Getting Back to Guilt-free Blogging

I had already been blogging for more than two years when I first heard about Blogiquette*.
[*Psssst, that's the Etiquette of Blogging]

Replying to comments. Following back. Leaving meaningful comments on others' blogs. Visiting commenters' blogs and leaving reciprocal comments.
Oops, I thought, I haven't been doing any of that.
I'd better improve my blog-manners!

Of course it didn't help that I had a good ole Blogger blog with a rubbishy comment system which makes replying to comments a near-impossible mission.*

I tried replying to comments in the post so it looks (to other readers) like I've replied... but the person who commented may never know (unless they come back to check, which is unlikely).
I tried hunting down the person's blog and leaving a comment there (probably what they were after).
While I'm there, I might as well "follow" and hope they "follow back". Time consuming. Tedious.
I tried replying the manual way - reply by email. Oops they don't have their email address visible in their profile. My polite reply just went to No-reply@Blogger. Never mind, at least I tried, right?

I spent the next months being super duper good at Blogiquette, replying to comments as best I could, and being a Really Nice-Mannered Blogger.
At one point I got fed up with Blogger's antiquated comment system so thought I'd try installing another option... then watched my hard-won comments dry up like a granny's knickers in summer.
Obviously that was too much work for my readers, having to sign in every time, so I flagged that idea and returned reluctantly into the loveless arms of Blogger comments.

Meanwhile, as I spent hours of each day trying to build my blog by being a polite blogger, I watched enviously as SouleMama and Pioneer Woman get hundreds of comments which I'll bet they don't reply to.
One Day, I told myself. One day you will be a mega-blogger too and have strangers by the hundreds leaving you amazing personal comments (in the hopes of standing out from the crowd) that nobody expects you to reply to. Your blog will be a household name and people will follow you just to read you. They won't expect you to follow back. Or heaven forbid actually read and comment on their blogs.

At the same time my laundry pile rivals Mt Everest, dust bunnies are planning a revolution in my hallway and my children have started referring to me as "the computer lady".

Sound familiar at all?
Something has got to give.

I am coming across more and more bloggers who have lost their blogging mojo as the pressure gets to them.
Blogging has become one more thing on the To Do list, one more obligation, instead of the joyous creative community-spirited endeavor it was in the beginning.
So their blogs lie dormant, abandoned. Lovely blogs, funny blogs.
It's all become just too difficult.

Do you know what I'm talking about?
Are you there right now?
Or are you a new blogger... still bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, enthusiastically replying to every comment and following back every blogger who follows you, whether you love their blog or not???

Whatever, wherever you are, lets take the pressure off, shall we?
Blogiquette is a great and noble concept. I'm all for manners.
But we have actual Real Lives. All of us. Families and responsibilities that tug us away from the computer, much as we would love to spend hours being polite to virtual strangers.

So what do we do?
We re-evaluate. We figure out how much blogging time we get. Hmmmm. Not as much as we'd like.
We'd better Prioritise.

What comes first? Writing content for our own blog, surely? And reading those blogs which truly inspire us, make us laugh - the ones we will read whether the author ever comments on our blogs or not.

We can also make time to read the blogs of those bloggers we've built meaningful friendships with.
If we have a spare minute we might check out a few newbies... and leave an encouraging, meaningful comment.
But not every day.

We reply to the comments where someone asks us a question, and to the comments that made our day, or intrigued us. If we have time we hop over and check out those bloggers (who knows, they could become our new favourite?)... and we leave it at that.

Then we walk away from the computer.
Conquer the Laundry mountain. Fight back against the Dust Bunny Revolution.
Reintroduce ourselves to our children.
And live our actual Real Lives. Without which we will have nothing to say.

What do you reckon, girls? Ready for some guilt free blogging?

*NOTE: The Blogger Commenting System has recently been upgraded to allow "threaded conversations" but they don't actually send an email reply to the commenter. I have now been using Intense Debate comment system for over a year; it works very similar to the Wordpress threaded comments (and has ComLuv)... but I still don't reply to every comment. Unless you ask me a question. Or make my day.

I am Grateful to Be in Hawaii

Yep, you heard me correctly.
Right this minute as you sit reading this, I am laxed out on a beach in Kauai, Hawaii.

Could I be any more grateful?!
(A blessed week with just me and hubby on a tropical island, at a resort for FREE. Grateful MUCH.)

I'll tell you all about it when I get back. There will be photos, I'm sure. Probably looking something like these...

Ahhh the serenity.
So flippin grateful right now, where I am (in paradise).

Join in with The Grateful Project
Use #thegratefulproject hashtag on Instagram and your "Gratefuls" will show up here automagically...

