FIVE hours of sleep in a row! To be fair, I woke up at 3.5 hours, realized there wasn't a peep from the cradle, said 'hallelujah!' in my head and went back to sleep, but still... FIVE hours in a row where I didn't have to budge from my bed. I think Guppy took that threat of leaving her out for the wolves to raise seriously.

Bread is made, laundry is a consideration... but Guppy's napping at the moment, so I'd like to get some writing in.

And speaking of writing, my next newly-public (thanks to haunted_blood!) story to highlight is Railcrossing. This story is WAY outside of my normal comfort zone and I'm a little shy about spotlighting it... it's easily the most erotic, graphic thing I've written. I... ah... hope I did it right? Because it is rated 'adult,' it can only be viewed by logged-in readers. The Rails plot does not require this story - this is what happens after the tasteful fade-to-black at the end of Railchange. If you'd prefer to leave it to your imagination, you won't miss any plotpoints. (That's one of the lovely things about the structure at Torn World, you can write a story at a general rating, but interject optional scenes of a completely different rating whenever you like, without having to change the rating of the whole collection.)

And on a COMPLETELY different note:

Last night's sleep was AWESOME... right up until about 4:30, when Elsa decided that talking was preferable to sleep. "Ah aaaaAAAiiiIIII. EeeeeeeehaaaaaaAAAAA. Eh? OOooooAAAAwwwwaaaaaa eh uh." (I'm bored. It's dark and I can't see my hands. Mom? I'm booooOOOOOred Mom, come on.)

I cuddled her to sleep and woke up with a vicious headache, which Jake helped rub out of my shoulders.

She let me get another half hour or so of sleep after he'd left for work, then got bored again. So, we played, I folded laundry ("These are Mom's pants! They don't fit Elsa!") and snapped a few photos.


She's trying very hard to figure out the musical bird...

I've got another load of laundry to put in, then it's down to some writing today, where momming allows - either some backstory (Kativa/Kether/Tolnam), some North-Meets-South plot-moving things, or some Rails (I'm gleefully anticipating the next several sections. *grins*). And speaking of Rails...

Today's newly public story is Railchange, thanks to haunted_blood. Get a look at some of the workings of the carnal guild in this little confection of fashion, flattery and flirtation as Ressa dresses up to meet Yeff for their first date. (And did you see the delicious portrait Cris Griffin did of him? Go drool!)
[Tagged with| guppy, photos, torn world]

Finished another poem for Muse Fusion before stopping for the day - a shaped free-verse that was a lot of fun to put together. That brings me to three sketches (one VERY rough and one in COLOR!) and one poem. Not too shabby!

In very exciting news, ALL of my stories at Torn World have been sponsored and are now visible free for all readers. A huge thank you to the sponsors who've made this possible. I will highlight a few at a time, rather than dump them all on you at once, and will start with Grandma Monster, a satellite story for the Rails collection. Ressa brings gossip to a retired warsailor... and gets a little of her own in return. It is also a look at how news travels in the Empire, and at some of the strange gender rules of the area.

I also vacuumed, and played with Guppy and took two short naps with her, and ate copious amounts of food and watched an episode of My Little Pony (FIM). An adorable show - I can see why people have been raving about it. It also makes me quite nostalgic for the MLPs I used to play with as a girl... I wonder if I still have any out in the connex box. I think I kept one of them for sentimental reasons. In fact, my Very First fanfiction was MLP. I didn't have any media to go off at that time, just a list of the names in the JC Penny's Wish Book. I think I was 6 or 7. It has an illustration on the cover and was a rather dense tome (for a 6 or 7 year old) of hand-written pages. The pacing was really bad, the dialogue was awful and I can't even remember if there was a plot. I'll have to dig it up and subject you to it.

I know you guys are only here for the cute baby pictures, so here you are!



Now, in the spirit of knowing how to have a good time, I'm going to dig a hairball out of the shower drain and pay medical bills.

It's a gorgeous day and was a really lovely weekend. My first Mother's Day was wonderful - you only wish you'd had the bacon-wrapped tenderloins Jake grilled for me, or the corn on the cob, or the perfect baby carrots and potatoes... and I LOVE the earrings he got me - custom-made amethyst (Elsa' birthstone) and mother-of-pearl. I feel unbelievably fancy in them. Also, I didn't have to wash any dishes!!

I also got some nice naps over the weekend, and Guppy seems to have gotten back into a more favorable sleep pattern (knock on wood) so I'm getting good three-hour+ blocks of sleep again each night, at least once.

This morning I have done some hacker thwarting (*shakes fist*) and made bread. I am considering vacuuming.

Last few hours of the May Muse Fusion... will Guppy continue to nap so I can do another few prompts? STAY TUNED FOR THE EXCITING CONCLUSION! (And also for today's baby photo.)

Lots of love to mothers everywhere...
[Tagged with| guppy]

I got THREE naps yesterday, one of them particularly good, and last night we got Very Good sleep - one block of 3 and a half hours! No diaper leaks, one false alarm, only one round of nursing and it was back to sleep every time, right away.

I was reading one of my baby books yesterday, and there was a section on 'Difficult Babies.' The first type of 'difficult baby' was: the Active Baby. It was like a checklist of Elsa, starting with wiggling in the womb, through sleeping less than other babies and being bright and alert most of the time. The biggest danger of an active baby is that they hurt themselves accidentally. I never, ever would have classified Guppy as a 'difficult baby,' not even yesterday morning, nor would I want her any other way.



Active baby is active!

