Ready for Some Big Changes?

Sometimes you need a change of scenery. You need to shake things up. You need a new direction. I've reached that point. For the past year, I've felt restless about my blogging. I started changing. God started pointing me in a new direction. After years of blogging at Confessions of a Wannabe Supermom, its time for a new look, a new location, and a new purpose - here, at Grace in Our Moments.

A Review and a Brook McGlothlin GIVEAWAY!

One thing I've learned in my life is that life rarely goes as planned!  When I was a kid, my career plans and goals changed as often as my hairstyles, but one dream never changed - I dreamed of being a writer. Not just any writer, but a bestselling mystery author who lived on a huge farm with her husband, her five kids, and her many pets.  I would write, always full of fresh and new ideas, and I would enjoy life on my farm all day long.

Fast forward twenty-some-odd years, and you'll find me - a working mom of two, pastor's wife, and college student with a blog, living in a small town and nowhere near a farm...the closest thing we have to a farm animal is our teacup Yorkie.  Let's just say that childhood dream didn't pan out quite the way I expected.  I love my life, and I wouldn't trade this reality for any childhood dream.  But the dream of being a writer is still there...it's just grown and changed with me over the years.

I was so excited to get a copy of Notes to Aspiring Writers to review!  Brooke's new books isn't a "theory" book or a "technical" book - it's a heart book.  It digs deeper than the writing itself, and goes to the heart of writing.  It's about letting go of our dreams and embracing God's dreams for our lives.  It's about learning to accept our circumstances when God says "no."  It's about following God's leading to your real life's mission.  With study questions and a resource list included, you can go even deeper into your reasons for writing and find great ways to sharpen your skills.  This book was so inspiring and challenging to me!

Now for the best part...the giveaway!  I'm very excited to offer a FREE copy of Notes to Aspiring Writers to one lucky winner!  Here are the rules:

1. MANDATORY ENTRY:  Like Notes to Aspiring on Facebook (here) and leave a comment letting me know you did.

2. ADDITIONAL ENTRIES: 
* Share this giveaway by Twitter, Facebook, or your blog - leave a comment for each method you use to share the giveaway.

Entries will be open until Saturday, August 27th at midnight and the winner will be announced on Sunday, August 28th.  Thanks for entering, and good luck!

Keeping My Head Above Water

That's pretty much all I can do right now.  This class is a killer!  Everyone assures me that school gets much easier after this...my word, it has to, or there would be no dental hygienists!

I have been missing in action from my blog recently, and unfortunately, that's going to be the norm for the next two weeks until this class is over.  After that, I hope to get back into a schedule.  Two weeks - eight classes - three more tests - can I ignore that last part?  It's just one more hurtle on the way to my dream...

One Week Down...

One week of dental hygiene school is now behind me.  I thought I was ready.  To a certain extent, I was, but wow - this is even harder than I expected.  The class is intense - think of it as anatomy and physiology on steroids.  The pace is frantic.  The stress is massive.  I'm still reeling from this week, preparing for my first test (Monday) followed immediately by my second test (lab, on Tuesday), and trying to figure out how to balance full-time school with almost full-time work and still have a life somewhere in there.

Thank goodness for blogging!  I'm so glad I have an outlet.  I can talk about school, or I can avoid the topic altogether...which is probably what I'll do the most, since it consumes pretty much every waking moment.  Sometimes I just want a break from it.  I've been so scattered with my blogging lately, but I promise, I am working to get it all together.

Right now, my major focus is going to be on consistency with two things: Working with Delight on Mondays (all about being a Christian working mom) and Faith Lived Out on Fridays.  I've dabbled with having a second blog called Faith Lived Out, but juggling two blogs with everything else is too much, so I'm combining them by making it a weekly feature on this blog.  More so now than ever, I feel like I'm focusing in on exactly who I am and what I want to share when it comes to blogging, and I can't wait to bring it all into my blog.

