Intent to Kill

Intent To Kill by James Grippando
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked this book and I debated whether to give it 3 or 4 stars.  I decided on 3 for three main reasons.

The first being it didn't grab me right from the get go.  It took me a while to really get into this book.  I did get into the book and ended up liking it, but I just didn't feel it at the beginning.

The other reason was one of the main characters, Babes, felt a little inconsistent.  Babes has Aspergers/PDD and is 22 years old.  His character felt a little inconsistent with things I would expect from an adult with PDD.  For example, he is on the run from the police and wants to end up staying in familiar places, but then ends up in some random train car he hasn't seen in 5 years.  He is scared to talk to people, but then calls in to a radio show and insists on having the call be broadcasted live.  I felt like it wasn't consistent.

The last reason was another one of the main characters was portrayed as an antagonist the whole book and than at the last few chapters he all of the sudden is a "helper" and works to can the real bad guy.  I don't mind character changes, but this one was too abrupt for me.

Overall it was a great book and I liked it.
No sex and no swearing.


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Mudbound

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was a blend of The Help and The Sleeping Night.  If you liked either or both chances are you will like this book.

I love historical fiction and WWII era books.  So this book was a must read.

The author did an excellent job voicing the different characters' perspectives.  I enjoy hearing the voices of Florence, Hap and Ronsel Jackson the best.  They are a crop share family on Henry's farm during the 1940's.  Their stories were the most entertaining because rarely does an author write from the slaves' perspective.  That is why the book reminds me so much of The Help.

The controversy that arises from a Black man loving a white woman following WWII reminds me a lot of The Sleeping Night.

No explicit sex scenes and 4-5 "f-words"


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Auntie

We love coming to Utah because we get to play with my cute niece and nephew.  I love them to pieces!   (Almost as much as my own two kids.)

I love family!  My sister is one of my favorite people to be around.  She is so sweet!  Her kids are adorable too!  

Just look at this sweet boy who fell asleep eating a snack.  I just can't get enough of him.

My niece is also a doll!  She says the funniest things.  She is just a treat to be around.

I love being these kids' Auntie!

A Confession

Something most people don't know about me is I used to hate kids.  I didn't enjoy being around kids at all.  I thought they were ALL obnoxious!  When I was in high school I tried to convince my mother to let me have a hysterectomy because I wasn't having children. EVER!

Luckily, my mother didn't listen to my wild rants. I don't think a doctor would have performed a hysterectomy on a teenage girl with out medical necessity anyway.  

When I got my Patriarchal blessing at 17 I was furious about how it went on and on about motherhood.  I didn't enjoy reading that part and would often skip right over it.  The line that killed me said something to the effect of "I would one day find joy in motherhood."  I was livid! I didn't want to be a mother and it bothered me the Lord wanted me to be a mother.

The Lord spent the next 7-8 years softening my heart.  When I got married at 22 I was coming to grips with having children.  I knew at that point I would have children, but I wasn't excited about it.  I could read my Patriarchal blessing without getting mad.  I started a job with the school district doing speech therapy.  I really loved the kids and enjoyed working with them.  I learned kids can be a lot of fun.  I also realized I had a natural talent of working with children.

I had Grant when I was 25.  I wasn't sure I was ready for the whole mom thing, but the Lord continued to work through my stubbornness.  I didn't want to breastfeed at all because I just didn't want to.  It was just too much sacrifice for me.  I had already sacrificed my body for 9 months and I wasn't going to keep sacrificing it for something as stupid as breastfeeding.  I didn't care how much healthier it was.  I just wasn't going to do it.  I had told Kyle since the day we got married that when we had children I wasn't going to breastfeed them.  Kyle was supportive until we took a parenting class.  The instructor went on and on about how wonderful breastfeeding was.  Kyle was sold!  He tried to convince me to breastfeed Grant, but I refused.  

