Since several of you asked, I thought I’d share some of my IKEA purchases. I challenged myself to create a collage in Photoshop. Yikes! I wonder how much faster an actual graphic designer could put something like this together…
clockwise: plant pots // fake plant // more fake plants // plant pot // colorful frames // colorful straws // storage boxes // corkscrew // set of 3 containers // step stool // basement storage // living room storage // pillow // pillow
For those of you who follow along on Facebook or Instagram, you might have already guessed that my little family of three took an impromptu road trip to Minneapolis this weekend. This was our first time driving such a long distance with Levi, and it was terrible. Because of all the bathroom and snack breaks we needed to take, each 5.5 hour leg took nearly 7 hours, and Levi did not nap going either way. He’d start to doze but would wake himself up almost immediately and begin whining and crying.
Eventually, I moved to the back seat (on the hump–the worst seat in an SUV!) to try to soothe him. But since he was mostly uncomfortable in his car seat and just really overtired, there was little I could do except suffer along with him. (What was JB doing? Listening to his Game of Thrones audio book while driving. Lucky guy.)
Although we were desperate for a change of scenery after these last few stressful weeks, our primary reason for traveling to Minneapolis was to shop at IKEA. Specifically, we were looking for toy storage for our living room and basement, as well as inexpensive organizational and home decor items. To make our 24-hour visit feel more like a romantic getaway, we booked a (surprisingly) affordable suite at the super swanky The Hotel Minneapolis. (It used to be a bank!) We wanted to set up Levi’s pack-n-play in a separate room so that we wouldn’t be forced to go to bed when he did, but what really cinched the deal was the photo of an amazing soaking tub on the hotel’s website next to the description of the room.
Well, imagine my disappointment when we learned upon arrival that the photo was actually of the hotel’s Presidential Suite and that our room didn’t have a tub at all. No tub! Super bummed, we suggested to the front desk that they update their website, and they compensated us with a free breakfast. I would have rather eaten IKEA’s $1.99 breakfast and been moved to the Presidential Suite, but the hotel manager did not seem inclined to kick out the bride and groom already staying in it.
Despite been a pill in the car, Levi was mostly a good sport while we were out and about. (I felt like such a bad mother for completely ignoring his nap and bedtime schedule, though.) He discovered two new skills: making quasi-fish faces and drinking out of straw. At the suggestion of some of my Twitter friends, we ate our one meal out at Convention Grill in Edina, chowing down on chicken noodle soup, hamburgers, french fries and a hot fudge malt. I was so stuffed that I didn’t even want to order something sweet from room service back at the hotel, and I never turn down dessert!
Oh! And Levi learned one another new trick: How to tear out the flaps from his lift-the-flap books. JB says that it must be a “boy thing” because, he claims, boys are more destructive than girls. *SIGH*
I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling like I need a vacation after my “vacation.” But there’s probably no such thing as having a relaxing vacation when traveling with kids, right?
A heartfelt thank you to everybody who commented on my post about the business of blogging. I was touched by your thoughtful responses, especially those from readers who felt inspired to leave their very first comments. I also appreciate your tweets and Facebook posts with additional words of encouragment. I even received personal emails that were beautifully well-written and inspiring. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
While I have a lot to think about, I do know one thing for sure–I don’t want to stop blogging. I need to write as a creative outlet and as a way to connect with like-minded women, military wives and moms. I already have some ideas about what my next steps may be but am going to marinate on them over the weekend. I will most definitely keep you posted.
xx
{my Instagram photos}
This is a long-winded post about my relationship with blogging and my feelings of jealousy, frustration, competition and confusion associated with it.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the business of blogging, or blogging as a means to make money and not just as a creative outlet or hobby.
I constantly question why I devote so much time and energy into this blog. Two nights ago, I worked on Levi’s second 1st birthday party post for nearly two and a half hours, choosing and editing photos and writing and formatting the copy. The results? The post received two comments and two “likes” on Facebook. To say I was disheartened would be an understatement. In all honesty, I was hoping for more of a reaction from my readers.
But who is even reading Bunny & Dolly? And why are they reading it? What is it that I really have to say?
I assume that most of my readers are family members or real-life friends who want to know what’s happening with Levi. While Bunny & Dolly started as a pregnancy journal and evolved into a diary of my experiences as a new mom, it has also been a way for me keep friends and family in the loop. I’m terrible at calling, and mass emails aren’t really my style, but I still want to share photos and anecdotes with the people who live far away.
As a bonus, Bunny & Dolly has introduced me to a network of other first-time moms like Courtney, Emily and Ashley. The connections and, dare I say, friendships I’ve made through blogging have been invaluable to me. That said, I would love to turn my passion for blogging and writing into a profession. I would love to be paid for the time and energy I put into this blog or other online endeavors. I’ve been exploring ways to monetize Bunny & Dolly; you might have noticed the addition of sidebar ads and the occasional affiliate link. Still, I struggle to figure out how to get paid to do what I love most–and what I think I’m pretty good at doing. If you must know, affiliate advertising made me a whopping 32 cents last month.
I have daydreams about becoming a “mega blogger” like Emily, Camille, Liz, Liz’s sister-in-law Jordan, Nicole and Joy. Or like Ez, Victoria and Joanna. But, for the most part, they are all creative-types who write about fun things like creating runway looks for less, setting the perfect holiday table and hipster house tours. They are–or have become–lifestyle experts and get paid to share their knowledge via sponsorships, book deals and collaborations.
