Why Being Mom Isn't Enough

   Recently I learned a hard lesson, and I don't know about you, but it seems that God uses experiences as the best way to open my eyes and teach me things. After a 50ish hour work week I came home one night exhausted, stressed, worried, clueless, etc. My daughter was about to turn four years old yet I felt like a new mom on the day she brings home her first newborn... "Now what?". I would get on Facebook (darn you social media) and see moms driving their kids hours to get a picture with Santa in a brand new $75 Christmas outfit. I would see crafts that other moms had spent hours with their kids making. I would see pictures of moms posting large overly expensive gifts they had gotten for their children. There I was coming home from work after a twelve hour day, and it's all I could do to get my daughter bathed and fed and in bed all while listening and asking about her day. And I thought, "now what? What else can I do tonight to show her I love her?"

   Needless to say, I started questioning everything I was doing as a mother. I haven't taken her for Santa pictures this year, am I bad mom? I haven't bought her a brand new red and green outfit, do I really even care about her? We didn't make the first homemade ornament this year, am I using my time with her wisely? Does she even know how much I love her without those things?

   Now I am by no means condemning these mothers. In fact, I'm APPLAUDING you. Really. But it was in this moment God brought a verse to my head that brought so much comfort: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." Eph 2:8-9

   If God can accept my heart and love for Him in a way other than works and doings, how much more could my own daughter accept my love without the works? 

In the new year I hope and plan to make more time for crafts, Santa pictures, and fun trips to the zoo. However, whether you're a single mother or not, loving your children unconditionally is enough some days without the bells and whistles. Working a full time job, providing food on the table, listening to them talk about their day, loving on them, having patience, and most importantly teaching them about Jesus is enough. You are enough. Social media is not the handbook to parenting, and we should stop looking to it for advice and to compare ourselves. So, here's to squeezing in a quick bath and singing "You Are My Sunshine" before bed and calling it a day, a good day, cute pajamas or not.

-The Not So Perfect Mom, Caroline

2016 Reading List

My first goal was to read a book a week, every week in the year of 2016. I still intend to read 52 books next year, but not necessarily one a week. I am laying out a plan for four books a month (1-48) and then four books to squeeze in (49-52) wherever I want to read extra. If I read them all in one or two weeks of the month I may take the other weeks off. (Not that this is a job, I love to read and am truly looking forward to this). This list may change according to recommendations and swap outs. If I don't like a book by the fifth chapter I will not finish it. Life is too short to read books you don't enjoy. So keep in mind some of these might be swapped out if someone highly recommends a new book or if I don't like the one I am reading. I will be doing a book review every week as well. I will be letting you know where I am in the process, what book I'm on, and my thoughts.

Comment below and share some of your favorite books with me!

Keep in mind that changes may be due to the fact that I rent most of my books from the library in my city using their online library. Books are placed on hold depending on how many people before you have requested it. Each person keeps the book a limited amount of days. I would love to be able to read season appropriate book during certain months, but that just may not be a possibility in some cases.

JANUARY

1.      Let it Snow- John Green, etc.

2.      As I Lay Dying-William Faulkner 

3.      The Dirt on Ninth Grave- Darynda Jones

4.      You- Caroline Kepnes

FEBRUARY

5.      Since You've Been Gone- Morgan Matson

6.      Dark Places- Gillian Flynn

7.      Consequences- Aleatha Romig

8.      All the Light We Can Not See- Anthony Doerr

MARCH
9.      Graduates in Wonderland- Jessica Pan

10.    The Mountain Story- Lori Lansens

11.    Girl Before a Mirror- Liz Palmer

12.    Anthem- Ayn Rand

APRIL

13.    In the Heart of the Sea- Nathaniel Philbrick

14.    From the Madding Crowd- Thomas Hardy

15.    Black Mass- Dick & Gerald Lehr

16.    You Shall Know Our Velocity- Dave Eggers

MAY
17.    Dash & Lily's Book of Dares- Rachel Conn & David Levithan
18.    See Jane Run- Joy Fielding

19.    Where'd you go Bernadette- Maria Semple

20.    The Husband's Secret- Liane Moriarty

JUNE
21.    Sin & Bone- Bette Golden & JJ Lamb

22.    The Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseini

23.    The Maze Runner- James Dashner

24.    Where She Went- Gayle Forman

JULY

25.    A Prayer for Owen Meany- John Irving

26.    Let's Pretend this Never Happened- Jenny Lawson

27.    Broken Harbor- Tana French

28.    The Light Between Oceans- M.L. Stedman

AUGUST

29.    The Opposite of Loneliness- Marina Keegan

30.    Me Before You- Jojo Moyes

31.    The Liar- Nora Roberts

32.    Breakfast at Tiffany's- Truman Capote

SEPTEMBER
33.    The Martian- Andy Weir
34.    The Lincoln Lawyer- Michael Connelly
35.    Pretty Girls- Karen Slaughter

36.    See Me- Nicholas Sparks

OCTOBER
37.    The Hollow- Jessica Verday

38.    Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children- Ransom Riggs

39.    The Selection- Kiera Cass

40.    Love Letters to the Dead- Ava Dellaira

NOVEMBER

41.    Of Mice & Men- John Steinbeck

42.    Let them Eat Cake- Sandra Byrd

43.    Eleanor & Park- Rainbow Rowell

44.    Silver Linings- Debbie Macomber

DECEMBER
45.    Let it Snow- John Green

46.    Maybe this Christmas- Sarah Morgan

47.    The Gun Slinger- Stephen King

48.    Forever & Always Collection- E.L. Todd

These four I will fit in wherever I am caught up on the others.

49.    Go Set a Watchman- Harper Lee

50.    I'll Give You the Sun- Jady Nelson

51.    The Library at Mount Char- Scott Hawkins

52.    November 9- Colleen Hoover

-Kayla

Christmas Edition: Gifts under $25 for women

If you're like me then you have several friends that you would like to buy something special for without breaking the bank. I'm going to share with you my under $25 gift guide and hope you get inspired. (Men, this could be really beneficial for you as well)

1. Anthropologie

www.anthropologie.com

This website has some unique gifts that I have never seen before, but absolutely love. Two of my favorites in their gift section are without a doubt these coffee mugs and the gingerbread mug toppers. What an adorable way to serve someone a hot drink at a get together and let them keep it, or just to feel festive when you cozy up at home and watch it snow. These may be the most adorable things ever.

2. Forever 21

www.forever21.com

This site is an amazing place to find gifts for us lady folk. This is where I go for original gifts, lounge wear, and tall socks for winter. Everything is cheap, and in my experience, all is good quality for the money. From jewelry to make up to fashion this site has it all. $20 goes a long way here.

The first two places are wonderful, but for those that don't feel like ordering online here are some different tips.

1. A gift card for a massage or mani/pedi

2. A girt card to somewhere they love to shop but rarely splurge on themselves

3. Candles and books (of course I would say that) but get creative and write a note in the front of the book. Someone recently did this for me and I LOVED it.

I hope this helps. If all else fails remember, everyone loves to eat! A good meal is hard to beat.

-Kayla