WE'VE MOVED!!!!!!

If you're seeing this page then you've gotten ahold of an old page link!

You can now find 2 Sleeping Babies at www.2SleepingBabies.com

Come find us in our new space and check out our new look!!!!

Manic Mommy Monday ~ Rain, Rain, Rain

Waiting on the rain to go away...

Welcome to Manic Mommy Monday hosted by The Gnome's Mom! Every week we link up posts that are updates about us and what is going on in our lives. Everyone is welcome to link up (scroll down to find the linky) and you can find more information on the main Manic Mommy Monday page. 

We haven't done a whole lot this week.

The rain has all the outdoor playgrounds soggy and all the indoor playgrounds filled with rambunctious kids who knock Jaron down and teach Aedyn things that he doesn't need to know for another couple years at least.

The bad weather has also sapped my energy and patience by a lot.

But on the upside, Jaron is back potty training has anywhere from a 50-100% success any given day.

I've hit a bit of a road block on my move to Wordpress. For some reason my computer will not let me load the pages consistently. Sometimes they will load, I will change things hit save and then the page refreshes and can't be found. It happens in Chrome, IE, and Firefox. It doesn't happen on any other computer. Very frustrating.

I was planning on borrowing Jake's in the mornings before he heads to work, but a couple days ago he installed Windows 8. It's not ideal, so now I'm waiting on him to wipe the computer and reinstall  Windows 7, so hopefully I'm be able to actually get things done and make the move before my Momcomm critique June 20th. No pressure there.

So tonight I give up...this week is full of appointments and activity but hopefully that means I'll get more done!

If you want to hear more about my 2 (not always) sleeping babies and the rest of the family you can follow us on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter! 

Milk Bubbles & 2 Sleeping Babies

New
Things are changing.... Guess it just felt like it was time to move the furniture around again.

In case you hadn't noticed, let me direct your attention to the top of the page ^ new header. And to either side < > new sidebars. I'll be changing some little details here and there, but I think the biggest ones are done. (If I need your button in my sidebar, let me know!)

What do you think? And for anyone who has Blogger experience, is there any way to center my tabs at the top of the page? Downside of the photos in the header, I can't find a font color that's visible over everything. I'm not really thrilled with the idea of moving them to the sidebar, so any help would be appreciated.

The Reason Why
Basically, I wasn't thrilled with the name Milk Bubbles, I love it for my nursing covers and I think it will do great  if/when we roll out the rest of the products we're developing (aka playing around trying to find something that we like and that works). It just didn't feel right for the blog. Who knows, maybe I'll saddle my breastfeeding posts ith that name as sort of an ongoing series, but for the whole...meh.

I found myself pretty attached to my twitter handle and the more I thought about it, the better it seemed to fit. The most and best of my writing comes when I have 2 sleeping babies. It's that time when I can talk, unwind and be more than Mommy for just a little while. The time when I can kind of pull things back in balance.

So without further ado, welcome to 2 Sleeping Babies!

P.S. I will be getting my own url in the next couple of weeks and then at the beginning of the year I plan to start self-hosting, opinions on who's the best to go with for that?

Questions? Comments? Complaints? Let me hear them!

Name change? Twitter or Blog?

"Painting" water on green construction paper

I'm pondering again; like I tend to do every few weeks.

I'm planning on redoing the look of the blog again. I'm still trying to decide exactly what I'm going for, but I think I'm going to make it a lot more personal. The background and extras just don't feel right with what I'm normally writing... Hoping to get on that in the next couple of weeks.

So here are questions for ya'll:

1. Too many tabs^ should I stick with just About, Popular, and Contact for now? add a Blog Roll?

2. What are ya'll's opinions on wordpress.org? Any reason I should do that instead of the blog platform of my host?

3. I really like the name of my blog and I really like my Twitter Handle (@2SleepingBabies) but I'd like to get them to match...is the blog name "Milk Bubbles & Two Sleeping Babies" too long and unwieldy? Suggestions?

4. Anything that you would like to see that I haven't added or mentioned yet?

When I first started trying to personalize my blog I didn't really know what I wanted, I just knew what I didn't want, now I think I have a little more direction, but I would love as much input as possible! I'm mainly addressing the look of the blog right now, but I'm also very open to content suggestions...so tell me; What do ya'll want to see here?

#SummerBlogSocial ~ 10 Things for a New Blogger to Remember

I'm three months in. As far as advice to others, I don't have a whole lot. Unless the others happen to the same position I'm in. So I'm writing advice that was the most helpful to me, or I've picked up in my vast experience...

1. Be consistent. Don't post multiple times in one week and then let it sit for months. Set a goal to post once a week, 3 times a week, once a day, something. Stick to it.

2. Break it up. Short paragraphs. A big block of text is annoying and hard to read.

3. Pictures! Use them! Don't over use them! At least one picture a post, but keep photo-only posts limited, I want to hear what you have to say, not just see it!

4. Keep your page focused on your post. A ton of ads or flashy buttons draw attention away from YOU. Also music...just don't.

5. SPELL CHECK

6. Proofread - Conversational speech is ok, but keep an eye on your grammar. (I need to listen to myself on this one a little more.)

7. SOCIAL MEDIA - Twitter, Facebook, Google+, StumbleUpon, whatever...but don't only use it for blog promo. Build relationships, talk to people; if they get to know you, then they're more likely to read what you write and come back for more.

8. Decide if you want to be big or just for friends and
 family. Building a big blog takes time and more time. If you can't spend daily chunks it'll still grow, but more slowly than someone who can devote 3, 4 or 8 hours a day to it.

