
Well, unlike last year when the theme could be summed up as “same old, same old” – 2008 was full of changes for me. Or at least one big change, as I was forced to leave the ‘working mom’ world when I was laid off from my job on June 30th. With that one big change, so many smaller ones came as well – figuring out how to manage being a temporary SAHM, and wondering how we’d be able to stay afloat financially. The one was really much easier than I’d expected – and as for the other, well we’re still working on it. Ron’s recent back injuries haven’t helped, nor has the need to replace our aging minivan recently. But we will manage – somehow we always seem to.
2008 also brought about big changes for me as a blogger. In January I made the small step of purchasing my own domain name and dropping the ‘blogspot’ from my (still) Blogger-hosted blog. That’s when “MomOf3Girls.net” was born. And things changed much more significantly a month later when I moved everything over to Wordpress and began to learn a lot more about how to code in html and php. I’m by no means an expert – but I can generally figure out how to do what I want to do.
And on September 1st, I unveiled this beautiful blog design by Sweet ‘n Simple Design (thank you so much, Shera!).
In May, I expanded my blogging considerably by adding my product review site at “Just a mom’s take on things…” to the mix. And thanks to the many loyal (both old and new) readers who have made that site such a success in the months since it began! I truly enjoy sharing my thoughts and opinions with you all – and providing fun giveaways as well, of course.
In 2008 I grew to love blogging even more than I had originally, and began to also learn how to treat it as a business as well, by starting to delve a bit more into SEO, social media and networking. This is something that I plan to continue expanding on this year as well since I feel that it’s really helped me to grow as a blogger and as a writer. But I want to make sure that I never lose sight of why I began this blog to begin with – to chronicle my life with Ron and the girls, to meet and share experiences with other parents, and to meet and get to know others in this amazing community of bloggers.
Last year I said ‘thank you’ by linking to all of those who helped make my blogging year such a success by what they posted, tagged, awarded or commented. I would love to do so again this year as well. I know I haven’t done as well lately with responding to comments, tags or awards – but please know that I will get to them (eventually!) and do appreciate each and every one.
So here we go…
I’ve learned so much more about how blogging, html and CSS work from blogs such as MamaBlogga, ProBlogger, Blogging Tips, Blogging Basics 101, Daily Blog Tips, and BlogCoach. I also began writing my own blogging tips series called Getting Technical.
I’ve learned more about writing from reading posts and participating in writing contests and group writing projects at MamaBlogga, Scribbit, and An Island Life.
I’ve done weekly meme’s such as Camera Critters, Meme Monday, Monday Morning Meme, Heads or Tails, Tackle It Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday, Thursday Thirteen, Photostory Friday, Aloha Friday and Weekend Top Five. I also started my own weekly meme called I Remember When…. Although it hasn’t taken off terribly well so far, I plan to keep remembering and hope that many others will eventually join in as well.
I’ve been tagged for meme’s by Beth & Cory’s Mom, Mom Knows Everything, MomOf3(4ToB), Mindless Chatter Of A Busy Mom, My Life As Mama Jodi, Amanda, The Road To Home, A “Sample” of Jennifer’s Thoughts…, Pediascribe, I’m A Drama Mama, An Island Life, Skittles’ Place, #!/usr/bin/mom, Mom of 2… (taking it one day at a time), Tara’s View of the World, The Turtles Three, Three Weddings, My Family, Mommy of 5, Earthly Explorations, Juliana’s Site, One Mom’s World, Parenting Pink, Take 90 West, Bagga Chips, Two of a Kind Working on a Full House, and WAHM Adventures. I’ve also been tagged for several that I haven’t gotten to yet (sorry!) – one of my goals for 2009 is to stay more on top of those, and I promise I’ll get to everyone’s soon. :) If I’ve missed anyone here, I’m sorry and please let me know so I can add you to the list.
I’ve received awards from a lot of wonderful friends as well, like Karen, Corey, Jennifer, Anna, Michelle, KC, Sherry, Tammy, Melanie, Kailani, Jean, Summer, Debbie, Kathy, Tish, Lisa, Lydia, Gina, Elizabeth, Lori, Julie, Jamie, Amanda, Harmony, Jennifer, Crystal, and Kim. Thank you so much again to all of you!
