have faith | laugh hard | dream big | live grand
I’ve been a mom for four years now. And for most of that time, I’ve been a stay-at-home mom. I think it’s safe to say that if you look at our weekly schedules, you and I live in two very different worlds. But both of our worlds encompass life as mothers. And because we’re both moms, we’re on the same team.
I’ve always been a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions. They haven’t always stuck, and sometimes it can be discouraging to look back over the past year and see certain areas I feel I failed at growth, or didn’t fully accomplish my goals. But as someone who tends to be an all or nothing type person, I have to remind myself to also remember the areas over the past year where I have been successful in personal growth.
Whew, ok I know this post is INCREDIBLY late, but having been down for the count all last week with the stomach flu, I’m just now getting back to my life. I’ve been super excited to share what I read in December as well as my favorite books from 2018. As the book nerd that I am, this is basically my favorite post to write all year.
The last two months have been quite the whirlwind for our family. I didn’t have a chance to post my October book reviews at the end of the month due to being in the hospital for 4 days with a kidney infection and a rupture in my kidney. [Sounds like fun, huh??]
So anyway, I’m back to posting my reviews for the past 2 months, but in December I plan on getting back to my monthly book reviews!
One of my favorite parts of motherhood is seeing what interests each of my kids develop. And I’m so thankful that they both seem to be falling in love with reading! Zeke especially would read (be read to) for hours, carries around books instead of lovies/stuffed animals, and demands them to be in his crib when he takes a nap and goes to bed.
A summer comes to an end and I look back over the books that lead me through this hot season, I’m giddy both because I’m reminded of the amazing people I’ve “met” over the past 2 months, but also excited for the upcoming fall, when I can curl up to read with a blanket and a cup of coffee. (Decaf of course, because I usually read at nap time or after bedtime, and mama doesn’t sleep at night if I drink caffeine after lunchtime…insert rolling eyes emoji here.)
Do you know how many articles, memes, gifs, and cartoons there are out there that talk about moms in yoga pants? Moms with messy hair. Moms who haven’t showered in days. Moms who are wearing yesterday’s clothes. (Probably yoga pants.)
Even before I became a mom, I anticipated motherhood to mean not caring as much about what I wore, what I looked like or how long it had been since I showered.
Friends. The past few weeks have been a DOOZY. My kids had hand foot and mouth, and it laid us out for a good week and a half. We traveled to Philly for a week in May, but throughout it all, I still managed to read some really awesome books!! As you’ll see below, I’m not quite living up to my plan of reading more non-fiction books, there are just TOO many good fiction books out there!
“I HATE YOU!! I CAN’T GIVE YOU WHAT YOU NEED!!!”
Yes, just a few weeks ago, those harsh words came out of my mouth, directed towards my husband. He just wanted to go fishing, and I cracked. My life felt out of control and too much for me to handle all of the sudden. A simple request from him to go fishing was the straw that broke this mama’s back.
Ya’ll I thought I had killed it with reading the last two months…feeling pretty awesomely book nerdy (although I think that might be an oxymoron…) UNTIL.
Until I heard about a girl named Addy, who’s working her way through the entire Cairn University library by reading 1,000-1,500 books a year. Hello humble pie. Whew, as heavenly as reading that much sounds, like does she have a life outside of reading???