MamaNYC opened its doors in mid-August 2010 with the idea of keeping myself "busy". I wasn’t sure WHAT or WHY I was doing it, but I was putting together a blog. In just a few short hours, I will be opening the floodgates for quite possibly the largest blog giveaway I have self-sponsored here on MamaNYC.

Before I go ahead and put this HUGE giveaway together, I wanted to recap where I have gone, been, and become since I started MamaNYC. I have always loved hearing about how other bloggers came to be, so I thought my story may be good enough to share. We’ll see… It is a LONG story, but a good one if you care to read. I’ve always wanted to tell my backstory, so here it is in its entirety – the LONG version (hey, I warned ya!).

First, I will give you a short recap, or a timeline of how this all happened. This will help put the pieces together and let you understand who I was and what I was doing prior to MamaNYC. Hopefully the story will tell puzzle together in a timely (and recappable as possible) fashion to explain why I blog to begin with! → 

February 2009 ⇒ I am 6-months pregnant and working at a fabulous e-commerce business as their manager. I have built the entire business (over) from head to toe after a major profit loss. My salary is higher than most my age, but I am continuing my studies to finish my Bachelors by 2010. Unfortunately, I have to walkout on February 5, 2009 after 6-months of verbal and mental pregnancy discrimination abuse reaches its "final straw".  We have savings, but just enough that we can get by until our son is born. I am paying cash for health insurance ($450/month) and the expenses begin to inflate, a lot. No one will ever hire a woman that is THIS pregnant. My grandfather passes away on February 24, 2009.

April 2009 ⇒ Our son is born. I am in love and happier than ever! The bills start to roll in and the panic begins. I start looking for a job 1-week after my son is born and begin to lie about my pregnancy being only 1-2 weeks since because no one will hire a woman that JUST gave birth. 

July 2009 ⇒ I am hired as a temporary worker doing very basic and minimal administrative work at my mothers place of employment. The cost after daycare, gas (45-minutes one way), lunch and coffee is a loss. I continue to look elsewhere. 

February 2010 ⇒ I finally find my dream job, but as usual – I am deceived during the interview. I am promised gold and only given scraps. My position is NOT what I was told it would be. I wait it out for 4-months (and that HUGE raise I was promised), but never see any action. 

August 2010 ⇒ I QUIT! I am going to be a stay-at-home mom. I don’t know how this is going to work, but we are going to make it work. I cry for nearly a week wondering if I have made the right decision for my family and our son. Will he be okay adjusting from daycare into at-home care? Will he miss his friends? Is this going to set us back a LOT? How will I deal with this impulsive lifestyle change adjusting from life as a work-a-holic? I realize this is for the best…. and I can always go back if I am unhappy. 

[Two Weeks Later] ⇒ I am BORED out of my mind. Although I am taking 12-16+ credits at the time, I have saved the easiest classes for last and they require very little time and effort on my part. My son is about 16-months old, so we are having a great time. I have also been designing websites and graphics since I was 10-years-old and I had several clients lined up and projects to complete. However, I am BORED. The transformation from work-a-holic into stay-at-home mom has bored me to tears. No, I don’t want to go back to work! I am adjusting VERY well to the idea of waking up with my son every single day and deciding where we will go together. I can get used to that, but not the lack of adult interaction. I need something.

What do I think will help? I start looking all over the Internet for "free magazine subscriptions". I don’t find much beyond BABY magazine and free fishing or sailing issues, but I start to see some freebie forums talking about sweepstakes – in Canada. Do they do this in the United States also? Is there a possibility I can WIN something? Is this a ….. SCAM?! 

I continue my search and fall upon OnlineSweepstakes.com, which is apparently the largest database of sweepstakes’. I start to enter and hope something good comes out of it. I start to geel good positive vibes when I read the forum boards, which include lists of "WINS" each member has received in past years. These people are winning cars, vacations, cash, and great goodies! I can totally see myself enjoying a FREE vacation! 

I keep seeing these blog giveaways. They are a bit tedious because they want you to leave a comment if you "Follow on Twitter" or "Like on Facebook". This is all very new and strange, so I skip over them. I am not too sure about them! (This makes me LOL now for obvious reasons)

Finally I am reading the forums one day and someone is complaining about how much they "hate" blog giveaways: "I just HATE this new trend! I cannot stand entering them!", but the next responder insists blog giveaways are actually "the best" and he "always wins great prizes". I give them a shot and eventually begin to only enter them. 

