34 Week Update

So here we are at 34 weeks. I am so ready to not be pregnant anymore. My doctor told me I'm her smallest patient BUT I feel enormous. I feel like there is absolutely no way Emily can take up anymore space...I know she'll find a way though.

My biggest complaints right now are just being uncomfortable all of the time and not sleeping. I wake up all night long. The longest stretch of uninterrupted sleep is from about 4am until 8am. Not fun.

We found out at my last round of needle pokes and testing that I'm anemic. That didn't surprise me since I became anemic when I was pregnant with Noah. It went away shortly after he was born. This means I get to take iron pills. Bleh! They make me feel awful and I have to take them TWICE a day. At first I wasn't really taking them like I was supposed to...BAD ASHLEY! Then my doctor told me that although I'm not causing harm to the baby by not taking them I am hurting myself. The real risk with pregnancy anemia comes after you have the baby. Your iron levels drop a lot after the baby is born. If you already have low iron that's bad news for your body. The only way to pump those levels up quickly is a blood transfusion and extra time in the hospital. After she told me that I was totally on board with taking those nasty pills like a good girl.

Noah was born 10 days late. I talked to my doctor about my concern that this baby will decide she is too comfy in there as well. She said HOPEFULLY I won't have to be induced and HOPEFULLY I won't be really late. If we get to 40 weeks and I really just want her out she said we can talk about induction then but normally she would let me go until 42 weeks before doing anything. So we'll see what happens.... Emily please don't stay in there until 42 weeks!!!!

If you follow me on Twitter... Follow @ThisUnscripLife

Then you've probably seen this picture. Noah went to a Very Important Sibling class. It was a really fun thing to do and he enjoyed it more than I thought he would. He learned how to hold, swaddle, and diaper a baby. He did a really good job too! They also talked about baby safety and how things might be different after the baby comes home. Our favorite part was going upstairs to the nursery to see the babies. There were only 2 in the nursery at the time and Noah was disappointed with such a low number of babies to look at.

The hospital is set up so that you have the baby in the labor and delivery ward and then they move you to the postpartum ward where the nursery is. Both areas have just been remodeled and they look amazing. They look more like nice hotel rooms and not so much cold sterile hospital rooms.

We are all ready to meet Emily. It feels like the last 34 weeks have flown by so I'm sure she'll be here before we know it!

The Book Chat - Memoirs & Autobiographies

At first when I saw the topic of memoirs and autobiographies I thought I didn't have anything to say about them because I haven't read any. Then I realized that I have! It's a small number though...

Love You, Mean It: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Friendship

This book should come with a box of tissues. It's the story of 4 women who lose their husbands on that awful day...9/11. They didn't know each other before that day. The book follows them from just before the one year anniversary to 4 years after the tragedy. They end up meeting and forming a very strong bond and friendship. This book makes you appreciate the people you have in your life. 

Bright Lights, Big Ass 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Jen Lancaster. She's written several books cataloging her crazy adventures but this one is my favorite. Even though I've read it a few times it still makes me laugh out loud. It is a great pick me up kind of book. 

Bossypants

This was a great book. I laughed a lot while reading this. I like her even more now. Go read it!

Seriously, I'm Kidding

Who doesn't love Ellen? She's amazing. She's so kind and soooo FUNNY. When you read this book you can really hear her tell the story. I loved every page of this book. I want to go read the other books she has!

So that's about it for me in this genre. Maybe I'll read more someday....

..end of my rope.

I want someone to tell me how to get a child to listen. So far I'm not having much luck. Lately it seems everything is a battle and I'm losing. I think we are going on a record number of days that Noah has been grounded. It's really ridiculous. This is summer. He should be outside playing but instead he chooses to misbehave and gets grounded.

It always starts with something small. I've asked him to clean up or to stop doing something. Somehow it snowballs into an argument over why he doesn't want to do it and why I say he has to do it. I'M the GROWNUP! When did I lose control? When did he stop just doing what I tell him to do because he's the kid and I'm the mom? By the end of the night I've run out of things to take away from him.

I need more tools. I need Supernanny. I need someone to say do this (and have it work). I don't like going to bed frustrated and angry that I can't figure it out. I just want him to listen to me. This has to stop. I spend the most time with Noah because I'm home all of the time. Once Emily is here I simply will not be able to constantly argue with him while trying to take care of her when it's just the three of us. It just won't work.

Today we are making a list of his rules to hang up. Maybe if he can SEE them he'll be more likely to follow them. Today we are making a list of his consequences for NOT listening...NEW consequences because obviously just losing things he likes isn't working.

Wish me luck....

Birthmarked (Book Review)

I'm ashamed to say it but I tend to judge a book by it's cover. When I'm strolling through aisles and aisles of books the nice covers call to me. The not so nice ones scream, "Don't pick me up! I'm not worth your time!" When I saw Birthmarked the cover was pretty, gritty, mysterious....I had to pick it up. After reading what it was about I quickly added it to my stack of books to bring home.

From Goodreads:
IN THE ENCLAVE, YOUR SCARS SET YOU APART, and the newly born will change the future.
In the future, in a world baked dry by the harsh sun, there are those who live inside the walled Enclave and those, like sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone, who live outside. Following in her mother's footsteps Gaia has become a midwife, delivering babies in the world outside the wall and handing a quota over to be "advanced" into the privileged society of the Enclave. Gaia has always believed this is her duty, until the night her mother and father are arrested by the very people they so loyally serve. Now Gaia is forced to question everything she has been taught, but her choice is simple: enter the world of the Enclave to rescue her parents, or die trying.
A stunning adventure brought to life by a memorable heroine, this dystopian debut will have readers racing all the way to the dramatic finish.

