crazy

This is the official end of my two weeks of "maternity leave".  I didn't need to take the break from blogging; even if it were physically taxing, I easily would have been able to manage it.  (Mom might have disagreed with me on this.)  But at the same time, I did need it.  I needed to soak in those moments without having to think about what I liked best, or what stood out to me the most.

The comment I've heard the most from others has been something along the lines of, "She's so gorgeous . . . But no.  I don't want her."  And a part of me gets that.  Love the baby, hate the work, right?  But I love everything about having a newborn.  I wasn't the hugest fan the first time around but it has seriously grown on me over the last 4 years.  The sleepless nights; the constant diaper changes; having such limited time to accomplish things between nursing sessions; the extra laundry filled with spit up and baby poo that leaves clothes only reluctantly; the exploded or leaking diapers; the bed time dance from nursing, to burping, to rocking, to the diaper being filled, to nursing . . . I love all of it.

Of course I recognize that my kids so far make it easy.  Instant nursers, not a hint of colic, good night time sleepers, my milk production has earned me the nickname of DQ, and as an extra bonus the older siblings simply adore each new addition.  And of course I am fully aware that this last labor left me in unusually good shape.  I was ready to start getting back to normal an hour after she was born, even though I'm still not feeling ready for the first Sunday back (this might be different if we attended a significantly smaller congregation).

But I believe that if I had a baby who required so much more effort, I would still love every minute.  (Even if I was pulling my hair out at the same time.)

arts and crafts

An artsy project done on a frustrating day will make the rest of the day more cheerful.

This is the rule that I've been well aware of for most of my life.  Rarely has it failed me in my parenting.  Until today.  Today I learned the rule that comes after:

Do not attempt an artsy project that has great potential for mess on a frustrating day, especially when young children are attempting to work together on the same thing.

That's one of those "uh, duh" rules, and I'm sure that I was aware of it on some level.  But if I had consciously realized that this afternoon, we never would have attempted creating the piñata on a day when both children refused to nap for more than an hour.  Even worse, I had forgotten a related rule:

Never, ever attempt an artsy project with children when that project triggers perfectionism.

Well, it's not so much that I forgot that rule.  I just wasn't aware that making a piñata would be so difficult for me.  I admit to not-so-subtly smoothing and even replacing the strips of newspaper the kids put on the balloon.  I admit to losing my temper when the kids dumped so many strips into the pie tin of glue/water that it became a horrible gooey mush before we were able to use them all.  I admit to flinching when, for the hundredth time, glue/water ran down arms and dripped uncontrollably off elbows onto anything underneath.  I admit to getting exasperated and as a result making a great kid experience quickly dwindle into something they didn't really want to do.

At least I'm over the stubby tipped crayons issue - well, enough to not physically flinch when crayons aren't colored with the right way . . .

8,034

After spending 3-4 hours in a feverish writing frenzy that just happened to occur after midnight on October 31st (thereby falling upon November 1st), I realized two things.  One was that I am so intrigued by the brand new story that was unveiling itself that there is no hope of ceasing writing until I reach the yet unknown ending; the second was that I had unknowingly begun this project within the time limits of NaNoWriMo.  Deciding I'd be writing feverishly on the story as it was, I signed up to participate.  Besides, the 4,584 words I'd written in the wee hours of November 1st were an excellent starting point.  And as extra reasoning, there is enough unhappy craziness unleashed in my life right now; why not add some happy, creative insanity to balance it out?

NaNoWriMo, otherwise known as the National Novel Writing Month, is in its 11th year.  It is a mad dash to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days (and nights), beginning at 12:01am November 1st and ending at 12:00am December 1st.  The reward for winning?  Personal satisfaction and bragging rights.  (I have heard mention of a certificate being mailed, but not from official sources.)

As a part of the month, there are Write-In's, where participants gather to consume caffeine and sugar while working feverishly on their works in progress.  Some of these are friends gathering in each other's homes, others take place at libraries or stores (usually those that sell books) that have opened their doors to celebrate the unleashing of creativity.  I probably won't make many of those, but the knowledge of the local NaNo community boosts my confidence.

Tonight I am at 8,034 words.  Most of my writing takes place in the sleepless hours of night (which coincide with the natural bolstering of my writing ability and desire that comes between the hours between midnight and 6am).

Will I win, or will I just have fun trying my hand at it?  I don't know, but I am ready to find out.  I'll be posting regular updates on word count and progress.  (One of the effective tricks to complete that the founders discovered was the deliberate use of humiliation over falling short, created by telling everyone you know and pass in the street what you're doing.)