Marshmallow Fight

Yesterday was my son's classroom Christmas party. One of the activities was a marshmallow toss. The kids were supposed to toss marshmallows into a bucket to earn points. Well, that little activity went sadly awry. The kids decided that marshmallows would make much better snow balls.

They whipped the sugary white things at each other, instead of into the buckets. Pretty soon, the entire class was in a marshmallow frenzy. There was no stopping them.

The marshmallow fight lasted several minutes.  When they were finished, they had satisfied grins on their faces.

My son had this to say about it:  "What do you expect, Mama? There's no snow in Georgia for a real snow ball fight, so marshmallows were the next best thing!"

Of course!

Rocket Balloon

"Guess what we did in school, today?" my eleven-year-old son asked.

"What?" I replied.

"We made a rocket balloon!"

That sounded interesting. "How did you do that?"

"We took 1000 centimeters of kite string and attached it to the top of the flagpole. Then we staked the other end on the ground, so it went up at an angle."

I didn't want to know how they got the string to the top of the flagpole. Hopefully they raised it like they would raise a flag, and nobody had to endanger their lives actually climbing to the top of it.

"Then what?" I asked.

"Then we attached a balloon to a straw and attached that to the string. And guess what?"

"What?"

"I got to blow up the balloon."

That didn't surprise me. He has the most hot air, I'm sure!

He continued. "You should have seen that thing rocket to the top! It was awesome!"

I'm sure it was. In case you'd like to see one of these balloon rockets in action, you can watch the video. (I'm sure my son's version was even way more exciting than this!)

  

Let the Dog Sleep!

A couple of nights ago, my daughter and six of her teenaged friends had a sleepover in our basement. In case you don't know this, teenaged girls can be rather noisy. These teenagers were no exception. They chatted, giggled, and made a general commotion until two in the morning.

Meanwhile, our poor German Shepherd, Schultz, was trying to sleep. Apparently the girls were keeping him up. Finally, he couldn't take it any more. He started crying.

I heard the dog's plaintive moans and came to his rescue. "Okay, ladies. It's time to wrap this thing up. When the dog starts complaining about your noise, it's too much. Time for bed!"

I looked at Schultz. "It's okay, boy. You can go to sleep, now."

He looked at me with his droopy brown eyes, gave me a little wag of the tail, and went to sleep.

Before I go, I'd like to let you know that my book, Ten Zany Birds is part of the SCBWI (Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators) inaugural launch party. You can visit the page, like it, comment in the guest book, and even win one of two copies of the book (US residents only). Click on the link to get to the page.

Cotton Picker

My son and I recently visited a plantation. It was a proper plantation, complete with cotton plants. And there was plenty of cotton still hanging off of them.

My son couldn't resist. He had to pull some off.

"Just a couple, Bubba," I said.

Well, a couple turned into an entire hand full.

I gave him my mommy evil eye. "What are you going to do with all that cotton?" I asked.

He looked at his fist-full of white stuff. "I don't think it's enough to make a shirt. So I think I'll go home and plant it in the backyard. Then we'll have a lot of cotton. Next year I can pick it, and you can make the shirt."

Uh, right.


Before I go, I would like to let you know that I'm also over at Erin Fanning's Blog, where she interviewed me. Please stop by to find out what zoo creature I'd be if I could, and what super power I would have if it was possible.

Bubba Bulldozer and Winners of the Give Away

First, I'd like to thank everyone who stopped by for author, Virginia Wright's guest post. The winners of her books are  Christine Rains, who won the coloring book, Deanie Dunne, who won a coloring book, and Tracy Campbell, who won the story book. Congratulations, ladies!

Now, for the story:

We had gotten a new dishwasher recently, because our old one finally died. As you all know, dishwashers come in big boxes. And as you also probably know, my son, Bubba, likes to play in boxes.

Bubba had a perfect new box. He parked himself in the box, right next to the Christmas tree which had just been put up and decorated. All was fine until Bubba decided that the box would be a perfect vehicle.  He used his body to rock the box back and forth until it moved - right into the Christmas tree.

I sprang into action and stopped the tree from timbering. I barely made it. Somehow, the only casualties were a few ornaments and some Christmas bulbs.

"Bubba," I said after the situation was under control. "You're supposed to rock around the Christmas tree. Not into it!"

