“My name is Allison, a slightly OCD momma and the mother of one speedy going-on-three big boy. Seriously, I’ve never seen a toddler move this fast. He’s the main source of my frustration and brings more happiness to my life than even an afternoon alone at Starbucks {peppermint mocha please}.

In the few moments that I have to myself you can often find me, camera in hand, snapping away. I love photography and have dreams of opening an online note card store. Some day. When I work up the courage to do it.

If I’m not annoying my child with the endless photos I take, I’m often cooking and baking. It’s one of the things that has helped me find myself, the part of me that’s not a mom, since I’ve become a stay at home mom. I love, love creating something new, especially when chocolate is involved.

I love blogging. I’m not a veteran but I’m not a newbie either. I’m in that period where I’m comfortable with my voice and developing a wonderful community.  Blogging has opened the door to so many friendships and opportunities that I didn’t even know existed before I joined the blogosphere. To be able to connect with people across the country and across the world is simply amazing to me. I hope that you will pop over and visit. Grab a cup of coffee and get to know me! I’ll stop by and get to know you too. I like new friends.”

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

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

*I will not be featuring a TMC Blogger for the next two weeks due to Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. We will pick back up with the fabulous features in 2011! Thanks for your continued support of this wonderful community and have a fantastic weekend ladies!

“My name is Jackie and I’m the voice behind With Just a Bit of Magic. I started my blog this year and it’s grown much faster than I had expected. But I love it and wouldn’t change it! I started blogging as a way to document the happenings in my life and that of my family and to hopefully share them with family near and far. 

I have four wonderful children that are everything in the world to me and more. The oldest is my daughter Caitlin who is 15. She’s smart, snarky, and full of potential and dreams for her future. Natalie is next and she’s 11 but you wouldn’t guess that by looking at her. She’s almost as tall as I am! Natalie was always a quiet child who was content to play alone and color or draw at the table but as she’s gotten older she’s also gotten louder and much more outgoing. She’s just as smart & snarky as her older sister. Lauren is my little girly girl and at 8 years old she still lets me pick out cute dresses for her and she happily wears them. I love it! The youngest of all is Andrew at 10 months. He’s a very busy baby! He’s all boy and I swear if I had him first I would never have had another child!

I’m still working on finding my voice on my blog and I’ve met so many wonderful, helpful, and amazing people as I make my way through the blogging world and I don’t know what I’d do without all of them! I’ve learned a great deal and continue to do so daily.

When Heather contacted me about being the featured blogger at Theta Mom I was super excited! There are so many great bloggers out there that are amazing people who have helped me along the way and if it weren’t for them I wouldn’t be here. So to everyone who has ever helped me, thank you!”

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

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

*In order to be considered as a future Featured TMC Blogger, you must be a member and leave a comment on the blog of the current Feature Blogger. Have a fantastic weekend ladies!

“I am the mother of a beautiful six-year old girl with Asperger’s. While she has her challenging moments, she’s also incredibly brilliant and fun. I started the blog as a way to celebrate the quirks of these marvelous kids! I’m not always successful at keeping the tone of the blog upbeat. However, I do think I succeed most of the time! We’ve been truly blessed in that my daughter has been doing so well. She’s been doing well both academically and socially at school. While she will always have her challenges–particularly when things do not go her way–she’s been doing better at learning to cope when she gets frustrated.

Initially, I didn’t even intend to blog. I wanted to start a website where people could share the positive aspects of their children with autism. I was also hoping to have people share the service providers that they liked. My husband suggested that I also include a blog with this site. My reaction to this was, “Blech! I hate writing!” I quickly found that I wasn’t very adept at getting a forum site going. I had also seen the movie “Julie and Julia” and really loved the way Julie blogged about her cooking and life experiences. It really motivated me to start the blogging aspect of my site. This was back in February and I’m still only blogging. I’ve never pursued the rest of the website I had envisioned. I ended up loving to blog! I find it fun and therapeutic.

One of the biggest surprises to me was how social blogging was because of communities like Theta Mom! I thought bloggers were in their own little world, typing away. But a big part of blogging is reading and commenting on other people’s blogs. I’ve made a lot of friends in the blogging community that I hope to meet in the real world–such as at conferences–soon! Enjoy reading the blog and learning about our journey!”

Be sure to check out the blog and follow her on Twitter! New to TMC? Join us! We LOVE new members!

*In order to be considered as a future Featured TMC Blogger, you must be a member and leave a comment on the blog of the current Feature Blogger. Have a fantastic weekend ladies!

“Hi there, I’m Jade and I live in Scotland – that’s quite often the thing that initially defines me in the blogging world – there’re not as many bloggers in Scotland as in the USA. The next think you’ll probably realize is that I’m no longer 25 – which is the name of my blog. I decided to start a blog on my 26th birthday – so this seemed like a sensible name.

