January Book Review

Time to get back at it.  Reading has kind of fallen by the wayside in the past little bit.  I think partially because I was reading "Career of Evil" and having a bit of trouble getting into it in the beginning, so although I wasn't reading, I wasn't reading as much as I should of been.  But with my 2018 word "intentional" I'm hoping that reading becomes something that I do more often again.  I found I was wasting my lunches by surfing the internet, getting nothing accomplished over an hour.  So I'm back to reading on my lunch and using that time to really refresh and get lost in a book.

I have a goal to read 30 books this year.  At first I wanted to set my goal at 40 books.  I thought it was doable because that's still less than a book a week...but I also know that I sometimes have phases where I can't find a good book or can't get into a book.  I read 24 books last year, so it's still uping my goal! (I'm going to read some Harry Potter and Nancy Drew if it doesn't look like I'm meeting my goal, haha!)

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

For those of you who don't know, these books are actually written by JK Rowling.  They are about Cormoran Strike, a private detective, and Robin Ellacott, his assistant.  This is the third book in the series.  I honestly started reading this book about a year ago.  I think it was too big and I just couldn't get into it because I was overwhelmed by the size.  (It's not that big, just too big for me at the time.)  I didn't really give it a fair shot.  Once I started reading it though it was great.  I probably read the last half of it in one night and couldn't put it down.  Ryan wondered what I was doing and said I don't usually read all night long.  

I find Strike and Robin totally enthralling, I love their relationship and hope that Rowling understands that Robin is as vital to the success of these books as Strike it.  These books are so different from Harry Potter, but Rowling has really found a new niche.  Funny thing is while I was reading one day Parker said "is that a Pe-a Potter (Harry Potter) book?"  I have no idea why he would relate them as it looks nothing like a Harry Potter book!

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

I'm a big Liane Moriarty fan.  I was kind of worried about this book though because the reviews weren't great.  6 adults and 3 kids are at a BBQ.  Something terrible happens, but it takes quite a while for you to find out what happens.  I think what annoyed me about it was that I understood for suspense reasons why you didn't know what happened, but from a storyline perspective it didn't really make sense.  The story was so vague, where it shouldn't of been.  Conversations that seemed like they were missing parts of them, characters who were missing because you weren't supposed to know what happened to them.  

I spent the first half of the book kind of skipping ahead chapters because I couldn't stand the suspense.  The last half of the book I really enjoyed though.  I think you have to go in with low expectations.  The one review I read said that it's more about the characters than the story, which is an interesting way to look at it.  And the characters were interesting.  

So overall it's a decent read.  Not amazing, but not terrible.  I don't know.  Not sure what else to say about it.  Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman have optioned the film rights.  I can see how it could be a movie or mini-series similar to Big Little Lies as it's a very similar style to Big Little Lies.  There is a lot going on with the characters that you could dig into deeper.

The Best Man by Kristan Higgins

You may recall that I'm a Kristan Higgins fan.  Her books are easy to read chick-lit.  I'm slightly conflicted about this one though.  I enjoyed this book, I read it quickly, it was easy to read.  But I found that it had way less depth than the other books that I've read of hers.  I just found out that her books are "Harlequin" novels, and it makes a lot of sense.  Still an enjoyable read, but nothing mind blowing!

Faith was left at the alter by her boyfriend of 8 years because....he was gay.  She left town and three years later is back.  But she keeps running into Levi Cooper, her ex's best friend, and the guy that ruined her wedding.  

Definitely won't be my favourite book of the month of year, but there's a few more books in this series and I'm still going to be reading them!  

The Perfect Match by Kristan Higgins

This is the second book in the Blue Heron series, The Best Man was the first.  I had the same feelings about this book.  I enjoy the fact that it's a series, because although the book is about a different person within the family, it has a lot of the same characters.  It's always nice to see characters that you've enjoyed in subsequent books.  This book is definitely a Hallmark movie though.  It's light and easy and fairly predictable.  Nothing mind blowing.  But I still enjoyed it and read it in about two days!

Intentional

My word this year was "INTENTIONAL".  I've never had a word of the year before.  To be honest I didn't even know that was a thing.  And then I started hearing about it, but the word had already come to me.

You see I was living my days fairly unintentionally.  I would come home, do the few things that really needed to get done and then flop down on the couch to relax.  That's how I have often found I best relax after a day of work.  But for this year I wanted more.  I wanted to find more time, I was sick of feeling like nothing ever got done.  And then I realized that I have all this time in my day, I'm just not using it properly.

