Need Some Blogging Tips?

If you haven't already - you should totally sign up for the free webinar with Darren from ProBlogger and Cintia of My Poppet fame that's a-happening on Wednesday (tomorrow). 

I'm totes doing it and going to suck the marrow out of it for some fresh inspiration and motivation!

I've done blogging e-courses before, which had forums, but to be honest, I think it's so much more valuable to do something in real time - a real conversation. 

I do shy away from conferences and the likes, mainly because I feel like a massive dork and I hate those awkward first hellos. I know. 

Anyway - if you're after some practical tips and tricks to make your blog better, and to help make your ideas happen (HELLO IDEAS!) - come and do this webinar with me so we can be totes dorky together. Or not. 

Paid Product Reviews:: What Does This Mean?

Voices of 2013 Blogs and Brands Panel (L-R) Brian Giesen of Social@Ogilvy, Lousia Claire of Brand Meets Blog, Stacey Roberts of Veggie Mama and me.

I had the great pleasure of attending Voices of 2013 on Saturday. I've been light in step ever since, I've felt so buoyed by the experience.

It's been good not only for my blog (inspiring!), but for me to meet so many like-minded people, and awesome birds that I only usually get to chat to on the interwebz. 

Maybe you might not know, but by day I work in PR. It's night time when I don a cape and mask and start blogging. I was delighted to sit on the Blogs & Brands panel as a blogger. Even if I did get covered in nervous rash sitting up there. 

So on the day, while we talked about sponsored posts, we didn't get to talk about paid reviews. And what I think of them. Or more likely - what I don't think of them.

Because at the heart of a review - it's meant to be an unbiased account of what you think of a product.

But if it's paid? Well then it blurs the lines doesn't it? It becomes a bit of cash-for-comment - because really, are you honestly going to bite that hand that feeds you? Will you look a gift horse in the mouth? (How many more cliches can I work into this one paragraph?). How can a review be unbiased if you're being paid to post it? 

The cold and quick answer: it can't. 

Or can it? I'm interested to know if you think that you can maintain an unbiased review while being paid by the brand. Because me? I don't think so. I think the lines are blurred, I think you're cosying up with Alan Jones, and your reader is going to be pretty annoyed to find that your writing paid reviews.

This stinks of lack of integrity.

Nielsen research shows that 71% of Australians look at web reviews before buying. That's a huge figure - a lot of Aussies looking for credible reviews to guide them. Now let's imagine if all the reviews you're reading are fictional. How to navigate your way through all that crud?

There's more power in honesty, integrity, and your readers will want to keep reading what you have to say. But if you're being paid to share your scoop de la scoop about products? Well who wants to read more PR guff. Not me! And I work in PR!

You need to give your audience more credit - they are smart and savvy. They can sniff out when something's not right. And if all you share are glowing reviews, then something's rotten in the state of Denmark. 


image is courtesy of the impeccable Cheryl of BusinessChic. 
THANK YOU CHERYL! (I'm in the pink - like Barbara Cartland).

If I Didn't Take A Break

I have so loved having a wee blogging break. 

It has done my sanity awesome-good-things. 

I don't know if anyone else ever feels this way - but life was overwhelming me. I had to cut back somewhere: I can't cut back at work (bills to pay and all that); I can't cut back on parenting (two children to parent); I can't cut back on being a wife (unless I want my relationship in tatters. No thanks); I can't cut back on exercise (because it makes me feel so happy). So it was blogging and housework.

As a result our house is one heck of a mess, and there's a really impressive leaning tower of clean washing on the couch; and my head feels clearer. My blog is a mish mash of thoughts and a trail of where my mind is at, a kind of online inspiration board - minus the inspiration + the bored. 

But it's ok. It is ok. I am ok. My mind feels better for it. 

It's also given me time to think about PottyMouthMama - and who she is, what she stands for, and where she is going.

Over the last few months I've really contemplated giving up blogging. I've been blogging almost non-stop for five years. I let my blogging birthday slip past because - well what have I got to celebrate. 

Please - join my pity party. Just jokes. It's been cancelled. 

Instead this is where it's at:

PottyMouthMama is a working mum. Whether she wants to be working is really beside the point, isn't it? She has to work because - like I said earlier, there are bills to pay, mouths to feed, a car to put petrol in. But work doesn't define PottyMouthMama.

PMM loves: fashion, beauty, enjoying life, getting out and about, family, friends, reading, films, art. This is PottyMouthMama. She's complex. She's fun. She thinks about her life BC (before children), and loves reminiscing about tabletop dancing - but doesn't miss it. She's looking forward. 

