B is for Boy

About a Boy

Born in March
Reader of Fantasy
You make me so proud
Creative and bright
Extra big hugs

The Rejected Peach

I have a bunch of fresh peaches from my parent’s tree. My husband doesn’t like peaches, but my son does. So I thought I’d be able to share  with him. Apparently he only wants peaches from a can. I thought this was due to the skin, but last night I found out the truth.

 

Me: Why don’t you like the peaches?

B: They have butts!

 

Peach Butt

Mixed Bag of Updates

I survived Halloween. B was a pirate. He didn’t care that he didn’t have a hat, or a fancy costume, just a printed shirt from Walmart. This was B’s first time trick-or-treating. He was happy and excited, and that’s what matters. Plus, he had a pumpkin bucket. Pumpkin = B’s favorite thing about fall.

We went to the school carnival on Thursday, then Saturday went trick-or-treating at the mall. My husband and I wore our long, hooded cloaks.  We had no idea how packed the mall would be, and next year will go at the start instead of an hour in. After shuffling around the mall line for treats, B had a decent amount of candy (at least for him).

I’m guessing we missed some visitors during the hour we were gone. Only got one late group of six or so kids. We have LOTS of extra candybars. Mmm, chocolate.

 

Being a weekday writer (less distractions), today is my official NaNoWriMo start. Went to the site this morning, and it logged me out. :-( After being logged in for a month, I have forgotten my password! None of my usuals work, or some of my not so usual combinations, so did a password reset. But with the huge backlog of site emails, it may be another day until I get mine.

Once B is off to school, I will get started. Armed with chocolate for progress rewards, and Mountain Dew Voltage for the slumps. I have a water bottle for my desk and will break every hour to get house stuff done, snack, and move around.

I have 17 days for my writing (after accounting for weekends and holiday). That means I need about 3,000 words on my working days. I’ll post periodic updates in twitter. Wish me luck!

 

And now to get an unusually reluctant child ready for school.

Tuesday Tally and family update

EotF Status

# of queries out: 7

# of fulls out: 0

additional querying on hold

 

T.C. Status

word count: 9,034

 

FwM Status

word count: 5,751

 

Color Poems

complete: 14

min needed for chapbook: 20

 

Previous goals:

• submit poems to Strange Horizons – sent one, working on revisions for a second

 

Goals for this week:

• brainstorm and outline to take advantage of kid free writing time next week
• put up display shelf so I can unpack dragons (one of very few remaining boxes)

 

I wrote down the list of books we need to buy to fill out all our series: 104. That number may go down after we take another hard look at our collections. We have some where it’s only book 2, or we have a couple but the series is really long, and may decide to donate the books rather than buy the rest.

 

B will be in a full day kindergarten class. No more excuses not to write. It might be time to buy a watch again, since I’ll be walking B to and from school. At least my husband can pick up him some days, since work gets off before school. We met B’s teacher yesterday. She seems nice. B came away very excited about school. (Not that he hasn’t been excited prior to the visit…) Over the weekend we made a paper chain to represent how many days until school starts. Each morning after breakfast he cuts off a loop and we count how many are left. I’ve also been showing him on the calendar, so he can practice the days of the week.

 

B has been peeing his pants lately. Waiting until the very last second to run to the bathroom (and not always making it). Hopefully he’ll be back into good potty habits by Monday.

 

Nikki had twins on August 18. Both boys are doing well, but Nikki is not. She needs all the prayers and blessings you can send her way.

Quick Update

In an hour, B and I are leaving for the house with my in-laws. Going to do some painting, and a guy is coming to measure for carpet. We’ve done some fixes, gotten the vents cleaned (much needed!), put in a couple new doors, and painted a formerly Disney-princess-pink-with-purple-trim room. Not much left to do, thank goodness. We’re going to paint the family room, front room, and one of the bathrooms. Other rooms aren’t top priority, and will only be repainted if we have leftover paint. Saturday I was painting doors outside, and got sunburned. Been a while. Not fun. Bringing sunscreen from now on. We’re getting new carpet in the family room (previous owners had three dogs in there), and getting the rest cleaned. Really looking forward to all this pre-work being done, and being able to actually live there!

