I'm So Fancy. A Giveaway to Celebrate Fanciness.

For those of you that rarely come out of Feedly/Bloglovin', today is the day you must click through that wall. Because the old bloggity blog received a FANCY facelift and I'm abnormally excited about this re-design.

I knew I'd eventually hire Stephanie at How Sweet Designs again since she did an amazing job with my previous design two years ago. I mean, it was a must for me since Porter was not in the old header or profile and I'm in a major 'must update everything in the house/life to reflect Porter's addition to the family' phase.

Plus, I really wanted my site to look cleaner, sleeker, and run a little faster. Heaven forbid I stop using hundreds of photos per post! I was ready for a change to add Porter and subtract some of the busyness, and began scouring other blogs and Pinterest for inspiration.

So I created a long list of 'must haves' on my phone and became a really annoying client for Stephanie YET AGAIN, because I had so many (very specific) ideas. It all came together beautifully and I'm truly in love with the new design.

I think the new header is my favorite part. It's simple, I love the font/style, and wanted to have all of those navigation tabs on top and bottom to make everything easy to find. It's a little embarrassing to admit how happy two little bars of blog tabs make me right now. Take a look around and you might find a few brand new tabs, like 'birth stories', 'popular DIY posts', 'advertise' and 'reviews.' I also spent a ridiculous amount of time updating the other tabs--especially 'kids gear', but most of the others should all be up-to-date, also.

You'll find a new tag line that took me a solid few weeks to create;)

A new profile picture and description.

A super fancy 'Pin It' hover option over my images, along with the ability to follow me or share a post through social media. About time, huh?

I hope the new design makes the site load a little quicker, makes it easier to navigate (oh, I have a 'search this blog' option, too!), and that commenting is easy as well. Because I always love to hear from you, dear readers.

In celebration of the new design and as a way to say 'thank you' for taking the time to read my blog, I wanted to do a little giveaway. I *had* planned to do something special when I published my 1000th post on this blog but apparently that was 42 posts ago. Oops. So consider this a 'yay, new blog design' and 'yay, blog has been around for 1000+ posts) celebration. And a 'thank you for reading' type of thing, too.

Up for grabs: A $50 Target Gift Card. You'd have to use it on something fun for yourself though, alright?

Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below and tell me a little about yourself. How long have you been reading my blog? Are you a mom? Do you dig the new design? Play around a little bit and let me know if anything needs to be fixed, or updated. You gain additional entries by following me on IG @mrsjuliagoolia and FB at My Life in Transition Blog.

Also, if you have a blog and are interested in treating it to a little nip and tuck like mine, Stephanie is giving $10 off her base package to my readers until October 1st. Just mention that I referred you and have fun!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

99 comments:

  1. I looove the header. Esp the 'transition' styling. Lovely! And I smiled when I read the tag line so that is perfection!
    okay, let me see...pretty sure I have no idea, wait wait...I think I found you via Strawberry Swings and Other Things back in the new year. And, yes and yes. I write at Sweet Turtle Soup and am a mom to one little Aria.
    Happy Redesign Day!

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  2. The blog looks super cute! I am also so impressed with you that you can use a photo from your NEWBORN photoshoot as your headshot. You look (and looked) fantastic for just having had a baby! P.S. Also love when blogs have the "pin it" option on photos. Makes it MUCH easier for me to save things!

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  3. So fun!! I agree that all the little things have gotta get an update when a new little one comes! I forget things like my profile description that says 1 kid instead if 2! :) Love your blog and I can't believe Porter is already 2 months!!

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  4. I'm a fairly new reader, but I am hooked! I love the mom's make it work series - each time I read one I feel a little more mom guilt going away. I also love your writing style and watching your beautiful children grow. Yes I am a mom, only to one though so you are a rock star in my book!

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  5. I think I've been reading for three years now?? I honestly kind of lose track of how long I've been following individual bloggers. It feels like I *always* have been. The new site design looks great!

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  6. Love the new design! The newborn pictures are adorable and you look fantastic! I've been reading your blog for years and it's, by far, one of my faves :)

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  7. Beautiful! I love the font for the blog post headings and how the date is in the little circle. Nice!

