Getting Unblocked

Friends,

It's been two and a half months since I've written here or anywhere. I've been blocked, stuck, choked, or any other synonym for being unable to write. Not for lack of topics. No, the topics are everywhere.

At first, I was waiting to get my act together with photos to document my darling Nathaniel's 2nd birthday.

And then Susan died.

And how could I write about anything else before I wrote about that?

I couldn't. And I didn't.

But last Sunday Lucas opened a toy and it gave me the inspiration to write again.

And so I wrote about getting outdoors with your kids, about our favorite spot in DC and about a silly and vain topic.

I wrote in those other places and soon I will write here. I'll write about Susan and write the post the future Nathaniel deserves for his birthday.

And I'll write and I'll write because I need -- really, really need -- to write.


Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Over at The DC Moms

Are you a huge fan of The DC Moms yet? There are some great writers over there and I'm thrilled to be  part of it. I hope you'll head over and check out my post about the day I stopped buying napkins and paper towels. You can do it, too!


Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

The universe is telling me to get a Wii!

I'm not even kidding.

So several months ago, I got an e-mail with the opportunity to host a Wii Play Motion party. So fun, right? The only problem was that we don't own a Wii. No worries, they said, can you borrow one? Of course!

I decided it would be selfish super-fun to make it a ladies-only night. I mean you know that if the guys and kids were there the moms and ladies would get NO playing time. Am I right?

Nintendo and their pals at Brand About Town sent me two HUGE boxes which were, essentially, a party in a box. Seriously. The only thing I had to do was use the generous Cold Stone gift certificate to actually go purchase the ice cream.

(Don't you just love my table scape above? I was so proud of it!)

Oh? A close up? Here you go!

Yes, the jars came pre-labeled. And yes, I saved them for a future party.

Man, those sundae's were delish! But, of course the most fun was an evening with some of my favorite ladies and having a TON of fun playing with the new Wii Play Motion!

And did I mention the favors? Everyone went home with an ice cream bowl and scoop and one lucky lady went home with a copy of Wii Play Motion and a controller!

 
My generous fist-pumping friend, D., let us keep the Wii for an extra week or so and Lucas, Abel and I LOVED playing. I may or may not still be obsessing about Pose Mii Plus. (Not surprising since Tetras is my first and true Nintendo love!) Oh, and ladies, Abel and Lucas figured out Skip Skimmer in about 2 seconds -- it is super fun!

So after a few fun nights of gaming with our 5 year old, Abel and I started to think that maybe a Wii should play promently on our Christmas List this year.

But, wait! The story doesn't end there!

Fast forward a few weeks to Blogalicious (totally. amazing. more coming soon!) and WHOOOO gets her card drawn to be part of the Sears & KMart Winter Wonderland Dirty Santa gift exchange?

MEEEEE!!!!! (And 24 other lovely ladies!)

I know my good friend Thien-Kim at I'm Not the Nanny won't mind me stealing this pic. That's the awesome Lindsay Maines of Rock and Roll Mama but I'm on the floor on Lindsay's left.

Man, they had some amazing gifts. And you know how this game goes -- you can pick a gift from under the tree or steal from someone else. You know the moment one of the bloggers ahead of me opened up a Wii that I was intent on stealing it. But, alas, I got caught in the 3 steals max rule and lost it. However, I did score a Wii Fit Plus!

So, let's add this up: I now own a Wii Motion Plus game, 3 Wii motion remotes and a Wii Fit Plus. What's missing? An actual Wii!

Yeah, it's on the top of our list!


Of course the disclaimers: Nintendo supplied me with the game and remotes and sundae fixings and ice cream gift card (whew!) but all opinions are my own and those of the fun ladies at my party. I paid for Blogalicious with my own dime(s) and had a grand time and totally lucked out on getting to play in the Dirty Santa game (THANK YOU to the MANY bloggers who dropped your cards but weren't "present to win" as they say). No compensation was provided for this post.


Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Baby Boy Stroller, Part 2

Do you read Apartment Therapy's OhDeeDoh blog? I just love drooling over their featured nurseries and kids' rooms. Anyway, today I just had to laugh because they featured a post about the oh-so-elusive non-pink toy strollers. My post on the same topic from nearly THREE years ago is still the #1 Google search hit to my blog!

Okay toy stroller manufacturers, you heard it here first: there's a BIG market for non-pink or purple toy strollers! Go forth and create, please!

