The graphic design and writing class taught me two very important lessons:

1. I don’t want to be a designer. I never felt comfortable with the programs I was required to use. I made great strides in the class, but knew that graphic design was not my chosen field.
2. I discovered a love for writing. Who knew? After 35 years of writing letters, memos, and work documents, I finally found my writer’s voice. It was freeing. I was invigorated. The feedback I received from the graphic design professor was minimal and unhelpful, while the feedback from the writing professor was golden.

The class ended in May. After many months of focusing on the assignments for the graphic design and writing class, I fell head first in to the end-of-the-school year activities for all three children. My son “graduated” from preschool, while my daughters finished 6th and 4th grades. School is busiest in May and June. I let my blog lie dormant for months.

The new school year was a milestone for me. For 12 years, I had dreamed of the day when all 3 kids would be in full-day school. I said goodbye to a patchwork quilt of preschool pickups and dropoffs, classes, storytimes at the library, spotty babysitting, and carting an unwilling 4-year-old to Jiffy Lube, Costco, and the DMV. I said hello to peace and quiet from 8:30 until 3 p.m.

Blogging is now what I do. Is it a job? Well, it would depend on your definition of job. My job of blogging, writing, and product reviewing fully engages my attention. While it may not be very well paid, my job is the most fulfilling job I have ever had.

Lolli wrote about her takeaway from blogging here. She listed a Top 10 list of What Blogging Has taught her in response to Mama Kat’s Writing Workshop.

My Top 10 List would have to include:

1. It is possible to discover you have a calling even if you come to it late in the game. Writing is what I love.
2. Blogging about my kids is difficult as I have no stories of pee, puke, and poo to fall back on.
3. Blogging about tweens and teens is a minefield of what I cannot mention…their names (of course), friend’s names, schools, sports teams, grades, and anything else that might be embarrassing to them. Read: EVERYTHING is embarrassing to them!
4. A supportive husband is hard to find. Who knew that my “you really should go back to work at least part time once the youngest starts school” husband would become my “let’s see where the blogging, freelancing, and consulting takes you” husband. Go Coach Dad!
5. While I can’t blog about the specifics of the lives of my kid, preteen, and teen, I can find more that enough fodder from the logistics of our daily trials and tribulations of managing our crazy schedule of activities. Have minivan? Will travel.
6. The effort required to get two sleepy headed girls and one bouncing of the walls boy as well as one resigned to getting ready for what the day has to bring husband out door makes me want to go back to bed, but I don’t…usually.
7. I have not cracked the HTML code…it’s on my list of things I should really learn.
8. Twitter is amazing. I found Mariana and her mad design skills. Thanks to Mariana I have a domain name and a header. I would still be hanging out over at Blogger!
9. While I am not a Top 10 blog, I have found a niche in hosting giveaways. I have a loyal following of people who enter my giveaways. Now if I could draw readers to my posts that are not giveaways, I would be set.
10. Speaking of giveaways, I enjoy working with brands. By reviewing products/hosting giveaways, I can combine my two loves: writing and finding out about new products.

Are you a brand or do you represent a brand? I would love to work with you. I can be reached at JillAnneBerry @ msn . com

What’s on your Top 10 list of what blogging has taught you! Leave a comment or a post on your blog with a link here in the comments. I’ll stop by and read it!

All kidding aside I do take my responsibilities as a citizen and a human being seriously. With my second and third children I was the grateful recipient of several cooked meals. I was stunned at the numbers of people who thought to cook dinner for us. I have paid this forward by helping out others who have had a baby or in the case of one person dealing with a house fire that destroyed part of their house. Making a meal or buying a pizza for someone is something that I can do.

I’ve been in my house since ‘94. Before we even put down a deposit we met the neighbors across the street, an older semi-retired couple. This couple let us walk-through their house since we were planning to build the same model. We got a few ideas by looking at their house. Our neighbors were helpful to us in many ways. In fact, several days after the builders put the frame up for our house (a big milestone that I missed seeing), my neighbor handed me some photos he had taken of the construction. I was thrilled as I had missed this big event in the construction of our house because of a pesky thing called work. Think: barn raising in Witness! These photos have pride of place in the photo album showing home’s construction.

