As many of you know, I’ve been writing here at my domain name, siren.org, since 1998. I was 15 years old then, and I’m going to turn 30 this year! It’s amazing that I’ve been blogging – or at least writing about myself online, since it wasn’t called blogging then – for nearly half my life!

The name of my domain was originally inspired by two things: the Tori Amos song of the same name AND my love of Greek mythology and anything ocean-inspired.

I was quite the Tori fan back then – I seriously loved all of her albums, had seen her a few times in concert… you could say I was a bit obsessed with her music. :) While I’m not a Tori Amos fanatic anymore, I still do enjoy her work and I love that the name of my domain ties me to a very memorable time in my life.

I still love the ocean and anything sea-related so the name of my domain still has not worn off after all this time. Choosing a domain name was very important to me because I knew that I would have my domain name forever… kind of like a tattoo. :) Since I still love the name nearly 15 years later, I’m pleased to say I made the right choice!

As far as the name of this particular blog – Bright Autumn Sun – I decided on the name when I was pregnant with Zachary, due in the autumn. The fall season is my favorite, so that has significance for me, and as a photographer, I love the way the light looks in the fall around sunset. Thus, Bright Autumn Sun was born. I own brightautumnsun.com, as well.

For those of you “oldschoolers” you may remember the following header graphics from the olden days of the internet. Some of these do go back to the 90′s, hence the cheesy photoshopping! ;)

Well, I’m so thrilled to announce that a new Bright Autumn Sun design has been launched! Finally! If you’re reading this message from an RSS reader or email notification, be sure to click the link and come see my new layout! There are still a few tweaks I’ll be making, but I’m so happy with the new layout and am so excited to share it with you all!

How would you feel if someone posted a negative and embarrassing video, photo, or story about you? I know how I would feel — sad, shocked, and helpless. What if that person was a relative? I would be even more upset. What if it was your PARENT? I would feel all of those things including betrayed that a parent could think that embarrassing me publicly is even acceptable. I am thankful I grew up with caring parents who never diminished my feelings growing up.

Today I came across the post of a Facebook friend who posted a video of her son having a terrible temper tantrum. I was shocked when I saw the title of the video, and after watching about a minute of the little boy screaming and crying hysterically (while the mom laughed behind the video camera) I had to turn it off. It was too upsetting. I couldn’t help myself from leaving a comment disagreeing with the other commenters who apparently thought the whole thing was hilarious!

It made me sad to see people laughing about the little boy feeling upset and frustrated. Emotions are a huge part of who we are and making fun of someone’s feelings is NEVER acceptable, especially if it’s a child.

Next time you want to post an embarrassing story or picture about your child, think about how you would feel if you were in your child’s place.

It’s not funny. It’s not okay. It’s not acceptable. It is NOT tolerable. It is lowlife, trashy, and disgusting behavior, and a violation of your child’s privacy and emotions. Sorry if you disagree, but I would never post anything about my son that would make him question his trust in his mother.

This blog is a negativity-free zone. Sure, our kids all make us crazy at times. It’s normal and part of being a parent. Being a parent also means respecting and protecting your child’s feelings and NOT airing your dirty laundry with the Internet.

I clearly remember waking up the morning of 9/11/01.

I was a sophomore at the University of Central Florida then. My phone had been buzzing next to my head for a few minutes, the same person calling over and over. I kept hitting ignore. Naturally, I’d stayed up too late the night before, doing God-knows-what – after all, I was a college kid!

After multiple phone calls finally woke me up, I saw that it was my friend Marie, who lived on a different floor in my dorm building, calling. I shook the sleep out of my eyes and picked up the phone, never expecting to hear frantic sobbing on the other end. I could barely understand what Marie was saying, but I understood that something horrible had happened, and her mother, who was in the military and was at the Pentagon, was unreachable. She finally told me to turn on the TV and I was shocked at the images before my eyes.