 

B had his first “monster-under-the-bed” experience. Now added to the bedtime routine are checking under the bed, telling him everything is safe, and leaving the door open.

 

Moving date is May 23. Not much longer! Still have packing to do…

 

Oh, and Happy Mother’s Day to any mothers who read this! My husband bought me a radio/CD player, which I have been wanting. :-)

Tuesday Tally for March

EotF Status

No queries out! Must remedy...

 

T.C. Status

word count: 6,677

 

FwM Status

word count: 2,387

 

Color Poems

complete: 10

min needed for chapbook: 20

 

Previous Goals:  

• more work on synopsis - made a lot of progress  
• write another color poem  - Pink done  
• revise 2 poems
• write Anti-Ubduk poem    

 

Goals for this week:

• finish synopsis so I can get feedback
• write another color poem
• revise 1 poem
• submit a batch of poems

 

General goals over the next couple months (March and April) are to add a minimum of 16,000 words to Trinity Coven, and revise and submit at least one poem a week.

 

There are so many things I want to do, so many groups I want to be a part of. But I have to learn balance. Goals are great, but I'll only get depressed if I overextend myself. Sometimes I need a reality check. Of course, I could also get more done if I procrastinated less.

 

Made good progress on TC yesterday. I have a clear picture of where the next few chapters will be going, so that should help my writing goals.

 

B's birthday is this Sunday. He's already super excited. We let him pick out what type of cake and frosting he wants. It will be a very simple cake. I'm not the expert my mom is. But I think he'll have fun helping me make his cake this year. He'll be turning five years old. He's been saying he's five years old for a few weeks now, LOL. It will be true soon enough. =) We bought him the movie "Scooby Doo Meets Batman" (two of his favorite characters) and a building bridges logic game. Not much, but he's already received two new board games since Christmas. We buy quite a bit for him throughout the year, so it's easy not to go overboard on holidays. I can't believe B will be in Kindergarten next year! My little boy is growing up.

Tuesday Tally, on a subdued note

Last Thursday, my grandma finally passed away. I'm glad she was with us for the holidays. Now she is with her daughter. The funeral was yesterday. The services were beautiful. I loved hearing new stories about her. Two of my sisters and I (accompanied on the piano by a third), sang "Into the West."

 

Into the West, with Lyrics

 

B was good, stayed dry all day despite being in a diaper. He used the toilet at the appropriate breaks rather than interrupting anything. I'm so very proud of him.

 

EotF Status

one chapter still out on submission

will work more on query letter and synopsis, start sending some out next month.

 

T.C. Status

word count: 4,455

 

MiB Status

word count: 857

 

Nothing new written on either story, but outlined the next five chapters for TC, and solidified the antagonist and some other world details for MiB. Alternate title for "Magic is Believing" - "Fly With Me," after a poem of mine. Still have a long time to choose, though. Don't even have the first chapter done yet. Ooh, how would "Fly with me" work as a salutation for Alexa? Too weird?

 

Goals progress moved to sidebar. ---->

GoodReads widget with the books I read this year also added.

One Week to Christmas!

Are you ready?

 

Christmas break also means getting serious with potty training. B will be potty trained before school starts again in January. He seems more ready this time. Hoping it goes well...

 

Shrinking Violets is having a 12 Days of Christmas - Introvert Style. Humorous, and quite applicable. They are also having daily give-aways to go along with it. Lots of fun!

more q's

5,000 Questions... My answers so far...

 

511. Do you believe your government has a file on you somewhere? Of course. How else do I get a Social Security Card? And a State ID card? All those forms go somewhere.

512. What (not who) do you care about? the written word, high speed internet, my teddy bear, keeping warm, "My Own Worst Enemy"

513. What is the worst thing that could possibly happen to you? tortured by a serial killer. if I'm going to die, I want it to be quick.

514. Who or what is really the absolute root and source of all evil? greed and selfishness

515. What do you want to change about the world? people to want to change. and no allergies, as that's something that doesn't mess with free will.

