!!!!!

It's up! It's up! Hooray! I get to see it before I go! Go look. :)

Fighting. Fighting fighting fighting.

Today, I am sick. Fever on and off, bone and muscle ache. What I really want to do is crawl under a blanket (shivering in 88 degree temperatures?!) and watch Ghost Hunters on Netflix, but of course life doesn't happen like that. I'm trying to clean the house so we don't come back to a wreck, trying to pack clothes and Halloween costumes and things of that nature. The kids are fighting. Nina broke a plate. Niko tried to run her over with his tricycle. The basic chaos.

I also spent four hours on the phone with the hospital and the pediatric cardiologists concerning what basically was a glitch in the paperwork. Really, really exhausting and frustrating, but all is well!

So! We're packing for tomorrow's flight. I wanted to let you know that my story comes out online tomorrow. You can read more about it at my site, http://abrokenlaptop.wordpress.com. If you guys maybe have the time to check it out, it would make me really happy!

Happy Halloween, everybody!

I voted!

We voted last night. I can't think of a better activity for Family Home Evening. What a horrible election! It's been dark, dirty, and they've been terrible examples, for shame. And now you shall never hear me speak of the election again, because it's been a bane. A nasty, ceaseless, soul-sucking bane. That is all.

Niko has been following basic instructions lately, and has been so much more vocal. He's making a rhythmic hooting sound that I think is his version of singing. He's going to be an astronaut for Halloween, and Nina is going to be a fairy. We'll spend it out of town, because Pyper's getting hitched! Also, Halloween is when "Ray the Vampire" comes out on Flash Fiction Online. They have an amazing illustration that will be running with it, and I have permission to post it here after it runs in the magazine. I think that it's really beautiful.

Janyece and I were having a conversation about our preferred weapons of choice. (I know, but it's for a story that I'm working on. Really!) I'm more of a bludgeoner, myself, but Jan would sit in a tree and shoot people with a bow and arrow. So be forewarned.

Speaking of weapons, I have a piece coming out on Six Sentences tomorrow. I love that site, and stop by every few days because the pieces are short, sweet, and very diverse. It's so worth checking out.

It's a Celebration!

Well, it's official! I'm a Motorcycle Mama. Only...without a motorcycle. But I'll do some looking around and see what I can come up with. And if any of you have any fabulous, midsized bikes in good condition that you'd like to sell...

So. I can weave around cones. I can stop quickly. I can swerve to avoid hitting things and I can run over a 2x4 in the road. (Which is awesome!) Most importantly, I did something that I always wanted to do, something intimidating and scary, and I accomplished it. Rock on! By myself? Not a chance. Luke had to rent a car because I had our car all day, every day. St. June not only watched my kids for days, but said children had the flu. Luke and I caught it, too, and I had horrible nightmares of throwing up in my full-face helmet, but thankfully, all went well on that front.

I think my first humor article will be about this class. It should be out next week. This is also intimidating and scary, but that's been my New Year's Resolution for two years now: Do Things That Scare Me. And Ride More Shopping Carts. I'll link you when it comes out.

Nina is upset because it's nap time. Niko's upset because I took the golf balls out of the dryer. I'm an animal! A tyrant! How could I ever be so cruel?

Good news on the writing front, too! I'm really excited! Pop on over to http://abrokenlaptop.wordpress.com if you're interested. I really had a lot to say. :)

When Luke gets home? We're all going for peppermint ice cream. Oh, yes. It's a celebration.

I'm Astute Like That.

So my boy missed me. I could tell by the way he kept snuggling into my lap and bowing his head so that I could give him kisses. I'm astute like that. I pick up on those subtle nuances. "Kiss me, mother!" And his face split into this amazing grin when I walked over to him while he was playing with the dishwasher. I thought about that smile before I went to sleep.

