Small Town Mommy

Small Town Mommy Has Moved

2008-10-25T17:20:00.003-04:00

Hello my faithful readers, Small Town Mommy has moved. That's right, the fun, excitement, minutiae and tedium that is Small Town Mommy can now be found at www.smalltownmommy.com. Please come and visit us there. We would love to see you. Everything is new, except the writer. I am traveling with Small Town Mommy to its new home. So come see our cool new design, our latest posts and maybe even a picture of me. Remember, the new URL is www.smalltownmommy.com.

I hope to see you there!

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More Awards for Me

2008-10-24T08:23:00.006-04:00

My chum Lydia from On the Verge has given me 2 more awards. Yes, those of you who are paying attention are correct, most of my awards have come from Lydia. Either she is extremely popular or she is my only friend (I prefer to think that she is extremely popular). On the Verge recently had its 100th post. You wont get that type of excitement here. I don't know when my 100th post was, but it has already passed (yes, I missed it, I wasn't paying attention). I could probably fib and make up a hundredth post, but knowing my luck, someone would go back and count and discover that the 100th was actually something exceptionally silly.

Anyway, back to the awards.

The first award is I Love your Blog

I have seen these all over the place so I am honored that I have received one as well. Since I love On the Verge, it means a lot that Lydia gave it to me.

The second award is the butterfly award. This is my kids' favorite. They love butterflies.

I am going to actually pass these awards on to a couple of people (they may ignore it, but that is ok).

Stacy and Elle at Blue Monkey Butt

Mrs Bear at Outnumbered 2 to 1

Daisy the Curly Cat

Frank at Small Town Daddy

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Hong Kong Clothing Comes to NY

2008-10-24T07:36:00.005-04:00

When I was in high school and college, my father lived in Hong Kong (yes, that foreign country on the other side of the planet). I haven't been there is years, but in the 80's, I spent a lot of time there, visiting my parents and enjoying the city (oh my God, you had to see the shopping, I still can't buy retail).

Another thing that was unique to Hong Kong was the low cost of labor (that is also why Chinese toys are so cheap). Because employees are so inexpensive in Hong Kong, custom-made clothing was extremely affordable. My father's wore custom-made suits because they cost the same as off-the-rack suits in the U.S. The only people in the U.S. who could afford custom suits were the extremely wealthy (Donald Trump or those who were big screen, movie star, wealthy).

Now, anyone can afford a custom-made suit. Even you (or your husband) can dress like Donald Trump. A new Web site http://www.mysuitny.com/ has developed a way to craft made-to-measure suits at off-the-rack prices (not sure how they do it, maybe Santa's elves got laid off in the recession and they snatched them up).

It is pretty cool. Rather than going to the store and choosing from the selection that the store people like, you get to create exactly the suit that you want. They measure you in like 30 different directions, making sure every part of your suit fits perfectly. You get to pick whatever style you like and whatever fabric you like which is perfect for those of us who look best in certain styles and fabrics (have you ever been shopping and found that you love the purple, but the cut of the pea soup green outfit looks so much better on you, who can wear pea soup green anyway?).

Every since I have had children, I have found shopping for clothing to be extremely demoralizing (you moms, like me, who never got your pre-children shape back know how I feel). Custom-made clothing solves that problem and custom suit allows you to buy custom clothing at an off-the-rack price.

Unfortunately for many of my readers, custom suit is only available to people in my area. You need to be able to travel to NY city to get measured (although, if you have a trip planned to NY, check it out, it might be worth the trip, also, let me know, maybe we can plan something).

For those of you who, like me, are reluctant to deal with online retailers you dont know, custom suit has a midtown NY location, right on Broadway (smack in the middle of everything). Check out the photo.

Look how fabulous, it makes you want to go in and buy something, but, you have to have an appointment so make sure you schedule in advance (although, if you call them they might be able to fit you in).

If you are located near NY or if you are planning a trip, check out custom suit. Yes, even those of us who live here in the Small Town, like to dress nicely.

Will DCF Take My Children Away?

2008-10-23T18:52:00.006-04:00

My Joanna, is a drama queen. Because of that, I fully expect that someday, at bedtime, DCF (department of children and family) is going to break down my door. Every night, brushing her hair is a huge and painful ordeal for all involved. Not only does it hurt her to have her hair brushed, but the screaming hurts everyone around her (and since the dog annoys the neighbors, I can only imagine their reaction to the ear piercing screams every night). She yells about how mommy is hurting her. I think it sounds like she is being abused and I am in the same room as her.

I can't stand to see her hurt, but we can't allow her to develop dreadlocks (which is what would happen if we let her brush her own hair, we tried it for a while). I have tried detangler, brushing it wet, brushing it dry and even cutting her hair (which she hates even more than the brushing). So I will continue to brush it and torture the entire neighborhood (all 6 houses) with her nightly screams. If anyone has any suggestions for things that might make it easier to get a brush through her hair, I would love to hear it.

