I had just about recovered from the excitement of being a Mad Blog Finalist when I logged into twitter yesterday evening and saw some incredible news.  I have been shortlisted in FOUR categories in the Brit Mums BiBs awards.  Brit Mums is one of the largest blogging communities in the UK so to say that I am a little overwhelmed is an understatement.  

I have been shortlisted in the 'Family', 'Lifestyle', 'Photo', and 'Video' categories and I am quite honestly over the moon.  I am so proud of my little blog and it means the world to me to know that people like my little corner of the interwebs- I quite literally put my whole heart into recording our family life.

It couldn't have come at a better time as I have been recently questioning whether I should share so much of our private lives online.  Blogging has bought me friendships, incredible opportunities, and even work clients but sometimes I wonder whether I should share so many of my thoughts, feelings and photos.  But then I remembered why I started my blog- so my children can look back and have a visual memento of their childhood's, and so that I can remember all the little moments of this crazy journey that is motherhood.  This blog, and my photography, are one of my main passions and I love writing and recording our daily lives.  

Thank you so much to whoever voted for me in the BiBs, it is really the boost that I needed.

If you want to vote for me to get in the finals in either the Family, Photo, Lifestyle or Video categories I would really appreciate your vote. All you need to do is click the link below to be taken to the voting form and just vote for 'Mummy Daddy Me or Mummy Daddy and Me' (My name is slightly different in all the categories for some reason.)  There are some of my favourite blogs in the shortlist so it is a very hard list to choose from.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE.

You have until May 12th 2013 to vote.

Thanks again.

One day when Mads was about four months old, I sat down and started a blog.  

To be perfectly honest, I didn't think I would stick at it.  I am not known for my 'sticking power'.  I played the flute for three weeks, did Karate for a week and have been tied into more gym memberships than I care to remember.  

But stick at it I did.  And the more I blogged, the more I enjoyed it.  I found something I loved to do- I loved to write, to pour out my heart and soul into words, and to document the life of my little family.  I had been 'blogging' on and off for ten years, in the days when I had a Live Journal account and it was wonderful to have an outlet for my writing.  I found it therapeutic, but most of all I loved writing down the memories of our day to day life.

I have always loved taking photos but blogging has inspired me to learn all I can about my camera, and I have found a passion that I never thought I would have.  I am never ever without my camera and I love capturing our every day life and our beautiful ordinary.  

Quite simply and quite cheesily, blogging has changed my life.  I have found passions, I have had the most amazing opportunities and I have met a community of incredible people.  I have made online friends and some of those online friends have become real life friends.  

I don't know what made me start my little blog that particular day but I am sure as hell glad I did.

And last week I had some amazing news.  I am yet again a finalist in the 2013 Mad Blog Awards- the UK's most prestigious blogging awards.  Out of 100,000 nominations I find myself a finalist in not one, not two, but THREE categories.  To say I am shocked and blown away is an understatement- when I found out I jumped around the room in excitement and I couldn't stop shaking.  

I am a finalist in 'Best Pregnancy Blog,' 'Best Blog Photography,' and 'Best Family Life Blog'.  I am absolutely thrilled and when I look at the other amazing bloggers I am up against, I am sure I won't win but I feel honoured to have been chosen.  

The best thing this year is that some of my most favourite blogs are finalists too.

 My closest, most lovely blogging and real life friend Lucy is a finalist in Best Baby Blog, as are the lovely ladies over at My Two Mums whose blog I love.  Then in my category Best Pregnancy Blog there is Bex and Jess whose blogs I love and who I chat too lots.  In the most innovative category there is the absolutely lovely Emma who runs the Science Sparks Blog- she is definitely worth your vote as she has done such a wonderful job since her blogging partner in crime Kerry passed away last year, as well as Annie too. 

In the Best Family Fun Blog there is the The Boy and Me who was one of the first bloggers I talked too, and the lovely Coombe Mill who is always so welcoming and kind.  In the Fashion and Beauty finalists there is Kelle whose blog I adore and who I can't wait to meet.  In the Best Schooldays Blog there is But Why Mummy Why, another lady who I am looking forward to meeting and finally in Best Craft Blog and another of my categories Best Photography there is another one of my absolute favourite bloggers Lucy as well, who is fast becoming a lovely friend of mine.

Eek so exciting that so many of my favourites are included, there are lots of others but I just cannot mention them all or I would be here all year!

My blog is chock-a-block full of photos and stories of our day to day life, and of course I documented my pregnancy, from our first video announcement, to when we found out Bug was a girl, and of course the day she arrived.  You can see a full list of my pregnancy posts and my bump diary post here.

I am honestly so thrilled to be a finalist and I cannot wait until the awards in September.  If you like my tales of family life, my abundance of photos or enjoyed my pregnancy posts please do give me a little vote.  It doesn't sit easy with me asking for votes but here goes...

 You can vote by clicking on the button on my sidebar, or by clicking the button below.  The voting is only open for a couple of weeks!

And thanks to everyone who nominated me!!  

2012 has been a great year for our little family, and I have enjoyed documenting it on my blog.  I have taken thousands of photos, written 263 blog posts and made a huge amount of memories.  I feel that I have found my blogging style in 2012- lots of soppy words, the occasional bit of humour and an obscene amount of photos.  It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I am loving the fact that I am documenting our life together.

I could have chosen lots more posts that mean things to me, but here are my favourite posts of 2012. Some are for the words, and some are just because I am a sucker for a load of photo memories.

Just click on the photo to read the post.

It has been lovely remembering our year by looking at my past blog posts, and that is exactly the reason why I started this blog- so I can record memories of my family.  I have loved writing about our adventures and our time together as a family, and I will treasure the memories and the photos I have taken forever.

2013 is going to bring a whole new set of adventures for us, but I will always be able to look back at all the photos and remember what it was like being a three.  

2012 was a bloody great year.  I will be back in January with a recap on our Christmas time- lets hope 2013 is just as good.

This morning I was tucked up snug as a bug in my nice warm bed, when I heard the iPad buzzing away downstairs.  Initially my first thought was why hasn't my husband put it on silent, hasn't he learnt his lesson?  Many a time we have been woken up by my twitter timeline going bonkers.  But then I thought I would check it to see what all the fuss was about.  The first tweet I saw was from The Boy and Me, congratulating me on being a Mad Blog Awards Finalist and then I saw lots more similar ones too.

My fingers were actually shaking as I went to look on the Mad Blog Awards site, and I couldn't believe it when I saw that I was a finalist in not one but three different categories- Best Blog Writer, Best Family Life Blog and Most Helpful Blogger.  I am not ashamed to admit I felt tears prick the back of my eyes and I jumped around the room like a complete loony.

Hours later and I still haven't come back down to earth.  I am over the moon to be a finalist in such a prestigious blogging awards, and it really does mean the world to me.  Over the last fourteen months blogging has quite simply changed my life, and I adore my little section of cyberspace.  

In my categories I am up against blogging royalty and legends who I have admired since I began writing all those months agoo.  I don't have a chance in hell of winning, but the fact that I have got through to the finals is the world's biggest buzz for me and I can't thank whoever nominated me enough.  I have worked so hard on my little blog, from the design to the content, and I am so pleased that people like it.  I love the memories I am making for my daughter.

I cannot wait to go the awards ceremony at the end of September, from last year's accounts it looked a complete blast, so I am counting the days already.  

Voting is open until June 6th (I think) so if you do think that I deserve a vote in any or all of the categories, I would appreciate it more than you could know.

Thank you again to whoever nominated me- you have made this lady so incredibly happy!

P.S I love how the badge says Mad Blogger- after all my blog is primarily about my Mads!