Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Busy but HAPPY!

Ahh!! I want to update so much more often than I am able to!

Right now, I am in serious crunch mode for getting my next book released. I was so close to being finished with it when my brain decided to throw in a major twist in the story that required me to rewrite more than half the book! Eek! So I am frantically rewriting and just trying to keep my head above water.

Speaking of water, we took Andrew to the beach for the first time!!! It was amazing and we had such a great time. He particularly liked the sand - or at least wanted to try and eat it, which is basically the same thing as liking it right? Here are some cute pics of Andrew at the beach.

And I promise I will try to update more often if I get time. If nothing else, I'll try to post some of the pics of this cute little guy. He's so amazing and is truly the joy of my life.


So excited to be going to the beach!

Family's first trip to the beach. SO fun!

One of my fave pics from the trip. He thought the sand on his feet was fascinating.

The second he got a handful... it went straight to his mouth, ha!

Hanging out on Pier 14. Can you tell he's zonked out??

Tried to get a family pic, but only got Andrew's head, lol.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Happy 3 Months Old!

Yay! Happy 3 months old to Andrew!!!

*Edited: I found the stickers!! Yippee. So now a photo bomb, hehe.




Tuesday, September 11, 2012

So My Story Begins...

My good friend Cass sent me the cutest onesie ever. It was the perfect gift for the son of a writer, hehe. This morning I took a crazy amount of pictures of Andrew in the onesie! I just get so tickled at his range of expression - especially with his eyebrows.

I have a feeling he's going to have a very interesting and wonderful life story. And this is just the very beginning...








Monday, September 10, 2012

Getting Back To My Career

Finding balance is probably one of the hardest things I've faced as a new mom. When I was still pregnant, I was so freaking excited to finally be expecting a baby that it was all I could think about. My brain just wasn't willing to work on my books the way it used to. I shopped for baby, thought about baby, talked about baby - ALL the time. When I finally welcomed Andrew into the world, he consumed it.

When my mom was here with us after he was born, I remember that once she laughed at me and said, "He's sleeping Sarra. You can put him down for a while." Only I couldn't! I wanted to hold him and stare at that perfect little face and his tiny hands and feet and kiss his head. I also wasn't getting much sleep myself, which made it hard to find any kind of balance. I was somewhat a zombie those first few weeks. A happy zombie, but a zombie still the same.

When Andrew turned about 7 weeks old, I started working on getting back to writing. It was very slow going in the beginning. I found it nearly impossible to find the time! At that time, he was crying a lot, especially in the evenings. When I finally did find some time to myself, all I wanted to do was sleep.

Well, now that our little man is about to be 3 months old, I'm finding some breathing room. He's been going to bed most nights right at 8:00 or 8:30 and staying asleep until midnight or one. This is such a relief. This is my 'me' time. I can catch up on all my emails, check my writing forums and industry blogs I love to read and yes, I can write! I also tried to find a nanny to keep him 9 hours during the week, but that didn't work out. Instead, my wonderful and sweet neighbor (who has a new baby of her own) is watching him a few hours a week so I can get some writing done. It's awesome. Thursday nights are also my nights for writing with friends. George takes over and lets me have some time, so it's great.

Now things are really getting back into full swing with my writing career. Last week I signed a contract with a publisher to create graphic novels from my series! This week I am going to reach a major milestone of 100,000 books sold. Hard to believe! Next month will be my 2 year anniversary since becoming an Indie author. I will also publish my 6th and final book in my Peachville High Demons series on my anniversary (October 29th). I have a new series waiting in the wings and am working with a cover artist on some custom cover art. I'm working on items for giveaways to celebrate the end of the Peachville series. There's just so much going on, and I love it!

Don't get me wrong, I cherish every moment I spend with baby Andrew. I love him so much and honestly can't seem to stop kissing him, haha. I am so grateful to have him in my life and to be his mom, but it's important to not let myself get too lonely as a mom. It's also important to keep being me, which means spending time with my husband talking about non-baby things, spending time with good friends, and writing. It feels amazing to finally be putting that balance back into my life. I know that some days will still be 100% Andrew when he needs me. And I'm 100% okay with that.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

A Wonderful Weekend

Wow! We had such an amazing weekend with my brother and his family. I was so sad when they got in the car yesterday to head back to Georgia. They arrived late Friday evening and Sami immediately ran in asking "Where's baby Andrew?" He was sleeping, of course, and I didn't want to wake him up! He woke up on his own about an hour later, so I was able to briefly introduce him to Douglas, Casey and Sam. I think he loved them right away! Especially Sami!


On Saturday, we got up bright and early, had some breakfast, then headed out to the pool for Andrew's first time!! We have a pool in our townhouse community, but I didn't want to take Andrew out too early. I decided since there was only one weekend left before the pool closes, we better get him out there to see what he would think of the water. I was nervous since he HATES baths, but Andrew really seemed to love the pool!

Our family just before we got in the pool!

Andrew seems to love the water!


Sleeping on Daddy's shoulders.

Totally zonked out from the sun.

The whole crew!
It was so exciting to be sitting around with my brother and see the wonderful families we have created. There is so much love between us all, I think my parents really taught us right!

Saturday evening, we headed to the mall. George carried Andrew in the baby bjorn and he was such a good little boy the whole time! We took Sami to my very favorite store - the Sanrio Surprises store, home of amazing Hello Kitty items. She got some fun things and then we headed to the food court for Japanese. Yum! After a little more shopping, we all headed home, completely exhausted from being in the sun all afternoon.

Sunday, Douglas and I made bacon and pancakes for everyone, so we enjoyed a fantastic breakfast. We had planned to head to the pool or the park, but unfortunately it was too stormy to go outside. We had a good time just hanging out around the house and talking instead. Sunday evening, we went out to Texas Roadhouse and Saloon for dinner. Wow, what an awesome time!!

Sami, Casey, and Douglas.

George, Andrew, and Me!
At the restaurant, Sami was so well behaved! She colored and sat so nicely while we all talked. Andrew was a little bit fussy so his daddy had to take him outside for a while and then feed him, but when he came back to the table, he was quiet and sleepy for the rest of our dinner. The food was delicious and we had such a good time together. Man, I really wish we could get together more often!

Sami is such a beautiful and sweet girl!

Pretty ladies!

One of the best pics of me and Doug together ever.

George feeding Andrew and calming him down.

My brother with his little girl.

Both families having a great time.
It was truly an amazing trip, and I am so grateful they made the long drive up here to be with us. I'm sad they are gone, but already looking forward to seeing them all again over Thanksgiving.