Sam and I have been in PA for a while with my parents. Eric’s company is going through some tweaking and my first trimester of this new pregnancy was pretty rough. This way we’ve been taken care of, and Eric has been able to focus on work and not worry.
I should have put this up before we left, but it happened pretty fast, so I forgot. My parents got their internet back a week ago.
Expect posts again in a couple of weeks.
Recycled Paper Greetings:
finish editing samples, have them printed & shipped out no later than Jan. 18th.
The book I am writing about Evie
(my next door neighbor’s 2 year old):
text finished by Jan. 26th.,
art finished by Mar. 1st.,
gift printing finished by Mar. 15th.
(plus one more printing for Agent Sample)
Agent Search:
5 new samples by Apr. 19th.
1/2 hour active search (M-F) beginning Apr. 26th.
I am hoping to still post a mighty T story up here from time to time, but it might turn into an every other, or every third month thing. Or I might just wait for T inspiration to hit me.
Sam being more and more active has made me realize that I need to be LESS flexible about my writing. I’ve been too flexible, and have rescheduled and rescheduled writing until I have run out of time in the day. That has to change.
I’m hoping once the Evie story is finished, I can post it up here. So look for that March/April.
Every kid gets this book from me, unless they already got it from someone else. If your kids don’t have it yet…wait.
2. Dog Train: A Wild Ride on the Rock-and-Roll Side (Book & CD)
The Chicken people made a sequel and it’s awesome!
Classic. Stop and smell the flowers.
4.The Alphabet from A to Y With Bonus Letter Z!
I stopped dead in my tracks at Target when I saw this. How did I not know about this sooner? Steve Martin wrote this. So, the man who wrote my favorite novella, my favorite collection of humor, and one of my favorite plays has written a children’s book? This is the other book that every child I know will get eventually.
Man, I should have bought these in bulk.
Click here for favorite novella, humor collection and play.
5. Sleep, Baby, Sleep: And Other Well-Loved Lullabies, A Nursery Collection Book
Eric found this and thought it was too sweet to pass up. It’s a prettily illustrated collection of lullabies that we all know, and some we have forgotten. I think it’s good for kids to have things in their library that their grandparents can recognize.
6. Little Miss Bossy (and other books from this series)
I loved the Little Miss and Mister Men books. I gathered a few that fit the personality of the giftee.
Well, this book just plain rocks. The Mom may appreciate this more than the daughter for right now, but she’ll grow into it (yeah, I gave this book to a 2 year old. So what?)
Yeah, right. says Mommy.
This is T.
Guess what?
Guesswhatguesswhatguesswhatguesswhat?
What?
Buffalo and I were in the
Christmas Pageant!
Wow!
Wait, who is Buffalo?
My Baby Doll, silly.
She was Baby Jesus and
I was an angel and Daddy stepped in dog pee!
What?
I was an angel!
Oh. Did you have lines to say?
Yes, I did.
“Do not be afraid!
I bring you good news
of great joy that will be for all the people!
Today in the city of David a Savior has been born!
Christ the Lord!
You will find the baby wrapped
in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger!”
to the shepherds and Lexi’s dog.
Lexi’s dog?
He’s puffy and white so we hung
a sign around his neck that said “SHEEP”.
Ah.
I practiced my lines every day
with Daddy and Mommy and Molly.
Was Molly helpful?
She is a good listener.
My costume was so so so so neat.
I had a white choir robe
and we tied the shiny garland around my middle
and we made a halo out of it and put it on my head
and I had some silvery face paint stuff on my cheeks.
Oooh.
Yes, oooh.
So how did the pageant go?
Um….fine.
Lexi’s doggie peed on the carpet
and we didn’t find out until later.
I gathered that. Did everyone remember their lines?
Um…yes. Mostly.
Someone forgot?
Um…me.
You did?
Yeah.
She did a great job! said Mommy. Even if she forgot at first.
What happened, T?
Well…I stood up to say my lines
and there were LOTS of people in church
and everyone was looking at me and all the words went
POOF
out of my head and I didn’t know what to do.
What did you do?
I said
“I’m a angel!”
then I saw Olivia (she was Mary)
and Joseph (our Joseph’s name was Joseph!)
and Buffalo and said
“That’s Baby Buffalo! No, wait! It’s Baby Jesus!”
then the words came back and I said
“Do not be afraid!
I bring you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people!
Today a Savior has been born!
He’s Christ Jesus!”
and then I sat down and the shepherds
and Lexi’s dog went over to Olivia and Joseph and Buffalo.
