Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Parent Bloggers—We are a Cult … and Sometimes Inspirational

Here’s what I’ve learned about the Parent Blog community in the last 5 months. It is just that … a community. It is not a competition between who has the most stalkers, who can make you pee your pants the most times (not hard since most readers have had children or are pregnant), or who can make you shed the most tears (again, not much of a feat since most moms are emotional basket-cases who haven’t slept in years and whose hormones have been bitch-slapped up and down, left and right).

Yes, there are contests from time to time—and, having tens of thousands of followers does help—but the losers are not sore, and everyone is sure to find additional blogs to add to their reading repertoire. Most of these writers, from what I can gather, write as an outlet and to pay it forward to other parents. Most of these writers have no trouble pointing out their own mistakes and shortcomings. And, most of these writers are in complete support of the other writers in this space. I am proud to be part of what has become a HUGE list of Mommy and Daddy bloggers.

One mom, in particular, made me realize what a support system this is—for writers and readers. Miss Ellen, over at Bad Word Mama, just gave me an “Inspiring Blog Award.” 

This Bad Word Mama is what she says, and makes me laugh every day. She is a rookie just like I am, but has enough content to keep you laughing for hours. She describes her blog as “An inside look at the crazy shit that goes through my head. Good Luck!!” You won’t need luck, just some Depends. Thank you, Ellen. I am honored.

As a recipient of this award, I now must tell you 7 things about myself and pass this award on to 15 other worthy bloggers.
    1. I am a stay-at-home-mom to 4 ½-year-old boy-girl twins and a 14-month old baby boy, but I hate being at my house.
    2. Close friends describe me as a lipstick tomboy.
    3. My roots are deep in the soil of a small Nebraska farm, but my branches led me to Richmond, Virginia.
    4. I got my first tattoo at age 38—just last weekend!
    5. My favorite thing to watch is my husband wrestling with the kids.
    6. I go through spurts of Martha Stewartism, but after collecting my supplies, they are just added to the many other unfinished projects in the closet.
    7. I have a lot of windows in my house, so I’m not sure how much of a secret this is, but my secret passion is dancing like a crazy person with my kids to any and every kind of music. Even at their ages, they already think I’m a horrible dancer.
    Here are the 15 bloggers I feel deserve this award. Please check them out.

    ComfyTown Chronicles. GAWD not another mom blog. Shut yer cakehole I'm funny. And swear-y. Warned.

    The Girl Next Door Drinks and Swears. Life’s more fun that way.

    Mommy Shorts. Parental snark & entertainment from the mind of a mom with a three-year-old and a brand spankin' new baby.

    Sole Searching. Welcome to our crazy, country, family, fun, farm-life with an occasional beer and and every day run. Sometimes it's a beer run, but it's always a little of both! Make yourself at home!

    Moms Who Drink and Swear. I write a profanity laced blog about everything and nothing.

    The Daddy ComplexBad parenting, accidental victories & abject panic from a father of twins.

    Moms Who Need WineTogether, we revel in our imperfections and find solace in the fact that we're not going it alone. 

    In the Powder Room. Social shopping with WeShop & fabulous editorial from funny, feisty women. Shop. Share. Earn. 

    Mommy’s WeirdA radio DJ who is adjusting to being a Momma of two children. Main problems? Lack of sex, hot moms, and too many books and movies to review.

    Rants from Mommyland. Welcome to MommyLand, where raising kids is like herding turtles. Is it bedtime yet?

    KvellerA Jewish twist on parenting.

    The Creative Mama. Team of writers covering every day living with a touch of creativity.

    Jamie the Very Worst Missionary. I'm Jamie Wright. I'm the Very Worst Missionary. That's really all there is to it. 

    On Bramble Hill. Domestic Diva wanna be... homeschooling mom and lover of photography.

    Raising Wild Things. I know where the wild things are--I'm living with them! This blog is about the hilarity (and sometimes missteps) of raising young children.


    Some of these bloggers I have been following for a while, and some are brand new. Some are seasoned, some are rookies with huge potential that could use more followers. I hope you find some you like on this list.

    Bloggers, if you choose to accept this award, all you have to do is leave a comment here letting me know that you received it. On your blog, tell us all 7 facts about yourself and then, pass this award on to 15 bloggers of your choosing. Mmmmwah!

    9 comments:

    1. Thanks for the kind words.. I'm excited to check out the bloggers you sent the award to. There are a few I've never heard of.

      -Ellen

      ReplyDelete
    2. Thanks so much! We're thrilled to get a mention among such great bloggers!

      ReplyDelete
    3. Awwwww. Schmanks! Now, I have MORE things to ready. Sheesh. I take my schmanks back :)

      ReplyDelete
    4. This comment has been removed by the author.

      ReplyDelete
    5. Thank you! Here's where I give my well-rehearsed but TOTALLY SURPRISED acceptance speech:
      "ME? Lil ole me?! No, couldn't be!" and I fan myself and lay down a bunch of "omigod"s and carry on and ON SJP-style.

      ReplyDelete
    6. Wow!! Thank you so much! What a great surprise! I really appreciate your thoughtfulness, and the intro to your post was a really great shout out to all mom-bloggers. It's an honor to be mentioned by you!

      ReplyDelete
    7. I forgot to comment here as well . . . again, thank you, thank you, thank you! I will be compiling my list and paying it forward asap. :)

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Thanks again for the love! I've passed it on.

        http://raisingwildthings.com/2013/03/01/sharing-some-love-the-inspiring-blog-award/

        Delete
    8. I fell terribly behind on my blog reading the past week. Thank you, thank you for the love!

      ReplyDelete