Meet The SoMoms + A Giveaway!

Let me tell you how I stumbled into blogging and how MFO has evolved. 

Yes, "the evolution of MFO" as my friend Karrots would say.

It really wasn't a deliberate thing. I studied Business Economics in UP, then I took up my MBA in AIM. My business background led me to corporate careers - I started out as analyst for an investment bank, then found myself doing merchandising for Starbucks (yes, I bought those Starbucks tumblers and mugs you collect, and rolled out all the seasonal marketing collaterals to stores, fun stuff). After my MBA, I went back to banking, doing marketing for Citibank. 

It was while I was in banking that I started blogging in 2006, as a way to kill time because Dada was studying abroad in Harvard and I would patiently wait for him to wake up so we could talk on Skype. It was also a creative outlet and a way to document my wish lists and anything that caught my fancy. 

What started as a mishmash of a blog filled with fashion related topics ranging from clothes, shoes, shopping, travel tips and industry news I was keeping tabs on, has grown into a full on lifestyle blog with my move to the US to join Dada who started working for a law firm in NYC in 2007. The blog took on another dimension when I became a mom to our two adorable babies, Berry and Xavi.

Today, apart from writing about my love for fashion, shopping and spreading word about the need to cultivate one's personal style, I also share my musings on motherhood and parenting, as well as baby, pregnancy and mommy friendly products. And my readers, as it turns out, also grew along with me! They eventually got engaged, married and found themselves with kids of their own. 

When we moved back here from Singapore last December, I was gone a total of 4 years. I was afraid that my friends have been so used to not having me around that I would have a dismal social life. But on the contrary! My childhood friends were so happy to have us back in town. Not only that, I gained a new set of friends, my mommy blogger friends who I finally could meet over coffee or lunch, after having only exchanged messages with online or via email back when were still living abroad.

Meet my mommy blogger friends, the Mommy Mundo Social Media Moms or SoMoms for short.

Neva of Manila Mommy who is currently on maternity leave and busy with new baby Noah, Michelle of My Mom Friday who is the poster full-time mom, Jenny of Chronicles of A Nursing Mom who also happens to be a lawyer by day, me aka MFO, Eli of The Painter's Wife aka The Painter's manager/muse, Janice of My Mundo aka the power mom behind Mommy Mundo, Cai of Apples & Dumplings who is an IT "geek" by day, Jenny of My Mommyology also a balik Pilipinas mom like me, Jen of Jen and the 3 Boys aka President of Next9 Baby, the beautiful Jackie of Go! Jackie Go, Fleur of Mommy Fleur aka Engr. Sombrero and Kris of OC Mom In Manila aka Donya Aquasana.

Yes, parang gang lang kami or high school barkada with a barkada name. Hehe.

We all have different interests, different advocacies. Some of us are corporate career women, some are mompreneurs, some of us are stay-at-home moms. But I guess what brings us all together is our desire to be better moms, and to not lose ourselves in the process. We are still fun, interesting individuals who are also devoted to our families. In SoMoms parlance: 

We are a collective of moms who are active on social media and have unique voices and points of view that are relevant to moms like us. 

Interested to know more about Mommy Mundo SoMoms? Click HERE. 

Better yet, want to meet us? Mommy Mundo SoMoms will be at the Mommy Mundo Bazaar happening on November 24-25, at the Rockwell Tent in Makati. We will have a booth there. Say hello, ask questions about our blogs, our advocacies and passions, we can even do personal shopping for you! Hehe!

The MOMMY MUNDO BAZAAR features 80+ booths of the latest mom and baby products, gift items for the whole family, fun activities and more. The bazaar highlights all kinds of mommy essentials from maternity and nursingwear, babywearing products, baby slings and accessories, diapers, baby and kids clothes and shoes, toys and books. For the full list of partners and vendors, click HERE.

The Mom 24/7 2013 Planner will also be launched during this event. This is a mommy essential, especially for mommies like me who have had epidurals and tend to forget lots of things, even our kids' names. Haha!

Fun no?! To celebrate all these exciting developments, Mommy Mundo and the SoMoms are giving away a Mommy Mundo set which includes not only the Mom 24/7 Planner (worth PhP395) above, but also a Mommy Mundo Privilege Passport (worth PhP175), free entrance fee and a shopping bag (worth PhP30)! Join via Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Important details on the giveaway:
- Contest will run from Nov 14 to 21
- Winner will be announced on Nov 22
- Prize is transferrable. If the winner already has a passport, she can assign it to a friend or anyone she wants. If she is not yet a mom, she can give the planner to her mom or a mommy friend.
- Prize must be claimed at the bazaar. Winner forfeits her prize if she doesn’t come to the bazaar.

To increase your chances of winning, check out my fellow SoMoms blog posts:

Why I Blog (SoMoms Giveaway) by Jen and the 3 Boys
Mommy Mundo SoMoms by The Painter's Wife
Giveaway: Launch Of SoMoms At The Mommy Mundo Bazaar 2012 by Go Jackie Go
Mommy Mundo Bazaar 2012 by Manila Mommy
Mommy Mundo SoMoms Giveaway by Apples and Dumplings
Meet the Mom behind My Mommyology and the rest of the SoMoms by My Mommyology
Introducing Mommy Mundo So Moms by Chronicles of a Nursing Mom
Introducing: The Mommy Mundo SoMoms (with a Giveaway) by Mommy Fleur
The Mommy Mundo SoMoms (and a Giveaway) by OC Mom in Manila

Welcome Mommy Mundo SoMoms by My Mundo