Life With Junior

September 8, 2009 by

This weekend was awesome. And jam-packed with fun and frivolity. Okay maybe not the latter, but fun nonetheless. (I really just wanted to say frivolity.)

Saturday was about errands and visiting Mom. So we got up Saturday morning, I made my list, and then we headed to what the kiddo refers to as “the big Walmart”. And the absolute second we stepped a toe into the store, he started in with the fact that he didn’t get a Transformers toy for his birthday and he really wanted one and could he please get one? To which I answered a big fat NO.

Hey, I’m not that mean, usually. But, you see, his birthday party was the next day. No way was I going to buy him more toys when he was going to get more for his birthday. Yes, I know his party was a week late. But I couldn’t see sending birthday invitations to school the first week. And so, alas, I delayed things. So I had a pouty kid for about 10 seconds into the trip when I told him very firmly if he didn’t knock it off, he could forget about having a birthday party. Period.

Okay, so I was in no mood to drag a sour-faced kid around the store for the next two hours.

Yes, you read that right. It took me two, long, life-sucking hours to grocery shop. By the time I got home, I was ready to slash my wrists. :D

And, by the way, the temps were in the mid-90s all weekend. I’m sick of sweating my ass off everywhere I go! Come on, Cool Front!

Anyway. Got home, unloaded the groceries, fed the kid lunch and then decided to hell with getting party favors. I’ll get them at the place the next day. So we packed up and headed to Mom’s for the rest of the day. We stuffed ourselves silly with brisket (yum) and beans and lots of other yummy food. I was completely full and miserable the rest of the night. And the kiddo got more birthday presents from his aunt and uncle and his Grammy. He was happy. I was happy. Good times.

Sunday started with chores. Then we went to the game place for the birthday party where 12 boys showed up. And can I just say boys are completely rowdy? Yes, it was chaos. My objective was to feed them, open presents, and eat cup cakes as quickly as possible so I could release them into the wild. And release then I did, armed with $5 game cards and one free attraction. They scattered. I ran out to the car with all the gifts (oh, yeah, he made out like a bandit too) and then I was stuck in the game place for the next… two hours. My life seems to be revolving around the two hour time slot. Oh and I spaced and FORGOT the durn goodie bags. Ah well.

I came home exhausted and the kid came home happy. He tore into all his presents. He made a giant mess. There were cardboard boxes and directions and itty bitty guns everywhere. Enough to drive a sane Mom to the brink. So while I was trying to cook dinner (because I refused to eat that cardboard pizza), I think I heard “Mom” about a thousand times. So much so I think I’m ready to NOT be called Mom again. I think I heard “MOM” more in the last three days than in the last eight years of his life. Man said the cat was going to start calling me Mom.

Yes, that’s how much he said it. Mom, this and Mom, that. Hey, don’t get me wrong. I love being Mom. But Mom was tired and Mom wanted some dinner and a martini. ;) And Mom crashed early, too.

Monday. Cook-out day. Man forbid me to do anything regarding dinner. I wasn’t even allowed to step foot into the kitchen. The Earth moved. The Angels wept. Somewhere in the distance, I heard the Hallelujah chorus. :D Talk about a woman’s dream come true! Sure. I’ll let you cook. You go right ahead. He even did the dishes. Gotta love a man who cooks and cleans. And yes, I’m keeping him.

Anyway, did some plotting on the new book that morning with CP. I finally have a direction and I completely forgot about using the 20 Master Plots book I have. Duh. Jotted down lots of notes and I’m going to start working on the GMC now. I have an idea and I have a big picture idea – but I needed something for this book. I’m thinking trilogy at least.

While Man prepped in the kitchen, I tackled the kid’s room. I figured I needed a task to keep me busy or I’d be in his way and he’d get mad. And BOY was the kid’s room a disaster area. I made the kiddo help, too. We made piles of things in the hallway: Keep, Trash, Donate. He was pretty good about getting rid of his ”younger” toys but I suspect he had a hard time parting with some of them. But I told him – everyone needs to purge every now and then. I just got rid of clothes I hadn’t worn in 15 years. And that felt great. And now it was time to clean up and organize.

