The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews

Title: The Siren of Sussex (Belles of London #1)

Author: Mimi Matthews

Publisher: Berkley 2022

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 400

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - City or Country in Title; Romanceopoly - Past Eaves (Read the historical romance that catches your interest)

Spice Rating: 2

Evelyn Maltravers understands exactly how little she's worth on the marriage mart. As an incurable bluestocking from a family tumbling swiftly toward ruin, she knows she'll never make a match in a ballroom. Her only hope is to distinguish herself by making the biggest splash in the one sphere she excels: on horseback. In haute couture. But to truly capture London's attention she'll need a habit-maker who's not afraid to take risks with his designs—and with his heart.

Half-Indian tailor Ahmad Malik has always had a talent for making women beautiful, inching his way toward recognition by designing riding habits for Rotten Row's infamous Pretty Horsebreakers—but no one compares to Evelyn. Her unbridled spirit enchants him, awakening a depth of feeling he never thought possible.

But pushing boundaries comes at a cost and not everyone is pleased to welcome Evelyn and Ahmad into fashionable society. With obstacles spanning between them, the indomitable pair must decide which hurdles they can jump and what matters most: making their mark or following their hearts?

I went into this book expecting a story like The Heiress Gets a Duke or Bringing Down the Duke. Unfortunately, we get a very staid book that dragged throughout the entire story veering off onto tangents about the exact details of habit making and horse breeding. Initially I was excited about the main characters and their individual back stories. But somehow, the characters never really connected to me or to each other. Weirdly, I felt like the was a second book in the series. Ahmad’s constant dropping of hints at an entire backstory was teasing. I thought I had accidentally picked up a second in a series book instead of a first. But alas, I was just annoyed about this great backstory that we never got to really hear about. I could have dealt with most of this, but then, we get absolutely no steamy scenes. Seriously, this was a 2 on my scale. Not even a fade to black for us. Not a series that I want to continue.

Belles of London

• #1 The Siren of Sussex

• #2 The Belle of Belgrave Square

• #3 The Lily of Legate Hill

• #4 The Muse of Maiden Lane

Next up on the TBR pile:

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

Title: A House with Good Bones

Author: T. Kingfisher

Publisher: Tor Nightfire 2023

Genre: Horror

Pages: 247

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Book Club - With a Dedication

"Mom seems off."

Her brother's words echo in Sam Montgomery's ear as she turns onto the quiet North Carolina street where their mother lives alone.

She brushes the thought away as she climbs the front steps. Sam's excited for this rare extended visit, and looking forward to nights with just the two of them, drinking boxed wine, watching murder mystery shows, and guessing who the killer is long before the characters figure it out.

But stepping inside, she quickly realizes home isn’t what it used to be. Gone is the warm, cluttered charm her mom is known for; now the walls are painted a sterile white. Her mom jumps at the smallest noises and looks over her shoulder even when she’s the only person in the room. And when Sam steps out back to clear her head, she finds a jar of teeth hidden beneath the magazine-worthy rose bushes, and vultures are circling the garden from above.

To find out what’s got her mom so frightened in her own home, Sam will go digging for the truth. But some secrets are better left buried.

Another very creepy horror story from Kingfisher that I absolutely adored. We started with a typically story about family. But pretty quickly we start to realize that something isn’t quite right in this house. The book follows along with quiet dread for awhile before the last third of the book kicks the horror into high gear. I loved Sam’s narration of her life and her memories of childhood. Once we get to the horror part, I was truly horrified. The reveal at the kitchen table made me gasp. And from there, it’s nonstop horror until the end. Oh so good! I am completely a Kingfisher convert and must read everything she has written.

Next up on the TBR pile:

May 2023 Life Goals

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

• Read 18 Books - A rare miss for me… oh well.

• Make a Summer Bucket List ✓

• Knock Out My Brain Dump List ✓

• Plan for Coop Wrap for the Year ✓

May Goals:

• Read 18 Books

• Execute Coop Field Day

• Plan Out July Indiana/Ohio Trip

• Finalize Retreat Plans and Packing

• Knock Out 5 Items on the Summer Bucket List

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #8

Reading: After a disappointing historical romance, I wanted something a bit more fun. I’ve picked up When in Rome by Sarah Adams and so far, it’s hitting the spot.

Watching: J and I started watching Citadel and we’re sorta intrigued. We’re going to give it 3-4 episodes to really grab our attention.

Listening: I went on a big podcast backlist kick and listened a ton of Revolutions (S3 Haitian Revolution) and 99PI episodes.

