12
New AYMB Launched!
Welcome to the new and improved Ain’t Yo Mama’s Blog!
This newly updated blog has been a work in progress for well over a month and nearly all credit must be given to the Dude – lawyer by day, web designer/developer by night. No one else could have possibly been able to capture my vision, make it functional, and exceed all my expectations…or maybe they could of, but certainly at a much higher rate. Being married to your web designer does come in handy.
During this time, the Dude captured a few images of the work in progress. Click through the images below to see the evolution of the AYMB design process:
We are still working out a few kinks here and there, so please let me know if you come across any issues.
Hope you like the new site and come back again soon!
04
New and Improved AYMB Coming Soon!
As I near my 2 year blogiversary, I felt it was time to make some changes at the House of AYMB. So the Dude and I (OK, mostly the Dude) have been working on a new design and interface for this blog. I will be unveiling the new and improved AYMB later this month, but here is a little sneak peak:
In the meantime, I will be attending Blog Her ’11 this weekend (if you’re also attending, please let me know!) and working on fresh new blog posts for your reading pleasure.
Thanks for sticking with me during this transition and I’ll see you back here real soon.
24
Getting Back to Blogging
Like many bloggers, I have my ups and downs when it comes to keeping up my blog. When I’m inspired to write about something, I love having this platform to share what’s on my mind or information that I think might be useful to my readers. But then there are days, or even weeks, when life, or simply a lack of inspiration, keeps me from my little space on the Internet. This past month or so has been one of those times for me. So, just when I needed a boost of energy to get back to blogging, the SITS Bloggy Boot Camp came to town. Or, rather, it came to San Diego which is a fairly short drive away from me.
Bloggy Boot Camp is a blogging conference put on by the wonderful women behind the SITS (The Secret to Success is Support) website. If you’re a blogger, you probably already heard about SITS and their conferences. And if you’re not a blogger, you might be confused/bewildered/intrigued/amused as to why blogging conferences even exist. I felt that way, too, until I actually attended one.
What I hoped to get out of the conference was to find inspiration to keep doing what I’m doing. To learn more about the business of blogging and what I’m doing right and, more importantly, what I’m doing wrong. To meet up with bloggers I’ve met before, to connect with other bloggers that I’ve had an online connection with for a while, and to meet many more that I’ve never met, either online or off. Not only did the SITS conference help meet all those expectations, but they exceeded them. I laughed. I cried. I felt more inspired than I ever have to keep up my blog and make it a whole lot better. If you’re a blogger, I urge you to seek out a future conference. The women behind SITS (the lovely Tiffany, Francesca, & Kat) travel all over to put on these events, so there’s a good chance one will be near you soon. Also, although SITS is intended for women bloggers and for us to give each other the support that we all need, men are welcome, too. I definitely saw a few dude bloggers in the room, so don’t be shy if you’re a guy who wants to check it out!
Why, yes, that's me on the right. I look so focused, don't I? Not my best angle...but at least my make-up looks good. (image via SITS)
I plan on making a few changes to AYMB in the near future, including a new design and new features. I have a few ideas that will reflect my professional and personal strengths, including an advice column about relationships, parenting, and everything in between. As a reader of AYMB, let me know what you think and if you have any ideas or suggestions. The primary purpose of this blog is to share information, ideas, and thoughts on a wide range of issues. Sure, this blog is a platform for my interests and thoughts, but it’s not just for me. It’s also for you. Your opinions and feedback are always appreciated, so please don’t hesitate to contact me or leave a comment! You can always reach me at aimee@aintyomamasblog.com or via twitter @aintyomamasblog.
12
Guest Post: Parent-Archivist (Thoughts and Tips from a Shutterbug)
The Dude photographs monkeys of all kinds.
One Sunday morning at the beginning of last year, I read this piece in the New York Times Magazine, which postulates that parenting today is defined by the process of archiving digital media of our children. More morosely, it explains that
American children in 2010 have a bright, clear reason for being. They exist to furnish subjects for digital photographs that can be corrected, cropped, captioned, organized, categorized, albumized, broadcast, turned into screen savers and brandished on online social networks.
Tongue even more firmly in cheek, the article describes the initiation process into digital parenthood:
The marching orders come immediately, with the newborn photo, which must be e-mailed to friends before a baby has left the maternity ward. A conscientious father . . . must snap dozens of shots of the modestly wrapped newborn. . . . Back at a laptop, he uploads the haul, scrutinizing pixels. . . . He selects a becoming one. The mother signs off, often via e-mail, from her hospital bed. . . . Thus a parent is minted.
Indeed. And it doesn’t stop at the hospital. We all take virtual piles of pictures now that digital cameras have become nearly disposable in price and cameraphones ubiquitious. But for all of the advantages of digital media — immediacy, bottomless storage, etc. — there is one serious disadvantage: It takes but a small computer problem to lose it all. Anyone who’s experienced a hard drive crash can attest to just how many precious memories can be lost in an instant. And, disaster aside, I think we’ve all grown a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of files and sources of our digital media.
So, given my role as Archivist-in-Chief in our household, Aimee thought I might be able to give AYMB readers some helpful advice by describing what we do in terms of documenting the Monkey, how we archive/curate it all, and how we secure and back it up. But first, some background.
11
Mommy Blogging: On Creating Personal Boundaries Before Creating a Personal Blog
In the past few weeks, there has been a lot of discussion amongst mom and dad bloggers about posting pictures and possibly embarrassing stories of their children. Two “mommy bloggers” that I really respect and appreciate had interesting perspectives to share – Jessica Gottlieb and Scary Mommy – so make sure to check out their thoughts on this subject as well.
If you read through the content of this blog, you can probably guess where I stand on this topic. I have a couple of policies and boundaries that I created for myself and my family before I published my very first post in August 2009:
- I do not use the real names of my toddler, my husband, or any other family member. I have 2 reasons for that. I value and respect their privacy and none of them have given me permission to use their names.
- I do not post face-forward pictures for the exact same reasons.
- I do not write about them very often and, when I do, I make sure that it’s not about something that will come back to haunt or embarrass them later. Or, at least, I don’t think it will.
- My family has the power to veto a post.
Ain’t Yo Mama’s Blog is a blog about parenting. I identity myself as a mommy who blogs. I blog about parenting, family, and relationships but I also blog about national and global issues that I believe affect us as parents and families. Having a platform to write about topics that speak to me has been an incredible and valuable outlet. However, it’s also been a great exercise in self-restraint and censorship. (continues…)