Thankful Thursday

Happy Thankful Thursday!  Hooray for it being May because that means pool weather is on the way.  There’s also Mother’s Day coming up in less than two weeks.  And then JJ turns 3 this month.  Yes, my little guy is growing so fast on me.

I’m thankful that our potty training is still going well.  I’m thankful for all of the advice I’ve been getting from other mom’s with boys after reading my potty training posts.  Y’all it truly helps and makes this journey go a lot smoother because this is my first time potty training a boy.  So, thank you, thank you for all the helpful tips and tricks.

I’m thankful that we got to enjoy some family time with the Mr this week.  It’s always nice when’s not just a stranger passing through because there are times when he has to work almost two weeks straight and I feel like all the kids get to see is the back of his head as he’s headed out the door.  They love having him home and being able to hang out on the couch with him or have him accompany us on our outings.  It makes us feel complete.

As always, I’m thankful for all of the progress JJ has made with his speech.  Moo taught him how to say “Go.”  They both love cars and race them at least twice a day.  Moo always says, “Ready. Set. Go” but the other day she decided to say the “Ready. Set” part and taught JJ how to say “Go.”  It’s the cutest thing ever and they’re been saying it all day.

Now, I’m trying to look up games that have signature sayings in them like “Go Fish” so that we can say one part and he’ll say the other part.  Right now, we’re doing whatever we need to do to at least get him to say new words and say them consistently.

So, if you’ll remember last night I posted that today I would have the opportunity to pitch my new manuscript idea to an editor at a major publishing house.  Well, the publishing was Harlequin.  They’ve been around since 1946 and while my older sister and I had to sneak and get the really graphic romance novels, my mom would buy us the Harlequin ones and she even passed down a few that she had purchased in her teenage years.

Therefore, to have the opportunity to pitch an editor from this publisher meant a lot to me.  This is a brand that my mom grew up reading and that I grew reading and still read today.  I will definitely pass my collection of Harlequin novels down to Moo when she becomes a teenager because I know that she’s going to be into romance and I’d rather her read romances that are tasteful until she’s at least seventeen or eighteen and not be reading Zane or Fifty Shades at 13 or 14.

There’s still the chance that she might sneak and read the more graphic ones, but usually if I give her the option I want her to have first, she sticks with it.  I’m hoping this is a trait of obedience that she keeps as she gets older because it will make life so much easier for both of us.  Anyways, I was super nervous and stayed up late 4 AM making sure my pitch was perfect, that I knew my character’s stories well enough to answer any questions and I did a little work on the manuscript itself.

So, I won’t keep you guys in suspense any longer.  I can now announce that the editor I pitched to loved my idea!  Actually, she said that she really liked it at first, but then she asked me about the tone and to explain a bit of the mystery about the two of the characters and then she said she loved it because of the drama and passion and everything that’s going to be involved.  I felt speechless and excited and like crying all at the same time.  She’s requested a proposal, some sample chapters and the synopsis for now just to make sure that I can pull off the tone of it, but y’all I’m over the moon about this!

I kept thinking about my previous post, It Takes A Dream, and getting the opportunity to be published by a publishing house has always been one of my dreams.  Now, I’m on the road to having it come true.  I can’t give out too much information about the book right now obviously, but when I can share more and do have more to share, I will update y’all.  And don’t forget to follow me on my writing/author blog (here) because I’ll definitely be sharing more about my writing journey and tips over there.

In closing, I want to say don’t give up on your dreams!  Keep at and take the opportunities that come your way.  Don’t let fear and doubt stop you from trying or throwing your hat in the ring.