Making: The boys and I worked on our summer bucket list (started yesterday) and I decided to make a scrapbook for them. I did something similar years ago for the twins and tried to recreate. Arthur was delighted when I showed him yesterday. I even left space for pictures they take.

Feeling: I had a terrible pain flare last week. Feeling better, but my body was so angry. I’m still recovering.

Planning: With that summer bucket list, I’m filling out the rest of our schedule for summer.

Loving: Today a friend set up a park playdate. I was just thinking that we had nothing on the schedule for today and a friend stepped in and fixed the problem. We love having free morning with friends.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W30: Pain Flares Disrupt the Schedule

What We Studied

This wrap up is another one with a Flex Week and a regular week all wrapped into one. Unfortunately, I had a massive pain flare during the regular week that disrupted our schedule and put me out of commission for a few days. We missed a few events we were looking forward to.

Literature and Poetry

J continued reading the Bromeliad trilogy to the boys at bedtime. They finished the second book and immediately had to read the third one. Nearing the end of that one already.

So, I switched around our read alouds and had Arthur start on the next coop book club book during the day. We’re liking this modern day Viking story.

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickinson

• The Last Shadow Warrior by Sam Subity

• How to Write a Poem by Kwame Alexander

Quentin focused on reading animal stories from around the world. I’m trying to line them up with our continents as we move across the world. We took a side trip to read the start of a new series. I thought he didn’t really like it, but last library visit he independently found the second one. He was disappointed when I said we were reading something else. But we’ll be done soon and then we can read his chosen series.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

• Zooey and Sassafras: Dragons and Marshmallows by Asia Citro

• Audrey of the Outback by Christine Harris

• This is the Planet Where I Live by KL Going

• The Pirates are Coming by John Condon

Math

For both boys, we have scheduled math for three days a week. One day is focused on logic, games, puzzles, and special projects. The two other days are focused on covering the main math curriculum (Singapore 4A and 4B for Arthur and Singapore 1A and 1B for Quentin). We continued our financial literacy unit. Quentin has very small lessons. Arthur is going more in depth. We’re taking it slow, but continuing with the unit.

• Financial Literacy Grade 3

• Singapore 1B

• Lots and Lots of Coins by Margarette S. Reid

• Give Save Spend with the Three Little Pigs by Clint Greenleaf

• One Proud Penny by Randy Siegel

• 10 Fascinating About Dollar Bills by Chris Jozefowicz

• What is Money? by Rebecca Rissman

• Paper Money by Dana Meachen Rau

• Counting Money by Julie Dalton

• Making Change at the Fair by Julie Dalton

• What Can You Do with Money? by Jennifer S. Larson

• Save It! by Cinders McLeod

• Spend It! by Cinders McLeod

• How Many Pennies Make a Dollar? by Rebecca Wingard-Nelson

• I Can Count Money by Rebecca Wingard-Nelson

• I Can Name Bills and Coins by Rebecca Wingard-Nelson

Social Studies

Arthur continued his large study of United States history using a combination of Build Your Library Level 5 and History Quest United States History. We are on to the Oregon Trail and the Gold Rush.

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• We were There Too by Philip Hoose

• Words that Built a Nation

• History Quest: U.S. History

• A Different Mirror

• DK American History Visual Encyclopedia

• Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

• Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

• Smart About the First Ladies

• Which Way to the Wild West by Steve Sheinkin

• The Oregon Trail by Mel Friedman

• The Oregon Trail: Danger at the Haunted Gate by Jesse Wiley

• The Oregon Trail: The Search for Snake River by Jesse Wiley

• The Oregon Trail: The Road to Oregon City by Jesse Wiley

• Hazardous Tales: Donner Dinner Party

• What Was the Gold Rush? By Joan Holub

• Gold! Gold from the American River! by Don Brown

• Life During the California Gold Rush by Bethany Onsgard

• John Sutter and The California Gold Rush (Graphic History) by Matt Doeden and Charles Barnett III

• The California Gold Rush by Mel Friedman

• Mark Twain and the Queens of the Mississippi by Cheryl Harness

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. Moved on to our last inhabited by humans continent of Australia and Oceania. We covered Australia and New Zealand this past week.

• Nat Geo Beginner’s World Atlas

• DK Countries of the World

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me: A School Like Mine

• D is for Down Under by Devin Scillian

• Living In Australia by Chloe Perkins

• Australia by Madeline Donaldson

• Australia ABCs by Sarah Heiman

• Wombat Walkabout by Carol Diggory Shields

• Birrarung Wilam by Aunty Joy Murphy

• Under the Southern Cross by Frané Lessac

• Wombat Said Come In by Carmen Agra Deedy

• Sun Mother Wakes the World by Diane Wolkstein

• Magic Beach by Alison Lester

• Possum Magic by Mem Fox

Arthur Independent Time

We are working on following a checklist in a planner for weekly independent work. There’s usually some math workbook pages, an ELA packet, weekly writing prompts (1-2 times a week), independent reading time, and a special creative project. There has been many drawing projects lately.

Science

Arthur is focusing on Physics this year. We are covering the text and related videos at home and then joining friends for experiments and extra projects. The boys finished their model engines. I have to admit, they look pretty neat. We did the textbook readings about light, but my pain flare canceled our experiment class. We’ll get to it next week.

• RSO Physics

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

• The Way Things Work Now

• A Ray of Light by Walter Wick

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We continued watching a new documentary series called Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It’s a behind the scenes look at caring for the animals at the park. Each episode is less than 30 minutes, so it’s a perfect length for Q. We also covered animals from Australia.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

• The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

• Watching Kangaroos in Australia by Louise and Richard Spilsbury

• Do You Really Want to Meet a Kangaroo? by Cari Meister

• Bilby: Secrets of an Australian Marsupial by Edel Wignell

STEAM Coop

The oldest group has moved on to their last theme of the year: Math + Art in Science. During Flex Week, they worked on tessellation and repeating patterns. The littles focused on planting their own bean plants. The next week, the bigs learned about orienteering by using a compass to hid and then find an object at the park. They are all terrible cartographers, but we’re trying. The littles made paper.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We’re planning one doing on art project and one cooking project each week as well as picking a composer or musician to listen to and enjoy. We started watched Into the West, the mini series from early 2000s. I really like how it follows two main families from the 1820s all the way to the 1870s. We get to see how the west changes in that 50 years hitting all the big events. We’ll be continuing for the next few weeks.

We also had our coop Earth Day party at a park on the perfect day. Along with lots of playground playtime, the kids played bingo and made painted pots, sun catchers, and moss balls. They had a blast. We are definitely continuing these holiday parties next year.

Field Trip

Our field trip was a guided lesson at Arbor Day Farm. The farm is one of our favorite places to visit. It was created on the site of J. Sterling Morton’s original orchard. He was the creator of Arbor Day. After a lesson about bees and pollination, the kids spent hours exploring and playing. The tree house and trampolines are amazing. We always plan on spending the entire day there when we visit.

Dentist appointments - they did amazingly!

High

• Besides our Arbor Day Farm trip, we had a lovely walk with friends at Heron Haven. We’ve loved to see how the seasons change the landscape. We spotted birds, but no frogs this time. I bet they are out now. We’ll definitely be back soon.

Low

• My brain bees got very angry after having coop in my house during Flex Week (it was raining all day). I just wanted to throw everything in the house out the windows and start over. Instead. I focused on the playroom and breakfast nook. We sorted everything and reorganized our bookcases and cubbies. I got rid of a ton of stuff (mostly early education aids that we gave to friends) and threw away a bag of trash. We also took down the Baker’s Rack and I must say that the breakfast nook is so much nicer. No cluttered corner distracting my focus. Now to need to work on my office…

Doing the bee dance

Next Week

• Finishing our current read alouds

• Continuing a financial literacy unit (both kids)

• Covering light and optics for physics

• Moving on to Oceania for social studies

• Watching another episode or two of Into the West

• Catching up with our math and language arts packets and random pages

Next up on the TBR pile:

April 2023 Wrap-up

April TBR Pile (16/27):

1. Bookworms BC: The Library of the Unwritten by AJ Hackwith

2. Friend BC: Crossings by Alex Landragin ✓

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal ✓

4. Currently Reading Bookish Friends BC: TBD

5. Kid Read Aloud: Midsummer’s Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca ✓

6. Kid Read Aloud: The Greatest Gift by Kallie George ✓

7. Kid Book Club: The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix ✓

8. Kid Book Club: The Last Shadow Warrior by Sam Subity

9. Fantasy: The Other Half of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

10. Fantasy: Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost ✓

11. Fantasy: King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair

12. Fantasy: The Night Ship by Jess Kidd ✓

13. Fantasy: The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill ✓

14. Fantasy: First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost ✓

15. Comics: The Many Deaths of Laila Starr by Ram V and Filipe Andrade

16. Romance: Radiant Sin by Katee Robert ✓

17. Romance: The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews

18. Romance: The Dark King by Gina L. Maxwell ✓

19. Romance: A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair ✓

20. Romance: A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

21. Romance: The Vampire Villain by Melody Ryan ✓

22. Romance: Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez ✓

23. Scifi: Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel

24. Nonfiction: The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukerjee

25. Nonfiction: The Angel Makers by Patricia Nell McCracken

26. Nonfiction: Come as Your Are by Emily Nagoski ✓

27. Horror: The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher ✓

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 5506 pages
Pages Remaining: 331,917 pages

