Now that BlogHer is over, I realized that I met a lot of great women bloggers and I shared my blog address with them. Many of them may visit my blog to see what it’s all about, so I thought I’d give a small get-to-know-me post to welcome any new readers to my little old blog.

If you’ve been reading forever then you may choose to skip this post… and I don’t blame you!

1. I started blogging because I was planning a wedding and wanted to write about being an engaged girl. No one read my blog other than family members and more than a wedding blog, it was a diary of an engaged gal.  My mom didn’t want me sharing wedding details on the blog because so many of our guests were starting to find the blog and read along, so we didn’t want to spoil their wedding day fun. After the wedding, I decided to keep the blog name because it was too much effort to change it. Blue-Eyed Newlywed just doesn’t sound as good as Blue-Eyed Bride.

2. My husband and I had a very short newlywed phase when we found out about 5 months into our marriage that we were expecting our baby. Holy reality check, Batman.

3. Sometimes I say silly things, but one that I say too often is, “holy ____, Batman.” Fill in the blank with whatever I feel like. Holy traffic, Batman. Holy raining cats and dogs, Batman. Sorry for the overuse of Robin’s silly phrase.

4. Born in Louisiana, I’m now in South Carolina with my husband, son, and our two dogs. We’re Gamecock fans. I went to Louisiana Tech. My parents live in Dallas now, so hopefully that explains why I mention these places so often.

5. My son is a funny kid. My husband is a funny man. I have the pleasure of laughing a lot thanks to the two of them.

6. I planned events before I became a stay-at-home mom. My former job was fun, but I like my new job better.

7. I still plan the occcasional party on the side. Shamless self promotion: I’ll help plan your child’s birthday party if you ask me!

8. I have wild, crazy hair if I don’t style it.

9. I like silence. And I also like a night of great conversation and laughing until your sides split.

10. When I travel, my “system” gets out of whack. I’ve come to expect it. Is that TMI?

11. My best friends live all over the country and that makes me sad. But it makes me happy when I get to visit. Same with my parents and extended family. I love to travel to see my loved ones, but wish I could just pop over to their houses or meet them for coffee every once in a while, too.

12. After coming off such a long, fun weekend in NYC and looking at my planner for the next few weeks, I think I need a good cry. Just to get it out of my system. What does that say about me? I’m too easily stressed out and I’m a control freak.

13. And last, but definitely not least and more like first, we have a 14 month old son who is a hilarious, sweet, cuddly, book-loving, big boy! He makes me so happy.

Welcome to my blog. Please be nice.

Have you ever wondered how I spend my day?

All of the bloggers at Elizabeth Anne Designs: Living wrote some really informative posts on how they spend their days and I wrote one, too.

Check out my post here: The Daily Routine of a Southern SAHM.

While you’re over there, you should look at all of the Day in the Life posts. It’s so interesting to read how so many different women spend their days.

Happy weekend, friends!

One of my fabulous advertisers, Monogram Chick, is doing a great giveaway for Blue-Eyed Bride readers today.

She’s giving away an engraved cutting board up to a $50 value! This is so exciting because I’ve been wanting one of these ever since I gave one to my in-laws for their anniversary. It looks beautiful displayed in their kitchen.

Check out Monogram Chick’s engraved cutting boards here and see which one you like best.

Just leave me a comment and let me know which one is your favorite!

The winner will be announced next week. Good luck!

“Well, I’m at home all day, so I feel like I can take that on, so I do.”

This is actually a sentence I’ve heard myself say to my husband or my mom a few times. I’m a volunteer. I step up. I hear that someone is in need and I think, “eh, what’s one more responsibility?”

And then the response I get from them is, “that’s completely false– you shouldn’t be expected to do something just becaues you’re at home.”

Before I know it, I’ve committed to five different volunteer positions at church, my Junior League placement, and countless favors for friends. And to think I’ve written posts about finding things to keep me fulfilled! Now it seems I don’t have time to take on anything else.

Yesterday my dad passed along a Wall Street Journal article  by Jeffrey Zaslow that talks about how people who work from home, stay-at-home caregivers, retirees, or those that are out of work are often targeted to take on the extras like picking up someone’s children, babysitting, running errands, volunteer rolls, dog-sitting, etc.

I was really able to relate a lot to this article because I feel like in the 14 months that I’ve worked at home (and I do believe that I’m working) I’ve taken on more extra responsibilities than I ever allowed myself to do when I was working outside the home. I was able to say “no” then because I was busy. But I honestly wasn’t nearly as busy then as I am now and I’m just not sure why I continue to say “yes” when I’m unsure of how I can take it all on.

One thing I’ve found is that in the areas where I’ve stepped up to volunteer or have responded positively to someone’s call, they’re roles and responsibilities of which I feel passionately and feel that my talents can be used there.  I want to be reliable, but I also want to please, which makes it hard to say “no.”

I could list out the responsibilities and volunteer roles I’ve taken on, but I don’t want this post to sound like I have any resentment toward these responsibilities. I’m happy to help and happy to do what is needed. And I happen to love working with children at church and getting to practice my party planning skills, and I’ve been fortunate enough to volunteer in roles that exercise those skills.

But I also want to avoid being a target. I have to remind myself to be careful of the volunteer positions that turn into the equivalent of a full-time job. And I always want to have a complete understanding of what I’m volunteering to do before I do it!  I’ve gotten better at saying “no” over time, but there are also times when I don’t want to say “no.” Something comes my way that I really want to do I’m going to say “yes.”

At the end of the day, though, I still have to fulfill my number one responsibility and that’s Hudson. Even if my volunteering includes helping out with his age group in the church nursery, Hudson is still my main focus.

I’ve also found that as a stay-at-home mom, I’m a target for door to door solicitors. Because there’s a car in the driveway, the salesman, Mormon missionaries, Jehovah’s witnesses, people looking to do yardwork, and countless others will ring the doorbell and expect me to answer. And when I have answered the door in the past, it has led to long conversations where I’m trying to explain that I need to go because I have a job to do and they’re trying to talk to me more. I know that these people have their jobs and their causes, as well, but sometimes I just don’t have time to stand around.

I also don’t think it’s safe to be opening the door to a stranger in the middle of the day. Boudreaux and Fiona aren’t the best guard dogs!

There are countless responsibilities that I have taken on in the last year and there are scenarios and wonderful opportunities that I never thought I’d encounter. But I don’t want to be taken advantage of by those I work with or be seen as a sucker just because there’s someone at home during the day.

Do y’all have any tricks or tips? Any advice? I’ve heard of people that leave a sign on the door all day that says “baby sleeping” even if there isn’t even a baby that lives there. That might work!

And I do need to get better at saying “no” to the things that just aren’t important to me.