Changes

This past year has been a total blur. I have been beyond busy with my family, my full time job, my house, my blog, and all of my personal issues, and I have come to realize that I can't do it all. I have been averaging about 4 hours of sleep a night, and my health and my sanity are starting to suffer from it. Something has got to give.

I started my blog to share things about my kids with my family and friends. I never intended for it to take the path it did. Don't get me wrong, I have had a great time writing product reviews and offering giveaways, and I am grateful for the experiences I have had because of this blog, but over the past several months, it has turned into a job, and I don't want another job.

For the most part, I don't let this blog interfere with the limited time I have available with my children. Since I do have a full time job outside the home, I don't see my kids that much during the week, so I have to make every minute count. Therefore, I don't get online until they go to sleep, which is usually close to 9PM. Between writing blog posts, promoting giveaways, trying to visit and support other bloggers and finding ways to get traffic to my site, I usually don't go to bed until well after midnight, and then I am back up at 5AM to start my day. I have been doing this for way too long, and I just can't do it any longer.

A couple weeks ago, I decided to just quit. I had resolved to take my blog back to just a personal blog and get rid of the business side of it. I knew I would miss it, and that isn't what I REALLY wanted, but it was the one thing that I could easily cut out of my life. I knew once the giveaways ended that my traffic would tank, and I was OK with that.

Then something happened. A dinner with friends, to be exact. One of my friends was talking about how she really wanted to do product reviews, but didn't want to start a blog from scratch and go through everything it takes to build something up. Without even thinking about it I blurted out "Hey, do you want to write for my blog?" And just like that, I added a writer here.

I am really excited about this! I really do enjoy the "business" side of the blog, and with Jennifer's help, I will be able to keep that going. I will still be able to do what I love, which is write about my kids and issues that are on my mind, and I will also be able to work with great companies to bring you all product reviews and giveaways. I will let Jennifer introduce herself when she feels comfortable with the Blogger interface and gets everything figured out, but she will be writing most of the product reviews from here on out.

I still have a lot to figure out, so for right now, I'm just going to see how this goes. I'm not going to worry about stats. I'm not going to worry about how to bring traffic here. I am just going to let things happen. I am thinking positively about all of this, and I hope it works out. If nothing else, at least I will be able to get more sleep.

I would love it if you all would take a quick survey for me. Most of the questions are generic questions about demographics, but I have added a few to provide me with some important information about how you came across this site, why you are here, and whether or not you plan to visit again. It will only take a minute of your time, and I would really appreciate it! CLICK HERE to get started.

I would also appreciate any comments about this blog, good or bad. Is there something you like? Is there something you don't like? For the most part, I do what I want here, and there is really no rhyme or reason to what I do. I would still love your feedback, though, because without readers, this blog doesn't really have much of a point. If there is something I can do to improve your experience here, I want to know about it.

Thank you all for your continued visits, and all of your support. I look forward to another fun year here at The Life of Rylie...and Bryce too!