Burgh Mom

Just Mentioning It

2010-02-03T11:41:00.000-08:00

For those living in a cave, Las Velas is having Mariachi night on February 5 from 6pm to 9pm. There will likely be a few of Yinz in attendance. :-)

And We're Back

2010-01-20T06:29:00.000-08:00

What: Pie Exchange
Where: @winsomelily4's house (AKA Emily)
When: Sunday, February 7th at 4:00pm
Bring 1 pie (more if preferred, of course!), cut into 8 pieces, and a container with which to take pie home. Families welcome.

Real Quick

2009-12-04T14:15:00.000-08:00

Two things:

1. I need to update the blogroll for this site. Please leave your url in comments so I can make a brand spanking new blogroll that is easy to use. THANKS!

2. Rumor has it that Toys for Tots is behind where they need to be in Pittsburgh. I've heard that from a few different sources, so for once in my life, I'm sharing a press release (sorry that I'm lazy and not cleaning up the formatting):

Toys For Tots Donations Down; Demand Up

Bruegger’s Bakery Asks Community Members to Donate on December 5

Who: Marines, Pittsburgh Kids, Bruegger’s Bakery in South Park Shops

What: Marines will be onsite at Bruegger’s Bakery-Café to collect new, unwrapped toys for local Toys for Tots

Bruegger’s will provide free meal from the bakery-café’s kids menu to children who donate toys

When: Marines will be onsite Saturday, December 5 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.

Donations will be accepted through December 15

Visuals: Marines collecting toys from children to fill empty bin inside the restaurant; Children and families responding to the call to action; Interviews with local Marines who are working to encourage donations

Where: Cleveland Bruegger’s Restaurant

South Park Shops
5213 Library Road
Bethel Park, PA 15102

Bakery phone 412-833-9381

More: Local chapter of Marines Toys for Tots Foundation requests toys for needy children. In its 62nd year, the organization’s local chapters are reporting a devastating need - with requests for toys increasing as much as 50 percent in some

For each new, unwrapped toy that a child donates, Bruegger’s will provide a free meal from the bakery-café’s new kids menu, launched in September 2009. Bruegger’s toy drive began in late October. Participating locations will be accepting donations until December 15.

For those adults who want to join in the giving, Bruegger’s will donate $1.00 for each guest who becomes a “Fan” of Bruegger’s Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/Brueggers or who logs in to receive the Bruegger’s newsletter at www.brueggers.com. Guests who visit Bruegger’s Facebook page can also donate cash directly to Toys for Tots.

A Quick Message from MamaPhan

2009-11-23T18:58:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody (Please, don't call me Dr. Nick),

I'm @MamaPhan for those of you who follow me on twitter. I'm in Pittsburgh for a quick, 3 day stint and want to organize a get together. I'll be in town 12/12-12/14. Who's in? I figure the current plan is to do lunch at a certain Mexican restaurant in Market Square. My family will probably be with me, so I guess bring the kiddos and husbands? Whatever you want. Leave a message here, @ reply me on Twitter or email me if you've got it. I'll take care of organizing.

If you can tell me what day/time works best for you, I'd appreciate it.

Thank you. :)

-Trinity (http://phanaticallyspeaking.wordpress.com)

Imagination Movers

2009-11-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

I have two extra (free) tickets to the Imagination Movers on Thursday, November 19th at 7:00pm at the Byham. If you're interested in going, send me an email.

Egads, It's Less than Two Weeks Away

2009-11-04T07:35:00.001-08:00

When: November 14th, 2:00pm until whenever you want to leave
Where: My house
What: Cookie swap
Who: Whoever you want. Feel free to bring kids, spouses, whoever.
Please bring: Six dozen (or more, if you want) cookies. Also, optionally, some sort of appetizer. I'll have assorted beverages available.

Please leave an email address in comments or send an email to burghbaby (at) gmail.com so I can send you the address and directions.

Las Velas

2009-10-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that we are on for Friday, October 16th at 7:30pm at Las Velas in Market Square. The reservation is under, "Michelle." There is quite a bit of parking in the area, but Fifth Avenue Place Garage is probably the simplest. See you there!

Mark Those Calendars

2009-09-28T07:50:00.000-07:00

What: Dinner and such
When: October 16th at 7:30 pm
Where: Las Velas
Who: Bloggers and the like
Please RSVP in comments so we can get an approximate count.

What: Cookie Swap
When: November 14th at 2:00 pm
Where: Casa de Burghbaby (Address/directions will be shared via email)
Who: Feel free to bring whoever. There's plenty of space and a lock on the playroom door. Not that I would ever lock a kid in with her piles of toys and books . . .
More details to come.

Reminder about this Friday

2009-09-15T11:07:00.000-07:00

Just pinging your RSS feed to remind you that there is a get-together scheduled for this coming Friday.