516. Why did you decide to complete this survey? I needed motivation to blog more regularly, and I promised someone I'd blog more about non-writing topics.

517. Has anyone ever led you on? yes

518. What was the last thing you did against your will? went shopping when I felt sick

519. What are your plans for the rest of today? edit a chapter of EotF, use Wii Fit, come up with some form of nutrition for lunch, and do more stuff this afternoon, dinner, and watch Survivor

520. How can you make tomorrow better than today was? still too early in the day to find something to improve on

521. Would you rather date someone 4 feet tall or 9 feet tall? 4 feet. That's only 1'8" difference, rather than over 3'

522. How often do you get jealous? on occasion. not so much of relationships, but of experiences (such as travel)

523. What is the one thing you do that your friends wish you didn't? have unrealistic expectations

524. Do you do any soul searching? yes

525. Do you believe you have a soul? absolutely

526. Would you rather have a child that is more confident or more curious? confident. curiosity leads to accidents and hospital bills. of course, confident children are more likely to voice their curiosity.

527. Are you a slave to love? no. love is a choice

Birthday Tuesday Tally!

EotF Status

prepped to start draft 6 come Dec

 

T.C. Status

word count: 2,893

 

Poems Written

22/30

 

Goals for November

• Poem a Week - definitely met this 
• submit a batch of poetry weekly - on track 
• mail off Blazing Princess again - delayed again. will have to move to next month 

 

Happy Birthday to me! My mom is coming up to take me to lunch and then Gardner Village. (Followed by a not-so-happy, squeezed in at the last minute, just got a notification yesterday that B needs more immunization shots or can't go to preschool next Mon, visit to the clinic.) Then my husband will be fixing me dinner tonight. Most likely pork chops. Mmm.

 

It's quite interesting that as soon as I gave myself permission to only do one poem a week instead of every day, I wrote one anyway. The only two days I've missed were Saturday and Sunday. I was so involved in creating and launching a new group on Writing.com that writing a new poem didn't even cross my mind. The new group is called Frosted Paths. It's for anyone submitting poetry, that we may support each other through the process and help buffer against the pains of rejection. I made the group because I need it, so figured someone else may benefit as well. I saw a need and filled it. There are so many groups for poetry writing or appreciation, but not the submitting part. Which, for me, is the hard on the psyche part.

 

I got comments on the Zalandar chapters, so on to draft six of EotF. Though with the holidays I'll just mark it up this week and get busy on it in Dec. Hopefully I'll be sending it out sometime early next year.

Tuesday Tally - Muse Conf time

EotF Update

total words to date: 94,627

pages: 417

chapters revised: 27/27 (draft 5)

 

T.C. Status

word count: 1471

 

This Months' Goals:

Finish uploading the recent version of EotF to WDC at one or two chapters a day, including the elusive chapter 26, by Oct 11

have a poetry chapbook outlined and other assignments ready for Muse Conf, which starts Oct 13

use latter part of month (20-31) to put all that aside and make progress on TC

to accomplish all of the above, spend at least two hours daily (at least M-F) on writing related activities

 

See that beautiful completed draft five up there? Last Thursday I wasn't feeling well, but I had that deadline, and I got that scene done. Yes, it was hard. Is it any good? I don't know. No one else has read it yet. But it's done. Now I get to ignore it for the rest of the month.

 

Keeping busy with the Muse Conference this week. Learning some good stuff, writing new stuff for assignments, and getting help with some poetry I'm stuck on. I'll definitely be signing up again next year.

 

... P has been here less than five minutes and already the boys are fighting. B wants to play, and P is cranky and tired and just wants to veg. Of course, B doesn't accept that and tries to force P to play with him, which just makes everyone more cranky. Ten minutes until bus time...