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5 Photo Tips for You

2008-10-21T08:06:00.004-04:00

Many of you may not know this, but I spent five years in the work world with Nikon as my main client. I lived photography and wrote more photo tip articles than you can imagine. I thought I would let my readers benefit from my vast photographic experience and provide you with some photo tips.

Now I know a lot of you are probably moms who take a lot of pictures of your kids. And at some point, I may share my photo tips for kids (if I am in the mood). But this time, I am going to share tips to help you, the mom, look better in photos. No, I am not going to suggest losing weight, getting a haircut, working out or anything like that. These are simple camera tricks that can help you look younger, thinner and more like you think you look.

1) Never let a photographer shoot up at you. On TV, you often see paparazzi crouching down to take a photo (how do you think they get all those unflattering celebrity photos). No, no, no! The photographer should ALWAYS be higher up than you. The bottom of your chin is not your best side, I promise. My father-in-law used to be a wedding photographer and he would bring a footstool with him to shoot weddings. Ideally, the photographer should be a little higher than you are and shooting slightly down. It cuts down on the number of chins that appear in the photo and you will be very pleased with the result. No one has ever been happy with a photo that was taken from below.

2) Fill Flash, Fill Flash, Fill Flash. This is a mantra for anyone who has worked in the photography industry. If someone is taking your photo, make sure the photographer uses a flash. Even if you don't think you need one. Flash will help darken the background, making the colors brighter and will help erase those shadows and lines that make you look ten years older than you actually are.

3) When having your photo taken outside, stay out of direct sunlight. The gut reaction of most people outside is to stand in the sun to get the most light. But the sun is harsh. It makes shadows and lines on your face (shadows and lines are nobody's friend). Don't go deep into the forest, but stand under a tree or in slight shade (photographers call this open shade). This will also avoid the unattractive squint that can't be avoided in sunny photos.

4) Dress Comfortably. One thing I always tell my clients before a television appearance or photo shoot is make sure you think you look good. If you feel comfortable and feel like you look good, you will appear more confident, happier, and even look better. Also, of course, stay away from busy patterns (that may be good advice for every day too). Try to avoid all black and all white outfits. It makes the color balance difficult for the camera.

5) Most point and shoot cameras (camera lingo, probably the type of camera most parents have) these days offer telephoto lenses. Have the photographer move back and use the zoom lens to get closer. Wide-angle lenses distort (and in just the way you would expect from something with wide in the name).

I hope these photo tips will help you feel more comfortable with having your photo taken. Your family will be pleased to have these memories of you and you will be pleased to look so good in your pictures.

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Trees and a Playdate -- Huh?

2008-10-20T18:00:00.005-04:00

My yard is a mess. Fortunately, the big digger machine (I have 2 girls, I don't know construction equipment) that had become my front lawn art was taken away this morning, so now my yard just looks like a hurricane hit it. I just wish someone would just cut up the big pile of giant trees in my front yard.

On another (and much more fun) note, Joanna and I had a playdate today. Playdates are one of the things I missed most while working full time. While I had a couple of friends who were willing to do playdates with the au pair or on weekends, Joanna has really been gypped on the playdate front (Libby is old enough that her playdates don't require two parent attendance).

We went to a friend's house from Joanna's preschool class last year. This little girl (who I will refer to as E since she is not my kid so I shouldn't bandy her name about the Internet) was Joanna's best friend in preschool. While it was only 2 years, it was really half her life, which I think is a long time.

We had a very good time (yes, both of us). Joanna and E played nicely together doing typical 5 year old stuff (dress up, musical instruments, swings, slides, etc). I did have a heart attack when I looked up and there was Joanna, barrelling down a hill in a wagon, right into a tree. She was targeting a leaf pile, but there is a reason five-year olds are not allowed to drive. Joanna was fine, but I had to tell her that she is not allowed to ride a wagon down a hill ever again (I am sure she will find some way to get around that rule like she tries with every other. Maybe riding a scooter down a hill into a tree, or maybe a cart or something else with wheels).

I got to talk to the mom, which was very nice. I am sure you have run into the situation where your child is friends with a mom who is unbearable. Luckily, this is not one of those situations. I really like E's mother so enjoy spending time with her. I am hoping to be able to do more playdates although I may still be busy if the unbearable moms call.

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Devastation at Home

2008-10-18T17:05:00.004-04:00

As you can tell by the name of my blog, we live in a small town. Here in Connecticut, small town usually means more trees than people. We have a lot of trees in our yard, many of which grow out in the swamp (oh sorry, the conservation people call them wetlands) in our back yard. Today, a group of our neighbors came over to take down a bunch of our trees. The trees are all in the front yard, blocking the sun and menacing the house every time we get a strong wind. The trees had to come down and it is cheaper to have the neighbors do it than to have a tree guy come and take care of it (although if they hit the house, that will cease to be the case).

