Baby Bedtime Advice vs. Baby Bedtime Reality

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So we are struggling a bit with Sugarpie’s sleep. Not that she doesn’t sleep. She does. Naps are good. She will fall asleep in her crib at bedtime, though I have to keep both hands on her until she’s out cold. She usually resettles after a night feeding. It’s just that there are like….seventy-five of those.

Okay, not that many, but it feels like it sometimes.

Some of you that have been here a while may recall the angst I went through with Babycakes when it came to her nighttime sleep. I know a thing or two now, particularly the fact that this WILL get better with time and patience. It’s just rough while you’re in the trenches, ya know?

Anyway…. There are so many really great websites and books out there that advise having a very consistent, soothing bedtime routine that sets the stage for a great night of sleep for everyone.

When it comes to Sugarpie, however, some of that advice doesn’t pan out like the “experts” say it should.

Here we go.

Baby Bedtime Routine Step 1: Give baby a soothing bath.

Sugarpie:

Baby Bedtime Routine Step 2: Apply lotion as part of a baby massage.

Sugarpie:

Baby Bedtime routine Step 3: Put on a fresh overnight diaper.

Sugarpie:

Baby Bedtime Routine Step 4: Dress baby in comfy jammies.

Sugarpie:

Baby Bedtime Routine Step 5: Give baby a final feeding.

Sugarpie:

Baby Bedtime Routine Step 6: Read a book with your baby.

Sugarpie:

Baby Bedtime Routine Step 7: Lights out, lullaby and snuggles

Sugarpie:

Baby Bedtime Routine Step 8: Lay baby down awake

Sugarpie:

Baby Bedtime Routine Step 9: Get Thee to Bed, Mama, and pray that there is no night gap.

 

What I Wanted to Do When I Grew Up vs. What I Do (Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge)

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This week, I’m having a little fun with animated gifs as I present my next installment of the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge.

What I Wanted to Do when I Grew Up vs. What I Actually Do

Now, this is obviously a bit of tongue in cheek. But here goes.

In my earliest days, I wanted to be a paleontologist.

Of course, it would be far less exciting than any of the Jurassic Park movies.

Then I decided I would become a famous author.

Still working on that, but at least I’m moving in the right direction.

So what about now? What do I actually do?

Well, up until maternity leave (followed by a decision to resign from the classrooom for the time being:

More on the resigning thing another time.

So now, what I actually do all day is a lot of this:

Stay at home mom stuff. It’s been a challenge, but it really is my favorite thing.

How do your childhood aspirations compare to what you actually do for a living? Did your dreams come true? Or did you find a different path?

Madam in Silk (Virtual Tour & Giveaway)

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Madam in Silk

by Gini Grossenbacher

Genre: Historical Fiction

Blurb

San Francisco,1849. Despite her objections, twenty-year-old Ah Toy and her servant Chen voyage from China to San Francisco with her husband who dies on board ship. With little cash and bound feet, how is she to find employment in the Gold Rush town? Since she is the only Chinese woman there, she opens a “Lookee Shop,” catering to miners who pay in gold dust to see her exotic beauty. As her notoriety grows, so does her attraction to the devoted policeman, John Clark. Yet should she put her faith in one man? Will their love survive despite her frightening encounter with Sydney Ducks, threats from rival madam Li Fan, and a tempting offer from Henry Conrad who promises her wealth and security? Armed with her mystical beliefs of the inner dragon and Goddess Mazu, Ah Toy faces much more than the journey from the ancient ways in China to the new world in America. In fact, she must find the true source of courage in a life or death struggle for her own fate, justice, and dignity. Based on page-turning accounts about the life of Ah Toy, one of San Francisco’s most legendary madams.

Read an Excerpt

After she swallowed what seemed like a rock, she found her voice. “If you knew this Mr. Painter, why did you not contact us in Guangdong?” If only her dragon would reach out its fangs to bite him.

“I tried, but even when I sent your husband the letter, I knew you would not receive it by the time you sailed. News came too late.” He twisted the brim of his cap.

“Now what do I do?” Those dragon fangs would tear off that hair on his face. Then she would feed it to the chickens.

He reached into his inner coat pocket, drew out an envelope, and held it out to her. “Here is money to get by for a month. Lodging, room and board.”

“Only a month?” She took the envelope, her hands trembling.

Painter’s patient tone grew curt. “I got you a room in Little Canton until you can get another ship’s passage home. You better leave on the next sail. Believe me, without a job you are a gone circumstance amidst all these varmints.”

“What are varmints?” she asked.

He tapped the badge clinging to his lapel. “Men with no good intent. You’ll see men who call themselves Hounds from New York who parade around town with fife and drum. Stay away from that lot. They prey on immigrants, such as your fellow Celestials and Mexicans. . . .