I even moved his furniture around to change it up. I’ve discovered the bunk beds HAVE to go. And the sooner the better. They’re blocking the AC vent and the ceiling fan and the kid sweats at night. TIME TO GO. BUH-BYE. The only catch is I have to get some other things paid off before I can spend more money. Where is that money tree when I need it? :) I’m hoping we can hold out until January for a new bed.

I managed to get all his toy tubs in the closet (a big one for big toys, one for Legos only, one for action figures, etc.). And gave him a little more floor space to play in. Plus I finally found a new home for the chest so it’s not in the way of the closet doors. His room is small – only 10 x 10 – so it’s a challenge with furniture placement. And I don’t want his bed by the window AT ALL.

Dinner. It was fantastic. Burgers were awesome; hot dogs rocked. And yes, I stuffed myself silly. Again. But I wasn’t miserable like I could have been. I forced myself to stop. Even though I really wanted another chili dog. :D

Afterward we watched The Mummy because I hadn’t seen it before and Man picked it up for $7.50. Fun flick! And even the kiddo enjoyed it. And by the time that was over, the evening/weekend was done. Another one for the record books. Another Labor Day over with.

And today – it’s back to work and back to school. Another busy week ahead. I swear I think this was a marathon post like the weekend. ;)

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend and a smashing holiday!

Filed Under: Dusty Tome, Life With Man, Mom & Son Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Adventures in Motherhood and Writing

April 24, 2009 by

This is been a … weird week. On Tuesday, the kiddo was complaining of an ear ache. Plus he had bad sinuses and a slight fever. So he stayed home from school and it was off to the doctor we went. He has another ear infection and we got ear drops, antiobiotic, nose spray. Yeah. Um…$45 later… I got him home and pumped him full of Motrin, then fed him and made him take his ear drops. That was NOT fun. He refused and I was Mean Mommy and sat on him to make it happen. Yes, I did. Then I made him take the antibiotic and shoot his nose with the nasal spray and THEN I gave him Claritin. I pumped him full.

By the time Wednesday came around and I picked him up from his grandparents, he was feeling about a thousand times better. And it showed. He spilled his Coke all over the dinner table, leaving a sticky mess and then announcing that, “Uh, MOM! We have a problem.” So I cleaned that up. By that time, it was his bath time. I ran the bath and he got in with the explicit instructions NOT to splash.

Well, about 30 seconds later, I hear all this slashing and open the door to find the floor underwater. sigh Three bath towels later (and I had kicked him out of the tub), I’d reached my limit. It was time for him to be in BED. I think he was out in 2.3 seconds.

When I got up Thursday morning, the cat had decided to puke in three differernt places in the living room.Yeah. I so wanted to clean THAT up first thing in the morning. And it was DES-GUST-ING, too. I was :shock:  

That afternoon was soccer practice and since I’m trying to finish my revision in ONE WEEK, I thought I’d dust off the AlphaSmart and take it with me. I felt SO smart. I even printed off my pages for the latest chapter I was working on. I get to soccer practice and sit in the car, breaking out Alphie, punching the ON button and… nothing. Nada. Zilch. The batteries are dead. Crap. So I open up the back and find… the batteries are corroded! Double crap!

So I get out my trust ink pen and start to scribble the newest scene I want to write on the back of one of the pages. I’ll just write in longhand, I think. That won’t be so bad! It’ll be novel and… CRAP! The pen ran out of ink!

ARGH!

I threw it in the backseat and look longingly at my paper with the scribble along the back. I see the scene in my head so vividly and it’s driving me crazy I can’t write it down. I pick up the Alphie and use an old pair of sunglasses to pry out the disgusting batteries and – luckily – have an empty sandwich bag in the car to put them in. I have a package of On The Go Wipes and use that to clean out the battery acid (very carefully). I put that in the baggie. I sit and wait until soccer practice is over.

We get home and Man is already there mowing the yard (YAY!). I cook breakfast for dinner – eggs, bacon, sausage. I make the kid do his homework then put him in the tub and finally it’s time for him to go to bed. I put in new batteries in the Alphie and sat down on the couch while Man read his book and wrote and wrote and wrote. I wrote 1250. And you know why? Because I wasn’t distracted by the Internet, Twitter, Facebook or email. It felt SO good to write those words and get them out on paper. Tonight I’m going to work on the scene some more.

