The Society of Children’s Books Writers & Illustrators has just posted an on-line interview with me. I’m very excited, because I just love SCBWI. It’s the go-to organization for all the wonderful folks who create the words and images in children’s books. The interview focuses on my literary journey from playroom to publishing house to author’s chair, and it explores the challenge of balancing the roles of Author/Editor/Mom. The full interview appears in SCBWI’s “Industry PROfiles.” Fun!
First my five-year-olds insisted on wearing flip-flops just like the other boys in their jui-jitsu class. Now they want to wear their hair like their classmates, too. This has created a bit of a hair affair at Casa de Halverson. You see, the boys want faux hawks. Extreme faux hawks. And Mom and Dad say, “Not while we’re in control of the clippers.”
Two of the six-year-olds in the boys’ jui-jitsu class have extreme faux hawks, taller than the ones on these heads here: Read More…
I managed to get through this whole day without crying–even when one of my sweet babies showed me how loose his front tooth is (”You’re losing a tooth already? How is that POSSIBLE?!?”), and even when my other sweet babies WROTE THEIR OWN NAMES on my card, and even when I realized the card they’d pick out all by themselves said “Happy Birthday” on it. Then my friend had to go and send me a link to this song. *Guh*
Mother’s Day number five, just like the other four: with three beautiful–albeit it bigger–boys and their wonderful daddy. I’m one lucky girl.
Happy Mother’s Day.
9/11 is an ominous date, but this year I’ll be doing my part to cast a little sunshine on those numbers: I’ll be presenting “How Do You Know Your Manuscript Is Ready for Submission?” at the season-opening meeting of the San Diego chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators’ (SCBWI). Check it out on September 11, 2010, from 2-4pm, in the Hahn Nursing Hall on the University of San Diego campus. For details about the meeting and the chapter, visit their website.
When my triplet sons were born, my husband and I stopped watching T.V. With infant triplets, where was the time for it? When the boys were six months old, we canceled the cable. Why spend hundreds of dollars a year for something we didn’t use? And since our T.V. has no antennae and so doesn’t receive non-cable T.V., that was it. No T.V.
Our boys are now five years old. Read More…
My spin class instructor is a tough nut. Today, as I and twenty-four other torture lovers huffed and puffed and groaned our way ‘uphill’ on our stationary bikes, she shouted at us, “You can DO this! WIPE those negative thoughts from your mind! The only word in your head right now should be YES! YES, I can. YES, I will. YES! YES!! YES!!!” Imagine this coming through a surround-sound speaker system, because the woman had a microphone on. And music blasting, too. It’s a really loud class. And it got louder: “You can DO this!” she shouted from her bike, which was two feet in front of mine and facing me. “No more talking about it, there’s only DOing. Don’t tell me you want to lose ten pounds, shut up and DO IT! Don’t tell me you want to get healthy, shut up and DO IT! Don’t tell me you want to stop smoking, shut up and DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!!!!”
Now SHUT UP AND DO IT! is stuck in my head. Read More…