Well, somebody thought I should don the title and thus nominated From Dates to Diapers in the Lifestyle category! (Thank you, friend!) I was humbled to discover on Tuesday that I was chosen as a finalist and couldn’t be more honored to have been selected!

Now, I don’t like begging for votes, so may I simply ask you to vote for me? It really is one of the easiest voting systems ever – no logging in or signing up for anything. Just a quick click. And? You can vote daily to increase my chances of winning as Sacramento’s Most Valuable Blogger!

Oh, and lots of my friends were nominated in various categories in Philadelphia, Connecticut, Chicago and beyond. Let me know if I can vote for YOU!

Registration for The 2:1 Conference is now open!! Only 200 tickets will be available and registration is very affordable! The conference is just around the corner, is in a beautiful location, and I’d love to see you there!

What is it all about?

Well, The 2:1 Conference is a faith based conference for homeschooling parents who blog (about anything) or are otherwise interested in social media.

Who Should Attend The 2:1 Conference?

• Those who enjoy social media and want to learn more
• In the trenches homeschoolers who need  encouragement
• Marketers who want to forge relationships with a developing blog niche
• Those who want to turn bloggy friends in to IRL friends
• Those looking for direction in their blogging and homeschooling journeys
• Those interested in partnering with family oriented companies
• Bloggers and social media mavens interested in homeschooling
• Homeschoolers interested in blogging and other social media

Visit www.2to1conference.com to learn more and REGISTER TODAY!!

It seems like I just returned from quaint Asheville, where the Type-A Parent Conference was held. Boy, was it fun. But, just like most conferences I attend, I came away with some great thoughts and ideas. And, new friends, too.

New friends - Annie (@mamadweeb) and Sweet Lucy

This was the first conference that I didn’t attend alone. Well, Ray attended BlogHer with me in 2008, and I attended a few while pregnant. But, I had a little man along with me at Type-A. Definitely a very different experience. Can’t say that I would bring my babies again, but Timothy sure was a popular little dude!

Timmy and Lisa (@daily_pinch)

Of all that I learned and experienced, there are a few that I’d like to share. A few that I will always think of when I think of my first experience at Type-A.

Patti Digh made the most impact on me as a speaker. However, I heard the same idea throughout the entire weekend from different speakers and panelists. Live intentionally. Do it. Now.

Ms. Digh shared how her book, Life is a Verb, came about. When her stepfather was diagnosed with lung cancer and died 37 days later, the timeframe made such an impression on her that she committed to ask herself every morning: What would I be doing today if I had only 37 days left to live? The answers changed her life and thus her book was born.

Digh went on to identify core practices to jump-start a meaningful life:

1. Say Yes to yourself. This might mean that you say no to others.
2. Trust Yourself and go with your gut.
3. Slow Down and enjoy the little things.
4. Be Generous
5. Speak Up
6. Love More

The idea I heard over and over was do it now. Don’t wait to follow your dreams, but find the meaning in the small things in your life. And, live your life like you were dying.

Ray’s been trying to get me to realize this for years… and act on it.

Me with Jennifer (@mombloggersclub), Jendi (@jendisjournal) & Monica (@mommybrain)

The closing keynote was Liz Gumbinner – the super-woman behind Mom-101.com and CoolMomPicks.com. In response to the question of how she does it all, she recently wrote a post listing all of the things she doesn’t do, so she can accomplish what she does. She spoke on the same thing – dispelling the myth of doing it all. She challenged us all to write out our own list, so we may realize (or help those around us realize) that no one is capable of doing it all. It is so freeing to realize this. Be sure to watch for MY list.

Laura (@1momof5) and Janice (@5minutesformom)

Another thing I came to realize last weekend, was that I have amazing friends! I mean, I already knew this, but seeing a bunch of my online friends in real life, was just… refreshing.

The Social Media Moms (Some of us, anyway)

Some of my fellow Walmart Moms and me

My participation as a Walmart Mom made my attendance at Type-A possible. All travel and accommodations, including my conference pass, were provided by Walmart.

It’s time to party!

Okay, I know… I’m way late to this party. But, I’m ready to have some fun!

For those of you who don’t know me, I am Christine - aka YoungMommy – wife to my best friend and mom to seven beautiful (and very loud) children.

I began blogging when I was pregnant with Benjamin, my fifth child, almost six years ago. After blogging for quite some time I started this little blog, simply because I wanted a place to talk about my favorite products, as well as all of the fabulously generous mommy bloggers and their fun giveaways. Over the last four years it has become so much more, as I began writing more about my family life here, instead of trying to keep it all separate.