 

Alright, I refuse to end on that negative note. One of the workshops this week is on compiling a chapbook. I shared the many topics I cover in my poetry, and my indecision on choosing a good theme. The presenter replied and essentially gave me permission (encouraged even) me to go with the dark theme. I have a lot of poetry that deals with death/abuse/pain/darker emotion. I have an idea for a title, now the next step is target markets. I can't exactly put a chapbook of dark poetry in a pet store or flower shop. Will have to brainstorm.

the morning hour before school

Last school year, B would wake up, eat breakfast, then watch cartoons until time to get ready for school. This year, all the 7:30 am shows are ones he doesn't like to watch. He doesn't need to get ready for school until 8:15, and gets very wired and attention needy during that 45 minutes. It's beginning to get on my nerves. P usually gets here about 8, which distracts B, so it's really half an hour that's problematic.

 

I know he'd love to play on my computer for that time, but I prefer his computer time to be after lunch.

 

Any suggestions for some routine activity I can involve him in during that time? Something that doesn't require much set up or clean up? This would be every morning before school (Monday through Thursday). Any help would be appreciated.

Hello Autumn

+ school starts next week

- will have to wait for the bus

- allergy season

+/- lots of awesome games coming out (too many to get all at release)

+ days and nights getting cooler

+ pretty fall colors

- lots of wind

- lots of tv interruptions by election updates

+ fall tv season begins, with lots of interesting new and returning series

 

Haven't heard from B's bus driver yet. Last year they didn't call until the day before school started, so not too worried. B will be going four days a week instead of two, which is exciting. He has the same teacher as last year, so that should be really good for him. He already knows his numbers 1-9. I've told him that school starts soon and that he'll get to ride the bus. He jumped up and down in excitement.

 

At the end of October, P will be getting a younger sister and I should be getting a couple months off while their mom takes time off work. Yay! That will also mark the beginning of serious potty training take 2.

 

My birthday is also in autumn. I need to update my wish list.

 

What do you like and dislike about the season?

Tuesday Tally plus PT update

EotF Update

total words to date: 90,828

pages: 404

chapters revised: 10/27 (draft 5)

 

T.C. Status

word count: 1471

 

This month's goals:

• finish five antagonist chapters for EotF - 1.5/5 done
• finish EotF draft 5 
• submit at least one batch of poetry
• submit Blazing Princess
• work on Trinity Coven

Last week's goals:

• work on second antagonist chapter
• EotF website mailing

This week's goals:

• finish 2nd ant. ch. and write 3rd
• prep next Fantasy newsletter
• wait in eager anticipation for Friday's listing of contest entries, and comment on at least five other openings once they're up
• write a new poem (for WDC contest)

Potty Training update:

After another attempt, we have determined that B is simply not ready. He does not care if his underwear is wet and soiled if he is busy playing, especially with P here. Over weekends we can get him coming to us if he's wet, or answering yes/no to if he needs to potty, but even that is still hinging around clean up for him, and not prevention. We did try bribes - a new car (displayed where he can see it even) for the first time he poops in the potty, and stickers every time he pees in the potty with a promise of a new game when he completes a sheet of stickers.

 

We will now be waiting until October to try again, when P's mom has her baby and takes time off work. Then we can focus without the backtracking during the week. Hopefully he will be ready then. The only tough thing now is talking him into wearing diapers again. He loves wearing underwear. Sadly, he simply doesn't have the internal incentive to keep them dry. On the plus side, you don't have to read my potty-training whining for three months!

New Month, New Start

We (read I) have decided to put a hold on potty training. Maybe we'll try again next month. B doesn't care enough about soiling his underwear. If he's busy playing, he won't say anything until I notice or ask. The potty has become too synonymous with clean up and has not been used enough for its real purpose.

 

Moving on, I have a few overall goals for the month. I'll probably start up official Tuesday Tally's next week. This month I want to finish those five antagonist chapters for EotF. I have a few poems I want to submit - even have some markets picked out, just need to write cover letters and send them out. I'm going to send out Blazing Princess again, aiming high. Can't get in the top mags if I don't submit to them. I think I'll pull out Trinity Coven again as well. Was looking at the opening for submitting to a contest, and I really do like my characters. I'm excited about it again (not that I ever meant to drop it, just was on the back burner and didn't need the extra pressure).

 

I hope everyone is having a good summer.

