Mid-Year Reading Check In

January:          7 books   ::    3 audio / 4 novels    ::        Total- 7/52

February:     10 books   ::   4 audio / 6 novels     ::        Total- 17/52

March:           8 books     ::   3 audio / 5 novels     ::        Total- 25/52

April:              9 books    ::    5 audio / 4 novels     ::         Total- 34/52

May:               9 books    ::    3 audio / 6 novels      ::        Total- 43/52

June:               9 books    ::    5 audio / 4 novels       ::        Total- 52/52

Only halfway through the year, I met my reading goal of 52 books.  I was kind of blown away.  But really excited! Most months I read 9 books, and in February I read 10! If I keep this up, I could read 100 books this year! That would be a first!

I know one of the main reasons I have been able to read so many books is because I use audio books.  Listening to them while I do chores around the house; walk the kids to and from school; and when I drive to appointments (Logan & Wyatt's specialists are out of town) or to visit family gives me far more "reading" time than if I was strictly reading books myself.  I use the Overdrive & Hoopla apps for audiobooks.  Overdrive works by using your library card to check books out to you, for 14 or 21 days.  Hoopla also uses your library card to check books out to you, but instead of waiting for books to become available, you are allowed 7 books per month (audio or ebook) and they are immediately available.

I also am reading more this year because I've made it a priority.  I want to be spending my time reading.  So I try to always have a book with me wherever I go (doctor appointments, to the pool or park, in the car, etc.), and I try to do at least some reading everyday.  I also have started setting page goals when I sit down to read. Like, "I'm going to read 50 pages" for example.  That has helped me read books a lot faster than usual.

Also this year I gave up ebooks, and am only reading real books.  I found that I just much prefer the feel of the pages in my hand to my phone or kindle.  When I was nursing Carly for her first two years, reading via the Kindle app made my life easier (the one handed convenience) but now I am happy to be back to real books.  In addition to all that, I have given myself permission to DNF (Did Not Finish) books that I don't like.  In the past I forced myself to finish every book I started.  But no more.  And my reading life is so much better because of it.

Now, without further ado, 

I will share the best (and worst) 

books of 2019 thus far.

Best Audio Books:

Honorable Mentions:

Most Disturbing Good Reads:

 Midwife Novels:

DNF/Do Not Recommend:

Great Biographies:

If you're looking for book accounts to follow on Instagram for reading recommendations, I suggest Readwithkat and Modern Mrs. Darcy and Haverlee.  They are my favorites.

As you can see, I went through a midwife period and I found I really love biographies.  I think getting on a kick of certain kinds of novels also increases my reading speed and consumption.  I get excited and am really motivated to keep reading.  

I truly am curious, what genres or themes get you excited? What kind of "book kick" have you been on in 2019 so far?  For the rest of 2019, I will be reading my neighborhood book club picks (Eden's Outcasts, Murder at the Brightwell, and A Severe Mercy) as well as The Inspired Readers Book Club books- The Perfect Couple and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Other than that, I am going to try and follow my heart and just keep reading!!!

***

Around Here: Week 28 {2018}

 

Reading... and finishing The Book of Essie, The Stranger in the Woods and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.  I started Disappeared on audio and am finishing Four Seasons in Rome.  Then I plan to start This Is How It Always Is.  I got to choose my Book of the Month book for July and I chose Ghosted.  I also chose a bonus book, Goodbye, Vitamin, which I have heard good things about.  I can't wait to get my hands on them!

Feeling... so proud of my boys for forming a book club together with me.  It was all their idea, and they are hoping to read 600 minutes total by the end of summer.  They named it The Cunningham Book Club, or "CBC" for short.  We aren't reading the same books, we just get together to read at 7:00pm (bedtime) every night in the boys' room.  I bring whatever I'm reading and they bring what they're reading and we snuggle together and read.  It's so enjoyable. 

Swimming... at the pool with the kids twice this week before they headed out of town for Grandma's Camp.  I just love the relaxed vibe at the pool.  They play music over the loudspeakers, and the warmth of the sun makes the water so inviting... it's just my favorite place to be with the kids in the summer.

