The Wonderful World of Blogging *UPDATED*

Hello everyone! I think I am Terri's first guest blogger of the week. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Emma and, like Terri, I am a mother to four lovely children. And sometimes not so lovely. We won't talk about the 2 hours of crying I listened to today and the four potty accidents. That's right FOUR and THREE of them were not just the peeing kind. Anyway, I can be found here. (Am I allowed to advertise myself like that? How about please go read me? Please, please, please!!)

I've never guest blogged before. The one time I was asked to do so, my post never actually made it onto her blog. Granted it was a pretty crappy post, so I can't blame Ice Cream Mama * at all. Terri, however, gave this week's guest bloggers an awful lot of power- her password! So even if this ends up being the most terrible post ever, it's out there, at least until she gets a hold of the internet again.

I started blogging just over 2 years ago. I was going to blog about motherhood, but my blog turned into my very own cheap brand of therapy, with a whole lot of fantastic people playing psychiatrists or just offering me a "Hey, I've been there and you will get through this." My house may be a little messier, but my sanity? That girl is intact. Mostly.

I have said before that I like my blogger friends better than the majority of my daily life friends. You are the people I tell about the troubles with my oldest daughter, who at 12 drives me absolutely mad. It is you that I sometimes tell about the fights with my partner. While I write for myself, I also write with the hope that someone will read my blog and know how I am feeling, or be sympathetic to what's been going on. Every once in a while a good kick in the ass works wonders too.

Once upon a time, I read a blog post that discussed whether or not bloggers could be considered friends. At the time, I thought "Maybe." Now, I think "Definitely!" No, I may not know most of you in person (although I was lucky enough to meet a blogger last week) and I may never have the opportunity to meet you (unless I win the lottery- then you're all invited to my new house for my very own mini blogher) but you are most definitely my friends. Surely a stranger would not send your daughter a gift for her birthday? A stranger would not send you an email telling you things she is not ready to put into her own blog. A stranger may tell you what you want to hear, but it is your friends who tell you what you need to hear.

So I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful ladies (and a few fellas!) that I have met on this journey. I really do adore you all.

And while I have the power over at Terri's, can I just say how brilliant she is? Her son Izzak and my son Liam have some of the same learning disabilities, which is what initally drew me to her. She is a fantastic advocate for her children. I admire her willingness to make such a big move, from Oregon to Alaska. I'm not so sure I could start over like that. Nah. I know I couldn't. I have waaaaay too much junk.

*I received an email from Ice Cream Mama this morning saying that she never received my guest post. So I went through my sent items and it wasn't there. Did a search for it and there it was, unfinished, in my drafts. And this, people, is proof that the more children you have the worse your memory is. All this time I thought that Ice Cream Mama hated my post, and being the insecure person I am I was quite convinced that she did not like me! I am so sorry Ice Cream Mama!