Guest Author, Virginia Wright

Today, I have special guest, author Virginia Wright, at my pad. She has an adorable new Christmas book and coloring book out. She's giving away one copy of the book and one copy of the coloring book. If you'd like to enter the contest, leave a comment below indicating such. If you want bonus points, share your favorite Christmas memory. The winners will be announced Monday.

Without further ado, let me tell you about Virginia's book and let her share some thoughts with you.

Blurb:  Join Timothy, a house mouse, on Christmas Eve, as he tries to survive a cold winter's night, all alone in an old Maine farmhouse. To eat, he must venture out into a terrible snowstorm. Come along with Timothy and meet other interesting forest animals in this delightful children's holiday story.

* Great Christmas Eve bedtime story!

 

My Review:  It's Christmas Eve. Timothy the mouse is alone in an empty house. The residents have moved, and now there are no crumbs to eat. Timothy must venture out into the cold, snowy night in search of food. Timothy fills his bucket with acorns, but is surprised when other hungry forest creatures help themselves to his stash. Things look bleak until Timothy discovers a delightful Christmas surprise.

Timothy the Christmas Mouse is a lovely Christmas story to share with young children. They will enjoy the illustrations of all the forest creatures, and will want to know if Timothy manages to find a Christmas Eve meal. Also included, are some coloring pages. Children will have fun adding their own artistic expressions to the book. Recommended for children ages 3-7.  Five stars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy the books:

Amazon Story Book

Amazon Coloring Book

Amazon Ebook

Books-A-Million Coloring Book

 

You can watch the video trailer here.

 

 

Interview:

 

1. Thanks for joining us, today! What was your inspiration for writing this book?  The inspiration to write Timothy the Christmas Mouse came after my family bought  an old New England farm house in Maine some years ago.  The house had been empty for about two years before we  moved in. There was a big breezeway and  a barn attached to the main part of the old house.  The former owners had chickens, horses, goats,  and… house mice. I know this about the mice, as we found one mouse after another.  We think that the mice were attracted to the hayloft where it was warm—it was this experience that prompted me to write Timothy the Christmas Mouse.

Sounds like a very cool old house! I don't know about all the mice, though. I'm glad at least they served as an inspiration for your story!

2. What did you enjoy most about writing this book?  Sherry,  as a writer yourself, you know that writing every book evokes different feelings.  With that said, I not only write, I also illustrate my own books.  I want to speak about the illustrations, as I created pages purposely anticipating giggles.  Anticipating the giggles is definitely what I enjoyed the most about  creating Timothy the Christmas Mouse.

I bet there will be a lot of giggles from kids reading your book!

3. Share your favorite Christmas memory. I would love to share my favorite Christmas memory, Sherry.  I was just  four or five years old, and living on a farm in a small country town in Swanville, Maine.  It was Christmas Eve and my parents told me to look out the window as Santa and his reindeer were outside.  I crawled up on a stool and looked out of a frosty window pane just in time to see a red light bobbing up and down in the field by my house.  Of course I assumed it was Santa with Rudolph, so I climbed down off the stool and ran to my bedroom to go to bed for the night as I knew Santa would not come to my house if I did not fall fast asleep.

That's a great memory! I remember my uncle used to take me up to a room on the top floor of my grandparents' house and tell me to listen to the reindeer on the roof. The tapping sounds were pretty convincing!

4. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? I always wanted to be a writer!  Ever since I have been a young girl― I put words to paper. I can remember sitting on the veranda of my parent’s house writing, first it was a little diary with a lock and key, later, as I started growing up it was a pen and pad in hand—back then, I wrote mostly Poetry and Haiku’s. My excitement for writing was realized in 1981, when I sold my first writing to a regional publication Washington County Magazine, but the excitement for writing didn’t stop there, it continued to grow!

So many writers start out when they're kids. I was the same way. I had no idea I'd ever be a published author, though! You've written a lot of wonderful books for children. I'm so glad you've continued writing! 