I’m not a Mum, although I hope one day to be one! Quite a few of my friends are becoming new mummies at the moment; it’s like baby fever around here. I love being a part of TMC though; there are so many inspirational bloggers here and it’s so interesting to get an insight into other people’s lives. What amazes me the most about reading so many of your stories is that there are an infinite number different ways to do things and that you have to pick the ways that work for you.

My blog is a mixture of everything that interests me in life – there’s a lot of travel much of which is associated with my job as a geophysicist and I love telling everyone about how great it is to travel in Scotland too. I also blog about our new kittens, my family and friends, hospitality, food and anything else that I enjoy. I really enjoy discussion and hearing other people’s opinions, I hope you’ll join in the discussion.”

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

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

*In order to be considered as a future Featured TMC Blogger, you must be a member and leave a comment on the blog of the current Feature Blogger. Have a fantastic weekend ladies!

“Hi! I’m Melissa, a part time Pediatrician and full time Mom. I started blogging in the spring of this year out of a need to write. I had always loved writing and unfortunately through the years, writing had fallen to the wayside. Enter Motherhood and my surprising decision to become a stay at home mom, I felt I really had some stories to share.

As a pediatrician, I thought I was fairly prepared for the logistics of taking care of my children. However, as all of you Moms know…nothing ever goes quite as planned. In the last five years, I have been surprised by co-sleeping, had my heart broken over breast feeding, and have had to learn to tune into and trust my Mommy instinct.

What I’ve learned through blogging, writing, sharing, and listening to our collective stories as Mothers is this: the journey through Motherhood is a long and windy road with various crossroads along the way. This road may take us in different directions but the destination is the same. We all strive to do what is best for our children. We all face similar parenting issues. What works for one child or one family will not work for everybody. We must listen to that instinct that we all have and do what is best for our own children and our own families.

This is the true beauty of Motherhood: sharing our stories, learning from each other, and supporting each other through this oftentimes difficult and yet beautiful journey. This is why I continue to write, blog, and share my own personal stories. And, it is also why I love reading the stories that you all have to share.”

Be sure to check out the blog and follow her on Twitter! New to TMC? Join us! We LOVE new members!

*In order to be considered as a future Featured TMC Blogger, you must be a member and leave a comment on the blog of the current Feature Blogger. Have a fantastic weekend ladies!

“Hello! I’m Elizabeth. I live in Florida with my husband and our 22 month-old daughter. After she was born, I made the surprising (to me anyway) decision to become a stay-at-home mom. In that first year, I was immersed in motherhood. But as my daughter grew from an infant to an increasingly independent toddler, I realized I had neglected to nurture myself. Most importantly, I needed to get back in touch with my creative side.

Shortly after my daughter’s first birthday, following a long hiatus, I rediscovered my passion for writing and jumped in headfirst. I developed an idea for a nonfiction book (about motherhood), wrote a proposal and began querying literary agents. That proposal is currently with two agents for consideration. My blog, The Writer Revived originally started out as a way to detail my writing journey.

As the blog evolved, I also began to write about motherhood. It became a great release for me to share about my experiences as a new mom. It also connected me with tons of other moms and enabled me to develop a strong support system. And it is the subject of my book, so it made sense to take the blog in that direction. At this point, about half my posts are about being a mom, and half are about being a writer. Please stop on by if you’d like get to know me a little better. And help me get to know you! I love making new connections!”

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

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

*In order to be considered as a future Featured TMC Blogger, you must be a member and leave a comment on the blog of the current Feature Blogger so be sure to retweet and show some love! Have a fantastic weekend ladies!

“I’m so proud to be featured here on Theta Mom.  I’ve been reading Heather’s blog since she had about 200 followers so this is quite the honor!

My name is Julia.  I work full-time, I’m a wife to an amazing man, a mom to 2 gorgeous kids…. and everything in between. Like most women, I started blogging in 2007 as a simple way to keep family and friends updated on our life with a new baby.  I didn’t realize that there were so many other women out their sharing their stories as well. 

About a year ago, I began sharing more about my life as a working mom.  I was met with so many women who were in the same boat but rarely knew about any working mom blogs.  So while I continued to write about raising my children, I made my blog a sounding board for working moms to come together and share their struggles and successes.  (And this was largely in part due to Heather’s advice and encouragement!)  Not a working mom? That’s ok! We love to hear perspectives from former workers, stay-at-home moms and non-moms alike!

What else about me?  I’m a lover of coffee and sarcasm.  I have a twinge of craftiness in me, although it’s totally on an amateur level. I am a lover of weight lifting and Jesus and things that make my life easier and more frugal.

Remember, whether you work or stay at home, have kids or don’t have kids, breastfeed or formula feed, public school or homeschool, watch TV or don’t watch TV, buy organic or not… we are all in this journey of life together.  Blogging has allowed me to make connections with so many people that would have otherwise never met!  I’m looking forward to meeting you!”

