Mommy's Buttons

Noelle has figured out this last week that if she whimpers right before naptime or bedtime saying, "I'm hungwee momma! I'm hungwee!" I will rush in a flurry of panic and get her some food, thereby delaying the inevitable.

Her other tactic is to say in a perky, little voice, "Mommy I have to go potty!" Since we have just accomplished potty-training this last week, this is the second most powerful thing she can say to stop me in my tracks.

Tonight, we were getting ready to have our night time prayer with Grammy and Grandpa, who are visiting for the holidays, when she immediately started whimpering, "I'm hungwee mommy, I'm hungwee!"

By now, I've figured out what she's doing and so I just laughed at her and said, "Noelle knows how to push mommy's buttons."

At which point, she stopped, looked down and pushed both my boobs!

A Manuscript Coming True

I've been neglecting this blog this Fall because I've had a hard time balancing writing my manuscript while also writing for my blogs (this one and dormwife).

My writing time happens in the margins of my life, during nap time or after bedtime and only after the chores are finished and my grading and lesson plans are done. With that said, the book which has existed in my mind as a shadow this last three years is finally becoming a reality in my computer, with a foreseeable end in sight!

I am so thrilled to be at this spot on the long hike up the mountain called "writing a book", because I feel like I can finally look out and see how far I've come and enjoy the view a bit. There is still alot of rewriting to do, but the bulk, structure and narrative arc are complete. Is it a masterpiece? Certainly not. Is it good? Probably not, but I don't mind. The thing I'm most excited about is that this vision of mine is becoming real!

I wanted to share this with you because you have been so generous to read the stuff I put up here and other places. You've been so encouraging and I realize that you are the ones most likely to read this thing when it is done.

So I wanted to let you be a part of the journey and to tell you - THANK YOU! Thank you. The time you give to read any two words I put together is a gift and I do not take it for granted!

I have met with a writing consultant at the university where I teach who has been so encouraging and has offered to help me make the connections I need in submitting the book proposal. I am so grateful for this little bit of light on the next few steps I need to take.

I'll let you know how things progress!

With lots of hope and encouragement this Christmas Season ~

Christin

Facing Our Beauty

My latest article is up on Ungrind today! I am so grateful to Ashleigh Slater, the editor, who has given me the opportunity time and time again to share my writing with a wider audience!

I hope you enjoy this latest article and if you can, stop by Ungrind on a regular basis to read other great up-and-coming female writers.