Well, by now, I've packed my bags and I'm about to head south for my 2nd professional conference, Type-A-Mom! My head is in a totally different place this time around. My 1st conference was Blissdom last Febuary and my experience there was good but I learned a lot about how to approach an event like this. Since last winter, I've made some new friends in the blogging community so much so that I've gained a roommate from Pittsburgh and her and 2 other local moms who blog will be travel buddies for this one. The four of us are lucky to be traveling south to Asheville NC together in a brand spankin' new 2011 Chevy Traverse. (Thank you Chevy for sponsoring our ride!)
To follow the Type-A-Mom Conference live tweets you can watch here for live up to the second updates about what people are seeing, hearing and doing at Type-A-Mom. This part of the post is for a class assignment and I would love your feedback. Let me know what you think of this feature. Seeing live streaming Twitter conversations is just a teeny tiny little part of what this feature can actually do.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Lunch with Hannah Keeley and More on Feeding America with Libby's!
Photo credit TheMotherhood.com
Last week I had the honor of lunching with some awesome Pittsburgh bloggers. We were there to meet with author Hannah Keeley and to work with Libby's to create meal kits for families in need. Libby's provided us with lunch and LOTS of cans for our meal kits which will be distributed to new homeowners of homes provided by Habitat of Humanity Pittsburgh. Us bloggers provided items to help each new family start a kitchen and to encourage them to bring their families back to the table. Items included conversation cards, oven mits, recipes, kitchen utensils and a lot more! Putting the kits together was a great part of the lunch and I'm happy to know that my work and time will be help someone in need.
You too can help a family in need by supporting my virtual can drive right over there ----> Even a donation of $5 will provide a meal to 35 families! Every little bit helps. If you're wishing to get involved too feel free to set up an account and host your own can drive on your own blog!
In addition to lunch and meal kit building we were treated to a discussion with Hanna Keeley. Wow, impressive woman, mom of SEVEN, wife and writer! We talked about how she encourages her family to enjoy their time at the dinner table. She talked about time saving tricks to get a wholesome meal on the table too and I'm pretty sure that inspired all of us to try some dump recipes so that we're prepared and able to make wholesome meals even on those busy days! (which is almost every day isn't it?)
As a thank you gift Hannah gave us copies of her book "Total Mom Makeover: The Six-Week Plan to Completely Transform Your Home, Health, Family, and Life"
I've started to read this book and let me tell you I'm excited about it! I have decided that upon my return home from the Type-A-Mom conference that I'm attending this week/weekend that I'm starting this makeover. My family and I all deserve a home that is organized and a mom who is less stressed out. I'll be blogging some of my daily journal entries (this is part of the makeover process). I haven't decided if I'm going to do that here or if I'll start a separate blog... I'll be sure to let my readers know.
*****I was compensated for this event but my feelings and thoughts are all my own.*****
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
I'm Feeding America! Wanna help?
Busy weeks ahead! Chris will be traveling for work this Friday through Thursday and then I leave that Thursday for a conference! The kids will get lots of grandparent time and thankfully the grandparents are ok with that!
To kick off these busy two weeks I have a fun event to attend this Thursday. I was contacted by TheMotherhood.com and Libby's to participate in a meal kit creation and virtual can drive for families in need. We will be creating meal kits this Thursday afternoon with Hannah Keeley. Hanna is a mom of seven (SEVEN!) children, hosts a television show and is an author. She's quite the organizational guru with a HUGE emphasis on family! I'm looking forward to meeting her during our lunch and learning from her.
You could get your chance to meet her as well, Thursday, September 16th at the Market District by Giant Eagle (5550 Centre Ave)! She will be presenting from 5-7pm and it's open to the public. Additionally, I'm hosting my own virtual can drive with Libby's which you can access over there to the right of the page. A donation of $5 will feed 35 families in need! Please help me to meet my goal!
Stay tuned for an update about our lunch and meeting Hannah and a fun giveaway from Libby's too!
To kick off these busy two weeks I have a fun event to attend this Thursday. I was contacted by TheMotherhood.com and Libby's to participate in a meal kit creation and virtual can drive for families in need. We will be creating meal kits this Thursday afternoon with Hannah Keeley. Hanna is a mom of seven (SEVEN!) children, hosts a television show and is an author. She's quite the organizational guru with a HUGE emphasis on family! I'm looking forward to meeting her during our lunch and learning from her.