I had not seen my neighbor for a few months when in the summer I happened to see his daughter getting the mail and newspaper. I was worried since our neighbor never missed walking during the day. His daughter said that my neighbor was now in an assisted living facility due to health issues. I was shocked. His wife had had some troubles of her own. She was on oxygen 24/7 due lung issues. I was floored. How could so much happen to this couple in just a few short months? And, how had I not noticed? I made the obligatory “what can I do to help” offer. His daughter said everything was under control since two other daughters lived close by.

I was not comfortable doing nothing, but wondered what I could do. On trash day I knew what I needed to do. I called my neighbor to see if she would like me to come and get her trashcan each trash day. She was happy I called since the trashcans are heavy to pull especially if you are not well.

We have made this a family project. On trash and recycling day I take the trashcans down. My children take our trashcans and those of our neighbors back up the driveways. I also bring her newspaper up each day. The system is working well. If one of her relatives has already dealt with the trash she will call me. It isn’t much, but it is something we can do as a family to give back.

Check out: http://www.startwithsubstance.com and http://blog.parentbloggers.com

This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by The Quaker Oats Company.

However, I can strive to “live my best life.” For me, I will focus on the following New Year’s Resolutions:

• Clean up dishes, load dishwasher, clean kitchen floor at night…don’t leave everything until morning. I always feel so behind when I get up and see dishes and pans to be scrubbed.
• Meal plan, grocery shop, and make crockpot meals weekday nights…we are busy Monday through Thursday with activities. Dinner is often thrown together, but with a little pre-planning I could make my evenings less stressful.
• Win a vaccum in an online giveaway…I am only half-joking about this one. My vacuum will only work with the hose attachment. I’m a vacuum killer!
• Limit toys in family room…I want to have one small set of toys for my 5 yo son. We don’t have enough room to play a game or the wii. Also, the room is so cluttered that I can’t watch a movie or read a book after the children go to bed.

Thanks, Ellen (http://www.thriftyandchicmom.com/) for this great idea for a topic. I’m a new blogger and get some traffic, but would like to have more returning visitors. See you next Friday or maybe even Saturday if you like what I have to say!

• Wash dinner dishes at night instead of the next morning.
• Clean kitchen floor weekly.
• Continue my policy of not stacking papers everywhere.
• Open mail, purge, pay, file.
• Make more crockpot meals.
• Grocery shop more regularly.
• Hold a yard sale in Spring and get rid of extra ride-on vehicles no one rides.
• Find an income source…get a job or turn a profit with this blogging thingie
• Post daily or at least three times a week over at www.typeamom.net
• Post daily or whenever possible at www.addsyou.com
• Post articles on www.BlogHer.com
• Doing something with this hideous blogger template…a new blog header, three common format, purchase a domain name, get a background.

1. Write a post on your blog filling in the sentence–I Need……
2. Leave me a comment letting me that you are playing along, that way I can go check out your list and see if I “need” to steal any of your “needs”.
3. Your list can be short or it can be as long as you like.
4. Have fun, get creative.

I need…

1. To figure out what I am doing with my life now that my youngest is in kindergarten. Am I content to be a SAHM mom or should I go back to work or should I find at-home freelance work. I obviously need to make a decision, as well.

2. To teach my children to notice the following: unmade bed, laundry on floor of closet, dirty laundry on floor of bedroom, dirty dinner plate on table, back pack on floor, shoes not in cubbies in garage, coat not hung up. And the ever-popular…that Mommy is on the phone and cannot answer your question at this time.

3. To get a grip on the clutter within my house. I have a basement storage room that is filled to capacity with Christmas decorations, Halloween decorations, more Easter bunnies than is necessary, craft supplies, memorabilia from my childhood, my husband’s stuff from his parent’s house, clothes dating back to the 80s, two nonfunctioning stereos with nonworking turntables, computer games from the 90s. Oh, and 150 LPs and 100 7″ singles that are useless since both turntables do not work.

4. To find a way to get more people to read my blog. Seriously folks, I think my blog is the blog less travelled. I hear crickets chirping. How do I get people to read my blog?

I know there are more things that I need, but it is late and I need to get to bed.

5. To make a decision about whether I want to let my family and friends know that I have a blog. So far, only people I have befriended on the internet know that I blog.

I’d like to become a blog much visited, until then I will be content to write everyday about my life for any and all to read.