Current Read - The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews; A Year in the Woods by Torbjørn Ekelund

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Books Bought/Received (0)

UnRead Shelf Progress

• Starting Number: 338

• Books Read: 4

• Books Acquired: 0

• Books Unshelved: 0

• Finishing Number: 334

May TBR Pile: In general, I’m throwing out my TBR plan for May and just going with my mood. I’m only going to list my book club books that I need to read and the kids read alouds.

1. Bookworms BC: The Library of the Unwritten by AJ Hackwith

2. Friend BC: The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan

3. Nerdy Bookish Friends BC: I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

4. Kid Read Aloud: Audrey of the Outback by Christine Harris

5. Kid Book Club: The Last Shadow Warrior by Sam Subity

Movies Watched

• 65 - Silly, but fun action film.

• The Toll - We do love our quirky black comedies. This one is from Wales.

• The Portable Door - Delightful fantasy movie. I loved it.

• Ghosted - Decent romcom, but nothing too special.

• Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania - Very uneven and nonstop action. There were no scenes to really breathe. Not my favorite.

TV Shows Watched 

• The Misfits S2-3

• The Big Door Prize S1

• Ted Lasso S3

• The Mandolorian S3

• Last Week Tonight

• The Toys that Built America

Comments -

Next up on the TBR pile:

Crossings by Alex Landragin

Title: Crossings

Author: Alex Landragin

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy

Pages: 384

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf

On the brink of the Nazi occupation of Paris, a German-Jewish bookbinder stumbles across a manuscript called Crossings. It has three narratives, each as unlikely as the next. And the narratives can be read one of two ways: either straight through or according to an alternate chapter sequence.

The first story in Crossings is a never-before-seen ghost story by the poet Charles Baudelaire, penned for an illiterate girl. Next is a noir romance about an exiled man, modeled on Walter Benjamin, whose recurring nightmares are cured when he falls in love with a storyteller who draws him into a dangerous intrigue of rare manuscripts, police corruption, and literary societies. Finally, there are the fantastical memoirs of a woman-turned-monarch whose singular life has spanned seven generations.

With each new chapter, the stunning connections between these seemingly disparate people grow clearer and more extraordinary. Crossings is an unforgettable adventure full of love, longing and empathy.

An interesting premise and attempt at an interesting construction and yet this one ultimately fell very flat for me. I was hoping for another Cloud Cuckoo Land, a story that discussed the the ways in which humans create connections. Unfortunately, I never quite connected with any of the characters or found them remotely interesting. Every single character was incredibly unlikeable and definitely unreliable. I just couldn’t. And when we get to the larger story, I just couldn’t really care to care. I even tried reading it along the Baroness sequence after getting about 40% of the way through the regular way. I agree that the Baroness sequence makes a better flowing story, but I still didn’t really love the story at all. So another book that I was very excited about that just fell super flat for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost

Title: First Drop of Crimson (Night Huntress World #1)

Author: Jeaniene Frost

Publisher: Avon 2010

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Pages: 371

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf, Finishing the Series

Spice Meter: 5 (albeit with a vampire)

The night is not safe for mortals. Denise MacGregor knows all too well what lurks in the shadows—her best friend is half-vampire Cat Crawfield—and she has already lost more than the average human could bear. But her family's past is wrapped in secrets and shrouded in darkness—and a demon shapeshifter has marked Denise as prey. Now her survival depends on an immortal who lusts for a taste of her.

He is Spade, a powerful, mysterious vampire who has walked the earth for centuries and is now duty-bound to protect this endangered, alluring human—even if it means destroying his own kind. Denise may arouse his deepest hungers, but Spade knows he must fight his urge to have her as they face the nightmare together . . .

Because once the first crimson drop falls, they will both be lost.

