awards i forced myself to win

So great news, Mother, Inc has been selected as one of 5 finalists for the Best Parenting Blog award in the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards 2011. When I got the phone call, I told the kids because they are after all the stars of the blog but they weren’t very interested, like “Mommy, you’re a finalist? Ok, can we go the playground now?”

I tried to explain the concept of awards and that it was sort of a big deal but they started stoning out so that was the end of that. Nothing like a bit of toddler perspective to keep my delusions of grandeur in check.

When I started blogging over 2 years ago, I had no idea how big this was going to be or where it was going to take me. There’s just something about having kids that makes you go shutter crazy and talk about them incessantly. All the people I know got tired of hearing me go on and on about the kids so I had to go on the Internet to find more people to listen to me. True story.

In a way, having kids helps you to relive the first 3 years of your life. I have no recollection of what it was like to take my first steps or taste my first strawberry or jump into the pool for the first time and the kids, they give that experience back to me. All the little joys in life that we take for granted are new and wonderful to them. They literally roll on the floor laughing when they hear a funny word and they boogie to Lady Gaga in supermarkets. They live life to the fullest and enjoy every moment. They love without reservation or fear of getting hurt.

So I try to capture all these moments in the blog. So that when they’re older and they wonder what the first years of their lives were like, they can look back and experience it through my eyes.

That’s my present to them and that’s why I write the blog.

What I didn’t expect was that in the process, I’ve come to meet some really awesome like-minded parents (and non-parents who feel the same way about a dog/cat/sea-monkey/baby sister) who are smart and witty and cool and incredibly inspirational. People who have walked the path and get the blog. I’ve come to really enjoy hanging out with you on the Internet. Thanks for sharing in your own blogs and in the comments.

And then I also write because that’s what I love. Sure, it takes time and effort and heart and lots of brain power, (all of which I could be spending with/on the kids) but when you love something, you do it even when it’s tough.

Also, if you must know, editing photos is a royal pain in the ass but I’m committed to putting out pictures that won’t make you want to gouge out your eyes. My philosophy is if I’m going to bombard you with photos of the kids, I should put in some effort into making it “nice-nice” (because 2 nices is nicer than just one nice).

This is usually where I badger you to vote but you probably have better things to do like bring your kids to the playground. Which is why I’m going to casually mention that if you happen to be terribly bored and would like vote for a blog you like, you can do it here under the Best Parenting Blog category. You can even vote once every 2 hours from today till 27 November, which is like playing Neopets or FarmVille or Mafia Wars, except more meaningful.

But seriously, thanks for all the love. You guys are awesome.

Happy weekend, all. Today’s a special Sunday edition because I’ve got some awesome news to update. I don’t really have a smartass way to say this so I’ll get right to it. Yesterday, the results of the Annual Singapore Blog Awards were announced and I came home with the Best Family Blog Award. Yayy!!

It was held at Shanghai Dolly, where everyone was all dressed up and very polished so I tried my best to not look goofy. Obviously not very successful.

Photo courtesy of Andy (www.sengkangbabies.blogspot.com)

Here’s a quick thank you to all the people who made this possible.

First, the kids, who gamely smiled (sometimes) and posed for every photo shoot. They’re the stars of the blog and without them, I’d still be a minion at a job I wasn’t very good at. Now at least I’m a minion at a job I love very much. They make my world spin and my days complete. Mommy loves you guys.

The husband, who’s my biggest fan and my best friend. These days, our date nights are spent behind our respective laptops with conversations that consist of monosyllabic grunts. I love that we can talk through the night and also sit together without talking through the night.

Every single one of you who drop by the blog and keep coming back. Your comments and support make me want to sit at the laptop at 3am in the morning to finish editing photos and write through every writer’s block.

Not forgetting all the other 9 finalists of the Best Family Blog category. It’s stressful going up against some of the best parenting blogs in the region and I had a great time meeting all the people whose blogs I spend so much time reading.

And finally, to OMY for putting it all together.

