Happily This Christmas Book Review

 I was excited to see this book on the shelf at the library and wondered if I had read it before but I decided to give it as chance.  Happily This Christmas: A Novel (Happily Inc, 6) by Susan Mallery was the sixth book in the Happily Inc series that I loved.  I was excited to see that there was a new book and that it was Christmas.  I am still sad because there are no new Christmas movies to watch yet so Christmas books will have to fill the void. 

 

 

 

There’s no place like Happily Inc for the holidays…

Wynn Beauchene has a thriving business, a great kid and a mildly embarrassing crush on the guy next door—local cop Garrick McCabe. She’s a strong, independent woman who can’t help dreaming what-if about a man she barely knows. Until he needs her help…

Garrick’s pregnant daughter will be home for Christmas, and his house needs a woman’s touch. Garrick and his little girl were tight once and he’s hoping a small-town Christmas will bring her back to him. But thawing his daughter’s frosty attitude will take more than a few twinkle lights. Maybe sharing the holiday with Wynn and her son will remind her of the joy of family.

As the season works its magic on these wounded souls, Wynn realizes it’s time to stop punishing herself for a painful secret, while Garrick remains haunted by the ghosts of past mistakes. Will he allow Wynn to open the only gift she truly wants—his heart?

Read more in the reader-favorite Happily Inc series:
Book 1: You Say It First
Book 2: Second Chance Girl
Book 3: Why Not Tonight
Book 4: Not Quite Over You
Book 5: Meant to Be Yours
Book 6: Happily This Christmas

There were a few different stories going on in this book.  Garrick was living next door to Wynn for a long time but finally goes over to talk to her when he finds out that his daughter is coming to live with him.  His daughter, Joylyn, is 21 and pregnant and moving in with him because her mother needs a break.  He is so excited to have her come and live with him that he is willing to change his whole life.  He goes to Wynn to turn his bachelor pad into a home so she immediately helps.  Wynn realizes that she has a lot of work to do because he doesn't have a dining table or dishes or anything else to make his daughter feel comfortable.  He went shopping with her and picked out all the things that she told him to pick and she worked on making the house a home.  There is lots of drama with Joylyn because she is feeling sorry for herself and being pregnant without her husband who is deployed and missing all of the friends at the base.  There are plenty of things going on in town with tons of wedding and lots of friends so I hope that you pick up the book and enjoy the small town life as much as I did.  I hope that you check out this book and others in the series.  I know that I have enjoyed the series and I am sad if this is really the last book in the series.  Fingers crossed that she might come back to this small town again later.

How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t with Your Kids Book Review

 I started reading this book from the library based on a review from my mom's group.  How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t with Your Kids: A Practical Guide to Becoming a Calmer, Happier Parent by Carla Naumburg was a super funny story that had me laughing the whole time.  If you haven't checked it out, it is super amusing and educational at the same time.

 

 

 

Stop the yelling, lose the guilt, and become a calmer, happier parent. Drawing on evidence-based practices, here is an insight-packed and tip-filled plan for how to stop the parental meltdowns. Its compassionate, pragmatic approach will help readers feel less ashamed and more empowered to get their, ahem, act together instead of losing it.
 
“Using a powerful combination of humor and reality checks, Naumburg helps parents unpack their unique stressors (we all have them) and find ways to stay calm even the most frustrating of family moments.” —Katie Hurley, LCSW, author of No More Mean Girls and The Happy Kid Handbook
 
“By the end not only are you laughing out loud, but you’ve gained a sense of self-compassion and a concrete action plan.”—Rebecca Schrag Hershberg, PhD, author of The Tantrum Survival Guide

 I thought that this book was interesting and the description doesn't really give it a lot of introduction.  I guess they were hoping that it would spread by word of mouth of the funny title.  The contents are:

Intro: It's Time to Stop Losing Your Shit

Chapter 1: Why Are You Losing Your Shit?

Chapter 2: How I Stopped Losing My Shit (Quite So Often)

Chapter 3: Know Thy Shit: Owning Your Buttons and Triggers 

Chapter 4: How Doing Less Will Help You Not Lose Your Shit

Chapter 5: Shit You Have to Do If You Don't Want to Lose Your Shit?

Chapter 6: Shit You Should Do If You Don't Want to Lose Your Shit?

