Oops...

it appears that I've been negligent.  again.

I'd like to say with good reason, but on second thought, I'm not in the mood to justify myself.

On third thought, I confess:

1. The last time I settled in to draft a post I quickly realized that it was going to be another erratic rant* and thought better of it,
2. I've been a little distracted by the 3 Day Novel contest**, and
3. I've got problems of my own.  So there.

However.  

In real news:  

Apres des mois d'attente, un gros bienvenue a Saskia, le plus recent resident de Pont-en-Royans, France!  I say this in French not to be pretentious and/or show off; it's not my fault if one of my oldest and fondest friends just had a baby girl and they live in France.

and

Baby's First Snack Hands!***  

Molly has been doing things like waving, clapping and uttering words like "Mum" and "Kitty" for several weeks now.  Although, I've heard her attempts at speech, and it's language that only a parent could understand/love.  

Jack, meanwhile, has been smiling at everything and smacking both of his hands against the wall or the floor in an expression of pure happiness.  

I've been making my patented**** "snack hands" gesture at him ever since he was a few months old, and, to my excitement, over the 3 Day Novel weekend, he started to respond.  Several times I looked his way and gestured, "Jackie... Snack Hands!" and he mimicked me as best as his tiny, unco-ordinated fists could manage.  Continuing to smile like a damn fool - or maybe, like a happy baby.

I consider this a personal victory.  It's almost as good as if his first word was "Granken".

*I can't help myself.  I read an article written by a mom/parenting-advice columnist, justifying using a stroller for her 4 year old when on day outings.  Thankfully for all of you, I don't remember all the details.  The excuses she made for herself that stick most in my memory are:

1. Her 4 year old does not have the stamina to last through a full day on her feet.
2. She is saving the public at large from exposure to her daughter's fatigue-induced "melt-down".
3. Her daughter likes it.

Let me counter this, point by point:

1. Her child is not going to develop stamina from a stroller.  Know how to increase her stamina for walking around all day?  Um... put her in situations where she has to walk around all day.
2. If at age 4, said mom is certain that, without the stroller, her child would have a public melt-down sufficient to embarrass herself and disturb others, there's more wrong with her parenting style than stroller use.  4 is plenty old to know that these sorts of fits are not acceptable behaviour, as it is plenty old for parents to have developed some coping strategies.    
3. In continuation of 1 and 2 above, maybe don't take your child on outings that will last all day if you know it won't end well.  Yeah, it kinda sucks.  You're a parent.  Sometimes it kinda sucks.  Alternatively, plan a mid-day rest period.  That's what my parents did, with three children all two years apart, and some measure of success.
4. I'd like to have two sherpas at my disposal at all times - one to back-pack me everywhere, and one to perform a real-time beatbox/rap narration of the events of my day, but that's just not how the world works.

 **http://www.3daynovel.com/

Sara and I entered jointly for the second time this year.  A grueling test of one's creative endurance, yes.  A grueling test of one's ability to spend 3 days in a row with one person, one lap top, and slightly differing writing styles, yes.  A grueling test of one's ability to subsist almost entirely on coffee, Coca-Cola, space-pops, lasagna and beer, yes.  We put off writing the riveting climax because neither of us could think of anything to say at the time, only to realize mid-way through our final read-through/edit (and one-half hour to go) that we still didn't have anything but "insert speech here".  We finished, typing madly on two different computers, with literally two minutes to spare.   

I'm reasonably convinced that What's In It For Ned will, eventually, go down as a masterpiece of 21st century fiction.  Gaps in character and plot development, maybe some general incoherence, and what some may consider an easy/quick conclusion aside.  Not that I'm admitting to any of these things. I maintain that any story set between an intergalactic mini-putt and a somewhat supernatural tavern can't possibly go wrong.  

***Sorry J - my excitement is not to suggest that Snack Hands are a bigger accomplishment than new life, but they had the benefit of being close to home.

****okay, maybe not "patented"