A spin-off book featuring my favorite vampire, Spade. Seriously, I like him so much more than Bones (although I still love Bones). Spade is my kind of leading man. A little less quippy, but still smoldering. We finally get Spade’s story in his forced proximity story with Denise. Now Denise was not my favorite and really still isn’t my favorite. But I hung on due to the fun demon branding storyline. Plus we get to meet some other interesting vampires and our favorites make appearances. (Especially Ian’s appearance. Hello Ian!) Overall, I read this one just about one day due to a pain flare and it was just what I needed. Something fun and fast-paced to help distract from my pain. Enjoyable addition to the Night Huntress Universe.

Night Huntress World:

• #1 First Drop of Crimson

• #2 Eternal Kiss of Darkness

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Yesterday my entire body hurt. Scar tissues was very angry and radiated pain throughout my body. No fun at all.

• Being in bed half the day meant that I did read almost 2/3 of my current novel.

• Today I have to get back it with coop and errands. Still not feeling 100%, but need to push through.

• A little over a month to the bookish retreat. And I really need the break! I’m anticipating it so much.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill

Title: The Crane Husband

Author: Kelly Barnhill

Publisher: Tordotcom 2023

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 120

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR; 52 Book Club - Book starts with “the”

“Mothers fly away like migrating birds. This is why farmers have daughters.”

A fifteen-year-old teenager is the backbone of her small Midwestern family, budgeting the household finances and raising her younger brother while her mom, a talented artist, weaves beautiful tapestries. For six years, it’s been just the three of them—her mom has brought home guests at times, but none have ever stayed.

Yet when her mom brings home a six-foot tall crane with a menacing air, the girl is powerless to prevent her mom letting the intruder into her heart, and her children’s lives. Utterly enchanted and numb to his sharp edges, her mom abandons the world around her to weave the masterpiece the crane demands.

I randomly picked this one up from the New Releases shelf at the library. And I was so glad that I did. This is a very strange slim novella based on a reimagining of a classic folklore story. Right away we are dropped into a world that seems just like our own except that our narrator’s mother has brought home a crane to be their new Father. Very strange indeed. Over the next 100 pages, we slowly have to come to terms with the fact that there’s a crane/man living in the house disrupting the usual goings on in the family. Ultimately this a very sad story of a broken family.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher

Title: The Hollow Places

Author: T. Kingfisher

Publisher: Gallery / Saga 2020

Genre: Horro

Pages: 341

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 52 Books - Sends You Down a Rabbit Hole

Pray they are hungry.

Kara finds the words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring this peculiar area—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more one fears them, the stronger they become.

A deliciously creepy and strange horror novel was just what I needed this week. Right away, we get a great description for the Museum of Oddities that really sets the stage for the story. And then Kara finds a hole and things get very strange. I was seriously having some weird dreams while reading this book. Definitely a sign that I’m really enjoying the book and it’s very scary. I can still picture Kara and Simon’s encounter with Sturdivant. So very very creepy! This book gave me all the Annihilation vibes that I was looking for. And now I want to read everything Kingfisher has every written. I’m craving all the horror.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Demi Lovato "Still Alive"

Another banger from the Scream VI soundtrack. Love the cameos from Spencer and Mike.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #14

On my bedside table: The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill; Crossings by Alex Landrigan

On my tv this week: We’ve watched a few movies lately (Ant-Man, Ghosted, The Portable Door) while also continuing our currently airing shows and back episodes of Misfits.

Listening to: All the podcasts! I’m finishing S3 of the Revolutions podcast about the French Revolution. I might move on to S4 about the Haitian Revolution or switch back over to 99PI. Slowly working through all these back episodes of podcasts that I really enjoy.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - White Chicken Chili

• Tuesday - Tobe Out for Book Club

• Wednesday - Grilled Cheese Night

• Thursday - Breakfast for Dinner

• Friday - Spicy Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

• Saturday - Fish Chowder

• Sunday - Leftovers

On my to do list: So many things, but focusing on working through my miscellaneous notes on my phone. So many random phrases all jumbled up together. I’m working to get them all organized and deleted.

Happening this week:

• Monday - Kids’ Dentist Appointments

• Tuesday - Arbor Day Farm Field Trip; Book Club

• Wednesday - Science Class

• Thursday - Coop

• Friday - Platte River State Park Hike

• Saturday - Home Day

• Sunday - Home Day

What I am creating: Mostly I’m just working on organizing and clean various areas in the house. I’m apparently on a big cleanout kick. Hopefully I can get my office clean enough to work on my Memory Planner.

My simple pleasures: Lactose free ice cream - it has gotten so much better over the last few years. I can enjoy ice cream again without being in pain later. Very exciting for me!

