Happy Birthday Tom!

Friday was Tom's 39th birthday. His parents are in town and took the girls for a sleepover at their RV, giving us a chance to go out. I accompanied him to a prom his company was photographing. We stayed for an hour or so to help them get through the beginning rush, then went to see Pirates. I LOVED the movie. . .of course I've liked all the Pirate movies.

Yesterday we celebrated by inviting some friends over for a cook out at the new house. We had a good turnout and lots of food. It was a fun, tiring day.

Recital Day/Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

Today was Kylie's ballet recital. She did great up on stage singing and dancing. The show was Aladdin and the preschool class were all pink genies. It was adorable. We are so proud of her. . .she really loves ballet (much more than soccer!).

We started the day with breakfast out then went out for dinner after the recital AND ice cream. It was a full day and everyone is tired.

Good news

So, I have a little bit of good news. I have several children's stories "cooking" in my brain and submitted some queries to literary agents and publishers this week. I heard back from two who are interested. The first one I did some research and found out that they don't have the best reputation, but the second one is very promising. They are educational publishers, so if they find my material to be educational enough, then they might consider it. I have some work to do to submit it to them, but keep your fingers crossed!

Photos of the house

Finally, I took a couple of pics of the house. Now that the grass is green and the trees are starting to show their leaves, I thought it was time to take some shots. We still have work in the yard to do, but it's looking very pretty already.

Fun at the Pond

Monday was a 1/2 day of school for Melanie and with a touch of spring in the air we decided to head to the beach with our friends! It was still a little chilly (there was a couple there in winter coats!), but the girls begged to let them wade in the water. They couldn't help themselves once they got wet, they wanted to go in ALL the way. Before we knew it they had stripped off their pants and were laughing, splashing and playing in their T-shirts. They are true native Cape Codders.

Sunday Night

We've had a busy couple of days. Kylie played soccer yesterday. . .her second game. She still is very shy about participating but seemed to do a little better than last week. There were friends of ours at the field and Melanie was having so much fun running around with one of the little girls, we left her there to play. I went to pick her up later at their house and ended up spending 2 hours visiting with the mom. I wonder where the day goes!

Last night we had a really fun night. Tom was working late and my friend Donna's husband was out of town, so she had some moms over for drinks and food. I took Melanie and Kylie along to play with Donna's daughter. The moms laughed and talked for several hours while the girls played. Melanie spent the night, but I carried a sleeping Kylie home around midnight.

Today we were all sleepy, but we managed to get to church for me to teach Sunday School.

I got a little time this afternoon to work on my book. I have changed a bunch of stuff and realize that I have to rewrite most of the last half. It will take lots of editing and work.

Time for Desperate Housewives!

Twice in one day!

So, what is going to make the novel work this time? I think I have struggled with the validity of some of the details in my book. (For example I don't have time research the exact process of a legal deposition). . .so I had a major revelation. Include more of what I do know A LOT about.

I am an Occupational Therapist. . . or I should say I have a degree in OT. I worked in the field for 5 years before becoming a stay at home mom and office manager for the studio. Then I went back a couple of years ago (thought I was ready) and spent a year and a half working in a school system. It was tough to go back . . .on everyone, my family especially. I finally realized that I just wasn't enjoying the profession any longer and needed to put it behind me.

But, I still have all that knowledge locked away. Why not include some of that in my story (after all my parents did spend all that money on 5 years of college)? I especially like Neurology and was pretty good at it. I was one of few in my class who could remember the function of the hippocampus, medulla oblongata and peduncle. Of course I may need some refreshers, but all that information is stored in my brain somewhere. Thus, the big idea was born and the re-write has begun.

Tune in for bits and pieces of the novel. . .what is it about? I'm not ready to share that info yet!

Better go be a good mom and finish vacuuming the house and feed Kylie some lunch. She has preschool this afternoon. While she's at school I need to stop by the office and run a few other errands. . .maybe have time to work in the yard (grass is getting long. . .what will the new neighbors think???) Then when Melanie gets home from school (first grade) we will take her to gymnastics, maybe out for pizza, then to see Seusical the Musical at Melanie's school with some friends.

