Everyone's heard of The Bloggess, haven't they?  Actually, I hadn't until September of this year when I interviewed Writer Dad.  Writer Dad gushed about how excited he was to receive praise from The Bloggess; she called him a "wordsmith", and he thought that was amazing considering he thought she was truly the one deserving of that title.  So I visited her blog, and he was absolutely right - she is certainly a wordsmith.  Jenny is remarkably funny, detailing snippets of her life and observations with such keen wit and humor.  If you're one of the few who hasn't heard of her, you simply must go check out The Bloggess.  But wait until after you've read her profile here, of course!

Tell me about yourself.

I live near Houston, Texas, which is partly awesome and partly horrible, and also, pretty much nobody wears cowboy hats, although we do all say "y'all" a lot.  I have a 4-year old daughter named Hailey, who I adore, and a husband named, Victor, who I want to strangle, but mainly just during election season.

How did you get started blogging and why?

I wanted to write a book, and I thought it would help me find my voice, so when I saw that a mommy blogger on the Houston Chronicle quit because she thought blogging was keeping her from being a good mom, I emailed the editor and was all, "I'll do it!  I'm a horrible mother!"  And they hired me.  Except "hired" is the wrong word because they don't pay me.  I don't know what the right word is here, although I'm pretty sure there is one.  Which is an excellent example of why I'm really not qualified to write a book or blog at all.

How do your family and friends react to your blogging?

Most of my friends and family read teh blog pretty infrquently, and for the most part, they are pretty nonplussed.  Probably because they hear most of the stories personally before they end up on the blog.  Or maybe it's because they don't like me.  I'm guessing it's the first one though.  A lot of my friends and family don't read it at all because they don't understand it or don't want to see that aspect of my personality.  Or they only read one of my blogs and refuse to read the other.  Both blogs are me...just different parts of my personality.  One part is just more fucked up than the rest.

What have you gained from blogging?

About $500.  Also some of the most amazing friends I could imagine, a community that makes me feel less alone, and the confidence to be myself with pride instead of with apologies.

How has blogging changed or impacted your life?

It's a great form of psychoanalysis that can either totally fuck you up or make you better.  For me, it's done both.

There you have it, in her own words.  I'm still enjoying having the chance to talk to and learn from mom bloggers.  Blogging is a culture all its own that is providing women an incredible platform to connect with others, to share ideas, and to find their voices.  Thank you, Jenny, for taking the time to tell us more about yourself and your reasons for blogging.  Please feel free to contact me if you're a mom blogger who'd like to share your story! I'll continue posting profiles on my blog and am working toward turning this project into an article.

This week's Feature Friday Profile is Kelly Curtis from Pass the Torch.  She's also the author of the book Empowering Youth: How to Encourage Young Leaders to Do Great Things.  If you aren't familiar with her, you'll want to visit her blog and consider buying a copy of her book.  Kelly is a phenomenal woman, who inspires me to be a better mom every time I read her blog.  Here's a bit of the conversation I had with Kelly.  I also recently submitted an article about Kelly and her work encouraging youth leaders to The Savvy Gal, an online women's magazine.  I"ll let you know when it's published.

Tell me why you started blogging?

What I had actually been looking for was a place online to put clips.  When I started getting assignments (Kelly began her writing career as a freelancer.), I thought, "I need a place to put these so I can direct editors to an online spot that they can look at my clips."  But I didn't know how to go about that.  My brother-in-law said, "Maybe you should look into a blog."  And I seriously had no idea what he was talking about, had never heard of a blog, didn't ever spend time on the internet that way.  I did a little research and just started one.  I didn't even know what to do with it.  Then I started to kind of switch gears since I started to get a feel for what blogging actually was supposed to be.  I just kind of played with it for awhile and then, very spontaneously switched it to Pass the Torch (from its former name).  Then it became a personal blog.  Before that point, I didn't really get what people did with blogs.

What is your book about?

