The SAH Life is Rated a Top 100 Most Influential Parenting Bloggers

I'm so excited to tell you all that The Stay-at-Home Life has made the list of Top 100 Most Influential Parenting Blogs of 2015 by Just Trampolines. You can read the full list here.

It is an honor to be on a list with Baby Center, Scary Mommy and other big names. Even better than that is being recognized for all the hard work I put into the blog and the social media accounts associated with it. Speaking of, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram if you haven't already.

I'm still amazed at how much work a blog really does take. It was easier to take time off when I worked for someone else in an office job than working as a freelancer and blogger for myself. When I first started, I figured it would be fairly easy and not take much time at all. So wrong! I wrote a post a few months back about what I've learned so far blogging (you can read it here) and that really comes in at the top of the list.

None of this would be possible without my totally fab readers! I appreciate all of you who read the blog and follow me on social media SO MUCH. I love reading all your comments (even though I don't always have time to respond to each). Please keep leaving them! While you're at it, if you enjoy what you read on the blog, click on the Vote for Me button at the bottom of this (or any post) once a day. That helps others find the blog via Top Mommy Blogs. Thank you all so much! You rock.

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Wherein Life Throws Many Punches

The past few weeks life has changed around here. A lot. It's been one big change after another for our family. A new diagnosis for M2, a job change for A, opportunities that fell through for me and a new fence (about the only fun one on this list).

To start with, M2 got the diagnosis of mild-moderate autism. We'd been told by her current therapists that we should have her tested. At baby B's checkup, we mentioned to the doctor, who is also M2's doc, that we wanted to get her checked out per the therapists' recommendation. I was amazed when he said there was an appointment the next morning. We'd thought there would be a 6+ month wait.

I took her in for the evaluation since I'm with her most. Having A and B go along would have been more distracting as we'd have to chase B around, too. The developmental pediatrician spent over two hours evaluating her. He picked up things I'd never even realized were related to autism. Anything I said to try to convince him that maybe it's not autism just proved his point more. By the end of the appointment, he was confident in his diagnosis. While it's nice to know exactly what's going on, and that I'm not making it all up in my head, it's also difficult to be told your child is autistic. It's not something she'll just grow out of, we don't know what caused it and it's not something we can just fix. Right now, we're still looking into options for therapy and other avenues to pursue to get her help. The hope is that since she's mild-moderate, over time she'll learn to adapt and it'll seem more like quirks than big issues. Right now, the big tip off that something's going on is her speech. She just has not improved and the usual therapies haven't helped. We know now that it's because it's related to her autism, not one of the usual causes for delays. You can read more about the diagnosis and what that day was like here.

Just after this happened, we found out that A's job is giving him a large pay cut. When things are already pretty tight that's a huge blow to receive. We're still figuring out how to deal with it and what we're going to do. One route was me finding a work-from-home job that's more stable and pays more than my current blogging and freelance. I had a job pop up that I spent all of last week prepping my resume, writing samples and practicing interview techniques for. The company was moving fast so I thought it was a great sign. There were a few "huh?" moments when my contact there said things that made me wonder if she'd even read my resume, but I pushed it off. 

At the interview, I found out I was right. They'd had no intention of hiring me, they were most likely trying to reach a quota so they could hire someone they'd already selected. The interviewer was nothing short of hostile from the start. Seriously, who asks you, "What would the person who hates you MOST in the world say about you?" Umm, that I suck? Nothing good, that's for sure. After all, they hate me. The interviewer was not impressed when I tried to turn it around to be something positive. I've never had an interview like it before. I was seriously in shock the whole time with what was going on.

Ten minutes after the interview had been scheduled to end, after the office had closed, I got a form email telling me they weren't hiring me. My guess is that it was already scheduled to go out after the interview ended. It was another blow, especially since I'd worked so hard and thought I had a good shot. Now, we're back to figuring out where to go from here. There are no real answers and much of it is being based on chance and luck. That's not something I deal well with, I like to be able to work toward a goal and have backup plan. And a back up plan for the backup plan. I work hard to not end up floundering. This time, there isn't much of a choice and any route isn't going to be fun or easy. Right now, I'm going to be upping my freelance work as much as possible. (If you know of someone who needs a writer, editor or proofreader, send them my way!)

On the weight-loss front, I've been back sliding. As you can imagine, there's been a ton of stress, uncertainty and changes. Logically, I know that things could be much worse. Emotionally, it's not a great time for me. I'm an emotional eater and have been eating more than I should while all this has been going on. Not really junk food, but still more than I should and not as healthy as I should. Last week rather than losing, I gained a pound. I'm working on getting back into the portion control and healthy choices. Exercise is happening more often at least. I'm determined to get back on track and keep losing.

