The Liebster Blog Award: Yippee! My first award!

This week I have been honoured to receive my first ever blog award!  I am, some might say, stupidly excited by this.  I say that it is quite normal to be excited when someone other than your husband expresses an appreciation of your work!  I accept it with thanks and whilst wearing my best frock, as is tradition in award giving spheres!

I have Catherine over at Low Impact Parenting to thank for the award.  Her blog is full of humour, despite the increasingly chaotic sounding household she inhabits and it sounds like she's doing a grand job de-cluttering and recycling to make way for her new addition to the family due in March.  I love the variety on her blog, from how to make Seville Marmalade, to breastfeeding and sewing, and the fact that she's doing it with one eye on the planet.  She succeeds in reminding me to savour the moments.  You can follow her @lowimpactmama.

This award is for blogs with 200 followers or less.  The idea is to share appreciation of blogs (Liebster meaning dearest, or favourite, in German), to link back to the kind soul who passed the award on to you, and to pass on the accolade to a further five deserving bloggers.

This is no easy task.  I have discovered many deserving blogs, some well established, some relative newbies like me and reducing that list to my five favourites has not been easy.  But, here it goes:

Firstly, check out the The Undercover Granny.  It's interesting for me to see things from a Granny point of view, and she has a fun take on life, recent posts including a look at dating for the over 50s and a look at the various types of mummy bloggers she's encountered (a favourite post of mine - I wonder which one I fall under?)

Another blog that always makes me giggle (and that's my pre-requisite for any blog I am reading!)  is Mymumdom.  Blogging with a definite sense of not taking life too seriously, she is a kiwi in the UK with a son and three daughters that look a 'lot' like her (I saw that gallery post from the graduation!)

Check out Me.He. And Them. Written by three best friends; the stories always seem to strike a cord with me, or elicit a giggle, or a strong emotional response.  This post in particular, on breaking the news to your child that you are going back to work, made me well up.  It's a reminder that, as mums, we are not alone in the challenges we face.

On a more serious note, Mrs Shorties Mind is written by a mum of three suffering from Post Natal Depression.  It charts her journey, her changing attitudes to mental health and is a refreshing, honest account of her experiences.  (And a big thumbs up to her husband who has stuck by her through the ups and downs.)
This post, Not Really Grooving made me really consider the fine line we walk in maintaining mental health, its relativity, and its transient nature.  I often feel like I am operating in a fuzzy ball, with no 'get up and go' as my mother would say.  But I just take it as naturally part of who I am and have never considered where on the line that state falls.  And then, when I have a day of focus and activity, a day full of energy, I wonder how on earth I could maintain that state.  It feels much more like living in the moment.

And finally; a blog for the Mulberry loving, cupcake eating, pretty interiors mummies.  Honey's Mummy is a lovely collection of gorgeousness, great tips, advise and musings on motherhood.  One to enjoy with a glass of wine.  I love it.  Though I am seriously jealous of the cake!

So there it is.  My five recommendations and to whom I pass on the Liebster Blog Award.  Enjoy!