It's called Empowering Youth: How to Encourage Young Leaders to Do Great Things, and it's based on the research done by Search Institute, which is the forty Developmental Assets.  The assets are basically a list of forty characteristics.  If young people have these assets, they're more likely to grow up healthy, caring, and resilient.  You don't have to have all of these assets in order to grow up successfully, but the more of them you have the better.  So the Developmental Asset approach is just encouraging young people to build on what's right about young people rather than worrying about what's wrong with them.  And so the four chapters that I included in the book are "When a Community Values Youth", "Treating Youth as Valued Resources", "Serving the Needs of Others", and "Ensuring a Safe World for Young People."  Those are the four empowerment assets.  The philosophy behind this book is, basically, that young people have more to offer society than we often give them credit for.  So if we can open our minds to the idea that young people might have really fantastic ideas sometimes if we're willing to listen to them, letting go of the reigns sometimes can make a huge differencein our communities.

What do you enjoy most about blogging?

A key mantra in journalism is "show, don't tell."  Blogging allows me to show important things about my life - the proud moments, as well as the struggles.  In a society where women often choose not to tell either of these things for fear of appearing like that bragging mom or that whiney woman, blogging gives me the opportunity to show the events in my life, share my feelings about them, without worrying as much about the receiver of the information.  Although, I do consider my readers, I also know it's simple for them to choose to bow out of the conversation.  On the Web, it's just a click of the mouse.  After all, it is my personal journal, and a large part of my blog's existence is to say what I need to say.

See, didn't I tell you she was awesome?  So head on over to her blog to learn more about how Kelly lives the principals behind her book in her own life.  You can read the chronicles of her daughter's neighborhood book project each week on BookWorm Wednesday and see other examples of how youth are doing great things.  Enjoy.

Allison Worthington is the driving force behind the successful online magazine, Blissfully Domestic.  You probably also know her as Mrs. Fussypants, from her extremely popular blog.  What you may not know is that this incredibly talented woman is modest as can be, fun loving, and generous of spirit.  One of her top skills is bringing people together to do amazing things.  Read on to learn more about this dynamic woman.

When did you start blogging and why?

I started in May of 2007.  At that point, I actually did not know how to go about sending an email with a photograph in it.  I had no idea how to work the computer even, other than just doing a Google search.  I accidentally fell upon a couple of blogs when I was researching how to homeschool my oldest son, and I thought it looked like something fun to try.

You haven't been blogging all that long!  It seems your success has happened very quickly.

It does.  It happens quickly.  There seems to be a tipping point.  I first blogged for maybe three months and had maybe ten readers because I assuemed that I could start a blog and all of a sudden hundreds of readers would arrive every day.  And then I started reaching out, and after about six months I realized that a community was beginning to form, and I felt part of the whole blogging community.

How did Blissfully Domestic get started?

That started February of this year.  I fell into it, actually.  I wanted to branch out my own blog because I felt like I couldn't write about homeschooling and marriage without boring people because I realized that I don't have any writing skills.  I embraced the fact that I don't have  writing skills, and that's what's so wonderful about blogging.  I've utilized so many other different things, pictures, funny things, and building a community around my own site so that I don't have to write well because it's not my strong suit!

Back to how the magazine started.  Shannon Entin, who ran Homeschool Hacks, I was asking her when she was going to restart her blog because it influenced me so much when I wanted to homeschool my boys, and she said her heart wasn't in it anymore and that she would just give it to me.  So I said, "Let me give you something in return."  I made her some jewelry because I make jewelry, and we did a trade.  So I just started collecting these websites one by one.  and then finally decided to make the leap to start a magazine with around ten women, everyone writing an article a week.  And over time, it's grown.  At this point, everywhere I look online, I have people coming to me, saying, "Let me be part of Blissfully Domestic.  It just looks so fun!"  It's amazing.  I accept help everywhere, gratefully, and it's growing by leaps and bounds. Considering it's just me trying to carve out time on the computer while I raise my son, a woman who doesn't have any writing skills at all, it's working out well.  My talent, I'm learning, is just bringing good writers together.

What did you do before this?  Did you have any publishing experience?

