An ER Ear-ster

Alex spent his first Easter in the hospital.

Alex has had several ear infections since January. We brought him to urgent care last Monday after a very fussy night and found out he had yet another ear infection along with a sinus infection. The doctor put him on Omnicef, a very strong antibiotic, and for a few days Alex seemed to be improving. Thursday Alex was very sensitive to loud sounds at daycare, and they even noticed fluid coming out of his ear. We brought him back to urgent care that night, and the doctor said his ear was improving. So when he had a low-grade fever Saturday, I thought it was teething and kept giving him Tylenol. Unfortunately, the fever got worse in the evening, and at 12:30 a.m., when it still didn't improve despite the Tylenol, we went to ER. According the doctor there, Alex did have another ear infection. Bloodwork showed Alex had an elevated white blood count, and that's why he had to be admitted to the hospital.

The pediatric ward was very quiet, since there was only one other child in the wing. It was nicely decorated, with murals on the walls, a playroom, and a gameroom/gathering room. Alex's room had a fold-out bed so parents could stay in the room, and the staff even brought in lunch and dinner for us. But it still sucked having to be there, especially when it meant we couldn't celebrate Easter with Eugene's family. We did bring Alex his Easter basket, which had a couple of stuffed animals, a couple of books, and a couple of toys. At least he really liked the giant, colorful glowworm. None of us slept well, if at all, while we waited for the doctors in ER. Alex was so overtired he couldn't fall asleep; he screamed no matter what we did. He finally got some sleep in the afternoon, after we carried him around the hospital wing. He also didn't eat very well. His treatment was a pair of intramuscular injections of antibiotics. He got the first one in ER and the second one in the evening, when we were finally discharged. We've spent this afternoon in following up with more doctor visits. Alex may have to have surgery if the ear infections don't clear up, but we're going to try a couple of other things first. I also hope that if spring ever actually arrives, Alex will stop getting sick.

Synopsis Writing and Other Things

I haven't blogged much lately since I was busy with the synopsis writing workshop held through OWW's focus mailing list. If you're not familar with synopses (as I expect most of you are), they're summaries of a novel used to pitch them to agents and editors. They have to sum up an entire novel (which can be over 100,000 words) in just a couple of pages, all while being clear in conveying plot, setting, and character development. No wonder many novelists dread doing them. For this workshop, we started off by reading some "how-to" articles and sample snyopses, then writing one of our own. I wrote one for Thine Own Self, previously known as Lennon's Line. Three people commented on my synopsis. Unfortunately, I got so swamped with work and taking care of Alex (as usual, he's sick) that I haven't had a chance to revise and resubmit my synopsis. I'll probably post it on the OWW workshop once I've revised it.

In other writing news, I'm rewriting the first couple chapters TOS, trying to make my main character more sympathetic. I also signed up for a panel at WisCon, but it'll be a while before I learn if that goes through. Even if it doesn't, I'm participating in a rapid-fire reading with BroadUniverse. Also, the website for the anthology A Firestorm of Dragons is up; this anthology includes one of my short stories. I'll have to post a link to the website when I have more time.

Not much else going on otherwise, just trying to keep up with work and the house and everything else I have to do. I need to split myself into two or more people to get everything done!

Family Party

I'm a little behind reporting on this, since it happened Sunday night. My cousin threw a surprise birthday party for my aunt and uncle. Unfortunately, my parents couldn't make it since my mom is sick. Alex handled it pretty well, given that it interfered with his bedtime. Here are a few pictures:



My uncle and aunt are in the center, flanked by my cousins Sylvia, Ilonka, and Dirk. Sophia, one of my flowergirls, is visible above my aunt's shoulder.














More of the family, including my cousin-in-law and some of my cousin's children.

An Actual Writing Update

Since it's Leap Day, I figure it's a good time to post a little bit about my writing projects. The way things are going this week with Alex teething, it may be another four years before I make any progress.

--I've decided to put my NaNoWriMo novel on hold while I prepare Lennon's Line (the old title; I'm trying to come up with a new one) for submission to agents. There are too many projects I want to work on, so I figure I should start with the one closest to being done. Besides, I'm getting a bit frustated with the NaNoWriMo novel and need some time away from it. What I really need to do is go back and reread it from the beginning, but I'm dreading that. I do need to make sure I go back to this project eventually; I put too much effort in it and got too far in it to give it up completely.

--The other main thing I'm working on right now is editing a friend's novel. I work on both of these projects at lunch, which I guess is more productive than poker.

--As part of working on Lennon's Line, I'm writing a synopsis for it. This is good timing, as OWW is starting a workshop on writing synopses next month.

--WisCon has put up the programming participant signup sheet on its website. There are a few panels I'd like to be on, so I need to sign up in the next week or two.

--I'm debating what to do about my Locus subscription. I don't have time to read it anymore, but at the same time I feel like it's unprofessional to stop my subscription. Maybe I can just skim the magazine or read the website more frequently.


And now off to do something that won't occur again for another four years: relax.

Detour

If we named snowstorms the way we do hurricanes, we'd probably be at least in the middle of the alphabet by now. (I don't know exactly how many it's been, but it's been way too many for my tastes. When does spring arrive again?) Last night we had yet another snowstorm. It wasn't as bad as originally forecasted, but it made driving messy this morning.

After getting me ready for work and Alex ready for daycare, I set off around my usual time. I drove slowly, the way I always do post-snow. As I made my way to the street leading to the highway, I noticed the cars in front of me were going more slowly than normal. When I got up to the intersection, there was a police officer directing traffic, beckoning me to go straight. Of course, that didn't fit with my iternary, and I started to make my turn. That's when I realized the street was blocked off. I couldn't see why, other than the street being covered with snow. So I obeyed the officer and drove forward, trying to figure out what to do. Part of me wanted to turn around and go home, but I didn't want to miss too many days of work. Since I had to cross a river to get to work, there was only one alternate route, and that was over local streets, going south instead of north.

As before, I drove slowly, slowly enough to annoy the people behind me, I'm sure. While I was at a red light, I called work and let them know why I was delayed. The roads improved once I got to the street leading to daycare. At this point, I was about fifteen minutes late for work. I got in half an hour late, but my boss was understanding about it.

The sun came out mid-morning, and the streets were clear after work. I had thought about trying to call someone to find out if the street was still blocked, but I figured whatever had caused the problem had probably been taken care of, and it had been. I'm still not sure what it was, but it could be flooding. Water tends to accumulate on the exit to the highway. As annoying as it was to take a long way to work, it beats having the engine stall out, especially when I have Alex with me.

Museum of Modern Ice

My parents and grandmother came down today to see Alex and our house. My mom hasn't seen it since we moved in; I don't think my grandmother had seen it at all. We met my parents at a local place first for brunch. Alex did all right during the brunch, considering there was a jazz band playing. (We sat at the back of the room so it wouldn't be too loud for him, but the band came around to serenade individual tables and disturbed a younger baby nearby.) Both Alex and the house were a hit.

After my parents left, we decided to take a trip downtown to Millennium Park. They had a special exhibit during the month of February called the Museum of Modern Ice. Basically, there were panes of colored ice embedded in more ice and kept cool on aluminium plates. The exhibit changes with the temperature--not that it's been above freezing for most of the month. This has been the first (and only) weekend we've been able to go with Alex (it's been too cold to have him outside). Although it was sunny and around 40 degrees Farenheit, it was still cold being so close to the lake. Alex fell asleep during the car ride and slept through most of the the time we were at the park. Here are a few photos I took while we were there:

My favorite photography subjects:

The open-air theater/concert venue at the park:

And, of course, the traditional shot of us at the Bean (a.k.a. Cloudgate):

Alex fussed on the way back home, but he was much happier when we stopped to take care of him and have dinner at a Whole Foods. Although there's still a lot we need to do around here, every now and then we need to get out, especially after the brutal winter we've had.

Once in a Red Moon...

We have a total lunar eclipse. It's even more rare that we get a good view of one, so Eugene rented a teleconverter for his camera to take pictures tonight. The nice thing is that we got a good view from our upstairs windows, so we didn't have to go outside in the frigid weather to seen the moon.

The eclipse started around the time I was putting Alex to bed. Eugene got his camera set up on the tripod before he helped me bath Alex. I got to see the start of the eclipse, but I nearly nodded off myself in the nursery, so by the time I put Alex in his crib, the eclipse was nearly complete. Eugene had been taking photos during this time, so I got to see some of the intermediate stages. I did get to see the red moon for myself. We dug out our binoculars, but unfortunately they weren't powerful enough to help me make out Saturn's rings.

