Elizabeth Seckman, Author: kids

Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts

Misha Gericke & Beth Fred host this monthly goal update. The idea is to think big...and then work hard to make it happen. My two goals are publish two books and master marketing.

1. Swept Away is done. I need to write the blurb and for some reason, I'm just not feeling it. I'll have to write a few crappy versions to get the ideas flowing.

2. I didn't master marketing this month. Maybe next month...

What have I been up to this week? What's my excuse for blog sluggishness and nonexistent word count? It was our first annual Bill Stewart Memorial Football Camp.

Honestly? Doing this sort of stuff cuts into my work and personal time, but I figure I have the rest of my life to earn money and catch up on laundry.

Childhood is short. I say we make it as awesome as we can.

It's Friday, so let's celebrate the small things!

Thanks to our hosts in this weekly check in: Lexa, L.G, and Katie!

1. Past Due is a Digital Book Today Great Read of the Week!

2. I managed my social media. Weary of the online battles on Facebook where some never listen or show respect for either side, I decided to change my settings. I "Unfollowed" hateful posters (not blocked or Unfriended- I just don't get their posts in my newsfeed anymore). Whew. Glad I did that. I have no problem with dissent and disagreement, but I'm tired of the lack of civility.

3. I'm headed to the beach at the end of the week! And yes, I do intend to be shark bait.

It's no secret. Kids keep you busy. They're hug giving, money absorbing, mess making little time suckers. I always thought life would get less busy when my four boys were all out of diapers.

Ha! Not a chance. They went from diapers to schools and ball fields. Their schedules started filling up my schedule. I'm busier now than when I was up to my nose in Power Rangers.

And you know why?

Because I am one of those parents. You know, the kind who does committees, cleanings, and feedings for my kids plus others I didn't give birth to. Some days, I ask myself why...why do I put myself behind?

So, I asked some other moms like me...why do we do it? And here's what we decided:

1. It's glamorous. I mean those Mom tees and hoodies are just so incredibly chic.

2. It's drama at it's best. Move over Housewives...you don't know excitement until you mix the competitive edge of sports with the intensity of mommihood.

3. It's the gossip. We know what's up. We see kids in their natural habitat, and we probably know what their doing before the po-pos.

4. It's the cash. We get to see the budget short falls and get first opportunity to donate money to the cause making us givers...and givers get extra cosmic blessings, right?

5. It's the power. Everyone knows booster/committee parent's kids get extra play time...oh wait...mine warmed the side line most of last night?

6. It's the entertainment. Who wants to sit at home where it's warm and read a good book or watch TV when you can go out in the cold and hang signs or clean locker rooms?

7. It's the exercise. Why shell out cash for a gym when you can lug coolers and haul crates of food?

8. It's the free food. Did you know if you work five hours in the concession stand and there is a crusty hot dog left over, you can have it? Come on...that's a perk. That hot dog would cost you a buck fifty hot.

9. It's skill building. Juggling jobs, homes, and volunteer work will have you CEO ready.

10. It's the social network. Who needs shopping dates with friends when you can sweep up stale fries with the other moms?

Not buying it?

Hmm. Well, then let me just simplify it to one single reason:

It's for the kids.

All the work. All the hassles. All the stress.

We do it for the kids.

Want more flops? Click HERE!

Flopping!
To celebrate Krista McLaughlin's new release, Breathless, she is hosting a blog hop! It's easy enough...tell the world of a romantic flop.

Romance flops was a specialty of mine. Honestly? You don't know happy I am to be married and not have to date.

Believe it or not- I am awkward.

New situations morph me into this clumsy, stuttering mess. This excruciating discomfort was even worse when there was the pressure of a possible relationship.

Oh, Lordy! I hate to admit this, but...

I was once a compulsive date ender. I apologize to every guy I ever went out with and used any one of these lame excuses to ditch a date:

1. I just remembered, my parents lowered my curfew to um...however long it takes to drive home.
2. I just remembered, I have to get up really early and leave town, for like a month.
3. Oh look! It's my bestie! She'll give me a ride home now. It will save you the bother....thoughtful, I know.
4. Sure, I'd love for you to call me again, but I'm permanently grounded from the phone.
5. I didn't ditch you. You were talking and I suddenly got a headache/food poisoning/malaria.

I am shamed to even admit this. I wasn't even smooth enough to be clever!

Thank God my husband is a patient man. A very, very patient man.

Investing

I imagined Koopmans opening the box with the hideous little she-version of his alter-ego, Siggy (if you're confused, catch up HERE), and his little guys being scarred for life when they asked, "Poppa, what's in the box?"

And the answer was the bug-eyed creature created with my hot glue gun.

Sooo...I added a few pups...and got these in return:

Kodey (2) is by the table, Tobey (6) has the blue stripe and Corey (4) is standing on the couch :)

Grocery store puppies- 1.50
Little Koopmans's smiles- priceless
That's a great investment!

Covering!!!

Sometimes a single choice alters the course of a person's life forever...

Coming May 12, 2014 from Truelove Press- a Western historical romance!