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

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

*In order to be considered as a future Featured TMC Blogger, you must be a member and leave a comment on the blog of the current Feature Blogger so be sure to retweet and show some love! Have a fantastic weekend ladies!

“Hello fellow Theta Moms! My name is Devan and I am a stay at home mom to three beautiful kids (ages 4, 3 & 1) and a wife to an amazing and supportive man. I started Accustomed Chaos in January 2010 to create a space that was just for me – where I could write my thoughts and share my passions; a little of everything.

We live in a gluten free household because both myself and 3 year old daughter have Celiac Disease – an autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten and in order to keep us safe my other two children and my husband eat gluten free as well. Over the years I have really come to realize that I am not missing out at all and love sharing my recipes, favorite gluten free products and help increase awareness on celiac disease and providing safe foods.

I write about a lot of different topics and focus on my “gentle, attachment parenting” philosophy. Breastfeeding, co-sleeping, and gentle discipline are topics I am passionate about and I love sharing tips and practical ideas on how they are integrated into our life. I am also a miscarriage survivor and use my blog as a sounding board for working through my grief. The support I have found by this amazing blogging community has been too incredible begin to put it into words.

Life with 3 kids 3 years apart is chaos. No doubt about it. The support, connections and friendships I have made in the past 10 months of blogging has been phenomenal and it is always nice to know I am not alone in my crazy mommy moments.”

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

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

*In order to be considered as a future Featured TMC Blogger, you must be a member and leave a comment on the blog of the current Feature Blogger so be sure to retweet and show some love! Have a wonderful weekend ladies!

“Hello to all of you wonderful Theta Mom readers! My name is Mandi and I’m a wife to an amazing guy and mom to a beautiful little girl. In two years I moved from my home to attend school in Missouri, met my future husband, eloped (oh yes we ELOPED), moved to another state, got pregnant three months into our marriage and had a baby just a few weeks shy of our one year anniversary.

Whew… just thinking about it makes me tired!

Don’t get me wrong, I loved every second and wouldn’t change anything but it all happened so fast. Being a new mom, in a new state, with a new husband, with no family and few friends made me feel disconnected from the world. To top things off I somehow got it in my head that everything needed to be perfect. I should be a perfect mom, be a perfect wife, cook perfect meals and keep my house in perfect condition. It was a recipe for disaster.

I started blogging when I finally realized perfect doesn’t exist. In the last year I have been challenged as a writer, “met” many talented women and learned so much about parenting. My blog is a place for people to laugh about the mistakes we make when trying to be perfect. You will not find me posting pictures of my beautiful and clean house. You will not find articles about how my daughter eats everything I eat. You will not find tips on how I lost all of my baby weight and look like a supermodel. Those things don’t exist in my life. What you will find is someone who is trying to do my best as a mom but can also laugh at my epic failures. (Believe me, there are many.) I want moms out there to know (perfect or not) you make a difference in the life of your children just by being you. I love the Theta Mom Community and I am beyond excited to have you visit!”

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

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

*Remember the new changes to TMC: In order to be considered as a future Featured TMC Blogger, you must be a member and leave a comment on the blog of the current Feature Blogger, so be sure to retweet and show some love! Have a wonderful weekend ladies!

“Hi, my name is Rachel and I am addicted to Twitter. Oh wait, that is for another meeting…I am a mom and YES I need a vacation. Why you ask? Because parenting is hard. Because parenting is a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week JOB. Because with this job, I don’t build up vacation days to use at a later date. I have come to realize that the **put your feet up with a fruity cocktail vacation** is rare (and pricey) so I try my best to find small moments of time for just myself.

I started blogging back in March of this year to do something for myself and also to meet other amazing ladies out there who know what my day to day is like. I felt like I needed a little, “Oh I SO KNOW what you are talking about!” I also felt that after having two kids of mine own, I had opinions to share about motherhood. I wanted to share my experiences and let other moms know that it is okay to lose your temper, have a glass of wine at 5 o’clock (or sometimes earlier), feed your kids chicken nuggets every day and not shower. I wanted to let other moms know that it is okay to feel like you need a vacation from parenting.

I love writing, I love taking pictures and I love being funny. Thinking you are funny and making yourself laugh is always a good thing. I also like talking…like a lot, which is why I started vlogging too! I am so excited for other Theta Mom’s to come visit me, check out what I have to say, share a laugh with me and complain about needing a vacation along with me.

And until we all get our much deserved vacations, we are all just TAKING. IT. ONE. DAY. AT. A. TIME….preferably with a glass of wine (or two) or course.”

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

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

*Remember the new changes to TMC: In order to be considered as a future Featured TMC Blogger, you must be a member and leave a comment on the blog of the current Feature Blogger, so be sure to retweet and show some love! Have a wonderful weekend ladies!