The Birthday Boy Who was Almost Delivered By Daddy

11 years ago today Mike almost delivered Peter all by himself. It was a morning of comical mishaps that fits perfect with Peter as his pregnancy was by far the oddest. To this day, he is my most peculiar child. He was breech through the whole pregnancy and in hopes to get him to turn, besides our midwife trying to turn him, I had to lie on an ironing board upside down while Mike burned incense at my feet. Yes, I was 9 months pregnant lying on an ironing board upside down. How I regret that we never got a picture. When Mike and I started feeling loopy from the incense, we decided to only tell our midwife we were doing her earthy ritual.  

A week before he was born, he decided to turn all on his own. Peter’s stubborn nature was evident even before birth. There was no convincing him to do what the midwife wanted. When I was 2 weeks overdue, I had to enjoy the delights of castor oil and an enema in hopes to get me in labor. Still, there was no convincing Peter to come out into this strange world. He must have loved being tucked in my ribs and listening to the beating of my heart. He must have enjoyed the warmth and security of mom.

When my water broke early one morning, I hurried downstairs where Mike was sleeping on the couch. He remembered how long my last deliveries were and instead of calling the midwife, who lived an hour away, he sent me back to bed in hopes we both would get some needed rest before the big event. As Mike rested, I did not. A few hours later, I waddled down the stairs now in hard labor and woke him. While I labored, Mike ran with the phone in hand calling who he needed and getting our other four children up and ready to stay elsewhere.

When our midwife and her assistant arrived, I didn't notice or hear the grilling Mike was getting from the midwife as she thrust her equipment on the table. It seemed like seconds after she arrived that Peter was born. What I do remember is holding my new baby boy and gazing down at him as he looked up at me. He was beautiful. To this day his nick-name has stuck; Handsome Pete. To this day, older girls look at him and wish he was older or they were younger. To this day I am still his most favorite person in the world.

He will always be a mommy’s boy. He will always hug and kiss me. He will always invade my personal space when I cook and he will always tell he loves me. What a lucky mommy I am to have such an amazing boy.

Happy Birthday, Peter! How our world would be less without you! I look forward to another year of odd with you. We are kinder spirits I think!   

A Rare Interview with Mr. Bohns and Author Carrie Filetti

Special THANK YOU going out to my dear friend Krista Krueger for the amazing interview she had with me and Mr. Bohns. Mr. Bohns doesn't take his top hat and black gloves off for many but Krista made him feel right at home. Soon he sat back and answered her questions with ease. He even laughed a few times!

I hope you all will enjoy this interview as much as Mr. Bohns and I enjoyed being a part of it.



http://kompletelykrista.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/the-surprise-interview/

The Surpirse Interview: Carrie Filetti & Mr. Bohns

I was lucky enough to get a chance to interview Carrie Filetti and Mr. Bohns recently and ask them about the process of a living woman writing for a dead man.  I have to say they are an awesome team.  Carrie is an amazing storyteller and Mr. Bohns has a great story to tell.  I hope that you all get as much enjoyment out of these ten questions as I did because I smiled the whole time, which is rare. J  If you’d like to learn more about Mr. Bohns’ daily life you can follow him at https://www.facebook.com/BenjaminBohnsFactory. 

1. So, Carrie, Mr. Bohns, how did you two meet and what made Carrie the one living person you felt you could tell your story. her talent, acceptance and love of the slightly macabre?  All of those things?

Carrie: I was going about my days as a normal living housewife when out of the blue I was awoken by the oddest dream.

Mr. Bohns:  Ms. Carrie might think she was ‘normal’ but I have known her for some time. She has never been normal. When you’re dead you have a gift. You kind of know everything about the living. I’ve been watching and waiting for the perfect time to open up to her. She had to almost die herself before it could happen.

Mr. Bohns, losing Carrie is a frightening thought, but let’s move on.

1. Since you confided in Carrie for her to be able to write this book, has she been able to take a tour of the factory?  For documentation purposes, of course.

Mr. Bohns: Carrie is the only one who knows my factory better than me. When writing this story she pointed out a few nooks and crannies I didn’t know of. She is always welcome at my factory.

