Crayon Writer is officially two years old! Happy Anniversary, Crayon Writer!

Though I haven’t been writing as often as I used to, I’m proud to have made it to the 2-year mark. Now it’s time to reexamine my goals, both for this blog and my life and hopefully that will help me keep Crayon Writer going for another year.

When I first started this adventure, I just wanted a place to talk about my life as a work-at-home single mother. But as my daughter grows and changes, I’m finding that I do too. Working from home is still my goal, but it may not be a reality in the near future.

My daughter’s already been going to preschool, and kindergarten is right around the corner. She’s turning into a lovely, independent child, who often prefers to “go somewhere,” preferably without Mommy hanging around. On the other hand, I’m still not keen on sending her to school for 10 hours a day, so I have to have some type of home-based work (along with a part-time job).

So join us in our next adventure(s)! This year, with my daughter as a 4-year-old, things are going to be exciting. There’ll be adventures in babysitting, possibly a move to a new state, interesting jobs, and definitely some freelance copywriting gigs.

Thanks for being part of our lives these past couple of years!

I’m going to break one of the long-standing “rules” of blogging. But it’s no problem, especially since the blogosphere is ever-changing.

One of the first things I learned was to never explain why you were away so long. Well, I’ve had some loyal readers who might actually want an explanation…at least, I’d want to know what happened if I were in your shoes.

When my blog was regularly updated, I had loads of time on my hands. But then I started working an 8-5 job (sometimes I worked 7 days a week), and I had to prioritize. As a single mother, when I got home at 5:30 or 6:00, my only priorty was spending quality time with my daughter. When she went to bed, it became wind down time and/or get all my household chores done before I crashed.

So there you have it! My first blogging rule disobeyed. Hope you didn’t mind too much.

Hopefully, with the help of that huge post-it note, I’ll find a way to get back to blogging. While you’re waiting, feel free to go back and read some earlier posts. I’ll be doing the same, hoping to get inspired once again.

“I’m Barack Obama. I’m the President!” said my three-year-old daughter yesterday. Isn’t it wonderful that we can finally say that one day she actually could be president?

I was born in the early 70’s, and didn’t experience as much of the blatant racism my parents and others have, but I’ve seen my share.

My mother remembers traveling down south from Michigan when she was a teen, and having to eat unrefrigerated food because restaurants didn’t serve Blacks.

My grandmother, who looked white, was able to eat in a restaurant once, while her husband had to wait outside. I’m guessing he felt it more important that his wife be able to eat even if he couldn’t.

My mother also remembers not knowing the rules in the south, and having strangers (Black) pull her off the sidewalk when a white person approached. She and her sisters also had to use disgustingly dirty restrooms because, of course, they couldn’t use the white restrooms on their trip down south.

And for me, I remember being spit on by a white man when my parents pulled up next to his truck at a stoplight. That was in the 80s, in Michigan, when I was just a kid.

Just 2 years ago a stranger, a white man, asked me if my daughter’s father was Black too. When I told him Yes, he was so happy! He said something like, “Good! Too many people try to mix the races.” A complete stranger!

I say all this to say that I’m still in awe that this country will have a Black president in a very short time. It’s finally sinking in that this is real. That people were tortured and killed for this to happen. And amazed and humbled that my daughter will grow up in this (hopefully) new age.

I know that racism isn’t gone. Far from it. I live in a pretty racist town, which is part of the reason I believe I haven’t been able to find a decent job (along with this being a bad economy…it’s not all about race, I know). We still have work to do, and hopefully people won’t think this wipes the slate clean.

But for now I’m just so humbled and almost speechless at what his election has accomplished. I just wish Dr. King and others were here to witness this miracle. What a great time to be an American!

Working toward being a self-sustaining business owner is definitely not for the faint of heart. My journey recently included starting to substitute teach again. The goal? To make some steady money while not forgetting I really want to solely be an entrepreneur.

So far, it’s been pretty rocky. My last part-time gig was as a call center representative, and my poor throat has never been the same. Working with a classroom full of kids has made my throat injuries flare up again, so this gig may be short-lived. High school kids are easier (I just shut up and let them work), but the jobs aren’t steady yet (still early in the Arizona school year, though).

Though my 3-year-old likes her preschool, we miss being together, so we taken a few field trips during the week anyway.

It’s tough. Sometimes it’s difficult to keep up, so remember that it’s the journey that counts…not the destination. Life is a highway.

Running a business is hard work, as we all know.

Coupled with single parenting and attempting to work solely from home, I’ve had to make some tough choices. Now that my daughter’s three years old, we’re giving daycare/preschool a second chance, and it seems to be working. She likes the teachers, she asks to go to school, she hasn’t gotten a cold yet (knock on wood…but she’s been there 7 days), and now I have my time freed up a bit.

The great thing about her new school is they don’t run it like a typical daycare or preschool. The kids have a general structure, but then they’re allowed to decide what they want to do. The teaching style is Reggio Emilia, and is similar to Montessori schools. I think that’s one reason she likes it. Also, her main teacher “got” her immediately.

The next tough choice was whether to pour myself into my businesses, or work on a part-time job. For now, I’m going to work as a substitute teacher to take off some financial pressure. In my free time, or days when I can’t find an assignment, I’ll be blogging, freelancing, and/or working my direct sales business.

My goal? Besides raising a happy and healthy girl, I still plan to be an entrepreneur only. I’m just taking a detour for now.

