07.30.10

Featured TMC Blogger: Mom-Nom

TMC welcomes Tiffany, author of the blog Mom-Nom. I met Tiffany through this very community and have enjoyed watching her blog evolve in such a short time. She even made the smart move to WordPress not too long ago! She also has an amazing story to tell and this is why I adore her blog so much. Like so many other TMC women, she is an honest and open blogger, telling the truth even when it hurts. So be sure to check her out and read her compelling story. This is how she describes her blog in her own words:

“Hi. I’m Tiffany and I’m addicted to social media.

When I’m not twittering until my fingers bleed or hiding in the bathroom with my laptop so I can blog without my husband calling me an internet weirdo, I can be found enjoying the company of my family – Mr. B, my son, Bubs & daughter, Bubbette {names have been changed to protect the innocent.} 

I started Mom-Nom.com in November 2009 {Originally titled: Feels Like Home} as a way to relieve stress and work out anxiety after nearly losing Bubs in a motorized vehicle accident in July 2009. And slowly but surely it has morphed into a place where I discovered my voice, my personal anthem and my strength.

Which may sound cheesy, but I kid you not, it’s true.

At the time of the accident I was 39 weeks pregnant and we had been living in our first home about a month, so you can imagine the stress I was under.  After taking some time to heal {all of us}, post accident & c-section, I returned to work and found myself dealing with a wide variety of emotions, which led me to the world wide web…which led me back to The Bump {where I frequented before the accident. don’t judge me.}…which led me to blogging.

I started out aimlessly writing about my family and lifestyle and I thought people might care to hear our story and how crazy I was becoming. {Britney Spears is a great example of how people love to watch someone completely lose it. I thought I had that going for me…}  I let my warped sense of humor lead the way and rambled on and on about pregnancy tests failing me and getting knocked up every time I laid down.  I talked about my lack of a sex life and how I lost it…a little.

And yet, eight months later I’m still blogging. {Imagine that!} But now people actually read it. And some brave souls actually comment. Bless their hearts.”

Be sure to check out the blog and follow her on Twitter!

New to TMC? Join us! We LOVE new members!

*Instead of leaving a comment here, please show some love directly on the blog of the Featured TMC Blogger. Have a great weekend ladies!

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07.28.10

Keeping Your Sanity

As much as I love the summer sometimes I feel like it’s one of the busiest times of the year. In recent weeks I have found myself caught between 900 pool parties, baptisms and other commitments in the midst of managing the blog and working from home. {And let’s not forget that my son is not in pre-school during the summer months and I need to entertainment him 99% of the day and my 22 month-old daughter is at just, well, at a really F-U-N age.}

So as super busy moms, here are my top three tips for staying sane and striking some sort of balance among the chaos called summertime:

1. Make Daily To-Do Lists: Time management is the secret to maintaining some sanity and I am such a list girl. I swear by them. I actually handwrite and prioritize what I need to do on each given day. The key to implementing the list effectively is whatever does not get done by the end of the day is the FIRST thing to be placed on the new list for the next day. I prioritize tasks from everything related to work, home, the blog as well as personal commitments. It takes me roughly ten minutes to create the list each day (which I recommend drafting the night before so you anticipate the next day’s activities and schedule) and it’s the most organized, productive and well spent ten minutes I make each day. It keeps me organized, on target and sane.

2. Learn to Say No: I have such a Type-A personality so I have struggled with this but ever since the birth of my second child I truly have learned the power of “no.” There just isn’t enough time to commit to everything without feeling stressed out so it IS totally ok not to attend that invitation to a pool party or summer BBQ. It’s ok to delegate some tasks out to others and not take on so much yourself. It’s ok not to cook one evening if you are tired – I can’t tell you how much easier my evening is with the kids when I don’t have to cook. Order out or eat out with the family and give yourself a break. 

3. Take a Time Out: Every mom needs some time alone without having to worry about a sippy cup falling out of the purse {unless it looks like this} or a diaper needing to be changed. I have said from day one on this blog that I’m a better mother when I have time to regroup and re-energize. So be sure to grab some “me” time and put yourself back on the list because you certainly deserve it.

And if all else fails? Drink some red wine – it’s guaranteed to keep you sane, one beautiful glass at a time.

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07.25.10

Theta Mom’s Audition: Project Mom Casting

Many of you have heard the news by now that Project Mom is casting mom bloggers for an upcoming reality show. You can submit your own entry by July 26th. So here you will find my audition for this project, a story I am so proud to share. Whether you are an avid Theta Mom reader or a vistor for the first time, I hope you enjoy learning a little more about the woman behind this blog. {And I would love, love, love for you to either leave a comment here, retweet and/or like this post on Facebook – I really appreciate your support!}

This is me. This is my voice. 

