It's late. I'm sitting in bed next to my 5-year-old who won't sleep in her own (how ironic as I've written a children's book about motivating kids to sleep and stay in their room), and I'm tired. It's been a day.
So how do you even do this? The whole blog thing. Is it even cool to do anymore? I just realized that I had two posts published back in 2019 about arts and crafts and how to make a turkey with a handprint and some googly eyes (side note: googly eyes are so weirdly fun, I recently stuck a pair of big rattly ones on a pine cone and couldn't stop laughing) when I realized that I was putting information into the universe the way I thought a business was supposed to. Those blogs were published years ago, and I'm just starting again now, which means my turkey friend was dull and uninspiring. I'm sure some folks appreciate information like this, but I'd rather go to the dentist or stand in line at the DMV than write one.
I've decided to use this platform to be authentic and talk about kids, life, parenting, starting a business, entrepreneurial goals, friendships, and, you know, children's books. Being completely open has always been challenging, so this feels liberating and scary. What better way than to jump right in on a public blog? Go big or go home.
I've always wanted to start a journal to write down what I'm grateful for, positive affirmations, and deep dark secrets (like that, when I try to make protein shakes they always come out as margaritas), but whenever I started one, no joke, the dog ate it. So I figured online is the way to go. And I should prob feed my dog.
So back to the blog title, It All Started When...
When I was bat shit crazy trying to put (my now 11-year-old) to bed at night. She had transitioned out of her crib just fine and somehow landed into ours (she also made it her life's mission to ensure her little hands and feet touched each corner of the mattress. Taking up as much space as a tiny 4-year-old body could). When we tried to move her, she would cry, scream or negotiate like a top agent in the FBI.
We were doing the bedtime routine all wrong and desperately needed a solution. I was looking for children's books to inspire her to go to bed without being too instructive. She's too intelligent for rules, and I desperately needed a book to help motivate her to make this decision herself. We went to the local library, schools, Amazon, and bookstores and couldn't find what we needed, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and write my own.
That's how the first book in our series, A Big Kid Bed is Coming, was born. I wrote it with the goal of motivating children to want to navigate this transition on their own. I racked my brain trying to think of a clever way of doing this, and decided to included lots of magic, adventure, and fun. Fortunately, it worked, and she transitioned to her room just fine. Halle-freaking-lujah!
This little project made me realize that perhaps there was a market for books that inspired children during transitional times. I grew up being told to do something with the infamous phrase "because I said so" and not ever because I was inspirited.
Instilling the desire to be curious and brave is an outstanding trait to carry into adolescence and adulthood, so I created a publishing company called Brave Kids Press and have been writing children's books ever since.
Now, go find some googly eyes. You're welcome.
