Thursday, April 24, 2008

We interrupt this blog...

Confession: I am a 'hater'.

At least, I think I am. I just can't seem to get the whole 'mommy blogging' phenomenon off my mind, now that I know about it. So, I am left wondering what it is that I am feeling towards these super bloggers. I think it might be a twinge of jealousy.

How do they do it? I just don't know. I've been going over it in my head a lot, probably too much. The whole super mom-blog thing has me baffled. The elaborate websites, the beautiful graphics, the video, the feeds, the photos, etc. Wherever do they find the time? I mean if you couple all of the actual blog work with the countless hours of networking, conventions, meet-ups, and time taken to accept, reject or negotiate offers from potential sponsors, corporate big wigs, etc. it is exhausting. I do not get how it is done. I want to. I really, really, want to. But, I don't.

I wonder if these moms are the moms I often see who seem super-organized, and free all the time. They say they are moms, even show me pics of their tots sometimes. But I am always left wondering where the tots are as they breeze around with their skinny lattes, and their palm pilots, always hurrying to somewhere undoubtedly more important than where I am going. I presume daycare maybe? Home with the nanny? Off on a play date? I am never bold enough to ask though. Usually because I'd be afraid that she'd notice the milk stain on my shirt, or smell the fact that I hadn't showered for 3 days.

Let me run a few numbers by you. Forty-five. That is the number of times I was interrupted while writing this entry. How about two. Two is the number of legitimate causes to interrupt me while I was writing. And how about three. That is the number of times I have interacted with only adults in the middle of the day this month. It took me five and a half hours to see this post through to fruition- five hours! From getting the napkin scrap notes down to typing it up, it took that long. Imagine how long it would have taken if I had to keep stopping to answer calls from big corporations, reporters, and PR people?!

Do you know what I had to stop for today? Let me see... I stopped to clean pee from the floor twice. I stopped when one of my kids punched the other in the nose. I stopped to comfort my three year old, and haul away a bunny carcass when my dog killed a rabbit in the yard. These are the things I think of when I think of a day in the life of a 'mom blogger'. I think of real moms, like me. I think of moms who have to stop blogging to deal with dead bunnies. I think of moms who while blogging utter phrases like "get down from there!", "stop it now!", and "don't eat your sisters hamster!"

So, I have come to realize that there is a real distinction between mom bloggers, and moms who blog. I am a mom who blogs. What do I blog about? I blog about pee and puke, diapers and dishes. Like it or not that is what I do. It is what I know. It is who I am. For as long as I am living the life of a suburban soccer mom in New Jersey, I fear these exciting blog events and cool schwag, might be just out of my peanut butter covered reach.

So, if BMW wants to come calling for a 'mom blogger' to test drive their new SUV, or Disney wants to send someone to test their resort out and then blog about it, they can find me here... blogging.

No margaritas and mid-day lunch meetings
Just soccer games and sarcasm. Period.

20 comments:

Jen said...

You pulled the thoughts from my head! Except you have a much more coherent way to transfer them to your blog!

If BMW calls, have them call me. Better yet come get me for your road trip! ;)

R said...

I am SO right there with you! How DO they find the time for all of that blogging stuff? I would LOVE to earn money blogging.

Stephanie said...

I'm a Sk*rt Editor and I just wanted to let you know that I "picked" your story and it's on the main page now. This is a very authentic post and I think lots of moms will relate...

michellemybell said...

Thanks Stephanie. I am excited to be "skirted" by an editor. Woo Hoo! I have read Metropolitan Mama and I enjoy it a lot. Thanks again.

Ann said...

Hi there, that was a really nice post. I am a Mom and I do blog. There are off days especially when you have too much to do especially Mommy duties or when I just ran out of ideas or inspiration. But blogging inspires me and it gives me opportunity to unwind and it becomes an outlet for me.

And the best part of blogging for me is gaining quite a few friends, no matter how virtual they may be. As you know, stay-at-home Moms like me sometimes lost contact with my friends.

Tasha said...

You ARE a super blogger. You wanna know why? Because you write what the rest of us are thinking....it's like reading my own brain. LOVE it.

terrintokyo said...

great post. I decided not to be a mom myself but being overwhelmed seems to be universal and this is the kind of down-to-earth, smart writing that anybody can relate to...

Nicole J. said...

Great post. I have been feeling the same way. I can barely get it together to try to write a coherent post once a day. I have no idea how one makes a blog the hot mommy blog (I hate that phrase). I am a mom who blogs. I blog a lot about motherhood-related things, but I also blog about woman-related things.

