My name is Alicia and I have two children, a 15 year old son and a 9 year old daughter. We live in Atlanta, Georgia and lead very busy lives. I’ve lived in Atlanta, GA, for 20 years. For the first 11 years of my life I lived in Orlando and I still consider Orlando home. I’m not sure why, considering I’ve lived in Atlanta longer. We visit Orlando often and as soon as we cross the Georgia-Florida border, I feel like I can breathe easier. I was born in Columbus, Indiana but lived there for only two months before moving to Florida.
I love technology, cars, driving cars :), travelling, photography, and peaceful moments. I love researching and learn about everything. If a hear sandhill cranes fly over our house, I Google ‘sandhill crane flight path’. When someone I know is sick, I Google the illness to learn more. When my son asks me what (793.98×16)/3 + 3.14 is, I Google it. When my daughter wouldn’t latch on after birth, I Googled the problem. I’m a Googler. Speaking of, my maiden name is Gugel, pronounced just like Google.
I started my first website, AtlantaMoms.com, when my son was about one year old, 14 years ago (in 2001) because I wanted to be able to go to one website where I could organize and keep up with everything that was going on in Atlanta for babies and kids as well as share what I was learning about parenting with other Atlanta area parents. AtlantaMoms.com grew quickly and is now an award-winning Atlanta parenting website.
I started TheMommyInsider.com when I was on bed-rest when I was pregnant with my daughter in 2005. Before I got pregnant I operated a different parenting site (for 3 years) and starting in 2003, I was asked by companies including B.O.B strollers and others, to review their products on that site. I got hooked on sharing things I loved with my readers and ultimately shut that site down and started this blog, The Mommy Insider. I didn’t start TheMommyInsider.com as a personal blog. I’m not a huge fan of journaling. I’d much rather tell you about products and services I love and that I think will help you thrive and have a blast as a parent, than bore you with details of my life! 😉
Speaking of, I was in a car accident when my son was almost two years old which has left me with lasting back and neck issues, anxiety, and my doctor said the accident may be the reason I went through early menopause at 33 years old. I don’t harp on it but sometimes I go a week or so without posting because I’m down and out. Starting in 2013 I have been getting regular procedures done on my neck to help relieve the pain but those procedures usually put me out for a few days. Enough of that!
I stand behind what I write about 110%. If I wouldn’t buy a product for myself or my kids, I won’t write about it. I don’t have time to write about things I don’t like.
Update February 2014 – We have a new addition to the family; a puppy. I was hesitant at first, actually I still am, but like I do with everything else in life, I’m researching puppy training, puppy food, and crate training almost every minute I am not working or enjoying life with my family. That is about 7 minutes a day.
If you ever have questions about anything to do with this site, parenting in general, working from home, starting a blog, or anything, please contact me.
I am the founder and editor of these websites:
- TheMommyInsider.com – Established 2005
- AtlantaMoms.com – Established 2001
- GadgetGoddess.com – Established 2009
Email Me
- My email address is aliciahagan@gmail.com.
Find Alicia On Social Media
- You can find me on Twitter at twitter.com/mommyinsider
- You can find me on Facebook at facebook.com/mommyinsider
- Instagram.com/mommyinsider
- Pinterest.com/mommyinsider
More About Alicia
I have been named one of the top 140 moms to follow on Twitter.
The Mommy Insider is one of the top 50 Shopping Blogs! *
The Mommy Insider is one of the top 50 Parenting Blogs! *
Alicia’s Gadget blog was nominated for the “Top 25 Tech Moms” *
Alicia’s contribution was featured as the #1 result on the fun infographic by Sortly titled “11 Things That Moms Always Lose”
Alicia was asked to contribute to a story titled “Best Thing I Ever Bought For $20 Or Less” to a top financial website which was also syndicated on Huffington Post