Mom It Forward

RSVP—Guy Kawasaki Joins #GNO This Week at Our Virtual Pajama Party Sponsored by My Mommy Manual

2009-04-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

What's a Pajama Party Without a GUY?

The fabulous Ria and Suzanne from My Mommy Manual and in partnership with Mom It Forward and the 12 for 12K team, are throwing the pajama party of all pajama parties and you're invited. In support of our 6-week focus on charity, service, and giving, they are raffling off a wide array of prizes with the proceeds going to Yehu Microfinance, Basa Body, and Coast Coconut Farms. Click here to enter to win!

What's more? Guy Kawasaki is joining in on the fun! After all, what's a pajama party without a GUY? Join us Tuesday, April 14 from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. eastern (8 CDT, 7 MDT, & 6 PDT) to chit and chat about tips for entrepreneurs—starting and running your own business and using social media to do it. Click here to RSVP for the party!

Guy Kawasaki is a managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm and a columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine. Previously, he was an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, Inc. Guy is the author of nine books including Reality Check, The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, Selling the Dream, and The Macintosh Way. He has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

When: Tues., Apr.14 from 9 pm to 1 a.m. EDT (8 CDT, 7 CDT, and 6 PDT)

What: Girl's Night Out (What's GNO? Click here to find out!)

Topic: Tips to Starting & Running Your Own Business—in conjunction with our charity to fight poverty in Kenya (Yehu, BasaBody, Coast Coconut Farms)

Where: Tweet Grid (use the #gno hashtag)and on UStream

Who: @guykawasaki, @riasharon, and @zenmommy

RSVP: Use Mr. Linky below (enter the twitter URL and your twitter ID (e.g., http://twitter.com/jyl_momIF). If you would like to include your blog, please enter it next to your name. Make sure to include your twitter URL in the URL line. Please do not enter your blog URL there.

How Do You Enter to Win the Giveaways?

My Mommy Manual has rounded up nearly $5,000 in prizes. Check out this short video below to see how to enter!

Click here to RSVP for this week's RSVP!!!

#GNO Makes a Difference—Social Community & Responsibility

2009-03-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

One Person Can Make a Difference!

When: Tues., Mar. 31 from 9 pm to 1 a.m. EDT (8 CDT, 7 CDT, and 6 PDT)

What: Girl's Night Out (What's GNO? Click here to find out!)

Topic: Social community & responsibility—kicking off our Mom It Forward Moms Helping Moms charity (Yehu, BasaBody, Coast Coconut Farms)!

Where: Tweet Grid (use the #gno hashtag)

Who: @ChrisBrogan, @dannybrown, @briancarter, Catherine from @herbadmother, Rainee Baldwin from @basabody, Troy Holmberg from @yehu_africa!

RSVP: Visit our new site at http://momitforward.com to RSVP.

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Photo by flickr.

What Is A Virtual Bake Sale?

2009-03-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

Kate (@asimplewalk) is a foodie author and owner of Cooking During Stolen Moments. (Love the pot in the window in her header..!) We met Kate at BlissDom09, I talked her into playing some board games one evening in fact!

Teaming up with Share Our Strength; Kate tells her story.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have been passionate about helping children that were less fortunate than myself. When I was in fifth grade, I began sponsoring a child through Christian Children's Fund with my allowance money. I loved giving in that way - feeling like I was doing something important for other children. Never in my life did I imagine that someday I might have children on the receiving end of that cycle.

But that is exactly what happened a few years ago. A series of events led to our family relying on the kindness of strangers and food pantry donations to see us through. I saw first hand the work and compassion of organizations whose first priority is making sure children are fed.

Now that the tide has turned toward the better for our family, I feel that same passion I did as a child, except this time I'm armed with first-hand experience. A commercial on Food Network for Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale really got me thinking. I knew I wanted to get involved. I tried to figure out what I could do that would have the greatest impact. That's when the idea of the Virtual Great American Bake Sale occurred to me.

I emailed Share Our Strength with my plans. I was thrilled when they responded that they loved the idea and set up a conference call with me.I partnered with them to create the official Virtual Great American Bake Sale.

I can't wait to see the power of the blogosphere in action. I hope you’ll join me in my vision to make the Virtual Great American Bake Sale a success. Let’s support Share Our Strength’s work to make sure that no child goes hungry!

