Blog birthday: 2 years on what have I learned and what have I achieved -

Wow well I wasn’t sure this day was going to come if I’m honest. I started my blog as many of you may know when I was on maternity leave with Ava.She was only a few weeks old and already I was staring to feel lonely and if I’m honest bored of being at home on my own. It wasn’t till I met up with Faye from Glossytots that I first learnt what a blog was really. So I owe it all to Faye really the reason to why this blog actually started. She whatsapped me step by step instructions of how to set up a blog on Blogger. What social media platforms I needed to use and how I got about even writing posts.

There have been times in the last two years where I have got so stressed over my blog. I’m one to take too much on I know I am.At one point I was working part-time, doing university part-time, being a mom full-time and then trying to blog on top of that.It was hard but I’m so glad I stuck with it.I love my little corner of the internet, somewhere to write all my thoughts down.Even if my ramblings don’t help others ( which I hope they do ) I find it almost therapeutic for myself. To get it all down and out of my head lets me think things through and then move on. Dont get me wrong the thought of putting myself out there to start with I found terrifying. I was worried people were going to think I was being stupid or think what they hell was I doing writing a blog.

The biggest fear I did have been if I would be picked up on my spelling as I’m dyslexic sometimes I don’t see really obvious mistakes. So if you do see mistakes I’m sorry it’s not because I don’t care about my work. It’s because half the time I don’t see the mistakes. Thankfully Jordan does read a lot of my posts and does let me know if there are any mistakes.

Never did I think when I started this blog that I would gain some good friends from it. One in particular and that’s Faye she has become one of my closest friends now. She understands the stresses of blogging and I can go to for advice. A lot of people really don’t understand blogging and they just see it as a way to get free stuff. If only they knew hey ! so to have a friend who understands is amazing. I am also a part of a blogging group and we all help each other. This collection of ladies have a wealth of knowledge and most importantly know how to have a laugh. There are days when I feel like absolute crap but then I read some of the stuff they post in the group and there is nothing I can do but giggle at them.

I have also found that blogging has made me more confident. I mean i used to hate talking to people on the phone .Now I am emailing brands and I even had a full on phone conversation with a brand the other day. I even plucked up the courage last year to go to two blogging conferences. Which I’m so glad I did as I met some amazing people and learnt so much.

Blogging has also enabled me to make an extra income. By no means am I a millionaire and able to leave work but I now have extra money. Money that I can use to buy things for the kids or days out or maybe even sometimes buy myself something nice. I never knew this was even possible when I first started blogging but all my hard work is starting to pay off. I would love one day to blog full-time and not go back to work .I know that’s a long way off but maybe one day in the further it might become true. Blogging as a job would give me the flexibility I would want from a job I could be there to take and pick the kids up from school. I could see every school performance , attend every parents evening.

I have learnt so much when it comes to the technical side of blogging. From coding to using social media to help project my blog to more people.These new skills have helped me with my normal job as I was able to return after maternity with Ava and do a new role.This wouldn’t of been possible if it wasn’t for the skills I had learnt whilst I was off. Most of it is self-taught , or I’m one to read and read articles on something until I understand it fully. The latest thing I have been working on is Pinterest and I cannot believe how well it works for blogs. By changing my images and using alt tags and scheduling I have been able to more than double my monthly page views.

I have also been really lucky to work with some amazing brands over the last two years. Both kids have had some lovely things .If I’m honest I wouldn’t have been able to buy them all myself. I do worry that they will grow up expecting all the latest things. That every knock on the door is a new present for them. So this is something I’m going to have to review as they get older. I have already started to cut down on the amount of review I do as I just don’t want them to be spoilt.

This blog has really been my savour its given me something to focus on. That time that I get to sit and type is me time. So thank you all for reading.I do hope that you carry on reading my blog for more years to come. You reading and me writing my thoughts down have stopped me from going crazy.