It's been an exciting first couple of weeks here on RaisingBakersfield, and I thank you all for diving in and making this a real, live community.  I've been loving the journal posts and comments I've been reading, and as more local parents like us find and use this "place of our own" here on the web, I can't wait to read what comes next.

I wanted to alert you early adopters to some newly rolled out features.

- First, while we're still working on our event calendar display that will appear in the right sidebar of the homepage, our event listings are live, and so is our "Play" section.  We've been adding in all the family events we can find, but if you know of any, please submit them by clicking on "event" when you go to "post something."  Also, be on the lookout for the RaisingBakersfield crew at upcoming events like storytimes, passing out goodies and the first issue of our print newsletter.

- Next, our Parent Perks discount program.  If you're a parent looking for deals or a small business owner looking to reach out to local parents, this is the place for you.  Local vendors can offer monthly discounts to RaisingBakersfield community members, and parents can find updated deals every month.  We have our first real Parent Perks offers on the site now, including one from our own Rhiannon Solorzano!

- We also have our online classified ads, letting parents sell to parents.  Our basic online classified ads are free, but you can buy enhancements like the ability to upload a map, an mp3, or a Youtube video to your listing.  So, if you have stuff to unload that you just know other parents will want, click on "classified ad" when you go to "post something."

- Finally, please check out and use our other content sections.  Besides posting to your journal,  you can upload photo galleries to our Scrapbook (click on "photos" when you go to "post something") and you can find and share informational articles, sorted by topic category, in our Learn section (click on "article" to post to this section).

Don't forget - to contribute in any of the ways mentioned above, all you have to do is register for a free RaisingBakersfield account and set up your profile.

We have much more coming in the weeks and months ahead, including our weekly email newsletter, our monthly print newsletter (which will feature photos and text from website contributions), and online discussion forums.  If you have any questions about the site at all, don't hesitate to contact me.