Julieverse at Just Precious

The perfect baby bag

2012-05-25T01:52:07Z

Dear Julie,
I’m expecting my baby in a few weeks and am looking for the perfect baby bag. Help!

Thanks,
Elizabeth

Elizabeth sent me this email a few days ago. She’s totally into fun bags (like, ahem, no one else I know) and was all about shopping for a new bag for summer when she admitted that she should probably get a fabulous new diaper bag and then get a new summer bag next summer, when the baby’s outgrown the diaper bag stage. Makes sense, right? And you know how much I love shopping for my friends, so I couldn’t resist shopping for Elizabeth.

5 things to look for when shopping for a diaper bag

Pockets!

When I was a mom of almost one, I was disorganized. Who needed something like pockets in a bag? I mean, what did I really need to carry besides my wallet, keys and, occasionally, women-stuff? A lipstick. And that was it. So who needed pockets. Now, a mom of 3, I know the value of pockets. There is nothing worse than having a baby with poop continuing to squirt out as you rummage through the bottom of your bag for an extra diaper. Let me tell you, new moms: with pockets, everything has a place and every place has a thing. Ideally, your bag will have at the minimum 6 pockets to hold: diapers, wipes, bibs, burp cloths, sippy cup/bottle, snacks, crayons and a tiny notebook, a few little toys like cars or teething toys, and a pocket for your things–you know, the women-stuff pocket.

A key holder

This took me 2 kids to figure out. Bags with a key ring are a savior. I’ll never forget being stranded in a parking lot with a crying toddler strapped into the stroller while I had a-near exploding bladder, spreading all my stuff out on the ground trying to find my darn keys (which, of course, were at the bottom of the bag because I missed putting them directly into a pocket.) Since that time, all of my bags have had a key fob attachment. In fact, I now frequent stores like REI to buy Carabiner Band Clipsso that I can add them to all of my bags that don’t come with attachments.

Shoulder or stroller straps

I know the stroller gods are going to storm on me for this but you will want to be able to attach your bag to the back of your stroller. You shouldn’t, because the stroller will, inevitably, tip over, but for the sheer necessity of getting to what you need easily, you’ll do it anyway. Many bags come with stroller attachments, but if the bag your coveting doesn’t, make sure that you have an adjustable shoulder strap. It’ll work.

Bright interior

The ladies who are pregnant and have newborns now are lucky. Way back when, bright interior lining was unheard of. Bag makers finally heard our cries and now many bags come with bright or patterned interiors. Why? Have you ever heard of the “black hole effect?” It’s about a million fold when you have all the baby stuff inside a bag. Imagine your baby has a pacifier that he loves and needs immediately and it somehow missed the pocket where it’s supposed to go when you shoved it in your bag… if you have a black interior, you just won’t find it when he’s shrieking at the mall. I promise.

Material wipe-ability

I know. I love the looks of that chic leather bag, too. But you won’t love it when baby dribbles spit-up on the side, or pees and sprays across the handles. Trust me. I have three kids. It will happen.

5 Diaper Bags to consider

Aren’t you drooling over the color and chic-ness of this bag by Marc by Marc Jacobs? It’s nylon, so it’s super-easy to clean with the busy interior black/white pattern there’s less chance of loosing your stuff from the “black hole effect.” It has several pockets inside and out. The only thing that’s missing is the key holder that I so love, but as long as she keeps the shoulder straps attached, she can clip her keys on the ring there. The fact that it’s called the Eliz-A-Baby bag is like a meant-to-be bonus.

I’ve always been a fan of Skip Hop for their durability and organization. I’ve certainly owned more Skip-Hop diaper bags than I have children. And now that they have Jonathan Adler on board designing their prints, you have a great selection, too.

When Stork Saks first started coming to the US I was so excited to get my hands on one. The wipe-clean, antibacterial interior, the hidden exterior pockets–oh! another perfect diaper bag find. I’ve always looked to Stork Sak as an authority on style when it comes to diaper bags, and every time I search for a new bag, I find myself wowed. The only caveat about the Olivia bag by Stork Sak is that the bottom is wider than the top, so it’s a little harder to dig around. I always found that using containers and make-up bags with my Stork Sak was a necessity. I’m also intrigued by the Tania and the Jools bags by Stork Sak, but without seeing the interior, I can’t recommend them.