I had a friend ring me late one Friday night - she was drunk, I was lying on the couch happily watching Poirot. She berated me loudly and said "yes well that's what you do in suburbia - stay at home on Fridays and watch free-to-air". Well last time I checked with my local suburban free-to-access police station - it wasn't illegal (unless things have changed - and in which case, my hands are in the air - come and arrest me). She continued for another five minutes before I cut the conversation short - she wouldn't remember ever talking to me anyway. I didn't need someone else raining on me, I already give myself a hard enough time without a support crew. 

That phone call not only stung - it made me think about life decisions (and which way our friendship was heading). it made me considerhow no matter who you are, or what you do, life is difficult, life is tough, life throws challenges at you every. single. day. But it's ok. I am ok!

Over the next few months PottyMouthMama is going to change a little. She's evolving. And she doesn't have to please other people in the process, and she's not going to apologise for being who she is. 

And PS - I will watch Poirot on a Friday night if I want to. 

What Happened To Blogging?

Early next year PottyMouthMama will be celebrating her fifth birthday. Five years of blogging - and by no means am I one of the foremothers of blogging. Nope. Not even close. But coming up to my fifth blogging birthday has made me very reflective. 

Back in those early days of blogging, it seemed a bit more fun. 

Didn't it?

Or am I wigging out on some acid (reflux) flashback? 

It seemed more fun, less competitive. 
More honest, less perfect. 
More unique, less of the same looking photos. 
More natural, less wanky.

Granted. The whole landscape has changed. 

And for me personally, it's changed. I've changed. I'm no longer a stay at home mum, I'm no longer on a drip-feed of blogs, I can't keep up with responding to comments, and I can't visit so many blogs. - STOP the blogging world - I want to get off, reply to some comments, and get back on.

Back in the day, I started blogging after reading my favourites: Dooce, Meet Me At Mikes, Georgie Love, Kootoyoo. I had a newborn baby and a toddler in arms, I wanted to keep writing daily, and be part of the blogging community. I didn't fit into my mother's group, and I was looking for like-minded souls. 

Back in those days blogging was a celebration of difference, about personalities, about meeting new people, sharing and having a voice and being part of a greater community.

But now blogging seems to be in a funk. Or is it me?

Has blogging lost it's fun?
How did blogging become more a competition and less a celebration? 

Who did put the bomp in the bompty bompty bomp?

Are you there God? It's me, Lexi-Margaret. 

I think I'm having a mid-blog crisis.

(PS Isn't that an ace image of Judy Blume's awesome book? Aww so Frenchy, so chic). 

ETSY Success: DIY PR

Watch live streaming video from etsy at livestream.com

It feels like long ago, but remember when I spoke at ETSY Success as part of the Vivid Festival?  I promised I would post when my video had gone live on the ETSY site. And well.. I've arrived.

Now you can relish in how truly dorky I am. Truly. Dorky.

I can't watch myself because it is excruciatingly cringe-worthy. But I'll post it so you might be able to glean some PR tips if you need them...

Ok so this is me, with Jo Walker, the Editor of Frankie Magazine. Please keep in mind that just moments before going on stage, I was tempted to get in the lift and disappear for the afternoon.

You can thank ETSY for this video.

It's Friday Night. Do You Know Where Your Bloggers Are?

Have you had a good day or a bad day?

I have had a no good, very bad, awful, terrible, horrible day.

So let's fast forward onto better, brighter things.

I'm sending you off around the world in just a few simple clicks.

First stop - off to see my sister, Sarah, who just came back from a positively dreamy trip to Paris and London. She's just started capturing those first few days over on Calico + Ivy's blog - be inspired.

Next stop, you're keen to check out Germany while you're over in Europe, ja? Then check in on beautiful Bianca and her babes in a German summer. No wonder she's heading to Sydney soon.

Everyone knows that Tasmania is my idea of Utopia. Despite never having visited. No matter, I'm living vicariously through Michelle of Hugo and Elsa fame. Literally feast your eyes over here.

So you find yourself in Tassie - you must, absolutely must pop into The Hut Chronicles. Marian's garden is evolving, it's a joy to behold.

And one more stop on this whirl wind tour - have a cup of tea with Mrs Smith. This post resonates with me like there's no tomorrow. Thank you Mrs Smith for writing it so beautifully and so bang on.   You are an inspiration lady.

