How Much Is Too Much?

A question that has been weighing on my mind ever since I started this blog is how much personal info should I share?  How much is too little and how much is too much?  There are successful blogs where the only personal item that is revealed is the blogger's name.  Nothing about their family or anything that is going on in their life.  And then on the other hand, there are bloggers who share every intimate detail of their personal lives.  (Perhaps a little too much information at times.)  So what is a good balance?

I haven't mentioned much about my family in Charming Zebra for a couple of reasons:

1) I have stranger danger ingrained in my brain.  I'm afraid that some creeper will use the information for nefarious purposes or to stalk us.

2) My children aren't cute, little babies any more.  They're teenagers now.  (Although, I still think they're cute.)  And because they're not toddlers anymore, stories of messes they got themselves into or silly or naughty behavior could possibly affect their lives.  I wouldn't want to post a picture or tell a story that would embarrass them in front of their friends or would prevent them from getting a job.

We're told (over and over again ) that the best way to blog is to be yourself.  But I've been feeling as though I'm holding back and not truly being myself when blogging.  My family is my life.  So leaving them out of my blog has been difficult for me.

I've considered the two main reasons above why I haven't shared my family in my posts and I've come up with some arguments against them:

1) There are thousands, if not millions of blogs online (and Facebook) where people give out every scintilla of information about themselves and practically draw a map to their home.  So the chances of a creeper targeting us is very slim.

2)  As far as a story or post affecting the kids negatively, I just need to be careful what I write.  (In other words, no posts on  bed wetting, secret crushes or squirrel phobias.)

So I've decided to brave it and officially introduce my family on Charming Zebra.

My youngest (#4).  He has grown up so much in the past 12 months.  This year has been a year of firsts for him.

(#3) is the competitive one.  Year round sports.  He is officially the tallest in the family at 6.1 (and still growing.)

(#2)  is my only girl.  Crafty and creative.  She's a girl after my own heart.  

(#1) The oldest.  My little baby is all grown up and has already flown away from the nest.

I had a hard time finding a picture of my husband and me together. Usually, I'm just snapping photos of the kids.  For some reason we are not even looking at the camera.   (I'm usually quite pale so I was happy to have a little tan.)  And this photo showcases my squinty eyes that disappear when I smile.  (A beloved family trait.)  This photo was taken in Newport Beach, California last October.

So that is my family minus the furry pets, Bella and Lacey.  This isn't going to turn into a family blog but I will incorporate more pictures and more of family life around my projects.

                                    So what do you think?  How much is too much information?