I went back and forth with watching the eclipse and uploading some photos of Alex. I considered trying to take my own photos, but since my camera and lenses are less powerful than what Eugene has, I didn't think I'd get good pictures. By the time the eclipse passed its peak, the moon had risen too high for us to see easily from our vantage point. I was content to have seen the total eclipse, though.

Anyway, while I update Alex's blog, feel free to bug Eugene to post some of his photos. It's high time he posts to his own blog. ;)

A Visit With Kristi

My company observes Presidents' Day, which is good since Alex's daycare was closed. So I took Alex, ear infection and all, to visit my friend Kristi. I haven't seen her since the baby shower last year, so I wanted the chance to catch up with her. We met at her parents' house. Her fiance was also there. We discussed her wedding plans and her new house, among other things, while her mother served us lunch. They enjoyed seeing Alex, but unfortunately he's going through stranger anxiety and didn't return the compliment. I'm sure the ear infection was still bothering him a bit. Kristi's family has a lot of young children (I should say, her nieces and nephews), so they're used to babies and were very accomdating to him, even though he cried a lot. At least he fell asleep on the way home and did much better there. It was good to hear him laugh when we played with some of his toys, and he ate really well for me. Hopefully the next time we get together with Kristi, Alex will show he really can be my "smiley boy."

OK Already...

Yes, I'm way overdue for an update. I've been busy with my family and writing--or at least critting other's writing. So here are the highlights of the last couple of weeks, though some of them aren't exactly highlights:

I had yet another flat tire. I don't know why I'm cursed with flat tires; perhaps it has something to do with the roads. The worst part about this flat tire was that it happened on a weeknight, and I didn't discover it until I got to Alex's daycare. (I did notice that I was riding roughly on the way there, though.) So I had to bring him with me while we waited for them to put on a new tire. He was OK at first, but then he got hungry, and I didn't have an extra bottle with me. I felt so bad for him. Now I keep an extra can of formula in the car, just in case. I should put our extra diaper bag in there as well.

I missed my follow-up appointment with the surgeon twice because of the weather. I finally made it in last Friday and got my stitches removed. I'm healing well and should be done with the lifting restrictions by the end of the week. I hope to start working out then as well--Alex permitting, of course. And yes, I'm out of the maternity jeans again. It did take my system a while to adjust to the loss of my gall bladder, but it's better now.

Eugene and I actually got to have a date on Friday after Valentine's Day. Our daycare stayed open longer to give parents some couple time. So Eugene and I had dinner together. We did talk about Alex a little bit, but we weren't on the phone to daycare every fifteen minutes either. We got to the daycare after Alex's normal bedtime. He was still awake but overtired; Eugene had a tough time putting him down for the night.

Speaking of Alex, he has another ear infection. He was unconsolably fussy at daycare a couple of days ago, but we thought at first it was due to teething since he didn't have a fever. But after two fussy fits yesterday that Orajel didn't fix, I did some research and realized ear infections aren't always accompanied by a fever. So we took Alex to an Urgent Care center this morning, and the doctor there confirmed my hunch. Alex gets yet another ten-day course of antibioitcs. I'll be glad when the cold and flu season is finally over. But Alex is sitting up on his own now, and he's taking to eating solids. He hasn't gotten the hang of the sippy cup yet, though. He's trying to crawl; I think he'll figure that out in the next couple of weeks.

Writing: Still going very slowly. I have some ideas for my Season Lord trilogy, so I may dust that off and look it over. But I also need to finish the first draft of the book I'm currently working on, and I'd like to get Lennon's Line ready for submission too. Plus I still have some other projects to crit for other people, so I'll never be done. Story of my life, I guess.

Recovering

Recovering from laparoscopic gallbladder surgery is a lot like being pregnant, right down to the fashions.

That's right, I've been wearing my maternity jeans the last couple of days. I was so bloated from the surgery that my regular ones didn't fit, and the maternity jeans probably put less pressure on one of my incisions (there are four small ones) than the others would. I guess I should be grateful the maternity jeans are too big on me. ;)

It's also a lot harder to bend over or get objects off of the floor, just as it was in my last trimester. If I need to do either of those things, I try to kneel. But I seem to be doing pretty well given that my surgery was less than a week ago. My digestive system is in the process of adjusting, and my side aches off and on, especially if I've been doing stuff, but otherwise I feel all right. I went to a baby shower yesterday for a family friend of Eugene's, and people were surprised I attended. (They played a game in which people had to eat ice cream...without utensils...from a diaper. Yum!) I stayed home today because I had to wait a few days before I could drive. I'm not sure yet if I should go to work tomorrow or stay home and try to rest. (Ha!) I could probably work, but I have to be careful not to push myself too much too soon.

It's a little difficult tending to Alex. Eugene and my dad (who came down today to help me) have been doing most of the lifting. I can hold Alex on my lap, but I have to change how I hold him so he doesn't press against the incisions. I can carry Alex if I need to, but carrying him in the car seat will be awkward. Bathing him is probably out of the question for now.

I go in Friday for a follow-up appointment. Hopefully that will go well, though it will be a while yet before I'm back to my normal routine.

Goodbye Gallbladder

A couple of months after first learning about my gallstones, I finally had my gallbladder removed yesterday. I just got home from the hospital a couple of hours ago.

I had to be at the hospital very early, at 7:00 a.m. Since we weren't sure when Alex would be up, I took a cab to the hospital so Eugene could stay home with our son. (It turned out that Alex was up when I left, but at least this way he didn't have to go out in the cold.) I didn't have to worry about my pedicure at all; they gave me socks to wear for my entire stay, so polish on my toenails wasn't an issue. (They did check my circulation via fingertip, though.) I remember a nurse rolling me down a corridor as I got my knockout dose, and then the next thing I remember was waking up in the Recovery Room. Apparently the surgery itself went well. I have some pictures they took of my gallbladder after they removed it. It turned out that I had lots of little stones in my gallbladder; I counted over 40 of them. Was that a gallbladder or a gizzard? ;) I was still groggy and a bit nauseous most of yesterday afternoon, but by the evening I was able to keep liquids down (though it did take longer to pass them, but I'm sure you don't want me to get into too much detail about that.) By morning, I was able to eat solids and walk around, even though I still had some pain. The whole day became one of waiting for my surgeon to make rounds, which didn't happen until about 4:30. At least she was able to discharge me. I was going through Alex withdrawal. I don't know how much he missed me, but he gave me a big smile when Eugene picked me up.

It's going to be a few more days before I'm able to drive, so I have to take Monday off as well, maybe longer, depending on how I feel. I'm allowed to lift up to 20 pounds, so I will be able to lift Alex once I've healed a bit more. For now, I'm just glad to be home with my family and to no longer worry about my time bomb of an organ.

Writing: A couple of months ago, I mentioned how I'd submitted a funny anecdote about wedding planning to an anthology. Well, it looks like that one is on hold. I have no idea if they will use my piece if they do publish the anthology. At least I've found out that the dragon anthology with my first published short story will be out in May (hopefully in time for WisCon). Time to book a room for the convention and see if I can sign up for programming. I'll also have to talk to the editor to see how to get some anthologies for the con.

Pretty, Cold Feet

Yes, I've been a bad blogger. There hasn't been a lot to blog about; the days have been pretty routine. Get up, take care of Alex, get ready for work, bring Alex to daycare, work, pick him up, play with him/get dinner ready/put Alex to bed, unpack a box or two, relax, go to bed. Rinse, lather, repeat.

Today was different in that I had a spa day scheduled. It was supposed to be on Monday, since I have the day off and daycare is open, but there was a miscommunication when I set up the appointments. Good thing Eugene was able to watch Alex today. The first thing I had scheduled was an eyebrow shaping/facial. I put my clothes--all umpteen layers of them--into a locker and changed into a robe. The facial was nice and relaxing, since it also included some massage. After I was done, I returned to the locker room to put my clothes on before my haircut. Unfortunately, I could only find one sock. I'm not sure what happened; perhaps the missing sock fell into the locker below. I had to leave the other sock off; as wierd as I am, even I don't want to go around with one sock on and one sock off. It didn't matter for my haircut or even my pedicure, since they gave me disposable sandals to wear until the nail polish dried. The pedicure was the last thing I had done, and the polish wasn't dry when I left. So I wound up going outside in very cold weather in bare feet. At least it gave me a good excuse to shop for a while at a store next door to the spa until I could wear my normal shoes. The ironic part about the whole thing? The main reason I got a pedicure was because of the surgery on Thursday; after all, if you're going to have strangers looking at your internal organs while you're unconscious, it's reassuring to have your outside groomed. But despite that, they may have to remove the nail polish to monitor my circulation during the surgery. Ah well, good thing I didn't splurge on a manicure as well.