You can read all of the details and find out how to participate on my blog, Cooking During Stolen Moments. Click the button to find out more!

~~~~~~~

Calling All Foodies! The virtual bake sale needs your recipes! Hurry, deadline is April 5th!

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How Can I Make My Blog Giveaways Better?

2009-03-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

Jessica is the founder of MomFuse.com a popular site for moms that features product reviews, awesome giveaways and so much more. When she started Mom Fuse she mainly wanted it to be a place where moms could come and get honest reviews on the products moms might use, this soon turned in to companies offering to host giveaways.

Giveaways are becoming very popular, especially with the way the economy is. Now, more than ever, people are getting online to find the best products for the lowest price or even for free.

Why do companies sponsor giveaways?
Companies sponsor contests and giveaways in order to get their products in the hands of consumers. Why? Because if you like a product you’ve tried, you are likely to tell someone you know. Hence, word of mouth marketing. This is also why companies want to get their products reviewed. Companies are seeking out more and more mom and family related blogs to do product reviews and giveaways.

If you’re hunting down companies to sponsor a giveaway or have been approached by a company that is interested in hosting a giveaway on your blog here are some simple tips to help make that giveaway a successful one.

1. Tell your readers why you would want the product.

Your readers trust you, if they didn’t, they wouldn’t read or subscribe to your blog. So, if the product you're giving away isn’t something you would want, why would they want it?

2. Make it easy to enter the giveaway.

I know when I visit blogs and enter giveaways, if the process of entering to win is too complicated or there is too much stuff to do, I won’t enter. —I am a stay at home mom to infant twins, I run MomFuse.com and the BartingMomsClub.com, and I like to spend time with my family. I don’t have the extra time to do a ton of extra stuff!

3. Promote, Promote, Promote

Promoting a giveaway is the only way people will know you have one. There are tons of free sites out there to list your giveaway (just do a Google search). There are also other blogs, like Mom Fuse, that allow you to list your giveaway. You would be surprised at how much extra traffic and giveaway entries you receive from these.

Twitter, which has become very popular, is also a good way to promote your giveaway or anything else terrific on your blog. Be sure not to come off as spammy. People don’t like spam or those who spam them.

Another great way to promote is to offer additional entries to those who post the contest info on their blogs. This not only helps spread the word about your giveaway but also gets people linking to your website and in turn getting you more visitors and better stats.

The bottom line, write a story, not just a review... companies will appreciate your creativity, and so will your readers!

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What's The Trick? How Can I Grow My Blog?

2009-03-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

Marie LeBaron is a 30 something stay at home mom to 3 silly kids. Before life as a mother, she graduated with a teaching degree in Early Childhood & Elementary Education, after which she taught four years of Kindergarten. After her first child was born, she decided to read books and sing silly songs at home. She misses the classroom, but she now gets to bring the fun and learning into her home and ours. You can follow more of her projects at her parenting blog Make and Takes.

Here's a few tips and tricks to help increase traffic to your blog.
As I've been blogging for 2 years and currently have just over 4,100 daily subscribers, I know most of these tips have helped my own readership grow.

Niche Blogging - Find your passion and blog about it. It's much easier and comes more naturally if you blog about something you love. It could be food, parenting, photography, knitting, design etc. If you're genuine and real in your posts, people respond to that and want to read more.

Submitting Posts - There are some great sites that take submissions for related posts and can bring you new readers. Here's a few to check out:

Stumble Upon - here you must submit other sites as well as your own.

Kirtsy, Digg, Delightful

Craftzine, Get Crafty, The Craft Crow, Tip Junkie

Tastespotting, Foodgawker, FoodPhotoBlog

How-To Type Posts - A post with a recipe or directions to make something are very popular with sites like Stumble Upon or Kirsty. They tend to bring a lot of traffic, as people love to see how to make things for themselves.

Use Twitter as a Business Card - Twitter is great for building relationships with people, but it can also be great for sharing your site with others. Try to follow people who are in your area of interest. Chances are they will see your profile and click on your blog link, seeing who you are and maybe staying a while.

Responding to Comments - When someone leaves a comment on your blog, try to comment back or even email back to readers who may be new to your blog. It helps them feel welcome and you can say thanks for sharing their comment. Chances are they'll find you took the time to say hi and they'll come back to read more.

Leaving Comments - Visit other people's blogs and share a comment. Who doesn't love to get comments? Read their posts and comment with something relevant to add, letting them know you're genuine!

I hope these tips and tricks help. What else have you found to help increase traffic to your site?

Photo by flickr.

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Don’t Leave All Your Love on Twitter

2009-03-24T23:02:00.000-07:00

Today's post is brought to you by the amazing Twin Turbo charged team from 5 Minutes For Mom! Janice and Susan are the duo dynamo behind th fabulous phenomenon known as The Ultimate Blog Party. Have you SEEN it? THOUSANDS of participants!

Written by Janice:

I ADORE Twitter. I should be a Twitter Evangelist!

Anyone have blogging questions? See if I can help? #gno

It is one of my favorite social media tools. Through 140-character-or-less masterpieces, which are fast and fun to write and get instantaneous responses, I can develop my social media footprint, drive traffic to my sites, and, most importantly, connect with an ocean of people, many of whom I might never otherwise get the chance to meet. I can talk to Darren Rowse. (@problogger) And you never know – he might just talk back! THEN a whole lot of people would see him talking to little old me!

But even if Darren Rowse doesn’t follow me back or even answer my tweet, there are thousands of other wonderful tweets that are waiting for me. There is a vast world of twitter friends and I am on my way to finding each one of them, one tweet and follow at a time. Yes, that kind of interaction and opportunity is just plain exciting.

But there is More...

Twitter is a networking party, a chance to mingle and connect. We chat, catch up and even introduce one another. We laugh and have fun. We cheer each other up and cheer each other on. And sometimes, in the middle of it all, we drop in some self promoting links.

But, I have found the most valuable rewards of Twitter come when my Twitter friends and I leave TweetDeck or TweetGrid and delve into deeper relationships. Through visiting their blogs and websites, commenting and engaging in these different forums, I get to know my Twitter friends better. We develop stronger bonds and a better understanding of each other. Through events like Tweet Ups, conferences, and parties, we are able to establish “In Real Life” connections that solidify our online connections taking us to the next level of friendship and loyalty.

What are YOU doing with your Twitter Love? A reply comes in from a stranger. Wow – a new friend! Someone heard my tweet and cared enough to tweet back. It is a magical feeling really. It makes the world cosier and certainly more fun. It is connection – the nature of Twitter. We tweet back and forth. We follow each other. We are Twitter friends. And that Twitter friend might just become one of my best friends and my most loyal ally. But I will never know if I don’t take that connection to the next level.

So what do you need to do to ensure you get the most out of Twitter?

Take a minute and take a chance. Jump over to your new followers’ blogs, leave comments on posts, and get to know them beyond the 140 character format. Chances are, if you like them in short form, long form will be a great fit too! Get out to Tweet Ups and other IRL events. As wonderful as technology is, nothing can replace meeting in person. It is a wonderful feeling when an online friend becomes a real life friend. Support each other. Promote each other. On Twitter and off, there are so many ways to help each other. Just like at Christmas, it is better to give than to receive. (But don’t worry - you will probably have your share of receiving too!)

Yes, following up on Twitter friendships takes time. And you probably don’t have time to invest in every Twitter reply or follow you have. But it will serve you well to take all that love you have found on Twitter and let it grow both on and off your Twitter app.

Photos from flickr and flickr.

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Park City Mountain Resort Vacation Giveaway Winner!

2009-03-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

Can you even imagine how hard it must have been to choose a winner from over 100 nominations!

When we asked you to nominate someone who exhibited Mom it Forward's Mission in your lives, we had no idea just how amazing all these entries would be!

Think of a person who has made a big difference in your life. Someone that embraces the Mom It Forward mission. Someone that lifts others, has overcome challenges with a smile, is a positive force for good, or just makes your world a better place.

So many people—you, your own moms and a few extraordinary husbands and dads—nominated people to win in the true spirit of Mom It Forward! It was so fun to watch the nominations come in and to be touched by every single one of them.

We dare you to read through all of the nominations both on the Mom It Forward Site and the Park City Mountain Resort Snow Mamas Site. Could you make that decision?

A panel from Park City Mountain Resort has been given that task, and without further ado, let's announce the winner of:

Lodging for up to 6 people (3 nights, 4 days) in a 2-bedroom, 5-star condo

Dinner vouchers for 3 nights for the entire family

Resort Passes good for 3 days, including a wide range of family activities such as a climbing wall, an Alpine Slide, a Human Maze, miniature golfing, a Zip Rider, mountain biking and hiking, and more (valid between May and August 2009)

And the Lucky Winner Is...

Congratulations to Jessica Whitt at Go Blog Yourself, Tonya Staab nominated you to win!

Here is her entry:

I'm Tonya Staab
I would love to nominate Jessica Whitt for this trip. She is truly an inspiration. Jess very recently had the most devastating loss any mother could imagine. One of her 2 year old girls lost her battle with neuroblastoma. She has shown nothing but strength and courage and love throughout the days and nights spent in and out of the hospital to saying goodbye to her beautiful little girl. Jess is one of the most wonderful women I know. She's the type of person who is always there when you need a shoulder to cry on, even when she is going through so much herself and she truly is the sweetest person I know and such amazing mother.
I would also like to direct you to a cause that Jess whole-heartedly believes in (aside from raising money for Neuroblastoma and childhood cancer). Prior to her little girl being diagnosed, she started a blog called Will Play For Food http://playforfood.blogspot.com/ . The premise of this blog is to encourage parents to get their children involved in donating to charities. Primarily food banks. Mother's organize play dates in their local areas and each person attending brings food to donate to their local food bank. Such a worthy cause and a wonderful way to get your children involved in helping others. This is the type of person Jess is.
Jess is a dear friend of mine and I know she deserves this. Her family needs this.
Her blog address is: Half12.

Please contact momitforward [at] gmail [dot] com to get details about your upcoming summer luxury vacation at the Park City Mountain Resort.

Thanks PCMR for sponsoring this giveaway!

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Blogging Tips, Techniques, and Perks! RSVP Here!

2009-03-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

It's an Ultimate Blogging/Birthday Party at #GNO This Week!

5 Minutes for Mom is holding their annual Ultimate Blog Party and Mom It Forward is jumping in FEET first to party with them! #GNO will be talking blogging all night this Tuesday with amazing expert bloggesses, excited to share the tips and techniques to their blogging success as well as some of the perks they've experienced from blogging! Come learn, ask questions, share your expertise along with them, and party with your favorite #gno gals.

Plus... Jyl and Carissa are turning 29 (again!) this week. Have a piece of virtual birthday cake to celebrate with them! Mmmmmmmmmm! (Photo courtesy of Flickr.com.)

When: Tues., Mar. 24 from 9 pm to midnight EDT (8 CDT, 7 CDT, and 6 PDT)

What: Girl's Night Out (What's GNO? Click here to find out!)

Topic: Blogging!

Where: Tweet Grid (use the #gno hashtag)

Who: @5minutesformom (Susan Carraretto), @eMom (Wendy Piersall), and @makeandtakes (Marie LeBaron)!

RSVP: Use Mr. Linky below (enter the twitter URL and your twitter ID (e.g., http://twitter.com/jyl_momIF). If you would like to include your blog, please enter it next to your name. Make sure to include your twitter URL in the URL line. Please do not enter your blog URL there.

Please enter your twitter URL and not your blog URL in the RSVP list.

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#GNO Live—Moms Helping Moms Fundraiser

2009-03-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

Meet Up With #GNO Gals for a Great Cause Sat., Apr. 18 in the US, Canada, & Australia

Mom It Forward, in partnership with 12 for 12K, is kicking off 6-weeks of fundraising for moms and by moms (Tuesday, March 31 through Tuesday May 13) and we need your help!

On Saturday, April 18, Mom It Forward and 12 for 12K events will be taking place all over the US, in Canada, and in Australia (see list of locations below) to raise funds and awareness for Yehu Microfinance, BasaBody, and Coast Coconut Farms. The goal? To combat poverty by empowering poor rural entrepreneurs in Kenya to help lift themselves out of poverty through enhanced accessibility to sustainable financial services, business opportunities, and skills training.

Yehu Microfinance, BasaBody, and Coast Coconut Farms work together to achieve this mission. How? First, women secure micro loans from Yehu Microfinance. Next, they purchase a franchise from Coast Coconut Farms, which gives them the materials, skills/business training, and opportunity to run a coconut oil extraction business right from their village. Then, Coast Coconut Farms makes regular village runs to purchase the coconut oil and processes it in its plant. Finally, Coast Coconut Farms exports the oil to the U.S. where volunteers there use the oil to create and sell bath, body, and cooking products—part of the Basa Body and Coast Coconut Farms product lines—returning the proceeds right back to Africa to help more and more women.

How Can You Help?

Our goal is to raise $35,000 for Yehu Microfinance (click here to learn more about donations) and sell $5,000 worth of Basa Body and Coast Coconut Farms product like mint chocolate truffle and cherry soap with coconut oil (shown left) or hand lotion (shown below). Cash donations or product purchases is certainly one way to help and is much appreciated.

We recognize not everyone can donate cash during these tough financial times. Therefore, we have come up with many ways to contribute:

Be part of a Moms Helping Moms event planning committee in your area.
Volunteer at a Moms Helping Moms event.
Donate product or services for the event (the venue, food, raffle items, etc.).
Help us publicize it on and offline.
Attend the event.
If there is not an event listed for your area, consider putting one together. We have a team and materials in place to help with this initiative.

Where Are Events Taking Place?

Mom It Forward and 12 for 12K are working with volunteers within our communities all over the US, Canada, and Australia to support Yehu Microfinance, BasaBody, and Coast Coconut Farms through fundraising efforts. The live events listed below (details to come) are being planned and carried out by amazingly giving teams of volunteers in local areas. The success of these events relies on terrific volunteer involvement and every team is looking for help. If you have time, services, or products you would be willing to donate, please e-mail us at momitforward AT gmail DOT com so we can put you in touch with the team leader in your area.

Note: Hyperlinked cities mean there is a Facebook group already formed for this team. If you are near one of these cities and would like to contribute, please click on the link, join the Facebook team, and let the team know how you'd like to contribute. Thanks!

The United States
Chicago, IL
Dallas/Ft Worth, TX
DC Metro (DC/MD/VA)
Kansas City, MO
Milwaukee, WI
Nashville, TN
New York City, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Portland, OR
Raleigh, NC
Salt Lake City, UT
San Diego, CA

Canada
Toronto
Vancouver

Australia
Sydney

If you are interested in participating or having an event in your area, please contact us at momitforward AT gmail DOT com. Thanks for your interest! Together, we can change the world one mom at a time!

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Kids Easter Crafts Service Project—Fun for the Family!

2009-03-21T13:52:00.001-07:00

Serve Side By Side With Your Children Saturday, March 28 in Salt Lake City!

Want to teach your children the value of service and giving? We have just the opportunity for you! Take advantage of this amazing service project, hosted by Mom It Forward and sponsored by Make and Takes and Provo Craft, where you can serve side by side with your children all for a great cause.

What: We'll be making spring crafts and ornaments to decorate the "April Tree" for the Christmas Box House.

When: Saturday, March 28 from 10 a.m to 12 p.m.

Where: The Christmas Box House—3660 S. West Temple

RSVP: Please click here to RSVP by 3/26 so we can purchase the right amount of materials and food. In your RSVP, be sure to mention how many people will be coming in your party.

For More Information: Please contact marie [at] makeandtakes [dot] com or momitforward [at] gmail [dot] with "Christmas Box House" in the subject line.

(Photo used with permission from Flickr.com)

What Is the Christmas Box House?

In 1997, The Christmas Box Foundation, with support from the community, agreed to fund and build a new shelter intake/ assessment and residential facility. This facility has greatly enhanced services to abused and neglected children and reflects a statewide model for delivery of best practice assessment and treatment services to victims of child abuse.

The Christmas Box House provides:

Emergency residential services, 24 hours a day, 7 days-a-week, to children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect, or a foster care placement failure.
Emergency intake and assessment services, based on a multi-disciplinary treatment approach, are available around-the-clock for youth to address their emotional, physical, educational and placement needs.
The Residential Unit provides specialized care for a maximum of 34 children, ages 0-11. It provides state-of-the-art comprehensive services, which reflect best practice and innovative breakthroughs in childcare.
Over 45 licensed Resource Homes within the community provide nurturing care to children for up to 28 days. Last year Resource families provided care within their homes for 619 children.
For current volunteer and donation needs, please contact Tammy Champo at 801-269-7506, tchampo@slco.org, or Elisbeth Williams at 284-3301, elisabeth@thechristmasboxhouse.org.

(Information and picture taken directly from http://www.cbh.slco.org/.)

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What Is Composting, And How Can I Start?

2009-03-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

Daisy's garden is still under a blanket of snow, so she satisfies her gardening itch by blogging at Compost Happens, A Mother's Garden of Verses, and Mid-Century Modern Moms -- that is, when she's not at her day job as an elementary teacher.

Hi, I’m Daisy, and I compost in my backyard.

