Friday, December 16, 2011

Up for a potential sh*t storm.

It’s 5:45 in the morning, and I’m up. Boo. It didn’t mean to, but Chickerdoodles decided that she would be awake. This doesn’t happen very often, and I suppose that I should be grateful for that, but not at the moment.

Usually, I’d just let her fuss away until she settled herself down, but she has been getting her second-year molars, and she’s been fussy and fevery. Not a big deal, but she’s also been filling her diapers with Gusto! Oh yeah, changing her just won’t do; she’s had to be showered. Last Tuesday, “it” made its way down to her foot. I should really be sharing this story at high schools – “Now do you want to wear condoms?” One morning, she got up and she had been in such a condition for a while, and had a diaper rash that looked like a burn. It was down-graded to ‘red’ by the next day, but it was pretty awful for her.

Mostly though, all is well with her. She’s still too young to understand what’s going on with Christmas, but she’ll be pretty excited to unwrap presents, I think. I’ll keep you posted on that. I think that it’s only going to get better as we get to enjoy Christmas through her eyes. Right now though, we’re just re-decorating the tree as she pulls off the ‘treasures’ to run around the house with, and we repair and re-hang them. We usually put up the tree on the first Saturday of December, but it may change to the Monday before Christmas for a few years, since it’s getting maddening. Oh well, in ten days, it will all just be a fridge full of memories.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Another Triumph!

That’s right; I snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, and got my 50 000 words for NaNoWriMo. On Sunday the 27th, I was already behind, and had had a particularly rough day at work. (It was my own fault – I let my energy get sapped by being pissed off at a co-worker.) I got a modest 1000 words that day. I was nearly ready to throw in the towel.

So, on Monday, I really knuckled-down after work and did a record-breaking 2700 words. Then, I had a couple glasses of wine (a writer’s vice if there ever was one), and thought, ‘I’m going to set-up my next scene,’ and got another 450 words done. It was starting to look like something that could be saved!

Tuesday, I usually have Daddy-Daughter-Day, but through the miracle of wife-taking-the-day-off-for-a-doctors-appointment, I was able to get a solid hour of writing in the morning, plus two-hour space between dinner and Bath/Bed procedure, in addition to nap-time, and after Chickerdoodles went to bed, I got a barn-burning, Rip-Snorting, Record-Breaking 4200 words in a day! By Wednesday the 30th, I only had 660 words, and, well, the story kinda tells itself after that.

I really owe this victory to my wife. Not only was she so understanding about the countless hours I stayed up late and got my word count in. She was also my biggest cheer-leader when I wasn’t keeping up, and kept my spirits up when I was feeling defeated by the size of the task.
I’m looking forward to getting back to Blogging now, and getting re-acquainted with you all. Thanks for your patience in my absence.

Before I finish, I have to share a Proud Papa moment. I was sitting on the couch, watching TV with Chickerdoodles on my lap, and I did something kinda loud and rude, as men are wont to do in their homes. She said “Puba!” (Toddler-ese for ‘Kuma’). That’s right, she blamed the dog! It was one of those moments that I dreamed of when I first learned that I was going to be a dad. I spent the next day at work, telling everyone who would listen, and many who wouldn’t. Then, about a week later, she farted, then blamed the dog. It was just as funny the second time.