No Service, No Problem!

WiFi and 4G service is spotty at best when you live in a building made predominately from concrete. It can be quite frustrating when I am in bed trying to download my next RomCom or when we send Luke to his room for some alone time with the iPad (no judgement, our apartment is tiny ya'll). But you know what? I'm happy I don't get service in my daughters new nursery. 

This is my last baby I will nurse through the night. The last time little cries will wake me up, needing me. The last time that I will be the sole provider of what my baby needs to survive. Someday within the next year will be the last time that she nurses and the last time that I will ever nurse a sweet baby.

I want to relish these moments with her. I want look in her little eyes and get her to smile that nursing smile that we all know and love. I want to have both hands available to be able to hold those tiny fingers while she is slipping away to dreamland. 

So often throughout the day I am rushing to get nursing sessions over. We are rushing to get one last session in before picking Luke up from school. I am rushing her, so I can get the next load in the dryer or start dinner for the family. I'm hastily nursing her in the dressing room so I can finish the shopping that has to be done. The time we spend in the nursery is our time and it's one of the few times we don't have too much going on outside that door. 

Since everyone we know is awake while we sleep (thanks, time zones) it would be so easy for me to get lost in social media every night. Instead, I am spending these precious hours soaking up all the smiles, all the cuddles and all the hand holding I can before it's over. My 4 year old needs me less and less these days. One day Ceci will need me less and less too, and that's ok!  But, for now you can find me in the pink nursery loving life without service. 

Winter Book Review

I had so many books on my, "I will be nursing 24/7, so let's read a bunch" list. Isn't it funny how much less reading happens with your second child compared to your first? One can only multi task so much. So, I am doing a Winter Book Review this time around and includes a little bit of everything.
 Time period reads, beach reads for these dreary pre-spring days and even a YA thrown in there. Let me know what you are reading these days and if you have read any of these books, let me know what you thought.

Along the Infinite Sea - Beatriz Williams

This book is a must read. It was beautifully written and will grab you from the first page. Any book that is set from the 1900-1940's is going to be a favorite of mine, but this book really captures that time frame and the feelings and emotions around the lead up of World War II. Williams writes two storylines that run together brilliantly. It is multiple love stories, tied up in one and you will love every moment of chase. Please, please, please go and rent or buy this book. I have since found out that this part of a series, The Schuyler Sisters series. All of them are the about women who lived during the early 1900's mixed with a mid century storyline involving sisters. 

This is Where it Ends - Marieke Nijkamp

This was a YA novel and it definitely reads as a YA novel. It follows a day where a school shooting occurs and the lives of a few different students who are living through it. It was hard for me to finish this one, but I am happy I did. I did not feel like it was strongly written, and I thought it was missing something. That being said, I would recommend it to someone who likes emotional YA novels and is OK with lots of character development.

Here's to Us - Elin Hildebrand

I have read a lot of Hildebrand's books in the past year, and while they are all based in the same area of the USA, they are all so different. This book follows the lives of an extended and diverse family, including the deceased three wives! It is funny, heartbreaking and truly makes you think about the situation and what you would do if you were in the same position. Like any good Hildebrand novel, there is some sweetness and some character development, but it is a nice story that has a predictable but good ending.

Between Shades of Grey - Ruta Sepetys

By far, my favorite book I have read this year. It is beautifully written and the content is about events that most people do not even realize happened. The character development is spot on, strong but it does not take away from the content. The book is about Lithuanians that are forced to Siberian labor camps during WWII by the Soviets. It is a side of the war that not too many are familiar with, and while the story is horribly sad and hard to imagine, it is an important piece of history. The author paints a picture of how awful these camps were, but also shows the side of human emotion. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Salt to the Sea - Ruta Sepetys

This was the first Sepetys book I read, and no joke I think I finished in under 24 hours. I LOVE the WWII era and I especially love when it shows the human side of all the horrible events that occurred. It is based on the largest wartime tragedy in history, no not the Titanic, but the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff. Never heard of it? Yup, me neither. This book follows the stories of four teenagers who are refugees in 1945, vying for a spot on the ship that will hopefully take them to safety. You will cry, you will laugh and be prepared to be amazed how the amount of history you do not know. Once again, this is a must read. 

We Were Liars - E. Lockhart

I found this book off a pin that listed suspenseful books that you will want to read in one sitting. While, this book is definitely suspenseful and has all the workings of a huge twist, I was able to predict the twist roughly halfway through. There were times that I continued reading, simply to prove that I guessed correctly. It was an interesting book, and if you like suspense I would absolutely recommend it. It fits somewhere in between YA and Young Adult, since the main characters are rather young.

Happy reading,