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!