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  8. Looks so nice. I have been reading your blog since CC was a baby.Keep up the good work.

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  9. I've been reading since your first child. No blog of my own (although sometimes I think about starting one). I have two little boys, 2 years and 4 months. Love the blog update!

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  10. I am a mom to an 11 month old boy and have been following you since before you got pregnant with Truman. Love the new look!

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  11. Love the new/fresh look of the blog! Although I have been enjoying your blog from the beginning! I am on STLWED.com and stumbled upon you from there. Got married in 2008, had my son in 2011. Love the new bar up top and the "pin-it" button. Thank you for sharing your life and wonderful ideas with us!

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  12. I love the colors of the new blog! I have been following you since Truman was little and I have no idea how I stumbled upon your blog anymore?! I love your honesty and of course pictures of your kid's! so cute. Congrats on your new little one!

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  13. Love your new header and the simplicity of everything. I've been reading for 3yrs since I was researching cloth diapers for my first!

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  14. Love it! I've been a reader since a little after Cecelia was born and I blog at msdeyle.blogspot.com (Living with Intention). Seeing Mr. Porter growing up makes me SO excited for our third babe coming in February!

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  15. Love it! Super cute. Sooo yes... I'm a mom and I still love your blog. I've been following since pre-baby days :)

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  16. Looks great! I like the clean look also. Very fresh :)

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  17. Holy smokes- I've been following you since before you were pregnant with Truman! I can't believe we've "been doing this" for so long. Your blog has always been one of my favorites and one I continue to read three babies later! Photographs, adventures in motherhood, your design style, it has all always been a favorite. The new design looks fantastic!! Happy 1042 posts! ;)

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  18. Love the new design...especially the colors! I have followed your blog since Truman was a baby. I'm a mom to an almost-3 year old little girl (she's spunky like your Cecelia!). Your posts about breast feeding/pumping helped me when I returned to work!

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  19. Love the new blog look!! I have been reading your blog since before CeCe was born. I have a 5 year old and 2 year old. A boy and a girl. :)

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  20. I've been reading your blog since you were pregnant with Truman and I was pregnant with my daughter. She was born April 2010. I truly look forward to reading your blog. I have laughed and cried along with you. Thanks for always being wonderful!

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  21. The new design is lovely! I've been a long time reader, since sometime post-wedding but pre-Truman. I found you through Erin's blog - in fact I'm the oddball reader who came solo to her Grateful Hearts event! It's been a little hard for me to read your (and her, and Andrea's) blog of late due to a recent pregnancy loss, but I'm hoping to come back around more often soon. :) I write about my own adventures at cozycapecottage.blogspot.com if you'd like to check it out.
    -K
    (sorry if this is a duplicate - OpenID login weirdness)

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  22. Looks great! I've been reading since around 2010 or so. It's been fun watching your family grow!

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  23. I'm a long time reader (since before Truman was born!) and I love your new blog design. Very cute!!

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  24. Hi Julia! Love the colors of the new design!
    I've been following your blog for over four years now. I don't remember how I found it, but I was pregnant with my eldest daughter and I was obsessed with reading birth stories. I think Truman was maybe three or four months old? Anyway, I've regularly checked your blog since then. I was/am a young mom, so you also kind of became my role model! Thank you for doing what you do, it has meant a lot to me.

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  25. Really like your new profile picture!

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  26. I am a mom to 3 also. Number 3 was born in May. Had the craziest, fast, didn't make it to the hospital delivery. Love having 3 and watching just how much they love each other. I have been reading your blog since before Truman was born. I work part time as an OR nurse and love reading about your life with three and comparing it to my own crazy, wonderful life!

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  27. Love the new blog design! I've been reading your blog since we were both pregnant with our first born. I always look forward to your posts.

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  28. Love the new look! I started reading probably six months ago? My daughter is just two days younger than Porter, so it was fun to see your weekly updates align with exactly where I was in my pregnancy. And she's my first, so I have been compulsively reading your archives on cloth diapers and pumping to figure out how all this newborn stuff works. We're getting there (although I'm not really sure where "there" is...). Love your blog. :)

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  29. Been following you since the PAL days ol' friend. And it's funny, when I was commenting on yesterday's post I was looking at your layout thinking Porter wasn't in it.

