I heard recently of a way you can make your private blog more consistently read by friends and family. It suggested creating a public blog that links to your private blog. For those who stay on top of blog-reading by using Google Reader or other tools, it makes it much easier. I'm always behind on reading my friends' private blogs too.
Here's a link to my latest Back to School 2012 post.
http://www.debandbenfam.blogspot.com/2012/08/back-to-school-2012.html
Please add this link to your Google Reader for future updates: http://livingjoyfullyfam.blogspot.com.