Laughing... hysterically as I tried to get Jack into my lap so I could hold him like a baby after bedtime stories one night when he was pretending to be asleep.  Carly thought it was hilarious and later Josh and I commented how we really can't believe it's been a decade since we rocked him and Logan with bottles in their mouths to sleep, and now they're both nearly as tall as I am. 

Enjoying... ten days seizure-free for Logan.  He went from Sunday July 1st until yesterday, July 12th, without a seizure.  Unfortunately, he had a seizure at Grandma's camp.  He called out that he was going to have one, Jack helped him sit down, and then he began having it.  It lasted two to three minutes and he recovered quickly. 
The good news is that he was having seizures every two or three days in June.  So going ten days is a huge improvement.  And today is the last day he will take his Trileptal (the old medication he was on after his first seizures back in early 2017), so hopefully the seizures will cease after this.  The Trileptal is not a good match for the new kind of seizures he's experiencing.

Grateful... for neighbors who let us do laundry (and even fold it for us!) at their house.  What a blessing as we wait for our washer to be fixed.  The part arrived last week, but the appliance place didn't have an appointment available until Monday. sigh.  I'm sure Josh could fix it, but we have appliance insurance, so we have to go through the company.  I am trying to remain optimistic... but nearly a month without a washer is a long time for a family of six!!!

Hitting... 169 pounds on the scale and feeling amazing about being in the 160's.  I have now lost 31 pounds since January and am very proud of myself.  Walking everyday and working hard to not emotional eat is the key! 

Fixing... up little areas around my house to bring me joy as I finally work through week three of Ordinary Magic, which my sister-in-law gifted me back in June.  I started by putting my rock collection in mason jars, instead of the old wipes container they had been in.  Now every time I walk past them, they make me smile.  I also cleared a shelf in my bedroom for putting my finished books this year onto.  Next on the agenda is clearing off my nightstand and hanging some photographs in my bathroom.  Just creating little spaces of joy throughout my home.

Reading... stories to Carly from the regular bookshelves, not just her bookshelf.  It's so exciting to read her new books.  I love watching her face take in the pictures. She often asks questions, or will choose the same book a night or two in a row, so she can get familiar with the new story.  Her current favorites are We're Going on a Bear Hunt and Big Smelly Bear.

Letting... Carly try using her potty when she asked this week.  She even actually peed in it!  I gave her m&m's and she was so excited to tell her brothers about it when we Facetimed them.  I'm not sure she's ready to try potty training full time, but I was proud of her for wanting to try it, and relieved she's not scared of it.

Loving... watching my children sleep.  Something about seeing them all curled up with their sweet little heads on their pillows, clutching their favorite stuffed animals, snuggled in their blankets, just sets my heart at ease and makes my mama heart beat a little slower.

***

Life Lately

Here are some snippets of life lately around here:

The other day Logan was saying "In this house I think Carly's first word will be "Seahawk".  That will make dad so proud."

He considered this for a while then said with a smirk,  "Or maybe it will be Patriot.  And dad will not be proud."  Then he was cracking up!

That same day Jack and I were discussing last names and he said he wished all his family was "Cunningham" cause that would be simpler.  We talked over who has different last names and why and he decided that boys should take the girls last name some of the time.  I thought that was very progressive of him.

We talked about my old last name being Raatz and he told me, "Because that is your past, it will be dropped!" in a creepy, mystical voice, while waving his hands around like a magician.  I don't know where they come up with this stuff!

Jack was guessing my favorite number (which is 26).  He assumed my favorite number would be my age and said, "Well, I don't know how old you are." I told him it wasn't my age and that it was a big number.  He guess 100, then 99.  I told him it was below 30.  He guessed 29, 28 and then 23.  I laughed and said it was a number that sounded beautiful.  So he proceeded to opera-sing the number twenty-three.  "Tweeenntyyyy threeeee," he sang.  I lost it. I was laughing so hard I cried.  He goes, "What? It sounds beautiful, doesn't it?"  Oh my gosh. It felt good to laugh so hard.

***

Wyatt got new clothes from my mom.
He stacked them up in his bedside table for the next day.

Spring weather has meant walks with mommy.
So much fun!

Wyatt loves riding his bike at the school nearby.

The boys always fight over who gets to drink the last of the milk from the jug.
This day it was Wyatt's turn.