What's that dear reader? You want MORE? MORE??? Ok. Have this song. If you can listen to this and not be in a good mood and want to crazy dance with the kiddies, then I honestly do not know what's wrong with you.

Good night and good luck.

Of Death and Blogging

The big news here is that my computer has died. It's died party people. Well for now at least.

So there's your reason why I've been blogging sporadically.

I have to divert Matt's attention - point and say: 'look, look over there' - and while he's distracted trying to determine what I am pointing at, I grab his computer, hack into his mainframe, fire off a few tweets, read my emails, and then quickly give him back his computer.

It's a sad and sorry state of affairs.

What's a gal to do but go to bed early and re-read The Great Gatsby, and get some beauty sleep?

You can find me on Instagram though (@pottymouthmama). Until I figure out a solution to my dead computer problemo.

image via here. Someone really, really loved their computer.

Let's Discuss Plagiarism: Or How My Content Wound Up On Your Website

these images are called - wow - how did my content fall onto your website?!


So I blogged about the Logies.


I did. I always blog about awards nights. Because I love it. 


And today, for some reason I was googling the Logies - because clearly I didn't get enough - and lo and behold, I found extracts of my content sitting on a large news publication website. Behind a paywall.


Let's just get this straight. My content. Used as more than just inspiration, and right there - with 'staff reporter' attached to it. 


Apparently I am now a staff reporter - or a contributor at least, because they did at least change things around a little. I said tissues, they said Kleenex. 


I felt more than a bit miffed. I felt upset. Mad. Ferocious. Wild as a wild cat. Grumpier than the Gruffalo. And just plain pissed off. 


A friend told me I should take it as a compliment. I did. For two seconds. And then I just thought what kind of a lazy creep - who gets paid (I don't), steals stuff. They must be terribly uncreative. 


Who does that? 


I think you'd be surprised - it seems to be happening more and more. I've read about bloggers whole posts being cut and pasted and claimed as someone else's quite often. 


My story about MY miscarriage was clearly the inspiration for a large website - and replicated in a weekly print publication. Though someone at least put a byline on that. Not my byline, but heck, it's an improve.. no it's not. 


But the internet is becoming increasingly a small world. You took my words and you didn't think I'd notice? Well I did. And I'm watching. 

Kidspot Ford Territory Top 50: Feel the difference

I've been wracking my brain for a couple of weeks, punishing myself, what the Hector am I going to write about for this post? My golden ticket for a chance to win a trip to NYC to attend BlogHer and a Ford Territory for a year. 


Here it is, I offer it up like a grown-up and female version of Oliver Twist, except my bowl's full of words - and I want you to have more. So not like Twist at all - but it was a good literary reference, yes?


Gather around. This is what I've come up with with a little help from my friends. 


My journey into blogging began back in '89. When I went to Talent Camp at Lake Keepit for creative writing. And then I went again the next year and Jim Pattinson had a crush on me, and I physically felt repulsed. I was 10, he was probably 11, and he got a little too close for my liking. I have not forgotten you Jim Pattinson - or you're unwanted feelings for me. 


Blogging was not yet invented - not to my knowledge anyway. But I tapped away on my Mum's electric typewriter in my spare time, short stories, poems, moving on to my grandfather's memoirs when I was 12.


But let us fast forward through my awkward years (and let's forget that I am actually still in the thick of my totes awkes years), we'll travel through time together and pop out of the time continuum right here. 


To 2007.


My true blogging journey began when I started reading Dooce daily. I love Heather Armstrong. Her truth. Her honesty. Her wittiness. It made me want to get back into writing again. This was a time when I was just about to pop out baby number two. I felt like I was in parenting exile. Two years earlier I'd quit my job, moved to the other side of the city away from my friends - and into the home of my in-laws. AWESOME! This was a time when my MIL walked in to our dark kitchen to find me crying in the pantry. When my FIL told me I needed to talk to Matt after we'd had a massive barney. When parenting and self-esteem was at an all time low. And so was privacy. 


I began banging out posts like it wasn't anyone's business. 


And that's the beauty of blogging. It becomes everyone's business. And from here, like the fountain of youth - or in my case, a community of awesome, like-minded women (and the occasional male reader, hi Dad!) sprung PottyMouthMama. 


A blogger was born. (And so was Tiny - but that's another story.)


If we take PottyMouthMama under the magnifying glass (and preferably not in full sunlight people, I've got fair skin) it comes down to this: 


"If you prick us, do we not bleed"*


It's true. We all do. The truth is, I am just like any other mother blogger. You, me, we.


