aha…you might think i’d be talking about Georgie Bush and the state of his union (and the fact that he wears crocs and socks…but that’s a travesty for another day)….today we are talking about the state of MY union, the one over here at this little site called Fabulous.
i’ve always had a harder time posting over here than on my other site, my personal site, Cheaper Than Therapy. i’m not exactly sure why…i guess it’s because most of my readers are over there for me, the whole me, the raw me.
here, i’m representing. i’m representing urbanmoms.ca, a company of people i’ve really grown to love and respect over the last little while. i’m representing the "fabulous" moniker….a while back people explained that they didn’t want to hear about my kids. no, instead they wanted to hear about my life without my kids. they wanted a break from the screaming and whining and bedtime woes and teething and diapers and drama and fighting. they wanted a sex and the city type column – something to show that mothers can still be amazing, cool people despite the fact that they have kids.
but, ah, there’s the rub. actually, there are two rubs here.
the first being the representing. how can i represent a place that’s for mothers about mothers supporting mothers without actually talking about being a mother? yes, i do believe that there are many sides to me. the work ali, the friends ali, the workout ali, the extracurricular ali…in addition to the mom to three ali. but they all come together to form one ali. it’s hard to talk about some things while leaving out the things people don’t want to hear about.
and the second is also about representing. how can i be edgy and naughty (not the right word) and sex and the city-ish when the reading public is soo broad. i got a lot of negative feedback about my hot topic friday about circumcision because, apparently, penis talk is not appropriate. so, if penis talk – when i’m talking about baby boys – is off limits, how am i supposed to push the envelope to talk about what many of the readers want to read?
so…tell me what you think. i’ve been struggling with this for a while. and i don’t want my posts on here to suffer. i love writing for this site, i take great pride in it, but i kind of want to be able to write what i want to write about….but on the other hand, i’m writing for you, and i want to know what you want to hear.
Sorry I am commenting late on this one.
This is just my 2 cents.
But, what I love about this site and about Cheaper than Therapy is that you are being you.
Truthfully, reading what you have to say has made me realize that it’s okay to be a mom and not wear “mom jeans”. That it’s okay to go for a drink (minus kids), and to care about the frivolous stuff like highlights and hairstyles.
But, being a mom is who you are. And you’re right, I don’t think you can just not write at all about that side of things.
I say keep doing what you’re doing. As for the stuff on Hot Topic Friday, like circumcision … I LOVE those topics. Of course you’ll get critics. But, it means people are reading.
Hey, Ali. Two major things here 1) I don’t think people don’t want to hear about your kids but I think you said it yourself, they can get a lot of that about you at Cheaper than Therapy. What you do here is show how “mom” can be smart, hip, edgy, passionate, sensitive, cerebral, nurturing…you get my point. It is not that people don’t want you to refer to your kids or even talk about them when it is relevant but you have an opportunity to do this in the context of something bigger as well.
2) The circumcision post was one of my faves. Not because of the topic but because it was thought provoking. It made me step back and think about it. You are so incredibly smart and able to get people thinking! The fact that it is controvesial is great. I love that we have a blog and a blogger who takes risks here. Unfortunately, what this means for you is that you might offend some. But, on the other side, when people feel passionately one way there are others who feel just as passionately on the other side. You have so many loyal readers and they read your blog because you are not afraid to expose yourself a bit and to take risks.
Whether I agree with everything you write or not it almost always makes me think and that is why I come back thrice weekly and look forward, especially, to hot topic Fridays.
Ali, DON’T change a thing, I think you are wonderful and I love my daily Ali-fix (at 10 p.m. every weeknight LOL)!!!
It’s because of you that I a) got into Lulu’s (yipee!) and b) copied your style (hope ya don’t mind) and got that fabulous Guess Flora bag and c) realised you can still be sexy and fab and still be a mum.
You are an inspiration and remember, you can’t please everyone (and there are always some “knockers” out there).
Keep up the great work.
You are AWESOME — no matter what you write about it’s always FABULOUS. I always think you need to go with your gut when you write. If you’re in a MOTHER ALI space, then write about that. If you’re in the SEX GODDESS ALI space, then write about that. As all us bloggers know, you CAN’T PLEASE EVERYONE all the time. You just can’t. And, you do your best representing what you believe in! That’s my take, anyway!
Ali, I think you’re doing a great job – on both sites. Your blog is the one that got me hooked on urbanmoms.ca Having kids drains the fabulous side of me most days, so I think getting some insight into how you balance all parts of your fabulous life (including stuff about your kids) is important. Keep up the good work.
I love your blogs – both sites! I think your kids are an important part of you & if it fits the blog they should be included. What I love about your blog is that every day is totally different, they premise never revolves around the same thing twice. I think you should just keep writing as you do, it’s very enjoyable reading.
Who would complain about the circumcision topic? There was nothing remotely taboo about it! Those people should be ignored…my opinion…
I’m surprised people didn’t want to hear about your kids. I like mom blogs, in general, because for the most part it shows that none of us is perfect, but we all muddle through. I don’t think you can represent, as you say, without talking about your kids. Personally, I don’t see having kids as being non-fabulous. The fact that you are in tune to pop culture, you provide fashion commentary, seem to have a social life and a good relationship with your family AND you do all this with three kids is intriguing and keeps me coming back. 🙂
hi ali – what i love about your blog is that it represents all the sides of you that you mentioned. You’re a dynamic, multi-faceted woman, and you’re doing a great job of illustrating your many sides to your readers. Personally, I love the stuff about your kids – it’s reassuring to know that one can be a busy mommy and still be so fabulous!
No doubt each facet of who you are is intertwined with the fact that you are first and foremost a mother. I think some readers need to get a grip. Your post on circumcision was great- thought provoking and controversial. Your other blog truly focuses on you as a mom- your thoughts, interests and musings on what else interests you as a woman and a mother is what I’d love to read more of here. Urbanmoms celebrates women as mothers and as people with many interests. Just my two cents.