Exciting news!  My baby cousin (who is 21 now-- how is that possible!?!) is getting married in May, so my sister and I are throwing her a bridal shower this weekend. I'm excited to see her and her sister and meet the groom.  (These are her invitations)

I absolutely love that Logan "corrected" the spelling of SHELLEY in his Daily Oral Language sentence since I spell it SHELLY. :)

This made me laugh.
It's so true.

Wyatt makes "guys" of everything.
Drawings, Legos, even Magnetix.

Life with boys:
They were killing a spider. It was intense!

Spring is here, and with it sunshine & flowers.
They both make me so happy!

I'm back at reading. Hooray!
This one: Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin

Speaking of books:

Our book club has made a list of summer reads to take us from now through August and we would love to have you join us if you're interested! Request to join the club on Facebook and order your May books!!!

This month I read:

The Edge of the Water

And I'm working on:

Women, Food & God by Geneen Roth

Little Face by Sophie Hannah

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

May is rapidly approaching. I guess I better get reading!

I walked in on this scene after brushing my teeth one night.
Wyatt reading to his little sister.
He makes me so proud!

We pushed through mommy's spring fever and are carrying on with homeschool.
I am so excited for summer break though!

We are on the three week countdown to Josh coming home.   Between my Workout Challenge and the boys' two baseball teams, I'm praying time flies between now & then!!!

Disconnecting

My book club just finished reading The Winter of Our Disconnect: How Three Totally Wired Teenagers (and a Mother Who Slept with Her iPhone) Pulled the Plug on Their Technology and Lived to Tell the Tale by Susan Maushart.  I am hopeful that I'm forever changed.  I loved this book so much.  It stretched my knowledge on media, challenged me to take a hard look at my own use of screens, and made me determined to guide my children well through these same waters when their time comes.

Basically the book is about a journalist who kicks all technology (television, tablets, cell phones, computers, internet) out of her house.  She and her three teenagers spend a lot of time cooking, visiting, reading and sleeping during their six month fast.

Mixed in with her personal experience, she presents a ton of research on the topic of technology-- phone use, television exposure, and the like.  She presents it in a very readable way, and I can't tell you how many pages I marked or underlined in my copy of the book.

First off, it makes me want to read Thoreou's Walden Pond, which inspired her journey.

Second, I want to re-approach my life with Monotasking (or uni-tasking) as my goal.  All the studies show that no one (seriously. no one.) does multi-tasking well (which I found offensive because I was sure that I was good at it) and I want to work harder to be in the moment I'm in, not scroll through my phone in an effort to avoid it.

Maushart also talks about our inability to read anything deep or lengthy.  I find this to be totally true of myself.  Getting started on a really large or challenging book, or truly reading (and comprehending) a long article are far more challenging to me than they used to be.  I think this is because our screens now spoon-feed us our information.  We don't have to work as hard as we used to.

Along those same lines, she presents the argument that we are raising currently a generation that is used to getting what they want when they want it with minimal effort.  I myself am entirely guilty.  I wait in line furiously tapping my foot as I wait my turn.  I pull through the drive through, irritated that it takes eight minutes to get my meal.  I roll my eyes and groan when my Facebook page doesn't pull up instantaneously on my laptop when I click the icon.  The list goes on.  We have become an impatient generation.

We're also, despite all the connectivity, a really disconnected generation.  It seems the more we "connect" online, the less connected we actually are.  Studies have shown it.  And my life is proof.  Despite the fact that I had: Facebook, email, Skype and my blog to stay connected to my loved ones while I was in rural Alaska, I ended up anxious and depressed, suffering from feelings of loneliness.  Nothing is the same as face time.

Which is exactly what Sharon Turkle, TED Speaker, says.  How do we rectify these disconnected connections?  It is as simple as making real conversations a priority again, she assures us, and making some areas technology free.  The areas I'm choosing are: Meal time, homeschool time and bedtime.  I believe that by making these areas phone & TV free, the boys will know that they are my top priority.  Not having it at the table during homeschool should be easy.  Same with bedtime.  But leaving the phone upstairs during meal times? That one's going to be a challenge.  But with that, I think some real connecting will start going on, and that will make it worth it.