Writing: My short story is boggin down. Sigh. It started out about one thing but morphed into something else during drafting. That's fine, but now I'm not sure where I'm going with it. I'm putting it to the side for a while to work on my NaMoWriMo novel. At least that's going well for now.

I've been meaning to add a link to another blog for a while now, so I'm going to go ahead and do it. This one is a blog for another local NaMoWriMo writer. I've offered her some feedback on her novel (since she's much faster than I am), and I still need to look at her revised first chapter. I should go do that now....

New House, Same Gallbladder

Lots of news to catch up on.

The biggest news is that we moved into the new house this weekend. A co-worker of mine was kind enough to round up a few of his friends and help us move the furniture. There's still a bunch of small stuff in the kitchen, bathroom, and closets that has to be moved, but Eugene and I have been gradually bringing some of that over after work every day. If we can get some more help, we should be done by this weekend.

So far, the house is still very much decorated in early Cubism (boxes everywhere), but we're working on getting the boxes unpacked too. It makes for a long day, as we can't get much done until Alex goes to bed. But it's so much nicer to have the room and decent appliances. Perhaps decent is an overstatement; we already had to have the kitchen faucet replaced. This was an item we found during inspection; I just didn't expect the faucet to break within a couple days of moving in. Still, we're very happy to be in the house and are enjoying making it our own.

I was supposed to have my gallbladder removed yesterday, but it had to be delayed. I developed (believe it or not) tonsilitis last week but didn't realize it until I went to the Urgent Care clinic on Sunday. (At first I thought it might have been strep throat, but the symptoms didn't seem to match. Then I thought it was just another of my bad colds and was waiting for it to improve. No such luck.) I'm currently on two types of drugs for the tonsilitis, and I'm feeling much, much better. I still have to wait a couple of weeks for the drugs to clear my system so I can have the surgery. It's annoying to wait (I can't even have herbal tea for the next couple of weeks), but at least this gives me time to build up my reserves for the recovery.

Somehow in the middle of all of this I've started a new short story. It's about halfway done; I know how I want to finish it, so I just need to sit down and work on it. If I can post it quickly enough to OWW, I could revise it and send it out during Broad Universe's mailing party at the end of the month. Of course, I can always do it later, but it would be nice to be part of the party.

Speaking of writing, I need to add a link to a friend's blog. Hopefully I can do that once we have phone service.

That's it for now.

My Daemon

Home Again, Home Again

I've been at home with Alex all this week. He has RSV, a respiratory virus that's very contagious, so daycare insisted he not come in for a few days. He started getting sick on Saturday, when he had several coughing fits that led him to lose his bottle a couple of times. We still brought him to Simbang Gabi, a special Mass with Filipino touches at Eugene's family church. Alex started crying shortly after we arrived, so I spent most of the service in the bathroom trying to get him to eat. (I haven't converted and don't plan to, so missing the Mass doesn't bother me.) We noticed later that he was wheezing, and it continued on Sunday. So we brought Alex to the doctor Monday morning, and I've been home with him since.

Despite being sick, Alex has generally been in a good mood. Unfortunately, today he was really fussy; I think it could be due to teething. Hopefully he will get his two front teeth for Christmas! I haven't done too much besides tend and play with Alex and goof off on the computer with a new game. Today, at least I got to go to the grocery store while Eugene stayed home with Alex; it was nice to get out for a while. I also stopped by our house to drop off a few things and check out the paint job. The painters still have to finish a couple of rooms upstairs, but the downstairs looks much better now. I can hardly wait until Saturday, when we have some new furniture delivered. Maybe after that we can accelerate the moving a bit.

Updates

Remember a while back when I posted about my late night trip to the ER and follow-up ultrasound? Well, I finally got to talk to a doctor about the ultrasound. Yes, it's my gall bladder, and they recommend having it removed. So I've scheduled the surgery for January 9th. Let's see if I last that long; I had another attack last night, even worse than the previous ones. I didn't bother going to ER because I didn't want to put Eugene and Alex through another sleepless night like that one--and if I'm going to lie awake for three hours anyway, I may as well do it at home, where I'll be more comfortable. The surgery doesn't sound too bad, though I will have to stay overnight at the hospital. The sad thing is I'm looking forward to that; at least that'll be one night where I won't have to get up between 1 to 3 in the morning to provide Alex with "crib service." Recovery is expected to last up to a month. I won't be allowed to lift anything heavy, which will be a problem when I bring Alex to day care in his car seat.

Finishing up my novel is going more slowly than it did in November. Since we're trying to move and getting ready for Christmas, I'm writing mostly during my lunch hour, and this week I only did it a couple of times. Still, I'm making progress with the plot, as both of my heroines are in a bind. It'll be fun figuring out how to get them out of it.

As for the moving, it's going to take a while yet. At least most of the books are packed. But we still haven't figured out what colors we're going to use.

The Exterior of the House

I couldn't figure out how to blur out the address, so that's why I made the picture smaller than usual. But this should give you an idea of what it's like. Too bad I didn't think to take pictures of the kitchen. Maybe I'll do that once we're all settled.

The Christmas Party That Wasn't

Ever since I started working at my present job, I've been part of the Party Planning Committee. I do it because...well, most of my other co-workers won't. I've helped plan the open house we hosted when we moved to our current location, and I've been a part of planning the Christmas Party (now called the more-PC Annual Company Dinner) for several years.

This year it was going to be a grand affair, with our budget more than what we've spent before. We found a very fancy restaurant (they have baked Alaska on the dessert menu!), reserved a private room, and set up a several-course dinner featuring several different types of appetizers, a choice of entrees, and a dessert platter, with the menu custom-printed for us. We were even going to cover valet parking.

Then...the first winter storm of the season came through the Midwest today.

It took Eugene twice as long to get home as it normally does. Even going to the grocery store with Alex was hazardous (and I don't think he was too excited about experiencing snow for the first time). My parents were planning to come down from Wisconsin to babysit Alex while Eugene and I went to dinner, but obviously that was out of the question. So Eugene said he would stay home with Alex. That left me with a dilemna: should I drive to the party by myself or stay at home? Although I felt guilty about it, I decided it was best to stay home. If the main highway Eugene took home was slick, how bad would local roads be? I felt guilty knowing the fancy dinner would go to waste, though. But then my boss called, checking to see what our plans were. It turned out that only three people would be able to make it, so I doubt the dinner (which was scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m.) went on at all. I'm sure the restaurant will charge us full price anyway; they reserved the room for us, so they won't be able to make any money off of it tonight otherwise. In a way, it's too bad; I doubt we'll be able to reschedule anything. But I have to admit I'm glad to be home with my family, in casual clothes instead of worrying about what to wear (most of my clothes are in storage, so it would have been either a summer dress or black jeans with a nice sweater), baking cookies, copying music to my computer, and just relaxing in general. And I suppose in the long run, it's better for my company if we all show up Monday morning in one piece.

And Our Next Project Is....

Moving into our new house.

That's right; we closed on a house yesterday. (I took off from work early, so I didn't get to write during lunch. Instead, I brought my laptop along and wrote on the way to and from the closing.) We actually had the offer accepted back in October, but we didn't want to say anything until we had the keys in our hands, just in case the deal fell through.

We still need to paint and pack before we can move in, so it's going to be a while yet. In the meantime, here are a few pictures of the interior. (I have a couple of the exterior, but I need to figure out how to cover up the address. BTW, one of the regular readers of this blog will get a kick out of the name of the street. You'll find out more once we send out the new address.)

The foyer.

The family room. This is one of the rooms that needs repainting -- the yellow is much brighter in person!

The loft, where my new office will be.

I Did It!

So much for Writing: Impossible. I, a working mother, wrote just over 50,000 words in a month. I honestly didn't think at the beginning of the month that I would make it, but after the first couple of days when I did meet the daily quota, I became determined to finish despite a couple of unproductive days. It took a lot of effort, but I caught up. The last thousand was a bit tricky because today was so busy; I'll blog about that in a separate entry.

