My Mommy’s Place: Mommy’s Blog

It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet some brilliant mothers; to celebrate, learn from and be inspired by our differences, while drawing strength and support from the common ground we share.

I am delighted to introduce you to this month’s feature columnist, Pam of Bubbles Writes. I can’t remember exactly how I came to read her blog, but I know she had me hooked after just two posts. She’s laugh out loud hilarious and one of the bravest bloggers I’ve read. I absolutely adore this woman. She inspires me. I feel proud to call her a friend. And I’m so glad to have the opportunity to shine my little spotlight on her. So, please check out her column after our little getting-to-know-Pam interview.

Leslie: Why do you blog?

Pam: I started blogging as a way to keep track of important events in our family but then the fame and fortune of it all became addicting and now, well, I must write to feed the masses (better known as my 4 loyal readers).

Leslie: If your blog were a food or beverage, what would it be and why?

Pam: A big messy plate of nachos w/ extra jalapenos. It’s a gooey mess of goodness with lots of heat.

Leslie: You are the mother of three boys. How has motherhood changed as your family has grown?

Pam: Before I remarried and had small boy, it was just my two boys and me against the world. With the new Dad and the small boy, we feel like a real full circle family. I’m grateful to have a partner to help shoulder the responsibilites of parenting. Because each of my boys came seven years apart, we are enjoying (or enduring) vastly different milestones and stages with each boy all at one time. As I wrote about, while one child is embracing full on manhood, another is getting his first pimple while another is mooning over Hannah Montana and laughing at The Suite Life. It’s a family full of very different demands all at once and I’m definitely a better Mother for having a partner to help.

Leslie: What do you want to teach your children?

Pam: To find happiness whenever possible, to find the lesson in every experience, to listen to their hearts and follow their paths with integrity and kindness. Also, not to flick their boogers on the walls of their rooms.

Leslie: If you were given a day completely to yourself where you could do whatever you wanted - money is no object - how would you spend that day?

Pam: I would rent a beautiful condo on the beach with a full wait staff, lay on the beach with a great book, have my every wish granted (hello cabana boy) and sleep for days. Also, could I have every size 10 Manolo Blahniks ever made delivered to the condo? Man that sounds superficial and vain. I should probably have said that I’d hop a cargo plane to a third world country and volunteer to rebuild cities and teach the villagers to turn dirty sewer water into clean drinking water.

When I first put the word out that I was searching for columnists for This Is Motherhood, Pam was one of the first to sign on, calling dibs early on the month of May; don’t miss her edition of This Is Motherhood to see why. And be sure to visit her blog, Bubbles Writes.

It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet some brilliant mothers; to celebrate, learn from and be inspired by our differences, while drawing strength and support from the common ground we share.

I am so proud to introduce you to April’s featured mother: my very good friend, Amy Hicks.

I was absolutely delighted when Amy agreed to write about her motherhood experience for This Is Motherhood. Although she doesn’t have a blog…yet (hint hint, double hint), she has a wonderful way with words. What is more, she’s an incredible mother, a generous friend and a beautiful, open-hearted individual. She is down-to-earth and genuine, and makes the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever eaten in my life. I’m grateful to know her, and I believe you will be, too. So be sure to click and read her column after this friendly little interview.

Leslie: What is the best parenting advice you’ve ever received? What is the worst?

Amy: I don’t know that I have ever received a best or worst piece of advice. I think that I have just kind of plodded my way through and have done the best that I can. Over time I have learned that no mother is perfect and that has allowed me to relax a little and not be so up tight about every little thing. If there was one thing that I could tell every new mother it would be that we all have our own way of handling motherhood. There is no right or wrong way, just what works for you. I think that new mothers would ease into the whole experience a lot easier if they didn’t feel like everyone else knew what to do except for them.

Leslie: What do you want to teach your children?

Amy: More than anything I want to teach my children to respect themselves and others. I think that everything else that you wish for your children will follow if they can just learn respect. Also I want them to see that their father and I are more in love today than we were when we got married. I think that it is incredibly important for children to know with out a doubt that their parents love each other.

Leslie: As a mother, what product or item can’t you live without?

Amy: Actually, my husband and I just bought a Kia Sedona mini van. I absolutely love it and can’t believe that we spent the last three years carting my son around in my teeny tiny little car. There is so much room and we will have no problem installing my daughter’s infant car seat in just a few short weeks. The mini van…I love it and could not live with out it!