Anyway, it turns out that both of my kids are tree huggers. Who knew? They are very upset about the trees coming down and there has been crying for days about it. Both have identified "their" trees that are not allowed to come down. So far, Joanna's trees have bit the dust. We will see what happens with Libby's. Now, they are both on a hunger strike, refusing to eat anything (which may be more due to the SmartFood consumed at 3:30 rather than true upset, but I guess we will see when the pizza arrives).

I was able to distract them with Bee Movie (thank you, Jerry Seinfeld). And Libby is now outside raking all our leaves with the other neighborhood kids. Although, I am not sure what will happen at bedtime. I have the feeling we are in for a long night as everyone's emotions come to a peak about the loss of their trees.

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I Have Won Some Awards

2008-10-17T08:30:00.006-04:00

I have won a few more awards and since I am feeling good about them, I thought I would share them with you! While you probably wont feel as good about them as I do, for you, it's better than a kick in the teeth.

The first award is from Cindi, a fellow Connecticutian (I am still not sure that is a word, but since it is my blog, I am going to use it). This award is for moms who work from home. It means a lot to me since Cindi is really dedicated to helping moms work from home so it makes me feel like she believes I will be successful. Her blog, MoomettesGram's Musings is constantly providing helpful tips for women who work from home.

Thank you Cindi!

Another award is from one of my favorite bloggers, Lydia from On the Verge. You may remember Lydia because she gave me my first award ever! She has 2 girls close in age to my Libby and Joanna and then, being much more the hero than I, had 2 more girls. I can only imagine that household during the teen years (which sound like they will extend approximately forever). My husband always threatens to find another house when our girls hit their teens, and we only have 2 of them.

For Lydia's award, I have to name 6 things that make me happy. Since I am kind of dark and sarcastic, that is going to be challenging, but I will give it a shot:

1) My husband who supports me, no matter what cockamamie idea I come up with.

2) My kids, when they are in a good mood (nothing is more fun than a 9 year old and 5 year old who are happy and cheery).

3) People who leave comments on my blog, especially those who say I am funny (does this sound like I am begging for comments, ok, I am).

4) Cats: As I mentioned in an earlier post, those who are unkind call me a crazy cat lady. I am super jealous of Lydia who has 4 cats since my husband will only allow me to have 2 (he claims he is allergic. I tried to get him to take allergy shots, but he refused. Something about a needle phobia).

5) Chocolate: No explanation needed.

6) Sweeping products: Now please don't misinterpret this to mean I like to clean. I just like to have the sweeping products, I don't want to have to actually use them. I think I am looking for the ultimate cleaning solution where I can just sit around and eat bon bons while my sweeping products clean my house (a girl can dream, can't she?).

Wow, that's wasn't as hard as I thought. I might have to completely rethink my self-image... Nah.

I am also supposed to give the award to 6 other people, but I am not going to do that. If you feel you are deserving, please accept the award on my behalf, but I don't know 6 bloggers to give the award to unless I steal some of Lydia's award winners and repeat my previous winners.

Thanks so much Lydia and I hope I didn't offend with the sorority comment last week (I was kidding, I promise).

The third award I won is from Melissa at Multi-Tasking Mama. Along with the information on multi-tasking (which any mom can use), Melissa appears to be an organizing guru (check out her organizing site for daily tips on getting organized). To those of us who fly through life by the seat of our pants, this is a skill to be envied.

While the award is a repeat, it means so much to me because she said I made her laugh.

Again, I am supposed to pass this on to other bloggers, but we have already established that I am a rebel so am not going to do it, but that doesn't mean I appreciate it any less.

Thanks so much to Cindi, Lydia and Melissa! It means so much that people actually read my blog, let alone enjoy it and since I enjoy all of your blogs, it means even more.

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Waste of a Perfectly Good Shower

2008-10-16T07:27:00.004-04:00

Today I showered for no reason. That may seem insignificant to most people, but it means something to me. You may know, I recently left my on-staff position to work from home. Since that time, I have been looking forward to the day when I could skip showering (freelancers are notorious for not getting dressed for days). Today was supposed to be the day (I know, what kind of maniac plans her non showering days, but that is the OCD-way I roll).

I figured Frank could take the girls to the bus stop and not showering would give me additional time to work (surf the Web) and clean (watch soap operas). At 6:15 this morning, I realized that Libby had chorus so I would need to take Joanna to the bus stop (chorus meets at the crack of dawn so Libby needs to be dropped off at school on those days). So, counter to my original plan, I got up and showered (far be it from me to arrive at the bus stop unclean. I might offend the neighbors).

After I got out of the shower, Joanna came in and told me she wasn't feeling well. Her stomach was upset last night so we decided to keep her home (she is in kindergarten, so she really wont miss much). So now, while I am trying to write, she is whining that she wants to watch Drake and Josh. And I am sitting here all dressed up (well, showered at least), with no place to go.

