Book Review: Present Over Perfect

Book Review: Present Over Perfect

By:Shana Niequist

Get Yours Here

Such a great book to start the year off right. Re-grounding myself, learning to say no to everything else and yes to me, learning to sit back and enjoy the moment in the moment. So many things I have known I needed to do but finally put to words that spoke to my heart and mind. After being so go go go for so long it's time to slow down. It not about being perfect, it's about being present and enjoying the moment.

Although the author relates the bulk of the book to her big job and public speaking life style I was able to take away several aspects that can be applied to anyone in any stage of life they are in. 

1: It is ok to say NO, we don't have to do everything placed in front of us

2: Take time to get away from your normal. Go on a vacation, day trip something to re focus and step away from the day to day 

3: Find someone to talk to. Your not alone! Pray, phone a friend, hire a theropist

4: Discover WHY you are doing what you are? Ask your self Why and then ask your self Why again for that answer. 

Light hearted Example: Why am I so tired? I stay up late. Why do I stay up? I like spending time with my hubby, I like the still and quiet after the kids are in Bed. Why? We don't get much time to the 2 of us with him at work and the kids? Why? We focus on as much family time with the kids as we can? Why? Because family is the corner stone to everything. 

See? And you keep going and going till there is no more reasons.... I know it's like talking to a 2 year old but it works! 

Take a little time a read/listen to this amazing book.

BOOK REVIEW: Where The Crawdads Sing

Book Review: Where The Crawdads Sing

By: Delia Owens

You can get your copy here

This was such a fun book to read. Such a sweet coming of age story as the Marsh Girl learns how to navigate life from an outsiders perspective. Add in the murder mystery of the local town bog shot and you'll be on the edge of your seat trying to decipher who did it. 

Where the Crawdads Sing was a quick read for me. It was a 2 fold kind of story. The first was the  suspenseful I loved the story of how Kya survived in the marsh and who helped her along the way. The young love that unfolds from a childhood friend into adulthood proved that money and flashy things are not everything. Finally the reoccuring symbolism between nature and human behaviors was a fun way to relate the basic instinct of our inner beasts. 

The second part is the murder mystery of the local hometown hero's death.  Who did it? How did they do it? What was the motive? With everything pointing at Kya will she make it out of jail alive or will everything prove to be to circumstantial and have to be timed perfectly for it to all happen the way the sheriff describes it.

Favorite Parts:

The Relationship between Kya and Tate as he starts out it turns from friend to romance

Ownes Surveys of the marshlands are beautiful and you feel like you are there

Kya's achievements and overcoming of life's challenges with little help

The love and care from those in Kyas life as they "take care" of her without her fully understanding

Heads up:

There is a little petting talk in the book. Personally I feel like the book didn't need as much as it had in it or as much detail. 

A few of the books details are off for the timeline and time period but they do not deter from the main story line and what is happening in the book. 

A few discussion Questions:

In what ways does Kya overcome her trials alone?

Why did Ma never come back? 

Did her illness start before she left or engulf her once she knew she couldn't come back?

What about the rest of the family? 

Did they ever wonder what happen to everyone else that they left behind?

What happen to her Pa?

Why didn't the grandparents ever seek out the children?

Does Tate's relationship begin as loyalty for Kya's Brother, being his friend?

Who did it? Who killed Chase?

Did Chase's Girlfriend/ Wife know about Kya? How did she feel?

Is it possible for a child to survive as long as Kya did alone?

In what ways did Jumpin and his wife raise Kya? 

Who influences kya's life and upbringing and how? What does she do alone?

How did you feel about  how Kya reacts during the trial as the sheriff describes what he thinks happen?

Kya's education stuns the whole town and proves them to be wrong in their expectations how do you feel they would treat here after the trial if she had tried to integrate into the community?

Did she do it? Who did you think did it?

Why did she keep the evidence/truth hidden from Tate? 

Who else could have been suspected of doing it? Did anyone else have the knowledge?

Kindle Fire Kids

We have had these for 2 years now and LOVE them. We have 2 devices and our 3 boys share them and each have their own profile. Each profile is set with parental controls for age appropriate content. You will have access to hundreds of games, books, movies and apps. many of which can be downloaded onto the device to play while disconnected from wifi. We also love how you can set time limits for content, time requirements to unlock content, time locks for when the tablet can be on and off. Finally we love how the screen can be blue screen filtered for when we let the kids play in the evenings/ dark. 

There is a subscription for the apps through amazon each month, but it is worth it.

We have loved our Kindle Fire Kids, you can find them Here

I recommend these covers too click here

Where we have used them: 

Banquets, restaurants, road trips, grandma's house, at home 

What we love:

Age and Content filters

Durable Foam Cover 

Variety of content

LOTS of EDUCATION based content

Update:

We have used the 10 inch tablets as well now that my parents bought a set for the grand kids. They keep this set at their place when we forget ours or if all 5 soon to be 6 kids are over. The bigger screens are nice for 2 player games, smaller tots who are still working on their coordination, and when we want to prop up the screen for a movie for several to share. 