Mid-Late August 2010 ⇒ I have started to win some amazing prizes from sweepstakes sites and blogs, but my favorite prizes are from bloggers. They are giving away some amazing products from great brands I would have NEVER found! They also feature parenting articles and tips that are really helping me with my adjustment into a stay-at-home mom. I am SO inspired by the way these blogs are operated and what the material they are churning out for parents like me. I need to have a blog. I guess I will just start a blog!

[MamaNYC; November, 2010]

So, I guess you could say MamaNYC became from a bored stay-at-home mom that needed a hobby. I had a daily subscription for newspaper delivery, but I am much more of a digital/online type of gal. The newspaper is something I love to read, but I craved the news and happenings of "right now" ad not "yesterday". I have always enjoyed social media and networking with other people (hence my career choice!), so blogging seemed like a great fit.

Did I expect MamaNYC to go anywhere? Clearly, no – That is the exact reason why I started MamaNYC on Blogspot.com. I wanted to make sure this wasn’t a fly by night hobby I would drop in a week before I committed to even $1.00 expense! I had tried so many other "hobbies" and ventures in the past, so i had to be sure. 

[MamaNYC; January 2011]

The beginning was tough. I had NO idea what I should write about, or what people wanted to hear. Did they care that my son was potty training, or that he had scribbled on the walls? Would anyone really read my stories? Starting your first blog post is very nerve wrecking. I remember editing, editing, rewriting, editing, rewriting. I made sure every single word was proper and correct. I didn’t want my thoughts to be misconstrued or interpreted in another way. I didn’t KNOW who was out there reading MY material. It was scary, but I got over it fairly quickly. 

Fast forward to the present day state of MamaNYC and I am still in a position of disbelief and still very excited over where I see my blog going. I am far from bored and surely got more than I had asked for back in 2010. I just wanted a simple hobby to keep me busy, but I never expected to make a career choice out of "this". My day revolves around my son (first and foremost), but my blog is like a third child to me (now that we’re expecting Baby #2 in January! Sorry, blog! You’ve been bumped down a spot!). 

My blog has grown, but the same goal still exists as the first day that I started (minus trying to keep busy and avoid boredom!). I love discovering new products, meeting new people (bloggers and readers alike), and telling my motherhood stories and rants whenever possible. I’ve also enjoyed sharing some blogging tutorials to provide some tips and ideas for fellow or new bloggers. I also LOVE attending local New York City events to engage and connect with some of my favorite brands, or attend a Circle Line kids cruise so that I can share it with my readers. 

I don’t know where MamaNYC will be in 2-years from now, or whether my goals and dreams will be the same. I pray I am still here and that you are still reading. I never take a day of blogging for granted because I know my readers are hear by choice. You have thousands of other options, but for some strange reason, I have the chance to share some of my experiences, Internet finds, favorite brands, or make you laugh with some of my funny sports bloopers and cat humor! 

So, I am going to be giving away an iPad 3 and some other fantastic prizes (hopefully) within the next 24-48 hours. The giveaway will run about 4-weeks, but it will be well worth the wait for entrants to find out if they won or not. I am THAT thankful for my fans that I am giving up some amazing gadgets and prizes to show my appreciation. I do hope to meet a lot more of you (bloggers and readers) as time goes by and continue to bring you whatever it is you love most about MamaNYC. Thank you, really. 

Whatever it is and however you got here… I am glad you are here. 

Until 2014. . . 

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*YOUR TURN!*

Tell me YOUR blog story and how you came to be! I am tagging FIVE blog posts from FIVE of my blogger friends and hope they will continue this and share their story, whether short or as long and detailed as mine! We all have a story to tell and explain HOW we would up here. Tell your story and tag five more people to keep this chain goin’! Be sure to tag one of their blog posts so that they receive a trackback! It can be a recent post, or a favorite of yours that you want them to know you have enjoyed!

• Dawn @ Cheap Is The New Classy ⇒  Inspiring Story: Gwendolyn
• Greta @ How Was Your Day  ⇒  How To Stay Cool In The Summer Heat
• Janet @ Going Crazy!! Wanna Go??!!  ⇒   Complete Guide to Fireworks {Types, Colors, Safety, Laws, More..}
• Maggie @ Tethered Mommy  ⇒ The best job I never applied for (NaBloPoMo)
• [5th blog removed]