It's 10:30 and I can't sleep.  This is a real problem (my inner old lady is screaming at me in horror right now).  I am not a very good mother when I am sleep deprived, but my mind will not relax.  It has decided that right now is the time to write my first blog post (I won't mention the three or four other posts that I've written and deleted in the past six months). 
I love reading blogs.  There are two reasons for this, the first reason is a very good one, and the second reason...well, I'm debating whether or not to share the second reason for fear of losing friends.  I genuinely love to read about other people's lives, their children, their interests.  The world in which we live is so self-involved, so all-about-me-ish, and no one is more guilty of self-involvement then I.  Reading a blog allows me a little glimpse of someone else's life, their joys and their struggles, and it helps me to get out of myself a little bit.  I really need that (and that will be evident if you take moment to count the number of times I use the word 'I' in this post).
Okay, I'm going to tell you the second reason that I like to read blogs.  It is terrible, and I apologize in advance for being such a jerk.  Understand that I know this isn't good, and I'm not proud of myself, but I'm a very honest person, so I have to put this out there.  Reading other people's blogs let's me put on my Judgey Judgerson hat (What can I say?  Members of my family receive this hat at birth.  If you are reading this and you are related to me, you know it's true!).  I can critique writing style or topic, and I can tell myself that I could do a better job...IF I wanted to. 
Yeah, that is absolutely disgusting, and trust me, I AM ashamed of myself (also, please don't assume that I am judging your blog, and if you think that I might be, just remember that I am a big fat jerk-face).  Here's the thing: I can judge all that I want, but all of those bloggers have something that, up until this point, I have been completely lacking: the courage to put themselves out there.  I am terrified of looking stupid, of being vulnerable, and of being judged (Is that irony?  No, seriously, I'm asking if it's irony or not because I'm not real clear on the  definition).  But after a discussion with my husband, in which he basically told me to put my keyboard where my mouth is, I decided that I need to just do this.  Cue the racing brain which won't let me rest.
So, here is the first blog post.  Go ahead, judge away!  I totally deserve it.  I will probably stick with topics I know: kids, cooking and being a crummy house keeper.  From time to time I might veer into something that mainstream society finds interesting, but I make no promises in that regard.
I am hoping that I will be able to sleep now...unless I lay awake all night worrying about what people will think of me after this...