That is, of course, if no one spills or pukes on the carpet.

Happy Friday!

Filed Under: Cat-Cat, Dusty Tome, Mom & Son Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Not So Fast, Spring

March 28, 2009 by

Old Man Winter is back today and he’s ticked off. He’s kicked Lady Spring right out with his blustery cold winds and frigid temps. And let me tell you…it is BRUTAL out there.

Had soccer pictures this morning at 11 am and then a game this afternoon at 1:30. This morning, waiting outside in the cold for the pictures to commence was…painful. I thought just wearing my heavy coat would suffice but the wind cut right through that. And the poor kiddo! As soon as we walked outside, he said, “My legs are cold!” Thank goodness the picture thing didn’t last that long. We got home and had a warm lunch.

The game…another story. I wore thermals, jeans, my thick socks and hiking boots (my feet were toasty!). I wore a long sleeved shirt, a pull-over fleece and my heavy coat with a fleece lining as well as my hat and gloves. I even took a blanket. And it was still frigging cold.

For the kiddo, I put long pants on him, his soccer shorts over that. Then I found a turtleneck shirt and put that on him. Then layered that with his zip-up fleece jacket. Then his jersey. I put a hat on him to cover his ears and then he wore his heavy coat to and from the field.

COLD. So cold. His poor hands were ice cubes by the time the game was over. But the ref was super – he knew we were all freezing, so he kept the game going. And we won, 4-2.

Got home and had a pot of coffee waiting for me. MmMm. And the laundry is all done! I’m going to try and take it easy tomorrow.

Still working on the contest. I have some entries still out. And two of the judges haven’t responded at all. Hm.

Filed Under: Dusty Tome Tagged With: , , ,

Writing and Stuff

March 5, 2009 by

I want to thank Devon for being my guest here yesterday. I’m a huge fan of her work – and you should be, too! The winner of HEX BREAKER is Marie-Claude Bourque. Congrats!

I took the comments on switching WIPs to heart. I’ve stuck with Phoenix all week and have made it through chapter five. I’ve been trying to beef up the story and fix glaring errors. I’m thoroughly enjoying this world and I’ve grown quite fond of Elena and Cassius. I think it would do them a disservice to stop working on their story this week. Next week I’m going to try and work on Delilah’s story, though she’s really not stomping her feet and demanding it yet.

I also want to thank those who stopped by Selena Blake’s blog the other day to leave comments. It’s nice that my story about stepping outside the comfort zone rang with so many of you. There’s still time to leave a comment or two, if you want to stop by. Just click here.

I have three monthly blog posts I need to get written, one for sure this week (due Monday). I haven’t decided what the topic will be yet so I need to get on that and get it posted. I have a little bit of time left for the other two.

Found out yesterday, too, that I volunteered to judge for TWO categories of the same contest. I guess I need to keep better notes in the future on that. Now I have NINE more entries to read. Thankfully I have at least a month to read them all and get them done. I think my head needs a break from judging, so I’m allowing myself to do that over the next week or so.

Devon – regarding my son and his behavioral problems. Yes, I totally agree with you. His dad and I both think he’s bored in class because it’s all so easy for him. The teacher didn’t seem to think so. We missed the testing for the advanced classes, but we’re going to try and get him tested next year. It’s in October of the school year. We try to challenge him at home with math and reading.

Whatever his dad said to him on Monday night – and maybe what I said to him, too – seems to have worked. He’s been an angel in school this week. I have a lovely surprise for him, too. Spring Break is a little more than a week away, so I plan to go pick up my nephew who is a year older than him for a few days. It’s going to be a blast! I’m going to use that fully to my advantage – do good in school and Cousin Z gets to come. Do bad, and I call it all off.

The Well-Fed Writer should arrive today. I’m looking forward to reading that. Plus, I’ve been reading my book on query letters and it’s been insightful into freelancing for me. I’ve learned a lot and had a few light bulb moments. I love those. Don’t you? I still have a lot of researching and planning to do if I’m going to make this happen. Determination and Perseverance are two of the most important elements to get there. I know I have both of those.

