Life Right Now #16

As I look outside my window: The sun is going down (it's Saturday night) on a beautiful but windy day.

Right now I am: Watching the latest episode of Doctor Who while skimming some blog posts.

Thinking and pondering: Hoping that Arthur feels better tomorrow. He's had a rumbly tummy and a fever all day. Poor baby. It's probably just a virus, but it still sucks that he's sick.

On my bedside table: I need to start Born a Crime by Trevor Noah for this month's book club. I also have the next book in the Dorothy Must Die series to read.

On my tv this week: We've been watching some movies with the twins at night (John Wick Chapter 2; Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels). I also snuck in a few episodes of When Calls the Heart.

Listening to: Lots and lots of podcasts. I caught up with One Bad Mother, The Simple Show, and Elise Gets Crafty.

On the menu for this week:

Monday - Chicken Parmesan
Tuesday - Tacos
Wednesday - Italian Beef Sandwiches
Thursday - Pizza
Friday - Sesame Chicken
Saturday - Spaghetti
Sunday - Leftovers

On my to do list: I need to get another crafting project or two completed this week. Ideally I would like to finish my May memory planner pages.

Happening this week:

Monday - Mini golf and arcade time; Grocery
Tuesday - Beach day at Half Moon Bay
Wednesday - OBM Playdate at our house
Thursday - Stamp Club
Friday - Possibly Fremont Eats for dinner
Saturday - Possibly Asian Art Museum
Sunday - Pirate Festival in Vallejo

What I am creating: June's SSINK cards. I have two more to finish.

My simple pleasures: Chocolate mug cakes; planner pages; crafting time with friends

From the camera: All you need is a box!

Next up on the TBR Pile:

Dorothy Must Die Stories Vol. 2 by Danielle Paige

Title: Dorothy Must DieStories Vol. 2 (Dorothy Must Die #0.4-0.6)

Author: Danielle Page

Publisher: HarperCollins 2016

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 336

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Fairytale Retellings

Follow Dorothy’s iconic companions from the beloved classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as each of their gifts becomes key to the downfall of Oz. After Dorothy Gale wished her way home and long before Amy Gumm found herself in Oz, Dorothy’s friends left the Road of Yellow Brick to go their separate ways. But in a place like Oz, where magic and temptation lurk, the gifts from the Wizard begin to take on a life of their own. The Tin Woodman becomes twisted with longing. The Scarecrow develops a taste for plotting. And doubt consumes the Cowardly Lion.

Another three prequels from the Dorothy Must Die series. This time, we focus on Dorothy's companions: the Tinman, the Scarecrow, and the Lion.

"Heart of Tin" -- My least favorite of the three stories. I'm really not a fan of Tin at all. His "love" for Dorothy is weird and creepy. Of the three companions, I see him as the weakest. This story filled in some of the gaps, but it wasn't great mostly because of the main character.

"The Straw King" -- Very interesting story. I loved the political maneuvering between Glinda and Scare. Their relationship is one of the more interesting ones in the series. I hope we get even more back and forth between them in the next book.

"Ruler of Beasts" -- I didn't think I would enjoy this series based off of the Lion in Dorothy Must Die, but I loved it. We get to see the Lion's eventual fall, but more importantly, we get to see what happened to Ozma before Dorothy came back. And we get to meet the Nome King which was oh so much fun! Finally, the question of how Dorothy was brought back is answered.

Can't wait to see where this series goes! But first, I need to finish the last three prequel stories.

Dorothy Must Die

#0.1 No Place Like Oz
#0.2 The Witch Must Burn
#0.3 The Wizard Returns
#0.4 Heart of Tin
#0.5 The Straw King
#0.6 Ruler of Beasts
#0.7 Order of the Wicked
#0.8 Dark Side of the Rainbow
#0.9 The Queen of Oz
#1 Dorothy Must Die
#2 The Wicked Will Rise
#3 Yellow Brick War
#4 The End of Oz

Next up on the TBR pile:

It's Summer Videos!

Really good movie, and yeah, it's pretty hard to find things to make fun of...

Now don't screw it up!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #10

Reading: The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Flaming. Finally getting around to reading this one!

Watching: Still watching When Calls the Heart on Netflix. Silly melodramatic period show, but love it!

