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It’s time again for our weekly interview with a Mommy Blogger. We’ve been doing this series to get a better idea of what mommy bloggers around the web are thinking and doing.

This week’s mom is Shannon Stoltz of Living Life at Home. The musing of a work-at-home, homeschooling mom to four fun kids and wife to a wonderful, indulgent husband.

A Note from Shannon
Living life, fully at home with family is a wonderful, fun, and amazing journey. Not always easy, but definitely worth it. We started this journey of homeschooling when my oldest child (now 11) was preschool age – though if you ask her, she’ll say it was when she was born. Now I’m homeschooling all four of our children and never ever regret it.

During our entire homeschooling journey, I have worked at home. Early on I worked 10-12 hour days from my home office while my husband cared for the children, and then after work, my oldest and I would sit down and do her schoolwork. In fact, when I stopped working those long days, it was difficult to get her to do her schoolwork during the day. By the time my second child was ready to “start school”, I had a flexible schedule working at home as a freelancer.

I am frequently asked how I balance it all, is it really possible to homeschool and work, and more frequently, other homeschooling moms ask me how they can work from home. Here I hope to encourage others who homeschool and work in their journey, encourage those who are considering homeschooling, and share lessons and information I have learned along the way…and am still learning.

I am not a perfect individual, nor is my family perfect. But my children are loved beyond measure, and we live life together.

I pray that you will be encouraged in your journey and hope that you will find something useful here.

…Shannon

1. How did you come to have your “mommy blog”? Was it planned that way or did it just accidentally sort of happen?

I started my first mommy blog in 2004, as a way to share the details of a family trip with other family members, and it got me hooked. I played with blogging on and off for several years before I really decided what I wanted to do online. I started Living Life at Home in November 2008 as a mommy blog, as an outlet to connect with other moms out there, particularly work-at-home and/or homeschooling moms, and as a vehicle to share information.

2. Do you work outside the home or work from home? What are you currently working on?

Yes, I work from home as a communication consultant and trainer for IT firms and departments, and as the content editor for a technical magazine. I also have several web sites where I sell my own training products and do affiliate marketing for products I trust and believe will help my readers.

3. Do you accept advertising and sponsorship on this blog? Why or why not?

Currently, this is not an area I’m pursuing. Not to say I wouldn’t consider it, but my Living Life at Home blog is about sharing information mom-to-mom, like I would with any other friend over coffee or sitting around talking at a play date. I only talk about products and services that relate specifically to my audience and that I personally use, have used, or are really interested in using and believe that my audience will benefit from in their own lives.

4. Do you have a blog publishing schedule or do you just spontaneously blog as the mood strikes you?

Both actually. I have a blog publishing schedule, but because of work and family demands, I don’t always meet it (something I’m working on…). And, I do post spontaneously, when something happens with the kids, or on another blog, or that is really on my heart to share.

5. Do you consider your blog a business venture or just a mommy outlet for getting thoughts out of your head? Is it both?

Living Life at Home is both for me. It started out as a vehicle for me to share lessons learned, things that are on my heart, and challenges and praises for things that we face as moms – particularly work at home and/or homeschooling moms. But it is also one aspect of my publishing business, mostly because my hubby prefers that if I’m going to be spending time and energy on the computer that it at least pay for itself.

6. How do you feel about paid blogging and it’s impact on the mommy blogger community?

Personally, I’m okay with paid blogging, though it’s not something that would fit with my Living Life at Home blog, as that’s not what it’s about. Bloggers spend a lot of time and energy sharing with their readers, and mom bloggers in particular are taking their time and energy away from their families to share with their thoughts and experience. And I think it’s good to recognize that that time and insight has value and is worthy of compensation.

7. Do you talk about your family in any depth of detail on your blog? Do they know about it and do they read your blog?

I do. It’s a mommy blog after all and I do talk about things that are going on in our lives or that we’ve struggled with or have found really works for us. My older kids and my husband know I blog, but they don’t read the blog. My 12 yo daughter does periodically come look at something I’ve posted when I’m working, and she’s okay with it. Both my 10 yo and 12 yo blog, so they get it.

8. Do you use real names and include pictures of your children on your blog? What brought you to that decision?

Most of the pictures on my blog are of my kids, but I don’t usually refer to them by name – just by their age at the time of whatever I’m discussing. Periodically I might slip and mention my older daughter’s name or use her online pen name, but most of the time, not. I ask the kids to be careful about revealing personal information about themselves online, and I’ve chosen to back that up by not using their names on the blog.

9. What really inspires you to blog?

I’m not really sure – there’s something in me to share information. I’ve learned so much from other moms, from moms that have generously shared their heart and struggles, and ideas with me, that I feel like if I have something to share that will help someone else, then I should do it.

Lately, I’ve also be considering my oldest daughter, she’s 12 now, and entering a new phase of her life, and there’s little things that I’d like to remember to share with her, when she’s ready or needs it.