Downfalls: They are bigger and take up more space in the diaper bag, the large screen puts more strain on little eyes especially when they hold them so close

link to the 10 inch Here

BOOK REVIEW: Girl Stop Apologizing

So I read Rachel Hollis's first book and walked away with mixed feeling on her writing style and formatting. After reading "Girl Stop Apologizing" I have to say that I do like her as a writer when she writes how she did in this book. It was a lot more focused and it was a better self development based book. 

I also liked how she used the analogy of a road trip/ map to navigate your way through a goal. Also her stories were a lot more on point here with illustrating her points along the way to reaching a goal. I also liked how she didn't ramble as much in this book keeping it shorter and on point. I have a hard time reading books that ramble, partly because my brain rambles on it's own when I read things and adding in someone else makes it even messier... (see I ramble) 

Anyway Loved this book and would recommend it to anyone in the business field, PTO mom, stay at home parent, college student. What she has to say can be applied to anyone trying to reach a goal. 

You can get your copy here

Grandpa's Tackle Box Sign

Nate has been helping my dad build a shed in their yard to store all of the lake and fishing gear. I felt it needed a sign and came up with "Grandpa's Tackle Box" and He loved it! Here is some of the in progress pictures of the sign coming together from my hand stenciling, painting and adding the rope border. (don't ask what kind of knot that is... yes i know my knots but it just needed to look cool not hold anything)

And all done !

My dad loves the sign and is now joking that this is his reason to take over the whole shed with his gear for fishing. 

Chicken Egg Portable Night Light

We were given this cute light for our baby shower for M a few months back and LOVE IT! We have only had to charge it 2 times now since she was born and she is 7 weeks old. We use it every night for diaper changes, checking on her and the boys or when need to nurse her. 

The soft light is amazing because it is NOT blue light and does not pulse. It is and easy tap on and tap off concept. We can even adjust the brightness by holding down the top after turning it on or holding it down again to turn it back up. 

The chicken part is made out of a soft material and is child safe so if you have a little one who is like our 2 year old who likes to snag it to snuggle with they can without getting hurt by a hard toy. 

There are no cords during use unless you leave the charging cord plugged in. It takes about an hour for us to charge ours and like i said it lasts several weeks on the lowest setting being used off and on all night. The box said it can last all night on one charge. The charging cord plugs into a USB port charger (like your cell phone cords) and is included in the box, the port is not.

Check it out on AMAZON HERE

WOOD Burning

I love the look of wood burning crafts! One day I will learn how to do this skill for myself in teh mean time I Shop from this shop MAKEWISHES. Her work is AMAZING and she has even donated to our schools charity event. Check out some of her work. 

     

What I am even more excited about is getting these to use with little M as she grows through the year! I can't wait till when they get here next week! 

PS I have to admit I am a bit bias with this artist, there are several really good ones out there but this is my sister in law and I love all the heart she puts into each piece. She will also do custom requests when she isn't back ordered.  You can find here online at the link above as well as at several different craft shows or pop con events in Salt Lake City/ Provo Utah areas

BOOK REVIEW : Girl Wash Your Face

So I read this book for the book club I am in and really loved a lot of the concepts and ideas she covered.  Although I feel like several of her stories that she used to illustrate the points didn't apply or connect with me as well as they may for other readers. 

LOVED: The way she pointed out the lies we tell ourselves in life.

LOVED: How she recapped the end of the chapters with how she overcame/overcomes the lie

DISLIKE: Several of her stories she used to illustrate the lie were a bit of a stretch to me

DISLIKE: I feel like throughout the book she puts herself on a pedestal and put other down (judges them) 

BIGGEST DISLIKE: In the book she talks about toxic relationships. She says to get out and get away. The personal story she uses is that of her and her husband and how he treated her when the started dating.... paining him in an awful light and then basically says he changed so it doesn't apply... Umm what is this telling other women or girls??? mixed feelings on this...

FAVORITE CONCEPT/TAKE AWAY: I love how in the book Rachel talks about other people's opinions and how to deal with them. my favorite take away is how she quotes another person, I think it was her therapist, saying that someone else's opinion of you is NONE of your business. WORDS TO LIVE BY! how many times do we get caught up in how others think of us???  

Over all good book and a lot to think about from the book. Again I loved the lies and how she over came them and I began to see how the lies apply to me and what I do now and what I can do to overcome them in my own life.  Now on to her next book....