But me? I’m not an expert on anything, and I struggle all day long trying to figure out what I have to offer that would set me apart from other “mommy” or lifestyle blogs. I don’t cook or have recipes to share. D.I.Y. isn’t my style. I enjoy fashion, but I’m not a trendsetter. I appreciate a well-furnished home but don’t have a decorator’s eye. I like music, TV and movies, photography and travel but don’t know enough on any of those topics to write authoritatively on them. I don’t possess any sort of graphic design skills or the ability to create lust-worthy inspiration boards, and with a one-year-old at home, I certainly don’t have time to source products for frequent “my favorite things” posts.
So what do I know about? I know about being average and about living an imperfect life. But aren’t most of us living perfectly imperfect and average lives? What makes mine any more interesting and worth reading about?
Yet, I alternate between feeling discouraged and feeling motivated. I read blogs and take e-courses about how to become a successful blogger when I’m going through an optimistic phase, but mostly I think blogging success has less to do with strategy and more to do with luck. Luck and who you know, of course.
I recently learned that a very popular design blogger is publishing a handbook on blogging this fall. This book promises expert advice on creating and growing a blog for passion and profit.You know what I think? I think that this particular blogger, and most other bloggers out there, became successful because she was lucky. She was in the right place at the right time. I don’t believe that when she first started out, she had a formula or a plan for success. But now she is running a business based around being a blogger.
If I sound a little bitter, it’s because I am. In truth, I want her success and the successes of other big bloggers. I want to be something. I want to be somebody. I know I can be more than what and who I am right now, but I don’t know what I’m meant to do or who I’m meant to be. And I certainly don’t feel lucky.
Maybe I need to step away from the blog for a little while as I try to get my priorities straight. Yeah, right. Underneath it all, I consider myself a writer, and writers need to write. Writers also need readers, and although they may be reluctant to admit it, they need to know that they are being heard. Otherwise, they’d log their thoughts in an old-fashioned paper journal. So perhaps instead it’s time for me to start brainstorming Plan B because I’m afraid that Plan A has run its course.
PS: Sarah from Notes to Self wrote a thoughtful post yesterday also on the topic of the business of blogging. I encourage you to read it.
PPS: I probably should have mentioned that I’ve been blogging since 2007, so I’ve been trying to make a career out of this for a long time. I even started before some “professional bloggers” launched their blogs! You can see my original blog here.
On July 22nd, ten days after his first birthday, we celebrated Levi turning one with family and friends at our house in Omaha. Being a first-time mom, I was terribly anxious about this milestone event. Truthfully, I may have actually been more nervous about the party itself than about my baby officially becoming a toddler. JB and I put our out-of-town guests to work that morning, but even with six extra pair of hands on deck, we were scrambling to set up and put the finishing touches on the decor.
The party kicked off at noon with a 30-minute music class in our air-conditioned basement led by Deborah, owner of Baby Maestro. Levi and I attend her weekly classes, and he simply adores her. We sang songs, played instruments and danced with colorful scarves.
From there we moved into the backyard for lunch and water activities. The theme of Levi’s first birthday party was rainbow colors. The confetti tablecloths and polka dot paper goods were all from Target, as were the colorful bottles of bubbles that doubled as party favors and weights for the balloons. Unfortunately, the wind tangled all of our balloons, making my decorations look more like a cluttered mess than anything else.
We set up two baby pools and a sprinkler on the sunny side of the lawn, hoping that the warm sun would take the chill out of the water. Despite having record-breaking heat (over 100-degrees!), the water stayed pretty chilly. Meanwhile, all the grown-up were roasting without the protective cover of our giant oak trees. In retrospect, we probably should have moved the pools into the shade next to the picnic tables.
Levi’s little friends seemed to enjoy splashing around the baby pools, but not the birthday boy. He didn’t want anything to do with the water and only sat there long enough for my dad to snap a couple of photos before crawling out and refusing to be put back in.
We sort of rushed into dessert around 2:00 pm when we noticed that Levi was starting to get cranky. Nap time was approaching for many of Levi’s party guests, as well. My mom helped me stack the 96 mini-cupcakes that we baked the night before and frosted that morning onto the homemade three-tiered dessert tray. The smash cake and cupcakes were all made from Funfetti mix–my favorite–and the frosting was dyed with food coloring. It must have taken me over an hour to frost all of them. I have no idea why we made so many!
Again, Levi was hesitant to dig into his personalized birthday cake, so JB decided to help him out by smashing a handful of cake into his face! Sitting on our beach towel as a family, all of us covered in frosting, was probably my favorite part of the whole party (although my heart swelled watching Levi participate in the music class).
Do I wish I had done things differently? Of course. Naturally, the perfectionist (and blogger) in me regrets that the party wasn’t a Pinterest-worthy event packed with creative DIY elements and professional-quality photos. There are some really out-of-this-world first birthday party pictures floating around the internet, such as this cardboard box birthday party and this carnival party. (Maybe next time I’ll hire a party planner! That would relieve some of my stress, right?) But our friends and family seemed to all have fun, and, more importantly, so did the birthday boy. It may not have been perfect, but it was definitely a very happy afternoon for Levi and for us.
