Blogging
What is MommyLife about, anyway?
I will be honest with you. My default position is now writing. I have so much more to say than I have time to get it all down. It's a good thing I write so much about putting motherhood first because I have to rein myself in constantly - especially...August 7, 2008 - 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (21) | TrackBack
Compassion International - looking for blog support team
Have any of you adopted children through Compassion International? Our family did this for years when the kids were little and we were homeschooling. My oldest daughter Samantha has allowed her children to each adopt a child and they learn a lot about each country as well as supporting...July 1, 2008 - 7:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Add a MommyLife widget to your blog!
Too busy to post every day? Need a way to add more dimension to your blog and better serve your readers? I've created a widget you can post in your sidebar which will present the latest headlines here at MommyLife. You can easily pick up the code and add it...May 21, 2008 - 9:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Updating blogroll
If I am on your blogroll, you should be on mine. Please let me know - by comment or email - if I need to add you!...May 10, 2008 - 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Today's moms - under pressure
I had a meeting last week with some homeschool advocates to brainstorm ideas for a pamphlet they are doing for preschool moms. I was invited to participate because of my books - including Mommy, Teach Me! and Mommy, Teach Me to Read! - which are based on encouraging, empowering and...March 28, 2008 - 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Thank you for supporting this site!
Still at Mount Hermon, critiquing/encouraging writers and getting spiritual refreshment myself :) I've been using my off moments to keep in touch here. Home tomorrow via Oakland and jet Blue (I do so love JetBlue!) I just want to thank those of you who remember to order stuff through my...March 17, 2008 - 2:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Do I really need two blogs?
Posted at the MizReport this morning: I know there's nothing here to read lately. . . . please visit MommyLife instead Sorry I am not currently posting here. Although I must have been in a compartmentalized mood when I started this blog - trying to move politics off my MommyLife...March 6, 2008 - 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack
RSS Readers Explained
Okay, maybe you've been reading blogs for years and don't have the lightest idea what an RSS reader is. Or maybe you've been too busy to figure out how to get one yourself. I know how that is. I don't have one myself - yet. But I came across this...March 3, 2008 - 7:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBack
Women's Voices Making History
I wanted you to know, that I nominated you for Women's Voices Making History. Your blog is on my list of over 300 women blogging about politics, and I am currently going through it, and nominating blogs that I think are most worthy. Anyone can nominate a blogger, so if...March 1, 2008 - 6:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
To my readers
Managing this blog is very much like being the mother of a big family – so many conversations going on at once. I find it all – as I find my daily life going in all directions with my kids – exhilarating and energizing. But then again, I am an...February 23, 2008 - 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBack
Home from Seattle
I am home! On Sunday I flew to Seattle to spend a few days with Greta, who began reading my blog several years ago and has gone through some major life changes since - including changing her mind about having children :) And boy, did she change her mind -...February 21, 2008 - 9:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Amazon rocks - and keeps me blogging, thanks to you!
I am working on transitioning Barbara's Picks in the upper left sidebar into being completely incorporated into my Amazon store. This is because Amazon has made it possible to have a more friendly layout than the one my BlogGuru and I dreamed up three years ago. As I've always said,...February 15, 2008 - 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
My blogroll
I've just finished updating my blogroll, eliminating all links that for one reason or another have dropped me :) If you link to me, would you please take a minute to check to see if you're on my blogroll - then let me know by comment or email if you...January 30, 2008 - 6:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBack
My Blog Birthday - and Book Giveaway Winners
Today is the day! My third Blog Birthday! In the past three years, I have written 2468 entries at MommyLife – and you have made 10,110 comments. Together we have informed and encouraged each other. You have seen me lose 90 pounds and I have seen you all have...January 15, 2008 - 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Spunky blogging again!
