Last month I was honored to be invited to attend the 2012 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. As a lifelong fan and Walt Disney World College Program Intern, I leapt at the chance to return to one of my favorite places on earth. A tremendous gift of this event has to be found in meeting the many talented Disney Cast Members who make it all come true. One very special Cast Member is Gary Buchanan, Social Media Managing Editor for the Disney Parks Blog.  Pictured here with Jodi Grundig, Disney Moms Panel member, and me, Gary is not only hilarious but truly insightful about how to create fantastic content, entertaining video, and how to make your work so much fun you’ll never know the difference.

Jodi Grundig, Gary Buchanan, and me…

We spent our official conference day learning from social media giants like Amy Jo Martin, Peter Shankman, and more. However it was Gary’s portrayal of Luke Skywalker as he shared the details of this year’s return of Star Wars Weekend that is right on time. Opening tomorrow, May 18th and running through June 10, 2012, the event takes place each weekend between. Check out Gary’s run down of why its the Galactic Event of the Century you simply don’t want to miss!

A few highlights:

• Star Wars Weekend is based on Star Wars: The Clone Wars
• The Hollywood Studios attraction Star Tours – The Adventures Continue is the anchor for the event. Wildly popular, it uses 3-D, music, and motion simulator-based technology to take guests into the virtual Star Wars galaxy.
• Characters will canvas the park ~ more than 60 from storm troopers to wookies, Chewbacca and more, spending time with guests, signing autographs, transforming the universe to feel just like home.
• Each weekend will host celebrity appearances.  From presentations to autographs, parades and more, every weekend will offer stars you won’t want to miss.

 

Almost 5 years ago we took a family vacation to Walt Disney World Halloween week.  Our trip was full of magic, from our daughter’s first visit meeting her favorite princesses to our children actually Trick-or-Treating their way through the Magic Kingdom on Halloween Night.  But for our middle son in late elementary school at the time,  it was our day spent at Hollywood Studios where he had the chance to participate in a Jedi Training skit that made his week.  We waited patiently…or not so patiently….through 3 shows before he finally got picked from the crowd… that’s not exactly  short amount of time.  But more than anything, it was the chance to fight Darth Vadar and  train with the Jedi Master that made his trip complete.

Copyright 2012 Molly Gold

Being part of the magic in such memorable way is something only Disney can do with such lasting impact.  When I shared Star Wars Weekend info with this child who is now a young man that stands taller than I, he immediately asked if we’d have the opportunity to go.  Maybe next year buddy…but for now, we are grateful for each Star Wars memory that we share with Hollywood Studios and our wonderful visit years ago.  Tell me…

Have you visited Hollywood Studios Star Wars Weekend before?

What is your favorite part?

Thanks so much for stopping by ~ we’ll see you next time!

Disclosure:  Thanks to Disney Social Media for inviting me to attend Disney Social Media Moms Celebration.  As part of my paid registration, I received for myself and my family discounted hotel accommodations, park tickets, attendance at special events, and branded merchandise.  I was not asked to post about this event at any time.  My opinions are entirely my own.

A Mother’s life is tethered to seasons and each one demands tips for Moms to manage their time. The seasons of the year, the seasons of her children’s lives, the seasons of friendship, marriage, and faith. First shared in May of 2010 I am just as busy and working hard to get it all done, just as excited about summer but full of mixed emotions as my children end another school year closing chapters while opening new ones yet to be read.  This simply proves the topic is timeless, the challenges the same ~ I hope you enjoy it!

Things have been crazy lately and that’s what May is all about!  Long ago I started calling it Manic May, Madness of May, skip March Madness ~ we’ve got May Madness!  Why is that?  Because May can be worse then Back to School and the Holiday Season all rolled into one!  From a time management perspective, the bar is up sister!  You’ve got a lot to do and only so many hours in the day, the same 24 you had yesterday and the same 24 you’ll have tomorrow with just one of you to go around.

So here is what I want you to think about as you cruise through the next few weeks of May and early June.  I’m not sure when your school year is ending, but if you are anything like me, you’ve end of the season, end of the school year everything from testing to celebrations, Mother’s Day is behind us, we’ve got Teacher Appreciation behind us, perhaps you’ve got a wedding or a baby shower thrown in for good measure.  The point is, none of these things are negotiable because they all only happen once! They all likely involve a new level of activity, something you have to do before you get to the event, something you have to send in or participate in.  This means that your color coded planner is really full by now.  So here are a few quick tips to help you manage the busy month of May:

1. Don’t Leave Home Without It. Your planner is your roadmap not only to where you need be, but what you need to do along the way.  No matter if its paper or digital, make sure you are armed and ready to be organized at every turn.