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Check Out Daisy the Curly Cat

2008-10-14T06:04:00.003-04:00

Now, I like cats. In fact, those who are unkind have occasionally referred to me as a crazy cat lady. I am not a crazy cat lady, I only have 2 cats. One must have at least 4 cats to be a crazy cat lady (does having a ready definition make me a crazy cat lady?). But my cats are irrelevant to this blog post. This post is about everyone’s favorite kitty, Daisy, the curly cat. There are a number of cat blogs out there. Unfortunately, I have not found all of them, but don't worry, I will keep looking. Luckily, I have found the blog that is kept by Daisy the curly cat and her brother Harley (who is not curly, but is still very cute).

Now, this is an extremely difficult post for me to write. It is hard for me to talk about Daisy without sounding silly (or, like a crazy cat lady). First, she is the most consistent poster I could imagine. I have been following her for a while and I don’t think Daisy has ever missed a day. Second, she photographs amazingly and there are great photos in every post (whoever takes her pictures could consider another career as a cat photographer). Third, Daisy has more clothes than I do. It’s true, she posted a photo of her closet with all her costumes. She has more clothes than me and let’s be honest, her clothes are nicer. In fact, if I was as cute as Daisy and dressed as nicely, I wouldn’t be so opposed to posting my photo (now c’mon, it wouldn’t be my blog if there wasn’t a reference to me and my picture).

But this isn’t about me (I know, hard to believe). My kids love Daisy too. Every morning, they come into my room to see what Daisy and Harley are doing (this is one of the reasons I am so glad that Daisy is consistent. Try telling a 5-year old that Daisy took the day off). When Joanna wakes up earlier than anyone else, she will come into my room and we will watch Daisy’s videos of her different adventures. My favorite is catnip reefer (luckily, Joanna doesn’t get the reference).

I have the suspicion that Daisy may eventually surface as a series of children’s books and I wouldn’t be surprised. Let’s just hope she keeps to her blog too.

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Report on Blogher

2008-10-12T21:13:00.004-04:00

As you may know, I attended Blogher Boston on Saturday, October 12 (yesterday). It was definitely beneficial. There were a number of seminars that are great for beginning bloggers. I didn't attend any of them. Since I am also a marketing professional on the side (until this blogging thing catches on), I attended the seminars on social media. I have a number of clients who are interested in learning what social media can do for them and I thought this would be helpful for putting together their plans. The first session ended up being different ideas to grow your readership (which helped the blogging side, Yay) and the second was some of the leading social media marketers from the Boston area which can definitely help the marketing side.

There was some great swag there. I got an amazing pair of slippers from Shine from Yahoo and some cute stuffed animals for the girls from Leapfrog. I tried to convince the people from LG to let me have one of their new, cute purple phones, but I got a pen (it is a very nice pen, with a laser pointer and USB drive, but I can't get it to make phone calls).

I know a few of my readers are bloggers so I am going to share a few things that I wish someone had told me...

Bring business cards: Apparently all bloggers (except me) have business cards for their blogs. Make sure you bring them with you. People expect you to hand them the cards so if you don't have them, you just feel dumb (trust me, I experienced this first hand).

If you don't have a well-defined subject, define it before you arrive: Obviously, I am the lamest blogger out there. The first question another blogger will ask is, "What do you blog about?" The other bloggers are talking about subjects like parenting, marketing, politics, cooking, etc. Interesting, informative subjects. All I could think of were the 2 posts I did about coloring my hair. Yes, I really am this shallow, get used to it.

Bring a laptop: This one I actually did. You may want to check something online during the sessions or read your email when the panel starts babbling (not that any of the panels I attended included babbling, nope, never, wouldn't dream of it).

Overall, I recommend the conferences, especially if you are new to blogging and looking to grow or monetize your site. They also offer tech help from a professional tech guru so you can ask all of your bloggy questions to someone who might actually be able to answer them.

On another note, we (mostly my techie husband) are going to be moving my blog from blogger to its true home at www.smalltownmommy.com. It might be ugly, but I am going to try to make it as easy as possible for you. I will keep you posted.

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Greetings from Blogher Boston

2008-10-12T08:46:00.006-04:00

I am here at Blogher Boston, sitting in a conference on monetizing social media (On the Verge, this can be our first step in taking over the world. We can become rich and then overthrow the president. Just kidding secret service). It took us forever to get here last night so I wasn't able to post and then this morning was crazy, getting myself beautiful to show up here.

We have had a lot of talk about my hair and my photo (I know, no one is obsessed with it but me, but as my readers, you get to share my obsession). Anyway, since I have made myself beautiful for the show, I had my husband take a photo and I am going to post it here first (sorry to all my Facebook friends).

So here it is...

Keep Scrolling

Coming soon...

Keep scrolling...

Finally...

More to follow soon :)

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About Me

2008-10-09T17:03:00.006-04:00

I have been tagged with a meme (twice). For all of my non-blogging readers, this is something that bloggers do with each other (and it is so not dirty). Some of them are fun, some are silly and some are a little too revealing. Of course, I was tagged with the latter. First by Sondra who writes On Living by Learning. It is a great blog and she posts a beautiful photo of herself there (as we all know, I am currently obsessed with photos of myself). I received the same tag from Giazzpet who writes GiazzWorld. She is a jazz flutist, how cool is that?

