Thursday, October 27, 2016

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins


Generally I don't want to read a book that is surrounded by hype.  Remember, it took me YEARS to finally read Harry Potter because I was told that I should.  This month, our book club chose to read The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins which has been turned into a major motion picture.  Since book club chose it, I read it.  

The book was written from the perspective of the three female lead characters.  Each character represents some of the worst qualities or worst fears that I (and I imagine other women) feel.  Rachel Watson is an alcoholic who lost everything seemingly due to her alcoholism.  Her husband cheated and divorced her, she lost her job, she is living in her friend's spare room and even the friend is losing patience.  Rachel rides the train past her old house everyday on her commute and she has discovered another couple in a house nearby that she has imagined a whole life for in her boredom with her own life. Jess and Jason turn out to actually be Megan and Scott Hipwell, a couple with a very different life than Rachel had imagined.  Megan has disappeared and is feared dead and Rachel becomes entangled in the lives of so many involved.

Megan has a heartbreaking past that would make any mother cringe in fear of her own possible shortcomings.  Does this past have something to do with her disappearance or is there something else, something more present or sinister involved?

Anna Watson, Rachel's ex-husband's new wife, is disturbed by the fact that Rachel keeps popping up in their lives.  She can't seem to catch a break from the ex-wife and no matter how much her husband, Tom, assures her that he will take care of it, Rachel keeps showing up.  Anna was the other woman and the woman who could give Tom a child.  It's interesting how this plays into the story, too.

I was surprised by the ending of this story, I'm not really good at predicting this sort of thing, but I definitely didn't see this ending coming.  At one point, I was concerned that this story was going to take a Jodi Picoult Leaving Time or Sixth Sense kind of turn, but thankfully, I was wrong.  I liked this book as a book, but I can't imagine it'll be an amazing movie.  I think I'll either wait until the library gets a copy or maybe check it out in the Redbox, but I won't be in any hurry to get to the theater to watch it. 


Do you read the books with all the hype?

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Twinkle Puffs and Reading Stuffs

Hello Blog World!  I know I've been MIA for quite some time lately, but this time I have a really great excuse.  Remember when I told you that I was pregnant?  Well, the last couple months of my pregnancy were terribly uncomfortable for me.  We were remodeling our home and that chaos was exhausting, too.  Then my little twinsies decided to surprise us all and make their appearance seven weeks early!  I didn't realize I was in labor until it was too late and ended up delivering one baby at home all by myself.  Baby two was delivered breach and was stuck for about 30 minutes.  She started her journey into this world at home, but was finally fully delivered in the back of an ambulance on the way to the hospital. Quite an eventful morning!


Hats and Bows


The first responders in my tiny town are mostly family anyway.  First on scene was my sister and shortly behind her was my mother, dad and an uncle and another first responder we are now calling Uncle Bill because of the bond he and the twins will forever have. Breach baby two, Lily, required CPR in the ambulance and a lot of help in the local hospital to get stabilized enough to be transported by helicopter to the Children's hospital in Tulsa.  Baby one, Paige, was such a trooper and didn't really need any help.  She got to ride to the local hospital in the fire truck with her Mema behind the ambulance and was transported via ambulance to the Children's hospital for good measure.  Paige was released after just 3 short weeks in the hospital.  Even the doctors were surprised that she didn't need more attention as she was so early.  Baby Lily is still in the hospital after 5 weeks, but is making a little progress every day.

Paige smiles

Newborn clothes because preemies are to small now


Lily will probably have a longer road ahead of her.  Nobody is exactly sure why, but she isn't using her mouth like we would hope.  She's not swallowing or coughing and has required oxygen.  She ended up with an E. Coli infection that landed her on 3 weeks of antibiotics.  Worst case, she will have to have a feeding port and a trach before she can come home; best case, she will start using her mouth very soon and get to come home without any extra accessories.  She will have to gain a few pounds before she can have any of that done, though, so we still have some time.

Big sister is silly



Since we have been in the hospital, you would think that I'd be doing a lot more reading.  I've done some, but probably not as much as I could have.  There is always stuff going on while sitting in a hospital room.  The first 2 weeks, there wasn't a twin room available and husband and I were taking turns between the girls rooms with guests and visitors.  Once we finally got to be in a twin room, there were still always distractions with visitors and diaper changes and etc.  I did manage to finish a couple audiobooks and reread most of HP and the Deathly Hallows.  I have started HP and the Cursed Child, but I'm not a fan of the format and that makes it hard to read.

Sister snuggles

I want to say a quick thank you to all of the friends and family that has been praying for my babies and coming to visit and bringing gifts and just keeping us in their thoughts.  All of this means so much to the hubs and I.  We are also thankful to be working for generous and understanding employers, this makes life in the NICU a little less stressful.