Beaming with gratitude, I am honored to announce that I have been nominated for a Liebster Award!

Thank you Holly Milkowski of Mamas Milk No Chaser for the nomination! I have really had fun perusing your informative, funny, insightful blog, and I look forward to reading (and learning) more in the future!

A Liebster Award is an online award originally given by more established bloggers to bloggers with less than 200 followers who post worthy, quality material. If the blogger accepts the award, s/he then nominates a few more favorite bloggers waiting for their awesome stuff to be “found” and thus the chain continues. Here’s a pretty good breakdown of the different variations of rules, the benefits of accepting this award, etc.

The Rules
1. Thank the Nominator.

2. Display the award.

3. Nominate 10 more bloggers with 10 new questions.

4. Answer the questions provided by the Nominator.

5. Notify the Nominees.

10 Questions Answered

1. How did you get into the topic of your blog?

I love to write, and have considered blogging for many years. Before I had my daughter, I contemplated starting a cooking blog, but it never came to fruition. When my daughter turned one, and my busy life became the tiniest bit less busy, I decided to give it a go. I’d had such an amazing year with my daughter, overcoming the initial struggles of breastfeeding, journeying through baby led weaning, and experiencing all the day to day joys (and frustrations) of being a new mom. I wanted to share my experience with the hopes of helping and inspiring new and expecting moms, and relating to moms who have been through it.  

2. How do you find a balance between sharing personal information and keeping certain areas of your life private?

It’s a fine balance, which I may already have crossed a time or two – especially in my labor and delivery blogs. I look at it this way: I’m not writing this blog for people with whom I have a personal relationship to learn more about my personal life… I’m writing it for the mom who’s up in the middle of night with her newborn who won’t sleep, the mom who wants desperately to breastfeed but is having a hard time, and the mom who wants healthy, delicious meal ideas for her family.  

3. What have you found to be most challenging about blogging so far?

Besides the obvious – having the time to write while being a mom/wife/employee/student/cook/housekeeper/friend/chauffeur/[insert other mom tasks here] – the most challenging aspect (sometimes) is wanting to keep it going… Especially when I write something and don’t get any response. That can be disheartening. But then I remind myself that this is a hobby, which I am doing to challenge myself, improve my writing, and decompress. And, if I help someone, or make someone laugh, or share a recipe that someone tries and enjoys, awesome!  

4. How do you get inspiration for new posts and stories?

I haven’t had an issue yet coming up with content… I don’t post often enough for that to happen. I keep a running list of topics I want to write about that I think will be helpful, or recipes I’ve cooked for my family that we enjoy. Things happen throughout the day that make me think “hmm, that would be a good post.” So I make a note, and hopefully I’ll get to it one of these days.

5. Tell me your secrets: How do you find time to blog regularly?

Isn’t that the million dollar question. I haven’t been able to find the time to blog regularly. I just get it in when I can. At this point, I’m happy if I write one post per week. 

6. What’s your spirit animal?

Well, according to the quiz I just took online, here it is:

• You are…A WOLF! Your utmost priority is leadership and kindness. You make friends easily and steadily, learn quickly, and care about others, hurting as much as they do when they’re having a hard time.

I think that’s pretty accurate.

7. What’s your favorite blog post you ever wrote?

My favorite post is “Get Your Kids In the Kitchen With the Learning Tower.” I am very passionate about forming healthy eating habits from a very early age (I mean, early like in utero), and this post really speaks to that. Plus, there are a bunch of really cute pictures of Maddie!

8. What do you read in the waiting room?

Anything to do with recipes/home improvement… and the occasional brain-melting gossip. 

9. What happened on the hardest day of your life?

The story that keeps coming to mind is the day we took Maddie to the pediatrician because we suspected an ear infection. They had to scrape one of her ears for better visibility. She screamed in terror and pain, while hubby and I held her down, trying to console her. She cried so violently that blood vessels broke around her eyes… And, no ear infection, to boot. It was the most heart-wrenching experience, and we couldn’t do anything to make it better. Of course, there have been much more difficult days – family deaths… heartbreaks… and labor wasn’t a walk in the park – but I have not found anything more difficult than watching someone you love suffer, and feeling so helpless. 

10. What’s the last text message you sent?

I Love You to my hubby.

10 Questions for Nominees

1. What do you hope to accomplish with your blog?
2. What’s your favorite blog post you ever wrote? (link it here)
3. What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
4. What’s your favorite smell?
5. What is your best advice for a new blogger?
6. What are three things still left on your bucket list?
7. What is your favorite meal of the day?
8. If you could give your 18 year old self one piece of advice, what would it be?
9. What are three words your best friend would use to describe you?
10. What is your favorite memory of this past year?

Nominees (in alphabetical order)

A Beautiful Mess

Channeling SuperGirl

Cultivate Wellness

Five Forleys

Food Photography

HappyHealthyHouseholds

Jan & Muscat

Not Magazine Ready

Seeking Sunrises

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