Home Sweet Homes: How Bundt Cakes, Bubble Wrap, and My Accent Helped Me Survive Nine Moves

by Diane Laney Fitzpatrick

Your toothbrush and deodorant are in a box marked Basement Storage, your great-grandmother’s heirloom china is in pieces, and you’re in your husband’s underwear, making Hamburger Helper in a Little Tykes plastic frying pan in the microwave.

You’ve just moved.

Could things get worse? Probably. But then they’ll get better, especially if you can see the humor in that hare-brained, heartbreaking and hilarious thing called moving.

"Home Sweet Homes: How Bundt Cakes, Bubble Wrap, and My Accent Helped Me Survive Nine Moves" takes you along on Diane Laney Fitzpatrick’s cross-country moves with colicky babies, sulky teens, dogs, frogs and goldfish. With 42 Moving Tips, Home Sweet Homes is a side-splitting survivors guide to moving, that is sure to keep you laughing throughout life's moving moments.

And hey! The author will donate half of her profits from "Home Sweet Homes" to the National Military Family Association, for programs that help military children cope with frequent moves and separations from a parent.

Learn more at www.HomeSweetHomesBook.com.

250 pages, Paperback

First published June 22, 2013

About the author

Diane Laney Fitzpatrick was a newspaper reporter, editor, stay-at-home mom, Internet content writer, Howard Johnson’s waitress, political campaign worker, and a jack-of-all-trades volunteer before writing her first book, "Home Sweet Homes: How Bundt Cakes, Bubble Wrap, and My Accent Helped Me Survive Nine Moves."

Diane wrote "Just Humor Me," a popular humor blog about growing up in the ’60s, being a teenager in the ’70s, living all over the country, parenting, and life's missteps. Her blog was the inspiration behind her second book, "Great-Grandma Is on Twitter and Other Signs the Rapture Is Near," a collection of original humorous essays and blog posts.

Her writing has landed her appearances in major media outlets, including The Today Show, The Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, as well as too many nonprofit newsletters to count. She has blogged all over the Internet, including Project Eve, Working Writers, and several parenting blogs.

Diane can be reached at
diane.fitzpatrick@mac.com

Reviews

[John Koenig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diane Laney Fitzpatrick’s Home Sweet Homes is best enjoyed with chardonnay or pinot grigio. But definitely not cabernet. That’s because every so often Diane catches you off guard with a line that causes the beverage to spurt out of your mouth, and sometimes your nose. And you know how difficult it can be to get red wine stains out of your clothes, furniture and carpet.

The tips you’ll find in Home Sweet Homes are not the kind offered in the moving companies’ planning brochures, which Diane says are generally useless and should be thrown away upon receipt. Example: Diane’s Tip #20 – Don’t be a martyr. Let the pros unpack for you. It’s what they went to the vo-tech for.

Or for dealing with the hassles of your new home state’s Department of Motor Vehicles, Tip #32: Moving your car can be complicated. Abandoning it in a bad neighborhood should at least be considered.

You’ll find yourself wanting to share with Diane your own moving horror stories. Odds are, hers are worse than yours. You might also be tempted to tell her it’s time to leave behind the toys her children played with a decade ago. Don’t. Her husband Tim has already tried. The good news: They’re still together.

So here’s my tip: Buy the book, uncork a bottle, and enjoy. But remember, if a move is imminent, you’ll need to finish the wine beforehand. The movers won’t load it in the van.

[Janine Graves · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book on a Saturday and well, let's just say nothing got done that day. I could not put it down. I so enjoy Diane's writing smile and this book is chock full of laugh out loud funny [and true] stories of her 9 nine moves with her family.

As I was telling my friends "If you've ever moved, are getting ready to move or never want to move again this book is a definite MUST read."

It will definitely help you to see the humor in moving, home selling and buying and show you how to keep the kids sane and happy through it all.

Thank you Fitz. Nicely done.

[Emily J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Diane Laney Fitzpatrick's book was a light, entertaining look at a live on the move! I thoroughly enjoyed reading her anecdotes from the various moves and appreciated the deprecating tone she used for some of them (definitely relatable!). At times, the writing felt a little bit contrived and "Martha Stewart-y", but overall it was an amusing read to prepare my for future moves. Probably best suited for those with a few moves under their belts already, as well as a kid or two.

I received this book through Goodreads Giveaways for an honest opinion.

[Asher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diane is a funny lady with a funny family and a lot of excellent anecdotes about moving. This book is also chockfull of real, actionable advice! I move a lot too, though since its just me, its not nearly as much of a hassle.

[Kristina Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny! I read the book in 2 nights, but could have read it in one sitting if I wasn't so tired. I loved sharing in all the adventure's as the Fitzpatrick family moved across our county. Diane is so honest and so down to earth.

[Alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny!

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a laugh out loud book. Whether you have ever or never moved in your life you will enjoy this book.

[Charlotte Padgett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. It is one of those you can't put down because you want to know what could possibly happen next.

[Michaeleen Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Humorous

This book is very entertaining. I haven’t moved as often as the author has but I could really relate to her descriptions. She really had a funny way of describing the agonies involved in moving. If I ever find myself having to move again I’ll definitely re-read it.

[Cheri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having moved a fair number of times in my life--including the dreaded "cross-country" moves--this sounded like a fun book. It definitely had a few laugh out loud moments, but overall this is not a book I'd recommend.

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really my style, is all. Mostly skimmed this.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good

if you have never moved you can learn from this if you have moved more time than you an remember you can relate .
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