Several of my ‘real life’ friends started their own blogs this year – it’s been fun to share the blogging experience with Kristi, Chris, Beth, Amber, Jen, Kirsten, and Tina.
My top ten commenters here this year have been Colleen (1001), Tammy (166), Kristi (153), CrAzY Working Mom (133), deb (131), Jean (116), Dad of Divas (115), KC (93), Dawn @ Coming to … (92), and Karen (Pediascribe) (91). Thank you so much to all of you and to everyone who’s left a comment, no matter how many or few. All of you truly make this site my blogging ‘home’.
And I can’t finish this without mentioning all of the amazing blogs that I’ve been reading in 2008. Trying to recognize everyone would probably be impossible, but I want to share some link love with as many as I can. Some of these I read regularly, some have become blogging friends, some I read whenever I can squeeze in an extra moment, and some are regular commenters here that I try to check out whenever I can. And I’m sure there are many more out there yet to be discovered!
#!/usr/bin/mom, 5 Minutes For Mom, A Frog In My Soup, A little bit about me!!, …, A Life Uncommon, A “Sample” of Jennifer’s Thoughts, A Whole Lot of Nothing, Absolutely Bananas, Adventures in Babywearing, Amanda, AND SHE LIVED!, An Iowa Mom, An Island Life, And Babies Make Six, and baby makes four, An Ordinary Life, Any Apples, arewethereyetmom.com, Audrey’s Blog, BaggaChips, BECAUSE I SAID SO, Becca’s Buzz, Believer in Balance, Beth & Cory’s Mom, Big Binder, Blog That Mommy!, Blonde Mom Blog, Casual Friday Everyday, Comedy Plus, Coming To A Nursery Near You, Creative Thoughts, CrAzY Working Mom, Crunchy Domestic Goddess, Dad of Divas, Desperately Seeking Sanity, eastcoastlife, Everything Moms, ExPat Mom, From Dates to Diapers, and beyond!, From Talbots to Target, Gliding Through Motherhood, Hug Twice, I’m a Drama Mama, In The Life Of A Child, Jamie’s Precious Peas, Jane’s Blog, Jen’s Genuine Life, Jodilightful!, Just Jessie, Life is like champagne……, Life With Hannah and Lily, LIVE! and In Color, Livin’ With Me!, Living and Loving Every Minute Of It, loves flowers, Love Shak, Baby, MamaBlogga, Manic Mommies, Memoirs of a Mommy, Metropolitan Mama, Mindless Chatter of a Busy Mom, MomDot, MOM KNOWS EVERYTHING, Momma Bean, Mommin’ It Up!, mommy bytes, Mommy Needs Coffee, MomOf3(4ToB), My Joyful Life as a Momma and a Wife, My Life as Mama Jodi, My Three Wisemans, Nazarene Family Services, Northern VA Photographer, Notes from the Trenches, Not Just a Working Mom, One Moms World, Our Happy Happenings, PediaScribe, PenniesInMyPocket, Playgroups are No Place For Children, PMKU, Real Life, Pointless Babbling By Mason & Terri’s Mom, Rocks In My Dryer, Sarah and Jordan updates, scribbit, Shake The Salt, Sharon’s Blog, Short Stop, Skimbaco Lifestyle, Skittles’ Place, SortaCrunchy, Suburban Bliss, Suburban Oblivion, Such the Spot, Summer’s Nook, Swimming in Sugar and Spice, Table for Five, Take 90 West, Tara’s view of the world, The Chronicles of a SAHM, The Laughs Will Go On…, the r house, The ParentingPink Blog, The Pumkin Patch, The Road to Home, The Twinkies, The Wheels Are Rolling, The Wilson Six, Three P’s in a Pod, Three Peas in a Pod, Three-Girl Circus, Three Weddings, Two Lines On a Stick, Two of a kind, working on a full house, Up With Moms, Velveteen Mind, We Are Reilly…, WeSnLaNi, Wishing and Discovering, Working Momma 247, and, last but certainly not least, Write From Karen.
I would like to wish everyone reading this, whether friend, lurker, commenter or just passing by - the very best of wishes for a wonderful 2009. May your New Year be joyous and all you want it to be!

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