Filed Under: Dusty Tome, Other Blogging Activities Tagged With: , , , ,

The Big Reveal

March 3, 2009 by

Be sure to come back tomorrow! I have a special guest and I’m doing a giveaway!

Also! I’m a guest over at Selena Blake’s blog about kissing and, well, other things. Check that out here.

LOOK at my beautiful cover! Isn’t gorgeous?? I’m so thrilled! I love it. (Click on it to see a bigger, better, hotter version.)

I finished final edits on Take Me I’m Yours last night. It’s off to get onto the publication schedule. I should hear something in the near future. I have to say, the edits were rather painless, despite my moments of feeling like the book was a pile of dung. I think it actually turned out very good. I hope readers enjoy their story as much as I do.

And just as I was typng the email to the editor to send it off, my phone rang. Apparently, my child has decided to go back to his old tricks of playing in school instead of working. sigh His dad was not a happy camper and I can’t say that I blame him. So the kiddo was in some serious trouble last night. When he got on the phone with me, he was clearly upset, saying his stomach hurt and he felt sick. I quickly squelched that with a, “Oh, you are not. You’re just upset because you got into trouble.” Which was true.

Twenty minutes later and a very long talk with the kiddo, he was feeling a little better, though not chipper at all. He knows he’s in trouble. He knows he’s screwing up. Yet he continues to do it over and over again. We have both talked to him until we’re blue in the face, taken things away from him, punished him, etc. Nothing seems to get through to him.

So, last night on the phone I told him that he had to be responsible and do what was expected of him. Then I gave him an example of what would happen if Mom or Dad didn’t do their work. I explained in detail that we would not have a house, or a car, or clothes, or food. I asked him if he wanted to live in the street, to which he quickly said NO. Of course not. So I told him – if he continued on this path, he would (a) fail second grade (which is horseshit becuase of this no child left behind crap – I’m sorry, I just don’t believe in it but I figure he doesn’t know that and I’ll use that to put the fear into him); (b) all his friend’s would leave him behind in 2nd grade; (c) he would grow up to be lazy and no one would like him.

Okay, so that was probably mean but what else could I do? Maybe that will get through to him. I don’t know. We’ll see how today goes.

All I know is… I’m getting my tubes tied. One is ENOUGH! :D

But back to writing… I emailed off the final edits. Then I worked on an article I’m doing for the chapter newsletter about gadgets for writer’s. And THEN I worked on edits for Phoenix. I realized the beginning needed some more description and help. That was about all my poor brain could take.

I’m going to have to get myself on some sort of rotation schedule because I want to edit Phoenix and also work on Delilah’s story. I’m thinking about trying alternating days – Phoenix on M-W-F and Delilah on Tu-Th-Sa. Take Sunday off to catch up with Everything Else. I don’t know yet if that’s a good plan or not. But I’m going to try it this week and see what happens. Maybe it will help me have better focus.

Last night, I ordered The Well-Fed Writer from Amazon so it should be on the way soon. Hooray!

I have one more contest entry to read and then I’m done with that contest. Received four more for another contest. I’m going to try and knock them all out this week. Then I don’t have to think about them anymore.

Filed Under: Dusty Tome, Mom & Son Tagged With: , , , ,

Yay! It’s Friday!

February 20, 2009 by

I’m blogging today (I know – AGAIN, you say?) at Samhain. My post will be up at 3 pm, entitled Plotting The Michelle Way. Check it out if you get a chance and THANK YOU for all your continued support. :)

It’s Friday! Always a great day of the week. I’ve got the kid this weekend, which is always fun, and tomorrow is my mommy’s birthday. We’re headed out to her house for barbeque chicken, potato salad, pasta salad, garlic bread and fun. Man has agreed to contribute toward the gift, so I’m going to order a nice flower arrangement from a local florist.

The kiddo has been quite funny lately. I bought him this children’s dictionary and he finds great fun in looking up words. Plus, it’s chockfull of pictures and all kinds of cool fun facts in the back. He was reading the dictionary the other night at the table while Man worked. He comment was, “Only your kid would like reading the dictionary.” HA! It’s true, though. My child is a lot like me, which could be scary to the rest of the world. ;)

Since the kiddo has had some troubles at school (he tends to lose focus and HM I wonder where he gets THAT?) so the ex and I have been really trying hard to keep him on track. The ex taught him what procrastination means and I taught him what concentration means. Yesterday morning as we got ready for school, I reminded him what those words mean. I said, “Don’t procrastinate but DO concentrate!” Maybe that will help.

