I did it...
Look over there to see my awesome little badge. ;)
More later...
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving...
Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!
So many things for which to be thankful... my wonderful husband, my awesome kids, my home (although it's not so clean right now), my family, and my amazing friends... and right now, I'm thankful that November is almost done. ;-) ...Current word count: 46,074 words
I love all of you- and I'm very thankful that you're a part of my life.
Hugs!
Staci
So many things for which to be thankful... my wonderful husband, my awesome kids, my home (although it's not so clean right now), my family, and my amazing friends... and right now, I'm thankful that November is almost done. ;-) ...Current word count: 46,074 words
I love all of you- and I'm very thankful that you're a part of my life.
Hugs!
Staci
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Getting closer...
Current word count: 41,785 words
:D
:D
:D
:D
:D
(those are big smiles! yep, definitely smiling big... I'm in the homestretch now.)
:D
:D
:D
:D
:D
(those are big smiles! yep, definitely smiling big... I'm in the homestretch now.)
Monday, November 24, 2008
Oh boy... 'you're-in' trouble!!
Today was a day I was longing for diapers. Doesn’t happen very often, but when Libby and I walked out of Target today and finally got back to the van, she decided she needed to 'go potty right now, Mommy!!’ Oh man, what I wouldn’t have given for a Pamper... or a Pull-up...or heck, even a patch of grass.
Now, I don’t know if you’ve looked at a calendar lately, but Christmas is just a month away (I know, makes me a little light-headed just to say it), and we were aaaallll the way at the end of the Target parking lot. Evidently other people have decided to knock out some of that pesky Christmas shopping, and weren’t just there for a nail buffer and chocolate. We were parked so far away, we were practically OUT of the parking lot, at that point (I think the actual latitude and longitude were ‘BFE’).
“Mommy, Mommy, I have to go NOW!” Of course, she couldn’t have gone when we were in the Target bathroom, which was WHILE WE WERE IN THE STORE JUST FIVE MINUTES AGO. I even asked, as all good mommies usually remember to do, “Do you need to go potty?” (yet another word that has sadly become a routine part of my vocabulary… i.e. ‘Phil, could you stop at the next rest area? I need to go potty.’ Seriously…) Of course she didn't need to use the bathroom, but decided that she DID need to wash her hands. For approximately 6 to 7 minutes.
Nope, she needs to go NOW, when the store is so far away, all I can make out when I look at it is that little red and white target on the side of the building. Egad! So, I quickly get her out of her carseat, and grab her hand to start the long trek back into the store. Well that won’t do… “Mommy I have to go NOW!! I’m gonna pee-pee in my pants!” I ask you…what’s a mommy to do?!
Well, I don’t know about you, but I resigned myself to standing next to my van, holding my child by the arms, so she could squat to pee in the parking lot. (Okay now, no comments from my college pals about, ‘like mother, like daughter’, mmmm-kay?! No one would believe that anyway… ahem ;-)
I kept looking around, whispering frantically, ‘Hurry up!’, as if I expected someone to come along and say… say what? Oh, I don’t know. Maybe something along the lines of… ‘Omigod! This lady’s letting her kid urinate in the parking lot! Security! Call Child Protective Services!’
No, today was not my most shining ‘motherhood moment’.
Makes me think… maybe I was little premature in taking the little potty out of the back of the van. Makes me think… maybe I need to be more insistent when we’re in the bathroom, that she needs to at least try to go.
Makes me think… I’m DEFINITELY throwing out these flip-flops.
Now, I don’t know if you’ve looked at a calendar lately, but Christmas is just a month away (I know, makes me a little light-headed just to say it), and we were aaaallll the way at the end of the Target parking lot. Evidently other people have decided to knock out some of that pesky Christmas shopping, and weren’t just there for a nail buffer and chocolate. We were parked so far away, we were practically OUT of the parking lot, at that point (I think the actual latitude and longitude were ‘BFE’).
“Mommy, Mommy, I have to go NOW!” Of course, she couldn’t have gone when we were in the Target bathroom, which was WHILE WE WERE IN THE STORE JUST FIVE MINUTES AGO. I even asked, as all good mommies usually remember to do, “Do you need to go potty?” (yet another word that has sadly become a routine part of my vocabulary… i.e. ‘Phil, could you stop at the next rest area? I need to go potty.’ Seriously…) Of course she didn't need to use the bathroom, but decided that she DID need to wash her hands. For approximately 6 to 7 minutes.
Nope, she needs to go NOW, when the store is so far away, all I can make out when I look at it is that little red and white target on the side of the building. Egad! So, I quickly get her out of her carseat, and grab her hand to start the long trek back into the store. Well that won’t do… “Mommy I have to go NOW!! I’m gonna pee-pee in my pants!” I ask you…what’s a mommy to do?!
Well, I don’t know about you, but I resigned myself to standing next to my van, holding my child by the arms, so she could squat to pee in the parking lot. (Okay now, no comments from my college pals about, ‘like mother, like daughter’, mmmm-kay?! No one would believe that anyway… ahem ;-)
I kept looking around, whispering frantically, ‘Hurry up!’, as if I expected someone to come along and say… say what? Oh, I don’t know. Maybe something along the lines of… ‘Omigod! This lady’s letting her kid urinate in the parking lot! Security! Call Child Protective Services!’
