Three Day Weekend

Today's edition of he said/she said:
Son got in the middle of dispute between Father and Daughter, thus getting himself into trouble. I attempted to comfort him by telling him that I, as the oldest child, had that same tendency and used to get into trouble for inserting myself in parental vs. sibling disputes too. "So," I added with a sense of maternal sufficiency, "I know how you feel." Son's victorious reply: "So THAT'S where I get it from."

Good news from Australasia: acceptance of my first ever published fiction, a story called "Monty is from Mars," forthcoming in April 2010 issue of Explore Magazine, an Australian kids' mag published by an education publisher!

Finally, after enjoying Julie/Julia (the book, but of course with Meryl Streep the film was great fun too), and now reading Not Buying It (a year without shopping), am wondering what great venture I would task myself with for a year. I tried to read a book about a family who only ate what they grew for a year, but it was unspeakably exhausting to read if you just aren't a large scale (or competent) gardener to begin with. I then realized that I am in fact still in my first year of writing for children (begun May 24, 2009), so if I can get something amazing to happen before the end of May, I could reverse engineer a wittier blog and write a book about it. Don't worry; I think that was a joke!

Met in KC at Borders with my critter group yesterday, and it has been a big month for two of them, at least. They have launched new and exciting ventures in the web. One, similarly inspired by the Julie/Julia project, has gone live with a commercial blog meshing nursing/parent advice/humor called, appropriately enough: NurseMommyLaughs. Already she has pediatricians beating a path to her door! Another is growing Blessing Beans, a devotional website with spinoffs, and already has a trademarked product. And for a third, with whom I meet for chapter book critiquing, she says she has given up lucrative employment possibilities to carve out 90 minutes of writing time a day and stay home with her three children. Vacations have moved from Florida to nearby St. Louis instead, but she and her husband are bucking the trend of the Joneses they run with. So we're back to Not Buying It again! (But of course, I had to buy the book.)

Critters of the Month Club

Had a great critique session in Kansas City at Borders, yesterday afternoon. Nice drive, nice coffee, great company. Spending two hours critiquing children's writing with folks who are as enthused and focused is wonderful. Thanks, guys.

Do Over

OK, Starbucks rescheduled for Monday at 5.30 (come on out, locals!). The storms continue each evening through the weekend, so Monday seems a good bet. Now, if a plague of locusts come through on Monday in otherwise clear skies, I might be prepared to consider that an omen. There's probably a card for that, and if there is my MIL would have it for me. The all-time best present from her was a dinner table kit for Passover, for the kids (allegedly). It was called (really, are you ready?) Ten Plagues in a Box. Plastic bugs, spotty cow masks (!), fake blood (!!) dark glasses with which to simulate blindness (!!!) and a jigsaw puzzle featuring Death of the First Born (!!!!!!!!!!). The best dinner table entertainment. Ever.

Started on a new chapter book yesterday. Couldn't get to sleep last night for mulling it over, so that's a good sign. The last couple I started got bogged down without enough forward momentum, but this one is intriguing and I think I've got the forward motion as well. The kids' swim lessons in the morning are affording me writing/thinking time under a tree at the aquatic center. Teaching in the afternoon is even kind of cool this month. Goal for today: two more chapters. Or one, and some excellent plot points. I have lots more writing time in the summer than when school goes back in the fall. Teaching works that way!