I'm baaa-aaaack!

Oh man, I know, I know, I know. It's been so long since I've blogged that I'm absolutely mortified. In fact, The Big Comeback Blog has been part of the reason for the delay. I mean, talk about pressure! I better have been immersed in the great American novel or have made some edgy, soon-to-take-Sundance-by-storm independent film or something grand like that, right? (Not that that's any excuse either. I mean, Diablo Cody blogged her way through "Juno," an Academy Award, and a divorce for pete's sake!) 

But sadly, I've done none of those things. The truth is, I just have limited work time and limited concentration, so when I am alone with my computer, I feel I need to devote every minute to the work with a deadline. I've been doing this work-for-hire project--a series for wee kiddies written under a pseudonym because it's so vastly different from my YA, Chicks with Sticks type thing--for waaaaay too long. But the deadline is looming and I must get it DONE already and that's why you haven't heard from me. 

And by the way, I'm not even talking about the publisher's deadline. I have one that's much more pressing . . . 

Yes, I am knocked up again. QUITE knocked up, as you can see. I'm almost 30 weeks along (which means I'm actually three weeks HUGER than I was when this photo was taken at 27 weeks). For those of you who paid attention in health class, that means I have ten weeks to go, give or take, before the arrival of our dear and very wriggly fetus, whom we've named Plum. (LaLa, as you may recall, was called Fig whilst she was in utero so we've kept up the fruit theme. And once again, we don't know the baby's gender.) 

For me, 30 weeks of pregnancy means that I have only tiny amount of time left with LaLa alone, so I'm trying to spend every spare moment romping around town with her, cuddling with her, and having all the heart to heart chats we'll have less time for after she's kicked off her pedestal, er, joined by her baby sib. 

Thirty weeks also means that it's been FOURTEEN weeks since I've started a strict diet to try to stave off gestational diabetes. Which totally didn't work. I SO have it. Which means my diet is even stricter now, and I have to test my blood sugar four times a day and carefully time my meager meals and snacks. All while lifting my newly potty-trained kid on and off the toilet dozens of times a day because she can't climb on herself because she BROKE HER WRIST last weekend in a playground incident and is now wearing a pathetically adorable little cast on her right hand and . . . 

Well, I could go on. But if you're still reading, hopefully you believe my mea culpa and that I truly have been in the weeds. 

And hormone-crazed. 

And really, really hot, given that it's August in Atlanta--not exactly the best time to pack on an extra fifteen pounds, y'know? 

Which probably explains the increasing crankiness. 

But I'm also grateful for this coming babe, and my writing (even though it's a struggle these days what with the hormones feasting away on my intelligence and getting MORE SATED WITH EACH PASSING DAY) and Husband, who is masterfully putting up with me, and LaLa, who is the biggest comfort I can find and . . . 

. . . you guys, if you're still checking in after this long absence. I'll see if I can win you back with some amusing anecdotes from the third trimester, followed by cute newborn pics, followed by (I hope, I hope, I hope) authorial musings as I write my next YA novel! 

But for now, I'll just focus on the weekend. Have a great one. Missed you! 

xoxo

Elizabeth