I learned a lot from doing this. I found that lunchtime is a productive time of day for me; I can write over a thousand words then. I learned how to turn off my inner editor and just put words down on paper, even if they're filler or awkwardly phrased. In fact, it's fun in a way to just let loose. At the same time, I also discovered that night time might not be my "write time." My exhaustion catches up to me at night, making it harder to write. There are more online distractions; even more importantly, I want to spend some time with my family instead of being forced to the keyboard to meet quota.

Speaking of family, I'd like to thank Eugene for his support this month. He offered me encouragement and gave me the time at night to write. One Saturday, when I was still a few thousand words off target, he even took off early from the clinic so he could babysit Alex and let me write at the bookstore. Love you lots, hon!

I still have a fair amount to go before I finish my story, and then it's going to need a major self-edit before it's ready for other people to crit. I think I'm going to continue to write on my lunch hour but slow down writing at home. I'd like to spend more time with Eugene. Besides, I have a new project to work on. I'll post about it next....

Christkindlmarket and Counting Down

I've been immersed in working, baby-tending, and writing so much I haven't had much time to blog. Still, I've surfaced every now and then to meet with friends and family. We got to see our friends Adam and Natalie (and their daughter Sarah) last week. It was great seeing you again! (waves) As for Thanksgiving, we celebrated at Eugene's aunt's house. There were a lot of people there, and unfortunately Alex didn't handle the noise well, despite our efforts (and Eugene's parents' efforts) to soothe him. He's also showing more signs of teething these days, such as chewing on things and drooling, so that doesn't help.

Despite all of this, we decided to try taking him downtown today to the annual Christkindlmarket in Chicago. This is becoming a family tradition of ours, so we were looking forward to it. We also thought it would be better to go now, instead of doing it in December when it might be even colder. I brought my camera along, but I only took a couple of pictures, which I haven't uploaded yet. One of the funniest sights was seeing all the pigeons gathered around a fenced-off memorial flame for fallen soldiers. I guess in the winter it serves a dual purpose, though some of the birds got so close to the fire I thought they'd roast themselves.

We stopped at some of our favorite vendors at the market. Eugene bought some pieces for our holiday village (we started collecting them last year), and I bought an embroidered runner for the holiday table. We didn't get any ornaments this year, though. Alex looked around for a while but then started getting fussy, even after I changed his diaper and tried to feed him. He finally fell asleep, which gave us a chance to eat. But we didn't stay too much longer after that. Alex was much happier when he woke up, so we stopped at my in-law's house so they could see him in a good mood. They appreciated the unexpected visit.

Writing Update: I'm over 40,000 words, which means I have less than 10,000 words to go. (To meet the NaNoWriMo goal, not to finish my story. My novels never turn out so short.) I have a lot to do now to start prepping for the holidays, but I think I can make my goal if I push. Wish me luck!

Back on Track!

I've been lagging on my word count for National Novel Writing Month since Day 3. (Between Alex and a party that night, I only wrote 50 words.) Since then, I've been struggling to catch up. Tonight, I finally did:

Target Word Count = 17 * 1667 = 28, 339
Actual Word Count = 28,435 (according to Word; I think the Count Validator for NaNoWriMo gives me a few extra words)

Given everything that's been going on this month, this is incredible. It makes me more determine to reach 50,000 words by November 30th. Hopefully I'll have some extra time to write over the long weekend, even if we have other things scheduled too. May the muse be with me, please!

I'm So Stoned, Duuuude...

I bet anyone who knows me never thought I would say that. (big grin)

After calling the doctor's office a couple of times and spending the last few days at work with my cell phone by my side at all times, I finally heard from my doctor. Well, techincally she didn't speak to me; someone else at the office called me while I was driving home from work tonight. The ultrasound I had on Friday "is consistent with gallstones." They didn't tell me much more than that; they just referred me to another doctor. So I'll call him or her tomorrow and see what's recommended. Maybe they'll be able to break up the stones instead of having to remove my gall bladder. From what I've heard from other people, however, having the gall bladder removed isn't too bad in terms of the surgery or the aftermath. I would have preferred not having two major surgeries in a single year, but you have to do what you have to do.

(Russ, isn't it odd we're both blogging about health issues at the same time? I don't know if I should start feeling middle-aged because of my health or youthful for using technology to discuss it.)

OK, I better get back to writing. Tomorrow is the halfway point for National Novel Writing Month, and I can't quite seem to close the gap between where I am and where I should be.

Still Waiting....

Thanks to all who sent good wishes/thoughts about my abdominal pain. In case you're wondering why I haven't posted an update on the situation, it's because I don't have an official diagnosis yet. I did go to my primary physician last Thursday, and she recommended an ultrasound, which I had Friday morning. Unfortunately, I don't have the results for that yet. I was supposed to get them Tuesday, but even though I called the doctor's office to remind them about it, my doctor didn't get back to me that night. Hopefully she'll call me on my cell later today. In the meantime, I do have medication in case I have another attack. I still feel some pain in that area (and I'm noticing other symptoms having to do with gall bladders), but it's nowhere near as bad as it was last week.

(And in case you're wondering why I'm blogging at 2:30 a.m., it's because I just finished giving Alex a nighttime bottle. He slept through the night a couple of times last week, but now he relapsed into needing a middle-of-the-night bottle. I hope this phase passes quickly!)

Writing Update for NaNoWriMo: I'm still slightly off pace. I should have reached 20,000 words on Monday, but I'm currently at 19,800 or so. It's frustrating because I'm only a couple thousand words behind where I should be; I should be able to catch up. I would catch up if I could write as well at home as I do on my lunch break. All I can do is keep at it.

The News You've Missed...

Personal news from me, that is, since I've been writing instead of blogging.

Actually, I did very little writing on Saturday. Alex was doing his usual weekend routine of resisting a rest during the day, and that night we attended a birthday party for Eugene's cousin. Alex had a bit of a meltdown from fatigue, but even so, many of Eugene's relatives wanted to see him. Eugene's mom held Alex while he napped so we could eat and socialize.

Alex was again fussy Sunday afternoon, when we celebrated my grandmother's birthday at a Polish buffet. I have some pictures from that, but I haven't uploaded them yet. I did get to see my cousins again. Although they're not that far away, we haven't gotten together since the wedding or shortly afterwards.

On Monday, we lost power during the day. Alex's daycare lost power first; I got a call from them saying I might have to pick him up if they couldn't get it fixed. A few minutes after that, we lost power at work too. Luckily, the power was restored fairly quickly.

Unfortunately, I have to end with some not-so-good news. I wound up in the ER last night with abdominal pain. It started shortly before I went to bed and just kept getting worse until I woke up Eugene. (Alex was already up.) I felt bad about doing that, but it was necessary, and Eugene reassured me about that. The three of us checked in around 2:00 a.m. and stayed until 5:00 a.m. The pain got better, but my bloodwork came back showing signs of a possible gall bladder problem. I'm going to see my regular doctor tomorrow to follow up. Too bad I forgot to bring the lab results with me when I was discharged, as that may mean they'll have to repeat it (which I can deal with) or delay further tests. Maybe the doctor's office can get the results faxed over.

And Russ, I'm a day or so behind schedule with my writing challenge. I should be at 11,667 words by now, but I'll be lucky to break 10,000 tonight. Maybe this weekend will be better for writing, maybe not. I'll just have to do the best I can.

So Far, So Good

I started National Novel Writing Month today (I blogged about it earlier). I actually started at 2:00 a.m., since Alex woke me up and I didn't get back to sleep right away. I also brought my computer to work and wrote during lunch, then I got another hour or so in after Alex went to bed. So far, I have over 1,800 words. I need to average 1,667 per day to complete this challenge, so let's hope I can keep it up.

As for writing like this, I'm forced to think less about what I put down and just focus on getting words on the screen. I'm writing a lot of cliches and repeating some words; this first draft is going to be too raw for OWW. But maybe this is a good way of learning how to write more quickly. I 'm sure this draft will need a lot of revision, as many of the scenes will be made up on the spur of the moment. The main thing is to finish the draft, though. Wish me luck that I can keep up this pace.

Misled

It's not often that I get to leave the lab for other work-related duties, but today I did. Last week, I received an e-mail about a free seminar about managing your chemical inventory. It sounded like it might be useful, so I got permission from my boss to register, then obtained directions from Mapquest. The seminar was being held in a special science and technology complex in Skokie, near where Eugene grew up. Unfortunately, the exact address for the complex wasn't available from Mapquest; they gave me instead a range of numbers similar to that address. I printed out the directions anyway, then showed them to Eugene. He knew of the complex and thought the directions would work. He also pointed out to me that I would have to take one of the Chicago exits off of the highway (detour due to construction). Lovely; between that and the commute during morning rush hour, I started to dread this trip.

