Ok, that heading isn't entirely true (at least, in regard to reading). I did manage to finish one book last week - Before the Storm by Diane Chamberlain. Great premise (involved a boy with FAS), horrible execution. I only finished reading it because I paid full price for the book and I needed an escape from all of the yucky stuff that was happening. I have been re-reading a random Sandra Brown that I found in a box, but I've been going at it pretty slow because it's so freaking uncomfortable to sit for very long.
However, fun pregnancy things have been happening in the last week or so. David and I had all of our baby classes last week - Baby's First Weeks, Preparing for Childbirth, and Basics of Breastfeeding. Let me tell you - before the classes, I wasn't too scared of labor, but I was terrified of breastfeeding. Now my feelings are COMPLETELY reversed. Breastfeeding looked like a cake walk compared to all they made labor out to be. Yikes! Part way through watching the video of the unmedicated labor, I turned to David and said, "This baby is staying in me." I'm a wuss. :)
We are getting closer and closer to being ready for this baby, though. It's so exciting. We have a list of things to buy before he gets here, but otherwise we are ready! We have a ton of cloth diapers (yes, I still plan on doing that) and last night David and I decided to road trip it to an outlet mall about 45 minutes from our house to buy some baby clothes. Oh. So. Cute. I can see how people can spend SO much money on baby clothes. Currently the rest of the clothes that we bought are in the dryer. Once they are all washed and put away, I'll have to snap a picture and post it. Oddly enough, my favorite article of clothing for our baby so far has been all of the pajamas we've bought. Love baby jammies.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Toothless Wonder and Chunky Monkey
Would you believe I haven't finished a book in almost a month? I have been in such a reading rut lately. I've started 3 or 4 books but just haven't been able to get through them. I haven't loved them, I can't fully concentrate on them, and worst of all, I can't really get comfortable while reading. It makes me sad, because I know once the baby comes (60 days!!) I really won't have time to read. Oh well.
I just had to make a post about my two current kids. See this picture of Gabby?
Don't her fangs look awesome? Well, now imagine this picture without her top left front fang. Yes, that's right, she lost her tooth. :( She had been having mouth issues for a couple of weeks (we even took her to the vet for it one day...I was a mess, thinking she had a tumor or something). They didn't find anything wrong, although later in the day David said he thought he saw her front fang tooth go sideways, leading us to believe she had a loose tooth. The vet did say she has pretty bad teeth, so we decided to switch her to an all wet food diet, which she of course LOVES. She has been devouring her wet food four times a day, and while we noticed she was still acting a little funny with her mouth, it didn't stop her appetite or her meowing.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, I guess - it was probably bothering her quite a bit) she ended up loosing her fang tooth on Friday. I was on my way home from my Grandmother's and David called to say he found it on the floor. Poor little girl. Luckily, she's still acting fine and eating normal (or, like a pig - she ate 5 times yesterday). I imagine it's a relief for her to finally have it out.
Of course, Gabby getting wet food means - Toby now gets wet food as well. When we are giving out food, Gabby gets a nice sized portion, while Toby gets what amounts to a taste of it. Unfortunately, Toby has suddenly developed a LOVE for wet food. He doesn't beg for it like Gabby does, but now he devours it - his portion, and then he moves over to help Gabby with hers. David kept swearing over the phone while I was gone that Toby, our little Monkey, had gotten fat, but I kept laughing it off, because I was gone for 3 days only.
Of course, then I walk in the door and realize - holy cow!! Toby is bigger!! Poor little guy is definitely getting rounder in the mid-section. We'll have to keep an eye on him now when they eat to make sure he's not eating all of her food. So now our little Monkey is now our Chunky Monkey. Silly kittens.
Currently they are curled up together next to me sleeping. Gabby's even snoring a little. An example of how cute these two can be:
Aren't they cute little bookends? Too bad they aren't always that sweet...
I just had to make a post about my two current kids. See this picture of Gabby?
Don't her fangs look awesome? Well, now imagine this picture without her top left front fang. Yes, that's right, she lost her tooth. :( She had been having mouth issues for a couple of weeks (we even took her to the vet for it one day...I was a mess, thinking she had a tumor or something). They didn't find anything wrong, although later in the day David said he thought he saw her front fang tooth go sideways, leading us to believe she had a loose tooth. The vet did say she has pretty bad teeth, so we decided to switch her to an all wet food diet, which she of course LOVES. She has been devouring her wet food four times a day, and while we noticed she was still acting a little funny with her mouth, it didn't stop her appetite or her meowing.Unfortunately (or fortunately, I guess - it was probably bothering her quite a bit) she ended up loosing her fang tooth on Friday. I was on my way home from my Grandmother's and David called to say he found it on the floor. Poor little girl. Luckily, she's still acting fine and eating normal (or, like a pig - she ate 5 times yesterday). I imagine it's a relief for her to finally have it out.
