I have finished the first round of edits on my sequel and am very excited with the direction this series is heading. I already have a whole bunch of ideas for book three which seems like it will be a MASSIVE undertaking. No spoilers, but book two tackles some themes that are a bit darker than The Strings of the Violin, and I relished the challenge to go a bit further this time. Book Two will see the introduction of some new characters and the return of old friends. I loved the chance to take my characters in new directions, and had a lot of fun writing it. Now I think it's ready for new people to read it and give me feedback. Then, on to more edits! Now, editing this book took a bit longer than I had hoped. It is quite hard to concentrate when every single toy the babies own beeps, boops, bongs, and sings songs about lions who roar all day. Why must every toy given to kids makes sounds, light up and be so dang complicated? What happened to blocks and dolls? What happened to kids having to use their imagination? Why must all kids have their toys do all the work for them? This scares me about as much as kids as young as one or two knowing how to use iphones and ipads better than most adults I know. It quite frankly creeps me out when I go to a restaurant and I see hordes of children ignoring their parents and their surroundings glued to tiny screens. I used to colour. I used to talk to my parents. I used to be social. It seems to me that we are teaching our kids to be anti social. We're teaching them to be rude. We are teaching them that it's okay to sit around the dinner table and text, or play Angry Birds rather than have actual conversations with people. I don't like it. It seems the lazy way out of keeping your kids quiet in public. Okay, deep breath, rant over.

In other news, the book launch is on! I am so excited to be planning it, and can't wait to see everyone there on March 10th. My book will be available for all in attendance, as well as food and drinks. (Cake for sure!) It will definitely be a fun time for all.

I have also joined Google+ and have added a +1 button to my home page, so be sure to click it. I think it helps raise me in Google standings, or rankings, or gets me free chocolate, or something. I'm not really techno-savvy, so I'm not completely sure as to its purpose, but please click it anyways. My new page over on Google+ is found here. I'm still navigating my way around there, so if anyone has tips or thoughts on it, let me know! Hopefully it will be as easy as Facebook and Twitter are. Yet, in the interest of full disclosure, I am resisting Timeline with everything I have. It looks far too confusing and complicated to me. I do not understand how it works, or how to find anything in people's Timelines. Should I give in? Right now, my instincts say nope. Let me know what you think about this as well. More news coming soon...

Night terrors: according to Webster's Dictionary, night terrors are "a sudden awakening in dazed terror that occurs in children during slow-wave sleep, is often preceded by a sudden shrill cry uttered in sleep, and is not remembered when the child awakes —usually used in plural" For myself, these things are more like being confronted by a small child standing up in his or her crib screaming in abject terror at some unseen thing of horror. I am left standing in a darkened room, faced with two wide, sleepy, yet horrified eyes begging me to understand what thing has jolted them from a peaceful slumber and left them clinging to their crib's rails shrieking and crying in fear. I wish this child could speak and tell me what scared them so badly. I wish I didn't feel so damned helpless. I wish this wasn't occurring every single night between the hours of 2:30 and 4:00 a.m. I wish it didn't take over an hour to put them back to sleep. What can a one year old be so scared of that it awakens them each night so violently? Was it something I let them see on the television? Was it one of their siblings doing something to them? Was it the dog? A spider? Zombies? Rob Ford? I don't know, and this troubles me. I'm the parent. I'm supposed to be the protector, the one who can soothe them and help them. Yet I seem incapable here. I wish this weren't so, but that's what it is. Anyway, it's a short blog this week, mainly because I haven't had a full night's sleep in days. Here's hoping tonight is different.

In other news, check out the Events Page for news of my book launch!

Yes, that's a question mark in the title. I love and hate this holiday. For the record, Husband Brian says that it's a stupid made up day that Hallmark created to stress guys out. Brother Brian concurs. I love this holiday because who doesn't like to get cards and stuff from people saying they love/like/choo-choo-choose you? I don't like it because it's stressful to figure out what to do? Plans don't work out, cards are in poor selection. (I find them either too mushy, or too cheesy.) I never know what to get. Husband Brian is impossible to buy presents for. It really doesn't help that today is a mere three days after his birthday. Ugh.

Anyway, tonight we're going to see Vanier College Production's Improv Troupe do a Valentine's comedy show. Husband Brian's working there all day, so I'm picking up wraps so we can have a "romantic" dinner in VCP's office. I don't know, maybe I can talk him into watching a movie with me when we get home. I've been trying to get him to watch Music and Lyrics with me for a while. (Maybe two years- give or take.)

So, I hope you all have a happy day today. And one more thing: HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY MARILYN! For those of you who don't know, my best friend was born the day after me in the same hospital as me. Rumour has it she kept me awake in the nursery there. February is a busy month.

This past year has been insane. I had triplets,wrote a book, and then had it published. On Sunday, Joseph, Phillip and Hailey all turned one. We had a lovely brunch with their grandparents, aunts and uncle. (Two people were absent with the babies cousins. They got sick. It happens. :( )We had cake. The babies had massive sugar highs. They discovered tissue paper and declared it far more fun then the toys it concealed.

Looking back on the past twelve months, I feel I accomplished a lot. Sometimes, I feel more like I'm spinning my wheels with a mountain of things that need to get done, and no time to do it. I look at the clutter around my house, and instead of telling myself that I have three babies, and mountains of toys and blankets are normal, I feel a compulsive urge to tidy and act like Danny Tanner on Full House. I don't actually do it though because there are pages to edit, dinners to make, and I know that the kids will just pull it all apart again in two seconds anyway.

Anyway, I am almost done the edits on the second book in Carrie's story. I don't know if I am any good at editing. While most people say to look at it and cut cut cut, I look at it and say "Oh! This scene would be so much better with all these new words and lines in it!" and then I go and add add add. Ah well.

February is a bit of a crazy month for us. The babies were born on the fifth. My birthday is the eighth, and Husband Brian was born on the eleventh. So cake and presents are in excess around our house. I have a bunch of dinners and parties to plan, blogs to write, books to edit some more, and clutter to steadfastly ignore. Always busy. That's me!

You know what they say about the best laid plans. I think it was something along the lines of, you make them and then they all get shot to hell. I planned on getting up early today, going to work, getting a lot of important stuff done, going home and baking. What actually happened was: Joseph has been sick. I have been doing my best to make him feel better, I am now horribly congested. Yay. I therefore, overslept, can't get both sides of my trial balance to, well, balance. I am now whining on my blog. I think I am using too many commas.

But what can you do when a baby looks at you, puffy eyed, sad, coughing, the perfect picture of misery? I'll tell you what I did. I said "Poor Shmoseph", picked him up and cuddled him until he slept everyday for three days. Is it any wonder I feel dreadful now? No. Probably not.

In other news, I have had some more requests for book reviews. Yay! There was a lovely blurb last week in the CJN talking about my book. Double yay! And I applied for a booth at Toronto Fan Expo's Small Press Alley. Woo hoo! All good things. Things are definitely moving forward.

Now, if you don't mind, I think I may make an attempt to crawl back home and into bed.