So now I'm being more intentional with my time, and let me tell you, it's amazing how much time you can find in your day when you use it a bit more wisely.  Sure I'm busier, but I'm getting more done and it actually fills me up more than just watching TV all night does.

I'm listening to podcasts during my commute, which gives me just over an hour a day to learn something new from someone, or give myself something to think about.  I'm trying to get up half an hour earlier, to work out or get something else done that needs to be done.  (Although Cooper was up crying for over an hour last night, which is so unusual, so I felt that the extra half hour of sleep was more important this morning!)  I'm taking the time to meal plan and week plan, which makes me way more productive throughout my week.  I'm reading on my lunch rather than surfing the internet, which gets my reading done and makes me feel refreshed after lunch.  Instead of just going minute to minute, when I find you tend to waste time, I'm thinking "ok what can I do now that's worthwhile".

We live in a society where we are so "busy."  And to be honest I'm kind of sick of it.  I'm sick of us saying that we can't get anything done because we are too busy.  Because we aren't that busy.  I'm nowhere near perfect.  My house isn't perfectly clean (future blog post idea: when you spend hours on a task, but it doesn't look like anything is different in your house...)  But I would say I'm finding much more time to clean and tidy than I did before.    I still watch TV in the evenings, but try to cut back, and I try to get more done before I watch TV.   

So let's stop saying we are too busy to meal plan, or clean, or start a side passion project.  Because you can make time for anything.  I thought I was busy before I had kids, and I was.  But then you have kids and you find the time to do what you need to do.  Well you can go beyond that and find time for more even once you have kids.  It's about progress, not perfection.  

3. Years. Old.

Motherhood is weird.  You think you are ready for it but are scared that you aren't.  Then all of a sudden you go into labour (sometimes early and unexpectedly) and all of a sudden you are responsible for this teeny tiny human.  They send you home with teeny tiny human as if you know what you're doing.  And the easy parts are feeding them, getting them to go to bed, having baths, although at times those things all seem extremely difficult.  But the real hard part is being responsible for the person that they become.  Making sure they are a decent human being, kind, sympathetic.  Hopefully in high school they won't make stupid choices and have bad friends.  Hopefully people like them.  Hopefully some day they find a job that isn't just a job but that they truly love going to every day, and maybe a spouse and a few kids of their own.  Oh the pressure. 

But for today, I'm just going to enjoy a three year old.  I've never had one of those before.  

Last night Parker ate his supper without a fight.  Then before bed he was hungry and wanted a sandwich.  For my 23 pound 3 year old, this is not something that happens ever.  Maybe three will be a different year!  I doubt it, but I can hope right!

The past three years of my life have most definitely been the best ones.  Instead of looking to the future, I'm often hoping that it won't come so quickly.  I just want my kids to stay little because although the days are hard, and Parker is stubborn and some days we all want to cry or scream or both, the days are amazing.  

He loves Paw Patrol, pogos, the bath, his brother.  He loves any toys with wheels or animals.  He loves his people - his grandparents, aunts and uncles.  He thinks B and Nole are one person.  I guess it makes sense, he always sees them together.  He thinks Auntie Tal lives at Gram and Gramps house.  He never questions why Auntie Amy and Uncle Jamie have so many pets, because what could be better than that many animals!  And Carema is one of the only people he actually eats for.  He loves Daddy's shop and being outside.

He hates clothes that feel funny, he hates being told what to do (sometimes) or not getting his way.  But once in awhile when you ask him to do something he says "ok mommy, I'll try."  He's shy and slightly introverted, but with us once he starts talking it's sometimes hard to keep up.    

I thought second borns were always your headstrong children, but I think Parker might be ours. Although he's little it's fairly impossible to get him to do what you want him to do if he's not interested in doing it.  

This boy is our everything.  Watching him become a brother has been amazing, he's so good at it.  It amazes me how from such a young age Cooper really looked up to him.  We are in for some trouble in the years to come with these two!

Happy 3rd birthday Parker boy!

Sprinkling Baby B

 This past Sunday there was a "sprinkle" for my cousin Crystal, who is due in March with her second baby.  Her first baby is 6, (almost 7 I think! where does the time go!) so we are very excited about this new addition!  (Okay I would have been excited regardless of her older child's age, because babies are always exciting!)

Her friends had an amazing idea for this Sprinkle, to hold a Refind Salvage Rustic Sign Workshop.  First of all, for those who don't know, a Sprinkle is kind of a low key baby shower when someone is having their second (or third or fourth...) baby.  

