Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from Luke


aka, the Cutest Little Ninja North of the Rio Grande

Holy Crap, I'm Writing a Novel

In a burst of "Gee, C, you don't have enough on your plate right now, let's add something new" I signed up for NaNoWriMo, otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month. From November 1-30 I'll be attempting to write 1600+ words a day to make it to an eventual goal of 50,000 words and one completed book.

*gulp*

I'm also trying to get some of my more ambitious students involved by offering a full letter grade bump to anyone who manages to finish with 50,000 words. We'll see if anyone takes me up on the challenge.

So wish me luck! I'll post a few updates now and then about how it's going (hopefully well) and maybe an excerpt or two if it goes VERY well.

They put something in the water

Recently Luke decided he was completely and totally obsessed with Elmo. The child hasn't so much as seen an episode of Sesame Street (or Elmo's World) since he was last with our old nanny last spring, yet somehow he not only knows who Elmo is, but he LOVES him.

Juan and I were rather taken aback when Luke started screaming for his one Elmo doll (given to him by said nanny for Christmas last year and promptly ignored for the following 10 months) earlier this month. Where did he learn Elmo's name? We frankly couldn't figure it out since there isn't a TV in his daycare center and we have a fairly strict no TV rule when Luke is awake. They do read Elmo books once in awhile at daycare, but Luke reads a lot of books. He reads books about doggies, books about steam shovels named Mary Ann, books about pigs who sing, and yet none of these books have caused him to go around the house shouting character names at the top of his lungs. Ask him who he loves, though, and he'll be only too happy to tell you, "ELMO!"

I confess, there's part of me that really and truly dislikes this development. I don't want my toddler obsessed with branded characters. I want him to play with a variety of toys and remain blissfully unaware of the Elmo/Dora/Diego/whatever marketing machine until he's at least able to poop on the potty. Still, I can't help but smile at the look of pure joy on his face when he cuddles his Elmo dolls (yes, we bought him another one) because he just doesn't get that look on his face for anything else.

I swear to God, Sesame Street puts something in the water, because there's just no other way to explain how fascinated toddlers (particularly mine) are with Elmo.

We're doing this again? Seriously?

Tonight we signed the papers to list our house for sale. Ugh.

Even though it's been three years, it still feels like we just did this and the thought of keeping the house spotlessly clean 24/7, having random realtors ring our bell at odd hours, and experiencing the frustration of showing after showing that doesn't result in an offer leaves me rather cold. I. Don't. Want. To. Sell. My. House.

It's not even that I'm resisting the move as much as I'm resisting all the crap we have to do in order to get to the place where we can move. Selling the house is really just the tip of the iceberg, and this listing means getting the ball rolling on things like quitting my job, finding a new one, renting a new house, etc...

Anyway, I'm once again soliciting good house selling thoughts. In this market, we're really going to need them.

C and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

1:00 AM: I wake up, WIDE AWAKE with a throbbing sinus headache
3:00 AM: Still awake
4:00 AM: Still awake
5:00 AM: Drift off
5:45 AM: Alarm rings, time to get up
6:00 AM: Luke starts crying, get him from his crib, somehow manage to smear poop all over one of my hands during diaper changing.
7:20 AM: Finally get out of the door, ridiculously late
7:30 AM: Drop Luke off at daycare, he screams bloody murder when I go to leave. Worst dropoff we've had in over a month, I feel horrible and worry that he's getting sick again.
8:10 AM: Finally get to work and find a line of students already forming outside my door because (of course) today is the last day for them to turn in late work before I have to hand in progress report grades.
8:20 AM: The first bell rings, I realize I forgot to put on deodorant and socks today.
8:55 AM: Finally get the students working independently so I can turn my attention to the piles of papers that have magically appeared on this, the last day to turn them in.
8:56 AM: My computer dies. Really dies. Blue Screen of Death Dies.
8:58 AM: IT says to bring it down but they aren't making any promises. Also, I can't have a loaner computer to finish my grading. Sorry.
9:00 AM: My headache returns with a vengeance.
9:15 AM: I call Juan (who's working nights and is thus home, sleeping) and beg him to bring my laptop from home to school so I can enter grades. He got no sleep the night before and doesn't think he's safe to drive. Dammit.
11:30 AM: I get my BFF to cover my study hall so I can leap in the car and race home to get the laptop
12:15 PM: Get halfway back to school with the computer before I realize I forgot the power cord on the kitchen counter. My battery can last around 30 minutes at this point without needing to be plugged in, so I've just made this trip for, essentially, nothing.
12:17 PM: My head really hurts
12:30 PM: Get back to campus, inhale some lunch, greet my next class
1:10 PM: My laptop, predictably, dies.
1:15 PM: A student asks if I'm okay. I seriously consider bursting into tears but decide against it.
2:00 PM: Dismiss my last class, run to the library (tailed by half a dozen students wanting help with late homework) to log onto one of their computers so I can finish grading. Also hoping for some leftover pot luck chocolate cake and/or Diet Coke to make myself feel better.
2:03 PM: No cake, no Coke. No librarian (who I love and wanted to vent to) since she left early. I should have left early today too.
4:00 PM: The final bell rings, I'm maybe a third of the way through my stacks of papers. Realize I'm going to have to come in over the weekend.
4:30 PM: Kick the last of my students out of the library, close up, head home.
4:35 PM: My head REALLY hurts.
5:00 PM: Get home. Luke screams and bursts into tears the second he sees me since he knows that Mama coming home = Daddy leaving soon.
5:20 PM: Luke stops tantruming.
5:23 PM: Juan gets up to leave, Luke starts crying again.
5:30 PM: My head--in case you were wondering--HURTS.