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 to 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!

Jane Alexander of Little Miss Mummy releases herself from the pressure of perfect parenting in her post Bad Mummy.

Supermum, super woman, ultimate modern woman (yes, someone called me that recently; I nearly vomited in my mouth).  These titles make me bat shit crazy!

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SUPER MUM!!!

Seriously! While some Mum’s can make it look effortless, trust me, there is no such thing as ‘no effort’ when there are kids involved.  And those who purposely try and make it seem like it is easy and effortless to be a perky little Stepford Wife when it’s all a total act have a lot to answer to.

Read the rest of Jane's post here.

Kathryn Boyde of Katzrambles is surrounded by runners everywhere she turns and writes about how much it freaks her out, in her post Is this the new drug?

Everywhere I look, everybody’s at it; The blonde-haired beach babes, with their Barbie-doll-like bodies, prancing along the pavement; the super fit mummies, pushing their sports-model prams, treating their toned thighs to a trot and the men with their muscular torsos sprinting along the sand while casually chatting to their buddies beside them. And then …..There’s me. I’m the red-faced one, choking on her own breath while urging her feet to lift themselves a wee bit higher so she doesn’t face plant the concrete. Yes, it’s a good look for me, I know!

Read the rest of Kathryn's post here.

Bianca Slade of Wholefood Simply talks about how parenting forced her to learn how to share in her post Paleo Raisin Bread.

I have a few quirks; I like routine, I like to sit in the same chair at dinner time and the same spot on the couch, I am not enthusiastic about sharing my meals and I especially like sleeping in a dark, silent room with plenty of personal space. My husband and daughter accept this, they leave me be, things were coasting along quite nicely.

Then I had my adorable baby boy. For his first year he slept when he wanted, if he wanted, and no two days were the same. Now he likes to sit at the table, in my chair, and on the couch, in my spot.

Read the rest of Bianca's post here.

Shelley Marsh of Money Mummy forces us to confront something we've been ignoring for far too long in her post Three easy ways to find your lost superannuation (so easy, even my hubby could do it!).

I cannot tell you how much this irked me. Finding your lost superannuation is the quickest and easiest way to boost your superannuation balance, and it helps keep you off cat food in retirement.  Having explained this to my husband, I started a campaign to get him to move his superannuation.  So year one, not wanting to be the nagging wife, I would gently remind him that he had a new job and that he should move his superannuation.  Nothing.  Year two, I stepped up the campaign a notch and I printed out the switch form a couple of times and left it next to his computer.  Nothing.  Year three, giving up on the idea of not wanting to be the nagging wife, I gave regular, not so subtle reminders to move his superannuation.  Still nothing.  Year four, sigh, I gave up my campaign.  Like they say you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink.  Then about a month ago, out of nowhere, after reading one of my posts my husband declared he was going to find his super.  Hooray! I wasted no time and got him on to the computer and over to the ATO SuperSeeker site.

Read the rest of Shelley's post here.

Louisa Simmonds of My Midlife Mayhem lists the things that really annoy her (and Chris Hemsworth makes an appearance) in her post 25 things that really p*** you off when you're middle-aged.

I’m beginning to think I should rename my blog My Midlife Misery.

Anyway, a few weeks ago another blogger wrote a list of things he’d put inRoom 101, so I decided that it might be therapeutic for me to do the same.

That’ll be easy for me, I thought, but actually – because I’m an Olympic moaner – I’ve found the process quite hard to narrow down ALL my gripes.

Read the rest of Louisa's post here.

Jody Scott-Greer of Six Little Hearts discusses school holiday activities for children who range in age in her post Top holiday ideas to entertain children.

It's now time to chill, catch up with friends and do lots of sitting if I can manage it.

With such a variety of ages in my family, there are different needs to take into consideration. The older kids usually sort themselves out by organising sleep-overs at the homes of friends and get-togethers.
The younger 3 (excluding baby), are more of a handful. They need constant pulling in line, entertaining and discipline to get the most out of their free time. (And mine)!

Read the rest of Jody's post here.

Renee Wilson of Mummy, wife, me mourns the loss of her most prized assets (like all mums) in her post Where have my boobs gone?

I have always loved my boobs.

I would definitely consider them my best asset. Not too big, not too small. Just right. Dave always says that the first time he laid eyes on them he thought they were … ‘the best rack he’s ever seen’. 

We were at the pool yesterday, soaking up the gorgeous Spring sunshine and splashing around with the girls when I felt a gentle breeze tickle my nipples. I looked down in shock. Had my strap come undone? No. My once snugly fitting bikini top was gaping open. Instead of seeing my beautiful boozies, I was peering down at two half deflated balloons.

Read the rest of Renee's post here.

Susan Taylor of One Woman Circus shares a shameful parenting moment in her post A is for apple and m is for...chippies.

I had a pretty shameful parenting moment the other week. I was reading stories to my almost three year-old before bedtime, when after carefully studying the front cover of one particular book he suddenly pointed at a large, rounded letter "M" in the title and said: "Chippies!"

Goodness, gracious, great balls of F***. I was horrifed. My child was associating the letter 'M' with McDonalds. What kind of parent was I? We don't go to Maccas that often - I swear! It's only a treat every now and then. It's true that he's some kind of McDonalds trainspotter, calling out "Chippies!" whenever we drive past the golden arches, but I'd never really worried about it...until now.

Read the rest of Susan's post here.

Kellie Turtu of Mama Pyjama discusses the best and the worst of travelling with a toddler in her post Holidays.

Holidaying with kids is a whole different kettle of fish.  We took our first son to Bali with us – twice.   The first time went pretty well – the Balinese love little babies!  The hardest part was packing.  We survived on carry-on luggage whilst he required two full sized suitcases to accommodate nappies, formula, shelf stable foods, and about 35 spew rags and clothing changes.

The second time we went back I was pregnant with my second child.  Looking back I do wonder if I was not actually temporarily insane at that point in time. Well, if I wasn’t then, I can tell you that by day three of the ‘holiday’ I certainly was.

Read the rest of Kellie's post here.

Alicia Lynch of Naughty Naturopath Mum explains how life gets in the way sometimes in her post The break I sorely need...

Usually, if things are tough for me, I will distract myself by writing which often takes the form of a blog these days.  It may not reflect anything about my current situation but rather just serves as a big old DISTRACTION.

This can be a bit hazardous for my personal life and the people that hear from me only via the internet these days as this would mean that things look pretty good on the surface which is exactly how I want it to look!

Read the rest of Alicia's post here.

Keri Arkell of Awesomely Unprepared tries to cope with her toddler's transition from fearlessness into fearful in her post What are you scared of?

The Little Mister is usually known for his exuberance and ability to dive headfirst into anything – fear being a concept he’s hardly understood. He’s had nervous moments, times he’s hesitated and not trusted his own ability to climb off that big step or to eat the first spoonful of a warm meal (he’s a bit sensitive and will only eat his food when it’s lukewarm bordering on cold). But overall, he’s that kid who will make friends with anyone, run off almost anywhere to satisfy a curiosity, fend off our big, black dog with a bemused look on his face (I swear he almost rolls his eyes) and loves being up high. The occasional separation anxiety has been the worst it’s ever got. Even then, it’s never held us all back in life. He’s done well. We’ve been so unbelievably lucky.

Read the rest of Keri's post here.

This week’s winner will be published on Monday and will receive a Cetaphil Pack.

To enter our weekly iBlog Friday competition, send your entry through to [email protected] by midday on Thursday.