I got an email last night saying that my story was going into the final round for A Cup of Comfort for Parents of Children with Special Needs. Say that ten times fast! Anyway, I'm excited. I wrote about the time that Niko nearly burned down the house while trying to use the toaster. Whether or not they choose to publish it, I'm pleased that I was finally able to write something about Niko and Williams without curling up and dying. Like everything else, it only gets easier.

Speaking of dying, I start my motorcycle class tonight. My friend June is going to wrangle my kids for two days while I'm gone! Then I'm going to nominate her for sainthood. Luke and I are in negotiations about a bike. The Free Spirit vs. The Accountant. I'll tell you how that goes.

Time to Come Down From the Clouds

Well, the boys went huntin' this weekend, leaving Nina and I to our own devices. And that girl is in bed by 7:30 each evening. Solitude, delicious solitude! It was a pleasure. I wrote. And wrote. And revised my novel's query letter, sent it to an agent, got rejected immediately, wrote a new story, sent three out, got two rejections and an acceptance and a partridge in a pear tree. Today marked the triumphant return of our menfolk, and all is right with the world.

You hear that? All is right with the world.

Untold Field Trips

Here's the thing about a nonverbal child. It's Niko's first field trip, right? I want to know what he saw. I want to know what he thought. And there is really no way that he can tell me. At home he points to what he wants, and he asks for things. "Do you want milk?" "Uh uh!" "Should we fold the laundry?" "Uh." But how can he tell me stories? How can tell me about school and what he did there?

He can't. Which was why this whole "I think you're son is being abused at school" thing was so incredibly...there aren't words. Tragic, frustrating, hateful...they're too light. Homicidal, mutilating rage, now maybe that's a bit closer. But directed at who? The teacher who mentioned the abuse in the first place and then changed her story, or his teacher who was disciplined for something, but who knows what?

Anyway, that's neither here nor there. It's been on my mind, but there's really nothing that I can do at this point. I just ask Niko what he thought of the animals on his field trip and hope that I'm asking about the right things.

Anyway! Bumping the happiness gauge up a notch is this: I sold a poem to The Writer's Eye. I wax on about it here.

Ray Finds a Home

I just sold a story that I am extremely, extremely fond of to Flash Fiction Online. I received an email from the editor last night asking if I would like to publish "Ray the Vampire" in their Halloween issue. We'll have to edit it extremely fast, but we're going to do it!

"Ray the Vampire" is the short story that I based my novel off of, and its sequel. It all started here. He is my favorite character. I even have Ray fan art, drawn by an extremely talented girl that I know. I'll stick it up when the issue is out.

And Dawn racked up some acceptances, too! Arkham Tales and A Fly in Amber. Yay, us!

You know, I needed this. Sometimes it feels like my natural emotional level is set at "melancholy" and I am constantly searching for ways to bump it higher. The garbage man's rhythmic "flying bag" dance, Niko's first field trip (it's Niko's first field trip today! I can't wait to report on it when he triumphantly returns!) Nina's open mouthed kisses. I find myself literally grasping at things sometimes in order to fill the tank, and I'm only sorry that that euphoric feeling doesn't last longer. That's one of the reasons that I like writing, however. I can put my feelings on paper, and sometimes...you get a sale.

I. Am. Procrastinating.

I should be either writing or cleaning, which is the story of my life. Should should should. I really ought to be doing anything besides whatever it is that I am doing. I should be working on my demon story or scrubbing down the counters.

What I am going to do, no should about it, is make myself a big mug of hot chocolate. With marshmallows. And then I am going to set a timer and clean for fifteen minutes, so as to silence the rather sharp, matronly, and unlikeable voice in my head.

And then I'm going to play Psychonauts until I'm good and saturated with quirky graphics and witty repartee.

