Letters to Bella: 23 Months

Yesterday Bella turned 23 months old.

While I'm still feeling awk about sharing the monthly letters to Bella on the blog, I would like to share a few things about this stage of her life. Oh - and I should tell you that I'm excited that I FINALLY figured out how to do a baby book for Bella. I'm going to combine the photos & text from her monthly letters for her first two years, along with stats about weight & height into a Shutterfly book. It works with my need for simple and streamlined and it also groups all those monthly letters in a cohesive way.  Now the trick will be actually doing it...

"Mama! Wear costume! Funny!"

So here are a few highlights from recent days and weeks:

Warm Sunshine
Bella started singing along to songs, including her bedtime song - You are My Sunshine. The first time she did it to Husband and to I during the bedtime routine, we had to try so hard not to crack up. Her little voice goes all over the scale and it ends up being this crazy harmony. Plus, she doesn't have all the words quite right, which makes it extra entertaining. In fact - she calls that song, "Warm Sunshine", which is extra wonderful to me. We tried getting her singing that with us on tape, but she was more into Twinkle, Twinkle that day.

Bella Sings Twinkle, Twinkle from Laura on Vimeo.



No, Mama! Do it self!
Bella now wants to do EVERYTHING herself. Oy. It's great that she wants to be independent, but exhausting for me. I keep forgetting to tack on an extra 15-30 minutes before we go anywhere since she now wants to be completely in charge of putting on her diaper/clothes/shoes, climbing into the car herself, buckling herself in, etc, etc. Obviously she simply cannot do some of these things herself, which causes some drama.

Mad that I wouldn't give her the camera. Two seconds later she was happy again.

Luckily the tantrums are quickly extinguished (at this point, anyway -when will the first full on tantrum happen!?) and she can be convinced to let Mama or Daddy help her out.


So it turns out toddlers actually remember stuff...
I find it astounding that Bella can remember things from months ago. I don't know why this is so surprising - maybe because you hear again and again about how little ones have short attention spans and that their first memory doesn't happen until they are older? Somehow I interpreted that to mean that young toddlers remember nearly nothing. But of course they remember stuff! How else would they learn? In the past week, Bella has brought up two things that happened months ago all on her own, both of which were fairly minor in the grand scheme of things. I'm already forgetting one of them, but the first was when she asked us if we remembered Grandpa giving her a cork. ("Remember Grandpa? Remember cork?") The story with that is that my dad had dinner with us back in February and we had a bottle of N/A champagne with a cork. My dad was juggling it and playing around with it with Bella, but we threw away the cork that night and I thought that was the end of it. Apparently she's been mulling over that one for weeks now! Crazy amazing.

Do You Curl Her Hair?
You would not believe how often I get asked this question. OK, so it's only like once a week, but still! How many people are not asking that question, but assuming Bella and I are headed for Toddlers & Tiaras? Oh well, I suppose the misconception is worth it if I get to admire Bella's gorgeous head of ringlets. I think we compliment her a little too often because she will pat her own head and quietly say, "Pretty hair." Then again, she now pats my hair when it's down and says, "Pretty hair, Mama" so maybe we don't need to back off on the compliments...

Funny Girl
I have mentioned this before, but it is just so hilarious to hear what comes out of her mouth. Yesterday she saw the blind, cleft-palated cat running down the hall and turned to me with an excited look and said, "Mama! Stevie growing a baby!"

Even as mind numbing and infuriating as this stage/age can be at times, there are so many intensely delightful and wonderful moments. Leaves me feeling a bit bi-polar, but on a whole I am really enjoying this time. I cannot believe that there is only one more month to go until she is the big TWO. And in just another short month or so after that she will officially be a big sister. Hoo boy!