If perchance you happen to write a grateful post on your blog, you can link it up below. Use the #thegratefulproject hashtag to join us on instagram (and twitter)... or you can share your gratefuls in the comments section. There's even a button so you can let others know you're joining in...

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Gratefully Yours,

Family Movie Night: The Hobbit

Every Saturday we will be sharing with you our ideas for family movie nights. Movie reviews and fun theme night ideas.

This week we are reviewing The Hobbit: An unexpected Journey - the first film in Peter Jackson's new Tolkien trilogy.

It has taken me a while to get around to seeing The Hobbit. Even though we live in Middle Earth and are avid Peter Jackson fans, I confess that I didn't rush out to go and see this movie when it was still out in movie theatres. I'm not really sure why my initial reaction was more "meh" than "me please" - I can only attribute it to memories of wading through The Hobbit book, and finding it rather arduous.

After finally seeing The Hobbit MOVIE, however, I am now revising that initial reaction of "meh" to one of "oh my gosh I love it".

The Hobbit movie is completely fab. Engaging, funny and action packed.
I was wondering how on earth Sir Pete could make another flippin Trilogy - I imagined it to be dull and plodding (like the book) and rather drawn out. But now I totally get it, and I can't wait for the next instalment.

We watched this for a family movie night, with our children aged 5, all-but-9 and 10. We did our usual trick of muting the scary music and orc-screeches for the sake of nightmare-avoidance and ended up sending the little guy to bed halfway through.

Poor Scrag - he ends up watching movies that the other kids would never have been allowed to watch, but it's really hard when you have older kids (and as parents you've spent 10 years watching cartoons and you're mostly OVER IT). So we play Sound Editor and add commentary about the special effects and remind him "Uncle John is an Orc; they're just big ugly rugby players with masks on") and thereby get away with a slightly older genre of movies than Cars and Shrek (which I love - but we've seen them all, many times).

In this movie there are Trolls (not that scary), Orcs (standard issue), A Pale Orc (bad and scary), goblins (pretty much like orcs but smaller), giant wolves (scary) and a flash view of a ghostly creature which is not as scary as the other scary things. There are also lots of battles and chase scenes. Only you will know whether your kids will cope with this or not.

This is a movie that can work as family viewing with older kids and some handy remote-work. They story is awesome, the themes (as with LOTR) are great, the language is clean and there's no adult innuendos. It's just that those baddies can be pretty ugly and the fighting can be fierce.

Putting all that to one side and assuming that you have kids you think will handle the action, I want to recommend The Hobbit to the whole wide movie-watching world.

Without giving away too much, I LOVE the way Sir Pete ties The Hobbit in beautifully with the LOTR films. It's genius. And the casting is superb. The very under-statedly cool  Martin Freeman ("Tim" from the original British version of The Office) is FAB as young Bilbo.
We see a "younger" Gandalf - Ian McKellan really does well playing a younger and less sure-of-himself version of the wizard.

Surprisingly, the king of the Dwarves, Thorin Oakenshield, is rather lovely. Who ever thought my heart could pound for a Dwarf?

All the LOTR magic was there in spades. If you haven't seen it (for whatever reason), see it. Get it. Watch it. I reckon you'll love it.





Here's what our experts have to say about The Hobbit.

Dash. B. Cool: "This is a cool movie. I loved it and I didn't think it was scary. I kept looking to see my uncle as one of the orcs but I couldn't spot him. I like the action and the battle scenes and also there are lots of funny bits. I can't wait to see the next one when it comes out."
Dash scores this movie's "coolness" as: ♥♥♥♥♥

Foxy Fab: "My favourite part of the movie was when Gollum was arguing with himself; it was funny. Gollum wasn't so weird in this movie. The movie wasn't scary at all for me. I didn't care about the action but I liked the movie."
Foxy rates this movie's "fabness" as: ♥♥♥♥♥

Super Scrag: "I am sad I had to go to bed. My mum said it was too late and my dad said it was too scary. I wish I could watch the Hobbit Movie. I have to wait til I'm bigger."
SuperScrag scores this movie's "super-ness" as: :(

(For more movie reviews and theme night ideas)

What are your favourite family movies? Leave us a comment and share your thoughts...

Have a great Weekend!

My Bloglovin is Messed Up - Try FEEDLY

So it would appear there is a problem with my blog feed on Bloglovin?
A few friends have let me know that my blog flashes white and disappears when they go to read my posts :(
I've just gone and had a look-see myself and yep, it's messed up real good.
I DON'T KNOW WHY. And for the moment I haven't a spare minute to figure it out.
If you're having this problem reading my blog, can I suggest you try reading blogs on Feedly?
This is actually a WAY nicer way to read blogs anyway, and it works great from tablets and phones; you can also add it to your browser.
Download it for Chrome HERE
Download feedly for Mozilla Firefox HERE
Download feedly for Safari HERE

You should be able to import all your Google-following blog faves right into Feedly.
I'm a Feedly convert and now I just have to figure out how to make a social media button for Feedly-following ease. A project for the future along with figuring out why Bloglovin doesn't like my blog :(

Let me know how you get on...

