Giving this Blogging Thing Another Try...

It's been 2 years since my last blog post... but I've decided to give this blogging thing another try. I've really missed blogging over the last couple of years and I've really missed the new bloggy friends I had met through   blogging, but mainly through Twitter. (Although, I am not quite ready to go back to Twitter yet, but that is probably a whole other post.) 

Why come back to this blog, you ask? Why now? 

Well, honestly, I've thought about returning to this blog several times over the last few years, but I would always get scared and back out. 

Why was I scared, you ask?

Because blogging and tweeting was becoming a little bit of an obsession for me and I no longer knew if I was doing it for the right reasons. I was staying up late writing posts. I had made a "1 post a day" rule for myself. I was tweeting like a mad lady. I felt guilty if I didn't read everyone else's (my friends, followers, and twitter buddies) blog posts daily - it seemed they were all reading my blog fairly regularly so I wanted to reciprocate. Plus reading blogs is almost as fun as writing blog posts! 

But, also, I was eager to expand my blog. And excited about the possibility of earning extra money by advertising and attracting sponsors for my blog. Don't get me wrong - advertising and sponsors are awesome resources for bloggers and what could be more awesome than earning a little extra money doing something you love to do? 

The danger, as I quickly learned, was that instead of blogging because I wanted to blog, I found myself blogging because I had to blog ... in an effort to create and build and expand my brand. And that, my dear friends, was like having a second full time job! It was EXHAUSTING!! Always thinking about what to post for the day, constantly tweeting, constantly promoting ... pumping out post after post, day after day. And, the contests and giveaways! So many contests and reviews and giveaways. The responsibility of it all weighed heavy on me. It makes my heart pound just thinking about the pressure I had put upon myself! 

There I was trying to juggle a full time job, husband, house, 2 active boys, and the demands of pregnancy all while trying to keep up with this blog. It was too much. I just couldn't do it. So... 

I quit.

Actually I "took a break" but as the days turned into weeks, I couldn't brink myself to come back to this blog. I felt embarrassed that I gave up. But I also felt relief from the stress of it all. I had gotten in over my head. I tried to do too much, too soon.

And, I lost the enjoyment of blogging.

Now, after a little over 2 years, I am ready to come back to blogging. SLOWLY. Without the pressure to blog every day. Or even every week. Without the pressure to tweet and promote the blog. This time, I am blogging for ME! And, of course anyone who needs a little support and encouragement once in awhile as we  continue along in this crazy, hectic, AMAZING little journey called motherhood...