Today, during nap time when my house was still and quiet, (I’ve been pretty good at getting both kids to nap at the same time. Booyah.) I spent some time thinking about my blog. What it’s doing here, why I blog in the first place, where it’s going, what my purpose is with this thing and what direction I’m currently taking it.
I don’t spend a ton of time blogging, but I do spend a good chunk. I blog for an outlet, as a way to express myself, because I love writing, to perserve memories and journal my life at this moment and so much more. To help others in any way ( a lot of which are unknown) encourage, help other moms relate, give an idea to someone, and more. I like too keep friends and family up to date with what we’re up too and I know my family likes seeing pictures of the boys. I also love the community, getting advice/tips from you.. and more and more and more!
I’m currently trying to figure out what to do about my job and where to work/if to work/when to work (so much goes into those things when you have two kids!) and that also makes me think about this blog. I ask myself questions, like do I want to put more effort into it or do I want to try and blog more frequently and with more/better content? Do I want to, simply, try harder and see where it goes? (Let’s face it, a lot of times I ramble a bunch and then push publish without even proof reading.) Do I want to blog less but with more substantial material? Do I want to just keep doin’ what I’m doin’ and print this book so I’ll have a journal of sorts for my kids?
One of the things I’ve really been working on is consistency. If you’ve been a regular reader here for a while, you might notice that some weeks I blog once or twice a day and then other weeks I blog a few times during the whole week. If you’re trying to grow your blog, that’s not really the best thing to do. 😉
This summer, while my husband is home and I have more time, my goal is/was to blog 1-2 a day and see where it lead me. I’m still trying to do that, but I haven’t decided yet, if it’s worth it or if I want to keep up with it, and if it’s going to bring me anywhere.
I also think about, what does GOD want me to do with my blog? Yes, God does care about a silly little thing called a blog. (Right, God?!) I have always prayed and still to this day think and believe, that if this blog interferes at all with my family, then I don’t want it to be successful. Like, if I spend time blogging instead of playing with my kids or if I blog when I should be hanging out with my husband of if I ever were to put my blog first before my family, then I don’t want it to work. If that makes any sense.
And, I have prayed about the direction of it and I feel like I get mixed messages. Or, perhaps and probably most true, I’m not seeing it the right way. Sometimes I feel like I should go for it and blog 1-2/day and see where it takes me and other times I feel like shutting down my blog for good.
I love love looking back on my blog and seeing posts and pictures I have of my children and seeing what I was thinking, feeling and doing. That also makes me think — I need to get this blog published into my own little book now so I have something to keep with me. I feel like the internet or computer could die at any moment but if I have a hard copy book I can keep it with me forever and always have those journal entries.
Anyways, that’s a lot more than I planned on sharing with you today, but those are just all my thoughts that sort of spilled out! Yikes! I didn’t know I had so much to say about it. Ha.
Opinions? Thoughts?
Why do you blog?
pssst. – thanks for reading. love you guys.
I blog for many of the same reasons that you do. I love being able to chronicle my families lives and be able to look back at all the things we have done and have that “in the moment” memory. I would love to grow my blog however it gets in the way of what I love most my children and my family. I work full time out side of the home so I don't have much free time. I would love to grow my blog into something bigger and better but I am not willing to sacrifice my children or my husband for it
I ran across this post a few days ago and thought you might enjoy it. I think she hits the nail on the head about why we blog.
http://donnastanleymcevoy.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html#7149180830502565039
Good luck with all your decisions.
I blog when I have time. Finally, I can schedule mine now, so if I have 2 hours on Saturday morning, because insomnia has me up at 4 a.m. I can just put together 4 or 5 posts and schedule them to go through the week, and then if I have time, I'll put together something for the rest of the week. I know with baby coming I'll have even less time, but I'm okay with that. I have just a few dedicated readers, and it's not about making money for me..
I really only blog as a personal journal to myself and for my kids so I can look back through all the memories and keep track of all those “little things” I never want to forget about. 🙂 No one reads my blog I don't think lol And I don't really write thinking I WILL get anything back out of it or people will read because I AM So inconsistent. I also work (well up until recently) but even not working I have SOO much else to do, I mainly try to just keep up with the basic pics or updates of my kids (or wedding as of late lol) if nothing else. I blog when I have time. Lately that has only been 5 times a month. 😦 But I don't want it to interfere with anything else. I actually HAVE printed some blog books 🙂 I randomly saw the site one night and did it even though I felt kinda dorky doing it! ha I do several small ones because I didn't want this HUGE book, but just figured I'd make a book per I don't know…every season? So like 4 months worth at a time. I have just done a few when we have a little extra cash. (They're not expensive at all!) I was HORRIBLE about doing our kids' baby books, but REALLY tried to keep up with the updates on here and I think it'd be really neat if I could pass this on to my kids. Like you said, who knows how long it will last on the computer or if something crashes!! I even thought of ONLY talking bout the kids on mine so they can see pics and updates bout themselves when they are older but then thought…no, I want them to see everything we went through and all the other adventures too 😉 Good luck with whatever you decide!…But don't shut it down altogether! ha I like reading it 😉
I blog as a journal. I will make it into a book then I don't have to scrapbook so much! 😉 I could care less if anyone reads it but I have fun with it. Hopefully my family will appreciate it someday.
I love reading your blog no matter what you “rabble” about!!
I love your blog so I don't really care where you go with it. LOL! If you blog twice a day I will ready twice a day!
I think lots of people struggle with this question!
I blog for myself, its a lot easier to document my life on my blog than in a paper & pencil journal (where my true love lies!) –I know there are services that will turn your blog into a book and I might consider that someday–depending on how much you get to edit! There are some entries I might NOT want to print out for hard copy!
I have about 40 followers, so definitely a much smaller audience & I'm not even sure if they are “active” followers or just people who clicked the link….but I don't do it for them.
I know my family reads the blog & some of my cloth diaper friends & I really just do it for me.
Good Luck with whichever direction you decide to go!
I consistently pray over my blog and for God to use it as He sees fit. I know what you mean about not wanting it to “grow” if it would get in the way of family. I want it to become something that adds to my family and my life. Not takes away. I think you do a great job. Although I can relate to it being tough to figure all out.
I have a personal blog which is a journal for our family ten I have a public blog that is a bit of everything. I like sharing what I've learned, as well as in what ways I have failed. I like to know that there are other 'human' people out there who struggle with things like me and get excited about other things like me. So I write in my blog so others who are feeling alone can see that they're not really.