I also gave the ex the Cub Scouts information – they meet on Monday nights – so he said he’d get in contact with them since that’s his day. I get soccer days (Thursday – and I nearly froze to death last night). I think Scouts will help the kiddo get his head out of the clouds some and back to Earth. Maybe he’ll get that focus back. Plus, I think it’ll be really good for him and his dad to spend some quality time together that doesn’t involve, you know, shooting things. Hehe

And in other news… I’ve decided to go for it. I’m going to take the plunge and do the query-go-round and see what I get out of it. Probably a stack of rejections. :) But I figured I’ll just give it a try and see what happens. Couldn’t hurt, right? All they can say is no, RIGHT?

Okay, so I’m researching agents and starting to compile my list. I’ve even written a draft of a query letter but I want to research more in-depth to see what these folks rep before I just shoot off 23409 query letters. I want to get personal. (Okay, not TOO personal. I’m not a stalker after all.) And I have to admit, I have this little tingle of excitement. Which will probably turn into the tingle of depression, but hey! You don’t know until you try! So. I’m going to try.

Hold me. I’m scared.

Just kidding. I’m shooting to have the edits done and ready to go by March 1. I hope I can get it done but I have 10 contest entries to read between now and March15. And a friend’s WIP.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend.

Filed Under: Dusty Tome, Other Blogging Activities Tagged With: , , , , ,

Close but no Cigar

February 12, 2009 by

Worked on Rome last night and inched ever so closer to the end. Why is it the end seems to take the longest? So I’m still close to the end but … not … quite … there. The word meter moved! I’m just over 60K and I think it’ll be about 62K before I’m done. Of course, that changes every time I start to write a scene. Elena has a lot on her mind. ;)

Booked my flight for Nationals. I’m surprised the airfare is so reasonable. I really expected it to be $200 more than it is but YAY! I’ll take it.

Picked up the kiddo. I had forgotten to take anything out for dinner to thaw, so instead we had breakfast for dinner. Sausage, bacon, eggs and orange juice. Of course, it gave me horrendous indigestion later but hey it was good! The kiddo was very happy to have breakfast for dinner. He asked if we could have it again next week.  I’ve never seen a kid so gung-ho on eggs (I hated them as a kid!) but he digs them. Soft boiled and scrambled are his eggs of choice.

After “brinner” he did his homework and I did yoga. It felt really good to stretch last night. The body needed it. I worked hard, too, and nearly broke out into a sweat.

Put the kiddo in the tub and waxed the eyebrows. It’s not as painful as it sounds. No, really.

And that was about it for the evening. Not much going on. We took it easy. I’m closer to finishing Rome, though, and that’s all I care about at the moment. :)

Filed Under: Dusty Tome, Mom & Son Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Sometimes…

February 5, 2009 by

Sometimes…I wonder if it’s worth getting up in the morning.

There is construction on the floor above my office. The smell was paint fumes (and they failed to notify the management company they were painting). It was still there all day yesterday. By the afternoon, I felt lightheaded and just generally crappy. The computer was hard to focus on, too. I knew I should have stayed home.

The kiddo is having some behavioral problems at school. They are so bad, the Assistant Principal has noticed. He is, apparently, acting up in PE and the lunchroom, not doing his work, and daydreaming in class. I’ve contacted the teacher and set up a conference with her for Monday afternoon. I notified his father he should probably also attend. I would have had the conference this week, but his dad is on a ski trip which he was too chicken to tell me about. Instead, I find out about it from my son. Those are some great communication skills, I’ll tell ya.

When I got my new computer, I let the kiddo have the old one to do homework and play games. Well, of course he’s managed to trash it by downloading games and screensavers and what-not. So since he’s having problems at school, I have forbid him to get on the computer, play the Wii or the Gameboy. He is henceforth grounded from all games until he straightens up. I’m boxing up the Wii and Man is coming to get the computer to take in to fix.