Anyway, I am supposed to share 6 secrets about me. Sandra did 6 meaningful stories about jewelry, but I don't wear jewelry (can that count as 1? I guess not, too many people already know that). Giazzpet did 6 really interesting experiences, but my life isn't that interesting.

We all know, I don't really keep anything secret here, so I am going to have to jump into the way-back machine to come up with 6 things about me that no one knows. Here we go with TMI (too much information):

1) When I was a freshman in high school I had a serious problem with cursing. It was solved when I was grounded for life for referring to my English teacher (in front of my mother) as a word that rhymes with witch (I still stand by that statement, she really was). I tried to tell my mother I said witch, but she didn't buy it.

2) When I was growing up, I wanted to be a game show host. When I started working, I realized being a figurehead was the way to go. The game show host window has closed, but I am still holding out hope for becoming a figurehead.

3) When I was in college, I was a card-carrying member of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. I was almost arrested outside of a movie theater for distributing literature on the animal experimentation featured in the movie Project X. I still think Matthew Broderick is a hottie.

4) When I worked at the NY Convention & Visitors Bureau, I produced a movie encouraging New Yorkers to be nicer to tourists. I appeared in a scene with Tony Randall.

5) I once stalked Cindy Wilson at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut.

6) As I sit here writing this, I am watching my cat become intimate with my daughter's sweater. And I am not stopping him.

You don't have to participate. I singled you out because I like you and your blog. Feel free to simply ignore if you don't feel like playing.

Play the Meme Game:
If you’ve been tagged with the Twitter Meme Game, you must post 6 things no one knows about you on your BLOG. Then you have to tag 6 more people. (don’t forget to let them know they’ve been tagged.) Leave me a message letting me know that you’ve accepted the tag. Let me know when you’ve posted your list and make sure there’s a link back to my BLOG. http://www.onlivingbylearning.com/ Have fun!!!

Here are the six bloggers I have chosen:

On the Verge (is this cheating, I don't know her Twitter ID)
Blue Monkey Butt (look at the name, need I say more)
Small Town Daddy (also known as my husband)
Moomettesgram's Musings (my fellow Connecticutian: is that a word?)
Hippostoes (to celebrate the opening of her new online store. Besides, how can you not love hippos toes)
Barack Obama (just because it gives me the opportunity to brag that he is following me on Twitter).

I have to go now to try to even out the color of my hair. I am heading up to Massachusetts tomorrow for the Blogher conference and would rather have normal looking hair (although it will still be BURGUNDY). If anyone is going, let me know. I would love to meet up somewhere.

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Last Day

2008-10-08T20:00:00.004-04:00

Today was my last day at work. Although, for someone who is currently unemployed, I seem to be doing an awful lot. I currently have 2 working clients and another I need to meet with to get up and running. But at least my schedule is my own!

This morning, Joanna was very excited that today was my last day. I was pretty excited too. So I told her when I came home, we were going to party. Party like... like... rock stars. Luckily, Joanna isn't old enough to know how rock stars actually party, so there was no room trashing.

Tomorrow, I am going to spend the day with the girls. I am so excited to be able to be with them without having to worry about taking a vacation day (you working moms know what I'm talking about). Of course, the exchange is that I don't really get to take a vacation, I work around everything else. It is so worth it.

Today was lamer than lame. I spent most of the day printing out labels for upcoming mailings I have scheduled. Since I will no longer be in the office, someone needs to coordinate the mailings. They would get pissed if there were no labels. Well, at least it is no longer me!

On another note, I have received requests for pictures (on Facebook, my blog, a blog I am working with and in particular for the BURGUNDY hair). Right now, the hair is very unevenly colored and I need to fix it (too much hair, too little dye). I don't think I can do it tonight, but I will soon. And as soon as I do, I will take a picture. Once my husband edits out the all the facial lines and extra chins, I will post it everywhere. Coming soon... photo of me :)

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Who Has Purple Hair

2008-10-06T10:14:00.004-04:00

Last night, I decided to dye my hair. I like to change hair color occasionally and refuse to pay a professional to do it (what can I say, I'm cheap). This time, I went with burgundy. It is a kind of dark reddish brown. I love the color, but I don't think I had enough dye. There seem to be spots of the old brown shining through.

Anyway, my follicular issues are not the subject here. The bigger issue is Libby's reaction when she finally noticed it this morning. It completely distracted her from her current campaign to avoid school.

This Wednesday, her class is taking some kind of physical fitness test where she has to run a mile and do push ups and pull ups (I think there may be jumping jacks involved too). Libby is a very active kid, but does not like organized exercise. She can play the Wii Fit for hours, but tell her she has to run around a track with her classmates and she rebels. She spent most of the morning trying to convince me to let her stay home from school, but suddenly, in the midst of her campaign, she noticed my hair.

