Just What I Needed

Today in Mommy-Land

Got through the Little Man’s 9 Month doctor’s appointment today with flying colors and no shots! Thank goodness there’s at least one of these wellness checkups that don’t involve getting poked. It’s no wonder kids hate going to the doctors when for the first six-eight months of their lives, they’re constantly getting 3-4 pokes per visit. *I’d* hate that if I had to go through it, and I know the shots are ultimately good for me!

He’s gained almost three pounds since his last visit, and he’s grown an inch, too! No wonder his pants are looking shorter these days… Overall, he’s growing just like he should, which after it took so long those first few weeks after he was born to get him to start gaining properly, it’s a huge relief that he doesn’t seem to be having any trouble in that area anymore. :)

And despite the disruption of going out to the doctor’s this morning, he still went down for a morning-isn nap (for about an hour and a half! WOO!), and napped again when we all went out for a walk this afternoon for about an hour. Hooray! Maybe, maybe the naps aren’t really gone just yet? *hopeshopeshopeshooooopes!*

In other news, EEEEEEEEEEEEK~! Just three days ’til we find out if Andy “matched” to a residency, and then just a week until we find out where! :D

Today in Writer-Land

Got the entire WiP retyped/tidied today, so that’ll go to my primary beta readers this weekend, and we’ll see what they think. As I was reading through the three final scenes, I realized I’d written them in first person, instead of third like the rest of the story, so it was super fun hunting through 2k words looking for “I” and “me” and replacing them with “Anne” and “she”. Sigh. Ah well, it’s been combed over now, and there’s nothing else to it!

I’m starting to think of my limited available time for writing as “front burner” time and “back burner” time. First nap, however long it ends up being, is “first burner” for whatever project is burning a hole in my pocket. This can be the current WiP, or a brand new idea that I need to get the roughing done for, or whatever is weighing on my mind most heavily. “Back burner” time is during that second nap, however long it might be, and is for work that just has to get done–editing, research, planning, brainstorming, new words or rewrites doesn’t really matter. Sometimes “front burner” takes over “back burner” but that’s okay, because it’s all about consolidating the energy for any project. If I finish the front burner stuff and feel satisfied, I work on something else during back burner time. If I’m still piping hot on what I worked on during front burner, then it can boil over into back burner time, too. (zomg she’s using the cooking metaphor too much…)

It’s funny, and there’s a part of me that wants to kick myself in the butt for saying this, but I was thinking about it today and it just kind of hit me that since the Little Man’s arrival, I’ve somehow managed to be more productive writing-wise than I was prior, despite having a lot more time. I guess it’s like Geoff Ryman said during his Apex Interview, the time expands to fit the work. I have less time now, but I’m probably getting as much or more done with what little time I have, if only because I don’t have the option to procrastinate or overthink anything. (This thought brought to you by The Cars and “Just What I Needed” as heard on the radio today.)