Eugene had to leave extra-early this morning, so he did as much as possible (e.g., prepare bottles for day care, fill out the sheet) to help me before he left. Alex wound up sleeping in; I had to rouse him to change him for day care. He wasn't ready to eat before we left, so, feeling guilty, I left him an extra bottle for breakfast. Then I got on the highway.

The highway portion of the journey wasn't as bad as I feared; traffic moved along steadily, and even though it was sunny, the sun didn't cause delays either for east-bound traffic. Even getting off of the highway wasn't bad, and I didn't have to venture into the city itself. In fact, it was easy to follow the directions, and I was on time--until they led me to a community college. I knew that couldn't be the place, so I tried driving around it to see if the street continued on the other side. No such luck. I drove around a bit more and came across the vet clinic where Eugene's dad works. I pulled in, thinking to get directions from my father-in-law. But he wasn't in; the clinic was closed until Halloween.

By this time I was late. I called Eugene at work and on his cell, then explained the situation. He gave me other directions to the complex, but that didn't work out either. I knew I had to be close, though, as I could see some industrial buildings in the area. Finally I pulled into a parking lot and walked around until I found the right address. I was about 40 minutes late by the time I found the seminar. At least there was still time for tea and cookies.

As for the seminar itself? It was essentially a sales pitch for a software/scanner combination. You can print out labels with barcodes for your chemicals and then track them with the handheld scanner. It seems like a neat setup, but it's too expensive for our small lab. Ah well, maybe I'll get some ideas for something we can do on our own.

Still Sick

It's been nearly three weeks (I think) since Alex and I got sick. We're both still congested, though I think I'm worse off than he is. I'm also beginning to wonder if I have a sinus infection. I have a headache that won't quit no matter how much Tylenol I down. Other people have it worse, I know, but this cold or whatever it is is pretty bad. If it's not better by tomorrow, I'll have to call the doctor.

Speaking of being sick, we almost didn't get to go up to Madison this weekend for our annual early Thanksgiving get-together with college friends. Alex had a slight fever Friday night. Luckily, we were able to bring it down with medicine, and since he was acting normally Saturday morning, we decided to go. We stopped first at a local pumpkin farm to meet with some other local families from a forum we belong to. Here's a photo of Eugene with Alex in his Halloween costume:

Alex handled the car ride up to Madison pretty well. He slept for the first part of the journey. We did have to stop and change him, but that didn't delay us too much. We went straight to the church where the dinner was being held. As always, there was a lot of food and a lot of fun. The kids, of course, provided most of the entertainment. As new parents, we spent most of the time sharing our experiences with the other parents in our group. We've definitely moved on to a new phase in our lives. Alex was quite vocal at times, and not in a good way. I think all the noise was too much for him. We gave him a bath when we got to the hotel, since baths seem to soothe him. We stayed in a nice suite complete with a microwave and mini-refrigerator for Alex's needs.

Sunday morning we had brunch with the gang before heading back. (The weather was too bad for going around campus. I guess we'll have to wait for next year to show it to Alex.) We visited my parents on the way back.

There isn't too much else to add, especially since I've been going to bed early for the last couple of nights. I did find this site which has some links to some cool videos on YouTube:

http://www.ready-set-bumbo.com/

And you can watch one of the videos here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=j5dPMtuZsCw

National Novel Writing Month

In case anyone needs proof I'm crazy, this is it.

I just signed up for National Novel Writing Month. If you haven't heard of this before, the idea is to write 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November. You're allowed to come up with notes and an outline beforehand, but you can't start writing the actual novel until November 1st. In order to meet the word quota, you have to average about 1,667 words a day. I'm lucky to make 300 words a day, and that was before Alex. If I get even a fraction of the way to the goal, I'll be amazed. But the idea behind NaNoWriMo (as it's abbreviated) is to focus on quantity, not quality. I'll need to change the way I write in order to make quota. Also, I'll have to bring my laptop to work and write on my lunch hour--something I told myself I'd do but haven't so far. Whether I succeed or not, at least this will give me some motivation to get writing again. I haven't done anything for a while (it's hard with a baby), and I feel the need to write. Besides, this gives me a good reason to stretch myself and work on something different from Paul Harrison or my Season Lords.

I probably shouldn't say too much about what I'm working on, but it's a fantasy novel, and the tentative title is Only an Owl. I'll be using the rest of this month for research and outlining.

Wish me luck with this new endeavor, and if I don't post much during November, you'll know why--I'll be saving my words for my story.

Not Really Turned On Again

Last night was the Genesis concert. (I blogged about getting tickets for this show back in...oh, I don't remember what month it was. My memory is as sharp as a damp sponge these days.) It was at the United Center downtown, so it was a big pain getting there. Although Eugene got home early enough to pick up Alex, traffic for me was pretty heavy, even though I left right at 5:00. Then we had to pack up everything Alex needed and bring him over to Eugene's parents so they could watch him. Again, local traffic was heavy, and we got there later than we planned. We rushed through setting up the Pack-n-Play for Alex and giving the grandparents last-minutes instructions, then we dashed off for the concert. We worried on the way in that we'd be really late, but luckily the traffic wasn't too bad. We did have to grab dinner at the United Center, since we didn't have time to get some decent food elsewhere. I did have pizza--something I've been looking forward to since giving up dairy in July (we thought Alex might be allergic to milk protein, but so far he seems OK), but this was a disappointment. Ah well, I can always make my own za.

Anyway, we did make it to our seats in time for the official start of the concert, which was of course delayed. We had a decent view; we were on the first level. Still, it was much easier to see the band on the screens.

Phil had some decent interaction with the crowd; from time to time, he brought out a digital camera to take pictures of the audience. The music sounded good, but for some reason I didn't get into it as much as I did the first time I saw Genesis fifteen years ago. Part of it probably was being exhausted and sick and still wound up from dashing all around. Part of it too was thinking about our son and wondering how he was doing; both Eugene and I had our cell phones clenched in our hands, waiting for them to vibrate. And perhaps part of it was not being familiar enough with the early Genesis songs. They played a bunch I didn't recognize, and I waited in vain for "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway." But even some of the songs I like, like "Domino," didn't get a strong reaction from the crowd. (Of course, we did have fun watching the drunks dance.) There were some good points, such as the drum duet between Phil and Chester Thompson. And I did get to hear one of my favorites, "Invisible Touch." But although Eugene and I did need the chance to have some couple time, I don't think we got our money's worth. Good thing we didn't pay for floor seating.

By the time we got home with Alex, it was about 1:00 a.m. (And yes, he still woke up in the middle of the night.) Gotta wonder how I made it through the day without caffiene.

P.S. Alex is still sick, but he seems to be doing better. His teacher at daycare said he was in a happy mood today, and his cough seems to be improving. Eugene picked up a humidifer for the nursery; hopefully that will help clear up his congestion.

First Cold

Alex and I are sick.

I first noticed it Thursday morning around midnight, when I fed Alex. I noticed he was breathing heavily but thought he didn't have the bottle nipple positioned correctly. But then at the next feeding, Eugene noticed the congested breathing and coughing too. The breathing seemed better when it was time for me to leave for work, so I brought Alex to daycare. At work, I called the doctor's office and on their advice took him in. He doesn't have a fever or an ear infection (though when they cleaned his ears he cried much longer than he did for his shots), so that's good. The doctor recommended against medicating him at this age, so we're just treating him with a vaporizer and chest rub. Alex is quieter than normal, but he still smiles and wants to play. I feel for him when he coughs and sounds congested, but all we can do is comfort him and tough it out. He'll have many more colds and illnesses, I'm sure.

As for me, I hope Alex doesn't have my symptoms, which include a headache, chills, and a sore throat. I'm not sure who gave it to whom, but hopefully the antibodies in my milk will help him recover faster.

We were planning to go to Lynfred Winery's Octoberfest this weekend, but with Alex being sick, we'll just have to forego it this year. He's too young for a stein anyway. ;) But it is a shame being sick on one of the last nice weekends of the season.

