Full-Time Mom, Full-Time Employed and FULL-TIME PREGNANT

I'M BAAACK!
I know my blogging has been slow. (Understatement). I've just been out-of-my-mind busy with my now 2.5 year old, with being a part-time grad student pursuing my MLIS (Master of Library and Information Studies), working full-time at a University Library (and prior to that at a public library and at a daycare), and with our recent move. PLUS, being pregnant of course is exhausting enough on its own.
That's right!! We're expecting baby number two! This wee one is a girl and she is due 2 days before her big brother's birthday! That means that as of this writing, I am about 20 weeks along. Half-way there! This pregnancy is going by so much faster!

Well, I plan to get back into the blogging thing - I have a few posts in mind. To give you some clues and some heads up...

• How to take 6 weeks of leave when you don't qualify for paid maternity leave. (stressful and a lot of planning, to say the least!)
• DIY activity calendar for toddlers, kids, or the whole family. Plus I'd like to have downloadables available...
• Daily routine for a 2-year-old
• Planning for DISNEY WORLD - with a 3-year-old and 8-month-old (next November - I'm so excited!)
• Crock-pot meals and one-pot meals (I've been doing a lot of these since I work nights and am not home for dinner most days. I try and start something before I go to work so that my DH - that's Darling Husband - can just serve it up, or throw everything I've prepped into a pan to make dinner easier on them)

So hopefully, I'll get back into a routine posting schedule soon - so keep on the lookout for some new content! :)

A Blogger Sabbatical

In case you didn't notice, I was away from this blog for quite a good long time. I'm sorry for that - it was unplanned.

In September 2014, baby G and I moved from California to Virginia, leaving my husband in CA to finish his work before joining us in October. We were moving in with my family, and G and I stayed in a small room while some renovations were being done to our little basement apartment. At the same time, I was also planning a bachelorette party and bridal shower for my best friend's wedding which was to be held a month after we arrived in Virginia.

We expected the renovations to be completed before October, and so had all of our belongings and furniture delivered to the house the day after my friend's wedding. But the renovations got pushed back... and pushed back... and pushed back... and they were finally completed shortly before Thanksgiving. So then we had to get to unpacking, and organizing, and cleaning, etc.

Of course, then the Holiday season began and we were incredibly busy with different families to visit, we took a short trip to Williamsburg, and just plain relaxing.

Then, I took the GRE right before the end of the year (so prior to that spent a lot of my free time studying), and my husband began his classes at the start of January. So I feel like I finally have a bit of time to devote to this blog again!

There's a lot of things coming up that I'm looking forward to - the big one being that our little boy is turning 1 year old in March! So we have a party to plan (so excited!) and him turning one also means a few other things are in store. Like his first dentist appointment, first haircut, and of course (we hope), his first words and other developmental milestones.

So there should be plenty for me to write about. I will begin applications to grad schools soon (I've already partially begun), so that take me away again, but hopefully not for long. (Of course, if I do get in to a program, who knows how long I'll have to devote to this what with studies and all).

But again, apologies for the unexplained absence!

Why I No Longer Blog Every Day

Over two months ago, I had lofty intentions of writing a new post every day except Sunday. And for a while I was able to keep up with it - I even came pretty close while I was on vacation for two weeks! But once we came home from vacation, my baby boy turned 4-months-old and it started getting harder and harder to find enough time every day to write. Sure, I could knock out a couple paragraphs in a matter of minutes, but I try to have my posts be well-written and full of photos and sometimes good resources, references, and links. Plus I like to have a nice title image as well. And all of that often takes much longer.

This post is kind of serving as a brief apology letter to all of my readers for not being "on the ball." But I'm assuming that the majority of my readers are also moms, and hope that you all understand how precious time is when you have a baby (or kids in general).

When my baby boy was only a couple months old, he slept a lot. He took numerous naps throughout the day - often an hour or two hours long - giving me plenty of time to write as well as do other things around the house. Now that he's nearly 6-months-old though... he is attracted to bright screens like a moth to a flame - he wants to touch them and stare at them, and I don't want him watching any screens for any length of time. The American Pediatric Association says kids shouldn't watch any TV before the age of 2 years, and I'm sure any screen time, whether it's a cell phone, ipad, laptop, or tv - is bad. I can no longer have him lay peacefully on one arm while I type. Now he's squirmy and wants to see what the bright light is. I could try to blog while he's entertained by his toys/jumperoo/activity gym/etc, but I would rather spend time with him. So working while he's awake is a no-go.

