I'm still here.

Today is the last day of February so I have definetly shirked on my blogging duties. (As it were.) However, I have many excuses. One is that my husband went away for his two weeks with the Naval Reserves. My days were filled with being a mommy,a chauffer, a chef, a housekeeper, an animal keeper (really the cat and dog not my kids) and then falling into a deep sleep. I did this for a week until my parents wisked me and the kids on a fun-filled Celebrity cruise to Key West, Cozumel and Costa Maya. Well, Costa Maya was the big exciting port of call where we were going to visit the rain forest and the Mayan ruins. Didn't happen. The seas were too choppy and we ended up with an extra day at sea. Very disappointing. Anyhow, I got some rest, some warm weather, and some grown-up time, my kids loved the kids club on the ship and made some friends.
Now I am back home (read: cold) and back with my honey (read: hot). Did everyone get their Highlights Fiction Contest entries in? Next deadline: Smart Writers W.I.N contest March 15th.

Thank you Saint Valentine

I love Valentine's day but I sure am glad that this one is over. Let me now confess that I never sent my Christmas/Chanukah cards. I thought for sure I'd do it at the New Year as that has been the pattern over the last few years. When I missed all of January, I promised myself that I would update my friends and family around Valentine's Day. Well, I've missed that too. However, I made two dozen muffins for the first grade Valentine's healthy snack event, and help set-up and clean-up. I also made two dozen cookies for the Pre-school decorating activity. I used mixes so it really wasn't a big deal. What is a big deal is doing those things in addition to everything else. And I mean EVERYTHING else. I'm playing single mom while my hubby is on Navy detachment. The hardest part is not being able to tag off. Not having my teammate. "You read, I'll be on KP." or "You wash hair, and I'll wipe the tushy." I always get stuck with the gross thing but at least it isn't everything.

We had a playdate after school then we ate breakfast for dinner. I made heart shaped pancakes. (Helpful hint: put the batter in a squeeze ketchup bottle so you can make shapes: hearts, bears, giraffes) This evening we read all the valentines that came home and made candy bags for each kiddo. The kids did their jobs, with much procrastination, then I read a few chapters in Magic Tree House. They were asleep within minutes. Now it's my turn. Oops. I still have to clean the kitchen. It'll wait. That's my Valentine to myself.

Swimming with the big fish...

Congratulations to Cindy Lord on her first school visit for her book Rules. Swimmin' with the big fish now.


I am not swimming with the big fish. I am still swishing my tail wildly trying to swim upstream. The journey has been lengthy already and I'm starting to wonder how far there is to go until the elusive editor who loves me is found. Never the less I will keep on swishing and splashing. I'm working on my pre-school dummy, and starting final drafts of a series of greeting cards that I will submit in March. Last year this time I was busy prepping a bunch of entries into various contests. This year, I have so many projects in the air that I think I need to stay focused on finishing them instead of writing to a contest. We'll see. I've been working on my Highlights contest submission for a while now. Maybe that will make the deadline.

Preschool behaviors

Beautiful sunshine this morning but cold, cold, cold. I am working on a storyboard for my pre-school book. It is so fun to put in all the funny things this age kid likes to do: girls pulling on their skirts, kids chasing, shy kids hiding. "I can do it all by myself." What funny things do your pre-schoolers do?

Books for February Break

The groundhog says six more weeks of winter, but the fog is feasting on snow and ice this early February morning. There is a definite spring-like feeling in the air. I know. It could be a trick. In fact, as soon as my husband goes away with the Navy arctic winds will jet stream in from Canada and put us in a deep freeze with plenty of snow. At least I'll be able to go skiing. If you are snowed in any time soon I recommend the following books written for middle grade kids: Chasing Vermeer (A puzzle and pattern based art heist mystery) Spy Mice (Mice against the rats again. This time set in the Spy Museum in Washington DC. Very clever and great fun if you've spent time in DC.) Flush (Environmental who done it with a great brother sister relationship. The lead character seemed a little too mature for me but tell me what you think.) All of these are plot driven and fun to read if you have a reluctant reader ages 10-14. Great reads for kids over February break.