Can we all just breathe a bit of gorgeous for this bag? Timi & Leslie are another favorite bag and I really do think they’ve improved their bags year after year. You get so much bang for your buck when you go with Timi & Leslie–just look at everything included in this purchase! Organization, key fobs, pockets, stroller straps… and it’s made of wipe-able-faux leather, you really won’t go wrong with the Timi & Leslie Charlie bag.

Ness is a newer brand that I, sadly, very sadly, haven’t heard of or tried, but I’m tempted even without a baby (what?! I could use it for work!) I kid you not, when I found the interior picture of the Mamie diaper bag I said, out loud, “Oh. My. G-d. Wow.” Even the middle of this bag is organized. I’m drooling. (Bonus! For a limited time, get 20% off, free shipping, and a satisfaction gurantee when you use coupon code NESS20OFF at check out.)

Would you let your 8-year-old read The Hunger Games?

2012-05-24T19:28:00Z

When Big came home telling me the storyline of The Hunger Games and asking if he could read it, I paused. He’s a bit young, I thought. But, as it turns out, his friend’s parents must disagree–because he’s reading it and sharing the story.

What do you think? Would you let your 8-year-old read The Hunger Games? What age is too young?

#VlogMom: What’s in your car?

2012-05-24T03:01:44Z

With a little help from Little, we answer Megan’s #Vlogmom question this week: Share 3 items from your junk drawer or car console… (items that have a story to go along with them. )

What’s in everyone else’s car or junk drawer? Check the other videos from #Vlogmom:

Disney Magic

2012-05-24T02:35:29Z

You know that game where you ask people to summarize something in just one word? Like… what word would you use to describe me? What word would you use to describe the pizza? What word would you use to describe… Disney? I think we all know the answer. Disney has cornered magic.

It took all of 2 minutes for me to be reminded of that on the trip to Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. While chatting with Kelly and Jodi on our Magical Express (Disney provides free transportation to and from the resorts and takes care of your luggage) a gentleman across they way shared that he could definitely tell which were the moms on the way to the conference. We began talking and he shared that he’s a former Cast Member (Disney employees are all referred to as Cast Members as they’re part of the show, no matter their position and Cast Members is always capitalized to show the term’s importance to the Parks.) He shared just how much he’d taken with him into his life from his training at Disney.

Thanks to Brittany at Guest Services sharing some Disney Magic, we saw the magical fireworks and made many special memories

Everything, he commented. From leadership and management roles to how to treat not just your customers but each other, it’s all so effective in your everyday life and in your work life. He shared the Disney 5 Seconds of Magic–where Cast Members are taught to do something special for just 5 seconds to make someone’s stay magical. Sometimes, it’s a smile. Other times, it’s a special treat. Think back to the last time you were at a Disney Park–did you see witness magic?

I sure did. From the personal greeting when I entered my resort to check in, to the beds made with our Mickey-stuffed animals sitting cutely around our room during our stay, to the out-of-this-world help of Brittany at the Guest Services desk at the Magic Kingdom when we found my Key to the World wasn’t my park pass. Even though I didn’t have my ID (it was in my room with my Park Pass), she was able to work her magic and I ran into the Magic Kingdom with about 2 minutes to spare before the fireworks (more magic!) began on a Friday night.

The magic just doesn’t stop at Disney. The gentleman on the bus recommended I read Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney by Lee Cockerell to gain a better understanding of the magic behind the enormous business of Disney. Cockerell’s is a typical Disney-story: Raised on (and tending) a family-farm (he never heard of a vacation until he was 22), he worked his way through restaurant and hotel positions into management before finally landing a job at Disney. In the ’90s he was working as Executive Vice President of Operations at Walt Disney World Resort and worked with the staff through 9/11 and several disastrous hurricanes. In addition to managing a staff of over 40,000 and overseeing “operations of 20 resort hotels, 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, a shopping & entertainment village and a sports and recreation complex [plus] the ancillary operations which supported the number one vacation destination in the world,” Cockerell created the now-famous Disney Great Leader Strategies, which he refers to as common sense strategies. Common sense, they are. Common practice, I’m not so sure.

I’ve been enjoying his book, written after his retirement from Disney. It’s an excellent primer for future leaders as well as a book that every current leader should take the time to read. It uses real-life examples of situations in his career at Disney (as well as other companies) to show how he grew as a leader and how he changed the structure of Disney. Then he lays out these points to show how you can incorporate these leadership strategies in your everyday leadership life.

