My Early Birthday Present

It is now time to announce to the world that I am pregnant with our second child. The due date is March 12 – 2 days before my birthday. I just hope this one doesn’t decide to be overdue like Rachel was. I do NOT want to be pregnant or in the hospital on my birthday.

Currently, I’m coming into week 13 of the pregnancy. Things have been a lot easier this time around. I get nauseous occasionally, but have only thrown up a couple of times. With Rachel, I thew up a couple times a week (there was one class at BYU that I was constantly leaving to do so). I’m not sure if the difference is because of a gender difference of the baby, a lifestyle change, or because my abdomen is expanding faster than it did with Rachel, so there’s less pressure on my stomach. I’m as big at 2 months as I was with Rachel at 5 months. I’m not happy that I’m going to have to get my maternity clothes out soon.

I do get tired often, so I’ve been taking naps while Rachel does instead of writing. I still hope to finish  the first draft of The Maboon Defenders Rescue before this baby is born, because I’m not sure how I’ll find time to write when I have two kids on conflicting schedules. As you can see, we got an ultrasound at the beginning of the month when I was 9 weeks pregnant. Then, the baby was 1″ long. The head is to the left, and it was cute to see the little arm buds waving at us. We’ll get to hear the heart beat for the first time on Thursday, which is exciting.

We’ve told Rachel that she has a baby brother or sister in my tummy, but I don’t think she understands yet. She’s just barely learning the words brother and sister, but I’m not sure she realizes what it means. It’ll probably become clearer to her once she can feel the baby kick. As for the gender, Daniel and I are both hoping for a boy.

First Attempt at Potty Training

If you’ve seen my facebook status updates, you’ve seen how potty training has gone the past week. We got a Dora the Explorer seat for the toilet and some pull-ups and decided to see how it went.

Rachel liked sitting on the potty. At first, we gave her M&Ms to show it was a good thing, but quickly stopped doing that. She liked pointing out Dora and Boots. We’d also sing songs with her, read books with her, and sometimes I’d even set up the laptop so she could watch a DVD in there. Pretty soon, she would tell us right after she’d wet her pull-up so we could go sit on the potty, and then give her a fresh one.

Yet, she would never actually go while on the potty. I was getting frustrated, because I hoped that if she could just go on the potty, it would start to click what we actually wanted her to do. At one point, I had her on the potty watching Blues Clues. I knew she had to go, because she hadn’t gone for hours, and the whole time she was sitting on the potty, she was touching that area. I finally let her off after Joe had found the third clue and put her pull-up back on. She had wet it before the episode ended (3 minutes later).

So, I learned that she is physically ready for potty training. She’ll just hold it until she gets her diaper back on. So, I got some panties for her to try. Day one with the panties went by as well as you can expect (she had 3 accidents and then I put her back in a diaper). Day two, she did not want to wear panties, so she ran around naked for a bit. She did the “I need to go potty” dance for two hours before she finally let it go.

By that point, I was sinking into depression, snapping at Daniel, and overall getting frustrated. I decided it was best for all involved if we take a break after these 9 days of trying. I feel much better now. Rachel still asks to go on the potty sometimes and read a book, so I’ll take her. I just won’t put her on as much as I was. We’ll probably try again in a month or so. She’s only 21 months, so I don’t feel too pressured to get her trained yet.

Review: Previously Engaged ****()

Title: Previously Engaged
Author: Elodia Strain
Why I Read This: I won it through Summer Reading Thing 2009.
Short Summary: Annabelle wins a $50,000 wedding, though she’s not engaged yet (but expects to be proposed to soon). Meanwhile, her ex-boyfriend has come back into her life.
Website: http://www.elodiastrain.com/books.html

Buy Previously Engaged at Amazon

This book is the sequel to “The Icing on the Cake,” which I have not read. Still, I felt like this was a good stand alone. I wasn’t confused on anything, and didn’t even notice any passages written to tell you what had previously happened.

I read it through in one day, even staying up a bit to finish it. The reason I kept reading wasn’t so much that I wanted to find out what happened. The plot was very predictable. It was more I was enchanted by the narrator. She was so hilarious, and the reading went so fast. When it was time for bed, I had only a couple of chapters left, and felt like it would be worth it to stay up to finish.

Here’s what I mean by predictable plot. If you’ve read romances, you should know the drill. Girl and guy are together. Something comes up and the two split up. Enter the third person in the triangle. Mix until crisis comes. Girl and guy end up together. That’s pretty much how the plot of this book goes. The conflicts that girl and guy got in were interesting, and it was nice to see that there was more than one bump in the road that they had to get over.

Annabelle was such a great character to read about. She’s clumsy and shows it in a humorous light. She also tries to tell you she’s sophisticated, but in the next sentence breaks down and tells you the truth. For example – “Isaac had shipped [a dozen cupcakes] to me all the way from Sprinkles in New York that I of course froze so they would last longer. Okay, which I meant to freeze, but ended up eating in a week. Fine, two days, but it was just after we switched to Daylight Savings time, so they seemed like really long days.” She also has an obsession with shopping thriftily (she was glad Isaac left the price tag on slippers he gave her so she could know he got them 75% off) and is really inspired by people who give back to the community. She was a very likable character that I enjoyed spending the day with.

The other characters pale in comparison to her. Isaac and Carrie seem rounded, but Alex is pretty flat, which is a pity. Although, I never liked him since he cheated on Annabelle at prom (hence the breakup) and was trying to woo away a girl in a very serious relationship.

This is a book written by an LDS author, and published by an LDS publisher, but there is no overt mention of the LDS church. Annabelle says she has friends from church and that the wedding would be a small religious ceremony, but that’s the only mention. There is no swearing, violence, or sex.  

This was a fun light read. Overall, I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

My Busy Little Girl

It’s hard to believe that Rachel is already 1 3/4 years old. She’s been busy learning new words. She’s up to a dozen now at least. Most recent ones include “star,” “Dora” (from Dora the Explorer), and “choo choo.” It probably won’t be long before she strings them together in sentences. She can already say “Want more” and we’ve also taught her to say “Please” which she’s starting to catch on to.

Daniel and his mom have also taught her the word “poo” which she said yesterday while squatting. So, it looks like it’s time to start potty training. I am very intimidated by the potty training process, but she has gone successfully on the toilet, so I guess it’s time to start taking those steps. We’ll be getting a potty for her next week and some pull-ups and we’ll see how it goes!

I’m so glad that Rachel’s hair is growing longer. Now I can style it all sorts of cute ways. She doesn’t sit still very long to let me do it, unless there’s something that holds her interest on TV. We don’t have cable, so we just put on DVDs for her. Her favorites are currently the Wiggles and Dora the Explorer. I do keep her to just two DVDs a day, and she still begs for more. I found that sometimes the best way to get her to stop begging is to just put a CD of music in the DVD player. It displays a really boring screen, and then Rachel will go play happily.

Rachel’s favorite activities (other than watching her DVDs) are blocks, trains, and puzzles. She also got a twin doll stroller that she absolutely loves to push around. I thought she would enjoy the toy kitchen I got at a garage sale, but she’s hardly played with it. I don’t know if that’s because it isn’t bigger, it doesn’t have enough things to turn/make noise, or if we don’t have any play food to go with it. Oh well.

Rachel also loves to sing songs. While she can’t actually sing, she’ll do the actions to “Wheels on the Bus” or “The Eensy Weensy Spider” to get us to start singing. And then she does those two songs over and over. She’s also done the actions to “Popcorn Popping” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.” I’m glad she’s so entertained by that when she wants attention but I’m cooking dinner. Maybe next month, I’ll get a video of it.