2. Check Before You Answer. Don’t say yes to any commitments before your check your planner first.  And when you find its too full, don’t be afraid to say no. If your planner is full, then you have to be okay knowing when enough is enough.

3. Tag Team for Success: If you have to, divide and conquer rotating events with your spouse and let your kids know how you are taking turns among them and when you’ll be there next.

4. Enjoy Your Time. Commit it intentionally, never forgetting that there are only 24 hours in every day and once you give it away, you can never get it back.  The key is to make sure that what you say yes to, you know that you wille njoy.

5. Work Your Daily To-Do List. When you note a task, estimate the amount of time it will take you to complete it. Then block that time on your planner too so you know that you’ve got 2 hours of errands, one hour helping at the elementary school, or 30 minutes paying bills on your plate.

I hope my tips for Moms to manage May will be the perfect reminder to help you focus on your family and enjoy this busy time of year to its fullest.  There’s no question from Mother’s Day to Memorial Day, end of the school year and graduations, May is naturally abundant, overflowing with accomplishments and celebrations for your family and friends.  You owe it to yourself and your family to be fully engaged for each and every one.

How do you manage your schedule in the month of May?

Thanks for stopping by ~ we’ll see you next time!

Let’s face it ~ it’s not often you hear teens share what their Moms mean to them, their family traditions, and how they will spend Mother’s Day on Sunday.  That’s why I am so happy to see the folks at Disney Channel lead the way, helping show their loyal viewers just what it means to “Celebrate Mom.”

Take a look as Disney stars tell their stories about their Moms ~ fun and personal ~ its peer pressure and leadership at its finest!

Tyler James Williams and Coco Jones (“Let It Shine”), Debby Ryan (“Jessie”), Ross Lynch and Laura Marano (“Austin & Ally”), Bridgit Mendler (“Good Luck Charlie”), Bella Thorne and Zendaya (“Shake It Up”), Leo Howard (“Kickin’ It”), Doc Shaw and Adam Hicks (“Pair of Kings”) and Hollywood Records recording artists McClain Sisters – China Anne (“A.N.T. Farm”), Sierra and Lauryn.

Disclosure:  Special thanks to Disney Channel for sharing this video with us to preview.  Perfectly timed and a great example of role models worth mentioning, I couldn’t help but share with you.  Happy Mother’s Day!

Today I want to deliver a virtual Thank You! I recently had the unbelievably awesome honor to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. Its third, and while I could not have imagined it getting any better than two I had been so blessed to attend before, I have been blinded by Pixie Dust for the better part of the last two weeks. I’ve been trying to frame up how to share with you all the goodness with a home organization and family time management eagle eye. There are photos and videos that I will gently be rolling out over the next few months because, yes, that’s how much content there really is! So for now, it seems like the best thing to do is to start with a thank you….

Thank you to the amazing Disney Cast Members! The Disney Promise commits that Cast Members will take every day ordinary and turn it into extraordinary making dreams come true every single day for each guest that they connect with. I know this to be true from my days as a Walt Disney World College Program Intern and I am thrilled and SO encouraged to see that this simple premise is still in tact!  Walt Disney World Resorts alone is now 64,000 people strong.  From the Disney Social Media Moms team to the Social Media Department, to Disney Channel PR who came out all the way from California, to every single Cast Member at the hotel and attractions, even the Cast Member whose job is to clean the restroom. Every last one of them, a perfect interaction where they greet you looking you in the eye, recognize your name if you have a name tag, they encourage you with a smile, and give you the information you need as if you are the first person who has ever asked that question every single time. That I simply love so thank you SO much for all that you have done!

Thank you to my colleagues! Oh My Word! To be in the room with so much sparkling awesome is just too much to handle! I left feeling like I only wanted more ~ I wanted more of all of those people in one spot and the chance to talk with them in depth to learn more about how they approach their business. I felt energized and still and will feel very encouraged that its up to me to do the best that I can, that I have the tools within my reach, that I can master new things, and that I should scale the wall and win. I can’t imagine if we could all be in the same room like that together all the time, men and women collaborating, connecting, talking about best practices in the snippets of conversation that we could ~ can you imagine harnessing that power for your brand? This is why Disney is brilliant ~ they bring us together and then send us back out with all that is good and true about the magic of Walt Disney World Resorts.