Sketching for Muse Fusion now! Come leave me prompts! http://torn-world.livejournal.com/108588.html
[Tagged with| guppy]

Torn World

While I was zombie-ing around this week looking for my brain, the paid LJ account for Torn World expired! Boo! Diapers are taking too much of my budget for me to simply donate that myself, but I'm willing to work for it... this is an updated list of the stories and poems I have available for sponsorship. A paid account for a year costs $25 - all sponsorships to that total will go 100% to cover a years worth of ad-free community costs! Many are also available for karma sponsorship (the awesome non-monetary currency at Torn World that you earn for submitting work or commenting), but those don't count towards the paid account.

With sponsorship of a story, you are listed as a patron (even when you 'sponsor' with karma) and the story becomes public for anyone to read. Show off your good taste by sponsoring your favorite topics, authors and stories. You can send me Torn World credits or karma at my Torn World member page, just let me know what it's for! And do consider subscribing at Torn World - you get access to ALL these stories and poems, as well as all the free material at the site, for as little as $5! It's a steal, AND you get $4 (of a $5 subscription) back to donate to the artists and authors YOU want to support.

You may also use the donate button at the bottom of the Torn World site, or use your EMG credits (from Sketch Fest, coloring books sales, etc.). Just let me know what you're sending funds for.

( Complete list of available stories... there are a lot! )

There is also a Muse Fusion this weekend! Look for our opening post shortly! I would love your prompts, as I feel creative enough to tackle some of them, and (knocks on wood) Elsa appears to be in a nappy mood today.

ETA: It's open now: http://torn-world.livejournal.com/108588.html - come leave prompts!


EMG-Zine

We're collecting work in the theme of 'Games' this month! Search your harddrives for artwork, stories or poetry with that topic and consider submitting it!

Check out May's issue, while you're there. :)


Sketch Fest

June 22-24 has pulled into the lead in our poll. I am tentatively planning a Sketch Fest that weekend!


(I got GOOD sleep last night, can you tell??)
[Tagged with| emg-zine, sketch fest, torn world]

7 PM: NOT sleepy.

8 PM: Nursing. NOT sleepy.

9 PM: Fussy fit with fists in mouth. You aren't hungry yet, baby girl... you just ate! Oh, you really ARE hungry. Okay... Nursing. Down to sleep. (Yes!)

9:15 PM: Mom gets to go to sleep. (Double Yes!)

11:30 PM: 'Eh! Eh!' New diaper. Nursing.

12:30 AM: Mom gets back to sleep.

2:15 AM: 'Eh!' New diaper. Nursing. I inform her that if this is a growth spurt, it's supposed to be a temporary thing, but this has been going on like this since Sunday night. She yawns.

2:45 AM: Back to sle--

2:46 AM: Loud gross diaper noises mean we're up for a new diaper.

2:55 AM: Back to sleep.

4 AM: Diaper change - Guppy has peed through her diaper, so this means a full bedding change... and she throws up on her new outfit as I'm changing her, so there's a third outfit. While I'm changing her, she decides to contribute some more, so we change the diaper again. By this point, she's wide awake and hungry, so we nurse. I point out that I could get a lovely few hours of sleep before morning things happen if she decides to let me, and wouldn't that be great for everyone? She agrees, but there are no witnesses.

4:30 AM: Back to sleep.

5 AM: Another diaper, are you serious? Yes, she is. Though it was contained this time (I suspect it would not have been, with the Pampers). I point out to her that the average baby is supposed to go through 8 and 12 diapers in a whole day. She is unimpressed.

5:10 AM: Back to sleep.

6 AM: She says 'eh!' I say 'uuuuuuhhhhh'. She insists. We change the diaper... and while I'm switching between them, she decides it's a perfect time to peeeeeeee, so we get to switch outfits and bedding again. While I'm changing out the bed and she's strapped on the changing pad, we get more gross diaper noises and get to change the diaper AGAIN.

6:40 AM: Have laid down to sleep, but hear noises of husband waking up next door. Take baby in to him for cuddles. Steal cuddles for myself. Husband has to get up and start his day, Guppy begins fuss-engine. Nursing. I remind her that the paperwork we got from the clinic says that by 3 months, she should only be nursing 4-5 times a day. She smiles hugely at me.

7:20 AM: Back down to sleep. Please, sleep. Need SLEEP. Starting to hallucinate about diapers.

8:20 AM: 'Eh!' Diaper change. Throws up on outfit. Another new outfit. Looks incredibly cute. WIDE AWAKE. Mom cries a little, then goes and makes bread.

Oo... she's snoozing, I'm going to try another nap. Have 2.5 photos that remind me why she hasn't been left outside for the wolves to raise yet:



( +2 )
[Tagged with| guppy]

I need some parent advice!

( help! )

I went to a toddler party for a friend's sprout yesterday and reconnected with a lot of people I hadn't seen since high school... it was a lot of fun, and Elsa was mostly an angel, though a little wide-eyed at all the noise and commotion. There was a pinata! And so many people! Though actually... I was probably as alarmed by the number of people as she was, really... it's been a long time since I was out in public being sociable. Brighton held her for me for a little while and I was able to take some action shots of the kids hitting the pinata.

Elsa was good all the way home, and into the evening, but when things caught up with her, got fussy, then overate, then threw up a gallon of milk and... because baby stomachs are actually bags of holding, did so a second and third time, too. Oh, joy. We took a shower together - Elsa likes showering with Mom! - and cuddled and wound down for a pretty good night of sleep.

Here's a picture that is not from the party OR from the throwing up:


[Tagged with| guppy, photos]