ChickieNob loves ghosts.  Like if ghosts ever want a liaison in the living world, she would be a great hire.  She doesn’t find ghosts scary; instead, she likes to point out that when ghosts interact with the living world, they aren’t trying to scare us.  They just want to be acknowledged.  Exactly, she points out, what humans want while they’re living, too.

So going on a ghost tour seemed like the perfect activity.  We drove out to Frederick, which has a particularly ghost-y historic district.  Also, the website for the tour stated that Frederick is Maryland’s most haunted city, and websites never lie.  Why would we bother with Baltimore or Annapolis if they were the second or third most haunted cities when we could go straight to the creme de la creme and get the deluxe ghost experience?

You buy the tickets in a dessert bakery called Cakes to Die For with a hearse parked in front of the building.  (Chickie was enamoured with the black, glittery skull near the front window of the shop.)  Afterward, we joined the tour guide, Matthew, who started leading the group toward the old city hall.

Where he properly freaked us out.

The tour started out with a drawn and quartering story from around the time of the Revolutionary War, and then Matthew casually pointed out that the little, brick walkway we were standing on — one of four little, brick walkways — marked the path the horses took when they SNAPPED THE MAN’S BODY INTO FOUR PIECES.  While I was trying not to throw up in my mouth, the ChickieNob pointed that a light had mysteriously just gone on in the empty building.

Just the ghosts, trying to be acknowledged.

It was actually the most fun I’ve had with a history lesson.  The guide was a great storyteller, and he took us from building to building, telling us really cool tales about the old inhabitants or strange ghost sightings.  We talked about Barbara Fritchie (the flag waver… or non-flag waver) and spite houses and the Baltimore cotillion.  And ghosts ghosts ghosts ghosts ghosts.  Ghosts who trash bathrooms, ghosts who sit at the foot of your bed, ghosts who move your stuff around because YOU AREN’T ACKNOWLEDGING THEM.

We would not be so foolish.

It was such a fun evening, despite sweating like the Airplane! pilot.

Have you ever been on a ghost tour?

So a few weeks ago, Josh and I had a date night.  After we ate really good sushi, we sat in the parked car and I outlined all the ways I was unhappy with things in life.  I had pushed myself out of my comfort zone, trying too many new things at once, and I was not only longing to get back into my comfort zone, but to also finish reading a freakin’ book.  Usually summer is a time that I tear through books, but we had gotten lazy and usually watched television in the evening.  As a result, the number of books I read this year was embarrassingly low.

I am slowly returning to writing fiction, but I’m also returning to reading fiction.  Every night, we’ve declared screens off at a set time, no exceptions.  The twins need to have screens off by 8:30 pm.  We need to have screens off by 10:45 pm.  In both cases, we read before bed.

Not only are we all sleeping 20 times better (the twins used to stay up until 11 pm stating they couldn’t fall asleep), but I’m actually getting through books again.  I’m really excited to look at my TBR list rather than feel suffocated by it.  It’s a nice feeling.

I’m going to trim a bunch of news sites out of my RSS reader so I only have personal blogs to read.  I’m trying to get back to what really matters to me so my screen time is used well.  Wish me luck.

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Stop procrastinating.  Go make your backups.  Don’t have regrets.

Seriously.  Stop what you’re doing for a moment.  It will take you fifteen minutes, tops.  But you will have peace of mind for days and days.  It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments in order to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

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And now the blogs…

But first, second helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week.  In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• “Dialectic” (The Empress and the Fool)
• “Thinking About Blogging” (No Kidding in NZ)

Okay, now my choices this week.

Baby, Borneo, or Bust has a post about being unable to sleep because she has a lot on her mind.  She writes, “I am trying to figure out what is bothering me, what problem, what stress, I am holding too near.  But I can’t put my finger on it.  It’s everything.  It’s nothing in particular.”  But I also love the release at the end; that realization that sometimes simply writing it down and taking it out of your head makes the difference.

Every once in a while, Infertile Fantasies pops up with a post, and they’re always good.  This week she wrote about closure, about waiting for closure or creating closure.  This part of the post made me weepy: “I want to thank you all for helping to be our closure. I can’t say that enough. And I include in that the wise woman whose words I’ve discussed here. Truly, you guys are my stars and you’ve aligned for us.”  Me, too.

Lastly, River Runs Dry has a really scary story about witnessing a car accident.  I had chills run down both arms reading these words: “I work really hard at staying alive. I exercise every day, prepare healthy foods for my family and eat very little junk food … It could have been me yesterday, and I could have walked away from it like the guy did, or I could have been really, really hurt. Or I could have died.”  It’s a sobering post about the things outside our control.

The roundup to the Roundup: Screens off at night means I’m reading books again and sleeping better. Your weekly backup nudge.  And lots of great posts to read.  So what did you find this week?  Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between August 26th and September 2nd) and not the blog’s main url. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week?  Read the original open thread post here.

Thank you for all of your kind comments about the book on the blog and on Facebook and Twitter.  The kids (and I) are really overwhelmed.  We’ve been over here on this figurative island, building the space for so long, and it’s nice to now have a bridge running over here so everyone can walk over and see what we’ve been doing, which is teaching people how to code by making cool retro games.

And we would really really really appreciate your help spreading word.  Tell your friends, tell your family members, tell your nearby schools, tell your grandma who always wanted to learn how to make Intellivision-like games.