"Mommy, why is your hair purple?" She asked. "It's isn't purple, it's burgundy." I replied (some may think I was sidestepping the question, I believe I was clarifying). "What did you DO to you hair?" Do you notice a trend here? Does she sound more like the mommy or is it my imagination? Luckily, it completely distracted her from her campaign to stay home. She was too busy at the bus stop telling anyone who would listen, "I can't believe my mom dyed her hair purple."

It's Not Purple, It's Burgundy.

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Army of Women

2008-10-05T13:00:00.002-04:00

I recently signed up for something called the Army of Women. Now those who know me are probably thinking, "oh no, she is finally implementing her plan for world domination." But that is not the case (although, if anyone is interested in getting together for world domination, send me an email at anne (@) smalltownmommy (dot) com. or leave a comment below).

Anyway, back to the Army of Women. This is a foundation put together by Dr. Susan Love (the breast doctor) and Avon (the make-up people). They are trying to eliminate breast cancer.

Now Frank and I have a dear friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer about 3 years ago (approximately 5 minutes after she got married). She had a double mastectomy and recently had twin boys so luckily, things worked out for her, but I think about what could have happened and it makes me cringe.

If you sign up for the Army of Women, there is no type of commitment whatsoever. You are agreeing to read their emails (and if you are too busy and miss one, they wont mind). They will be sending out information on clinical research projects that relate to breast cancer. You look at it and decide for yourself if you are eligible and interested in participating. They are looking for any type of woman, whether you have had breast cancer or not. They want all ages, races, creeds, colors, ethnicity, etc. Basically, anyone can join (this means you).

Check it out. It is a great program and it is the opportunity to really contribute to the elimination of breast cancer. Go for it.

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It's Award Time

2008-10-03T22:00:00.004-04:00

A few days ago, I mentioned I had received an award and would tell you more about it later. It is now later. Does that sentence make no sense or is it just me? I am thrilled and excited about this award (is it time for my acceptance speech yet?). Well, anyway, you might remember a few posts ago, I wrote about a blog titled On the Verge. It was the blog that offered an application for boys who want to date my daughter. From a more recent post, it turns out she is going to need the application long before she thought, since her kindergartner seems to have the same affection for boys as Joanna.

Anyway, she gave me this fabulous award (is it time for the speech yet?).

Apparently, I am supposed to translate the award from Portuguese. Now, if I wasn't super lazy, I would get up, go find our au pair and ask her to translate (she speaks Portuguese). But, since I am lazy, you are going to have to take my own translation (taken verbatim from On the Verge). ""This blog invests and believes, the proximity"(meaning, that blogging makes us 'close' -being close through proxy) I have taken this to mean a feeling of community." So now, I am supposed to present this award to 8 bloggers that I want to be part of my community. Now, here is the problem. I don't know 8 bloggers. I am somewhat new to blogging (and kind of shy) so I haven't met that many people. Here is my list of people I would like to present with the award:

Mutha Mae: The ultimate mutha (check out her site, it explains what that means).

Moomette's Gram: Always a source of good advice (check her out for everything you need to know about earning on the Internet).

The Biker's Voice: A biker, I think that is so cool! (she is newer than I am. check out her blog for the cool biker photos).

On the Verge also gave me another award (how amazing is she). This one is also in another language (not sure what the deal is with the foreign language award, maybe the whole international Internet thing).

So anyway, here is this award (On the Verge didn't translate this one so you are on your own).

I am supposed to present this to a bunch of people too. I think I will present it to the same people as the last one. To refresh your memory, that list includes Mutha Mae, Mommettesgram and The Biker's Voice. Check out all three sites, they are a lot of fun!

The post is over and no time for my acceptance speech. I am going to go recite it to the cats. They will listen with rapt attention. Especially if I shake the catnip while speaking.

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Social Networking from Bed

2008-10-02T18:44:00.005-04:00

I know, I know, you are waiting with baited breath for another blog review. Or maybe you stopped by to hear about the really cool award I received. If you read here regularly, you know I have the attention span of a gnat and get easily distracted. I have another story to share with you so you are just going to have to wait for the review and the award.

Last night, I participated in something called a Blitz. It is a social networking event sponsored by an organization called Blitztime. I wrote a corporate style review on my Albanese Consulting Group Web site, but my readers here are so supportive, I wanted to give you guys the inside scoop. If you are interesting in Blitzing as a business tool, check out my corporate blog (and you will notice I left out the part about my being in bed for the big event).

The event started at 7pm. I spent the evening rushing like a freak to get everything done in time and was at my computer well in advance. At 6:50, I was watching the clock so I could sign in at 6:55 as instructed. Of course, I got distracted and all of a sudden it was 6:59. I didn't have the phone number, I wasn't on the right Web site and I had to go to the bathroom. So I frantically hunted down the number and called, foregoing my trip to the bathroom.

