In Celebration…

Don’t we all love a milestone? Well, this is my 200th post! I feel like I should celebrate.

If you were to trawl back to my very first blog post back in 2008 you’d see a whole different style and approach. Much of that blog – then titled “Martin & Luschka in Europe” was submitted by mobile phone with no spell check while train-hopping around Europe. Later it became “Diary of a First Pregnancy”, a blog I still have a strong affection for. Obviously once the pregnancy ended, the name had to change and so was born “Diary of a First Child.”

I have met so many great bloggers along the way, and I’d love to share just a handful with you today. I can’t possibly list all almost 200 bloggers in my Google Reader, nor can I expand on all the blogs in my blogroll on the right, but I want to share a few of my favourites with you.

Big Teeth and Clouds – Joey is mother to a deaf little girl, Julia. Once a week she posts about the highs and lows of parenting a deaf child, but for the rest she posts about anything and everything. She found dubious fame after a post about shop bought waffles (which is where I found her) but Joey keeps drawing me back with her humour. She actually makes me laugh out loud sometimes.

Earth Mama – One of the first ever blogs that I started following, Earth Mama is an amazing inspiration to anyone interested in natural living. She doesn’t blog often, but it means that I make an effort to read every single post. I don’t want to miss a thing. She shares herbal remedies, natural health, natural, peaceful living. When I click away from her blog I feel like I have been on a little holiday.

Gardenmama – Another of the very first blogs I ever followed, Gardenmama excited me about parenthood and inspires me with every post. She has the most beautiful writing style and takes fantastic pictures to compliment the artistic approach of her blog. She is a mother that could easily leave the rest of us feeling quite inadequate, but she just doesn’t. She doesn’t preach, she doesn’t blow her own trumpet, and she doesn’t lord their seemingly peaceful and beautiful life over her readers. She just shares it. And as I said, I am inspired in every single post.

Maladjusted? – Laura is an ‘in real life’ friend of mine and I totally love her blog. Completely different to any of my other favourites, Laura doesn’t have kiddies, so she doesn’t write about kiddies! She writes about life, love and everything else in such a cynical way that it always makes me smile. I love seeing the world from her point of view. If you want something non-parent, this is a great place to start.

Red Ted Art – I’ve only recently started reading Maggy’s blog. It’s probably a bit premature for me as it’s a crafty blog, but I already have a long list of ‘crafts to do with Ameli (my daughter)’ and lots of them come from here. Maggy is a fellow London mum and it’s been great getting to know her. She really excites me about the next phase in the Mummy game.

Single Dad’s Diary – I’ve only recently started following this blog. It’s a diary of a relationship breakdown and eventual divorce, posted now but written five years ago. I don’t know why, but it’s totally drawn me in. Maybe because I can relate to some of it, maybe because of how it’s written, or maybe because I’m one of those people who slow down to watch the aftermath of a car wreck.

Sunrise Rants – I ‘met’ Ali on the Unassisted Childbirth group when I was pregnant. I didn’t intend to have an unassisted birth, but wanted to learn as much as I could about the process from mamas that had done it. Ali went on to have an amazing birth with just her husband present. She writes in such a dreamy, introspective way, it really resonates with me. More than ‘just a mummy’, Ali writes about work, life and yes, her lovely little boy.

Thoughtful Momma – I have been following Rebekah’s blog for a long time now. She has only recently become self hosted, but that has not affected her quality. I love her rants. She believes in women, in a woman’s right to birth and breastfeed and be. But she doesn’t come at it from a pedestal – she’s a totally down- to-earth Momma.

There are a host of others – Cafe Bebe, My Daddy Cooks, PhD in Parenting, Motherhood saved my life – to name just a few.

Thank you one and all for the inspiration, motivation and rich colour you bring into my life.