That's The Plan, Man: On Birthing Preparation

I haven't really mentioned much about it on the ol' blog, but I have been busy preparing myself to have another unmedicated/natural childbirth. Surprisingly, I feel a little more fear going into this birth than I did with the first. Or maybe that's not a surprising thing at all, since I now KNOW what it's like to have an unmedicated birth. There is also the added complication of already having a child and making sure they are taken care of during the time you are laboring, delivering, and recovering from the birth in the hospital.  On the flip side, I will feel far more prepared for this birth. For more background on Bella's birth, you can read about her delivery, my tips for an unmedicated childbirth, and my review of the Hypnobirthing childbirth method.

So here is both the plan for delivering Baby 2.0 and what I've been working on.

1. Deliver at the Hospital with Midwives. We decided to go the same route we did last time with the midwives/hospital combo. Immediately after Bella's birth I toyed with the idea of going with a birthing center for the next baby (particularly the one mere blocks from the hospital), but Husband's concern about me hemorrhaging again quickly nixed that idea. If Husband's nervous about delivering at a birthing center, then I'm going to be nervous that he's nervous, and, well, obviously we don't need that! So the hospital it is. Besides - and this is critical - this is a hospital that embraces our birthing philosophy and I even worked there as a dietitian at one point so I feel very calm and relaxed about delivering there. I trust the midwives and nurses and believe they have my best interest and wishes in mind. There will be no uphill battle to fight against medical interventions or repeated asking of nurses not to offer epidurals. So the midwives at the hospital is a good balance for us.

2. Hire a doula. We are hiring a doula again this time. However, instead of paying for a doula, we will be hiring a doula-in-training. A doula-in-training is a doula that is still attending and assisting at births free of charge to gain experience. We will hire someone who has several births under their belt and who is also a good personality match for us. The reason I am comfortable with using someone in training is that I didn't really rely much on our doula last time. When you use hypnosis techniques, you go pretty deeply into yourself and tend not to seek out outside assistance. But that extra person is so nice to have for offering suggestions, for giving support and also for logistical things like helping you into the hospital while your husband parks the car or taking pictures right after the birth. Plus - it will be free. Win, win. We have an interview with a yoga instructor/doula-in-training next week and my hunch is that she will be a great fit. I found out about her through my prenatal yoga studio.

3. Hypnobabies Home Study Course.  Since Hypnobirthing wasn't quite what I wanted it to be, I'm completing the Hypnobabies home study course this time around. There are many similarities between the two childbirth methods, but I am finding Hypnobabies to be EONS more complete. A post specifically addressing Hynobabies is coming soon. In the meantime, I HIGHLY recommend Hypnobabies if you are interested in an unmedicated childbirth. There is a good bit of homework each day (listening to a 35-minute hypnosis track, listening to a 40-minute pregnancy affirmation track, and practicing your finger-drop technique, among some other things), but luckily you can do the listening in your sleep if need be. So it's been keeping me busy, but I think it has also been keeping me quite calm and balanced. And want to hear something really crazy? I actually believe I am capable of experiencing a pain free childbirth. I won't be upset if that doesn't happen, but Hypnobabies has me believing that is possible. I NEVER would have thought that I would be able to think such a thing. Doesn't it make you want to drink the Hypnobabies koolaid, too?

4. Prenatal Yoga. I draw such a parallel between yoga and childbirth. Yoga is a series of poses, some of which are uncomfortable and require you to just go with it, breathe with it, and trust your body and the strength within you. Guess what childbirth is? A series of contractions/pressure waves/surges/whatever you want to call them, some of which are uncomfortable and require you to just go with it, breathe with it, and trust your body and the strength within you. So I'm doing prenatal yoga at least once a week and I would like to increase that to 2-3 times per week if possible through the end of my pregnancy. Yoga also helps a lot with aches, pains, sleeping issues, and general love your body and yourself issues. If you are pregnant I cannot recommend Blooma Yoga enough for pre-and-postnatal yoga.

