Monday Musings: Reflections on blogging

This is how blogging looks like these days.
I only get to write after the kids are asleep, and I use the time spent writing to unwind,
with the buzzing baby monitor for company, as well as a nice hot cup of milo.
I blog on my laptop, which has one key cover missing courtesy of Lil J's itchy fingers. I
ronically, the letter that is missing is the most used alphabet for us: J. 

Writing this blog has been quite a journey. It started off as a means to record our life as a family and Junior J's milestones, and along the way, our learning activities and crafts got added to the mix. I've discovered that I love to share what we do, as I've been inspired greatly by the sharing of other mums. Blogging also builds community in a variety of ways, and I've been blessed by the people I've gotten to know through this blog. I'm thankful that God gives these avenues for self-expression and for linking up with others.

Speaking of community, I'm really excited that we've been selected as a finalist in the Family Blog category in the Singapore Blog Awards! I'm still in shock, but also very thankful, especially for all the support we've gotten from our friends and family. Thank you, dear readers, for reading, for leaving comments, for your encouragement and prayers. I thank God for all of you. 

That's us, at the bottom right corner. (But I think the pictures do shift each day.)

Here's how you can vote:
1. Hop over to this page. 
2. You should get a prompt to sign into your Facebook account, if you are not signed in.
3. Sign in, and click on the "Family category", and click the vote button! We are signed up under the blog's name "Mum in the Making". :)

You can vote once a day for each category, for the whole month of July, and I'm really grateful for those who have voted for us. Thank you so much! I'm feeling rather shy to ask for votes, so I guess I'm not going to mention about voting anymore. Do check out the other blogs, and I'm sure you'll be able to find some that you might like to bookmark for your reading. 

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The blog awards aside, I've been invited by another mum blogger, Estella, to blog about my writing process as part of a blog hop. I enjoy reading Estella's blog, especially her posts on home and design (after all, most of my regular reads are design blogs). I also admire her optimistic nature, and how it shines in her posts, since I know it must tough doing solo-parenting as her hubby is now based overseas. You can read her about her writing process here.

Anyway, I thought it was apt to take you behind the scenes of this blog, especially as an introduction for those who are hopping over from the blog awards page, so here goes:

a. What am I working on? 

I'm currently trying to finish a few reviews, while trying to sort out the boys' homeschooling activities. I'm hoping to share more about homeschool and our journey, as we stumble along figuring out how to live and learn with the boys. It's both exciting and a little scary at times, having the responsibility of education placed squarely on our shoulders, and I hope to share more in the future. I'm also hoping to work on more crafty ideas, which I would love to share in time to come!

b. How does my work differ from others in its genre?  

The blog is a reflection of our life. As each family is unique, our experiences and journey would differ too, and I guess that means each blog tells a different story. In general, I tend to shy away from most reviews, and as a family we like pottering in parks, so we are probably not quite the usual parenting lifestyle blog you'd go to for the latest happenings and giveaways. We homeschool, so you'll be reading a lot more about learning, and not so much about tips on surviving or preparing for Primary school. 

c. Why do I write what I do? 

I guess I write because I enjoy the process of writing, of putting feelings and thoughts into words. I also like the idea of chronicling down the story of our family, and telling our story through text as well as photos. I've learnt that words can be powerful, and with the internet and social media, words do have a lot of impact, and can be either a positive or negative influence. I am hoping that this blog can be used for good: for championing social causes (like our recent fund-raiser for MINDS), for sharing how motherhood can be tough, life can be messy, but how children are such blessings. Also, I hope that by writing about homeschooling, we can increase awareness about this alternative for education, and also remove common misconceptions about socialization and the need to be perfect parent educators. 

d. How does my writing process work? 

I don't really follow a set process for writing. Most times, I have a topic that I wish to write about, and then it usually takes a few days to slowly write a post (Writing relaxes me, but I am a slow writer and words do not come easily to me.). Sometimes I already have photos I would like to use, sometimes I go about snapping and editing photos to suit the post. Sometimes, the photos are the ones that inspire the post. It's relatively free-flow!

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To continue this blog hop, I've invited two of my favourite bloggers to share their own writing process:

Evelyn is a mum to two, and one of the coolest mums I know. I really enjoy reading her blog because of her ability to write well, and I've invited her because I am so curious to find out more about her writing process. 

You'd enjoy reading the thoughts and reflections on her blog, as well as the crafts that she shares. She blogs over at "The Bottomups Blog", and you can read about her blogging process here.

Susan is mum to little Sophie, and I take my hat off to how she manages to juggle between work, motherhood, crafting, preparing healthy meals and exercising. She is also a fellow "washi-oholic" who loves her tapes! She is a great example and shows that it is possible to find time amidst our busyness to get moving and get fit, and she blogs over at "A Juggling Mum". You can find out more about her writing process here.