Technology...

Christmas has passed (a couple of days anyway) - my house is still crazy with stuff every where, but it was a great holiday. My son had "the best Christmas in the world" which I love. He was so grateful even over the smallest gifts... that meant a lot. Santa brought him a Nintendo DS and I am all for him playing it and enjoying himself since he just got it - but at lunch or dinner with just me; not so much! We went to do some after Christmas shopping yesterday and then got some tacos - I purposely did not let him bring his DS because he needed a break and I wanted to enjoy him. At the table beside us, this boy and his father were sitting together. The boy played his DS the whole time and his father played with his blackberry the whole time. We were there a good 45 minutes and neither one of them looked up for a second. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there will be a time that I meet a friend for lunch and want for Parker to occupy himself - I'll be honest - I'm not above it! :) But that definitely got to me a little - I want to be able to enjoy my boy while he still has time for me!!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

I know this time of year is so busy for everyone - but it can be so exciting too! My son is at an age where he knows what's going on and that he really needs to try to behave - but he is so out of his skin excited - I was talking to him about Christmas this afternoon when he got off the bus and he just started laughing - no reason - just belly laughs that he couldn't control... I loved it! It was so sweet. This will be our first Christmas break together and my first instinct was to think of everything that I wanted to fit in before he was home - but now I am so thrilled about all of the things we get to do together. I am going to let him shop for my husband a little and we are going to wrap some things and maybe go on a light hunt at night - we pick random neighborhoods and just look for decorated houses - go get some Starbucks hot chocolate... simple things. Any big activities are so expensive. Ice skating, bowling, movies... I'd rather take him shopping and pick some things out post-Christmas. It has definitely been fun this year getting presents for the past few months (for the first time, I actually shopped early and put away) and then taking it out recently and wrapping. I hope I can pass along the joy to Parker of actually loving what you're giving as much as you're getting. I must admit people's gratitude (or lack there of) really puts a damper on my spirit sometimes - I just hope I can look past it this year. Some folks are genuinely grateful for whatever thoughts you had of them, and others are very obvious when they don't like what you got them. Christmas is so not about that - and I'm not even talking about kids necessarily...

Spread the joy and enjoy yourself this holiday! Also Merry 1st Christmas to my little niece, Elizabeth!!

Signings & Readings

It has definitely been a big couple of weeks. I have been presenting to elementary school classes (grades really) and have really enjoyed that. The kids come up with some really neat questions that I don't always expect - what's your favorite story you've written or how old were you when you started writing? - I really just expect questions about sports or Rodney Ram!


We had the signing at Barnes & Noble last Saturday which was very cool. It isn't like it is on TV or in the movies or anything because people certainly aren't lined up around the block or anything, but it is very rewarding to me to have anyone who liked the book want to chat about it or writing in general. There were some of the kids that attend the schools which I've presented to who came by with their parents. One little boy came up and told me he came because of seeing me at his school and when I asked him if I should sign a copy for him, he said, "I haven't decided if I'm getting one or not." I cracked up!! Susie (the illustrator) was able to join in for the last 45 minutes or so, so some people got their book double signed -hopefully they enjoy it as much as we do. 39 copies were sold and that includes some copies that Barnes & Noble purchased to keep in the store itself. They are signed by myself and Susie, so hopefully people will go get one for a Christmas gift.



In the back of my mind have been these two stories and one submission that are all due in December. One I just turned in (a story for WOW magazine - women on writing) about rejection really being a good thing in my life - all of my rejections have just pushed me harder and sometimes in a different direction - I should know if that was accepted by the end of this month. The other is my All About Kids article - which has already been approved (the "real mom" article) - it will be in the February issue but is due by the 31st of this month. The picture book submission due at the end of this month is for Red Cygnet and is my story called "The Panacake Dance." I worked on this last year with an illustrator and we were back a forth for the last few months of '07 and then finally toward the middle of December, it fizzled. I have a much stronger feeling this year and hope that it works out. We'll see, keep your fingers crossed.The last new piece of news for me is a bit of serendipity. I ran into a mom of a friend from high school (who I literally hadn't seen in - let's just say 10+ years) at a baby shower this weekend. She is guidance counselor for a middle school and asked if I would speak at their BETA club induction. She had seen the articles in the paper (RTD and ML) about the book and myself. All I could think of was a debate that my two little pals who walk home from the bus everyday with my son and I were having. They got off the bus and one said, "Mrs. McNamara - I saw you on our school TV today - you're famous!" the other one said, "no she's not. she only has one book - she needs atleast 3 or 4 before she can be famous!" the other one agreed and they continued to point out how far I have to go. When she asked me to speak, that's all I could think about :)! But then she pointed out that she wanted me to focus on persistence and working toward a goal - now that I can do!