Oh no!  I can't even explain how out of the loop I was.  The first blog I read was Melissa Wiley's site, Here in the Bonny Glen.  She's a children's book author with five kids, and I just thought, "This is the most amazing woman ever!  I don't know what this blog thing is, but this is great."  So she's the one who inspired me.  And I found different links about homeschooling.  When I started Homeschool Hacks, I had contacted her and asked if there was any way that she could contribute.  She said, "Oh, sure.  Anything that you want to use, just feel free to copy and paste.  I"m happy to share with anyone who needs help." This is what's so amazing about the internet.  The two sites that I had first discovered, one of the women says, "Here, take my site." and the other woman says, "Sure, anything you want!", and we've become friends.  It is amazing for a woman at her computer to have access to all these resources while still being at home with her children.  The internet just really levels the playing field.  That's what I love about it.  Everyone is accessible.

I want you all to meet, Angela, my best online friend.  Remember, it was Angela who sent me that amazing surprise?  Angela is incredible.  She works full-time from home, cares for her two children, and maintains Four blogs!  You may know her best from Unexpected Art, her positivity blog.  Take a look at the conversation I had with her to learn more about my fabulous friend, including some of her time-management secrets.  She's just fabulous!

When did you start blogging?

I started blogging just last year, in January of 2007.  I was just kind of looking for a creative outlet online.  I got into it, started blogging, and I was kind of all over the place.  I don't like to be unfocused in what I'm writing about or what I'm doing.  I hated sitting down and going I have no idea what to blog about.  I didn't want it to get too personal, but I didn't want it to be completely faceless either.  It started going in the way of crafting, then I took that out and started a whole new blog for the crafting. There were a lot of parenting blogs out there, and I wanted something unique and something that hardly anybody else was doing, so I started to hit on the positivity blog.  I was also doing a professinal blog, based on what i do in my career - SEO and link development.  I was up to three.

Tell me about your newest blog.

I've launched A Month of Stuff.  It's all about other bloggers.  I want other people to have their moment in the sun.  I'm all about stepping away from the limelight.  That's where A Month of Stuff came from.  I really just started because I wanted a creative outlet, and it's really just evolved and ballooned from there.  There are so many blogs out there that I've just kind of stumbled upon.  I"ll find this blog that's fantastic that I've never heard about before, even though I'm fairly well connected in the mom blogger community.  I want those people to have their limelight.

What is it you enjoy about blogging beyond the creative outlet?

A great thing about blogging and the fact that I have four very different blogs is they're four things that I'm very passionate about.  I'm very passionate about being a postive light in a dark world and making a positive impact.  I'm very passionate about the link development because I love what I do for a living.  The crafting has really had the most impact on my art because I'm really motivated to keep crafting and keep making things so I have something to blog about.  So all of my blogs have motivated me in my offline world, in my actual life, to keep moving in that vein.

You're really busy.  How do you manage it all?

I have to find that balance between family and face to face time with them and then my online time.  It's hard, especially when you first get into it and you really hit on something you're passionate about. You want to spend all your time doing it.  But you have to find that balance because you're either gonna get burnt out or you're gonna make those around you very unhappy.

All of my stuff is done when I can.  I've found that if I carry a notebook around with me and jot down some notes or even write a whole blog post by hand while I'm waiting in the doctor's office, it helps.  One of my favorite times to write is when I give my kids a bath.  They'l be in the bath, and I'll be sitting in the bathroom with them letting them play, and i"ll just write while they're playing.  I can sit there with my notebook and my pen and just crank some stuff out.  Then when they go to bed, I can jump back online and get it published.  I can get up with my husband who has to get up early for work.  I spend some time with him, getting him started on the right foot for the day.  Then when he walks out the door, I go jump online for a couple hours before my kids get up.  It works out really well for my family.

One more thing, how has blogging impacted your life?

It's different in mom blogger community because they understand you at a level that non-bloggers can't.  They understand getting up at three in the morning because there's a blog post that you're dying to write or because there's asocial network that you just have to check in with or you want to see what's happening in so and so's life because they've been blogging about a certain event.  I feel like I have coffee with my friends every morning even though I'm the only one in the room.  Other bloggers get that.

It has impacted my life.  It's made me feel like I can make a difference beyond my community and beyond my home, even though that's where my heart lies.  If I had to choose between the two, I'd choose my family.  There's no question.  My online life compliments my offline life. I don't have two separate lives.  They are one; they just compliment each other.

Angela really sums up what a lot of mom bloggers are feeling in such a wonderful way.  If you haven't gotten to know her, you should really go visit one of her blogs.

This week's Friday Feature Profile is Jessica Smith.  Chances are, you've heard of her.  Her personal blog is Jessica Knows.  When she says she knows something you need to know, she means it!  Jessica is a wealth of knowledge on all things social media.  She is the Chief Mom Officer for Wishpot, a social networking site aimed at helping new moms find the best baby and child essentials.  Jessica learned about this fabulous career opportunity from being an active member of the Twitter community.  Through her networking and connections on Twitter, she was also noticed by Walmart and invited to be a part of their 11 Moms campaign.  And all of these great things have happened to her in a very short amount of time.  I couldn't wait to talk to her and find out exactly what Jessica knows.

How long have you been blogging?

I've had a few blogs on and off over the past few years, but never reallyl got totally into it until this past year.  My New Year's resolution was to do a post every day in January so that I could make it part of my life and make it a habit.  In about March or April my husband and I started talking about my going back to work full time, and I really didn't want to because I enjoyed staying home with my son. So we said, "Let's figure out if I can do what I used to do 9 to 5 from home and make a pretty good income.  I didn't really have a set plan of what I was gonna do.  So I started a blog, Moms Group Manual, in May.  I was basically reviewing all the sites that allow moms to connect with each other online and women's organizations that have websites. When I was pregnant, I'd researched all that stuff because I wanted to connect with other moms, and all my friends were still in the happy hour every Thursday stage.  I didn't really know any moms.

Tell me about your amazing experience with Twitter.

I got on Twitter last fall but really didn't get why I'd want to follow these people I didn't know and why they'd want to follow me. Then I started twittering when I started Moms Group Manual because I wanted to read other moms' blogs and learn from other people and connect with other moms who were into this web stuff like i am.  Twitter just kind of clicked with me.  It's fair to say that I'm probably a Twitter addict at this point!  A lot of people ask me how I use Twitter for everything.  I say, "Just be yourself!"  There's no rules.  If you're there to learn, tell people you're there to learn and they'll teach you.  If you're there to network, let people know because there are people that want to network too.

What happened next was Max Ciccotosto, who's @wishpot on Twitter was following me.  Then I tweeted one day that I was looking for a marketing and development job because at this point, we'd given me six months to see if I could do something at home that would be competitive with what I was doing outside the home, minus childcare.  He DM'd me, and two days later I had a phone interview.  He had my resume, then I was Chief Mom Officer.  I had to submit my resume and talk about my past experience.  I had eight years of doing marketing and business development.

What a cool title - Chief Mom Officer!  Can you talk about that?

I'm so glad you asked that because Max Ciccotosto was a single male at the time, and wanted to be marketing to moms. So he hired a mom and gave her the title.  I think that's pretty darned smart.  He came up with the moniker.  I've taken that moniker, and I'm trying to turn that into a concept so that other companies follow Wishpot's lead.  (Check out Jessica's efforts here.)  He came up with that and asked if I would be comfortable with it. At first I wondered if people would take it seriously.  It's for their baby channel, and it's perfect in hindsight.  So I'm glad I took that risk.

How has blogging changed your life?

It's changed my life at so many levels.  Not just professionally.  Yes, I have this amazing job as Chief Mom Officer, and it's a total dream job.  But there's so many moms that I feel such a genuine connection with and whom I would pretty much do anything for. So in a way, it's changed my life not because of just the success that I've gotten.  Things are happening with me that four months ago I couldn't even have fathomed.  But being able to create a serious business network with moms and make deals happen and give publicity, I think there's some people out there that underestimate the power of mommy bloggers!

Amen to that, Jessica.  Jessica Smith is definitely an example of the power of mommy bloggers and just what we can accomplish, as well as how influential we can be.  Jessica's newest venture is a partnership with the company Care.com.  You can read about it at Jessica/Care.

