Kids sure have a way of (figuratively) punching you right in the gut when you least expect it, don't they?  Their unassuming words can wash a blanket of guilt right over you in nothing flat.  And before you know it, you're feeling like the suckiest parent in the world and saving your pennies for the future therapy that your kid will inevitably need thanks to…

http://oddjobsmomma.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-with-shannon-milholland.html

Check out Shannon's interview!  Do you like what you see?  Do you want to be interviewed too?  Inbox me and we'll start chatting!

http://oddjobsmomma.blogspot.com/2011/08/interview-with-stacy-juba.html

Enjoy this wonderfully informative interview with author Stacy Juba!

(This story must be prefaced with the fact that it was nothing short of a miracle to get my son to write anything in school at all.  His poor teacher had to practically hypnotize him to get any kind of writing topics to emerge from his little brain.  So yeah, this story's about a giant turd, but hey, at least the kid wrote a story, right??!!)

Once upon a…

Seven years ago someone mentioned 'weblogs' and I winced. Why would someone want to go and put their journaling thoughts online for all to see? Good god, what madness is taking over society? We left for Peace Corps in 2000 and returned to the rubbed-and-well-worn jeans look. Cell phones for everyone...and everywhere. And now, diluting of the web with weblogs?!



And then just five years later we welcomed our first child. We were living in the Bay Area and our family lived just far…

I am always amazed at how some bloggers seem to effortlessly put out a blog a day, day in and day out. I guess they can sit down at their desk in the morning, and over coffee tap out 500 words that are witty, or wise. I just don’t work that way. I am an uber-organized person, or at least I try to pretend I am, and I need to write on a schedule. Everyday, Monday through Friday, I try to write something. I like to write a post for A Mother’s Hood and because I actually get paid at…

I’ve spent the weekend hiding from my family, under the guise of “writing.” I really am writing because…well, I am. The girls have been in school a total of three days in the last eight, and I am going crazy…so I am “working.”

Sometimes when I write, I need total silence. Sometimes, I need to write in a noisy Starbucks. Sometimes, I play classical music, and at other times, I watch television or movies. But since I don’t have cable in my office, I have to resort to my DVD…

ANNOUNCING A WRITING CONTEST FOR KIDS!

SEND IN YOUR SUBMISSIONS STARTING JANUARY 3RD TO JANUARY 29TH.

A WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON JANUARY 31ST.

PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED FOR 1ST, 2ND AND 3RD PLACE…

The Enchanted Locket

When Olivia Garson moves into an old abandoned house, her life takes a terrifying turn. While renovating her kitchen, she finds a heart shaped locket. Ghosts start to appear; one ghost demanding her departure,

while another ghost begs for her help.

Excerpt

We had a delicious dinner of steak with onions, mashed potatoes, and corn, but I was preoccupied. I was worried that Emma would…