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  30. Not sure how I found your blog but I've been reading since Truman was a baby, and just kept reading because of your cute family and because I live in your hometown, JCMO! I saw your mom once and couldn't figure out where I recognized her from and then it clicked, "Oh, that's Julia's mom from the blog!" lol

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  31. I started reading (I think!) about 2012, while I was pregnant. I always enjoy stopping by and reading your posts.

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  32. Great redesign! I have probably been reading for 3ish years now! I love your blog and get excited for new posts! I'm expecting my first in March, so I've loved reading back through your pregnancy archives and info about baby gear lately. I briefly had a blog (didn't everyone?) but I'm not keeping it going these days. :)

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  33. I love the new design, very clean and easy to navigate. I've been reading since right before you got pregnant with CC. I have one little boy that is about to turn 3.

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  34. Love the redesign. I have been following your blog since before Cecelia was born. I came across your blog because an old college friend participated in A Day in The Life with you, I read all the blog posts in the DITL series and I knew immediately we had so much in common. I read your blog every single day. I am a once-every-couple of months blogger. I am a mommy to a boy born in Feb 2010 and a girl born in Dec of 2011. So our kiddos are close to the same age. In fact, I think our boys look a lot alike. And we are stopping at 2 kiddos. Thank you!

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  35. I started reading right before your second pregnancy with Wren (although I had gone back through to read all about Truman's pregnancy and babyhood). I love your writing style and how candid you are. My husband and I own a health club and work with lots of PTs, so it's fun to hear about your and Nate's line of work, too. Now that I'm officially pregnant with our first, I've totally been going back through the archives of your first pregnancy and rereading the entries...Julia of the past and I have a lot in common right now ;).

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  36. Your blog looks so pretty. I started reading your blog in 2010 when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter.

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  37. I always enjoy seeing blog redesigns and your looks lovely! I've been following you for years, I think I found you when you were pregnant with Truman and my first was a few months old. It's fun to keep up since all of our kiddos are just a few months apart.

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  38. I just started reading your blog a couple weeks ago and I love it! I have an almost 2 year old daughter!

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  39. Guess that comment didn't go through. Love the new design. Been reading since CC was a baby.

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  40. I love your blog. I've been reading it about three years since before the birth of my son. He's two now. Such a great resource for new mommies and so many helpful posts. Thanks for keeping it so awesome!

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  41. I discovered your blog in 2010 when I was pregnant with my first. Pretty sure I was researching cloth diapers but I don't remember. I love reading though!

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  42. I have been reading (lurking!) for a reallllllly long time but never ever commented! I love reading your updates on Porter because I have a little boy who was born a few weeks (actually, maybe less) before him!

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  43. I have been reading your blog for about a year now! I love all the pictures you post of your beautiful family! I am a mom of 3 awesome kids myself!

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  44. I've been reading since I was preg with my daughter in 2011 - I started with reading through all of your Truman weekly posts. Avid follower since then!

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  45. I'm a mom of two kiddos :) 10 and 13 and yes I have a blog too!
    kaizenfashionproject.blogspot.com

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  46. Love the new lay-out, so crisp and clean. I started following you about two years ago (I think). Found you from Erin at It's All Happening!

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  47. I came across your blog when researching cloth diapers (we love our bumgenius too, btw!)
    I don't have a blog myself, but i sure do love to read them!
    I am a mother of a 2 year old with #2 due next month!

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  48. I found you through Erin! And I found Erin through the Bump because someone linked her post about freezer meals. And yet you were a Bumpie all along -funny.

    Loving the layout and the color palette (and don't you love Stephanie's new logo??). Question - did readers comment to you that your blog was loading slowly because of your header? Wondering if I should switch to a stationary myself when I update with new photos...

