NEWTOWNBUTLER mum Jolene Monaghan has secured a place in the final of the Boots Maternity and Infant Awards for her online parenting blog.

Now living in Dublin and with experience in childcare, she is a woman on a mission to get children eating healthy and nutritious meals.

Explaining that her inspiratin and motivation is her little two-year-old, Lily Mae, Jolene says her blog has allowed her to combine her two biggest passions in life: children and food.

“I have worked in the childcare sector all my working life,” she explains, “From starting in Newtownbutler play group when I was 17 to managing a childcare center in Dublin in recent years.

“But for now I am a stay at home mum, concentrating on my little girl and working on my blog.” Making the final shortlist in the Best Parenting Blog category of the awards is a huge achievement for Jolene, considering she only began the online blog in March this year.

“I didn’t know much about blogging when I started the blog in March this year. But I always have children in the house, be it nieces and nephews or friends’ children.

“I’m always trying to feed them up -- I am a feeder in the nicest possible way.

“I love feeding kids, hiding vegetables, just basically making nutritional food for my little one.

“My friends and family would always ask for my recipes or say you need you do a cook book for children. That’s where the idea of the blog came from -- just really to get my message of healthy eating for children and recipes out there.” Jolene tries to update her blog three times every week. But as every parent knows, teething or periods of your child being unsettled can play havoc with even the best laid plans!

“The positive feed back has been amazing,” says the mummy of one, “I have had mammies with really fussy children get in touch through my Facebook page telling me that their little ones are finally eating for them.

“I think my blog stands out because I am just a normal mammy passing on advice I have learned through the years of working with children.

“I don’t have a top of the range cooker or a fancy kitchen. I have a tight budget and I am trying to help mammies and daddies just like me, to feed their children good tasty nutritional food.” For now, Jolene views her blog as a hobby.

“But no matter what I do it will always be with children and food, so the blog has been a fantastic platform for me. I love doing it.” Award winners will be announces in November and Jolene is fully aware she faces stiff competition.

“I’m just honoured to be in such good company with some excellent bloggers,” she says.

Follow Jolene’s blog on www.oneyummymummy.com, Facebook: www.facebook.com/oneyummymummy15 or on Twitter: @oneyummymummy1.