Sparks and Butterflies

I just wanted to let you know that I am now going to be contributing to Blissfully Domestic!  I don’t have any entries up yet, but frankly, I knew that I would forget to let you all know.  I’ll be contributing to the Healthy Bliss channel.

Blissfully Domestic is an online magazine focusing on our home lives – everything from food to health.  There was a recent relaunch of the site and now it’s cleaner, prettier, and easier to use.

Take a look at the site and poke around a little.  You might find you want to stick around.

I am no longer writing for Special Needs Parent or Stars Behind Bars…

To much work (hours and hours) for too little pay, and now I’m just too busy to commit.  So, I said goodbye.  perhaps other opportunities will come, but I had to release that to move on.

I’m still writing here, of course, and I’m hoping that those readers will come here if they liked me writing.  And I’ve still got Butterviews going.  But for now, that’s it.

I simply ran out of time.  Perhaps, as life does, things will shift again in the coming months.

So, there are those out there who say I shouldn’t be doing what it is I do. What? Oh, that would be writing about my life. You see, I’m exploiting my children. And they’ll hate me for it. And I’m profiting off of my website, and therefore, I’m profiting off of my children. And I’m invading their privacy.

Let’s get a few things straight.

Wanna know how much I make? It’s ok, I’m alright about transparency…

I make about $15 a month in advertising. I also make about $40 a month total from my Stars and Special Needs sites. That’s paid blogging right there, folks. On the flip side, I pay about $15 a month for hosting – but whenever there’s a change. Like needing more bandwidth, there’s a fee. I’ve spent $100 in fees in the last couple of months. Oh, and if I have a problem or re-design, it’s anywhere from $25 to $200 a pop.

Yeah – I’m simply ROLLING in the dough.

And before you say I’m just waiting to hit it big? Think this is my big break? I’ve been writing online since 1994. Yeah. 14 years. Ftp, notepad, and aol server space ftw! Remember geocities? and changing every single page individually and ftping every single page individually? every day?

So – I’m not waiting for my big break here, peeps.

This is my journal. Mine. If someone takes an interest, and I end up with a product, or something, or GASP! actual money? I say, Go Me! This is still my journal. Is it a business? Sure, it can be. I think my opinion and thoughts are worth something, yes.

Also – let’s make something clear. The children? Those kids? Those sons I love more than life itself? They came into MY life, sweethearts! Not the other way around. I do not exist solely to serve them. I do it. I do it gladly. And no matter what I think when I’m at my worst, those kids are good, polite, have good moral fiber, and aside from their congenital abnormalities – healthy. In other words – I’m a good mother if their example is to be believed. But they are part of my existence right now. And I will write about them. Just as I talk about them. just as I experience them.

I don’t think it’s dangerous.

I don’t think they’ll be harmed any more than their natural abhorrence of all things parent will harm them.

I don’t think their photos being on my website will incite the pedophiles.

I’m not going to plaster my address all over the ever loving place – but Dooce makes an excellent point. Are we to live in fear of those strangers that see my kid at the grocery store, who saw my kid in person, and even saw my license plate, and even could follow me home?

I’m not going to live in fear.

Why do I write publicly? I write for three reasons.

I have to. I have an uncontrollable urge to spill my guts out – the pretty and ugly ones.

I am journaling my life. Each year, I have my blog printed in paperback form, and keep it for posterity.

I meet other people like me. Because I interact with other people like me. Because I can exchange ideas with other women. This is an opportunity I would not have outside of my blogging community.So – I’m sorry if you think I’m some, “money grubbing mommyblogger (said with as much scorn as possible) pimping out their child and whoring themselves.”

I’m not going to stop doing it until I no longer have the urge to write.

Posts on the subject:

• Crazy Narcissistic Exploitative Zombie-Pimp Mom-Bloggers, Unite and Take Over (what started this whole rant for me in the first place)
• Mom Pimps R Us
• Newsletter: Month 50 and 51
• Mommblogger Sellouts? Consider the Alternative
• Looking at the Glass as Half-Full

If you’re not into that self promotion thing, you can just move right along until I write again…

heh.

Every once in a while I think it’s good share what I’m doing. You might actually be interested! Let me re-introduce you the other places I write.

A review blog. Yes I’m paid, either in products (which I then review) or in cash. I do not take assignments in which I’m requested to write positively. I’m way too snarky for that and would then try and finagle the review. heh. So – I only take assignments in which I can actually really write what I think. Hopefully – for them – it’ll be positive. If not? Such is life, and maybe they’ll have interest in the criticism.