1. What exactly does your factory specialize in and Carrie what do you think of Mr. Bohns’ products?

Mr. Bohns: My factory is known for its spooky treats and gloomy dolls and toys. Some of my best sellers are my Black-Licorice Spiders w/ Candied Webs, Goblin Gumball Eyes and my Dog-Bite Joey Dolls. The doll is an inspiration from Carrie as she was almost eaten by a beast. I was able to reach her after that incident.

Carrie: Mr. Bohn’s products have opened my eyes to a whole new world! Candy is dandy but Mr. Bohns’s is so much more fun! When I suck on a lollipop, it’s now on a mummy’s head. When I chew gum, I now add candy to give it a little ‘boney’ crunch.

1. Carrie, what do you think of Mr. Bohns’ “life”?

Carrie:  He will always be a loner. He has a problem accepting the fact that he’s dead. He still has a lot to live for. He still runs into trials. They don’t stop in death; we keep learning and growing after this life, folks.

I’d imagine he has a lot more stories to tell that we could learn from.

1. I’ve heard of a girl named Maryanne that works there, how important of a role does she play at the factory and in the book?

Mr Bohns: Maryanne plays a HUGE part in both. Most people are captured by me because of what I am but Maryanne is the real hero.

Carrie: (Smiling over at her friend) Mr. Bohns is the hero too. You can’t help but love characters that grow and overcome their weaknesses.

1. Carrie, I imagine Mr. Bohns is an interesting gentleman, how was the experience of writing about him?

Carrie: Mr Bohns is dapper and a fine gentlemen. He is prideful but it’s because he knows a lot. It makes him very angry to see the living throwing their lives away. He has taught me to live my life to the fullest because we only have one life to live and we must be careful and obey the laws.

Mr. Bohns: Always drink your milk and wear your seat belts!

I have to tell you, Mr. Bohns that I love my milk and my father instilled that you should

Always wear your seatbelt.

1. Okay Carrie.  You have a little hideaway to do your writing, what kind of things do you keep nearby to keep yourself inspired?

Carrie: Oh, boy! Do you have all day? I have so much! Some of my favorites are my childhood toys. Fisher Price little people and my stuffed toy, Ziggy the Zebra. I love vintage so I have some fun pieces from the 40’s & 50’s. I have spooky things galore, like my vintage Halloween collection and my spooky/odd Valentines. I have little button-eyed dollies, Monster Legos, skeleton keys; my daddy’s old circus books (because he and I have always shared the same secret, to join the circus). I have such wonderful friends who have sent me little treasures and all those are in my room too. I have artwork from friends, stuffed monsters, a coffin key, figurines and I even have a set of silver spoons a friend made skull faces in. Oh, and I must not forget…the skeletons. I love my boney friends.

That sounds like a lot to keep you on track.  I have my own coffin key as well. J

1. How did your family feel about you spending so much time with Mr. Bohns?  Were they jealous of the time it takes to write a book, supportive?

Carrie: I have to be one of the luckiest mommy’s ever! My kids LOVE Mr. Bohns. They quote him at the dinner table, they pray for his story to find the right publisher. Some have even surrendered their birthday wishes over to him in hopes the world will know how amazing he is. They bug me constantly (even the teenagers) to read his and Maryanne’s story. My family will not let me give up when I get discouraged. They literally get angry when I let doubt in.

You’re a lucky woman Carrie with a family that obviously loves you and believes in you very much; as Mr. Bohns must to have waited for you to be ready for his story.

1. Mr. Bohns, did the factory run smoothly while you and Carrie worked together or were there mishaps?

(They both laugh) Mr. Bohns: Oh, there were mishaps! Plenty of mishaps! You’re bound to have mishaps when you work with the living.

Not all of the living are so bad, Mr. Bohns.  Carrie seems to have done very well by you.

1. And finally I have to ask, will there be or are you working on another book about our favorite dapper dressed living skeleton?

Carrie: My Dreadville books will be stand-alones but if you read them all, you will find clues and mysteries of old characters. My new book is about a different monster but you can bet you’ll run into Mr Bohns.

I love the idea of a place called Dreadville and that the stories will intermingle.  And I’m glad we’ll run into Mr. Bohns again.  I’ve grown quite found of you, sir.   I can’t wait to see what Carrie has in store for us.