Sunday, March 18, 2012

Time for another edition of Sunday Night Chit-Chat, hosted by Carla at My 1/2 Dozen Daily

I love the colors in this picture! Reminds me of spring and just feeling good!

Reading?

This past week I finished up The Scent of Cherry Blossoms. (Look for the review here.) Haven't started a new book yet.

Watching?

Frozen Planet is starting tonight on Discovery Channel. I am DVRing it. I loved the previous specials that they have done...Planet Earth being my favorite. I LOVE these types of documentaries.

Listening to?
The tv is on in the background.

Cooking/Baking?
Honestly I have been pretty lazy, very pregnant and just not feeling like cooking or baking. I keep thinking that I want to make some strawberry cookies but I just don't have the energy.

Happy you accomplished this week?

I got through my NSTs. They have a target date for my c-section! YAY! (More on that later)

Looking forward to next week?
Hearing my baby's heartbeat during my non-stress tests. If I haven't gone into labor, then I have an ultrasound on Thursday to see the little boy again before birth. Hopefully relaxing a little.

Thankful for today?
Thankful for my beautiful children and caring husband! Thankful for the beautiful spring like weather we have had the last week or so!

Book Review: The Scent of Cherry Blossoms


From the back cover:

Annie Martin loves the Plain ways of her Old Order Mennonite people, like those revered by her beloved grandfather. Retreating from a contentious relationship with her mother, Annie goes to live with her Daadi Moses in Apple Ridge.

But as spring moves into Pennsylvania and Annie spends time among the cherry trees with the handsome Aden Zook, she wishes she could forget how deeply the lines between the Old Order Amish and Old Order Mennonite are drawn.

Can Annie and Aden find a place for their love to bloom in the midst of the brewing storm?

My thoughts:

I have read many of Cindy Woodsmall's previous books and I was really looking forward to reading this one. She USUALLY has great character formation both with the main characters and with the secondary ones. And there are usually overlapping plot lines that make the reading very interesting.

I was disappointed in this book. While good, it was NOT one of Woodsmall's better books. The character developments seemed shallow to me and there was really no great plot. In fact I found that the plot was rather predictable and not very exciting. I would have preferred a plot that would have spent more time on the relationship between Aden and his brother Roman, and/or the relationship between Annie's grandfather and Aden's parents. I found that Woodsmall focusing solely on Annie and Aden's relationship made the book seem simplistic.

That being said, it was a good read. If I had not read any of Woodsmall's other books, then I would have probably liked this one much more. It was a good story. Just lacked the meatiness that I have come to expect from Woodsmall.

DISCLAIMER: I was provided a FREE copy of this book by Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Blogging for Books program. All opinions are my own. I did not have to write a positive review.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Monday, March 12, 2012

35 weeks and to dos and no menu plan?


Today I am 35 weeks pregnant. This was the goal for us to get too. After this date, my OB/GYN said that she would have no problem delivering if my blood pressure got out of control or I developed full blown pre-eclampsia. I have noticed the last couple of days that my blood pressure has been high in the morning and even higher in the evening. More so than it had been. Maybe that means it is getting close to the time to have the baby???

I am trying to get some things set up for when I do have the baby. Some of these things are reflected in my to do list for this week....


My to do list: (You will notice a few things from last week's list...)
  • 2 NSTs (Non-Stress tests) (These will be ongoing until I have the baby)
  • Update phone numbers on hubby's cell phone for when I am in the hospital
  • Get hubby to put together dresser and crib in the boys' room
  • Get bassinet set up in our bedroom
  • Clean both bathrooms
  • File bills
  • Get folder ready for Rebecca's Kindergarten screening
  • Finish laundry (Fold, put away)
I think that is sufficient. It will be great if I can get it all done, but I don't know.....


MENU PLAN

This week I am NOT doing a menu plan. I have found the last couple of weeks that I have no desire to follow a menu plan, even an easy one. I am just going to go by the seat of my pants....I usually don't know what I want until it is almost time for dinner. And we have a lot of easy meals that I can make so it should work out well. I hope. Wish me luck.

Do you have any plans for this week? 

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Spring Forward

Just a reminder that Daylight Savings Time is starting!

Friday, March 9, 2012

Pregnancy week 34.4 update and update on Mom's bladder cancer


So today I went in for my 2nd NST (Non-stress test) this week. I have noticed in the last couple days that I didn't think I had been feeling baby boy move very much. Well he actually cooperated today and did BEAUTIFULLY on the test! That is good news. The nurse suggested that I do kick counts twice a day so I will be incorporating that into our routine. I think I have been really busy the last 2 days and maybe that is why I haven't noticed him moving. My blood pressure was still high---147/77...so still need to watch that. On Monday I will be 35 weeks!

In other GOOD NEWS, my mom went to the doctor this morning for her follow up for her bladder cancer surgery last week. The good news is that the tumors were non-invasive. The bad news is that the cancer cells were very fast growing and aggressive. So she will have to do chemo once a week for the next 6 weeks. Her doctor thinks that will take care of it. She also has to be checked every 3 months for the foreseeable future as bladder cancer has a high recurrence rate! But we will take it. Thank God she went and got checked in the first place!!

So health wise it has been a GOOD NEWS kind of day! Anyone else have any good news to share?