Review: Lemon Tart *****

Title: Lemon Tart
Author: Josi S. Kilpack
Why I Read This: It sounded good, and I liked another book by this author.
Short Summary: Sadie attempts to solve the murder of her neighbor Anne Lemmon armed with her culinary masterpieces.
Website: http://www.josiskilpack.com/Official_Josi_S._Kilpack_Website/Lemon_Tart.html

Buy Lemon Tart at Amazon

Ever since I’d heard about this culinary mystery by Kilpack, I’ve wanted to read it. I’ve read a suspense by her “Sheep’s Clothing” which I enjoyed. Lemon Tart didn’t disappoint. I finished it in one day, because it was hard to put down.

The plot was quite interesting, with several twists and turns (like any good mystery should have). It had some surprises, some of which I guessed, and others which caught me. For example, I recognized the initial two suspects as red herrings, but at the end of the book, we quickly go through a series of suspects each of which is more surprising at last until the real murderer seemed to come out of the blue.

On her website, Kilpack said that she doesn’t like culinary mysteries in general because they tend to have flat characters. I’m not the best judge of characters, but I did like the ones in here. I liked Sadie’s indiosyncrisies, such as her attention to how she looked and trying to solve every problem by cooking something. As we learned Anne’s backstory, I really felt for her and her lover.

Another thing that Kilpack mentions on her website about culinary mysteries is that the recipes included seem too gourmet. I haven’t tried any of the recipes yet, (we’re going to try a bunch of them when we discuss this at book club) but they don’t seem gourmet (one of the recipes only has 3 ingredients) though very yummy.

While this book is written by an LDS author and published by an LDS publisher, the characters are not obviously LDS, although they do have LDS values. There is no swearing, and Sadie didn’t know her fiance wore boxers or briefs until she decided to secretly investigate his home for clues. There was an adultery in the past, but I thought it was treated well. There is some details of Anne’s body, and some actiony violence at the end, but nothing grisly.

Overall, I give this 5 out of 5 stars, and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel – English Trifle.

My Next Project

For the past couple weeks, I’ve been wondering what I should work on next. I’ve done a lot of brainstorming for The Tailor Magician, but I just wasn’t excited about it anymore. I didn’t feel up to doing a rewrite on Phoenix Princess. The rest of my ideas were only half-baked.

Then Monday I was struck with inspiration. Chapter one of a new project played itself out in my head so beautifully. Then came another scene and another. I was so excited, I had to start writing, whenever Rachel was asleep. There are a lot of parts I’m going to have to make up as I go, but I do have a basic framework that I developed way back in highschool.

To be clear, I am redoing the Maboon Defenders – my superheroine group. I’m taking bits of the plot from the first and the third books of the trilogy I wrote, and adding more characterization. I’ve also switched the powers around a bit. We’ll see how it goes, but I think this is going to be fun to finish. I’ve needed to write an action story for a change.

Keeping Cool

Whoops! I totally missed June’s blogpost about Rachel. At least 17 months without a miss is pretty good. Here’s how Rachel’s doing.

I love how Rachel’s hair is growing. It’s growing thicker, which makes it much easier to do her hair. The problem is, she’s very wiggly and doesn’t like me messing with it. I do love how it is curling up at the back.

We flew to Utah for the 4th of July and Rachel did well on both flights. She especially liked playing with the tray tables and got upset when we wouldn’t let her put them down because we were taking off/landing. Hopefully she’ll do as well for us when we go to Colorado later this month. She had lots of fun playing with (and getting in fights with) her cousins. It’s too bad she doesn’t get to see most of them that often.

In June, our ward had an activity at Lake Meridian, so I put Rachel in her swimsuit and let her go wading in the water. She hesitated at first because it was so cold, but then emjoyed following the little kids into deeper water. Once, she got into almost shoulder deep water before I could retrieve her. We also went swimming in the hotel pool while we were in Utah. Rachel did not like that at all. She clung to me the entire time. She must have been scared of the fact that she couldn’t touch bottom. This picture is when we let her stand on the top step right as we got in.

Rachel’s favorite toy in nursery is the kitchen. So, we’re thinking about getting one for her birthday (shh! Don’t tell!) She also likes playing with her cousin Lily’s doll stroller. We got her a little baby doll of her own, but she doesn’t play with it that often. What she most likes playing with are things she gets out of my kitchen cupboards, such as stirring a spoon in a pot or cup.

