Ryann writes

 I had always hoped that my blogging would get to a point where it financially supported itself as a hobby (hosting fees, etc.). It didn't.  It turns out I really hate the amount of annoying ads on other blogs. So there won't be any ads on this blog (as long as Google/Blogger doesn't start monetizing their free blogging accounts like WordPress does). I don't mind reading sponsored posts and watching sponsored videos. But they're a LOT of work. So none of those here either. \ However, I LOVE brand partners. Whenever people write off the influence of moms and women in blogs and social media I think they're really missing something. If Greta Eskridge , Monica Swanson , Sharon McMahon , Beth Silvers ... recommend a product or start a company, the ONLY reason I'm not buying the stuff is because I am hanging on to my financial discipline (to spend on family priorities like bills and food first) by a thread. Products from companies that align with my interests and...

I find it ironic, in a gentle way, that I am committing to a new long-term writing and blogging vision with a baby on my lap.  I blogged with my first two babies starting in 2010 and 2013. My third baby is now seven years old and doctors told us that if we wanted our children to grow up with a mother, I had to not have any more babies. I'm not very good at staying alive while getting babies out. Despite thinking I was done with the baby phase of motherhood, we took a foster baby in 2023 and now I'm blogging with a baby nestled between my arms while I try to type on a laptop on my knees.  I think that early motherhood is pretty isolating and blogging (and social media) gives us an outlet for connecting. I find my self wanting to write about and share everyday things that are happening with the baby all the time, even though that was not my plan for most of my topics. I think that there is something about the baby years that lends itself to sharing with others. The awe of watchi...

I started blogging in 2006, back when blogging was mostly an online form of journaling. It wasn't as pretty or as flashy as it is now. In 2009 I discovered Mommy Bloggers (and Pinterest) and in 2010 I became a mom for the first time. By 2013 I had a clearly defined goal to become a successful Mommy Blogger with the hopes that it might someday lead to being printed in magazine articles. But after I had my third child in 2016, it became apparent that not only was I not meeting the first step in that goal (to publish to my blog regularly), but that I wasn't writing at all. I have read Mommy Blogs (and other blogs, including microblogs like Instagram) since then, and have benefited from the moms who are successful at being influencers. But I have realized that I can't do blogs and social media in the way the the algorithm wants. So I've decided that my new blogging goal is to refocus on the origins of blogging. Journal-like posts that don't always have pretty images in ...