The Longest Wait

Now I know what they mean about "feeling like being pregnant forever". That's how I feel right now. The due date has come and gone, and no baby yet. I've had people, OBs included, tell me weeks ago that the baby will definitely arrive way before the due. Even I felt that way. Well, we've all been proven wrong.

It just goes to show that there's really no way to tell for sure when a baby is ready to make his or her appearance. He'll come when he's ready. Meanwhile his mommy is past the antsy stage, and has moved on to feeling that she can be pregnant for a month more and not care. Really, I'm so used to being pregnant at this point that I can't imagine not being pregnant. But it has to end somehow. Soon.

Now Blogging at 55fiction!

I'm happy to announce a new creative endeavor at b5media! Presenting 55fiction, a blog where "fragments of imagination are captured in 55 words". Along with 6 other b5 bloggers, I'll be writing fiction - with all the requisite elements of setting, characters, conflict and resolution - in no more than 55 words.

If you have no idea what I mean, here's one of my recent stories:

Midnight Writer
Up in his room in the attic, he stared at the blank page before him. No words came to him. For three hours, the silence was broken only by the tinkling of the whiskey bottles he drank from. Then at the stroke of midnight, he began to write drunkenly.

His name was Edgar Allan Poe.

I love writing these little snippets. The ideas for the stories come to me when my mind would usually be idle, such as while washing the dishes or while putting the baby to sleep. More than it being just a mental exercise, it's a lot of fun!

We are also accepting submissions from our readers. So if you have a 55-word story or would like to try your hand at writing one, visit us at 55fiction.

Hope to see you there!

Websites for Finding Part-time or Freelancing Work

Two online resources for finding part-time or freelancing work are www.ifreelance.com and www.Mommysavers.com.

Ifreelance is a job source board where you can match your specific skills and training with available opportunities.

“While many people looking for part-time opportunities may not consider themselves as freelancers our infrastructure of matching skilled professionals with real projects may be just what they are seeking,” explains Kyle Tinsley, president of iFreelance.com. “With a resource such as our site (www.iFreelance.com), professionals can find work that utilizes their skills and fits their schedules.”

Mommysavers.com has career tips and suggestions for those who want to work from their homes.

The site is dedicated to helping parents make the most of their time and money and was started by Kimberly Danger in April 2000 while she was home on maternity leave. In a section for work-at-home moms, the site offers profiles of successful business owners, provides numerous job ideas and offers many helpful articles on starting a business.

I haven't had the chance to get a job using any of these sites, so I can't tell you my experience in that regard. I just thought I'd post these here in case they'll be helpful to someone. If you have any experience with these sites, negative or positive, I'd sure like to hear about it!

via PRWeb

Mom@Home Wants to Move

I'm thinking of moving this blog somewhere else. While Blogger is easy to use, I kind of like Wordpress. I've also seen a number of nice blogs on Typepad. So I'm dilly-dallying on whether to move this to a different site. I could also move this over to the b5 servers as my personal blog, but that would mean buying my own domain. It's not too expensive, but I don't want to spend until I have at least a reliable source of blogging moolah. Which means, no spending on blogging until I'm earning a fair amount from pro-blogging. It's part of the "financial independence" viewpoint, you know.

I could also just tweak this template, play around with it. Improve it. Lots of things I could do with it. I just need to get to it.

Some Thoughts Today

I've been blogging for almost a year now. Sometimes, I find I'm not as much of an avid blogger as some. I run out of words, or maybe it's just the introvert in me taking over. Face to face, I'm not one to say much about myself. I listen mostly. My oldest friend is the talker between us. Likewise between my hubby and me.

These days, my mind is filled with baby thoughts. I'm impatient as well as patient. I patiently wait for the birth of my second child, choosing to let nature take its course rather than force it to follow mine. At the same time, I impatiently wait for the day when I can have my time as I want it to be. I'm impatient for the newborn months to be over before they even start. I have so many things I want to do, yet I know they have to take a backseat to what's primary in my life right now.

And what is that primary object? To nurture my children while they are young. To not let my other pursuits steal my time from them. I don't look at child-rearing as something that holds me back. It is my time with them, before I have to share them with the world. Some of that world has been knocking on our door already, as my firstborn spends time with other kids while Mommy goes to renew and refresh herself.

Other people are getting the chance to take care of him. And I love that. I'm proud for him to be seen and known as I know him. And yet, a tug in my heart shows me a picture of the future, when he will have other bonds that I have no part of.

I hope that my planned pursuits, professional and otherwise, will wait for me, when I will have the time and space to delve into them once more.

Jolie as Stay-at-Home Mom?

Angelina Jolie apparently is contemplating leaving her career to stay at home once her baby (with Brad Pitt) arrives.

Mom-to-be Angelina Jolie has vowed to put maternal duties before her career when she gives birth to Brad Pitt's child later this year.

Angelina Jolie, who already has two adopted children, son Maddox, 4, and daughter Zahara, 10 months, confirmed she and Pitt are expecting a child earlier this month.

No wonder Angelina Jolie plans to be the major influence in her newborn's life.

"I won't get a nanny to do all the hard work," Angelina Jolie was quoted as saying.

Why not, hey? She's a strong-willed lady, and can deal with all the dirty work of hands-on mommying (aka endless diapers, spit-ups, etc.).

via Fashion Monitor Toronto

Online Resource for Stay-at-Home Dads

Slowlane.com is for dads, specifically stay-at-home dads.

The Slowlane.com site provides dads with a searchable collection of articles and media clips written by, for, and about primary care-giving fathers. It also hosts multiple web sites for at home dads, including independent SAHD groups and several local Dad-to-Dad chapters, all of whose missions are to help dads connect with each other in their local areas.

Check the site here.