Category: Kids

Daydream believer

Last night while we were driving to swim lessons, Kyra sat quietly in the backseat, a serious scowl on her face. Andrew and I both asked her what was wrong. Then we asked again. And again. All at once she turned to us and said:

“I’m dreaming!”

We discovered, later, she meant daydreaming. She had a whole story going, with plot and characters, and, ahem, we were rudely interrupting that. While I combed her hair into ponytails for swimming, she told me she was dreaming about a step mom who locks the real mom in a spider room (filled with many spiders and webs).

“And the daughter has to save her mom?” I asked.

Serious nod.

According to Andrew, he has many ideas for stories but, “Writing them down is so hard. I’d rather wait for someone else to write them, then I can just go ahead and read.”

This, by the way, was how I became the brand new owner of a story idea called The Football Nerd. From his head to mine.

Now all I have to do is write it down.

Here’s how the story ends

I’ve been a bad blogger but a good productive writer. The fourth (at least, I think it’s the fourth) draft of MacKenna (The Fine Art of Holding Your Breath) is done. I’ve asked a few victims volunteers to read it over.

So I was finishing up the last pages–literally, when Andrew stumbled from his bedroom to his computer in the dining/computer/whatever room. He wanted me to make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Now, he’s quite capable of making his own small meals/snacks. He cooks on Scout camping trips, makes his own ramen and soup, and even wields a knife to cut up strawberries for us. He can spread peanut butter on some bread.

He insisted it would taste better if I made it.

And I told him that PB&J pretty much tastes the same no matter who makes it.

To which he said: “But, Mommy, you make yours with extra love.”

You gotta give the boy points for that.

I eventually finished editing.

He still made his own sandwich.

When the universe hands you an elephant

So, the other night after we dropped Andrew off at Scouts (for his last requirement to make first class), Miss B and I went to Target to find a little gift for her kindergarten teacher. We were looking for an elephant, since her teacher has one on a bookshelf in the classroom. Kyra thought it needed a friend.

Target has elephants, right? Er, not so much. I glanced down the aisle with the plastic animals. It was crowded, so I decided to check out the stuffed animal aisle.

The closest thing to an elephant was a rhino. I was about suggest this to Miss B (who was busy inspecting the Fancy Nancy display) when the people crowding the neighboring aisle cruised by us and plopped a stuffed elephant on the shelf.

Right in front of me. An elephant. The perfect size for fitting on a bookshelf next to another small, stuffed elephant.

A little stunned, I picked it up and showed it to Kyra, who was delighted. We went to find a gift bag and card.

So, the moral, I guess, is sometimes the universe hands you an elephant. And when it does, you simply have to take (buy) it.

Worms and deodorant

So, the other day, we drove over to my mom’s to help with a little gardening. Kyra became proficient at weeding, Andrew at planting, and both of them at befriending worms. This last probably added a good twenty minutes to the task. Well, that and the fact Andrew felt compelled to examine each petal of a decapitated flower.

Kids = pokey.

But on to the worms. They weren’t finding any at first, just some centipedes, which weren’t on the cuddly list. Finally, they founds some. Andrew held one up on the trowel he was using and said:

“Hello, my name is Andrew. What’s yours?” Significant pause. “Ah, I see. You must be the silent type.”

Kyra carried one around in her cupped hands. I told her that worms really like dirt (hinting that she should put it back in the dirt). She simply added some dirt to her hand. I finally had to tell her that no, we couldn’t take the worm home, but he’d be happy with Grandma’s new flowers.

She was a little sad about that.

On the way home, we stopped at Target. Andrew spent another twenty minutes in the deodorant aisle. His brand of choice is Old Spice and each offering was seriously considered with much sniffing.

He was intrigued by Old Spice After Hours. He thought it meant that the deodorant would last a really long time. I explained that it’s the sort of deodorant one might wear for a night on the town.

“Oh,” he said. “I’ll probably need that in junior high.”

In the end, he selected Old Spice Pacific Surge. For the rest of the evening, he applied it about twenty times and then proceeded to offer up his underarms for sniffing.

“Got B.O.?” he’d say. “Get deo!”

Why do I get the feeling junior high is going to be a long three years?

2008 maiden voyage

So, we took the canoe out today. Or more accurately, Bob and Andrew took the canoe out. Kyra and I acted as support (really, not as much fun as going down the rapids backwards, but more on that later).

First, if you’re taking the canoe out, you have to clean it.

We drove up to the headwaters of Minnehaha Creek, which sounds exotic, but is only a few miles away. We launched the boys, then Kyra and drove back to wait for them.

Kyra with Lake Minnetonka in the background.

Canoeing is no laughing matter. It is serious business.

The launch. Let’s wish them luck.

Not even an ice cream from Dairy Queen can compensate for being left behind.

The mighty return.