I am now 31 and just had my second child.  I look back at my thoughts 14 years ago and I am wowed at the transformation.  The first transformation being I have two children.  I never would have dreamed of such a thing!  Second, I was completely devastated when I miscarried in 2011.  The most shocking transformation for me is the fact I wanted to breastfeed my sweet daughter.  Not just wanted to try, but actually tried and enjoyed it!

I also never dreamed I would be a stay at home mom.  I always thought I would work at least 20 hours a week or so.  Yeah, I worked 2 hours this week.  Unless you count the additional 7 hours I was "on call" at home.  I am obviously not working for the money.  I just work for a little escape once in a while and to keep my skills up. 

I really do enjoy being a stay at home mom most of the time.  On nights I get more sleep I am a much better mom.  I enjoy cooking good meals for my family.  (Cooking-another skill I swore I would never enjoy.)  I love playing games with Grant.  I have started teaching him how to read and I have enjoyed watching him learn.  Being a mom can be very rewarding.  I do miss the regular adult interaction that work provides.  But, my children need me right now.  

I marvel at how the Lord works in such mysterious ways.  Motherhood is truly a calling straight from God.  Being a mom is a divine calling and how grateful I am to be a mom.

4th of July 2013

We celebrated the 4th of July in Utah with my side of the family.  We had a great time!  Here are a few pictures from the day's activities.

Celeste really has mastered the smiling on demand!  She especially loves smiling for Daddy!

Celeste and my Grandma taking an afternoon nap.  I think they look very similar!

We had a water balloon fight! It was tons of fun.    The kids wanted to go in and get towels, but we convinced them if they were to swing instead.  The hot weather and the swinging had them dry in no time.  (I didn't take pictures of the water balloon fight because I was in it and didn't want my camera wet.)

Great Granny and Celeste enjoying the heat.  

Grant and Evelyn decided to go in Granny's raspberry patch for a little snack.  The raspberry plants are as tall as they are.  It was like they were in a little jungle.

The problem was they kept getting scratched by the raspberry plants.  Uncle Blair helped the kids get some more raspberries. 

Preston, my favorite nephew, in the swing!

Evelyn and her festive hair do!

The kids also played a baseball game when the weather cooled off a little bit.  Growing up we always played a baseball game in my grandma's back field.  We would use a soccer ball instead of a baseball because a lot of the kids and adults would have been swinging all night.  It is a fun tradition!

Evelyn decided she wanted to be like her cousin and run around with her shirt off.  This picture can be used as black mail if needed!  

My parent's live across the street from the park.  We had front row seats to the city fireworks!  It was amazing.  We sat in the front yard popping poppers and playing with glow night sticks waiting for the fireworks to start!  It was a great holiday!

A King's Ransom

A King's Ransom by James Grippando
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book!  The story was completely captivating from the very beginning.  I stayed up until 4 AM one night because I just had to know what happened.  My sleep is very valuable with two young children so the book definitely deserves 5 stars if I lose sleep over it.

I loved the touch of "lawyer" mixed with adventure and love story!  It was perfect.  I sometimes don't really  like lawyer books because it gets to mundane.  This book was a perfect mix.

I loved how the author bounced back and forth between Mathew and Nick.  It made the story more interesting to hear from two different characters.

The book is somewhat predictable, but the twist at the end keeps the reader intrigued.

No swearing and no sex.


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Kyle's 31st Birthday

We were going to Utah the day after Kyle's birthday and so I decided to make his birthday cake a day early.  Grant helped me make Kyle's birthday cake.  It is so fun having Grant so big.  We enjoy doing things together. 

Grant wanted Daddy to open his present early too.  Grant got Kyle some Wolverine claws.  It is kind of one of those gifts you give yourself and someone else.  Grant loves super heroes and has loved Dad's Wolverine claws.  

The day we went shopping for them I managed to lose Kyle's debit card.  I felt so bad.  I feel like I always manage to ruin Kyle's birthday.  This year I lost the debit card and a few years ago I accidentally threw a wii remote at the t.v.  