On that note: During the craziness of my summer class, I'm looking for guest bloggers for Working with Delight.  If you're a Christian working mom and you'd like to guest post, please drop me an email at amandablogs79(at)yahoo(dot)com.  You can write on any topic you choose related to being a CWM - how you balance it all, time saving tips, the best advice you've received, a devotional, books or other resources that have helped you out, etc.  I need guest posts for August 1st and August 8th.  I have a great guest post lined up for next week - I can't wait!

Too Much Means Too Little

Do you ever feel just too overwhelmed to blog?  Lately I've been much more absent than I'd like to be.  I have so many ideas rolling around in my mind that I have a hard time narrowing it down and getting it on paper...I guess I should say getting it into cyberspace.

I'm going back and forth again, thinking of going back to blogging just two or three times a week here, and reviving my other blog, Faith Lived Out, which I started a few months ago.  Sometimes I want to blog about the craziness of motherhood, other times I want to dig deeper, and sometimes I feel torn about which one to focus on more.  I wind up doing what I've been doing recently and not focusing on anything.

So what do you think?  What would you like to see more of on Confessions of a Wannabe Supermom?  I would love to hear from you!

Fun (Frugal) Summer Ideas

I'm so excited to be guest posting this weekend at 3 Moms in 1!  I hope you'll check out her awesome blog and my post on fun (and frugal) ideas for summer fun.

I'm Guest Posting Today!

I'm so excited to be guest posting today at Musing Mom!  I'm sharing tips for moms who are getting ready to make the transition from a stay at home mom to a work from home mom.  Stop by and check it out!

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I'm guest posting today!

I'm so excited to be guest posting today over at Mommyhead Adventures.  Tara is a mom of two kids under the age of two, both with special needs.  She has an awesome blog.  I hope you'll check it out!

I'm sharing my own story of our experience with our youngest son.  We faced the possibility of him having Down's syndrome, and I was shocked by the opinions of some of the medical professionals we dealt with and how they treated us.  Stop by Tara's blog and check it out!

A Bad Rap for Social Media?

Before I start today...I'm so excited to be guest posting today for the very first time! You can check out my post at one of my favorite blogs...please stop by and check it out!






I saw an interview recently with a mom whose family gave up all technology for six months because the mom felt that they were all too attached to it.  I understand where they're coming from, but I can't help but think that's looking only at the bad side of technology.  I hear people talking often about the evils and dangers of social media.  While I see their point, I also feel that social media and technology get a bad rap.  The good points of it are all too often overlooked.  Social media has been a huge benefit to me in so many different ways...

1. Our family is scattered throughout the country, ranging from six hours to fourteen hours driving distance away from us.  Thanks to Facebook, we can keep up with everyone in one place.  Sure, I'm on it pretty much every day, and yes, I probably spend too much time on it...but I'm able to stay connected with my parents, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, neices, nephews, cousins, friends...you get the idea.  There are a lot of people to keep in touch with!
2. I have found so much spiritual encouragement thanks to the internet!  From Bible studies to inspirational ideas to accountability groups, you can find it all online.  Just this year, thanks to blogs and Twitter, I've started keeping a gratitude journal, memorizing Ephesians, digging into Bible study, reading through the Bible in a year, and getting up early each morning for quiet time and exercise.  I've also found accountability groups and discussions to help me stick with it all.
3. There are so many great resources available through social media - ideas and resources for fitness, time management, organizing, recipes, and more.  Just take a look at my resource page and you'll see what I mean!
4. Support is everywhere!  Three and a half years ago, as a new working mom, I was stressed out and overwhelmed.  I desperately needed to hear from other moms who were in the same situation.  I needed to know that guilt is normal, that it takes time to adjust, and that you can find a lot of joy, even if you're not in the situation you'd hoped for.  Thanks to Twitter, Blog Frog, and other sites, I found that support, and now I hope to help provide support with my own blog.