Don't forget to check The Miz Report for political news. I posted a piece pre-New Hampshire primaries: Obamarama. And this morning, there's fresh news from Spunky: To Michigan and Beyond, who will be attending a Defend the Dream Summit in Michigan Saturday and rubbing elbows with a lot of important...January 11, 2008 - 6:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Blog Birthday Book Giveaway - enter by January 14
Announcing: Barbara's Blog Birthday Book Giveaway!!! January 15 will be my third birthday as a Bloggin' Momma. I set out to blog because even though I was published in print, I wanted a more immediate connection with my readers. Today I couldn't ask for anything more in terms of...January 7, 2008 - 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (148) | TrackBack
Deadlines, news, and what's ahead
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. - Doug Adams, author Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Can't talk for a few days. I have a 3000 word article due for Citizen magazine on David Parker, the Massachusetts dad who was arrested when...January 4, 2008 - 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Avoiding criticism - and handling it when it comes
Wow. Via Randy Alcorn's blog Eternal Perspectives today - in which he grapples with the necessity to moderate comments to keep discussions from being hijacked - I discovered a man who enjoyed a brilliant way with words: Elbert Hubbard. (Found him simply by googling the quote above - and...December 31, 2007 - 1:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
My interview at Connecting Moms today
I have an in-depth interview about my personal and writing background up at Connecting Moms today. If you don't already know more than you want to about Barbara Curtis :) you can read it here. If you're visiting from Connecting Moms and have a little extra time, grab a cup...October 1, 2007 - 6:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Who reads MommyLife?
Every once in a while, I check out the sitemeter list to see where visits are coming from. It's always a treat - especially at night when a majority are from the other side of the globe. In case you're curious, here's the last half hour here (numbers are mileages...September 30, 2007 - 4:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Updating my blogroll
Yes, you can tell I'm supposed to be working on an article - this time the one on evangelicals who've given up birth control - There is some kind of mental mechanism that I get into when I'm supposed to produce a piece of writing - an assignment, in other...September 11, 2007 - 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
School daze / Back to blogging
Here's now my morning looked at 7:09 AM: It's 2:07 now and I've made some progress toward catching up - but somehow it's never as much as I planned. I know you know the feeling :) I started writing this one morning last week and never finished: These are busy...September 4, 2007 - 2:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Miss you!
Just want to say - I am bursting with things I want to write about! Just busy with the kids' last week at home before school starts next week. Things will get a little more interesting around here then - promise! Two bloggers have been very kind in nominating...August 29, 2007 - 7:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Notes from a writer being lately consumed by daily life
I have missed you. I know that sounds funny, but seriously. . . . During two and a half years of blogging here, I have built up some close relationships with people all over the country. When God called me to be a writer at the age of 46,...July 4, 2007 - 7:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Blogroll
If you link to me, would you please take a minute to check to see if you're on mine - then let me know by comment or email if you're not so I can add you? My blogroll is strictly reciprocal: if you link to me, I'll link to you...June 26, 2007 - 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (21) | TrackBack
Mel published in print today!
My buddy Mel at Actual Unretouched Photo has a piece published in the Christian Science Monitor today which you can view online at: Suburbia's Fortress Mentality Parent's fears are robbing children of their childhood This was a blog entry - I think from a couple years ago - that Mel...June 1, 2007 - 5:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
What is a MAILER-DAEMON anyway?
Loved this answer to my question about the mailer-daemon who sends email back to us From usr-bin-mom Michelle, our resident keeper of knowledge of all things cybertech: Barbara, you can't ask an obscure computer related question and not expect me to find the answer, I hope you know. :) From...April 17, 2007 - 6:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Shop at amazon to save time and money - and support this site!
btw, the original Crocs are available through amazon too!! Actually, you can get so much stuff through amazon, it's hard to believe. Please remember to link through MommyLife - that link over on the left that looks like this: Some of my readers have even bookmarked it :) Thank you!...April 16, 2007 - 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Washington Post's comment policy
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our...April 15, 2007 - 7:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack
Comments with phony email addresses
Just for the record: I don't publish comments by people who leave phony email addresses....April 12, 2007 - 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Mel and me
Notes from Mt. Hermon: Got to spend a lot of time with some amazing writers, but especially enjoyed my time with Mel of Actual Unretouched Photo and Amazing Shrinking Mom. Here we are together - as Mel told the camera person "Make us look thin!" (she's lost 58 pounds and...April 10, 2007 - 3:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Any grandmother blogs out there?
