Haiku Friday #17: Generosity

My husband is in
The middle of his student
Teaching semester.

The head of his school's
English department bought four
Dress shirts in his size

So that he may have
Something nice to wear for job
Interviews this spring.

He said, "I've been broke
Before. I know what you are
Going through right now."

All he wants? That he
Pays it forward to someone
In need, when he can.

Wow. Talk about generous. This man has only met my husband fairly recently (within the last month or so), and he doesn't spend much time with him. But he saw fit to reach out and help us with something that could mean the difference between twice and more than three times our income next year. Those dress shirts are nice.

My father-in-law bought my husband a suit a few months ago to wear to interviews, too, so provided a job exists and Brandon is qualified for it, he may just get it. His dad also agreed to lend us the money for the PRAXIS test as well.

All this is really a lot off our minds. We were supposed to get our tax refund last Friday, but the date was changed to next Tuesday for some reason. That was a huge blow, considering that several bills are coming due in that time -- or have already. We're also looking at trying to pay off some that have gone past due with this rather large chunk of change we're expecting in the mail.

Yeah, preschool teachers? We don't make enough to support two adults and a toddler -- even with government help. And regardless of whether my husband is able to find a job with benefits after he graduates in May, we will lose our government health insurance in October. Why? Because apparently, eight dollars an hour is too much money, and in October our twelve months of "transitional assistance" with medical costs will end. But at least our son will get to keep his until we make about twice that.

But with help from our friends and family -- and the recent warm front -- it feels like we can conquer almost anything.


To read more haiku or to play along, check out A Mommy Story.

My Very Own Con

My husband and most of his friends, and many of my friends, by proxy, are really into comic books. I'm a bit of a fangirl myself, although I haven't read much. What I have read (a bit each of Justice League, Ultimate Spiderman, and the latest incarnation of Green Arrow) has only been recent. I've also enjoyed the fairly recent explosion of movies based on comic books (I'll be truthful, they're more succinct -- although that's not always good, as in the case of X-Men: The Last Stand).

Ever since we moved to Columbus, we've been hanging out with Aaron and Christina more often. Mostly it's for playdate reasons, but it's also nice to have adult friends that a) understand kid-related conversations, and b) don't always want to talk about their/your kids. Aaron writes for Superhero Flix and often goes to comic conventions as a member of the press. He's interviewed some seriously cool people, like Seth McFarlane and Jewel Staite most recently at the San Diego Comic Con.

So you can imagine that I might be a little jealous. Even as an ordinary citizen, attending the San Diego Comic Con would be too cool. But I might have a chance to go to a convention of a different kind instead.

Christina has a blog of her own -- you probably read it if you're a mom too -- and she attends blogging conventions. The biggest one I've heard mention of is the annual BlogHer Convention, a blogging con for women bloggers (in fact, the whole BlogHer site is for women bloggers -- it's pretty cool, so I'd check it out if I were you!).

This year the convention is in Chicago, the closest to Columbus, Ohio that it's likely to ever get. I really really really want to go, meet famous and little-known bloggers like myself (well, at least the little-known ones would be), hear all sorts of great speakers, and, of course, party. I'll admit that part doesn't sound half bad.

But it's gonna be pretty tough. I'm still the only family member working, while my husband is going to school to try and get a job that pays more than minimum wage. I make just over minimum wage myself (I mean, I work in a daycare, and it might be the most expensive daycare in the area, and the best place to send your kids, but it still pays crap). We're on food stamps and Medicaid, and that helps a bit, but it's not enough. We try to pay our rent, car insurance, and my student loan on time every month, but sometimes it's late, and other than those three imperative payments, we have to choose which other bills to pay. This month we're paying the gas bill so it doesn't get shut off. And you all know about the higher cost of living now (especially diapers and cat food -- at least gas isn't as expensive now).

Sometimes it's hard. We haven't gone on a date since my birthday, before I started writing this blog. We basically have to avoid fast food of all kinds, limit our road trips to Cincinnati to see the in-laws, decide what we really need and what we can wait on -- sometimes I ask my mom for diapers and wipes, and she buys all my son's clothes. He wouldn't have anything to wear otherwise. And we still don't have a pack 'n' play, second carseat, or even a baby gate. He's thirteen months old, and we don't have a gate for our stairs (we live on the second floor and the stairs are on the inside).

