NaNoWriMo 2009

UPDATE: I will be keeping a sort of journal here, updating what's going on NaNo-wise and otherwise to see where exactly my writing time (or lack thereof) was in November. Plus, I can sort of bury some tidbits that I am hesitant to write an actual article about in case of libel. So there. Consider yourself warned. :)

November 1, 2009. Day One. Up at 5:15 with small child who can't tell time and couldn't begin to understand "sleep in" if he wanted to. Had 5 and a half hour wine-tasting and lunch planned (pre-NaNo plunge) to celebrate my husband's and my best friend's recent birthdays... did it, had fun, and didn't regret a second away from the laptop! (Maybe because I still managed to get some writing in, between breakfast, shower, and hustling out the door!!) Total so far: 2, 474 words.

November 2, Day Two. Up at 4:freaking:thirty with same small child. I may have to put him out with the recycling if this continues... consider yourself warned, buddy. I got in some writing between picking up my daughter (minimum days all this week, because of conferences... or some crazy plot to prevent words being written, you be the judge!) and having my son dropped off, then added another hour and a half piecemeal through the afternoon and evening. I'm too tired to keep typing, so tonight's final word count brings me to 5,204 words.

P.S. Don't hate me because I write fast. I checked the calendar, and in addition to conferences I also have Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving WEEK to contend with! If I don't get ahead I'll be a blubbering mess and I have already maxxed out the kids' therapy funds, so I can't afford to add to THAT account.

November 3, Day Three. Both my coworkers were out sick; the two subs and I wrangled all seven kids for four hours, and I raced to pick up my daughter on her minimum day. Then I got a phone call: Thomas had been kicked off the special ed bus for the second time, and would I please drive to the school to have a meeting with the bus company's director, the director of the school, and Thomas's teacher? Why, yes, yes I will. (Note: the first time he got kicked off was last week, for singing Happy Birthday too loudly. This time he was crying because another student hit him and he was told to be quiet and sit down.) I got home and fought off a crying spell for an hour or two. Added a few hundred words to NaNo, but didn't update on site. New word count: 5,639.

November 4, Day Four. Another two sub day. Had to pick up Thomas, but Grandpa got Megan. Choir, dinner, one and a half hour long Girl Scout Service Unit meeting, bed. No words.

November 5, Day Five. Teacher is back at school -- yea! Aide still out, but we got a good sub -- yea! The bus director called -- my home, the classroom, and over the special ed bus radio as I was loading on my preschool students -- to say he'd be riding the bus home to "observe behaviors and assist the driver." Final result to observation: it's not Thomas, it's more a combo of multiple students (all with autism) and a driver who needs some more skills. (I worked to make that nonjudgmental. How'd I do?) Made a phone call and an email to another parent who'd gone through the exact same scenario with her child last year; picked up Meg for minimum day. Supposed to pick up 450 nut containers, but our order got shorted at the delivery site. Rearranged for tomorrow, time to be determined. Nano= no words.

November 6, Day Six. No cleaning at preschool today -- monthly parent meeting, so the aides provide childcare. Did the laminating and prep for next week. Conference for Megan. Thomas arrived on the bus with a good report, save the throwing of a squishy plastic Winnie the Pooh book (the kind that infants teethe on and can take into the bath) when offered it by the driver. (His reward -- based on five days of good bus behavior -- was a non-specific surprise. We announced with excitement that he could spend the night downstairs on the fold out couch -- whoo hoo, yippee, can I get  my pillow now??? It's good to have simple wants, isn't it?) We got a phone call that the nuts were again delayed, so I made several phone calls to let the girls know. We went to my father in law's (originally planning to drop his nut order off, and pick up a table, but going with just getting table) and had dinner. Returned home to set up sleepover downstairs -- whoo hoo! -- and collapse into bed. Nano = no words.