day 2 blog 4 blogging questions and grace

minutes after sea met story for the first time...she is angry and hurt...confused about sharing her world with a new little brother. i am exhausted before i even realize the full meaning of the word but ecstatic at the same time...i got the natural birth i hoped for but more importantly have two healthy children who i love more than i am able to express in words and if i were to try and express this love in actions they would be squeezed to their demise...

so i have loads and loads of material to write about and never enough time. i am happy that i choose to live life and be in the moment with my children when they are awake but i am constantly tired and with this new commitment to blog every day until the end of the year, well...i'm looking for shortcuts. i need to do an entire post on my blogging identity...why i blog, where this blog is leading me, what i've gotten from other bloggers and mommies and what i want to share...

but like i said, that will have to be another post. this post was supposed to be about blogging etiquette and i have a neighbor whose blog i will share (again, in another post) later who photocopied specific tips for me...specifically i am still really learning about my place in cyberspace and allowing others in, joining the community etc. but as many things in my mommy world, even my original intent in this post has now changed...

i need to know how to do a few things if any of you power bloggers, or people who have blogged for awhile, or smart individuals who spent more time figuring these things out can comment to help me out:

1) how do i see how many people are following my blog? is this per post or just the blog in general? i really didn't want to care about this...i have had this blog for almost 2 years and never checked this because i don't want to have that information effect what/when/how i post but one of my power blogger friends asked me to check this before she tells others about my site so she can see how many people checked it out

2) how do i easily thank people for comments? sometimes i am sent to their blog, their profile or just more info about them but no e-mail address to quickly shout out a thanks...i would rather go to them than just comment beneath each comment

3) what are the pros/cons of following people publicly? i would like to let bloggers i follow know i am following them and beyond just commenting on posts i like i am happy to have my photo/profile under "followers" or something if i can figure that out...i just tried to add this to my blog but don't have any followers yet...do any of you use this/know a better way to let people know you appreciate their site?

4) what are things you love about blogging/your blog etc. have learned in the process that you would pass on to others new to blogging?

5) what are things that you would do differently? regret doing? advice you would give to avoid problems?

6) i have about 40 more questions that will have to wait because i'm losing my train of thought and consumed with the idea of grace and how i may run out of time to talk about it and i can find answers to these basic blogging questions later as grace is a much bigger issue...

anyway, a couple posts ago i was frustrated (and a little humored) with both children who could get in to so much trouble in such a short amount of time...after typing up a very quick post on what i thought would get most readers to chuckle or feel just a wee bit sorry for me, instead a blogger i do not know (will have to ask her how she found me) named amanda commented something like "you are more than blessed"...recently my power blogger friend was telling me how you can link back to people who comment and so i clicked on amanda's name trying to learn more about her...i love her blog in general and could comment more on that later, too, but specifically i wanted to leave you with a link to a post she did on grace because i really think i could use a different perspective in my approach to parenting...especially when i'm frustrated.

so bring on your comments and suggestions and regrets and take the extra moment to check out a post on grace...especially if you find yourself easily frustrated with your children...i definitely need to focus on appreciating them more and remember that i AM more than blessed...