But we know this is temporary. As soon as my husband finishes his certificate, he's qualified to teach high school English. We hope and pray every day that he will get a job offer upon his receipt of the certificate. Or at least by August. As soon as he gets a job, things will get much, much easier. We'll move into a bigger place, buy those things we need that we just can't afford right now, even think about the possibility of a second child.

Unfortunately, we just don't know. So, as much as I want to go to the BlogHer Conference this summer, we may not be able to. We're trying to save any way we can: carpooling with Christina, splitting a hotel room, trying to finagle a way to get that student discount on admission. Since our daycare/preschool is NAEYC accredited, I have to do training each year. I'm hoping to find out that the training sessions I have to attend count as classes so that I can get in as a student -- a steep discount.

My best chance at going? Would be to win the Queen of Spain's giveaway. We'd still have to figure out our half of lodging and gas, but I have a feeling it would all be downhill once the registration is paid for. She's giving away one full registration on her blog.

There's still time! If you have been wishing you could go to the BlogHer Conference '09 if only you could afford the registration fee, this is your best chance too. All you have to do is write a blog post, link the post to her giveaway post, and leave her a comment. Click that link for full details.

What a beautiful, generous person. May we all be so generous (or as much as our personal situations allow) in 2009. And to those of you who are entering at the last minute like me, good luck!

Haiku Friday #10: Mommy Guilt

Lately on Twitter

I've followed momversation

A panel of moms

Who famously blog

Discussing certain issues

Important to us.

This week's discussion:

Mommy guilt over working

I also feel it.

Momversation is an interactive vlog between several bloggers from their panel of fairly well-known mommy bloggers. Selected bloggers discuss momversation's topic of the week, which is usually related to parenting and always provocative.

Their most recent discussion really resonated with me: mommy guilt over working. I spent the first nine months of my son's life as a stay-at-home mom while my husband worked at whatever substitute teaching jobs he could find. In that time, he was unable to find any permanent job a contracted position, so he went back to school to get a teaching certificate. Apparently a Master's degree in Education and a Bachelor's in English Lit do not qualify a person to teach English, either at the high school level or as an adjunct professor at the college level -- even community colleges.

With him back in school, I had to get a full-time job just to keep us afloat -- and some months, even buoyancy seems impossible. I'm sure many of you are familiar with this situation. So I applied at a few preschools and day care centers in the area, figuring that as an employee, I would have an easier time getting my son into one, and also would probably receive a tuition discount.

So here I am, working 40 hours a week with other people's kids, rather than being with my own son -- out of necessity, yes, but it's still enough to make me wish I was helping him grow and learn, and witnessing his milestones, not theirs.

Sometimes I wish that I could work from home, that I was brilliant enough to start my own little Etsy shop or something. But from what I hear from work-at-home moms (and dads) is that the guilt is still there -- and it's even harder to get work done, so they often feel like they fall short in both categories.

Here's the good news: I have recently learned of an open spot in one of the infant/toddler classrooms that he will be able to take. All we have to do is fill out the paperwork and get everything set up for him to go. This is such a weight off of my mind. Next semester, my husband will be student teaching, and if there wasn't a spot for my son I would have to quit, just when we're starting to become a little more financially stable. I'd exhausted all my other child care options, too. This is it.

So I'm super excited (and relieved) that he'll be coming to school with me. My mom will still watch him on Mondays and Fridays, since they could only guarantee me a part-time spot for him. But that's okay for now, because she doesn't work those days. I've got daughter guilt about this one, though. I hate that I'll now be bogarting two days every week out of my mom's schedule.

The lesson here? You do what you can with what you've got. And you forgive yourself for needing help. You forgive yourself for needing to work and being away from your kids.

What about you? Any moms or dads feeling the guilt out there? If you don't have kids, do you feel guilty about working for other reasons? Or do you feel guilty about something else entirely? Leave a comment. I'd love to hear what everyone feels about this.

Haiku Friday #9:Teacher Drama

Teaching preschool is

A fun job: the hours are good,

The kids are awesome!

But sometimes there is

"Teacher drama" -- teachers who

Don't get along well.

The other teachers

In my room were so proud: no

Teacher drama here!

Other classrooms have

Problems: teachers switch rooms to

Avoid coworkers.

I almost counted

Myself in their number 'till

A few weeks ago

One teacher in my

Room and I clashed a bit

But things are good now.

But in the next room
There is a new teacher as
Of Thursday morning.

*Deb was moved to a
Different room because of
An old injury.