Looking around the house: I finally sorted and cleaned the playroom and the Baker’s Rack full of homeschool crap. Wow! I feel so much better. We threw away random broken things and scraps and I have a whole pile of things to give away/sell. Removing the Baker’s Rack has really opened up on the breakfast nook. Replacing that with two rolling carts for homeschool stuff was the right choice.

From the camera: My current read for this weekend. Very very creepy. Just my type of horror.

Come as You Are by Emily Nagoski

Title: Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life

Author: Emily Nagoski

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 2015

Genre: Nonfiction - Health

Pages: 400

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR

For much of the 20th and 21st centuries, women’s sexuality was an uncharted territory in science, studied far less frequently—and far less seriously—than its male counterpart.

That is, until Emily Nagoski’s Come As You Are, which used groundbreaking science and research to prove that the most important factor in creating and sustaining a sex life filled with confidence and joy is not what the parts are or how they’re organized but how you feel about them. In the years since the book’s initial publication, countless women have learned through Nagoski’s accessible and informative guide that things like stress, mood, trust, and body image are not peripheral factors in a woman’s sexual wellbeing; they are central to it—and that even if you don’t always feel like it, you are already sexually whole by just being yourself. This revised and updated edition continues that mission with new information and advanced research, demystifying and decoding the science of sex so that everyone can create a better sex life and discover more pleasure than you ever thought possible.

Must read! Am absolute must read for all women. Nagasaki uses a conversational tone to teach us everything we need to know about sexual health. Each chapter tackles a topic or a myth and reframes health. We get a wholistic approach instead of just a focus on physical health. I learned so much after reading the book. I cannot wait to put some of the ideas I learned into practice. I definitely need to buy my own copy and probably a few more copies to give away to friends.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Title: Destined for an Early Grave (Night Huntress #4)

Author: Jeaniene Frost

Publisher: Avon 2009

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Pages: 355

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Finishing the Series

Spice Meter: 5 (albeit one with a vampire)
Her deadly dreams leave her in grave danger

Since half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her undead lover Bones met six years ago, they've fought against the rogue undead, battled a vengeful Master vampire, and pledged their devotion with a blood bond. Now it's time for a vacation. But their hopes for a perfect Paris holiday are dashed when Cat awakes one night in terror. She's having visions of a vampire named Gregor who's more powerful than Bones and has ties to her past that even Cat herself didn't know about.

Gregor believes Cat is his and he won't stop until he has her. As the battle begins between the vamp who haunts her nightmares and the one who holds her heart, only Cat can break Gregor's hold over her. She'll need all the power she can summon in order to bring down the baddest bloodsucker she's ever faced . . . even if getting that power will result in an early grave.

Another volume in this series, but this one just didn’t land for me at all. Right away, we get an intriguing plot involving a potential previous claim on Cat by another vampire. I wanted to fall into the adventure and story. Unfortunately, I really disliked the storyline about Cat and Bones’s relationship. It felt just so incredibly off from the previous works. I was in a constant state of stress the entire book. I hated all the fighting between the two of them. I just wanted to see those two reconnect and move to the next phase of their lives. The saving aspects of the book were really the side characters. Vlad and Spade were the best. They really kept the book from getting 2 stars from me.

Night Huntress:

• #0.5 Reckoning

• #1 Halfway to the Grave

• #1.2 The Other Half of the Grave

• #1.5 Happily Never After

• #2 One Foot in the Grave

• #3 At Grave’s End

• #3.5 Devil to Pay

• #4 Destined for an Early Grave

• #4.5 One for the Money

• #5 This Side of the Grave

• #6 One Grave at a Time

• #6.5 Home for the Holidays

• #7 Up from the Grave

• #7.5 Outtakes from the Grave

• #7.6 A Grave Girls’ Getaway

• #8 Both Feet in the Grave

Next up on the TBR pile:

Spring Bucket List Update #1

Another season, another bucket list. Our main goal is to get out in nature weekly.

1. Read 45 Books (20/45)

2. Movie Month - We scrapped this one for now.

3. Go on 12 Hikes (5/12)

4. Have an Indoor Picnic

5. Check Off 50 Hours Outside - We’re getting there…

6. Visit the Zoo 3 Times

7. Monthly Bingo/Trivia Nights (1/3)

8. Use the GetOut Pass 3 Times

9. Make Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

10. Make a New Dessert

11. Have an Ice Cream Sundae Night

12. Two Lincoln Excursion Days 

13. Three State Park Visits

14. Day trip to Des Moines

15. Plan out curriculum for next year - Working on this

16. Plan an Indiana trip for summer complete with mini trip - Working on this

Next Up on the TBR Pile:

Currently #7

Reading: Tackling The Library of the Unwritten by AJ Hackwith for next month’s book club selection. It’s an interesting fantasy novel, but I’ve been moving slowly through it. I’ve been very distracted when it comes to my reading this week.

