IComLeavWe: August 2011

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.  The September list will open on the 1st.
• 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. The 2 Week Wait (ttc, infertility, pregnancy)
3. Feeling Beachie (life, humor, cats)
4. Somewhere in the Middle (infertility, DIA, waiting)
5. Mommy Odyssey (miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, generally crazy)
6. Babylicious Tales (parenting, first time mom, work)
7. Here We Go Again (parenting, random, babyloss)
8. Chasing Our Stork: Our Journey with Infertility (international adoption, graduate school, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis)
9. Tippy & Tidy’s Tumultuous Trip To Toddlers (TTC#1, IVF, unexplained)
10. MoJo Working (infertility, IVF veteran, miscarriage)
11. It’s Definitely Possible (SMC, pregnancy, birth options)
12. BattleFish (life, if/ivf, random)
13. The One in Eight Couple (unexplained infertility, gearing up for IUI #1, hope)
14. The Journey to Baby G (IVF, FET, expat)
15. Walking An Unknown Path (miscarriage, life, unexplained infertility)
16. CD1 Again (infertility, life, taking a break)
17. Created Family (unexplained infertility, miscarriage, social work)
18. for all the things we hope for (infertility, hiking, doula work)
19. Dragondreamer’s Lair (parenting, secondary infertility, crafts)
20. Hobbit-ish Thoughts & Ramblings (parenting after IF/RPL, books, cooking)
21. Life As I Know It (parenting, life, random)
22. Digital-Damita.net (frugal, green, ttc over a year)
23. Donor Diva: Mother via Egg Donation (egg donation, infertility, parenting)
24. Marriage 2.0 (domestic adoption, weight loss, life)
25. Not Just An Army Wife (iui, miscarriage, military)
26. It Is What It Is (Or Is It?) (adopting #2, parenting, life)
27. Lissie’s Luck (IVF results ???)
28. Write Mind Open Heart (open adoption, mindfulness, perfect moments)
29. The Oregon Tail (motherhood, moving, toddlers)
30. Becoming Parents (ART, recurrent pregnancy loss, TTC #1)
31. Wonderfully Ordinary (TTC again, infertility, parenting)
32. Lifeslurper (IVF, over forty, donor eggs)
33. Compromised Fertility (PCOS, FET, TTC #1)
34. InDueTime (life, infertility, college)
35. Ambition: Motherhood (diui, mfi, hope)
36. No Suzy Homemaker (pregnant after losses)
37. Meier Madness (PCOS, IUI take 2, gardening)
38. PursuingParenthood (weight loss for fall IUI, firefighter’s wife, orthodoxy)
39. Mommy-In-Waiting (pregnant, twins, IVF#4)
40. I Believe In Miracles (RPL, motherhood after adoption)
41. Funny Little Pollywogs (embryo adoption, photography, food)
42. Infertile is the New Black (infertility, ttc, coping)
43. A Miracle in the Works (DOR, IUI, TTC after a loss)
44. Acorn Chronicles (work/life balance, parenting, sarcasm)
45. I Want to be a Daddy (male infertility experience)
46. The Days of Our Lives (infertility, faith, adoption)
47. Bring on the Babies… (IVF, recurrent pregnancy loss, miscarriage)
48. lifeinflux (life changes, parenting, life goals)
49. A Little Hope in My Pocket (pregnancy loss, infertility, life)
50. Creating a Family (infertility, adoption, adoptive parenting)
51. MyJourney7283 (ttc, infertility, miscarriage)
52. Trying To Conceive (pregnancy after IVF)
53. Plan B(aby) for an SMBC (ivf, smbc, faith)
54. Poor Lucky Me (pregnant again after loss)
55. TheFertilityDaily (free IVF contest, infertility, humor)
56. Articulation (life, faith, random stuff)
57. MommyForward (motherhood, self-improvement, adoption)
58. Climber’s Blog Gone Mommy (climbing, donor eggs, twins)
