gillie’s Neighborhood

Originally published at Creative Thoughts. You can comment here or there.

A few months ago I requested book ideas. I read through most of the recommendations and stole ideas from your blogs. I have always enjoyed reading, but never before have I enjoyed finding new books and authors to read.

I read "The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society" a few weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised. The format of the novel threw me for a loop at first and I wrinkled my nose but I am glad I kept going. Totally outside my normal reading zone but loved it. Honestly I have never read a post war novel before. It intrigued me. Definitely recommend it if you are looking for a good read.

I recently read
"Confessions Of A Demon-hunting Soccer Mom" the back cover claiming it was like Buffy grown up. pfft. Not quite but it was an ok read.

I still have a few books that I am in queue for at the library, like "Brooklyn". Yet I am hungry for more. My Dad left the latest Dan Brown that I plan on consuming.

I also plowed through the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. Now I am dying (har har) to watch True Blood. I am totally hoping to get the series on dvd for Christmas (hint hint J).

There is a new Stephen King out but I am waiting for soft cover (cheap cheap). I am seriously hungry for good stories.

What are you reading right now? What is on your night stand waiting for you? Please know that I do read most of what you recommend.

Originally published at Creative Thoughts. You can comment here or there.

I had a lot of people ask me if I was going to vaccinate the children. After a lot of long talks with my husband our decision was to absolutely vaccinate the kids. Our family doctor (whom I trust) was also very supportive of that decision. Up until Tuesday, Ethan was the only one that qualified and was vaccinated last week.

Now the rest of us qualify (excluding Cordelia as she is too young) because we live with a baby younger than 6 months old.

J & I are nervous to be vaccinated at the same time. Not wanting to crash at the same time we may spread it out so that we are not ill at the same time. Up until possibly today Becca was too ill to be vaccinated.

We are now on day 10 for illness.

My children have never been this sick.

Do they have H1N1? We will never know for sure which strain of the flu they suffered from. They were not hit as hard as some and harder than others. Considering they have never really experienced the flu, both Ethan and Becca fared well.

If  a shot could have prevented this misery in time I would have spared them this. Yet we have never got the regular flu shot since it had not touched our lives.

J & I still have not fallen ill despite the fact that all three children have shown signs of the flu.

J has a theory that we have already had H1N1 back in California. Both of us got very very ill and suffered for days. At the time I thought I was dying. Did that allow us to be unscathed this time?

Becca is finally feeling better. We are keeping her home today as a preventative measure. Monday is a Professional Development Day for teachers so she can return on Tuesday at full health only missing the letter J and the introduction to counting by  twos.

Ethan is still very moody and is experiencing stomach problems. His body aches leaving him miserable at times. It is quite unpredictable. Not fun.

Cordelia is stuffy and clingy but otherwise fairing much better than the other two. Thank goodness.

I am going batty all cooped up in the house all the time. I am dreadfully behind in Christmas shopping and errand running. I am looking forward to walks, interactions with people over the age of five and new scenery.

Have you or your kids experienced the flu? How did you survive your quarantine?

Originally published at Creative Thoughts. You can comment here or there.

Have fun with more Wordless Wednesday.

Originally published at Creative Thoughts. You can comment here or there.

ahhh Soap operas in the 80's. The hair, the clothes, the drama, the cheesy love songs that get stuck in our heads.

Thankfully we use a lot less hairspray, we dress much more casually and have a whole lot less drama!

Today marks 8 years of marriage for J & I. What crazy times we have had, together. This morning we reflected on how far we have come and where we are going. How nice it will be that on our Tenth Anniversary we might be able to head out on the town to celebrate!

Tonight we are going to tuck in our children, then order some take out, watch a movie and enjoy each other.

ps ... kids still sick. Becs had a fever yesterday and took a nap for the first time in a long long time. Ethan has energy but feels like poo. Not a nice combination. Not fun for a newly potty trained kid to have diarrhea either. *sigh* Light at the end of the tunnel .... there is a light, I cannot see it ... but it is there!

Originally published at Creative Thoughts. You can comment here or there.

ahhh Soap operas in the 80's. The hair, the clothes, the drama, the cheesey love songs that get stuck in our heads.

Thanfuly we use a lot less hairspray, we dress much more casually and have a whole lot less drama!

Today marks 8 years of marriage for J & I. What crazy times we have had, together. This morning we reflected on how far we have come and where we are going. How nice it will be that on our Tenth Anniversary we might be able to head out on the town to celebrate!

Tonight we are going to tuck in our children, then order some take out, watch a movie and enjoy each other.

ps ... kids still sick. Becs had a fever yesterday and took a nap for the first time in a long long time. Ethan has energy but feels like poo. Not a nice combination. Not fun for a newly potty trained kid to have diarrhea either. *sigh* Light at the end of the tunnel .... there is a light, I cannot see it ... but it is there!

Originally published at Creative Thoughts. You can comment here or there.

The kids are slowly starting to feel better. Becca is still home from school, claiming she needs one more day. She was willing to chill out in bed this morning for over an hour, so I have no doubt she is still feeling yucky. Recovery from this is slow and has come in spurts.

I am so tired. I think my body is fighting the good fight. I feel so new at everything. Like I haven't been a parent for five years. I don't like it.

Do you ever feel lke you have to start over? Learn everything new again?

Originally published at Creative Thoughts. You can comment here or there.

I am feeling so tapped out.

For today I will be cleaning the house and trying to wipe this feeling of exhausted state out.

The kids are still under the weather, however feeling much better. They are outside while J does some yard work. They are edgey and hard to deal with. There is a lot of whining and discontent.

Am I the only one that struggles not to forget they are feeling ill? My patience is zapped.

Originally published at Creative Thoughts. You can comment here or there.

Ethan got his H1N1 shot and is now really ill. Yesterday he was flushed and miserable. However he ate well and was ok ... then throughout the night he started coughing. This morning the poor little guy hasn't got out of bed. He has woken once, had some water and eventually fell back to sleep. I have never seen him this way. He has a fever but not to the extreme. Poor kid. When he was awake he was in good spirits so that is something. Not sure if this is in reaction to the vaccination or if he was sick before hand.

Becca is feeling better, she still has a sore throat but she is definitely on the up swing. Let's hope she continues. Cordelia is nursing nonstop but is generally in a good mood, content like always.

This is so way stressful. Having sick kids at the best of times is rough. I am so feeling cabin fever but cannot bring myself to leave the house.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

The terrorist attack on Fort Hood makes me realize how vulnerable we can be. It's a sad tragedy and a reality in our lives today - as united as we have always been in this time we can never become too comfortable in any situation.