I wrote this quote down in my records that day – “We are going to wake up tomorrow a different country. Our luck has run out.” This was said by Jeff Greenfield, who was at the time on CNN. The quote really struck me back then as I thought about what was to come in this new United States that I would grow up in and have children in. Truly, the next day did feel even more surreal, with memorials and vigils all over campus. I remember thinking to myself that I had to watch and remember so one day I could explain to my children what this time was like for our country. There are just a few other times after that I remember feeling like that – the need to take it in and remember – watching TV with my husband when we bombed Iraq with “shock and awe”,  seeing coverage of the space shuttle Columbia disaster on television, the day we finally caught Bin Laden.

September 11, 2001 was the day the world was forever changed, and a time when I was most proud to be an American.

Being the always-technological person that I am, I saved many of my online conversations with friends from this day and recorded a number of thoughts in my computer journal. And of course, I was always checking the various news sources online. When I clicked on to CNN that day it made me feel just as scared of the future as I had felt when I turned on the TV that morning. Because CNN had never looked like this before. And it’s never looked like this again since.

I’ve saved these screen shots – from computer to computer to computer to computer (I’ve had around five computers since then, actually) because they are a part of technology and history that I hope to share with my children one day. The stark white space on the CNN page, with no other news stories to speak of, brought home the importance and terror of this unfathomable day.

Today my blog is dedicated to those who lost their lives in the horrible attack on the United States, and to the Police, Firefighters, other first-responders, and Military who also died performing heroic acts that day, and to those who selflessly dedicate their lives today to protecting our wonderful country. God Bless America.

*American Flag photo found at Wallpaper World (http://imageworldblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/american-flag-pictures-and-wiki.html)

Living here in South Florida, we are very much affected by what happens with our Island neighbors, especially in the case of natural disasters. Being in the Caribbean this usually means a hurricane, but we were all shocked and horrified when the earthquake struck Haiti a year ago leaving so many homeless and injured.

It was amazing to see the outpouring of hope and charity to help the Haitian people both locally and nationally. My friends and family personally donated clothing to families of Haitians who had suffered in the quake.

Heart of Haiti is an organization created by Willa Shalit, the CEO of Fairwinds Trading. It has hired over 450 talented artisans from Haiti to create beautiful artwork from the most unlikely materials. From their website, “Proceeds from Heart of Haiti purchases help provide better nutrition, improved education and healthcare — life-changing resources for the artisans and their families.” Heart of Haiti is a great opportunity for both the artists of Haiti and for those who want to enjoy their beautiful artwork to support their country and help them recover from the tragedy of the earthquake.

You can support Heart of Haiti by clicking here to shop now! There are so many beautiful items to choose from. Why not give a gift that gives back?

I was selected for this very special “CleverHaiti” opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity. All opinions are my own.

She’s got a busy month going, so when she asked about guest posting, I jumped at the chance to share my story of supermomhood over at her blog. You can read my article, “Preschool and the road to freedom” by clicking here!

And don’t forget to comment! :)

The higher up I am in these rankings, the more fun products I’m able to offer you for giveaways.

So, if you enjoy my blog, I’d sincerely appreciate a vote! Thanks so much!

According to a national survey conducted by The Hershey Company, personal candy preferences may provide insight into Halloween costume choices. According to the survey:

• About 30 percent of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, Kit Kat Wafer Bar and Hershey’s Milk Chocolate lovers will do the monster mash this year as a vampire, witch or monster.
• Fans of Twizzlers Twists may get the chance to show their dance moves as they twist the night away dressed in garb from the 1950s. More than 41 percent stated they plan to dress-up in period piece costumes from different eras of the 20th century.
• Jolly Rancher lovers will most likely sport a cape on Halloween, as 23 percent expressed a desire to channel superhuman powers as their favorite superhero.

Make sure you check out the Hershey’s Halloween headquarters for fun recipes, crafts, products, and other Halloween resources!

Disclosure: This post was written as an entry for a contest for a Hershey’s Halloween prize pack as a member of the Mom Bloggers Club.

Check out our family feature and don’t forget to leave a comment!

Also check the sidebar and make sure you enter the giveaways I have up. The Pear Tree Halloween giveaway is ending tonight and the CuppaJane giveaway will be ending next week. More fun giveaways are coming very soon!