Author Archives: Kara

One Month

Posted in Growing Up Isla, Isla by

I’m borrowing this Month-to-Month baby photo idea from Kathleen. You should probably go check out her blog, because her little girl, Meredith, is pretty darn cute! And, I think she’s the only baby who I’ve seen that has more hair than Isla :)

So, at one month:

She:
– Is finally getting into a schedule of some sort. She’ll sleep for 2-3 hours and then wake up to be fed, burped, and changed. Then, within an hour or so, she’ll be back to sleep. It’s quite lovely, because now I can actually plan and schedule my day.

– Outgrew her newborn-sized diapers a couple weeks ago. Well, maybe not outgrew, but she fit them so instead of buying more newborn diapers we just put on her Size 1 nappies. Works for me!

– Still fits her newborn clothes, but some of them are getting too small. She has a cute pair of green shorts that match the outfit in the photo, but they cut into her little chubby legs (love them!) so I won’t make her wear them anymore.

– Has cockatiel hair! The hair around the crown of her head just sticks up all the time and there’s nothing I can do to make it stay down. It’s the cutest thing.

– Smiles when I talk to her in silly voices, and looks at me as if I’m crazy. (And so it begins, lol)

– Jerks her arms around when we touch her while she’s sleeping. It’s the funniest thing and Kyle and I love to mock her. (We’re horrible, I know!)

– Has slept for four hours straight a couple times during the night, both times scaring the crap out of me because I woke up before she did and thought she was dead. It was great being able to sleep for four hours straight though, MUCH better than the 2 hours I normally get.

I:

– Am finally all adjusted to my new “normal.” The first two weeks of parenthood were hard and frustrating, but now I know why she may be crying, it’s much easier.

– Am learning that it’s okay to just let her cry for a while if I’m in the middle of doing something (like showering).

– Don’t like to bedshare, but will bring her into bed with me or sleep on the couch with her if she’s being super fussy and just won’t go to sleep.

– Am still too shy to nurse in public, or in front of anyone other than Kyle or my mom.

– Watch way too much daytime television. I can feel my brain rotting.

– Can now survive on only a few hours of sleep per night, but I won’t resist a nap when I can get one in.

– Have ventured out on my own with her a few times, and each time it gets easier. I’ve also noticed that only one store that I shop at has a shopping cart that easily fits her carseat. Blarg. Also – Her carseat is HEAVY. I’ll have buff arms before I know it.

– Will eventually adjust to my post-baby body. I have tummy flab and stretch marks, but I’m slowly accepting them. Hopefully they slowly go away. Maybe I’ll start exercising. Ha – Who am I kidding?

Listy Friday

Posted in Babies, Daphne, Isla, Lists, Listy Friday, Random by

It’s Friday. You get a random list. Surprised? Didn’t think so!
– Wednesday night Isla slept for 4 hours straight, which means I too, slept for 4 hours straight. Except I woke up before her (as in not to her fussing as usual) and panicked because she wasn’t squalking as usual. My first thought? “OMG MY BABY’S DEAD.” Of course, I check her and she wasn’t, and then she woke up to be fed. Ah well. Those four hours of sleep I got were amazing.
– Also, how is my kiddlet already 4 weeks old??? Ridiculous.
– Daphne had some crazy medical issues which resulted in a crazy-expensive trip to the vet. As it turns out, she had some kind of infection. She’s on antibiotics and is doing sooo much better. For the first couple days, she looked like a zombie-satellite dog.

image

– We have been having the strangest weather lately. It will be sunny one moment, and then we’ll have torrential downpours the next. It’s annoying, especially if I have plans to walk anywhere.
– I’m impatiently still waiting for my E.I. to kick in. My ROE was filed late, which is less than ideal, and now it’s taking forever for my claim to be processed. Balls.
– Next week I am determined to hit up the Saturday Farmer’s Market. I have a hankering for fresh produce and BANNOCK.
– My mom’s house doesn’t have air conditioning. I have no idea how she survives in the summer. I have a hard time at my own house sometimes and I have air conditioning.
– My blog has really been neglected lately. I just don’t have time to blog! I don’t know how other moms managed to keep blogging regularily with a newborn. When I have a spare moment all I want to do is sleep. Maybe I’m just not a dedicated enough blogger. Meh.

Happy Friday!
What are your weekend plans??

What I’m Reading: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Posted in Book Review, What I'm Reading by

What I'm Reading

Synopsis from Goodreads.com:
When Ravi Kapoor, an overworked London doctor, reaches the breaking point with his difficult father-in-law, he asks his wife: “Can’t we just send him away somewhere? Somewhere far, far away.” His prayer is answered when his entrepreneurial cousin sets up a retirement home in India, hoping to re-create in Bangalore an elegant lost corner of England.
Seven retirees are enticed by the promise of indulgent living at a bargain price, but upon arriving, they are dismayed to find that restoration of the once sophisiticated hotel has stalled, and that such amenities as water and electricity are . . . infrequent. But what their new life lacks in luxury, they come to find, it’s plentiful in adventure, stunning beauty, and unexpected love.

My Review:|
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was the first book I purchased to read on my Kobo! I had a discount code and was itching to read a full-length book on my eReader, so I figured I give this one a try. It wasn’t a book that would normally grab my attention, but after hearing a couple of decent reviews of the book, and with it being turning into a movie, I figured it couldn’t be too bad.

And it wasn’t! It took me a while to get through it, mostly because I read it while nursing Isla in the middle of the night, but I quite enjoyed it! Following the different characters and reading about their lives and different backgrounds was amusing, especially reading what they thought about the other guests at the hotel.

I don’t know if I could pick a favourite character from the book, but I think I’m leaning towards Norman. He’s the epitome of a dirty old man, and who hasn’t come across one of those in their lives? I’ve come to know two or three in my day, although none quite match up to Norman.

I’m not sure if there’s anything I didn’t like about the book, other than the way the different characters’ sections were broken up. Maybe it was a glitch in my Kobo, but the sections would suddenly switch from one character’s story to another’s and I had to go back and re-read sections because I got lost a couple of times. (Although that could be the lack of sleep and falling asleep while nursing/reading too, lol)

I don’t think I’ll watch the movie, but I definitely liked the book. I just have a thing with movies that star all English-speaking actors. It’s a British-accent overload for me.

I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. It was good for something that’s slightly out of the normal for what I usually read.

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts on it?