Alexander and the Wonderful, Marvelous, Excellent, Terrific, Ninety Days Book Review

Alexander and the Wonderful, Marvelous, Excellent, Terrific Ninety Days by Judith Viorst was a entertaining book, especially if you remember the children's book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.  The author of the famous children's book wrote a book when her son was grown and had three kids of his own and came to live with her and her husband for 90 days.

The subtitle says it all.  “An almost Completely Honest Account of What Happened to Our Family When Our Youngest Son, His Wife, Their Baby, Their Toddler, and Their Five Year Old Came to Live with Us for Three Months.”  If you have ever had family come and stay with you, this is the book for you to read (especially if they have stayed a long time).

The chapters give the outline of the story:

1.  They’re Here

2. Feeding Frenzy

3. The Resident Grandchildren

4. The Resident Grown-Ups

5. Where Have All the Playpens Gone?

6. Other Voices, Other Rooms

7. They’ve Left

With the power out for over 3 days, this was the book that I went to and it didn’t disappoint.  I finished it quickly even though I had less time to read it.  It is a super fast read with funny stories that you have see happening (mostly because kids are crazy).  I didn’t have the circumstances to move in with my parents or in-laws ever, but most of my family comes to me and stays for an extended stay so I can say that this is clearly an under exaggeration to make sure that the family is still talking to the author after the publishing of this book but funny none the less!! 

Living with more people then normally fits in a space is challenging.  I am a little like the author, sad to admit but I like to be organized.  I might not be the cleanest person in the world but I like things to be put back where they came from and everything has a place.  When I am looking for the spatula and it is not where it goes, I find it months later in a drawer instead of in the canister where it belongs.  Often times, my husband puts things back in the wrong spots too but when I can’t find something then there is only one person to say  “Where did my casserole dish go?”  Only to find that he put it one shelf up….half credit for getting close to the location.  I hate to be a control freak but it is in my nature and although my guests might not think it, I lower my expectations when I have company.  When a toy is back in the wrong toy box, I just relocate later J  I am working on my calmer self but I haven’t really made a lot of progress.

Without fail, something will break or be destroyed.  I know that sometimes sadness seems like anger but I was never angry at others for breaking my things.  For example, my father in law thought that the bottom drawer in my 100 year old stove was a storage drawer so he kindly moved my pampered chef pan to the drawer so it wouldn’t get broken.  Sadly, it was the broiler which was on when the oven was on so we had a gross stinky mess and a really black pampered chef pan.  I threw it out and was a little sad because I loved the pan but moved on to a Henn pan which I loved just as much.  On a later visit, my mother in law put something frozen on the pan and it split.  She was really upset that she broke it but I just threw it out and moved the meal to another pan.  Little did she know that it was the replacement to the last one that was destroyed by her husband J  I had another pan that I now use for most of my quick cooking jobs but just in case anything happens to it, I have a back up in my basement J  It pays to be ready!!

Family is always family and getting over issues is the main subject of the book because no matter what happens during the visit, you are still family.  If you would like a heart warming and funny story of family fun, make sure you check this out at your local library or bookstore.  I look forward to hearing what you think too!!