This came in after the CSM article on MommyBlogs: I'm a 77 year old grandmother who would like to meet other grandmothers & just blog with them about their children, in-laws and grandchildren. My husband & I live in a ranch house not too far from 3 of our...April 5, 2007 - 6:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack
Mount Hermon Bloggers
Following are the bloggers who met at the First Annual Mt. Hermon Blogarama - or at least the ones who signed the piece of paper floating around the room. While I wasn't blogging myself that night - too busy talking :) - we did crash the WiFi system with the...April 5, 2007 - 1:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Mommy Blogs
Remember the article I was supposed to do for the Christian Science Monitor? It’s in today’s edition: Moms help moms through blogs. To those of you who sent me such great comments, thank you so much. I was limited to 800 words and could actually include very little. But I...April 3, 2007 - 12:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Mount Hermon - tonight's Blogarama
It’s almost 8 AM and I’m snuggled beside a cozy fire with my laptop on my lap in the Central Lounge at Mt. Hermon. The Central Lounge is an intimate and rustic feeling meeting hall with a fireplace and sink-into chairs with two main attractions: a morning espresso cart and...March 31, 2007 - 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack
Do me a favor - refresh this page
Will y'all please hit F5 to refresh your MommyLife page? I'm not sure why this happens - it's almost like computers are like people, not wanting to do more work than they have to - but sometimes changes in the sidebar templates don't show up when you return to read...March 23, 2007 - 8:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
On to more encouraging things
I'm preparing for a talk with moms tomorrow so I don't have much time :) I did want to share a few things, though, and then I'll run a Goldie Oldie or two for those of you who need some encouragement - especially after sludging through this week's political muck....March 8, 2007 - 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
My comment policy
Just to save you some time and trouble: I do not print stuff from drive-by commenters - that is, people who have no interest in my blog as a whole but only have some ax to grind. For the crop of recently sprung-up accusers: I have 12 children (not 11)...March 7, 2007 - 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Hits and visits
#!/usr/bin/mom explains the mystery of hits and visits: Hits have to do with how many times your page was shown. Visits have to do with how many people have come to your site. Unique visits are how many different people have come to your site. For example, if I...March 6, 2007 - 4:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
My blogging philosophy
This just in: I have enjoyed your blog for a little over a year or so now, but I really don't enjoy this political ranting and raving and bashing. I do agree with most everything you say, it's just that the reasons I came to MommyLife were for support in...March 6, 2007 - 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (30) | TrackBack
Thanks for supporting this site!
I just want to thank all of you who've developed the habit of linking through this site to Amazon to do your shopping - Thanks to you my husband is no longer supporting this site! Wa-hoo!! You may wonder why it takes anything to support this site - why...March 2, 2007 - 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Thanks anyway - but I will not be censored or patronized
Interesting that since I posted that I’d be sharing a little more about my take on political issues/current events, I've started getting "helpful" comments from people who've never had a helpful or encouraging word to say here - comments warning me to stay within certain parameters or telling me flat...February 14, 2007 - 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (24) | TrackBack
Mommy Blog Revolution
While writing that last post I began hearing the Jefferson Airplane in the background (of my mind) singing "Start a Revolution' ("Volunteers" is the actual title) Some of you may be going, the Jefferson who? Or maybe you remember your parents listening to them. Yeah, well I never thought...February 13, 2007 - 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBack
Mommy Blogs replacing morning TV
What cheerful news! From the Los Angeles Times: Wake-up call to a.m. news: moms tuning out Morning broadcast shows, once a staple for women, are seeing audiences shrink as news sources multiply. By Matea Gold, February 9, 2007 NEW YORK — When her children were young, Jenny Lauck used...February 13, 2007 - 7:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBack
Blogroll update and a tour of MommyLife
If you link to me through your blog, please check my blogroll to see if you are there and if the link is correct. Let me know if I need to update anything. Also, my BlogGuru added this nifty feature so that when I add someone to my blogroll, the...February 8, 2007 - 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Godspeed to my friend Spunky
I have made some dear friends since I've been blogging - women I've never seen but who mean a great deal to me. One of them is Spunky, a woman so much like me in temperament that in her words it's "almost scary." Maybe that's why when she suddenly said...January 31, 2007 - 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Barbara's Picks
Though these links have been down for a few days, they are now up and running again. For readers who haven't visited this part of my site, found in the upper left sidebar - these are products which I recommend for you and your children. Though they are linked to...January 21, 2007 - 3:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Hidden Treasure Blog Awards
From Jules at Everday Mommy: Announcing the First Annual Hidden Treasure Blog Awards . The idea is simple; to recognize blog authors of excellence, with deserving posts which may go unnoticed. All of us have our favorite blogs, the ones we read faithfully. They are dear friends, like a comfortable...January 19, 2007 - 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Happy Birthday to MommyLife!
