Here are the books: with David and Lucia - I've been wanting to use that book for a storytime for a while, and my wish finally came true when David volunteered to read the Yiddish for me.

Thank you so much to David and Lucia for their help with this book!

is a book that really encourages audience participation, too - which is something we storytimers are always searching for!

Boys and romance practically dominated my teenage years.

Due to the early start we slept in the vicinity of the park.

I wasn’t going to just head up there at night to sleep so we headed upstate early and made a mini-trip out of it.

After all, I've been blessed with some pretty remarkable friends, including one lifelong BFF who I blogged about here and a fantastic guy friend who I blogged about here. What's dating if not practice for finding a partner? Even though writing sucks up 99.9% of my free time, he doesn't complain. Back when it was on the air, Gilmore Girls was my favorite TV show. After our third child was born, I fell into a black hole of postpartum depression that buried me for months. Steve could have complained that I quit talking to the kids, or that I went to bed at eight o'clock each night, or that I quit eating or drank too often.

Additionally, my career as an author has brought new friends into my life, like my critique partners and agency sisters, just to name a few. Who better to blog about today than my very best friend: my husband, Steve. But I wish I'd known back then what was important in a romantic relationship: connecting with a guy who was also a great friend. So let me show you a three examples of why Steve is the best friend in the world. He knows that publishing is my dream and how challenging it is to launch an author's career. Steve knew this, so one night he surprised me by moving our television into the master bathroom so I could soak in a hot bubble bath while watching the season premiere. Tell me that's not the most awesome thing one friend can do for another! He could have insisted that I get my shit together and take care of my family. Instead, he sat down with me one night and took my hand.