When: September 18th at 7:00 pm
Where: Bocktown (Robinson--across the parking lot from Target)

Several people are going to be there closer to 8:00, so don't sweat it if you're late. I'm hoping to beat everybody there and get a decent table on the deck (weather permitting, of course).

September

2009-08-18T05:46:00.000-07:00

When: September 18th at 7:00 pm
Where: Bocktown (Robinson--across the parking lot from Target)

Mr. Linky is being a jerk right now, so please note in comments if you plan to attend.

Thanks!

Save the Date

2009-07-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

It's still a few months away, but October 10th and 11th I will be attending podcamp 4.

Podcamp is a free social media conference. Sessions are offered for all ranges of social media expertise, from Blogger Wannabe to Master of All Things Social Media. If you are interested in learning more about blogging, twitter, Facebook, or everything in between, mark your calendars and make plans to attend.

(For those of you who are familiar with Blogher, it's like that, but FREE, and devoid of all the WHAT WILL I WEAR? drama.)

More information is available at the Podcamp site, and details will be announced as they become available.

Yes, This Saturday

2009-07-06T08:49:00.000-07:00

What: Get Together
When: Saturday, July 11th at 10:00am
Where: Pittsburgh Zoo
Who: Whoever
Why: Just because

Big thanks to Allison and Kelly for putting this together!

Finally, I Know

2009-06-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

What: Meet-up
When: June 26th, 7:00 pm
Where: Green Mango (address says Pittsburgh, but it's more like Monroeville/Wilkins Township. It's in the plaza between the old John Harvard's and Starbucks. FYI--they are BYOB and no charge for doing it.)
Who: Whoever you want. We're easy like that.

Please sign the Mr. Linky if you plan to attend.

Also, I've been trying for a while to get a park get-together scheduled. I was just looking to have us do sort of a potluck near a playground. No fuss, no muss. Problem is that between all the new house crap and how hard it is to get a park pavilion for under a kajillion dollars, the genius plotting keeps getting delayed. Anybody got the time to organize something for a Saturday or Sunday in July? You will be my hero if you do.

I Dare You to Join Me

2009-04-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

Every parent has felt it.

The fear.

The crippling fear that the worst will happen to a child.

Death.

I sometimes irrationally have pangs of that kind of crippling terror. It's always momentary, and it's usually me being silly. Maybe Alexis actually does the unbelievable and naps for more than an hour. Maybe she stays in her own bed the whole night. Or maybe she catches a cold and I just automatically momentarily jump to worst case scenario.

There was one time when it wasn't such a momentary thing. When Alexis was two months old, she fell ill with a crazy high fever. We battled the illness at home for several days, but when she stopped eating, we had to rush her to the emergency room. We watched in paralyzing fear as a team of nurses and technicians pinned down her tiny body to start an IV. I can still hear her screams when I close my eyes and relive that horrifying moment. We held her tight as she slept 48 hours straight, not even waking to eat. We watched as test after test came back negative, and listened as doctors said it was "just a virus--there's nothing we can do."

The lowest point was when a Resident came in to check on her, listened to her heart for a moment, and said, "Huh. Did you know she has a heart murmur?" We didn't, and we were paralyzed in fear as we waited hours for a more seasoned physician to come in and tell us that it was likely an innocent murmur brought on by the fever. I don't think either Mr. Husband or I breathed all through the tests that were done to confirm that diagnosis.

But, we were lucky. It was nothing. Alexis came home after four days in the hospital and was no worse for the wear.

Heather and Mike of The Spohrs are Multiplying* were not so fortunate. They lost their sweet 17-month old Maddie yesterday.

I can't even imagine.

I don't want to.

In lieu of flowers, Heather and Mike have asked for donations to the March of Dimes. We've made a donation, but I want to do more.

If you are in Pittsburgh, please consider joining me in the March for Babies on May 9th along the North Shore in Pittsburgh. You can join the team here.

If you can't be there and you have a few bucks you could spare, please consider making a donation. Every penny helps.

*So much love tried to find its way to the site this morning that it has been down all day. If that link doesn't work, please try again later as the site is being moved to new hosting. FYI--Don't ever do business with Bluehost. They are lacking the most basic human compassion.

****************************************************************************

I've been working on a family friendly get-together at a park or other venue, and have just been waiting to hear back from a few people as to whether we could get registration fees/entrance fees waived. Let's plan to have that get-together on May 9th, after the walk. Exact location is still up in the air, but it will be a come and go as you please sort of event. Mark your calendars, and I hope to see you at the walk.

March Get Together

2009-03-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

When: Friday, March 27, 2008 at 7:00pm
Where: Church Brew Works
What: Dinner
Who: Parents who blog

Sorry for the late notice here, but if you were on the ListServ you would have known last week. Special thanks to Red Pen Mama for coordinating this time.

First Get-Together of 2009

2009-01-27T06:20:00.000-08:00

Who: Anyone who blogs, is a parent, and is interested in meeting other Pittsburgh parents who blog.

What: A get-together of epic proportions.

