Family blogs

Photo by A. Alberto (copyright)

The following article first appeared on Apartment613 on May 4.

The National Capital Region has a lot of blogging parents. In fact, after viewing more than 600 local blogs, I would argue that there are more family-friendly sites in our region than those that focus on hockey or politics. With this in mind, this week’s column contains a round-up of family blogs.

Recommended Starting Points

The Ottawa Mommy Club is a fantastic source of information for parents and anyone else interested in family-related posts. Their list of bloggers alone has dozens of sites that cover everything from parenting to home design to managing family finances. Created by Lyne Proulx in May 2011 this is a wonderful resource.

One site that I regularly read is Kids in the Capital, which has numerous listings for family-friendly events. Thanks to this blog, I have found recommendations for children’s books, planned family outings and discovered kid-friendly sites, like this great post on different parks in the city.

Another blog worth checking out is Ottawa Valley Moms, which was founded in July 2012. You will find posts here that include parenting tips, product reviews, recipes and podcasts. (Note: I reviewed this blog on my personal site back in March).

Blogging Moms and Dads

The National Capital Region is filled with blogging parents. They include 2Cute, by a mother of twins, and Yes Please, Mom, which is written by a mom of a baby girl. Other blogging mothers includeCoffee With Julie, which I reviewed on my site, Mommy C and Trending Ginger Mom.

Katina Michelis, meanwhile, is the blogger behind You’re Pregnant, Now What? “I want to say that I hated being pregnant,” she writes on her blog bio. “Did it twice, and hated it twice.” This honest voice may appeal to readers looking for posts that describe, in real world terms, the good, bad and ugly side of parenting.

Correr Es Mi Destino is not a parenting blog per se. However, blogger Juliette Giannesini is a new mom and she regularly blogs about her son Mark. I also reviewed this blog on my site.

Not all blogging parents are mothers. If you want to see a blog written from the perspective of a father then read the QUINN’tessential blog.

Family and Living

Blogging parents will inevitably write about different topics. Whether it’s a love of photography, managing home finances, posting recipes, or discussing interesting moments in their lives, almost all family-related blogs will end up covering different issues. With this in mind, some sites worth checking out include a peek inside the fishbowl, Postcards from the mothership, Life in the Hutch,Otownmommy’s Blog and Mercurial Mind.

If you want to know if raising children on one salary is possible, then Christa Clips blog SAHM: Save-At-Home-Mom! is worth a look. Angèle Lafond, meanwhile, is the creator of Domestique Manager, as well as the business blog Making ¢ent$ of Business. For her part, Kamerine Gardam writes The Life of K. While Gardam is currently at home with her children, she also started her own business as a birth doula.

Finally, if you are a parent who likes to run, then the blog Running. Food. Baby. is for you.