5. Optimal Baby Positioning. Did you know that babies born in the posterior position (i.e. those born "sunny side up") have increased dramatically in the past several decades? The reasoning for this change is that women are no longer as active and often have sedentary desk jobs - both of which lead to poor posture, which in turn leads to babies positioning themselves in a less than ideal way. And the reason it's less than ideal is that posterior babies cause intense back pain during labor. Bella was posterior when she was born and I did have a desk job and an fairly inactive lifestyle while pregnant with her.  While I'm more active this pregnancy, I'm trying to promote an anterior position for Baby 2.0 by sitting on my birthing ball, doing lots of cat/cow yoga poses on all fours, and even crawling around on the floor with Bella. Hopefully it works and, if not, Bella thinks it's all great fun so there's that.

6. Printed Affirmations. Because I'm good enough, smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like me! Ah, yes, good old affirmations. They are about as cheeseball as you can get, but I think they work. I got a bunch of them from my doula last time, all printed on hot pink paper, and I posted them all over the house. I plan to make my own set in the next couple weeks and will again plaster the house. This will make for some nice awkward moments when we have guests, but oh well. I've always been a bit cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.  Examples of the affirmations include:

• I trust my body.
• My baby will be born at the right time.
• I am excited to give birth to my baby.
• My baby and my body will work together for a easy birth.

So that's the plan, man. Seacrest out!

Bumpdate: 30 Weeks

Due Date: July 2, 2011. 10-12 weeks to go!

Weight Gain: 31 lbs/3.5 lb this past week. Haha. Hahaha. Ha. ::Headdesk:: Yes, I had Cadbury Eggs and lots of jelly beans this week, but not that many. This big jump thing happened twice before during this pregnancy; I think it's just how my body rolls. Back to the average of gaining 2 lbs/week. The end.

Symptoms: Sooooo tired, same aches & pains in my back (should really stop carrying Bella), reflux, hard to breathe, other stuff I'm forgetting... Oh, yeah. Forgetfulness. 

What's different this time: Um...nothing comes to mind today. (See last word in previous category.)

Cravings/Aversions: My intense love affair this week has been with those Fage yogurt cups that have a fruit flavor or honey on the side. They feel all sort of decadent, what with their rebellious over-priced, non-organic, high in sugar, and non-recyclable ways.

Sleep: I actually had a pretty decent week of sleep and had several 7-8 hour stretches PLUS I took naps most days. Couldn't begin to pinpoint what made it better. My higher caffeine intake? Jellybeans? Or is it the old sleep begets sleep mantra touted by all the baby sleep books? Whatevs. Sadly, that glorious run might be over now, as I was up from 1:30-4:30 this morning. I decided I'm going to keep taking naps when Bella naps for now. I think my body needs it and why not take advantage of that chunk of time while I still can? I only have 10-ish weeks left for that (GULP!).

I am loving: The crazy alien belly situation and feeling all his movement. Actually maybe I equally love and am creeped out by it.

I miss: Bending over and having a waist.

I am looking forward to:  CONSISTENT nice spring weather and the chance to switch over to my spring/summer maternity wardrobe. A socks-free and skirted existence is the life for me.

I'm spazzing about: Getting an outfit figured out for maternity/family photos next week. Tis a real mild spaz, to be sure, but I still am spazzing.

Best moment this week: Seeing Bella's face light up with the Easter celebrations.

Milestones: Gah. Forgot about this one, too, and I KNOW there was something. Right now, though, the only thing that pops into my head is that it's getting really hard to put on my underwear. And when I (or Bella) drop stuff I have to do a serious cost/benefit analysis about whether it's worth picking up. Do those count as milestones?

Movement: Fo shizzle. I keep waiting for Bella to see/or feel it so that I can see her reaction. 

It's a...: Boy. First name picked, middle name still up in the air.
 
Exercise: Nearly back to normal. 4 workouts - mix of walking inside & out plus one prenatal yoga class. Keeping it pretty slow and easy as I find I'm cramping (Braxton Hicks kind of cramps) very easily these days.

