We are very excited about our next Feature Blogger, Mom Generations! This blog is written by sisters Audrey and Jane along with their Mom, Sharon.  Please help me welcome Audrey to the MomDot Stage!
 
1. Congrats on being a MomDot Feature Blogger!  Why don’t you start by
introducing yourself to our readers!

I’m Audrey McClelland, a mother of 4 boys under the age of 4 – William, Alexander, Benjamin and Henry. I graduated from Brown University, where I met my husband. We moved to New York City after I graduated, and I fulfilled my dream of working in the fashion industry by working for Donna Karan International. After our second son was born in NYC, my husband and I decided to move near family, so we moved to my home state of RI, where I grew up and my whole family lives. This is when I started working with my mom and my sister on Pinks & Blues, which is now called Mom Generations.
 
2.  How did you arrive on the blogosphere?  What got you interested in
blogging?

I started blogging because it was an outlet for me to chat with other women who were going through motherhood with me. My sister had been blogging for a few months, and she was meeting some great people with similar interests. She kept encouraging me to start,a and so I did. I was able to connect with a bunch of other mothers who had children the same age as mine… I was blown away that I felt such a connection to people I had never met in real life. These friendships I started to develop have just kept growing. And today I will go so far as to say that I am good friends with dozens of women I would have never even met had I not started blogging.
 
3.  Can you give the MomDot readers a “sneak peek” into what’s coming up next
for your blog?  Any new events, giveaways, interviews, etc.?

We will be doing a Nursery Decorating feature with Delta Children’s Product. Delta has given me a wonderful crib, and I am going to decorate Henry’s nursery around the crib with the help of my blog readers! Also, I have about 18 morelbs. of baby weight to lose, and just this week I started a “Tweightloss Challenge” on Twitter with about 75 participants and readers of my blog. The response has been so huge that we will be starting a second wave of the challenge for even more participants on August 11th! This coming week, we have an exciting giveaway for stylish and hip hats for babies from Kensington Baby.
 
4.  As a mom of 4 kids under 4, if you had one hour to yourself (obviously this
is a hypothetical question, LOL) what would you do?

If I had an hour to myself (ha!) I would go shopping and – here’s a novel thought – try things on in dressing room rather than just hold them up to me and hope they fit! When I’m shopping, I usually have at least 2 of my kids in tow, and it’s just impossible for me to go into a dressing room and try things on. I’ve tried it – and I’m not doing it again! So while I’d love to say I would do something more luxurious, truth is, I’d head to the dressing rooms!
 
5.  How did you get into reviewing products?  Do you have an all-time Favorite
Find?

I wrote a book with my mom 5 years ago – Preconception Plain and Simple. We met so many amazing women who were trying to get pregnant, and then we continued to keep in touch with them throughout their pregnancies and beyond. By that time I had my own son and was pregnant with my second, and so these women started to ask us about products we recommended for them: strollers, teethers, toys, clothing, etc. We enjoyed researching products and recommending them to the delight of these new moms, and we got such great feedback, that we decided to make it into a product review website for families. We knew that there were other sites out there that reviewed baby products, so we wanted to make ours completely family oriented. That’s why we review products for everyone in the family – mamas-to-be, mamas, babies, kids, dads, grandparents – even pets! 
 
6.  What is the one mistake a new blogger can make when just starting out?

One mistake a new blogger can make is not blogging enough. In order to really connect with readers, and to build an audience and relationships, you need to be consistent with blogging. If there isn’t new content up at least 3 times per week, readers will become disinterested, especially if you’re just starting out and they haven’t had a chance to get to know you. Another mistake, if a blogger is looking to build an audience, is not visiting other blogs and leaving comments. It’s like going to a party and not introducing yourself. It’s fine to be a “lurker” for a while, but after a while it’s important to make connections.
 
7.  Congrats on your new baby boy, Henry!  How do you find time to run a
successful blog with a newborn in tow?

Thank you! My family is a big, big help. I work with my mother and my sister every day, and they help me with Benjamin and Henry, my youngest two, while my husband works with home and stays with our older two. We try to schedule our time as best as we can! I need to accomplish a lot of things throughout the day for our site, so there are nights when I’m up until 1 a.m. finishing up work. It doesn’t bother me at all, though, because I truly love what I do, and it allows me to be with my boys throughout the day.

8.  Can you please list three blog posts that you would like to share with our readers?

1) http://www.momgenerations.com/blogs/pinksandbluesgirls/index.php/2008/05/02/titles-tags-and-labels-stay-away/
2) http://www.momgenerations.com/blogs/audrey/index.php/2008/07/01/mom-jeans-a-big-no-no/
3) http://www.momgenerations.com/blogs/pinksandbluesgirls/index.php/2008/05/22/on-turning-30/ 

 Thanks so much, Audrey, for participating in our Launch Party!  Make sure you stop by Mom Generations and let Audrey know that MomDot sent you! 

Interviewed by Contributing Writer, Bridgette

(Editors note: I ‘met’ Audrey and Jane online running Bambina Ballerina. THey are truly some of my favorite bloggers. THey are down to earth, extremly helpful, and always had time to talk to me. They made me feel warm and fuzzy about working with them and I hope they become one of your favorites as well-Trisha)