Call it kismit or fate, but the very next Friday I was sitting at the Clever Girls Collective’s Ladies Who Tech brunch at Blog World 2011, and was introduced to Kingston Technology’s Wi-Drive – the exact answer to the Mommy iPhone problem we were looking for.

Let’s be honest here, while somehow my husband manages to keep his iPhone free of the grimy hands obsessed with the latest Toca Boca game, my iPhone is loaded down with apps that are now all parked in a folder I call “Mommy Needs 5 Minutes.” At the grocery store, at Nordstrom’s Rack or whenever you just NEED a few moments to think, these games, books or videos come in handy. Yes, I will admit – I use my phone as an iBabysitter when needed.

Without sounding like my 4-year old, there are times I want to yell “NO! You can’t download anything else because the phone is MINE!” God forbid if I can’t take a picture with Instagram or download the latest song from PitBull I just Shazamed because my phone is full of princess games. That’s why when the nice people at Kingston started talking about this product I seriously had to control myself from jumping out of my seat with excitement.

So what is the Wi Drive and why must you have it?

The Wi Drive is a small (aproximately iPhone sized) device that streams files over WiFi to as many as three iOS devices. The Wi-Drive works in conjunction with a free app from iTunes and costs roughly about $100 for the 16GB (Prices vary). And while yes, it may have been cheaper to buy the 32 GB iPhone from the start – this works with all iOS devices – your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Basically it’s a portable external hard drive for your iDevices. Which means this – you and your husband have the app on your phone, and all the kids stuff from Strawberry Shortcake’s color sorting game to the 10 episodes of Phineas And Ferb are stored on the Wi Drive instead of your phones. It frees up valuable GBs for your Words with Friends or Justin Timberlake movies AND the apps are available on up to 3 devices. You simply store the Wi Drive in your purse, and as long as the kids are within a few feet of you (basic wi-fi range) they are good to go.

Traveling this holiday season? This will be a lifesaver. If one kid has your old iPhone, and the other your iPad, they will both have access to all the games, movies or music THEY want.

*disclosure: Kingston Technology was a sponsor of the Clever Girls Ladies Who Tech Brunch. They gave all people in attendance a very cool UR Drive. Then I stalked them until they sent me a Wi Drive for review because I SO needed one. Opinions/Excitement are my own and not sponsored.

Budget cuts in the public school systems have also pushed sex education from the previous grade school introduction (roughly 4th to 6th grades ), now to Middle School.  In fact, many kids learn about their bodies and sexuality after they have already reached Puberty!  Data from the National Survey of family Growth reports that female teenagers are more likely than male teenagers to report first receiving instruction on birth control methods in high school ( 47% versus 38%) coupled with the fact that 10% of pregnancies these days are teenagers!  Put it all together, and we have a serious problem here and it’s more than kids are growing up too fast.  It’s a cultural shift, as Sociologists explain, where society has become more raw and primitive.

Many parents these days either take a proactive approach to helping kids rally with sexuality these days, while others just try to ignore it or downplay what is going on around them.  Either approach has limitations.  Parents who arm their kids with birth control for example are being protective but also sending a message to their child about having sex, namely that it could happen and if it does, be prepared and a sense that the parent is “ready” for that too. That is a better approach then the parent who avoids the issue and does not discuss sexuality with their kids whether they are asked questions or just need the talk based on either their age or inadvertent sexual messages.  That option is just a disaster waiting to happen.

Parents have to be brave these days and tackle the tough issues, but also take two other things into consideration.  First, the age and developmental level of their child, and second, a parental decision when they believe it is “right” to engage in sexuality rather then assuming it “will happen” at a certain age. That’s right, as parents we should be thinking about all sorts of things before our kids even think to ask us, or we will likely end up off guard and calling a time out until we figure out what to answer.  That may be too late.

Parents need to be thinking about things like, when is it okay for my child to go on a date, hold hands, kiss, and the list continues.  Yes, it’s their life, but our job is to represent maturity, reason, good sense, and keep them safe.  Expecting a child or teenager to do this alone is sign of poor adult judgment and that’s why we need to be the gatekeepers always.   One impressing fact is that parents who have ongoing conversations with their children about bodies, maturation, sexuality, love, and respect, tend to produce kids who do not have sex until they are in late adolescence or early adulthood ( 17 years +).

Another factor is that in this group, these parents also monitored what their kids watched, listened to, and wore outside of their homes. In addition, this group also showed declines in unwanted pregnancies and lower incidents of STDs and a higher chance of getting into a four year college.   In other words, communication is key.  Talking is a “good thing” between parents and kids  about important issues as soon as kids start asking or as parents we start observing changes that warrant one of those “talks” indicating that the time is “ripe”.