Piano! potties... plus philosophy

I got a call from my mom earlier this week. She got me a piano! It's second hand, from an old church building that's going to be torn down. But it's mine. I spent a couple hours measuring and planning for a place to put it, and had it all figured out.... then shared the news with my mother-in-law who asked "How are you getting it in the apartment?" . . . You see, we are on the bottom floor, and after the steps down there's this sharp narrow corner, with really no room to maneuver a piano. Maintenance guys had a hard time getting in our washer and dryer. So, my mom is holding my piano at her house until we get a new place (Thanks Mom!). Hopefully that will happen later this year. Still working out if it will be possible. *crosses fingers*

 

Slow progress on the potty training, but progress none-the-less. He pooped in the toilet for the first time today. Was prompted though. Usually ends up sitting on the potty as a cleanup or pees on the way (don't know how many times I've asked "do you need to potty?" when I know he's dry, and he's wet by the time we get to the bathroom only a short hallway away. is there like a trigger or something??).

 

And, since it's been a while, and B is peeing less frequently, and P took a nap (alas, only an hour), I got some Q's answered.

 

5,000 Questions... My answers so far...

 

317. What are your feelings about the death penalty? This is a toughie. Well, as is most any other controversial issue... You see, I can see both sides of an issue and am easily swayed. Very hard to take an actual stance. Also why I don't vote. The more informed I get about politics and issues, the less I know who/what to vote for. I would be horrible in debate...

318. If there was a god and you could ask him/her one question what would it be? What does He see in me that I don't?

319. Do you believe that life will be found on other planets? I believe there is life on other planets. Will we ever be advanced enough to find each other? I don't know.

320. What is something worth suffering for? Apparently getting a child potty trained... and being a mom in general. But I draw my line with one. Don't want to tip the balance between joy and suffering. Note that this is just me. I have nothing against my mom or siblings with their many children. I personally don't feel emotionally or physically capable of raising two or more. Stretched thin enough just babysitting a second... I'm sure there are other things worth suffering for, but ask me when B is done peeing his pants...

321. If you could put an extra eye on your body anywhere you wanted, where would you put it? Extra eye, eww... The back of my hand, maybe? Then I could aim it just about any direction I want. Much more versatility than the back of the head. Though still creepy.

322. Are you in touch with the earth and nature? Not to the extent I used to be. I miss my long, aimless walks.

323. Would you rather live simply or extravagantly? simply extravagant. seriously.

324. Have you ever been camping? Yes. I remember camping regularly growing up - Family Camp (reunions), Girls Camp (church group), Honeycomb Rock (back in southern Utah). Last time I went camping was Family Camp in August 2004. Me, five-month old B, and my family camping out with aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. My husband doesn't like camping much, so didn't join us.

325. Is your heart open when you meet someone new? I think my heart was way too open. Since being married, not so much. At least not open to love. Open to friendship, yes.

326. Are you able to have conversations with and become friends with people who are not like you and are interested in different things than you are? I don't know. Initial friendships, sure. Long lasting, hasn't really happened yet. Not sure whose side was to blame, if any. Any relationship needs common ground. C.S. Lewis says it well:

Friendship arises out of mere Companionship when two or more of the companions discover that they have in common some insight or interest or even taste which the others do not share and which, till that moment, each believed to be his own unique treasure (or burden). The typical expression of opening Friendship would be something like, 'What? You too? I thought I was the only one.'

 

327. Are strangers more beautiful or frightening to you? Beautiful. It's the interacting part that is frightening, not the people themselves.

328. What stops you from doing everything you want to do? Money stops me from traveling. My own fears stop me from doing other things.

This week's Highlights

There were some moments this week that really stood out (in a good way).

Tuesday, my husband stopped on his way home from work and bought me a gift. Just because. The bear is so soft! The flowers are a dozen roses: 6 red, 5 pink, and one lavender. My husband likes to pick out his own arrangements, and they are always lovely. :-)

 

Yesterday B and I went to the Eccle's Dinosaur Park with my mom and two of my siblings. It was a lot of fun. B liked dinosaur's before, but now he loves them! He is so cute. We heard a lot of "Dinosaur. Rawr." He was very worn out by the end of the day, and didn't even notice scratching up his knee until we got in the car (which since being pointed out, he is "crippled" when he thinks about it. silly boy). At the gift store we bought him a wooden stegosaurus play set, and we got a promotional DVD about the park that B has watched twice since coming home. My mom gave him some dinosaur books, clothes, and pjs before we left. B has spent a lot of time looking at those books today.