She took a half-step toward him. “I am strong. Willing to work.” Maybe if she said the words, they would come true. Was her dragon listening?

Gini Grossenbacher will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click here to enter the GIveaway.

Meet Gini Grossenbacher

MADAM IN SILK is California teacher and editor Gini Grossenbacher’s second historical fiction novel. Her debut novel  MADAM OF MY HEART garnered the 2018 IPPY silver medal for Historical Fiction; finalist in the 2018 American Fiction Awards for Historical Fiction;  honorable mention at the 2018 San Francisco Book Festival for General Fiction; and runner-up in the 2017 Hollywood Book Festival for Genre Fiction. She is also a copyeditor and leads an aspiring writers group called Elk Grove Writers and Artists, providing lessons in novel writing, memoir, poetry, and flash fiction. When she’s not writing, Gini can be found taking long walks, tending the roses in her garden, and barbecuing with her husband and beloved dog, Murphy Brown.

Amazon Buy Book Link:

https://www.amazon.com/Madam-Silk-Gini-Grossenbacher-ebook/dp/B07VH5SXVN/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Madam+in+silk+ebook&qid=1590793718&s=books&sr=1-1

Social Media Links:

www.ginigrossenbacher.com

https://www.facebook.com/ginigrossenbacherauthor/

https://twitter.com/ggrossenbacher

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ggrossenbacher/

https://www.pinterest.com/ggrossenbacher/

The Baby Contract (Virtual Tour & Giveaway)

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The Baby Contract

by Nan Reinhardt

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Blurb

She wants a baby…he wants a family

 

Firefighter and paramedic Tierney Ashton has always been a bold adventurer, but at thirty-four she longs to embark on a new adventure—motherhood. But who will be the father? Although financially challenging, a sperm bank appears to be her best option. That is, until she shares her dream with her long-time pal, Brendan Flaherty.

 

Government analyst and world traveler Brendan Flaherty returns home to River’s Edge to help out at his family’s thriving winery and his brother’s new community theater. He also plans to finally achieve his lifelong goal of writing a novel. But when Tierney shares her wish, Bren offers to be her baby daddy—with one condition. Marriage.

 

It seems like a perfect contract, but will love get in the way?

Read an Excerpt

This could work.

She wasn’t involved with anyone and neither was he. Fact was, his job kept him so busy with late nights and travel and meetings all over the world, it had been hard to maintain much of a romantic relationship with anyone in DC. Since he’d been home, he’d dated a little, but that spark he’d waited for all his life had yet to materialize.

However, he truly meant what he’d said to Tierney. “Why?” he repeated with a bit more force. “Why is it any crazier than picking a father for your baby off a website?”

Tierney’s eyes narrowed. “You would do that? Go to Nell’s with me, collect a… a sample, and let her inseminate me? Just like that?”

Brendan nearly had to pick his jaw up off the table. That’s what she thinks I’m suggesting? How could she have known him for her whole life and believe for one moment that he’d simply give her his… his… Oh, good Lord. And then what? Walk away? He ran one hand over his face “Of course not!”

She sat up straighter. “Then what, Bren? Because, honestly, right now, that’s all I’m looking for.”

“Well, we… I… I-I can’t do that.” He was floundering, which frustrated him because he rarely floundered. He made presentations regularly to large groups of highly placed government officials all over the world. He could explain the intricacies of diplomacy, answer questions, and meet-and-greet in seven different languages. Now, he was stuttering in front of a woman he’d known since they were both kids. Who knew the most awkward moment of his life would be with Tee? Go figure.

Dammit.

Nan Reinhardt will be awarding a set of 6 handmade wineglass charms and a $10 Starbucks gift card. (USA only) to 5 randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Click here to enter the giveaway.

Meet Nan Reinhardt

Nan Reinhardt is a USA Today-bestselling author of romantic fiction for women in their prime. Yeah, women still fall in love and have sex, even after 45! Imagine! She is a wife, a mom, a mother-in-law, and a grandmother. Nan has been a copyeditor and proofreader for over 25 years, and currently works on romantic fiction titles for a variety of clients, including Avon Books, St. Martin’s Press, HarperCollins, Kensington Books, Tule Publishing, and Entangled Publishing, as well as for many indie authors.

Although she loves her life as an editor, writing is Nan’s first and most enduring passion. She can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t writing—she wrote her first romance novel at the age of ten, a love story between the most sophisticated person she knew at the time, her older sister (who was in high school and had a driver’s license!), and a member of Herman’s Hermits. If you remember who they are, you are Nan’s audience! Her latest series, the Four Irish Brothers Winery series is available from Tule Publishing and all book retailers. Books 1 through 3 are currently available; Book 4 releases July 16, 2020 and is available for preorder.