Diet:OK, so I did indulge more this week and I was also eating sort of random things since I was doing all my meals on my own or with Bella while Husband was busy at his class all last week. While these two things together do not a 3.5 lb weight gain make, I do think I could use some tweaking to get back on track. And thus enters the food journal again. I bizarrely enjoyed doing that and it made me so mindful of my eating. For those of you who enjoyed that a couple weeks ago, you can now peruse my food intake over at this Mothership Eats blog. I don't know if I'll do it for two weeks, two months, or two years, but it's active for now.

Exercise goal for the upcoming week: 4-5 times, maybe up the cardio a bit? Or maybe keep it low since that gives me belly cramping? Whatevs.

Other goals: Again with the water intake and doing my finger-drop technique for Hypnobabies.

Belly Pic:

Oof. You can see why bending over is a problem.

Easter 2011

We had a nice Easter celebration this morning - kept it very simple and it was just the little family for the most part. We opted to do a mini egg hunt in the park since it was so nice out and Husband's sister joined us for that. Bella had a great time. Actually, we all did. I love, love, LOVE holidays with kids.

Breakfast- Egg Bake, Blueberry Coffee Cake, Fruit Salad

Her first Cadbury Creme Egg experience.

So how did I do with giving up Facebook/Twitter/The Bump for Lent? Well, fairly well. I was 100% Twitter free the entire time. Up until this past week, I had only snuck onto The Bump once or twice and I had just clicked over to Facebook very briefly on a couple occasions to make sure I wasn't missing something from a friend who doesn't read my blog (OK, so that's a little bit of an excuse...).

Then this last week I kind of gave up and was checking The Bump & Facebook, but didn't post anything (I never really post to The Bump anyway). My lame excuse was that Husband was busy every evening last week and I was bored and too tired to do anything else. I certainly could have held off another week, but - meh - I had lost steam. The other part of my original Lenten goal was to not be on the Internet while Bella was awake. I think I did pretty good, but I did revise that goal to be more lax along the way as I came to the personal conclusion that checking things here and there when Bella is occupied with toys or a short video is okay. We do PLENTY of interactive activity on a daily basis and, besides, I should be allowed a little break here or there when Bella is content on her own, whether that break be spent with a book, magazine or a blog.

What did I learn from my online hiatus? I realized that Twitter doesn't really serve much of a purpose in my life.  I didn't miss it and yet I was checking it several times a day before - why? I'm not adding it back to my bookmarks toolbar and I am toying with the idea of deleting my account. We'll see. Facebook does serve a positive role in my life to some extent in terms of staying connected to certain people, but any positive aspect is quickly overshadowed when I mindlessly check it every time I see my computer. That's just dumb. Thus,  I would like to limit the checking of FB to once a day, if that. I would love to say once a week, but I don't think that's realistic for me in my SAHM role. And The Bump? Oh, why do I feel such a pull to it while pregnant? I'm going to give myself that guilty pleasure, but will keep tabs on whether it's starting to become a serious time suck or if it is leaving me with negative feelings - whether that be anxiety around labor/delivery/newborns or just feeling irritable at how ridiculous some people can be. And as far at the checking internet stuff while Bella is awake - I will monitor myself and let my gut guide me as to when I'm over-doing it.

Anyone else take an internet break recently? Or thinking about taking one? How did it go for you?

What Daddy Did Yesterday

On Saturday morning we rented a pick-up truck to haul the junk in the storage space under the stairs to the dump. Husband held Bella as we filled out the paperwork so that she could see the very exciting pictures of trucks you could rent. During a quiet moment while the rental place employee was entering info into the computer, Bella chose to announce that, "Daddy pooped yesterday!"

Oh, I died. God, she is awesome.

Here is what else Daddy did yesterday - cleaned out under the stairs!