You could call me an urban composter, although my home city is more suburban in size and style. I have a bin in the backyard, a bucket in the kitchen, and a small pitchfork and shovel in the garage. These are my tools, and this is my story.

I gather more kitchen garbage than I ever thought possible and dump it in the bin. Layered with grass clippings, weeds, and the occasional pile of leaves, the mixture, well, rots. Slowly but surely, it decomposes and becomes again one with the soil. I stir it once in a while with a pitchfork or turn the layers with a shovel, but that’s about all. Compost, as they say, happens. And it often happens not because of my efforts, but regardless of what I do.

My bin is simple. It looks like a large black garbage can, but it has no bottom. The lid is easy for me to take off, but somehow the raccoons haven’t gotten into it. Husband bought it for me several years ago, assuring me that it is made from recycled plastics.

Regular ingredients in my compost include coffee grounds, banana peels, apple cores, potato peelings, and melon rinds. Children prefer not to eat the heel of the bread? Compost. Bag of chips down to the crumbs? Compost. Shucking corn on the cob from the farmer’s market? Put the husks in the compost. Some of my more unusual ingredients have included wax paper covered with cookie crumbs, the paper wrapper from a fast food sandwich, and paper towels used to wipe up a spill. We’ll add small amounts of grass clippings because large layers tend to mildew and not mix well with the rest. The contents of our pet rabbits’ litter boxes can go in the compost on occasion, but again, not too much or it simply won’t decompose completely. In the autumn, the fallen leaves will provide the final top layer before winter sets in and it‘s too cold for the process to work.

There is very little that can’t go in the compost. Eggshells might work in warmer climates; here, they still look like eggshells months later. I use them to fertilize my tomato plants instead. Meat, dairy, and seafood are not good ingredients because they decompose slowly or because the smell will attract wildlife you might rather not host in your backyard.
There are specific "recipes" a home composter can use, but I'm pretty easy about it. If the compost is too dry, I add more wet ingredients (and I use the term ingredients loosely). If it's too wet, I start adding dry ingredients like dried grass clippings. But sometimes the decomposition doesn’t go smoothly.

Imagine the following: Husband added a batch of wet grass clippings after he mowed the lawn last. Usually grass clippings in small amounts work great; the heat of the pile increases, speeding up the process, and the grass itself decomposes quickly. This time, though, the Week of Constant Rain hit the Midwest. The additional moisture made the grass clump together, develop mildew, and stink. The continuous rain made any other dry ingredients that were set aside, well, just as wet as the grass clippings. The result: a very malodorous compost soup.

When this happens, I add the usual kitchen waste and stir what I can to separate the clumps of green and, um, grey-green. If the sun stays out, sometimes there is hope for a few dry stacks from the beyond-bloom daylilies and other past-their-prime perennials. If all else fails, there’s always shredded newspaper.

I was chatting with a teaching colleague, discussing the fast pace of our jobs and how weeding and composting give me such pleasure. An environmental science teacher, she understood completely. She knew that sometimes, we just have to sit back and let nature’s cycles take life at their own speed. In this fast paced, oft-wasteful world, it feels good to take action on a small scale. Composting does that for me.

In our climate (northeastern Wisconsin), composting only works for about half the year. Every spring we spread the previous year’s compost on the garden, and then the whole cycle starts again. No matter how much or how little I work with the contents of my bin, each spring I have a pile of luscious, deep brown compost to mix with my garden soil. Compost, no matter what I do, will happen.

This post is a combination of two posts written previously. My yard and garden are still covered with snow, but I'm ready to spread the spring compost layer as soon as the white stuff melts.

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How Do You Shave Your Head Without Caring?

2009-03-19T21:02:00.000-07:00

Jay from HalftimeLessons.com is a husband, daddy, and fledgling writer. He started Halftime Lessons to talk about his journey across life's halfway point, and fights for balance between his loves...his family, work, blog, and raising money for St. Baldrick's children's cancer research. To learn more about this amazing cause visit HalftimeLessons.com where you can also enter the HUGE contest ending tomorrow, when Jay shaves his head!!

Most people can't shave it all off. I mean, it's your hair, for goodness sake. What if it doesn't come back the same? How 'bout if your head decides that hair color is just a pain in the butt, and grey is just...well...easier?

In March of '08 I faced these fears for the first time. I raised money for children's cancer research for St. Baldrick's, and got in line to shave my head in empathy to those kids who didn't get to make a similar choice, and my knees started to shake.

And then it happened.

My friend and event coordinator, Chandra, had us look up to the windows of the hospital oncology wing where the kids were waving down at us.

And I stopped caring about the hair, and started caring about the kids. And so tomorrow, I am going to shave my head again. I've raised some money, my bags are packed, and I could care less about my hair. So how do you shave your head without caring? Well, you can't.

I can't shake the feeling of excitement in me, and I don't want to. I hope I get the goosebumps all day again. I hope I can stop crying. I hope my mom is proud. I hope my cousin is watching.

And I hope, for them.

Jay @ HalftimeLessons.com

Would you like to read more? Why don't you come see the HUGE contest Jay has going, and help if you can?

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Can You Survive Without a Grocery Store?

2009-03-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

Jean Ann has an organic garden coaching business in the Portland, OR. She teaches people how to grow their own food on her blog, Gardener to Farmer and in her GYO groups on Facebook and MySpace . Recently, she partnered with Susan Harris of Garden Rant fame to develop a collaborative directory that would serve as a starting point for people searching for Garden Coaches anywhere in the world.

There are several reasons why now is the right time to learn to grow your own food...

Cost savings
Certainty of production methods
Supporting your local community

Lots of writing and conversation has come forth about the return of the Victory Garden…and I don’t mean the TV show.

There was a time when we knew how to take care of ourselves in this way. We could grow and harvest our own fruits and vegetables, care for our own chickens, and milk our own cows. Even in the past 50 years or so, the family veggie garden was a common part of life.

Then we went and got all “citified”. Stopped relying on ourselves and started buying into the myth that getting our produce from the grocery store was a better idea. And the more we purchased, the more big agriculture grew, finding new chemicals and genetic modification practices to increase yields and length of storage.

Looking back on it, I can understand why we were eager to embrace “progress”. It was an amazing time saver, particularly for women who were raising a family and working full time. I mean, who had time to put in a full garden?

But in embracing this cultural shift, we’ve lost our respect for food. We have lost the understanding of what it means to value the earth and the bounty that it provides. We’ve lost touch with small farmers, now struggling to survive. We’ve lost the ability to provide for ourselves. And this is a bad time to not know how to provide for ourselves.

The biggest hurdle we face in returning to some level of food self-sufficiency is overcoming the notion that buying produce at the local grocery is a good strategy for healthy living. As we hear report after report of harmful bacteria in our fresh and packaged food supply, consumers trust mass production less and less. Toxic sprays and other inorganic farming methods can harm the environment and our bodies. And we have no idea of the long term ramifications of modifying our food through unnatural genetic manipulation.

The good news is that it takes very little to reclaim our past. Anyone can grow their own food, even if it is in pots on a balcony or in a sunny window, you can grow some portion of the produce you need to sustain your life. Seeds, soil and pots can be found for little to no cost. Taking small steps as an individual can make a big difference and by choosing to grow your own food and frequenting local organic farms, you help strengthen your community.

By not buying produce from big agriculture, you are using your money to vote for change. Together, we can make a difference.

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How Gardening Saves Lives

2009-03-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

Shawna Lee Coronado is an author, locally syndicated newspaper columnist, energetic speaker, and environmental and health correspondent. Her book “Gardening Nude” is focused on health improvement by exposure to nature, greening, and community building and can be purchased on Amazon.com. Find more about Shawna through her website – The Casual Gardener.

The Healing Benefits of Gardening

Over 10 years ago, I was very ill of health. A single Mom, I had endometriosis, combined with stress, lack of outdoor exposure, poor eating habits, severe allergies, high blood pressure, asthma, sugar and chemical sensitivities. This escalated to severe upper respiratory problems. I was always sick with bronchitis triggered by allergies as well as non-stop woman issues such as yeast and bacterial infections, and I frequently suffered migraines and head and back pain.

All these things and many other pressures began to build in my life. Before I knew it I looked like a skeletal stick figure and weighed only 96 pounds. My back would go out often and I would be left unable to walk for days or even a week at a time. I worked and came home and rarely went out doors. At one point I took over a dozen prescriptions a day just to survive. It was a grim existence.

One day a surprising thing happened that changed my life; I got the genius idea to build a garden on the city easement area around my front mail box. That experience was the beginning of an incredible journey for me both emotionally and physically. It was a revelation and within a few years, “down-sized” my career, became a professional garden designer and full-time writer. I feel better and look better than I ever have – I am thirty pounds heavier than I was ten years ago, but I look healthy and feel well. It is still necessary for me to take prescriptions, but now I only take three per day instead of over a dozen.

Many gardens later, I am still gardening heartily. As I became exposed to the outdoors and increased my physical activity, I started feeling relief with all my health ailments. Better diet, exercise, and outdoor exposure truly helped me to recover and feel as if I am alive again. Although far from perfect, it was such a tremendous change that I still feel it could be called “a miracle.” Building my health back through gardening had become such an amazing experience for me that I decided to write about it and published “Gardening Nude” in 2008. It is a book about better health through environmental exposure and greening.

All thanks to a garden and one determined woman.

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RSVP & Talk Gardening With GNO Tuesday!

2009-03-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

What's on the #GNO Lineup This Week?

Topic: Gardening!

What: Gir's Night Out (What's GNO? Click here to find out!)

Where: Tweet Grid (use the #gno hashtag)

When: 9 pm EST (8 CST, 7 CST, and 6 PST)

Who: JeanAnn Krevelen: @JeanAnnVK and Shawna Coronado: @shawnacoronado.

RSVP: Use Mr. Linky below (enter the twitter URL and your twitter ID (e.g., http://twitter.com/jyl_momIF). If you would like to include your blog, please enter it next to your name. Make sure to include your twitter URL in the URL line. Please do not enter your blog URL there.

Last 2 days left to enter to win our giveaway for a summer vacation at the Park City Mountain Resort. Entries due Tuesday, March 17. Winners will be announced March 24.

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Guest Tweets for #GNO Gardening!

2009-03-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

Shawna Lee Coronado is an author, locally syndicated newspaper columnist, health, and greening expert focused on teaching and living a green lifestyle. You can read more about her on her website The Casual Gardener.

Questions for Gardening #GNO:

How hard is it to grow your own fruits and veggies?
I have a small/no yard, can I still grow food?
How can your food scraps be used in the garden?
Why is a rain barrel good for your garden plants?
How do I store root vegetables without refrigeration?
What can I add to the soil to conserve water so I don't have to water as much?
What is the easiest vegetable to grow? What is the most difficult?
What perennial is drought tolerant in almost all zones and flowers most of the summer?

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What Is the Mother Letter Project?

2009-03-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

Seth Haines is an attorney who lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He is the organizer of the Mother Letter Project, and is currently attempting to collect additional letters in an effort to raise funds for Compassion International's Malaria Intervention Fund. Seth is married to his lovely wife Amber and they are raising three young boys.

I celebrated New Year’s Day 2008 in small village in Mozambique, Africa. I shared the day with complete strangers who did not share my socio-economic class. I shared the day with people of great need.

Upon returning, my wife, Amber, and I decided to approach the 2008 Christmas season differently. Instead of purchasing those Christmas gadgets of which we are so fond (who doesn’t love a good gadget), we decided to "create Christmas" and donate what we would have spent to the village in Mozambique.

For my part, I began compiling a series of open letters from mothers, to mothers. My goal was to collect letters which would encourage Amber, and present them to Amber for Christmas. As part of this effort, I requested email letters from several women including Shannon, from Rocks In My Dryer fame. Shannon agreed to contribute a letter, and further asked if she could publicize the project, asking other mothers to contribute their own letters. What happened as a result was truly unbelievable.

Over six-hundred letters poured in from mothers around the world, and on Christmas day, I presented those letters as “The Mother Letter Project ” to Amber. She laughed and cried as she poured through the stories submitted by complete strangers. She found encouragement in identifying with the struggles and joys of other mothers.

However, we have experienced an unintended consequence as a result of the letters—our relationship has been strengthened. We have learned lesson after lesson from the lives of others and feel encouraged through their stories.

As an example, Kari shared about her young son, who spent his last days experiencing seizures in a hospital room. She held his hand through sleepless nights and was by his bedside when he made his way to the next life. In telling her story, she actively rejects bitterness and, instead, recalls the love for her son. She encourages us, through her sorrow, to

Parent them intentionally and with purpose. Enjoy every opportunity where little hands seek yours and find contentment there…. Revel in the snuggles after dark that provide the chance to hear the softly spoken thoughts from the bottoms of their souls. Breathe them in deeply. …[R]ecord those little moments you think your heart will remember forever. Every memory captured in time will be worth its weight in gold.

Kari’s story was not singular. Others shared similar bits of hard-earned wisdom and Amber and I have tried to learn from that wisdom. They have encouraged us to cherish children. They have encouraged us to make time for each other. They have encouraged us to love well. And in listening to those stories, we have been deeply impacted.

Your stories have the potential to affect others. Share those stories with someone you love via letter. Those letters, even if written to a complete stranger, will affect the recipient's way of living. It will shape their primary relationships. And that is a gift that money cannot buy.

Going Back To School: Is It Worth It?

2009-03-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

Christi Stapleton is a Christian wife and Mom who is in a graduate school cohort through her undergrad Alma Mater. She also loves and teaches first graders all day! She writes at Blah Blah Blog, Blah Blah Reviews and Showered by Blessings.

Get up. Get ready to go to work. Get 5 and 7 year old dressed, fed, and out the door. Teach first grade all day. Go to meeting after school. Once home, help with homework while hubby gets dinner (Bless him!) Go to meeting after dinner. Get boys bathed, teeth brushed, devotions said, in bed.

Phew! Now I get to sit down and relax for a bit! Right? Not exactly…I have to do MY homework!

Yep, I’ve headed back to school. I wasn’t sure I could do it, but here I am: 14 years after finishing my undergrad, I’m hitting the books again. I am working toward a Master’s Degree in Reading and hope to fulfill my dream of becoming a Reading Specialist.

Nervous is one word that describes how I felt about going back to school. I was nervous about having to study again, nervous about how to balance my classes with work, family, church, and sanity, and nervous about how it would affect my family. I was worried that I couldn’t keep up with the workload.

Then there was the dream I had that I tried to enter a classroom on campus, they wouldn’t let me in!

But nerves aside, it is working out well. I have learned several things on the journey thus far. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Prioritize!

Though part of me would love to sit at every ball practice that my children have, it isn’t the best use of my time. Take advantage of times when the house is quiet. Sometimes you have to turn off the “Mama Guilt” instinct and insist on time to do work.

2. Your study skills will come back to you.
You may even realize that you are more of a perfectionist than you were when last you cracked a textbook. You will remember how to prepare for tests, write papers, and even your forgotten love of highlighters!

3. Life will not cease to exist if you’re housework doesn’t get done.

Honestly, my house has never been spotless. I’ve had to learn to ‘let go’ of things that bother me some in order to focus on my homework. Yes, it’s still irritating, but I have to remember that this is temporary. Though it may inconvenience us for a while, it is ultimately FOR my family that I am pursuing this degree.

4. The pros outweigh the cons.
I love the satisfaction of getting a paper back with a good grade, or knowing that I did well on a quiz. I also enjoy showing both my own children and my students that adults can learn things, too. It is reassuring to know that I am working toward a goal of helping others learn to read. I especially love knowing that I am following my passion.

Is it hard to go back to school? Yes. Would I do it over again? Absolutely.
Is it worth it? Without a doubt.

Photo Credits: Vatsug, rachelak, jugbo, maltesefalcon59, dogbomb

If you are interested in locating schools in your area where you go back to school College Surfing can help you! Be sure to check out the amazing offer from Future Scholars 5 Credits FREE!

What To Do To Prepare For Your Wedding Day Photography?

2009-03-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

April~ Living The Sweet Life

Choosing: Choose a photographer that has a similar style as you. Do you want someone who does formal photos or do you want a mix of photo journalistic type candid shots and formal photos of your wedding as well? Will the photographer take pictures of the details of your wedding such as your shoes rings and your decor?

Share: Share your vision of your wedding with your photographer. At Sweet Life Photography we have a complimentary consultation session with the bride to get to know her and her wedding better. Share some of your favorite photos that you have cut out of magazines etc. Talk about things like locations time of day. These things will help you photographer create wonderful meaningful memories for you.