On this, my mom blog, you will find stories about life with little ones, as well as the joys (and challenges) that I face as helpmeet, mommy, teacher, and all-around go-to girl. I host giveaways and hold contests, talk about other fantastic mommies, post pictures and stories about my kiddos, and offer my two-cents on all sorts of things - from dates to diapers!

Please feel free to stay awhile, browse around, and leave me a comment to let me know that you were here… I love company and will gladly welcome a new friend! In fact, I’d love to feature some of you on the From Dates to Diapers Facebook page, so be sure you tell me all about yourself.

Well, I’m off to do some party hopping and meet some of YOU. Feel free to make yourself at home, join us on some of our adventures, enter my latest giveaways, or read the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions.

I hope you bookmark me, subscribe to my feed, or just come back and visit me again soon. I always have exciting stuff going on. From games and prizes to quizzes and special features.

Here are some other places you can find me ::

• Facebook – From Dates to Diapers
• Twitter – YoungMommy
• Skype – YoungMommyC

*Long post ahead. Please bear with me and stick it out until the end… I have a couple of questions for you.**

I’ve been keeping a web log – aka blogging – for almost six years. I began writing online mainly as a way to stay in touch with one lovely friend who moved far, far away. This friend begged and pleaded with me and, after nearly succumbing to the excuse that I had not the time, I logged on to homeschoolblogger.com and chose the username and blog ID YoungMommy.

Occasionally I would talk about products and services that I loved, but I wrote mostly about what was going on in our family, life with four kiddos (all under the age of four), my pregnancy with baby #5, our homeschooling and travel adventures, and anything else that struck my fancy. Poems, short quotes, personal stories and pictures graced the virtual pages of Organized Chaos.

Never did I imagine that, after only a few short months, not only did my beautiful friend check in often, but I had many consistent readers and would eventually be sought out by companies to help create buzz around their products. I snagged the handle YoungMommy on Twitter and thus began my venture in to product reviews and the new world (for me, anyway) of social media.

After much thought, and a few reviews on Organized Chaos, I made the decision to begin From Dates to Diapers – A blog that would house my product reviews, details about contests that I found around the blogosphere, and perhaps even host a contest or two of my own. After all, I didn’t want to inundate my Organized Chaos readers with “a bunch of commercials,” since they were, in fact, reading to hear about the next brilliant thing one of my kiddos said and not to hear about the diaper ointment I was using.

A couple of months went by. Many blog posts were written on both Organized Chaos and From Dates to Diapers. More than a few diapers were changed and a only few dates were enjoyed. I realized that keeping up with two sites was near impossible with my commitment to quality and dedication to my family. So I made the decision to merge the two blogs. And, now we have From Dates to Diapers as you know it.

You’ve seen me through two more pregnancies, rejoiced with me over the birth of Noah and the birth of Timothy, heard about birthday parties, vacations, bad days and good. I’ve shared our school schedules and lamented with you over the fact that I am so not crafty and hate to cook. You’ve seen bits of blog trips, squeed with me over meeting celebrities and faithfully watched my appearances on news programs.

I’ve blogged because I love to write, I love to talk about my family, and I love the connection I have with other women on and offline. It’s been fun these last five-and-a-half years and I have met some amazing people… people who have become some of my best friends. I am indebted to you for making From Dates to Diapers what it is today!

My love for blogging hasn’t changed, necessarily, but now I feel stuck. These last four months have been spent enjoying my new little baby and watching him grow and interact with his siblings. My older kiddos and I have had long days of school and spent lots of time just being together. Even though most of my writing took place after my kiddos were in bed before, I guess you could say that I got out of the habit of spending time virtually composing my thoughts mainly because I needed every bit of sleep that Timothy would allow me.

But, while I was spending almost all of my “free” time catching up on sleep, I fear many of you gave up on me. I know I could publish a post about what we did on any particular day, I would still like to write out Timothy’s birth story for posterity, and I have a plethora of products I need to write about, but I’d love to hear what you want to see and read here on From Dates to Diapers in the next few weeks. Do you have any pressing questions for me? Something you’d like for me to talk about?

It’s time for me to find my bloggy groove again.

I don’t make a habit of addressing articles in which I’ve been quoted, but I’m making an exception here. There is a story on the front page of Sunday’s Los Angeles Times – Blogging moms wooed by food firms – and I’ve allowed Ray to post his thoughts. Please weigh in and let us know what you think!