 

Here is B looking at the moving dinosaurs inside the museum. See the cute baby triceratops?

 

After getting home, we turned right around and left to eat out with my husband as an early Father's Day celebration. (B and I won't be going anywhere this weekend now that we're back into potty training.) It was a long day, but a good one. Hopefully we will all survive the potty training this next week.

 

An early Happy Father's Day to all dads out there.

Training on Hold

First day potty training went as expected. Lots of laundry and scrubbing floors. He actually peed in the toilet once, so that was a minor success. But the next day B got a cold. :-( As I don't want to duel wield wipes, we are focusing on the nose wiping until he's feeling better. 

Potty-Training Time

We've done a bit with potty training - got B familiar with the seat, taught him the terms, had him sit on it if we knew he needed to go (though still wouldn't till he was off..). Now we're going serious. School is out, he's four years old, can communicate well, and acting ready. We have bought the supplies - lots of little boy underwear (Disney Cars theme for added motivation), have flushable wipes, and bought a better seat for the toilet - padded instead of hard plastic so hopefully he'll sit longer and not get a red ring on his rear. He'll still use disposable training pants for night time, but tomorrow he's moving to underwear for daytime. I expect lots of laundry over the next few weeks. Wish me luck, and feel free to share your own advice/experience.

Holiday weekend and Tuesday Tally

EotF Update

total words to date: 89,234

pages: 396

chapters revised: 20.5/23 (draft 4)

 

T.C. Status

word count: 1471

 

Previous Goals:

• finish editing current chapter of EotF
• figure out what to get my husband for his birthday! - decided, ordered, and shipping today! 

 

New Goals:

• Fantasy newsletter
• EotF website mailing (been putting this off, but now I have something to say)
• finish EotF draft 4

 

Last Saturday my husband surprised me by taking me to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Yay! He had previously arranged with his mom to watch B, and had even ordered tickets online. When does he do these things if I'm always around? Loved the movie. The actors all did a great job. They did well with the aging Indiana Jones, creating some humorous moments. I can totally see Shia as the next-gen Indy. I hope they do more movies. Lots of great action, intriguing story, and even connections to the previous movies. I wish Sean Connery had agreed to be in the film, but they worked it without him. Now I want to go back and watch the first three again! Been way too long.

 

Yesterday we celebrated the holiday by joining a barbeque at my in-laws. It rained on and off during the day, so we ate inside. It was still nice. B actually ate a lot of food, which is normal but unusual for family gatherings (too many distractions). We didn't stay a long time, never do. Neither of us do well with big crowds. Not our thing. I enjoy them, but get worn out much quicker than extroverts who feed off socializing.

 

My husband's birthday is coming up. It took me a long time to find something to get him. Usually I go for movies or music, but I wanted to go out of the norm. We haven't been getting trinket/display type items as they'd just go in storage until we get a house, clothing usually needs to be tried on, and we already have plenty of board and video games we haven't even played. So it was a difficult decision. I found something, but now I have that niggling worry that he won't like it, because it's not one of those guaranteed thumbs-up. *sigh* On the plus side, I didn't also have to think of answers to my mom and mother-in-law for birthday present suggestions, as for once I wasn't asked. I hope his present gets here in time. And that he likes it. *crosses fingers*

 

B. seems to be all done with napping. He has gone almost a week without a full nap. The most we've gotten is him in his bed (or tent) "resting", maybe dozing off and being quiet for 15 minutes, before hearing him talking to himself. At least he's willing to have rest time for about an hour every few days, even if a longer nap is no longer doable. I'm glad he's good at playing by himself and isn't high maintenance during those hours he used to nap. With only two days left of school (tomorrow and next Monday), I'll have to find other ways to get personal time. Hubby may be encouraged to take B down to the playground once a week.