Then I remembered more
so when they were walking over
I stood up again and yelled to them
“It’s the city of David! Over there!”
The congregation loved her. says Mommy.
She was very professional. says Daddy.
I bet.
Then when Daddy came down to say
his sermon thingie he stepped in the dog pee.
It was great!
It sounds great.
We got it on video? Wanna see?
I would love to.
Let’s watch it after dinner.
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas, T.
I’ve been busy with other projects. I am sorry. Mighty T Is an Angel will be up within a week.
This is T.
Hello, says T.
Guess what guess what guess what guess what!
What?
It’s Halloween time!
It is! Do you know what you’re going to be?
I can’t decide.
Mommy has some pictures of me
from last year and the year before that
and the year before that and the year before that.
Look!
I was a ninja!
Wow. That is a cool costume.
Ninjas are very cool.
They are sneaky and they can run
in the tops of trees
and then they jump on you
and you can’t hear them
and they kidnap evil emperors.
Not evil penguins,
the emperors that are people with long mustaches.
Ah. I see.
The year before that I was a ghost we had a Halloween party at pre-school and there were four other kids who were ghosts and we all just had sheets over our heads with eye holes and Mommy almost went home with another kid, and then she saw that he had brown sneakers, but I wasn’t wearing brown sneakers, I was wearing my yellow rain boots even though it wasn’t raining and Mommy brought him back and said “I have someone else’s ghost!”.
Take a breath, T.
BREATH.
It was so funny.
The year before that I was a clown.
See? My polka dot suit is too small now
and I lost the red nose.
We still have the rainbow wig
in the dress up box, though.
When I was one I was a monkey.
See, that’s Daddy, he was a big monkey
and I’m the baby monkey.
Awwwww.
Awwww. What a cute baby monkey.
I don’t think I ate any candy that year.
I don’t really remember it,
but Mommy says I only had six teeth
and you can’t chew a whole lot with only six teeth.
You have had some great Halloween costumes, T.
Yeah, I have.
I don’t know what to do this year, though.
I though I’d be a robot,
but my friend Sara is going to be a robot.
Then I thought I’d be a train conductor
but my friend Paul is going to be a train conductor.
I want to be something different.
Hmm.
Hmmmmmmm. Hmmmmm.
I know!
What?
I’ll be Mighty T!
But, you’re always Mighty T.
No, I’ll be Super Mighty T!
I’ll get a super-hero cape
and my new red rain boots
and I’ll get a mask
and I’ll put a big T on a T shirt…HA!
A T shirt! HA HA HA!
HA HA HA!
and I’ll wear red tights and I will be
Awesome
Super
Mighty
T
and this will be the best Halloween ever!
The Guts & Glory walk for Chron’s and Colitis took place on October 14th, in Portland, Maine. Sam and I were the third highest individual fundraisers, and we far surpassed our goal of $750 (we raised over $1,200)! Thanks to everyone who helped us!
The Portland walkers raised over $26,000 to help find a cure for these awful diseases.
Check out my flickr gallery, and the CCFA’s official site.
This is T.
Hello. says T.
It’s the last week befor Kindergarten starts.
T’s family is going to Maine.
What’s in Maine? says T.
Mommy is very excited.
Chowder and Lobsters
and Fried Clams are in Maine!
What’s that?
Food! says Mommy.
The best food in the whole wide world.
T is not so sure. T likes pasta and chicken
and french fries.
I like Rice Krispie Treats, too!
Maine also has a really big beach
where you can make sand castles
and we can fly the kite.
Like the lake?
Much bigger than the lake.
When we go to the lake, you can see the other side,
but you can’t see the other side of the Ocean.
The Ocean? The Ocean? says T.
Mommy gets their globe out.
She shows T where they are,
where Maine is,
and The Ocean.
It’s the big blue part that goes on and on and on.
T likes the sound of that.
She helps Mommy pack her special red suitcase with her bathing suit, her water shoes, her special beach towel and lots of shorts and T shirts.
And underpants and some socks and…
…
…what is that?
That’s a sundress. says Mommy.
What do I need a dress for?
Mommy sighs.
T, we may go out to a nice restaurant
and if we do, Daddy and I will want you to wear a dress.
I do not want to wear that. says T.
Tough. says Mommy.
T pouts.
Mommy sighs again.
Look, T. she says.
We’re only going to a fancy restaurant once,
the whole week we’re there.
T pouts.
You don’t have to wear dressy shoes.
You can wear your water shoes if you wear the dress.
As soon as we get home, you can change.
says Mommy.
Mommy says this last part in her
Mommy Means Business Voice.
T thinks.
Okay.