When: Friday, January 30th at 7:00pm. Don't worry if you're late, because you'll probably still beat me there.

Where: Double Wide in the South Side. On-street parking is available (if nothing is available on Carson, try a street parallel to Carson).

How: It doesn't matter how you get there, just do. If you are interested in carpooling, make sure you are signed up for the ListServ.

Why: Just because we can. However, if you would like to participate in a re-gift swap, bring along a wrapped gift that you have received that you would love to pass on to someone else.

Please sign Mr. Linky so we know who to expect. Thanks!

Step 2

2009-01-12T19:53:00.000-08:00

January 30th it is! Now to pick a place. Poll will close Friday at midnight and you should be able to vote for more than one.

It's a New Year

2009-01-07T17:09:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

It's been far too long since the Blogging Moms and Dads of Pittsburgh had a night out on the town, so let's get the next party started by picking a date. This will be a Friday evening (7:00pm seems to work well, and being late is always 100% acceptable) for the bloggers only.

Poll will close January 10th at 11:00pm.

Please make suggestions for a location in the comments.

Cookie Swap

2008-11-05T19:03:00.001-08:00

November 22nd

Cookie Swap!

2008-10-30T10:22:00.001-07:00

It's time to organize one last get-together for the year. Some of us were plurking (Are you? If not, you should.) and thought it would be fun to do a cookie swap/Christmas party. Given that everybody has crazy schedules once the holidays roll around, we think November would be best. There will not be a December get-together.

Below is a poll of dates that we could hold the cookie swap. You can pick as many dates as you want.

I'm also looking for suggestions on where to hold the swap. Please make suggestions in comments. We'll finalize the plans via email using the Listserv.

Thanks!

A Quick Update

2008-10-12T18:32:00.000-07:00

Some things of note that are going on:

1--Dinner. This coming Friday evening. Robinson Mad Mex. 7:00. Please leave a comment if you plan to attend so I can make reservations. Thank you!

2--PodCamp Pittsburgh. PodCamp is a FREE event similar to BlogHer, but with an supa-cool Pittsburgh twist. It's an annual event, and this year's festivities are October 18th and 19th. You can attend just a few presentations or the whole thing (schedule here). Check out the PodCamp site for more information.

3--There will be a poll to pick a date/location for next month's cookie swap/get together.

4--This site will be launching "for reals" before the end of the year. I'm not putting a date to it because I know that will just end up in it being late, but it will happen.

We Know We're Missing Some Peeps

2008-09-24T05:46:00.000-07:00

Kim looked through the Listserv last night and we now know that we're still missing some people. If you are a parent, live in or near Pittsburgh, and have a blog, you are more than welcome to join us for an occasional get together. To get information on the get togethers, we'll need you to join the Listserv since we can't post addresses and such here. The Listserv is used only for communications regarding get togethers, so we promise not to clog your inbox.

Also, if you are not yet on the blogroll, let me know and I'll get you added ASAP. Thanks!

Update

2008-09-10T05:33:00.001-07:00

If you didn't know that the next get-together is confirmed for September 28th at 2:30 pm, it's because you didn't sign up for the Listserv yet, or because the Listserv messages are stuck in your spam folder. Do what you need to do to continue to receive Burgh Mom updates via the Listserv, because this domain is going to be getting re-purposed very soon.

In case you haven't heard what's coming in this space, Burgh Mom is going to be used as was originally intended--as a resource for Pittsburgh Moms and Dads. It will have blog posts from several Pittsburgh Moms (or Dads, if I can find any willing to contribute!) with information such as ideas for things to do with the kids, reviews of local attractions, recipes, smart shopping tips, book reviews, how-to guides, and all kinds of other information that is of use to Pittsburgh Moms and Dads. Burgh Mom will also highlight some of the best blog posts the Burgh Moms have posted on their personal sites.

If you are interested in contributing and we haven't already talked about it, shoot me an email at burghbaby@gmail.com. It pays absolutely nothing, but is a chance to drive traffic to your site (if you want) and to share your knowledge with others in a semi-public forum. You can contribute as often as once per week, or only occassionally.

Thanks!

New Peeps!

2008-09-06T20:35:00.001-07:00

A couple of new Burgh Moms were just added to the blogroll, so go say hi to them!

Unreserved
Every Day Baby Steps

Action Required

2008-09-02T20:23:00.001-07:00

A while ago, Kim and her husband were kind enough to set up a listserv for us to use. Listserv is a fancy way of saying electronic distribution list. It's also a piece of software but the term is often used generically, kind of like Kleenex. For the record, this list is run with Mailman software.

It works like this: You send an email to one address and all the list subscribers get it. Pretty simple.

Here's where you go to join the list (or "subscribe"): http://lists.mulberrymail.com/mailman/listinfo/burghmoms

Once subscribed, you'll get instructions for sending messages to the list and managing your subscription.

This will allow us to send confidential information, such as addresses, without posting them here and will let us have "conversations" much easier than comments. Go sign up!