Hi everyone! It’s been over two years since I have written a post.

I was convinced I would never write again…  but then again, Never say never.

I mean really, who has ever said “I’m never eating another cookie again or I’m never drinking again,” and actually stuck with it!

I stopped writing because I was busy.

I had my third baby almost three years ago and at the time, I put so much pressure on myself to blog constantly, lose the baby weight, bake and be creative, keep up a full social calendar, take care of a newborn, the girls, and all the other obligations …It was a recipe for disaster and even writing this has my nerves rattled… I QUIT! That was my mantra .. a lot.. and not just about writing — about many things … if it wasn’t going to be great – why do it at all?
Actually I still struggle with this today but I’m working on it! I miss writing. And I want to push forward and quit the quitting!

Recently my girls and I started a YouTube channel. The kids have always liked to bake so they came up with the name Baking Brats.
You can check out their site here…Baking Brats

In any case, it made me start thinking about my old blog…and I realized that I missed writing … not that I miss the actual “labor “ of writing- I’d rather zone out and be lazy … but I am dumbing down here with these kids! All I do is reprimand and humor an almost three year old, force kids to do homework, drive the girls to their many activities, clean, cook, bake, and deal with second grade girl DRAMA!  Yikes! It’s true what moms of older children tell me, it doesn’t get easier, the problems just change and in some cases, get more difficult.

In any case, the Girly Reports are back!
You can look forward to more Girly… less crazy, well actually still crazy, just more grounded. I hope.
Don’t worry … I didn’t quit drinking wine, take up knitting, and become boring…I’m not that changed.. still the same Crazy – just older, less frantic, and possibly wiser. There are only 24 hours in the day and I need my beauty sleep! I just noticed my first major wrinkle!
Yikes!

Looking back on my older posts, I was way too…I can’t decided on the word…Frantic, Undecided (remember all those “I’m going to quit baking posts), OCD, and Unstable.

Um…well…that actually makes me sound certified insane !

But it’s kind of true. Ask any one who really knows me!

But, I am determined to start a new mantra. Do what you can. Be what you can.

That’s it. Period.

Collect ideas, friends, memories, the highs and the lows, accomplishments, failures and be content with what you get and what you can do.  I say collect because it makes me think of collecting shells on the beach. A relaxing stroll alongside the calming waves of the sea, collecting different shapes and sizes along the way. Not forcefully digging for shells that you may never find.

 

I realize this isn’t necessary as I haven’t been regularly blogging but I am doing this for me. I am officially ending this blog and writing this last post will help. I am busy. I have three children, a husband who works late hours, and a very full social life. I had fun writing when I was less busy with just the two girls and had way less activities and had more time to write, but I’m just not interested in devoting extra time to entertain readers…I have three eager audience members who need me dearly and I am determined to focus on them and spend most of my time making them feel loved, nurtured, and important. 
Thanks to all of my loyal readers (um, that sounds so official but it really was just family and friends) which brings me to my next point- it was so nice to hear people saying “Your so funny Jill” and “Your such a good writer” and “I can totally relate” and that’s what kind of kept me going, that and just the fact that it was fun to see a completed post. It felt good, like I was accomplishing something, doing something different from the every day, but, and here’s the next but, I was compromising my home life and my family, and getting so caught up in thinking about writing and what I should write about and that I should be writing, especially in the last year…even though I hardly wrote anything, I still thought about blogging almost every other day, even though I didn’t actually write anything. 
I decided I would like to keep a few more things private, share less with others, and be more present with my girls. For a while I toyed with the idea of doing more crafty types of blogs (activities and creative things I’m doing ) and writing about the experiences but I’ve had an epiphany of sorts. The more time I spend writing for others, the more distant I feel from my own family. Don’t get me wrong, I love writing and won’t be shelving that hobby, I just need to spend the next chapter of my life figuring out what makes me and my family happy, thriving, and moving in the right direction towards success and just feeling good.

Maybe I’ll write a book when I’ve figured a few things out! Until then, thanks for reading!