My favorite takeaway: recognizing that everyone has something important to say and everyone should be respected. When you treat all of your employees with respect, they’ll respect you, your company and your customers.

And that leads to magic. Disney Magic.

Getting ready for summer camp

2012-05-22T02:31:45Z

Are you and your kids getting ready for summer camp? We’ll be attending a new camp this summer so I’m getting the boys ready to transition. Here are a few things you can do to get your kids ready to get the most out of their program.

Check out the camp before the first day

Some camps offer an open house with tours and “meet the counselors” activities, but others aren’t able to fit this in to their schedule. If you can go to the Open House, put that on your list. If not, take a drive or walk through the campus a few weeks ahead of time, exploring the different areas that your kids will learn and play and hunting down the bathrooms. The counselors will also show these to the kids on the first day, but your child will feel much better already knowing it all–and you won’t have to worry about him being distracted an overwhelmed by the vast area and many things he’s learning the first day.

Find a friend

Facebook is amazing for a lot of reasons–the biggest is connecting with people. Post a status update announcing where your kids will be and asking who else will be there. Even if you’re friends kids won’t be there, some friends of friends may be. So schedule a playdate or two before camp starts with some future bunkmates to insure your kids see a familiar face on the first day.

Order labels

Our first year at camp, I ordered old-fashioned iron-on labels for my kids. Middle walked in and said “Whoa! What is THAT cool machine!?” Let’s face it, I don’t iron. So the last summer when I received Mabel’s Labels as a sample package, I was sold. I’m getting another camp package for this summer, as the kids, of course, outgrew last summer’s labeled clothes.

Whatever method you use, make sure you label clothing, water bottles, flashlights (if needed), sunblock, backpacks, and everything else on your summer camp necessities list. I keep extra labels in the kitchen… you just never know when you’ll need them!

Look at your calendar

Make sure you’ve updated your calendar with all of your camp meetings and appointments and the kids’ camp schedule. Summers are always busy and go quickly, so make sure everything is scheduled ahead of time. Also consider changing your regular, school year plans. If your child has karate or dance twice a week during the school year, check with your instructor to see if you can alter the schedule a bit if your son or daughter is too tired after camp to attend. Running around outside at camp all summer gives you a very tired child once he comes home.

Check the shopping list

Most camps will send you a shopping or necessity list for camp, which may include backpacks, specific shoes, extra socks, sunblock, water bottles and more. Check your list this week and have everything ready so that you won’t have to rush on the Sunday before camp starts.

Have a fun summer!

Meal plan for May, week 3 and the importance of timely meal planning

2012-05-21T12:14:30Z

The weekly meal plan is back! I heard you all and I know that a lot of my readers do enjoy the meal plan calendar, so I’ll keep it as posted. But more people seem to rely on the weekly menu that they can find by searching, and, to be honest, I missed having it, too. I still plan to post recipes, cooking tips and meal planning thoughts each week, but part of the value of a weekly meal plan is timely planning which takes into consideration the weather, time of year and your weekly activities. Planning a month in advance didn’t work well for my schedule, so I know it didn’t work well for many of you either.

Each Sunday, when I sit down to make my calendar, I look to weather.com and my schedule–especially in the summer. If it’s going to be gorgeous, I take advantage and cook on the grill. If it’s cloudy and rainy, it may be a good excuse to pull out the crockpot. And on days that I know I’ll be running a mom-taxi, I consider running to the pizza shop to keep my sanity. When you meal plan, you have to consider your daily life, atmosphere and environment–and we all know that as moms, that changes on a regular basis.

So, this week, to bring back the weekly plan, I’m definitely looking ahead to our schedule and weather plan (so sad to see Tropical Storm Alberto is going to break the East Coast’s beautiful weather pattern–mean Alberto, he’s coming before the tropical storm season actually begins.) So, sadly, with showers and storms in the forecast all week, there will be little grilling in the calendar this week (though I’m hopeful it will be gone by the holiday weekend!)

Monday: Spiced Chicken with Chickpea & Cucumber Salad
Tuesday: Herb-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin
Wednesday: Beef/Corn Tacos
Thursday: Crockpot Chicken Enchiladas
Holiday Weekend: lots of grilling at weekend parties that we hope won’t be hit by the expected “isolated thunderstorms”

Have a great week everyone!