Today

I sat down at the piano and played for the first time in a long time. We went to the library; we went to lunch. I wore purple heels and Ruby Woo in the middle of the day. We went to a cupcake shop, and managed not to buy anything. Did I write? No. But I read. And ate with chopsticks. And got yelled at by my friend because I am a coward and I'm afraid of writerly rejection, and every other kind, too. Friends get to yell at friends because they earn it, and her ranting made me feel better. I rode a grocery cart, and rubbed noses with my kids. I felt sad for no reason at all, and disentangled Nina's leg from the slats of her crib, and wrapped Niko up in my old Sesame Street baby blanket. And now I get to go to bed.

Abandoned Towers

You know what? I needed this.

http://www.cyberwizardproductions.com/AbandonedTowers/

Go to Writing Challenge, then Aug/Sept winners.

The editor said some very kind and gracious things, and that makes me happy. A nice end to the night!

But He's a Pretty Rottweiler.

Niko is currently studying for the GRE. He's lying on his stomach and flipping the pages while Nina naps. I'm making stew and homemade rolls for tonight, because I'm awesome like that. Sometimes. :P

Niko's been headbutting his little seat buddy on the bus, and his driver asked if I could get a bus aid into his IEP. Otherwise she'll have to separate him from the rest of the kids, and she really doesn't want to do that. I find that very compassionate of her, and I'll definitely look into that.

I was just out petting the neighborhood rottweiler and broke into hives. Other than that, it's a peaceful day.

Take Care of Yourselves...and Each Other

Niko was so excited for the bus today, jumping and flipping his hands in excitement. Which is such a relief to me. Nina's teething (again. Still. Forever.) and is fussy and sad, and I've had a consitant string of writing going lately. Hopefully this will tide me over for those times when I can't so much as write my name.

So this was my take on General Conference in a nutshell: Yes, these are hard times. Take care of each other and choose joy. There were a lot of messages, but that's what resonated with me. And you know what? I can do that. What an uplifting thought.

Next, let's speak about Demonic Tome! It came out today, and I really struggled with my story. Check out "Thus Sayeth the Devil" by Dawn Allison (rock on, Dawn!) and mine is "Forbidden Grand". I put this disclaimer up on my writing site, but in case there's any question in your minds, Demonic Tome is a horror site. Keep that in mind, if you so choose to go exploring. And enjoy!

www.demonictome.com

Just Life

We had our first official family picture. "Take it fast," we told the photographer, "our children are going to fall apart."

"Have more faith in me," she said. That won my heart, quiet honestly, the sweet, determined, naive thing.

Niko went absolutely haywire. She got one shot, I kid you not. One shot. Then Luke scooped him up and carried him outside to console him. Thankfully, it was a pretty decent shot. Luke, Nina, and I were looking equal parts happy and wry. Niko was tearfully chewing on his fingers.

"We'll take it," I said.

The photographer eyed it. "I can ask them to take the tears out."

"Keep them," I said, and smiled at her. "This is him. This is us. This is just life."

Our House is a Very, Very, Very Fine House

The MFA program responded to my inquiry, saying to apply anyway and if I'm accepted, they'll meet together as a faculty and try to be sensitive to my needs. You know what? I appreciate that. Green light, all systems go.

This came out today. It's a poem that I wrote in high school when I should have been studying math. I still remember writing it, based on this borderline hateful English friend that I had at the time.

http://www.freewebs.com/rarepetal/index.htm

As always, I have all of my writing links on www.abrokenlaptop.wordpress.com

I'm still trying to figure out blog organization. On one hand, if you're wandering over here because your child has just been diagnosed with Williams, you're not going to want to read about my writing. But if you're my friend, then you'll want to know that finally! Something is happening on the writing front! And it's making me very happy.

I guess I don't know whether I should separate writing from the Williams. It would be neater. Then again, life certainly isn't that way; they're definitely intertwined.

Hi, this is me. We are a household of music and kisses and old movies. And Williams syndrome. And writing. :)

Beautiful in Your Tragedy

Hey, I have two things that came out today! Nice! :)

http://www.reflectionsedge.com/ and http://sixsentences.blogspot.com/2008/10/beautiful-in-your-tragedy.html