Update: A talking, walking baby & an 8-year-old!

Christmas Eve - Joshua, Max, Mom & Asher

Does anyone over here at Just-A-Detour feel neglected? Cause I do feel it, I promise. I know I've abandoned you lately, and I'm going to admit... it's because I have been pretty (well, really) self-focused lately. And because To the Depths is for me, myself and I (as opposed to the kids, etc.), I've been giving it way too much attention and neglecting my Just-A-Detour "scrapbook".

So here's some new information!

Steve started school full-time again this morning, along with work part-time yesterday. It's been a good, long vacation, and I think he's ready to jump back into it. Also, he reached Diamond level on StarCraft2, which for him, is basically the biggest deal ever. I can't tell you that I know what that means, so you probably shouldn't ask me if you're wondering.

Joshua turns EIGHT on Thursday, the 13th. I know, I know, I say this every year... but that is SO OLD! He's even acting old... I love it, but I can't handle it at the same time. When did my baby grow up?? He is doing great in school, loving church most of all, and starting scouts this month. I can't believe it! Scouts??

Asher is back to preschool after a VERY long and boring break, in which he became the most wild child I have ever seen. We are so glad he's back to his routine. :) School wears him out a bit, but he definitely thrives on the stimulation he gets there. He adores his teachers, Miss Kenzie and Miss Sian, and they are so, so good at what they do. He's being hilarious, as always, cracking me up all day long. (Along with making me angry by talking back and acting like he runs the place. Which is also funny sometimes... ugh.)

Max... Where do I even begin with Max?? He is now 14 months old, and I swear on everything holy, he is starting the Terrible Twos. I've always sworn the TT's start at 18 months, but Max is getting a good, long jump start. He spends most of the day yelling, demanding, and climbing, climbing, climbing! (There's also some falling, crying, and bleeding, because he refuses to stop discovering - no matter what or how dangerous his surroundings are.) I am not exaggerating when I say he is constantly on the move, never satisfied to sit and play with one thing. Toys? Are you kidding me? He wants scissors. He wants markers. He wants to tear apart the electronics and see what they're made of! He's pretty much a genius, and that is wearing me out. Max says tons of words now, repeating almost everything we say, and his most common is "off!" If he wants up on a chair, he says "Off!" If he wants down from that chair, he says, "Off!" If he wants something he can't reach, he says, "Off!" It basically means "help," "up," and "down." My new favorite word he says is "bopper" (means diaper). When I take off his wet/dirty diaper he makes a yucky face and sticks out his tongue. When I put on a new diaper he says, "bopper." His other favorite? "No, no." He says it when he knows full well he's doing something naughty, and he smiles at me while he says, "No, no."

As for me... I'm basically turning my entire life upside-down. I started working (freelance writing for BrightHub.com), I am actively writing my novel and have started a critique group with Jenn and Andrea, and I am starting a new semester at SLCC. It's going to be a very busy five months! It's going to take a lot of effort, a lot of organization (which I don't have), and tons of support from Steve. Hopefully we can handle the load, cause I'm taking this stuff really seriously now, and I'm ready to have a career of my own.

Wish us luck! Hope everyone is having a fantastic January!!!

Another semester is beginning...

... but I'm not going to be there.

I've been feeling for ages like I had to get into college and get going on my degree... but honestly, I feel like I need to focus entirely on my family, making a little bit of money, and writing my novel. It's in early stages right now, but I'm feeling really strongly about it, and I think if I could focus on it more thoroughly, I would definitely be able to publish. I may be wrong, but I think I have a strong storyline and a solid character. It'll take a lot of work, but I'm actually seeing it start to form into something that will happen, and I'm too excited about it to let it go unwritten.

So this semester I'll be writing, working, and mothering. Next fall I'll go back to school. :)

Josh and Asher went back to school this morning, and Steve will be going back to work this afternoon. Asher's teachers were gushing - I don't think I've ever seen someone so excited. They were overjoyed to see the kids again, and Asher said, "I'm wearing my NEW SHIRT!" He was so excited to show them.

Oh, and this morning when Steve and I were trying to decide who should take him to school, I said, "But I'll have to shower and get ready," and he said, "No, your hair looks great!" (Thanks to the awesome present Steve gave me for xmas, btw.) Asher said, "Mom, your hair looks golden! So you better take me to school today." Haha. I totally caved.

Joshua was psyched to show his friends his new watch and his lost tooth. :) It surprises me every time I look at him how cute I think he looks with his front tooth missing. lol It's so awesome to be a mom.

Writing & Reading

I am spending a lot more time writing on paper, with a pen, than here on my blog. I apologize for the disappearing act. I have decided to recommit to the idea of writing a book, and I'm doing my best to make it happen (despite having a 6-month-old baby around). I will still be posting, just not as often.

As Mrs. Bean always told me, writing begins with reading, so I have been cracking open the books of my past to re-light the fire. Madeleine L'Engle was my all-time favorite author when I was a teenager, so I've ordered the boxed set of A Wrinkle In Time series, and checked out Meet the Austens from the public library. I've been thinking, perhaps I was feeling too much pressure in writing a book because I was thinking of writing for adult audiences. Maybe my audience is the young adult crowd? That's when I loved reading the most, and I think having a baby at a young age kept me a teenager in a lot of ways... I still think more like a 17-year-old than a 25-year-old.

Anyway, that's where I've been! I'll be back to blog with pictures from this month tomorrow or the next day.