MC: Can you describe yourself in three words?
LJ: Happy, busy, plump (would say fat but people seem to think this means I am putting myself down…I’m not!)
MC: What are your children’s names and ages?
LJ: Emily and Melissa, twins aged 11.
MC: Are you a full time mum (and blogger)? If not what other work do you do? What did you do before you had kids?
LJ: I’m the director of a small agency in the West Midlands working on various types of copy, an author, PR and journalist – which sounds mad, I know, but it does work, honest! Before I had my daughters I was a news editor on a regional evening paper.
MC: How did you first get into blogging -and what does having your own blog mean to you?
LJ: I wanted to provide information, advice and support for parents/expectant parents of twins, triplets or more as mainstream media just wasn’t that interested! I set up www.gotyourhandsfull.com in 2006 and was chuffed that it got such a loyal and enthusiastic following. It meant a real lot to me as readers got in touch to let me know that something I had written or reported on had helped them. A piece about post natal depression in mums of twins for instance still gets a lot of traffic as people turn to the internet for information.
These days my blog at www.havealovelytime.com is a sort of ‘umbrella’ site and brings together reports from various parent bloggers, reviewing holidays, trips and activities for families. It was set up as we felt mainstream media wasn’t interested in all sorts of holidays – just mainly posher or ‘aspirational’ ones and we wanted to better reflect parents’ positive experiences and recommendations for more down to earth destinations. That said we have had some amazing opportunities crop up through the blog, not least a recent invite from Disney to go on a cruise to The Bahamas!
MC: What’s the best comment you’ve ever had on your blog?
LJ: Going back to the post natal depression piece, simply – ‘you have helped me’. For www.havealovelytime.com I have been blown away by the comments. When I posted that I was going on this trip to the Bahamas, I felt sheepish about it and a discussion wishing me well went to more than 60 comments, that was very touching.
MC: What are your favourite blogs? Why?
LJ: There are too many to mention really. Dulwich Divorcee, Littlemummy, Are we nearly there yet Mummy? Englishmum, Family Affairs, Exmoor Jane, Stickyfingers, Jo Beaufox, Singleparentdad are all up there, not only because they have such compelling, entertaining blogs, but also because I either know them or have had a fantastic time with them on a ‘bloggers’ trip.
MC: What’s your proudest parenting moment?
LJ: I hate talking about this but I cry a lot at parents’ evenings. The first time I went and a teacher asked me for tips on bringing up her little girl as she would like her to turn out like mine, I was lost for words and turned into a snivelling wreck. My girls are too young to feel under any pressure academically but I take a quiet pride in the fact that they always seem to strive to be the peacemaker in a given situation and do think of others. Sometimes I worry that this means they will be easily hurt when they are older, but most often, I am pleased that they are so considerate.
MC: What is the most challenging aspect of parenting for you?
LJ: The first year was a complete blur. These days I am anxious about outside influences and how quickly our daughters are made to feel they should be ‘growing up’ – I want them to feel as free as they can for as long as they can.
MC: What’s your most overused parenting phrase?
LJ: “It’s not the end of the world” (when I should be more cross really!)
MC: What parenting moment that you’ve shared in your blog has provoked the biggest response?
LJ: I talked about my daughter asking me, ‘Mummy, what does middle class mean?” and discussed how I always wanted to hang on to working class roots and this turned into a big debate about whether class existed still in the UK, how it was defined and how it affected children: http://www.gotyourhandsfull.com/2009/09/mummy-what-does-middle-class-mean.html.
MC: What’s your biggest parenting concern at the moment?
LJ: How I am going to get away from the office this afternoon and tidy the house before my daughters’ friend comes for tea.
MC: If you could do a five minute interview with anyone on the planet then blog about it who would it be and what would you want to ask them?
LJ: It would be Peter Kay and I would ask him to write a foreword to my book (still a work in progress!)
Read more of Linda's ruminations at www.havealovelytime.com.
