What mom isn’t looking for help to get her kids to toe the line, find time for herself and make her life go more smoothly? Wouldn’t it be great if moms had a place they could go to get a year’s worth of great advice and support for their endless and often thankless work in just one day?

That place exists and it’s called MamaCon – Inspiration and Tools for Modern Moms [www.mamacon.net]. MamaCon, May 18 and 19, 2012, at the Bellevue Hilton, is the brainchild of Seattle area moms and parent educators Amy Lang and Kim Estes.

Amy and Kim decided the time has come for a conference solely devoted to the “business” of motherhood. Here’s a taste of some excellent tips and advice from several of MamaCon’s amazing speakers and experts.

Dr. Shirin Shirkat, Create Happy Kids, [www.createhappykids.com], tells moms to “say it only once and be heard” by using this magical sentence, “First, _________ then, ____________.”  For example,  “First eat your dinner, then you can have ice cream.” Keep this short, clear and concrete if you want it to be powerful and effective.

Sara Eizen, Nest Seattle, [www.nestseattle.com], helps moms go from “clutter to calm.” One of her best tips is to take the hanging rod out of the coat closet and install hooks instead. No more hangers and plenty of room to get all those coats and jackets put away.

Margit Crane, Gifted With ADD, [www.giftedwithadd.com] says moms need to understand sometimes your child is going to be like a “hot house flower.” Your child may need extra reminding, love, attention, support, and cajoling. Do what they need to thrive. She says this is usually a passing phase and kids end up able to function well without mom’s intensive help.

Too tired for sex? Amy Johnson, Diligent Joy, [www.diligentjoy.com] suggests having a regular date with your spouse or partner and having sex before you go out for dinner or to the movies.

Kathy Slattengren, Priceless Parenting, [www.pricelessparenting.com] suggests using “silent self-talk” as the first step to moving from anger to empathy. All those snarky, sarcastic and downright mean things you sometimes say to try to motivate your kids? Feel free to think them all you want. Saying them won’t do anyone any good and certainly won’t get your kid moving. Silent self-talk allows you to vent and then connect with your child.

Some of our topics:

Life Strategies:

Solving the Dinner Dilemma: Stress-Free Cooking For Busy Moms - Make Ahead Mamas (Claudia Pettis, Deb Kapsner, and Maia Kelly)

Envy the Energizer Bunny? Sleep for the Exhausted Mama - Catherine Darley, ND

Vodka: It’s Not Just for Drinking  Jim Allen

Getting Your Groove Back: Sex for the Exhausted Mama - Amy Johnson

From Clutter to Calm - Sara Eizen

Motherhood, Money and Mayhem - Debbie Whitlock

The Momarchy: Take Your Life Back From Your Kids - Angela Toussaint

Parenting Strategies:

Hocus Pocus, Focus: Simple Steps to Motivate Your Distracted Child – Margit Crane

Raising Resilient Kids – Avoiding Praise Junkies! - Sarina Behar Natkin

Turn It Off!  Tips and Tools for Parenting in the Age of Technology - Ann Hungar Steel

Chores Without Challenge - Patricia Nan Anderson

Turning Anger to Empathy: Responding to Misbehavior with Empathy - Kathy Slattengren

That Would Never Happen to MY Daughter! - Kelly Marquet

Picky Eating: It’s Not Your Fault! - Matthew Amster-Burton

With over 50 parenting and life speakers and experts, including Rosalind Wiseman, New York Times best selling author of Queen Bees and Wannabes, free mini-spa treatments, wine tasting, a comedy show and Seattle Mom Prom [www.seattlemomprom.com] local moms will get just what they need to be happier, savvier mamas.

If mama ain’t happy, nobody’s happy and MamaCon [www.mamacon.net] is all about creating happy moms!

Bellevue Hilton

300 112th Avenue SE

Bellevue, Washington   98004

Marketplace Preview and Kick-Off Cocktail Party!

