Sunday Sound Out

From Chicago, home of the largest taco, it's your host, the woman who got a whole case of coconut M&Ms in the mail (thank you, Natalie!!!), Dawn Damalas Meehan! And now here are the answers to this week's questions!


You have all 6 kids in the photo! So how are the boys doing? Both are out of the hospital and home now?
Yeah, they're out of the hospital and overall, doing much, much better. Still, there are times when they (and Lexi) struggle with depression.

Ok - I will say something stupid now cos I am a mom too! Do you know your eldest kids are now BIGGER than you???

Uh yeah. Austin and Savannah passed me in height a long time ago. It's a good thing though; they can reach things off the high shelves for me.

Oh, it makes me kind of sad to hear that you'll be doing most of your blogging over there. Can't you do both, since this one is more personal and the other is more public?

Here's my nice answer - I am blogging in both places. Both blogs are public.
Here's my authentic answer - Are you for real?!!!

Yes we will go over to Babble to read your awesome writings because obviously it is too hard for you to copy-paste your writings in both places.

Sigh. That's not how it works. My posts on Babble.com as are Babble's posts. I can't copy them here. I link to them here to make it easier for you to just click and continue reading, instead of having to go over there and search for my blog (although Babble's a great site and if you have time, you should look around some!) Babble.com

How does it work? Do you just get paid to blog or do you get paid by how many people comment, etc? Want to help you any way I can so if you need me signing in over there I'll do it pretty much daily...

I get paid by impressions. For every thousand people who read my post there (by going to Babble.com and finding it, or by clicking the links I provide here), I get paid. I don't get paid for comments (although all bloggers love them!), and it doesn't count if you click on my blog multiple times a day to try to boost numbers.

Do you know where you'll be living? Are you planning a nearby moove, or is this a long-haul cross-country marathon?

I don't know yet. First things first. I'm cleaning out my house and having some realtors give me a market analysis. If I sell the house, we'll be moving out of the area. It's much too expensive around here. Even little one bedroom apartments cost almost as much as my mortgage payment and I don't know how I'd fit 7 of us into a one bedroom apartment. I need to find a place that has good schools, better weather, is not too far to come back here and visit, and has much cheaper housing.

I was really upset about moving. I mean, I'm personally okay with it because it's just a house. You should never get so attached to material things. God is all I need and He goes with me wherever I go. Still, I worry about my kids. I hate to uproot them and take them away from their friends and everything familiar, especially at this point in their lives when other things suck for them.

I don't want to sound callous, but have you thought about going back to work, at least part-time? Since Brooklyn's in school at least part of the day, I thought maybe you could find something to help you out. Maybe a bakery needs a good cake designer! Or Starbucks could be hiring to make fancy drinks. That would at least bring in a little extra income.

It's not callous. I think of it every day. Brooklyn goes to school 2 hours a day, 3 days a week which is hardly enough time to get a job. I could put her in the low-income daycare and find a job that would bring in about as much as I make writing. The only advantage would be better insurance for me and my kids. The disadvantages would be giving up writing because I don't think I can work full-time, take care of a house and six kids by myself and write. And, of course, leaving my kids (especially the boys who are still quite depressed) alone.

I make enough money writing to squeak by as long as I get regular child support. However, I'm not getting regular child support. Yeah, I'm taking Joe to court. Yeah, he'll probably be put in jail. Big deal. It still doesn't get us child support. So, bottom line is that I have to cut my expenses while working to increase my income because it's all up to me.
Don't think, because I don't write every detail of what all I'm working on, it means I'm doing nothing and waiting for an opportunity to fall in my lap.

Dawn, I am praying for you and your family. I wish I could do something to help out. Do you have any manuscripts that you could publish on Kindle? There are no guarantees, but it would be worth a shot, don't you think? Do you read J.A. Konrath's blog? Anyway, I sure wish I had a way to help. I will be in prayer that God will intervene for you.

Funny you should mention Joe Konrath. I went to high school with him, and was just talking to a mutual friend about his passion for self-publishing on Kindle. I think I need to take him out to lunch and pick his brain.

Did the bathroom project stall out? is it done yet? Photos?

All done! Here's the BEFORE picture. . .

Here's the AFTER picture. . .


I've written some articles for Circle of Moms and you can read them HERE. Also, I've been nominated as one of the funniest moms by Circle of Moms. You can vote for me once a day until the 23rd. Top 25 Funny Moms Thank you!

And the winner of my Sonic giveaway is. . .

Val said...

My kids love to ride bikes to the park. I LOVE me some Sonic!

Congratulations!