Have you taken a part-time job while still pursuing your entrepreneurial dreams? Share with us!

If you’ve been around the blogging block, you’ve probably seen those lists of things blogger should never do. For instance:

1. Don’t fail to respond to your comments

2. Don’t fail to write regularly

3. Don’t stray off topic

4. Never apologize for, or explain, an absence.

Well I’m not one for following rules if they don’t fit my situation (unless they’re rules or laws handed down by the powers-that-be).

I do respond to many comments, but I don’t have time to answer every single one (thanks for being a talkative bunch!) But I definitely appreciate them all, and I look forward to them a lot. So keep commenting so I know you’re out there, and feel free to talk amongst yourselves sometimes. Conversations are a good thing.

Writing regularly is also something I aim for, but life gets in the way a lot. Luckily I have some faithful commenters who give me a kick in the rear if  I take too long between posts.

Staying on-topic is important, but it helps when you actually have just one topic. Crayon Writer is loosely about my journey as a freelance writer and single mother working from home, so there are a lot of topics I can safely cover (parenting, mothering, children, writing, working from home, blogging, and a whole lot more).

Finally, the one rule I think I haven’t “broken” is not apologizing for or explaining a long absence. Or at least I try to weave it into another blog post, like this one. I’ve been gone for a long time getting over my first (and hopefully last) bout of the stomach flu, and it really knocked me down for the count. Coupled with moving, I’ve gotten really behind with everything.

So, thanks for your patience, thanks for still reading, and enjoy my apologetic flurry of posts-to-come.

Do you follow all the blogging rules? Why or why not?

Freelance writing is definitely still part of my life, and I’ve recently decided to add another business to my life.

I strongly want to have a flexible schedule so I can spend time with my daughter. So a home-based network marketing business is a great fit for me right now.

I might have to start another blog now, but the next few months are sure to be an adventure.

Without going into much detail about the business (I’ll save that for another post or another blog), I would like to direct my loyal readers to the Donation button in the left-most side panel. Starting a new business takes a little capital, and I don’t think I’ve ever directly asked for folks to take notice of it.

So if you’re so inclined, click on it and donate away! Any amount will be a great help so I can hit the ground running. If not, no worries.

Just keep reading Crayon Writer, comment when you feel the urge, and enjoy!

Have you ever worked in a network marketing/direct sales business?

Well, it’s time for me and my daughter to move to a bigger apartment. The next couple of weeks should be–interesting.

The good news is we’re moving from a tiny one-bedroom to a roomy two-bedroom with a cute backyard (with our own cacti). My daughter doesn’t know she’s really a Georgia peach. She just adores cactus. I’ll be happy because a natural backyard will have lots of bird life. There’s a honeysuckle plant (which will attract hummingbirds), and a neighbor has a feeder with quail and other visitors.

The bad news is that I’ll have to be without an Internet connection for 3 days! Gasp! That’s an eternity. I’ll be frequenting the local coffee shops with free wi-fi, but it’ll be a pain. Then again, moving is a pain anyway.

I’m considering getting a wireless provider so I can use the Internet anywhere I go with my laptop. It would come in handy for working while I’m watching my daughter play at a park or whatever. If you have this type of service, what do you recommend?

Every child is different, no matter how child care centers try to spin it. My daughter simply doesn’t like daycare in the large center environment, or at least not the one we tried. After going for 3 days, she got a terrible cold. But even before the cold hit, by the 3rd day she was crying when talking about school.

After recovering from the cold, we tried again. As soon as she saw the teacher she burst into tears. “I don’t want to take a nap!” she yelled at the teacher. We went for two more days anyway, no more than 3 hours each time, and she was miserable.

My inquisitive, happy, energetic toddler was a crying mess. At home she told me, “Don’t leave me! Mommy stay with me. I don’t want to take a nap!”

On the other hand, her best friend just started there and simply loves it.

They’re all different.

Now I’m looking into a smaller daycare situation, or one where the main teacher stays in the room 95% of the time at least. This place had 13 two-year-olds in the classroom, so it was chaos. Oh, and did I mention that we came down with the stomach flu after taking her back for just 2 days? Yuck!

Back to the drawing board.

What daycare situations have worked for you, especially if you kept your children at home for several years before attempting child care?

Daycare is work, let me tell you!

After just three part-time days a couple of weeks ago, my daughter got a knock-out cold. Not wanting to stress her out (being in a new place while sick), and not wanting to expose her to more germs while her immune system was compromised, and not wanting to get others sick, I kept her home.

Week one came and went. The doctor said she had a sinus infection. So I’m stuck home another week with not only a busy, play-with-me-all-the-time toddler, but a sick one too. On top of that, I got the lovely cold the second week. It knocked me out for the count too. Lovely.

On the bright side, I did land a temporary gig that will allow me to focus on getting a permanent “day job” without worrying about money for a minute. If you’re a freelancer looking for a part-time or temporary thing, try promotions work. The gigs are usually pretty easy, and if you go through the main company (rather than where they outsource), they can pay pretty well. I’m working on a promotion with AMP Agency.

So things are looking up. And I have enough energy to blog again, now that my cold is on its way out.

Oh, and I finally upgraded to WordPress 2.5. Not bad. I got my visual editor back, and I get to play with a new toy. I love new programs. They keep me on my toes.

Do you blog well when you’ve got a cold? Have you upgraded to 2.5 yet?