P.S. Lucas's overpriced toy stroller is (thank goodness!) still going strong and is currently one of Nathaniel's favorite toys!




Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Have you visited Out by Ten lately?

I know posting has been light 'round these parts, but I've been going gang busters posting TONS of great stuff over at Out by Ten. And, it's not only for kids! My most recent post features free concerts at the Strathmore that would make for an awesome date night!

What are you waiting for?

Go check it out!


Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Surviving in Style: Free Lymphedema Sleeves Thanks to Susan Niebur

I've found that when someone is a giver it is very hard for them to accept--let alone ASK--for anything from someone else. My friend, Susan (that's her on the right), is a giver. And, I'm sure that even as she has battled cancer, and the effects of cancer, time and time again, it has been very difficult for her to accept the kindness of others.

The thing is, that when you allow someone to give to you, you really are giving to them. You are giving them the joy, the satisfaction, the happy heart that comes from giving to others.

And so, even as her body was being ravaged by the effects of chemo, Susan was thinking of others. Even as she was feeling the pain of her lymphedema (very painful arm swelling that happens to many breast cancer survivors--or warriors, I like that term better, don't you?--because they had lymph nodes removed and therefore don't have lymph nodes filtering our the yucky stuff) she was thinking of others who were battling lymphedema.

You see, Susan, like my mom, purchased her oh-so-stylish lymphedema sleeves from LympheDIVAS. Luckily, they were both able to afford them, despite the little or no coverage their insurance provided. These sleeves help keep the lymphedema under control and their cool designs tend to elicit compliments instead of rude stares. For many breast cancer warriors, a sleeve and/or gauntlet is a medical necessity, but too often insurance doesn't cover their steep cost (around $100 for just one sleeve!)

And so, Susan (being the giver that she is!), with the help of another giver (and friend!), Sue (that's her on the left), has arranged an amazing partnership. LympheDIVAS is now working with Crickett's Answer to Cancer to provide lymphedema sleeves and gauntlets FREE to those who need, but can't afford, them.

Most people assume that once the hair grows back (there's my sister, mom and me--wasn't she a beautiful bald warrior?--during her chemo) and a few scans come back clear, breast cancer is over. But, for many, the long-term effects are real and painful. Thanks to Susan and this partnership, many more warriors will survive in style and with with less pain.



And one of the best parts is that every time someone posts or Facebooks or tweets or just picks up the phone and calls a friend to tell them about this amazing act of giving, Susan is feeling the joy, the glow, the happy heart that comes with giving to others. And for that, I am especially grateful.

Here are the specifics:

Read about this project directly from Susan, leave her some comment love and then share her post with everyone you know (the share options are at the bottom of her post). Read more about it from Sue. Check out the awesome designs at LympheDivas and read about the co-founder and inspiration behind the company's continued mission, Robin Troxell.

Then, click over to Crickett's Answer for Cancer and be inspired by Crickett then download the enrollment materials here and write in "lymphedema sleeve and gauntlet" on page 2. Or, forward, e-mail, snail mail or fax the forms to someone you know who needs one. Better yet, just tell everyone you know about this, because who knows who might know a warrior who continues to suffer because they can't afford a lymphedma sleeve.

And then enjoy the joy, satisfaction, and happy heart of giving!

Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Team WhyMommy's Virtual Science Fair

This post is in support of Susan Nieber, aka WhyMommy of Toddler Planet, a real live rocket scientist (okay, okay, technically an astrophysicist) who is undergoing surgery today after the doctors discovered a local regional recurrence of breast cancer in the lymph nodes under her armpit. Susan has been fighting inflammatory breast cancer and educating others about it since her diagnosis in 2007.

Also in her honor, and in honor of my mom who also battled breast cancer in 2007 I recently joined the Army of Women. I hope you'll click over and join today. We need more research. For Susan. For my mom. For all of us.

I am definitely not a scientist so taking on the challenge of being part of this Virtual Science Fair in honor of WhyMommy (as conceived by the amazing Stimey of Stimeyland!) was a bit out of my comfort zone. You see, if we were at home right now, Lucas, Nathaniel and I would have simply packed a picnic lunch, hopped in the car and spent a lovely afternoon at the NASA Goddard Visitor's Center.

But, alas, we are still in Pennsylvania for an extended Easter visit with my parents so I had to think a little bit harder about what to do. Lucas has been quite interested in volcanoes lately, and you know I just love anything to do with baking soda and vinegar, so I did a google search for "easy volcano with baking soda and vinegar." Among the things that came up were directions to make a rocket! A baking soda and vinegar rocket in honor of an astrophysicist? Perfect!

