PLEASE Help Baby Makin(g) Machine!!

Ok, I've never devoted an entire post to begging, so you know this has gotta mean a lot to me right? I wasn't going to interrupt fund raising and post about it but this is something I really really want so I figured I'd ask for your help!! I aint too proud to beg for this! I just found out yesterday that I'm a finalist in The Bump Mommy Blog Awards. But get this... I'm in the Best Fertility Blog category!! Perfect right? That's totally what my blog has been all about... Preparing to be a mom, researching good TTC techniques etc.

I'm way flattered and excited, and now that I know all about it I REALLY want to win!!

Well if I win I get a $100 Gift Card to Pottery Barn Kids! I've never bought anything there before, and I think it could be fun to put in a chest and save for when I find out I'm pregnant.

If that never happens (or doesn't happen before it expires) I'll give it to one of you! Promise!! And if I win overall (not likely) I'll get $1000 cash!! Yea... We could SO use that!!

In less than a year I've gotten to know so many of you! You are awesome people who have helped me along the way... And I hope my rants, questions and fact finding has helped you some too! And I promise after raising money for March of Dimes I'll go back to ranting and questions, and personal stories k?

I'm hoping you can help me once more today by voting for me!! You don't have to sign up or anything. And thanks to Google Analytics and SiteMeter I know how many of you read my blog every day, so if each of you... And each of my followers go over and vote I can win!! PRETTY PLEASE vote!!

Ok thank you! Now go vote (please!!)!

The April and May Mommy Moment Features

It's time to open up nominations for the June spotlight! So share your favorite "Mommy Moment" you have this month--Remember, in my world, you don't have to be a mom to have "mommy moments". In your post, let people know it's an entry for the Mommy Moment Contest with a link to this post! Then, let me know where it is in the comments section, or email it to babymakingmachine(at)gmail(dot)com.

Our guest judge this month is Kari from Alas 3 Lads. She is like me.. a little OCD, a night owl, and dog lover. But she's also a wife, former nurse gone stay-at-home-mom from Kentucky. Check out her blog.. But no, she's not taking bribes.

I'll accept the entries until June 25th and we'll announce the winner shortly there after! Good luck! Can't wait to read more of yalls fabulous posts! To see all of last month's entries click here.

But before you run off to write about your adorable stories I want to introduce you to the April and May winners. I had the pleasure of interviewing both Sarah P from Seraphim and Marybeth from Desperately Searching for my Inner Mary Poppins. Both have wonderful blogs!

Here's a little more about them:

Name? Marybeth

Blog Name? Desperately Searching for My Inner Mary Poppins

How many kids do you have? 3

What is your favorite thing about being a mom? Cuddling with my kids and listening their conversations!

What is the hardest part about being a mom? Listening to children bicker!

What is your blog about? Desperately Searching for My Inner Mary Poppins.....it's the name of my blog, and sorta the way I live my life. From the wonderful joys of being a mother to my moments as an aspiring author, I'm always searching for the magic and perfection!

How did you start blogging? A friend of my sisters kept posting her blog on facebook and her post insanely entertained me. Then I thought, “I could do this.”

How long have you had your blog? 3 Months

What are some tips for new bloggers? Be yourself while still being relevant. People love to read what is real!

Your 3 favorite posts you've written ? The Invasion

Why Motherhood is Masochistic

Is Coffee the Key to Success?

Spread the love: 3 other blogs you love? Just three!?!?! Ok...

Pajamas and Coffee

Welcome to the Momplex

Maneuvering Motherhood

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Name:
Sarah P

Blog Name:
Seraphim

How many kids do you have?
I have three children, my eldest is six and is known as Mr Large on my blog. My daughter is nearly five and she is known as Miss Medium and my youngest is nearly two and known as Mr Small.

What is your favorite thins about being a mom?
I could write you a really long list but I'll condence it to this. The unconditional love it creates within me.

What is the hardest part about being a mom?
See above. Unconditional love is wonderful, but it can also be exhausting.

What is your blog about?
It’s largely about motherhood, juggling work and family, but for me a very important part is working with mothers who have lost their babies or their children. So often they get great support immediately afterwards, but then their story is gradually forgotten. I lost a sibling many years ago to SIDS. I’ve never forgotten him and it’s really important to me to honour these women and their babies. I’m working with my brother on creating beautiful images for these women and their families. I’ve only started this recently, and I’m not really sure where I’ll be taking it. I like the sense of unknown with this blog.

How did you start blogging?
I started blogging when I was trying to research about a friend’s infertility. I’d had some difficulties falling pregnant myself but knew nothing about what she was going through. I wanted to know more, so started researching and came across all these amazing blogs by all these amazing women. The trouble is, until we face a hurdle, we often take motherhood for granted, a given. And for so many women it’s not.

How long have you had your blog?
Oh gosh, over a year now. It’s undergone new looks frequently, thank in large part to Danielle. She keeps coming up with all these news looks and designs and I love them so much. Like me, my blog keeps evolving!

What are some tips for new bloggers?
When I started I distinctly remember saying, I didn’t know what the purpose of my blog was. You don’t have to have a purpose in mind. Just enjoy the process. Read other blogs and comment on them as well. That way people get to know you too. Join forums to discuss topics that you are interested in. I began at LFCA, a site that provides support for women struggling with infertility, miscarriage and pregnancy.

Your 3 favorite posts you've written?
The one I nominated for: Say it with flowers and Love’s Brother and one I wrote about a wedding I’m planning: The Wedding Spanner

Spread the love: 3 other blogs you love?
Apart from yours you mean? That’s really tough because if you saw my blogroll you’d realise I follow a lot of wonderful blogs. But, if you pinned me down and threatened me then I’d pick:
My friend Carly’s blog, she does wonderful work with her “Write their Names in the Sand”
Stacy’s Blog “He will carry me”
and because it is just so cheering to read, I love Kelly’s Korner. (I don’t think she even knows I exist, but it’s a really heartening blog to read)

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Want to be featured? Don't forget to submit your post here!! You have a couple of weeks, but don't forget! :) Oh, and remember... You don't have to be a mommy to a human to have a mommy moment!

The 6 Month Blogiversary!

Yay! I've officially kept this blog up for 6 months now. Wow, has it flown by! This month had been the first month I've cooled it down a little and stopped posting DAILY! While I still think of enough things to write about EVERYDAY I'm having fun posting when I really feel like it. ...Though trust me, I think I'll be picking up the pace again soon.

For my 6 month Blogiversary I want to bring back something I haven't done for a couple of months. Mommy Moment of the Month! But I'm going to do it a little differently. For now, instead of nominating others, I want you to submit your best post of the month that is an example of motherhood. You don't have to be a mom to enter. The winner will get a pretty new button that I'll be revealing soon, as well as a little feature about your blog! So will you enter? Yes, please do! No specific topic this month except Motherhood! Look back in your archives for something you wrote this month or write something up (or months past if you want this time) that displays a classic "mommy moment" be creative and have fun! Feel free to nominate someone else if you'd rather.

And in true Future Mama style I'm gonna give away something special for any lady! A beautiful tile necklace of your choice from CarrieAnneJone's Etsy Shop. My personal favorite is this one:
But she also has a really cute one that says "Hot Mama" I'll definitely have to get one of those one day... If I'm still hot after being a mom that is.

In the comments section just let me know which one you want if you win (or parents with little girls you can choose one of her adorable headbands instead) and I'll draw a winner via Random.org on June 8th.

You get extra entries by letting me know if you:
-Have asked me a question for a Q&A
-Have nominated a post of yours/a friend's for Mommy Moment of the Month
-You follow my blog
-You have my blog button (now two entries)
-You subscribe to my blog
-You favor my blog on Technorati
-You Tweet/ Facebook about this contest
-You post about this contest (now two entries)
-Vote for my blog in the 2009 Bloggers Choice Awards (worth 3 entries!)

Good luck! And don't forget to let me know your favorite post.

The Awards

Have you entered my Greatest Giveaway Yet? Don't forget! It ends on the 25th!

Last week amidst my down days I received a few gleams of light. Several of which were left in your nice comments! I'm so glad I'm not the only one thinking what I'm thinking, but I'm so glad that expressing what I'm feeling is also helping some other people, I love the women I have connected with through blogging, and friends I have gotten to know better though it. It's so great to be uplifted by such great people, so THANK YOU!

Another cool thing that happened was I got this Kreative Blogger Award! I've been eyeballing this thing for awhile and I feel SO happy that Joy from Mommy's Joy gave it to me! So thank you Joy! And as a part of this award I'm suppose to list 7 things I love and bestow this award to 7 others. I've tried to write a little description of each blog so you can see which ones interest you, however I recommend you visit them all!

Here are 7 things I love (in no particular order):
1. Chocolate covered strawberries: I can't think of anything I like to eat more. Ok... Maybe Cafe Rio, but I can't eat that anymore. So I LOVE chocolate covered strawberries.
2. Writing: I'm not the best, most eloquent writer, but I love to do it anyway. I'm glad I get to write news stories for a living, and I love writing here for fun. I hope I can keep writing for money my whole life.
3. My dog Snoop: I don't care what everyone says... He is like my child, for now at least. And when I'm sad and crying he comes up and snuggles with me. He loves us :)
4. My husband: I didn't purposely put him after Snoop, it just so happened to fall that way. I may talk smack about him every now and then but I love him more than anything.
5. My faith: It's a way of life but I love it, and I truly believe I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for it.
6. Austin: I really do, there's great weather, lots to do! I love this city.
7. Babies: But couldn't you tell?

And it's soooo hard to choose just 7 blogs to give this award to, and I hope I can choose people who haven't gotten it yet. Please pay the award forward ok? :o) So without further adieu, in no particular order:
1. Sunshine-- Marly has such a beautiful family and she chronicles their daily lives. She's also pregnant with her 3rd boy! I love catching up on what's going on in her life as well as reading her helpful comments here!
2. The Poor College Student's Guide to Raising a Family-- Josie is so talented and makes all sorts of craft stuff, she has a couple of blogs but I especially love this one because it has helpful hints about saving money.
3. Mom the Intern-- Jenna has an adorable little baby girl, and she's also about to graduate. She is working at an internship at a news station in Phoenix. Since we went to school together and I work in the broadcast industry, I'm always curious on how she balances both work and baby, she writes about it here.
4. Liberal Mormon-- I don't have much of a political bias myself, I consider myself pretty middle-of-the-road actually, and to some LDS people, that makes me "liberal." This blog is a cool look at a different LDS perspective.
5. The Healthy Moms-- Cascia found me and my blog when I first started and her blog has provided some helpful tips for me regarding planning for motherhood. She also leaves the most helpful and encouraging comments.
6. Musings of Mommy Bee-- I've told you about Jenni a few times! She opened my eyes to crunchyness and has such a creative way of thinking. I love reading her blog and seeing what her family is up to way up there in Alaska.
7. The Young Mommy Life-- Tara has a great blog about just that... Young mommy life! And I love it because it's a fresh perspective from a young woman experiencing motherhood. Oh, and she also taught me the great phrase "Stay out of my uterus!" haha!

And it doesn't stop there! I also got the Attitude of Grattitude from the lovely LeNesha from My Business Adventures. I feel so special to get two awards in one week and I'm going to pass these on as well! One thing I'm grateful for is your comments, so I'm going to pass this award on to some of my loyal commentators. Please do the same, and visit these great blogs!

1. The Bobby Pin-- I love this blog. Natalie is a journalist gone PR, and even though she's switched to the dark side her and I have a lot in common. For one... We're both contemplating motherhood. I wonder who will make the switch first.
2. Grace Comes by Hearing-- Tracey just welcomed her first baby boy, and boy is he a cutie! I love reading about all of his firsts, as well as hearing her honest opinions about my crazy thought on this blog (she opened my eyes to some of the difficult parts of being a SAHM!)
3. Pure Dove-- Jennifer also adds her future mama opinion here on my blog but I love reading about her adventures.
4. Life With Randi and Hudson-- Randi has been following me for quite a while and she always offers the best advice. She's a single mom documenting their beautiful lives.
5. We Keep Choosing Us-- Tori has a growing family and she writes about "anything and everything that strikes her fancy" I especially love her beautiful poems.
6. Kayce's Doula Journey-- I love Kayce's family blog but I also love this new blog she started about her adventures in becoming a doula.
7. The Firefly Shop-- Such a helpful website! But not only does she have great stuff there, she brings her great advice here! Thanks so much!
8. My Brown Baby-- Denene has such a great collection of posts from wonderful women around the globe! I love her new site and all that I'm learning about multicultural families. I love reading stories about things I may face having my own brown baby.
9. My Name is Not Molly-- I love Gabrielle's new blog about being a young modern LDS mommy. She's always making me laugh. So if you need to smile.. Read her blog!
10. Creole Wisdom-- Katie has such a beautiful blog! She's not a mommy or a wife yet, but she's been blogging a LOOONG time! I love her and her beautiful photography. She's one of the main people who got me into blogging. When she pops in here she always has a great new perspective to add.

There are soooo many more blogs I want to add here but I think the awards people may get mad at me if I keep going, and not all of them are open to the general public. Know I love you regardless if you're on this list and I'm SO grateful for your advice, encouragement and comments :)

The February Mommy Moment of the Month

February came and went so fast that I almost forgot to tell you about one of the best mommy posts I read last month!!

I LOVE reading about Mallory's Motherhood Lamentations.

It's refreshing about her joys, struggles and humors of being a lover and mother. She's honest and hilarious! I'm always entertained when I'm doing my routine stalk visit. But most of all I love how real and candid she is. It really is opening my eyes to the not-always-rosy side of motherhood. But she still claims her kids are better than yours (not mine) haha, see here.

I've been blog stalking her for a little while and when I came across this post, I ABOUT died laughing. She talks about an experience at a restaurant when she's trying to feed her screaming baby while everyone in the restaurant is staring at them rudely. But what does she do? She doesn't excuse herself or ignore the rude people, she CALLS THEM OUT! You go girl!

No really, I think this is one lesson and story I want to remember so if I breast feed and I'm in this situation I can do the same thing! Tell 'em like it is hunni... That's what they get!

But her pain = my pleasure, therefore gets here this awesome award! Congrats Mallory and thanks for taking one for the team!

If you have a post you'd like to recommend for this month let me know in the comments section or email me at babymakingmachine (at) gmail (dot) com.