Mummascribbles meets…Life Love and Dirty Dishes – Mummascribbles
Today we meet the lovely Claire from Life, Love and Dirty Dishes. Thanks so much for taking part Claire.
Tell me a little bit about yourself and your family.
My name is Claire, and I am a chocoholic. I am 36 and from Southampton. I have a degree in advertising and marketing and worked mainly in the print marketing sector before having my children. I met my husband at school, we’ve been together 21 years and in September will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary (with a night away child free!!!) I have two super cute and very noisy boys. My eldest is 5 and ¾ and believes he is batman. My youngest is 15 months and is a total daredevil who is making my hair grey!
What do you like doing to be you, when you are not parenting, working (if you do), or blogging?
I think I’m always parenting or blogging!
It would depend on the company. If I was with my husband it would have to be slobbing on the sofa with a good movie and sharing ice cream! I love a good girls night out with my friends. Wine and giggles and putting the world to rights. If I’m by myself I love to get lost in a good book. Cecelia Aherne, Lisa jewel, Mariane Keyes, Dorothy koomson and Jodi Picoult are my favourites.
What is your biggest achievement to date?
It’s such a cliché but it would have to be my boys. I just look at them and think wow, I made them. And so far they seem to be making it through life unscathed so I must be doing ok!
I would also say my relationship with my husband is an achievement, I mean we’ve survived 21 years together! But joking aside I believe in this day and age (and yes I know I sound like an old woman) to be together and still happy in love after all that time is a success. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without my husband.
I also opened a jar of honey today that my husband had previously closed (with it seems a view to no one ever gaining access to its contents again). It involved a lot of huffing, puffing and sweat, so right now that factor pretty high on the achievement scale! Not to mention avoiding the fall out that would have followed had the big one not been able to have honey with his pancake. Feeling pretty epic right now!
From your own experiences, what do you find the hardest part of parenting and what is the easiest/most rewarding part?
I think every age has its own challenges and rewards. Right now my 15 month old is at the bambi stage of walking so I have many heart in my mouth moments when he stumbles! He is in to absolutely everything and mainly the stuff he shouldn’t be! But he’s also learning new tricks every day and it’s so lovely to observe. My absolute favourite thing at the moment is his big open mouth kisses!
My eldest is 5 but sometimes has the attitude of a 15 year old! I find the repetitiveness hard. Asking someone to put their shoes on ten times every morning can be exasperating! But it’s also such a great age for conversation. He cracks me up daily with what he comes out with and astounds me with the intelligence of some of his questions. His first year at school has been amazing to see how much he has learnt. At the moment the daily challenge seems to be deciding what he is old enough to do and what he is not, although he of course thinks he is old enough to do anything he wants!
There is a lot of judgement on parents and it has taken me a while to learn how to ignore it. I never expected complete strangers to feel the need to comment on my children, me being a stay at home mum, or whether I am going to try for a girl as I have two boys (both times I fell pregnant we tried for a baby, regardless of gender!). I think we are hard enough on ourselves as parents without getting it from everyone else!
At the moment old ladies seem to have the urgent need to tell me on a daily basis that my little one should have socks on his feet. I’ve given up explaining that I have stopped to put his socks on 10 times already, but he always takes them off and when I adverted my eyes from him to stop the big one stepping in dog crap, I missed him launching his socks from the buggy so we have now lost another pair! Short of super gluing them on I give up! But is it really any of their business?!
The most rewarding part is always the unconditional love you get back. I love being in the little bubble of my family.
Parenting in itself is no mean feat; how do you juggle everything you need to in order to get everything done on a daily basis?
To do lists! I can’t function without a list! I am a stay at home mum and I plan housework and blogging around the little ones nap at the moment. I am in awe of how working mums get it all done. Although I get annoyed when people ask what I do all day as a stay at home mum. I take care of my children! Would you ask a child minder what they did all day? I’ll stop there before I start ranting!
Why did you decide to start blogging?
It wasn’t something I really planned! I have always liked writing but never had an outlet for it. I had read a few other blogs and thought why not give it a go. I wrote my first post in June of last year without knowing anything about blogging or websites. But I really loved having a little space to write my thoughts. After a few months I felt a bit more confident and decided to go public with my blog and promote it. I contacted Em at Brummy Mummy of 2 who is one of my favourite bloggers for her advice. She gave me some great tips about social media and it kind of went from there. I’ve learnt so much in my first year and I think I have found my voice and my style and I feel confident in what I do now. I wish I had started years ago!
Tell me a bit about your blog?
My blog is mainly observations on family life. I tend to write humerous pieces that I hope people can relate too. Occasionally I have a rant about the hot topics of the day, normally the ones that add unnecessary pressure to new mums. I also get a bit soppy from time to time about my two small people. I post once a week, twice if I have a review, and on Fridays I run my linky #FridayFrolics. It’s for funny parenting posts. I launched it at the end of March, I have a lovely bunch of regulars and it is growing each week. Even if you don’t have anything to link up, it’s a great place to come and have a giggle.
What do you want your blog to achieve and where do you hope to see it go as it grows?
The dream would be for this to be my job. I don’t expect to earn a fortune, but enough to afford the family a few luxuries and for me to be able to work flexibly around the kids.
I have been lucky enough to feature regularly on Netmums, Mumsnet and Huff post and I hope to continue this way and get recognition for my writing.
At the moment I am concentrating on my content and growing my social media following. In particular facebook, so if you want to head over and like my page it would be much appreciated!
Next year I hope to be able to attend Britmums Live and meet some of the fantastic bloggers I have gotten to know over this last year.
What advice would you give someone who is thinking about starting a blog?
Do it! Find your voice and use it. And don’t be afraid to reach out to other bloggers for help. I have been overwhelmed by the friendliness and generosity of the blogging community. People are always willing to offer their expertise and to help you share your success.
I think the biggest thing I have learnt is you get back what you put in. That goes for content, promotion, comments, everything. The hardest bit is finding the time to do it all!
If you could have dinner with three people (dead or alive), who would it be and why?
1. Derren Brown – I think the man is a genius. I’ve been to a few of his shows and he just intrigues me. Especially when he claims the skills he has anyone could learn. I want to have a deep and meaningful conversation with him!
2. James Corden – A bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. He makes me laugh and I think he would be excellent company. And I want to give him a cuddle. Too much info?!
3. Brad Pitt – Just so I can look at him.
They are probably quite shallow choices!
Tell me three random facts about you
1. My middle name is Ruan (pronounced Roo-ahn). People always seem to be intrigued when I tell them!
2. I’ve always fancied giving walking across hot coals a go. No idea why.
3. I once spoke to Phillip Schofield on a live phone in competition on Going Live. I have a melamine mug to prove it!
You can find Claire over at www.lifeloveanddirtydishes.com/ and also over on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+. Claire also runs the weekly #FridayFrolics linky.