Lately I have been getting a fair amount of traffic from some of my review posts. As you’ve seen, I’ve written several posts for the Duncan Hines challenge (I should have one more of those coming today, as well as some hopefully coming in the next few weeks, for those of you who were enjoying those posts). I also wrote my monthly review of Citrus Lane’s box yesterday. Typically, my reviews are the highest traffic blogs that I get on this site. I think it shows a lot about where we are, as people, that we want to know as much as we can about a product before we spend our hard-earned money on it.

But, because I’m getting an influx of new traffic lately, I want to encourage those of you who did stop by just for a review to stick around, and I wanted to tell you guys a little more about what I’m all about, and what this blog is all about.

I’m a 23 year old single mom. My son is eight months old. I also have a dog (Shih-Tzu/Lhasa Apso mix) that I adopted a couple of years ago, after a miscarriage, and a turtle (African Sideneck). I live with my family, who I absolutely adore. My brother is 11 years old, and he is a homeschooled student. My mother and I co-teach him, and often, on the blog, I’ll feature notes about homeschooling an elementary child, or about lessons or field trips that I found positively inspiring. I also blog about being a mother to my son, and tips and hints that I’ve picked up along the way as a mother.

As for my personal background, I grew up having a single mom. When I was 9, she married again, and my then step-father adopted me, becoming, legally and emotionally, my dad. He is a huge part of my life, and my mom is probably my biggest role model and influence in the world. When I was growing up, she did in-home daycare. I’ve grown up around children my entire life, and have always wanted to be a mother. I may not have an education degree, or a child psychology degree, but I do know kids. I do know curriculum. I have been developing lesson plans for toddlers and children for as long as I can remember as a part of being in that in-home daycare and working with children in my every day life. I truly do have a passion for kids, and you will see that show up in my blog a lot.

You’ll also see recipes here occasionally. I used to be awkward and uncomfortable in the kitchen until someone gave me a bag of Amish Friendship Bread starter. I found as my family got bored with the basic bread, I started branching out and trying new breads, and new foods other than bread, that utilized the starter. From there, I started to see patterns in bake times and ingredients, and started developing my own recipes. As time has gone on, I’ve become more comfortable in the kitchen, which means I’ve become more comfortable developing my own recipes, as well. This has helped me immensely, and it’s become another face of my blog.

My blog started out as a way to record memories from my first pregnancy. I figured that there was no way that anyone would really read it, but it would act as an online journal of what happened. Then, when tragedy struck and I lost my child, people came out of the woodwork to email me words of encouragement and advice in that difficult time. They were women just like me, who had held so much hope for their future with their child, and had it crash down on them. I took a break from writing, but truly decided that, baby or not, the blogging and the sense of community was therapeutic. I found that, as time went on, in triumphs and in struggles, this blog was a great place for me. After my divorce, my blogging picked up for a bit, but then I started seeing someone new, who really discouraged my blogging, so once again, I took a long break. However, now, in my mind, this blog has really been the best thing for me. It has brought me in a close connection with others (like some of the long-standing email conversations I have had with people who read my post about PMDD and were touched by that). It has brought me friends from around the world, and brought me so much closer to people who were a part of my world through scrapbooking websites, or forums on various topics (I’m looking at you, Chloe!) It’s become a part of my life.

So yes, I may have trouble nailing down my blog to one central theme or message. Sometimes it’s a foodie blog. Sometimes it’s all about products. Sometimes it’s about education for tweens, and sometimes it’s encouragement for moms of toddlers. But in every way, this blog has a little something for each person who stops by.

If you’re new here, or just stopping by because of a post you saw somewhere, welcome! I really hope you stick around and decide to join me here, in my blogging home. Don’t hesitate to comment or email me. I don’t bite (at least, not very hard).

To the people who have been here for awhile, thank you so much. Your support, love, and comments have been invaluable. I feel so blessed that I have a great community of people I know online or even in person (Pat, mom, grandma, this means you guys!) who read my posts and support my blogging. This blog wouldn’t be anywhere without the great people, and companies (like Citrus Lane!) who have linked to my blog on facebook, retweeted my links on twitter, pinned my posts, and just generally shown me love. I so appreciate the people who have given me tips and feedback on blogging better (like my friend Kristie).

I’m going to stop now before this reaches too much farther into acceptance speech territory, but seriously. I love my readers, each and every one of you. My heart glows when I get a comment or a new follower. I truly hope if this is your first time here, that you decide to return again.

Love you guys!