Price: Most of the time the old saying you get what you pay for applies to photographers. A photographer who charges more is charging more because of their education experience and equipment. I offer a custom package for every bride since every bride is an individual with different wants and budgets. A good photographer will also have a contract of services that out lines expectations and prices.

Time: At Sweet Life Photography we ask our wedding couples to plan for 5 to 10 minutes per group shot. This allows time for the members of your bridal party to gather. A typical wedding will need to plan on 45 minutes of formal wedding photos with the wedding party. After the wedding party photos are taken schedule another 30 to 45 minutes to spend time as a couple. Sometimes couples like to schedule a session before the wedding in their wedding attire for formal couple photos so they are more relaxed during the session. The day of the wedding can be hurried and stressful.

Make-up: In photos wearing a little more make-up is better. Avoid high sparkle and shimmer make-up. It shows up in the photos as white spots.

Most of all have fun. Enjoy your day. A good photographer will capture those sweet moments for you. My philosophy in my photography is that the real moments the sweet moments are the photos I take in between the posed shots.

I am currently booking limited Wedding Bridal and Engagement Session for 2009. See more of April's work and photography at her website April Atwater Photography.

Does Lifelong Learning Only Apply to Degree Seeking Moms?

2009-03-11T21:00:00.000-07:00

Ms Sassy Pants guest posts. She is a single mother living in Cowtown, WI, a self-proclaimed nerd who would gladly go to school for the rest of her life if only someone would foot the bill. She currently satisfies her nerdy needs by planning seminars for an adult learning program through the University of Wisconsin. You find her sassy style of writing at Ms. Sassy Pants.

When I was a girl I would sit at my desk in my room and make up homework to do. In short, I was a little nerd and I never quite out grew it. I need to be growing and learning but financial and time constraints derailed my dreams of being a professional college student. So what’s a girl to do? I’m glad you asked.

I joined my first “club” four years ago but only because I was lured there with the promise of wine, lots and lots of wine. Spending evenings with the ladies of “BookIt”, I learned so much more than I did in many of my college lit courses. Rather than approaching a book with a learning agenda, we let the conversation take us wherever. For instance, did you know that the narwhal whale is believed to have spawned the myth of the unicorn? I learned that while discussing The Whale Rider with a woman who studied marine biology in Melbourne.

Shortly after my stint with the book ladies, I started stamping with a wonderful group of women. I have never been a visually artistic person. Ever. I was convinced that I would be a complete failure at this stamping thing. But with laughter and a truckload of patience, they taught me how to tap into my dormant artiste.

Wine clubs are not only an opportunity to get tipsy with friends but also to learn about soils and climate and ITALY. Who doesn’t want to know more about Italy, the birthplace of pasta and Raoul Bova? Mmmm, pasta.

Who needs a college professor when we have each other and Google? We are the educators and the students. Each of us has something to share and something to learn. Mom-o-matic just blogged about the magazine: Semi-Homemade by Sandra Lee and since I’m semi-domestic I had to check it out. You should too. You just might learn something.

Photo by Kagey_b

RSVP to Talk Green Living With GNO

2009-03-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

What's on the #GNO Lineup This Week?

Topic: Green Living!

What: Gir's Night Out (What's GNO? Click here to find out!)

Where: Tweet Grid (use the #gno hashtag)

When: 9 pm EST (8 CST, 7 CST, and 6 PST)

Who: Gabrielle Blaire: @DesignMom and Design Mom.
RSVP: Use Mr. Linky in sidebar (enter the twitter URL and your twitter ID (e.g., http://twitter.com/jyl_momIF). Please do not enter your blog URL.
Enter to win our giveaway for a summer vacation to Park City Mountain Resort. Entries due Tuesday, March 17. Winners will be announced March 24.

GNO Talks Green Living

2009-03-08T23:55:00.000-07:00

Gabrielle Blair (@designmom) guest tweets with GNO this Tuesday. She is a mother of five and a founder of the popular site Kirtsy (http://kirtsy.com). She also writes a blog called Design Mom (http://designmom.com) which was named a top parenting blog by the Wall Street Journal, Martha Stewart Living and Real Simple Magazine. She has a BFA in graphic design and loved working as an art director and designer up until the internet took over her life. Now she gets her creative fix by spending her time investigating, writing about, and giving away all things well-designed.

All these questions and more answered at Mom It Forward's #GNO Tues.!

Is "green" something you seek when it's convenient?
Is it your way of life?
Do you feel the whole concept has jumped the shark?
What makes a product "green" for you? Ingredients? Packaging? Reusability?
What are examples of the best "green" design you've seen? (please share links) Anything from beauty products to household items to cars to homes.
How much does "green" play a part in how you shop in 2009?
Would you pay more for a "green" product? Or purposefully choose a "green" product over a "non-green" product?
If someone is seeking a "greener" lifestyle, what are the most convenient/easy products or behaviors to adapt. Where's a good place to start?
Ever seen a silly or unbelievable "green" claim? A product that has no business claiming "green" but tries to do so anyway? Share, please. (I recently saw aprons touted as a "green" product because they keep your clothes cleaner which means less laundry. I'm skeptical.)
How do you envision "green" living? Removing toxins from your home? Living close to the land by eating food you grow yourself? Trying for a carbon neutral footprint by planting trees after a plane ride?

Write A Book? But How?

2009-03-07T21:00:00.000-08:00

Jamie Harrington guest posts.
Once upon a time a girl decided she would write a book. She sat down in front of her computer and started writing. She spent countless days and sleepless nights, typing as fast as she could, finishing her story for everyone to read. When she was done, she emailed her manuscript to the publishing company. They published her book, she went on a national book tour, and became a famous author.

That's how it happens, right? Wrong.

Writing a book is risky, tough, and tiring. Once your book is finished, that is only the beginning. You will spend weeks editing, revising, and polishing your manuscript, only to find that no one is interested in your story! There is no fairy godmother to make sure your book is ready to be published, and you have to find an agent before a publishing company will even look at your work!

Finding an agent involves the most painful part of the writing process, the query letter. A quick google search on how to write a query letter turns up over three hundred and twenty thousand results. This alone, should tell you there is no one way to write a query letter, and everything everyone has written on the topic is completely subjective. There are websites like Query Shark devoted entirely to ripping query letters apart, and guest speakers lecture author groups all around the globe on the importance of this one letter. It can make or break you. One tiny piece of paper decides rather or not an agent will take the time to read your manuscript.

The worst part of this letter is that it isn't even your book! Sure, it's about your book, but it's about you, too. It contains a brief synopsis and description of your story along with a quick bio explaining why you are the right person to write this particular book. You mail it to an agent, and based on that one letter, they decide if they want to actually read your story. So, you have to take query letters seriously and you have to spend time editing, revising, and getting critiques on them, or your book will never even have a shot. It's like, if a fashion designer were to walk into a boutique with a swatch of fabric and the boutique owner were to decide, based on that 3x3 square, rather or not they want to sell the designer's entire line. It's just so frustrating!

Don't let this discourage you from writing your book though, seeing my words on paper in a finished manuscript is still one of the best feelings I have ever had. Someday I will get my book published, and when I do, I will frame my query letter.

What's In A Letter?

2009-03-06T21:00:00.000-08:00

Julie Cole is one of the founders of Mabel’s Labels Inc. (www.mabel.ca) and a proud mother expecting baby #6!

It's true that I don’t exactly follow the rules of old-school etiquette when it comes to pint-sized manners. I prefer that other people’s children call me by my first name and will shudder if addressed as “Mrs”. And while no one likes to see kids getting too wound up in public, I do expect and tolerate a bit of energy and carry-on if they are dragged into the grocery store or bank. I don’t consider this behaviour impolite. Along the same lines, I don’t think it’s rude for a toddler to be fidgeting at the dinner table 10 minutes after being seated – it’s simply as much as a child that age can handle.

Having said that, in a house with as many children as mine (make that five with a sixth on the way), manners are still a must. My children are expected to act respectfully and reminders for “please” and “thank-you” are issued throughout the day.

As parents ourselves, the team at Mabel’s Labels can relate to our customers’ concerns about the lack of letter writing in these times of growing dependence on technology. Will our children come to rely completely on instant forms of communication like e-mail and text messaging – forms of communication that don’t require grammar or spelling? And will the skills that come from sitting down and writing letters be lost?

And so based on customer demand, we recently launched the “Write On!” Personalized Stationery kits.

Louise Fox, a leading children’s etiquette educator in Canada and the U.S. confirms letter writing contributes to an assortment of skills beyond those of just writing. She notes that letter writing teaches children to be courteous and gracious. In short, a kid who writes letters is a kid with who knows a thing or two about good manners.

For my children, letter writing has helped them connect to the older generations in our family. My children have grandparents and great-grandparents, some living internationally. Since many of these family elders are not online, pen pal relationships have been formed between them and my children.

For our family, letter writing has not only provided my children with valuable skills, it has provided them with valuable relationships.

Can You Learn to Eat Foods You've Hated Your Entire Life?

2009-03-05T21:00:00.000-08:00

Jenna guest posts, she is the agent of change over at Food With Kid Appeal, sharing tips and tricks with parents who want their kids to eat healthy food. You can read her feeding the family tweets @kidappeal.

I was indulged as a child in my peculiar eating habits. I didn’t like stuff mixed up which prevented me from eating sauces, casseroles, soups, sandwiches etc. I liked things plain and separate. I was the girl who ordered a hamburger (dry and never ate the bun) and fries whether we were eating at Mexican, American or Italian restaurant. If you’ve spent any of your years being a picky eater, there are two categories of food. Food you eat, and food you don’t eat. Period.

Things got better in college where I was presented with new food I hadn’t labeled as gross. All the sudden Mediterranean and Chinese food became a staple in my diet.

Fast forward to my thirties when I was feeding my young family. I wanted to avoid the whole picky eating thing with my kids. I was dismayed when my food tolerant baby turned into a toddler with some fixed food preferences. He wasn’t picky, but he certainly stopped eating a bunch of things he used to eat. I noticed most of my friends toddlers were the same, refusing some of the foods they’d eaten as babies. So I set out to get my toddler back on track with universal tolerance.

Meanwhile I still had some hang-ups with food I was exposed to in childhood in the food-I-don’t-eat category: oatmeal, raw carrots, nuts, peppers and onions. A few times I got brave and would try a carrot here, or onion there, but my mind was made up before I tasted them-they were inedible. No big surprise when I tasted them and said “nope, still hate onions.” I wasn’t successful in learning to like food I hated until I stopped thinking of them as gross food. It’s a mind-set issue. I opened up the door for the possibility to enjoy “hated” foods. I visualize how delicious a raw red pepper strip is, so crunchy and a little sweet, before I put it in my mouth. That reaction too was no surprise, “hmm, peppers aren’t my favorite but I can eat them. No more gagging.

About a year ago, I decided to learn right along with my kids. Often the best way to learn is to teach. When you teach, you often discover what you don’t know, and you can relate to your audience. When I serve food I have historically not eaten, like carrots, I tell them carrots aren’t my favorite. I say that I prefer them cooked, and when raw they are very crunchy. Then I eat one, and show them I survived. The concept that food doesn’t have to be a favorite to be eaten is very powerful in learning to overcome food aversions.

I’m a recovering picky eater (check out the whole story at Food With Kid Appeal). It’s been a life-long learning process, and I’ve got a ways to go-I still don’t like peppers or plain nuts-although I’m warming to red, yellow and orange peppers. I’m glad I’m eating better. I wonder sometimes how I spent two decades not knowing about the deliciousness of oatmeal and onions (not in the same dish!).

How Can You Tell Stories Through Photos?

2009-03-04T20:38:00.000-08:00

Tara is a mother of 5 and Founding Consultant for Cherish Bound . She has a blog called Family Traditions…One Story at a Time where she shares traditions, stories, and fun ideas for families. In her spare time,she loves sports, writing and publishing her family’s stories, baking, and crafts.

Take a look at this photo….

You probably have no idea who those people are, right? Well, that’s my father-in-law. An amazing father to my husband, a perfect FIL to me, yes, I’m a lucky girl, and a man that my children are completely in love with. That was the day he met our twins and the last time we ever saw him. There is a beautiful deep story behind this photo, this man, and this day. It’s a story that needs to be told and shared so my children will remember and know who their grandfather was.

I could simply upload this photo with a few other snapshots into a photo book or throw it up on my wall in a frame. That would be easy, picture preserved and nicely displayed. But who will tell my children and grandchildren about him when I’m gone? What about my babies who won’t remember him? How do we keep his memory alive?

It’s simple…through story.

Story is powerful. When we start telling stories, we connect, teach, and often heal. We relate in a way that brings power and purpose to our lives. Stories change people’s lives. That is why it is so important to take the time to record and write the stories of our lives. Photos are simple beautiful images that help us relive single moments in our lives, but they’re subjective, they can be lost, and simply don’t tell the whole story.

Here are a few simple steps and tips to help you organize and begin storytelling through photos.

Get your family involved. Have your spouse, children, parents, everyone in your family begin writing down simple details of their lives.
It’s not always about dates, times, and places. It’s about lessons learned, traditions passed on, and leaving a legacy of who we are. Let everyone tell their story.
Break it up into bite-size chucks. Start with the now. Start with recording one week at time. Simple moments that define who we are….a sweet husband leaving a love note, a toddler whispering I love you for the first time, a child’s struggle to fit in.
Remember that it’s impossible to share every single picture we take. Pick out your favorite two or three from each event or memory and then put the rest in words.

Photos are priceless, but the stories that accompany them are a treasure. A treasure that will be worth more than anything else we leave behind for those we love. As you create your albums, scrapbooks, and photo books keep in mind one simple rule; if I wasn’t here to share this book would they know who the people in these photos and the stories behind them?

Looking for a re-cap of this week's #GNO? See below and read these:

How Can Going Back to School Benefit You & Your Family Long Term?

2009-03-03T17:46:00.000-08:00

By Genevieve Blaber, College: U Got It?, @CollegeBoundnet

Any mother knows that taking care of children, career, and household can be time-consuming and more than a little daunting. But that doesn’t mean you should, or even have to, give up your career goals. Thanks to the prevalence of online degree programs, career schools, and community colleges, mothers all over the country now have the chance to increase their career potential without sacrificing their family lives. In fact, while the thought of returning to school may seem like a self-indulgent fantasy, it’s a wise move that may benefit you and your family in the long-run.

If you don’t believe us, check out some of these recent stats and figures and think about whether you can afford to give up your career future.

There’s already a gender gap to contend with, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Women who worked full time in 2008 made 20.75 percent less than men when it came to median weekly earnings.
Across the United States, the wage gap causes the working families to lose $200 billion in income each year, according to the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
Learning equals earning. Amongst full-time workers age 25 and over, the median weekly wages for workers with associate degrees was $727 as compared to $620 for those who had only graduated from high school. Bachelor’s degree recipients did even better with $999 a week, says the BLS.
According to the New York Times, women are more likely to be involved in industries where the employment rate is not as susceptible to the state of the economy. Such fields include health care and education.
The top five best state economies for working women according to InfoPlease.com are: the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Vermont. To contrast, the five worst are: Arkansas, Louisiana, West Virginia, Mississippi, and Kentucky.
The top five occupations that offered the highest median salaries for women who worked full time were: pharmacists, chief executives, lawyers, computer and information systems managers, and computer software engineers.
Women currently make up 46 percent of the nation’s workforce and that number is expected to grow a full percentage point over the seven years.
According to the AFL-CIO, each woman who works in a predominantly male profession makes $3,446 less than her male co-workers every year.

For additional Posts from the #GNO lifelong learning Panelists:

Are you interested in finding out what types of colleges are near you? Or how to locate a good accredited online university? You can search through the Collegebound Network to find both!
We just got word of this amazing offer from Future Scholars, wow Free 5 college credits!

GNO Gets Smart! Lifelong Learning & Education Options for Today's Moms!

2009-03-01T20:24:00.000-08:00

What's on the #GNO Lineup This Week?

Topic: Lifelong learning, including distance learning!

What: GNO
(What's GNO? Click here to find out!)

Where: Tweet Grid (use the #gno hashtag)

When: From 9 pm EST (8 CST, 7 CST, and 6 PST)

Who: Featured panelists
Gina LaGuardia, Former editor-in-chief of CollegeBound Teen Magazine, editorial director for The CollegeBound Network, @GinaLaGuardia

Keith Bourne, AdaptiveCampus, @AdaptiveCampus

Capella University representative, @CapellaU

Nicole Russo, Capella University student and single mom of nine-year old; working online toward a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling degree, @NicatCapella
RSVP: Use Mr. Linky in sidebar (enter the twitter URL and your twitter ID (e.g., http://twitter.com/jyl_momIF).

Enter to win our giveaway for a summer vacation to Park City Mountain Resort. Entries due Tues., Mar. 17.

What Topics Will We Cover?
All these questions and more answered at Mom It Forward's #GNO Tues.!