Native Texan Melissa Maygrove is a wife, mother, nurse, freelance editor, and romance writer. When she's not busy caring for her tiny nursery patients or shuttling teenagers back and forth to after-school activities, she's hunched over her laptop, complicating the lives of her imaginary friends and playing matchmaker. Melissa loves books with unpretentious characters and unforgettable romance, and she strives to create those same kinds of stories for her readers.

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Congratulations Melissa!!! And best of luck to all you hearty A-Z'ers!!

Think Happy!

Right before the A-Z Challenge, bloggers were debating the effectiveness and necessity of blogs. They say blogs may not be the hip pro platform they once were.

Which makes me say- thank you Lord!!

Now, this blog is mine again. It's not the spot of a pro trying to sell books (though I will...you want one?); it's mine, all mine and I'll do whatever I want.

Today? I'm going to brag, nark, and brag some more.

Brag #1: I'm a good mom.

If the proof really is in the pudding...I deserve a freaking crown. I'm the queen. MY kids are amazing. Spent yesterday helping my eldest son get an apartment ready for his second year of college.

His first year? Totally rocked it. 4.0's both semesters, maintained his scholarships, and spent his leisure time in the gym (or so he told his mom...but with grades like that, she's inclined to believe him!)

And the youngest? Funny story- he has to do a blog for school. He posted from home and didn't sign out of HIS blogger account, so when I hopped on to do my reading and commenting...I was posting as Mr. Seckman.

In the meantime, while he was showing off his blog at school...he had three comments! He was sooooo excited and amazed. I know he felt like king for the day, or at least that class period.

He asked me to pass on a special thanks to Carrie Butler, Tammy T (I've decided I'm not going to keep trying to spell Theriault), and C Lee Mckenzie. You gals made his day...and made his teacher quickly set all the kids' blogs to private!

*Blog Note: All my boys, whether the topic of the day's post or not, are handsome and amazing. Seriously swoon worthy.

Now, I must nark. I'm way behind in my edits. I keep thinking, this third book is ready to go...and then anxiety hits and I go back to rewriting...or I don't go back for days. Bad Elizabeth. Not the way to get a book on a shelf!

Now, Brag #2:

This beautiful cover contains a marvelous story written by my friend, Cassie Mae. She gives me chest bumps and brings the awesomesauce to every encounter. She is the best supporter (no, not calling her a jock strap) and friend a writer could ever have. She truly is one of the best chicks evah!!

Buy it HERE!

Add it HERE!

Love her (or just like her) HERE!

Now, I'm going to go write a bit and then do a radio interview. Wish me luck that my potty mouth or brain farts don't get the best of me!!

photo credit: kidicarus222 via photopin cc

I often wonder why God made us.

Truthfully?

We're pains in the derriere.

We're stubborn. We're proud.

We break the rules, then blame Him when life goes wrong.

And how annoying is it that we only get in touch when we want something?

I mean who in their right mind asks for the trouble of humans?

I figure if God and the angels were hangin' solo on earth, this would be a pretty sweet place.

But He made us.

Hmmm...I wonder...

This is Grizzly. He likes to roll in dog poop and has been known to pee on the wall.

This is Mayzie. She tries to eat the fish out of the bowl, drinks too much water, then barfs behind the TV.

This is Spot. She has an eating disorder. Today she ripped open a package of flour and tried to eat it.

This is Caleb, Cole, Carter, and Conner. This week I had to replace two pairs of cleats, two pairs of jeans, and one couch cushion. Then they had the audacity to ask for Halo 4.

Honestly? Life would be simpler minus pets and children....

But who wants that?!

I love them.

I would do anything for them, even when I'd enjoy choking them.

Now I wonder...

Do you think God ever rolls his eyes and says, "It's a damn good thing you're cute"?

Last April my son Cole had a lump on his finger that initial tests indicated sarcoma.

It felt like a ninja kick to the gut. No parent wants to hear any words that mean cancer attached to their baby's name...ever.

Cole was fine, but as we left the hospital we passed through a waiting room filled with kids who were still waiting to be cleared or God forbid waiting to be diagnosed with a parent's worst nightmare.

The words kids + cancer should just never have to be linked together.

Fifteen years ago, when our friends Kevin and Lora Yeater had their baby boy, my husband shared the good news by telling me, "Kevin and Lora had a boy. They named him Brock Lee."

"Brock Lee?"

"Yeah, after Kevin. Kevin Lee, Brock Lee."

"Seriously?" I asked. "Did they think that through? It sounds like broccoli."

My husband had a good laugh and admitted he was joking. His middle name wasn't Lee.

So, the other night when he told me... Brock has leukemia, I hoped to hell he was pulling my leg, but I knew even as twisted as his sense of humor was he wouldn't joke about this.

I only wish it were a joke. And I'm sure everyone who loves him feels the same. Brock has been diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. At an age when his only worry should be what kind of car his grandma will buy him for his 16th birthday, he has to concentrate on the fight. We know it's a fight he will win, but some support along the way would be greatly appreciated.

If you'd like to send Brock a message of support and prayers (I'm a BIG fan of prayers) contact him at
brocksbattle@gmail.com

Brock's Blog Click here for updates from Brock.

(And Brock, look on the bright side, I bet you'll be picking the car of your choice, huh Grandma Sharon?)