Now that he's nearly half a year old, he only naps about three times a day, and usually only for 30-45 minutes. Perhaps that could be a sufficient amount of time to write a quick post... but sometimes creating the title image alone takes 20-30 minutes (I'm a perfectionist). Also, sometimes I have other things I need to do - like shower, eat, walk the dogs, vacuum, laundry, or pack (we're moving in just a couple of weeks). If I spend the baby's entire nap writing... what happens is he wakes up and I realize I'm still not wearing any pants and my lemon meringue flavored Greek yogurt is sitting next to me, untouched.

While I do have some time to do things after Baby G goes to bed for the night (he is usually asleep by 8:30 at the latest), I try and use that time to relax with my husband before we go to bed. We've said in the past that we won't be on the computer much after he gets home from work, and though we've been slipping a bit lately, I'd like to start enforcing our "no computers/ipads rule" again.

I'm actually quite upset that I do not have as much time to devote to this as I would like. I am quite upset I don't have as much time to devote to a lot of things - like read, sew, cook, and watch Doctor Who. But making sacrifices comes with the territory [of being a parent]. And if it comes down to writing about nipple blisters or playing with my son and watching him laugh... you tell me which one you would pick. #sorryimnotsorry ;)

Ethical Blogger: The Blogger's Code of Ethics

I wanted to explain the little image on the sidebar you may have noticed that says "Ethical Blogger Professional Standards." I first came across the image (also shown below) on MomDot and then had to look up what an ethical blogger is. Below is the Blogger's Code of Ethics I found on From The Left (originally posted on CyberJournalist.net) - the code is modified from the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. 

"Bloggers who adopt this code of principles and these standards of practice not only practice ethical publishing, but convey to their readers that they can be trusted." ~From The Left

I vow to be an Ethical Blogger. :)

A BLOGGERS’ CODE OF ETHICS

Be Honest and Fair
Bloggers should be honest and fair in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.
Bloggers should:

• Never plagiarize.
• Identify and link to sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources’ reliability.
• Make certain that Weblog entries, quotations, headlines, photos and all other content do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context.
• Never distort the content of photos without disclosing what has been changed. Image enhancement is only acceptable for for technical clarity. Label montages and photo illustrations.
• Never publish information they know is inaccurate — and if publishing questionable information, make it clear it’s in doubt.
• Distinguish between advocacy, commentary and factual information. Even advocacy writing and commentary should not misrepresent fact or context.
• Distinguish factual information and commentary from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two.

Minimize Harm
Ethical bloggers treat sources and subjects as human beings deserving of respect.
Bloggers should:

• Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by Weblog content. Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects.
• Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief.
• Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of information is not a license for arrogance.
• Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone’s privacy.
• Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.
• Be cautious about identifying juvenile suspects, victims of sex crimes and criminal suspects before the formal filing of charges.

Be Accountable
Bloggers should:

• Admit mistakes and correct them promptly.
• Explain each Weblog’s mission and invite dialogue with the public over its content and the bloggers’ conduct.
• Disclose conflicts of interest, affiliations, activities and personal agendas.
• Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence content. When exceptions are made, disclose them fully to readers.
• Be wary of sources offering information for favors. When accepting such information, disclose the favors.
• Expose unethical practices of other bloggers.
• Abide by the same high standards to which they hold others.

I embrace the Bloggers’ Code of Ethics and endeavor to apply them in my own work.

I'm now on Top Mommy Blogs!

My blog is now listed on this wonderful site: Top Mommy Blogs (TMB)! I'm trying to put my blog out there and expand my reader base, now that I've been blogging consecutively for almost 5 months. TMB is a large directory of mommy and coupon blogs and it rates and ranks the blogs based on how many visits to TMB each blog generates. The top blogs obviously have the most active readers - and of course, that's where I'd like to be! :)
If you like my blog, and want to help me get more readers, please just click on the image or on the TMB button on the sidebar. One click equals one vote - and you can "vote" once each day!

Also, I just created my own little blog button:

<a href="http://pregotolegos.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p575/LauraAnnRussell/Untitled_zps800a7b2a.png" alt="pregotolegos.blogspot.com" width="125" height="125" /></a>

If you would like to put my button on your own blog, just copy and paste the above code. And I will post your button as well! A fun little swap to help each other out! :D

Thank you so much!