Chapter 7: Get Some Space from Your Kids So You Don't Lose Your Shit with Them

Chapter 8: What You've Been Waiting For: How, Exactly, to Not Lose Your Shit

Chapter 9: After the Shitstorm Has Passed

Extra Stuff: Keep Your Shit Together

Each chapter had a piece of the puzzle that is dealing with children and keeping it all together.  I think that it had lots of information about how your kids know how to push our buttons and make you go crazy.  It is totally true because they know us better then anyone else. It also talks about how it affects those of us who multitask more (aka moms) because we are trying to do to many things and they need our attention at the same time.  We all know that dinner time is hard but this gives an interesting view on why and how you can fix it.  I hope that you check out the book and enjoy the humor and education. I thought it had some great tips and advice to help you stay calm.  I know that I will loose my temper again but I think that I will remember the tips from this book and you will too. Let me know if you read it and what you think.

Menu Plan Monday 10/19

 

 

Chili with corn bread                                                                                                                              Pasta with garlic bread
Grilled Caesar Chicken with Rice
Honey Mustard Chicken with  mac and cheese
Homemade Pizza (Pepperoni, Garlic Chicken, Buffalo Chicken and Pizza Knuckle Roll Ups)
Fried Rice with Chicken Pot Stickers
Chicken Fries, Chicken Wraps and Homemade French Fries

 Last week's menu never got posted because Monday's are normally horrible but last week was horrible.  My son was in a horrible bike accident on Friday so we went to the urgent care who sent us to the ER.  We spent Saturday at the emergency dentist and recovering from the lack of sleep.   Got everything on the menu made for the week except we ended up with Leftovers on Saturday because we had so much food in the fridge.  We leave Saturday as a meal that can be easily cooked up or turned into leftover night for that reason.  Keeping my simple meal plan for the week and enjoying that it will all be super easy to get on the table during a busy week.

I started the inventory in the freezer when I did my end of the month shopping and got more chicken and ground beef.  I know that what I got will last through the next three months.  I can't wait to get the meal plan up and see what is on the shopping list for the next few months.

Her Only Hero Book Review

 I was excited that I found another Flanagan series book when I reserved all of the Marta Perry books in the library.  Her Only Hero (The Flanagans, Book 4) (Love Inspired #313) was the 4th book in the series.  I was excited that I got to read another one so I only missed two books in the series even if I did read them out of order.

Penniless widow Laura McKay was determined to succeed on her own, but when an arsonist threatened her deaf daughter's safety, she was compelled to rely on firefighter Ryan Flanagan, the high school football hero who'd never noticed her as a shy underclassman.

Physically fearless and an expert at avoiding romantic commitment, Ryan had nearly become his own worst enemy. But in the flames there's only one enemy: time, which just might be running out for Laura, unless Ryan's courage...and love...can withstand the test of fire.

Laura was working on remodeling her home which was the only thing that her husband left to her.  She was left with a lot of debt to take care of everything that he had left behind after his death.  She moved back to her home town to try to make enough money to help her family.  Laura was trying to be independent and try to make the best decisions for her daughter including spending all her time fixing up the house so that she could sell it and make a profit.  Her daughter was dealing with decrease hearing at the age of 5 years old so she wanted to get her a cochlear implant to help her develop hearing and speech.  Ryan is someone she went to high school with and he showed up one night to put out a fire at the house she was remodeling.  The built a friendship from there because Ryan reached out to help her until she accepted his help with fixing up the house.  Ryan also started a friendship with her daughter which melted her heart because she was feeling more like a father then her own father ever was.  Laura is getting more and more hope the longer she stays in the small town and she can't see herself moving.  I hope that you check out this book and the rest of the series because it is a great small town story with wonderful characters.  It takes a little bit for Laura to open up to the friendship from all the people in the town that she was being offered but once she did, she opened her heart to all the possibilities.

Unlikely Hero Book Review

 I got a bunch of books from the library after they were closed for the quarantine and this was one of the many books that I found online.  Unlikely Hero (The Flanagans, Book 2) (Love Inspired #287) by Marta Perry was one of the books that I reserved.  I didn't actually get to read it right away because I got so many books so this was one that I pulled out when they were almost due back to the library.  I was excited that I finally got to it!!

 

Executive assistant Claire Delany’s experience with teens? Only when she’d been one. Yet somehow she was teaching a rowdy group of them how to apply for jobs. It wasn’t her idea of a good time, but in exchange Pastor Brendan Flanagan would help her plan the wedding of her best friend and Brendan’s cousin.

Claire had confused feelings about the handsome, opinionated Pastor Flanagan. She didn’t want a family, or even religion. So why was she pouring out long-held-in feelings to Brendan? And why was he gaining a stronghold on her heart?

