There may be some funkiness here today…as much as I love my little pink bird, season changes always make me want to look for a fresh new theme for my blog. So instead of setting up a test site, I’m going to do the adjusting live on this one. I’ll get it back to normal ASAP, but in the meantime pretend you don’t see the man behind the curtain, OK?

EDITED: I think I’m done.  If anything isn’t working, let me know!  You may notice I added a verification feature known as captcha on the comments.  I’ve been getting massive amount of SPAM comments lately and I can barely keep up with them.  Hopefully this, in conjunction with the updated Akismet plugin, will cut down on it again.  You don’t have to register or anything…just input a 5 letter word along with the other info when commenting.

As I frequently do, I was looking at my blog stats and seeing some of the searches that have brought people here.  And then I saw this.  And no joke, fell out of my chair from laughing.

how to deal with a crazy baby momma?

Now I’m just saying, and trying to do so without judgment, but you might have thought of that before you got her pregnant.  Just a suggestion.  (Yes, I know things happen and people change!  But still, people!)

I’ve been so neglectful of my blog lately!  These music posts were ones I did all at once a week or so ago, and I meant for them to be in addition to my regular posts.  Unfortunately, I have even less than usual to talk about.

I’m in a holding pattern with my pregnancy…at that stage where you’re just kind of waiting to see if the baby is healthy at the major ultrasound.  And of course there’s all of the girl or boy anticipation.  I’m tired of people asking what we’re having.  I don’t really get that.  It seems to me that your first question would be asking how I’m doing, or if the baby is healthy.  I spent some time with my neighbor this morning and she’s probably the first person I’ve encountered in weeks who hasn’t asked if we know the sex yet!  It was nice.  And truly, I just don’t care.  If God himself came down and told me I could pick one or the other, I’d choose a girl just to even things up a little bit.  But since it’s out of my control it is a non-issue.  It will be what it will be, and as long as we have a healthy baby we couldn’t be happier.  (And please don’t feel like it’s not OK to ask…it is, but since I don’t know yet, it’s a little bit like getting a phone call every day asking if you’ve gone into labor or had that baby yet.  Mildly annoying, but you know it’s just because people care and are interested!)  I think my perspective is different from most because I’ve learned through my own experience and that of others that a healthy baby or safe pregnancy are not always guaranteed.  So I probably worry more about that than the average person.  Though I would like to know if I can call this baby he or she…and picking out a name would be nice, too!  We did start a registry this week, more as a checklist for me than anything else, so I know what I need to get.  With so much time between our 1st and 3rd, we’ve had to get rid of some things that are essential, like the car seat that was expired.  (Yes, they do expire…check yours!)

And of course our money situation is starting to worry me.  My husband has now been unemployed for almost 2.5 months and our meager savings is quickly drying up.  We absolutely cannot afford to move, and he doesn’t have any guaranteed customers yet.  He has had several meetings scheduled, but no definite contracts yet.  We’re hopeful for this to happen soon, but even then it may take a couple of months to see income.  Until then, we’re doing what we can to save money where we can but I’m getting scared.  I’d go get a job, but now that I’m pretty obviously pregnant, nobody seems to want to hire me.  I understand why not, but we’re in a really scary place right now and even a small income would benefit us greatly!

And then there’s the whole back thing, which has prevented me from spending much time at the computer.  It’s still pretty painful, and even though I’ve gotten a wonderful aromatherapy heating pad (can’t recommend it enough!) I have to limit my time with it because of my pregnancy.  And I can’t take Advil or any other anti-inflammatory type drug, so I’ve mainly had to grin and bear it.  There is some improvement, but right now it’s just painful to sit here, so I avoid it.

So between the uneventfulness, the worry, and the pain, I have little to talk about.  Hopefully this week will provide some blog fodder.  Until then, prayers and good thoughts for a healthy baby at our ultrasound on September 2 and our financial situation are much appreciated.  Watch this space for baby news the day after Labor Day!

I got a few emails from people who wondered where I’ve been.  I’m fine, but have been fairly busy the last several days.  I hope I get a chance to write something interesting and delightful tomorrow!

Yes, I bought 97 cents worth of hosting because I needed paid hosting to install something for a website I’m working on.  Don’t expect it to last long…I think my less-than-a-dollar’s worth of hosting will give me about a week without ads.

I’m letting go of my hosting for our family site because the money is due and well…I just can’t justify the expense right now.  Honestly, I haven’t done anything with it since I started our family blog so it’s probably not worth paying for anyway.  We renewed the domain, so at least nobody can steal that from us.

There are some major advantages to having an ad-free blog, though.  My visual editing option is back (YAY!) and I don’t have a huge string of ads at the top of my posting screen when it takes me forever to write a post.  Every time it saves, it tacks on another string of ads at the top and it’s incredibly annoying.  So I will enjoy all that my 97 cents bought me while I can and then moan and complain when it runs out.  Because that’s how I roll, baby!

I’m going to throw this out there to the world in general in the hopes that it reaches someone who needs some help! As I’ve mentioned, I set up the website for my husband’s new business. I’m not linking it here right now because I want to get permission from him first, but I plan to add a Portfolio page in the next day or 2 with a link to it. (Watch for it at the top of the page, across from the bird graphic.)

I’m also working on a couple of other web projects, all utilizing WordPress and other free resources. This makes set up simple and fast (assuming I get quick responses from the client when providing information to them) and it makes updating information easy even for someone with little to no web knowledge. By utilizing the free tools that are already out there, I realize I’m not doing anything earth shattering. BUT, I also know that not everyone has the time or the skills to put something like that together. For now I’m doing this pretty cheaply so I can get some portfolio sites and because we could really use the extra cash.

If you want more details, email me via the contact form or leave a comment here with a way for me to get in touch with you. I’ll probably also post more information on the Portfolio page when I get it up there, hopefully tomorrow!

Edit to add that the Portfolio page is up. As of now there’s only one link but I hope to have a couple more in the next few weeks!

Yes, I have survived the alien death virus. God only knows how, but I believe I’m recovering. I had been on such a roll with my blog…I think I’ve posted pretty much every day since I started it, which is quite an accomplishment for me. And then suddenly there’s nothing for 4 or 5 days. I occasionally considered posting but there was some serious insanity what with the feverish delusions and all. It’s probably a good thing that I just couldn’t muster up the energy.

I hope to return tomorrow with something scintillating. Or at least mildly interesting. Or something that can make you point and laugh at me for being so strange. You know, whatever.

(Yes, I know I have emails to reply to. I’m working on that tomorrow. For now, it’s bed time!)

I have been slack about reading blogs lately, so I have no idea who’s still blogging and who would even be comfortable with me adding them to my blogroll. (Since some people I read are friends from before the internet and there may be personal stuff you don’t want others who may read here to see.) But if you’re funny or interesting or local or another mom or anything at all really, comment here and I’ll add you in. Because I need more ways to waste time, right?

I’ve had a family blog for a while, but I have a feeling those far flung family and friends get tired of hearing my opinion on the random stuff I ramble about regularly. So starting now, that will be for family updates and this will be the place I voice my opinion on everything they get sick of hearing. I also intend to provide product reviews, info on fun things to do locally, semi-locally, and even while traveling with kids. There will also be stuff relating to the home, though I am the queen of laziness when it comes to my house. Feel free to voice your opinions via the comments section on each post. Sit back, grab an iced coffee or some sweet tea, and enjoy.