Blogger Interview – Gabby

I’m Gabby and I blog at MamaGab.net.  I used to teach high school English but now I stay at home with my three children who are 5, 3, and 1.  Being a full-time homemaker, mommy, and homeschooler is both a challenge and a joy, so I love to encourage other moms who are in the trenches of motherhood with me.  I coordinate my local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) ministry and I believe that my blog should be an extension of my real life ministry of encouraging other moms.  I do this by being transparent and honest about my own challenges as a homemaker.

Do you have a blogging schedule? or just write as you feel inspired? Share what works for you and why!            

I often write blog posts in my head as I’m cleaning house, cooking dinner, or playing with the kids, and then I sit down to write those posts at nap time.  This helps me to still be present and engaged with my kids and not waste time sitting at the computer, hoping a grand idea will come to me.  Like all of us, I need to maximize my time as much as possible!   If I don’t write during nap time, then I at least take the time to edit images for future posts or work on the technical aspects of blogging. I reserve a little bit of time in the evening and mornings for reading and commenting on other blogs.

I try to stay at least a week ahead of blogging so that I don’t have to write under stress or pressure.  I don’t want to resent a sick kiddo or something else that comes up and prevents me from having time to write.  My kids and my husband always come first.

What is your blogging niche? Do you think it is important for bloggers to keep to one or two topics, or do you think it is okay for one person to cover multiple categories on one blog? Why?

I used to lament the fact that I was a nicheless mom blogger.  I’m sort of crunchy and natural in some areas and then I’m quite conventional in others.  I told my best friend that I would never grow much of a following since I’m so much in the middle of these two.  She said perhaps most moms fall somewhere in the middle too, and would appreciate that perspective.  Since then, I’ve decided to simply be real.  If I can’t cloth diaper every day, then I shouldn’t put pressure on myself to do that, just because I have written blog posts about it.  Authentic and intentional motherhood is now my niche–being real, open, and honest with the goal that moms would see someone who looks a lot like them.  My life isn’t perfect and I don’t pretend that it is, but God is perfect and gives me patience and the ability to serve my family.  I can’t do it otherwise.

My recent post “Is Motherhood Hard?” is one of my favorite posts because it was inspired by a reader who Googled that phrase and landed on my site.  I have lots of mom friends in real life that I love to chat on the phone with.  If I could just talk to this mom the same way I talk with my friends, then this blog post is what I would tell her.  In this post, you can see a lot of who I am.  My life is full of real life messes, real life challenges, and real life grace.