Listening: Been putting The Lumineers on repeat lately. Loving the mellow sound.

Making: Starting work on May's Memory Planner pages this week.

Feeling: Very excited and looking forward to the next few weeks.

Planning: Getting the rest of June planned out.

Loving: The twins arrive today! So excited to have them here for the summer!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Tuesday -- Amy Lee "Speak to Me"

Next up on the TBR Pile:

Quentin: 36 Weeks

Likes: Arthur, Arthur, and Arthur

Dislikes: Napping, having getting food immediately when hungry

Sleeping: Q is officially bunking in with Arthur. Surprisingly it's going well so far. Q seems to chill and then fall asleep. Arthur is the one have problems getting to sleep.

Arthur wouldn't move so Q tried to go over

Eating: All the things. His current favorite is the yogurt melts. He would eat an entire bag in one sitting if I let him.

Playing: He's getting into all the toys! Really loving anything that makes noise and Arthur's hot wheel cars and dinos.

Milestones:

Cutting out the morning (or afternoon) nap — Haha!!! This kid hasn't taking two naps a day for months. It's a lucky day if he takes one nap.
Mastering stacking and filling — Nope not yet. He's been putting things in and out of buckets but no stacking.
Recognizing names, words, daily activities — He's starting to have word recognition.

Out and About: This past week we finally got a new car (a Honda Odyssey), so now I can go places with both boys any day. We ran a ton of errands, hit the park, went to a playdate, and celebrated a friend's birthday at a park. This week, the twins are arriving, so we will be out and about even more!

Next up on the TBR Pile:

Life Right Now #15

As I look outside my window: Sunny and clear. The usual here...

Right now I am: Getting ready to leave for book club. We're discussing And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Such a great little mystery.

Thinking and pondering: I know I'm forgetting some items from my twins' arrival prep list, but I can't remember what they were. This will be bugging me all day...

On my bedside table: Dorothy Must Die Stories Vol. 2 and 3; The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Flaming; Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

On my tv this week: Not much. We finally started Supernatural. I watched the first four seasons, but J never watched. I'm still watching When the Heart Calls on Netflix. Finished S1 this week. And I finally watched the first two weeks of The Bachelorette.

Listening to: Catching up on some of my podcasts.

On the menu for this week:

Monday - Rotisserie Chicken, fruit, cheese
Tuesday - Spinach and Artichoke Melts
Wednesday - BBQ Chicken
Thursday - Smothered Pork Chops
Friday - Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Rice
Saturday - Sloppy Joe's
Sunday - Leftovers

On my to do list: Never-ending list. I'm hoping to finish the craft blog fix this week (only three months to go). I also need to finish some blog drafts and get my lists around.

Happening this week:

Monday - Oakland Zoo visit!
Tuesday - Last minute Safeway, Costco, Sprouts, Target runs
Wednesday - The twins arrive!!! The littles are going to hang out with a mom friend while I get the twins from the airport. Then we are going have a picnic lunch.
Thursday - Library, random errands, pool day?
Friday - ???
Saturday - Stamp club
Sunday - ???

What I am creating: April's memory planner pages. Just about finished with those. Hoping to start May's pages this week.

My simple pleasures: Sunshine, park playdates where Arthur can roam, ice water

Looking around the house: We finally got Quentin bunked with Arthur. I need to do a quick clean of the twins' room and thinking of switching around a furniture pieces.

From the camera: Such a ham!

Next up on the TBR Pile:

Secrets of the Heart by Candace Camp

Title: Secrets of the Heart (Agincourt #3)

Author: Candace Camp

Publisher: Harlequin 2005

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 416

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR

On the eve of her wedding to Michael Trent, the Earl of Westhampton, Rachel Aincourt tried to elope with another man—only to be unceremoniously returned to her fiancé by her strong-willed father. Burdened by guilt and shame, Rachel felt she'd gotten what she deserved: a loveless marriage to a cold, enigmatic husband. She was wrong.

Behind Michael's proper demeanor lay a man who thrived on danger and intrigue—and now he'd been drawn into one of Bow Street's toughest cases. When the crime turned into a murder that involved Rachel, Michael found a new way to employ his mastery of disguise: seducing the wife he secretly loved. But would he finally be able to win her heart…or would he destroy his last chance for happiness?