Leslie: If you were to write a book about your motherhood experience, what would it be called?

Amy: If I Only Knew Then…A Woman’s Journey into the World of Motherhood

Well that or

If I Have to Tell You One More Time…A Tale of How One Mother Flipped Out

Leslie: If you were given a day completely to yourself where you could do whatever you wanted - money is no object - how would you spend that day?

Amy: I would go to some deserted island where the only other people there would be my personal team of servants whose only job it is to serve me and not talk. I would spend the day relaxing on the beach, getting massages and eating a case of Leslie’s Famous Buckeyes. Now that would be Heaven.

Please click on over to read Amy’s edition of This Is Motherhood, then come on back here to shower her with comment love!

It’s a new month, so that means there’s a new edition of the feature column:

It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet some brilliant mothers; to celebrate, learn from and be inspired by our differences, while drawing strength and support from the common ground we share.

I am really excited to introduce you to this month’s featured mother: Suzanne Gale of The World According To Suz. I’ve had a crush on her and her blog pretty much since she started writing it. I did a little something resembling a hurkey (which is a whole lot for a pregnant lady like me) when she agreed to write this installment of This Is Motherhood, because she is the coolest. If we were to have a cool kids virtual sleepover, Suz would be the one helping me put your bra in the freezer. She also happens to be an incredibly talented writer, so you really must click and read her column right after this warm-up interview.

Leslie: Why do you blog?

Suzanne: I blog for a few reasons:
*One: keeps me writing on a regular basis. Writing is what I like to do, but it’s rarely feasible to be able to sit and work on a novel for hours a day. A couple hundred words each day, or even every-other-day, is more my speed right now.
*Two, being a blogger is the closest I will ever come to being a rock star or performing before a large audience. I’ll write something and then just can’t wait to see the comments; I’m a comment junkie. I see new comments and I think Yay! People are paying attention to me!! (Wow, that was probably too honest… please don’t think less of me…)
*And last but not least, I blog so my friends and family who live far away can sort of keep tabs on my family. They like to see pictures of the kids posted.

Leslie: If your blog were a food or beverage, what would it be and why?

Suzanne: Mashed potatoes with Pop Rocks on top. It’s kind of smooshy and comforting, but then has a funny, tickling element to it. And it rots your teeth.

Leslie: If there were a movie made of your life, who would you choose to play you? Who do you think your children would choose for you?

Suzanne: I’ve had a few people tell me that I look like Cameron Diaz. I would be just fine with her playing me; then people would think that I was taller and had straighter teeth in real life. Plus, we already know from Charlie’s Angels that she can pull off the martial arts moves. We would have to put some fight scenes in the movie, just for dramatic effect. My children would probably pick a character from Star Wars or Sponge Bob to play me, because those are about the only actors they know.

Leslie: Would you rather have the ability to read other people’s thoughts or the ability to plant thoughts in their head?

Suzanne: I’d like to have the ability to read people’s thoughts, but I’d want to be able to shut if off at will. I don’t think I’d like to hear things about myself all of the time. I mean, how depressing would that be to be talking to someone and they just keep thinking wow, I wonder if she knows about that zit on her forehead. She has to know. How could she not feel that one?

Leslie: If you were given a day completely to yourself where you could do whatever you wanted - money is no object - how would you spend that day?

Suzanne: I’m a sucker for time spent with my husband. He is a funny guy, and just fun to be around. I’d like to fly off with him to somewhere warm. Just spend the day hanging out, being outside. A massage would be nice, too. Oooh, yeah, I’ve always wanted to do one of those couples massages on a beach somewhere. That’d be the best.

Now, click on over to read Suzanne’s edition of This Is Motherhood and be sure to visit her blog The World According To Suz!

Remember how I was having problems with my e-mail? Well, since my message-eating troll search came up empty, I contacted my web hosting people. I’d love to say my problem is solved, but I’m really not sure if it is or not.

I got a response from the web hosting peeps. It included words like ‘convenience’ and ’satisfaction’ and stuff like that. But here’s what it said, in basic terms:

Yo,

Later.

They did exactly what I’d already done for myself - sent myself e-mail from another account and received it. Awesome! But what I’m really worried about is the e-mail I’m NOT getting. Sure, I’m getting some, just not ALL of it. I don’t know what to do about it and I’m freaking out.

