Yes, it’s true. This Friday, The Deliberate Mom turns 4! I can’t believe it! So much has happened in this little corner of the internet. So today I thought it would be fitting to share a bit about this blogging adventure with you.
A rose by any other name…
I actually started blogging in June 2010… except it was a different blog with a different name. The blog was called:
Random Thoughts After Two Glasses of Wine
Basically I would drink a couple glasses of wine and then write a blog post. The end of every blog post included a wine review. One of my RTATGW posts (what a horrible acronym) can be seen HERE.
About two months into my wine-induced blogging adventure I realized I couldn’t go on for three reasons:
1 – I was going broke from buying wine because I enjoyed blogging so much
2 – I was worried I was going to turn into an alcoholic because I enjoyed blogging so much
3 – I wanted to get pregnant… obviously wine induced posts would be out of the question
Thus, September 12, 2010 The Deliberate Mom was born. The first post (which is kind of lame) can be seen HERE.
Facelifts
The Deliberate Mom has gone through a few face lifts over the years. Here are the screenshots of those changes:
2010
2012
Early in 2014
Memorable Moments
There have been so many awesome moments here on The Deliberate Mom. It’s hard to pick which ones to showcase but here are a few of my favourites….
Big Moments
My guest post on the What to Expect When You’re Expecting blog
My daughter’s television interview on City TV.
Emotional Moments
Sharing news of my second pregnancy after nine months of trying to conceive
My slideshow post of the first few weeks with my second daughter
Funny Moments
Funny But True… An Embarrassing Bathroom Tale
My Embarrassing “Baby Brain” Moment
Some Stats and Silly Stuff
- This is posting #771
- There are 7664 comments on this blog (probably close to half of them are my responses to your comments). I did however, lose a few comments in my transfer from Blogger to WordPress.
- Speaking of comments, the most ridiculous comment I ever received was in response to my Handstand 365 challenge. An individual said: “You should take 365 dumps a year. Now THAT would be cool.”
The Series You Never Knew Existed
I have run a few series on The Deliberate Mom, some which you may have never known existed:
The Postcard Project – 100 postcards, 100 stamps, 100 loonies, 100 pens, 1 PO Box – this weekly series showcased the postcards that we left in locations throughout the city and the ones that were mailed in to us.
My Best Life – A weekly series of postings that helped me make positive changes in my life.
Children Live Here – I periodically shared photos of evidence that children truly live in our home.
What I’ve learned from blogging
1 – I used to think I was tech-savvy. I’m not.
2 – When I first started blogging, I had this crazy misguided notion that the moment I clicked publish, loads of comments would suddenly appear on my blog. Wow, was I ever wrong. Crickets…. I think I spent 4 months in my own corner of the internet, waiting for others to come to me. Ha! The lessons we learn. Now I’m all over the place and can’t keep up with all the blogs (and bloggers) who I follow and love!
3 – I will most likely NOT get rich from blogging.
4 – It’s not about me and my blog… it’s all about community, being a part of it, and building it.
5 – There are some pretty amazing people in this world – if I had to bet on it, you’re one of them.
Want to party with me?
To celebrate The Deliberate Mom’s fourth year of existence, I would like to invite you back here on Thursday for a VERY SPECIAL blog hop. The SHINE Blog Hop will be postponed until next week.
Consider Thursday’s blog hop like a block party. I invite you to link up a post that would make someone fall in love with you and your blog (too much pressure to think of one post… then your “about me” page would be a fabulous substitute). After you link up, go meet and hang out with few other bloggers.
In addition, what’s a party without PRIZES?! That’s right, I have prizes to give away.
I want as many winners as possible! That’s why I’m giving away one $40 (CDN) Paypal e-gift card and two $10 (CDN) Starbucks e-gift cards! Isn’t that exciting? Plus, there will be additional chances to win if you link up to the blog hop party on Thursday! This giveaway is open worldwide (as long as you can accept a gift card via e-mail)!
So I hope you’ll join me this week as I celebrate this milestone of when I first clicked PUBLISH.
SHARE WITH OTHERS
Happy blogiversary!!! It’s fun to read your history – I had no idea you had a different name before! The dump comment (oh my)!!!!! Congrats on your 771st post! So thankful for you and to know you in the blog community :)
Thanks so much Caroline! I’m super excited about this milestone – and thrilled to have met you in blogland!
I LOVE this blog celebration! (I never know whether to call it a blog birthday or a blog anniversary. Regardless, CONGRATS on four years!)
