IComLeavWe: December

Welcome back to IComLeavWe. It stands for International Comment Leaving Week, but if you say it aloud, doesn’t it sounds like “I come; [but] leave [as a] we”? And that’s sort of the point. Blogging is a conversation and comments should be honoured and encouraged. I like to say that comments are the new hug–a way of saying hello, giving comfort, leaving congratulations.

Here is the vital information, pure and simple (a more detailed set of rules follows below the list):

• The list opens the 1st of every month. It remains open until the 21st. You can add yourself at any point. The list is open to everyone in the blogosphere–blog writers and/or blog readers.
• Add yourself to the list by filling out this form: The list is now closed for December.  A new one will open for January on 12/31/09.
• Click here to cut-and-paste this bit of code to add to your sidebar (if you have the old code from another month, remove it and replace it with this one). You need to add the icon or a link to the current list on your blog (see below) and will not be added until it’s up.
• Commenting kicks off every month on the 21st. Please mark it somewhere (calendar, post-it note taped to your computer…), though I will be sending out an email reminder on the 20th. Commenting week runs from the 21st to the 28th. Every day, leave 5 comments and return 1 comment for a total of 6 comments. You are highly encouraged to choose the blogs you comment on from the participants list below, but this is not required.
• I will send a second email on the 28th to remind you to remove the icon from your blog.
• Read below if you want to find out about Iron Commenters.
• The commenting ends on the 28th. We catch our breath and the whole thing starts again the next month on the 1st. Drop in and out according to what is happening in your life between the 21st and the 28th.

1. Stirrup Queens (twins, books, writing)
2. Dragondreamer’s Lair (parenting, secondary infertility, crafts)
3. The Unfair Struggle (mfi, speedskating, life)
4. Salvageable (TTC, recurrent miscarriage, life)
5. Banking On It (diui #6, infertility, tww)
6. Dreaming of Quiet Places (emotional abuse recovery, ponderings, my cute dog)
7. Into The Light Again (infertility, hobbies, marriage)
8. Don’t Scare Easy (hysterectomy, cat, reflection)
9. Hobbit-ish Thoughts & Ramblings (TTC after losses, cooking, Christmas)
10. Hubby, baby and me…would make 3 (early pregnancy, PCOS, life)
11. Sell Crazy Someplace Else (diui, weight loss, food)
12. Elana’s Musings (twins, parenting, randomness)
13. A + B, Waiting for C (just beginning, clomid, distractions)
14. Ten Times Crazier (twins, husband, TTC)
15. Ambivalent Womb (MFI, IVF, FET)
16. My Walking Path (nature, wildlife, greenliving)
17. Littlestomaks (toddler nutrition, expert advice, recipes)
18. Hurry Up and Wait (infertility, marriage, pets)
19. Heeeeere Storkey, Storkey! (twins, life, ttc)
20. Curiosity Quotient (photography, business, books)
21. Baby On Mind (ttc#1, IVF, unexplained)
22. Communique (life, infertility, ivf)
23. Trying for a Baby (TTC, endometriosis, laparoscopy)
24. AnxiousMummy (grief, ttc, me)
25. Can I Get Some Sugar with These Lemons? (endometriosis, infertility, IVF)
26. Just Jennifer (parenting, reviews, life)
27. Our Little Family (infertility, adoption, family)
28. PandaBox33’s Blog (life, family, love)
29. Le Blog de Bazookah Joe, tiraillee entre deux poles (bipolar, life, emotions)
30. Where the Wright Day Takes You (infertility, clomid, anniversary)
31. On Tap for Today (life, humor, Boston)
32. Playgroup Material (infertility, life, random)
33. Return to Innocence (TTC #2, IF, life)
34. A Journey of Hope – Cesta Naděje (IVF abroad, infertility)
35. Our Someday Family (MFI, treatments, random)
36. The Mis- Adventures of a Modern Day Farmer’s Wife (farming, infertility, PCOS)
37. Getting There (adoption, life, infertility)
38. On Blogging Well (blogging, marketing, writing)
39. Fading Ad Blog (fading ads, HIV/AIDS issues, same-sex marriage)
40. Our Journey, but Not Our Plan… (fet, waiting, acupuncture)
41. Alana-isms (secondary infertility, family, teaching)
42. We got hitched. We bought the 4 bedroom house. Now what??? (IVF, recurrent loss, randomness)
43. My journey with Endometriosis (infant loss, IVF, endometriosis)
44. MoJo Working (IVF, marriage, infertility)
45. Wistfulgirl’s World (infertility, PCOS, failed adoption)
46. Hoping For Another Little One (open adoption vs. IVF #3, TTC #2, family ramblings)
47. The Desire Of My Heart (miscarriage, depression, early pregnancy)
48. Just Wishing (parenting, life, oldness)
49. In Due Time (life, infertility, pcos)
50. Half of a Duo, Raising a Duo (surrogacy, 40+, twins)
51. Your Great Life (fertility, women, self-belief)
52. IF Crossroads (early pregnancy, IVF, endo)
53. Creating a Family (infertility, adoption, adoptive parenting)
54. IF in Big Sky Country (ttc, infertility, life)
55. Needs New Batteries (kids, birth, humor)
56. The Road Worth Traveling (health, family, early pregnancy)
57. My Walking Path (nature, poetry, greenliving)
58. Blogging MoRe (life, friendship, humor)
59. Strawberry Fields Forever (sahm, islam, marriage)
60. Drive Fast.  Take Chances (MFI, treatments, break)
61. Trying to Get Knocked up by Another Man (ivf, military, DE)
62. Raising Miles (baking, winemaking, babyraising)
63. Baby-log (baby, toddler, parents)
64. Half of a Duo, Raising a Duo (surrogacy, twins, 40+)
65. Enchilada Sunrise (knitting, bipolar, life)
66. The Yerkes Life~Learning to Embrace God’s Plans (ivf, faith, family)
67. Lifeslurper (donor, over 40, infertility)
68. Teddy Lifeslurper, ttc (ART, IVF, humour)
69. Skrambled (donor eggs, infertility, life)
70. Mindful Meandering (rpl, ivf, adoption)
71. Such A Good Egg (optimism, infertility, wellness)
72. Venting Vagina (IVF, omglolwtf, acupuncture)
73. Inconceivable! (ttc, infertility, family)
74. Romancing the Stone (newlywed, ivf, happiness)
75. RantouRage (NYC, catering, gay politics)
76. Write, Baby, Repeat (adoption, infertility, writing)
77. Parenthood for Me (adoption, infertility, motherhood)
78. The Sun’ll Come Out, Tomorrow (I Hope) (marriage, recurrent miscarriage, hope)
79. Trying in NYC w/PCOS (pcos, iui, frustration)
80. Wait, What? (unexplained-IF, wellness, pop-culture)
81. A Greater Yes (infertility, embryo adoption)
82. Learning through the IF Journey (early pregnancy, PCOS, faith)
83. The Pitter-Patter (ttc, mfi, (in)sanity)
84. Inconceivable?! (NOA, moving-forward, d-IUI)
85. Peanut Noodle (recurrent loss, IVF, considering donor egg)
86. Fertility Foibles (infertility, adoption, humor)
87. B is for Brown (ivf, ttc after a loss, optimism)
88. Melissa’s Thoughts and Realizations (iui, grad school, mfi)
89. That’s My Answer (question of the day, life, fun)
90. All My Peccadilloes (IVF, pregnancy, uncertainty)
91. One Little Pink Line Short of Sheer Bliss (ectopic, iui, mfi)
92. The Conceivable Future (RPL, infertility, IVF)
93. Mom Someday (ttc, PCOS, weight loss)
94. The Impatient Optimist (infertility, PCOS, pregnancy)
95. No Lingerie Here… (pregnancy after loss, family, life)
96. My Journey to Conceive with PCOS (infertility, pcos, ttc)
97. Mission: Motherhood (iui, random, infertility)
98. Infertility And Me (male factor infertility)
99. The Infertile Mind (humor, irony, infertility)
100. Mister IVF (male factor, IVF)
101. A Page In My Book (large family, special needs, premature kids)
102. The Dinoia Family (kids, moving, overseas)
103. Shannon’s World (relationships, random thoughts, work assignments)
104. Baby Wanted (adoption, pcos, miscarriage)
105. A Woman My Age (adoption, infertility, life)
106. Exploring Chaos (pregnancy, family, life)
107. Journey Through Infertility and TTC (infertility, pregnancy, family)
108. Letters to My Unconceived Child (baby, pregnancy, love)
109. Endo-A-Go-Go (IVF, donor eggs, endometriosis)
110. Daria’s Blog (observations, life, family)
111. The Egg Drop Post (infertility, adoption, mindfulness)
112. Manda Blogs About… (reviews, giveaways, life)
113. The Adventures of a Military Family of 8 (family, craziness, life)
114. Keeping Our Fingers Crossed (ivf, pregnancy, life)
115. Life Happens When You’re Making Other Plans (faith, family, IVF)
116. Adventures in Glass (pregnant with twins after IVF/PGD, life)
117. Once an Infertile (infertility, TTC#2, parenting after IF)
118. Three is a Magic Number (MFI,  TTC, life)
119. End.ometriosis (endometriosis, relationships, life)
120. Being Jamielynn (infertility, ivf, randomness)
121. Conception Deception (mfi, ivf, depression)
122. offmymind.but from my heart (adoption, infertility, openness)
123. An Unexpected Life (infertility, adoption, hope)
124. The Electronic Replicant (books, geek, meme)
125. Sister Village (growth, self-discovery, mentoring)
126. Raining Raining (fost/adopt, marriage, fertility)
127. Ruminations (parenting after IF, life, random)
128. Diary of a Stork Stalker (5 ivfs, newly pregnant)
129. Impatiently Waiting for a Baby (ivf, frustration, PGD)
130. I’m a Smart One (surrogacy, infertility, parenting after infertility)
131. The Royal Report (infertility, adoption, nonsense)
132. A Woman My Age (adoption, infertility, life)
133. From IF to When (infertility, iui, life)
134. The list is now closed for December.  A new one will open for January on 12/31/09.