So, to quiet the frantic voices in my head, I’m going to pass along to you all an alternate e-mail address (mymommysplace {at} gmail.com). This way, if you have something super important to communicate directly to me and my regular e-mail isn’t cutting it, hopefully we can hook up. I know this sounds like more work for you and I guess it really is. Sorry. I don’t know what else to say except, I’m working hard to hone my telepathy skills so we can just cut out the middle man for good, eventually.

We can even test my telepathic skills right now. Okay, let me focus. Alright. You…were expecting a post about sex when you read the title?

I don’t know. Maybe I need to work harder on that telepathy. Or do I?

Welcome to the second edition of The Haiku Buckaroo Contest! It was so much fun the first time, we just had to do it again!

There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get right to it.

A haiku has 17 syllables - five in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third. Check out the entries from the original contest for some great examples.

Here’s how to enter the contest:

Bloggers: Write a haiku and post it on your blog. Be sure to mention this contest and link back to this entry in your post. Once your post is published, leave a link directly to your entry post at the Mr. Linky below.

Non-Bloggers: Submit your haiku via this entry form. I will provide a page on which all non-blogger haiku submissions will appear. Once your submission is received, it will be included on the non-blogger haiku submission page and a link to it will be added to Mr. Linky under your name.

You may enter more than once. Each haiku will be judged individually.

The overall contest winner (a.k.a. The Haiku Buckaroo) will receive a Magnetic Poetry Haiku Kit, a Haiku Buckaroo Mug, $25 via PayPal (or a gift card, if you’d rather) and a super-cool button for their blog (in their choice of white or black).

The overall winner will be selected by the original Haiku Buckaroo - Jami from Not THAT Different. You can see Jami’s winning haiku here.

But, that’s not all!

Winners will also be chosen in the following categories by you, the readers:

• Most Inspiring Haiku
• Funniest Haiku
• Most Disgusting Haiku
• Scariest Haiku
• Most Erotic Haiku

And, there will be one winner selected at random from all entries.

In addition to earning the super-cool buckaroo button, the following prizes will be awarded to the random and category winners by random drawing:

• Delicious chocolate straight from The Netherlands courtesy of Jenn in Holland.
• An 8×10 matted print of one of her brilliant photos courtesy of Soccer Mom in Denial
• The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan and Until I Find You By John Irving courtesy of Dirty Little Secret’s JerseyGirl89
• Me, Myself, and Bob by Phil Vischer courtesy of Toni at This Simple Life
• One HOT pack courtesy of Gretchen at Bananas and Toddlers
• A $15 donation to the charity of your choice courtesy of the absolutely amazing Laura at Twenty Five Days To Make A Difference. Additionally, I will match the donation to your charity, making it a $30 donation, as well as put $15 in your pocket via PayPal (or in a gift card somewhere you like if PayPal isn’t for you).
• A Shakespeare action figure courtesy of Jen at A2EATWRITE

The contest deadline is 11:59 p.m. EST, Friday February 15th.

Category finalists will be revealed and reader voting will take place here Monday February 18th - 24th.

Winners will be announced here on Monday February 25th.

My bloggy pals Pam at Bubbles Writes and Kristian at Lessons In Motherhood have been dying to know “six non-important things/habits/quirks” about me. And since writing about me is something I quite enjoy, you’re going to get six things, for each of them.

There were some rules that are supposed to go along with this, but rules schmules. I’m a rebel, ’cause I never ever do what I should. And just because I don’t do what everybody else does, that’s no reason why you can’t give me all your love, so saith The Crystals.

Alright, let’s rock this.

1. Julia picked a booger and wiped it in my hair today. She had seen someone do it on America’s Funniest Home Videos. I did not think it was funny. I’d like to know if you’d be laughing with boogers in your hair, Tom Bergeron! I owe you a wet willy, Sir.

2. I lost a Bloglines subscriber this week which led to a solid afternoon of moping around and singing Air Supply’s “All Out Of Love.” Adieu, fair subscriber. I shall miss you.

3. I’ve never been able to get Feedburner to work for me, so I have no clue how many total subscribers I actually have. It is probably best that I don’t know. I’d become as obsessed with that number as I am with my site statistics. Or my comments.

4. Speaking of site statistics, mine are telling me that many of you are clicking to read the incredible This Is Motherhood column. You know, the one where each month a different mother opens up and lets you crawl inside and see life through her eyes for less than 1,000 words? Yeah, you know.