It was at this point where they decided to go further and it was just after this point they nearly met their match with the rapids. I’m sure raising their paddles in the air had nothing to do with it. There were rocks, spinning around, and going down the rapids backwards. Discovery: Our canoe is more of a lake canoe.

Second discovery: Going down the rapids backwards = bragging rights.

California dreaming

So, the excitement = building for San Francisco this summer. At the end of July I’ll head out there to the RWA National Conference with … wait for it … the kids in tow.

They’ll stay at my sister’s during the four days of the conference. I’ll be in the Marriott.

(Insert maniacal laughter here.)

Seriously, I’m pretty sure positive they’ll behave. I’ve already read them the riot act about it.

Never mind the Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, or even the Jelly Belly factory tour, Andrew nearly fainted when he found out my sister owns not only Guitar Hero, Dance, Dance Revolution, but Rock Band. Add in the nearby swimming pool, and we pretty much have instant vacation. Excited doesn’t begin to cover it.

I haven’t been to this conference since 2003. This time, I get to wear my “first sale” ribbon (Note to self: let RWA know you need first sale ribbon.). I don’t have to work myself into a panic over pitching to editors/agents. I can relax, go to parties (Chick Lit, Golden Network), and attend workshops, like these:

Building Buzz in YA (CAREER)– Tera Childs, Heather Davis, Simone Elkeles, Tina Ferraro, Marley Gibson, Stephanie Hale, and Dona Sarkar-Mishra

From Cinema to the CW: Using Pop Culture in Your YA Novel (RESEARCH)– Trish Milburn and Julie Linker (Trish is a Noodler.)

10 Things We Love About Writing YA Romance (CRAFT)– Shelley Adina, Carol Grace Culver, Kelly Parra, and Jennifer Jackson

Doddering Butlers, Pert Housemaids, and Faithful Retainers: Busting the Servant Myths (RESEARCH)– Janet Mullany (I haven’t written an historical … yet, but Janet is another Noodler and she’s hysterical.)

And then, after the conference, I’ll take a few days downtime at my sister’s. I’ll need a few days of downtime.

But! If anyone is headed out to San Fran, let me know. I’d love to see you.

Random thoughts on invisible babies and Enchanted

So, despite claims that Miss B did not miss her brother this weekend (who was away on a Boy Scout campout on an island–how cool is that?), she invented several invisible siblings to keep her company.

Somehow, I birthed all these invisible babies this weekend, along with taking Miss B to ballet, vacuuming up all the dog hair (not as easy as it sounds), editing fifty pages of MacKenna, and so on. Can I multi-task or what?

We started out with Makayla, added Jake, then Rosie and Sarah. Miss B was the proud and busy big sister.

And you know what? Invisible babies are still a lot of work. And I kept sitting/stepping on them, too. (Mommy! No! That’s where Jake is!)

Then Andrew came home and the babies faded to the background. Kyra still denies missing her brother.

We also watched Enchanted this weekend. Okay, it’s probably just me, but I was underwhelmed. It got great reviews. Parts were cute/funny. I really enjoyed the Central Park dance number.

But. It seemed like that’s all it was: cute/funny parts that somehow didn’t make a satisfying whole. Plus, I felt Patrick Dempsey underplayed his part. McDreamy? More like McComatose.

But you know, Miss B, the born romantic, was also meh about it too. She didn’t understand the ending, and she has a fairly sophisticated sense of story for a five year old. I mean, she understood Roman Holiday and that Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn couldn’t be together. Oh, sure, she leaned against me and sobbed for a bit (told you she was a born romantic), but she understood.

Enchanted, not so much. And she didn’t seem to care, either. Again, I’m sure it’s a me/us thing, and we’ll be soundly beat about the head and shoulders for not liking it. Bring it on.

Snippets from our week

The batteries in the programmable thermostat finally gave out, after possibly a year of the message: Replace batteries soon! It’s the sort of thermostat you can pull off the wall, which I did only to hear a gasp behind me and Kyra saying: “Mommy! What have you done?”

Andrew made a terrific Pirate #4 in the sixth grade musical version of Treasure Island. They had four performances, two casts (the cast that doesn’t perform sings in the chorus), and a very busy week. Kyra has seen three of the four performances (the last one’s tonight). She keeps referring to Long John Silver as “Long Jeans.” When the chorus sings: “Eat, drink, and let’s be merry,” she sings her own version: “Eat, drink, and let’s get married.”

There’s a downside to tossing your manuscript in the air. When you’re done, you have to put it back in order again. Actually, it’s not that bad, but for continuity and sanity’s sake, I’m putting the pages in numeric order before I start keying in the changes. Would I do it again? Without question. It was a great exercise and a great way to edit.

I’ve published twenty books this week, some of them multiple times, some of the multiple times in the same day. I’m telling you, technical writer = nonstop fun.