*By the way, check out the new Wishpot badge in my side bar.  I'm a Wishpot Mom Expert.  Click on it to see all that Wishpot offers!

This week's Friday Feature Profile mom blogger is Caroline from Morningside Mom.  Caroline is an awesome blogger and one of the first I met.  I couldn't have been more excited to talk to her on the phone, as we have lots in common.  She wants to be a freelance writer, too!  I hope you enjoy reading what she has to say as much as I enjoyed talking to her.

How long have you been blogging?

Not that long.  Since March, actually.  I always loved writing.  But, ironically, I was a science major in college and ended up working in college admissions.  I did that for ten years.  Then I had my first-born son.  I was just trying t o be a mom, and everybody kept saying, "You should write; you should really think abou twriting."  Being nervous about it, I wasn't really sure how to do it.  Then I clued into the whole blogging thing an ddecided to give it a shot.  Never thinking it would be anything more than a personal diary/using it for practice.  right away I got such good feedback that I thought, "Wait a minute.  Maybe this is something I should kind of stick with.  So I just kept going with it.  I really felt like the blogging thing started to take on a life of its own for me.  I really didn't go in with the intentions to get as involved with it as I did.  It just seemed to literally take me down the path and lead me by the hand.

Tell me why you started blogging.

I was tired of just talking about what the kids did that day.  I really cared about things going on in the world or just random thoughs that I had, and there's no outlet for it.  I feel like blogging has allowed me to get out there, try things, completely express myself and be a part of that interactive world.

It's been a great way to get out of the house without getting out of the house, being able to have some interaction and have a feeling like my mind is valuable.  You get very little of that as a stay-at-home mom.  I always call it Groundhog Day - you're just in that routine of the same dishes, the same diapers, the same everything.  It's like Chinese water torture sometimes, sometimes it's wonderful.  My blog has just opened my world and allowed me to really be a part of something more than just where I'm at in my little routine.

Didn't you win a trip to BlogHer?

Yes, BlogHer had a contest sponsored by Ragu.  It was a random contest, but I won.  The winner got to go to the BlogHer conference in San Francisco.  I got the feeling that the universe just kind of opened up and just landed in my lap.  My family was so supportive, and they figured out what they had to do to take care of those kids so that I could go for that weekend.

Probably a few weeks before I was a leaving, a PR company happened to get in touch with me and really liked what they had read and they decided they wanted me to review some products for them, which happened to be a laptop and video camera.  I didn't have a laptop.  I ahve very little; I have an old computer which is on its last leg.  And for this to happen was just one more thing telling me, "You have to blog.  You have to do this."  One thing I've learned from the whole thing is that all signs are pointing me to blog.

Is blogging what's led you to try your hand at freelancing?

It's a confidence thing for me.  I wasn't trained in writing, specifically.  I went to a iberal arts college, and I had to write well to go there and to graduate from there.  The other portion of it is,"How do I sell myself?", and I think that blogs make a great resume.  People can refer to your writing ability there.  I'm just gonna keep going and see where it takes me!

Sherry Pardy is a mom to twins, a writer, and a student working on completing her Bachelor’s degree.  On top of that she shares her personality and humor at her blog.  She is definitely one busy woman and someone I’d love to spend some time with.  I enjoyed getting to know her when we spoke on the phone a few weeks ago.  Here’s what she had to say.

When did you start blogging?

I started blogging in 2004, about when my husband and I realized that we were gonna have some problems trying to have a baby. . .  I found out that I had PCOS, and it was likely gonna pose some big issues with trying to conceive, and I came home devastated.  I didn’t know what else to do. And I started researching online and Googling, then I found this blog called Chez Miscarriage, and she was dealing with a different problem, but she was part of this very large community of women who were infertile who had started blogging because it was a cheap way to get therapy.  That’s how it started, and it’s just sort of somersaulted from there.

Why do you blog?