Of course, Gabby getting wet food means - Toby now gets wet food as well. When we are giving out food, Gabby gets a nice sized portion, while Toby gets what amounts to a taste of it. Unfortunately, Toby has suddenly developed a LOVE for wet food. He doesn't beg for it like Gabby does, but now he devours it - his portion, and then he moves over to help Gabby with hers. David kept swearing over the phone while I was gone that Toby, our little Monkey, had gotten fat, but I kept laughing it off, because I was gone for 3 days only.
Of course, then I walk in the door and realize - holy cow!! Toby is bigger!! Poor little guy is definitely getting rounder in the mid-section. We'll have to keep an eye on him now when they eat to make sure he's not eating all of her food. So now our little Monkey is now our Chunky Monkey. Silly kittens.
Currently they are curled up together next to me sleeping. Gabby's even snoring a little. An example of how cute these two can be:
Aren't they cute little bookends? Too bad they aren't always that sweet...
Monday, September 22, 2008
Book Updates
Well, I'm taking the lazy route again. I haven't updated on the last few books I've read, so I'm just going to lump them together.
'Salem's Lot by Stephen King - I love me some Stephen King. This wasn't my favorite story of his, but it was exactly what I expected - typical Stephen King. Actually, there were a couple of things in this book that surprised me a bit (that I can't really mentioned without spoiling it). It was a "comfort" read for me. Three stars.
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg - I'm pretty sure I saw this movie way back in the day, because some of the story seemed familiar, but I really didn't remember much of it. It was a good novel, but I had a hard time following it sometimes. I wasn't fully concentrating when I first started reading, and kept getting confused when it would jump times (past and present). Three stars.
The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory - I think this is the only book of Gregory's that I hadn't read yet. I was mainly pissed that the back of the book gave so much away - I literally spent the entire book waiting for Amy Dudley to die, since the back of the book says "When Amy is found dead, Elizabeth and Dudley are suddenly plunged into a struggle for survival." Yeah, this happens with about 20 pages left in the 400-some page book. Granted the book his historical fiction, so maybe I was supposed to know more about the story, but the back of the book is pretty deceiving, since the story really isn't about their struggle for survival, it's more about what led up to Amy's death. Anyway, besides that annoyance, the book was just too long and drawn out in general. Not my favorite of Gregory's by far. Three stars.
The Appeal by John Grisham - Ok, a small confession. Remember this post? Refer to number #6 and my books all being the same. Well, this time around, I broke tradition. All of my Grisham books are in paperback - I always wait for it in paperback so I can be consistent. However, I was browsing the clearance section of Half Price Books recently and found the hardcover of this book for only $1! This book was just released in hardcover earlier this year, and paperback probably won't be out for another few months. I'm assuming it was a mistake that the book was marked to a dollar, since it was in fabulous condition, so I had to snatch it up. Of course, a year from now I'll probably replace it with a the paperback version, but in the mean time, it was a sweet find.
Anyway, this book was typical Grisham. I felt like it was moving really slowly at times - it wasn't quite as action-packed as some of his other novels. I also felt like the twists and turns were a little more subtle than the usually are. Still, it was a decent read - more "comfort reading" for me. Three stars.
Hannah's Dream by Diane Hammond - I'm just going to come right out and say it - this book was a huge disappointment. I believe the cover says something along the lines of "If you liked Water for Elephants, you'll love Hannah's Dream." Of course, that should have been my first clue, since I didn't love Water for Elephants, but this was an even bigger disappointment. The characters felt too one-sided, like the author was trying to fit each one into a particular mold, and some of the characters were absolutely pointless and really contributed nothing to the story except to make it longer. Two stars.
'Salem's Lot by Stephen King - I love me some Stephen King. This wasn't my favorite story of his, but it was exactly what I expected - typical Stephen King. Actually, there were a couple of things in this book that surprised me a bit (that I can't really mentioned without spoiling it). It was a "comfort" read for me. Three stars.
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg - I'm pretty sure I saw this movie way back in the day, because some of the story seemed familiar, but I really didn't remember much of it. It was a good novel, but I had a hard time following it sometimes. I wasn't fully concentrating when I first started reading, and kept getting confused when it would jump times (past and present). Three stars.