59. We’re Making a Baby (twin pregnancy (again), parenting, life after IF)
60. Traditionally Nontraditional (infertility, life, humor)
61. The Road Less Traveled (parenthood after embryo adoption)
62. Kate; Uncensored (life, depression, relationships)
63. Musings of a Hormonal Egg Basket (parenting after IVF)
64. Someday (azoospermia, IVF pregnancy, birth choices)
65. This Hampton Life of Mine (secondary infertility, pcos, iui)
66. For We Are Bound by Symmetry (ttc#1, unexplained infertility, ivf#1?)
67. A Mommy Summers Thoughts (being mom & wife)
68. Survive and Thrive (infertility, laparoscopy, dogs)
69. My Lady of the Lantern (neonatal loss, grief, pregnant again)
70. Cablearms (miscarriage, life, photography)
71. Zero Guarantees (after 10 years, twins on the way)
72. Eggs In A Row (pcos, infertility, coping)
73. MommyForward (motherhood, self-improvement, adoption)
74. The Rocky Road to Motherhood (parenting after IVF)
75. Taking the Long Way (pregnant, rpl (miscarriage and ectopic), hope)
76. Write, Baby, Repeat (open adoption, DE pregnancy, parenting)
77. Better, Not Bitter (infertility, pcos, trying to be better)
78. Holly’s Narrative Dream (secondary infertility, coping, life)
79. Many Waters (life, faith and music)
80. Flogging the Muse (art, painting, creativity)
81. …and it is here that we dance! (faith, family, life)
82. Rasta Less Traveled (donor egg, surrogacy in India, infertility)
83. It’s Just Us Chickens (ivf1, ttc, mfi)
84. Let’s Conversate About Irregardless (ivf, 80s, sarcasm)
85. A Page In My Book (family (IF grad), recipes, everyday life)
86. Infertile Follies (infertility, FET, ectopic pregnancy)
87. Wishing and Hoping and Thinking and Praying (pregnancy loss, infertility, life)
88. The Infertility Doula (support, advice, news)
89. Jenn The Infertile (TTC, MFI, infertility)
90. Exploring Chaos (infertility, tww, ttc#2)
91. TTC Baby E (pcos, ttc#1, ivf#1)
92. Life in the White House (donor sperm, life, pregnancy)
93. The Ladies in Waiting Book Club (infertility, books, community)
94. Whitney & Erick (RPL, adoption?, celiac)
95. Buck Up, Buttercup (early pregnancy after loss, creativity, outdoors)
96. Endo&Beyond (infertility, endometriosis, food)
97. A Greater Yes (embryo adoption, parenting, infertility)
98. Cradles and Graves (multiple losses, ivf, rainbow!)
99. Empty Whole (MFI, brain injury, next?)
100. The Barreness (art, memories, infertility)
101. Mission: Fertile Soul (infertility, adoption, happiness)
102. From IF to When (international, adoption, newbie)
103. Fertile in G-d’s Timing (faith, infertility, waiting on G-d)
104. Your Mom Doesn’t Really Love Christmas (gender, family, motherhood)
105. GoTeamBaby (ivf, hope, infertility)
106. Bean Dreams (infertility, hope, IUI)
107. Embracing the Rain (mthfr, dor, rpl)
108. The Infertility Overachievers (pregnant after IVF)
109. Cammie.Me (parenting, unemployed, cooking)
110. Grimm Tales (parenting, life, humor)
111. wanna bee (adoption, loss, craftiness)
112. The list is now closed.  The September list will open on the 1st.

Q: What if I miss a day?

A: Catch up the next day by doubling your comments – 12 comments instead of 6.

Q: What if I have two blogs? Can I sign up twice, listing both blogs?

A: Yes, but you also need to double your comments. If you have two blogs listed, you should be leaving 12 comments per day.

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 purple, the next month it will be yellow, 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). The list closes around 11 p.m. EST on the 21st.

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.