Visit Nan’s website at http://www.nanreinhardt.com, where you’ll find links to all her books as well as blogs about writing, being a Baby Boomer, and aging gracefully…mostly. Nan also blogs every third Tuesday at Word Wranglers, sharing the spotlight with five other romance authors, is a frequent contributor the RWA Contemporary Romance blog, and she contributes to the Romance University blog where she writes as Editor Nan.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authornanreinhardt

Twitter: @NanReinhardt

Talk to Nan at: nan@nanreinhardt.com

Buy Link for The Baby Contract

BN   https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-baby-contract-nan-reinhardt/1136768046

Kobo:  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-baby-contract-6

Things I Collect (Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge)

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Everybody has things they collect, and for various reasons. Maybe there’s some sort of sentimental value attached to the things people collect. Or perhaps a specific interest. Or maybe we just think something is neat.

For me, the things I collect are tied to memories or feelings I want to keep close. So what are my collections?

Books

This should come as a no-brainer. Most authors are also avid readers, and I am no different. At various points in my life, I have had to purge my personal bookcase because I’d either outgrown the stories it held or because I was moving and just didn’t have the space for everything. Most of the books that went by the wayside arrived at the local library (and probably their periodic bargain book sales, as paperbacks tend to fair poorly in circulation). But certain books remained.

I have a healthy collection of books about history, for example, particularly about the American Civil War. For much of my teen and adult life, historical fiction filled my bookcase. I have some Dickens, the entire Harry Potter series in hardcover. I also have quite a bit of Tolkien.

As far as authors go, I really only have two whose books I consciously collected and kept. The first is L.M. Montgomery, author of the Anne of Green Gables series and many more delightful books. I discovered her books in fourth grade, thanks to my then-best friend, and from there my collection was born. I’m pretty sure I have every novel she ever wrote and all of the curated short story collections as well.

The second author is John Jakes. I started off with his North & South trilogy, moved on to the Kent Family Chronicles, and then went about acquiring every historical fiction novel he ever published. I understand he has some science fiction(?) books written under a different pen name, but those I haven’t read.

Cookbooks

I love to cook and bake, so of course it’s no suprise that I have a collection of cookbooks. I think at one point early in my marriage, I had a total of like twenty different cookbooks. Possibly more. I got rid of a lot of them when we moved from New York to North Carolina, and then several more when we finally unpacked at our forever home. I think I’m down to about ten, now, but I’ve also acquired a few more since we moved south. So I might be creeping back up toward twenty.

Christmas Decorations

I love Christmas; it’s my favorite holiday. As with other things, I’ve had to purge a lot of decorations over the past few years as we made our move south. But I love getting new Christmas decorations (teachers get a lot of that sort of thing as gifts from students) and figuring out where to put everything when the time comes.

I have a couple themes when it comes to Christmas decorations. Snowmen, somehow, became a major theme on accident. We have a couple different iterations of the Nativity. The only ornaments I really collect have been the Hallmark Gone With the Wind movie collection (yes, I know), though I haven’t gotten any new ones in several years as they’ve started sort of repeating. My mom started the collection for me back in 1997, and I think I have about 27 of them.

INteresting Scarves

About three years into my teaching career, I got really into scarves as a fashion statement. Mostly because I was cold all the time in the winter. I have scarves of all materials, colors, and designs, though admittedly I haven’t worn many of them since moving to North Carolina. (Winters here are a bit milder.) I probably should clean some of them out, but I like knowing they’re hanging, all organized, in my closet.

Foreign Currency

The most interesting thing I collect may be foreign currency. The collection wasn’t even mine to begin with. My dad started collecting foreign currency when he was in the Air Force and deployed to different countries around the world. He kept them in an old cigar box that, I assume, he acquired during a deployment to Panama in the early 1980s (that’s unverified).

At some point when I was in middle or high school, he passed the collection on to me. I have added to it over the years. Some items came from more of his deployments. Other things came from friends who travelled out of the country. For example, a high school friend brought me a 1000 lira note from her family’s trip to Italy when we were in 10th grade, just prior to Italy adopting the Euro. One of my dad’s coworkers gave him a Polish banknote from the Cold War era, which he passed along to me. My aunt and uncle gave me a banknote from Nepal after one of their missionary trips. I received coins from a Swedish penpal when I was in 6th grade.

Some of the currency is probably valuable, such as the pristine Canadian two-dollar note (which they don’t make anymore as it gave way to the “toonie”). The Polish Cold War-era note, also, is obviously out of circulation, as is the 1000 lira. I also have some examples of American currency, like a $1 silver certificate, the Sacagewea $1 gold coin, and a couple of $2 bills. And some Euros to round it all out.

Right now, the collection is still in the cigar box. I plan to put everything into a currency collector binder to keep everything safe and neat. It just hasn’t happened yet.

What do you like to collect?