I love the newspaper headlines and the review of your blog layouts throughout the years. As for the “what I’ve learned” snippets, I still think you’re tech savvy. (You may not, but I do.)
Keep on keeping on, Deliberate Mom!
I’m glad you’re enjoying this blog celebration. I have the name for this specific type of celebration pegged… you’ll have to come back Thursday and find out what I’ve named it.
I had such fun planning this and writing my posts for this week. I hope you enjoy it!
Wow! Congrats! 4 years! That’s commitment! I’ve had my blog since March, and I’m hoping just to make it to a year.
Thanks Ai! I’m quite thrilled I made it to 4 years!
Yay!! Congrats!! I love your blog!! I’ve been sort of on a blogging hiatus since early this year but I’m back and this is just the motivation I need to make sure I don’t take another hiatus!! Your blog is great and a big inspiration for me!! See you on Thursday!! :)
Thank you for celebrating with me and thank you for the kind words! I can’t wait for the party on Thursday – I would love to see you there!
Happy Bloggiversary!! :) I love reading updates like this. Congrats, this is a really big deal! :)
Thanks so much Becka. It was fun to reflect on everything that’s happened here on The Deliberate Mom.
Your blog is so fun to read! Happy blogiversary!!
Thank you for joining the festivities Leilani!
Happy 4th Blogiversary!! So exciting!!
Yeah about that comment on taking 365 dumps a year, hmm, some people!
Thanks Jen (and thanks for celebrating with me too)!
You’ve been blogging since 2011?! Awesome!
Oops, forgot to answer, I have been blogging since 2011 :)
Totally wishing you a very, Happy 4th Blogiversary today and so glad we have gotten to know each other through blogging. Also, wish you many more years of blogging fun here!!! :)
Thank you so much Janine! I’m glad you could celebrate here with me today. I would love for you to come back to party with us on Thursday! I’m certain it will be a blast!
I’m glad we’ve gotten to know each other too… I’m looking forward to many more years of connecting!
Once again Jennifer Happy bloganiversary last month was my first year with Busy Mom Monologues.
It was so interesting reading your blogging journey and your first blog, I never thought about it :) Congratulations my dear friend and let’s celebrate like a Blogger Stars!
Big hugs from me to you… xoxo
Thank you so much Remy! For some reason, this year means so much to me! I appreciate your kind words and that you’ve taken the time to join the festivities!
Love this post! It’s so awesome to look back over 4 years and see how far you’ve come Jennifer. I guess I’ve been blogging for about a year and a half now. Seems like longer, ha!
You need to bring back your other blog STAT! I am already laughing picturing you drinking wine and writing about whatever comes to mind. What a great concept!
I’m really looking forward to the blog hop on Thursday (especially b/c I’ve been so busy these last few weeks I haven’t been able to link up at the Shine Blog Hop).
Have a wonderful rest of your Monday!
xoxo
I had such a fun time writing this post, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
LOL – yes my old blog was quite the thing! I’m very fortunate I didn’t have too many grammatical or spelling errors but I would go on quite the wine-induced tangent.
I can’t wait for Thursday’s hop – I really tried to make it feel like a party… I just need guests!
Thanks for celebrating with me friend!
xoxo
Happy Blogiversary! Reflective Mama is almost 5 months old. Such little time, and already part of such an amazing community.
Thanks for celebrating here with me Farrah! I hope you’ll come back and join the festivities on Thursday.
Hi Jennifer! Happy 4th Anniversary! You have come a long way, baby :) Although I’ve only known you for a year or so, I’ve seen a lot of design changes. And then your crazy-successful blog hop too. It’s been a wonderful thing to watch. Congrats!!
Thank you for offering such wonderful give-aways. I am a Starbucks-a-holic, so I will thank you in advance for contributing to my habit!
Blessings,
Ceil
Thanks for coming to celebrate with me Ceil! Best wishes on the giveaway… I knew Starbucks would fly with several of my readers!
I love this post! It is so neat to see how far your blog as come and the many phases it’s gone through. I’m only in month 6 of my blogging experience so I love hearing about what you have learned.
From one wine lover to another, cheers to 4 years!
-Joanna
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Joanna! I had such a fun time putting it together. Let’s lift our glasses in unison and enjoy a sip of vino! To many more years of sharing, enjoying, and friendship!
My blog is officially 2 in 3 days! I love how you put together this re-cap!