Of course the rocket was a big FAIL.

Why aren't you exploding high in the air little Ziploc container rocket?

(The directions were to pack a small container with a tight-fitting lid with baking soda, add a few tablespoons of vinegar, quickly close, turn upside down, stand back and watch it shoot up in the air. We packed and repacked and added more vinegar and still, there it sat. What? Went? Wrong?)

Lucky for me, I had prepped Lucas about how experiments are a way to try something and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't but it is fun to try and see what happens.

(Whew! Score one for Mama!)

Also to be filed in the lucky-for-me category, baking soda and vinegar produce a ton of foam which is really, really cool to a 4 year old.

So cool, in fact, that we used the entire bottle of white vinegar to watch the baking soda foam over and over and over and over and over again!

Also cool to a 4 year old: a paste of baking soda!

So, thanks WhyMommy for inspiring this mama to step outside her comfort zone and conduct a fun experiment with her son. We're thinking about you today!


Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

I'll be back

My sister has been giving me a hard time lately for being a little light in my posting around here. Personally, I don't think I've been that bad though will admit to posting a little less than usual. I blame most of it on the pregnancy. Before I shared the news with all of you, all I had to say was that I was nauseous and exhausted--over and over and over again. Which, of course, I couldn't say, nor, I'm sure, did you really want to hear. And now, well, I'm slightly less nauseous and still quite exhausted which, again, I'm sure you don't really want to hear about. Plus, when you're fighting such overwhelming symptoms and still have a part-time job and full-energy 3 year old, who would have the inclination to even type it out? Not me.

Lucky for you (and my sister) I did, indeed, type out a few particularly memorable early pregnancy incidents which have been languishing in draft status for more than a month now. I'm going to take a little blogging vacation next week and so have those all cued up for your enjoyment, dear readers.

After my little break, I'll be in my second trimester (pending, of course, Baby Center sending me an e-mail telling me that I'm there, anyway. Who can remember such details with baby #2?!) and hopefully feeling great. At which time, I'll be back!


Original post by Smiling Mama. Thanks for reading!

Good Friends, Good Food, Good Stuff!

Photo shamelessly stolen from Banana Blueberry

Photo shamelessly stolen from Passion and Art

Last night I attended a fantastic party with the DC Metro Moms at Good Stuff Eatery on Capitol Hill. I swear, this group of awesome ladies could get together in a paper bag and we'd have a blast! Even so, I'm appreciative of Devra and Sarah for getting Chef Spike and Quaker on board so that we could gorge fill ourselves with good great stuff like burgers, fries, milkshakes, beer and then take home some whole grains for breakfast to help make us feel better about the indulgences of the previous night!

It was fantastic to catch up live and in person with some of the great bloggers I already knew: Nicole from Banana Blueberry, Kim from Passion and Art, Leticia from Tech Savvy Mama, Jessica from A Parent in Silver Spring, Diana from Caffeinated, Justice Fergie from Just Fergie, Sue from My Party of Six, Jodi from Jodifur, KC from Where's My Cape, Sandie from Urban Mama and probably a few more that have slipped my mind!

It was also wonderful to meet some of the ladies I've been faithfully reading like Stimey of Stimeyland and Amy of Teachmama and a brand new DC Metro Mom, J.J. of Caffeine and a Prayer, along with many more!

They say blogging is all about community and I can tell you: this is one community of awesome ladies! If you don't have time to read these ladies individually, please add DC Metro Moms to your blog reader--you won't be disappointed!

Oh, and if you haven't been to Good Stuff Eatery yet, go check it out. Seriously. I think it is a very good thing that I no longer work just a few blocks away from this fantastic addition to the Capitol Hill dining scene--I'm afraid I'd be there just a little too often!

Drum Roll Please!

I'm so excited to announce the launch of my new blog! I've been mulling this over for a few months and finally have bit the bullet to just do it! Inspired by Jessica's terrific blog, A Parent in Silver Spring, I wanted to highlight great family-friendly activities and venues a little closer to my neck of the woods. I also know that I will be more likely to move beyond my few favorite activities and venues and do more exploring when I know I will be blogging about it later!

The name Out by Ten was inspired by some great advice I received as a new mom (though, after wracking my brain, I can't for the life of me remember who gave me this advice!) that if you can get out the door by 10am do to something, anything at all, then the day will be successful.

