The gooroo is at it again

I got another article/blog post up at Baby Gooroo. This one was on a major Stupid Mommy moment.
I have a question for you all: Do you actually READ these linked articles or just kinda smile and skim past them in order not to hurt my feelings? I'm just wondering if I should create an article link list on the sidebar?
Ideas? Suggestions? Does anyone care?

Ok, so I'm a real freelancer

DEADLINES:
I'm not the most religious person in the world, but I do believe in God and that He shows us signs when He thinks we need them most.
Take my post on not being sure if I'm really working right now. Sure, I have semi-regular paychecks coming in, but I was really doubting my self-proclaimed role as a freelance writer. What if I was really only partaking in a glorified hobby? Could I actually call myself a Work at Home Mom?
Talk about self-doubt, right?
But the very next day, I got my sign to shut the hell up (Yes, God and the word "hell" are being used in the same post. I told you I am not the most religious one out there...) when I saw the new copies of this month's Metro Parent magazine at the gym where Mr. L. and I work out. I picked up a bunch to look through when I got home, since I knew I had a few stories in there.
As I sat down later to glance through and see what I had published this month, I came across my three stories on April TV Turn-Off Week in the actual Metro Parent magazine, and my interview with TV personality, author, and autism activist Jenny McCarthy, along with a story I wrote on how parents can help their learning disabled child foster self-esteem in the special edition of the Doctor Mom insert.
And you know what each article said at the very end?
"Pauline M. Lupercio is a freelance writer from Roseville."
That's all I needed to see.

DIAPERS:
Buttercup had me up all night. The little devil is teething again because apparently seven teeth was not enough to round out her first year of life.
What a show off.
Anyway, I finished writing at about 2:30 last night and then got ready for bed before checking on sweet lil' Buttercup.
She was out cold and oh-so-cute.
So I debated: Should I go to sleep and then have her wake me up in an hour (like every night) for a diaper change and bottle? Or should I just cut to the chase and take care of it now, rock her back to sleep, and then get a nice solid set of shut-eye?
Of course, I took the rookie Mom route and woke the sleeping baby.
The Sleeping Teething Baby.
Not smart.
And because of my being an idiot again, Mr. L woke up every hour listening to her screams. (I don't know why he's bitching though. Being "woken up" means he actually got some sleep. but I digress.) Because just as I got her settled again and climbed into bed again, she'd begin screaming like the world was coming to an end (or a sharp little dagger-like tooth was cutting through her tender gums, but what's the difference?)
All of the Orajel in the world was not going to make The Sleeping Teething Baby that Mommy Woke Up feel any better. Oh no.
At about 4 a.m., I gave up and pulled out the living room hida-bed as fast as I could, grabbed some blankets, a bottle, a diaper, and the baby and settled in for the little bit of night I was desperate to salvage.
It took her an hour, but Buttercup finally fell asleep. Thank God.
(And for the record, I woke up to her slapping me in the face with her teething toy. I didn't ask why, but am assuming she was reprimanding me for being stupid enough to wake her up last night.)

Baby and freelancing reality check

When I said I wanted to stay home to freelance write around my baby's schedule, I must have been on something.
And it must have been something good.
Seriously. How else can I explain away the lack of thought and realistic planning that went into my decision to quit my full-time job and attempt to make a go of the "glamorous" freelance writer's life?
(No interviews with Brangelina here, folks. My glamour quotient for the day was met when Buttercup smiled as her poopy diaper leaked out from one side and onto my unsuspecting lap. Oh yeah...I know you're jealous...)
So here I am, a total fish out of water.
Instead of researching things like if I should incorporate myself and what I need to average per hour to make sure Buttercup doesn't host her first birthday party in a carboard box before I officially made the leap, I am now scrambling to learn all I can now while keeping up with my current assignments and, of course, using baby wipes to rub poopy smears off of my pants.
So far, my only resource has been "The ASJA Guide to Freelancing," edited by Timothy Harper. If you are a freelancing momma like me looking for some pointers on the business-end of this line of work, I'd recommend this book for you.
You can also get plenty of helpful tips by logging on to the American Society of Journalists and Authors website.

I wonder if there is a chapter on how to type one-handed while feeding Buttercup a bottle...

It's about time

I've been sitting here staring at this blank box for close to an hour now, waiting for some epiphany to come to me so that I could post and share my wisdom with those lucky enough to come across my blog. So far....nothing.
Damn.
So I'll just have to go with the simple truths I already know:
My name is Pauline Mercedes Lupercio (and NO---the middle name has nothing to do with the freakin' car! It actually means "Mercy" in Spanish, thank you very much!) and I am currently 29 and counting.
(Cue the "Jeopardy" theme as I begin to twiddle my thumbs again...)
Great. I'm already running out of material. No, seriously.
Anyway, my status as a first-time mom kinda booted me out of my safe little haven of misery and self-imposed despair and into the real-wide world of THOSE WHO ATTEMPT TO MAKE THEIR DREAMS COME TRUE. You see, I have wanted to be a stay-at-home-mom/freelance writer/best-selling author since, like, forever. I was just too scared to actually make the leap.
Then came baby.
So here I am...two weeks into quitting my job. My house is a mess, I have forgotten how to apply lipstick, my work clothes now consist of spit-up covered jammies and I am coming to the conclusion that I should be publicly flogged. Sure, I have some steady assignments starting to roll in here (and a pretty cool gig as Managing Editor for MI Dog Magazine) but a baby at home makes showering a major accomplishment...so this freelancing thing is going to have to take some serious thought on my part.
So adding more work (like creating and maintaining a blog) only made total sense, right?
Right.
We'll see how it goes. Will I survive my new world of deadlines and diapers? I'll keep you posted. I have a feeling it's gonna get interesting.