No, I didn't misspell 'crap'. Though I must say the two could be synonymous, in my world at least. As much as I was relieved to find that my little Count Cannonball did not have the swine flue (yay!), the *croup diagnosis was no cause for celebration (boo!). Add ear infection to the equation, and Voila! Instant crappy, sleep-deprivating, vomit-laden situation with a side of unending crankies.
True, I should be grateful it is not life-threatening.
True, I should be grateful it didn't turn into *RSV.
Still, after 3 days...or wait, is it 4?...of lugging my sweet 35-pounder up and down the stairs, of having only 2-hour increments of disrupted sleep, of having my ear drums beaten to an unrecognizable pulp (he has strong lungs, which is a good thing says the doc), of patiently waiting for his fits to subside while I kept myself from screaming and tearing my hair apart--
You can tell it's been a loooong 3 days (or 4; I don't know anymore). The dirty dishes scream 'Wash me!' in the sink, while piles of washed laundry wilt and wrinkle on the couch, silently bemoaning their forgotten state. See? See what I mean--my brain has ceased to function as evidenced by the purple prose written above.
So not good.
What's a mom to do? Even worse, what's a writer to do? Ah croup!
*croup: Accdg. to KidsHealth.org, Croup is a condition that causes an inflammation of the upper airways — the voice box (larynx) and windpipe (trachea). It often leads to a barking cough or hoarseness, especially when a child cries.
Most cases of croup are caused by viruses. Those involved are usually parainfluenza virus (which accounts for most cases), adenovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Croup is most common — and symptoms are most severe — in children 6 months to 3 years old, but can affect older kids, too.
*RSV:Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes infection of the lungs and breathing passages, is a major cause of respiratory illness in young children.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
I really should...
...try to blog more often, but with only 24 hours in a day, and 8 of that spent sleeping (I wish!), there's only so much that one can do in 16 hours. Right? Right!
Since I've got one sick kid (poor Count Cannonball) at the moment, thought I'd let you guys amuse yourselves with this:
In two days' time, I assure you that song will be stuck in your head. Happy ticking! BTW, this is my little cannonball's fave...erm...puppet show. Thank heavens he doesn't understand why Dumbledore shows up naked later on. I won't have to explain that one for many years to come (I hope!).
Enjoy!
Since I've got one sick kid (poor Count Cannonball) at the moment, thought I'd let you guys amuse yourselves with this:
In two days' time, I assure you that song will be stuck in your head. Happy ticking! BTW, this is my little cannonball's fave...erm...puppet show. Thank heavens he doesn't understand why Dumbledore shows up naked later on. I won't have to explain that one for many years to come (I hope!).
Enjoy!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Dear Lucky Agent
For you writers out there--wait, let me make that, desperate aspiring writers--here's a contest that'll get you to quit your love affair with your bourbon, or whiskey, or heck, I don't know what you people drink.
For YA and Middle Grade only, here's the contest info:
BTW, this is from Chuck Sambuchino (an awesome guy--no, I haven't met him in person, but his pic looks cool!;)) He's an editor for the Writer's Digest Books. Oh, just click on the link, okay, cause I haven't got time to list all he's done (which is a LOT).
Welcome to the second "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest on the GLA blog. This will be a recurring online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here's the deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the niche itself changes—meaning each contest is focused around a specific category or two. So if you're writing a book-length kids novel, this second contest is for you!
HOW TO SUBMIT
E-mail entries to februaryagentcontest@gmail.com. Please paste everything. No attachments.
WHAT TO SUBMIT
The first 150-200 words of your unpublished, book-length work of middle grade or young adult fiction. You must include a contact e-mail address with your entry and use your real name. Also, submit the title of the work and a logline (one-sentence description of the work) with your entry.
Please note: To be eligible to submit, I ask that you do one of two things: 1) Mention and link to this contest twice through your social media - blogs, Twitter, Facebook; or 2) just mention this contest once and also add Guide to Literary Agents Blog (www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog) to your blogroll. Please provide link(s) so I can verify eligibility.
