I’m please to reveal that book three, the conclusion of this epic series, will be released in November of this year. Stay tuned … I will be releasing a sneak peek soon AND revealing the gorgeous cover.

Oh … and the winner of the Baroness Kindle Fire Giveaway is … CLICK HERE to find out!

Congrats to the winner and everyone who entered the giveaway!

And pay for it the next day when it snows.

Recently we had a string of nice days. I decided we’d do some spring cleaning.

Noah found the floor of his room.

Peter discovered the shoes he thought he’d lost.

I walked into their rooms to check on their progress, and this is what I saw:

Goggles, mardi gras beads and a New Years Hat!

Look Mom, I found my football pads.

Hocky gear from 4th grade.  Yes.

We are cleaning Studs!

at least…we finally got to this.

Thanks for all the hard work, boys!

Your Mom, aka, the Dungeon Master

But, after being married for nearly 25 years, I’ve not only grown accustomed to the chaos, I regularly contribute to it. I like the loud laughter of my family, the way we hang out in the kitchen when we’re together, randomly singing songs, or acting out moments of epic Warren history, or simply talking about life.  And Football.  (no Warren conversation is complete without Football).

I forget that we can be a slightly scary bunch. Thankfully, most of the people my children have dated have managed to fit in well, hold their own, and even give back. We had a few glitches along the way, and have tried, oh, we’ve tried, to change our wicked ways. But the truth is, a person has to have a bit of backbone, wit and even courage to survive a weekend, even when we are on our best behavior.

There are tell tale signs that someone might make it.  Like their ability to play on a team with our resident Rook Master, David, and hold their own.  And their ability to quote random Princess Bride lines, and even sing along to Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing (which we will randomly start singing just because we must).  And a person needs to be willing to be cutthroat in their own way as they play Munchkin (If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it).

Most of all, they have to have a sense of humor.

We want to extend a warm high five to Russ, Sarah’s new boyfriend for his ability to keep up.

And give it back.

(We’ve always wanted to take a bite out of Pete).

You can come back. We’ll be nice, we promise.  (mwhahahaha!)

And they make beautiful music in my home.

Come back.  I’ll make you more cookies.  I’ll do your laundry.  I’ll fluff your pillows.  I’ll let you sleep late and stay up all night with you and listen to you talk about boys.  Hey, I’ll talk about boys with you!

Come back, Beautiful Things, come back!

With love and affection,
Mama Warren

Okay, maybe that’s not normal.

But, I thought I’d capture one of our recent weekends for you.

And me.

So I can watch it in Mondays.

and Tuesdays.

And Wednesdays….and, well, you get the point.

Hope your weekend is filled with Family and Fun!

Susie May

Last year, we took it up a notch and began awarding a trophy for the NFL Football Pick  Champion.

Guess who won?

(read about it: http://www.susanmaywarren.com/blog/2011/02/11/super-bowl-2011/)

Well…the 2012 Run for the Trophy got serious this year, with a family Facebook page, online voting and a party.

Here’s this year’s winner.

Whatever. 

Goodbye Football!  (and Congrats Giants – I picked you!)

See you next year!

Susie May

If you haven’t read the book yet – visit the book tour and read the reviews.

I  celebrated the release of The Shadow of Your Smile by giving away a prize pack worth over $200!

The Grand prize winner is Denise Turner from South Carolina. She will receive:

~A $200 Visa Gift Card (Use that to rekindle a little romance, treat yourself to a spa day, snap up those shoes you’ve been eyeing, or purchase a few great books!)

~The entire set of Deep Haven Books 

Congratulations Denise! Please email amy {at} susanmaywarren {dot} com with your mailing address!

Come back to Deep Haven and find out what’s been happening in your favorite quaint hamlet. If you’re new to the Deep Haven series – this is the perfect book to start with – each book in the series is a stand alone story.

Follow the blog tour here.