Thank you for Pixie Dust! Corny as it sounds, its all about Pixie Dust. Tinkerbell has always been my favorite character because she is mischievous but down to earth, sparkly but not too fussy, she has an opinion, but in the end she is going to make the right choice. And this I love! I am covered in the spirit of Pixie Dust. I have a little Tinkerbell that sits upstairs in my bedroom and a little jar of Pixie Dust back from my college days and it never fails to inspire me. To believe in magic, to “hear” that little Tinkerbell in the background, and to know that in the end, things will work out just the way they should!

So…thank you to the amazing Disney Cast Members, to my fabulous colleagues, and of course to Tinkerbell and the magic of Pixie Dust. I’ll look forward to sharing more posts with you in the coming months. I hope you’ll find them relevant no matter if you are looking for home organization, organized travel, family time management, or if you are just looking to find out more about Disney World Resorts and all the magic only Disney Parks can bring.

Thanks so much for stopping by ~ we’ll see you next time!

Today we are talking about last minute gift ideas for Mother’s Day. Its just a few days away but you’ve got plenty of time to make it memorable. So here are my tips to make it extra fabulous for a friend, a sister, your Mom or if you are helping someone else out to recognize a very special Mom in their life.

1. Technology Tune Up
2. Music to Her Ears
3. Summer Fun Bag
4. Certificate for a Mom’s Nite Out
5. Mom Makeover

So no matter if you are a friend or sister, a Dad, brother or husband, these are my tips for last minute Mother’s Day gifts on the scramble. I’d love to know…

What are you doing to recognize the Mother’s in your life? What do you plan to give those special women?

I hope you have a GREAT Mother’s Day and thanks so much for stopping by~

See you next time!

Today we are talking about Teacher Appreciation Week. This year it happens to fall on the week just before Mother’s Day. That can make it doubly stressful from a parent volunteer perspective because while you might be helping out on some Mother’s Day activities for the lower grades, you also are likely helping out on a school wide level for teacher luncheons, on a classroom level to navigating special things for your teacher, or perhaps just personally one on one making your gesture.

Here are a few ideas to help that last minute gift idea come together in a snap!

1. Make it Personal: Not something you have to pay to have personalized but something you can do all on your own. One of my all time favorites? A teacher clipboard ~ supplies are simply a clear clipboard, gross grain ribbon to tie a bow at the top, colored legal pad, and add a decal with your teacher’s initials. Perfectly personalized just like that!

2. Give Something Useful: Each year for my sons we have chosen to purchase gift cards from Target that have the Bullseye front and center and simply add the note “Thanks for keeping me on Target!” Its perfect for Teacher Appreciation Week because you want to show your thanks for interacting with your child. But it also gives them the latitude to use that gift card towards supplies for the classroom if they choose something purely personal.

3. Team It Up: With the end of the year so soon to follow, I totally support the current trend towards not requiring families to contribute to a class gift for Teacher Appreciation ~ its truly an occasion that is individual for each child. But if you have a fellow Mom or two in the class who might want to go in on something together. Often there’s one Mom with a great idea, she’s happy to execute getting the item together, and all you might have to do is chip in some money and that’s the bomb!

Keep in mind some schools may have restrictions about how much you can give a teacher in terms of monetary value for gift cards so be sure to check that out. If you follow these three tips to personalize, choose useful, and team it up, you’ll find that even if you are the last parent through the door this Friday, the last day of Teacher Appreciation Week, it will all be well in the end. I hope these tips help you this week and I’d love to know…

How do you handle Teacher Appreciation Week at your child’s school?

See you next time!

Today we are going to talk about how you can make your very own family sports basket. Designed to stay in the back of your car and go in and out with a moment’s notice with everything you need. I’ve had a few years to collect a few ideas both of my own and from some very seasoned sports Moms that I think you’ll find very helpful as you navigate the busiest part of your family’s spring sports season. Here are my tips:

1. PIck the Perfect Basket: I love this one because they have come down in price, now widely available at big box retailers at just $5, picking stripes so its easily identified, loving the padded handles so anyone can carry it, and the awesome open top so you can easily get things in and out for everyone in your crew.