And so my goal with this blog is to help get my family and yours out the door to explore all the wonderful activities in Cheverly, Prince George's County and the greater DC-metro area. I hope you'll join me by visiting Out by Ten!

BOCA Giveaway!

The relaxation from my chair massage has definitely worn off, but my pedicure still looks fabulous from last week's Spa Night hosted by BOCA, which I was lucky enough to attend. And, as promised, I have a goody bag for you, dear readers! As if drinks and food and spa treatments weren't enough, BOCA gave each blogger two goody bags as we left. One to keep and one to giveaway. Woo hoo!

The contents include: an adorable Envirosax reusable tote, a yoga mat in its own carrying case, a classical stress relief CD, a Franklin Covey "Kaleidoscope" planner, BOCA recipe cards and a coupon good for a free package of BOCA meatless product.

Fabulous, right?

Simply leave a comment (any comment!) on this post by noon (eastern) on Wednesday, February 18 to be entered into the drawing to win. Becuase I love you all equally, I'll let random.org do the dirty work of actually selecting a winner.

But, wait! That's not all!

BOCA is holding a Balanced Living Challenge--a chance to win $5,000 to fulfill your own healthy living goals. All you have to do is post a short entry--only up to 250 words--on how you want to change your life and how BOCA (and their $5K) can help you achieve balance. The deadline for this contest is Friday, February 27. Don't forget to include your e-mail address on the comment form so I can notify you if you win!

You know me and my love of lists. So here's your balanced living to do list.

1) Leave a comment below for a chance to win my contest for the BOCA goody bag.

2) Go here to tell BOCA how their $5K will help you achieve balance in your life.

3) Come back and leave me another comment to let me know that you've entered BOCA's balanced living contest and you'll earn a second entry into my giveaway! (Hey, I know your chances of actually winning the $5K are pretty slim, so the least I can do is give you an extra shot at my balanced living goody bag!)

Ommmmmm.

Just back from the spa

Oh, hello there. Don't mind me with my night time post. You see, I'm all relaxed and indulged and jazzed up. Just back. Back from the spa, that is.

Oh yes, my friends, the spa.

Thanks to my faithful stalking reading of the lovely (and I can say that from meeting her in person!) Linda of All & Sundry and the fact that I almost jumped through the screen to comment when she said she'd be in DC for a Spa Night hosted by BOCA and leave a comment if you want to join her. Ohmygodpickmepickmepickme. Sooooooo tonight was the night. And, seriously, it could not have come at a better time.

The babysitter got here at 4pm and Lucas said, "bye bye Mama" before turning his back on me to devote his full attention to entertaining his new lady-friend. I was out the door before he could turn back around. Drove across town, circled the block, pulled into the parking garage and walked into the lovely Nusta Spa at exactly 5:01. (Hey, I was not going to miss more than 1 minute of a free spa night!).

Open bar, yummy food (including Boca sliders, natch), wonderful mini spa treatments and fantabulous women bloggers: Does it get any better? In between sips of white wine and a delicious nonalcoholic punch and bites of yummy, yummy food and a mini-pedi (condensed from their normal 1 hour to 30 mins) and a chair massage and yoga breathing/stretches, I chatted with blogger friends new and old. It was so fun to see fellow DC Metro Mom bloggers Jessica of APISS and Stacy of the Fabulous Miss S and to meet bloggers who I read faithfully: the aforementioned Linda and Beth of So The Fish Said. There was also a group of 20-something bloggers there. Oh to be young again. Or maybe not.

Anyhoo, BOCA threw us a darn great par-tay. And, since I'm a mom blogger and not a 20-something blogger, I have got to get to bed now. But, more exciting details to come soon, including (drum roll please) a GIVEAWAY!

Valentine's Day Preparations

Valentine's Day is fast approaching! It's a holiday I've always loved, even more so since my first Valentine's Day with Abel (which I blogged about last year). I'm still brainstorming my idea for this year's handmade card for him. Last year's ended up pretty cute. I traced my hand and Lucas's hand and cut them out. Then, I glued their "wrists" to the back of a flat note card so that they came around the front where I intertwined the fingers to "close" the note. There was a message from Lucas and me on the inside. I certainly don't strive for perfection with these cards--the cheesier and more homemade looking, the better!

Tomorrow Lucas and I will be "writing" out some Valentine notes to send to our far-away family members. Before Christmas I ordered 10 of these caricature note cards from VistaPrint. (A site I learned about from A Parent in Silver Spring: they offer all these great products for free, you just pay shipping!) Since I already had enough Christmas cards, I turned them into Valentine's Day cards!