Before

After

We will keep this all very positive and will not mention that it was in fact Daddy who created the under-stairs disaster in the first place back in early 2007 when he insisted we save the fugly, cheap, 80's blinds that came with our place when we bought it. He was sure they would come in handy at a rental property some day! Nevermind that they were broken, missing slats, and now hopelessly tangled in a heap on the floor. Also nevermind that his young girlfriend (this was while we still lived in sin! SCANDAL!) begged him not to save them, because seriously?  No, we will not mention that piece of information at all. Yay Daddy! We finally got this task done! Only took four years! And you pooped yesterday! HUZZAH!

I am excited at the thought of having all this functional storage space open to me, but I need to act quickly as I have about one week left of being able to access the space. Take a look at this genius design - here is our access to this space:

As you can see, what we can store in our storage space is a little limited. We can't even get our suitcases in there, let alone plastic storage bins or 8-9-months pregnant people. Tis annoying.

Hmmm...now that I look at these pictures, I'm thinking rather than make it a storage space, it could be our guest room! Very cozy and a touch rustic.

PS - Actual Easter-ish post to come later, but for now it is the wee hours of the morning and still dark and thus nary a bunny has been spotted quite yet (WHY IS IT NOT AN EASTER CHICKEN??). Have a good one!

Can I get half credit?

We have entered into the phase of trying to discipline Bella and teach her right from wrong. It's such a slippery concept sometimes. It's OK to throw balls, but not OK to throw your sippy cup at my head while I'm driving. It's OK to pat my back enthusiastically, but it's not OK to do the same to my face. It's OK for ME to nudge the blind & cleft-palated cat with my feet to keep him from hopping into the bathtub for the zillionth time that day, but it's not OK for YOU to kick the cat.  Very confusing.

Ergo...a 3-minute snapshot of tonight.

This evening I gently chucked an empty plastic bottle of coconut water (with the lid screwed on) from the couch to the table with the intent to recycle it later when I do the full post-bedtime clean up of the living room. Bella immediately turned to me and said, "Oh no, Mama! No throwing! That's naughty, Mama. No throwing!"

And then, mere seconds later, she went over and tried to kick the blind cat. When I reminded her that we don't kick Stevie she responsed, "Just one kick, Mama. Just one."

How bad is it that I am still finding all of this to be pretty hilarious?

Day in the Life/Week in the Life Update

So I wasn't thinking when I posted that I would be doing my week in the life project next week (click here for more info on this project). Husband has evenings classes all this week and next and therefore it's not really a good or representative week to be documenting (unless self-portraits of me looking completely exhausted in ill-fitting exercise clothes would be touching in my old age?) So! I shall push it back a week to a time when I have my co-parent available and perhaps actual sunshine and even Spring-like temperatures to bask in.  The new dates for me doing the Week in the Life project will be May 2-8. Join me?

Since I know many of you aren't up for the week long documentation project, I would still like to invite bloggers who want to chronicle a day-in-the-life to do so between now and May 8. Just pick a day - any day will do - and take pictures, pictures, pictures the entire day. Take pictures of everything - your house, your food, your pets, your kids, your stinky co-worker (um, maybe not your stinky co-worker), and give us a real peek into your life. Post it on your blog by May 8 and send me the link and I'll do a post featuring all the different days of our lives. If you want to get an idea of what the others did in the past, click to see the winter days and the fall days. I enjoy reading them a lot and I know others do, too. So consider it, will ya?

Book Reviews Galore!

Exciting news for me on the book review front. I'm now a BlogHer Book Reviewer! It's pretty much a dream gig - I get to read books and then review them (which you just may have observed that I do all on my own on a very regular basis) and get paid for it. DUDE! See what I mean? It's my dream job. Wheeeeee! Here is my first review of Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks. Not a book I would have likely plucked off the shelf myself, but one I really liked. Check it out.

Now onto the book reviews. Overall I read less this quarter, probably because the first half of it was spent in a NESTNESTNEST pregnancy frenzy. I've since resumed my more lazy lifestyle, which means more reading. For more info on my rating system and a full list of books I read last year - sorted by rating - click here.