So I enjoyed the first two books in this series, but I think this one was my favorite. I loved the characters of Rachel and Michael. We got a few glimpses of their story in the first two books, but I'm so glad we got to hear it all in this book. The characters were great. The romance was spot on. And even the slightly wild and unbelievable mystery didn't distract from my enjoyment. Definitely a great wrap up to the trilogy.

Aincourt

#1 So Wild a Heart
#2 The Hidden Heart
#3 Secrets of the Heart

Next up on the TBR pile:

Roman Holiday by Jodi Taylor

Title: Roman Holiday (The Chronicles of St. Mary’s #3.5)

Author: Jodi Taylor

Publisher: Accent Press 2014

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 36

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR

Another rollicking short story from the Chronicles of St Mary's. Question: What sort of idiot installs his mistress in his wife's house? Especially when that mistress is Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator, Queen of Egypt and the most notorious woman of her time? Answer: Julius Caesar - poised to become King of Rome. Or as good as. Question: At this potentially sensitive point in your political manoeuvrings, who are the last people you'd want crashing through the door, observing, recording, documenting ...? I think we all know the answer to that one. Roman Holiday - an epic, stand alone tale set in Ancient Rome, 44 BC, featuring, in no particular order: an attempted murder, stampeding bullocks, Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, a bowl of poisonous snakes, a smallish riot, Julius Caesar, and Mr Markham's wayward bosoms.

I love these crazy adventures of the historians from St. Mary's. This was a super short story, but I loved the descriptions of the characters both historical and fictional. Such a fun little read. Can't wait to read the next one...

The Chronicles of St. Mary’s:

#0.5 The Very First Damned Thing
#1 Just One Damned Thing After Another
#2 A Symphony of Echoes
#2.5 When A Child is Born
#3 A Second Chance
#3.5 Roman Holiday
#4 A Trail Through Time
#4.5 Christmas Present
#5 No Time Like the Past
#6 What Could Possibly Go Wrong
#6.5 Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings
#7 Lies, Damned Lies, and History
#7.5 The Great St. Mary’s Day Out
#7.6 My Name is Markham
#8 And the Rest is History

Next up on the TBR pile:

June 2017 Life Goals

Let’s check in on May’s goals and my progress.

Read 3000 pages -- Fail. I fell short with only 2886 pages read.
Move Quentin to Arthur's room -- Fail. Obviously this has to happen this weekend as the twins come on Wednesday.
Buy a car -- Success! I finally have a car that can fit all 6 of us.
Plan out summer -- Success! We have a tentative plan for weekly activities and trips around the Bay Area.
Get a haircut -- Success! I stopped in after stamp club and chopped at good 5 inches off. Q still pulls my hair sometimes, but it's not at easily accessible now.
Renew Costco membership -- Success! Just in time for the twins to arrive.

June's Goals: Keeping the list light as we are going to be so busy with all the kiddos in the house.

Check off 10 items from our summer bucket list -- I have a huge list with some tentative dates. Now to get to the fun!
Update our clothing wish lists -- Arthur is definitely going to be needing some bigger clothes soon. I need to reevaluate Quentin's situation. And the twins need stuff for summer and the fall.
Knock out at least six months of the blog fix -- I'm almost finish with the craft blog but still have like 6 months to go. Then I need to start on this blog.
Meal plan for June and July -- Have a start of this list, but I want to get it all planned out soon...

Next up on the TBR pile:

Summer 2017 Reading

It's almost summer break here (at least for those kids in school) and I'm ready for a great season of reading. To help me, I've made a short list of the books I want to tackle this summer:

Rest of Dorothy Must Die series by Danielle Paige:
1. Stories Vol. 2
2. Stories Vol. 3
3. The Wicked Will Rise
4. Yellow Brick War
5. The End of Oz
The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare (loaned from a friend):
1. The Clockwork Angel
2. Clockwork Prince
3. Clockwork Princess
The Kingdom of Ohio by Matthew Flaming
Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Secrets of the Heart by Candace Camp
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield
Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman
The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton
Simply series by Mary Balogh
1. Simply Unforgettable
2. Simply Love
3. Simply Magic
4. Simply Perfect