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happy 3rd anniversary, happy 3rd birthdayThree years ago, amotheworld was born.  Three years!

The Boss was three years old and the Destroyer was eleven months old.

Why did I start amotherworld?  At that time, there weren’t many mom blogs like there are today.  They were few and far between, and I felt like there was a need to share my ideas with the webisphere.

I’m shocked to see how many mom blogs out there now – stunned. Like a dime a dozen.  But back then, there weren’t many out there… and I wanted to share my voice.  A blog was the perfect outlet. 

But then I wanted to share others’ stories as well.  The blog then turned into an online blogazine and ultimately magazine.

When I had my first son, I thought that some moms always looked like they had it together.  Motherhood seemed to come so naturally to them. 

I’d wonder, are they really enjoying motherhood like they appear to be?

I started writing the blog and after sharing my own stories and experiences, I saw a change in some of the women I knew personally.  And I heard from many women around the world about their experiences.

After some prodding, these women started to magically open up. Like an epiphany, we all seemed to suddenly realize that we were all struggling to cope with all the challenges of motherhood. 

Why were we so damn afraid to talk about it in the first place?

Part of it was cultural – we were “supposed” to know how to be a mom, just like our moms.  We were supposed to be able to do it all, and do it all with a smile.

Part of it was womanly instinct – we were supposed to be natural at breastfeeding, changing diapers, dealing with screaming babies.

Part of it was fear of comparing – we didn’t want our friends to think that we were having a tough time while they were in complete bliss.

Part of it was fear of failure – we didn’t want to fail at being a mom.

The truth is, motherhood is the most challenging yet rewarding job many of us have ever had or will have.

Through my own journey into motherhood, I learned many valuable lessons that have helped me to grow into the woman that I am and always wanted to be.

Happy Anniversary 🙂

by Maria Lianos

On Thursday night, I (amotherworld) hosted a #NotGoingToBlogHer party on Twitter for those of us who could not attend BlogHer 2010 in New York City.  The response was overwhelming!  So overwhelming in fact that we trended in Canada!  

The questions received so many responses!  The most replies to the question was 75,  which didn’t include all the comments and RTs!  Originally planned to last an hour between 9pm and 10pm, the party went on for 2 hours!

The mutual vote was… “What happens at #NotGoingToBlogHer STAYS at #NotGoingToBlogHer!!!”

Many interesting (and I mean, shocking!) responses… it was truly AMAZING to see so many women come together and let loose!

Thanks to TweetChat, I was able to sort of keep up but not enough to give prizes that night.  Winners were announced throughout the day on Friday, August 6th.  Bonus prize winners were announced on Saturday, August 8th.

Here are the questions and winners for the various prizes: 

Q1:  What is something people don’t know about you? 

Prize:  Digital CDs or apps for kids courtesy of @Kiboomu  Kiboomu.com 

Kiboomu

Winners:  @miacupcake  @ElaineOrrMorgan  and @SomewhatCrunchy 

Q2: Which 3 celebrities would you most like to have sex with? 

Prize:  “Libations of Life: a girl’s guide to life one cocktail at a time” written by Dee Brun aka @CocktailDeeva 

CocktailDeeva

Winner:  @moeturner 

Q3:  What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done? 

Prize: Mabel’s Labels offered an Ultimate Back-to-School Combo

Mabel's Labels

Winner:  @amy_boughner 

Q4: What is the worst piece of advice you have ever received? 

Prize: $50 credit to use on www.clippo.ca thanks to @Clippopotamus 

Clippopotamus

Winner:  @nugglemama 

Q5:   One thing you would change about yourself? 

Prize:  A pair of dichroic glass earrings with sterling silver posts courtesy of @AnnBac9  and Teenzillas 

c/o Teenzillas

Winner:  @smilenwaven 

Q6:  One thing you love about yourself? 

Prize:  A package of 30 4″x6″ Photo Cards (perfect for the holidays) and a set of 140 return address labels courtesy of Grace Announcements @graceannounce  

Grace Announcements

Winner:  @ottawamom 

BONUS PRIZES 

Prize 1: Starbucks gift  – Winner: @kellidaisy  

Prize 2: Avon products – Winner: @pattysullivan 

Prize 3: Copy of Kathy Buckworth’s “Shut Up and Eat: a Tale of Chicken, Children and Chardonnay” 

Winner: @InfoSara 

THANK YOU for participating in my first Twitter party! and

THANK YOU to Grace Announcements, Mabel’s Labels, Clippopotamus, Dee Brun, Kiboomu, Kathy Buckworth and Teenzillas for the fabulous prizes! 

By Maria Lianos

I’m facilitating the spring session of the Managing Expectations program at the Ontario Early Years Centre in Newmarket for Life With A Baby, a non-profit support group for new and expectant parents in York Region.

On Tuesday, our guest speaker was Laurel Crossley-Byers, B.A., Certified Adult Educator, Life Coach and Parent Educator, aka Opti-Mom.

She talked about how new moms can experience a loss of self after baby is born and offered tips on how to reconnect with who they were before children.  Here is a clip of her talk:

 

For more information on Life With A Baby registered programs and other meet-ups, playdates and events, please visit www.lifewithababy.com.