From the back cover:
"You can't take my baby. She's mine."
"You'll have others. You'll get to keep some. I promise."
"Please. Not this one. Not my only. What have I done?"
"You've provided a great service to the Enclave."

Gaia grows up in a land outside "The Wall" called Wharfton. On the other side of the wall, guarded by gates and soldiers, is the Enclave. Gaia is following in her mother's footsteps as a midwife. Every month the midwives have to bring the first 3 babies they deliver to the Enclave. Knowing that the children who grow up inside the guarded walls have privileges like running water, nice clothes, and plenty of food make this task easier. 

One day a guard is waiting for Gaia at her house. Her parents have been arrested. They've been accused of keeping a record of the babies that have been "advanced" to The Enclave. As far as Gaia knows her parents have done nothing but faithfully serve the Enclave. As time passes and they don't return she forms a plan to find them and bring them home. 

Once inside the wall Gaia quickly sees the difference between her world and this privileged one. It's not too long until the truth behind why the babies must be given to the Enclave is revealed. She also finds that maybe her parents did have something to hide. Maybe the marks her and her mother placed on each baby they gave to the enclave have a special meaning. 

Gaia's adventure in the Enclave is exciting and kept me turning page after page. Will she find her parents in time? Will she figure out the connection to the marked babies? Where will her discoveries lead her?

I really enjoyed reading this book. I didn't realize until I was almost finished with it that it is the first book in a trilogy! I'm very excited to read the other two books. I NEED to know the rest of the story! I haven't LOVED a book in a while. I'm hoping this is only the beginning and that I'll love the other books too. 
I already love the covers... ;)

Prized BOOK #2

Promised BOOK #3

Friday's Letters

Dear Noah,

I'm so excited that you FINALLY lost your first tooth. I'm more excited that you pulled it out yourself...loose teeth creep me out. Now you sound so cute when you talk!

Dear Keurig, 

Making weird sounds and only filling my cup up 1/4 of the way is unacceptable. Time to google what the problem could be....

Dear Sleep,

I miss you =(  It's nearly impossible to fall asleep at night. Then I wake up at 3am wide awake but also exhausted. If I manage to drag myself out of bed before 9 I need a good 2-3 hour nap in the after noon. MOST morning I don't even get out of bed until 10... Poor Noah. At least he comes to tell me he's awake and that he'll just get a poptart to eat. I'm glad he's pretty independent! 

Dear baby Emily,

Please stop hurting me. I understand that your strong movements mean your healthy and happy BUT it's making me extremely uncomfortable and we still have 7 weeks to go. I really feel like there is no more room for you to grow in there...although realistically I know you will find room. Let's try to keep those sharp jabs to a minimum..k? =)

I hope you all have a fantastic Friday!!!!

The Book Chat - Catching Up!

The book chat has been missing for a while because Jessica from The Tangerine has been without REAL internet since about April. Can you believe that? Me either. That's just inhumane... However now she has a reliable internet connection and the chat is back!

I haven't really been reading a lot this summer. I'm having a hard time finding books that I love and actually want to review.

I DID fall in love with these three books. Lucky for me they are all the first book in either a trilogy or series!

I have Jessica (The Tangerine) and Brighton (Dear Brighton) to thank for introducing me to the world of the Black Daggar Brotherhood. Dark Lover by J.R. Ward is the first book and it was GREAT! Thankfully the next several books are already out so I won't have to wait for a release date to sink my teeth (ha ha ha) into the next one. 

I finished reading What's Left of me by Khat Zang in June. You can read my review here. The second book wont be released until September.

I started reading Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien on Tuesday. I finished it yesterday. It was THAT good. I did not put this book down! I highly recommend you go read it....like now. I didn't realize until I was almost finished with it that it was the first book in a trilogy. That made me extremely happy. 

Today I will start to read Almost Moon by Alice Sebold author of The Lovely Bones. I don't really know what I'm expecting from the book. The Lovely Bones was such a haunting book. The first line of The Almost Moon is, "When all is said and done, killing my mother came easily." So...ya...we'll see where this story takes me.

Welcome back book chat!!!!

Emily's Room

Emily's room is pretty much finished. It's so girly and cute. I think my favorite thing about the room is that Noah helped me make almost everything in it. We spent a LOT of time painting and gluing things. It all came together so well.

It really all started with this chair. I found it for $5! I sat in it and it was so comfortable but I wasn't sure yet. Then another pregnant lady sat in it and I thought, "HEY! Get out of my chair!" I took it home, cleaned the cushions, repainted the frame, replaced the buttons, and added pink trim. It matches perfectly.

I spent a lot of time coming up with ideas for things to hang on her walls. I didn't want to spend a ton of money on anything. I bought a few frames and the oval wreaths from the dollar store. Then I picked up a few pages of scrapbook paper and craft flowers. About two hours later I had it all pieced together. The frame in the middle is something Noah brought home from school when we first found out I was pregnant. It says, "I love my sister of brother. It is in my moms tummy. I don't care what kind it is." He was very happy that I put it on her wall.

I'm really pleased with how her room turned out. Now I need to start organizing all of her baby things!