Meet SA Mom Blogger Cassie Kelly: Life with a Threenager

Meet South African Mom blogger Cassie Kelly! A single mom to her ladybug.

1)    What do you normally get up to on an average day? (Give us a brief description about yourself)

My average week day starts off with blissful silence as the Ladybug is still fast asleep in dreamland, then I take a life gamble by waking her up when I am ready.  Some days she’s angelic, other days Hell Hath no Fury like a Threenger woken up!  We dance through a morning routine which usually includes Psycho Mom Voice, kisses and cuddles and we head off for our day.  Ladybug is dropped off at school and I head off to work.  I’m an HR Manager in a Physical Rehabilitation Hospital; I manage all the HR aspects of working life for the Therapists.  After work, Ladybug is collected from school, Dinner, Bed, Hide and Go Seek, Tantrums and Terrorist Negotiations are on the cards for the evening.  Bedtime is at 19h00 sharp!  Some days it’s bedtime for both of us at 19h00, but on the lucky days my evenings are spent studying.  The weekends are spent juggling Home Adventures, Play Dates, Running, Shopping, Park Visits, Birthday Parties and exploring Jozi.

 

2)    How do you feel about motherhood – what are your struggles and joys?

I’ve always wanted to be a Mom, for as long as I can remember.  I’ve had a difficult journey getting to this point, but it’s the best non-paying job in the world. Being a single parent is supposed to be harder, more challenging, more stressful than being a two parents, I wouldn’t know because I’ve always been a single mom, it is just the way it is.  Dealing with a Threenager can be challenging, the tantrums, the moods, the Jekkel and Hyde, but the kisses, the loves, the “I Love Yous” made up for every tantrum 10 fold.

 

3)    Tell us about your kid(s)

I have one child, a daughter who is 3.  She is opinionated, moody, independent, loving, caring, Tomboyish and 100% one of a kind.  There are no plans to have more at any stage in the future!

 

4)    How did you start blogging?

I started blogging in 2002; it was more an online journal back then.  I did it mostly for my family to keep up to date with my pregnancy.  I then started blogging again when I was pregnant with my daughter in 2012: again it was meant to be for my family.  Friends then started following the blog, and their friends and before I knew it suddenly I was a blogger and then a Mommy Blogger.  You can follow our adventures and misadventures in this crazy thing called life over at www.lifewithaladybug.co.za

 

5)    Share with us a valuable blogging tip you’ve learnt. (or more)

Keep it real.  Don’t blog about what the trend is, what everyone else is blogging about just for the sake of trying to keep up.  Blog about what is real to you, what matters to you, and what you believe in, don’t sell your soul to keep people happy.

 

I have made a personal decision not to divulge my daughter’s name on my blog, she is known as Ladybug or Moo on Social Media.  It all came from my pregnancy, when her nickname was Widget because I didn’t know if she was a she Widget or a he Widget until quiet late in my Pregnancy.  From there, Widget became Ladybug and the adventure began.  I also don’t give details on her school, my work, our area we live in.  I blog using my nickname, not my real name.  I think its important to have some form of privacy even though we have invited people into our lives through my blog.

 

6)    If you make money from your blog, give us a breakdown on how you do it. Give us some of your methods on how to get started on this, or any tips or advice.

I don’t make money from my blog, never have and I never will.

 

Cassie blogs at Life with a Ladybug, and you can also find her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.