Good day, y’all! It’s Monday and it’s also time for the SG Blog Awards again. Last year, for some bizarre reason I was a finalist for the Most Insightful Blog but then they obviously realized that I sucked at being insightful and gave the award to someone who deserved it a lot more. I’m totally ok now because after several sessions with my therapist, I’m finally over the crushing disappointment.

And also because I’m a fighter, I spent the rest of the year accumulating nuggets of insight so that I could up the ante and give it a go again at this year’s awards.

Except that this year, they removed the category entirely.

Thanks guys, now I have all that insight and nothing to do with it. I’ll probably end up having to keep it in my storeroom till it grows fungus and then eventually chuck it in the chute. As is the case for most items in my storeroom.

Instead, I’m in the finals for the Best Family Blog this year, which is a perhaps more appropriate category depending on how you look at it. Although I’m pretty sure that they don’t know about the time I made my baby fall on her face and bleed all over my kitchen floor. Or that I almost got hauled off to jail for allowing my kids to prank call the police. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Also, it’s ok if you don’t vote for me because I’m not going to take it personally and hide in my closet to cry for days. My therapist says that I’m now “better equipped to deal with disappointment.” Then again, he’s not very good, seeing that he’s not even properly rained in therapy-ing people and only got the job by default for being my husband.

Besides, I thought about it and here are some possible reasons why you might not want to vote for me:

1. You hate kids.

Ok, really, I’m not even sure why you’re here, unless you’re looking for pictures of kids to print out to use as your dart board. In which case you should just email me and I’ll send you some very nice high resolution pictures that will make much better prints.

2. You hate reading blogs about kids.

Again, I’m not really sure why you’re here. But since you’re here, you should know that blogs about kids are pretty badass. I mean, they’ve got WORDS! Which is like a book, except free! And they’ve got PICTURES OF KIDS! And MORE WORDS! And MORE PICTURES! And sometimes you even get awesome free stuff! Which is so much more fun than having to pay actual money for stuff.

3. You’re not the voting sort.

I get this, really I do. Who has the time to register and login and click on little boxes to vote? But like our friendly gahmen says, voting is YOUR RIGHT! Unlike the elections, this is not compulsory, but you’re entitled to a voice so make it heard. Plus you might get even more free cool stuff just by voting, so everybody wins.

So I guess I completely understand if you’re not into this family blogging thing. That’s why I’m also running for the esteemed office of Emeritus Optimus Prime Minister. Surely you’ll vote for that, no?

PS. If you do want to vote for me at the SG Blog Awards, go here. You’ll need to register an account and log in and click on the giant VOTE NOW button to do it. It’s really a lot more fun than it sounds.

PPS. If you’re new to the blog, you might wanna start here.

Before I forget, Happy New Year (the Chinese version this time) again everyone! The great thing about being Chinese is that we get to celebrate the new year twice so if your first one sucked, you get a do-over. If your first one was great, then you have a shot at partying a little harder the second time. Win-win.

For reunion dinner tonight, we’re heading to the in-laws for steamboat, then back to my mom’s place for a juicy slab of wagyu. The only way I can eat all of that is to starve myself till dinnertime and do my shred right before, which should make me just about hungry enough to eat a horse.

Whatever you’re having for dinner tonight, have a good one.

For the big news, I made it to the finals of the bloggies. Hang on, I need to say that again, THE BLOGGIES, y’all. Granted, it’s the best asian blog category, which is like the best foreign language film category at the Oscars that nobody really cares about but heck, I get to go crazy fangirl on the other blogs nominated, ie my all-time favorites thebloggess, thepioneerwoman and hyperboleandahalf, as well as all the other heavyweights. Ok, I’ll stop gushing now. But seriously, one day I’ll fly to Texas and stalk Jenny till she has a cup of tea with me and maybe I’ll even get to stroke one of her taxidermied friends.

If you’ve been here a while, you probably know that I love you guys too much to flood you with advertorials or badger you to vote for me in contests. But it’s the bloggies and I’ll have to make an exception to that rule (just the second part). So that the scrawny asian kid gets to hi-five Brad and Angelina at the blog oscars. Figuratively speaking.

Go here to vote. Or just to check out some of these blogs. They’re really, really awesome.