Claire was working very hard to make it to the top of her company.  She went to work early and stayed late and often work through lunch.  Claire had put her job as a priority because she saw that it was a way that she would be successful and be independent.  She starts to work with Brendan Flanagan to plan her best friends wedding to make sure Nolie has the wedding that she always dreamed of.  Brendan was the pastor at the church and made a deal with Claire that she would help a group of teens with job readiness and he would help her with the wedding.  She was resistant to jump into helping the rowdy bunch of teens but did so she would get the help with the wedding planning.  They spent a lot of time together and she started to enjoy their growing friendship more and more.  You have to pick up the book to find out what happens and what is revealed as the wedding planning continues.  I know that you will enjoy this book as much as I did once you check it out.  I hope that you check out this book and the others in the Flanagan's series because they all include members of the Flanagan family who are all different and interesting.

September Month End Budget Update for Groceries and Eating Out

What a month?!  I knew that this month was going to be a hard transition to virtual learning but I didn't go to the store for the first half of the month.  The great thing is that we still had things left in the house so there were tons of things to hold me over until I got the time to make it to the store.  I finally went on the 15th so I bought plenty of things to last us with the things that we had at the house.

Normally we have $160 budget a month for food and $40 for Take Out which means that we spend $200.  Since March, we have shifted to $200 for shopping and we were skipping take out.  I took the extra money to buy some special treats and to cover the additional cost of food during the limited availability.  This month I knew that we were switching back because we got a lot of Pizza Hut which was the main thing that my son was missing for the last 6 months. 

 Below are all the things that I have gotten for the month with the pictures and the amount spent at each store.  

Lidl $22.02

I went with my long list of things that I needed but the main thing was the tortilla chips that my son and husband have decided that they love.  I also got a container of whipped topping because we ran out of them and my son loves to eat them from frozen with his pancakes. The pretzels were on sale so I got two of them as well because they are way better then Aldi pretzels too.  I needed salt because we were running low on sea salt.  I figured that I should buy some normal salt to make the other salt last longer so I got two different versions that they.  Sadly, it was cheaper when I went to Aldi.  Oops! Eggs were on sale for $0.50 per dozen so I got two. I was totally out of canned tomato so I got what they had which was tomato paste and tomato sauce.  I got my husband some bananas which were yellow.  I got 6 bottles of Cran Grape for my son and husband.  I got a special Apple Cider for $2.89 for my son because it is one of his seasonal favorites.

Aldi $69.03

 I think that this might be the most that I ever spent at Aldi.  I got a frozen whipped topping which was also cheaper at Aldi.  I got two bottles of Cran Grape because they were cheaper there too but my husband said that he wanted to mix between the two flavors.  I splurged and got chicken pot stickers to make with fried rice. I got some tub margarine which was my backup.  I got two more backup Chicken Fries which is my son's favorite food (outside Pizza Hut). I got three packages of bacon which were $2.59 per package. I got another bottle of canola oil because I only had one in the cupboard. I got celery which we were out of. I got one container of sour cream to make dip and use in other recipes. I got one package of sausage which I cooked and made into a sausage lasagna. I got a head of lettuce which we like on chicken wraps and tacos and we use it for salads. I got my husband some bananas which were green so they would last after the ones from Lidl. I got three packages of pepperoni which we eat on pizza and for snacks and lunch. I got a package of hamburger buns because we liked having them and they were on sale for $0.59 but we haven't used them and I put them in the fridge so that they wouldn't mold. I got 3 bags of Nacho Cheese Chips and Ranch Chips which were $0.75 each. I got Mozzarella Cheese and Extra Sharp Cheddar for $1.25 each.  I got two salsas to put in the pantry.  I also got two jars of crushed tomatoes.  It was quite the haul for sure that when I was taking the picture I forgot to put the rolls in the picture!

Aldi $13.92

 I went to my second Aldi of the day to get milk because my normal one was out of it but the milk tasted funny to my family so we didn't actually use much except in baking so that was a bummer.  I got turkey lunch meat and stick margarine because my other Aldi was out of both of them.  Sadly the store charged me for 5 margarine and I only got 4. Bummer!

Giant $11.86

 I loaded a bunch of electronic coupons including a free Pepsi Zero which I had never had but it was pretty good. I got a free JoyBol but it didn't ring up correctly so I had to get money back at customer service but I haven't tried it yet.  I got two Cheerios and two Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. I had one electronic coupon for $1 off and then I had two printable coupons for $1 off each.  They ended up being $1.13 per box which is way more then I would ever spend in the past but that is now a good price. I got Barilla Penne for $0.99 each and there was a coupon for $1 off 4 so they were $0.74 which makes them cheaper then Aldi so I grabbed them for the pantry.  Another way more then I would ever spend for pasta but it is currently the only kind that my son eats. I got the Gerber food for $0.35 each after printed and 2 electronic coupon.  I was having trouble finding green chilis for my tortilla soup recipe so I got some store brand tomatoes with green chilis in them instead.  I got a splurge for Ricos Nacho Cheese because it was on a shelf that said it was $1.25 but at the register it rang up $2.64.  I used it for our taco rice, enchiladas, and a few tasty snack.

