I was ALL IN. Switched between audio & print and really enjoyed that. This world is so complicated but so fascinating and I love these characters. Great conclusion to a fantasy series. I’m not always this invested in fantasy books – they are hit or miss for me, but this trilogy was so well done.

(Also – some extremely sad moments in this book :()

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another audiobook that was VERY well done. I enjoyed the full-cast performance immensely. The story itself was also very good and I liked it a lot. Katsa and Po were great characters, and the whole Graceling realm is very interesting. I felt like a few things were a bit easier than they should have been for them, but I know it’s supposed to be that way because of Katsa’s grace. I will for sure pick up the others in this series at some point.

This is a very approachable fantasy book too – maybe because I was listening to it? The world didn’t feel quite as complicated as some of the other fantasy I’ve read.

Roomies by Christina Lauren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was super fun to read (in less than a day :D) and made me laugh out loud a bunch of times. Of course, parts of it were absolutely predictable and also pretty far-fetched but it was cute and fun. I love the whole NYC setting, particularly the Broadway part because that is one of my favourite parts of the city. I also have a bit of a thing for Ireland so the Irish character was so great.

Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh it was so good to be back with Mariana Zapata’s words on the page. I had purchased this ebook last fall after loving a few of her other books and then when I read From Lukov with Love, a friend pointed out that Ruby in that book already had her own book which is this one. I really liked Ruby in Lukov and she was wonderful in this book too. She was upfront, and a bit innocent but brave, so friendly, and so well-meaning. Aaron was great too. I felt a bit nostalgic reading this book because I used to love those days (high school/university age for me) of getting to know someone via e-mails and instant messaging (my own husband and I met online and it was so fun to read about a couple that got to know each other via 21st century letters :)). The ending came a bit too quickly for me, but fortunately Mariana Zapata excels at epilogues 🙂

PS – it was fun to read about Ruby’s family from her perspective after getting to know them so well in Lukov.

Dating-ish by Penny Reid
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Marie is such a strong character and I was excited to read her story. I was also happy to revisit Matt from down the hall after reading Fiona and Greg’s book. The entire premise of this book was just too much fun – the story Marie was working on and how Matt fit into that story, and the way they got to know each other…it was really fun to read. Of course, it was also fun to see this story converge with the one before it near the end and to read about all of that from a different character’s perspective – I love how Penny Reid does that.

Also LOVED all the HP references in this book 🙂

Marriage of Inconvenience by Penny Reid
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Definitely one of my favourites of the series. Although I love the romance in these novels (all of them were different but awesome), I also really REALLY enjoy the female friendship aspect as well. This final book in the series felt like a LONG TIME COMING for Dan & Kat and the book definitely did their relationship justice!!
Things I loved:
1) Fun idea for a marriage of convenience
2) Dan the Security man (in general) + Dan’s family
3) The epilogue OF COURSE

Bottom line: if you like contemporary romance and you have not read this series, now would be a good time. Start at the beginning though!!!

Arrogant Devil by R.S. Grey
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I really, really liked Meredith and her hilarious self-talk and I loved the setting and the secondary characters in this book. Jack was great and their dynamic was also quite funny. I think I just had too high of expectations for it, maybe. I expected a bit more drama with Andrew and/or Helen. Overall though, this book made me smile and I really really liked it. Her books are always enjoyable reads in my opinion and this one passed the time nicely.

Thank you to R.S. Grey for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It is available May 10 but it’s available for pre-order as of yesterday for 0.99!

BOOKS THAT WERE ENJOYABLE

The Gamble by Kristen Ashley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is super highly rated on Goodreads and Amazon and Kristen Ashley is hugely popular. I liked this, but I didn’t love it. I found it a little bit too over the top (I don’t really love insta-love) and it was insanely long (or it felt that way). That being said, the characters were still adorable, the setting was so well described and sounded beautiful, and the supporting characters were overall hilarious so I liked all of that. I might continue with the series down the road but I’m not in a huge rush.

Bad Bachelor by Stefanie London
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a cute book with fun characters but it lacked a little something – I’m not sure what. I liked the idea of the app in the book and the library fundraiser and all of that was great. I think I just needed a bit more. Will try out some of her other books for sure though. This one is on Hoopla if you are wanting to give it a try! 🙂

It’s All About the Duke by Amelia Grey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked this historical romance and particularly enjoyed Marlena’s character. Aspects of this certainly reminded me of Lady Whistledown in the Bridgerton series, so that was kind of fun and I chuckle a bit at the ways in which women entertained themselves back in that time period. The banter and fun between the two main characters was fun to read and of course the ending was what I had hoped for 🙂

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of this read in exchange for an honest review.

