I love Laura’s blog, Harassed Mom there is something very relatable about it. I find myself agreeing, or just “getting it” so often, despite not having four kids or an ex husband, hehehe.
Laura has a great sense of humour and her blog is just one of those “must-follows”
Here is what she has to say about being “A mom who blogs”
-Tell us a little about your family…
We are a mixed bunch of individuals. David and I have been married for just over a year but we met over 5 years ago in a dodgy little pub in Fourways. We have four kids, two are mine and two are ours. Cameron is 12 years old and keeps us busy with his sports, Kiara is 10 and lives in her own little bubble, sometimes entering our world to do mundane things like go to school, Jack is 3 and currently rules the house, despite our best attempts at telling him he is only 3 and cannot tell us what to do and Emma is 6 months old, she is, despite being the fourth child, rather demanding and likes to spend her days being carried around. David works in aviation insurance and I work from home, when Emma allows.
-What do you do when not blogging?
I am creating content, which is pretty easy when you have four kids. I also do work from home as a freelance writer in the mornings and the afternoons are pretty much spent driving kids around.
-What made you decide to blog?
My friend Jeanette suggested I start a blog just after I left my ex-husband. It actually started out as a photo challenge blog but quickly turned into a journal of my experience getting divorced and being a single mom.
-What was your concept behind the two blogs?
Harassedmom is just that – a blog about being an harassedmom. I honestly never really thought much about why I wanted to blog or what I was going to blog about long term. It has sort of evolved on its own as my life has changed.
My aim BlogShareConnect is to create a blog about blogging and connecting. I would ultimately like to create a resource for bloggers to guide them through the minefield that is blogging, dealing with brands, press releases etc as well as a platform to organise regular get-togethers.
-Did you find yourself nervous at prospect of letting people into your life in this way?
No I can honestly say I never did. I am by nature an over sharer so it wasn’t something I have ever really worried about or even considered.
-Do you ever worry that your kids will be like “mom why are you exposing my life?”
My kids know I blog and they know that I share stuff about them – neither of the older ones have (as yet) asked me to not say stuff or remove stuff BUT I am more cautious when I share stuff about the older two now and try to share MY experience of the situation as opposed to theirs. If there comes a time where they do ask me to remove stuff I will.
-Does your family read your blog? Yes.
-What do you hope to achieve through the blog?
This is a hard one to answer because I have only recently started thinking about this. I think if I have to think of something it would be to let people know they aren’t alone by sharing the challenges and joys of parenting honestly. So often when we are going through a rough patch with our kids, we think we are messing up, we feel alone and a little hopeless but the reality is that everyone is going through or has gone through the same thing.
-What do you think about the blogging culture in South Africa?
It is too divided. I am not sure how it happened or even why but there are such distinct lines which make it a challenge, I do hope this changes though.
-What do you think makes for a “good blog”?
Honesty and regular original content
-How do you personally measure success in the blogging world?
I don’t. The easy answer would be the number of comments, hits or impressions or what not but I don’t think that’s where it lies. I think it lies in creating a space that you feel proud of.
