Apr 26 2013

An Epidemic of Nudey Pics

Posted on April 26, 2013 by admin

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Recently I’ve noticed a pretty disturbing trend on my social media accounts. I’ve seen some pictures of naked babies and small children. These aren’t scandalous or perverted pictures, they’re the ‘in the bath’ shots that every parent cherishes and later pulls out to embarrass their teenagers. They’re innocent and sometimes very cute - but have no place in the public domain.

A Mummy Too recently wrote a really interesting post about image theft, and how her pictures have ended up on other sites. The reality is that any image you believe you’re innocently sharing is searchable, and could very easily get into the grubby hands of someone ‘untoward’. Of course there’s all sorts of things you can do to limit the sphere of who can see your content, but the simplest way to avoid it happening is to not do it at all.

If you simply have to share a picture, at least strategically place bubbles or a toy over your child’s bits and bobs, or crop the picture before sending it live. I’d be mortified if someone at Dexter’s playgroup had a nudey picture of me, a photograph of your child could be passed around the playground in a similar way (and this is the least scary prospect).

By the same token, I’d avoid video reviews of bath time products in case your little ones get too excited. I recently stumbled across a case in point where a little boy and girl were excitedly showing everyone their new bath toys in the tub. No attempt was made to censor their bodies at all. It’s too late to simply remove it from Youtube now - someone could have already copied the video.

It really is sad that we live in an age where something so innocent can be so grossly mistreated. I have no doubt whatsoever that the people sharing such pictures and videos are loving parents who have simply acted naively. A quick google search bought up several blogs I regularly read or would like to read - their regular mummy’s like me and have lovely reviews and thoughtful content. I’m very tempted to email them and warn them but don’t want to frighten them or criticise. For obvious reasons I won’t be naming them.

Other parenting blogs will use pseudonyms or nicknames for their children to protect their identities. I’ve not gone down this route but may consider it as Dex gets older. I wouldn’t want him to be teased in the playground and it seems, unfortunately, that some bloggers have been bit on the bum in this way. One mum (who is ordinarily very careful) recently criticised her child’s school and named a teacher - she was admonished by the Headteacher the very next day. It seems we all forget that ourselves sometimes!

So please do think carefully before showing us your gorgeous little people in the buff - save them for their future boyfriends and girlfriends. Better to be safe than sorry.

Mar 20 2013

Business Cards - My Posh Blog!

Posted on March 20, 2013 by admin

There are plenty of things I miss about work - socialising with adults, dressing up in the morning, after-work drinks… but I wouldn’t change my current situation for the world. With the recent miscarriage I’ve been far too emotional to focus on work and it’s made me even more determined to enjoy every precious second with Dexter.

My blog has now become my job - making a detailed scrapbook for Dexter, reviewing & reporting on baby-related products and meeting other blogger’s. So when I recently won some business cards thanks to Clare from Emmy’s Mummy, I decided to get some made up for my site. As the plan is to attend more events this year, it makes sense to have some made up to pass onto PR’s, fellow bloggers, and brands (I can never remember my phone number anyway!).

The business cards I won are from Instantprint and I’m really pleased with them. I wouldn’t ever pretend to be a graphic designer so I opted for one of the templates and personalised it with my blog header. They’ve come out really well - colourful and eye-catching. I’m also impressed with the quality - they feel nice and tough and both sides are clean and crisp. What’s more they arrived well packaged and quickly. I’d definitely recommend InstantPrint if you’re thinking of getting some made up for yourself.

So what do you think?

DISCLAIMER: I won these business cards and was so happy with them I thought I’d share them. I have received no compensation for this post.

Jan 31 2013

Some of my 2013 MAD Blog Awards Nominations

Posted on January 31, 2013 by admin

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I’m reliably informed the MAD Blog Awards (or The MADs as they’re more affectionately known) are the equivalent to the BAFTA’s for family-life bloggers. I was blogging when the 2012 awards were in full swing, but completely missed the hype not having a twitter account. Now I can’t move for hearing about them - it seems everyone is voting, discussing their nominations, appealing for votes, or agonising over them.