Watching: After finally starting Misfits, we’re now in season three. It’s just so good!

Listening: Still working my way through Revolutions S3 podcast. The topic is the French Revolution and we’re coming to the end, but not quite there yet.

Making: Definitely need to make a batch of gazpacho for this week’s lunches. Sounded better last week with temps in the 80s. The weather has turned, but I’m still going to make it.

Feeling: After a busy weekend of stuff and tasks, I’m feeling much more relaxed.

Planning: Right now, I’m working on planning two summer trips. The boys and I are going to travel west to the Grand Island-Kearney area for a few days before my reading retreat. In July, we are going to Indiana to visit family and afterward, we’re going to drive over to Dayton to see some museums and zoos.

Loving: I made chocolate chip cookies last night and forgot just how much I love them. Warm and gooey cookies are just the best.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W29: So Much Outside Time!

What We Studied

On the schoolwork front, we had a normal week. Outside of the table work, we spent a lot of time outside. It was great to take advantage of the great weather especially as this week’s forecast is calling for a ton of wind, rain, and lower temps.

Literature and Poetry

Instead of starting the next coop book club selection, J continued reading the Bromeliad trilogy to the boys.

We finished Midsummer’s Mayhem and it was utterly delightful. We loved how it puts a new spin on the classic Shakespeare story.

• Nat Geo Book of Nature Poetry

• Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickinson

• On the Wings of Words: The Extraordinary Life of Emily Dickinson by Jennifer Berne

• Midsummer’s Mayhem by Rajani LaRocca

Quentin focused on reading animal stories from around the world. I’m trying to line them up with our continents as we move across the world. We finished the second book in the Heartwood Hotel series. I imagine that we will read the third book soon.

• Nat Geo Book of Animal Poetry

• Heartwood Hotel: The Greatest Gift by Kallie George

• A World Full of Animal Stories by Angela McAllister

• Around the World in 80 Days by Saviour Pirotta

Math

For both boys, we have scheduled math for three days a week. One day is focused on logic, games, puzzles, and special projects. The two other days are focused on covering the main math curriculum (Singapore 4A and 4B for Arthur and Singapore 1A and 1B for Quentin). We continued our financial literacy unit. Quentin has very small lessons. Arthur is going more in depth. I had him quickly work through the Financial Literacy books for grade 1 and 2. We didn’t do the big activities, instead we just worked through the concepts and questions.

• Evan Moor Financial Literacy Grade 1

• Evan Moor Financial Literacy Grade 2

• A Penny's Worth by Kimberly Wilson

• Follow the Money by Loreen Leedy

• What is Money? by Kate Marsico

• Nat Geo Kids: Not-So-Common Cents by Sarah Wassner Flynn

• Singapore 1B

Social Studies

Arthur continued his large study of United States history using a combination of Build Your Library Level 5 and History Quest United States History. We covered the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark, and the independence of Texas.

• A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

• We were There Too by Philip Hoose

• Words that Built a Nation

• History Quest: U.S. History

• A Different Mirror

• DK American History Visual Encyclopedia

• Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

• Nat Geo Our Country’s Presidents

• Smart About the First Ladies

• Which Way to the Wild West by Steve Sheinkin

• Lewis and Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President by Shirley Raye Redmond

Quentin continued his study of the world with Build Your Library Level 0. We finished our study of Africa with a focus on South African countries.

• Nat Geo Beginner’s World Atlas

• DK Countries of the World

• DK Children Just Like Me

• DK Children Just Like Me: A School Like Mine

• Africa is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight and Mark Melnicove

• Jaha and Jamil Went Down the Hill by Virginia Kroll

• Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales

• Misoso: Once Upon a Time Tales from Africa by Verna Aardema

• Nubiah’s Well by Donna W. Guthrie

• Honey Honey Lion by Jan Brett

Arthur Independent Time

We are working on following a checklist in a planner for weekly independent work. There’s usually some math workbook pages, an ELA packet, weekly writing prompts (1-2 times a week), independent reading time, and a special creative project. There has been many drawing projects lately.

Science

Arthur is focusing on Physics this year. We are covering the text and related videos at home and then joining friends for experiments and extra projects. The boys didn’t quite finish their model engines this week, so we are going to take one more week to finish those before moving on to optics.