Happy Birthday to MommyLife! Two years ago today I published the birth announcement for this baby: Yo Ho! Yo Ho! A Mommy's Life for Me!, which included my life in a nutshell and the following promise: But some things haven't changed at all: my commitment to children -- not...January 15, 2007 - 8:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack
Readers' Questions
I have a question for you: Is it helpful when I post questions from readers and ask for a round-up of replies? Is this something you enjoy about MommyLife or is it something that you could do with less of? Just letting you know because I'm busy answering email and...January 9, 2007 - 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (28) | TrackBack
Blogging Basics 101
I give thanks every day for blogging, as I believe it has truly empowered mothers in a way that has little to do with what we used to think was empowerment. It has taken us out of the isolation that was the biggest downside of our calling and given...January 4, 2007 - 1:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
A man worth reading
I guess there are a few men who read MommyLife. I'm honored, really. Since Dean mentioned he and his wife had had their first baby less than two weeks ago, I visited his blog Inspired by a True Story for the first time in a while (I really don't get...December 6, 2006 - 4:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Thank you for supporting this site!
I just checked my amazon associates account and I am so excited! Some of you have obviously been doing Christmas shopping, shopping for new baby - not to mention buying my books! Those percentages have added up and this month for the first time, MommyLife is paying for itself! Yippee!...December 1, 2006 - 8:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The picture problem - part 2
Have I told y'all lately how much I love you? I know that sounds weird since I'm just a mom in cyberspace, but your feedback about my picture has just been overwhelming. Did I ever tell you about the time when I was a nerdy, wallflower 12 year old...November 30, 2006 - 3:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
What about this picture?
[Note: this is about a picture that is no longer here, as I have reverted to my old picture - but I left the post because it and the comments illustrate something about honest communication] Just received this from my hubby at work: Hi Honey! Just checked mommylife and saw...November 29, 2006 - 4:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (43) | TrackBack
Christmas shopping/Supporting this site
Julie, who blogs at Imajackson wrote: Hi Barbara, This is Julie Jackson again. I am an avid reader and I recently sent you an e-mail about my thoughts on weight loss and you posted it to your site. I was so pleased to think my thoughts could help another mom...November 22, 2006 - 8:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Comments
Sorry, but for some reason the security code for my comments has been down for a while so no one could leave comments. My BlogGuru will be working on it (and, hey, don't you like the neat thing he did with the boxed material?) In the meantime, the comments are...October 17, 2006 - 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Prayers for KS Milkmaid
One of the most miraculous - yes, I mean miraculous - things about the blogworld is the opportunity it gives us to get to know people in a more intimate and heartfelt way than many of us have in our day to day lives. Bloggers who live their lives with...October 11, 2006 - 8:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Behind on my email
I currently have 21 unanswered emails in my Inbox. To those of you who've been waiting for an answer, I have not forgotten and I will not delete your email until I answer it. Honest. Thanks for your patience. And please, don't hesitate to write me. I know there is...October 5, 2006 - 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Blogroll - new feature
The requirements for being on my blogroll are simple - you link to me, I link to you. But since my blogroll has become so lengthy - and to help you all see what's new, I asked my BlogGuru if we could add **NEW** to new entries. You can admire...October 4, 2006 - 5:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Comments working? Let me know. . .
My Blog Guru is still fine tuning the comments section. If for any reason you are unable to post your comment, pleaseemail me....September 25, 2006 - 7:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Comments
In case you've commented here in the last couple weeks and not seen your comment in print, it may be because I've been bombarded with ugly, nasty spam - usually over 300 per day, that are - thank goodness - weeded out by my spam filter. The problem is that...September 24, 2006 - 7:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Catching up on links
Thanks for your patience. I will begin posting something soon. Just kind of regrouping and catching up on things I've let go while working on books. One thing I did yesterday was clean up my Blogroll. Inclusion on my blogroll is very simple - I just link to anyone who...September 20, 2006 - 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack