Random ramblings

The imp keeps trying to get up at 6:30.  I have been awake since then, this morning, and given that Odysseus didn't get off until midnight last night, I didn't get broken out of my writing until about 12:30.  Or to bed (and sleep) until about 1:00 a.m.  I suspect that I'm going to have much less patience than usual for the kids' antics and bad behavior, today.

The kids have been fighting pretty constantly, lately.  And it's both of them, not just the imp bullying his sister (though I suspect the pixie wouldn't be starting things if she wasn't sure that if she doesn't, he will).  If it's not the imp smacking, pushing, taking a toy away from, or yelling at the pixie, it's the pixie collapsing in tears to get her brother in trouble, or running up to hit or push her brother.  I don't know if this is a phase or what, but they're both getting into trouble for hitting, shoving, taking toys, or screaming at each other. 

It's to the point where I'm strongly considering staggering naptimes to reduce time they're awake together.  The only times they're not fighting is when one or both of them are sleeping, or when they're separated (and even then, they fight across the room or through the gate).

The imp is starting to dream about things and remember them when he wakes up.  Yesterday, he talked all day about going to Super Why's house in a dream, and playing with the kids.  It was incredibly cute. 

The pixie is starting to say her own name, and her vocabulary is exploding.  She's also using more and more three word phrases: this morning, as I was carrying her from her bed to the chair I nurse her in, she held up this little sock elephant (like a sock monkey, but different animal), and tells me, all huge eyes and earnest face, "hold efant's tail."  And she was. 

The Godshead is currently in the hands of my wonderful beta reader (for this book), M Sgt B.  I can't do anything with it until I've been away from it long enough to be able to see it for what it is on paper, instead of what I see it as in my head--and that includes editing for typos, punctuation, and plot holes that need filled.  Let me know if there's interest, and I'll post what I've written for the back cover.

So, in the meantime, I've picked up the project I'd been planning to write over Christmas break.  I've spent a couple days refamiliarizing myself with the characters and my planned story line for my take on the Arthur legends.  And, in two days, I've written almost 4,500 words (about ten pages) of plot and character development, while juggling chasing kids and making cookies.  It feels like I'm kind of on a roll with this.  I'll see how far I can get in nine more days.  If the pace of my writing keeps up, I may end up with a 2/3 finished novel, instead of a 1/3 finished novel. 

I have it on good authority that all of the on-campus Freshman Composition I classes are full, and that the last big enrollment push hasn't happened, yet.  I have fourteen in one class, none in the other, and we have a head of department that doesn't see anything wrong with enrolling first semester freshmen in online classes (I don't either--the more knuckleheads that drop out early because no one is wiping their noses for them, the fewer there are later).  I'm probably going to have a full load for about two weeks.  Maybe less. 

Maybe freshmen deciding that the online class is "too hard!  I can't do this!" will give me more time to write. 

It's getting to be a hell of a lot more satisfying than teaching.