Rachel’s continuing to learn new words, and I’m picking up some of her half-words too. She says “goak” for yogurt (one of her favorite foods) and “buts” for buttons (specifically remote control buttons or keyboard buttons). Her favorite word is probably “up” since she likes to be in my lap while I’m on the computer, or just climbing on everything.

I’ve got more pictures on facebook from the trip, if anyone wants to see. Now, hopefully I won’t miss out on another update next month!

How to Find Time to Write With Children

Maybe I should try this.

I’m kidding… partly.

Review: Abinadi *****

Title: Abinadi
Author: H.B. Moore
Why I Read This: It sounded good, and it won a Whitney Award.
Short Summary: As King Noah leads his people into wickedness, Abinadi is called to cry repentance.
Website: http://www.hbmoore.com

Buy Abinadi at Amazon

If you’ve read the Book of Mormon, you know the plot of this story, even though Abinadi doesn’t get his call as a prophet until 2/3 of the way through the book. So, there are no surprises here. Still, there is some suspense as the characters deal with Lamanite attacks and flee from King Noah’s wrath.

The real gem of this book came from the characters. They were so well created. I could feel Abinadi’s hopes and doubts. Alma’s character arc was great, and I love that Moore decided to use his personal life to parallel what was happening with the people. He’s pulled in to the wickedness of the court, then comes to realize that this life is empty, and starts to make changes, so he’s ready for conversion when Abinadi makes his climactic speech before King Noah. Racquel, the daughter of Amulon, and love of Abinadi, is also strong and interesting in her own right.

Moore decided to set the Book of Mormon lands in what today is Guatamala, and has a map to show it. She says in the preface that this is “one favored location for the land of Nephi” though the notes at the back are written as if it is the location of the Nephites. That rankled me a little bit, because I believe at this time, nobody can know for certain where the Nephites lived. Still, Moore used this setting to do some painstaking research to make the story of Abinadi come to life, by describing the smallest details of life, including what foods they ate and what clothes they wore. That, I really appreciated. For those afraid that a book like this would cause them to forget what’s real and what’s just made up, the chapter notes list what scriptures are referenced in each chapter.

This book ends with Alma planning to baptize the people in the waters of Mormon. The sequel to this book, called Alma the Elder, will come out Fall 2009. There is also a third book planned for Alma the Younger.

There is no swearing in this book. Alma does get involved with harlots, but acts are not described. There is some violence, but nothing in great detail.

Overall, I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Review: Fablehaven 4 *****

Title: Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary
Author: Brandon Mull
Why I Read This: I enjoyed the other books in this series
Short Summary: With the Society of the Evening Star seeking new artifacts, Kendra and the Knights of the Dawn must race the Society to the key to the next vault
Website: http://www.fablehaven.com

Buy Fablehaven 4 at Amazon

I’ve reviewed book 3 of this series before, and because I enjoyed it so much, I was looking forward to reading Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary. I wasn’t disappointed. When I started reading, it was hard to put down. This book has the imagination, action, intrigue, and surprises that I had come to expect from the other books.

This book is definitely easiest to understand if you’ve read the previous books, but this one has it’s own major conflict that is resolved within the book. However, because book 5 will conclude the series, Mull did include a cliff hanger at the end of book 4. It’s not a huge one, but it does leave me anxious for Keys to the Demon Prison, which I’m guessing will come out next year.

In previous books, almost all the adults become incapacitated so the teenagers have to save the day. Also, in the middle of the book, an adventurer will swoop in and help solve the crisis. I liked that in this book, neither of those two happened. It made it so that it didn’t feel like the books were following the same pattern. Also, the absense of the adventurer there to save the day made the triumph better.

There is no swearing or sex in this book. There is a bit of actiony violence (including people dying) but nothing graphic.

Not much else to say about this book, except that overall, I give it 5 out of 5 stars.