*

Another important point that Maushart makes in her book is that boredom is self diagnosed, first of all, and not actually bad for you, second of all.  It's not my job to be an activity coordinator. Yet if I eliminate screens, that's exactly what ends up happening.  From the book I learned that kids LOVING the screens, and claiming they gain true happiness from them, doesn't mean they are good for them. In fact, they're bad for them.  And a little boredom? Might actually do them some good.  Might promote some creativity.

So then, with all this information, what is the answer?  Be choosier about friends on Facebook or Instagram?  Get rid of everything?  Become a tech tyrant and berate all your friends and family into joining you on a six month break from all things with screens?

I tend to be  black & white thinker, but when it comes to technology we really must look at it in shades of gray because it can enhance our lives (like online bill pay, FaceTime when your husband is 2500 miles away, or ordering groceries when you live in rural Alaska...) but it can also hurt us (ie cause us to ignore people, lack human connection & waste valuable time).

I think for me, the first answer is: Awareness.  Just being aware that cell phones, tablets and televisions can put distance between people is a start.  Just being aware that real conversations are important and people need to feel heard is a start.  The second answer is: Be Choosy.  With three kids, and another on the way, I need to be choosy about where I spend my time online.  And the third, as I mentioned above is: Put It Away.  There needs to be times when I'm unavailable.  It's good for my psyche.  And it shows my kids that they are more important than my 8th grade best friends' Facebook status update.

***

In addition to the TED talk, I also loved this article I shared on Facebook.  

In it, the author says, "You need to suppress your empathy "gene" in order to participate fully in the mobile revolution." I feel this so fully.  And I have so many times felt "half listened" to and ignored by other people on their phones.  And, if we're being honest, I've also been the one "half listening" at times...

We don't have rules or etiquette.  There's no way to say to someone, "Dude, can you put that away? You're making me feel small and unimportant."  But that's what we want to say! We want to be more important than Facebook or that text from someone else.

So what should the rules be?  When you're with another human being, put your phone away, not on the table between you.  When you have a chance for real interaction with other people, let yourself be fully immersed in it.  It's the only way to fully live your life.

As my friend Ashley said, 

"Screens shouldn't become an escape from reality, but should compliment reality."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

***

Blogtober

In the past I have participated in many different blogging challenges, but my favorites are always the ones that challenge me to blog everyday for a month.  Sometimes I would join a group of bloggers doing so, and sometimes I would just challenge myself.  This month I am joining my bff blogging inspirations-- Ashley & Tab-- (okay, yeah, so we've never actually met, but that doesn't mean we can't claim to all be best friends!) and I am committing to blogging everyday in October. 

Hence, "Blogtober".

***

{Our rightie, Jack}

To catch you all up since it's been a while...

I am currently doing baseball with the twins, which means three days a week we load up the car and head to the ball field.  This being their first time (ever!) on a team, they are doing really well.  I am so proud of them.  

I'm also homeschooling all three boys (the twins are in second grade & Wyatt is doing pre-k, plus I'm teaching him to read.  Today he read his first full sentence and we all got so darn excited!) and am enjoying our time homeschooling.

I'm involved in two book clubs.  One is online (The Inspired Readers) where we're reading The Winter of Our Disconnect by Susan Maushart (seriously. read this. please.); and the other is with my mom and a friend of hers where we are reading "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle.  (Deep.  Everything in this book is so deep!)

We are a few weeks away from Josh coming home for a visit and when he comes it will have been three months since he last saw us.  I am (very much) more pregnant and I think the kids have grown too.  It's going to be an awesome visit and we are all counting down the days!

Other then that, it's just regular mom stuff each day.  Cooking, cleaning, laundry.  Loving, hugging, soothing.  That "regular" mom stuff is keeping me quite busy considering I don't have the dad here to give me breaks.  I think that's why the blog has suffered.  I'm looking forward to giving it some much needed attention this month.

{Our leftie, Logan}

 I'm hoping this month to spend some time blogging about:

• Twins and Twins vs. Singletons
• Book Reviews of the two books I'm reading
• Summer Memories that are backlogged in my Draft folder
• What our Living Situation looks like with the in-laws
• Some little boy Funnies
• The Conclusion (3/3) to my online fiction: Part 1 & Part 2

So stay tuned!!!