Overdue Update

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I've been meaning to blog for a few days now, but it's been hard to find the time. Alex doesn't go to sleep until 8:30 or 9:00, and some nights we don't get to have dinner until after that. So there's not much free time here. Last Thursday, as I was tele-experimenting and doing household chores, I thought to myself that I'm living the life of a Victorian housemaid. I've read somewhere that they would work from 5:00 a.m. to midnight. It hasn't been quite that bad for me, but only by a few hours. Hopefully things will get easier as Alex gets older (or gets better about falling asleep when he needs it).

It hasn't been all work and no play, however. Yesterday we went to a friend's baby shower in Chicago. Alex went too, of course, and he and two other babies were the stars of the show. Eugene made his (well, Paula Deen's) mile-high apple pie. It calls for two dozen apples, but he could only fit twenty of them into the bowl he used to stack the apple layers. What a shame. ;) After the shower, we visited Millennium Park and took pictures of Alex by the Bean. Here's a shot:
























Today we ran a couple of errands (such as spoiling Alex with toys and new clothes at Babies R Us) and visited Eugene's family. While we were there, Alex grabbed a set of toy keys and waved it around. It's always cool to see him do something new.

Writing: I haven't done much, but I've thought of a new opening for Lennon's Line (I mean, Thine Own Self.) I like the new first line; it's the rest of the paragraph that's eluding me.

I Still Exist...

At least, I think I do. ;)

I've survived two weeks of being a working mom. The mornings are hectic, as Eugene and I take care of Alex and get all the things he needs for daycare ready. Then I have to hurry off to the daycare to drop him off. He cries in the car, but most of the time he settles down once we get there.

In some ways, it's nice to be back at work. It's stimulating, and I get to pump and have a full lunch hour all to myself without worrying about Alex. Not much has changed over the summer, though there are now four people in the lab. (The summer intern decided to stay on longer.) This means we have to be more formal about reporting on our projects, and we're also having lab meetings--with treats! I keep busy, but I still think about Alex when I have a chance.

The evenings have become...interesting. Alex smiles at me when I pick him up, and he seems to be doing well at the daycare. But once he gets home, it doesn't take him long to start fussing, and he does it off and on until he goes down for the night (around 8:00-8:30). I think he may be overtired, but he forces himself to stay awake to be with Mommy and Daddy. It's nice to know he wants to be with us, but he needs his sleep. The problem is getting him to sleep on his own--and to stay asleep once we put him in the crib. Alex naps well at daycare, but he won't nap on the weekends, and he's definitely overtired. I'm afraid we'll have to resort to letting him "cry it out" so he learns to sleep on his own. In the meantime, we don't get to eat until after Alex sleeps, so it makes for a long evening.

Although the past couple of weekends have been gorgeous, we haven't been able to do much because of Alex's fussiness. Hopefully we'll be able to help him get over that. And no, I haven't done any writing either, not even during my lunch hour. I'm too drained to write, anyway. Probably the best thing to do is wait this out and remind myself it'll get better eventually.

Labor Day Weekend

It was a pretty busy weekend for us. Eugene took Saturday off, so he had all three days free, which was nice.

We spent most of Saturday baking an apple pie. Actually, I should say Eugene did, as he did about 99% of the work while I took care of Alex and did a couple of other things. Eugene tried a new recipe this time, one from Paula Deen that required twenty-four apples. He wound up using only twenty, but it still was a monster pie. In order to stack up the Tower of Apples, he layered thin slices of apples in a stainless steel bowl, which he then inverted over the pie crust. After it was done, he coated the top with carmel sauce and pecans. All of this and the strusel (?) filling made for one delicious pie.

So what was the reason for Eugene making a mountain of pie? One of our friends was celebrating her birthday Saturday night. We met her and several other people at a bowling alley. We brought Alex along as well. In retrospect we should have had my parents come down to babysit, as this bowling alley doubled as a club complete with music that was TOO DAMN LOUD. Call me old school--call me old even--but when I get together with people, I like to be able to hear them without having to shout. Alex tolerated it better than I expected as long as someone was holding him. Eugene kindly took charge of him so I could bowl. I used to bowl once a week with some of my co-workers at my previous job, but that was five years ago. I started the night with a scoreless frame, but I ended up with scores of 69 for the first game and 112 for the second. Ironically enough, I did better after ordering the Gutterball cocktail. For Alex's sake, we wound up leaving early.

Sunday afternoon we went to the Chicago Botanic Garden briefly, but again Alex wasn't quite up for it. We fed him, but he still fussed until we got back to the car, where he fell asleep. It was just as well we left a little early, as we had plans to get together with a couple we'd met in our birthing class. (See my Babies in Stereo post from earlier.) We grilled dinner and talked babies for several hours. It was nice seeing them again, and we may get together with them again later this month.

Today, after doing some chores around the apartment, we visited Eugene's parents and had another grillout. They hadn't seen Alex since the christening, so naturally he was the star. He was fussy again, but this time it seemed more related to hunger and to doing tummy time. (Alex gets frustrated when I put him on his stomach. It's supposed to help him develop his neck and arm muscles, but he screams more than he lifts his head.) At least he fell asleep (hopefully) for the night when we arrived home.

This is a bittersweet day for me; tomorrow I go back to work and put Alex in daycare. It's going to be a bit strange being on a regular schedule again after three months away. Of course, I'll also be undergoing "Alex withdrawl." It's a shame I have to spend so much time away from him just when he's really starting to notice things. I think ultimately we'll all be fine, but it'll be an adjustment for all three of us.

Baby Shower

Today Eugene, Alex, and I went to a surprise baby shower for my cousin's wife, Gina. This will be their second child, a boy (and possible play partner for Alex). The shower was held at my aunt and uncle's house. Although the weather was gorgeous, the house is next to a set of train tracks. As we opened gifts outside, trains kept passing by.

Gina's oldest child is a girl, so she needed boy clothes. She received plenty of them. We gave her a set of onesies, two bath towels, a pack of washcloths, some baby shampoo/body wash, and a pair of baby mittens I crocheted myself.

Alex was a center of attention throughout the day. He did well at first, but he had another episode of colic that required Eugene to comfort him. (Eugene could get a job as a baby whisperer--he can soothe Alex during one of his fits by walking him around the apartment.) He also seems to be going through a bit of a growth spurt; he's eating a lot today. There was another mother there with a six-month baby; she gave me some advice about colic and milk supply.

All in all, it was a nice day seeing my cousins again. We keep saying how we should get together more often; hopefully we can do so before the holidays.

Now This Is Getting Really Wierd...

I had to run a couple of errands today. As I drove to the bank, I noticed something grey had gotten caught in my windshield wipers. I thought at first it was a piece of trash, so I flicked the wipers to get rid of it. It didn't fly away, and it left gray streaks on the window. I couldn't believe it; it looked suspiciously like a mouse.

I took a closer took at it after leaving the bank. Sure enough, it was a rodent of some sort, with a furry tail. And it was obviously quite dead, though luckily it didn't stink. How the heck did it end up on my windshield? It's been a couple of days since I drove my car, so I have no idea how long it had been there. Perhaps the storms over the weekend had something to do with it, though it occured to me it might have been left there as a prank.

When I got home, I donned a pair of gloves, gingerly removed it (even though it was dead, I still had this irrational fear it would bite me), and placed it in the garbage. It was still clutching a leaf between its front paws. After thinking about it, I now wonder if it was a baby squirrel that had been killed by the storm. It might have fallen or been blown from a tree.

Of course, given all of the recent rodent sightings I've had, the writer part of my brain found a more sinister interpretation. It almost seemed like a warning, like something a mobster would leave in someone's bed. "The Mousefather," anyone? That could make a fun idea for a fantasy story: mobs among the rodents. Something else to simmer on my brain's back burner while I come up with a story to match this idea.

Rodents Are Spying on Me...

Yesterday, as I was doing laundry, I spotted a chipmunk in the laundry room. It ran behind the washing machines when I entered the room, then it later escaped through a pipe. I saw it again when I returned to transfer the loads from the washers to the dryers, and I saw yet another chipmunk sitting outside my front door. Add to that the squirrel that comes up to my kitchen door, and we have a conspiracy on our hands.

Of course, I could be nuts.

(rimshot)

Wait, where are you going? I've got plenty more jokes where that came from.... Oh, that's why.

Anyway, it's been a rainy weekend. Yesterday, Eugene and I had planned to get dinner from the Whole Foods deli in Palatine and eat by a lake there, but we had to settle for eating at the store instead. Today was a lazy day; Eugene let me sleep in (I really needed it). We did go out to pick up a few things from Babies R Us, but that's about it.

