History offers few eras richer in drama than the last years of imperial Russia. Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, Empress Alexandra, presided over a glittering world of huge palaces, lavish balls, and incomparable luxury. Then their cherished son Alexis was born. His hemophilia led to their tragic entanglement with the bizarre Siberian mystic Rasputin and eventually to the disintegration of their empire.

Nicholas and Alexandra is the unforgettable intimate account of the entire imperial family. Told with scrupulous historical accuracy and stunning narrative power, Nicholas and Alexandra is a masterpiece of the biographer’s art.

Time // 8:44 p.m.
Place // propped up in my bed.
Eating // nothing at the moment, but stuffed full of barbecue and ice cream.
Drinking // ice water.
Watching // Meredith sleep next to me.
Reading // Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie.
Wanting // a new microwave.
Thinking // about finally canceling our cable – we’ve been talking seriously about it for months but just haven’t pulled the trigger yet.
Creating // Project Life – I’m all caught up again, hooray!
Hoping // to take more pictures this week.
Needing // to start exercising again now that I’m not sick anymore.
Anticipating // a busy day at work tomorrow.

***

This long weekend was just what we needed. My house is clean and organized, I read a hundred pages in my book, caught up on my crafts, got to do some shopping, ate good food, and spent lots of quality time with David and Meredith. And now that we are both 100% over our sickness I’m ready to add running and cooking back into my routine.

Life is good.

What, you don’t write your lists on hospital order sheets?

Since last weekend we were all deathly ill (we were not actually near death; I am exaggerating in order to obtain your pity) a lot of things have gone undone and untended to around the house. This long holiday weekend comes at a perfect time for some catching up. For example, I would like to be able to walk through the house without wading through dog hair, have actual food in the kitchen other than crackers and applesauce, and a microwave to reheat it in. Having to use the oven and stove when you’re not even really cooking is the worst.

Catching up on crafts would be fantastic. We haven’t been to church in several weeks and the guilt is starting to build up so we’d better get back there. (I do not actually feel guilty because things happen and God does not love me any less. I do miss church though, and we’ve been meaning to visit the place David’s brother & family are going.)

We have a couple social things planned, and of course being able to read and relax would be amazing. I just started Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie, a 600-page history of the role of the last family of the Romanov dynasty in the fall of Imperial Russia (little known fact: I traveled to Russia with a friend when I was 23 because we were/are both obsessed with the history/culture/literature and therefore this book excites me greatly have I lost you yet?), so if I’m going to finish in time for book club in late June I need to read every spare chance I can get.

But mainly, I want to get caught up on chores. Because I go a little bit crazy when they’re not done.

She:

>Was totally not in the mood for this photoshoot. It’s kind of a miracle it happened at all.

>Wears 12-18 month clothes now, and we won’t buy anything smaller than 18 months because of her rapidly expanding thighs. If only they were as cute on me as they are on her.

>Still waves sometimes, but she’s more into pointing these days.

>Plays with her hair for comfort (see above picture).

>Stands! And cruises! She got hold of a stable walking toy the other day at her grandparents’ house and walked across two rooms. Maybe she’ll be walking by her first birthday after all.

>Is resisting going to sleep at night more and more. On the nights that we are desperate to get to bed and she’s not ready we have resorted to taking her on a drive. Works every time. At least once she’s asleep, she sleeps all night.

>Likes her toys okay, but gets bored by them. What DOES keep her attention is a large bag of mini chips, box of sodas, any type of cord or string, the toilet, my shoes and clothes, and the dogs’ bowls. Some of these things I let her play with, some I obviously don’t, and then she gets pissed.

>Still has no teeth, and hasn’t said any words yet. My husband claims she’s said “dada” and I still claim that she doesn’t know what she’s saying.

I: 

>Could not get a single picture of Meredith smiling this month. Just an indicator of how our weekend went.

>Am still recovering from a nasty stomach virus. I also gave it to my husband and my parents, so I’m sure they’re really happy with me right now. At least Meredith is fine, but man is it hard to take care of a baby when everyone is sick.

>Have been slacking a little on running and cooking the past couple of weeks. Sickness, our microwave breaking, and social commitments have thrown me off.

>Am thinking about getting her hair trimmed soon. I wanted to wait until her first birthday, but it’s kind of out of control. I now know why so many little girls have bangs.

>Still haven’t babyproofed anything, except for removing the rubber tips of doorstoppers in her nursery and our room. She goes straight for those things and they go straight in her mouth. I hardly ever fence her in and usually just let her roam free.

>Have become super laid back about her eating. The other day she ate a strawberry that dropped to the floor at daycare and the workers were so scared and watched her like a hawk. They felt better when I told them that she’s already had it. She eats a lot of jar food but also whatever kind of table food is available. And she’s fine.

>Started brainstorming a few challenges for myself. I miss having goals, but what I need now is lists without deadlines. I’m thinking one challenge to do with crafting and one more general to do with life experiences.

>Still think being a mom is the best thing ever, and I completely melt when she hugs me and rests her head on my shoulder, or gives me a big slimy kiss, or laughs when I tickle her. I miss her baby-ness but I completely love watching her learn and grow.

For reference:

No months
One month
Two months
Three months
Four months
Five months
Six months
Seven months
Eight months
Nine months

The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage by Dr. Laura Schlessinger

It’s about: The title kind of says it all, doesn’t it? But I just want to add, in case you don’t know who Dr. Laura is, that she is a trained family counselor with many years of experience who now has a radio show. Her fans are rabidly devoted and my husband is among them. I read this on his recommendation.