She can't lift babies
To change diapers, so she was
Moved against her will

She wanted to work
With older kids but now she
Must work fewer hours

Man, this sucks. If you follow me on Twitter, you may remember my mention of a certain passive-aggressive coworker. Well, it took a few weeks, but we settled into a routine, go to know each other a little better, and now our classroom is drama-free once again. Apparently she told the third teacher in our room about me, "I know she must hate me," which is exactly what I said -- I thought she hated me too. Funny world.

But things are not hunky-dory with the class next door, whom we share some of our activities with. "Deb" used to work with 4-year-olds and for some reason they had her in an infant-toddler room this year. Which was stupid, because she has a weight restriction of 10 pounds because of back problems. So she's been having a lot of pain and needing to call off work because they have her in there, changing diapers -- lifting kids up to a changing table who weigh as much as 30 pounds.

So I was glad, if somewhat surprised, to hear that she was in an older room starting yesterday. Until I heard she wasn't given a choice, and was forced into a part-time position so the school doesn't have to pay workers' comp (I am a little confused about this part, since our preschool is one of the few places of employment still hiring people, rather than laying them off). Sigh.

If you can spare a few minutes, send some good prayers/thoughts/mojo her way. She and her husband are still paying off their mortgage and can't afford the pay cut.

*This person's name has been changed to protect her identity and her personal pride.


If you'd like to participate in Haiku Friday today, write your own haiku on your blog, visit A Mommy Story to grab that pretty button, and sign her Mr. Linky so you can read more haiku (and get yours read, too!).

Haiku Friday #8: We Have Some Catching Up To Do...

It's been sev'ral weeks
Since I participated
In Haiku Friday

Furthermore, I have
Neglected to post in this
Blog since last Sunday.

Since November first,
I have been spending much time
On NaNoWriMo.

National Novel
Writing Month happens ev'ry
Year: each November

Hundreds of thousands
Of prospective writers try
To write for a month

Fifty thousand words
Of fiction in thirty days
Is a lofty goal.

Okay, seriously, folks. It's 1 AM and my brain hurts. Six stanzas of haiku is plenty, considering I still have quite a bit to say.

So, yeah, I'm doing NaNoWriMo again this year. I made a pathetic attempt last year while I was pregnant and on bedrest. Pathetic because I didn't get very far, considering how much time I had on my hands. It's funny how boredom can cause you to feel apathetic about doing something so you don't feel bored. Ironic, that.

NaNoWriMo, briefly, is an annual contest of sorts in which many, many psychotic people aspiring writers set out to achieve that elusive goal that never seems to make it to the top of the priority list: write a novel. The twist? Do it in 30 days. Fifty thousand words in thirty days. That's about 1,667 words per day -- which takes me about 2 hours if I'm concentrating hard and the ideas flow freely.

Last year I logged a total of a whopping 324 words. This year, with an 11-month-old, a full-time job, and a blog, I have written about 2750 or so. You just can't say I don't work well under pressure. Of course, that's far from the goal for winning NaNoWriMo. Anyone who writes a 50,000-word (or more) novel within the time frame is a winner. Everyone who signs up and writes at least one word is a participant. My personal goal this year is to write at least a little bit every day. So far, I've achieved that. I think it's a good start to make myself a bit more disciplined. And easier to work around than the 10,002 words I should have already.

There's also NaBloPoMo, the blogging equivalent (also probably a bit easier) which of course I didn't find out about until the 2nd, and what's the point if you don't do it for the whole month?

In other news, I finished my son's Halloween costume, mostly. I didn't do the red underwear-looking thing that Superman wears over his pants. But he had the blue, the S, the cape, the yellow belt, and red socks, rather than boots. We also went to the pumpkin farm for our jack-o-lanterns last Sunday. I'll post pictures of both of these events soon.

Work's been a bit rough, not because it's preschool, and that many kids will wear anyone out, but because of the "teacher drama". Somehow I thought that it wasn't going to happen, but I'm apparently not immune. And I didn't think anything was wrong until I was confronted . . . but that's another story for another day.

Off to bed so I don't drink my weight in caffeinated beverages at school tomorrow. Happy Friday, everyone! It's good to be back!

Blog Tag

Stole this from Caitlyn McFarland Hair. So weird to write that, even though she's been married longer than I have. You know how it is. To play along, just answer each question and type the answer into Google image search and post the first picture that comes up.

First Name: Melissa
(This, according to the caption, is R&B singer Melissa Lujan.)

Middle Name: Marie, Nash (yes, I have two)
(Holly Marie Combs of Charmed)


(Basketball pro Steve Nash)


Last Name: Keller
(Kasey Keller, pro soccer player footballer)


Age: 24
(This is a still from the show.)


Place I'd like to visit someday: Ireland


Favorite Vacation Spot: Ft. Myers, FL


Past Celebrity Crush: Michael Vartan
(Does it have to be in the past? This guy is seriously
yummy -- you've seen him in Alias and Big Shots.)


College Major: Linguistics


Place(s) I grew up: Pickerington, OH


First Job: Bob Evans


Favorite Treat: dark chocolate


Favorite Food: Icelandic chicken
(Um, it's called "Icelandic chicken" because of the way it's prepared, not where the animal is from.... But I guess that's the fun of the game.) :)


Favortie Color: indigo


Somewhere I've gone today: my mom's house
(Not really my mom's house, but again, that's the fun.)


What is/was for dinner: barbecue chicken

Lashana Tova! Today was Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year and day of judgement). Since I work at the Jewish Center, I got to leave early yesterday and have today and tomorrow off work. Which is good, because we spent Saturday & Sunday traveling to see my in-laws, so I didn't get much of a weekend.

Can't believe it's already October.

Haiku Friday #6: So Far, So Good

It seems that I have
Successfully cut out the
Midday pump session.

No more lugging the
Breast pump to work and cleaning
Pieces on lunch break.

It's still not perfect:
I still let down a little
In the afternoon.

Overall I'd say
It's going well; next up is
Overnight feedings.

Actually, this started because of a mistake: earlier this week, I was running a little late on my way out the door (but by a stroke of luck there was very little traffic that morning and I still made it to work on time), and I forgot my breast pump. I wasn't howling with (engorgement) pain, so I decide to try it again the next day. Still seemed okay, so I did it again. No apocalypse for me -- or Adam; he seems to be doing okay with Brandon or my mom, he drinks from a sippy cup (only the one, mind you; we'll have to buy another of that same brand), and he seems to have the same reaction whether it's breastmilk or formula. He misses the nursing, though. We do that as soon as I'm home from work, to get him to bed, and when he wakes up at night.

We've been sharing a bed since he was around 6 weeks old and the gas started keeping him up at night. I've been making half-assed attempts to get him to sleep in a crib for about 4 months now. Not that the individual attempts are pathetic, I just have a problem with consistency. This parenting thing may kick my ass yet -- I'm told that consistency is the most important part.

But for now, the weaning seems to be going well going at all. Thank [insert your personal deity here] for small favors.

Edited to add: For my readers who are unfamiliar with the joys of parenting, sorry for all the boob talk! I'll post something more interesting next week. :)

Haiku Friday #5: Newbies, Nursing, and No Power (Still)

Fell asleep again
Putting the baby to bed;
Nursing makes me tired.

Want to start weaning --
I just can't find the right time
To cut sessions out.

This week at the school
One teacher on vacation,
Two out this morning;

I was the only
Person familiar with the
Classroom I was in.

One fellow teacher
Says she's still without power --
Goes home in the dark.

Estimates say that
Electricity will be
Back on by Sunday.

Man oh man. I was surprised there were so many still without power yesterday, only to hear on the news today that more than 100,000 are still going home to empty refrigerators and candles and flashlights scattered around their living rooms. A few of my coworkers are included in that list, and some of the power companies are saying when it does come on Sunday, it may be late, even very early Monday morning. Please keep all those wonderful thoughts coming for them!

This morning was a crazy one at work. On Thursdays I get there an hour early to sub for one of the teachers that works four 10-hour days, Thursday being her day off. This week, another teacher in that room was on vacation as well. So I knew there would be another sub. But then the third teacher had a doctor's appointment and didn't get back until noon. I, having worked mostly in the infant/toddler rooms for two weeks, was therefore the resident expert in the classroom. Lucky they also had one of the teachers from the other infant/toddler room in there for a few hours, so I wasn't at a total loss. I will say this: the next time yogurt is on the menu for morning snack, I'm serving something else. (Just try and picture your 11- to 18-month old eating yogurt by him/herself. Now multiply that by about 10.)

Nursing's still going. :-P I was hoping to have at least started the weaning process by now, but I'm still getting adjusted to being away from the baby for most of his waking hours during the week and sore boobs because of that. I only pump once while I'm at work, and feed him right before I leave and as soon as I come home. I feed him overnight, too, when he wakes up. That has been happening more often since I went back to work. He's trying to make up for the lack of breastmilk during the day by waking up to eat at night. Blargh. Makes trying to cut back on the number of feedings difficult. And I'm not sure which to cut out first: if I don't pump at work, I think I might die, and same goes for my arrival at home. Nursing at night helps him sleep a little longer, and first thing in the morning usually means he'll sleep after I leave, making it easy on Brandon or my mom.

So, a few questions for anyone who has successfully weaned: How did you do it? Was there anything that made the transition easier on you and/or your baby? Which feeding did you cut out first and which was the last to go? Leave me a comment below, or send me an email at momsensical [at] gmail [dot] com. Inquiring minds (or maybe just mine at the moment) want to know.

Haiku Friday #4: Long week

It's been a long week
Sorry this is a day late
Been no time to write

Weekend: I got sick
Monday night so did the boys
Tuesday: went to work

We're over the flu
(For Brandon and me, the worst)
Now Adam won't eat

Hey, folks. Sorry for the involuntary week-plus-long hiatus. I kept trying to sit down to at least write a quick note about why I wasn't posting, but things kept getting in the way -- you know, getting sick, caring for my sick husband and son, washing all our clothes and dishes to make sure all the germs left... just mundane things. But we're basically all better now. Brandon and I are back to 100% after a good night's sleep last night, and Adam's almost there. He just won't eat anything. He's been nursing like crazy (of course he is! I have been slowly coming to the decision that I want to start weaning), but if I attempt to give him any solid food, he gags and spits it out. My mom says he's probably just not back up to 100% yet, but I'm not sure.... Should I be worried? My symptoms started on Saturday and my appetite came back on Wednesday. He and Brandon both got sick Monday, and Brandon has already bounced back, and I thought Adam would maybe even recover faster than we did.

We'll be heading to my mom's house tonight for the OSU game. Go Bucks!

Haiku Friday: New Job

I got a new job
Today will be my first day
I'm kind of nervous

I'll leave the baby
At home with his dad; no more
A stay at home mom.

Short one this week, all. Gotta get up early in the AM, or at least earlier than I'm used to. I know I already posted a long entry about the recent change in employment earlier this week, but Haiku just makes it so much more fun!

Visit A Mommy Story to play this week. You can write your haiku about anything you want, just click the link or the button above (email me at momsensical [at] gmail [dot] com if you need help with the poem or button). Sign the Mr. Linky on her site just like it says, and enjoy some of the other "Friku." I promise you'll have fun!

I'm in the money!

...or at least I will be in about two weeks.

Since we moved back to Ohio from Boston back in February, my husband has been substitute teaching and looking for work that will actually support our family of three (subs are paid per day of work, whereas full-time teachers have a yearly salary divided up over the twelve months; subs do not get paid over the summer, and during the year, they only receive a total of about half of a regular teacher's salary anyway). The original plan was that he would find a job as a full-time teacher, and I would be a stay-at-home-mom until the summer, when Adam would be 6 months old, and then I would go back to work while he stayed home with the baby.

We have both been searching for the last seven months and thus far, have been unable to find work. About a month ago or so, my husband decided that since he wasn't getting anywhere (and I do mean anywhere -- he looked for jobs in high schools, colleges, libraries, the Department of Defense, and put his resume up on Monster) in the job search, that he would go back to school. In the meantime, I kept looking for work as a secretary, and then as a daycare worker/preschool teacher (in the hopes that Adam could be cared for in my place of employment, at a discounted price).

Two weeks ago we got a break. My sister Sara works at the Jewish Community Center, and has for the past three years. She was assigned there for her freshman observation (she's in school for early childhood education), and they liked her so much, they hired her Monday through Friday after classes and also for their summer camp. Then we found out that Aaron's aunt is the director of the center. I was a little nervous about putting myself out there for the open position, because I have "some college coursework completed," none of which is in education. The one thing I have going for me is 10+ years of babysitting experience, and informal child care/supervision of youth activities at both my church and in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism, more about that later).

I've been trying to get paperwork done for this job, and silently freaking out about getting a physical and a TB test done (we can't find a general family doctor, either -- but at least Adam has a wonderful pediatrician). I wanted so badly to post the good news about the possibility of a job, but I didn't want to jinx it. And then today I got a call from the director. The original position I applied for was one that someone else had left, and this person apparently came back to it in the past few weeks. But I can still work two eight-hour days and be a floating sub for the rest of the week! I hung up with the director, and danced around my kitchen/living room until my quads hurt.

Deep sigh of relief. Damn, did we need this. I won't be getting a huge salary or anything, and they don't have a place for Adam now, but as the child of an employee, he is at the top of the waiting list. And it's something. Especially when we're fighting with the loan company to disburse the money for Brandon's first semester so he can actually, you know, pay for books (he's been in class for nearly two weeks already). Happy little dance!

Edited to add: Sorry, folks. I know I promised this would be shorter, but I just couldn't contain my excitement!

Further edited to add: Upon reflection, I think the reason my posts are so long is because I feel the need to explain EVERYTHING, since you all know practically nothing about me (personal friends excluded). Hopefully this will get better with time.

Nap time

Monday was great! Or so I thought....

It was a normal day, at first. I woke up, got ready for the day, Adam woke up, and a few hours later was about ready for a nap. Now, he is a short napper. I count myself lucky if he sleeps for an hour or more. Typically, he naps for 30 to 45 minutes, but sometimes he wakes up after 20 minutes with that "Hi, Mom! I'm awake now" smile and I know I'm screwed.

But lately I've been trying to encourage longer naptimes. I usually wait until I hear him crying (or talking to himself) to go in, to make sure he's not just "sleep whimpering," and instead of picking him up and assuming he's done sleeping, I offer to nurse him a little. If he still needs to finish his nap, he'll go back to sleep within five or ten minutes. That usually ensures a total nap time of an hour or two.

So I put him down as usual, and half an hour later, he started to fuss. I put him back to sleep, and he continued to nap for another two and a half hours! I was ecstatic! Too bad I didn't take advantage of it and get some laundry done. Instead, I sat on my tush and read blogs. Bad mommy. I did go in to check on him, just to make sure he was still breathing -- just look what I found!

I figured he wouldn't need another nap that day and maybe even go to bed early. He didn't need a second nap, but he went to bed around an hour later than usual. But that wasn't the worst part. He woke up five hours after he went to bed, and didn't go back to sleep at all until a nap late Tuesday afternoon. We went to the pool with some friends, and he usually gets tired with the sun and the heat, and he didn't even fall asleep in his stroller this week.

I felt better after talking to Kendra, my aunt-in-law. Apparently her daughter Zoe (almost 18 months) was a terror the other day after not getting the nap she needed until 3 or 4 hours later. They had to get pictures taken for passports because they're taking a trip to Canada (am I the only person who thinks the need for a passport to get into Canada is ridiculous?).

He had a two and a half hour nap today. Hopefully he won't wake up super-de-duper early again tomorrow. I have a job interview in the morning and need those precious last two hours or so of sleep. Of course, if I'm tired in the morning, it will be my fault, because I'm sitting here typing instead of having gone to bed an hour ago (or more).

Eh. I think I'll remedy that.

Helping Bloggers Everywhere

I am a newbie blogger.

In case I haven't mentioned that yet. I mean, I've done some LiveJournal-ing before, but this is my first "real live blog," per se. A friend of mine does a lot of blogging (she's a really good writer!). I've been checking out her blog, A Mommy Story, and came across this:





Do what now?

So I clicked on it. It took me to Motherhood Uncensored (Note: when she says uncensored, she means it! That said, her blog is also very good, and very funny).

This is Kristen's amazingly brilliant and clever idea:


If you read blogs, then for the month of August, make the "pledge" to click through from your feed reader. No obligation to leave a hilarious comment or send a long stalkerish email (although both, within reason, are always lovely). Just click through to the blog (not on ads unless you are so led) and if you're feeling generous, click around to their older posts.

Just those extra page views can make a big difference for bloggers who could really use the help, or in my case, where page views don't matter so much, a big fat ego boost.


Sure, I'll join in (better late than never, right? and of course, I'm a geek -- I wanna do what all the cool kids are doing). Now that you mention it, this year has not gone so well -- my husband is going back to school for a teaching certificate in the hopes that this time next year, it will make him more employable. I'm looking for work, despite the knowledge that most of that income will go to pay for childcare. And I know everyone out there has similar problems right now. So go ahead and click that button, read some blogs, every click to an older page counts. I mean, you're gonna read them anyway, right? Just take that extra minute to go to the blog itself and help your fellow bloggers out.

And if you like what you see here, feel free to keep reading into September, too. :)

Until next time!