10. Has a comment on your blog ever made you cry? No.

11. Do you read and comment on other mommy blogs frequently? Do those bloggers visit your blog and comment as well?

I go in spurts. Time constraints prevent me from frequently and consistently commenting on other blogs, but I do enjoy reading other blogs and will comment if I find something particularly inspiring or useful, or if I have something to add. Often, those whose blogs I visit will often come visit me and comment too. I enjoy hearing from my readers and going out and reading their blogs as well.

12. Name one thing about your lifestyle that blogging has changed or impacted?

My sanity? No seriously…I think in an odd way it’s allowed me to do more with the kids. By blogging, and having it as an aspect of my business, I’m incorporating my “work” with “hanging out with the kids”, so I don’t feel as much of the conflict between should I be working or should I be playing in the garden with the kids… because if I’m going to blog about it, then it is work – and it’s fun with the kids.

13. Has blogging led to other things online for you such as business ventures, job offers, additional blogs etc….

Definitely. The more I learn, the more opportunities come up and/or more ideas I have. Just today I started another spin-off blog from Living Life at Home to chronicle my weight loss journey – different audience, different blog. I have to be careful though, because there’s a temptation to take on too much, because it’s fun and interesting, but that’s part of balancing all the roles that we have as moms, as wives, as women.

14. What mommy blogger myth or misconception annoys you the most? What do you want to say to those people, even if you bite your tongue?

You know, I just don’t let other people’s misconception about blogging bother me. If a person doesn’t get it and doesn’t want to, that’s where they are at and nothing I say is going to change that. I respect that they have an opinion, whether I agree with it or not. (Life would be pretty boring if we all had the same thoughts and experiences!) There’s plenty of us that do get what blogging is about and many who are curious and want to know more, and that’s where I chose to focus my energy.

15. Have you been contacted by media or PR reps because of your blog? Is that something you’re interested in and enjoy, or not so much?

Yes, I’ve had a media opportunity because of the blog. It is something I am interested in and enjoy, especially if I can share something that will help make someone else’s life or journey easier.

16. Were the technical aspects of getting started a hurdle for you?

No. I purposely chose to go with as simple and as flexible of a platform as I could, to make my life easier.

17. What blogging platform do you use and why did you choose that platform? (WordPress, Typepad, Blogger, etc…)

For Living Life at Home, I went with a self-hosted WordPress blog, and pretty much use that for all my sites now because it’s easy to use and easy to customize. When I started my first blog, I used Blogger and it was a good entry to blogging, but as I got more experience and wanted to do more I felt WordPress was a better option.

18. What three things do you *need* to have for your blog? (Plugins, tools, etc…)

Absolute musts in my opinion are a spam filter for comments (Like Askimet), a way to back up your blog on a regular basis (like WordPress Database Backup), and a way for your readers to subscribe either via RSS or email (preferably both). And, of course, a way to web optimize images that you post on your site. Images make a HUGE difference in how appealing and readable your posts are.

19. What is your favorite thing about blogging?

My favorite thing is the neat people I get to “meet” online and learn from. Blogging also helps me share my heart in ways that I can’t often do in person – because I’m tired or distracted by kids or work. I love hearing that something I’ve written or shared has helped someone else, and I love passing on information from others that helped me and ends up helping someone else. It’s like being able to have long conversations with friends, without doing it in person or disrupting my family’s schedule.

20. What advice do you have for someone that wants to break into blogging and has never done anything online before?

Just give it a try and don’t let it intimidate you! Like anything new, there’s always more to learn, but just have fun with, be true to who you are, and know that you can always start again. If you are really want to build your audience, then don’t be afraid to comment on others blogs. And read…find others who you relate to and learn from them. But, be careful of anything that spouts that you can earn lots of money blogging – it’s possible, but not fast and easy like so many promise.

Remember, you can find out more about Shannon and follow her adventures of being a home schooling mom working towards passive income at Living Life at Home and you can follow her on Twitter @wahhmom. I think you’ll definitely enjoy her point of view both at work and at home.

If you’re a tweet addict like myself, I’ve created a list at Twitter of all our 20 Questions with Mommy Bloggers interviewees so you can find them and follow them easily http://twitter.com/retta719/mommybloggers Of course, I’ll be adding to that as we go along and updating each week.

I hope you are enjoying the 20 Questions with Mommy Bloggers series as much as I am. If you’d like be interviewed or recommend your favorite mommy blogger for the series please send an email to retta.oliver@gmail.com and let me know.

Happy Blogging!

P.S. Learn how to plan, set up, and blog your way through your very own Blog World Tour from Nicole Dean.

Nicole gives you step by step guidance on how to plan your blogging tour, and to top it all off she provides you with all the resources you need laid out for you. There’s even a sample email to help you explain the tour idea to the bloggers you want to work with.

If that’s not enough this guide and planner is packed full of juicy blogging tidbits. You’ll be able to generate blog post ideas for your tour in no time flat, you’ll have an easy to use spreadsheet handy to keep you organized, and you’ll be able to build links and grow your readership like you never imagined possible.