New baby, or why I haven't posted in a while.

I have had so many things I have wanted to post about in the last few weeks, but having recently acquired a brand new baby, I have slacked on things of lesser importance, such as blogging and sleeping.  Jack and Pie's bio mom had a new baby (we'll call her Baby) mid-March and I was called to pick her up on her release from the hospital.  Of course I was terribly excited (I LOVE babies!), but not at all expecting it, due to the fact that she wasn't supposed to be born until sometime in April, and I had been told she wasn't coming into custody.  Due to the unexpectedness of the call (I had to leave almost immediately to pick her up), I was completely unprepared.  So I have spent the last couple weeks trying to arrange my life and my home to fit a new baby (and fit in all the doctors visits that I have to do when I get a new foster child into custody).  Like, her stuff is all still in a bag because I haven't had a chance to arrange it yet.  Anytime I need something like an outfit I am not going to my neatly organized nursery.  No, I am digging through a huge bag in my closet.  Hopefully I'll get to it this week.  I have managed, however, to keep my home reasonably clean and my family reasonably fed.

Having a new baby isn't the only thing that has been busy the last few weeks.  Louie was in her first "professional" ballet, and she had a bunch of practices and performances (and I was a parent helper).  Hubby flew in for a week, and then flew out, taking Chuckles with him (and I had to drive to the airport 1 1/2 hours away each time).  Jack and Pie had extra visits with bio dad (visits are 1 hour away and I have to wait 2-3 hours during the visit, because it would just be a waste of time and gas to drive home during the visit).  Also, I took the girls to the Oregon Trail Museum, (very cool) which is about 1 1/2 hours away.  All of these little things add up to whole days being used up.  So, yes, I have felt kind of busy the last few weeks.

One thing I have done for me in the last few weeks has been to finally read the pile of books from the library that I hadn't been able to justify taking the time to read before.  Baby takes a long time to eat, so I've started reading during feeding (her eyes are closed most of the time anyway) and while she is sleeping in my arms.  I've read at least 8 books in the last two weeks.  I read the last two books in the Looking Glass Wars trilogy (okay, but not my favorite read.  It was too choppy for me, but I'm a compulsive reader.  Once I start I have a hard time stopping.), Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (I enjoyed this one, and want to read the next books in the series), Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: the extraordinary true story of Shackleton and the Endurance by Jennifer Armstrong (very interesting), Pandora gets Jealous by Carolyn Hennesy (kind of a fun way to learn about Greek mythology), Mara, daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw (Louie is into anything Egyptian, so I got this hoping that she would read it.  Having renewed it 2 times, I decided that I should at least read it, and after reading it asked Louie if I should just return it.  She suddenly decided that she wanted to read it, and did so in two days.  We both liked it.), In Defense of Food: an eater's manifesto by Michael Pollan (my favorite part is when he calls what we eat in America edible foodlike substance...so true!), and my latest, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (good food for thought).  I love to read, and I like a wide variety of books.  I'm always open to recommendations.  What do you think I should read next?