Liebster Award – an opportunity to show appreciation for fellow bloggers

I've been nominated for a Liebster Award. Thank you to Nicky from Practical Research Parenting. I recommend anyone interested in the science of parenting check out her awesome site.

The Liebster award is designed to allow bloggers to tell their fans a bit more about the person behind the blog and to acknowledge other colleagues.

To take part, each nominee has to follow 6 simple rules:

1. Acknowledge the blog that nominated you and display the Liebster Award on your blog
2. Answer 11 questions that the blogger gives you
3. Give 11 random facts about yourself
4. Nominate 11 blogs that you think are deserving of the award, that have less than 200 followers
5. Let those bloggers know you’ve nominated them
6. Give them 11 questions to answer.

My questions

1. If you didn’t have to earn money, what would you do with your time?

I'd probably just learn more. All I ever want to do is learn stuff.  

I'd like to say that I would do lots of charity work and give back to the community and have an amazing house but realistically I'd probably just learn more and hang out with the kids.

2. What is your funniest kid moment?

I'm not sure if this is the funniest, but I thought it was funny.
To understand this story you have to know that MissC is 3 and her speech is still a bit imperfect. MissC came out from having her bath and I was sitting on the rocking chair holding her sister.
"Mummy and Missi" says MissC, "you look like a bitch sitting there."
"I'm sorry?"
"You look like a bitch sitting there."
"A witch?" I guess optimistically
"No. A bitch...." Just as I'm about to tell her off, she comes over and runs her hands over my legs that are resting on the coffee table, "see like a bitch."
A bridge. I looked like a bridge. 

3. Who do you write your blog for?

Me mostly. If nobody at all read it I'd still write it because I most use it to investigate things I am really interested in and this allows me to justify the time. If I didn't write the blog I wouldn't know about half the things i do now because I would have never gotten around to looking up the papers.

4. What country would you most like to visit? Why?

Ecuador, specifically the galagpogas islands. I am fascinated and inspired by Darwin and the theory of evolution and have always wanted to go to where it all began.

5. When you travel, do you seek natural wonders? Or man-made wonders?

I think I seek man made wonders but I always enjoy the natural things the most. Once you've seen a few churches or temples or bridges or whatever, they all look the same but every canyon or beach or mountain is different in an amazing way.

6. What do you love most about being a parent?

Them. I just love them. Here look at them

I love their little faces and their little hands. I love the way they cuddle up to you randomly and I love that MissC now has a whole world that I am only peripheral too. I love the things they say and I love when they are asleep.

Most of all I suppouse, I love to see them grow and develop. I love the emerging skills and the problem solving ability and that everyday they're a little bit smarter than they were before.

7. What do you find hardest about being a parent?

There's a joke by Louie C.K. "The hardest thing about having kids is the days that you spend with them. That's really the hardest part. It's just everyday that you have them." I don't think anything has ever resonated with me so much. Parenting, young children at least is just completely endless. If its not feeding or playing or coaching through a tantrum, it's all the thinking about what they're doing and is that normal and what are you going to do about it.
Which if it was just two days that would be fine but it's not, it's everyday forever until they eventually leave you and that's a bummer too.

8. What is one of your happiest childhood memories?

When I was a child, my grandparents lived at the beach in what was then a pretty rural area. When we would go to visit while the grown ups would be talking, we would go down to the beach by ourselves. We would usaully be the only people and we had so much fun running around on that wide open beach. Even now, the smell of seaweed just makes me think of holidays and freedom.

9. What did someone say to you as a child that you have never forgotten?

Its not something someone said but more an event. When  I was 8, we were on holiday in europe and I got lost on the london underground. It was just after christmas so there weren't many people around but there was one other lady there. I was very upset and she sat with me and gave me some banana and waited until somebody came to get me.

I've always remembered her kindness in doing that.

10. Please share a defining moment for you (something that changed you or made you who you are today).

Learning about how gravity worked in high school - not just the fact that things fall down but the attraction that all objects have to each other that cause gravity to exist. This one piece of knowledge really opened my eyes to how amazing science is and kicked off a love of science and learning for the rest of my life.

11. What is your go-to snack?

Umm.... weetbix bites. We always have some in the house for MissC and they're so yummy and accessible that I always grab a handful when she's not looking.

Random Facts about me

1. I make up random facts about things that I am convinced are correct because they sound like they should be. In my family we call them 'Lee Kim Facts'.

2. I am not much on cleaning. In fact, my house has been so messy that I have come home and thought I have been burguled.

3. I have a developmental disorder called dyspraxia.

4. My daughter brought home guinea pigs this weekend and they are so cute I think we might have to get some as pets

5. I am going to try and make this look as though it was my daughter's idea

6. My husband and I spent 18 months travelling around the U.S. and canada while sleeping in the back of a minivan.

7. One night during this, we accidentally spent the night at a nudist camp because we didn't know what french for nudist was and when we figured it out (on account of all the naked people) we were too embarrassed to leave.

8. I still have and wear clothes from when I was a teenager.

9. I love birthdays and holidays and do something for all of them. I even celebrate St Patricks day.

10. Both my daughters middle names are after roads.

11. I don't read many blogs (I know, I know). I tend to read articles from more mainstream sites, so I actually had to do a lot of searching for my nominees.

My nominees

Momma PhD: Great science based sources with a biotech spin 

SixFortyNine:  Has some great articles but in particular check out her crappy crafts. 

The Adequate Mother: A celebration of being barely good enough. I really need to spend more time there.

Seeker Lover Mother: Gorgeous website. Just a pleasure to read.

Wholesome Mummy Life: Even though I think a lot of on trend eating is not scientifically based, there's nothing wrong with eating delicious healthy food. In fact I am constantly trying to fulfil it. This site has some gorgeous and delicious looking healthy recipe ideas.

Keeping up with Joneses: A fun family site.

MommaData: Has a wide variety of articles on issues relevant to parents, mixed in with things like SEO and accounting that are useful for anyone trying to run their own site. 

Black Sheep Mumma: An honest look at parenting through a range of issues including post-separation and child chronic illness. 

My questions
1. At what time of the day do you find you do the most blogging?
2. What is your favourite quote?
3. What is your favourite memory?
4. What is the best thing about you?
5. What do you spend too much time doing?
6. What is the most challenging thing about blogging?
7. What did you want to be when you were a child?
8. If you could change one thing about your life what would it be?
9. Where would most like to travel to?
10. What is your biggest pet peeve?