I realized yesterday that I originally linked to the Deal of the Day page and not the book itself, so here is a link to Hello Scratch.  Additionally, there is a forum for the book where you can post questions or comments.  The kids check that every day.  And I’m going to start embedding the games they make in future posts so you can play them, too.

The whole experience has been really eye-opening.  They’ve seen me publish 5 books, but I don’t think they fully realized what went into the process even though they’ve been privvy to dinner time conversations and riffled through everything from contracts to page proofs.  When it’s your own book, it’s a different story.  Literally.

It’s stressful, writing a book, and they’re little.  It’s also amazing to see the way their minds work, and we’ve gotten really really good at working together as a team.  Though…. as I write that… I am listening to them upstairs, shrieking and laughing hysterically when they’re supposed to be editing.  So… there’s that.  What I mean is that they are still kids, and writing with them is a little bit like wrangling cats AND a little bit like cuddling up with your favourite cat.

I built them chapter templates, so they know the information they need to include, and they can type out all of their notes accordingly.  Then we sit down and record the chapter.  This is because they are (1) slow typers and (2) it’s easier to record it and type later because I’m usually taking screenshots while they’re talking.  But there is also a third reason I do this.  I really miss them during the day, and this is (selfishly) a chance to feel like they’re in the house.  I am sitting here, alone at my desk during the day, but I’m also listening to their voice.

And maybe that is the reason I agreed to all of this.  Because they are growing up and apart, which is a good thing, but I want them to also remember this as a bonding experience.  We’re a team — the Retromakers — and writing a book together means spending a lot of time together.  It’s the epitome of roots and wings.  I want us to feel grounded to each other, but I also want to nurture those skills and passions so they fly away towards whatever fulfills them.

[That is a complete lie.  I want them to remain mine mine mine all mine.  I’m just being honest, kids.]

You may have questions about the process, or your kids may have questions for my kids about writing a book.  So ask away.  All of us are happy to answer.

I don’t really know how to begin this post, so I’m just going to say it:

The twins got a book deal.

Last fall, they pitched an idea for their book and got interest.  They wrote a book proposal and sample chapters and shopped it.  And a publisher picked up the book and signed them.  We have a cover.  We have about 2/3rd of the book in a semi-finished state.

That’s how they spent their summer.

It will be in bookstores this spring, but the publisher (because it is a programming book) is releasing the e-book in chunks as part of their early access program, and today it is 50% off if you use the code dotd083016au after clicking on that link.

Do you remember back when I started this blog they were weaning off of bottles?  Then we graduated to toddler beds and gave up binkies and had imaginary friends and… The point is that they’ve been growing up here, but they haven’t really been growing up here.  I’ve always been very careful to give them their space and let them tell their own story to the world.

We’ve asked them over and over again if they’re ready to be online.  If they understood what publishing a book meant; that they would have an online presence.  And they kept reassuring us that they felt good about this.  That they were okay being out there for something good like a book.  So we gave our blessing, and I’ve been helping manage their book schedule, typing their chapters for them (they speak them into a recorder, and I type them while they’re at school), and helping edit.

I am so insanely proud of them.  They have matured so much.  Sure, the ChickieNob still includes a high heel emoji on the emails she sends me when there are chapter notes to review, but the girl is researching and writing and putting her heart into the art in the book.  The Wolvog still laughs hysterically every time we’re recording, but he’s putting in hours and hours of work programming the games.  Together, they are an amazing team, and I feel so lucky that I get a front row seat to watch them problem solve and create.

Their book teaches other kids as well as adults (or anyone who wants to get into game making) how to design and code arcade games.  There are seven games in the book based on popular games from the 80s including Astrosmash, Super Mario Bros, and Pitfall.  The heart of the book is eight computer science concepts, which are presented over and over again, so the reader walks away knowing about variables, loops, and conditional statements.

Could I have imagined this when they were little preemies in the NICU?  No.  (Well, maybe, I mean both parents are writers.)  But that’s sort of the point of life.  You never know where decisions will take you.

I’m glad they found one of many passions early on.  I’m glad adults gave them the opportunity to write a book and that they truly understand the ins and outs of the publishing world; that it isn’t all sunshine and roses but a lot of really hard, sometimes frustrating, work.

So… if you have a kid in your life, or if you want to learn how to program games yourself, go over and get early access to their book.  (The code is dotd083016au.)  Or mark down April 2017 for the bookstore release.  Actually, who am I kidding?  Do you really think I’m not going to remind you a dozen times between now and then?

While we haven’t started tweeting over there yet, we will quite soon if you want to follow @Retromakers, which is our group account.  And we’re setting up a website, and I’ll post that URL when it’s done.  Lots of fun things ahead.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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While I don’t want to live in Florida, I do want to live in Disney World.  (Yes, I’m aware that will be a problem if I don’t want to live in Florida.)  Like really really really want to find 2 million dollars so I can buy a house next to the parks and go there every day.

I love amusement parks.

And I love the idea of living in one.  I know some people find amusement parks draining, but I feel super recharged and happy after being in one for a few hours.  I know — sort of strange for an introvert, but I didn’t say I liked engaging with people there.  I just like being on the rides and walking around the park and breathing in the scent of park food and listening to carousel organ music.

Would you want to live in an amusement park?  And if not, what would be your ideal space to inhabit?

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts that are connected to businesses or are sponsored posts.