Q: What if I miss a day?
A: Catch up the next day by doubling your comments–12 comments instead of 6.

Q: What is an Iron Commenter?
A: Not for the faint-of-heart. People who wish to be an Iron Commenter and be entered on the Iron Commenter honour roll need to leave a comment on every blog on the participants list (exceptions are blogs that require you to have a special log-in, such as some LiveJournal accounts or other similar situations). You can spread out this commenting any way you wish over the whole week, but the final comment needs to be left by midnight on the 28th (EST). Reaching Iron Commenter status is done on an honour system. Please email me if you earn Iron Commenter status so I can add you to the wall of honour.

Q: Why do I have to add that bit of code to my sidebar?
A: The code is the latest icon (the icon changes colour every month so you know that you’re on the right list). This month, the icon is red, the next month it will be green, etc. The reason is two-fold: (1) it enables more people to find out about IComLeavWe and (2) it gives you easy access to the current list once the commenting week actually begins and better ensures that you’ll use it. Too many times, people sign up and forget to actually do IComLeavWe and this icon gives you a daily reminder (with the dates on it) every time you open your own blog. The icon is linked back to the current list. On the 28th, remove the icon from your blog. A new one will be created for the next month.

Q: It’s the 23rd and I just saw this for the first time on my friend’s blog! I want to join the list–why can’t I?
A: Because IComLeavWe happens every month, once the list is closed, it’s closed. If you’re finding out about this on the 23rd, you can’t join the current month. But leave yourself a note to check back in a week on the 1st and you can sign up for the next month.

Q: You said the list closes on the 21st. Well, it’s still the 21st where I am. Why aren’t you moving my information onto the list?
A: All dates and times are U.S. Eastern Standard Time (UTC/GMT -5 hours).

Q: What if no one comments on my blog and I have no comments to return?
A: Well, that really doesn’t happen for the most part, but in that case, simply choose another blog and add an additional comment. The goal is to hit 6 comments daily as a minimum. Going over that is fantastic and encouraged.

Q: Mel, my question wasn’t covered at all. What do I do?
A: Email me; I’m quite friendly. It helps to place “IComLeavWe” in the subject line. You could also check this post which contains the history of IComLeavWe and see if you can glean anything there.

Looking for the comment section? It has been closed on this post. Use the form in the directions to add yourself to the list.