iBlog Friday - Our weekly roundup of Aussie Bloggers

At iVillage we’re passionate about supporting Australian bloggers. That’s why we’ve created iBlog Friday.

It's a chance for bloggers introduce their favourite post of the week to iVillage readers and for our community to read what Aussie writers are up to.

Here are the bloggers who have sent their submissions this week. Happy reading!

Michaela Fox of Not Another Slippery Dip shares her advice on how to be a happy mum in her post How to be a happier mum – 10 tips and one might have something to do with laughing…instead of crying.

Parenting is a tough gig. It’s tough for both men and women but I think it’s especially hard for mums, as we tend to place more pressure and expectations on ourselves. In the majority of cases, gender roles still apply and if one parent is staying at home, it’s usually the woman. Whether you’re a SAHM or a working mum or, or like me a WAHM, there are things that you can do to be happier. Here are my top 10 tips.

Read the rest of Michaela's post here.

Renee Wilson of Mummy, wife, me writes about the mass amount of toys her daughter owns compared to her own childhood in her post Too many toys.

My daughter is not yet three, but she has more toys now than I had over my entire childhood.

I didn’t have a deprived childhood either. I received great presents for birthdays and Christmas sure, but it was sensible. My parents didn’t go overboard.

Looking back, I had an awesome Barbie collection, a Cabbage Patch doll and a Care Bear. Toys would be reserved for birthdays and Christmas only. There would be no impulse buying or toys given as rewards for good behaviour.

Read the rest of Renee's post here.

Cassie Hamer of Mum plus More wonders why mums are always so quick to discuss the negatives of parenting in her post Why do parents always tell each other the worst.

With one child in the pram, another holding onto it, and a third child strapped to my chest, there's a game we play, which I call 'supermarket bingo'. The first person to comment 'Gee, you've got your hands full', is the winner. Someone always wins. Sadly, there's no prize. To be frank, I have no spare hands for giving them out.

Mostly, people are kind and lovely and helpful. But the one reaction that scares me usually comes from older mums, with teenage kids, who smile sympathetically but then say, 'You think it's hard now.. but just you wait till they're older. It gets EVEN HARDER.'

Read the rest of Cassie's post here.

Carly Findlay of carlyfindlay.com.blogspot.com.au shares her thoughts on the TV show Embarrassing Bodies in her post We're not here for your entertainment. Why I'm boycotting Embarrassing Bodies.

Many illnesses and conditions are featured – obesity, dental hygiene, cancer, breasts, vaginas and men's health, to name a few. It's not a caring or sensitive show. If it was, it would not have the word 'embarrassing' in the title. I believe the GPs involved in the show are morally unconscionable – with no regard for their patients' privacy or likelihood of ridicule once the show airs on television. The show's about shock value and ratings (it's cited as the most watched show on the UK's Channel 4, and it used to be called Embarrassing Illnesses).

Read the rest of Carly's post here.

Rachael Johnson of Mummy Flying Solo talks about how she doesn't mind the single mum gig, except for one thing, in her post My favourite fantasy.

I have to say that, mostly, this solo parenting gig actually isn’t too bad. What? You’re surprised? Well it’s not. We have our little routine and the way we go about doing things; I don’t have to factor someone else’s decisions or preferences into choices I make at home; and if I don’t pick the toys up off the floor at the end of the day or we have toast for dinner then no one moans at me about it. Don’t get me wrong. Some days it is also really hard and I particularly notice this when I actually have someone around to help for a bit. It’s then that I have an aha moment and think “ooooohhhhh this is what it could be like with help. Wow!”. But for the most part we plod along ok. Sure I have my meltdowns but I don’t think they are exclusive to solo parenting. It’s more of a parenting in general thing.

Read the rest of Rachael's post here.

Amy Cheney of The Modern Herd talks about how glorious winter can be…until the kids start spewing in her post Winter Chunderland.

I love Winter. I love rain on the tin roof, bon fire fun, children’s sport cancellations…the list is endless. However, there is one aspect of Winter I could do without; sick children. Actually, that’s a lie. There are two aspects of Winter I could do without; sick children and hideous beanie hair [but for the purposes of being succinct today I will stick with the former].

Surely there is nothing more emotionally heart wrenching or physically draining than caring for a sick little one. Or ones – plural. Unfortunately that hardly ever happens seeing as there seems to be some pre-evolutionary flaw within the human species, which ensures one child fully recovers before the next child succumbs to whatever highly contagious disease is doing the rounds at pre-school. The result is one very tired Mama who has been cleaning up vomit at two in the morning for three weeks straight.

Read the rest of Amy's post here.

Raychael Case of Ms Mystery Case introduces us to an amazing woman, Kirsty Mackenzie, who started The Warm Fuzzy page on Facebook after a particularly difficult period of time in she and her husband's life in her post Bringing the positives to town starting with Facebook!

Read the rest of Raychael's and Kirsty's post here.

Caylie Jeffery of of Distractions of a busy mother shares a beautiful post written about her amazing mother in her post The Baby Artist.

In the quietest and darkest hour of the night, when bone weary parents have laid their heads, the machines continue their unrelenting tango with delicate souls. The tiny children with whom they dance have arrived into this world with something missing: their chance to share a lusty cry, to suck with fervour at their mother's breast, to look into their father's loving eyes…lost.

These are the babies in Intensive Care. The soft curls of wispy hair, the marble skin like gossamer wings, the tiny birdlike hands that are trussed up in the bondage of the very things that maintain their tenuous link to life. These babies belong to the machines, the humidicribs, the doctors and the nurses before they belong to anyone else.

Read the rest of Caylie's post here.

If you're a blogger and you want to appear in our next iBlog Friday roundup please send the link to your blog to us at [email protected]

We will be posting all the blogs we receive in a round up every Friday morning so make sure we get your blog by Thursday at 12 noon.

Produced by Jay-Z, the soundtrack includes songs by Beyonce, Florence + The Machine, Gotye, Lana Del Rey and Bryan Ferry.