No, today was not my most shining ‘motherhood moment’.
Makes me think… maybe I was little premature in taking the little potty out of the back of the van. Makes me think… maybe I need to be more insistent when we’re in the bathroom, that she needs to at least try to go.
Makes me think… I’m DEFINITELY throwing out these flip-flops.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Give me a U-P-D-A-T-E! (Shaking pompoms...)
Hard to believe, my friends, but this is the last week of the crazy 'write a novel in one month' journey I've been taking. A week from today, I will hopefully be getting my numbers verified on the nanowrimo website, at which point, I will be officially declared a 'winner'. Okay, no, you don't actually win anything, except for bragging rights.
I'll be able to say that I wrote a novel in a month. And trust me, I plan to say that alot. ;-) Plus, if I decide to re-visit the madness next November, I'll have a neat little badge next to my name on the website.
My current word count is... drum roll, please... 38,525 words. I'm on track to get to 50,000 by Saturday, which will leave Sunday for me to get ready for Libby's birthday party and making the Daisy Duck cake that she wants. How does that saying go? Is it 'no rest for the weary?' or 'no rest for the wicked?' Either way... there's no rest.
My novel will NOT be finished at 50,000 words, I'm almost certain, as I appear to be especially 'wordy'...which of course, you all knew. But I will attempt to write through to the conclusion of the story, and I can just go back and fill in later. That is the suggestion on the website, and I think its a valid one. What do I know? This is my first novel, and they've been doing this for awhile. At this point, I'll take all the suggestions I can get. ;-)
My reading team is doing a great job of keeping me motivated, and the e-mails saying, "Next chapter, please!!" give me hope that I'm weaving together a story for someone other than myself.
This is really a lot harder than I thought it would be, which I guess is why so many people kick off the month with great intentions, but so few actually finish. 1700 words a day doesn't sound that difficult when you say it out loud, but when you consider that it's 1700 fresh, brand new words that I have to pull out of my head everyday, forming them into dialogue, description, and plot development, it's a bigger challenge than I had initially thought.
But I will finish. And I will continue to love it. And I think I might have finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up. ;-)
I'll be able to say that I wrote a novel in a month. And trust me, I plan to say that alot. ;-) Plus, if I decide to re-visit the madness next November, I'll have a neat little badge next to my name on the website.
My current word count is... drum roll, please... 38,525 words. I'm on track to get to 50,000 by Saturday, which will leave Sunday for me to get ready for Libby's birthday party and making the Daisy Duck cake that she wants. How does that saying go? Is it 'no rest for the weary?' or 'no rest for the wicked?' Either way... there's no rest.
My novel will NOT be finished at 50,000 words, I'm almost certain, as I appear to be especially 'wordy'...which of course, you all knew. But I will attempt to write through to the conclusion of the story, and I can just go back and fill in later. That is the suggestion on the website, and I think its a valid one. What do I know? This is my first novel, and they've been doing this for awhile. At this point, I'll take all the suggestions I can get. ;-)
My reading team is doing a great job of keeping me motivated, and the e-mails saying, "Next chapter, please!!" give me hope that I'm weaving together a story for someone other than myself.
This is really a lot harder than I thought it would be, which I guess is why so many people kick off the month with great intentions, but so few actually finish. 1700 words a day doesn't sound that difficult when you say it out loud, but when you consider that it's 1700 fresh, brand new words that I have to pull out of my head everyday, forming them into dialogue, description, and plot development, it's a bigger challenge than I had initially thought.
But I will finish. And I will continue to love it. And I think I might have finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up. ;-)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
A Flub with the Sub
Current Wordcount: 33,424
My phone rang this morning at around 8:15. The caller ID listed the kids’ school, and as always when this happens, I began to wonder who has a fever, or who threw up, and I picture my day starting to re-arrange itself and whatever plans have been made, to take care of a sick kiddo. And you know as well as I do that those plans have now been altered to include a few extra loads of laundry if the culprit is a stomach bug. In my head, I begin to plan a quick trip to HEB to pick up an extra bottle of kids’ Motrin, and 7-Up… all this before I even pick up the phone. Phil always says I assume the worst… I say I’m a realist.
So, when I hear my 1st grade son’s voice, “Hi Mommy,” I immediately panic, and say “What’s wrong?!” Usually when one of the kids is sick, it’s our sweet little school nurse with the apologetic voice who is calling.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong? Why are you calling?”
Silence.
For some reason, I start to imagine that he is hiding somewhere in the school, in an empty classroom or closet, and just decided to give me a quick buzz to let me know that even though the principal, his teacher, and half the fire department are ransacking the school searching for him, that he’s okay and just wanted to say ‘Hi!’
