Welcome to the Blogger Spotlight Interview. This week we have Caitlin from Real Mom Recs taking part in the Blogger Spotlight interview.
If you would like to take part, and your blog is under six months old, or has been re-launched in the last six months, please email me randommusings29@gmail.com
1 Firstly, tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m Caitlin and the most important thing about me is that I’m a mom to 4 kids ranging in age from 1 to 9.
My experience is pretty unique because my husband and I chose to adopt our first two children and then have biological children. I write a little about adoption on the blog but I didn’t want it to be a blog about adoption.
Before I was a mom, I worked as a therapist for kids with trauma backgrounds. I may get back into that someday, depending on how this blogging thing pans out.
Right now I’m enjoying being home with the kids and being present at all their activities.
2 What is your blog’s name and what is it about?
My blog is called Real Mom Recs and it’s an eclectic mix of Mom topics.
I really like writing parenting humour (scary Mommy-esque articles).
I also write some genuine/serious parenting advice.
Disney travel is something my family is into, so I write tips for that too.
Lastly, I feature guest bloggers who have unique stories to tell on my series Ask Me Anything.
3 Why did you decide to start a blog?
It seemed like people were always telling me “Your kid stories on Facebook are so funny, you should write a book”.
I thought about it and realized I don’t know a thing about writing a book, but I could at least write a blog.
4 Do you have any goals for your blog?
Obviously I would feel like a success if my blog exploded all over the internet. That isn’t my primary goal though.
I really like having the expressive outlet and making real connections with other moms.
It’s been so validating to write about things that are hard for me and have other moms say “I’m so glad someone said this because I feel the same way”. As long as I’m still getting that feedback I’m going to keep writing.
A personal goal of mine would be to have my writing published on HuffPo or another huge site with lots of readers. If that ever happens there will definitely be some tears of joy and maybe a bottle of champagne.
5 Tell us one random fact about you
Before having kids, my biggest passion was travel. I spent a lot of time in Spain and France and thought I would spend my life roaming the world.
That has all changed now, but I still have dreams for when my kids get older. I don’t know if my husband will want to take part in that or not. We once flew to Asia and that flight almost killed him since he hates to sit still for long.
6 What is the best piece of blog related advice you have received so far?
To just write from the heart and it will show through to your readers. I don’t put much time or energy into researching SEO or keywords. My most popular posts are the ones I just HAD to write because the topic was weighing heavily on me.
I was really fed up with moms on social media painting a picture of motherhood as surreal and perfect, and that’s when I wrote The Dark Side of Parenting. I looked at what I was doing differently than all of the moms around me and I wrote Slacker Mom. Those are my two most popular posts to date.
7 What is your favourite thing about blogging?
I like having something to focus on that I do for myself and not for my children. The SAHM life has its perks, but it’s easy for women to lose themselves in the role of Mommy.
With the blog I’m able to focus on myself as a writer in addition to being a mother. It has changed my life in a very positive way.
8 Is there anything you would do differently if you were starting over knowing what you know now?
I’ve never been one to look back and analyse what I could have/should have done. I like to just dive into things and keep moving forward.
That’s been my approach with the blog and I’m happy with how it’s going. My blog has grown pretty quickly in its first few months and I’m optimistic that it’s only going to keep growing.
9 Anything else you’d like to share with us?
Social media has its purpose and is great for many things, but I think it’s also made parenting a lot harder for moms. It is so easy to feel inadequate when you scroll through a feed of moms who are all doing adorable crafts with their kids, taking fun trips with their kids, or making amazing meals for their kids, while you are just trying to make it through another day. I’m hoping to be a daily dose of reality for moms out there and to help them feel better about their parenting.
10 Where can we find you?
I blog at www.realmomrecs.com and my social media sites are:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RealMomRecs
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/realmomrecs/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/realmomrecs
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realmomrecs/
Thank you for sharing.