I have a question for all of you mommy bloggers out there … why do you blog? 

Because of all the Twitter around the blogosphere regarding a certain interview with a mom blogger where a celebrity co-host wasn’t overly positive about mommy blogging I decided to ask why you all blog! 

I love to blog!  I love writing, I love getting it all out on paper (you know what I mean), I love recording those special events I want to keep track of.  I’m careful not to share too much information, but if you keep your blog private there are ways to do that too.  If you’re smart about it and love what you do that’s really what matters right? 

What non-bloggers often fail to understand is the amazing community of mommy bloggers that we are part of.  It is an unorthodox and almost strange way to see community, but that’s exactly what it is!  I love the bloggy friends I’ve made and have several blogs that I love to visit but don’t ever have enough time.  Women who bless me with laughter and through their thoughts about life, faith, parenting and perspective!  This is why I blog!

So, now it’s your turn … why do you blog?  Leave a comment and tell me … OR go blog about it and link up in a comment

Updated to Add: Twitter is a social networking site, sort of like IM-ing with a group of people that you choose to be part of (another community anyone???).  I am soooo totally new to it too, so there are still plenty of us just figuring it out.  Also if you want to see the interview I mentioned click here, it is a video on another mommy-blog.  I haven’t read too much other information about it though.

The Sampler!  I’m thrilled to be working with Janice and Susan at 5 Minutes for Mom to offer a unique and exciting opportunity to feature mom bloggers!  I won’t tell you a lot about it here because you can read all about it by visiting 5 Minutes for Mom today and reading this post. 

There you’ll find the guidelines for submitting your own writing to be “Sampled” in this column.  You’ll also see an interview of your’s truly :).  I hope to see you there and look forward to reading the many great submissions from all of you!!!

Wow, another week has come and gone and here I am. It has been a crazy and somewhat productive week though! I will be having many product and book reviews to share with you over the next month or so and maybe even a contest or two!!!! I’m very excited about that!

I will go over my book list in another post, so look out for it and if you’d like to join me and post a blog review of your reading, please feel free to let all of us know so that we can hop over and visit you too!

I’m also going to be letting all of you know about contests and events going on throughout the blogosphere! I really love the sense of community among mom bloggers, and contests are just one more way that we are all connected. So in addition to getting an opportunity to win some really great prizes, you get to meet some great women too!

We have an interesting evening ahead of us. Since it is the premier of High School Musical 2 my sis thought it would be fun to have a talent show and movie party. So this evening we will be attending the first ever Twinkle Lights Talent Show in her garage (heehee) and afterward we will all be viewing the movie too. I’m not really sure how we are going to squeeze all of those kids into her living room, but we’re going to give it a try anyway.

As many of you know I like to wander around the Mom-Blogosphere fairly regularly to see what’s going on with everyone and to meet other moms! Usually I read about other moms’ lives that are similar to mine - going through the daily motions of motherhood and enjoying (usually) watching our children grow.

Every once in a while though I stumble upon something much more serious! I’ve talked in the past about Heather and Parker and their needs, and now I have another family to add - WhyMommy over at Toddler Planet has recently discovered that she has breast cancer! She is the mother of two young children - in fact she was still breastfeeding the littlest one and had to wean him in order to begin her cancer treatments! She has written a poignant blog entry about it and has asked for other bloggers to share her story - I am doing so below. So take a moment and read it - this knowledge can save a woman’s life!

We hear a lot about breast cancer these days. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes, and there are millions living with it in the U.S. today alone. But did you know that there is more than one type of breast cancer?

I didn’t. I thought that breast cancer was all the same. I figured that if I did my monthly breast self-exams, and found no lump, I’d be fine.

Oops. It turns out that you don’t have to have a lump to have breast cancer. Six weeks ago, I went to my OB/GYN because my breast felt funny. It was red, hot, inflamed, and the skin looked…funny. But there was no lump, so I wasn’t worried. I should have been. After a round of antibiotics didn’t clear up the inflammation, my doctor sent me to a breast specialist and did a skin punch biopsy. That test showed that I have inflammatory breast cancer, a very aggressive cancer that can be deadly.

Inflammatory breast cancer is often misdiagnosed as mastitis because many doctors have never seen it before and consider it rare. “Rare” or not, there are over 100,000 women in the U.S. with this cancer right now; only half will survive five years. Please call your OB/GYN if you experience several of the following symptoms in your breast, or any unusual changes: redness, rapid increase in size of one breast, persistent itching of breast or nipple, thickening of breast tissue, stabbing pain, soreness, swelling under the arm, dimpling or ridging (for example, when you take your bra off, the bra marks stay – for a while), flattening or retracting of the nipple, or a texture that looks or feels like an orange (called peau d’orange). Ask if your GYN is familiar with inflammatory breast cancer, and tell her that you’re concerned and want to come in to rule it out.

There is more than one kind of breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer is the most aggressive form of breast cancer out there, and early detection is critical. It’s not usually detected by mammogram. It does not usually present with a lump. It may be overlooked with all of the changes that our breasts undergo during the years when we’re pregnant and/or nursing our little ones. It’s important not to miss this one.

Inflammatory breast cancer is detected by women and their doctors who notice a change in one of their breasts. If you notice a change, call your doctor today. Tell her about it. Tell her that you have a friend with this disease, and it’s trying to kill her. Now you know what I wish I had known before six weeks ago.

You don’t have to have a lump to have breast cancer.

P.S. Feel free to steal this post too. I’d be happy for anyone in the blogosphere to take it and put it on their site, no questions asked. Dress it up, dress it down, let it run around the place barefoot. I don’t care. But I want the word to get out. I don’t want another young mom — or old man — or anyone in between — to have to stare at this thing on their chest and wonder, is it mastitis? Is it a rash? Am I overreacting? This cancer moves FAST, and early detection and treatment is critical for survival.

Just another reminder that there are Real Moms who are living their everyday lives just like me when something profound and life-changing comes their way. The fabric of who we are and who we will become is made out of these experiences and how we handle them. I’m praying for WhyMommy and ask that you consider doing the same.

I seem to always be researching something online, so I thought it would be a fun theme for a Friday! So here’s some of the things I have found this week!

There are tons of moms out there who blog and there are also quite a few resources for them here are a few that I stumbled upon recently:

• 5 Minutes for Mom - bringing moms the best in blogging, shopping, parenting and entertainment. This site was begun by indentical twin sisters and is set up in blog format. Offers access to tons of great blogs, shopping, blogging information and much more!
• The Mom Blogs - Another great resource for moms who blog. Find other mom blogs and information about blogging.

Online Shopping:

• Creamy Candle - These are candles that you burn that smell great when you blow them out you use the liquid as a moisturizer! Too fun!
• Native Remedies - Offers wonderful natural remedies to help with a huge variety of issues for men, women, kids and even a whole line for pets! For children they have everything from bedwetting and bad dreams to tummy troubles and aches. For women they have pms and menopause symptom relief as well as remedies to help with endometriosis and weight loss. They also have a variety for men.
• Mineral Girlz - This is a super fun idea! Finally a mineral makeup just for girls (but moms love them too) - all natural makeup that is good for the skin! Parties, spa kits, create your own bath and body products and much much more!

I’ll leave it at that for today and see what I find next week! Should be fun!