In the Midnight Hour (a motherhood post)

New mothers are well aquainted with sleep deprivation and dark hours before dawn.
The dark circles under their eyes are a badge they wear that shouts: I am the mother of a newborn.
In the middle of the night, while the world sleeps, there is a stillness and a calm that only the new mother and the shiftworker experience.
Sometimes as you sit nursing your baby in the embracing dark, there comes a sense that these midnight moments are infinitely precious.
It's just you and the little person who clings to you and depends on you for everything.
You are cocooned in the darkness together; this is a moment frozen in time.
(But mostly you sit there shaking yourself awake, your body craving sleep; you can only dream of a day when you will once again get a full night's sleep, unbroken by the cry of a child)

It's been five years since I sat in the lamp-lit dark and nursed a baby.
The midnight hours pass unseen and unmarked by me.
Unbroken sleep is now the norm.

But every once in a while there comes a night when sleep is once again broken. When a precious child once again clings to you and depends on you for everything in the midnight hour.

You are woken by coughing, crying.
Your body may cling to sleep but your heart is awake in an instant.
In the hushed darkness of the night there is only you and your child.
Five days she's been sick with the endless flu.
Her coughing twists your heart; as you feel her feverish cheeks, hear her moans and see her tears, you wish with all your heart you had magic powers to flick away this nasty lingering flu.

"Mummy," she whispers, "I am so sorry for waking you..."
You smooth her hair and cuddle her close and whisper back, "No it's OK, I don't mind, honest."

And it's true. You really, really don't mind.
For just a moment, in the midnight hour, it's just you and her as it once was.

Tomorrow night she'll be better (please let her be better!) but come morning, dark circles are once again your badge of motherhood.
The dark hours before dawn belong to you again for this one night. Mothers and shiftworkers.
Keeping watch.

Grateful to Finally KNOW: I'm Dyslexic

Remember last Monday when I said I was going for some tests?

Cognitive testing to find out whether I might be on one or other of the spectrums (dyslexia or ASD)?

Today I got the initial results, and it turns out the tests were well worth doing.

I have *classic dyslexia*.

All this time. I'm 43 and I've gotten this far without knowing it.

All these years I've wondered why some things that seem straightforward and simple for other people are so gosh darned hard for me...

Being organised. Remembering things. Managing my household. Making decisions. Noticing things I should be noticing.

Now I know why.

My brain works differently to other people's.

I am in the Richard Branson Club. I have a Big Picture brain.

Too much information overwhelms me, but I can think outside the box and come up with some amazing stuff. Just don't be surprised if I turn up late or forget I promised to be somewhere (or that I saw that movie with YOU).

I am incredibly relieved to finally be able to make sense of myself.

I have yet to get the full report, but here is my "profile"...

[my profile = "classic dyslexia"]

Some areas are crazy-high. Others, rather jolly low.

Really good at some things. Really NOT good at others.

Golly gosh I am so grateful to have this answer.

Not a label, just an explanation.

I can look back at my life and pat myself on the back, acknowledging what it has taken for me to get where I am. I can give myself credit for achieving what I have. (I'm usually way too hard on myself).

Apparently I need to give myself a break and stop trying to fit my square-peg self in the round holes of others expectations. I can actually finally be OK with being the way I am. I can accept myself more and put some things in place to help me manage my responsibilities with less stress.

So flippin grateful to finally know - and accept - that I really am *different* - and that's OK.

  

Family Movie Night: Oldies but Goodies

Well it's Friday night here at Casa Mio and we are looking at the glories of a movie night in, just for a change.
We were MEANT to be going out *sniff* with friends *sniff* but our girlie has been off school sick today and it seemed unfair to dump a miserable child on a new babysitter, so we've had to cancel our plans (and our babysitter) and let our friends go have fun without us. 
Such are the joys of parenting and winter.

If you're in the same boat as us, you might want a few recommendations for potential family movie viewing, so here's a round-up of a few of our old kid-movie faves...

CARS 2 (G) ****

The kids are watching this oldie-but-goodie as I type, while we wait for the pizza to arrive. Cars 2 is a great sequel. Some sequels are obviously a money-spinning exercise, but Cars 2 is as good (if not better) than the original. Scrag LOVES this movie. He saw it first at the movies, then watched it for the whole long-haul flight to England, and after getting it for Christmas watched it morning, noon and night without getting sick of it. It says a lot that his big brother and sister liked it almost as much.
And so did the parents! Funny, clever, great story, plenty of racing and Mater as an accidental secret agent. What more do you want?
KID WATCHABILITY - boys and girls both love it. Great for preschoolers as well as school kids.
SCARY BITS - No scary bits!
GROWNUP WATCHABILITY - We still watch it without minding at all.