CONTEST DETAILS
1. This contest will be live for approximately fourteen days - from Feb. 7 through the end of Sunday, Feb. 21, EST. Winners notified by e-mail within seven days of end of contest. Winners announced on the blog thereafter.
2. To enter, submit the first 150-200 words of your book. Shorter or longer entries will not be considered. Keep it within word count range please.
3. This contest is solely for completed book-length works of middle grade and young adult fiction (kids novels).
4. You can submit as many times as you wish.
5. The contest is open to everyone of all ages, save those employees, officers and directors of GLA's publisher, F+W Media.
6. There are more rules (most of them dealing with legal stuff) that you can find in the comments section of this post.
7. By e-mailing your entry, you are submitting an entry for consideration in this contest and thereby agreeing to the terms written here as well as the terms added by me at the beginning of the "Comments" section of this blog post.
PRIZES!!!
First place: 1) A critique of 25 pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) A query critique from your agent judge. 3) Two free books from Writer's Digest Books (I will give you several choices and you pick the books your want).
Runner-ups - second and third place: 1) A critique of 10 pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) One free book from Writer's Digest Books (I will give you several choices and you pick the book your want).
Jennifer Laughran from Andrea Brown Lit Agency will be judging your ink-and-paper dreams. So polish, polish, polish that ms. And goodluck to everyone.
For YA and Middle Grade only, here's the contest info:
BTW, this is from Chuck Sambuchino (an awesome guy--no, I haven't met him in person, but his pic looks cool!;)) He's an editor for the Writer's Digest Books. Oh, just click on the link, okay, cause I haven't got time to list all he's done (which is a LOT).
Welcome to the second "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest on the GLA blog. This will be a recurring online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here's the deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the niche itself changes—meaning each contest is focused around a specific category or two. So if you're writing a book-length kids novel, this second contest is for you!
HOW TO SUBMIT
E-mail entries to februaryagentcontest@gmail.com. Please paste everything. No attachments.
WHAT TO SUBMIT
The first 150-200 words of your unpublished, book-length work of middle grade or young adult fiction. You must include a contact e-mail address with your entry and use your real name. Also, submit the title of the work and a logline (one-sentence description of the work) with your entry.
Please note: To be eligible to submit, I ask that you do one of two things: 1) Mention and link to this contest twice through your social media - blogs, Twitter, Facebook; or 2) just mention this contest once and also add Guide to Literary Agents Blog (www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog) to your blogroll. Please provide link(s) so I can verify eligibility.
CONTEST DETAILS
1. This contest will be live for approximately fourteen days - from Feb. 7 through the end of Sunday, Feb. 21, EST. Winners notified by e-mail within seven days of end of contest. Winners announced on the blog thereafter.
2. To enter, submit the first 150-200 words of your book. Shorter or longer entries will not be considered. Keep it within word count range please.
3. This contest is solely for completed book-length works of middle grade and young adult fiction (kids novels).
4. You can submit as many times as you wish.
5. The contest is open to everyone of all ages, save those employees, officers and directors of GLA's publisher, F+W Media.
6. There are more rules (most of them dealing with legal stuff) that you can find in the comments section of this post.
7. By e-mailing your entry, you are submitting an entry for consideration in this contest and thereby agreeing to the terms written here as well as the terms added by me at the beginning of the "Comments" section of this blog post.
PRIZES!!!
First place: 1) A critique of 25 pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) A query critique from your agent judge. 3) Two free books from Writer's Digest Books (I will give you several choices and you pick the books your want).
Runner-ups - second and third place: 1) A critique of 10 pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) One free book from Writer's Digest Books (I will give you several choices and you pick the book your want).
Jennifer Laughran from Andrea Brown Lit Agency will be judging your ink-and-paper dreams. So polish, polish, polish that ms. And goodluck to everyone.
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