Mommy Words Blog Planner Review

My first task as a member of the Mosaic Reviews team was to try out and review a Blog Planner.  We had several to choose from.  At first I was not keen on the idea.  After all, I feel that I am very organized in most aspects of life, and have my life planned in detail on my iPhone calendar which can be accessed from my iPad as well as any computer.  Why go all archaic and go back to paper?   That being said, I have also been a neglectful blogger, going weeks, even months, in between posting on my blog.  As I was going through the different Planner sites we could choose from, it began to dawn on me that there IS something to this blog planning, it COULD help me be a more purposeful blogger, more dedicated, and more scheduled.  But I'm still not keen on doing alot of printing, so I found THE perfect blog planner for me from Mommy Words:
  Weekly Blog Planner by Mommy Words

I love this planner.  It's one page per week.  It has a line for each day, so you can plan out your daily posts that week, and even put what cateogory it goes  under on your blog (if you have categories, which I currently don't).


What I especially love is the To-Do list, which has such topics as Backup, Check Links, Reply to Comments, and several more.  I thought that was brilliant.   It's there and you see it every day and see it needs to be done until you check it off.  Can't get a more visual reminder than that!  Replying to Comments is a big one for me, as I get email notifications when someone leaves a comment on my blog, and I have to actually go in and approve it (keeps away the creeps!).  It'd be nice and friendly if I replied to those kind enough to leave comments :)

The blog planner has Communication-Reach Out section to list who you might need to contact that week regarding blogging. I used this space to remind myself to check out some of my friends blogs and leave comments.  In the blogging world, this is like giving a thumbs-up or pat on the back, for a blogger to know that someone is actually reading their work. 

There is also a Notes box....love this!  Random notes pertaining to my blogging and Mosaic Reviews work that may not fit into another category. 

The Blog Planner from Mommy Words was so good for me, and serves it's purpose well.  Not too much printing, so I didn't feel like I stepped back into the Stone Age, one sheet a week that was very direct and to the point, and not too many graphics/colors to eat up my ink.   Best of all, I've actually used it!  Two thumbs up!!

Compassion.

Hmm, so some updates.

My son did not make his high school baseball team.  That was disappointing for him (and for us!).   But life sometimes works that way, and it's a situation to learn a lesson from.   As we've told him, sometimes that just means you are destined for an alternate journey.   The baseball doors aren't closed for him, as I mentioned prior, he's on a travel team and is currently practicing twice a week with them.  This team will get him exposure to college scouts, in the next few years, if that is a path my son chooses to pursue.  And of course, there's always next year!

I chose to leave my prior contract for work and just focus on my newest client.  That is a huge relief, to be able to just do that one contract, and fulfill my obligations with them, versus having to split between two clients and fulfill neither obligation.  Life is so much better in that aspect.

Cold!  So I'm over the winter!!   I don't want to say it out loud, because I know come about August, I'll be over the heat, but I'm going to say it anyway.  I'm done with the cold, dreary, drizzly days we've had for the last month.  Thankful that we live in an area where winter is relatively short and mild, though, as spring should be peeking out in the next few weeks.  Did that groundhog guy say that?

I've received some new products recently to use and review with my family as a member of the Mosiacs Review team.  Excited to share with you all the juicy tidbits in the next few months!

Last week we celebrated my middle child's 10th birthday!  Can't believe he is ten!  This time of year, all the memories of being pregnant with twins, going into premature labor, having my boys in the NICU, and losing one of my babies come flooding back.   This time of year, more than any, makes me stop and reflect on life and cherish the moments that we have together.  While I would never wish my experience of losing a child on anyone, I do know that overall, it made me a better person.  I know it made me stop the race of life, and focus on the important things.  It made me more compassionate for other people, realizing that we often do not know what others are going through in life when we see them, or meet them for the first time.  I spent the first few years after my twins were born, and losing one, in a fog.  I know I probably handled many situations wrong, and didn't cope well.   Many people didn't know what I was going through after the inital days of losing my baby, didn't see through the surface of pasting a smile to my face, or didn't choose to look.   I used to be like that.  I used to judge based on the surface.  Now, I know there's so much more below that, and that is where I like to focus my attention.   Compassion is what I gained from that traumatic, life-altering experience.