I thought I’d share some of my nom’s with you so you can discover some of the most innovative, charming and witty blogs penned by other mummy bloggers. Unfortunately we could only vote for one blog per category and there are so many others that deserve a mention but here are a few of my personal favourites:

Best Blog Writer: Mammy Woo

This is one blog that doesn’t need updating everyday, because every post that is made, is comedy gold. It’s also incredibly heart-warming and endearing - Lexy is frank about her PND and various other emotions, and writes about them in a way that is so explicitly raw and personal that you can’t help but be moved. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes sad, she has a style all of her own.

The blog is all about her life with her “2-year-old boxer and screamer extraordinaire” Addison. There’s no doubting that she loves her little man - but she’s often making us giggle with her accounts of being beaten up and ridiculed by him, or injuring herself on his playthings (or walking into a glass door) - it’s the perfect portrait of a long-suffering mammy who is loving every second of it. I won’t be the only person to nominate her and I’ve got my fingers crossed she wins this one.

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Best Pregnancy Blog - Mummy Adventure

I’m a massive fan of Bex’s weekly On the Inside, On the Outside posts about her pregnancy, her pregnancy-style posts, and her musings on welcoming baby 2 (Squish) into her mini family. I first stumbled across her blog when she announced her second pregnancy to her son Dylan with a cardboard box filled with blue balloons and just fell in love with it.

It takes a master blogger to come across as approachable, calm and friendly through the medium of writing. It sometimes prickles me when I detect a hint of self-importance in bloggers and there simply is none here. There’s no denying she has a pregnant-body-to-die-for yet somehow I’m not jealous at all… (ask me that again when I’m expecting number 2 and swollen with fluid retention and my butt warrants a wide load sign…).

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Most Innovative Blog - The Ramblings of a Formerly Rock’n'Roll Mum

Miss Cisco is always making me giggle. Not having the foresight to check with her how long she’s been at it, I didn’t nominate her for Best New Blog (and am kicking myself about it). That’s why she finds herself getting the weird nomination for Innovativeness. But for me, that is kinda what her blog is all about; It’s a real mash-up of funny laugh-out-loud, and mad little observations that scream eccentricity.

You get the feeling she’s all about having fun - a pint rather than a wine drinker. I’m tempted to stalk her at a blogger event just to satisfy my curiosity. Sleep with one eye open Miss Cisco…

(Coincidentally - if you like what you see over there - you’ll probably like Random Ranting of a Tattooed Mummy too - she’s hosting the Alternative Blog Awards which is well worth checking out)

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Most Entertaining Blog - Single Slummy Mummy

It’s no secret that I love Jo. Hers is blog packed with observational comedy. She’ll read a ridiculous local newstory or spot a ridiculous shop name and an epic blog post is born. It’s the blog I feel compelled to comment on the most and one you can dive in and out of when your OH is watching the football and the laptop is your only friend.

Stand-out posts for me this year have been The one where I lose Belle in a wood (every mother’s nightmare) and her thoughts on Amsterdam’s Red Light District.

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Best Photography - Capture By Lucy

I love Lucy. There I said it - and I’m not alone. This is the most visually beautiful blog I’ve ever seen. Her posts on charity shop hauls, craft ideas, and vintage fairs are full of stunning photographs that make you feel as if you’re there. You feel cooler somehow every time you visit her site.

I can’t even put my finger on what makes this blog so special. It just appeals to so many people - the vintage-lover, the geeks, and the style-unconscious (erm that would be me) and she’s also incredibly sweet and down-to-earth. She blogs for the beauty of it, and the result is a wonderful scrap-book un-polluted by sponsored posts and reviews (not that I’m criticising this - hers is just a different kind of blog - one to aspire to maybe).

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So there you have it - of course I voted for some others and will write about them some other time as I can hear a little guy upstairs awaking from his nap.

Now I’ve only just tamed my beast-blog and I think it’s true to say that most of us relative newbies can take a few months (in my case 18 months) to figure out what the hell we’re doing. I think I’ve finally shaken the off the new baby hangover, and am beginning to find my feet. Other than Best Baby blog (which I can’t possibly lay claim to) none of the other categories apply to me so my lonely little Facebook plea will be my only one. Looking through all the blogs in my google reader - there are so many more worthy.

These happen every year and it’s well worth getting involved. You don’t need to be a blogger yourself - simply human-shaped with an email address. Neither do you have to vote in every category - if there’s just one post you’ve read this year that intrigued you, made you smile, or you felt an affinity to - let that blogger know about it and vote (you never know, he or she might get a nice night out, a glass of something fizzy, and a shiny new award because of you).