Why moms should consider a return to school (statistics about those who learn/earn; inspiring your family; recreating your professional path; etc.)

How you can balance babies and the books?

What's online learning really like?

Doing your homework *before* you dive in

How the latest economic stimulus plan affects obtaining an education

Popular programs to consider, and why

What are ways in which you can be a lifelong learner and not have your education stop in the classroom?

How can you instill in your children a love of learning?
How can you earn a college or advanced degree given your busy schedule as a mom?
In this economy, does it make financial sense for me to return to school? If so, what are my options?
What programs are available to me if I choose to learn a trade instead of going with a traditional institution?
What's the value in earning a degree if I don't plan on having a career?
How can I apply my degree as a working at home mom?

And we just got word of this amazing offer from Future Scholars, wow Free 5 college credits!

(Photo courtesy of Flickr and Flickr.)

How Can You Dust Off Your Back-to-School Dreams?

2009-02-28T21:30:00.000-08:00

By Dawn Papandrea, Managing Editor, CollegeSurfing.com, @CollegeSurfing

If you're home caring for young children, chained to your office desk, or live in the boondocks far away from the nearest university, going back to school is probably the dustiest item on your massive to-do list. It's been long buried by the piles of family obligations, 60-hour work weeks, and time and space limitations that manifest themselves. Let's face it -- life sometimes gets in the way of your educational goals. But achieving those goals can improve your quality of life and income potential. A vicious Catch 22...

Thanks to technology, though, you can be in two places at once. Really! The proof lies with the millions of online learning graduates out there who've attended classes between diaper changes or conference calls. Today's students are quite lucky to have this quality learning platform that basically didn't exist even 10 years ago. Yes, my friends, online learning has come a long way -- better quality, way more acceptance in the workplace and in academia, and many more reputable colleges and universities offering a wide variety of programs than ever before. In fact, it's estimated that two-thirds of higher education institutions offered distance education courses in 2006-2007, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

Before you take the plunge into cyber learning...

Be sure you make time to research the programs you're considering. Your first step should be to verify that the school of choice is accredited (you wouldn't want to invest in a "fake" degree).
Think about your individual learning style, and whether or not it will be conducive to the way the program of study is designed. Remember, you'll have to motivate yourself to log on and get your assignments done -- there will be no micromanaging teacher over your shoulder. But really, when you think about it, adults are already used to this type of individual accountability since it's not much different than how you're expected to perform at work.
Consider the financial perks. There aren't any commuting or child care costs to tack on since your home (or wherever you are) is your classroom. And in most cases, expensive textbooks aren't needed since everything is usually done online via message boards, email, and even real-time class sessions. By the way -- the vast majority of accredited online programs offer the same type of financial aid opportunities as traditional classroom programs do.
If you're computer savvy enough to read this blog, you're tech-ready for online learning. Advanced computing skills are not required. However, be prepared to brush up your writing and communication skills, as that will be the primary way for you to interact with your classmates and professors.

What do you think? If going back to school is something you've been wanting to move up on your to-do list, online learning is definitely worth some thought.

Join us to discuss moms back at school on Twitter.com, March 2nd, from 9 p.m. -11 p.m. EST. RSVP with Mr Linky in sidebar, and use the hashtag #GNO in your Tweets. And, see Moms Back at School right now for specific resources just for you.

What's The Blogger PR Secret?

2009-02-27T14:01:00.001-08:00

In case you missed Mom It Forward's #GNO this week?

I'll be pounding a redbull at 8:59 pm EST, cracking my knuckles and getting ready for Speed Tweeting at #gno tonight!

BarbaraJones

You missed a Doozy! It was an action packed panel of PR Maven Extraordinares!

Nancy Martira from Ketchum
Barbara Jones from One2One Networking
Krista Parry from Park City Mountain Resort
Rachael Herrscher from Today's Mama

What's the secret to making contact with PR professionals, and what really bugs them?

This seems obvious but don't make me search thru your blog to find oiut how to contact you—It's a crazy goose chase sometimes! —Barbara Jones

The panelists all had some great advice when it came to how to contact a PR Professional. They all agreed, first, make it easy for the company to contact YOU! And a media kit is something you should look into. Here's an example you can look over from Mom Blogger's Club. Also a subscription to ListPlanIt.com comes with several templates and PR 'lists'.

If your email sounds like you are just looking for free stuff, chances are it will end up in the spam folder. —Nancy Martira

When contacting a company or a PR rep., or even just chatting on twitter with a possible connection remember that they are just like you! They get tons of email and have a lot coming at them. The consensus was that you should send short emails, asking first whether you can send an attachment or a longer email. And yes you can send a 'ping', but calling them over and over or too much email isn't a good idea!

What are these professionals looking for? Do I have what they want?

Blog stats aren't the only thing companies are interested in. They want to know what you can do for them in all your Social Media outlets. Remember reporting to the client is the job of the PR professional, so you will need to share some amount of your information to make a legitimate pitch.

Traffic numbers are not the only metrics--promote your social media footprint on twitter, facebook, etc—Barbara Jones

Not every PR campaign is promoting a product, sometimes we're selling ideas. That's when great writers can shine.—Nancy Martira

Okay I just got an email from a representative of a company! Now what?

I say PR is not Public Relations it is PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS—Krista Parry

Bottom line? Don't be afraid to ask them questions, find out more about the product, more about what it is they want to get out the relationship. Share ideas you have for helping them get the word out. Feel free to brainstorm a little with them, they are going to appreciate new ideas, and be willing to listen to their thoughts too!

Think about diversifying your online presence - podcast, video blogging, product review blogs, etc... —Nancy Martira

Why PR needs bloggers? Because PR is storytelling and who can tell stories better than bloggers?—Danny Brown

If you want to host a product review, show me an example of a successful one you have already hosted.—Nancy Martira

Barbara Jones has been quoted as saying ROO is more important than ROI... What does that mean? ROO= return on objective. What is your objective as a blogger? What is the objective of the company or the agency? Try come up with innovative ways to fulfill those goals.

To Mom It Forward Members:

John Sternal has offered up his Public Relations ebook at a 20% discount (code: GNO). From examples of press kits to 'real' knowledge everything you'll need to perform PR for your business.

Oh my gosh, I got the deal! I don't want to screw it up! What makes a good review, article, campaign?

That's a great way to start. Show them that you really know and love the product; you're not just looking for a freebie.—Nancy Martira

The panelists really say it well here:

You know the media will do stories on things like St. Patricks Day and daylight savings time. So build stories around them!—John Sternal
I always like for the blogger to be authentic in their review. I don't like when it looks like a copy and paste from email. I brought a blogger out to Park City and some of their review was negative and that's ok. It's honest. —Krista Parry
PR people are looking for people who resonate with their brands. So make sure you understand their brands just like they should w/ you. —Krista Parry
What bugs me is saying you'll do the review or the promotion and then half a**ing it--Hi I'm giving away X, leave a comment-ugh—Barbara Jones

What should I do if I'm approached about a product/item/service but it's not a good fit for me?

Pay It Forward--If you get approached by PR, and the situation is not for you, suggest another blogger who could do it!! —Barbara Jones

Think of every email and phone call as an opportunity to create a relationship, even if the product/service/item isn't something you can get behind.

If a blogger I respect points me towards another blogger I will absolutely check them out. I often ask for recommendations. One of the things I love about the Mom Blogging community is how supportive and connected they are. When you connect me with a great new partner, it reflects well on you. Never hesitate to call out good work!—Nancy Martira

Everyone knows someone out there - it helps a ton to be able to say "So and so referred me" - it gets a lot of response. Share your contacts with each other - nothing wrong with asking "do you know anyone at XYZ media outlet."—Rachael Herrsher

Cathy aka CathyWebSavvyPR answered the question:

What quick information would a PR pro love to find on a Mommy Blogger's site?

PR people are hoping to find a match between our client/company/expert's product or info and your reader's interests and needs. The type of information a PR pro hopes to find on your site, includes:

A good About Us page, telling briefly what you and your site are all about (intro to the site and how it works, who your readers are, what niche do you reach, and who the sites author(s) are). A good PR Info page also tells us more reader demographics along with some site statistics/numbers (Readers surveys using survey monkey, and pollcast can provide some info; site stats like Google Analytics, twitter counter, Feedburner RSS reader stats, Quantcast, Clicky and Hubspot Site Grader can help with the numbers).

Also useful are sections on how you like to work: what you will do to publicize the promotion, what you need from us, and notes any success stories you've had (some of this can also be indicated is on a document that we can request - if your readers don't need to know the details.)

At it's best PR/blogger promotions - whether product reviews and giveaways or book promo tours and guest blog posts from experts - can be a win-win situations. To read more you can see the rest of Cathy's article here.

How Can PR Help You Get Coverage for Your Blog and Your Business?

2009-02-27T08:31:00.000-08:00

Rachael Herrscher guest posts today. Rachael spends her time managing TodaysMama as co-founder and President. TodaysMama, LLC, is a fast-growing online marketing and publishing company for moms of all ages. TodaysMama is currently in 19 markets across the United States and has more than 75,000 handbooks in circulation with more to come in 2009.

My approach to PR has always come from a "wingin' it" perspective. I am not a PR pro - but have done a lot of the public relations and strategic planning for our company and we've had some good success with the tactics we've used.

Thanks to everyone for such a rockin' GNO Tuesday night!

One of the biggest things for anyone is just getting out there, asking questions, and networking with the right people - a.k.a. making friends. I was asked to blog for Entrepreneur.com from that perspective - here are a few of the posts that might be helpful for those of you without a big budget who are looking to jump out there to get some coverage for you and your business but who are a little hesitant!

Local, Local, Local!
Being an "Expert"
Quick PR Tips
Build Your Network
Perfecting the Pitch

The bottom line? Just get out there! You'll get shot down a lot - but you'll refine your approach at every step of the way. There is low hanging fruit out there that is yours for the picking!

Also - TodaysMama.com loves to highlight women and mothers doing cool things - whether you have an interesting blog, an inspiring story or if you are interested in being a guest contributor feel free to pitch US! Contact us at info@todaysmama.com

This week our featured blog was Cafe Johnsonia - seriously watch out when you go there you will get hungry!
Our Dream Big story is amazing about a women who "made over" women's shelters -
Our featured "mompreneur" on Support Your Local Mama is Modern Mommy
and we've even got a good "crafty" blogger roundup!

We'd love to highlight you too! Tips for pitching our editor? No need for a press release - We LOVE short, direct emails with links for more info. Good luck in ALL your pitching!

What is PR?

2009-02-25T13:51:00.000-08:00

Krista Parry guest posts. She was born a communicator, speaking from an early age, but professionally she's been passionate about it for over 10 years. She has learned that PR is not public relations it's personal relationships. Currently she work as the Director of Marketing and Communications for Park City Mountain Resort, a top-five rated ski resort located in Park City, Utah, and is the resident mama of www.snowmamas.com . She is joining the Mama ranks in May when she and her husband welcome their first child.

This post is for bloggers looking to reach out to companies or media that align with their brand. I believe PR = Personal Relationships because that is what it is. You may be saying “but I’ve never done PR, I don’t know what to do.” My response would be “Have you ever engaged someone in a conversation?” That is what PR is. It is about engaging a company/journalist in a conversation.

As a PR professional for over 10 years I have had a lot of experience and I must say, that I have had to evolve with the times. 10 years ago I wasn’t reaching out to bloggers, as they really didn’t exist. Now, I mostly focus on outreach to bloggers because I know that they have a big “Sphere of Influence” (more on this later).

How do I start a conversation? Seek them out in the community’s where you are. Let’s say you love to ski (as I know you all do!) and you would like to reach out to ski resort to see how you can work with them. Use the search.twitter.com tool and search your favorite resort. Say you type in “park city” and find @snowmamas @reply and say how you love Park City. Build up that relationship first, because remember that is what PR is.

Why would a company want to work with you? Because you can help them share their story. I have shared this before, but it’s worth sharing again. David Armano, a genius in my mind, created an “Influence Ripples” chart. Basically, you as a blogger, have a sphere of influence that has a ripple effect. You may have 10,000 followers or you may have 10 followers, either way these people trust you. And if they trust what you are saying, they are going to share it with their “sphere of influence” and so on. The ripple effect keeps going and going.

How do you prove your ripple effect? First, it is true that some companies are not as “educated” on social media and they may just want your #’s like Unique Visitors. Yes, number are nice, but this is your chance to educate them. First, Google Analytics is a must. If you don’t have it, you must get it. It’s free! There is so much great information that you can track with it and it creates really cool graphs/charts. You can get your unique visitors, page views, etc. But you can also drill down into your readers engagement. What’s the Avg time on site? Are people staying for 10 seconds or are they engaged with your content and staying for 10 minutes?

Second, comments on posts show engagement. I heard it tonight, and I’ve heard it before, but please leave comments on someone’s post that you’ve enjoyed. It’s ok to twitter them and say how you loved their post but complete the circle and comment on their post as well. Comments show that your readers are engaged in what you say and that they trust you and your opinions, which is important for our third point.

Use ”corporate” jargon like ROI but don’t use it in the “Return on Investment” sense. Use it in the “Return on Influence” speak. Show your ROI to a company. If a company sees that your readers/listeners are engaged in what you say they will want to work with you.

But what is the most important thing? Be authentic! Work with the brands that are true to you. If you hate dogs (not that you would) don’t agree to do something for Purina Dog Food. Your readers know you, which is why they love you, and they want to see your opinions on brands you really would use!

Have fun and make new friends! PR people are no different than the ladies you meet at #gno every Tuesday night (ok maybe our fangs come out at night)! Start a conversation, you might be surprised what could come of it.

I am happy to answer any questions you might have. DM me at @krista_parry anytime.

Giveaway Winners Reap the Rewards of Service!

2009-02-24T18:08:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, January 27, Mom It Forward launched a giveaway. The requirement? To plan and carry out a service project or random act of kindness and vlog, blog, or submit a photo of it. And who says service doesn't pay off? Not only for the recipients of these kind acts, but for those that thoughtfully planned and carried out the service.

Thanks to all those that participated and in your own way, helped change the world one mom at a time. Drum roll please as we announce the winners! Be sure to click on their links, check out their entries, and be inspired (you'll want to break out the tissue for this first video)!

Giveaway 1
HP Mini 1535NR Laptop Specs
Winner: Jenna Hatfield from Stop, Drop, and Blog

Giveaway 2
HP Photosmart 6380 All-in-One Printer Specs
Winner: Erica Mueller at Fishbowl Sense

Giveaway 3
Muvee Reveal Movie Editing Software Package
Winners: Kia Brandy, Holly, Military Moms, Gwynne, Therese, Amy, and Barb.

Thanks to Sugar Jones from Sugar Jones in the Raw for awarding Mom It Forward winners of the HP Magic Giveaway. These prizes are part of that package and this giveaway is an effort to spread the HP Magic and the spirit of service and giving even further.

For our next giveaway, we are partnering with the Park City Mountain Resort. Check out the amazing prize and rules for entry here or here. This time the tables are turned and you get to do the giving. Simply nominate a person that has made a big difference in your life or who, you feel, is the definition of a Mom It Forward mom, and she could win a family vacation in Park City, UT!

Developing PR Relationships to Build Your Blog & Online Business

2009-02-22T21:14:00.000-08:00

How Can I Work With PR Professionals to Build My Blog & Business?
All these questions and more answered at Mom It Forward's #GNO Tues.!

I want to build relationships with PR professionals, but I'm not sure know how to connect. What's the secret?
What's the difference between traditional and online PR? How does SEO factor in to the mix?
I use social media technologies to get the word out about my business. Why would I need to develop relationships with PR professionals?
What information do people in PR want to access on my blog or website?
What tools are available to me for writing PR-related content?

(Photo courtesy of Flickr.)

What's on the GNO Lineup This Week?

What: GNO (What's GNO? Click here to find out!)

Where: Tweet Grid (#gno)

When: From 6 to 10 pm PST (9 pm to 1 am EST)

Who: Guest panelists,
Krista from Park City Mountain Resort @krista_parry),
Nancy Martira from Ketchum (@nancy_martira),
Barbara Jones from one2onenetwork (@barbarajones)
and Rachel Herrscher from Today's Mama (@todaysm ama).

Topic: Developing Relationships With PR Professionals!

RSVP: Use Mr. Linky below (enter the twitter URL and your twitter ID (e.g., http://twitter.com/jyl_momIF).

Important: Want to win big? Enter to win our giveaway for a summer vacation to Park City Mountain Resort. Entries due Tues., Mar. 17.

Win a Free Park City Mountain Resort Summer Vacation Package!

2009-02-21T23:59:00.000-08:00

The Giveaway Prize
Think of a person who has made a big difference in your life. Someone that embraces the Mom It Forward mission. Someone that lifts others, has overcome challenges with a smile, is a positive force for good, or just makes your world a better place. This person can be an on or offline friend. Perhaps a blogger who has inspired you. Or someone who is always tweeting the nicest things to people. Or a person that makes your day through their posts on your Facebook wall. It could be an IRL friend—someone in your community, a family member, a neighbor, or anyone that deserves a reward and some recognition for being a wonderful person.