There are just too many mommy fish in the sea, it seems.

Genny said...

Thanks for the laugh. I can picture your many iterruptions, and I can relate!
Genny

Kimberly said...

What an awesome post. I loved it. It so mirrors my thoughts. I'm trying to get started blogging. I'm a single mom who also works full time and I too have struggled with finding the time to just make regular posts and find a few readers. I don't necessarily need that BMW to test drive, but if you get a call from Disney, PLEASE, PLEASE, send them my way! :)

Positive Frenzy said...

Keep it real girl! :-) Love your sentiments and you speak the truth...there is not a moment uninterrupted in my life as a mom, my 2 yr. old literally pulls me away from the keyboard while my 6 yr. old is yelling "Mommy" from the other room! You crack me up! The best schwag I ever get is non-poopy diapers! Wait, is that even schwag?! Have a great day!

Outnumbered2to1 said...

You are a very articulate and brillaint writer. I'm blogging hoping for the "big" break. I think our situation is way more typical than the Super Bloggers but gosh I hope I become a Super Blogger one day!

a musing mom said...

For the 5 minutes I had to myself today, I went in search of another Mom blog. I'm SO glad I found yours. Honestly, while reading your blog, I felt like you were inside my head! How do they do it? I've actually been trying to figure that out since I discovered blogging. Thanks!

Nicole

Oh! I'm trying to set up links to blogs I enjoy reading, would it be O.K. if I linked your blog?

H.E.Eigler said...

Fantastic post! Really, if there isn't a post about poop, I don't think of the blog as a mom blog. There's gotta be poop (or dead bunnies....same difference)

Jennifer Taggart said...

Well said! I'm a mom who blogs, mostly on non-toxic stuff for babies & kids. But I can only blog late in night, after both children are asleep, my husband is asleep, the cat has been fed and is out prowling, the guinea pig is doing whatever the heck guinea pigs do, and I take a moment to myself to do a blog - cheating myself of sleep to do something - before my daughter wakes up from a bad dream, or my son pees in his bed, or the cat gets into a fight with the raccoons . . . I don't know how the super mom bloggers do it. And I didn't know there was a debate about super mom bloggers.

Jennifer
www.thesmartmama.com

Shelly M. said...

I found your site via MomBlogNetwork.com

Great post! You're definitely not along. "Alpha moms" are super, but we don't all have to aspire. After all, the true measure of successful motherhood is how our kids turn out. Parenting is job #1, and blogging about it is just for fun.

Don't worry about anything. Be yourself, express yourself. Have fun!

Izzy said...

I got here from The Smart Mama and I just wanted to ring in on this...

I've been blogging for almost three years and while I've enjoyed a some blogging success with ads that make a little money, a free trip recently and a lot of free stuff to "sample" I still get interrupted with consistent regularity now that my youngest is no longer an infant and I'm constantly having to break up arguments, tell my kids to stop doing this or that, get snacks, get drinks, make meals, help with homework, go to activities etc.

It's almost impossible to write during the day anymore so these days I do 90% of my personal blog writing at night (and I write plenty about all the high points of motherhood - pee, puke, potty training etc.)

I have a 4yr old cell phone (no PDA's of any kind, no laptop), I only shower about 4 times a week (in a good week) and I often go to sleep in the shirt I wore that day and on occasion, the day before.

And trust me, most mom bloggers, are more like me than anything as glamorous and pulled-together as you might imagine.

So how do I run numerous websites, find time to write, do blog design for other people, answer an obscene amount of email AND be a good mother to my non-daycare attending children? Coffee. And self-imposed sleep deprivation. And more coffee.

And why do I do this to myself? Because I really enjoy it, because I bring in a little money with my design work and ad revenues and because I like being my own boss. It's a trade-off, like everything else in life, but it's one I can live with.

So you see, you and I and the rest of 'em? We're really not that different except that I will probably look old before my time while you will look well-rested and serene :)

michellemybell said...

Izzy,
Thanks for the input. I am not sure about well rested and serene. I think we lost that one after baby #2, but I am sooo with you on the coffee. :)
I do most of my blogging 'after hours' as well. And I have absolutely nothing at all against making money on your (or anyone elses) work. I am simply amazed by the whole thing. Take care.

Melanie Seasons said...

Michelle,

Great post :) Everything that I would want to say has already been echoed in the comments, so I'll just shut up now. In any case, well done and very thoughtful.

And thanks for visiting my blog.

M said...

You are definately a super blogger!
I've really enjoyed reading your blog. I feel like you are writing my thoughts down.
Any mom who blogs or does other work at home jobs can relate.