If you are planning on sending out electronic Valentine messages, you can make your own personalized candy hearts (like mine above) here.

Abel noticed me cherry picking my favorite candy heart colors last night. I eat the white, yellow and green first. I'm neutral on orange but really dislike the pink and purple. How about you?

Inauguration and the Purple Gate, Part 2

Wow.

Obviously I knew that there were thousands of fellow purple gate ticket holders who, like me, were unable to get into the inauguration, because I was standing in the mob scene yesterday morning with them. But, for some reason, I was still surprised when later in the evening at a fun, low-key election night party, I heard that several people had the same experience. And then the comments just started flowing in on my previous post. People who Googled "inauguration purple gate" got my post at the top of the page--my blog traffic increased by 150%.

On one hand, it is nice to know that Abel and I weren't alone in our disappointing experience. On the other hand, I feel so terrible for the many, many people whose stories were much worse than ours. Thank goodness we weren't actually inside the 3rd street tunnel. I am certain I would have really freaked out. Thank goodness we hadn't spent thousands of dollars to get to Washington, DC for the event. I truly count our blessings and hope that all those other folks are, at some point, able to look back on the day with some positive feelings and not just the bitter disappointment and anger they most certainly were entitled to feel initially.

Here are some updates on the story in general.

1) The saga of the purple gate and purple ticket holders is getting reported in the news media.

The Washington Post has reported it. Laura Sullivan reported the story on NPR. Interesting to note that Sullivan reports that the DC Police take no responsibility for that section, despite the fact that the very few people "in charge" that I did see were indeed DC Police Officers. The Secret Service has no comment (my guess is that they never comment) and the Capitol Police hadn't returned NPR's phone calls for the story.

2) Congressional leaders have taken notice.

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies issued a statement today saying that the committee "deeply regrets that some ticket holders were not able to get to their ticketed sections, primarily in the purple and blue sections. They promise to "thoroughly examine every aspect...to prevent similar problems."

Alaska Representative Don Young is circulating a "Dear Colleague" letter. While Young would be pretty far down the list of my favorite Members of Congress, his letter reportedly states, "it was a failure in planning and organization which must be explained." The fact that he plans to send it to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA.), chairwoman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, will certainly make one of my anonymous commenters happy.

4) The story is all over the blogosphere. Seems that many bloggers had purple tickets, including Queen of Spain, Mama Bird Diaries, Technosailor and I'm sure many, many others. Maybe by 2013 they'll be smart enough to give the bloggers tickets to the sections that do work :)

5) Finally, to finish on a light note: purple ticket holders (and others) left out of the ceremony can commiserate on Facebook! Join the "Survivors of the Purple Tunnel of Doom" group. As of this posting there are more than 2,000 members, including yours truly, of course!

May I ask you a favor?

I have a favor to ask of you, dear readers. It's easy and fun: don't worry!

First, some background. A dear friend in real life and in the blogosphere, Amy of Organized Living by Amy, is pregnant with her first child (a girl!!) and due in just over a month!

Wonderful wonderful news! Yes!

And! No!

What?

Well, that the dear girl, who has many, many close girlfriends here in the DC metro area, just had to move down South leaving us, her friends, so so far away.

We realized we couldn't all fly down to Nashville to throw her a shower. And, we couldn't expect a very preggers Amy to fly up to DC for one either.

So what are good friends to do?

Why throw her a "Week of Well Wishes" shower from afar, of course!

Her week began earlier this afternoon with flowers and a somewhat-vague-note to telling her to enjoy her "Week of Well Wishes". She has no idea what else is coming (and I can't reveal that here, either, as she's an avid Smiling Mama reader).

But doesn't this sound like fun? Like the kind of fun you just have to get in on?

Of course!

Here's how you can help make Amy's Week of Well Wishes extra-special: head on over to her blog and leave a comment wishing her well. Or, drop her an e-mail.

Thanks! You're the best!

(To thank you, after Amy's week has concluded, I'll post some ideas about how to throw your own baby or bridal shower from afar!)

Comments, please!

I had no idea that today was National Delurking Day, but it is! So, I've been busy leaving comments here comments there comments comments everywhere!

If you write a blog then you already know that receiving a comment is pretty much the bestest feeling ever. So, I would be oh-so-grateful if you left a comment for me. Pretty please!

