In two days time I will be going to the Irish Parenting Blog Awards. I am a finalist in four categories, but having been to awards before I am ready to come home empty handed, although I can’t promise I’ll not burst into tears. I have practised my Oscar ‘you won feck all’ face, and all I can say is, I’m not a great actor.
The great thing about the awards is that I am going to get the chance to meet so many of the bloggers I converse with online everyday, either via my posts or facebook. Some of them I feel I know so well and I’m looking forward to having a real chat with no typing involved. Others I’m a bit blurry about, as in who is who, who has what blog, and who has which children, so that should make the night interesting.
We are kicking off lovely and early, as in six o clock early, with drinks, a meal and then the awards. Chances are with such an early start, I just might have over indulged by the time the awards are announced, and I suspect I will not be alone. I mean a bunch of bloggers, many of them out for the first night in weeks without a baby in tow, having drinks at 6pm, surely that equals trouble.
There has been much talk online about fashion and nails, hair dos and fake tans, none of which I’ve been able to join in with. There has also been the very serious side of all this, the judging of blogs.
I am very conscious that many deride parenting bloggers. They are often belittled and dismissed as ‘mummy 
bloggers’. Having spent a huge amount of my time over the past few weeks reading many blogs, some personal, some parenting, some crafty and others all of the above, I have been taken aback by the quality of the blogs and the variety of posts.
To demonstrate this I’d like to share with you links to the top twelve posts in the final for best blog post.
Some will make you cry, others laugh and others will inspire you.
1.A Modern Mummys World. Our NICU experience.
2.At the Clothesline. The time I bought a life size giraffe.
3.Awfully Chipper. Just Dance.
4.Bumbles of rice. Celebrating the day we became parents.
5.Dr How’s Science Wows:Moments.
6.Kate Takes 5: A Seismic Shift
7.Life on Hushabye Farm: A Letter to a First Time Mother
8.Looking for Blue Sky: After I Die
9.Minis and Mum: A Mini Tale About Down Syndrome
10.Office Mum: The Once a Week Mum
11.Where Wishes Come From: A Taste of What Might Have Been
And finally my own post, selected by my readers.
12. My life in words.
Even if you only read the titles you can see, there is a lot more to parenting blogs than you might have thought.
My thoughts on a page. 
Whispers *it starts at 5.30 – if we’re meeting on that bus, we better coordinate times :)*
I know, I was whispering that when I wrote this.
Told my OH today that it began at that time and he still hasn’t closed his mouth!
I’ll be on that bus don’t you worry. 🙂
Have fun, and g’luck!
Thanks, and I think the fun is guaranteed. 🙂
Have fun, and g’luck.
Thanks Tric, really looking forward to seeing you on Saturday
Me too. Can’t wait.
G’luck Naomi – I really enjoyed your entry. Just lovely 🙂
Ah thanks so much, that means a lot!
Awww thanks. See you Saturday, I fully expect you to go home with a new teapot 😉
I’ll buy one and pretend! What a great night we will have. See you Sat.
You won’t need to!!
Besta luck. Have a ball.
ENJOY!!! We will meet yet 😀
I think you are avoiding me. I have no doubt we will. Enjoy your very poorly timed holidays.
Thanks Tric, feeling honoured to see my post mentioned on such an amazing blog, looking forward to meeting you xx
And vice verse. We are all good bloggers and I loved your post. A post that lives after you read it says it all. Your post certainly did that, and it’s lovely to know you had a happy ending.
Reblogged this on Love, Laughter, and Life and commented:
Best wishes, Tric! What a wonderful list.
Thank you for the reblog, and best wishes,
Thank you for the namecheck! And best of luck to all. I’ll be surprised if you come home teapotless, honestly.
Thank you. Best of luck to us all. Such a pity you can’t hop on a plane and appear!
Some day….I lived in Ireland once for 13 days…..doesn’t that qualify me. 🙂 It’s count down time! Please don’t tell me you’re wearing a dress!!!
Oh most definitely not wearing a dress. Stressed at the amount of grooming going on among some of my fellow bloggers, but I’m going ‘natural’.
Never say never. I have little doubt you will make it to Ireland again some day.
OH so relieved for you that a dress is not necessary.
And thank you for knowing where I will be ….. some day. 🙂
Thanks for the mention Tric.Looking forward to meeting up with you again over a few drinks!I am fully convinced you ‘ll be going home clutching a lovely teapot.
Thanks Aedín. Loved this post of yours. What a great night we’ll have tomorrow.
Have a lorra fun, tric. Come back and share all the craic with the ‘group’. And besta luck.
personally, i love the parenting blogs. there is so much wisdom and truth and humor to be found there. you are a perfect example of this. best of luck to you, tric. you know i’m in your corner.
Thanks Beth, hopefully I’ll come out fighting. 🙂
Good luck to you and all the finalists. I enjoyed every read! Keep it up.
Thank you. I’ll let you know come Monday how it all went.
Thanks so much for the mention, and I don’t think you need worry, I’m expecting that you will go home with a brace of teapots!
I can’t deny it would be lovely to win something, but the competition is fierce. Whatever the results I suspect there will be a lot of fun tomorrow.
good luck
~
win or lose
enjoy your moment