Have a GREAT Day!
Kelli

Starting my Blog

So, here I've finally found time to sit down and start writing my on-line journal. . .Kylie is playing happily in the other room -building with Lincoln Logs (quite well I must say for a 4 year old). All of the sudden the sound of CNN comes through the walls. Weird. . .I go into the bedroom and the dog is intently watching a bombing in Iraq with the remote squarely between his front paws. I guess he needed to catch up on the news.

So, I'm back at the computer, Kylie is now done building and rolling around my feet, sucking her thumb and saying "I need help cleaning up." Now I know why it is so hard to get a chance to start this project.

Anyway. . .I don't know who will care to read this (ah the phone - another interruption - my husband needing me to bring some supplies to the office). But I have had an desire to start recording my thoughts and life events in some kind of diary. I promise not to get too personal!

We just bought a new house about a month ago. Maybe when the flowers and trees start budding I'll get out and take a pic (spring comes late in the Northeast). I love our new home. The girls have plenty of room to play and spread out, there's tons of storage space for real organization and there's no more raunchy carpeting everywhere that the dog can ruin with one drool. The neighborhood seems nice and cheerful.

(Kylie cleaned up the Lincoln Logs without any help! Amazing!)

The main reason for my new blog is I've decided to get back into writing. Ever since I was 5 years old I have considered myself a writer (Mrs. Kitten Cake was the first story. . .I still have it!) I have written a couple of complete novels and even tried to get one published several years ago. I actually had some interest from a literay agent in representing me. She asked me to make a couple of changes and send it in to her. Unfortunately the timing wasn't good. I was pregnant with Kylie at the time and ended up on bedrest and preterm labor shortly after. I finally got the changes to her maybe 6 months later and I doubt she remembered me or our conversation. I doubt she even laid eyes on it herself. That was the last time I looked at or thought about my novel. My confidence was low and my schedule was BUSY!

(After providing a snack of Cheez-It's, "pink" milk and My Little Ponies video, Kylie is now very quiet)

So, why now? I am still busy as ever. I work in Tom's office and May and June are the busy season. He's out straight for the next two months shooting little leagues, proms, graduations, portraits, preschools, weddings. . . It's getting close to the end of the school year for the girls so that means field trips, recitals, sports, parties, etc are all going on for them. I still have a ton of work to do on the new house and yard, so my free time should be spent there. But you can't predict when inspiration comes and when it does you need to go with it. I have found that unless creatively motivated I am unable to write very well. Right now writing is constantly on my mind. It's what I'm thinking about while I'm in the shower, vacuuming, dusting, making meals, driving, playing with my girls, etc. I feel guilty about it because little Kylie (who talks to me non-stop) will yank on me and say "Mommy wake up!!!" when she knows I'm not fully listening. That's why I need to get it down on paper, so I can more fully focus on other activities.

I think part of the motivation maybe comes from Tom's dad (Roger). He was recently diagnosed with cancer (which they think is stage 4). While undergoing tests, they also found an aortic aneurysm. Now he's faced with a tough decision. Wait on cancer treatment to have the aneurysm surgically removed or go ahead with the chemo and radiation with treatment of the aneurysm after in hopes that it doesn't burst in the meantime? It's an impossibly tough decision for him.

Roger is the only person among our family and friends who repeatedly asks me if I've been writing lately. I always laugh, wondering when he thinks I have time to write. It was him I was thinking about the other night as I tried to fall asleep, worrying for him, his wife and my husband and what will happen the next few months. When I woke up the next morning I had memories of a dream in which I was in an accident. As I lay awake remembering the dream, I thought of one thing. . .what have I wanted to do my whole life but have never really followed through and pursued it? Publish a novel.

Tom just ran the Boston Marathon for the first time. That was a life-long dream of his and he realized it after 38 years. My dream is to be a writer. Not just a writer for myself, but a writer for others to enjoy.

I probably can't give it 100%. . .I know I can't, but I will do my best to fulfill this dream and hey, at least I gave it a shot.

Yes, my first blog entry is long (sorry Tom)- but hey I LIKE to write!

(My Little Pony is over already! Time to get out the real Little Ponies)

All for now!

Kelli