You could get your chance to meet her as well, Thursday, September 16th at the Market District by Giant Eagle (5550 Centre Ave)! She will be presenting from 5-7pm and it's open to the public. Additionally, I'm hosting my own virtual can drive with Libby's which you can access over there to the right of the page. A donation of $5 will feed 35 families in need! Please help me to meet my goal!
Stay tuned for an update about our lunch and meeting Hannah and a fun giveaway from Libby's too!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Lots going on
And just like that it's September! Mid September at that! the semester has started for all FOUR of us again! Chris is back to work for the year, I'm taking more classes, Max is in the 4 yr old preschool program at his school and that means one thing right? He had a birthday! He's a full tried and true four year old inside and out. He is growing so much and changing every day it's amazing! His conversational skills are great now too. He has an opinion about anything and has become a very inquisitive little boy. Max started a question the other day like this, "Mom, I have a question and I'm very curious to know the answer." He went on to ask me, "What is thunder and lightning and how and why does it happen?" Yes, that was a 3 part question that required quite a lot of explaining... I love it!
As I mentioned above, the semester has started for all FOUR of us. Yep that's right my baby, Andy, is in school too this year. About a week and a half prior to Max heading back to school I decided to start researching a class that I could take to Andy once a week or so during the time that Max was in school. This proved to be downright impossible to find. However, in my searches I was directed to a school in Kennedy Township Called The Early Learning Institute (T.E.L.I.) (they have several locations in the Pittsburgh area for the local readers). This facility started out as a school for children with special needs but as their program grew it became a favorite place for families to send their young children who do not have special needs. T.E.L.I. now only has a few children with special needs and the majority are children without.
We took a tour, and signed him up. Andy is now part of their 2 yr old preschool program and LOVES it! He jumped right in on the first day with no issues with me leaving AT ALL! Such a big boy! the atmosphere is very laid back, they have a somewhat structured schedule, including circle time with stories and singing, play time, craft time and snack time. They mostly learn how to interact with others outside of the family dynamic, letters, numbers and the usual little guy stuff. One day a week and he's happy as a little lark because he gets to go to school too! I in turn am happy as a mama lark because I get ONE morning a week that I can do my own thing by myself! I can run, I can work, I can grab a coffee, I can go grocery shopping, I can do nothing (probably won't ever happen). It's a win - win for all of us!
One thing I'm already feeling I need some help with is finding healthy snacks for Max to take. I currently have organic animal crackers from Costco, those dried apples/pears, bananas, strawberries from Costco, Cheese sticks, fresh fruit, apple sauce... But I am worried these items will get old quickly... What healthy snack options do you use for your kids?
As I mentioned above, the semester has started for all FOUR of us. Yep that's right my baby, Andy, is in school too this year. About a week and a half prior to Max heading back to school I decided to start researching a class that I could take to Andy once a week or so during the time that Max was in school. This proved to be downright impossible to find. However, in my searches I was directed to a school in Kennedy Township Called The Early Learning Institute (T.E.L.I.) (they have several locations in the Pittsburgh area for the local readers). This facility started out as a school for children with special needs but as their program grew it became a favorite place for families to send their young children who do not have special needs. T.E.L.I. now only has a few children with special needs and the majority are children without.
We took a tour, and signed him up. Andy is now part of their 2 yr old preschool program and LOVES it! He jumped right in on the first day with no issues with me leaving AT ALL! Such a big boy! the atmosphere is very laid back, they have a somewhat structured schedule, including circle time with stories and singing, play time, craft time and snack time. They mostly learn how to interact with others outside of the family dynamic, letters, numbers and the usual little guy stuff. One day a week and he's happy as a little lark because he gets to go to school too! I in turn am happy as a mama lark because I get ONE morning a week that I can do my own thing by myself! I can run, I can work, I can grab a coffee, I can go grocery shopping, I can do nothing (probably won't ever happen). It's a win - win for all of us!
One thing I'm already feeling I need some help with is finding healthy snacks for Max to take. I currently have organic animal crackers from Costco, those dried apples/pears, bananas, strawberries from Costco, Cheese sticks, fresh fruit, apple sauce... But I am worried these items will get old quickly... What healthy snack options do you use for your kids?
