Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Every diplomatic meeting should include a baby

If you have children, you know the thrill of that first laugh. My baby laughed for the first time recently, and I just about burst into tears, it sounded so good (my child has officially turned my rather cynical being into complete mush).

So now I'm convinced - there would be no wars, no political impasse and no harsh words between countries if babies were involved in negotiations. Every time you have a bilateral or multilateral negotiation, bring a baby and make them laugh. Who can be angry or want to bomb another country with laughing babies around?

See. I solve the world's problems from my couch. It's not that tough.

Must...Not...Spend...Money....

Freelance writing is really a fancy way of saying I stay at home and occasionally write a story or two here and there. It's nice work if you can get it. The only problem is, right now the well is a little dry.

I have some gigs lined up, and I've already written a few stories - but it's a bit of a shock when you turn in a story and they say 'thanks, it's for the December issue, so we'll send you a check then.' Gulp. OK, that's two months away.

Once I get in a groove the money will come in the same time I'm sending stories out, so it'll all be good. But right now I've got to tighten the belt, since I'm not bringing home the payday.

Here's the problem - there's not a whole heck of a lot to do during the day, especially with a 3 month old. So you look for places to go and things to do to keep you occupied and the little one busy.

Well, "things" take money. Like lunch, for example. It's a nice break in the day to go out for lunch. But it costs moolah. This is the quandry of the stay-at-home mom. Stay in the house and go crazy (there's only so much laundry, cleaning, Internet surfing, etc. you can do), or get out and spend money.

But I really can't complain about this set up, because it's working out pretty well for us. Thank goodness, too, for my mother-in-law, who watches the little squirt while I get some work done. Now if only my little one would stop spitting up on her whenever she comes over! That's no way to thank your grandmother!