Hello, and Welcome to Zi Mama's World...

*Full disclosure I am very nervous about this, my heart rate just spiked thinking about someone reading it*

I’ve been wanting to start my own blog for forever, but if you’re from a small town you’ll get the hold-up… I can almost hear ‘who does she think she is?’ ringing in my ears… Well, I’m Stephanie, and I'd like to say hello and welcome you to my blog, I’m a married 27-year-old mum of two and I would love to take you along on the crazy journey of motherhood with me. When I think about writing a blog on motherhood a thousand ideas race through my mind, all of which I could write with ease, but I know it’s this intro that’s going to kill me. So lets get it over with...

The reason I started thinking about this is I am currently doing a degree in criminology and politics, and I’m plagued with people asking me ‘what job will you do at the end’, and I instantly freeze up and have no idea. I started my third year in September and realised I still had no idea at all. After putting some thought into it, I realised my favourite part of my degree is writing, and just decided ‘Hey, you’ve always wanted a blog, why not write about something you love and have an in-depth knowledge on’, and that’s motherhood.

Then I obviously did what any self-proclaimed over thinker would do, worried myself sick about what people might think or say but then I thought of my all-time favourite quote, ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you’ve always got’. And if I want something new, I guess I have to do something I’ve never done before.

I have an 8-year-old son called Kieffer, who is wild, witty and wonderous and never ceases to impress me with his artistic and crazy side (I better plug his YouTube channel here or he won’t be happy, its @themaskot15). Then there’s my sweet daughter Azalea (age 6), who I can only describe as a double rainbow. She’s funny, fiery, and let’s say free spirited, and to know her truly is to love her. Oh, I also have a two-year-old golden retriever called Mikey who is dumb as a doornail but loveable none the less. Then there’s my husband- Joao. We have been together for over ten years and quite simply he is the calm to my storm, the Ying to my Yang and while he does drive me mad most days, I’d be at a loss without him. Hope that didn’t make anyone sick, did it? No, we can continue...

When I began researching all about making a blog and how to pick your website name, everywhere said to pick something catchy and relevant to you and your blog, so that's how I landed on 'Zi Mama'. But, you’re probably wondering ‘Zi Mama’, what does that even mean? Well did you ever watch Madagascar 3: Europe’s most wanted? When my son was two he was OBSESSED with it and when Chantel DuBois said ‘the lion’, with a French accent it sounds like ‘zi lion’. From there Kieffer came up with ‘Zi Mama’, and whenever I do something special Azalea states ‘it’s because you’re not just a mama, you’re a Zi Mama’. They think it's a superhero name for me, and if that doesn’t highlight the phrase ‘to the world you are a mother, but to your family you are the world’, I don’t know what does.

Our wedding (09/04/19)

Kieffer (Aug 2023)

Mikey

Azalea (June 2023)

If you know me, you’ll know being a mum is my favourite thing to be, when I think of the barbie song ‘what was I made for’, as lame and unaspiring as it may sound to some, I know it was this- being a mother. So, I thought it would be super fun to make this blog and bring some humour to motherhoods crazy ups and downs and maybe some tips I’ve picked up along the way.

Thank you if you've stuck in for this long, see you next time.