The Sleepy Spoonie

Wife - Mom - Fiber Artist - Book Reviewer Ehler's Danlos Syndrome + Chiari Warrior GoodReads: 30/50 📚

[thesleepyspoonie]

I've always been a reader. I lost my mojo for a bit when I first had the kids, but my 2019 new years resolution was to read more & I have stuck to it better than I ever anticipated haha.

Lately I have been reading and reviewing books on my Instagram and GoodReads. It's added a whole new aspect to my hobby & I'm having a lot of fun.

I'm currently reading The Devil and The Dark Water by Stuart Turton. I had the highest expectations after reading his first novel & thus far its living up to them. 😍 Turton is the first male author to, in my opinion, write wonderfully from the perspective of a woman.

[thesleepyspoonie]

Do you read Arcs very often?

I'm so sorry if I've taken forever to respond.

Lately, yes! I have fallen headfirst in the world of advanced reader copies and reviews. I am having so much fun.

I have been thinking about posting about my book adventures here.. its definitely been a fun distraction for me.

[thesleepyspoonie]

So before I hype yall up about this book (which is exactly what I'm going to do 🤩) I thought I'd include some content warnings.

Bacchanal contains some dark themes including child death, self harm, and racial violence. I have a fairly thick skin when it comes to books and while I didn't find the majority of it upsetting, there was a scene that caused me to put down the book for the day.

With that said... Holy CRAP I loved this book. I received my pre-release copy via First Reads & it is set to release at the end of June.

In Bacchanal we meet Eliza, a young Black woman living in the depression-era south. After being abandoned by her family and left to make sense of her strange ability to communicate with animals on her own Eliza joins Bacchanal, a traveling carnival with a dark secret.

Eliza makes friends, lovers, and even a strange sort of surrogate family amongst the carnies. She seems to have found a home for the first time in her life. That is - until the demon at the heart of Bacchanal needs her next meal.

I seriously loved every bit of this book. There were so many interesting and unique characters. (Kinda want to join a carnival for the comradery, tbh) Not to mention SO MANY BAD ASS BLACK LADIES! Seriously, from a mobster in NY, a powerful demon, two FEARLESS Nigerian warriors. Also, I have read so many books based off of various mythologies, but never one with African (mostly Nigerian, from my understanding) inspiration. Bacchanal was very different from any book I have read and, considering this was her debut novel, I cannot WAIT to see what Henry does going forward. 😁

[thesleepyspoonie]

Are you comfortable sharing where the rainbow leaves are that you posted a picture of?

North Point Mall in Alpharetta, GA. 🙂

[thesleepyspoonie]

Our GA trip went really well. We got to see my best friend, explore parks, and I FINALLY had my geneticist appointment.

I was diagnosed with Ehler's Danlos Syndrome. I fit the criteria for the hypermobile variant but she also wanted me to get genetic testing to rule out classical eds. She encouraged me to get proper braces for my "problem joints" and referred me to a neurologist to check for CCI and further complications of my Chiari.

I'm still processing. I'm thrilled to finally have answers, to know the underlying cause of all my issues. I'm not crazy, I'm not overexaggerating the pain, there's a real reason. But trying to digest that I have an incurable genetic illness is pretty difficult.

[thesleepyspoonie]

So excited about my peaches 😍

We are going to take another shot at a garden this year. I am going to do a raised bed or two, along with some pots. Hopefully they will be easier to manage for me than the beds in the ground! Atla really wants to grow some flowers this year rather than just fruits and vegetables, so I'll have her pick out some seeds to plant.

[thesleepyspoonie]

Do you mind seeing new doctors?

Ugh YES.

I loathe seeing new doctors. It's terrifying. Are they going to take me seriously? Are they just going to blow me off because I'm female/young/fat/thin/mentally ill? Are they going to send me to a different doctor? Are they going to run tests? Are they going to change my medication? Are they going to berate me for sullying my body with tattoos, even though it has nothing to do with my appointment? (Yeah, it's happened.)

[thesleepyspoonie]

Whenever I'm not in a flare I convince myself I was never really that bad & that I'm just one big whiner. I had a few good weeks & 100% decided I'm fine. Yesterday evening I felt "wrong" after laying down with Odin & thought chiari issues were coming on. But then this morning we went to the zoo & I think I over did it, even though I used my chair the entire time.

Now both of my ears are ringing so bad it's hard to hear. Lighting shoots through my face when I bend or strain. I'm getting nerve pain down my left arm and shoulder blade. I'm so over this.

Today was a REALLY fun day, 100% worth it. I'm thrilled that my wheelchair allowed me to spend a few hours at the zoo. I was just really hoping this "good spell" was going to last a little longer.

[thesleepyspoonie]

Why do you feel like your public school experience and socialization were horrible?

Oh man. I could write a book 😅

I was a VERY shy child. I could hardly make eye contact, I would visibly shake in social situations, I was a mess. My grades suffered right away in elementary school because I was too scared to walk to the back of the class room to turn in my homework - I would complete it every night but leave it in my backpack and take a zero. I had constant UTI's because I was too scared to use the bathroom at school. There were a several times that I didn't eat my lunch because I couldnt get my Tupperware open & I was too afraid to ask anyone.

What blows my mind is "no one noticed." How was I 8 years old, being abused at home, acting like an anxiety ridden mess at school, and NONE of the adults noticed? I see that as a failure. My daughter is very shy, almost as bad as I was, and I can't imagine turning a blind eye and letting her suffer.