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS (G) ****
CLICK HERE for Movie Trailer

We all enjoyed this movie a lot. The great thing about it is that there's plenty of laughs, a unique story, lots of action and the adults enjoyed it as much as the kids. Great for all ages.

KID WATCHABILITY: Great! Boys and girls both loved it. 
SCARY BITS: Not really any. Perhaps for more sensitive kids, the bit where they are up in the machine and being hunted by mutant roast chickens??? But it's actually more funny than scary.
ADULT WATCHABILITY: We both loved it. It was really not annoying. Funny and clever.

ENCHANTED (PG) *****

CLICK HERE for the Movie Trailer...

A really good family watch. Funny and original and very clever. A musical, which is partly animated; an animated would-be princess is banished to a place where dreams "never, ever come true" (our world) by a wicked stepmother/queen. What makes it so great is that the princess, Giselle (played by Amy Adams), doesn't realise she is no longer in a cartoon, and keeps breaking into song and enlisting mice and birds to help her with the chores etc. The songs stuck in my head for days afterwards (it's a musical). Great for all ages - even older pre-schoolers would cope with this.
KID WATCHABILITY - Held both our boys' and girl's attention, There is enough action and adventure in it to help lads see past the princessy bits.
SCARY BITS - One scary bit, right at the end. The wicked stepmother follows Giselle into our world and tries to tempt her with a poisoned apple and then turns into a dragon. the dragon isn't scary but the ugly old hag with missing teeth and warts who offers Giselle the apple is. When the kids were younger we always fast-forwarded past her (and I also told the kids she was ugly because she didn't brush her teeth when she was little).
GROWNUP WATCHABILITY - Great fun for grown ups too. Grandma was visiting with us when we first watched this one and she liked it so much she wanted to watch it again.

HORTON HEARS A WHO (G) ****

CLICK HERE for the Movie Trailer...

This was a fun kind of movie. I have always loved Doctor Suess, and It was good how they incorporated the actual poem into the story. Very fast-paced and pretty funny; with the voice talents of those funny guys, Jim Carrey and Steve Carrell. We all liked it a lot.
KID WATCHABILITY: Very Good. All the kids liked it.
SCARY BITS: No scary bits, although there is a pretty ugly vulture in one bit. However it is not sinister the way it is handled so doesn't come off as scary.
GROWN-UP WATCHABILITY: Very watchable for grownups.

BABE (G) ****

CLICK HERE for the Movie Trailer

This is another oldie but a goodie. Great for littlies with all the animals. A good story (very well done) with lots of action and a dash of humour and morality. This is another simple story well told (the best kind of movies). We have this one in our collection and it's been ages since we watched it, but we all enjoyed seeing it again. I remember watching it for the first time as an adult at the movies and loved it then too. Fine for pre-schoolers.
KID WATCHABILITY: Excellent for all ages, there's enough action and humour to hold the attention.
SCARY BITS: No scary bits
GROWN-UP WATCHABILITY: Very watchable, clever and funny.


 
WALL.E (G) *****
CLICK HERE for the Movie Trailer...

Ohhhh, this is such a sweet movie. I love it! An original story, it stands out from all the copies and wannabes. It's by the same producers as Finding Nemo and Cars (need I say more?) It's funny, action packed, and a simple story well-told. This is a good one for all ages.
KID WATCHABILITY: Excellent for all ages.
SCARY BITS: No scary bits
GROWN-UP WATCHABILITY: Fabulous. It is very watchable. I'd see it again, no problems.

FINDING NEMO (G) *****
CLICK HERE for the Movie Trailer...

I know this is a really old movie now, but we watched it again the other week, and we all enjoyed it SO MUCH. It's a classic, a must-have movie in your collection. The characters are unforgettable (Bruce the Shark, The Turtle Surfer Dude, the Seagulls...) the one-liners are great ("Dude! You totally rock!"), and the story is simple and easy to follow without being patronising. The kids have enjoyed this since Dash was about 2 or 3 years old; Mr G and I enjoy it still, as adults. You just can't beat a classic! Great for all ages.
KID WATCHABILITY: Excellent for all ages.
SCARY BITS: No scary bits except perhaps when Bruce the Shark "falls off the wagon"
GROWN-UP WATCHABILITY: We both love it. It is very watchable. We'd see it again, and again....

...........

So, I hope Miss Fab gets better soon so we can leave the house sometime this weekend (especially since she has a netball tournament on Sunday...) In the meantime, we'll be watching movies. On the couch. By the fire. Making the most of a Friday Night In.

Have a great Saturday!
♥