And, if you have a blog then be sure to fill that line in on the comment form--that way I can head on over and read you, too!

Not sure what to say? Well, anything will do, but here are a few suggestions: tell me the best part of this past weekend or where you will watch (if you watch) the Inauguration next week or how cold (or warm?) it was this morning where you live (chilly 27 degrees here!) or any little fun fact about yourself.

Thanks and luv you bunches!

xoxoxo Smiling Mama

Don't hate me because I'm lucky

I've posted before about my luck in winning contests. And, am very pleased to report that the streak has continued in the bloggy world. Recently I won Tech Savvy Mama's year-long membership to Sitter City. And, in just the past few days, I've been notified that I won Mummy Product Reviews' giveaway of a one year subscription to Brain, Child magazine and two tickets to the Spy Museum from Passion and Art.

I'm particularly excited about these three prizes because they are just so darn useful. I mean, who isn't constantly on the look out for a babysitter? Brain, Child is described as a magazine for "thinking moms" and what am I if not an over thinking mom? Finally, the Spy Museum. I've been wanting to go since it opened, but I have never been able to bring myself to pay to get into a Washington, DC museum. There are so many free museums that I don't go to enough, why pay for one? Now that I have two tickets for free admission, I can't wait to check it out!

Thanks Leticia, Victoria and Kim, for these great prizes that are helping me to keep my sanity during what has been a very trying few weeks in the Smiling Mama household.

Correction

The editors of this blog would like to make a clarification. Abel's symptoms, which led him to go to the doctor earlier this week, included, but were not limited to, the following: multiple sneezes, numerous moderate-to-severe episodes of coughing, and chills which may have indicated a feverish state. The author would like to further clarify that she has been known to visit the doctor herself, before death occurs. The mention of "two sneezes" v. "I'm dying" in this post was not a true fact but rather was meant to illustrate that the author's husband is generally more quick to visit a doctor than the author herself is. While occasionally the author may poke fun at her husband for being a "wimp" when it comes to being sick, she acknowledges that sometimes it is good to have him to balance her d0-not-ever-go-to-the-doctor tendencies, for example, back in May when he forced her to go to the doctor and if she had not, she may have, in fact, died.

And, since we are clearing the air here, the author would like to clarify that despite the fact that this post may have led you to believe that the author herself cleaned the shower/bathtub on this particular day, that is not correct. In fact, the author's husband cleaned the shower on that particular day. The author would like to point out, however, that she did put the liner into the washing machine. And, that 99.9% of the time that the shower gets cleaned it is due to her personal efforts.

Also, despite what the second word of this post may lead you to believe, there are no "editors" of this blog, just the author herself.

Readers of Smiling Mama can be assured that no creative license is taken with this blog. All stories are 100% true and accurate as reported. You have a very strict quality control reader in the author's husband.

(You know, Confession is sacrament non grata among Catholics these days, and generally misunderstood by non-Catholics. But, one thing about confessing your sins is that you sure do feel good afterwards!)

Winner: Mommy's High Heel Shoes

Congratulations to comment #2, Dr. Blondie, who wrote: I LOVE children's books and this one sounds like a good one! At the moment, I love my new pair of trendy black sketchers because they are saving my feet today (a few walking trips across campus are on the agenda).

You're signed copy of Mommy's High Heel Shoes is on its way!



I'm happy to be able to offer everyone else a 10% discount (through December 31). Just use the coupon code "smile" here. And, if you don't want to take my word that this is a fabulous book, it also made Tech Savvy Mama's Holiday Gift Guide!

Congratulations again, Dr. Blondie!

BlogHer Reach Out Tour

I've attended many-a-conference in my days, both personal and professional. But, let me tell you, I've never attended one with such amazing food and so many laptops!

Yesterday was the BlogHer Reach Out Tour DC and I was there!

Even though it was a conference about blogging, the best part for me was hanging out with so many great people. It was so much fun to be there with long-time real life friends (and awesome bloggers!) Diana and Dr. Blondie. And, really great to meet some of my favorite blog friends and many awesome DC Metro Moms like Jodifur, Banana Blueberry, Sue and Pundit Mom.

What did I learn at BlogHer DC?

1) I need a laptop! Preferably a MacBook, please.
2)I know more than I thought I did about blogging but have a lot more to learn.
3) There are some amazing women bloggers in the DC-area and many of them are not mommy bloggers!
4) Twitter! I must join twitter!
5) Must get blogging business cards!