So, I’ve been going back and forth about which advertising network that I’m going to keep on my website (I have to choose! They won’t play well with each other! ;o) and I’ve decided that since I’ve had a long standing relationship with Blogads and have always liked the fact that my fans and friends can put an advertisement on my site, that I’m going to stick with them, PLUS they’ll occasionally throw some of their own campaign ads my way and that helps make me a wee bit of moolah. But not alot. But looky here, slowly but surely all the advertising has dried up until NOW and I have no advertisers at all! Okay. So please please please, here’s your chance to advertise on Hathor the Cowgoddess. I now have tons of ad space open (See all the pink boxes that say Sponsor Hathor? That’s them) You can click on that link and build yourself an ad campaign! My little ol’ comic goes out to 2000+ readers almost daily and boasts 100,000 page views a month. That’s a lot of mamas.

The best part of advertising on my blog though is this, you get to help me give away comics about attachment parenting for free to anyone who wants to read. It’s a feel-good project that you can be a part of…come on! sponsor Hathor!

Love,
Heather

It started back in early December when Robyn C. told me about the nifty knitter. I asked for one for my birthday and about 15 hats later (including 4 fabulous santa hats), I’m an addict.
Then the same friend showed up at the park one day making a crocheted bag out of plastic grocery bags (she also makes really cool art dolls: iggyjingles.blogspot.com. Yep, really cool. So I thought “man, I’ve gotta learn how to crochet!” So we did and I made a jaunty green beret for my eldest just in time for St. Patty’s Day(drat! where is that hat? the car? the bedroom? the refrigerator?) And Now we’re knee deep in Ren Faire costumes…sewing and dyeing and having so much fun! oh man, I’m loving me some Ren Faire!

And just to make my everyday ensemble even more crafty-liscious You might notice my fabulous bag that my dear brother bought me for Christmas. Hand-made by Kelly S. her myspace page is here: subterfusion It’s so gorgeous and as you can see it inspired my girls to make some bags of their own!

Old news to most of us that live here (I’ve been on a bit of a ‘birth’ focus if you didn’t notice ;o) and so never got to this issue…and voila! today, one of the best articles about homeschooling that I’ve seen written in the mainstream press…

Home Is Where the School Is

By Gregory J. Millman
Sunday, March 23, 2008; B01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/21/AR2008032101451.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

During a break in a high school debate tournament not long ago, my 17-year-old son struck up a conversation with a student on the rival team from a New Jersey public school. “Where’s your school?” asked the boy. When my son replied that he was home-schooled, the student probed.

“How do you socialize when you’re at home all the time?” he asked.

“Well, for one thing, I’m here, right?” my son laughed.

My children have gotten used to most of the standard questions from their conventionally schooled peers: Are you super-religious? Do you stay at home in your pajamas and watch TV all day? Is your mom a teacher?

Adults, on the other hand, can be surprising. Like the professor at the community college where one of our sons was taking a course, who went out of her way to pull him aside, sit him down and tell him, “You home-schoolers think you can change the world. But you can’t. Nobody can.”

It’s hard to generalize about home-schoolers, but if there’s one thing we know, it’s that we are changing the world, or at least the world of education choices. Others, though, see us as either misguided or threatening — and probably cheered last month’s California appeals court ruling that all children in the state must be taught by credentialed teachers. At least 166,000 California children are home-schooled. And most home-schooling parents don’t have teaching credentials, so the ruling is worrisome, even though Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called it “outrageous.” The decision will probably be appealed, but the teachers’ unions are applauding in the meantime.

Nonetheless, home-schooling is booming. In 2003, the National Center for Education Statistics estimated that the home-schooled population nationwide was 1.1 million. And the National Home Education Research Institute estimates that it may be growing at double-digit rates.

There’s no denying that the modern home-schooling movement was born of the desire to shake off stultifying school bureaucracies and to sidestep the uncertain mission of public schools, which is set by adults with often conflicting priorities for children. A century of ideological struggles has defined the hodge-podge taught in schools, and they persist to this day. Will schools teach evolution or intelligent design? Offer safe-sex or abstinence-only instruction? Encourage art and dance or treat them as distractions from No Child Left Behind tests? Home-schoolers can make our own decisions based on what’s best for our children.