DON’T BOTHER

Can’t Fight the Feeling by Sandy James

Nope – I guess I only like *some* new adult books.

Part 2: CHILDREN’S BOOKS WE HAVE LOVED LATELY
I’ve shared a few children’s books in the past in this link up but it’s been awhile. We are a huge reading household so my girls usually have a chapter book on the go that I’m reading to them, and dozens of picture books around. Here are a few favourites lately:

Red Is Best by Kathy Stinson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of my daughter’s favourite books because she is a preschooler and her favourite colour is red. The writing is very cute and makes us all smile.

Chester’s Back! by Mélanie Watt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

These Chester books are absolutely hilarious and I love Melanie Watt.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women by Elena Favilli
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My daughters are extremely fascinated by the stories in this book and we have read them a few at a time each evening and morning for over a week now. I’m learning a lot too! My favourite bio in this book is Jane Austen (of course). We also love the second book, which includes a short bio on J.K. Rowling that brought tears to my eyes. The fact that she was told Harry Potter would never succeed and then it went on to inspire MILLIONS of children to read is unbelievable and incredible.

We have also enjoyed the entire Heidi Hecklebeck series (Molly, 6 1/2, can read these on her own which is great).

ALSO – I wanted to mention that Audiobook Sync started back up again last week – free audiobooks for Overdrive all summer! They are mostly YA but there are some great choices there!! This week there is a Kwame Alexander book there. Once you download it, it’s yours forever on Overdrive! Just a bookish PSA.

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman (Book Review)

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a good weekend!! Ours was busy, but fulfilling. We spent a lot of time as family at playgrounds and riding bikes. It was a true spring weekend with wind and sun on our faces and though it was a bit tiring, it makes me feel excited for the summer.

Even though tomorrow is the Show us Your Books link up with Steph & Jana and I’ll be sharing short reviews on all the books I read in the last month, today I wanted to share my thoughts on an amazing book I finished last night. This was one of my most highly anticipated reads of the year (along with Kingdom of the Blind which doesn’t come out until November!!) and I was overjoyed to read it prior to its publication.

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 6 of 5 stars <–at least!

Last year, I read Beartown and that was my first exposure to Fredrik Backman’s writing. To say I was impressed would be a huge understatement. I’ve read all of his backlog now except for Britt-Marie was Here (which is on my list!) and I have loved them all, but Beartown will always be special to me. That being said – this sequel was equally as good if not better in some parts than Beartown for me. The writing was gorgeous and he has such a way with words. Following along with all of the characters in the aftermath of the events of Beartown was heart-wrenching, but also hopeful. A few of the new characters were really interesting and the political aspect of this book added a new level of intrigue. Of course, hockey is another major part of this book as well though there is a new coach this time around.

Almost all of the characters from before are present in this book: Bobo, Amat, Benji!!!, Maya, Ana, and the Anderssons. What I loved about these characters: Bobo’s family (so emotional but so sweet), Amat: his strength and his values and his friendships, Benji – I can’t go into a lot of detail without spoilers but his character is what I live for when I read and he was SO good here, Maya + Ana and their friendship, Leo, Kira, Peter – they were all such interesting and flawed and realistic characters who were dealing with realistic problems. The way Backman writes these characters is amazing. Just when you start to really root for or “side with” one of the characters, he shows you things from another one’s point of view and then you’re unsure again about who to side with. I love that about this book.

I don’t even know what to say about this book besides the fact that it is 100% worth the read and So, SO exceptionally well done. I have friends who have tried to read Backman’s books and didn’t love them (understandable! to each his own!) and this particularly seems to apply to A Man Called Ove. I also know that Beartown wasn’t for everyone because of the focus on hockey in the plot (which again, is present here) but I implore all of you to give this trilogy a chance. I do like hockey, so I suppose I am a bit biased that way, but it is just such a means to an ends in this incredible book about a small community and the effects of rivalry and politics on all of the members of the community.

It was emotional, intense, and lovely. I cried several times and felt visceral reactions to some of the unbelievable events on these pages. I only recommend that you absolutely read Beartown first before picking this one up.

Thank you to Ariele Freedman of Atria Books and Netgalley for the advanced review copy of this book. It exceeded my expectations which were already remarkably high and I can’t wait for the third in this trilogy. This book hits shelves on Tuesday June 5.