So, where do we have these talks?  Sometimes alone with your child, but general conversations that are not too personal can be held at the dinner table.  In fact, a study was released last week that showed that families who have dinner together produce children who are brighter, emotionally more immature, and have a lower incidence of drug and alcohol abuse during the teenage years.  And, all of this is easy to do.  Just have dinner with your kids and talk about “stuff”. But, don’t ask questions, make statements.

One friend of mine recently told me a story about his 11 year old daughter showing up to the dinner table wearing make up. I call this “testing the water”. After my friend tried not to lose his cool, he started thinking about what his daughter was trying to tell him.  This was a great approach for he was trying to think how to calm himself down from just telling her to go wash her face. It dawned on him that his “little girl” was growing up and wanted to perhaps be older and attractive.  His other kids were also at the table so he decided not to make this into a family discussion and asked to speak with her after dinner.  Once alone, he told her that he was proud of her for taking care of herself ( she also was doing well in school ), but that wearing make up is something that “older” girls do and that he was not comfortable with her doing so at the ripe age of 11.

She of course was upset, told him that all of her friends were doing so, that he was a nerd, and that she was angry.  But, the next night, she was at the table without make up and she was calm.  He also notified his ex-wife that it might be a good idea to ask her if she has any questions about her body, boys, kissing, etc, as he reasoned that his daughter might feel more comfortable discussing this with a girl then a boy and he is generally right.  Once children are aware of gender differences in regards to sexuality, it is generally advantageous to have a parent or trusted family member be the available information bearer for that particular child to reduce any possible anxiety.

In a nutshell, we need to be sure to meet our kids developmental and emotional needs by paying attention to them, watching them, listening to them, monitoring them, and answering their questions about sexuality in ways that make them feel comfortable and satisfied, not ashamed or afraid. We start when they notify us that they are ready for information either by asking us directly or indirectly, by what they do, say, wear, text, or tweet.  Nonetheless, it has to happen in “your” house which is their home and despite societal and generational shifting, it all gets back to what happens at home with parents.

Key Points:

1.  Answer their questions by satisfying curiosity but don’t over do it
2.  If they don’t ask, look for signs they need “that” talk
3.  Once kids ask about body differences, same sex discussions are often more meaningful and less stressful
4.  Don’t rely on outside resources to replace the vitality of parenting
5.  What kids learn from home is the most important especially concerning areas such as sexuality

After all, Christmas cards are right around the corner and it’s gotta be the perfect photo!

1. Outfit. Everyone needs to feel happy and relaxed to generate real, authentic smiles. Do NOT put your child in anything they do not want to wear. Coming from the Mom of a divalicious girl.. I have learned that if they do not want to wear it.. LET IT GO..Let them be themselves and therefore HAPPY. You will love how authentic the photo is. Promise.

2. When. The best time to shoot is 1 hour before sunset. Do not take photos at high noon when the sun is directly above. You will get shadows and squinty eyes… unless you find shade then you are golden!

3. Kill your flash. Do not use your flash. If at all possible, never use your flash.

Natural outdoor lighting is hands down the best. If you want to shoot indoors, find a large window and shoot with that window behind or on the side of you.

4.Get them doing something they love.. If your daughter has a Barbie that she plays with for hours a day.. shoot her while playing with her, even if it is in a wild field of flowers.

5. Get down low. Get down to their level. They are half your size and getting down to their eyes or a bit lower is a much more intimate photo.

6. Focus on their eyes.

7. Get in REAL close.. the closer the better.

8. Show them the photos in your camera.. a lot of times they get real excited about seeing themselves looking so adorable.. they will start turning into hams. {LOVE that}

9. Sing silly songs with the words messed up or say {toot}.. whatever you think of.. to get a laugh..

10. BRIBE them! I bring lollipops! {with moms permission of course}

When you get your pallet home, give a good looks to see if there are any major splinters sticking out of it. If there are, and your little ones are going to be playing around close to where you’ll be posting up your garden you’ll want to give it a quick sanding down. Nothing fancy, just take a rough grit paper and rub your pallet enough to get the major splinters out. Remember this is going to be outside and will be weathered, so it’s not meant to look perfect pretty.

Now, lets gather our supplies.