This is my baby. A blog geared towards the parents of kids with special needs. I touch on everything from mild learning disabilities to children in a vegetative state. Being that both my kids are special needs, it’s almost cathartic at times.

This little project has NO redeeming social value whatsoever. It’s a celebrity blog of legal hijinks they get themselves into. One thing there isn’t much of is Britney. I cannot stand that situation or anyone involved, and can’t bring myself to write about them.

I’d love for you to visit one of my other homes, you never know what you’re going to get. But this is and always will be my home. So, don’t worry – I’m not going anywhere.

My latest endeavor.

There is more content coming. But I wanted to announce it.

In order to get that whiney post off the top of the page, I thought I’d update you to the meta-ness in my life.

First off…  On this here blog, I got switched to WordPress.  I’m also working on cleaning up the site, and deleting some things I really don’t care about, and adding things I do…  linking to the social places I play at and such.  I’m also going to be putting widgets up to the writings at my other sites.

Speaking of other sites…

Don’t forget that I write at Special Needs Parent.  A blog geared towards the parents of special needs kids, of which I am one.

I’m also writing at Stars Behind Bars, which has no redeemable social value whatsoever – but fun.

In addition, I’m working on a review blog, so I can put my book reviews there, and also receive products of other things and review them without coming close to hurting my relationship with BlogHerAds.  Once it’s done (playing with it) I’ll announce it here, of course.

Anyway…  Now you know all the places I’m writing at and I expect you to visit.  ‘Cause you love me.  And ’cause I need the hits.

Was that begging?

Come see my nice ranty entry on my other blog.

Other than that… There’s nothing to see here as I’m STILL SICK.

Christmas is creepy up behind me, I just can’t hear it… My head’s too stuffed up.

When I started blogging years and years ago… I didn’t have children. I wasn’t married. I was still in college. It was my personal space to vent, my personal journey – and journal. I never connected those two words before, but it makes sense. Then I got married. I had kids. And my kids turned out not to be perfect in society’s eyes.

I have two beautiful children. One has a mental and learning disability. The other has a hidden physical disability. Both require care beyond the “norm.” Both require specialized attention beyond the “norm.” And, I love them.

But it’s been a fight. Fights with insurance companies, school administrations, medical personnel who think they know my kid better than me (after that all important 20 minute screening,) and plain red tape. There’s going to be more fighting. Of course. And I’ll be the one to do it. Of course. But I had a really hard time finding information that helped me, the parent, fight for my child. Medical jargon, and a lack of layman’s information was a real detriment to the fight for both my children’s lives. And let’s not downplay it – it is a fight for my children’s lives. For one, a physical fight for the continued beating of his heart, and for the other the tools to contain his sanity and learn how to learn.

For the last year, I’ve been shopping around a blog idea. I didn’t start it myself, because I really felt it needed the backup of a network to get the information to a much larger audience than what my little place here garners. I love you all, but it’s a topic well beyond just me, and I wanted it to reach as many people as possible. But while I had a few nibbles, I didn’t reel anyone in until now.

I’m proud to announce the launch of Special Needs Parent at http://preciouschild.contentquake.com.

I want all of you to visit. But, if ANY of you have children with disabilities, please please please… Blogroll the site and come back. I want this to be a site where parents who are fighting their own fight can interact with other parents, find information, have things explained to them, or just rant. I want to know what you want to see on the site.

This is about helping you help your kids. To quote Jerry McGuire, “Help me help you!” I hope to see you there.

OKAY! To any and all readers out there, I officially need your help.

I’m about to launch a problog on a network. I’m not going to mention it by name/network until I officially launch. But, the content will be geared towards parents of disabled children, from minor learning disabilities all the way on up to children in a vegetative state – the whole gamut. This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, and a network finally bit. I didn’t want to make that the focus here for two reasons. One, it deserves it’s own blog, rather than bits among my personal journal. Two, it deserves a much larger readership than my blog currently gets. Us parents of children with special needs NEED their own space – to get info, to rant, etc. I’m very anxious and excited about this.

Here’s where I need your help. I need a title for the blog. Send me your suggestions!! Via comment or via email at sparksfley at gmail dot com. Fire away!!

Pausing in perusing my craptastic life to let you know I’ve published an article with TopBlogMag. The theme this week is Change… You can see my contribution here: Ready?