Because I Had Children

I've been reading more lately (self care) and I wanted to share my reads with you (I'm also leaving reviews on some sites for the authors too).  The Bookseller of Daschau by Shari J. Ryan I loved this book. She was able to weave two stories into one and I'm always captivated by a writer's ability to do that. Germany, 1940 - Matilda and Hans are young and discover they are in love, unfortunately, all Jewish people are being taken from their homes. In an attempt to protect Hans, she hides him in her closet until the safety of their own family makes Matilda's parents choose their own safety and Hans is taken away. Sadly, that's not the end of Matilda's suffering. In America, 2018, Grace has found out she has inherited a bookstore in Dachau, Germany but has no idea who has given it to her. She drops everything and travels to Germany and the story unravels. Ryan did a great job of keeping me on the edge of my seat at every chapter. I loved the hope and love that ...

I love parenting books.  Mostly, I take what I like from this book and from that book and combine them into my own style.  I think that is what most people should do.  But, I will say that I agree with almost 99% of what I read in this book. My little sister just had her first baby, a sweet baby girl.  She is the one who recommended this book to me even though my oldest daughter will be 18 years old soon.  I'm so glad I had a chance to read it before she flew the coop and while my other three girls are still young.  Because Marly is so much older, I am going to recommend she read it too because of the data and statistics included are just good to know. I'm going to admit that my husband is a pretty fantastic dad and he already does so much of what the book suggests as far as being a great dad that maybe that is why it made so much sense to me.  The reality is, that nobody is perfect and there is always something we can be doing better.  Th...

It bothers me when people don't know when I am being sarcastic or not.  When I'm talking to you face to face, it should be fairly obvious by my facial expression, hand gestures, tone of voice, etc.  I struggle with the written word and how to use sarcasm appropriately when I write.  So, a few months/years ago (I have no idea when), I invented the sarcasm meter for Facebook.  Yes, I did.  I wish I would have patented it or sold my idea to Mark Zuckerberg because maybe I would be rich today, but oh well. Here is how it works.  If you are saying something extremely sarcastic, you should put a (5) at the end of said statement.  If you are completely serious but are concerned that your comment may be taken sarcastically, then you put a (0) at the end.  Obviously, if you are somewhere in the middle, you can choose numbers 1-4 to show your level of sarcasm. While I find that I am pretty good at sarcasm, I realize that sometimes it can be taken wrong ...

Have you heard of  www.71toes.com ?   I love this lady; there is nothing about her family life appears sugar coated or perfect and she doesn’t pretend to be something she isn’t.   She completely adores her husband and kids and it is completely obvious in every post.   The pictures of her family are gorgeous and she seems to capture their personalities so well.    She has a daughter with a disability, which is a topic many can relate to.    I love her Q&A session every Friday, but she doesn’t seem to take part in the comments from her posts as often as I would like to see, but her Q&A session seems to make up for it. Another favorite of mine is  www.iamboymom.blogspot.com .   This is a personal friend of mine who is the mother of two boys.    She is super funny and her blog is full of the antics of the men in her life.   She shares her devotion to Clorox ©  wipes and Soft Scrub ©  cleanser in the form of...

Once in a while, my husband takes me on a trip away from the kids, just the two of us; the thought of eating out and not having to clean up after anyone, sleeping all night undisturbed and waking up whenever I want, watching whatever I want on t.v. or reading in peace sounds heavenly, doesn’t it?   It is, and our marriage is worth it.  I just can't believe I didn't take any pictures. For our 20 th wedding anniversary, we went to Heritage Inn Bed & Breakfast in Snowflake, Arizona.   The temperature was a constant 70ish and we even got rain on Saturday night.   The B&B is located on Main Street in this quiet little town.   It is decorated in antiques and the grounds are covered with beautiful roses and other flowers.   Each room is different, ours had a queen (note to self, there is a reason I have a king at home).   We had a claw foot tub, wood floor and beautiful furnishings.   After checking in, we went and walked around the LDS templ...

My rice cooker recently took its own life when I left it on the roof of my car after delivering dinner to a neighbor.   It was almost ten years old anyway, so I bought a new one.   I chose the Aroma ©  10 cup rice cooker and paid right around $40.  I love it!   It has a digital face with three different cooking options for the perfect serving of white rice, brown rice, or steamed vegetables.   It also has the option of a delay timer and a keep warm setting.   With its large capacity, it is the perfect cooker for serving a large family or entertaining.  It came with a rice paddle too! It is a cinch to work, even my ten year old can cook rice with it.   Using a metric measuring cup, dish out your desired amount of rice, fill with water to the equivalent water line (4 cups rice= water line 4) and place pan inside of cooker.   Push the power button, push the white rice button and walk away…easy peasy. The only problem I have found is tha...