Modern Mamahood: LL Talks to the Creator of "OneHungryMama.com"

When it comes to raising our children, food takes front and center in their development, especially in the earliest years. Blog-mama, Stacie Billis, Creator of "One Hungry Mama" talks to Ladies Lotto Modern Mamahood Blogger, Lana Perry, about her amazing blog-site, and how she balances work and family life.

Stacie Billis of OneHungryMama.com

What is OneHungryMama.com? What can moms find here?

One Hungry Mama is an online resource for age-specific, family-friendly recipes, tips, techniques and products to help parents satisfy their own hunger and inspire healthy hungers in their children. Being a Hungry Mama (or Papa!) means you can whip up something quick and delicious, shop on a budget and still buy all-natural ingredients, and even cater to different ages and tastes without making separate meals. The recipes are categorized by meal type, ingredient and age so that busy mamas and pops can access them as easily as possible. Users can even create a recipe box to hold their favorites. We busy parents need as many time savers as possible!

When and why did you start OHM?

I was blogging at another site in partnership with the person I developed a frozen organic baby food brand with for over a year when I decided, in February 2010, to strike out on my own. Though One Hungry Mama has only been live for about 4 or 5 months, there is over a year and a half worth of content available on the site.

OneHungryMama.com's Coconut Chickpea Soup with Lemongrass

How did the site grow?

Organically (no pun intended)! I just started blogging more and more, introducing my writing to publications that I like, collaborating with like-minded food bloggers, posting comments on other blogs, and building a following by having conversations on Twitter. Basically, I became part of the food and family-food blogging communities. I'm an active participant in these communities because I care about the issues, want to know what others think and exchange ideas for how we can all do as good a job as possible feeding our families without killing ourselves (it's hard to fit cooking in!). From there, word about One Hungry Mama spread.

Do you have other work outlets beyond your blog?

I just had a second baby (he's 8 months now), so I slowed down for a while to spend time with him and also make sure that I continued to have quality time with older son (3 1/2 years old). I do a lot of recipe testing professionally and freelance writing about families and food. I also do some consulting in educational children's media, the industry in which I built a career before I had kids. I have a Master's in developmental psychology and used to help develop preschool television and interactive games, ensuring that media was developmentally appropriate. That stuff is a fun diversion and comes so naturally. It's also plain fun and, just like my food writing, helps me impact families in a positive way.

Do you ever have issues balancing work with family life? Any tips on balancing?

Sure. Don't we all! I'm just learning how to maintain balance effectively now--two kids and two careers in! I also think that balance isn't the same for everyone. I guess the biggest lesson for me that might be useful to others is to honestly reflect on who you are and what you need as an individual. That will be different for all of us. But, if you can take care of yourself, you will take care of your family better. The research says it all: the biggest indicator of child mental health is mother's mental health. So, basically, if you're happy, your kids are happy. So, if working full time makes you happy, go for it. Make sure your kids have quality child care and make the time you do spend with them focused and quality.

For me, I love working from home. I'm able to close my kids out when I'm focused on work. I don't get between them and their sitter. I also keep a serious schedule. I know in advance when I'm working, when I'm going to spend time with one or both of the kids, and when I'm going to give myself a pedicure break! It keeps me from getting too absorbed in one thing and then feeling stressed about all the other things I didn't deal with.

Check her out: www.OneHungryMama.com!

The Modern Mamahood Column on the Ladies Lotto Blog:

As our Ladies Lotto community grows and evolves, we now have quite a few mamas and mamas-to-be! The LL Modern Mamahood weekly column presents the issues and products related to being a Ladies Lotto Mama!