So the concept of Blitzing (it's my blog, I can make blitz a verb if I want) is based on speed dating. I was already married when the speed dating trend started, but I don't think I would have been very good at it. You have to take the time to get to know me to love me.

Throughout these calls, I talked to a couple of interesting people (including a psychic, the first one I ever met). Suddenly the cat, who never jumps up on my bed (I think he may be too heavy), decided he wanted attention. So rather then coming up and purring really loudly (which he often does when I am on the phone) he started digging his sharp claws into my foot. There I am, on the phone with a stranger, trying to make a good impression, as the cat digs his sharp claws into me (I am convinced he was trying to get a noisy reaction). And he didn't stop there. He decided my foot was looking tasty so he started biting it too. I kept having to move it out of reach, while trying to sound like a business professional. And I still had to go to the bathroom.

Finally, I was on hold (I believe I was supposed to be talking to myself) for one of the rounds of conversations. Since I already know everything there is to know about me (although I am sure there are therapists who would disagree), I ran to the bathroom as fast as my little (alright, not little, they are a size 10) feet would carry me. What a relief. The event itself was very interesting and I am actually signed up to do another one matching marketers with mommy bloggers. Since I qualify as both, it's a no miss for me. If you are interested (and either a mommy blogger or a marketer), you can learn more here. Just make sure you go to the bathroom before it starts.

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Check Out Moomettesgram's Musings

2008-10-01T18:14:00.003-04:00

I know I have gotten distracted (by the economy crashing and burning and then by Joanna wanting a boyfriend) from my original plan to do a blog review a day, but I'm back. Today I want to introduce you to Moomettesgram's Musings. As you can tell by the name, this is written by a grandma. But she is not like any grandma I have ever seen. Moomettesgram is a techno-whiz. It is a great source for someone like me who is still learning about all the different resources that are out there. While I have 20 years experience in technology marketing, Moomettesgram puts me to shame. Her site is a great source of information on different ways to promote blogs, small business tips and even product reviews. She even offers shopping (talk about a one-stop Web site).

Moomette'sgram is the kind of grandma I would like to have (if I were young enough to have a grandma). She is the cool grandma who knows a lot about technology and all the stuff the cool kids want. If you have kids, a small business or like to shop, check out Moomettesgram's Musings.

On another note, tune in tomorrow to check out the really cool award I received. I will write more about it later, but I was thrilled.

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Bad Parenting 101

2008-09-30T08:05:00.003-04:00

This morning, I had the opportunity to shine as a mommy, and I blew it. If you have been reading my blog, you know that my Libby is careful, serious and follows all the rules. My Joanna, is not as fond of the rules. She is constantly looking for ways to get around them and is much more wild than Libby ever was.

So this morning, I was talking to Joanna and she told me a little boy in her class had a girlfriend. I asked who his girlfriend was (no, we haven't hit the bad parenting yet). she told me and then said she wanted a boyfriend (hold on to your seats, here is where the bad parenting starts). I told her no. She could not have a boyfriend. I have to admit, I panicked. Why else would a grown woman who firmly believes abstinence-only education doesn't work, resort to telling her five year old that she could not have a boyfriend. I then asked why she wanted a boyfriend. She told me she wanted to kiss him. At this point, my panic hit full tilt. I woke up my husband so he too could tell Joanna she could not have a boyfriend to kiss. Of course, this meant I violated another good parenting rule by telling someone else what she told me. When this happened, all my good parenting rules went right out of my head and the one driving force was, "No, my 5-year old can not kiss a boy."

I know there are parents who figure it is cute and that they are too young and it doesn't mean anything, but I look at it as experimentation. I would rather have my kids experimenting with boyfriends when they are older (much, much older, maybe 25). Besides, the little boy she has her eye on can't write yet, how is he going to complete On the Verge's boyfriend application.

If anyone has any suggestions on where I can go from here (or any ways to save the situation), I would be very grateful. Also, looking for any suggestions to drive away the boys.

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Check Out On the Verge

2008-09-28T11:36:00.002-04:00

This site review is out of order (my own order, that is only in my own mind), but the writer recently posted something that is so important, I had to push her to the top.

The site is On the Verge. First of all, we all know she is all the more woman than me because she has 4 girls (to my 2). Anyone who can get up and face the day with 4 kids has my respect. In addition, she manages to hold on to her sense of humor. Some of my favorite posts include her "open letter of thanks to children's television," her what is your ring tone?" And yesterday's post, which pushed her up to the top, "For those of you with daughters."

This post features an application for permission to date my daughter. As the mother of two daughters, I am all about the application. Of course, Frank and I are going to work with the application a little. First of all, there should be a couple of essay questions. If someone wants to date my daughters, they need to really work for it. It also requires a disclaimer that if they hurt my daughter, I am absolved of all responsibility and liability for my response. Also, the response time seems a little quick. I am thinking 8-10 years for processing.