Writing: I finished reading First Draft in 30 Days. This was written by a full-time author, and I think you'd need to be a full-time author to complete a detailed outline (which she considers first draft) in this time, especially since she devotes only one day to character development. Someone like me, who would be lucky to have an hour a day for writing, would need that just to work up the main character. I've never had much luck outlining novels before writing them; I'm more of an organic writer. Still, if I could learn to outline, I think I could finish writing a book more quickly. But it might be worth outlining some of my completed works to evaluate the strength of their various plots/subplots.

College Friends

As I was tending to Alex this evening while Eugene cooked dinner, I heard Eugene let out a pleased laugh. He'd checked his e-mail and found a message from our friend and fellow blogger Russ. Another friend of ours from college, Ed, was in New York City, and they were getting together tonight. Ed and Eugene were lab partners in undergrad, but it's been years since we've seen him. So after dinner we called Russ on his cell phone. He handed us over to Ed right away. It was great talking to him; we picked up where we'd left off. Russ did send us a photo of Ed and his wife over his cell phone, but I'll be nice and not post it here. ;) Hopefully one of these days Ed can stop by Chicago so we can see him in person. So Ed, if you're reading this, don't forget to send us pictures of your daughters!

Busy Days

There's been a lot going on lately, especially with Alex being christened this past weekend, but I haven't had much time to blog about it. Time to play catch-up.

I'll start with last Friday. It was a spa day for me: I got a massage, facial, and a haircut. A bit self-indulgent, perhaps, but the massage was sorely (no pun intended), and it had been a long time since I'd had either a facial or a haircut. While I was at the spa, Alex tried out the daycare center he'll be going to when I return to work in September. Although I felt guilty about it beforehand and worried a little at the spa, he did quite well. Apparently all of the teachers wanted to hold him, and he ate and slept just fine. Hopefully that'll continue when he's there full-time.

Saturday Eugene and I spent prepping for Alex's christening. I did laundry, and Eugene made a couple of fruit salads and prepared a special photographic display of Alex. We were up pretty late getting everything together for the big day. Although it was Beatlefest (well, The Fest for Beatles Fans, to use the proper name) weekend, I didn't go this year. Probably just as well, since Alex was fussy during the afternoon.

We got up quite early Sunday morning and were on the road by 8:30. The baptism was in Evanston, at the church where Eugene and I were married. We stopped by his parents' house beforehand to drop off things and change. Although we got Alex a christening suit in size 0-3 months, it was still too big for him. We had to roll the pants up several times, and the shoes were twice as big as his feet! Unfortunately, I had to wake him up to change him, and he fussed for a while until I fed him. We got to the church at the start of the Mass and sat in the front row, ahead of my relatives. We'd chosen to have Alex baptized after the Mass, in case he was fussy. Of course, he slept not only through the whole service, but also through the baptism itself. Even pouring water on his head didn't disturb him.

There was a big celebration at Eugene's parents' house afterwards. There was lots of food, including two roast pigs and a cake my parents brought (from a bakery). I was quite busy talking to everyone who came, but I didn't need to worry about caring for Alex, as everyone wanted to hold him. Again, he slept through most of it. The party went on for hours, with people coming and going. People were still there when we finally left. Unfortunately, I misplaced my camera, so I don't have any pictures. Maybe I can upload some of Eugene's later on.

Monday and Tuesday I spent mostly taking care of Alex (he had some episodes of colic again) and running some errands. Today was slightly different because it was Eugene's birthday. Both Alex and I gave him cards and some DVDs. We also went out for dinner. How do you think Alex did? That's right, he slept through dinner, and we were in a loud, noisy restaurant. He's still sleeping in his car seat as I write, actually. I hope he won't compensate by staying up until 2 in the morning again!

Writing: Still haven't done any fiction writing; heck, I can barely find headspace to think about writing. But I did submit a funny-but-true wedding story to a publisher Maria (see link at right) posted on her blog recently. They'll pay me $100 if they use it, but I won't hear anything until January. Hopefully I'll be back in the writing saddle by that point.

Eye Exam

It's been a couple of years since my last eye exam; in fact, it was the summer before I got married. (I wanted to wear contacts for the wedding.) So I figured I would take care of that before going back to work. My parents came down to spoil--I mean babysit--Alex during my appointment.

I stopped first at work to take care of a couple of things. I chatted a bit with a couple of my co-workers and my boss. The first thing my boss said to me was something along the lines of "You were fooling all along about being pregnant; there's no baby." I guess I'll have to bring Alex in sometime so they can see him in person.

I had a little trouble finding the place (they'd moved, and I got the address wrong), but I still made it on time. I had to wait a while before the assistant came to do preliminary tests on me and dilate my eyes. I didn't enjoy that part, but at least they no longer do the air puff test for glaucoma; I always hated that. I had to wait for my eyes to finish dilating before the doctor took me. She had nine-month-old twins, so we talked about babies during the exam.

My prescription didn't change, but I decided to get a second pair of glasses as a backup. I currently have Transition lenses, but I wanted to get glasses with magnetic clip-on shades for driving. The person I worked with was very helpful about suggesting what frames would look best on me. She picked about a dozen frames from their selection, but in the end I chose a pair I had found myself. They should be ready in a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to getting them, and when I pick them up, I might swing by work and show off Alex -- if he's having a good day.

Babies in Stereo

The past couple of days have been a bit hectic for me. Friday I took Alex on his first major grocery shopping trip (as in spending an hour in the store, not just picking up a few things). He was awake but calm, which is good. I was also glad that he's not at the stage where he asks for junk food.

Yesterday Eugene and I took Alex to visit a couple we met in childbirth class. They had their baby, a girl named Anna, a week after we did. It was cute seeing them side by side in their car seats. During dinner, Alex and Anna were both cooing, and we joked that they were exchanging tips on how to drive their parents crazy. ("So, what's this colic thing about?") Unfortunately, Anna was overtired to the point where she couldn't fall asleep, and she showed it. Alex had a couple of crying spells too, though I've heard worse. But since we and the other couple were going through the same thing, we were all understanding.

Today we stayed at home. While Eugene tending Alex, I caught up on domestic duties: I did the laundry, baked bread, and made sorbet. Now if I can finish the latest review I'm currently working on, maybe I can get back to my own stuff.

Secret Squirrel?

We have a very friendly squirrel visiting our patio. He comes up to the screen door and looks into the kitchen as if he expects me to let him in for a cup of tea. Today I caught him digging in our flowerboxes, rooting around and rolling in the dirt as if he was a dog. It's probably a good thing I didn't bother planting flowers this year, as they wouldn't have lasted. (Maybe he was a dog in another life, who knows?) One of these days I'll have to take a picture of him.

Weekend Recap

Saturday was Harry Potter Day. I spent most of it (besides caring for Alex and doing laundry) either waiting for UPS to deliver my book or reading. I didn't get the book until about 3:00 p.m., and yes, I was impatient. It would have been quicker to drive to Walmart and pick up a copy, but I'd preordered because I wasn't sure if I'd be able to take Alex to the store (depending on how he was behaving). Anyway, I finished the book and the Sunday morning. Without giving anything away, it was an enjoyable read. I foresaw a couple of things but not the main plot points. That's one of the things I respect Rowling for, her plotting. She does a great job of using minor details to great effect.

Anyway, Sunday the three of us drove to Evanston and met with the priest at the church where Alex will be baptized. Afterwards, we stopped by the Evanston Ethnic Arts Festival. The weather was perfect for it. I bought a couple of silk purses (one for a friend) and a pair of earrings. Afterwards, we stopped at Babies R Us before heading home.

Out and About

Would you believe I haven't filled up my car since May? I wasn't able to drive last month while I was recovering from surgery. But last week I was cleared by my doctor. Now I can take Alex to the doctor or run errands; I just need to time things so that he's sleeping. Last week I even got to go to the bookstore with him. We also managed to visit the Chicago Botantic Garden on Sunday with him. Although he kept us up during the night, he was quiet in his stroller. I didn't bring my camera because we had enough to haul around as it was. Eugene, of course, took his camera, so he may post some pictures when he has the chance.

Writing: Sigh, I haven't had a chance to do anything for a while, and two of my OWW critters have new chapters up. Do I work on that or my own stuff? And what project should I work on? It's too much for my sleep-deprived, post-partum brain.