Now think of this person enjoying a free summer vacation—on you!—with his or her family in the mountains of Utah at the Park City Mountain Resort. We're not just talking any vacation, we're talking an all-expenses-paid vacation, including the following for a family of up to 6 people:

Lodging for up to 6 people (3 nights, 4 days) in a 2-bedroom, 5-star condo

Dinner vouchers for 3 nights for the entire family

Resort Passes good for 3 days, including a wide range of family activities such as a climbing wall, an Alpine Slide, a Human Maze, miniature golfing, a Zip Rider, mountain biking and hiking, and more

Now think of how good you'll feel when you win this giveaway FOR this person and get to Mom It Forward to him or her! The giveaway that is meant to be given away.

The Giveaway Entry Requirements
Please follow these rules to enter the giveaway.

Leave a comment with your name and an e-mail address where we can reach you.
In your comment, write a short description of the person you feel deserves this free summer vacation and how he or she embraces the Mom It Forward mission. (Click here for more information on Mom It Forward.)
Submit your entry by midnight on Tuesday, March 17.

The winner will be announced on Tuesday, March 24 on the SnowMamas blog, the Mom It Forward blog, and during #gno on twitter.

The Fine Print

You may only enter once. People that enter more than once will be disqualified.
You may only enter for one person.
You may not enter for yourself. The purpose of this giveaway is to Mom It Forward!
Transportation to Utah, to the resort, or at the resort is not included.
Breakfast and lunch are not included.
Dinner vouchers and resort passes are good for a family of up to 6 people, including children.
Vacation giveaway must be used between June 1 to September 30, 2009.
Vacation giveaway is transferable, but may not be sold.
All information will be verified and judged by a panel.
The panel makes the final decision regarding the giveaway's winner.
Relatives of the panel will not be considered in this giveaway.

For more information regarding this giveaway, please e-mail us at momitforward [at] gmail [dot] com.

What To Do When Your Spouse Is Deployed?

2009-02-21T19:49:00.000-08:00

Shellie guest posts for Mom It Forward today. She is a military wife and mom of three boys living in sunny Florida. She also is an avid scrap-booker, preparing to fully launch her online store Memories Of Distinction for custom memory books and cards. She blogs at Blog 4 Mom where she shares her favorite recipes, offers up product reviews and giveaways, and writes about military life. She also can be found guest blogging on the SeaWorld Dolphin Bubbles site.

Deployments Are Never Completely Easy

Communication, romance, little touches of flirtations here and there, smiles, holding hands, cuddling, and little looks that say I'm thinking about you are all important things to keep a relationship not only alive, but thriving. What do you do when you can't have that? Military couples face particular difficulty when their partners, themselves, or even both are deployed overseas for extended periods of time. I am not talking weeks or months here. I am talking years.

For some relationships, especially the newer ones, this transition is particularly difficult and even painful. A person goes through a lot during the course of a year, or even 6 months. New interests, new jobs, maturing, new schedules, and one's ever-growing independence. When your significant other is gone for months, let alone years, it is difficult for both of you to mesh your now very different perspectives, interests, and even work and school into this relationship that has basically been put on hold for a very long time.

You may say that with today's technologies communication should be easy through that time, but it's not. Granted it is much easier than it was for earlier vets, but just because you can send emails, IMs, and even the occasional web-cam session, it is difficult to keep the romance alive.

Your decision to marry was not a one-time matter, but is something that needs to be reaffirmed daily, weekly, monthly and annually. This includes the time that is spent apart due to deployments, and can often be more important than when living under the same roof. Make a game plan for staying connected, and try to do the best you can for your family. Sneak a small scrapbook, or photo “brag” book into his deployment bags. This goes a long way to lifting the spirits when he is so far away. Write often, even about the mundane and boring things. Start right away, so there is nothing forgotten, this helps him feel he is still a part of the family’s daily life, even from round the world. Don’t be afraid to complain (he wants to hear the truth and what is real, not sugar and spice) but let him know you are OK, and begin and end every time you get to talk with I LOVE YOU.

When both spouses firmly believe that marriage is a life-long commitment and they work together to strengthen that commitment, their chances of surviving even the most difficult challenges posed by military life are significantly enhanced.

Deployment Planning Stages
Military deployments are planned in stages, and reflecting on each phase can better prepare you for the anxiety that will be introduced into the relationship. Deployments consist of the following stages in one form or another: Pre-deployment, deployment, and redeployment. It behooves us as spouses to be familiar with these phases and the emotional turmoil each can bring. A plan that mirrors each stage of the deployment may help to make the deployment more manageable.

Speak about expectations... During pre-deployment don't let shock and separation anxiety let you say things you don't mean. Discuss decision making, parenting issues, and expectations for communicating during the separation. Make a budgeting plan, update insurance forms, power of attorney documents, etc.
Demonstrate your strength... It is important to take good care of yourself so that you can manage the stress during the deployment. Taking care of yourself actually eases your service member's mind so send a note demonstrating your strength and commitment to each other.
Express your love...Stock up on favorite foods and the comforts of home. This is a time to enjoy each other, re-kindle, and reconnect. Focus on why you initially fell in love with your spouse and don't forget to express it.
Tackle what's next...During the post-deployment phase try not to get caught up in unrealistic or unexpressed expectations as you get back into a new routine. Appreciate what is going well, and be willing to comfort each other and make compromises when needed as you go forward. Remind yourself not to look back, or worry about going forward just enjoy each other in the moment!

Photo credits: omniprotest, catalia, cattycamehome

How Do You Support Your Spouse?

2009-02-20T20:00:00.000-08:00

Betty (@its_me_betty), today's guest post author, is a wife of a blogger, mother of one son, and has a little fat beagle named Fred. She enjoys helping her husband promote his blog, TheJoeReview. Every Saturday he posts one of my recipes on his blog & also writes about tech & brew reviews.

As little girls I am sure we all dreamed that one day we would marry our clichéd “knight in shining armor,” ride off into the sunset, and live happily ever after. We believed that nothing would go wrong and our lives would mirror a fairy tale. This is the way I saw it at least. Well, I got part of it at right. I married my knight in shining armor, however; life wasn’t as problem-free as I had anticipated. My husband and I have had many obstacles and challenges to deal with.

The most challenging obstacle we faced was when we were expecting our son. I became very ill and we almost didn't make it. My husband stuck by me through the whole ordeal and when I was shipped to a different state because, at that time, there were no rooms at the NICU in our local hospital, he made it a point to go up and see me every weekend. I am sure he was just as scared as I was, but you could never tell; he was my rock through the whole ordeal. I broke down several times and was very devastated to learn that I might not get to know my son. But my husband kept me grounded. I am eternally grateful.

One of the most important lessons Joe and I have learned is to be there for each other and support each other—to be each other’s fan club. There are in fact times when we don't see eye to eye; but I can always count on him being the one person I can rely on no matter what. The lines of communication need to be kept open. Listen to each other, be honest with each other and don't be ashamed to admit when you’re wrong.

Remember to make time for each other and to make each other feel special. It's just like a hobby—the more time you put into it, the better you get at it. It goes both ways; you can't expect one person to do all the work and put in all the effort. I'm sure you've heard that saying, "Treat others as you would like to be treated," this also applies to your marriage. Don't be embarrassed or ashamed to show each other you love each other and that you still get butterflies when they're around or when they kiss or hug you, it’s little things like that, that go a long way.

With all the things we are faced with these days, our marriage is one thing that we need to work on keeping strong. Together everything and anything is possible.

photo credit FairyWren

DOES Dating Your Partner Improve Your Relationship?

2009-02-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

Angie guest posts, she is the mom in charge of the Seven Clown Circus. She has 5 children and enjoys volunteer work. She is a moderator on a support site for parents of monoamniotic twins and enjoys freelance writing.

I look forward to dates. I really, really do.

My husband and I haven't always dated. Of course, we did when we were.......well, dating. And then we got married and started having babies, and the dates just sort of ended. It happened so gradually that I didn't notice....for years in fact.

Finally, we decided that that needed to change. We wanted it to change, and it was one of the best things we did for our marriage. We started dating.

Going out on dates gives us both a chance to get "dolled up" for each other. It gives us an opportunity to really take time on our appearance and wear clothing that we might not at work or at home with children. I know I feel great when I get to wear "sexy" jeans and heels and leave the house without an entourage.
Going out on dates gives us an opportunity to reconnect. To talk about things that are important to us. To have a converstation that we don't have to worry about being overheard by little ears. It gives us a chance to laugh and have fun without interruption.
Going out on dates allows us an opportunity to hold hands and show public displays of affection. Admit it. When those public displays of affection are G rated, it feels pretty darn special.

Dates are good for us individually and as a partnership, and they don't have to be fancy or expensive.

My perfect date is the one where I feel good about myself, connect with my partner, feel rejuvenated afterwards, and know that the date helped my relationship move forward. My perfect date is fun.

So, grab your partner, arrange for a sitter if you need to, and go out and do whatever it is that's fun for the two of you. And enjoy yourselves. Don't forget to do it often!

How Does Blogging Help Preserve Family Relationships?

2009-02-18T23:07:00.000-08:00

Kellan is a Texas mom of four and small business owner. She is also the writer behind the blog On The Upside where she shares daily stories about the raising of four children and surviving the humorous chaos of their everyday lives. She can also be found writing On The Flipside and a blog for mySA.

I don't think you would meet any blogger that did not agree that blogging is definitely a form of journaling. I think this is especially true for personal blogs and "Mommy Blogs". And, while there is quite a bit of controversy that surrounds "Mommy Bloggers" - where the media and critics are quick to analyze and attack a mother for documenting her children's lives and publishing pictures and stories on her blog for the whole world to see, I think it would be hard to find a "Mommy Blogger" that did not agree that blogging has changed the way we connect with our families and preserve the memories of our children.

Before blogging and digital photography, moms were snapping 35mm photos and then filing those photos in albums that she would then store in a cabinet in the family room or den. She might also have spent many hours scrapbooking to document memorable occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries. She would sit around the dinner table and offer up stories of her own childhood for her children to listen to and giggle at and then those stories might quickly be forgotten until such time as the memories were brought up again at a family party or gathering. For most people, preserving of family memories was either something that made it to the page of a photo album in the form of hundreds of untitled photos or was simply random stories recited by family members on special occasions.

Blogging definitely changed the way I document and preserve the memories of my family and the lives of my children. Through the publishing of stories that are detailed and particular (highlight specific events, dates, conversations, etc.) I have managed to document thousands of moments in my children's lives that would have never been written down and remembered if it had not been for blogging those memories daily. And, through the stories (and the photos that are very often attached to these stories), I believe I have offered my children a unique glimpse into their past and our family's history that will one day be a priceless heirloom for them and their own children. Through all of the hundreds of posts that I have published, my children have and will continue to see who they were, who they were to me and who I was, through what they read in my stories.

I think blogging my children's lives is a gift I am giving to my children. The only regret I have is that I have not had the time to blog about every single thing that happens in their lives and also that I did not start sooner. I often feel sad about the memories that might have been saved if only I had started blogging years ago.

What Happens When Life Happens to Your Relationship?

2009-02-17T20:00:00.000-08:00

Trena Davenport guest posts, she is the force behind Marriage Zone. She is on Twitter as @marriage_zone and tweets about keeping marriage(s) alive.

Marriage is not only about keeping things hot in the bedroom but about re-inventing ourselves. Couples need to adapt to change. When two people get married they tend to experience a sense of togetherness. They can't wait to say the words "I Do". During the courtship and up until the wedding day the bride and groom minimize each other’s differences. However, after years of marriage and sometimes months after getting married wives begin to feel as if their husbands may not be as loving as he once been. Husbands may feel as if the woman is being controlling or picky. The two of you may feel that you are no longer on the same page.

What happened? Life is what happened.

The routine of everyday life sets in and unrealistic expectations about marriage surface. Reality intrudes on fantasy. During this adjustment period each other's imperfections and shortcomings are revealed. What was once viewed as cute or a minor irritation grow into aggravation and annoyances therefore, rudeness ends up replacing romance. Then, throw children into the mix and you could have a marriage heading for disaster.

Couples can begin to grow in different directions; at least that’s how it seems. Couples need to communicate their expectations and then re-access and communicate their expectations again.

Marriage Zone is about encouraging couples to re-connect. With so many vices tugging at couples such as, one or both may work outside of the home, children requiring parent’s un-divided attention, relatives or elderly parents needing attending to. Where in the world do couples find time for each other? Therefore, the creation of Marriage Zone.

Although people can purchase items from our website the site is there to help inspire married couples. It is important for couples to learn to work together while maintaining their individual identity. Husbands should respect what their wife’s contributions are to the marriage and wives should respect what their husband’s contribute as well to the marriage. This is equally true when couples own/operate a business together.

Re-connecting and putting a marriage in the (romance) zone takes commitment, understanding, forgiveness, and unconditional love. Moreover, as you grow in your marriage always lend a helping hand to other couples because it takes a village to keep a marriage in the zone.

photo credits: Ney,PhotoRita, Nattu, Jeff Weston

#GNO Helps You Strengthen Your Relationships! RSVP Here!

2009-02-16T10:59:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day Is Over. Now What?

Want to strengthen your Relationships?
How can you spice up your love life?
Help! I have kids, how do we date?
He's an introvert I'm an extrovert. How can we make this work?
How do I balance all of my important relationships: friendships, family, children, spouse/partner, etc.?
I'm a single mom: How do I get my relationship needs met while balancing the demands of my family?

All these questions and more answered at #GNO!

(Photo courtesy of Flickr.)

What's on the GNO Lineup This Week?

What: GNO (What's GNO? Click here to find out!)

Where: Tweet Grid (#gno)

When: Between 6 & 10 pm PST (9 pm to 1 am EST)

Who: Guest tweet, Trena from Marriage Zone (@marriage_zone )

Why: Tips to strengthen your relationships!

Important: Want to win big? Enter to win one of three giveaways. Hurry! Entries due this Sat., Feb. 21.

RSVP: Use Mr. Linky below (enter the twitter URL and your twitter ID (e.g., http://twitter.com/jyl_momIF).

When Is Scrapbooking More Than Just Craft?

2009-02-14T19:53:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth writes for Mom It Forward today. She is a super-busy mother of three boys, with one new baby due in April. When she’s not chasing after her children, she’s getting paid to sing at weddings, she's knitting, or she's scrapbooking. Elizabeth has been a Creative Memories consultant for two years (MyCMSite.com/egrant). Her blogs are: Suzy Q Homemaker and Suzy Q Crops.

The very first time I sat down to scrapbook, I was probably about 10 years old. My mother had all her old theater programs in a pile with an empty scrapbook and I asked her why she never put them in it? So I offered to do it for her. I spent time organizing each program by date and gluing them to the pages, fascinated that she had done so much before I was ever born. So of course, I had to ask for my own scrapbook.

Over the years, I only added my school awards, concert & theater programs, and movie tickets from my soon-to-be husband’s dates. It wasn’t that I planned to make scrapbooking something I do, I just found it hard to let go of things that meant a lot to me and I wanted all of those things to be in one place.

These days, scrapbooking has taken on a whole new meaning for me. Not only do I use scrapbooking as a means of preserving memories and stories of my growing family, I use it to connect with the people closest to me. Scrapbooking is not “just a craft.” It’s a social event, a reunion, or therapy.

My oldest sister and I are not close in age at all. I was still in elementary school when she graduated high school. We shared a room a few times while growing up, but there really wasn’t much that we had in common other than being a part of the same insane family. But we both started our own families around the same time and she was the one who introduced me to Creative Memories. At that time, I had no idea women actually scrapbooked together. It was always a private ritual to me, something that I never would have thought to do with other people around.

I realized then the importance of scrapbooking with others: it’s about sharing our stories. When my sister and I get together to scrapbook (and we do so on a semi-regular basis—meaning: when our children aren’t sick or driving us crazy!), it’s a time for us to catch up on each other’s lives. Even if we only get one page done during the entire time we’re together, it’s time that we’ve spent together. There’s something special about sitting down to remember those good (and sometimes horrible) times.

