MY NEW BLOG

I've been wanting to do a blog about just our family and finally set it up! I doubt I'll update it as often as I'd like to, but I wanted a safe place to post pictures and happenings of our home for people to see. It is private, so if you weren't invited to read it and would like to, just email me and I'll invite you!

BABYWISE

I told you my next post was going to be about Babywise! I'm sure this is no news to many of you, but this is THE book for parents as far as getting kids on a schedule. Now, Jack is only 4 weeks old, so it hasn't really proven itself worthy yet, but I'm hoping if I stick to the book, I'll get him sleeping at least 6 hours at night by the time he's 8 weeks.

Everyone has their different parenting philosophies, which you quickly learn once you become one yourself. This book operates under the premise that you as the parent set the schedule for your child (eating, sleeping, etc.) Now, that doesn't mean that you must absolutely stick to the schedule and have no flexibility. It's just a guideline. I found the book to be extremely helpful to me, being a first time mom. Jack pretty much eats on a 3 hour feeding cycle; which means he eats somewhere around 3,6,9 and 12, give or take. Last night he sleep for 4 hours (between 9 and 1). It was so nice to get that extra hour! It won't be healthy for him to sleep longer than 5 hours at night until he's about 8 weeks or so. Most Babywise babies sleep through the night on their own, but some need a little help. I'll let you know if Jack is one of those! ;-)

Speaking of feeding, Rusty has agreed to help me with one night feeding a week (Saturday or Sunday), so I can get a longer stretch of sleep on those days. I have borrowed a pump from my sister (thanks Jel) and so have a storage of milk in the freezer. Rusty just defrosts one of those and feeds it to Jack in a bottle. He takes the bottle no problem, and I just pump the side I would have fed him with when I wake up. We've only done this twice, but it's been nice that Rusty has agreed to help me out. I never thought he'd do something like this. Diapers, on the other hand, are a different story!

My Life At The Moment

Ok, so I finally had my baby and I don't know how I'm going to fit reading into my day! :-) I know he's young and doesn't sleep very long, but even when he's sleeping, I find a million other things to do besides read. I know I'll get into a routine and be able to fit it in, but it may be a while before I post about a book I read. (Except I am reading one right now--Babywise--a must for new mothers!)

Maybe I'll start blogging about the awesome board books I'm reading Jack. This could become Nancy's Kids Reading Corner. That might be easier to stay on top of, but I'm not sure too many people would care!

Anyway, I am really enjoying the motherhood thing and Jack is just an awesome baby. He seldom cries, and when he does, it's because he's hungry, needs a change, or needs to burp. I've been very blessed to have such a great child. Cross your fingers it continues this way!

Just wanted anyone who reads this blog to know that I'm alive, doing well and really happy. I will get back to posting about books, but I'm not sure exactly when. I'm contemplating doing a blog about our family, but Rusty is very particular about pictures and info about Jack just out on the web. (He'd probably get mad at me for including the picture in this post.) If I do a family blog, it will be private, so I'll let you know!

The Way to Paradise

Ok, so Keisha updated her blog today and said that I needed to as well. I haven't finished the book yet, so I wasn't going to write about it until I did. But seeing as we already had book club about it, I guess I can.

This book was originally written in Spanish by the Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa. Ana, one of our book club members, is Peruvian herself, so she exposed us to some foreign literature. I, of course, don't read Spanish, so I read the translated version.

This is a very interesting book. I would classify it as a historical fiction. Llosa alternates chapters between 2 characters: Flora Tristan and her grandson Paul Gaugain. If you haven't heard of either of them, Flora Tristan was a feminist in the 1840's working in France to create a Worker's Union and Paul Gaugain is a very famous French artist. (I believe it is one of his paintings on the cover of the book). I remember reading about Gaugain in Art History in college. I didn't know much about him other than he moved to Tahiti where he created his masterpieces (late 1800's).

Flora Tristan is a captivating character and I love how the author tells her life story through flashbacks she has while she's working the circuit in France trying to get the Worker's Union organized. She was a very strong woman (very unusual for her time and place). I suppose that's why I like her. I'd like to hope I'd have the guts to do what she did.

Paul Gaugain, on the other hand, was crazy. I don't know what it is about artists, but it seems like they're all a little crazy in the head. He had syphillus and didn't mind spreading the disease all over Tahiti with girls as young as 13. He "married" a couple of them, even though he had a wife and children living back in Denmark. He was a terrible father and husband to his first wife (essentially abandoning her). And the syphillus eventually drove him crazy. I do have to say though, it was interesting seeing life from his point of view, however distorted it may have been.

I will finish this book and thank Ana for expanding my exposure to foreign literature! Thanks!

Brisingr

I finally read the 3rd book in the Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini. Fantasy has to be my all time favorite genre, and I have enjoyed reading this series. I was too cheap to buy the hardback, and so I was waiting for it to come out in paperback. But my mom was returning it to my nephew Caleb, and I snagged it up before she had a chance. Originally there was only going to be 3 books in the series, but apparently the author had too much to say, so it became 4.

This book was a little like Harry Potter 5 for me, in that it seemed to be a bridge or segway between books. It was kind of anti-climatic. There was a lot explained in the book, but not a lot of action. It was definitely kind of slow in the middle, which is probably why it took me so long to finish. That being said, I really enjoyed it and look forward to the last one coming out. (I'm not going to hold my breath though, because I'm sure it'll be a while).

My favorite fantasy author of this kind is Terry Brooks. I think he's a lot less wordy and does just as good a job as painting a picture for you. Terry Brooks' books have druids and magic, elves and dwarves, just like Christopher Paolini, but I prefer them. If you like fantasy, try the Shannara series.

Now I'm on to another book. I think I might try the classic "Rebecca". We'll see!