Get Your Geek On

As you can imagine, I've been a bit busy since Alex arrived. It seems like as soon as I finish feeding him and putting him down to sleep he wakes up again. Plus I haven't been anywhere exciting; the last time I even drove my car was the day Alex was born. So that explains why I haven't blogged in a while.

Tonight on CNN's homepage, though, I saw something worth blogging about. There was an article about surprising things you can get for free. Among them was coursework at MIT. I guess this isn't really new -- other colleges are also offering noncredit online courses -- but I still found it cool. This would also be a good resource for science fiction writers looking to learn more about basic science or about something more advanced, like quantum physics or genetics. (They have biophysics as well, but that doesn't turn me on; I took it for my major, and it was a tough class.) There are also anthropology, language, literature, and even writing courses. I bookmarked the site, though I do have to wonder when I think I'll find time to do any of these courses. I suppose it would help if I stopped playing games and got to work. Even I can't convince myself learning about science is as relaxing as a game of Zuma, though.

Daddy's Bald!

OK, I'm a little slow on blogging this week. This picture was taken on Sunday. Eugene finally made good on something he's talked about for a while--shaving his head. Now Alex has more hair than his dad. ;)

The Kosher Mush Cake

My friend Heather came over to visit today. She wanted to meet Alex, so it was a good thing he was up when she was here. He was pretty well-behaved too (normally he only cries if he needs a diaper changed or if he's hungry). We talked about writing for a while, got a carry-out dinner from a local restaurant, and watched Finding Nemo. She also brought over dessert: a kosher cake with pineapples and strawberries. Unfortunately, the cake got a little battered (rimshot) during the drive over here, so we jokingly referred to it as kosher mush. It was still pretty good, though. Hopefully we'll have a chance to get together again before she leaves in July.

My Little Town...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/11/wisc.shooting.ap/index.html

DELAVAN, Wisconsin (AP) -- A domestic dispute erupted into a mass killing in southern Wisconsin, leaving six people, including two infant boys, shot to death, and a 2-year-old girl with a gunshot to her chest.
A prosecutor said late Sunday no one was in custody but that police weren't looking for a suspect and no one else was in danger. Officials often use such language when the shooter is among the dead.
"What we have is a complicated death scene and we're investigating all the possibilities," said Kevin St. John, a spokesman with the state Justice Department, which is leading the investigation. (Watch police and neighbors describe what they saw and heard )
Walworth County District Attorney Phillip Koss said the shooting was part of a domestic dispute, but he wouldn't elaborate until autopsies were completed and the crime scene was fully evaluated.
Officers, responding to a report of shots fired, stormed an A-frame duplex Saturday night with weapons drawn, kicking in the door, neighbor Richard Heideman said. He saw two paramedics go in behind them and come back out minutes later.
"That's when I knew everybody was dead," Heideman said.
As the bodies were wheeled out, one onlooker dropped to his knees on a neighbor's lawn and threw his hands to the sky in prayer.
The 2-year-old girl was found in a nearby van, seriously wounded. A male family member who escaped the shooting was helping investigators.
Authorities have not released the victims' names, but Kay Macara said her 19-year-old daughter, Vanessa Iverson, was among the dead.
With tears in her eyes, Macara said her daughter went to the apartment the previous night to visit friends.
"My child," she said. "I want answers."
Also in the house during the shooting were the twin infants, their parents, and the mother's sister and her husband, said Sarah Iverson, Iverson's sister-in-law.
The 2-year-old sister of the twins, Jasmine, was in serious condition at University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison.
The father of the children, 22-year-old Ambrocio Analco, was one of the dead, said Marco Pastrana, Analco's cousin. He said the boys were 2 to 3 months old.
Monday morning, a cluster of teddy bears, stuffed bunnies, a dinosaur and candles stood under a tree outside the duplex. The landlord, Duane Brellenthin, said two sisters rented the upstairs apartment. He declined to name them, deferring to police.
He said they'd lived there about a year and a half, and he'd never had problems with them.
Pastrana said Analco no longer lived with the children's mother. Analco left Pastrana's house Saturday night to drop the kids off with her at the duplex, Pastrana said.
"It came to my mind that this was not true," Pastrana said. "But when I came here I went to talk to the cops and they tell me that he was dead, his kids were dead and one was in the hospital."
Neighbor Leandra Mena, 65, said she heard what she thought were firecrackers coming from the house around 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
"I thought it was firecrackers because it's so close to the Fourth of July," she said.
Police cordoned off two blocks around the duplex for most of the day. On Sunday morning neighbors, some still bleary-eyed, clustered on the sidewalks, watching investigators move bodies out of the house.
Tina McKinnon, 37, lives about a block away and said there was never any commotion at the house. "The children were very pleasant," she said.
Delavan, home to about 8,000 people, lies in the farm fields and woods between Janesville and Milwaukee. The P.T. Barnum Circus, "The Greatest Show on Earth," was founded in Delavan in 1871, and statues of circus animals decorate the town square.


It's a little strange seeing a sleepy town like Delavan make the national news--and I certainly didn't want to see it for this type of story. At least I don't recognize any of the people mentioned here. My sympathy goes out to the family, and I hope the little girl recovers.

I spent my teenage years in Delavan, though the town has developed since then. Back in my day, Delavan only had about 5,000 people. Since I moved there in 1982, a dog track went up (though I think it's now a bust), and lots of new stores have sprung up too. There's also a much greater Hispanic population now; when I was in high school, there were only a few token minority students.

I still visit Delavan on occasion because my friend Liz lives there. I wonder what she and her family make of this story.

More Alex Photos

Feeding time.

How dare Mommy ground me to the bassinet?

His official one-week old photo with two Oscars.

Surprise!

It looks like my last post here was on May 30th. That's ironic, given how much has happened since then....

I have had blood pressure issues during the pregnancy, so my doctors monitored me closely to make sure it didn't progress to pre-eclampisa. At my 5/25 visit, my blood pressure was quite high initially, so I had to do a 24-hour urine collection over the weekend. I dropped the sample off on Tuesday the 29th, had some bloodwork done, and scheduled a C-section for 6/11 due to Alex being breech. The next day, I visited the perinatologist for the ultrasound of the week. Everything looked good during the ultrasound itself. However, when the doctor walked in, he said, "You timed it just right." It turned out that my liver enzymes were too high and that I had finally developed a mild case of pre-eclampisa. Since I was at 37 weeks, he wanted the baby to come out within the next 24 hours. So instead of using the rest of the day to take care of a few things, I wound up in Labor and Delivery. (The doctor's office was in another wing of the hospitial, so we walked over to the main entrance and then Eugene took me in a wheelchair the rest of the way.) They checked me in, had me change, and put me on an IV. Meanwhile, Eugene had to go home to fetch some things (good thing we had the essentials already packed). Since I had had lunch, we had to wait until the evening for the operation. We made some phone calls, and I watched TV and read a little, but waiting was very difficult, to say the least. Finally, they prepped me and brought me into the OR. It was so cold in there I started shivering. That made me worry a little about the spinal (in case it didn't go in the right spot), but it wasn't an issue. I have to admit I did feel a bit depersonalized as they positioned me and drew the sterile curtain over my body. Good thing Eugene was there to hold my hand and stroke my hair. After the spinal set in, I could still feel my feet. I mentioned to the doctor, who then asked if I could feel her pinching me. I couldn't. They proceeded. I didn't feel anything except some pressure as they drew out son out. He came out at 8:35 p.m., screaming, which was a good sign--and very amazing to hear. His Apgar scores were 8 and 9. (These are scores used to determine how well a baby is doing.) Weight was 5 pounds 2 ounces; length was 18.5 inches.

As the doctor was sewing me up, she showed Eugene my uterus. Apparently mine is heart-shaped, which explains why our son never turned head down. Any more children we have will also have to be born by c-section. Eugene got to go with our son to the special care nursery (all babies born by C-section go there automatically) while I recovered. I attempted to nurse as soon as they brought our son to me. However, I couldn't keep anything down, even liquids, until the next day, when they finally stopped my IV. I stayed in the hospital until Sunday, June 3rd. During this time, we got to know our son a little better and decided to name him Alexander Aurelio, after his grandfathers. Of course the grandparents visited, and so did a couple of our friends. By Friday, I was already feeling much better, but it was (and still is) painful to get into and out of bed, sit down, or do other things. But it's worth it to have our son.

Here are some pictures Eugene took while we were in the hospital:

http://s142.photobucket.com/albums/r89/Photovet1997/Alexander%20Aurelio%20Almazan/

There are a couple on his blog as well.