• RSO Physics

• The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim

• The Way Things Work Now

Quentin will be focusing on animal science with BYL Level 0. We continued watching a new documentary series called Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It’s a behind the scenes look at caring for the animals at the park. Each episode is less than 30 minutes, so it’s a perfect length for Q. We also covered more animals from Africa.

• Nat Geo Wild Animal Atlas

• DK Animal

• Lonely Planet: The Animal Book

• The Tarantula in My Purse by Jean Craighead George

• African Acrostics: A Word in Edgeways by Avis Harley

• African Critters by Robert B. Haas

• Life-Size Anaimals by Rita Mabel Schiavo

• Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema

• Grasslands by Laura Purdie Salas

• Over in the Grasslands by Marianne Berkes

• Here is the African Savanna by Madeleine Dunphy

• Hippopotamuses by Kari Schuetz

• Meerkats, Moles, and Voles: Animals of the Underground by Jody Sullivan Rake

• Meerkats by Jody Sullivan Rake

• Zebras by Amelie von Zumbusch

• Lake of the Big Snake by Isaac Olaleye

• Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae

• Draw by Raul Colon

• Tree of Life: The World of the African Baobab by Barbara Bash

STEAM Coop

The oldest group has moved on to their last theme of the year: Math + Art in Science. This week, there was a bit of a mix-up, but they ended up making art from found nature objects and a shelter with tree branches. Q’s group started on a gardening theme focusing on how bean plants grow.

Art/Music/Crafts/Cooking/Documentary

We’re planning one doing on art project and one cooking project each week as well as picking a composer or musician to listen to and enjoy.

Field Trip

On Tuesday, we had a guided field trip to Lauritzen Gardens. The older group walked the entire gardens observing signs of spring along the way. We then identified trees and learned about various species. Thankfully the weather was perfect for our visit to the gardens. We even got to have a picnic on the patio afterwards.

We also had book club on Saturday morning. I didn’t actually have to lead the meeting this month. A friend brought a great cipher activity to add to our discussion.

High

Friday’s spring hike at Fontenelle Forest was just delightful. We got out into the woods, saw some turkeys, and generally enjoyed the perfect weather. After our hike, we visited Raptor Rescue to check out all the birds. While there, I spied a garter snake. A worked caught it and gave us an impromptu lesson about snakes in the area. Turns out that snakes were this particular guy’s specialty. I love it when we get unexpected lessons while out and about.

Low

Nothing really. We had a good week.

Next Week

• Starting two new read alouds

• Continuing a financial literacy unit (both kids)

• Finishing building engines for physics

• Taking a break from social studies (Q)

• Catching up with our math and language arts packets and random pages

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Mike Shinoda feat. Kailee Morgue "In My Head"

Apparently the new Scream movie has a great soundtrack. This is the perfect song for me.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #13

As I look outside my window: It’s cold, windy, cloudy, and rainy. After temps in the 80s this past week, we’ve dropped back to around 40 degrees for this weekend. Very dreary weather.

Right now I am: Surrounded by curriculum for the rest of the year. Thankfully, I only need to sort Quentin’s math and language arts and I’ll be done until I start planning next year’s curriculum.

On my bedside table: The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher; Crossings by Alex Landrigan

On my tv this week: We watched a few movies (The Portable Door was absolutely amazing!) and continued watching our currently airing shows (Schmicago, The Mandalorian, Ted Lasso).

Listening to: Still making my way through the Revolutions podcast season on the French Revolution.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Pork and Green Chile Stew

• Tuesday - Ham and Potato Soup

• Wednesday - Leftovers

• Thursday - Cheesy Bacon and Egg Hash

• Friday - White Chicken Chili

• Saturday - Beef Stew

• Sunday - Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

On my to do list: So much! But first priority is to cleanout my Notes app. I have so many little (and big) things listed in there. I need to organize my notes and get my brain dump list straight so I can know what I need to tackle first.

Happening this week:

• Monday - Crafting afternoon at the park (if the weather holds)

• Tuesday - Coop Earth Day Party

• Wednesday - Science Class

• Thursday - Coop

• Friday - Nature Explorers at Heron Haven; Lit Society

• Saturday - Home Day

• Sunday - Home Day

What I am creating: I want to work on my March Memory Planner pages this week. Maybe I can take them to the crafting day at the park on Monday.

My simple pleasures: Yogurt, organized curriculum, a good night’s sleep

Looking around the house: Meh. I need to do laundry today and really need to put away all the clothes. That would help make the house much cleaner.

From the camera: Making and breaking ciphers at coop book club.