The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory - I think this is the only book of Gregory's that I hadn't read yet. I was mainly pissed that the back of the book gave so much away - I literally spent the entire book waiting for Amy Dudley to die, since the back of the book says "When Amy is found dead, Elizabeth and Dudley are suddenly plunged into a struggle for survival." Yeah, this happens with about 20 pages left in the 400-some page book. Granted the book his historical fiction, so maybe I was supposed to know more about the story, but the back of the book is pretty deceiving, since the story really isn't about their struggle for survival, it's more about what led up to Amy's death. Anyway, besides that annoyance, the book was just too long and drawn out in general. Not my favorite of Gregory's by far. Three stars.
The Appeal by John Grisham - Ok, a small confession. Remember this post? Refer to number #6 and my books all being the same. Well, this time around, I broke tradition. All of my Grisham books are in paperback - I always wait for it in paperback so I can be consistent. However, I was browsing the clearance section of Half Price Books recently and found the hardcover of this book for only $1! This book was just released in hardcover earlier this year, and paperback probably won't be out for another few months. I'm assuming it was a mistake that the book was marked to a dollar, since it was in fabulous condition, so I had to snatch it up. Of course, a year from now I'll probably replace it with a the paperback version, but in the mean time, it was a sweet find.
Anyway, this book was typical Grisham. I felt like it was moving really slowly at times - it wasn't quite as action-packed as some of his other novels. I also felt like the twists and turns were a little more subtle than the usually are. Still, it was a decent read - more "comfort reading" for me. Three stars.
Hannah's Dream by Diane Hammond - I'm just going to come right out and say it - this book was a huge disappointment. I believe the cover says something along the lines of "If you liked Water for Elephants, you'll love Hannah's Dream." Of course, that should have been my first clue, since I didn't love Water for Elephants, but this was an even bigger disappointment. The characters felt too one-sided, like the author was trying to fit each one into a particular mold, and some of the characters were absolutely pointless and really contributed nothing to the story except to make it longer. Two stars.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Cloth Diapers
Well, it's official - we are going somewhere I NEVER thought I'd go. David and I have decided to use cloth diapers for our little guy.
I'm not going to get into it a ton, but I have done SO much research (it can get really overwhelming after awhile) and it really seems like this is a great idea for us. We are excited about the cost savings, the positive impact that this will have on the environment, and most importantly - how freaking cute our little guy will look in them (ok, maybe that's not MOST important, but I still can't wait).
We've gone back and forth trying to figure out what first steps we want to take to get started. The cloth diapers that I tend to really like (All In Ones - they are a lot like disposables, which is in part why I find them desirable - the convenience factor is still there) can be pretty expensive. However, we were able to find some pocket AIO cloth diapers on ebay for a very reasonable amount, so I bought them last Thursday. They arrived Monday (positive feedback for that seller!!), and I can't believe how cute they are. Even though they are all the same - plain green - I can't stop touching them and imagining what our baby will look like wearing them.
The best thing about this is that David is completely on board with it as well. I was a little worried about how he'd feel, but he's been so positive and supportive. I think he was sold the minute I told him how much money we'd save. :)
This will be a bit of a trial for us - we've both agreed that if we absolutely hate it and it just isn't working for us, we'll go to disposables. We're keeping a completely open mind about it, which I think is helping us get so excited about it. Yay!
Oh yeah - and according to my handy little ticker on my desktop, only 86 more days until my EDD. Wow, time has flown by!
I'm not going to get into it a ton, but I have done SO much research (it can get really overwhelming after awhile) and it really seems like this is a great idea for us. We are excited about the cost savings, the positive impact that this will have on the environment, and most importantly - how freaking cute our little guy will look in them (ok, maybe that's not MOST important, but I still can't wait).
We've gone back and forth trying to figure out what first steps we want to take to get started. The cloth diapers that I tend to really like (All In Ones - they are a lot like disposables, which is in part why I find them desirable - the convenience factor is still there) can be pretty expensive. However, we were able to find some pocket AIO cloth diapers on ebay for a very reasonable amount, so I bought them last Thursday. They arrived Monday (positive feedback for that seller!!), and I can't believe how cute they are. Even though they are all the same - plain green - I can't stop touching them and imagining what our baby will look like wearing them.
The best thing about this is that David is completely on board with it as well. I was a little worried about how he'd feel, but he's been so positive and supportive. I think he was sold the minute I told him how much money we'd save. :)
This will be a bit of a trial for us - we've both agreed that if we absolutely hate it and it just isn't working for us, we'll go to disposables. We're keeping a completely open mind about it, which I think is helping us get so excited about it. Yay!