Watches

2012-05-17T16:16:15Z

It seems like I’ve been talking a lot lately about watches. I suppose that’s because I went for so long without one, afraid to make that big investment. And I didn’t want to wear a bracelet on my left wrist because I would look at it, thinking it was a watch. Oops. It wasn’t.

So my wrist went naked.

But a watch is such a necessary accessory. True, many people now list a watch as unnecessary because we all carry cellphones that have clocks. My kids even reach in my pocket or bag to see what time it is, rather than looking for a clock on a wall or on my wrist. Still. A watch wins for me. Wearing the time on my wrist I’ll never (okay… almost never) be late.

This year, watches are a hot accessory as they mix in the style of wraps and bangles. Here are a few favorites.

wrap watches by juliemeyerspron featuring logo watches

Bangle watches by juliemeyerspron featuring steel jewelry

When I found the La Mer Collections Neon Odyssey watch at Nordstrom a few weeks ago, I knew I’d finally found my trendy watch of the season. Even better? Each store only stocked one of each color. So, aside from people ordering on line, it’s very likely I am wearing a watch that’s original to the Philadelphia region. Pretty cool.

Wearing my La Mer Collection Neon Odyssey wrap watch at Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. Ironically, I'm wearing this exact outfit today.

Thanks to Dina of Baby Center for the picture. I’ll post a much cuter picture of both of us soon.

#VlogMom: I’m not perfect

2012-05-17T02:58:54Z

This week, Tania of Pure Natural Diva asks the ladies of #VlogMom: What are your character flaws? Let’s face it, I’m not perfect… who is?

Vlogmom: I'm not perfect

What about you? What makes you real? And check out what the other ladies of #VlogMom have to say.

Just Precious becomes Julieverse at Just Precious

2012-05-17T01:44:18Z

This week, I’ve received a lot of “congrats!” (thank you!) on the new look, feel and flavor of the Julieverse at Just Precious. But I’ve also received a few questions, namely:

Julie, tell me why Just Precious became Julieverse at Just Precious?

So this is kind of a long story that I’m going to try to keep short. Long ago, I owned an online boutique, Precious Personalities. At that time, I also wrote product reviews for Mommies with Style and another site, where I had a column entitled “Precious Picks” that focused on products that worked together (like playroom necessities or kitchen necessities). I loved writing at both of the sites, but I wasn’t able to write about the products I sold. Knowing that just having an active blog was a huge deal for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and recognizing the need for product reviews of my great stock that actually pointed to my website, Just Precious was created as a place to write about the products that I sold. Well, that was the plan.

Just Precious quickly became more successful than the boutique as I wrote about things important to me, not just my boutique, and it took off.

In the past four years, I’ve become tired of introducing myself as “Just Precious” and people saying “oh! You ARE!” Plus, areas that I talk about aren’t really precious — I mean, marketing and social media and issues with teachers aren’t “just precious”, right? Often they’re anything but precious. In fact, I quickly learned that “precious” is a great name for a baby boutique — my husband was so smart when he named the boutique — because “precious” is usually associated with a baby or a baby animal. SO cute! But my life and interests? They’re not so cute. They’re important. They’re helpful to parents. But they’re not precious. I wanted to appear as more of a resource for all of my background and interests, everything within me and less of a cutesy blog. Julieverse encompasses all of that.

The transition from Just Precious to Julieverse is a long one. I have a background in marketing and I’ve sketched out a rebranding process that will take quite some time. I did this on purpose. I own just-precious.com, julieverse.com and juliemeyerspron.com. All three point to the same site, located at Just-Precious.com.

Prior to the huge change that you see on this webpage (which is still a change in process, you’ll see little changes now and again, so come back and visit. It’ll be like Where’s Waldo?) I started calling the website Julieverse at Just Precious in March and all of my vlogs since then have reflected that. In April I changed my twitter handle from @justprecious to @JulieMPron (something I’m still getting used to typing). Sadly the twitter handle ‘julieverse’ was already taken.

On March 30, when Facebook officially changed fan pages to have cover pictures, I made my initial big change: installing a Julieverse at Just Precious header and changing all of my imaging. This helped me identify my new brand, based on the old one.