I know, I know, neither of my girls will ever get to date (and I'm ok with that). Alright, use the comment space below to tell me I have gone too far. And after that, check out On the Verge.

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Happy Anniversary, Honey

2008-09-28T09:12:00.007-04:00

Today is my 11th anniversary. Now for many of you, 11 years may not sound like a lot, but as one who was never planning to get married, 11 years is an eternity. Sometimes, I wonder, how did I get here. How did the young women who attended all the hot events, restaurants and clubs in NYC, end up living in a small town with 2 kids, 2 cats, a dog, a hamster and a HUSBAND?

It is because of my husband, Frank. He is the one who dragged me away from the big city to the bowels of the country (complete with a mouse who has moved into my garage, but that is another story). And what did I get out of it you may be asking... For my anniversary, I am going to put together a top ten list of reasons why Frank is my perfect mate. Here we go...

10. He loves our girls very much.

9. He let me get 2 cats even though he was allergic (for those who are concerned about Frank, he is no longer allergic).

8. He fixes my computer when it behaves badly (even though I usually blame him when it stops working).

7. He helps Libby clean out the hamster cage (no one likes to clean out the hamster cage).

6. He lets me eat ice cream without a single comment about how I am no longer the thin slip of a girl he married.

5. When one of the girls' toys is broken, he fixes it, even when I can't (and even when I just don't want to be bothered).

4. He has learned the 2 most important words in any marriage, "yes, dear."

3. He is patient, even in the face of 2 girls, 2 cats, a dog, a hamster, and a wife who all demand his attention when he walks in the door.

2. He supports me, even in my hare-brained ideas (see previous post, re. quitting my job).

1. He loves me how I am, without expecting me to change.

This is why I love my husband and believe I have found my perfect match.

Happy anniversary, honey!

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Check Out Mutha Mae

2008-09-27T15:42:00.003-04:00

As promised, here is my first review of blogs I enjoy. Our first featured blog is Mutha Mae's Word to Your Mutha. Why am I starting with Mae? She asked. Nicely.

Even without her asking, this happens to be one of my favorite sites. I know we are featuring blogs, but Mae's site is a blog, and so much more. Not only does she write in her blog (in particular, check out her recent story about running over a hide-a-bed for a harrowing tale), but she also records vlogs (video logs) and does a show on parenting (her video camera gets quite the workout). This is really impressive to me since I can't even find a photo I like enough to put on my online profile (I think I still imagine myself in my 20s, so any photos of a 42 year old woman just look bad).

Now I have never met Mae (I believe she lives somewhere in the midwest), but from her site, she seems like the kind of person everyone wants as a best friend. She is funny, warm, endearing and really loves her kids and her husband. She is always laughing, smiling and joking in her videos and her blog entries are hillarious. I look forward to her updates, while hoping that she doesn't update while I am at work since sitting at my computer laughing to myself is frowned upon in the workforce (luckily, this will cease to be a problem in a week and a half). I highly recommend checking out Mutha Mae's Word to Your Mutha. Just make sure you have enough time to check out the videos as well as the blog. You will be entertained and may even pick up a couple of tips.

Enjoy!

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Reminder for Readers

2008-09-26T05:34:00.002-04:00

I just want to remind everyone that I am going to be starting a week of reviews tomorrow. I have a few really great blogs and Web site waiting for you, but I have room for more. If you have a favorite blog (or if you write one yourself) you would like to have included, please post below or send me an email at anne(at)smalltownmommy(dot)com.

If I don't get your suggestions, you are going to end up with a list of stuff that I really like (that may give you more insight into me than you are ready to handle). Remember, submit your sites now.

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Party Girl

2008-09-25T19:23:00.003-04:00

My Joanna is all about the party. She has been since she was little. She has never liked to be alone. Libby is like me. She would be perfectly happy to hang out by herself and read a good book. Joanna likes to be with other people (all the time). For the first 15 months of her life, she refused to sleep alone. Here is Joanna when we tried to move her out of our bed and into a crib.

As you can see, she was fighting sleep so hard, she fell asleep while still standing. I can tell you, sleeping standing up didn't work for her, every time she would relax, she would fall down and wake herself up again. We eventually gave up (I know, I know, parenting 101, we taught her if she stands her ground long enough, she wins). At 15 months, we actually got her to sleep in her room for a little while, but then she came back to our room.

When Libby was six, we bribed her to take Joanna into her room (it is amazing what a Webkinz would get you when Libby was in 2nd grade). But eventually, Libby got tired of having Joanna in her room. We were back to the drawing board. That was when we discovered how amazing a dog can be. We sent the dog to sleep with her. Every night, Frank tucks Hamlet and Joanna into bed. If the dog stays there all night, Joanna stays there all night. If the dog leaves, she leaves. Many nights, I can predict if Joanna will stay in her bed all night based upon the evening's planned activities. While I consistently complain about the dog (everyone needs a hobby), I do appreciate the fact that he keeps my Joanna company every night.

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