Here I have:
A quarter sized pallet
A roll of Garden Fabric (the no-grow weed blocker kind)
Staple Gun (or nail gun)
Hammer (just in case)
Flowers

Putting it together:

First turn your pallet over so the backside is facing up. Cut your garden fabric so that it fit’s over the back, and staple it into place. Using a staple gun is fun, so feel free to go wild and use as many staples as you like. You need to make sure that the fabric covers the bottom of the pallet as well, as you will be standing up your garden when finished. The back of my pallet had a huge gap, so I nailed down a board to add extra security to the fabric. Once the pallet is filled with dirt, especially when watered, it’s going to be heavy and I don’t want my fabric to tear. As you can see, I’m a Craftsman Tools using momma.

Now, flip your pallet back over and trim up any excess garden fabric. Time to fill with potting soil. Start with where the bottom of your pallet is. Make sure the pack in your soil tight, so when you lift it up to stand the dirt won’t all slide out. (though some will trickle out anyway) Once you have the dirt filled in behind the first slat of wood, place your flowers in the open area. Pack in as many as you can. This is also what will help to keep your dirt in the pallet. In my first row I used marigolds. Once you have your first row of flowers in place, pack in the dirt behind the next wood slat, and continue as you just did. Pack in the dirt, place the flowers, pack in the dirt, place the flower. Keep going until you reach the top.

Now, take your pallet to the exact area you want it to stand and hoist it up. Once it’s standing, press down very firmly to double check that everything is packed in. Now you’ll want to fill in the top with dirt and plant your last set of flowers. Make sure that when doing this, the flowers that will need to most amount of water are on top, and the flowers that are hearty and low maintenance are towards the bottom. You’ll water your pallet garden from the top and soak it really well so the flowers on top get all that they need and the rest will filter and soak on through to the bottom of your pallet. I used marigolds, zinnias, and petunias in my pallet garden.

Here is my finished product. It’s only been up a few days and already I’ve had a few neighbors ask me where I got it. They are all amazed when I tell them I made it all by myself, and can’t believe it when I tell them how easy it is to do. And? It really is very easy.

Today, VentureBeat released information on the most utilized social networks, and low and behold, MOMfia FAVORITE Pinterest ranked #7 – above Google+ and Tumblr. This is insane for a one year old start-up that is still invite only.

Apparently us “Pin Heads” love pinning holiday decor, fashion and recipes, as the site apparently received 31,788,893 visitors in November. They’ve also been recieving more than just hits – try over $37 million in funding also. This also comes right on the heels of the AdAge article on what Pinterest is doing for traffic. According to that article, Pinterest drives more traffic to the Real Simple website than Facebook does. Even better than driving traffic, Pinterest has had a huge direct-impact on sales for many online retailers.

I love these stories. Not only because I love me some Pinterest, but I love that a company that was a small, fun idea to share images has now turned into a major player in the social networking space. I also love the story of success for a start up in today’s economy.

Kudos, Pinterest. You rock.

And? Are you hiring?

Originally posted on June 8th, 2011

You may have seen it mentioned around Facebook or Twitter, the new social sharing platform called Pinterest that has some of us (okay, me) all aflutter. So what is Pinterest, and why is it the new internet obsession?

Pinterest is, in essance, a virtual pinboard. According the website, one should:

“Think of Pinterest as a virtual pinboard — a place where you can create collections of things you love and “follow” collections created by people with great taste. People use Pinterest to collect and share all sorts of things — wedding inspiration, favorite T-shirts, DJ equipment. You name it, people are pinning it.”

With print publications going under left and right, we can all agree that gone are the days of ripping pages out of magazines and keeping them in files. Cookbooks are better kitchen decor than practical tutorials as now any and every recipe can simply be found online.

As a person who has collections of folders on her hard drive with images of things I want, recipes I want to try and room decor I want to flat-out copy, I was immediately attracted to Pinterest as a place to mark and store things easily. No longer would I have to scroll through my hundreds of book marks for a recipe that I flagged on some one’s blog because it’s now neatly stored on my (personally titled) “YUM” board. And with its connection to Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest allows me to share my “pins” with my extended social network.

The downside? It’s freaking addicting.

Think of all the blogs you stalk to see what they are cooking, making, how they are decorating, what pictures are they taking and then put it all on ONE screen. Up there in the corner the new Chloe ballet flats that you can never afford but WANT. SO. BAD. Over to the left the perfect wall display of family pictures. In the middle of the page {shut the front door!} safe to eat COOKIE DOUGH that you know would make your knees weak.