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  49. I found your blog when I was pregnant with my first child, who was born July 2012, while googling breast pumps or cloth diapers. Second was born November 2013. I liked your reviews and started reading from the beginning, eventually caught up and was hooked! I've been a secret stalker ever since, I think this may be my first comment?! I do not have a blog of my own, but read many mommy blogs and weight loss blogs on a daily basis. Love the clean new look, but it took me a second to figure out how to comment after entering the contest.

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  50. I am a new reader to your blog. I have a blog and I am a mom of 2, a son and daughter.
    Kellywcu8888ATgmailDOTcom

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  51. I don't even remember anymore how I found your blog but it was about a couple months before you had Truman :-)

    I really like the new design. It is simple and clean looking, which I am a big fan of. It seems easy to navigate and I love all the tabs up top!


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  52. Hi! Yes, I'm a mom. Found you when googling miscarriage blogs and I have been following since a couple months before C was born. Your new design makes me want a new design of my own!!

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  53. I can't remember how long I have been reading...maybe 2 years?! Love the update! The picture is perfect and the colors are gorgeous!!!

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  54. I came across your blog on a random search for a "6 weeks pregnant" photo a couple years ago. I was drawn in by your posts about "Wren," as I lost my first pregnancy and related to the heartbreak and disappointment. I think it's important for people to talk about it and it was the openness of others that got me through that tough time. I enjoy reading about the joys and challenges of other moms, and I love the honesty and humor of your posts and the amazing MMIW series. I now have two children (a boy, 4 years this week and girl 19 months) and my husband and I sometimes talk about a possible #3 so all your posts on life with three are good to read! Keep up the great work!

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  55. I've been reading since before Cecelia was born. I have a 20 month little boy of my own. :)

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  56. Hi! I'm Julie, mom to 16-month old Evelyn, who seems to have the same spunk as CC. ;) I've been a faithful reader for about two years and am a former Milwaukee area resident too. I love the new design; the simplified look is more streamlined. My only complaint is the somewhat obtrusive ad right at the top of your page, but I realize that's a necessary thing. Well done!

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  57. I was born in Germany(loved your post about the german mom in america, it was wonderful,) I am married, have been reading your blog for at least 2 years, I don't know exactly how I found it,etc. I do have my own blog, but I am not a mom yet. (I am pregnant) I have loved reading all of you birth stories!

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  58. I've been googling on blogs that interest me, as I was thinking of starting a blog and maybe even a website and/or Etsy. I just found a book yesterday, it is 3" thick with all the instructions, and it was overwhelming! So I have a new appreciation for how much effort it is to have a nice blog like this, and enjoy it greatly. I had no idea how much work it is to start and maintain a lot of social media.

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  59. I love your new design! I found your blog on the old stlwed forum. Lol! I have two children of my own and love reading your take on motherhood. P.S. Your children are adorable.

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  60. So glad you are loving it! It's always such fun to work with you :)

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  61. I feel like I have been reading your blog forever:) I actually found you on the knot pre-kids, while I was searching for weddings in my hometown of St. Louis. I actual stole your colors of green and pink for my bridesmaid dresses :)

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  62. I've been reading since you found out you were pregnancy with Truman. I DO have a blog (and I'm glad you read it!) and I am a mom. Old news! Love this new design though! Steph is the best!

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  63. I've been reading your blog since you were pregnant with CC, I have 4 kids of my own, I used to blog but quit a few years ago - I kinda sucked at it lol!

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  64. I've been reading since your pregnancy with Truman. I'm expecting our first baby in April. :)

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  65. I have been reading for a couple years and am a fellow mom/part time therapist

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  66. Looks fabulous! I'm glad your E.R. scare ended well!

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  67. I am a new reader, I am a mom of 2 kids, I do not have my own blog, but I love reading all the awesome posts. I love the DIY posts.

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  68. Love the new blog! I'm a first time mom so I've been reading a lot of blogs :)

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  69. I started reading your blog about 6 months ago when I had my first baby girl. You've been inspiring, comforting, and wonderful to read!!