Oh yeah - and according to my handy little ticker on my desktop, only 86 more days until my EDD. Wow, time has flown by!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Baby's Room
I am so excited - we are done with all of the big stuff in the baby's room, and it is officially my favorite room in the house!
David painted the walls about two weeks ago (a color I originally thought I hated when he first started painting - now I LOVE it!), and we put the crib, dresser, and nightstand in that weekend. We finally got the chair in the room last week, and earlier this week we hung the wall decals that match the bedding. I am loving the room, I can't stop going in there to look around. :)
View of the room when you first look in. I love the wall decals. And how cute is Toby laying in the sun? This is the first time he has really gone in there by himself since the room was completed.
Same view, but now you can see the window with the decals around it (and the blue painters tape that David hasn't removed yet).
View from the corner by the crib. The basket of clothes will eventually be washed and put away, and David and I are going to buy a little man chair to set in the corner. In the mean time, we'll keep the basket of clothes where it is, Gabby likes to go in there to stretch and scratch. :)
(The kids apparently like being in as many shots as possible). The door and closet, with a few decals above them. David got a little sick of the decals, otherwise I would've went crazy and put more above the dresser.
And, ta-da! A close up of the crib. Love the bedding, and we have the cutest stuffed animals for our little guy. A Bedtime Bear Carebear (every child needs one of these), a stuffed Hippo from Uncle Bob and Aunt Nikki, and 3 toys that David and I bought. The little green guy says "Blah!" every time you squeeze his stomach. It's hilarious, although I'm not sure how a kid would feel about it. Cookie Monster and Elmo are awesome. You shake them (or just open their mouth) and they say the most hilarious things. David and I can't go near them without giggling. I'm pretty sure Cookie Monster will have to have his batteries replaced before the baby even gets here.
So, that's our little guy's room. There is still SO much more that we need to get, but we are loving what we have done right now. Best room in the house, by FAR!
David painted the walls about two weeks ago (a color I originally thought I hated when he first started painting - now I LOVE it!), and we put the crib, dresser, and nightstand in that weekend. We finally got the chair in the room last week, and earlier this week we hung the wall decals that match the bedding. I am loving the room, I can't stop going in there to look around. :)
View of the room when you first look in. I love the wall decals. And how cute is Toby laying in the sun? This is the first time he has really gone in there by himself since the room was completed.
Same view, but now you can see the window with the decals around it (and the blue painters tape that David hasn't removed yet).
View from the corner by the crib. The basket of clothes will eventually be washed and put away, and David and I are going to buy a little man chair to set in the corner. In the mean time, we'll keep the basket of clothes where it is, Gabby likes to go in there to stretch and scratch. :)
(The kids apparently like being in as many shots as possible). The door and closet, with a few decals above them. David got a little sick of the decals, otherwise I would've went crazy and put more above the dresser.
And, ta-da! A close up of the crib. Love the bedding, and we have the cutest stuffed animals for our little guy. A Bedtime Bear Carebear (every child needs one of these), a stuffed Hippo from Uncle Bob and Aunt Nikki, and 3 toys that David and I bought. The little green guy says "Blah!" every time you squeeze his stomach. It's hilarious, although I'm not sure how a kid would feel about it. Cookie Monster and Elmo are awesome. You shake them (or just open their mouth) and they say the most hilarious things. David and I can't go near them without giggling. I'm pretty sure Cookie Monster will have to have his batteries replaced before the baby even gets here.So, that's our little guy's room. There is still SO much more that we need to get, but we are loving what we have done right now. Best room in the house, by FAR!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Blood Memory by Greg Iles
Blood Memory by Greg Iles
800 pages
Finished 8/25/08
Iles writes pretty good mystery/suspense novels - he's an author that I've added to my mental list of authors I tend to like, so I look for his books more when I go to the book store.
I feel like it would take a novel just to give a synopsis of what this book is about (mainly due to the twists and turns), but this book is about a forensic expert named Cat that has had an incredibly messed-up life, beginning when she was 8 years old and her father was murdered. She is an alcoholic and has a married lover, and after having some black-outs at the scene of the crime of multiple homicides that are the work of a serial killer, returns to her hometown to escape. Of course, once there she only finds more mystery, and the story then follows both the mystery of her father and her childhood, along with the serial killings that are going on.
The story itself is pretty interesting (heck, I think I just made it sound a little more interesting than it was!). Unfortunately, the main character is one of the least sympathetic characters I've read in awhile. It just seemed like she had little redeeming qualities, and if I had a nickel for every time she blacked out or almost blacked out, I'd have...a handful of nickels. :)
The plot did wrap up nicely after a zillion different twists and turns, and it wasn't the most predictable read, so that was nice.
Three stars.
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