2. Pack it With a Purpose: a. Always carry sunscreen:  Check the expiration dates to make sure you have a fresh supply, include sunscreen for the face that is different than that used on the rest of the body and consider using a sports formulary that won’t wear off while your family is sweating.
b. Carry bug spray and bug bite solutions at all times: Its one thing to use a spray to prevent mosquito bites and entirely another to be dealing with a swollen red ant bug bite. Have necessary items to clean and cover the wound and hopefully take down the swelling and pain swirly.
c. Create a sanitizing bag: If you spend enough time at sports fields, you’ll find way too many don’t include permanent facilities. This bag is key both to use in the less than clean restroom and to use after the fact. You’ll never regret having more than enough wipes, hand sanitizer, and mini-lysol spray.
d. First Aid Kit: Speaks for itself…just make sure to freshen it up at the beginning of every sports season, not just once a year.
e. Medicine on the Go: Include key medicines like aspirin, Motrin, items for upset stomachs or lower GI upsets. I actually have this bag that I include in my purse all year round so its a snap to just transfer it back and forth as needed.

3. Be ready for the Weather: This is where you make sure to always have a compact umbrella for those storms that take you by surprise. As well, include a durable lightweight but warm blanket that you can both snuggle up in if its chilly or spread out on the ground for everyone to relax.

4. Team Parent Supplies: If you are that very awesome person who has volunteered your time, I have a few favorites everyone will love. The Coaches clipboard is genius because not only does it give you a clip in case people need a flat surface but it also opens up to let you fill it with supplies you never know when you’ll need. A short list of my favorites include: Post it Notes, permanent marker, masking tape, pens, paper, envelopes incase you need to collect money, game and snack schedules and more. You as a team parent have so much responsibility to get people to communicate and serve in the snack shack, its all about making it happen without a hitch.

Creating a team parent central makes it possible for anyone to find what they need. After all that’s what you are trying to do ~ have what people need handy, but not always be the one to give it to them And just for extra credit ~ don’t forget to throw in plenty of snacks. I hope these tips help you this Spring as you take your family out into the wonderful world of sports and I’d love to know…

How do you set up your Family Sports Basket each season?

Thanks for stopping by!

As a Mom of teens, talking about online safety and secure passwords is part of our routine.  Between Facebook and texting, our children are creating a digital media footprint all their own and we feel strongly about showing them how to do it with a long term perspective that protects their privacy every step of the way.  The gateway to this conversation begins with secure passwords and here are a few tips we’ve learned along the way:

1.  What:  Review with your child the what a secure password actually does. Most children have online interaction at school that may require a password that all students have access too.  This is your opportunity to show them why secure passwords are even more important at home.  Defined by Webster’s, a password is ”something that enables one to pass or gain admission:  a sequence of characters required for access to a computer system.”

2.  Where + Why: Review where a secure password is located and why its so important to their daily routine.  Social networking is simply part of our children’s growing multi-media world.  They share not just photos and texts but spend time in a much broader playground thanks to Facebook and Twitter.  While they feel they are in a private space, with just a few misclicks, they can expose themselves to far more people than ever intended.  Its our job to take time to teach proper safety steps to help them navigate any social space as safely as possible and having tight passwords that aren’t easily cracked make all the difference in keeping them safe.  If you need help pleasing your case, simply share the latest information about Child Identify Theft.

3.  Make it Tricky: The key to choosing a secure password is finding one not only unique but that is easily remembered as well.  Take your child through the process of mixing letter and numbers, upper and lower case, to find a series of combinations that he or she will easily remember.  Write them down along with the accounts they are tied to and keep that list in a safe place for you both to refer to should you need to retrieve them.

4.  Change is Good: To keep secure passwords in place, help your child remember to change their passwords often.  Weekly, bi-Weekly, or Monthly depending on your personal preference, this is a great way to stay up to date with your child about their community experience while getting an opportunity to review and make sure everything is okay.

5.  Don’t Talk to Strangers: Because so many children spend time on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, the sad reality is these sites have become a target for both identity theft and those who might harm our children in other ways.  Require your children interact with you on these networks simply as part of the terms of their being allowed to have an account.  Talk with your children often about who they are communicating with and remind them that no different than in any other space, even as they age, to not “talk” to strangers.  Because their network and friends are all their own, there really shouldn’t be anything other than familiar faces in all that they see.