Friday, May 18, 2012 – 3PM to 9PM

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

MamaCon – Inspiration and Tools for Modern Moms

Saturday, May 19, 2012 – 8AM (registration) to 12PM

Tickets! Use Code MCNSPEC  for $20 off.

www.MamaCon.net

info@MamaCon.net

425-522-2417

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Here is a guest post from Catherine Darley, N.D. She specializes in SLEEP! http://naturalsleepmedicine.net

Dr. Darley is advocating for a bill called “Start School Later” and needs signatures TODAY!!!! Please take a look at this initiative:

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An Exciting Webinar Series To Help Teens Succeed in College by Dr. Theresa Maitland _____________________________________________________   Sign up for this Webinar Series and receive the book “Ready For Take-Off: Preparing Your Teen with ADHD or LD for College” by Theresa Maitland, PhD and Patricia Quinn, MD.    Do you have a teen or know a family with a college bound teen diagnosed with ADHD or LD or a young adult who is already in college ?   Or maybe you work with families who have college bound teens or you work with teens yourself and would like to know more about how to better prepare them for success in college. Dr. Theresa Maitland is once again offering her exciting webinar series to parents of kids entering or already in college as well as professionals (coaches, teachers counselors, advisors, psychologists) working with parents, teens and young adults with ADHD/LD.       Tuesdays, March 13-April 10, 2012 4:30 pm Pacific/7:30 Eastern   March 13- Session I: Students with ADHD/LD in College March 20 – Session 2: Your role March 27 – Session 3: Assessing Readiness April 3rd – Session 4: Developing and Implementing a College Readiness Program April 10th – Session 5:Bonus Session! Focus on Your Teen’s Plan.   Detailed Outline of Each Session   Members of ADD Resources: $180 Non-members of ADD Resources: $200   Register and get more details!    This series is given by Theresa Maitland, PhD., the Coordinator of the Academic Success Program for Students with LD/ADHD, a program in the Learning Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Dr. Maitland specializes in preparing individuals with ADHD/LD for life after high school.          <<<< Ready for Take-Off   On Your Own>>>>           Testimonials   “Excellent ideas that will really help me teach my Psychology class and perhaps a class for parents!!” with Kaye Langer, School Psychologist, Clover Garden Charter School, Burlington, NC, participated in the first webinar series.   “Is your child bright enough for college but needs your help to get through the daily grind of high school? Do you worry whether she or he will thrive on campus alone? Me, too. Dr. Maitland’s goal is to help you gradually put your teen in charge of managing his or her own life so the transition to college will go more smoothly. I wish schools would put her book “Ready for Take-Off” in the hands of all parents of teens with ADD or LD. It was helpful to hear other participants’ experiences and insights during the webinar series. I’m so glad I found Dr. Maitland and her book when our son was a sophomore; it gives us more time to help him “learn to fly” on his own.”Laura Bridgewater, mother of a sophmore with ADHD, participated in the first webinar series. “Fills the huge gap that suddenly appears between the parental involvement (and sometimes micro-managing) of high school, and the independence of college.” –National Parenting Publications Awards, 2010, review of “Ready for Take-Off”.

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JOIN US FOR A ‘TASTE OF MAMACON’ at SEATTLE GIRLS’ SCHOOL, on February 28, 6 – 8 pm
2706 South Jackson Street  Seattle, WA 98144
(206) 709-2228

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Join local certified financial planner
and former KVI radio host Albert Israel for a workshop
addressing the college financial aid process
and how parents can garner more aid.

Workshops will be held at

West Seattle HS (2/14, 7PM),

Ingraham HS (2/15, 7PM),

and Roosevelt HS (2/16, 7PM).

RSVP to mokonski@financialguide.com. The workshops are free.

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Hey everyone! Margit Crane here, with a more personal post today. Please feel free to scroll down to share your thoughts. I’d love to read your comments.

Last night I had the good fortune to speak at a wonderful office that provides parent education for their patients. The topic was Talking To Tweens and Teens: Power Conversations not Power Struggles, one of my all-time favorite topics. I’ve been working with teens forever – I adore them – and I was super-excited to give the parents a ton of helpful information.

At the end of the talk, I passed out evaluation forms. I read the comments when I got home; some were very heartwarming and some had good suggestions as well.

And then I got the one that said, “Speaker was too A.D.D. for me.” I’m pretty sure that the writer meant it as just her own personal observation and opinion, but what did it mean?

Did she mean I was too energetic, too impassioned, too funny, too enthusiastic, too clever, too full of ideas? What does it mean to be “Too A.D.D.”? My knee-jerk response was: “You’re missing out on a whole lot of fun,” but then I think of all the kids who are so misunderstood and struggle so mightily, not to mention remembering myself as a misunderstood kid, and it stung. It hurt.

What do you think? Have you or your child ever been thought of as “Too ADD?” How did you handle it? Just scroll down to share your comments.

And don’t forget about your FREE 20-minute phone consultation. I can get a lot done in that amount of time! Just schedule yourself in HERE!

copyright 2012 all rights reserved margit crane

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