1. Time Management from the Inside Out, Second Edition: The Foolproof System for Taking Control of Your Schedule -- and Your Life by Julie Morgenstern. Ooh, I liked this book. It was true organization porn for me and it actually helped me sort out some priorities when it came to time management. By using some of the techniques in this book I was left feeling MUCH calmer about life in general. Highly recommend if you are feeling time crunched and in need of help. A

2. Organizing from the Inside Out, Second Edition: The Foolproof System For Organizing Your Home, Your Office and Your Life by Julie Morgenstern. I found this book less helpful than the time management one, but I think that's because our "stuff" at home is fairly well organized. (Well, my stuff is organized at least. Coughcough-someone-needs-to-get-rid-of-all-those-random-texts-bought-at-thrift-stores-COUGH) In spite of having a fairly well organized house, I did come away with a few tips regarding photo management and file management. Good place to start if you are feeling overwhelmed with things and papers and clutter. A-

3. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by John Krakauer. A chilling and troubling read that details how two Mormon Fundamentalists used their religion as the grounds to murder a relative and her baby. Gives background to the Mormon Fundamentalist church in addition to the Mormon Church. Very interesting, but it will bug you for days afterwards. B

3.5. Sweet Rains: Second Nature\Lessons Learned by Nora Roberts. Not counting this one as I only read half and even that was dull as doorknobs. C-

4. A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg. I have read Molly's food blog for several years now (although now the blog is updated infrequently as she pursues other endeavors) and enjoyed reading more about her background. Full of recipes that sound delicious - a good read for any memoir loving foodie. B+

5. Once In a Lifetime by Cathy Kelly. I had hoped to love Irish writer Cathy Kelly as much as I love Marion Keys' work, but I never quite felt spellbound by this book. I enjoyed it in an offhand way (a beach read, I suppose), but it sat on my bedside table for a long time and was often passed over for other books. Will possibly read more by this author to see if another storyline grabs my attention more. B-

6. Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent. An interesting read for those interested in all things baby and birth. Peggy Vincent talks about her career as a midwife, which includes both joyous stories and a particularly difficult one. So pregnant readers beware. While Vincent herself kind of got on my nerves at times, I still enjoyed this book and reading her perspective. A-

7. The Forgotten Garden: A NovelBy Kate Morten. Loved this! Loved this, loved this, loved this. I think one of you recommended it to me a awhile back? Or maybe a librarian messed up and added it to my reserved books? Anyway, I really enjoyed the tale of multiple generations set in both Australia and London. Really charming and a fairy tale for adults, which out being cutesy. A

8. On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. Truth be told, I wanted to like this a little more than I did. Maybe if I were a bigger fan of the sci fi/horror genre? However, even though I don't really care for Mr. King's books, I did think he had a lot of good things to say about writing and being an author. Since that is a someday dream of mine, I found it an invigorating read. B

9. Hungry Planet: What the World Eats A photo journalist and his writer partner traveled all over the world and took pictures of families and all the food they ate for a week. Very enlightening and fascinating, although it took me weeks to plod through the text. Just wasn't one you wanted to sit down and read. I was left with some questions about the methodology for this project (i.e. did they observe eating for a week and then take a picture? Or was it just by self-recall which is inherently unreliable?), but that didn't get int the way of the overall message. A-

10. True Colors by Kristin Hannah. Not my favorite book by this author, but still an enjoyable book to have on the bedside table. This book used some of Hannah's own background as an attorney (random!) to give it a mild legal thriller quality, which I liked. Interesting characters and I always like Hannah's settings in the Pacific NW. B+

11. One Day by David Nicholls. Prepare yourself for a sexist comment - I don't really care much for fiction written by men. Especially the sort of fiction that would fall into the (terribly and unfairly named) chick-lit category. This story follows the relationship between two characters as they meet & briefly hook up in college and then continue to stay friends through the years, ultimately getting together one day. The male character though? GAH! ASSHOLE. And the female character didn't feel authentic. So I had to sort of push my way through it until I reached the (unsatisfying) ending. Not my cuppa. C

