Friday, June 24, 2011

Off the grid

As I expected, keeping up with my on-line world has been very difficult with all my kids home this summer.  So, rather than fight it, I'm going to close up shop for a few weeks.  I'll probably be MIA from here, other blogs and Twitter for at least a week or two (or three or four).

I hope you all have a fantastic mid-summer and enjoy family, friends and good weather.  I'll be soaking up time with my boys, time with extended family, holiday celebrations, and the ability to be outside away from my computer.

Keep writing!  You know I will!!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

When it rains, it pours

I have always loved that phrase.  It sums up my life so completely!  When I have one thing to do, it ends up being 20.  But it is also a concept I'm working on in one of my picture books.  It is the idea of piling things on to make them more frantic, energetic, and fun!  When one crazy thing happens, it triggers 20 more. 

It is actually rather difficult to pull off.  I'm having trouble finding that balance between constant action and a jumbled mess.  It is a balancing act that is reflected in my everyday life with three boys.  And like my everyday life, all I can do is try!  : )

Happy writing!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The Good Life

These days, I'm reveling in my children being home with me.  We've picked something fun to do each day and kept the sibling squabbles (mostly) under control.  It is bliss.  But, since I'm juggling being a full time stay-at-home-mom to three boys with being a full time employee of my "real" job, my computer time has taken a major hit.  I have a feeling my posting/comments/tweets will be rather sparse this summer.  Any spare time I have, I'm devoting to writing/revising/submitting.

I hope you all can enjoy some serious summer fun too!  Write on!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

A Special Summer

This morning my boys and I sat at the kitchen table to make a list of everything special we wanted to do this summer.  The obvious answers of "Children's Museum" and "Zoo" made the list quickly, but then something funny happened.  They started listing off restaurants.  The same restaurants we always go to.  Places we've been in the last week or two.

My initial thought was, "that's not very imaginative."  But when I thought about it some more, I realized some things. 

First, anything out of the routine (even something as simple as lunch at McDonald's) is special.  Just taking time to break out of schedule and switch up life a little bit is exciting to a three year old.

Second, they enjoy what we do together, even if it is just having dinner.  They love having the attention my husband and I lavish on them when we are out to eat.  That attention is largely our monitoring of appropriate behavior for a meal out with the general public.  But we are hyper-focused on them, and they lap it up.

Finally, my own reaction to adding fast food joints to the list...YES!  Not cooking is always a vacation-worthy endeavor!