It is the best thing I have ever done for myself.  It’s truly saved my sanity on many, many, many occasions…Everyone’s kind of got their own set of issues, and I think that’s what kind of brings everyone together and makes this blogging thing a community is that everyone discover that even though all of our issues, whether it be political or infertility or whatever. Whatever your issues are, everyone has their own…it’s like a belly button. You look out there and you realize that you can’t be the only one.  It’s so nice to know that you’re not alone.

We have adopted the mantra in this house that the mom is the heart of any operation in the house…the mom is the nucleus of any home.  If you’re not content in the direction that your life is going, especially being a stay-at-home mom because it’s a really isolating experience, I’ve found.  Without feeling like you’re contributing to something outside your little four walls, you’re gonna go insane.  I was doing nothing, I was not contributing to anything.  My husband plays a huge role in the development of drugs that could potentially save someone’s life, and here I was thinking I was doing nothing.  And since embarking on this journey and trying to get my career off the ground, going back to school, and doing a little something for myself, that has completely changed.  It’s been really great.  We’re really in place now, I feel like.

What do you share in your blog?

I am very honest and open in my blog.  My blog is a very accurate reflection of who I am in real life.  I hide nothing.  I don’t use a fake name.  I don’t hide about where I live.  I post pictures of my kids.  And I think that comes from before I was a stay-at-home mom, I was in radio, and I was the same way.  I used my real name on the air, and I never hid from what I did.  I think that, for me, it’s really important to do that because I’ve always had some esteem issues and self-image issues.  I think as I’ve gotten older that’s really helped with those issues and kind of squelched them a little bit because I put it out there, I force myself to put it out there.  That’s what it is.  People take it, people leave it.  That’s what it is, and it seems to work.

It’s given me an outlet to talk about things that I wouldn’t necessarily voice to anybody in real life.  It’s also introduced me to one of my very best friends, who is a fellow blogger, who I met.  She lives just in the next town over.  It is my outlet.  It was my little outside my four walls of my house that makes me feel like I contribute to something outside my family.

Helene's 2 Sets of Twins!

Helene, of I’m Living Proof That God Has a Sense of Humor, is the mother of two sets of twins.  That’s right, I said two.  Sets of twins.  The first set, a boy and a girl, are 4 years old.  The second set, both boys, are 18 months.  I’d say Helene has her hands full!  Others have said it, too.  Her reply?  “Yes, better to have hands full than empty arms and a broken heart.  Well said.  Helene’s story is fascinating.  She and her husband worked very hard to conceive their first set of twins; their second came about naturally, after a failed attempt at in vitro fertilization.  Helene volunteered to talk with me in my pursuit of mom bloggers’ stories.  Here’s what she had to say.

The name of your blog is fantastic! Tell me about it.

I guess I just thought “What would be funny?  What would be creative?”  I’ve been saying all along that God has a sense of humor - I’m living proof of that!

How did you get started blogging?

I didn’t even know about blogging, but I was part of a message board for women who were trying to conceive, they started an online diary forum.  I thought, what a good way to get my emotions out.  I could talk to my husband, but there were some things I didn’t want to tell him.  But I didn’t mind telling other women who were going through it, because it’s nice to get that feedback.  Yeah, that’s kind of how it all started.

I kept that for 2 or 3 years. In my second pregnancy.  I was on bed rest, family and friends were always calling to ask how I was, and I was too tired to get on the phone and repeat the same thing.  One of my friends said, “why don’t you start a blog?” It really just started as a way to keep in touch with family and friends, then little by little I started getting comments from women with two sets of twins or problems with infertility.  I realized other people are reading this.  It’s more like a family journal, but it’s also good to share with others and have others read it, knowing other people are going through the same thing.  That’s kind of how it got to where it is.

Why do you blog?

Some of it is just my thoughts on a daily basis, it may not even have to do with motherhood or parenting.  A lot of it is, because that’s my life.  I can go back to any certain place or time and see things like when did they get their first tooth.  Anytime I’m having a really bad day and I’m feeling less than grateful, I can go back and say look what I went though to have these babies.

Someday when your kids grow up, they may read that.  My mother never complained to me about stuff, so I didn’t realize how hard it would be.  I’d like someday for my daughter to read it.  Maybe when she’s feeling inadequate or inferior and be able to know that I felt that way too.    It’s kind of like a book of memories, really.

