Welcome
{ to my blog }.
Welcome to my blog.
Thanks for visiting my blog. My hope is to post every 1-2 weeks with a combination of adventure stories, craft/writing posts, book reviews, and other non-boring, exciting content to keep you coming back for more!
Spooky Tales for Halloween
Spooky Tales - A Review of Scary Books in Children's Literature (Books that are fun for adults, too!) Because I write children's literature, I only read middle-grade or young adult books. They allow me to be a perpetual child! I can honestly say - I don't miss adult...
Have I Learned Anything? Confessions of a 50 year old
It’s official! I’m old. Middle-aged. I’m freaking 50 people! Ahhhhhhh. My feelings are mixed on the subject… I love my life and the person I’ve become, but I find myself thinking in a “glass half empty” way. Overwhelming feelings break through that I’m nearing death...
Picture Book Review: Because We All Need to Smile
Picture Book Review: Because We All Need to Smile Slow Down - and Breathe Today, I forced my 15 and 17 year-old daughters to listen to me read them a book out loud. (They were trapped in the back seat of the car with nowhere to run). As I paged through The Mindful Mr....
Diverse Books in the Classroom
I was recently informed that some parents want diverse books removed from our North Scott classrooms – I’m shocked and appalled. I want to speak for the many kids out there who need these books: We Need Diverse Books We need diverse books. Period. Being a child or...
Don’t Give Up
Lately I've been replaying this song over and over again on my phone, radio, Alexa, or anywhere I listen. It's called Don't Give Up on Me by Andy Grammar. It's the theme song from the movie Five Feet Apart. Every time I hear it, I crank the volume LOUD. The refrain...
Hanging out with Author Maria Andreu! Talking about: LOVE IN ENGLISH
It’s a Pat’s Chat first! I am thrilled to be joined via the virtual world by author, Maria Andreu. Her recent Young Adult novel, LOVE IN ENGLISH, is a beautiful story that explores language and love. This might be a long post...but how can you hurry through such...
My First VLOG – It’s Going to be a Great Year!
I thought I'd try something different! I posted a video of me rambling on and on- how exciting is that! A video blog is a VLOG and this is my first. Hope you are all well and excited for 2021. With optimism, hope, and a little hard work we can enjoy a rejuvenation of...
What I’ve Learned From Covid
It's been a year. As of yesterday, over 2 million people have died from Covid-19. That is more people than the entire state of Nebraska or the state of New Mexico. Gone. When faced with sadness, loneliness, sickness, and death, we search for something positive to...
Kids Have Questions
Why can't I share my Cheetos with Sam? Why can't I have a slumber party? Why do I have to wear this mask? As parents, we're already a hot mess (speaking for myself) with uncertainties, questions, and trying to do all we can to keep our family safe. Our kids sit...
It’s Times Like These
It's times like these you learn to live again It's times like these you give and give again It's times like these you learn to love again It's times like these time and time again Recently there was an amazing remix of one of my favorite Foo Fighter's songs - Times...
The Ugly Face of Racism and What We Can Do to Help
The World is on Fire Coronavirus, Racism, Violence. How do our children find the good within the chaos? Our job as parents, teachers, grandparents, and educators is to help children understaWhand how we got here, and do our best to stop the cycle of hate. I made up a...
True Confessions from Quarantine
I hope everyone is dong well, staying sane, and keeping safe during this strange and unique time. There are so many emotions that hop through my head on a daily basis that can be difficult to reconcile. I thought I'd share my thoughts in case someone else feels like...