When did you start blogging and why?

My very first blog post was way back in 2008. If I’d known then just how big blogging would get, I would have been less sporadic and more strategic. At that time, I just wrote down a few random thoughts and they are still floating about the ether of the internet.

I came to blogging as a consistent practice in 2013. My second born son died by SIDS in 2012 and I found that words released the anger and pain. Those words gave me perspective and hope. The stories I wrote shortly after he died were raw and private – I still have not shared them. But I remember scouring the internet for stories about child loss and perspectives on grief similar to my own. The brave people that shared their stories helped me out of a dark hole.

After my third son was born in 2013, I started a blog called Chasing His Sunshine. A place to write about grief, hope after grief and offer the the life line that I had searched for. I still write at that blog, but with time I found I wanted to write outside the experience of grief. I wanted to write about being a mother and finding joy and identity within that experience. I wanted to explore being an intelligent, articulate woman with my children as my first love and a desire to remain the minxy, confident person I was before babies. 

My friend shared a similar point of view and we launched the Mummy & the Minx together. She had to part ways with the blog but we are still friends and I still blog with my heart and soul at the Mummy & the Minx.

What are some of your favorite sites on the ‘net?

Oh gosh, SO many. Facebook does take up a lot of my time. I have too many blog crushes to list them here – many are fellow Her View From Home writers. I do love a good look around Creative Market and the Hungry Jpeg. So much pretty for this font geek.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Two days a week I work from home, so those days involve shouty mornings getting my two living boys out the door. There is short burst of chaos followed by peace in which to get my work done and an ache because I am missing my boys. 

On non-work days, I hang out with my youngest whilst my eldest goes to primary school. My two year old and I often go for a walk to our local park which has a little creek running through it. We bring bread for the ducks and we lie in the sunshine. Sometimes we will catch up with friends for a coffee, a baby-cinno, playing and chatting. Then we come home to chores. My little one “helps.” You know what two years olds are like.

On weekends, I like nothing more than just hanging out with my gorgeous boys. Can you blame me?

                                

What advice do you have for someone who wants to blog or share her/his story?

Just start. Put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and start. If you tell your truth, if you write from your heart, you will find resonance and people will be thankful for your words. You will find connection. You will learn things about yourself. You will open your world. But you won’t find any of it unless you start.

What story are you most proud of?

My stories are truest when I write about Xavier, my son who died by SIDS. When I write about him, it’s the closest I get to mothering him. It’s as though my thoughts and love reach out to him through the magic of words and he offers me love right back through the solace of writing and the encouragement of others.

This piece was published in a major Australian blog site: Still a mother to the son I love and it means so much to me that Xavier touched so many people.

How can people follow you?

I blog twice a week at the The Mummy & The Minx . I often hang out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Sometimes I even make videos on my YouTube channel. And I’m just starting to explore Periscope.