What has your experience been regarding other bloggers and readers?

It starts out as your own personal thing, you want a memory of something.  It’s interesting how you meet so many other people in the world.  You don’t feel so alone trying to be a mom, juggling it all. You just know you can connect with other people who have gone through it or who are going through it.  It becomes like an extended family.  You’ve never met them and you probably never will.  It’s like a sense of sisterhood.  It’s like you’ve known them all your life but you don’t even KNOW them.  I guess you wouldn’t understand unless you’re actually doing it.

** This is just a sampling of my conversation with Helene.  We had a great time talking.  I’m really having fun speaking with mom bloggers and learning about their unique experiences.  It’s said that everyone has a story, and I’m definitely finding that to be true of the women I’ve spoken with.  Check back every Friday for a new Friday Feature Profile to hear the stories of more mom bloggers!

Helene's 2 Sets of Twins!

Helene, of I’m Living Proof That God Has a Sense of Humor, is the mother of two sets of twins.  That’s right, I said two.  Sets of twins.  The first set, a boy and a girl, are 4 years old.  The second set, both boys, are 18 months.  I’d say Helene has her hands full!  Others have said it, too.  Her reply?  “Yes, better to have hands full than empty arms and a broken heart.  Well said.  Helene’s story is fascinating.  She and her husband worked very hard to conceive their first set of twins; their second came about naturally, after a failed attempt at in vitro fertilization.  Helene volunteered to talk with me in my pursuit of mom bloggers’ stories.  Here’s what she had to say.

The name of your blog is fantastic! Tell me about it.

I guess I just thought “What would be funny?  What would be creative?”  I’ve been saying all along that God has a sense of humor - I’m living proof of that!

How did you get started blogging?

I didn’t even know about blogging, but I was part of a message board for women who were trying to conceive, they started an online diary forum.  I thought, what a good way to get my emotions out.  I could talk to my husband, but there were some things I didn’t want to tell him.  But I didn’t mind telling other women who were going through it, because it’s nice to get that feedback.  Yeah, that’s kind of how it all started.

I kept that for 2 or 3 years. In my second pregnancy.  I was on bed rest, family and friends were always calling to ask how I was, and I was too tired to get on the phone and repeat the same thing.  One of my friends said, “why don’t you start a blog?” It really just started as a way to keep in touch with family and friends, then little by little I started getting comments from women with two sets of twins or problems with infertility.  I realized other people are reading this.  It’s more like a family journal, but it’s also good to share with others and have others read it, knowing other people are going through the same thing.  That’s kind of how it got to where it is.

Why do you blog?

Some of it is just my thoughts on a daily basis, it may not even have to do with motherhood or parenting.  A lot of it is, because that’s my life.  I can go back to any certain place or time and see things like when did they get their first tooth.  Anytime I’m having a really bad day and I’m feeling less than grateful, I can go back and say look what I went though to have these babies.

Someday when your kids grow up, they may read that.  My mother never complained to me about stuff, so I didn’t realize how hard it would be.  I’d like someday for my daughter to read it.  Maybe when she’s feeling inadequate or inferior and be able to know that I felt that way too.    It’s kind of like a book of memories, really.

What has your experience been regarding other bloggers and readers?

It starts out as your own personal thing, you want a memory of something.  It’s interesting how you meet so many other people in the world.  You don’t feel so alone trying to be a mom, juggling it all. You just know you can connect with other people who have gone through it or who are going through it.  It becomes like an extended family.  You’ve never met them and you probably never will.  It’s like a sense of sisterhood.  It’s like you’ve known them all your life but you don’t even KNOW them.  I guess you wouldn’t understand unless you’re actually doing it.

** This is just a sampling of my conversation with Helene.  We had a great time talking.  I’m really having fun speaking with mom bloggers and learning about their unique experiences.  It’s said that everyone has a story, and I’m definitely finding that to be true of the women I’ve spoken with.  Check back every Friday for a new Friday Feature Profile to hear the stories of more mom bloggers!