I thought: I find that I agree very much with almost everything she says, even though I don’t always think her tone is helpful. One big thing to take away from it is that the only thing you have control over is you – if your spouse is treating you badly, you might have something to do with it. If you want to bring about a change in your spouse, you probably need to change first. Anyway, this was a huge encouragement and made me want to do everything possible to ensure our marriage stays strong.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars.

The Golem’s Eye by Jonathan Stroud

It’s about: This is the second in the trilogy, and a mysterious force is destroying important parts of London. Nathaniel (our young upstart magician) and his demon Bartimaeus must travel to Prague to determine the cause behind the attacks. In the meantime, we get to know the commoner Kitty and her work with the resistance.

I thought: It wasn’t as good as the first book because Bartimaeus wasn’t in it as much. He’s the best. At first I didn’t know Kitty and thus didn’t care as much about her, but by the end I did. The deeper plot develops, and there is one seriously haunting scene. Overall a good setup for a (hopefully) strong finish.

Rating: 3 of 5 stars.

The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket

It’s about: Okay, this is the twelfth book out of thirteen, so the plot is a little convoluted by this point and I’m not going to get into it. But it seemed like there was less action in this one than usual.

I thought: All of these books are similar, which is why it’s taking me forever to finish the series. I need a break in between them. However, they are also incredibly witty, informative, clever, etc., and at this point I am quite invested in the lives of the Baudelaire orphans. It was good.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars.

Ptolemy’s Gate by Jonathan Stroud

It’s about: Bartimaeus has been trapped on earth for years by Nathaniel and he has become weak and worn out. Nathaniel is an arrogant jerk, and Kitty is awesome, and she figures out some magical stuff and learns about Bartimaeus’s past, and there is war and some creepy demons, and lots of other good stuff.

I thought: Getting through the second book was totally worth it for this huge payoff. The end was especially perfect, and I’m a sucker for a good ending.

Rating: 5 of 5 stars.

On to some adult fiction now!

Kurt Vonnegut’s absurdist classic Slaughterhouse-Five introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes unstuck in time after he is abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. In a plot-scrambling display of virtuosity, we follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all phases of his life, concentrating on his (and Vonnegut’s) shattering experience as an American prisoner of war who witnesses the firebombing of Dresden.

Summary from Goodreads:

This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again – the story starts there …

Week twelve had a brighter color scheme than is my norm. I like it though. I do try to keep each spread somewhat unified in terms of colors and feel, although it doesn’t always turn out that way. Here I was going for deep pink, orange, yellow, and blue.

The weekly quotes are kind of getting hard to find! I like them to be on the subject of love, life, and home mostly, because that’s what my life revolves around. Plus, they have to be kind of short.

At the beginning of the week we went out to eat for my brother’s birthday at this wine bar called Plonk. I grabbed one of their business cards and took a picture of him with Meredith in front of the sign. Its colors were kind of my jumping off point.

I had two horizontal spaces to fill and only small vertical pictures, but since they were both of Meredith sleeping it worked out to create one long spread. I’ll keep this idea in mind for later because it worked out well!

Of course the monthly Meredith update had to go in. I think once she turns one I’ll drop this. The “craft on” sticker came on the package of the minibook (also pictured) that I ordered from Elise.

I threw this little card together with some leftover supplies from our craft club.

Week thirteen I seriously did not take enough pictures and I had to scramble to fill the space. Need to get back on top of this!

I went to see The Hunger Games with my dad and we asked an employee to take a picture of us. Then Meredith and I got sick for the next few days, so I did a little summary of that and included a business card from the new doctor I went to. I also decided to take a random photo of my dog Cleo in the backyard. The dogs are a big part of our lives too, but they get overshadowed by the baby!

I snapped a picture of Meredith at the doctor, and that “M” is again from the Madewell  catalogue. Oh! The label there on the picture of the backyard is a new punch from Stampin’ Up. I love it.

I had some personal thoughts to add this week so again I journaled on the inside of a piece of patterned paper and clipped it in.

Then I decided to add this little section about crafting because I’ve been doing a lot more of it lately. If I had taken more pictures this section probably would’ve gotten left out, but I’m glad it’s there because it’s a good reflection of the details of my life lately.

On to the next!

I love – love - weekends where I don’t have plans. Most of the time plans are fun, but there’s nothing like free time. This weekend was good like that. If I could, I would start every Saturday this way:

Wake up to a smiling baby ready to play. It’s early, but it’s okay because I went to bed early too.

First things first. Have a cup of coffee and some breakfast while I read for a little while. Baby is playing happily on the ground.

Get some laundry started. Meredith amuses herself – who needs a fancy water table when you have the toilet?

Go for a run. It’s not too hot out yet and best not to put it off. :)

Have some play time at home while I cool off – mirrors are loads of fun!

Do the weekly chores. Quickly clean the kitchen and sweep the floors while Meredith chomps on some puffies. I can enjoy the weekend so much  more if I get this stuff done right away.

Cook some blueberry & sausage pancake rollups. They don’t photograph well but sure are yummy!

Later we visited a book sale and I got several board books for cheap, continued work on the bedside table I’m redoing with my dad, and had dinner with David’s parents at Steak ‘N’ Shake. Sunday we visited a new church, went shopping for household sundries, I got some craft time in, and we spent the evening at home together chatting and working on a puzzle.

I’m recharged and ready for the week!