Scrapbooking brought me and my sister closer than we would have otherwise been, I think. Sure, we have 7 (going on 8) children between the two of us, and they all drive us crazy. Sure, we both have “interesting” family members to dish about. Getting together to actually create something with those stories is what makes our relationship even stronger.

How Can You Use Picasa to Digitally Scrapbook?

2009-02-13T19:59:00.000-08:00

Melanie "Mommy Doodles" Guest Posts today, she is a graphic designer living and working full time in Massachusetts. Also freelances designs and maintains a fun mommy blog Mommy Doodles. She and her husband are raising two boys: a preschooler and an infant.

First, if you do not have Picasa by Google download it here: PC or MAC. It's FREE and an amazing photo-management software.

I prefer my scrapbook pages to be full of photos... This post is a brief introduction into creating collage pages with Picasa. You could take it to your own level, or keep it quick and simple!

Click on images to enlarge them - view them all here.

Choose your photos for your desired page. Select the COLLAGE button on the bottom.

Once your photos are set into the collage, you can use the pull down menu to the left to choose your preferred collage style.

By selecting the images individually, you can use the buttons above to remove undesired images. You can use the buttons below to Shuffle All or View/Edit each image.

You can also choose just one to be your center image by clicking the button on the left. On the left you can also choose your page size.

In the next image, you will see a red border around each image. You achieve this by choosing the Grid Spacing bar on the left. Background options are a color or image.

After you have your desired page layout, choose CREATE COLLAGE.

Once you locate your collage in Picasa, you can double click on the image to add type. Many other color options are available, just like a regular image.

Here is my finished collage!
Print and add to a scrapbook album of your choice!

What Are 10 Ways to Involve Your Kids in Scrapbooking?

2009-02-13T06:11:00.000-08:00

Introducing our guest author, Jill Berry masquerades as Mom on the Run on her blog: Writing My Life One Blog At A Time. She writes for Type A Mom on mommy, children, preteen, and teen issues. She is also the Preteen Editor for Typeamom.net. She contributes to MomSpark.net, Blogher.com, and Addsyou.com. She is mom to Adventure Boy, 5; Sporty Daughter, 10; and Crafty Daughter, 13.

Let me just state at the outset that I love scrapbooking. I have created photo albums as far back as the 70s. My first album was a pink paisley album where I put the photos in the album in no particular order. This particular album brings back memories to me of (1) doing the album myself and (2) not recalling my mother telling me how to do the album. Surely, she must have wondered why I was placing my First Communion photos at the back of the album while my later in the year Brownie photos were front and center. My mother let me do the album any way I wanted to...because it was my album.

I started scrapbooking in earnest when my oldest was 4 and my then-youngest was 18 months old. I bought stickers, paper, and die-cuts for use in my scrapbooks. My oldest would watch me scrapbook. Sometimes she would ask to help. Once or twice I let her write her name, but for the most part I told her that I was doing the scrapbook. After a while she asked to do her own.

10 Tips for Scrapbooking With Kids

1. Camera—Give your child a disposable camera before a trip or special event or just for around the house. Let them take any photographs they want to, even if the photos are of shoes, the inside of the cabinet, or a nose.

2. Photographs—Let your child choose the photographs that he wants. If you are worried that your child will choose too many photos, set a limit. Tell your child that he can choose 5 or 10 photos per event. Kids need limits. Once you have told your child the rules, your child will follow them.

3. Scrapbook—A scrapbook can be as elaborate as something purchased at Michaels' or a a few pieces of paper stapled together. Your child will not care what his scrapbook looks like. Remember it is her book.

4. Supplies—If you have many scrapbooking materials, decide how many our child will get to use. For instance, if you have expensive calligraphy pens, it probably would be a good idea to keep these out of reach. Let your child use markers instead. Give your child extra stickers from sets that you no longer need.

5. Workspace—Kids need a workspace to set out their photos and photo album. You could use the kitchen table, a coffee table, or the child's desk. If your child wants to work on his project on multiple days, consider placing photographs, scrapbook, and supplies in a Rubbermaid tub or
shoe box.

6. Supervision—Scrapbooking is a great time to spend with your child. Talk to him about the photographs. Your child may not know when the photos were taken. help her put the photographs in order.

7. Teach—Show your child how to look for the most significant person, place, or thing in a photograph. Help your child crop the photograph with scissors, so that the most important person is shown. Show him how to paste the photos in the scrapbook with a glue stick or scrapbooking photo corners.

8. Journal—Show a child how to write on the scrapbook page. Depending on the age of the child, this may or may not be necessary. Older children will want to write the name of the place they visited or the people at the birthday party. Younger children may not have the writing skills necessary for this task.

9. Cleanup—Once your child is finished, it is time for cleanup. My kids hate cleanup more than anything in the world, but scrapbooking results in tiny bits of paper and photos all over the floor and table. A small Rubbermaid tub or a lunch bag is useful for collecting these bits of paper as the child works on his scrapbook.

10. Share—Once the scrapbook is completed, ask your child if they want to show it to someone: dad, grandma, teacher. Kids love to share what they have created.

Scrapbooking is a wonderful way to teach your child about life and
family. It is also a way to reinforce reading and writing skills.

Photos are examples of photos my children have taken with a disposable camera:
Wesson oil bottle, my son's feet, coffee pot, and Sesame Place mug.

Did you like this article?

How Do You Show Your Inner Silly With Your Digital Projects?

2009-02-11T21:26:00.000-08:00

Linda Sellers guest posts today for Mom It Forward. She is a mom of 3 teens and consultant for Rodan + Fields Skincare. She can be found blogging at Short Pump Preppy about her love of digital art and product reviews, and is the Buzz Editor for BlissfullyDomestic.com.

Kids today grow up in a digital world, and thankfully with the programs today you don't have to be the artistic type to have fun and engage with your kids. Chances are they already know more than you do. I first got involved with digital design and Photoshop because my kids played around with it when they were pre-teens. They got me started in what has become a hobby for me. And a way to connect with my kids...

We have used digital art in fun and crazy ways in our family. If you've ever seen my blog, you know I'm not afraid to Photoshop my head on anything. This began as a family tradition making placecards for holiday meals. Technology has improved and so have the cards. Mr. Turkey looks better from year to year! (I know, the "izzles" were big a few years ago...I make no apologies.) The kids pick out their head shot and whoever has the time, designs and prints the cards. Guests find it quirky, but the "non-traditional" is so much more fun for kids, and really sets a fun tone to the holiday meal.

...why yes, thank you, I do look better with age...

Inexpensive or free programs like photobucket and gimp provide a lot of the same photo manipulation tools that Photoshop does. Instead of buying traditional cards, taking the family photo and sending the classic cookie cutter versions, (which are wonderful and Grandma probably needs one of those), engage the kids in some digifun with the holiday cards. I had the kids each make their own portrait with a user friendly filter and print cards for relatives one Valentine's Day. This was a group project and they worked together to create the designs. Even the Big Guy! They turned out so cute, we printed them and framed them for our gameroom hall.

Family includes pets! Kids love animals and what better way to engage them than having them decorate photos of their animals. Look for free clipart online or check out inexpensive clipart sites like my favorite iclipart.com. Have the kids actually draw on the photos in free programs like paint. Frame fun pictures of the family pets for the kids rooms or common areas. Many people have photo printers or access to inexpensive printing and how cute to frame your cat in a bowtie or hat?

Sometimes it's the quirky, fun, and unexpected that will stand out in your kids minds and make the memories they take forward. My daughter is now giving similar gifts. Her friends photoshopped as the Spice Girls was a hit as a holiday gift. We do what we do for our family and friends, to connect and bring happiness into our lives and the lives of our loved ones.

Don't be afraid to think outside the traditional with digital art. Even when it seems they are laughing at you, I'll bet they are also laughing with you... So put on your silly face and create some fun memories.

How Does Stationery Inspire Your Relationships?

2009-02-10T21:35:00.000-08:00

Gabrielle Blair (@designmom) guest posts today. She is in love with Ben Blair for lots of reasons. One of them is because he reads her blog Design Mom devotedly—even though 99% of the content doesn't interest him in the least. Together, they have 5 kids and live in New York.

This is the 14th year that Ben Blair and I have celebrated Valentine’s Day together. Our family tradition: putting together a special breakfast for the kids on February 14th. Our couple's tradition: to forgo gifts and exchange love letters instead.

Love letters are wonderful to receive and a challenge to compose. It’s often hard to put feelings into words and the exercise of recording your deepest emotions for your lover is both intimidating and exhilarating. (I mean it. It will get your pulse pounding). Plus, the idea of being an old lady and having a box filled with stacks of love letters tied up in fading ribbons is so charming. How could I not get on the love letter train?

We were really good about our love letter tradition for many years. And somewhere I have a file with those heartfelt notes waiting to be found and reread. But for the last few Valentine's Days, we’ve totally slacked off. Resolution: start it up again in '09.

Why not join me in writing out your devotion to the one you love? To get us started, here’s a roundup of sweet and super sweet Valentine Stationery to get you in the mood for love. Personally, I find it’s much easier to put my pen to paper when the paper is delicious.

Sources (from left to right):
Biking Together by Kindred Knit.
Little Angel by Craft Pudding.
Coffee Love by Little Brown Pen.

Love in Cabbage by Armato Design .
You and Me by JulieAnnA.
Valentine Vespa by Winifred Studio.

So Very Happy Card by Dazey Chic.
Crush by Bloom Art Design.
Birthday Numbers by Sweetbeet.

What A Difference A Day Can Make!

2009-02-10T18:35:00.000-08:00

What Have #GNO Gals Done Lately to Mom It Forward?
This past weekend Carissa and I headed out to Nashville for our first blog conference—Blissdom, hosted by the sweet and funny Alli Worthington from Mrs. Fussypants and the hip and abundant Barbara Jones from One2OneNetwork.

You can see our summary posts here and here where we recap the valuable information we gained, the tremendous contacts we made, and the fabulous friendships we built and/or strengthened.

The most amazing part of the Blissdom experience for me was seeing the old addage "all's well that ends well" taken to new heights with "all's extraordinary that ends extraordinarily." I am referring to the Mom It Forward service project at the Nashville Rescue Mission sponsored by Scanpan (who donated 5 sets of high-end cookware to the Mission, nearly making me wish that was my kitchen—the pots and pans were AMAZING).

Five Fabulous Things About Momming It Forward Nashville Style

What was so extraordinary about this experience you may be asking yourself? Let me touch on five highlights:

Influence and reach is more important than numbers! We learned at the conference that blogging traffic is not as important as reach and influence. We experienced the same concept in a different way at the Nashville Rescue Mission. Our team was small in numbers—7 to be exact (Carissa, Kim, Josh and Rebecca, Ghennipher, Marie, and moi). But we helped prepare lunch for upwards of 1500 people.

(Photo courtesy of Ghennipher Weeks, featuring Josh and Rebecca Unfried of MomFaves.)

Now that is reach! Here is a quick note we just received from the volunteer director at the Nashville Rescue Mission:

Dear Carissa and Jyl,
My name is Billy Eldridge and I am the Director of Operations at The Nashville Rescue Mission. I want to thank you and your group, Mom It Forward, for Scanpan's donation and the time you spent volunteering here this past Sunday. Clay (the Kitchen Manager) said you were a big help. Several of the men were in awe of the fact that members of your group were in town for only a few days and you decided to spend your Sunday with us. The pot and pans that you donated are great. One of our recent graduates of the recovery program is getting married later this month and she received a set and is very grateful. We appreciate all that you have done and would enjoy having you back any time. Thank you again for your giving spirit.

Billy Eldridge, Nashville Rescue Mission

Shared meaninful experiences builds community. As we Mommed It Forward, our team experienced one of the most vital parts of building community: shared meaningful experiences. We may have been chopping vegetables or mixing in dressing on salads—ordinary tasks done daily for a mommy. But these ordinary tasks became extraordinary when we performed them while working together for a common goal and great cause—to help those who truly were not able to help themselves. It was an amazingly humble experience!

Stepping forward and out of your comfort zone is key to Momming It Forward. We got out of our comfort zones. Not only did we Mom It Forward in terms of serving, but we took a step forward from an area in which we may not have been entirely comfortable—from our comfort zones, helping us all to embrace a very important step to Mom It Forward—taking action!

Partnering makes Mom It Forward possible. This entire experience would not have been possible without a lot of creative connections. Specifically... the wonderful people behind the Blissdom Conference, who brought all of us together; the amazing Nashville Rescue Mission organization; our small, but influential team of Mom It Forward moms and dad who sacrificed sleep or fought headaches/sickness to participate; Nancy Martira, the lovely and brilliant PR professional and now friend, who introduced us to Scanpan; Scanpan for their generous donation and sponsorship (you've got to check out their cookware... as Alli says, "It's Lickable!"; Jessica Smith for introducing us to Nancy Martira; Abdul (I wish he had a blog I could link you to) for being our amazing taxi cab driver (no! he's no relation to Paula. I asked! LOL!); and most importantly, the people at the Nashville Rescue Mission—for their strength and goodness, however limited or ill understood.

The Mom It Forward mission is alive and kickin'. We have heard a few times that the Mom It Forward mission to "change the world one mom at a time" is lofty. What the Nashville Rescue Mission experience taught me is that it is possible. Mom It Forward can accomplish this mission one day at a time, one person at a time, one location at a time. We already are, including the partner that sponsored the opportunity, the organization that made it possible, the team members that provided the service, and the amazing people who received it.

(Photo of Ghennipher and Marie of Make and Takes.)

If you'd like to learn more about Mom It Forward, please visit our Mom It Forward blog. If you have questions or partnering ideas, please e-mail us at momitforward [at] gmail [dot] com.

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Join Us for a "Picture" Perfect #GNO Tues!

2009-02-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

How can photography help you preserve your most meaningful relationships?
What are tips to taking the perfect shots?
What are your favorite pics?
My kids won't sit still! What are tips for taking terrific kid shots?

All these questions and more answered at #GNO!

(Photo courtesy of Flickr.)

What: GNO (What's GNO? Click here to find out!)

Where: Tweet Grid (#gno)

When: Between 6 & 10 pm PST (9 pm to 1 am EST)

Who: Welcome our guest tweet Casey from Moosh in Indy (@mooshinindy)

Why: To chat about photography!

Important: Want to win big? Enter to win one of our three giveaways.

RSVP: Use Mr. Linky below (enter the twitter URL and your twitter ID (e.g., http://twitter.com/jyl_momIF).

How Do You Incorporate Chocolate With Your Family?

2009-02-07T22:43:00.000-08:00

Vanessa , today's guest post author, is a mother of two girls and the founder of I Never Grew Up, a website to help parents educate, care for and entertain their children. She is a contributor at Blissful Kids at Blissfully Domestic, Little Window Shoppe and Today's Mama.

As a family, we love to cook together, it is a wonderful time to have fun and bond as a family. Our family's favorite ingredient to cook with, hands down, is chocolate. When we plan our celebration for Valentine's Day we think of chocolate first! Our favorite chocolate desserts to cook as a family are: Flour-less Chocolate Cake, Molten Chocolate Lava Cake, Chocolate Brownies, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Chocolate Truffles. Cooking with your children has numerous benefits: It teaches your children mathematics, gives your child a sense of pride and accomplishment, will help your children try new things and they are also more likely to eat what they help make. (Not that it is to hard to talk your children into eating chocolate. :) )

In our home we have a silly tradition of "dolling" ourselves up for cooking special treats. We wear fun bright aprons, put on our favorite lip gloss and dance around to our favorite music. Our last chocolate recipe that we made with love was Chocolate Oreo Truffles.

Tips for Cooking with Your Children

1. Prepare by reading the recipe together and gathering the ingredients and tools before beginning to cook.
2. Allow your child to choose a recipe, to give them a sense of control and self worth.
3. Laugh and Have Fun! Try to be patient, have a sense of humor and enjoy yourself!

Check out these fun Valentine's Day ideas from Vanessa at INeverGrewUp.net to help you have a wonderful holiday with your children:

* Heart Photo Arrangement
* I Love You So Much Game
* Family Heart Game
* Chocolate Oreo Truffles

How Does Chocolate Affect Your Emotions?

2009-02-06T21:31:00.000-08:00

Introducing Guest Author: Erin Chase! She blogs about healthy eating and frugal meal planning at 5DollarDinners.com. Besides saving money and cooking, she enjoys running, scrapbooking and yes, the occasional truffle!

I Love me some chocolate. I do.

I love the dark stuff (healthy, right?).
I love the milky stuff.
I love truffles.
I love it in coffee.

In fact, it's the only way I drink coffee; heavily "choco-lated!" I love watching it bubble and cascade in a chocolate fountain. I enjoy dessert fondue with angel food cake and strawberries dipped into perfectly rich chocolate dipping sauce. If it's got chocolate on the label, chances are I will not be able to say no!

Here is a little glimpse into my love affair with chocolate:

Chocolate makes me HAPPY. Biting into a raspberry filled truffle fills my mind and body with thoughts and feelings of jubilation. Just thinking about my favorite truffle makes me salivate. The flavor, the texture, the whole experience of eating my favorite piece of chocolate makes me Happy. In moderation, chocolate makes me Happy.
Chocolate makes me MAD. Occasionally the "need" for a peanut butter cup or a chocolate kiss turns into a bag full binge-fest. I will be the first to admit it. I have eaten an entire bag of chocolate chips. In one sitting. With no raging hormones involved! Not eating chocolate in moderation makes me Mad.
Chocolate REWARDS me. It really is a beautiful thing to treat oneself to something enjoyable. Chocolate can be very rewarding. A way to congratulate yourself for a job well done. I am thankful that I can be Rewarded by chocolate.
Chocolate CONFUSES me. I am befuddled by my "need" for chocolate. When both mind and body are taken over in a powerful hormonal wave, leading you WAY out of your way to get your hands on some. Even just one little piece. Or better yet, an entire bag. Your body screaming at you for more. Then the craving is satisfied. The guilt sets in. Why? Why did I just eat that entire bag? Shame. My body craved just one piece, but would not be satisfied with nothing short of an entire bag. I'm left Confused.