Well, I just have to pass this Shameless Lions Writing Circle Award that I received from JerseyGirl89 at Dirty Little Secret and Jen at A2EatWrite on to the first two guest columnists - Kerith Collins and Karly Campbell. The two of them have lived up to every expectation I had for that column.

And now I’m supposed to list three writing tips, which I will give to the future This Is Motherhood columnists:

• Write what you know.
• Write from your heart.
• Write with the belief that you have something unique and powerful to say that someone out there is aching to hear.

5. It is my firm belief that the best thing you can give a pregnant woman is a pedicure. Husbands, take note.

6. I love Cadbury Creme Eggs.

7. Dave just asked me, “So honey, have you been keeping up with the political debates?” I replied, “No.” Then he asked, “Why not?” And I said, “I’ve had my head up my blog for three days.” And he laughed a lot for a long time. I’m not sure if it’s because it was funny or because he’s only spent 8 of the past 72 hours sleeping.

8. My friend SusieJ gave me the Excellent Blog Award, which I’d like to pass along to my fellow pregnant bloggers, Sam at Temporarily Me and Mommy the Maid at Ramblings from the Not So Typical Stay At Home Mom.

9. I often have dreams that I host a big blogging event at my house during which The Polyphoic Spree performs an outdoor concert in our field next to the barn and we all jump and twirl around to Light And Day. It’s like Woodstock. Or Blogstock. Or like this. If it ever goes down, I promise to invite you.

10. Light And Day is the most-played song in my iPod. The second most-played song is an edited version of Light And Day.

11. My psychic abilities are telling me that you really want a link to The Bananas Splits Theme Song. Alright. Here it is.

12. I received a big smackaroo from Jen at A2EatWrite, Jenn in Holland and Michelle at Scribbit.

I’d like to pass it along to each and every one of you…that made it to the end of this post. You deserve it!

It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet some brilliant women; to celebrate, learn from and be inspired by our differences, while drawing strength and support from the common ground we share.

February is the month of love, what with Valentine’s Day and all. So, it only makes sense that the featured mother for this installment of This Is Motherhood is someone I am completely in love with: the fabulous Karly Campbell of Wiping Up Snot fame.

I was excited to sit down with Karly - you know, me at my computer and her at hers, completely separated by distance and time, but whatever. There was sitting! And communicating! And the result was the following interview.

Leslie: Why do you blog?

Karly: This is a hard question for me to answer, because my answer changes with my mood. Mostly I blog because I’ve been stuck in my house with two short people for a long time and if I don’t hear from another adult soon I’ll just die. The interaction is definitely my biggest reason for blogging. Writing also helps me cope, though. Some things just eat at me until I get it written down and then I feel like I can just let it go and move on.

Leslie: Many of your readers have commented that they enjoy reading your blog because you tell the truth. Your writing is very honest and real. How do you determine what you will share on your blog? Where do you draw the line in terms of privacy?

Karly: This is going to sound totally lame, but I don’t really put a lot of thought in to what I should or shouldn’t share on my blog. I just pretend that nobody that I know in real life is reading and I write what I need to say. I’m actually struggling with this lately, because I know for a fact that quite a few of the men my husband work with have been reading my blog. (My readers who remember that picture of Cleatus and “the hurricane” will find it humorous that his nickname at work is now Hurricane.) This makes me think twice before I blog about Cleatus. He is a pretty minimal player in my blog and I think he prefers it that way. As for privacy, I’m not really concerned that someone is going to hunt us down or anything, but I do use nicknames for the kids and my husband so that my blog doesn’t turn up should someone google their real names. I do use my real name, though.

Leslie: If there were a movie made of your life, what would it be called and who would be cast in it?

Karly: Pass. I never know how to answer this question. Obviously, the actress playing me would be hot and Cleatus would be played by Paul Walker. And there would be a lot of “adult” scenes, because mmm, Paul Walker.

Leslie: Let’s do some word association. I’ll give you a word and you tell me the first thing that comes to your mind. First word: Laptop.

Karly: Couch

Leslie: Gout

Karly: Old People

Leslie: Vinegar

Karly: Douche

Leslie: Mess

Karly: Clean

Leslie: Love

Karly: Cleatus

Leslie: If you were given a day completely to yourself where you could do whatever you wanted - money is no object - how would you spend that day?

Karly: I would probably get my two favorite shopping buddies (my mom and my aunt) and head to a big mall for a day of shopping. I love shopping. It is a sickness that runs in my family (see above re: shopping buddies).

