random ramblings

My time is no longer my own, and won't be until the kids are grown and gone.  It's twenty after seven, and I've been up for forty minutes, now.  I've been drinking my coffee, and am only just now awake and coherent enough to be able to form thoughts.  It may well not be a school morning, but that doesn't affect wake-up times. 

I know I forgot the FFOT yesterday--I'm researching for a giant one for next week on the idiots in charge. 

The imp missed having an all-green week, this week.  He says that he got orange yesterday because he didn't bring home the reading homework from the day before. 

I am not surprised--when he has homework, he has to do that before he's permitted to play.  And he's smart enough to figure that out.  He does not, however, have the cognitive tools yet to be able to guess what's going to happen when he does this.  Well, like always happens when children decide to try to be clever, he got caught.  And he wasn't permitted to watch TV last night.  And he was isolated for the evening until bedtime. 

He did, however, read his book before bed.  Last night's was the little step into reading book about Iron Man (he's read about Captain America, Spider Man, Thor, and Wolverine).  Out of the little six pack of books Odysseus got for him, he's only got The X-Men left (since we still have to find the Kindle and download The Avengers).  We're discussing what other books to order for him in the series.  I'm voting for The Guardians of the Galaxy, because the kids have a couple of things from that, and they love Groot and Rocket.

The pixie has been greatly enjoying her preschool class.  She has made several friends (pretty much the whole class), and is just the happiest little pixie in the world.  She's currently wearing a pink with red lady-bug print flannel nightgown that her grandma made her.  It's huge on her--too big around--and comes down to mid calf, with about a three inch hem that can be let down as she grows taller. 

She loves books as much as her older brother does, for all that she's not doing more than just thoroughly learning the alphabet, right now.  I've found a boxed set of princess books, and a five-in-one Disney Fairies book. 

The cats are cuddling into as small of a space as twenty-one pounds of fur can fit into.  I think they're cold.

I re-arranged the due dates for my classes' next paper.  It's due Monday, so that we can enjoy playing with the imp this weekend.  Monday is his birthday.  We'd planned a zoo trip, but the weather has rather scotched those plans.  It's bloody cold, today, and will be windy.  The pixie and I are both prone to ear ache.  My students have asked me to thank the imp for their postponed due date, and to wish him a happy birthday.

Last, but not least, I'm polishing on a short story set in the Modern Gods world--"Bar Tabs"--which I'll be publishing as a $0.99 Kindle story, and popping up as free for a while every month or so.  It's an explanation of who's who in the various pantheons, as explained by the bartender and one of the other characters.  I had a lot of fun writing it, and it really is almost done.  I'll let y'all know when it's available.

In the meantime, you can order Lizzy's Tail for your younger kids and/or grandkids at any time.  And yes, young boys do enjoy it, according to a friend whose two year old son begs her to read it to him.