“Honey, where are you? What's wrong?!! Are you sick?” As it turns out, nobody was sick. Nobody was hiding. Nobody was doing anything…
...other than having to call Mommy to tell me that he had to sign the ‘Behavior Book’ when he had a substitute for his class. Not once, but twice. Keep in mind that if we had one of these books at home, this is the child that would have to sign it everyday… heck, we’d probably have to just attach it to his belt loop, so he didn’t miss a step when he signed it, yet again. But he very rarely misbehaves in school. In his teacher’s words, he’s very ‘happy-go-lucky’… who knew?!
So, I will absolutely take this seriously, and he will receive consequences, but I also have to admit that part of me is thinking… “It’s a substitute teacher, Staci. Everybody misbehaves a little for the sub.” (Okay, well maybe not Josie. SHE’S the kid that reports back to the teacher when she gets back, and has the list of offenders written on a piece of notebook paper in her desk... and the list is alphabetized.)
I just always kind of had that expectation back in the olden days when I was a teacher. Kids aren't always on their best behavior for substitute teachers. And the longer the sub is there, the more likely kids are to misbehave. And evidently Day #3 with the substitute just put it over the top for my kid. I guess what I'm saying is that I've decided to just take it all with a grain of salt. And I think his teacher feels the same way, but still felt obligated to have all the ‘guilty parties’ call their parents (oh yes, she assured me that he was definitely not alone in his antics). And I am very glad she had him call and take responsibility for his actions.
So now the question…what is a fitting punishment for throwing food on the floor of the cafeteria? Losing a toy? Being grounded? I’ve thought long and hard about this, and I think I’ve come to a workable solution that will help him learn his lesson.
He will be mopping our kitchen floor tonight. Sounds fair, right? It will hopefully remind him that someone has to clean up the cafeteria, and that throwing food on the floor is not only wasteful, but makes someone else’s job harder.
And maybe if I play my cards right, he’ll have to sign the Behavior Book next week, too. ;-)
My phone rang this morning at around 8:15. The caller ID listed the kids’ school, and as always when this happens, I began to wonder who has a fever, or who threw up, and I picture my day starting to re-arrange itself and whatever plans have been made, to take care of a sick kiddo. And you know as well as I do that those plans have now been altered to include a few extra loads of laundry if the culprit is a stomach bug. In my head, I begin to plan a quick trip to HEB to pick up an extra bottle of kids’ Motrin, and 7-Up… all this before I even pick up the phone. Phil always says I assume the worst… I say I’m a realist.
So, when I hear my 1st grade son’s voice, “Hi Mommy,” I immediately panic, and say “What’s wrong?!” Usually when one of the kids is sick, it’s our sweet little school nurse with the apologetic voice who is calling.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong? Why are you calling?”
Silence.
For some reason, I start to imagine that he is hiding somewhere in the school, in an empty classroom or closet, and just decided to give me a quick buzz to let me know that even though the principal, his teacher, and half the fire department are ransacking the school searching for him, that he’s okay and just wanted to say ‘Hi!’
“Honey, where are you? What's wrong?!! Are you sick?” As it turns out, nobody was sick. Nobody was hiding. Nobody was doing anything…
...other than having to call Mommy to tell me that he had to sign the ‘Behavior Book’ when he had a substitute for his class. Not once, but twice. Keep in mind that if we had one of these books at home, this is the child that would have to sign it everyday… heck, we’d probably have to just attach it to his belt loop, so he didn’t miss a step when he signed it, yet again. But he very rarely misbehaves in school. In his teacher’s words, he’s very ‘happy-go-lucky’… who knew?!
So, I will absolutely take this seriously, and he will receive consequences, but I also have to admit that part of me is thinking… “It’s a substitute teacher, Staci. Everybody misbehaves a little for the sub.” (Okay, well maybe not Josie. SHE’S the kid that reports back to the teacher when she gets back, and has the list of offenders written on a piece of notebook paper in her desk... and the list is alphabetized.)
I just always kind of had that expectation back in the olden days when I was a teacher. Kids aren't always on their best behavior for substitute teachers. And the longer the sub is there, the more likely kids are to misbehave. And evidently Day #3 with the substitute just put it over the top for my kid. I guess what I'm saying is that I've decided to just take it all with a grain of salt. And I think his teacher feels the same way, but still felt obligated to have all the ‘guilty parties’ call their parents (oh yes, she assured me that he was definitely not alone in his antics). And I am very glad she had him call and take responsibility for his actions.
So now the question…what is a fitting punishment for throwing food on the floor of the cafeteria? Losing a toy? Being grounded? I’ve thought long and hard about this, and I think I’ve come to a workable solution that will help him learn his lesson.
He will be mopping our kitchen floor tonight. Sounds fair, right? It will hopefully remind him that someone has to clean up the cafeteria, and that throwing food on the floor is not only wasteful, but makes someone else’s job harder.
And maybe if I play my cards right, he’ll have to sign the Behavior Book next week, too. ;-)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time...
Just about 400 words from 30,000. I am soooooo tired right now, I seriously could just fall asleep sitting at the computlkj;dszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Just about 400 words from 30,000. I am soooooo tired right now, I seriously could just fall asleep sitting at the computlkj;dszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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