There is so much I could say about Karly and how great she is, but this is her spotlight; her writing speaks for itself and I don’t want you to miss a word of it. So, quit wasting time here! Check out Karly’s edition of This Is Motherhood. Then, visit her blog. Just remember who sent ya and that I’ve got dibs. That girl is mine!

Want some time in the spotlight? There’s room for a few more. I’m still accepting submissions.

2008 has arrived and I’m just bursting with excitement over the newest thing here at My Mommy’s Place - our feature column:

It’s an exclusive space where the spotlight will shine on 12 different mothers throughout the year. Isn’t it just fabulous? Yes! Yes it is. It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet some brilliant women; to celebrate, learn from and be inspired by our differences, while drawing strength and support from the common ground we share.

I’m thrilled to introduce you to our first featured mother, Kerith Collins of Freelancing, My Road Less Traveled. In addition to sharing her motherhood experience in our premiere edition of This is Motherhood, she was kind enough to indulge my request for an interview. Here it is.

Leslie: Why do you blog?

Kerith: At first I blogged to have something that was mine (if you are a stay at home parent, you will totally understand). Then I got hooked!

Leslie: You are the mother of four children. How has motherhood changed as your family has grown?

Kerith: I have become a more relaxed mother. With my first child, I was not prepared and didn’t even know how to change a diaper. But with the 3rd and 4th (twins), I don’t get upset so much about stuff. If they pick up something off the floor and put it in their mouth before I can get to them, it isn’t the end of the world. The chaos used to bother me as well. But as our family got bigger, it got louder, and I didn’t mind the noise as much. But I still love my alone time…blogging time…they are both the same thing.

Leslie: What traits do your children possess that definitely came from you?

Kerith: I think I am really funny ( my hubby thinks I have a dorky sense of humor). My son is the same way. He thinks he is funny but it is a dorky funny. He is funny because he thinks he is so funny and laughs so hard at himself. I am also dramatic and our little lady is like that as well–with TV, movies, or just dramatic for the sake of being noticed.

Leslie: If you were given a day completely to yourself where you could do whatever you wanted - money is no object - how would you spend that day?

Kerith: Sad to say, but I would go to the Twin Cites to buy a fantastic laptop, mobile blogging device, webcam, desk, and anything I thought I could use so I would have a awesome blogging area…I know, I know…but like I said…I am hooked!

Be sure to check out Kerith’s edition of This is Motherhood and don’t be shy about visiting her at Freelancing, My Road Less Traveled.

Want the spotlight on you? I’m still accepting submissions!

Did you know there is more to My Mommy’s Place than this blog? Yes! There is!

My Mommy’s Place was launched in April of 2006. (The blog was added to it a few months later.) My dream for this website has been to create a place for moms to come together to gain and share knowledge, because it is my belief that a mom’s greatest resource is another mom, and every mother has something valuable to share.

My blog has been a great way to give visitors a view of motherhood, but it is a limited view. It is my view. This year, I’d like to broaden it with “This is Motherhood,” a monthly column that will appear on the My Mommy’s Place home page. Each month I will provide a spotlight to a different mother. Maybe you! Are you interested?

If you are, all you need to do is write a column describing your motherhood experience. I don’t want to limit you, but if you’d like a suggestion, I’d encourage you to write somewhere around 800 words. Be sure to include a byline, where you can feel free to include links to your blog, website or business. Then, e-mail your submission, along with a photo (if it’s on Flickr or something like that, you can just include the url), to me at admin (at) mymommysplace.com. There are 12 spots open - one for each month in 2008. If there is a month you’d prefer for your feature, let me know in your e-mail.

In addition to pretty much owning my home page for a month, I’ll dedicate space to you in the sidebar of this blog. (See where the heading, “You like me! …Right?” is? I’ll be changing it to “This is Motherhood” and I’ll be plugging you there your entire spotlight month.)

I wanted to offer this space up to you all - my blog readers - first, because I value your perspective; I care about what you have to say. I suspect My Mommy’s Place visitors will, too.

If you’re a Dad or a Grandparent - you can join in, too. How about submitting a guest column for A Daddy’s View or A Grandma’s Heart?

If you’d like to be a part of My Mommy’s Place, but don’t feel comfortable contributing in these ways, I’m also looking for photos to feature monthly as Photos of the Month. Submit one of those!

I’d love to set the year up as quickly as possible. I’ve got a baby coming in April, ya know! I’d like to have the columns ready to roll early. So, get writing! I hope to hear from you soon!