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Vacation 2010
The grass is burnt, the flowers are loosing the battle with the summer heat too, we have spent nearly the last 4 months outside and we have just returned from vacation. What does it all mean? Summer 2010 is nearing it's end...
This summer we trekked north again to our family vacation spot on Cayuga Lake, one of the finger lakes in upstate New York. Not much changes there, the people come and go, every year the family number seemingly gets lower and that is in a word, tragic. It is however a known reality. Regardless, our time on the lake and IN the lake is always relaxing and fun!
This year we were lucky enough to work with Chevy and they provided us with a free ride there. Chevy loaned us a 2010 Traverse LTZ. This SUV was fully loaded with XM Radio, OnStar Directions and Connections (navigation), a ceiling mounted DVD entertainment system complete with two wireless headsets for the back seats(!)*cue angels singing*, and a TON more! Wow, what a ride this was, the DVD system alone made the trip so peaceful and enjoyable with our two toddlers that I've decided a portable dvd player is a must have before vacation 2011.
While at the lake we did the usual eat, swim, play and swim, eat, swim, nap, snack, swim, eat, swim/play routine nearly every day! It was glorious! I got to run on the lake road (awesome view the entire time and wow cooler temps really help... this muggy hot crap we've had for the last 6 weeks NEEDS to move on... my running is suffering)... The kids had fun, Chris and I had fun, the Grandparents had fun and so did the aunt and uncle even though they are lucky to still be able to pass said crazy toddler back to said responsible parent when things get a little out of control. Everyone lost a bit of their hearing due to said crazy toddlers but in the end I think everyone enjoyed the company of each other. The kids became much more comfortable in the water, although proper swim lessons are in order next Spring!
One afternoon the grandparents suggested that we take a few hours and hit up some winerys alone! Yippee! The kids were napping and Chris had done a little googling and found an interesting place to check out called Three Brothers Wineries & Estates. It featured three wineries and a brewery! Jackpot! We called the OnStar navigation operator, gave her the street address and she beamed the directions to the car! We listened to some hilarious comedy on the XM radio and the navigation system broke in when it was time to change course. It was GREAT! I had never used OnStar navigation before and I was quite impressed. It's easy to use and 100% hands free. That's a big plus!
The wineries were a HUGE hit! Three Brothers features three wineries as I mentioned already, there is the top of the hill, high end winery, there is the middle of the road, having some fun in the back seat winery which featured sweeter wines that would easily get ya tipsy if you split a bottle with your husband and there is Bagg Dare.... fashioned after a backwater town on the bayou complete with pirates(?), hoochies, rusted out trucks and misspelled words (lol). This was some hooch! but good hooch at that! I usually like a fairly dry red wine and these were not even close, but who doesn't like sweet cold alcoholic beverages on a hot summer day? We enjoyed it and had some fun trying new wines and talking with the folks that work there. We even bought a few bottles to bring home. Let's just say that stuff is pretty dangerous!
We also stopped at Americana Winery on the way back to the house and it offered very good dry wines that we also enjoyed. We had a good time talking to a guy there too - he reminded us several times that "this is America you can do anything you like!" Love it!
One morning we took the kids blueberry picking - it was super fun, here's a little video you can watch from that adventure:
Picking Blueberries from StartPoint Media on Vimeo.
By Friday it was time to pack up the car, take one last swim in the lake, have some lunch and hop in the Traverse for our trip back home. On our way out of town we stopped at Lively Run Goat Dairy where we took a tour and tasted some cheese! They had some kids who were 13 weeks old - SOOO cute! We brought home some YUMMY French Style Chevre goat cheese too!
Our drive home was a little less enjoyable due to toddlers and their potty habits and the monkey see monkey do mentality of a JUST potty trained 2 1/2 yr old... let's just say a 7 hour drive with 7 stops... NOT the best combo.
Fall is just a few weeks away, soon Max will be back in preschool (3 days a week this year), I'll be back in school for the semester and we'll have a normal schedule again. I think we all are in need of a little structure after our summer of fun!