Our children will never know a world that isn’t communicating 24/7 on multiple platforms at any time and every turn.  That means that if they aren’t careful, they can be constantly exposed to a world far more dangerous than they even realize based on how savvy they become with protecting their personal information through secure passwords and more.  The facts about Identify Theft are alarming and provide all the inspiration a busy parent needs to make sure these important life skill conversations are ongoing and productive.

Just in case you are like me and always love a solid Plan B, check out the most recent and oh so awesome innovation — kID Sure℠ by Identity Guard ­the most comprehensive child ID theft protection available — to help families stay better protected. This kind of protection has become a necessity in today’s totally connected online environment where spyware, malware, keylogging and other online threats are only a click away. For parents, check out Identity Guard, and all the details you need to know about identity theft and how to help yourself stay safe from it. There are some great and FREE e-books to get you started right now!

I’d love to know how you handle secure passwords in your busy home ~

Do you talk with your children about them often and work together to help them create a safe social media footprint as they wander into social networking?

Disclosure:  I’m honored to partner with Identity Guard and KidSure as an Ambassador this Spring.  This service was provided to me for review at no charge. In addition I received monetary compensation. Working as an Ambassador could not have come at a better time in my life as a Mom as we continue to teach our teens life skills that include managing their personal information and so much more.  As always all opinions are my own.

In the social media world, its conference season and that means if I’m networking successfully, I’m collecting business cards and lots of them.  When it comes to actually keeping business cards organized, its always tempting to simply leave them in a stack until I can follow up with each person one at a time.  But we both know that never works out.  Left too long you forget why you talked to that person in the first place and left even longer, you’ll completely miss out on any opportunity you might have thought was there.

Just in time for a continued busy summer of meetings ahead, I’m sharing my insights for organizing email over on Dr. Mommy and Friends Online. An exceprt

Choose a Category: Once you enter the information into your system, you may choose to discard any originals. For those you keep, you’ll need a system that makes sense for future retrieval. You might create a binder with baseball card storage slicks and then tab alphabetically. You could sort by last name, by company, or create subcategories like Medical or Home Services to help you do the same. The key is filing them logically so you can find them when you need to.

I hope you’ll stop by and check out my complete list of solutions and when you do, tell me…

How do you keep business cards organized at home and to work?

Disclosure:  I am a regular guest contributor to Dr. Mommy and Friends Online.

So anyone who knows me knows that I love sports and being a busy Mom of 3 busy athletes.  Its how we roll and I am always surprised at how much I enjoy the chaos and fun.  You might also know that after living in the suburbs of Washington DC for 17 years, my love of our country, its rich history, and all the symbolism in between is part of who we are as a family and what my children expect to be true.

This spring I’m tickled to be working with the folks behind the “My Story, Our Flag” project to get you excited about sports and patriotism all summer long!  This week I’ll be co-hosting a Twitter Chat with the amazing  Audrey McClelland where we’ll have all kinds of fun and yes…prizes…you knew there would be prizes!  Check out the details below, visit Audrey’s site to RSVP , and we’ll see you soon!

Hosts: @MyGoMom @AudreyMcClellan @Tide

When: Thursday, May 3 2012

Time: 8:00 PM (ET)

Hashtag: #TideFlag

GRID: http://bit.ly/IEzP9P

Prizes: We’ve got you covered!

RSVP: Visit Audrey’s Site and please let us know you’ll be there!

Disclaimer: This has been a paid sponsored post. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.  Winners during the #TideFlag Twitter Chat will be chosen by a random drawing conducted by Audrey from entries received during the Twitter Chat on May 3^rd between 8:00 p.m. EST and 9:00 p.m. EST (the “sweepstakes period”).  Drawings samples will take place at 8:10 p.m. EST, 8:20 p.m. EST, 8:30 p.m. EST, 8:40 p.m. EST, and 8:50 p.m. EST, from all qualifying entries received after 8:00 p.m. EST, but prior to the time of the drawing.  The drawing for the year’s supply of Tide will take place at or after 9:00 p.m. EST from all qualifying entries received during the sweepstakes period.  NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER THE DRAWING.  Any person who tweets during the sweepstakes period using hashtag #tideflag will be entered into the drawing.  Limit one entry per person.  Odds of winning will depend on the number of qualifying tweets received.  Approximate retail value of the prizes are: samples $15 and year’s supply of Tide $100.  Winner is responsible for the payment of all taxes associated with the prize