Books for kids, teens, & those who are young at heart

Tag: birthday

Celebrating Book Birthdays and Baby Birthdays All Week Long

With ELIXIR SAVED releasing tomorrow and three family birthdays this week, it’s all about books and birthdays on the blog (say that three times fast!). Stop by tomorrow for the official ELIXIR SAVED launch video…where I may have taken the idea of a book birthday a little too far.

On Wednesday, I’ll be on author Kai Strand’s blog talking about my biggest challenge in writing book 2 (I cheated a little on this one and wrote about two things that challenged me). Then here on Friday, I have an author interview with Estelle Laure, whose book MAYHEM shares a book birthday with ELIXIR SAVED.

First kiddo, a.k.a. The Boy

There will more fun on the blog the rest of July. Next week, you can take a quiz (don’t worry, it’s only 7 questions and there are no wrong answers) to find out what element fuels your magic. And then some posts about the process of writing ELIXIR SAVED. If you have any questions about the writing process or any of my books, drop them in the comments and I’ll answer them here on the blog.

Second kiddo, a.k.a. The Prince

Today, though, is all about birth stories. I’ve shared here on the blog the exciting birth stories of my first two kiddos, one of whom was born during a hurricane (check out “A Beautiful Life Is Born”) and the other who was almost born in the car (check out “The Precipitous Birth of Baby Boy #2”). When I went looking for a post about the third kiddo’s birth story, I realized I never wrote it up (such is the way of parenthood after the first couple of kids), all I found was a post called “Summer 2017 in Pictures – All About Adjusting” with me saying his birth story will get up on the blog eventually.

Third kiddo, a.k.a. The Gentleman

The Gentleman (kiddo #3) came in an equally exciting way as the other two. The only reason we made it in time to the hospital was because we knew from the very quick birth of kiddo #2 to head there at the very first sign of labor. We still never made it to labor and delivery, and he was born in one of the tiny triage rooms before my doctor made it to the hospital. This was despite the several warnings my husband and I gave them about how our previous baby was born in one of those same triage rooms and maybe they should go ahead and send me to labor and delivery. It all worked out in the end, and that’s the important thing.

Baby Katie

Turns out my own birth story was rather exciting as well. My dad worked for the local newspaper at the time and wrote about it in his column. My parents didn’t have health insurance, so when my mom went into labor at about 9:00 p.m., she decided to try and labor at home until midnight to avoid the extra night’s charge. The hospital was down the road from our house, so they almost decided to walk but got a ride from my aunt at the last minute. My mom was admitted at 12:01 a.m. (with my dad double-checking the time on the paperwork) and I was born at 1:03 a.m. I guess quick births run in the family!

Anyone else have an exciting birth story? See you all tomorrow where I embarrass myself on video and share ELIXIR SAVED’s birth story!

When the Words are Gone Let the Pictures Speak

Another August 2nd. Another birthday my sister Kylene will never celebrate. I’m feeling at a loss for words this year. Maybe because I had so many words (and even some math) on her birthday post last year. Maybe because while things change day-to-day and year-to-year in my life, nothing changes for her. What else is there left to say?

A tree was planted in Ky’s memory shortly after she died. In the spring when I was running every Saturday morning down by the harbor, I would stop and visit it. I caught it in full bloom one week and made sure to snap a few pictures. So I think I’ll let those speak for me. Happy birthday, Kylene!

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No Matter How You Do The Math, Death Just Doesn’t Add Up

Ky TeenToday would have been my sister Kylene’s 30th birthday. She died when she was 16, so it’s hard to even imagine what she would have been like at 30. We – her family and friends – all knew Kylene the girl and were just beginning to get a glimpse of the woman she was becoming.

Ky ModelKylene the girl loved to sing and act. She played the flute and was a multi-sport athlete. She worked hard at school and was a honor student. And Ky was kind, and so very giving. I think she worried a lot about things, too. As a toddler, she was prone to tantrums, and never did lose her flair for the dramatic. Kylene was also a devoted Girl Scout, and she was on her way to earning her Gold Award (the highest achievement in Girl Scouts). She loved the Harry Potter books (though she only lived to read the first four) and shared them with everyone, and I mean everyone, making many a reluctant reader into an avid one.