But “home-schooling” is a misnomer, really. Most of it doesn’t even take place at home, and the schooling has little in common with what goes on in school. The legal definition varies from state to state, as do registration and other requirements. In New Jersey, the law only requires parents to see that their children get an education “equivalent” to public instruction…

Gregory J. Millman is co-author, with Martine Millman, of “Homeschooling: A Family’s Journey,” to be published in August.

I was followed around yesterday by a reporter from Norway who is doing an article on homeschooling in the US, photographer too. We had a meeting of our Super Duper Show and Tell Club (a comic subject soon to come ;o) They told me how surprising our children were, so happy, so ’social’. Yes, yes I know. Maybe some of my Norway friends can keep a lookout for the articles and actually do some translating for me?

Love,
Heather

I was looking up something completely unrelated (wanted to know how much oxytocin a BABY produces at birth and when breastfeeding) and found this article, which fits quite nicely- and perhaps a cursory search would find much much more, huh?

Maternal hormone protects baby’s brain during birth

although I don’t have the time, ALAS! gotta try and finish this book Zines, Slings and Other Do It Yourself Things is being held up at the printing stage because the ‘form’ I fill out on the computer is broken. I’ve been waiting for it to be fixed for 3 weeks now and today is the day. It’s supposed to be done. So right after I post this I’m headed there to finish the book. But! I’ve been totally side-tracked by a website that promises to send you expedited birth certificates for a hefty fee, I filled out my request on February 2, so here we are in Mid-March and I have YET to hear anything. Well, come to find out the process stopped because of some snafu on their side. Yeesh! and finally, I know that I need to do my taxes but since these things seems to go in threes I’m going to wait for the third thing to be something else. I don’t think I could bear to have my taxes get bogged down in computer troubles. Of course this sort of evasive tactic may not be so easy to explain to dearest husband…who would like the taxes done soon, thank you very much. oh well. Perhaps I’ll just dive it, what could go wrong with taxes, right?

I’m glad everyone is enjoying the birth series! couple more to go!

Love,
Heather

It was so much FUN! I got to see Ricki Lake, she spoke too briefly, alas! But then we got to see Michel Odent speak. Because of his thick accent all 150+ of us were silent as mouses (the quiet kind, not the noisy ones ;o) and leaned wayyyyyy forward, hanging on his every word, and he’s worth every moment. I shadowed him from session to session. I heard him speak on the Scientification of Love and also Can Humanity Survive the Safe Caesarean? and SO, the next group of comics will be about his ideas. Brilliant!

I didn’t see many other sessions, but I got to hear Laura Shanley who is a personal heroine of mine. Way back when I was first planning my third birth and considering an unassisted birth, I ordered her book. It was lovely to be able to give her a big hug for that, AND to tell her that her book helped move me to unassisted birth during the panel session “why women stay home alone” which we were on together. That was cool.

I got to give Sarah Buckley a kiss. Caught on film, coming soon! I got to ask advice of a self-proclaimed computer geek from ICAN, Laureen Hudson. I got to see the midwife Gail Hart declare “don’t ask for licensing from the state! Forget the State!” (I paraphrase, MAN I wish I could remember exactly what she said, it rocked!) I sat beside Henci Goer at dinner Friday night (I moved eventually to sit beside Gurumama aka Mara, who attended with me as my date ;o). And wanted to ask Jody McLaughlin the publisher of Compleat Mother “why they don’t carry Hathor comics?” but never could find her alone, she seemed great and I hope to really meet her someday…and I got to make new friends too many to list here, but here’s three: Wendy (thanks again for the dinner!), Kylie and Marissa (sp?) thanks for letting me come to lunch with you! and Hi!

Finally, I got to meet and listen to the strength and courage of my new hero Carla Hartley. She admits to running the most difficult midwifery school in the country AND training her midwives to sit back and trust the mother to birth the baby. She’s the dynamo force behind the trust birth conference and was obviously beloved by all who attended. I’ve got a comic coming about her too.

Anyway, that was my weekend, my kids are happy that I’m back to tucking them in at night ;o)

Love,
Heather

This musing is directly related to the comic: Michel Odent!