Whew!

Things do not slow down--not for a second. Not even when you think they will. Yesterday, I didn't get home until 8PM. I was at the library making a mammoth amount of copies from 1:15-2:07, and I was teaching private ESL lessons from 2:30-6:30. Then, I went home to pick up Aaron and Charity and we went to ALDI (which is now carrying Indian food (YAY) for a limited time (BOO)) because we were out of food. $60 later, our cupboards are full until the next major shopping trip, which is the great thing about ALDI. $60 will feed you for 2 weeks; that's why my grocery bill is less than $200/month.

After getting home at 8, I couldn't concentrate. I was trying to work on revisions for a direct order through Ecopywriters, and it was draining me. Finally, I got it done, sent it in, and attempted to do some research for the Paul F. Fidler grant that I'm applying for with PUC for the first-year program we're studying. I got through two of the past recipients before thinking I could no longer handle life without Pepsi (I'd tried to boycot it that evening) and sent Aaron to the store. After cleaning Fester's cage, I decided I needed a bath, so then Alice Sebold's Lucky stole two hours of my life. :) Finally, I was in bed, only to wake up four hours later, kiss Charity goodbye, and head in to present my "She Said WHAT?" lesson on quoting--a favorite, I must say!

However, amidst the busy, is the good:

• Charity is now putting two words together often. She makes short sentences like "Mommy, up!" She's early on this--most kids don't do it until well into thier 2s, says linguistics in 2009. :)
• I am going to be teaching the new learning communities section of ENG 100 next year. It promises to be a great change!
• There is a slight possibility of me being made an assistant, assistant, assistant director of the writing center.
• NO ONE heard about the writing awards. I'm not a loser (yet).
• Charity's adorable hair can now be pulled back with barrets--awe!

Yawn. It's 5:04 and time for me to leave my office and go pick up Miss Charity. I hope the mail contains the $360 check that is over a week late. :/ I want to pay my pet fee and get a cat! (Although Charity will need to take some time to get used to the cat. At a party we went to last Friday, she was terribly afraid of the big, black "meow meow." She did enjoy seeing another baby, though, and dancing on command to the Black Eyed Peas' I Got a Feeling.

About Blogging

I realize I just updated this blog about five seconds ago. However, I wanted to take a second to discuss a few issues about my blog. Because I've done about five of these this month, let's take a FAQ approach.

1. Why do you blog?

I enjoy it. It's an easy way for me to keep track of what's going on in my life and Charity's. Some day, I'd like to have these to look back on. (Google, please don't go belly up and take my blog with you!)

2. Are you trying to market yourself?


NO! Apparently, today, half the battle of being a successful writer is marketing yourself. When I heard that, I promptly decided success was no longer in my goals. I still like to write and I still submit and publish, but I am in no way interested in spending half my life running a campaign to get you to read what I write. Right now, I'm focusing on finishing raising Charity, doing something good for this world, finishing my M.A., getting my PhD, and beating Super Mario Sunshine.

3. Geeze, don't you proofread this thing?

Right now, I'm just trying to keep it updated. One of the benefits of hypertext is that they are constantly in the revision and editing stage even after publication. (Read a crazy awesome article on this. I can't remember who wrote it.) Eventually, I will proof everything. But for now, you get it as crappy as it is. Aren't you special. :)

4. Will you update this blog regularly.

I will try, as I said, because I want to be able to record what is going on in Charity's life.

5. Are you trying to get lots of people to read this or make money? Is this why you post links?

No. I am not currently on Adsense nor do I have a lot of readers. If I get a lot of readers, it would make sense for me to sign up for Adsense. But neither of these events are my goals.

6. Why can't I comment on your blog?

I DON'T KNOW! I'm trying to figure that out. For now, comment on Facebook.

Distracting Charity & Commas

Ladies and gentlemen, the score is now Charity, 2, Flatware, 0. Still not enough of a lead to convince me to buy some plastic plates. Just yesterday Aaron was cleaning up the kitchen while we were getting ready to go out and I heard the telltale crash from the living room where I was sneaking in a few moments of Super Mario Sunshine. (Do not purchase this game, it will steal your motivation and free time!)

"She broke a plate," I hear from the kitchen--not like I needed the announcement. The score from above is only the most recent number. I am well aware of the sound of plate breaking at this point in time. The plate breaking is a symptom of the strange way that Charity eats.

I say "strange" not fussy because sometimes the problem is that she does not have enough mouth in which to fit more banana. Other times the problem is that she refuses to eat anything but crackers. And she says "hungry" five seconds after she eats. In a bizarre moment of memorological astuteness, I actually remember the first time she said the word, "hungry." We were walking into the apartment, and she said "eat! eat! eat!" And I, trying to be the good teacher mommy, said, "When you want to eat, you're hungry."

"Hungry," she replied, almost leaving out the /g/ and stretching the /i:/. I thought it was the cutest word she'd said since "Mommy."

Now I wish she would STOP saying it! It's "hungry" and "snack" and "cheese" and "milk" every five seconds! And of course I can't give her these things because she's getting more than she should for her meals already! My personal theory is that she's just learning to like eating, something that makes me a bit nervous. I like to eat, too, which is a problem.

But as long as I keep her distracted, she seems to be fine with three regular meals a day and a couple of snack times. One of the methods by which I can keep her even more and more distracted is going to the park--the "Dunes Friendship Land" park. There are some definite pros and cons to this. I feel a list coming on.

Pros:

• Charity loves walking around in the park. The little kids side is fenced in, so I can just let her go. She ignores the equipment, but really likes running around.
• Nice benches, good shade, and for the most part nice people IN the actual playground area. 
• Most of the equipment we like to use is in working order--the big people swings (I can't put Charity in a baby swing without getting a size 7 shoe imprint on my torso.), the slides, the tire swing.
• The park is within easy driving distance and do-able walking distance

Cons:

• STUPID TEENAGERS!! (Not the nice kind that might be reading this!) These kids look and talk like they crawled out of that "World's Strictist Parents" show on MTV. Actually, the "World's Strictist Parents" kids are much cooler. 
• Broken equipment! It stinks. The place has really gotten rundown since when it was first built. I REMEMEBER when it was first built. That's probably why (because I'm old, not because I remember it.)
• There is not a fence around the WHOLE park. So when Charity is ready to go into the big kids section, we are constantly fighting over the fact that she has to hold hands. I always win. I may or may not avoid the shoe print and the in-the-middle-of-the-park tantrum.   

Pros out weight cons in this case, and she really does love the park, so I'm going to continue taking her there. And I am going to CONTINUE calling the cops about those kids.

Another great way to get Charity's mind off of food is to assist her in playing with her Dora the Explora' (I love saying it like that!) toy castle, purchased from grumpy people at a garage sale this Saturday for the very high cost of $7. The castle is very cool. It's purple and there are secret passageways that she and Aaron understand and that confuse me. It came with grandma, who has wings (Can anyone tell me why grandma can fly?), Dora, a monkey, and a unicorn.

Watching Charity play with this castle is pretty darn amazing. She acts just like a little kid, NOT a baby! She makes the grandma go in one room and puts Dora in her chair. She works the secret passageways and makes neighing sounds for the unicorn. (Do unicorns neigh? It would make sense.) I will have to grab a video soon, now that I have a WORKING camera!

I feel like Charity's grown up in just a few days. She went from being a baby to being a little kid who hears me say naptime and whines "no" while trying to get me to read another story. She plays with big kid toys and walks up and down the stairs with me. She strings two words together to make little sentences. And she doesn't let me get ANYTHING done! :)

But for not getting anything done, I'm doing pretty well. Other than a few kids in my class who don't know that you're not supposed to cheat and make fun of other students, I have a lot going on. It's super busy, but also cool. I love seing my ideas being put into actions. I love being able to do homework in classes that actually infuence what I'm doing for the Skills Assessment and Development Center and in my classes.

And on the writing front, I'm now doing music reviews. Check this one out: http://rocknrollghost.com/2010/04/09/midas-fall-eleven-return-and-revert-monotreme.

I also rehauled our web site at SADC: http://webs.calumet.purdue.edu/skills/

And to top it all off, today we ate dinner AT THE KITCHEN TABLE for the first time since moving into this apartment a year ago! We had fruit salad (Charity wouldn't stop saying "yummy yummy"), hamburgers (I started letting her have meat), baked beans, and veggies. For dessert, I made a delicious chocolate cake with strawberries on top. I have a picture, but I'm not taking the time to upload it.

In self-reflection mode, after teaching my high school Sunday School class today, I think I taught myself something. Jesus had no place to lay his head. This is a big thing for me and my beliefs about capitalism and the way I think I (not you, necessarily) should live. Jesus also told us that we shouldn't worry about our needs because God will take care of them. However, he DIDN'T say that God will only take care of them if we WORK OURSELVES to DEATH! So more trusting should be done on my part. :)

I'm teaching my ESL students commas tomorrow. These are the most kick-butt sites I know to learn commas. Enjoy!

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/604/1/
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/598/1/
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/692/1/