5. What secret talents do you have? Secret talents…  hmm. I am not certain some would call this a talent, but I hold an “FCC Amateur Extra Radio License.”  In order to receive this top US license,  which by the way is the highest class license you can make, I had to first pass a 5-WPM (word per minute) Morse code exam, then earn other  class licenses, and in the end, to get Amateur Extra License, I had to pass a large theory exam,  and pass  a 20-WPM (word per minute) Morse code exam. I had to decipher words like SOS with dots and dashes, and all other words used in sentences. Those who hold an Amateur Extra license have all privileges on all US amateur radio bands.

That's pretty cool! I don't know too many people who have that ability. Maybe your next book can be a spy book and use some of this knowledge you have!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bio

Virginia Wright (born Virginia Brown March 19, 1958) is an American author and illustrator of children's fantasy fiction and non-fiction books. She first became a published author in 1981 when she sold her first writing--Faith, to a regional magazine in the state of Maine. Faith, The Blessing, and Rosarium are published in an anthology--Soundings by the Poetry Fellowship of Maine. Wright received a World of Poetry Merit Award-- with Rank: Honorable Mention (1987) for her poem, Faith. The poems Picture Memories and Life, Love, Inevitably Death are published in Our Day of Passing Anthology by Ingrid Hall, Franco Esposito, Dennis Higgins, Virginia Wright and a collaboration of 30+ other talented co-authors around the globe. Besides poetry Wright has written six books, her first a children's book, "The Princess and the Castle, A Fairy Tale" (2010) and this was followed by three other fairy tales, The Prince and the Dragon, Crying Bear, and a Christmas classic, The Christmas Secret: Mikey's Story. Wright is the author of an educational non-fiction, short book for all ages, Buzzzzzzzz What Honey Bees Do. Her latest book, Wild Animal Sounds, was released November 2014. As an illustrator, the cover Wright, illustrated for Steampunk Alice by Dennis Higgins won the AUTHORSdb Gold Award (2014).

 
Connect with Virginia:
Blog                                                                                                           

 Amazon Author Page

Facebook                                                                         

 Twitter                                                                                 

 Pinterest

Goodreads

 Instagram

 
Thanks to Virginia for being a guest here!

Before I go, I would like to let you know that as part of my World of Ink  Book Tour, my book Ten Zany Birds, is being reviewed at Families Matter. These are some of the bloggers who organized my tour. If you are a children's writer, and are looking for a company who will promote your book specifically to people who are interested in children's books, World of Ink Network, is a great place to go.    

Crossing the Log

A few days ago, my daughter and I were roaming around in the woods behind our house. Eventually, we came to the wide creek that flows though the area. There was no way to cross the creek, other than wade though it or walk across a very long log that stretches over it. Since it was rather chilly, wading through it really wasn't an option. That left the log.

I looked at that thing. "I don't know about this," I said. "It looks pretty dangerous."

"I've done it before with my friends," my daughter said. "The first time it's really scary. But then you get used to it. Watch."

She slid down the muddy bank to where the log was wedged into the dirt. Then she climbed up on the log and very carefully made her way across the creek. It took a good five minutes. This was no narrow creek, and the log was elevated at least four feet above it.  "Your turn," she said when she was on the other side.

I sighed and made my way down the muddy bank.  I crawled up on the log and stood there. The sun on the water ripples was affecting my depth perception. "Uh, I'm not sure I can do this," I said.

"Just stare at the log at a spot a little ahead of you, and walk."

I tried, but then stopped.

"Mom, your knees are shaking."

"No, they're not," I said. They couldn't possibly be shaking. I'm not afraid of heights, and a stupid little log shouldn't bother me.

"You'd better turn around and try again," my daughter instructed."The best way is to do it all at once and not stop."

I frowned and turned around on that log - which was no easy task.

I tried again. And again, the ripples of the water messed with my vision. I couldn't focus on the darn log.

I turned around. This time, I was mad. There was no way a stupid log was going to get the best of me!

The third time, I plowed ahead. I really didn't care if I fell off the log and broke all my bones. And guess what? I did it. I walked all the way across that thing.

My daughter grinned. "Way to go, Mom! You're the only mom I know crazy enough to do that!"

Yeah. All it took was me getting mad!

(In case you're wondering, going back across was much easier. The light was behind me, so it was easier to see.)       





Today, as part of my book tour, my book, Ten Zany Birds, is being reviewed by Writer Granny's World. It is interesting to read the blogger's nine-year-old grandson's comments on it!