Why is it that chocolate can affect us in so many different ways? With yet another "chocolate" holiday just around the corner, I hope to eat just 2 or 3 truffles and feel HAPPY. And I hope you can too!

Photo Credit: FoNgEtZ

Do You Have a Love Affair With Chocolate?

2009-02-05T21:30:00.000-08:00

Emily Hill guest posts today for Mom it Forward. By day she is the mother of four children; by night (okay, and day too) she is the co-owner of georgie tees and a contributing writer for Boutique Cafe, Polliwogged and her company's blog, freshly baked. She also does freelance communications work for a variety of clients including Rain.

In my opinion, if you have to ask yourself this question then the answer is "no." Those of us who have a true ~~addiction to~~ love affair with chocolate don't stop thinking about it or indulging in it long enough to question our relationship with it. I have no idea when the affair first started but I'm sure I was underage when it happened. When other kids were sucking on their Now and Laters and chomping on that disgusting individually wrapped bubblegum, I was hitting the chocolate Charleston Chew pretty hard. I then moved on to 3 Musketeers, Twix , Almond Joy (I switched to Mounds later in life when I grew to appreciate dark chocolate) and those tasty Junior Mints. And that's just candy.

I've managed to keep this love affair going for over 30 years now. My secret? The same secrets to keeping any relationship strong:

trying something new (still not a fan of white chocolate);
mixing it up (from scratch or the box, either will do when a brownie craving hits);
even experimenting a little here and there (braving chocolate-covered potato chips was SO worth it!).

Oh, and I almost forgot about the all-important date night.
Chocolate and I try to have at least two—okay, who am I kidding—seven date nights a week. The one-on-one time is a great way to reconnect with each other and for me to wind down after what is usually a very long day with the kids.

Chocolate is there for me even when my tastes start to change. I used to be big into milk chocolate but as I matured so did my palette. Somewhere in my 20's I started making my way over to the dark side, and that was before all the health benefits about dark chocolate came to light. (Antioxidants are one of my favorite ways of justifying the affair.) Treats like Dove Dark Chocolate squares and Costco's Truffettes de France (French truffles) have only strengthened my desire for all things dark...chocolate. But before you think I am just a candy kind of girl I want you to know I'm very open minded when it comes to my love affair with chocolate. I'm happy to indulge in decadent fudge-filled layer cakes, triple chocolate brownies, Breyer's Brownie Mud Pie ice cream (I could eat the entire carton), chocolate mousse pie and even the occasional chocolate cheesecake. Did I mention low-fat Oreos (low fat means you can eat more, right?),Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies and s'mores?

I could go on and on but I like to keep some parts of my love affair private; it really is better for everyone involved. One thing I am sure about, my ~~addiction to~~ love of chocolate didn't skip a generation. Just look at how excited my youngest daughter was on her first birthday just before she covered herself in her chocolate-drizzled birthday treat. Yep, she gets that from me.

Photo Credit Coolmitch

How Does Chocolate Compare to Social Media?

2009-02-04T21:30:00.000-08:00

Jessica Smith guest posts today for Mom it Forward! She is Chief Mom Advisor and the woman behind the idea for MomForce.com, Chief Mom Officer for Wishpot.com, and works with big brands including Walmart and Ford. Jessica offers a personal glimpse into her life as a mom and virtual executive at JessicaKnows.com. Jessica enjoys the best of both worlds, motherhood and career, at home in the DC Metro area with her husband and young son.

With Valentine's Day just over a week away, many are thinking of gifts and many of those are going for the class stand-bys: flowers, jewelry, and chocolate.

While I love receiving any of the three, it's the latter that I get excited about the most. Chocolate has been one of my best friends for quite some time now and I'll take it any way I can get it: milk, dark, swirled with caramel, in my coffee, chipped, truffled, and mint. (My favorite? Dark, the darker the chocolate the better.)

So it's no wonder that social media does the same for me that chocolate does.

You know those boxes of chocolates with all different shapes and sizes? It's the type of box with a "map" of the contents, a guide to the delectable fillings and nuts inside? Sometimes I study the different flavors and deliberately choose which confections I'll try that day. However, other days I'm feeling adventurous and I pay no attention to the inside top of the box. Sometimes diving in, eyes practically closed, and risking a flavor you're unfamiliar with is the way to go. In fact, you might discover that if you had looked at the box and saw "Cayenne Pepper Jelly" you would have thrown that chocolate out with disdain. But because you took the risk, took a blind bite, it's now the one chocolate that you seek out.

The same idea applies to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Sure, if you're a cake baker you'll naturally seek out other cake bakers and people that like to eat cake. However, you might find that the snake charmer that just started following you on Twitter the day before is the one that makes you laugh more. This could result in you stressing less, sleeping more, and ultimately being able to make more cakes!

Like chocolate, social media can brighten your day, give you a boost, comfort, and inspire. The jury is still out though if too much can give you heartburn.

photo credit wikipedia

What’s Better, Love or Chocolate?

2009-02-03T21:38:00.000-08:00

You had to think about it didn't you?

Chris Perrin Guest Posts Today for Mom it Forward. He is a professional food writer who lives and writes in Overland Park, KS (a suburb of Kansas City.) His passion for food began when he cooked in the kitchen with his father who still is a wonderful cook. He uses the kitchen as classroom, therapy, science lab, and a way to connect with his wife and son. (He's also our first Male Guest Post!) You can check out his writing at Blog Well Done.

The answer to this question is more important than you might think. I knew I was going to marry my wife shortly after she told me that loving me was slightly better than eating Oreos. I had recently come to the decision that I would rather be with her than watch Star Wars, so, too, had come to realize what we had was Real. Still, the fact that we could watch Star Wars together and eat Oreos made us both feel a lot better about the journey ahead of us.

But I digress.

With Valentine’s Day approaching, millions of people in the Western World (not just Americans like me, but French, Dutch, Swiss, English, and so on) will be hitting the stores looking for the perfect chocolate gift for their significant others. This search will be undertaken by guys because showing up without chocolate is grounds for sleeping on the couch and by the gals so they can eat what they got their guys.

It’s also important because chocolate and love just seem inextricably linked. It’s partially a cultural thing. It’s just tradition for Westerners to give chocolate to the ones they love. It’s also a culinary thing. Think of the most decadent, rich, creamy dessert you’ve ever had and nine-times-out-of-ten, it’s made with chocolate.

You may have already heard, but it’s a biological thing, too. You ever eat chocolate and feel better? That’s because chocolate releases endorphins in the brain, chemicals responsible for your sense of well-being and happiness. They’re the same chemicals released during sex (and also when you do heroin and eat dill pickles, too.)

Most importantly, though, chocolate is a girl and a guy thing. It something that couples can enjoy together as a fondue, something to dip strawberries in, a must-have for cookies, or an ice cream. Since, I’ve always believed that couples (and families) who cook together stay together, a rich chocolaty cake or even a basic chocolate chip cookie is great relationship glue: something that can be made, and then devoured, together.

So now that you’ve had time to think about it. Which is better love or chocolate? Maybe it’s love, maybe it’s chocolate, and maybe it depends on the day. Chocolate can’t break your heart, but it has had difficulty saying “I love you” since the 60s. Love is a blessing, but it’s difficult, too.

You know, either way you answered, this Valentine’s Day and for every day the rest of the year, I hope you have lots and lots of both.

Photo Credits
Jovike, MichealAllroy, pussnboots, islandjoe

We're Talking Love & Chocolate at #GNO!

2009-02-01T09:56:00.001-08:00

RSVP for the Sweetest #GNO of the Year!

#GNO promises to be a sweet treat this week. Join us for your favorite girl's night out fix!

What: GNO (What's GNO? Click here to find out!)
Where: Tweet Grid (#gno)
When: Between 6 & 10 p.m. PST (9 p.m. to 1 a.m. EST)
Who: Welcome our first guy guest tweet Chris Perrin from @blogwelldone
Why: To chat about love and chocolate (Mmmmmmmm!)
Important: Want to win big? Enter to win one of our three giveaways.
RSVP: Use Mr. Linky below (enter the twitter URL and your twitter ID (e.g., http://twitter.com/jyl_momIF).

Note: This does not enter you for the giveaways.

Enter Giveaway for a Chance to Serve & Score!

2009-02-01T09:40:00.000-08:00

3 Different Giveaways. 3 Amazing Prizes.
3 Ways to Enter: Vlog, Blog, or Photog.
1 Great Purpose: To Mom It Forward!

Click on the links and images below to learn the entry requirements, see the specs for each prize, and find where to enter each giveaway. Please do not enter in this post.

Vlogging Giveaway 1
HP Mini 1535NR Laptop Specs
Click Here to Enter
Deadline: Saturday, February 14

Blogging Giveaway 2
HP Photosmart 6380 All-in-One Printer Specs
Click Here to Enter
Deadline: Saturday, February 7

Photogging Giveaway 3
Muvee Reveal Movie Editing Software Package Specs
Click Here to Enter
Deadline: Monday, February 2

Thanks to Sugar Jones from Living In Theory for awarding us winners of the HP Magic Giveaway. Giveaways 1 and 2 include prizes from that contest and these giveaways are an effort to spread the HP Magic even further.

How Can You Create a Giving Attitude With Your Children?

2009-01-30T14:06:00.001-08:00

LaSara Firefox guest posts today for Mom It Forward, she is a MPNLP, coach, trainer, and author. Through her website, LaSarafirefox.com, She helps clients find balance in their lives, and alignment with their personal and family-held values. She’s wife to an outstanding man, and mom to two brilliant girls. (This article is an excerpt, you can read it in it's entirety.)

Even when funds are tight, giving reminds us of how much we have, and how fortunate we are.

While coming face to face with money-problems can be a challenging experience, being able to do something about it is a saving grace.
With our nation in the grasp of some hard financial times, many of us are holding back on the consumptive aspect of the season. What better way than giving, to remind us what we've got?

1. Cull/weed household belongings and take them to the local shelter or women's center.
An easy starting point is to cull or weed your household goods. While you're at it, you can suggest that your kids do the same, and have them decide what they're willing to part with to help a kid in need.
If your kids are ready for the experience, they may want to participate in the delivery of items, too. My older daughter who's 11 asked to come along on the next drop off.

2. Host a Potlatch and take all left-over items to the charity or service of your choice.
The potlatch ceremony is also called a give-away. Potlatch comes from the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest coastline. In a potlatch, you give away your belongings as a celebration of your abundance. In north-western native culture, the potlatch consisted of every home in the village putting belongings outside for the the taking. The one who gave the most, as opposed to the family who HAD the most, gained the highest status.Invite your friends to bring belongings to offer, and to take what they need from what others are giving away. At the end of the potlatch, invite your friends to leave all extra items, and take them to your local shelter or favorite charity.

3. Help your kid come up with ways to help humanity.
Food drives, clothing drives, penny drives, quilt drives, coat drives, and more. There are so many ways to help. What are some creative ways your child can brainstorm to gather resources together and offer them to those less-fortunate? For maximum impact on your kids sense of service, allow him or her to offer ideas, and do your best to support them. The more empowered your kid is to participate in grateful giving, the more organic and integrated the experience becomes.
Recently, my 11 year old decided to bring her change jar - a huge pickle jar with a good start on coins - to her classroom for a change drive. It was fully her idea, start to finish.

4. Offer service at your local soup kitchen.
Our local soup kitchen offers a family lunch service before the general lunch service. While the general service might be a little risky to take kids to, the family service is a great way for kids to come face to face with those they are helping.
Ask the kitchen if you can bring a dish, or home made cookies or something easy. Your child's sense of accomplishment and generosity will be even larger if they have had a hand in creating the food they're offering out.

5. Want to make it international, yet very personal? Microfinancing is a great option!
Microfinancing is a great way to involve your family in the international picture of wealth distribution, resources, and generosity. Getting into microfinancing is a great opportunity to talk to your kids about currencies, and how an American dollar goes a lot farther in a third-world country. It's also a great opportunity to illustrate the dire financial conditions in other countries, while still illustrating the fact that we are not powerless to create change. For example, $150 goes a long way in the Philippines. The listing below is from Kiva.org:

"Vicenta Duron is 52 years old ... She tills a small parcel of land, which she inherited from her father. Her life is in farming and she loves growing crops, especially rice. ...Vicenta needs a loan of $125 to purchase sacks of certified seed and fertilizers. She also plans to open a store where she can sell her farm produce, and increase her profits to support her family."
-Kiva.org loan request

For additional information see: www.microfinancegateway.org.

When Others Rely on You, How Do You Strengthen Yourself?

2009-01-29T20:51:00.001-08:00

Tara McCausland our Mom It Forward guest author, has been in the business of teaching, training and coaching for 5 years and is the owner of Joy Quest Coaching. She has been married for four blissful years and is the mother of a hyperactive bundle of boy joy.

Do you remember Stuart Smalley from Saturday Night Live?

You know, he wore those tacky 80’s sweaters and at the beginning and ending of each segment he would look himself in the mirror and say, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and – doggonit – people like me.” As a youngster, I remember thinking this was just downright silly. But now, twenty plus years later, I am recognizing more and more how important this “self love” is to our personal well-being. As women, with so many voices swirling around us saying that we are not good enough, not skinny enough, not capable enough – believing in our innate value and treating ourselves with care is imperative.

Here are 4 things we can each do to treat ourselves right so that we can maintain a healthy self-image and, most importantly, be happy.

Invest in Yourself: Imagine yourself as a walking cash box and each day, people are taking out withdrawals (i.e. your 3 yr old flips out in the grocery store, your co-worker needs a pep talk, etc). Withdrawals take time and energy. So, if you are not consciously putting something back into that box, what will eventually happen? Sooner or later you will have nothing left to give and it is near impossible to feel good about yourself when you are running on empty. Make self investing a priority and recognize that in order to be the best you can be – you need to invest in your physical, mental, social/emotional, and spiritual self. This needs to be a daily, weekly ritual. When you block out some time to exercise, brush up on a skill, spend time with friends/family, and ponder what is important to you – you will feel good about yourself and have the energy and desire to then give to those around you.

Stick to your Guns: It seems the world has gone a little topsey turvey where in some cases good is labeled as bad and bad celebrated as good. Regardless of our race or creed, we all have an inner voice that warns us when something is amiss. If you encounter a trend or belief system that does not resonate with you, be courageous, stick to your guns, and live with integrity. Do not fret if you appear to be the only one that possesses that value. Chances are there are others like you around the world carrying a similar banner. When we stand up for what we believe in, this – more than any thing else – will help us maintain self-respect and allow us to hold our head high in any company.

Dream BIGGEST: Often we put ourselves in an invisible box, limiting us to what we think we should or should not do, or worse, what we can or cannot do. Do not allow fear of failure or pressure to fit a perceived mold hold you back from living your dreams. You may be a busy wife and/or mother (or you may not be). But whatever you are, if you love to bake, bake. If you love to write, write. If you love to ski, ski. In every case, I believe there is a way to live your dreams without losing sight of what is most important. Living with passion is what keeps life novel and exciting. Without it, our days can feel joyless and mundane. Contributing something unique to the world is a great source of fulfillment and self-confidence.

Eliminate Guilt: Finally, self-judgment ain’t on the to do list. Throw away the gavel! Constantly putting ourselves down only zaps our confidence and rips the beauty out of every life experience. Instead, simply do the best you can and then give your self special permission to be satisfied with that. Remember, it is not what we do that makes us valuable. We are valuable simply because we are!

Like Mr. Smalley said, you are good enough and smart enough so do yourself a favor and treat you right. It is the key to living confidently, successfully, and joyfully!

Like this article?

How Can You Develop Stronger Relationships With Your Kids Through Crafts?

2009-01-28T21:00:00.000-08:00

Marie, today's guest post author, is a mother of 3 and the founder of Make and Takes, a place for ideas and crafty tidbits for home, family, and fun. She is the channel editor of Blissful Kids at Blissfully Domestic and also can be seen on Alpha Mom - Holidays.

Even though we're busy with our kids all day, sometimes we miss the opportunities to just 'be' with them, developing the relationship. With work, school, play dates, meals, and bed times, we can sometimes over look the need to strengthen our relationships with our kids. Crafting can be a great way for you to develop your relationship with your child in a fun and encouraging way.

Here's 3 ways to develop your relationship with your kids through crafts!

One-on-One Attention - Kids love attention and they need it from loved ones. Doing crafts or projects together with your kids can let them know you care. Even if you're just sitting in a chair next to them while they construct a tower or a flower, they love to know you're there.
Problem Solve Together - If your toddler is ready to use scissors, your 1st grader trying to read instructions, or your teenager is beading a bracelet, you can use this time with your child to see how they work. While crafting or completing a project, we can see what skills they're using and what skills they can better develop.
Just Talk - Creating a friendly and fun environment can lead to open communication with your child. If you're sitting side by side together working on a project, ask them about their day, about school, about friends, and just talk. See what's on their minds, what's bothering them, what their needs are. This can be a great way to get to know them better, finding out more of their interests.

Check out these fun features from Marie's Crafts and Activities to help you develop your relationships with kids: