Happy Anniversary To Me!

(At Shopping From The Heart with @dS_marty, @pamperedpatty and @montreal_mom)

So here I am, coming to the close of one year of blogging.
My first post was brief and shy, (To The Future) who knew this blog would blossom into THIS?!

Time has flown by in more ways than one! With little ones, mamas often mention how it seems like you blink, and they have sprouted into boys and girls… the babies are gone.

Time certainly does fly. Especially here! Being a mama of a preschooler and twin toddlers makes time pass at light speed. There have been many the day where I have not known what day it even was, let alone what important errands or deadlines had to be met. But miraculously, everything that is the most important gets done.

Speaking of important, this whole concept has taken been a huge shift for me since my three children. What is the most important thing? Them. Everything else takes a backseat, or at least it has for these crucial years. And that’s ok by me. For me, the best part about being a mama is really listening to my children. And if that means changing plans because one of them is having a bad day, well, that’s what we do. Of course, it’s all within reason, but most of the time, I go with the flow and they are pretty outspoken and expressive kids with me about everything. And that makes me really happy.

Trying to summarize their year in a blog post would be impossible. As for my blogging, it’s pretty challenging as well. A lot has happened since I decided to open up an account and start writing into internet space. I became active on twitter at the same time, and the two forms of social media really took off. I have met some amazing people in real life and online. And truthfully, the friends I have made through this medium are phenomenal. Each of us has a story; we all make our community, our world. To be able to connect with people over the internet from almost any place on earth is pretty amazing.

“It Might Have Appeared To Go Unnoticed”
I distinctly remember being a child, on my family vacation and meeting a boy at the beach. My sister and I played with him as well as any other child that was there that week and we had lots of fun. When the week was over, this boy and I exchanged addresses and we became pen pals. He and spent years writing hand written letters, sending photos of our lives and keeping each other up-to-date on each other’s lives from so far away. He lived in New Jersey, I lived in Montreal. Yes, we were far away. How could you explain this to children now? Well you couldn’t really, without sounding prehistoric. But essentially, this is what I have come to feel about Twitter and blogging. I am meeting amazing people, and we are sharing our lives through brief messages on Twitter or long posts on our blogs. We learn from each other, we encourage each other and we have become real friends. A modern day Beaches if you will.

(At She’s Connected with my fabulous mama blogger friends!@GGirlGGreen, @UpperCanadaSoap, @LittleMsSave, @chancesmommy, & @aaricamakeupblog)

When I wrote that first post, I felt a little like Julie Powell in ‘Julie & Julia’. Was this going to go anywhere? Would anyone ever read this? Would anyone ever respond? I was throwing myself out there. And look what it got me! A whole lot.

Here are a few highlights from this year (in no particular order):

• Getting a retweet from Raffi on my parenting poem! (First Day Of School)
• Being a part of The Ultimate Blog Party over at 5minutesformom.com (Blog Party Review)
• Coordinating a networking event that became so big I was able to donate to three local hospitals that have helped my children (www.shoppingfromtheheart.blogspot.com)
• Meeting some of my Montreal tweeps during my charity event (squee!)
• Writing a guest post over at MamasMonologues (Fashion Sense: Mama Style)
• Being able to write about Usborne Books and why I love them so much
• Winning some very cool stuff during twitter parties!
• Becoming ‘friends’ with Erica Ehm on Facebook (love her!)
• Being interviewed by Mums ‘n Chums: Inspiration Is Contagious
• Being invited to attend the She’s Connected Conference in Toronto!! That was my first conference and it was amazing! (What I’m Bringing To SCCTO)
• Meeting so many bloggers from all over Canada at SCCTO (double squee!)
• Bringing Usborne swag to amazing mama bloggers at SCCTO, loved giving them away!
• Interviewing with Canadian cartoonist, Lynne Johnston
• Writing a guest post for Janice and Susan at 5minutesformom.com (find it here)
• And so much more!

For all my followers who have now become my friends, I want to say thank you. Thank you for inspiring me and cheering me on. Your stories have made me laugh and cry and grow. I’m happy with what blogging has brought me and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon! Here’s to more years and more adventures! Cheers!