We are ONE–It’s our BLOGiversary

We cannot believe a year has passed since we launched Austin Moms Blog.  In typical Anniversary fashion, there have been good,  bad and ugly times this crazy year. We thought it would be fun to reminisce about our favorite blog moments from the past year and also share with you a little about our growth plans, both personal and blog-related.

July ’12

They pretty much look the same now, except longer hair for Caroline and shorter hair for Lincoln.

How did we get started? 

<Vanessa>  Before I moved to Austin from Dallas, Lauren Kimmel (co-founder of Dallas Moms Blog) asked me to write a few blogs from the perspective of a working mom for DMB. I had never authored a blog before and surprisingly was a big hit on DMB.  I became a like-addicted blog writer and wanted to keep writing every chance I could.  Well, as the fam and I started to talk about our move, I started to ask Lauren a few questions about the whole blog deal and when I learned more, I was in. Allison and I have been friends for years, we were both new moms, both recently married and I figured she’d be up for the blogging challenge with me!

<Allison> Austin Moms Blog completely fell in my lap. Vanessa asked me if I was interested and being the people “pleaser” that I am coupled with my inability to say “no” to anything, I was in! I had no idea what the blog entailed and assumed I’d just be writing a blog here and there. I was honestly confused when I was being invited to webinars and brain storming sessions. What an eye opening experience this has been though and so rewarding too! Blogging has been therapeutic in MANY ways and has been the perfect outlet to connect with others. I’m so glad I didn’t know what AMB would entail, because honestly, I probably would have said “no” and would have missed out on a now, fulfilling piece of my life.

How do we do it all?

<Allison> We don’t. I don’t want to focus on what we don’t do, but I know we don’t do it all. Don’t get me wrong, we do A LOT; however, I know there is definitely more effort to go around to making AMB even more successful. I don’t think Vanessa and I could have gotten any more lucky with a partnership. We’ve never had an argument about the blog, we compliment one another’s strengths, and have a genuine friendship, which I think makes running our blog easier, more smooth, and at times, more genuine… Vanessa and I have such a healthy and happy little blogging marriage with open communication, the ability to inspire one another, and we do a damn good job at at holding each other accountable. But still, we definitely don’t do IT ALL!

<Vanessa> Sometimes I don’t know.  Allison is certainly my saving grace. I know she was talking about how difficult it is working part time and being a full time mom, but some how she makes time to be the best blog partner…ever.  She is our email master, sponsor coordinator extraordinaire and my momspiration. Aside from Allison being amazing, things have definitely gotten easier to manage since we’ve grown our contributor team with these amazing ladies, but between working full time, traveling like CRAZY and being a mom to sweet Caroline Grace, sometimes blogging suffers. I am definitely motivated by knowing that you all read every day and like reading our varied perspectives on being a mom, but at the end of the day I don’t know how the hell we do it all.

If we had all the time in the world to devote to AMB, what would we do?

<Vanessa> Gosh! If I didn’t have a full time job I would definitely work on spreading the word about AMB.  We have such an incredible group of loyal followers that I’m sure local businesses would be thrilled to know about.  I would also like us to devote some time to event planning like our other Sister Sites.  It’s not impossible, but it’s in the neighborhood of impossible these days.  Also, it’s pretty discouraging that the first two events we tried were straight up flops.  We’ll try again Year Two!

<Allison> It’s a little known fact I’m slightly obsessed with the number of followers we have so it would only be natural for me to FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS on bringing that number up! So many of our sister sites have so much success with coordinating Mom’s Night Out events and that’s something we’ve been a slackin’ on, but like V said, we didn’t have much luck with what we did coordinate. Maybe our moms are not the “let’s get together” type.

What’s our greatest wish for AMB?

<Allison> To continue to maintain our relevancy to moms not just in Austin, but all over! We have many readers outside of Austin and we LOVE that! Obviously, Austin is where it’s at, but I’d love to continue to grow our network of readers. Austin Moms Blog is my hobby first and foremost so I’m not looking to get rich by blogging, but I definitely love some of the perks that come with being an AMB Co-founder. Above all else, I just want moms to always have a takeaway from our blogs and feel that they gained either a new perspective, a new technique, or just feel better about a problem and have comfort in knowing, they’re not alone!

