Blogging

I've been writing here for about four years now. No, don't jump to any conclusions, I am not shutting the blog down, although I thought about joining American Family in her swift exit from the blogosphere (sniff, sniff, I miss you AmFam!). No, this isn't about that.

I go through a bit of ebb and flow with my relationship with the blogosphere. Sometimes I am faithfully reading all 82 blogs in my feedreader, leaving comments and being right in the thick of all the chatter. Other times I kind of lose interest or get busy with real life. I used to feel really invested in what was going on in adoption around the globe, but I'm a bit distanced from that now. 

Right now there are a couple blogs that I'm stalking. I've even started to figure out the schedule of when one publishes, I'm so eager for that next fix. They are the splash of humour and colour that get me laughing, dreaming, and finding that little bit of zing to put spice in my day. I am not ashamed to say that I love these blogs and blow air kisses to them through my monitor. 

First there's Enjoying the Small Things by the fabulous Kelle Hampton. I first read Kelle's blog when she published her birth story six months ago. After eagerly anticipating the birth of her second child, she was rocked when her daughter was born with Downs Syndrome. I love a lot of things about her blog. For one thing she is a photographer and each entry is bursting with stunning photographs of her gorgeous daughters and the magic they make every day. She is serious about draining the last drops of joy from her cup, every day. When parenting becomes mundane and exhausting, her blog helps me shake a leg and refocus on the beauty and wonder happening right under my nose.

Then there is Party of 5 aka Five Free Spirits*. This is a husband and wife blogging duo sharing their life which entails twin boys from Haiti that are all boy times one thousand and a dear little daughter (who is their biological child) and is a strong little sprite with a passion for necklaces. Their blog takes on the struggles of a two career household and the joys and challenges that entails, as well as fabulous food Fridays filled with mouth watering recipes.

Lastly, I'm loving Rage Against the Minivan where Kristen Howerton keeps me in stitches with her overwhelmed parenting of four children, preschool age and younger (2 birth, 2 bio). As an introvert she talks about the struggle of being ON. ALL. DAY! for four busy little people and I can so relate. She also talks frankly about race, adoption, and attachment issues, and I love her for it. This girl is hilarious and I don't know how she does it all!

These are "real" bloggers. Their blogs look flash, they speak at conferences and get interviewed on television shows...you know, real bloggers. 

So what does that have to do with me? Well not a lot, actually, since this blog is more like a journal tucked under my pillow. I scribble away here and then it goes out of sight. I am not on anyone's "radar", my site is bare-bones, it's just a notepad. BlogHer is not offering to fly me on a private jet to their next shindig.

But there are ways that my blog could be more luscious. Mainly, photographs. One thing I love about the above blogs is that they have tons of pictures. You feel like you know the families, warts and all (and when I say warts I mean gorgeous shades of lipstick, scrumptious plates of food, and stylish home interiors). You feel like you know and love their kids. You feel like you're friends. I love that.

I have tons of gorgeous pictures of our life that I would love to share, but don't because of dirty old trolls. I don't use our names or identifying images for the same reason. You know, safety from weirdos, etc. It is really a shame because my kids are gorgeous and I'd love to have that kind of feel on my blog...and I love blogs that operate that way, but even though I want to take that step, I still have not. I've had some weirdos come through here and your stomach just rolls when you know they've been poking around your pics. I also know of other bloggers who have had their pics lifted off of their blogs and used in some nasty on-line environments.

So what do you think? All of the bloggers I mentioned just look at life as the glass half-full. They embrace the community of the blogosphere and snub the creeps. I'm thinking about doing the same. What do you think? 

Go check out those sites, they're really fabulous and will make your day!

*Precisely because of creeps and haters, Party of 5 is now password protected, but if you are a genuine reader, I think they still add people to their list.

Comments

[Heather]

Hello!!!!
We just got a new request for access to our private blog-- someone who said that they had originally found us through you-- and so I linked through to find you. I just want to say thank you for the nice things you said about our blog. Going private was huge for us (and we went from having thousands of readers to "just" hundreds -- which has both pro's and con's), but one thing I miss is seeing what other people have to say on their blogs about ours. It was fun to see this tonight. Thanks for reading and I hope you'll be in touch if you ever want a virtual 'hug'... keep on keepin' on!
Lots of love,
Heather (from Party of Five -now Five Free Spirits)
P.S. I LOVE Enjoying the Small Things too!!!!

[Marilyn]

i think it's good to keep names and facial recoginition pix off - i have recently stumbled here via rage against the miniva (love love love).

i have just started blogging - i'm thinking of doing pix w/ backs of heads, hands, feet, shadows, etc. - stretch imagination w/ photos - and faces aren't needed :)