Attempting to be a Super Mom

The 11th book I read for 24 books in 2017 was Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella. Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella Paperback: 304 pages  Publisher: Ember; Reprint Edition (May 3, 2016) Audrey is a teenage girl who has gone through a terrible incident with bullies at school, leaving her struggling with the after effects. She wears dark glasses, she doesn't go out of the house except to therapy, and she doesn't communicate with anyone but her parents, brothers, and therapist. Then, one day she meets Linus, her brother's friend, who pushes her to push herself.  He helps her talk, laugh, and find herself. This book was extremely different from the usual Sophie Kinsella books. In fact, it's a book recommended for teens. I think it's a book, I'd like my kids to read, maybe even Ben (who is 9) in the next couple of years. It really shows the effect that bullying can have on a person. It also really helps to understand mental illness.  As someone who has str...

The tenth book I read for my 24 books in 2017 was I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella. I've Got Your Number: A Novel by Sophie Kinsella Paperback: 448 pages  Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback; Reprint Addition (April 23, 2013) Poppy is about to marry her dream man, but in a crazy incident at her bachelorette luncheon, there is a fire drill which not only causes her to lose her engagement ring (an old family heirloom) and get her phone stolen. In what can only be described as destiny, she finds a phone in a trashcan at the hotel lobby.  She takes the phone and starts giving out the number so the staff can get ahold of her if they find the ring. The phone actually belongs to a business man who is trying to get the phone back, and in a compromise she forwards him all of his messages (and eventually starts responding to some on her own) until she can get her ring found and her own phone. Meanwhile, she has to hide that she lost the ring from her fiancé and his...

The ninth book I read for 24 books in 2017 was Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella Paperback: 448 pages  Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback; Reprint Edition (March 9, 2010) Lara Lington is struggling. She's just been dumped by her boyfriend with no real explanation and she's recently gone into business with a close friend, who has since disappeared on an open ended holiday, leaving her in the lurch. With a failing business and a broken heart, she has to attend a funeral with her worried parents for her great aunt Sadie who nobody in the family really knew but lived to be 105.  During the funeral she meets and eventually gets stuck with Sadie's ghost, who needs her help, finding a necklace she owned. While Sadie truly needs Lara's help, soon we find that Lara needed Sadie's help too. The two make a great duo, even if nobody else ever learns that Sadie is still there and hasn't moved on to the afterlife. I hav...

The eighth book I read for 24 books in 2017 was Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella. Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella Paperback 464 pages  Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback; Reprint Edition (May 13, 2014) Lottie thinks her long time boyfriend is going to propose but when he doesn't, she gets upset and calls off their relationship altogether. Strangely enough, at the same time, her old flame Ben gets back into contact with her, and the two of them decide to skip dating and jump right into marriage. Lottie's sister Fliss, who has been going through a tough divorce is determined to make sure her sister doesn't end up in the same position she's in. Believe me when I say, Fliss will do anything to make sure her sister doesn't consummate the marriage. This book was a little different than the others I've read by her, because it alternates chapters every so often to change from Fliss and Lottie's view points. It also took a little longer than the o...

The seventh book I read in my 24 books in 2017 was Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella. Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella Paperback: 400 pages  Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback; Reprint Edition (October 28, 2008) Lexi Smart is a 25 year old working girl, in a crummy relationship, and about to attend the funeral of her father. She wakes up 3 years later in a hospital only to find that her whole life and appearance had changed. She's now a corporate business woman, with a gorgeous husband and a glamorous life. As she tries to put the pieces of the last 3 years of her life back together, she meets Jon, who throws everything into a tailspin with the bombshell he drops on her. This book was really good, but not quite as funny as some of the others I'd read. I'd still definitely recommend it.

My 6th book I read for my 24 books in 2017 was The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella. Can you tell, I've been really loving Sophie Kinsella? The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella Paperback: 400 pages  Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback; Reprint Addition (April 25, 2006) This book was pretty hysterical. Undomestic Goddess is about a woman, Samantha Sweeting, who is a lawyer trying desperately trying to make partner. She hears a rumor that she's made partner and it will be announced later in the morning, but just after people start congratulating her, she realizes she made a horrible mistake that will cost her company a lot of money and she'll never be made partner. She leaves and just keeps walking and riding trains until she arrives at a mansion in the middle of nowhere. She stops to ask for directions and is mistaken for a housekeeping applicant. Samantha doesn't know the first thing about cooking, cleaning, or mending clothing, but her competitive s...

The fifth book I read in my 24 books for 2017 was My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella. My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella Hardcover: 448 pages  Publisher: The Dial Press (February 7, 2017) After LOVING Can You Keep A Secret? I went on a crazy amazon shopping spree. I needed more Sophie Kinsella. My Not So Perfect Life is her latest book. True to her style, the main character Katie or Cat Brenner has big goals but the worst luck. She's made redundant at her job where she looks up to her not so nice boss with the perfect life, and she's fallen for her boss' boss. She can't find another job and moves back home to help her Dad and Step-Mom run the glamping site they've set up on the family farm. Her old boss shows up and hilarity ensues. Definitely a great read. I couldn't put the book down and laughed out loud through most of it. Every lady I know, who loves good girly, light hearted books, should read this and laugh along with me.

