Renegades

Madeleine started reading a new book this week, called "Renegades."  It's a book I ordered for her, per her request, from her school's Virtual Book Fair.  So far she's really enjoying it.

MADELEINE: Mommy, "Renegades" is SO good!  I'm already on page 42!  I'm hoping that maybe "Renegades" can be my NEW thing to be obsessed about, instead of "Keeper of the Lost Cities," because...obsessions can get really TIRING.

If Madeleine is getting tired of her own obsessions, um...think about how the rest of us in the household feel.  Not that I didn't enjoy playing "Keeper of the Lost Cities Hide and Seek" the other night, mind you.  I'm just not sure how successful Madeleine will be getting over this particular obsession, given that she spent ALL morning yesterday in eager anticipation of the unveiling of Shannon Messenger's new cover art for her upcoming "Keeper" book.  It was such an agonizing wait until 1pm when the cover appeared on Instagram that Madeleine went to ridiculously great lengths to pass the time.  One minute I was reading peacefully on the couch, the next minute I was dodging Madeleine as she snaked her way around the coffee table with one dish at a time to take the most circuitous route possible whilst unloading the dishwasher.  Lifting my legs from the table every few minutes as she slithered by with a bowl or a plate was not distracting at all.

Luckily, we got a new American Girl catalog in the mail yesterday, so that has given Madeleine something un-Keeper related to peruse.  This catalog was a source of some serious stress for Julia, given how JAM-PACKED our days of sitting home doing nothing have been.

JULIA: (at 5:48 pm) Oh, I forgot, I was gonna practice my flute!
ME: Do you wanna practice with me and I can give you a flute lesson?
JULIA: Sure, but I also wanted to watch tv and then I was gonna look at the American Girl catalog, so I'm afraid I'm gonna run out of time. (with disappointed resolve) I guess I just won't look at the catalog.

Good choice.  I don't think she could have possibly fit in flute, a tv show, AND catalog viewing in the 4 or so hours before bedtime.

We're living in a fast-paced environment around here for sure.