On Kyle's birthday we went out dinner at Joe's Crab Shack.  Our neighbor watched Celeste for us so we could enjoy our meal.  It was nice to enjoy a meal without an infant.  Grant also enjoyed having Mom and Dad all to himself.  We came home and opened presents.  I got Kyle a few new shirts and soccer clothes.  He usually plays basketball during his lunch breaks, but he has recently started playing soccer too.

Celeste: 2 Months Old

Celeste was 2 months old on July 1, 2013.  She weighed 8 pounds and 9 ounces (2nd percentile) and 22 3/8 inches long (50th percentile).  She has started smiling and cooing.  She doesn't care for tummy time.  She loves her brother and her daddy.  She will smile the most for her daddy.  She still doesn't eat very well, but it getting better.  We love having her in our family.

Breastfeeding Battle: The Last Straw

I was hoping to keep breastfeeding for a while, but it is just not working out.

For the past 6 weeks I have been pumping at every single feeding.  It has been exhausting!  All I do is nurse and pump.  At first Celeste didn't want the milk I pumped, but she is finally growing and now I can't keep up.  She drinks everything I pump and usually wants a bottle after wards too.  

I hate to admit it, but I am resenting her.  I don't enjoy nursing any more because it is just so much work.  I hate that I don't get to spend any time with her unless I am feeding her.   I don't want to quit after we have worked so hard to make this work, but it can't go on like this.  I can't think of anything we haven't tried.  I have talked about breastfeeding to everyone I can think of and no one has any more suggestions.  We are out of ideas.  

I have tried and I would say fail, but we are done.  Done fighting a losing battle.

Happy Kids

Celeste has really started smiling!  Her whole face lights up when she smiles.  We just can't get enough of her!  I have horrible luck getting her to smile on demand if I have a camera in my hand.  Kyle got this picture right before church.  It is Celeste's first Sunday and she is about 2 months old. 

Grant is also very photogenic.  He loves his little sister and is always willing to hold her, even if she is crying. 

 I love these two kids! 

Breastfeeding Battle: The Saga Continues

Breastfeeding is hard work!  It consumes your life.  Well, the little life you have left after having a newborn.  So why can't I just quit?

I enjoy it!  Well, sometimes I enjoy it.  I just can't let myself quit though.  After two months of time and energy poured into breastfeeding I just can't quit.  There are days when I want to oh so bad.

Let me say though that things are looking much better now.  After spending more than 30 minutes on the phone with the lactation consultant explaining my difficulties she admitted she had no idea how to help me.  Surprisingly enough I wasn't discouraged though.  Something she had said got me thinking.  I had an "ah-ha" moment.  Are you ready?

I realized Celeste won't nurse if she is too wound up.  If she gets to upset and hungry she won't eat.  I didn't think it could be that simple, but I tested my theory and it is true!  True I tell you!  Every other baby I know has to literally be hung by their toes before they are awake enough to eat.  My baby does better if you just wake her up enough to latch on.

It has been a week now and we have had almost all positive breastfeeding sessions!

Celeste is still not gaining weight fast enough.  She is stuck at the second percentile for weight.  But at least we aren't falling off the growth chart.  I had to supplement with formula.  Celeste is still not a champion breastfeeder and I have to pump after every single feeding.  I usually get her to eat the hind milk I pumped and if not I save it for later.  I have no milk stored up and so I don't go any where for more than 2 hours.

I am still very glad I did all the therapy with her though because she really was physical unable to nurse.  I am so glad I worked with the lactation specialists because they were very helpful.  We have made it so far.  I am happy I didn't give up.  I am 75% sure I would  do it all again.

The Dark Monk

The Dark Monk by Oliver Pötzsch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a great book!  I loved the first and the second is just as wonderful.

I got a little confused at the very end of the book with the authors description of the monastery.  The characters seemed to be running around in circles.  Then just when I thought I knew where they were something would happen above or below them and I would be confused again.  Maybe I am just not very familiar with the layouts of old churches.

The author goes through the actual locations that inspired him for this story.  It is kind of cool to know how an author is inspired.  

The story was captivating and only had a few slow moments.  I am excited to read the third book in the series.

No sex and no swearing.


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