And that's the beauty of us. 


I'm happy not to hide behind any facade. I don't need to amp up my life to seem like it's more glamorous, more exciting, more awesome than yours. Because it isn't. Trust me.


PottyMouthMama's point of difference is that life is ker-azy. Life is messy. Life can be sad, glad, mad, and rad - and all in one day. 


I can talk about that with great verve. It's my very own story to tell. You love reading about Tiny's mischief. My bin diving escapades. About my struggle with work-home-life balance. I love curating stuff and things I love, or sharing stories about my banal life. Because it's my blog and I can blog if I want to. 


So if you feel so compelled, please vote for me! I'd love to visit the Big Apple, so I can stop hanging out with these little apples and looking like William Tell and Snow White's love child. 

* Totally stolen from Shakespeare. Someone that could have written a really prolific ye olde playe stylie blogge. 

Last Days of Disco

The last few months have been a real struggle for me. Juggling almost full-time work with parenting, with housework, with wife-ing, and then toss blogging on top of that - I'm not going to lie. I am 100 % completely exhaustipated*. 


Something's got to give because everything in my life seems to be suffering from the knock on effect of everything else. Every night I race home from work, help with the kids going to bed, and collapse onto the sofa so darn beat down, I can barely muster any energy to open my laptop, let alone use my brain to come up with some content. I've tried. Trust me. I really have, but I feel like I am drowning in over-commitment - it's not a good feeling. 


It's with heavy heart that I've decided to put PottyMouthMama into retirement. At least for the next few months. 


If you feel a bit jipped, might I suggest you start at the very start of PottyMouthMama? There's four years worth of content, with highlights being Tiny smearing poo everywhere, the Doctor being delicious, and me rummaging through someone else's bin. For. Weeks. On. End. 


Bon appetit baby.


By the way, I'll still come back tomorrow and announce the LEGO winner. Last chance to enter that competition chicitas. 


image source here


*exhaustipated was a word a girl that I used to work with always used. I never had the heart to tell her it wasn't a real word. So I always thought of it as a combination of being immensely tired - and constipated - all at once.

More From Yesterday: PR Tips

Yes. You Gotta pay the writer. Suck it up. If you want us, we're worth it, then pay us.


You'd never go to the car mechanic and think they'll do it for free, right?  A lawyer? A doctor?  Nope.
I studied writing at uni. I paid my time for Patsy Cline.

Same principle applies to writers.

This is via my awesome friend Carrie. Thank you Carrie!

This Is Me. Just Another Mother Blogger.

This is me.
Lexi.
PottyMouthMama.
Worker bee by day.
Mama and wife by night.

I was thinking about mummy bloggers and thinking how that tag does not fit me. Well I don't think so anyway. That tag makes me really uncomfortable. I get kind of itchy. I am no expert parent. And sometimes - a lot lately - I am sad how little time I have to spend with my children, that is quality time. I get home, I am tired. Sometimes snappy. I hate that. I feel so distant sometimes. There's a disconnect between work life and family life. I struggle with it. Battle with it daily. I don't find the work-family juggle very easy and it can sometimes make me feel immensely sad. Right to my bones. 

But we gots to live.

And someone once went to town on me in the comments section, saying that I chose this and that it's my own fault. Well. I guess she didn't read my blog very carefully. I work four days, and when I am home, Matt works. We have that one day together, and Sydney sucks you dry. To your very marrow.

But back to my blog. Life is this imperfect thing, and so is my parenting. But, I am a mama, but I am also so much more. And my blog is more than parenting and sometimes not so much about parenting. And since I've returned to the paid workforce, I feel distant from the mummy blogger tag. Actually I think I've always been distant from the mummy blogger tag (EEK!). I could go 'round and 'round in circles with this discussion by myself. I won't. But I could.

I think Anna sums it up well here.

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This is me wearing a necklace my friend Pip gave me, a few years ago. I love wearing it. It makes me think of her and all the awesome sauce she spreads throughout the world.

I have other things that have been gifted to me that remind me of special people in my life. My Mum gave me one of her vintage kaftans. I wore it throughout my first pregnancy, with the Doctor in my belly. I love that kaftan, though it's getting a bit threadbare, it's so loved and makes me think of my Mum.

I love wearing things that remind me of people. It puts me in a good mood and makes me think they're kind of looking after me that day. In a weird way. That might sound kooky. Apologies. I might be a little kooky.

End of rambling post.
At ease soldiers.