Wow! Happy 2 years Michelle! I’m so glad you enjoyed this little prelude to a party. I hope you’ll come back and join the festivities on Thursday.
Congratulations on your anniversary (and for putting together this awesome post / giveaway)!
Technically, I started my blog in 2010 to keep family apprised of wedding plans, but I really kicked it off in February of 2014.
If we were neighbors, I’d come over with a babysitter, a bottle (or two) of wine, and some nice chocolates. Sadly, I’m not too close so I’ll just say, “happy birthday,” and I love what you’ve done with your corner of the Internet!
Thanks so much for stopping by to enjoy the festivities Sarah! I had such a great time putting this together.
So is the babysitter for us or the kids? Two bottles of wine and some chocolate… I could be a handful!
I would love for you to come by and celebrate on Thursday… I put together a fun party, I just need some guests to show up.
My blog is four-years-old too! I love that you kept screenshots of the old incarnations of it. I never did that! It hasn’t changed all that much, actually for me.
I love the fun facts, and the strange “take 365 dumps a year.” Well. .I suppose that or more is ideal, but does it belong on a blog??
Yay for our blogs being “born” at the same time! I’m glad you enjoyed this post and that you joined the launching of the celebrations!
Happy blogiversary! Ha ha : ) Super cool that you’ve been able to create this lovely space here. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you!
Thanks Lyssa! I’ve enjoyed getting to know you too! I’m so glad you stopped by to take part in some of the celebrations!
Oh my gosh, I LOVED this post! Happy 4 years to your blog!! I was laughing so hard reading your wine induced post lol. And I REALLY wanted to read “page 2” of your newspaper hahaha! I also cried reading your pregnancy story because my first pregnancy was similar, except that the doctor told me I was going to miscarry and said there was no baby inside me, but THERE WAS. All joy was sucked out of the beginning of Piggie’s pregnancy and none of my family would get excited because we were all waiting for the inevitable. At 13 weeks along, I finally heard his heartbeat and could feel HAPPY.
So happy to be a reader of your blog. My blog also turned 4 years old a few months back and I can really relate to a lot of the “lessons” you’ve learned regarding blogging! Thanks for sharing all of these great links, I enjoyed browsing through them. You are seriously are one of my favorite bloggers, it’s always a pleasure reading your posts!
No, I lied, my blog is 3 years old! I’m going insane. I started it right after Piggie was born :)
I’m so delighted you enjoyed this Jessica. I had so much fun creating this post and the party post I have planned for Thursday. Seriously… I think I had too much fun (the Blogger’s Chronicle Newspaper being my case in point).
Oh my goodness I had no idea about your first pregnancy with Piggie… how awful. That moment of hearing a heartbeat though… wow – an amazing feeling isn’t it? I remember thinking NOW this is real, NOW I can feel happy.
I’m so glad we’ve connected in the blogging world. Thank you for taking part in the launching of this week’s celebration!
Happy anniversary!! You are such an inspiration, and I think we need to create a “random thoughts after two glasses of wine” link-up! Actually no. Wine makes me sleepy ;) Can’t wait for the party on Thursday!!
LOL – a random thoughts after two glasses of wine linkup would be hilarious!
I can’t wait for Thursday too – I’m super excited to party with you.
Hi Jennifer! :) I just started blogging for the first time a few weeks ago. I’ve been trying to learn a lot and “hang out”, ha! I saw your pic through a comment near to my comment on piganddac.com. I was finally able to take the time to read about you / your site. The both of you are great! Adorable, in fact. I really enjoy your site. I will try to post Thursday. Happy 4th Anniversary! You have a cool site. And don’t worry, I won’t pick my belly button!! I don’t want you to puke! haha!! ;) Cindy from http://www.inspirememama.com
Thank you for your visit Cindy and congratulations on your new blogging journey. Thank you so much for stopping by and celebrating with me… I would love for you to stop by and join the party… (and thank you in advance for keeping your fingers out of your belly button).
Wishing you a lovely day!
lol :)
thanks!!
have an awesome day!!
xo
My blog is rapidly approaching it’s first anniversary!
Congratulations on all you have accomplished! I am so happy to have worked with you and gotten to know you :-)
Thank you so much for your kind words and for joining me in the launch of this celebration.
So you’re approaching 1 year – wow! I feel so fortunate to have connected with you Anne Marie. You are a treasure!
Jennifer,
Congratulations on 4 years of growth! I loved your timeline of where you started and where you are now. I enjoy your posts and your intentions with blogging, thank you for sharing a piece of your life with us! Holly
Thank you so much for your warm wishes and congratulations Holly! I’m happy that we’ve connected and I appreciate you being a part of this celebration!
Congratulations! I just found your blog so I have a lot of catching up to do, but so far I love it. Keep it up.
Wow, you’re a really new blogger, aren’t you?! Thanks for your kind words and warm congratulations. I’m delighted you could celebrate this milestone with me!
I am, but I have been writing for years. I used to contribute to another blog before I started my own so I had a bit of material to get me started. Congratulations, again!
Oh, and my blog is only 3 1/2 months old – it’s a brand new baby!
Isn’t it wonderful how much we grow and change through blogging? Congrats on turning 4!
Change is right! Looking back, I can see how much this space (and I) have changed!
Thanks for celebrating with me!
HAHAH! I wish I had the guts to say something so disgusting like that 365 dumps comment. I’m way too conditioned to be “ladylike.” But sometimes I’d rather just be funny!
How the heck do you know how many comments you have? I totally need to move away from Blogger and into WordPress…but don’t tell Blogger because I don’t want them to get upset and delete me before I get the chance.
FOUR YEARS?! That’s awesome, and your first blog is hilarious! I actually like the concept but can definitely see how it could pose some problems lol
This block party is getting me all kinds of excited and nervous! I don’t know what the heck to link up! I’ll need to consult my husband on that one. YAY for prizes! Thank you for going all out for us, that’s so sweet and generous of you!!!! Four years is certainly worth celebrating, and so are you! Quite simply put, you are a gem. My very first bloggy friend. <3!
Thank you for all of your love, positivity, authenticity, and support you've shown me. I'm so happy to know you and call you a friend. <3
PS. LOVE the newspaper headlines/stories, haha!
I loved making the newspaper… LOL, really, I had too much fun with this!
LOL – except the individual didn’t say 365 dumps a year (they said 365 s?*ts a year).
It’s very easy to look up the number of posts, comments, etc. on WordPress but don’t worry, your plans to migrate over are safe with me.
The idea behind “Random Thoughts” was ridiculous but it was fun. During those three months I was like, “Honey, I have to stop at the liquor store to buy wine for my blog.” Sometimes I wish I still had that excuse to buy all that wine.
I can’t wait for the block party… can you tell I’ve been thinking up this stuff for a while. I’m super excited.
I’m so thankful for you and thank you for all your kind, warm, and fuzzy words. You made me misty-eyed my friend.
Thank you for being here to celebrate with me!
xoxo
Yay!!! Happy Blogiversary!!! :-) I’m so glad I met you in the blogging world!
Thank you so much for celebrating with me Susannah! I feel blessed to have connected with you as well.
This is a great review post! I was about to make a joke about “stealing” the idea, when I realized Thursday will be my 8 year blogaversary. Yeah, don’t think I can throw something like this together in two days.
Congrats!
Thanks Renee! I had such a fun time putting it together! 8 years?! Wow! That’s worthy of some kind of mention at least! Wow! I’m in awe.
Thanks for celebrating with me and for the warm congratulations!
Happy 4th Blogging-birthday !!
I’ve been blogging for a while, but have recently been much more active with posts! I’m a mom to four- and love to hear other mommas an their perspectives!
Check out my momma blog at TheCurzioCrew.weebly.com!
Thank you for the warm congratulations Bri! I would love it if you would come back tomorrow and participate in our block party!
Thanks for celebrating with me.
Congratulations on four years! What an accomplishment!
Thank you for your warm congratulations! I hope you’ll come back and join the block party tomorrow… I would love to have you here.
My blog turned four this year too. I has had many facelifts (and I didn’t get pictures of them all, darn) and has changed it’s focus too. Like life, it’s a constant work in progress.
I love that you’ve done this chronology. I thought about doing it too. But just for this week and just for tweets that I liked. But, I can’t remember before 3pm today so that’s that.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been following you but you posts make me think. In a good way and I like that. Please keep doing what you’re doing.
I consider myself so fortunate to be the recipient of your thoughtful comments and time. Thank you for all your support over the years and here’s to many more. For both of us.
Besos, Sarah
Blogger at Journeys of The Zoo
I’m so glad you enjoyed this post Sarah! I had such fun writing it. Please do come back for the party – I would love to have you celebrate with me!
I’m looking forward to many more years of reading, writing, and friendship with you.
Congratulations on turning 4! It’s been my pleasure meeting you and I really do intend to meet you in person as well. Just like you I remember when I first started blogging, there were crickets for months and the only people who visited were friends and family. It surely has changed and I know I definitely won’t get rich blogging but it has been fun. It’s really been a journey and one that I enjoy, one that keeps me sane throughout all the craziness that has been happening in my life. Thank you for always being there and being such an amazing friend. (virtual hugs your way)
Thank you for the kind words and the warm congratulations Amanda! I hope you’ll come by today and participate in the link up – I would love to have you party with us.
It’s been a pleasure getting to know you and I look forward to many more years of friendship.
Hey there! Congratulations on your Blirthday! I LOVE that, it’s so much more fun then Blogiversary!
My blog has been up and alive since 2009, so I guess it’s almost 5 years old. Wow… I hadn’t really stopped to think about it until just now. Maybe I’ll have a Blirthday celebration for my blog.
Thank you so much for joining the fun Christina. You totally NEED to have a Blirthday celebration!
I have so enjoyed your blog over the years as it’s grown and changed! Happy Blirthday!
Thanks so much Natalie! I love that you stopped by to give your congratulations. You’ve seen this “work in progress” through a lot!
Now, are you up for some chicken dancing?!
Wow!! 4 years!!! That’s awesome, Jennifer! I absolutely love reading your blog and am so glad to have gotten to know you. I didn’t know you used to have a different name….that is hilarious! Sometimes I think wine makes me a better writer – who knows?! haha! I started a previous blog last fall but when I decided to actually make mine look better, I changed my URL and bought a better look just this last March. :)
I actually write pretty decently after I’ve had wine too. Ha ha! I’m certain others would disagree though *wink*
Thanks for joining the festivities!
First off, I knew it! Chocolate cures it all. I’m glad I’ve been eating so much of it. Haha!
Now to what I want to say, CONGRATULATIONS. Blogging is a hard thing to do, especially when you’re a mom because there’s always something to do and is hard to find a time to blog. You’re my hero for doing it for 4 years already. I hope someday I will too celebrate 4 years blogging.
Thanks for all your amazing posts and advice. I really really love it all.
And now to celebrate…!!
I don’t have a blog, but just wanted to say congrats and thanks for the chance to win!
Thank you Monica! I’m delighted you stopped by and joined the festivities.
Wishing you a lovely weekend.
Happy birthday to your blog, Jennifer! Great post! I love the newspaper bit at the top, and I could have written this sentence could have been me when I first thought of blogging last year: When I first started blogging, “I had this crazy misguided notion that the moment I clicked publish, loads of comments would suddenly appear on my blog. ” ha ha, how I laugh now! Fab giveaway!
Thanks for joining the fun Mel! I would love for you to link up your blog at my “Blirthday Party” too! I’m drawing a couple prizes from the blogs that link up. You can find that post here:
https://thedeliberatemom.com/the-deliberate-moms-blirthday-bash/
I would love to see you in the conga line… or doing the chicken dance. No need to dress up, your PJs are fine.
Wishing you a lovely weekend!
This was so great. I totally remember your first blog! So fun to have made it four whole years in the blogging world! My Essaie blog started just a few months ago…but I’ve been blogging on a family blog for what feels like aaaaages…maybe 5 years? I don’t really know.
Congratulations!
Thank you so much for the warm congratulations and for joining the festivities Laura! That’s so cool that you remember my first blog… very few do.
Congratulations on your blogiversary! My blog’s about six months old. So happy to come across yours! :)
Thank you for joining in on the fun Julie! It’s always a pleasure meeting new blogging friends.
I just found your blog from a link posted on another blog. Happy 4th anniversary.
Thank you for stopping by Florence (and for sharing your warm congratulations)!
My blog is less than 2. I started blogging in Jan. 2013 and got serious about it in March 2013. I still have a lot to learn. :)
My blog is 1 year 2 months and 5 days old :-)
I just started a blog in Feb of this year. I’m still quite fresh and uncertain as to how to “expose” my blog. And I love so many things that it’s hard for me to establish a niche. Well I shall just keep plugging away at it until I reach my “blog climax”.
I commented here
https://thedeliberatemom.com/my-best-life-the-joy-journal/#comment-20506
Thank you so much for hosting this giveaway. As I mentioned, the money that I won will go towards my kids breakfast program in Mexico.
Besos, Sarah
Blogger at Journeys of The Zoo
Such a wonderful cause… thank you for blessing with this blessing!