Poetry Friday

Today I have my own poem to share from my new Halloween picture book, I'M A LITTLE GREEN WITCH! Halloween is big in our house, so I really wanted to write a book that my kids would enjoy. I'M A LITTLE GREEN WITCH is a collection of Halloween inspired nursery rhymes and songs. I recently was a guest author at a local school, and the kids loved guessing which nursery rhyme each poem was based upon.

Here's I'M A LITTLE GREEN WITCH, the first in the collection.

Here's me reading another poem from the collection.



Can you guess which nursery rhymes or songs I based those two on?

You can purchase I'M A LITTLE GREEN WITCH on amazon, barnesandnoble.com and select bookstores!

Poetry Friday is being hosted by Jama at Jama's Alphabet Soup this week. Stop by for more wonderful poetry!

Enjoy the tricks and treats of this Halloween season!

I'm A Little Green Witch is here for Halloween!

It's October, and it's the perfect time for a Halloween book! We love Halloween in our household, and that is the reason why I wanted to write a book for this fun holiday.

My newest picture book, I'M A LITTLE GREEN WITCH, is a spooktacular collection of 14 Halloween themed nursery rhymes or songs for your little ghoul or boy!

Here's the amazing cover! The vibrant illustrations are by Kelli Ann Little!

And here's a sneak peek! I recently was guest author at a local school, and the kids loved guessing which nursery rhyme each poem was based on.

If you do have the book and you can't figure out which nursery rhyme or song a poem is based on, here's a list!

I'm A Little Green Witch - to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot"
Willa's Wild Ride - to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"
Willa Had a Stinky Cat - to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb"
Trick or Treating - to the tune of "London Bridges"
Flutter, Flutter, Little Bat - to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"
I've Been Digging in the Graveyard - to the tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad"
Batty Cake - based on "Patty Cake"
The Bats Go Flying One by One - to the tune of "The Ants Go Marching"
Little Jack Mummy - based on "Little Jack Horner"
Hiss! Hiss! Black Cat! - to the tune of "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep"
Hairy, Scary Spider - to the tune of "Itsy Bitsy Spider"
Willa the Witch - based on "Humpty Dumpty"
Little Girl Green - based on "Little Boy Blue"
The Boogeyman - to the tune of "Muffin Man"



Also, I'm giving a signed copy away on Goodreads! Enter here! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26248184-i-m-a-little-green-witch

You can also purchase I'M A LITTLE GREEN WITCH on amazon, barnesandnoble.com and select bookstores! Check out my Facebook page for more book updates!

Enjoy fall, y'all!

Oktober Blogfest & Halloween Hop!

Bish is hosting a spooky Oktober blogfest today, and this weekend is the Halloween Hop at the blog of Jeremy Bates! I thought I'd combine these two fests in one post!

That's my sister and me in the top left picture. I'm a bunny; she's the clown. Aren't we sweet?

Here are a few fun fast Halloween favorites of mine.

Best Songs for Halloween: Thriller by MJ! Dragula by Rob Zombie! Psycho by Puddle of Mudd! Nightmare and Scream by Avenged Sevenfold! Vampires Will Never Hurt You by MCR!

(Yes, I have a Scary Song mix on my iPod.)

Best Halloween Joke: What do adult ghosts like to drink? BOOze.

Best Halloween candy: I love so many kinds of candy, but my fave are Reese's peanut butter cups.

Best Halloween costume: as a child - butterfly, as an adult- Wonder Woman

Best Vampire Show: True Blood of course!

Tell me your favorites in the comments!

And for the Oktober Blogfest:
MY SCARIEST HALLOWEEN EVER!

My family loves Halloween. Each Halloween we have more family over, and we go trick-or-treating with the kids. One Halloween morning, I ran to the grocery store to get things for our upcoming family party. My husband was incapacitated with a terrible flu so he was banished to the basement. I needed help so I called my dad to watch my three children (ages newborn, 2, and 5 at the time) while I did a quick trip to the store.

When I returned, my daughter was lying on the floor and holding her face. Apparently, right before I opened the door, my oldest son was having a pillow fight with my 2 yr old daughter, and she got hurt and fell to the floor. She was dazed, her eyes were open, and she was crying a little. After I inspected her, she became extremely dazed and absolutely not herself. She is one spunky child, and she was staring into space and not responding to me. I raced her to the emergency room, crying and praying the whole way. I pulled over at one point because she was falling asleep or passing out (even at 2 she rarely took naps) in her carseat, and I was fearful for her. My dad ran to the neighbor to watch my other two so he could follow in his car.

The ER took her after awhile and diagnosed her with a scratched cornea. I do believe she had a concussion, but they didn't diagnose her with that. We came home, let her rest, dressed her in her adorable bunny costume, and then put her in a wagon for trick or treating. This wasn't the scariest health incident regarding my daughter as she's had worse medical diagnoses, but thankfully she is now a healthy (and still quite spunky) nine year old.

The funny thing about this story is my daughter (now in fourth grade) just wrote an essay about her best Halloween. She wrote about the one when she was a bunny and 2 years old. She totally missed the part of her being in the ER that day. Totally forgotten. I'm just glad she remembered the best part of the day!

This is my favorite Halloween picture of my children from that day.


I am featuring a few horror movie actors at the Book Recs of the Rock and Famous tomorrow and Halloween Monday! Find out tomorrow what a major movie star who started in a horror film is reading and on Monday I have one of the most recognizable horror movie characters ever! Please stop by and see what they are reading!

Ghosts of Halloween Costumes Past

Halloween is big in our house. It all started when my oldest son, JC, was two years old. We went trick or treating with our cousins; he loved it. After that, he talked about Halloween throughout the year. He loved everything to do with Halloween, the costumes, the spooky decorations, the celebration we’d have with our family each year. JC loved the movie, “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Every time we were in the car, he’d shout, “Graveyard!” when we passed a cemetery. In fact, we’d take him to the cemetery just for kicks.
When JC was three, his preschool had a career day where the child came to school dressed as his/her future occupation. JC wanted to be a gravedigger. Yes, you read right, a gravedigger. My husband and I tried to convince him to be a fisherman, a businessman, a football player…we were a little embarrassed to send him as a gravedigger. JC was adamant about being a gravedigger. So, I put overalls on him, went outside and rubbed dirt all over him (I got a few weird looks from passing neighbors), and sent him to school with a shovel. I told him, “I guarantee that you will be the only gravedigger at school today, JC! Have fun!” And he did. His aspirations have changed since then…to a meteorologist, director, and now a rockstar (he just started guitar lessons). I know they will change again.
And all of this brings us to a big Halloween Hoopla every year. We go all out. I’ve collected more and more decorations as the years go by, indoor and out. We have our very own graveyard set up in our front yard, skeletons and ghosts hanging from the trees, and jack-o-lanterns greeting our guests. We also have family party every year so the kids (okay, and the adults) can dress up in their costumes and play with one another. Last night we had our annual get together. Here’s a fun picture from it…and some of my costumes from Halloween past.

As you can tell from the picture above, my husband and I were Todd and Sarah from Alaska this year.

Last year I was a beer wench, he was a scary dude, I guess.


The year before that I was Wonder Woman. When I was little, my mom used to tell my sister and I that she was Wonder Woman but had to give up the title when she got married. Yep, we believed her for a while. Is my family strange? Or imaginative?!


And lastly, I'm throwing in one from my youth. I'm the football player. No frou-frou costumes for me, I was a tomboy and proud of it! The witch and the clown are still two of my best friends today!


What were some of your favorite Halloween costumes?