IComLeavWe: December

Please, please, please, with sparkly Christmas trees, read through the directions even if you’ve done IComLeavWe before.

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 leaving in the comment section your blog name, blog url, and three words that describe what you blog about most often.

• I move the information from the comment section into the post (usually within 24 hours).
• 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…). 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. *Special Christmas caveat: in the spirit of the season, there will be a lot of leniency during IComLeavWe week rather than moving it to a different set of dates. Therefore, do the best you can.
• Read below if you want to find out about Iron Commenters.
• The commenting ends on the 28th. We catch out 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 (infertility, twins, books)
2. The Fertile Infertile (family, crafts, secondary infertility)
3. Woman Anyone? (primary sub-fertility, IVF w/ICSI, rants)
4. Hope Springs Infertile (donor eggs, pets)
5. We Say IVF They Say FIV (IVF, pregnancy, expat life)
6. The Maybe Baby (Babies) (donor eggs, pregnancy, life after cancer)
7. Unquestionable Love (break cycle, acupuncture, holidays!)
8. Broken Bits (IVF/ICSI #2, PCOS, holiday drama)
9. Baby Smiling In Back Seat (infertility, IVF/ICSI, pottery)
10. Becoming Parents (paper pregnant, loss, daily ramblings)
11. Sticky Feet (secondary infertility, baking, books)
12. I’d Blog That! (daily life, humor, music)
13. Be Still and Know (adoption, infertility, faith)
14. Meepit On Parade (infertility, life, randomness)
15. Seriously? (life, pregnancy, renovation)
16. Musings of a Teacher (life, faith, random)
17. Infertile Mermaid (IVF, pregnancy, life)
18. Helping Make Sense (multiple IVF’s, general infertility, exploring options)
19. aurelia ann (parenting, crafts, miscarriage)
20. Adventures in Parenting (kids, marriage, me)
21. Portraits In Sepia (adoption, endometriosis, life)
22. Our Life in A Nutchell (IVF#2, m/c, holidays)
23. TTC: Impatient with PCOS (PCOS, clomid, life)
24. emilythehopeless (failed FET, dogs, vegan)
25. Conceive This! (MFI, ICSI, waiting)
26. Sunflower Seeds (family, international adoption, life)
27. TandCookies (marriage, PCOS, teaching)
28. Awake On the Night Shift (pregnancy after infertility, work, family)
29. Building Heavenly Bridges (grief, writing, stillbirth)
30. The Bear and The Comedian (parenting after loss, funny stories, sisters in heaven)
31. Elana’s Musings (pregnancy, twins, randomness)
32. Trying To Make 3 (marriage, TTC, life)
33. Elusive BFP (IVF, infertility, life)
34. Heeeeere Storkey, Storkey! (twins, ttc#3, life)
35. Life and Love in the Petri Dish (IVF, recurrent pregnancy loss, couples’ perspective)
36. I’m a Smart One (surrogacy, infertility, parenting after IF)
37. Bella and her Fella (donor eggs, POF, high FSH)
38. Life is Good (infertility, IVF, life)
39. Mustard Seed Baby (IVF #2, faith, endo)
40. GreenEggsNHam (adoption,
    acupuncture, rants)
41. So It Goes (secondary infertility, cycle days, ranting)
42. Not the Path I Chose (secondary infertility, pregnancy loss)
43. Peachy (IVF, life, holidays)
44. Loving Thee…and More (parenting, daily life, holidays)
45. Getting There (infertility, what next)
46. To Baby and Beyond (miscarriage, infertility, PCOS)
47. Who Shot My Stork (infertility, poorassbroke-edness, bitching)
48. Mrs Spock (parenting, infertility, health care)
49. I Married Barney, Now What? (miscarriage, infertility, IUI)
50. Chronicles of… (infertility, PG after IVF-FET, life)
51. The Maniacal (wanna-be) Mommy (infertility, oregnancy, general rants)
52. Hello Jello (college, animals, family)
53. White Picket Fences (PCOS, recurrent loss, pregnancy)
54. A New Wheeler for the World? (PCOS, infertility, IUI)
55. Infertile Myrtle (infertility, ttc, endometriosis)
56. The Not So Secret Life Of Us (RPL, infertility, life)
57. The Happy Hours (life, TTC, clomid)
58. Barren Is The New Black (infertility, early miscarriage, premature ovarian failure)
59. The Non-Houswife Wife (TTC, marriage, life)
60. Thus is the Life (pcos, faith, life)
61. Off My Mind… (adoption, family, kids)
62. In Search of Biscuit 2.0 (secondary IF, family, rants)
63. My Journey to Mommyhood (pregnant after infertility, endo, m/c)
64. Kischa’s Endo Journey (endometriosis, infertility, iui)
65. Birds and Squirrels (PCOS, infertility, male factor)
66. Life In A Holding Pattern (pregnancy, miscarriage, uterine anomaly)
67. Kicking You From The Inside (parenting, infertility, life)
68. Mommy Confessions (holiday mayhem, family insanity, parental rantings)
69. Clio (endometriosis, adoption, new parenthood)
70. My Pathway to Motherhood (SMC, donor inseminations, life)
71. Infertility Podcast and Blog (pregnancy loss, secondary infertility, infertility news)
72. Rachel’s Scrambled Eggs (secondary infertility, weight loss, randomness)
73. Ophelia’s Revival (infertility, divorce, starting over)
74. Dancing with Gaia (IVF, male factor, being positive)
75. Inconceivable (MFI/NOA, life, random)
76. Breeder Beware (infertility and budgeting)
77. Dr Barreness (infertility, doctor as patient)
78. Offshore Wife’s Life (infertility, PCOS, crafting)
79. Eggs Benedict Arnold (adoption, family, life)
80. Life Induces Thoughts, Mostly Random (life, randomness, family)
81. Junebugsmusings (struggling, infertility, life with dogs)
82. ISO the Golden Egg (SMC, donor embryo, TTC over 40)
83. Life in the White House (donor sperm, daily life, quilting)
84. Along Life’s Little Journey (endometriosis, deciding what’s next, life)
85. Weathering the Storm of Infertility (pregnancy after IVF #5 worked!, life, ramblings)
86. The Baby Makin’ Chronicles (TTC#1, recent miscarriage, DH laid off)
87. The Unfair Struggle (male-factor, personnel management, friendship)
88. My Little Drummer Boys (stillbirth, IVF twins, parenting)
89. Momofonefornow (secondary IF, parenting, love)
90. The list is closed and the new January list will reopen on December 29th.

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 silvery-ish, the next month it will be purple, 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.