9. Check the news, add sections on Google news, or sparks on Google+, get alerts about certain keywords. Address what's going on in the world as it applies to you. Stay current.

10. Be yourself. Don't try to write what you think others want to here. It took me a bit just to let the posts flow, I edit them for grammar (most of the time) and spelling, but I try not to change the tone. It needs to sound like you, the real you. If someone doesn't like it, you didn't need them hanging around anyway.

Check out Will Work 4 Followers; going big, fast, secrets revealed...or just some other good ideas and tips!

Anything I forgot or you want to add, the comment box is just down there \/

Share your thoughts and come join me on Google+, Facebook, and/or Twitter!

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This post is part of #SummerBlogSocial 2011 hosted by Liz and Jessica and is a response to Prompt 2, "If a real life friend approached you and said, “I want to start a blog. Can you give me a list of helpful tips?“, what 10 (or more) things would you tell your friend?"

#SummerBlogSocial ~ Up Sell or Sell Out?

I mentioned yesterday that I'd eventually like to sell ad space. But I'm not sure what I do until then. I'm not even really sure where to start.

I've heard of becoming an affiliate. I know a bit, but not much about AdWords. I don't know if either is for me. Or if anything is.

Do I build up my page and then just approach companies? Or do I need to have some sort of stats that show how likely my readers are to click on ads?

My biggest hold up with advertising is that I don't want to sell out. I don't want just any ad popping up on my page. I don't want to send someone to a company that I don't have experience with; or a company I don't trust.[

For example: I would not want an ad for Medela on my site, I have a few issues with them. Lansinoh and Ameda on the other hand I have experience with and I trust, so no problem there. Hygiea I would consider, but I'd like some first hand experience with them before I could justify putting their ad on my page. How much say do I get in what goes up if I'm not approaching a specific company

I also don't want to cover my page up with stuff. I like a clean look and, in my opinion, ads can really junk up a page fast. On the other hand, I would like to eventually make a little money for my time effort.

I'm just beginning to think about this and haven't even really gotten into the research yet, but I'd appreciate any advice or tips. How has using ads helped or hurt you? What do wish you had known or done differently?


Share your thoughts and come join me on Google+, Facebook, and/or Twitter!
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This post is part of #SummerBlogSocial 2011 hosted by Liz and Jessica and is a response to Prompt 6, "Tell us about an element or two of your blog or social media presence that you are unsure of and would like opinions on."

It's the End of Summer! Let's Get Things Started!

Ahhh, the topics that are running around in my head...

First, it's World Breastfeeding Week! in honor of that I'm hoping to come up with something new every day and am setting up a page with a list of all my nursing related posts ^ Yes, I'm lazy. I'd like to be able to put one link in a new post instead of having to link up multiple posts...unless I'm referring to something specific of course.


Second, it's the start of the Summer Blog Social. I'm really excited to participate in that at least a couple of times (hopefully more...) since I'm feeling pretty pouty about not being able to go to BlogHer this year...*sigh* I've been at this for less than 3 months and some of ya'll already have me turning green (and not #HauteGreen, Green-eyed Monster Green!) Anyway, loving the opportunity and planning on making the most of it!

Third, I'm going to try and iron out some research and details for a Babywise post to publish next week...another Why I Hate...

Fourth, I realized that several of my last posts have been Why I (dislike)... So I'm also planning out a series of what I do like and agree with. I'd really hate to give the impression that I have too much negativity in my life. Because that is so far from the truth!

So let's recap.

Goals for the week:
Write a WBW post daily
Write a SBS post daily
Research/Draft my BW post for next week
Jot down the beginnings of some Why I Love/Like posts

Ok, ready? Split!

Share your thoughts and come join me on Google+, Facebook, and/or Twitter!

#SummerBlogSocial ~ When I Grow Up...

When I was just a little blog, I asked the others, What will I be? Will I have sponsors? Will you contribute? Here's what they said to me.... (Modified lyrics to this song.)

Yes, I butcher songs, but as I was reading prompts for the #SummerBlogSocial, this one stuck out. Where do I see myself in 6 months to a year? Or, what do you want to be when your blog grows up?

This is something I've been pondering a lot in recent weeks. I got my start in cloth diapers, but I'm not enough of an addict to be strong in that niche. That I'll talk about parenting is a given, how could I not? Breastfeeding, also a given, especially since I'm planning to start work on becoming a La Leche Leader soon. Marriage? That's one that I didn't really plan on, until a post that was supposed to be about discipline morphed into one about healthy fighting.

I'm only really 2 months old, my 3 month birthday is in a week or so. And I feel like a teenager. I see what I might become, but I'm not sure exactly how to get there. I don't quite know who I am yet. Maybe that's the song, "Que sera, sera. Whatever will be will be."

But my dream? My plan? My goal?

In 6 months I'd like to double my readership. I'd like my blogging to be mature enough with enough (k)clout, that I can confidently approach some companies about reviewing products. I'd like to set up a Q&A day during the week and actually have some Q's to A!

At a year I'd love to be at the point where I can sell some ad space to trusted companies, and be sponsored by others. I'd like to be known for articles, essays, advice from a real mom to real moms. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, parenting, marriage while wrangling kids. I know that I might not have always have information or experience to answer every question, so I'd like to have a variety of contributors that I trust to handle those types questions for me.

Is that too much to hope for? Too much to try for while raising two boys? Maybe...but I've never made a habit of doing things the easy way!

Share your thoughts here and then come join me on Google+, Facebook, and/or Twitter!

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This post is part of #SummerBlogSocial 2011 hosted by Liz and Jessica and is a response to the prompt, Where do you see your blog in 6 months? How about a year from now?