I’m celebrating the release of The Shadow of Your Smile by giving away a prize pack worth over $200 from 1/9-1/28.

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A $200 Visa Gift Card (Use that to rekindle a little romance, treat yourself to a spa day, snap up those shoes you’ve been eyeing, or purchase a few great books!)

• The entire set of Deep Haven Books 

The winner will be announced on 1/30/12 on Susan’s blog, Scribbles! Just click one of the icons below to enter and tell your friends about Susan’s giveaway on FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

As do my sons.

Works well for me, because they both play football for our local high school team.  I lose my mind with joy between the months of August and November.  If we go into the playoffs, I’m useless to humanity.

I pretty much go all out as a football mom, too.  We live in the northwoods of Minnesota.  The closest away game is three hours.  Three. Hours.  Some of our games are…wait for it…SIX hours one way. 

You could say we’re invested.

But, only for football.  I’ll be honest here…when the season is over, I’m done.  Ready to hand in my pom poms, my stadium seats, my team gear.  And, while my sons have in the past played basketball, it was with great joy that they told me this year that they’d be opting out of basketball in favor of bulking up in the weight room over the winter.

I like basketball, I do.  In fact, I played basketball. (At five foot three, I wasn’t super, but I did have a nice outside shot).  But, well last year the team played roughly 22 games.  That’s a lot of bleacher time.   So, I’ll admit, I wasn’t unhappy.

Apparently their football coach, now basketball coach had other plans.

Now, here’s a pretty well known Warren fact:  My Warren boys are good at tackling, blocking and even pushing people over as they run, but throw them the ball and it’s just as likely to bounce off their helmets. (Hence, why one son is a defensive end, the other a running back.  He learned to catch the pitch out this year, which renewed our faith in divine intervention).  So, let’s just be honest and say that basketball isn’t a sport they might excel in.

Apparently, the coach didn’t care.  He tracked them down and made them a deal. “You don’t have to handle the ball.  Just rebound and block.  We need you.  In fact, show up after you lift weights, and you can just run plays with the team.”

Neato frito.  No running lines.  No fundamentals.  And they get to play football on the basketball court.  They signed on the dotted line.

Except, well…now I’m a basketball mom.  Living in the bleachers at least twice a week.  Hitting the road for away games.  (okay, not quite so many as during football season, but…)

I had my grumble on until last Thursday when they emerged for their away game…and I saw this:

That’s right…dress clothes…and ties.  Apparently, they have to dress up for away games.

How I love a young man in a tie.  Suddenly I see manners and potential and the fruition of all my labor.  I see hope that these young men might grow up to become amazing fathers and husbands.  Leaders in their world.

Of course, just to remind me that indeed, they haven’t changed that much…

Still.  Ties.  Yes, I can fall in love with basketball.

You win, Coach.

Susie May in the Bleachers

We all agree that this might be the worst possible way to break up with someone. But the song has become a remarkably useful tool in our family.

“Hey Pete, your turn to do the dishes.”

“Mom, I thought I was your favorite.”

“Sorry, Pete, but the love is gone. Dishes for you.”

Or -

“David will you take out the trash?”

“But mom, I only have 2 days left of Christmas break. Don’t you want to spend every waking minute with me?”

“What can i say? The love is gone.”

See?  Effective.

Until…until today when the last of my college kids left for school.

“Are you sure you have to leave?  Don’t you want to stay here forever with mummy?  I promise to give you cookies and let you sleep late.”

“Sorry Mom. The love is gone.”

Shoot.

But just to hang onto the love a bit longer…here are my favorite pictures taken from our Christmas celebration.

The real Warren family.  Is the light still blinking?

The Warren Men and their accomplishment on New Year’s Eve – Pelmeni (a russian treat)

This plate vanished roughly 2.3 seconds after I snapped this picture.

Along with these.

They’ll be back next year. Along with the love.

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas season, and may you an abundance of love in 2012!

Susie May