<Vanessa> That it continue to be a resource for Austin moms.  We love that people reach out to us when they have questions, when they’re moving, when they’re shopping for schools or anything else. AND I hope it brings in enough money for Allison and I to enjoy a guilt-free shopping spree at Nordstrom, our favorite.

Vanessa’s Favorite Blog by Allison: My absolute favorite blog by Allison (aside from the one she dedicated to me and my hubs) is this one where she talks about being “cool.” I love the honesty of it all because truthfully, sometimes it’s still weird for ME to say that I’m a mom and I feel like it automatically makes me not as cool as the average 20-something. I still like happy hour, people! AND I don’t wear mom jeans…at least not on purpose.

Allison’s Favorite Blog by Vanessa: I love the way Vanessa writes… most of you don’t know her, but she’s first and foremost, the MOST whitty and sarcastic person I know. The way she writes is genuinely her personality and it makes me spew my morning tea 9 out of 10 times so picking one was a toughie… BUT, I loved her “Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Make Me Skinnier Than Them All” blog. How many people actually admit they aren’t satisfied with their body? To others? Publicly? Where it can be found on Google? Ummm, yea… not many! But Vanessa did it and I loved her vulnerability, honesty, humor, and as always, her whit. And oh as I’m typing this I just realized it’s her favorite too… LOL! See Below  /.

Vanessa’s GOOD Blog Moment: One of my good blog moments this past year was when I cranked out this blog about body image and it surprisingly kicked ass! One thing I’ve learned about blogging is that the more honest it is, the better.

Allison’s GOOD Blog Moment: My favorite blog and therefore, good blogging moment, was actually a joint blog between me and Vanessa; however I wrote 95% of it so I’m claiming it. It was about a Cloth Diaper Event we went to for the Guinness Book of World Records. Click the link to read about it…. I still want to DIE over that event!

Vanessa’s BAD Blog Moment: Hmm..what was a not so good, not so bad blog by me this year… I can’t think of just one, but one of my not so amazing blogs was about Teenagers. I was inspired by my stinky brother and clearly he’s not the best muse.

Allison’s BAD Blog Moment: There’s been more than one for sure, but the winner definitely goes to one of my first…. it was about Salmon (yes, the fish) and how to make dinner quick. It sucked. I’ve learned now that people who want recipes go to Pinterest not Austin Moms Blog, LOL!

Vanessa’s UGLIEST Blog Moment: I don’t know if UGLIEST is the best descriptor, but this blog certainly ruffled more feathers than I realized it would. I still don’t think I would take a photographer into the delivery room with me, but to each his own.  I don’t like that I offended any crown shot seekers–it wasn’t my intention.

Allison’s UGLIEST Blog Moment: I feel like V, it’s not necessarily “ugly” per say to me… but it got the ugliest in terms of feather ruffling. It was about breastfeeding in public. It was so popular we ran it a second time as a part of our Throwback Thursday series. And it was just as “ugly” the second time as it was first! I guess some didn’t like my comparison of urinating in public and breastfeeding in public. OBVIOUSLY, I know there’s a difference, but I stand firm in my analogy… they’re both technically “natural” things to do.

What’s coming year two?

<Vanessa> Well, I know we have a GREAT year of blogs coming up with our incredible contributors, but even more exciting is the Halloween contest coming up and the 12 Days of Christmas giveaways we have coming down the pipeline. We don’t have anything planned for Thanksgiving other than eating too much.

<Allison> More contests, more giveaways, and more blogging! We have such a diverse group of contributors that will make our blogs that much more well rounded. The oldest child we have is 9 and the youngest we have isn’t born yet so our blogs should impact just about every Mama!

What personal things should you all expect to hear about this year?

<Allison> Running a blog is all PERSONAL! There’s nothing sacred anymore as my husband likes to remind me of ALL  the time. And it’s true! You can’t run an effective blog if you aren’t personal about your life… so expect to hear more things about marriage, disagreements, sex, and of course, being a mom… DUH!

<Vanessa> No baby making, for sure.  All I can say right now is that marriage is tough and that there is a reason people tell you not to have kids and get married young.  I’m personally going to spend the immediate future working on defining what makes me truly happy and making sure my family is happy, healthy and in a good place.

And this question is for you all…what do YOU want to read more about this year? What are some of your memorable moments from the year?