I have always wanted to do one of these workshops and it was so much fun! First of all, it was held at the Elora Centre for the Arts.  This used to be Elora Junior Public School, which was where I went to school until Grade 4.  It was so neat to go back into the building, and actually create my sign in my old Grade 2 classroom!  This building is really neat and is a great atmosphere for these workshops.  It's an old building, with nice hardwood floors and huge rooms.  It has so much character.  The room was set up with a big table in the middle for our signs, but also had a nice little corner with some seating where Crystal could open some gifts.

 It takes about 3 hours to make the signs, but there are breaks in there as you need to wait for paint to dry and such.  So we could chat and snack and take our time.  It's actually really low key, and although the Type A in me found some aspects stressful, it really was pretty simple.  Mandy, the owner of Refind, made the whole process fun and easy!  Everyone's signs turned out really well!

The great part about these workshops is that you get to pick your own sign.  So you aren't stuck with something that you really don't want because everyone can choose a sign that suits their home or their personality.  

 I would highly recommend attending one of these workshops with a friend or two or if you have a lot of friends then you can book your own private workshop like we did!  

Miracle Mornings

Do you ever feel like you could just be more productive?  We feel like we are so busy all the time, but how much time is just wasted.  I feel like I get lazy and just used to being lazy.  I could be much more productive and I feel like could generally enjoy life more and get less stressed.

Anyways, my Doterra team is doing something called "Miracle Mornings" this month.  (Side note: when you sign up with Doterra you join a team, get access to private websites and Facebook pages, gain support from those you signed up under.  I'm actually finding it super fun and inspirational!)  So they are doing this "Miracle Mornings" challenge where you get up at 6:30 every day and sign onto Zoom and it holds you accountable.  Once up you can do whatever you feel you need to do.  You could work, work out, meditate.  Just something productive.

Well 6:30 does not work for me, because I'm always up by 6:30.  But I have been trying to get up at 5:30 since I went back to work.  It happens about twice a week.  But I really want to commit to it this year.  When I get up at 5:30, no excuses (not even a baby who was up in the night!), I'm able to start my day with something productive.  In most cases I am working out, as that's the only time that works for me to get exercise in.  But some days maybe I will tidy up, or work on a photo book, or get some other type of work done.  So far, after a week of Miracle Mornings, I feel fantastic.  I am more energized, more productive and at the end of the day feel like I've really accomplished a lot.

We feel like we have no time in our days to do what we need to do, or what we want to do.  But that's not entirely true.  Sure we are busy, but how much more time could be productive time?  If we got up earlier and got something accomplished before heading off to work, doesn't the whole day feel better?  I know it does for me!

So that's where I'm at with being crazy and getting up super early!  Have you ever tried something like a Miracle Morning?

Sleep Issues with Kiddos

I remember when it felt like I would never get a full nights sleep.  Parker slept through the night from about 4-8 months old, and then stopped until a few months ago.  Cooper, as you may recall, was nursing up to 4 times a night until he was 11 months old.  I didn't know how to night wean him and couldn't imagine that he would ever sleep well.

I considered going to a sleep consultant because I was so overwhelmed with the idea of getting him to sleep.  Parker had always slept fairly well, and just woke once a night, drank some milk and went back easily.  But Cooper was obsessed with eating all night long!

But I knew what a sleep consultant would say.  Put them to bed earlier (like 6:30pm early).  Have a routine.  Give them a bath before bed, read 47 stories.  Make sure nap times are consistent.  And that's not us.  I value sleep, I don't want my kids over tired or cranky, but I also enjoy our flexibility.  I don't want our entire lives to revolve around sleep.

I'm not here to give advice at all.  I don't really have any.  And I'm not here to knock sleep consultants, as I think what they do is amazing if you are willing to follow the sleep rules!  My kids just magically started sleeping better.  Once I weaned Cooper he actually became an incredible sleeper and only wakes up in the night once every few weeks. But I kind of hate all this sleep advice that's out there.  I find that with your kids, you have to find what works for you.  And maybe that means that you don't get great sleep for the first year of their life.  (Which I know sounds crazy).  But I also recently read some advice that said there is no reason for a baby to eat during the night after 5 months.  First of all, I don't believe that's entirely true with breastfed babies.  But secondly, I also read something that once said that we have been given a gift with the ability to soothe our babies by feeding them.  It really resonated with me.  And so as annoying as it was that Cooper ate 4 times a night, it was easier for me to nurse him for 10 minutes, than to wean him.  And that's the choice that I made.

Everyone will make different choices.  Some will co-sleep, some will sleep train, some will night wean.  It's all ok, if it works for you and your family and allows you to function.

So if you are going through a rough sleep stage, I hope it isn't long lasting and I hope you find what works for you, your family and your kids!