You can get Girl Wash Your Face here

***Update to my Biggest Dislike***

I have watched several of  Rachel's youtube videos and listened to several of her audios and now understand a little more of her story and how her personality is. Anyway one of the videos was of her and Dave (her husband) talking about marriage. They talk about their story and how everything happened and you get more from his perspective (he does not pain himself in a pretty light either). Anyway, I still feel conflicted on her example in the book but I get it now on why it sort of fit. For here it was about being willing to leave and not put up with the abuse any more. She had to face it and "wash her face" stop crying and move on. End of story. The fact that he realized what he lost and came crawling back and had to change his own behavior to treat her respectfully is an add on. 

***Update to the update***

Dave is an amazing husband for him to be willing to let his wife share their story openly and for him to be willing to publicly admit that he was abusive but has changed and is now in a commit relationship with his wife where they are equals. 

Steal of a Deal

Back story: a few months back we were at Walmart to pick up a few things for the kids and as we were walking out they were loading things onto the clearance display carts. Nate walked over to see the price and it was too good to pass up! $54 for a 12 man tent! Giant bonus is it has built in LED lights that run along the ceiling that have several settings of brightness. 

Check it out on Amazon Here

All set up for our test run in the back yard. Just a little note as to setting up the tent. This takes a minimum of 2 people and that was a bit of a challenge too. Grant it if you are using a 12 man tent you probably have a handful of people around to help out with set up. The total set up time for Nate and I was 45 min. From unboxing to final set up all staked into the ground. Take down was done in 15 minutes. Another bonus is we don't have to have a fly for it because the fly is built into the zippered mesh windows. There are 2 doors, 4 wall windows, 4 triangle ceiling windows, 2 floor vents and 2 roof vents that can be closed.

It has your standard storage pouches plus 2 HUGE Storage pocket organizers! These are great for the littles toys, flash lights, bug spray, sunscreen,  electronics, glow sticks, and soo much more. 

Here are 3 kids sleeping bags and a large storage tote and there is still space for our queen mattress and our baby's pack n play. Did i mention even after all of that we have tons of open space?

Final pic to show how tall it is. My hubby is 5 ft 10 in and has plenty of head room. No more slouching our bending over to stand up and walk. 

Living Scriptures Big Book

My kids love coloring and activity books and I love when I can find one that is great for during church. This one we picked up in Utah before moving to Michigan and our kids love it! There is something for everyone in this BIG BOOK. My 7 year old loves the dot to dots and the coding pages. My 4 year old loves the find the differences pages and coloring pages and my 2 year old loves doodling on any page he can that has pictures of animals. 

Diaper Bag for Multiple Kids

So we have had this diaper bag for only a short wile be we LOVE it. it is versatile so daddy or I can grab it and go. (Not that Nate really cares about that kind of stuff) It has a ton of storage and pockets in it for organization and came with several storage bags too. Here is the Amazon link (click here)

Some of the amazing features of the bag are the padded backing to the backpack and adjustable straps. Another plus is the bottom of the bag has grippers/ rubber pads to help keep it off from wearing when on the floor. Finally the stroller straps built into the bag. No more digging for straps out of the bag, also great for clipping a blanket.  

Another big seller for us was the YKK zippers. These are amazing heavy duty zippers. For us zippers normally wear out or tear on bags. Having something durable is a big deal with 3 boys! 

Side pockets. One is designed to hold wipes the flop has a magnetic snap to keep it closed. The other side pocket is the thermal pouch big enough for bottles, I stash my wallet here. 

Front Pockets: Here I stash the things we need easy access too. Crayons, pencils, little toys are in one for the boys. The other pocket has lotion, my makeup bag and the dry/wet bag

Dry wet bag. The big pocket is lined to hold the wet in. It has a strap that can be snapped to the bag or stroller. The outside pocket is mesh and allows for holding things you don't want wet. I have used it for keys, sunscreen, sandy flip flops, ect

1st big pocket. This pocket is a thinner pocket so it is great for coloring books, activity pads, tablets ect. 

2nd Big pocket. This is where I keep my planner and pens. I love the built in pen storage at the top! The pocket opens flat as shown so this would work great as a diaper changing pocket too. 

The Back of the pocket has 3 bottle spots, we breastfeed so I use it to hold our sunscreen, water and a few snacks. the mesh pocket is empty right now but I put my keys and phone here when they are not in my pocket. Finally is the clip feature. I use it for hair ties

Big pocket. This pocket is massive! It can hold so much stuff. I like to use several pouches and wet bags to hold our stuff and making it easy to grab what we want when we are in a hurry.  Where the changing pad is you can place a laptop or tablet too!

Diaper Changing pad. Comes with the diaper bag. Only wish is it had build in pocket for a small thing of wipes and diaper.

2 Storage Cubes came with the Diaper Bag too. These can hold so much! 1 has 8 size 1 diapers, 5 size 6 diapers and a small thing of wipes. The other pouch has all of the extra clothes. 1 outfit for A (2 year old) and 3 outfits, hat, hair bow, socks and mittens for the baby

2 more pockets in the big pocket. great for holding hats, blankets burp cloths ect. The possibilities are endless