Life with Hailey and Writing Updates

Baby Hailey is here and life has reverted to the chaotic energy of living with a newborn. She is a gorgeous little girl and has been quite cuddly so far. So cuddly in fact, that she is keeping poor mommy awake most hours of the night. That is the extent of our worries though. Carrie and I couldn't be happier. Hailey is healthy, eating, sleeping, and most notably pooping with consistency. : )

Mommy has been a total champ, she handled labor beautifully, and I have been so proud of how strong and focused she was throughout the process. She even managed to chuckle at my corny jokes in the delivery room (of course these were not made during labor...).  That alone is proof that she is a much tougher person than I ever will be. I love you Carrie, very much.

I was fortunate enough to stay home from work for about a week  It was excellent, I am still super bummed I did not request more time off. I didn't have to the first time around since Henry came over my summer break, so I wasn't sure how long I would need to take off work. I figured a week would be sufficient in helping Carrie transition and taking care of Henry during the day. Man was I wrong. I should have taken much more time off. As I type this during my lunch break I realize that  I miss them terribly. The feeling of little Hailey sleeping on my chest while the sound of Henry's voice fills the house is by far one of the best memories I have recently created. I know that I will take it with me forever.

So, as one could imagine writing has slowed to a trickle. I was able to write a few hundred words here or there, but nothing significant. I have been revising and rereading a Minka chapter recently, it is getting close to being what I would like, but it still has a lot to be completed. All in all, the total word count has crept over 40K, which is around 100 pages, depending on font size and spacing. I'm pretty pleased with this, I just hope I can finish a complete first draft before the beginning of the next school year.

I am finding that continuity is my biggest struggle, so I find myself rereading older chapters more than I would like. Looking for various details that have been mentioned in regards to all sorts of things. I'm not sure what would be best to combat this, I feel like I am not using my time as efficiently.

I have been able to do a decent amount of note taking and scribbling thoughts down here and there. I was able to map out several large events that have yet to come as well as create a few new characters to join my current cast. I do most of my brainstorming as I clean horse stalls, one of the small benefits I can associate with that task.

Well that seems to be it for now. Thanks for reading.