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  70. I have been reading for about 8 months...love the new design :) Fellow mom (to a 3 year old girl and 5 week old boy) and blogger here: http://ladybuginlove.blogspot.com

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  71. It looks amazing, Julia! There is nothing like a new blog design. It's kinda like home renovations ;)

    And whoa to your monthly stats, girl. Those are seriously impressive!

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  72. I just recently found your blog. Something about me is: I just recently had my first granddaughter!

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  73. yes i am a mom! came across your blog a few months ago! love it!

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  74. New layout looks great! Love your blog. Such a gorg family!

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  75. I've been reading your blog for a few years. As a fellow mom of 3, I love reading it! However, no time to blog, here. Kudos for you for finding the time. :) Love the new design!

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  76. I'm loving the new blog design! I have followed your blog since before Truman when you designed wedding albums for people. I stumbled across you and maritalbless and mamaathome all about the same time as fun "newlyweds" decorating houses bloggers and have loved seeing all the milestones since then. I have 2 little girls (2.5yrs old and 4mos. Old) so it is fun to see your precious littles and can relate milestones (not so much mommy wars more so ok life does get easier ;). I blogged years ago and now more so Instagram and just stalk bloggers without being a good commenter. 3 am reading lacks much willingness to do anything else but scroll.

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  77. I love the new header and design and I love Target! :)

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  78. Love the new look lady. Very clean and chic. Excited about the search feature! I was trying to find a DIY of yours a few months ago and really had to hunt for it. How you have time for all of this blows my mind!! You're rocking your new title "mom of three"!

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  79. Long-time reader here, since before Truman's pregnancy. I have 2 boys of my own, almost 4 years and 13 months. Love keeping up with your sweet family :)

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  80. Looks GREAT!! Loooooong time reader here, love keeping up with your family!! Hmmm Me I am 35, happily married from the Boston area!

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  81. Since you were pregnant with Truman! Love the redesign! I'm in awe of your continued dedication to blogging...I miss it so much but just can't get my act together!

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  82. I love the new blog design! I've been a follower of your blog for over a year now. I'm always excited when a new post come up but also love reading past posts. So happy you now have a search feature!

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  83. I just found your blog from the busy box link up and read about taking your little boy to the ER. Oh how scary! and so glad he's ok. I'm a first time mommy to my sweet baby girl.

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  84. I found your blog just after Truman was born. I think we were either pregnant or trying at that point. Love your style of writing! So honest about motherhood and life.

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  85. I found your blog when one of my 'friends' guest posted for your Moms Make it Work series. I've been blogging since I got married, and now we've got a 2 year old girl, 1 year old boy, & a dog! :) Love following along on your family's journey.
    Abby
    www.MurdocksMama.blogspot.com

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  86. I have been reading since before you were pregnant with Cecilia, although I forget how I "stumbled" across your blog. I love your writing style and all your detailed posts ;)

    Now I am due with baby boy #2 in 6 weeks - eek!

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  87. Long time reader.....I have to believe it was even before you were pregnant with Truman. I love the new look and had to chuckle at the new tagline.

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  88. Great redesign! I've been reading since you were pregnant with Truman. My first little guy was born about a month after him.

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  89. Love the new design! I like all the tabs at the top now too. I've been reading for a while, and I think I found your blog through Sara's (Running with the Law) when she contributed to the MMIW series. I love that I found a fellow Wisconsinite mommy, and yes I'm a mom too! I blog over at Cocktails & Carseats, and have an adorable 1 year old daughter :)

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  90. I've been quietly reading for awhile now. I have a blog as well which revolves around my daughter who was born Feb. 2011.

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  91. I have been reading for about 1 month. I am a mom to a 1 year old!

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  92. Love the new layout! Super easy to navigate and find things too! Plus the new tag line?! LOVE! Also yay for 1000 posts!!

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  93. I've been reading since 2007/2008ish. I think I found your blog when I was wedding planning. :) Love the new design!

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  94. I just found your blog a few months ago and really enjoy it. I'm a mom of two girls (a 23 month old and a 3 week old).

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  95. I have been reading your blog since you started! Love reading it and seeing pics of your kids! I

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  96. I'm totally using the referral and giving my blog a makeover. *geek shriek!*

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