I am who I am

I’m a freelance writer..
People hear this and look interested.
“Oh! Do you write books?”, they ask.
“No, I write press releases,do translations,produce web copy, ghost blogs, articles and 101 other bits and pieces”
And the shutter comes down.
“Oh, so you don’t writer proper stuff?”
Ermmm.

I’m a blogger.
In fairness the shutter barely wobbles in the wind with this one.
The common response goes along the lines of…
“Oh, really?”, without looking up.

I’m a Mummy Blogger.
I have to say as labels go this isn’t one of my favourites. I find it slightly disconcerting to receive emails addressed to “Mummy” that haven’t been sent by my kids. “Mummy blogger” is a title loved by some and hated by others. As there is with all labels, the Mummy Blogger label has a stereotype attached to it. Mummy bloggers are those who make stuff up all day to get freebies right? Wrong. As a Mum (or a Mummy) who blogs (so you can see where Mummy Blogger comes from) I enjoy writing about my family, our home, our lives and our opinions. It is unfortunate that this is a label that can be used negatively as I know many people who fall under the Mummy, or Daddy or my preferred name parent blogger tab who are simply bloody wonderful people and talented writers.

I’m a WAHM (or work at home mum).
“So you work from home and look after kids at the same time?” *Insert raised eyebrow here*
Good Lord, is it possible that I may be able to work from home full-time and not damage my children? Clearly I neglect them terribly. As a WAHM I am bound to be letting something important fall by the wayside, (I agree with this actually, in my case it is usually sleep and dusting behind things).
Believe it or not thousands of men and women work from home very successfully, with children in school, nursery or at home. The joys of organisation i.e. working like a ferret on speed during nap times, and after bedtime as well as at a ridiculously early time of the day can all be part of the parent who works from home.

Some might say I am a mumpreneur.
“Oh God, not another one!”.
Calm down folks, it’s just a title. I am a Mum who runs a business. You have to admit that mumpreneur sounds infinitely better than Mumisiness-woman? It isn’t a term that I use myself but hey-ho.
Personally I couldn’t give two hoots what people call me (to my face or otherwise), a label is just a label. People are often grouped together by common interests, goals and other life choices. Ok, there is the potential for stereotyping and abuse with this but from a personal standpoint I don’t care if I am a blogger, a WAHM, or a Mumisiness-woman.

If you really want to know who I am, my name is Nicki.

"Nicki" (prounounced Nick-ee). Mother, wife, daughter, sister, writer, blogger, cheese eater, social media addict, flower lover, interior design show fanatic, Slimming World member, user of sarcasm.

This Is What A Mummy Blogger Is… Right?

A Mummy Blogger is a SAHM who has little else to do during the day but write about the mundane details of their lives, or make details up to make themselves sound more interesting. Of course there are the freebies too, a Mummy Blogger lives for freebies, will write anything you like to get them, they get loads of stuff for doing nothing. One day when the kids are older they will get a proper job.

WRONG!! WRONG!! WRONG!!

This is the kind of description that gets bandied around all over the internet, amongst families and friends, everywhere!! I wouldn’t mind but what a load of crap. Most of the “Mummy Bloggers” I know (and Daddy Bloggers too!) are amongst the most intelligent, screwed on people I know. Some blog full-time, some part-time, many of them work out of the home (or in) as well as blog and many of them run their own businesses. Those that are SAHM/D’s work just as hard as those who are employed out of the house.

Freebies – oh yes, freebies. Have you ever heard the saying “You don’t get something for nothing” – it’s spot on! Any blogger worth their salt researches and tests a product fully before blogging about it. This often includes getting the family involved, taking pictures (possibly hundreds of pictures if you’re trying to pin down a child and product at the same time) and then a review is written up. A review has to be thorough, original & depending on the product / blogger, creatively arranged to keep the reader’s interest. Parent bloggers are a growing community of writers who are much sought after by PR companies – and why is that? That is because we are uniquely skilled individuals who are able to put a point across in an original and interesting way.

MB’s blog for different reasons. I started blogging to give myself a platform to further my freelance writing, but I fell in love with it, and the blog now seems to have a life of it’s own! For me it is part pure enjoyment, part business. Others raise an income from blogging, some use blogging as a tool to further their existing business, to display a craft, hobby or skill they have, some use it as a diary only- to record family events and personal achievements. WHY people blog is of no relevance to anyone else, it just is , and no-one has the right to belittle that.

And as for getting a “proper job”? Don’t even go there!!

Being a blogger is also not as easy as it sounds either, yes anyone can blog, there are many different free software packages and tools you can use to get started, but for those wanting to blog more professionally, you need now to be a good writer AND an internet genuis lol! Self hosting, design, website maintenance, widgets & plugins… some people find all of this very easy, some don’t, but are self-motivated enough to learn, or ask other bloggers for help.

I have read some absolutely amazing things on our people’s blogs, the places they’ve traveled, things they’ve seen, heard and experienced! So you know what, once you look past all the freeloading and time wasting, Mummy bloggers are a pretty bloody fantastic lot.

Right, best go now and make up some stories for tomorrow’s blog and see if I can blag some more freebies!