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07.23.10

Featured TMC Blogger: Parenting Confessions

Today, I am excited to have TMC welcome Melinda, author of the blog Parenting Confessions. Melinda and I actually began blogging around the same time and she has been an avid Theta Mom reader ever since. What I adore about Melinda is that she encompasses every quality of a Theta Mom. She knows motherhood is not perfect and completely embraces this on her blog. Melinda is an excellent writer who creates heartfelt, meaningful posts that keep her readers coming back. One visit to her blog and you will see how genuine she is! Here is how she describes her blog in her own words:

“Hi! I’m Melinda and I’m an imperfect parent. Shocking, right? But I can’t tell you how long it took this recovering perfectionist to confess that simple, ridiculously obvious fact – and how downright freeing it felt once I finally did.

If you had “met” me a few years ago, you would have found me working overtime to earn my “Mommy of the Year” credentials. Not an easy task when you’re chasing a tantruming two-year-old through the aisles of Books-A-Million as she screams like a banshee. Or when your little boy walks into the church auditorium with his underwear around his ankles. Perhaps these should have been early clues that my carefully constructed “Stepford Family” façade would be reduced to rubble.

Maybe it was the exhaustion of trying to keep up an “image.” Or maybe I realized the sheer absurdity of trying to achieve parental perfection, but I finally embraced God’s grace – along with the messiness of raising two very strong-willed, independent children.

I’m mom to a beautiful, spirited, hysterically funny 13-year-old daughter. Now I’m the one who embarrasses her. (Revenge is sweet.) I also have an amazing 10-year-old son with cystic fibrosis who inspires me everyday – and still agrees to be seen with me (for now).

As a freelance writer, starting a blog seemed like a natural way to “come clean” about my parenting shortcomings and challenges and share what God is teaching me. My hope was that it would inspire other moms to share their struggles and hard-won wisdom, too. From day one, I’ve felt an incredible sense of community and support. I’d love it if you stopped by! I only have one rule: No perfect parents allowed.”

So be sure to check out the blog and follow her on Twitter!  

New to TMC? Join us! We LOVE new members!

*Instead of leaving a comment here, please show some love directly on the blog of the Featured TMC Blogger. Have a fabulous weekend ladies! 

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07.20.10

Real Connections with Bloggers

I found myself washing dishes in my kitchen recently thinking about a well written post I read earlier that day as well as the blogger behind that blog. Helene was one of the first people I “met” when I started my blog. In fact, she was one of the very first peeps to ever even comment on my blog other than my mom.

But what really made stop and think is the fact that there I was – standing in my kitchen over 3,000 miles away thinking about someone I never even met in real life.

The reality is, I probably wouldn’t even know her if she passed me on the street. But what I do know about her are the life stories that she shares including her family, as well as who she is as a person because I have read her blog. I never had one single phone conversation with Helene but we’ve had many conversations together through our blogs. It made me realize that these connections we make in the blogosphere with one another are real even though we have never officially “met” the old fashioned way.

This also got me thinking about Brittany, my very first follower and I feel like I have known her for years. She is also someone I have never met in real life but I was there for the birth of her third child {thanks to twitter} and I could tell you everything about her adorable kids and life in the south.

However, there are two bloggers I actually have met in real life. Corine and Jessica were everything I thought they would be. I could easily talk with these ladies for hours on end and they certainly set the meeting-a-blogger-for-the-first-time-in-real-life standard so I guess I have some high expectations for those I anticipate meeting in the future.

I’m so reflective about this right now because I am about to attend BlogHer, one of the biggest conferences of the year in a matter of weeks. I will have the opportunity to meet some of the very women I have connected with over the last year in the bloggy world and that thought alone is ridiculously exciting.

I was tweeting with Alexis and Loralee and recently chatting with Loukia, Maria and LZ and these conversations solidified the fact that this will be one hell of a memorable two days for me – because I will be shaking hands, smiling and hugging the very peeps who I have formed some really great relationships with.

I cannot wait to arrive at this event, share tons of smiles and ultimately speak the words, “Hi, I’m Heather. It’s so nice to meet you.”

I know many of my bloggy friends will not be attending conferences or other platforms to meet other bloggers in real life this year – but my point in writing this post was to share my perspective that I do believe these relationships and connections that are made in the blogosphere are VERY real – whether you have met the blogger(s) in real life or not. Do you agree? What’s your take on your relationships and connections made with bloggers that you “meet” in the blogosphere?

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