Whenever I hear people start bashing social media and the internet, I try to step in and give my own take on it.  I share how much it has helped me and the benefits it's added to my life.  I think that it's time to focusing on the good that social media and technology are doing.

What Blogging Has Done

I love the prompts this week for Working Mommy Wednesday!  I chose #2:

Do you feel starting a blog has improved your life or added one too many things on your plate?

When I read Julia's post this morning, I thought, "Oh my word, I could have written that - that's exactly how I feel!  I've been blogging for almost a year and a half now, and I have been all over the blogging roller coaster.  Some days it's the best thing in the world, and other days I feel like quitting.  Some days I envy the "big bloggers" and other days I'm glad my blog is still a pretty simple one.

I went through a stage where I was definitely overloaded with blogging - or I should say, I overloaded myself.  I put way too much pressure on myself to post every day, sometimes twice a day.  Now I've settled into a better routine, and if the thought of quitting crosses my mind, I talk myself out of it pretty quickly. 

I love the connections I've made through blogging.  I love it when people leave comments or tweet me about something I said that inspired them.  I love the amazing blogs I've found and the inspiration I've receieved from them, especially when it comes to my faith and being a working mom.  I love finding blogs that encourage me, challenge me, and push me.  I also love finding other working moms who are dealing with the same issues I deal with - sometimes just knowing you're not alone is enough to make things better.

So overall, yes, blogging has definitely improved my life.  It's become my outlet, my stress relief, and my encouragement.  It's pushed me to do things I never would have done before I became a blogger.  It's grounded me even more in my faith and I truly believe it's made me a better wife, mom, and woman.  I'm so glad I decided to give it a try.

Merry Christmas!

I'm taking the rest of the week off from blogging to enjoy Christmas with my family.  I hope that you all have a wonderful week, and I will be back on Monday, December 27

What I Really Want From Blogging...

I've been in kind of a transition mode lately when it comes to blogging.  Thanks to Theta Mom's post a few weeks ago on reaching your reader's expectations, and the one year anniversary of the launch of Confessions of a Wannabe Supermom, I've been rethinking my goals, my design, and the reasons why I blog.

I've thought a lot about how I came to blogging last year.  I had tried blogging before, and each time I crashed and burned within weeks, quitting altogether, only to try again later.  Finally, I decided to really research it and have a plan in place before I started blogging again.  I spent several months planning out what I wanted.  In November 2009, I started my blog on Wordpress, but being a newbie, I found myself struggling with the format, and early in 2010, I switched back to the Blogger account I'd maintained.  It took time, but slowly my blog started to build.  I started finding my blogging voice.

Now, after a year, it's time to reevaluate again.  As Theta Mom says, I want my readers to know what they can expect from my blog.  I also want readers to be engaged with me and my blog.  I want readers more than I want followers.  Don't get me wrong, followers are great.  I love mine and want to see my followers really grow.  But more than followers, I want to know that people are reading what I'm writing and that it means something to them.  I want people to identify with me and my blog on some level - whether it's a funny story about my family, something I've learned that helps them, or just the fact that we all know that as much as we'd like to, we can't be Superwoman.

I love the changes I've made so far.  I still have some tweaking I want to do, but I think I'm headed in the right direction.  I want to focus on writing about the things I'm learning, and the mistakes I'm making.  I want to share what I know about finding balance as I juggle the many roles I play in a day.  I want to somehow, in some way, help others by what I share.  Most of all, I want to have fun, and I hope to connect with some great people along the way so we can share each other's journey.

What I planned to say...

I had a great post planned for Monday...I planned to rework Manic Mommy Monday into my new idea, complete with a new button - Survival Tips for Working Moms.  I had an awesome post on balancing our many roles as a mom almost ready to go.

So what happened?  Life happened.  The post didn't get finished.  Instead, I lived the post.  We celebrated my husband's birthday this weekend.  We had our church's Fall Festival, which I always head up. I hung out with my family.  None of my blog plans worked out.