Safeway $4.74

My main goal was to get Turkey Hill cookies and cream because it was the cheapest price around from my research online for $2.41 each.  I stopped at Safeway to get 4 Gerber which were on sale for $1.50 and there was an electronic coupon for $1.50 off.  They were $1.12 each. I got one package of blue lemonade Kool Aid for my son and husband to try. I got a free container of Organic Peanut Butter which I will be using for peanut butter cookies. I had another coupon to get free Kerrygold cheese and there was an additional $1.50 coupon that came off so I actually had a credit against other groceries. Another great bonus is that I still had some gift card leftover from the Monopoly game winnings.

 

Giant $0.09

I had a free electronic coupon for a Chobani drink so I only had to pay tax.

 

 Safeway $0.00

 There was a electronic coupon for free 10 lb potatoes.  I had to exchange one of the things that I got before that was the wrong one so I grabbed my free potatoes while I was there. We use a lot of potatoes so it was an amazing deal to grab those for free.  I had already used a lot of potatoes from Giant last month so they will be put to good use in the coming months.

I think that I did pretty well for the month.  I was going to try to go at the end of the month to go back but there wasn't enough time so I pushed it off.  I can't believe how quickly things go down when you stock the fridge and pantry.  We have done a great job with once a month shopping and although it isn't the best with saving money, it certainly saves a lot of time.  I can totally see why people stick to this method of shopping. There is still plenty of food left in the house to make the next month meal plan.

Total Retail $256.13

Total Saving $134.47

Total Rebates $2.35 (still pending $1.25 from Ibotta)

Total OOP $119.31

Eating Out or Take Out

We went to Pizza Hut at the beginning of the month to get pizza for us and my parents when we were visiting my parents.  We spent $21.60 for our two pizzas and we got a free pizza from summer reading for my son which we ate on the way to my parents house.  We went to Pizza Hut two days later to get another free pizza for my son's reading program while we were visiting other family.  Super interesting that all the coupons expired September 15th so we had to spend both the last months quickly.  Then we came home and got pizza with an order of bread sticks using our points for $10.60.  The total take out spent was $32.20.  It was good that we were under our $40 budget and my son got to have a lot of pizza!  It made for some easy travel meals too.

Meal Planning Monday 10/5

 

 

Tacos with corn bread                                                                                                                           Pasta with garlic bread
Grilled Greek Chicken with Rice
Roast Chicken with mashed potatoes and mac and cheese
Homemade Pizza (Pepperoni, Garlic Chicken, Buffalo Chicken and Pizza Knuckle Roll Ups)
Fried Rice with Chicken Pot Stickers
Chicken Fries, Chicken Wraps and Homemade French Fries

Last week was pretty good according to plan.  We had all of the meals that were on the calendar except with the breakfast for dinner plan because we went with leftovers instead.  The fridge is overflowing with food so there was lots of food to be had and I wanted to try to clear some out to make room for more.  We might have to change out one of the nights for leftovers again this week but we are currently set with our menu plan and we have everything we need for the week.

 The biggest problem with once a month shopping is how full everything is right after shopping but it is nice to watch all those things get used through the month and know that your planning went well.   I feel like I have gotten better at planning what we are going to have and getting all of the things that we need at the store.  This month, I have the added bonus that my dad shopped at Sam's Club for us and got lots of things that he thought we "needed" which included some good food and lots of junk food.  I don't think that we will need to have a lot of shopping this month because we have so many things to make use of first.  The biggest thing that I will have to go back to the store for will be milk and lunch meat.  I am running low on the sugar that we bought at Walmart awhile back so I might need to put in another big order to Walmart or run in and grab the 25 lb bag to restock. 

How are you guys doing with the shopping and availability at the stores?

September Month End Reading Review

Everything has been a little different while we have been home on quarantine.  I have been doing a lot of reading but totally forgot to put up a summary of the books that I read each month.  In order to go backwards, I took all the books that I read and put them in the month that I posted the review for the book.  

The months might be off a little bit but at least these are the books that I read.  I feel like I might have easily missed book here and there but I know I read these for sure!  How has your reading been going this year?

January     8 

February   9

March    5

April      7

May      7

June    10

July    7

August   6

September  10

Total Books Read 69

Currently Reading:

I set a goal to read 100 books every year.  I am not sure if I am going to make it this year since I took on a lot of other responsibilities at home with virtual school.  I have 31 books left to read and three months to do it in!! Fingers crossed but either way I am going to be close!