The one upside lately has been that our new fence for M2 has finally gone in. Since she's a runner, we haven't been able to let her play outside much. It's simply not safe without the fence. Now, she can run all over the yard and play while I'm outside with her. I'm really looking forward to spending time with her and baby B outside enjoying the warm weather.

On the blog side of life, I have some great posts planned for the coming months. There is going to be the rest of my The "Fat Kid" Tells All series to start with. I'll also be sharing more of our journey with M2 as it progresses.

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Wherein Life Throws Many Punches

The past few weeks life has changed around here. A lot. It's been one big change after another for our family. A new diagnosis for M2, a job change for A, opportunities that fell through for me and a new fence (about the only fun one on this list).

To start with, M2 got the diagnosis of mild-moderate autism. We'd been told by her current therapists that we should have her tested. At baby B's checkup, we mentioned to the doctor, who is also M2's doc, that we wanted to get her checked out per the therapists' recommendation. I was amazed when he said there was an appointment the next morning. We'd thought there would be a 6+ month wait.

I took her in for the evaluation since I'm with her most. Having A and B go along would have been more distracting as we'd have to chase B around, too. The developmental pediatrician spent over two hours evaluating her. He picked up things I'd never even realized were related to autism. Anything I said to try to convince him that maybe it's not autism just proved his point more. By the end of the appointment, he was confident in his diagnosis. While it's nice to know exactly what's going on, and that I'm not making it all up in my head, it's also difficult to be told your child is autistic. It's not something she'll just grow out of, we don't know what caused it and it's not something we can just fix. Right now, we're still looking into options for therapy and other avenues to pursue to get her help. The hope is that since she's mild-moderate, over time she'll learn to adapt and it'll seem more like quirks than big issues. Right now, the big tip off that something's going on is her speech. She just has not improved and the usual therapies haven't helped. We know now that it's because it's related to her autism, not one of the usual causes for delays. You can read more about the diagnosis and what that day was like here.

Just after this happened, we found out that A's job is giving him a large pay cut. When things are already pretty tight that's a huge blow to receive. We're still figuring out how to deal with it and what we're going to do. One route was me finding a work-from-home job that's more stable and pays more than my current blogging and freelance. I had a job pop up that I spent all of last week prepping my resume, writing samples and practicing interview techniques for. The company was moving fast so I thought it was a great sign. There were a few "huh?" moments when my contact there said things that made me wonder if she'd even read my resume, but I pushed it off. 

At the interview, I found out I was right. They'd had no intention of hiring me, they were most likely trying to reach a quota so they could hire someone they'd already selected. The interviewer was nothing short of hostile from the start. Seriously, who asks you, "What would the person who hates you MOST in the world say about you?" Umm, that I suck? Nothing good, that's for sure. After all, they hate me. The interviewer was not impressed when I tried to turn it around to be something positive. I've never had an interview like it before. I was seriously in shock the whole time with what was going on.

Ten minutes after the interview had been scheduled to end, after the office had closed, I got a form email telling me they weren't hiring me. My guess is that it was already scheduled to go out after the interview ended. It was another blow, especially since I'd worked so hard and thought I had a good shot. Now, we're back to figuring out where to go from here. There are no real answers and much of it is being based on chance and luck. That's not something I deal well with, I like to be able to work toward a goal and have backup plan. And a back up plan for the backup plan. I work hard to not end up floundering. This time, there isn't much of a choice and any route isn't going to be fun or easy. Right now, I'm going to be upping my freelance work as much as possible. (If you know of someone who needs a writer, editor or proofreader, send them my way!)

On the weight-loss front, I've been back sliding. As you can imagine, there's been a ton of stress, uncertainty and changes. Logically, I know that things could be much worse. Emotionally, it's not a great time for me. I'm an emotional eater and have been eating more than I should while all this has been going on. Not really junk food, but still more than I should and not as healthy as I should. Last week rather than losing, I gained a pound. I'm working on getting back into the portion control and healthy choices. Exercise is happening more often at least. I'm determined to get back on track and keep losing.

The one upside lately has been that our new fence for M2 has finally gone in. Since she's a runner, we haven't been able to let her play outside much. It's simply not safe without the fence. Now, she can run all over the yard and play while I'm outside with her. I'm really looking forward to spending time with her and baby B outside enjoying the warm weather.

On the blog side of life, I have some great posts planned for the coming months. There is going to be the rest of my The "Fat Kid" Tells All series to start with. I'll also be sharing more of our journey with M2 as it progresses.

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Looking Ahead to 2015

A new year means new plans. New goals. New hopes. New dreams. So much new comes when the clock ticks over to midnight January 1. For me, I have a number of these for the blog, my family and myself this year.

M2 is finally old enough to start  doing more crafts. I've got a number of ideas in my head and on Pinterest I'm excited to do with her this year. Even before she was born, I was thinking of all the fun things I could do with her.

Usually, I do baking and cooking for the holidays. None of that happened last year with pregnancy and a new baby. I just wasn't up for it. My KitchenAid mixer and other fun baking gadgets, many that I've never gotten a chance to use, are torturing me with their presence, whispering, "use me! use me!" All the recipes I stock piled, from tried and true to new-and-nifty looking are on the roster for creation and sharing. Some of the baking I'll be having M2 help with. She's already showing an interest in baking.

A previous creation.

I had planned a veggie garden last spring then realized with morning sickness and pregnancy it wasn't the right time. Those plans are back. Having two kids, including a newborn, means the garden will be scaled down. Maintaining a huge one, without having experience, just doesn't seem wise. It'll go in this spring as my first attempt at putting in a garden and at growing veggies.

My budget is getting revamped after tax time to establish where we stand and figure in a fourth family member. Another year of tweaking the budget as we go is on the horizon since we've never had two kids before. Last year it changed over the first few months as we'd never had a house of our own before.

Having two kids is the biggest endeavour of the year. Learning how to raise a boy (I'm used to girls), keeping up with two kids, reaching the toddler stage, making new mom friends, finding friends for the kids, helping M2 with her speech and overall learning, keeping her active and busy, along with joining a local church to give us better roots and meet people are all current and upcoming challenges.

I'm not great at meeting new people as I'm quite shy at first and don't have the best confidence in doing it so joining a church, and joining a new mom-and-baby playgroup are more difficult for me than you'd expect. Even going to library time to meet other moms is hard--I'm not the type who can just walk up to someone and easily start a conversation. Though, oddly, in the professional world I have no problem with it. Go figure. These things are important for finding the kids friends and making my own though, so I'll be doing it.

Weight loss is a big focus of the year. I have 25 pounds of baby weight to lose (I lost about 45 so far). Before getting pregnant, I was working on losing a substational amount. Once the baby weight is off, I'm going to continue on that journey. I'm going to be looking at is as giving up extra weight as that sounds more positive and happy than having a loss.

Focusing on the positive and being more upbeat are both things on which I'm working. I'm a worrier so I tend to see all that can go wrong which can get in the way of things. So does being a perfectionist. I need to focus more on the good, rather than the things that aren't prefect. Because, let's face it, nothing in life is perfect.

The kids' clothes are organized already.

Organization is something I work on bit by bit each year. We've lived in this house for almost two years so it's overhaul time. In preparation for baby B, we cleaned out lots of stuff from the basement. Now, it needs to be organized. I've got a few organization projects on the horizon. The extra food storage already got a good clean out last week. Being able to know what we've got, what we need and that it's all easily at hand is nice. Side note: had I done it sooner, I would have known we had a solid shelf of just pasta. Should the zombie apocalypse come, we'll be eating pasta and canned veggies. Those two things alone will allow us to stay fed for quite some time.

Being a better mom is an important goal for me. I don't think I'm a bad mom, there are just things I'd like to do and be better at. For example, the finding the kids  more friends that I mentioned earlier. Family day trips are something we don't do often enough. I plan to change that. I'd also like to see the ones we do have more often. This is also part of improving myself as a person. Many little things make up these two goals.

A previous zoo trip.

Daily life is a bit rocky right now. Our schedules are still being fleshed out. I had the cooking, cleaning, child care, errands and playtime balanced pretty well previously. Getting back to that will help me be less stressed and be able to fit in some of the other plans I've mentioned. The daily activities are what we spend most of our time doing. It takes up most of our lives so I want it to be enjoyable, stress free and easy rather than hectic, disjointed and craycray. Well, at least as much as possible. As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens while we're busy making plans." I want to enjoy that life and those plans.

All of this will find its way onto the blog throughout the year. My goal here is to post more, bring in more traffic and grow as we get into our second year in a few months. The first year has gone great, better than expected in fact. It's important to me to keep that momentum going. You can expect more of the things we usually talk about with new topics thrown in to liven things up. K and I appreciate all our readers and are so happy you join us for our stay-at-home mommy adventures.