by Ashley on July 30, 2010
Hello everyone and happy Friday! I hope everyone has enjoyed their week. It has been an interesting one here- I have been trying to keep up with the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge, although it may take me a little more than 31 days to complete it all! I have also been dealing with the summer blahs, so I told my kids to go watch television. Then I experienced my first truly negative comment, as I expected would happen when I poured my heart out about the television. I am so grateful to have had so many positive responses to that post, because it really helped me rise above the nastiness shown to me, simply because I told allowed my children to watch tv. Do people not have anything better to do than visit blogs and bash the author? Sheesh. I am trying to take this as a learning experience and help me build a thicker skin. I mean, this is my blog. My views. My opinions. If you do not like what I have to say, click on by people. There is no need to be rude. I remember reading a great blog post about this, but at the moment cannot remember who posted it. I am going to leave my acknowledgment of this to a paragraph, because it has been addressed enough and more thoroughly than I wish to do at the moment.
But, this also has me thinking about how some people do not delete the negative and instead foster debates and craziness on their blogs. They get large traffic hits and much buzz, both positive and negative. I briefly thought, should I leave this truly offensive comment for display and plead my case to garner support and hits?
No. Decidedly, no. I do not want or desire that type of frenzy, so bye-bye negativity.
So, my Aloha Friday question to you would be what do you do when you receive negative comments?
by Ashley on July 28, 2010
I have to admit, I gave pause to posting this. We are often consumed of what others think of us, whether it is the opinion of friends, families, strangers- or in this case, my blog readers. I love the support and connections I have found through blogging, so I found myself ranging in emotions from being skeptical that this is pouring my heart out to realizing it really is- I’m sharing one of my mom insecurities.
Sometimes, I just have to send my children to watch television.
There. I said it. I know, I know, I am a terrible mother and am prepared to have my supermom crown taken away. But alas, it is true. Amidst the endless criticisms that exist, the fervent warnings of the repercussions, and the judgment of other moms everywhere, sometimes the television gets turned on.
Let me explain my process. I am a stay at home mom. You know, the mom who spends the day cooking and cleaning, attending to her children’s every whim, cultivating little minds with expert craft projects and bestowing my endless wisdom upon them. I never lose my patience, never raise my voice. I know just what to do at every turn and never make mistakes.
Yeah, I don’t believe that either.
I am not sure why it is automatically assumed that because we are stay at home mothers, we have an easy job. I am also not sure why it is assumed that we do not have the desire to go to work. I can tell you that there are days that I salivate over the idea of putting on a suit and heels, dropping the kids off with a sitter, and spend the day being intellectually stimulated and working on the tasks that I spent years getting an education for. I treasure the ability to be able to be with my kids, but some days are very long, even if the years are short. I have never been an anti-television mom, even before I had children. But, I sure have encountered others- both with children and without- who have quite the opinions on the subject.
With the month of July ending, I am feeling a bit stuck on that end, while enduring the unbearable heat of this crazy summer heat wave and the ensuing irritability of my children. I’m cranky, I’m irritable, and I’m tired. Now, with the allure of summertime quickly disappearing into a memory while anticipation for fall (and cooler weather) increases, I’m running out of ideas and my patience is short. I am having one of those weeks where I just feel the need to scream.
I strongly dislike this frame of mind I’m in, and then I become frustrated with myself and guilty. It is a little ridiculous at times how much pressure you can feel to reach that June Cleaver level of perfection. (Although without some type of medication, I’m not sure that’s possible) I know that sometimes I’m going to lack motivation and need to take a break. It really can be easier said than done, I suppose. It can be so hard to remember that even though we may be mom, we are still human.
So you know what? Even though winter will come and we’ll be indoors more for movie days and television days, I’m creating my own Christmas in July and allowing my children to watch a little extra television. And I’m saving my sanity.
What do you do when you have just had enough and need a break from your kids?
This post is linked up to Pour Your Heart Out at Shell’s Blog, Things I Can’t Say. Be sure to visit and follow her!
Photo credit here
by Ashley on July 27, 2010
As I mentioned before, I am participating in the 31 days to build a better blog challenge over at SITS. (click the link for more information!) One of the great exercises crafted by ProBlogger is to share seven links to help all of you amazing readers get to know my blog (and me!) a little better. I think these links are a great representation of me, and I hope to expand on some of these concepts a little more in the days to come. So please settle in, click around, and get to know about me, Just Another Mom of 2.
- My First Post was nerve-wracking; luckily I had some great supporters along the way. Visit my first post Welcome to my World.
- A post I enjoyed writing the most was discussing an amazing afternoon with my husband- talking.
- A post which had a great discussion came from a discussion about how sometimes you just need to take a break.
- A post on someone else’s blog that I wish I’d written comes from Shell @ Things I can’t Say, because it’s simply priceless- and we can all relate. How to be labeled a Mother… well go read it to see. It’s perfection.
- I would say my most helpful post came from a technical perspective where I help bloggers take their google friend connect to wordpress.
- A post with a title that I am proud of is on a subject I know so many of us experience, Leaving the Cliques Behind
- A post that I wish more people had read would be how The Days are Long but The Years are Short, so that other moms know we all have those days- and to know that we are not alone.
What do you think of my seven links? I would love to know which one of the above posts is your favorite- please share with me in my comments below! Also, share your links about the #31DBBB!