Priorities shifted this weekend.  That's often the case with moms, especially working moms.  It's all about balancing jobs and responsibilities, shifting priorities to take care of whichever role needs you the most at the moment, whether its family, home, mom, wife, or work. 

Last week, it was family and church activities - blogging got put on the back burner.  This week, college gets moved to the top as I get ready for a major test, and blogging gets moved up again.  It's an ever changing map of the things that matter most to me.  To others, it may not make sense.  But to me, in spite of the craziness, its a pretty amazing picture.

Changes are coming!

You're going to be seeing some changes coming on Confessions of a Wannabe Supermom!  I'm really excited and have some ideas that I think you're going to love.

What really started it all is a post from Theta Mom (I'll link to it later...I'm blogging from my phone this morning).  It got me starting thinking about how I can better focus on my goals for my blog.  Along with my new ideas, my blog is going to get a new, more readable design and a new blog button.

You should see some of the first changes this weekend, with more coming throughout the month.  Hope you like it as much as I do!

Working Mom Interviews

I was really excited a few weeks ago when I saw that Steph at Be Positive Mom was looking for working moms to interview for a new project that she was putting together.  I signed up for the interview series she's starting, and now she's launching her Working Mom Interviews newsletter.  You can sign up on her blog.  I'm so excited to be featured in her first interview on working mom guilt!

I've blogged a lot about working mom guilt.  I think that guilt is something all moms face, working or stay at home, and I think that just talking about it with other moms helps overcome it.  Check out Steph's blog and her interview series to learn some great information from lots of working moms!





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Finally!

Wow, what a crazy month I've had...I'm so glad that my summer class is over!  I knew it would be intense, but I really didn't know what "intense" meant until I did this class.  Honestly, I thought I could keep up with my blog - after all, it's just five weeks.  Well, obviously from my blogging the past few weeks, that wasn't the case.

Of course, it wasn't just summer school...it was summer school, plus my job, plus heading up Vacation Bible School, plus teaching children's church every Sunday...  I have a hard time saying "no" if you haven't figured that out already!  I guess it's no such much saying "no" as it is not wanting to give up the things I love doing in life.  I'll stick with what I love, no matter how much of a juggling act it brings.

It's such a relief to be done with this class and to be one step closer to applying for hygiene school.  I'm so grateful to be getting back to normal and to have a little downtime to relax before school starts again on the 23rd.  I'm going to get back into my normal blogging scheudule...and to my normal life schedule!

I've been a very bad blogger

Wow - I haven't posted anything lately.  I was doing great with my blogging schedule, but life has been insane for us lately.  First it was the out-of-state wedding, then we came back to pick up our dog from the vet and found out she has ulcers in both eyes (which we're still trying to treat), plus a week packed with church activities.  I have been a bad, bad blogger.

I'm recommiting to my blog beginning this week.  I will get back to regular postings.  I will post daily, or at least almost daily.  I will be a good blogger from here on out!

Taking a blogging break - just for a few days

I realized earlier that I haven't posted a single thing this week.  :(  I haven't deserted the blogosphere, I'm just taking a break for a few days and enjoying my time off of school.  I've also been dealing with some job unheavals and trying to get everything worked out (I think I have).  Next week I should be back to normal!  Until then...

A Late Night Brings Major Changes...

I couldn't unwind and go to sleep tonight, so I decided to work on my blog.  Since we don't have internet at home (I rely on Wi-Fi and internet access at our church) and our hotel has Wi-Fi access, I decided to seize the opportunity and totally redo my blog.  I was even more excited when I saw some the new features Blogger has added, like the ability to add pages and a tag cloud.  I'm having a blast!  Let me know what you think about my new blog design, and look for more changes in the future.

Blog Awards!

Thanks to Tina at The Floundering SAHM for my blog award!  I'm doing this exactly as the rules call for - since I just named several bloggers for my first award, I knew I'd just be running through the same list again.  lol  But I do want to thank Tina.  She has a great blog - I hope you'll check it out!