You see, I’ve changed my name and my look to reflect what the site has become. But who I am and what the webpage is here for: to be a resource to parents, especially moms, in many areas of their lives and to help them to learn strategies to make their lives easier, as I’ve learned them… that’s still here, whether it’s at Julieverse or Just Precious.

Five YouTube tips for video blogging

2012-05-16T02:03:48Z

Most vlogging moms upload to YouTube, and that’s with good reason. YouTube is highly searchable. Here are 5 YouTube tips for video blogging that will help increase your video reach.

Take advantage of your YouTube keywords

YouTube is owned by Google, so a properly keyworded YouTube video is more likely to show up in a google search before the link to your site. Additionally, Joe-Google-Searcher is more likely to click on a YouTube link than a link to your post because it shows up first and seems user-friendly and recognizable, so you need to make sure that he clicks on your video and not another… by keywording. Yes, by uploading to YouTube you are providing competition against yourself–but it’s far better that your video and your post are both in the top ten than your competition.

Your YouTube statistics can (and should) be included in your Media Kits and About pages on your site. They’re a part of your promotional and influential power and a large part of your brand.

So, if posting on YouTube brings people to YouTube, how do I get more people to my website?

A little known fact: You Tube will only provide a hyperlink if the URL is in the beginning of the description. You should always, always, always start your description with a link to your own site. After your URL, remind your new viewers to visit your website: ”http://julieverse.com/ <– see more of Julie Meyers Pron’s parenting tips and how to videos at Julieverse at Just Precious.” Then add a heavily keyworded sentence about your video.

How do I make money on YouTube?

There are two prime ways to make money on YouTube: GoogleAds and Affiliate Links.

Google Ads/Adsense. After your video channel has achieved a certain amount of accredibility (determined by YouTube and Google’s mysterious algorithm), you’ll be invited to monetize your videos. After you accept the invitation, you’ll be prompted on each video to decide whether or not to monetize. Take care to only monetize videos that do not use copy-written elements (such as songs, TV, quotes from books, movies, etc), do not include paid product placements and do not have graphics that would confuse the eye when an ad is laid over. Google Ads take about one-third of the YouTube screen as an overlay. If you don’t like how the ad is performing or the way it looks, you can always take it off.
Affiliate Links. Missy Ward of the Affiliate Summit shared this tip with me at SheCon11: Always include affiliate links to any product you discuss or use during your videos. Viewers are watching you to see what you can do, and when they fall in love with your demonstration, they’re going to want the product. So sell it to them! In this case, you’ll want to include the affiliate link at the beginning of the description, and not your site link. Because you want the money before the link juice.
YouTube Ad Networks. Just as there are networks for blogs there are ad networks for vlogging as well. (Disclosure, I am a member of MomPulse a video-based ad network for Mom Bloggers.) Here’s a TechCrunch article with more information.

Get more followers

It’s very easy to subscribe to people’s YouTube channels: just find a video you like and click “subscribe” above the video. When you subscribe to a channel, their feeds will be sent to you and will appear on your Channel page. This makes it easier to view those you like and to share with those who like you. Not only are your videos shared with your subscribers, but also the videos you “like.” When you follow another vlogger, she’ll be prompted to reciprocate and follow you back. Not only will she then begin following you and receiving your feed on her channel, but others visiting her channel will see you featured on her list of following. If you’re looking for mom bloggers to follow on YouTube, check out our membership at #VlogMom.

And you should totally subscribe to my channel… I’ll follow you back, too. In fact, I find that the majority of people I subscribe to, subscribe back within the week. So get out there and subscribe to 20 vloggers today. Let’s see what happens.

Why are you still sitting here? Practice!

Video blogging is fun, but it’s also nerve-wracking, intimidating and it feels a bit self-centered. Most vloggers wonder what they can do to increase their skills. The easy answer: practice! But practicing is awkward… who wants to just jump on screen and start talking about random things, right? A few other bloggers had the same thought, and decided it would be much more fun to practice their skills together. At #VlogMom, bloggers ask a question of the week and answer it each Thursday, linking up on each other’s sites, watching each other’s YouTube videos and sharing vlogging tips in the comments.

Julieverse at Just Precious readers have seen #VlogMom since it’s first week and I’m so proud to share with you our new webpage which acts as a hub for all things #VlogMom. There you’ll find next week’s topic as well as video blogs featuring our bloggers.

Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net