Hello!  Before you get too comfortable, I need to disclose that I’m not Jennifer. We have taken over each other’s blogs today, so while I’m here entertaining you, she’s over at my blog doing some entertaining of her own.  We’ve decided to share some mommy writer stories with each other’s readers. Because Jennifer is hilarious and also a “bad mommy” blogger, I have a feeling her stories will be funnier than mine, but I will do my best to keep you amused!

Writing and parenting are very much alike. You toil for what seems like an eternity and you never quite know if you’re getting it right—until you receive feedback from critics. Or as I like to call them: my children. They let me know when I’m getting it right, and when I’m getting it wrong.

I’m fortunate that my kids are all hyper-articulate (with a writer as a mom, who would have figured?), which makes it easy to communicate with them, despite their ages (2, 4, and 5). I am already amazed by the subtlety of their language (From my 5-year old: I had a tough day at school today. Everyone has tough days sometimes, and today it was my turn.).  I am fortunate to have plenty of time to speak with them every day—like many moms out there, I am also an amateur chauffeur, driving kids to and from pre-school and other activities every day.  As a result, we have a ton of time together in the car—lots of time to talk, listen to music, and of course, fight.

A typical conversation in the Barrett car:

DD: Mommy, I want to listen to music.

Me: Okay, honey. What do you want?

DD (age 2): Yellow Bird.

DS2 (age 4): Nooooo —that’s a baby song!

DD: Yes! Yellow Bird, Mommy!

DS2: I hate Yellow Bird!

Me: Well, what do you want?

DS2: Born in the USA.

DS1 (age 5): We listened to that two times yesterday. I’m sick of that. I want Shout!

DS2: Born in the USA!

DS1: Shout!

DD: Yellow Bird!

Me: Okay, first we’ll listen to Yellow Bird, then Born in the USA, then Shout.

DD: [Screaming]

DS2: [Screaming]

Me, trying to pay attention to the road: Guys, we’re not going to listen to anything if you keep screaming.

DS1: You’re both babies.

DS2: You’re the baby.

DS1: [Screaming]

Me: Quiet or I’m going to pull the car over!

[Silence]

DD: Yellow Bird now, Mommy.

DS1 and DS2: Noooo!

Me: [Puts head on the wheel]

The constant fighting is surreal.  Sometimes I want to scream, and sometimes I just want to laugh at the absurdity.  Of course I do my best not to laugh in these situations because (as every parent knows) if you laugh, you have broken form and ruined the lesson. And then the kids know they’ve won.

Or something like that.

So for all you mothers out there, what’s your favorite story about kids fighting in the car? I’m giving away one autographed, paper copy of my latest book, Blaze of Winter to one lucky commenter.

Just a quick note…I was lucky enough to blurb Elisabeth’s first book in the series, Deep Autumn Heat, and it’s amazing so go check it out! As one writing mama to another, things can get crazy here, and we thought it would be fun to share some of our mommy experiences! Make sure you check out my blog post at Elisabeth’s site. And stay tuned tomorrow for the beginning of the huge 12 Days of Christmas giveaway contest!

About Elisabeth:

Raised in a sleepy little Connecticut town, Elisabeth draws on her upbringing to write small-town romances. Her summers spent living and working on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard were the inspiration for the Star Harbor series, which kicked off with Deep Autumn Heat and continues with Blaze of Winter. Currently, Elisabeth lives in Northern California with her husband and three children. Find her online: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads