Book Review and getting ready for bed....

"Another Dawn" by Kathryn Cushman

What Would You Give for a Second Chance to Make Things Right?

When life gets complicated, Grace Graham runs. She's left romantic relationships, friendships, and even her family after the death of her mother. But now her sister, Jana, is giving her once last chance: Come home and help care for their father--whom Grace still blames for her mother's death--or never show her face in Shoal Creek, Tennessee, again. 

With her son, Dylan, in tow, Grace returns home from California. But is she returning for the right reasons? And when costly decisions from the past suddenly put her son's life and the lives of other children in town at risk, will she have the strength to stand strong and await Another Dawn?

This is the first time I have read anything by this author and lets just say I am hooked on her work.  This is an exceptionally well written book on a subject that every parent has talked about and has made a decision about and anyone who will become a parent will have to think about.  I can't say much more about the main theme of this book as it will spoil the story for you.  It also a story that brings a family back together through terrible times.

It was one of those books where I just wanted to keep turning the next page to see what would happen next.  

Stars out of 5: I would say 5, it's well worth buying or borrowing from the library as it is such a great book, exploring a great subject.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

I was over at Lakeland Jo's blog and she mentioned a post at Busy Bee Suz about bedtime routines, so I popped over to take a look and was laughing so hard at it, until I realized how much of it is so true in my neck of the woods as well.......

So here is my bedtime routine:

Wake Molly and tell her she has to go for a pee.

Tell Molly another seven times to wake up and go for a pee.........

Wait for Molly by the patio doors while she slowly walks to the door still half a sleep.

Finally let her out.

While she is out:

I sort out the fire

Fill the water pot on top of the fire

Turn off the laptop

Lock the front door

Turn off the fan that pushes hot air to the second floor

Make sure I have the coffee on for dh and his pills are beside the machine so he remembers to take them.

Molly is now barking to be let in.

Let her in and take off her collar

Lock the patio doors

Check Molly's dish to make sure she has enough water

Tell Molly I am going to bed and I'm off upstairs

Generally dh is in bed.....

So I go to the bathroom to pee and have a wash and strip off.

Wander into the bedroom in the dark and close the blind by my side of the bed............dh never ever does that?

Find my pj's and put them on, get into bed.

Put on my elbow brace and my wrist brace on my right arm, having problems with that arm.

Turn over and gently fall asleep..........

Just as I am falling asleep one of two things happen.........

Molly gets a second life and decides to attack her bone or rabbit, squirrel, hedgehog and barks like a crazy dog downstairs while playing with them.  So up I get to round her up and tell her to go to sleep.

Walk back upstairs and decide I have to pee again, otherwise I will be up in another half hour wanting to pee.

Or Molly comes trotting upstairs to go to bed, but then she realizes she has forgotten to bring her bone, rabbit, squirrel or hedgehog, so off she trots back downstairs to reappear another five minutes later. 

We have wood floors and with her nails she clatters around like a cart horse.

So now that she has settled I turn over just in time for dh to start snoring and his legs to start leaping around (restless leg)

Luckily by this time I am worn out and I do finally get off to sleep............I am worn out just reading this!!

Is your bedtime routine as bad?