Another example of a different kind -

I became very ill half way through my sophomore year of high school, and was bedridden until I had my brain surgery later that June. I wasn't able to attend school & failed most of my classes that year. When I returned to school the following year, I went to see my guidance counselor & told him that I wanted to get accepted into the Early Admit program to attend college for my senior year. Zero exaggeration - the guy genuinely laughed at me. He told me that in order to get my GPA high enough for the program, I'd have to get straight As this year "and with your grade history, we know that's not happening."

Yall I was 16!!! Like even if you think it's 100% impossible.. you encourage that teenager!! Tell them you believe in them! What the hell! (I did it, btw.)

So. Yeah. Sorry that turned into an emotional rant and I could TOTALLY keep going down that fun trauma filled rabbit hole 🤣 but I think you get the gist. I was surrounded by underfunded, underpaid, TIRED teachers and just didn't get the support I needed.

[thesleepyspoonie]

Have you always homeschooled your kids? What inspired you to homeschool them? Were you homeschooled?

I have always homeschooled my kids! Though, that's not saying much considering my oldest just started kindergarten. Haha

I've always known I'd homeschool my kids if I had them. I was not homeschooled, & my experience with public school education (& socialization) was terrible. I was introduced to both the Montessori and Charlotte Mason methods in the Early Childhood Education program in high school - I knew then I wanted to go that route should I have kids!

[thesleepyspoonie]

This morning's language arts session focusing on the letter A! We spent about 45 minutes total here this morning. (Well, about 30 minutes for Odin. He bailed after the play doh.)

For the last year, we used Blossom and Root Early Years along with other various supplementation for Atla's pre-k. I adored B+R, it was a great fit for out family. It was a little light on how much time it took for lessons, so I had added other curriculum in, but otherwise we really liked it.

When we finished, I had planned on taking the summer off & starting in the fall. But the kids genuinely look forward to "lessons" each day so... why would we take off just because it's the norm? Aren't we homeschooling because the norm is bullshit?

So! We are officially year round homeschoolers! I will be using Blossom and Root Early Years Vol. 2 and parts of Torchlight Pre-k for Odin's pre-k and B+R Kindergarten for Atla, along with math and science supplementation for the both of them. A lot of their lessons overlap & we will do them together!

It is going to be a much busier and intensive year compared to last year but I think we are going to have so much fun!!

[thesleepyspoonie]

The kids thought my watercolors/embroidery project was so cool, they wanted to make their own!

The kids did the painting & Atla is slowly but surely working on her stitching! I am going to stitch up odins for him though, don't need to hand that kid a needle lol.

We finished our preschool curriculum & the thought of taking the summer off is depressing. So tomorrow we start our new curriculum! Atla's first day of Kindergarten and Odin's first day of pre-k. 😍 Today is definitely going to be spent obsessively planning out this week's curriculum schedule haha. I think I'll type up a post detailing our plan for school this year 😁

[thesleepyspoonie]

"Your wound is probably not your fault, but your healing is your responsibility." 💛

Water colors and cotton thread on an old pillow case. 😌

[thesleepyspoonie]

How often do you read physical books as opposed to Kindle books? Are there any books you think more people should read? How many Kindle books do you have? Do you ever look for and/or "buy" free books?

I hardly ever read physical books anymore. I was vehemently against e-readers for the longest time. I decided to get one in the summer of 2019 because the only time I could find to read was when I was laying with the baby - and had no light. Now, I'll never go back. My kindle is very light so it doesn't hurt my hand to hold like books do, I never have to worry about light, it's waterproof so I can have it poolside with the kids or in the bath. I love my kindle.

I have 38 books on my Kindle. I haven't read probably half - they're free books I've accumulated. Most of the books I read are borrowed from the library via Libby or from Kindle Unlimited.

I looooovvvveeeeee free ebooks! I get a free one via Amazon First Reads every month. I've gotten a few free ones from Bookbub, as well as from Tor publishing. Every book I've gotten from Tor has been phenomenal. If anyone has any other free resources, I'd love to hear them. 😍 I often have to stop myself from "buying" free books that I know I won't read, just in case lol.

[thesleepyspoonie]

Are you OK? I haven't seen you post recently.

You are a sweetheart for checking in. I'm okay. I've been a bit depressed & I have an issue with isolating myself when times get tough.

Today was a really good day though. I made art for the first time in weeks, got today's homeschool curriculum done along with catching up on yesterday's, and got the kids time in the pool. I'm exhausted but content.

[thesleepyspoonie]

I haven't done a book review/update in a minute because my library has books 7-12 in the Ruth Galloway series & I am BLOWING through these books. 😍

I usually seek out stand alone books and avoid long series like the plague. I just so happened to read the first book in the series (The Crossing Places) because it was on Kindle Unlimited and I was in a slump. I became so attached to the characters right off the bat. Now, after having finished book 11, they feel like family.

Doctor Ruth Galloway is a forensic archeologist who lives a quiet life on the edge of a salt marsh with her two cats. Well, quiet until the local police need her expertise to solve a murder. 😝 Seriously, watching Ruth (and her friends, family, and coworkers) grow and adapt to their ever changing lives in a little part of Norfolk make these books feel like home. Also, honorable mention for Flint - Ruth's fat and aloof orange tabby that cracks me up every time he's mentioned.

[thesleepyspoonie]

Random positive thing: It sometimes pays off to procrastinate. I will be able to get a free item from my college next month and I had planned to buy the item myself. I have been needing to email about this item (and some other items) for several months and haven't.... However, I will now not need to buy this item and only buy a few different items myself. This is after being told a few months ago that my college doesn't gift students the free item I will be able to get. I know I am being vague.

Hecckkkkk yeah! As a fan of both procrastination and free stuff, I love this!