The 4th book I read for my 24 books of 2017 was Can You Keep A Secret? by Sophie Kinsella. After the tear filled ending of King's Cage, I needed something light and fun. Can You Keep A Secret? by Sophie Kinsella Paperback: 368 pages  Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback; Reprint edition (March 1, 2005) If you've ever read the Shopaholic series, then you've probably already fallen in love with Sophie Kinsella. She writes about these girls who could be anybody. They are really good in some parts of their life and crummy in others.  She does it in this laugh out loud, captivating way. This book is about Emma Corrigan, who accidentally tells all of her most deep dark private secrets to a stranger during a traumatic plane ride. When she gets back to work, she is shocked and embarrassed to see that he's one of the big bosses at her job. This book was awesome, and everything I needed and wanted it to be. I read it in about two days. Definitely a chicklit...

The 3rd book I read for my 24 books in 2017 is King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard. King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard Hardcover: 528 pages  Publisher: HarperTeen (February 7, 2017) So a year ago, my sister-in-law got me hooked on the Red Queen series. It was about the time the 2nd book came out. I read through the first one, bought the 2nd one on my kindle the moment I finished the first, and then bought the two novellas the second I finished the 2nd book. Then, I had to wait a whole year for this book to come out. This book starts out with Mare Borrow trapped as Maven Calore's prisoner. He takes away her powers with silent stone and is on a mission to control his country even if it means betraying people who have been loyal to him. Meanwhile Cal and the other new bloods are trying to figure out how to get Mare back as well as prepare for the impending war. King's Cage was so good. I love the suspense and how easy it is to be invested in the characters. This book ...

The second book I read for my 24 books in 2017 was Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Child by Trevor Noah Hardcover: 304 pages  Publisher: Spiegel and Grau (November 15, 2016) Something you should know about me.  I love memoirs about people I find interesting. Musicians I enjoy listening to actors I like watching. I really like reading these memoirs when their lives and upbringings are so different from mine. I should have been a sociologist. Is that a real thing? Anyway, Trevor Noah was born and raised in South Africa. If you know anything at all about South Africa, the word apartheid probably comes to mind. Yup, that's all I knew about South Africa... that and Charlize Theron comes from there. Apartheid is defined as institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination, in South Africa, that occurred from 1948 to 1991. Trevor Noah was born during apartheid to a Swiss (white) father and a Xhosa (black) mother. Interrac...

The first book I read, in my goal for 24 books this year, was The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines. The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines with Mark Dagostino Hardcover: 208 pages  Publisher: Thomas Nelson (October 18, 2016) First of all, I'm a huge fan of the show Fixer Upper. I'm obsessed with Joanna's decorating style, Chips sense of humor, the idea of fixing up a house into exactly what you want it to be, and I really like Chip and Joanna's dynamic and family life. That's what drew me to this book. I really liked their story. It was a sweet book about two people who are total opposites, encouraging each other to follow their dreams from day one. I loved how on so many occasions they gave it all up to God and everything worked out the way it was supposed to, even if they didn't like the way it looked at the time. (Example: When Joanna closed her Magnolia Store to raise her kids and work on their home. Eventually, if you are fans of t...

Every year, Shawn and I go out for our anniversary. During dinner we discuss our personal and family goals for the next year. Last year it's where we said we'd like to buy our family home by our anniversary the next year. Six months and one day later we were moving in to our home. I also said I'd like to complete a crochet project, from start to finish, and that goal, I didn't achieve.  See, little goals and big goals. This year, one of my personal goals was to read two books a month. This is a big goal with all of my time wrapped up into housework, the kids, blogging, and vlogging. I'll have you know, upkeep on my blog was another goal this year. I just really like reading, and feel that if I'm reading, and Shawn's reading (He reads a lot, but very late at night usually and I have to get up early in the morning, so I can't do the late nights he does.) then we are setting a better example for the kids. So far, it's March 24th and since I made the...

What a crazy year this has been! As I type this, the year is coming to a close. So much has happened, both good and bad. From celebrity deaths, to politics, to just crazy stuff in general... I wouldn't have believed all of this would happen if you had told me last year.  Lets just have a look back at all the crazy/scary/exciting/fun/sad stuff that the year 2016 has brought my family. I've been so bad at updating that I thought I'd throw as much as I can of our year into a giant post before I start fresh in 2017. The best place to start is exactly at the beginning, maybe even a little before.  I will warn you up front, this post will be quite long. Lets start New Years Eve. December 31st 2015... We'd been recovering from a crazy stomach bug that swept through the house, hitting everyone but Shawn, and maybe Ben.  We were celebrating at home, as we tend to do, but had no company due to everyone in recovery. We watched Minions, snacked on snacky foods, snuggled, si...