Since the kiddo has been asking to join Cub Scouts, I started looking into that. I contacted the district manager and talked about it with him. He sent me information on local packs and I’ve got a call into one of the pack leaders. I think Scouts will be perfect for him and probably give him the discipline he needs with school, too. I can only do so much myself. Sometimes I feel totally alone. Plus, I really need to get back to church with him. I haven’t gone since the Christmas Eve services.

And another bombshell dropped in my lap yesterday, too. It’s not a situation I’m happy about, but I’m dealing with it.

And this too shall pass…

I did somehow manage to get all the contest entries ready to distribute. So help me, they are going out by Friday if it kills me. And then I’m GOING TO FINISH ROME AND NO ONE CAN STOP ME.

:D

Filed Under: Dusty Tome, Mom & Son Tagged With: , , ,

Odds and Ends

January 22, 2009 by

So… raise your hand if you watched LOST last night. It was…in a word… AWESOME. This season is totally going to rock. And the really big question is this: Is Locke really dead? Hmm…

I just love Daniel Faraday. Mr. Cuse and Mr. Lindelof, you two BETTER NOT KILL HIM OFF. Okay?!?

Got the kiddo last night and we had a nice evening together. He likes his new dictionary and kept asking what the meaning of words were. When he did, we’d pick up the dictionary and look it up together. He wanted to know what mischief and solitary meant. I said mischief should have a picture of him under it for the definition. He kinda giggled at that.

He’s still reading Harry Potter, too. He even bragged on himself this evening: “Mom, isn’t it impressive I’m reading Harry Potter all by myself?” Yes, dear. It is. Shortly before that, he was playing his Hot Wheels game and shouting, at the computer, “You want a piece of me!” and “Come on! Let’s do this!” It was cracking me up.

I gotta say… I love having the DVR. I can just pause it and then skip the commercials. I got to watch the entire premiere and even though the kiddo interrupted me a hundred times, it didn’t bother me because I knew I could just rewind. I don’t know how I lived without it before. LOL

Okay that’s it for me. Short entry today.

Oh and YES! I wrote!

Filed Under: Dusty Tome, Mom & Son Tagged With: , ,

Fast Weekend

October 20, 2008 by

I can’t believe how fast the weekend flew by. We were so busy!

Friday I picked up the kiddo from school and then we hung out. Went to Blockbuster and rented movies and a game and then got pizza from Little Ceasars. I let the kiddo stay up a little late and play his Wii game.

Saturday, I made pancakes from scratch for breakfast and then it was soccer time (I need a shirt that says Soccer Mom). The boys played really hard and really well – and won! Then it was back home for a late lunch and some resting. More Wii. That afternoon, we headed to the Fall Festival at school. Kiddo spent his 25 tickets fairly quickly. He did manage to win some tickets to redeem. He got: a spikey ball with squishy stuff in it, a flying saucer with goop in it (I sense a theme…), and a whoopee cushion (I think that’s his favorite). He did the whoopee cushion all the way home from the school and cracked up each time.

sigh

Boys.

We had Sonic for dinner. Yes, I was a lazy Mom this weekend on the cooking front. Mostly because I was out of everything and didn’t have time to get to the store.

That evening, the kiddo and I carved a pumpkin together. It came out smashingly well, if I do say so myself. (See post: What I did on Saturday night…)

Sunday, I got up early, cooked cinnamon rolls and put a pot roast in the crock pot for all day cooking (that’s the BEST). Then we headed to church. It ran a little longer than usual. Got home at 1 and had another late lunch and then headed back to the soccer field for his 3 pm game. Got home closer to 5. He played on the computer and I caught up with the DVR while the washer and dryer was going.

By Sunday night, I STILL needed to get to the store and I STILL hadn’t made it. I guess that means I’ll be shopping tonight. Oof.

This afternoon, kiddo has an eye appointment. Tomorrow I have an appointment in the afternoon. Wednesday morning I’m volunteering at the book fair at school. And Friday I’m headed out of town for the weekend. I am SO looking forward to that.

This is going to be a super hectic week. I will need the downtime for sure this weekend. Plus I’m preparing for NaNo. Lots of stuff to read and critique between now and then not to mention the research I need to get done.

And that’s it for me. I’m off to work and school. Happy Monday!

Filed Under: Dusty Tome, Mom & Son Tagged With: , ,