All of it – right there. You never have to leave. I’ve heard people say a few times now “I want to live in Pinterest!” and I agree. In Pinterest-land everything is perfectly decorated, cooked and styled. There are funny sayings and inspirational notes and pictures of places so beautiful you can’t even be sure they really do exsist.

I’ve been in a bit of a creative funk of late. Blame it on a lack of inspiration, lack of that “spark” you need to get it going, but since finding Pinterest, I’ve started cooking again and talked a friend into painting the back of the door in her daughter’s room. I also love checking out what other people are obsessing over. I know that Christine (@EverydayMama) is pregnant and house-hunting, and her Pins with beautiful kitchens and adorable baby clothes are evidence of a nesting mama. You can also get the sense of someones humor when you see which picture and saying they are repinning.

For bloggers, think of using this as a new form of SEO. I’ve visited tons of new blogs in the past few weeks from clicking on the link associated with an image I’m re-pinning. It’s a good reminder about how important a good image in your blog post can be.

Oh, Pinterest… my love. A place that makes us laugh, feel inspiration and get our creative juices flowing, Pinterest is a shopping mall of everything good in life, all in one place.

Oh, and if you are a Pinterest addict also, you can follow me:

Heather – Baby Bump & Beyond: A Christmas Story

Miss – Just One Miss: Christmas Vacation! I have to mention this one on behalf of my kid because he makes me watch it every year even if it creeps me out – The Polar Express.

Laura – Semper Fi Momma: Home Alone

Theresa – Rock On Mommies: White Christmas and Holiday Inn

Laura – A(n) (un)Common Family: Bad Santa. Elf is second

Stefanie – Rockstar Mom LV: A Christmas Story and Elf

Ginger – It’s Hard Being Perfect: Love Actually.

Beth – Hip Mama B: All of the above + The South Park Christmas Special on DVD – its a tradition in our house.

Margo – Nacho Mama: Charlie Brown Christmas!

Ginger – Ramble Ramble: Am I weird that one of my favorite holiday movies is Scrooged??

Christina – Mommy Loves Coffee: Elf

Rachael – Too Tutu Cute: The Grinch! Old and New…and just about every sappy ABC Family original!

 Steven Spielberg has done it yet again. His newest film is an adaptation of the young adult novel War Horse, written in 1982. This story has seen the stage and now, Spielberg has transformed it for the silver screen.

Set mostly throughout World War I, War Horse is a story of bravery and love. We follow the story of Joey, a horse that everyone except his master Albert, expects to fail. Because he is not a plow horse, he is underestimated. Throughout the film, we watch as Joey defies expectations and ignites hope and love in every character he meets.

I want to clear up any questions you have about taking your children to see this move. If your 5 year old loves horses, you might want to find something else to show them. My son is 10 and I would feel comfortable taking him to see this however, there are some very heavy moments in this film which include death both of people and horses. You know your own children and if you feel they could handle a heavy story line that does include some scenes of war, then its up to you to decide.

For any adult, War Horse is a movie I would definitely recommend you see this holiday season. War Horse opens in theaters on December 25th.

First – the title. Seriously. How do you not love it already?

You know how all the blogging mamas love our “Survival of The Hippest” necklaces with our Twitter handles? Well, Ashley (@PluckyPea) is also the singer behind this amazing kids-rock group. She makes cool jewelry and music my kids love to listen to – I have a total girl crush.

Available at Barnes and Noble and iTunes – it’s worth getting RIGHT NOW to play over and over for the next week. The kids love it. You will love it. It makes the perfect stocking stuffer or last minute gift.

In case you don’t believe me, I’ll share this little gem of my kids singing their official theme song of the season off Mama Said Nog You Out – “I’m Getting Nothing for Christmas.”

Enjoy. And Happy Everything!

And yes. Apparently I’m raising Taylor Swift AND Jay-Z.

*Disclosure: Jason (@PetCobra) got a free copy of this CD for review. I just ran with it because I love it. 

When I first saw the preview for Dolphin Tale last summer I sobbed. I heart wrenching story of Winter the dolphin who loses her tail in a crab trap is a wonderful story of love and hope. With an amazing cast including Harry Connick Jr, Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd, Dolphin Tale is based off a true story of what people can accomplish when they come together.

Out on Blu-Ray Combo pack (Combo pack includes Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital Copy of movie. Also available in a 3D Blu-Ray Combo pack), it’s the perfect movie to cuddle on the couch and watch with your family over the holidays. And, we have one to GIVE to you!

It’s a FLASH GIVEAWAY - Enter by midnight tonight – Monday December 19th – to win a copy of Dolphin Tale to give or keep for your family!

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