San Antonio mom blogger Claire with The Half-Hearted Housewife

This week’s San Antonio Mom Blogs’ featured mom blogger is Claire. Want to be selected as a Fan of the Week? Like San Antonio Mom Blogs on Facebook and participate!

Claire has moved seven times and had four children, all in just eight years. She’s also the proud mama to two fur babies, named after He-man cartoon characters, and wife to one Sergeant Handsome who does ALL of the family’s the dishes and laundry and lets her sleep in on the weekends (why didn’t I negotiate that into my marriage contract???). She writes about her “imperfect and unpredictable life,” at The Half-Hearted Housewife, where she also shares her love for clothes on Fridays and the occasional UNrecipe.

Why did you start blogging?

This is going to sound so ridiculous but a friend of mine (Kate, from theguavaliciouslife.com) had been blogging for a little while and was going to a blog conference in San Diego. I was telling her that I wanted a reason to go to San Diego for a few days and she told me to start a blog and come with her. And so I did. That was more than 2 years ago and I’m so thankful to her! I love writing and find blogging to be a wonderful addition to my life. I’m so glad that I was able to find something creative that I’m passionate about. Now I can’t imagine my life without writing.

Which posts are your favorite to write?

Oh, this is hard. My favorite posts are probably the ones that share funny stories. I have a lot of ridiculous things happen to me, like when a My Little Pony got stuck in my treadmill or the air mattress that deflated in the middle of the night while we were waiting for the Army to deliver our household goods or that time my husband screwed up the Tooth Fairy money. I’m always happy to look foolish in order to make someone else laugh. I try, not always successfully, not to take myself too seriously. Hopefully some of these posts help other people to see the lighter side of things too. I’m a big believer of choosing laughter in life, whenever possible.

What is your most highly visited (or most controversial) post?

I have two that are pretty closely tied for most visited. One is “Did You Spill That on Purpose?”, which is about how annoying it is when kids purposely do the opposite of what you’ve asked. There are a ton of comments about the ups and downs of parenting, and I think it helped some people feel less alone in the less glamorous moments. The other is “Ten Things We Don’t Tell New Moms (but we should).” I was the first of my friends to have a baby and there were some things that I just didn’t know would happen. So I’m putting this out there for other people who, like me, might not have had any girlfriends or sisters to ask about peeing their pants after giving birth. It’s a real thing, ladies.

In the last eight years you’ve moved seven times and had four kids. What’s your best moving tip? And what’s your best mom tip?

My best moving tip? Don’t.

Ha…but seriously it would be not to stress too much. When we moved back to San Antonio most recently, it took over a month before our furniture and boxes arrived. Some friends lent us pots and pans, we all had air mattresses (some more effective than others), and the boys got to take advantage of A LOT of open space to run around inside our house. So it didn’t end up being too bad.

Mom tip? Trust yourself. You’re a better mother than you think you are. Love your kids and yourself, and you’ll all be okay. Also, sometimes cake is necessary and acceptable for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

What’s one thing your fellow bloggers and your readers would be surprised to learn about you?

I think they’d be surprised to know that I’m actually a really private person and I hate to talk about myself. Which is odd since I write about myself and my life almost daily. But it’s definitely true. It makes putting my writing out there and promoting myself really hard. Hopefully it’s worth it and people don’t hate it (or me).

Find Claire: Blog | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter