Laying Low

Fall arrived, and it was glorious. Crisp mornings, falling leaves, all the pumpkins...

I mean, autumn is just pure joy, am I right?

And then, the colds and fevers followed. Y'all, preschool germs are no joke. We have (all three of us) caught more bugs in the the past few months since P started school than we have in all his other years combined. I was hoping my almost ten years of teaching would have provided me a buffer, but alas, I am only immune to California and Arizona germs.

Did anyone else have this experience when their little one first started school? Is it just round after round of being sick for the whole family?? In the meantime, we've been taking it easy. This little guy's been in good spirits despite the fevers...

Partly because when he's sick he's allowed to watch videos, which is a big deal (we are normally screen-free with Parker). I propped my laptop on the ottoman in the playroom one of the mornings and Parker watched Room on the Broom (Netflix's animated adaptation of the book) for the first time! He insisted on bringing out the book so he could follow along :)

I think the book is a must for all Halloween collections. Parker liked it last year (age 2.5) but he loves it this year (so much so that he insisted on dressing as one of the characters for Halloween!). Click here to purchase it for just five dollars with free shipping via Amazon - we have both the board book and the large copy and enjoy each.



We also read Llama Llama Home with Mama, a perfect story since Parker was missing school and staying home with Mama, just like in the book. He actually asked if we had "a book about being sick" - and it was then that I remembered we were gifted this book when Parker was a baby! I tucked it away since he was too young for it then, but it was absolutely perfect to bring out this week. It was given to us with a collection of other situation-specific books that we've pulled out over the years, and looking back it was so thoughtful of the gift givers!

Since I was feverish too, I rested while P rested and read Truly Madly Guilty, the new release by Liane Moriarty (I snatched it last week from the Recent Releases table at the library - a lucky score because the new books of the more well-known authors usually have the crazy holds). I had only read one other Liane Moriarty book, Big Little Lies which I reviewed here, and I was game for another (on a side note, does anyone else think Dean Moriarty from Jack Kerouac's On the Road whenever they see Liane Moriarty?? I just can't help making the jump every single time). So back to Truly Madly Guilty - I think it was well written, it had (what I'm guessing is her signature style after reading a second book in this format from her) the interesting element of going back in forth in time via multiple accounts, leaving the reader trying to figure out a crime that isn't spelled out until the end of the book. It was entertaining, but it was sad. I don't mind dark and twisty (surprising, since, in husby's words,  I "live on a pink cloud"), but the circumstances and happenings in Truly Madly Guilty were heart wrenching at times. I just couldn't take it. I should probably note here that I also sobbed uncontrollably after seeing Disney's Wall-e. In my defense, the plot was a parallel for the devastating effects of Alzheimer's, but really I shouldn't be exposed to anything the least bit sad. It melts my pink cloud. 

 Here's hoping for more pumpkins, and fewer fevers! 

Wishing you pumpkin spice and all things nice!