12. The Daily Coyote: A Story of Love, Survival, and Trust in the Wilds of Wyoming By Shreve Stockton. I came across Honey Rock Dawn, one of the blogs that Shreve Stockton maintains and it sparked my interest for this memoir about her taking in a coyote and raising it. An interesting read and a fascinating look into a lifestyle so different from most of ours, but something about Shreve's blog and book leaves me with a feeling of melancholy that is hard to shake. I'm sure there are lovely deep psychological issues worth exploring with that, but meh - that can be dealt with another time. I should mention that I found this memoir reminiscent of Pam Houston's work (author of Cowboys are My Weakness). B

13. Rockabye: From Wild to Child by Rebecca Wolff. This was on my sister's bookshelf when I visited her. Rebecca Wolff first found fame as a blogger (Girls Gone Child) and this memoir talks about her transition from single hipster in LA to a married mom. I had read her blog a couple times in the past, but didn't really connect. I've actually started reading her blog on a regular basis since reading her book and find more in common with her life now and therefore it's more interesting.  This book was a quick read, but her coming-of-age tale is just not very relatable to me. Plus, there were some confusing things in the book such as the fact she was the homecoming queen yet says she was a total loner with few friends in high school. Um, what? B-

14. Perfect Blend: A NovelBy Sue Margolis. Sort of a random choice, and I think this was a grab-off-the-shelf after storytime book. It wasn't really good or bad, mostly kind of boring. I must say that the sex scenes kind of came out of nowhere and were a little eye-bugging at times. Whoa, Nelly. C+

15. I Do, Now What?: Secrets, Stories, and Advice from a Madly-in-Love Couple by Giuliana & Bill Rancic. OH NO I DI'IN'T. But I did. I added this one to my hold list at the library when I went through a spree of watching all the episodes of their show online. Now, I hope it goes without saying that I was not seeking marital advice (bwahahaha) but read this more out of curiousity. Unfortuantely for Giuliana, this book made me lose all respect for her and wonder why Bill married her. I wrote off a lot of stuff in the show as how she was portrayed and assumed she was actually fairly savvy (and I do think she is funny and I appreciate her candor), but the truth is she has some personality traits (like lying) that she writes about learning from and yet continues to share additional anecdotes about her lying caused problems in their relationship. It was all kind of awkward and train-wrecky to read. Ai-yi-yi. I give it a C+, mostly for cheap entertainment value.

16. Committed: A Love Story By Elizabeth Gilbert. Same author as Eat, Pray, Love, a memoir which I enjoyed in spite of not necessarily feeling sympathetic to the author. Ms. Gilbert is back with a book that weaves her tale of her path to wedded bliss 2.0 with the history of marriage. This book didn't hold the same magic for me as her first memoir, but I was entertained on a plane ride. B

17. And God Created the Au Pair by Benedictine Newland and Pascale Smets. This book is a series of letters (more like emails) between two sisters, one who lives in England and the other who has emigrated with her young family to Canada. There were parts that were laugh out loud funny towards the beginning (I won't say LOL funny, no I will not), but then the story began to drag and turn too somber. Dramedy is a hard thing to pull off and this book kind of turned too sharply from comedy to drama without being able to flow easily. I'll admit to skiming the last third of the book. So - strong start, but needed editing. B-

18. The Sunday Philosophy Club: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel  by Alexander McCall Smith. I loved the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by the same author so I picked up the first book in this series hoping I would have the same amorous feelings. Sort of similar premise as it's another single woman who is an amateur-sleuth-on-the-side, but this book didn't have that same charming feel. I didn't like the protagonist and her snooping just felt creepy and wrong. I was sad that I didn't like it. C

19. Caleb's Crossing: A Novel Review on Blogher site here. But to make it short and sweet - I give it an A-.