This post is a bit of a hybrid post, a round up of our family vacation and a review for Chevy. They gave us the Traverse for the week with a full tank of gas and in return they have received some tweets mentioning Chevy and Traverse while we were on vacation. The opinions here are all my own.
This summer we trekked north again to our family vacation spot on Cayuga Lake, one of the finger lakes in upstate New York. Not much changes there, the people come and go, every year the family number seemingly gets lower and that is in a word, tragic. It is however a known reality. Regardless, our time on the lake and IN the lake is always relaxing and fun!
This year we were lucky enough to work with Chevy and they provided us with a free ride there. Chevy loaned us a 2010 Traverse LTZ. This SUV was fully loaded with XM Radio, OnStar Directions and Connections (navigation), a ceiling mounted DVD entertainment system complete with two wireless headsets for the back seats(!)*cue angels singing*, and a TON more! Wow, what a ride this was, the DVD system alone made the trip so peaceful and enjoyable with our two toddlers that I've decided a portable dvd player is a must have before vacation 2011.
While at the lake we did the usual eat, swim, play and swim, eat, swim, nap, snack, swim, eat, swim/play routine nearly every day! It was glorious! I got to run on the lake road (awesome view the entire time and wow cooler temps really help... this muggy hot crap we've had for the last 6 weeks NEEDS to move on... my running is suffering)... The kids had fun, Chris and I had fun, the Grandparents had fun and so did the aunt and uncle even though they are lucky to still be able to pass said crazy toddler back to said responsible parent when things get a little out of control. Everyone lost a bit of their hearing due to said crazy toddlers but in the end I think everyone enjoyed the company of each other. The kids became much more comfortable in the water, although proper swim lessons are in order next Spring!
One afternoon the grandparents suggested that we take a few hours and hit up some winerys alone! Yippee! The kids were napping and Chris had done a little googling and found an interesting place to check out called Three Brothers Wineries & Estates. It featured three wineries and a brewery! Jackpot! We called the OnStar navigation operator, gave her the street address and she beamed the directions to the car! We listened to some hilarious comedy on the XM radio and the navigation system broke in when it was time to change course. It was GREAT! I had never used OnStar navigation before and I was quite impressed. It's easy to use and 100% hands free. That's a big plus!
The wineries were a HUGE hit! Three Brothers features three wineries as I mentioned already, there is the top of the hill, high end winery, there is the middle of the road, having some fun in the back seat winery which featured sweeter wines that would easily get ya tipsy if you split a bottle with your husband and there is Bagg Dare.... fashioned after a backwater town on the bayou complete with pirates(?), hoochies, rusted out trucks and misspelled words (lol). This was some hooch! but good hooch at that! I usually like a fairly dry red wine and these were not even close, but who doesn't like sweet cold alcoholic beverages on a hot summer day? We enjoyed it and had some fun trying new wines and talking with the folks that work there. We even bought a few bottles to bring home. Let's just say that stuff is pretty dangerous!
We also stopped at Americana Winery on the way back to the house and it offered very good dry wines that we also enjoyed. We had a good time talking to a guy there too - he reminded us several times that "this is America you can do anything you like!" Love it!
One morning we took the kids blueberry picking - it was super fun, here's a little video you can watch from that adventure:
Picking Blueberries from StartPoint Media on Vimeo.
By Friday it was time to pack up the car, take one last swim in the lake, have some lunch and hop in the Traverse for our trip back home. On our way out of town we stopped at Lively Run Goat Dairy where we took a tour and tasted some cheese! They had some kids who were 13 weeks old - SOOO cute! We brought home some YUMMY French Style Chevre goat cheese too!
Our drive home was a little less enjoyable due to toddlers and their potty habits and the monkey see monkey do mentality of a JUST potty trained 2 1/2 yr old... let's just say a 7 hour drive with 7 stops... NOT the best combo.
Fall is just a few weeks away, soon Max will be back in preschool (3 days a week this year), I'll be back in school for the semester and we'll have a normal schedule again. I think we all are in need of a little structure after our summer of fun!
This post is a bit of a hybrid post, a round up of our family vacation and a review for Chevy. They gave us the Traverse for the week with a full tank of gas and in return they have received some tweets mentioning Chevy and Traverse while we were on vacation. The opinions here are all my own.
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