Life Lessons from Mom on the Run

1. It is perfectly fine to wear maternity clothes for a year after the baby. If you are still wearing maternity clothes two years after having a baby, go and buy yourself some clothes that fit.

2. Wearing makeup is not mandatory.

3. Don’t wear uncomfortable shoes.

4. When you promise to do something with your children follow through. Children always appreciate any time you spend with them no matter how little.

5. Your house will always need cleaning, but when your child asks you to play with them…drop the mop and play.

6. Make your morning routine simple. Let children have responsibility for toothbrushing, dressing when they are able.

7. The mom in the white outfit and high heels is not to be envied, but pitied. She is missing out on her child’s finger painting activities.

8. Beware of friends who want you to carpool to children’s activities, to loan them items, or to babysit their children. This type of person is not a friend, but a person who wants to use you. Pick friends who are interested in you and your children, not what you can do for them.

9. Teachers are not God. The teacher may have your child in their classroom for the entire day, but they do not know what is best for your child. Be your child’s advocate in school. Stand up to teachers who would rather not have one more child/desk in their classroom.

10. Grandparents are very special people in your child’s life. If a grandparent wants to allow your child to do something that you are not O.K. about, pick your battles. If the activity is unsafe, express to the grandparent that you would rather not have your child play in a baby walker. If the activity is something you would rather they not to do, tell your child that they can do the activity at Grandma’s house, but not at your house. My mother let my child play with water in the kitchen sink, whereas I thought this activity was too messy.

Remember, have fun!

Husband is exerting a little pressure through his “look for a job” conversations. I have applied for two jobs, but frankly my requirements for a job are limiting my choice. Must have school hours, not a home-based job, and not requiring afterschool care. So I am left with nothing. Oh, I know that there is something out there for me. Just need to give myself this semester to enjoy my time alone.

In my defense the house has never looked cleaner and I am cooking meals from scratch, which is a bonus since we need to eat dinner at 4:30 due to afterschool activities.

Check back with me in December or next week if husband’s hints get more intense.

1. Spending too much time on PC…twitter…Facebook.

2. Searching for part-time jobs that would fit school schedule. Applied to 2 jobs.

3. Dealing with school nonsense.
5th grader: needs to learn how to write an essay…why has she never been taught this? Think 4th grade was a waste…teacher read to children constantly, but did not teach writing. Why is this? I think the 4th grade team at my children’s school is in trouble. My push to get my daughter moved to a higher reading group has stalled. May need to find another solution. I am worried about middle school for her. Trying, but not succeeding, to not fret/overanalyze/worry about her.

Kindergartner: Loves school. Reads more words each day. I don’t hear many things about his day. I worry that he is not getting the math instruction. He can do simple math facts…not sure if math has begun for him at school…perhaps math is interspersed throughout the day…don’t want him to lose ground.

7th grader: So, what about the 7th grader… The child I worry about constantly…the child who has given me a run for my money…the child who has caused more than a few gray hairs. This child has all As, except for a C in math. Last year was a nail biter with so-so grades in math and missing assignments. This year she seems to have put it all together. I am so proud of her.

Also, for years she has had the same group of 4 or 5 friends. Lately I have noticed her talk about these girls less and less. I thought she meshed with them, but she has mentioned reading a book or sketching while her friends talk at lunch. I think she feels left out of the conversation. For one her friends are allowed to watch ANYTHING on TV or at the movies. Her friends are very boy crazy and in to cheerleading as well–too things she is not obsessed with. Seriously, PG-13 movies…questionable TV shows. I am not a prude but I have to draw the line somewhere. Well, a few weeks ago her friends went to see “House Bunny,” a PG-13 movie. After the fact my daughter mentioned that she was sad that she could not go as the movie was PG-13. I told her that I wasn’t happy with the movie’s message. The funny thing is that she did not even ask me if she could go…she assumed I would say no. I told to her always come to me so that we can discuss. Well, I think she is testing out the waters with another group of friends to see if she has more in common with them. I am proud of her for branching out and meeting other people.

4. Decluttering my basement. Goal: trying to see how many toys I can consign or toss without my children noticing. My children have eagle eyes when it comes to their stuff. People I am playing with fire here!

5. This is a big one…trying to decide what I will do with the rest of my life, now that I know that graphic design is not my thing. Last year I was in a graduate graphic design program…it was a nightmare. I need to do a post on the craziness I enfured from January through May 17.