Mommy packs the dress.
The next morning T
and Mommy
and Daddy get in the car
and drive for hours and hours and hours.
Why don’t we live close to anything?
When they got to Maine, T’s sleeping, so
Daddy carries her in to the house and puts her
in her room while Mommy unpacks the car.
Where am I? says T when she wakes up.
We’re in Maine, T. says Daddy.
T smells the air.
The air smells funny.
T smells it again.
Funny but good!
That’s the ocean.
Daddy takes T out of the cottage and she can
see
The
Ocean!
Wow. says T.
For dinner, Mommy goes
to the fish market and brings back
Fried clams,
Lobster rolls,
and a big container of
Clam Clowder.
T looks at the chowder.
It’s fishy soup? asks T.
Yes, T. Fishy soup.
T sniffs at the chowder.
T takes her spoon and pokes at the chowder.
Then…
T takes a little spoonful of the chowder and puts it
in her mouth.
T’s eyes get very very big.
T swallows the chowder.
Wow! says T.
I love chowder! says T, between
big slurps of chowder.
T, slow down! says Mommy.
T is done with her chowder very quickly.
Can I have some more? Please?
T has so much fun at the beach
the next day with Daddy and Mommy.
Daddy tries many times to get the
stripey beach umbrella to stay up.
It’s funny to watch at first, then it gets boring.
Hit it with a rock, Daddy! says T.
Big Sister and Eric
and Baby Sam arrive for lunch.
Daddy and Eric
and T make a sand castle,
then they build a whole sand kingdom around it.
It’s huge! says T.
When the ocean comes in
and tries to wreck their kingdom,
T runs to the ocean with her sand shovel
and tries to get the water to turn around.
It does not work.
They build another sand kingdom further up the beach.
T and Big Sister go for a walk and collect
shells in a bucket.
T picks up one shell
and
there is
a crab still
living in it.
Plomp
the shell with the crab, back onto the sand.
Wow, can T run! says Big Sister.
T runs all the way back to Mommy at the
stripey beach umbrella.
The wind picks up after a while, and Daddy gets the kite out.
T helps Daddy with the kite.
Daddy showed me how to make it do
loop dee loops. says T.
When the sun starts to go down,
Mommy packs up the the blankets
and her chair.
Eric and T pick up her shells
and shovels and buckets.
Big Sister carries Sleepy Baby Sam
and his Baby Bag.
Daddy tries to get the stripey beach umbrella
to come down.
Maybe if I hit it with a rock… says Daddy.
Everyone walks back to the cottage.
There is more chowder for dinner.
Yay! says T.
After dinner,
T sits on the porch and plays board games
with Big Sister
until Mommy says
T, it’s bed time.
T is pretty tired.
I had a busy day. says T.
You did have a busy day, T.
Tomorrow, we’ll try to have dinner at
the fancy restaurant. Mommy whispers
to Big Sister.
Good night, T.
This is T.
Hm. says T.
Are you tired T?
Yes. Not really.
It’s too hot.
It is very hot.
Our air conditioner broke
and Daddy says the air conditioner fixing man
can’t come until the day after tomorrow
which is forever away.
So what have you been doing?
Sitting.
Mommy and Daddy are sitting, too.
Molly is outside sitting in my baby pool.
For a while I was outside sitting on the sprinkler.
But that just kept my bottom cool.
We’re sitting and eating popsicles.
Lots and lots of popsicles.
I had popsicles for breakfast.
You did?
She did. says Mommy. So did I.
So did I. says Daddy.
It’s too hot.
Mommy filled a bowl with some ice
and Daddy got a big fan
and we’re sitting in front of them.
Ahh.
What will you do when the ice is gone?
Make Mommy make more ice.
Make Daddy make it, says Mommy.
I’m too hot to move.
T is quiet. Thinking.
I have an idea. says T.
T gets up and leaves the room.
Where are you going? says Daddy.
T comes back in her underpants.
I put my shorts in the freezer. says T.
T, you can’t put your shorts in the freezer! says Mommy
Why? says T.
Mommy doesn’t know what to say.
Daddy gets up.
Where are you going, Daddy?
I want to put my shorts in the freezer, too.
Ahhhhhhh.
Shortly after my husband and I married, he was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. I won’t define it here for you, I’ll let experts do it.
He spent almost 200 days in the hospital. He had three surgeries. He was taking 60 pills a day. This disease almost killed him. Almost. He had some great doctors and surgeons who saved him for me (for us).
So this fall, Sam and I are walking for Ulcerative Colitis.
If you want to sponsor me online, you can donate here.
Thanks.