Ky and KTWe used to go to the beach and play volleyball with our friends, cranking up the music (usually Fuel) on the way. We played soccer, basketball, and track together for that one year we were both in high school together. I used to jump down from my top bunk and into her bottom bunk when I got scared at night. She never made fun of me for it, never even would mention it to me the next day. She used to wear my underwear when they would accidentally end up in her pile, much to my disgust.

The truth is Kylene was so many things, more than I can ever write about, more than I ever even knew about. I knew her as my often annoying little sister. At 16 and 19, respectively, she and I were really just learning how to be friends outside of the sister realm. I think we would have become best friends as adults. But she will always be 16 going on 17.

Ky and DavidThis year on her 30th birthday, I can’t help but think about how pretty soon she will have been gone as long as she was here.

My mind gets all twisted up over the fact that my oldest nephew turned 16 this year, so he’s been alive almost as long as his Auntie Ky was. He seems so young; he is so young. How could Kylene have only been alive an equally short amount of time? Her influence on my life seems far more profound than could possibly have happened in 16 years.

I’ve already lived more than two of her lives. My great grandmother at age 96 died two years to the day after my sister. She lived 6 of Kylene’s lives.

For some reason, this year I keep thinking about all these numbers. I think it’s the way the logical side of my brain is still trying to make sense of my sister’s death. The truth is, the numbers are just numbers, and no amount of calculating will make it make sense.

Ky and KT 2The creative part of my brain wrote a whole book trying to make sense of my sister’s death. That helped me mourn Ky and it helped me heal, but it didn’t make the death of a 16-year-old make sense. Nothing can.

So today (and most days) I think of her. And today on her birthday I memorialize her. I remember how she made me laugh and cry, how I wanted both hit her and protect her (not usually at the same time), how I tried to explain to her how to be more like me and how she was always herself anyway, how I try now to be more like her: empathetic, caring, kind.

KY Raise a glassI think about how The Boy’s temperament reminds me so much of her at times, and it helps me understand him better. See, Kylene is still teaching me and inspiring me to be a better person, even though she’s been gone for so long. She will never meet my kids, but she is part of their lives all the same.

She is my sister, and I miss her…always. So let’s all raise a glass to my sister. Happy birthday, Ky!

ELIXIR BOUND Book Blitz Sign Up

Hi all! I’ve got a lot going on right now. We had The Boy’s third birthday last week and his birthday party over the long weekend. We went to the zoo, just me and him, the morning of his birthday and had ice cream cake that evening. Pretty low key.

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For his party, I made him a fire engine birthday cake (thankfully I bought a cake pan that made the job a little bit easier) and cake pops, which took a good chunk of time. Somehow we ended up having like 30+ people at the party, so it was fun but a big time suck for me. Not so much low key.

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In writing news, I have a short poem coming out in Highlights HIGH FIVE magazine. It’s a tough market to break into, so I was super excited to get an acceptance. And I have big news coming on Monday about a fun, collaborative project I’m working on to be released next year. And my mommy Tumblr blog is up and running. Not necessarily of interest to all of you, but I think even if you don’t have kids, it offers some entertaining thoughts (and the posts are super short, so not much commitment time on the reader’s part).

I’ve also been gearing up for a big promotional push for ELIXIR BOUND. The ebook will be on sale and the paperback will be up on Goodreads for a giveaway, both happening September 14th-28th. I’m currently organizing a big book blitz (and hopefully releasing the book trailer as well…if the creator of my trailer–my brother–can get his you-know-what together!). I’d love if any bloggers who have some space between the 14th and 27th could sign up.

Here’s the sign up link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1JPEek1w3PPHuGNpX3XNCV24uF9tHhqep2GvJ6zQMYTo/viewform

So what have you all been up to?

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