Mommin' It Up!

May 15, 2013

Join me for a Neutrogena Twitter Party!

Hi everyone! Tomorrow I’m co-hosting a twitter party about skin care for Neutrogena, and you’re invited!

Join dermatologist Dr. Doris Day and Neutrogena, the number one dermatologist-recommended skincare brand, for a Twitter party to discuss how you can do some “spring cleaning” for your skin, the importance of daily facial cleansing, and the best products to help you during the seasonal change.

Dr. Doris Day will be joining us for the party and sharing her tips and expertise and answering your skincare questions.

The twitter party is tomorrow, May 16, at 12:00 noon EST! Join in by following/using #NTGDERM. You can see the details and RSVP via this Twtvite: http://twtvite.com/NTGDERM

But what’s a twitter party without prizes?? Throughout the party, we will be giving away prize baskets with Dr. Day’s favorite Neutrogena skincare products, including:

Pore Refining Daily Cleanser
Pore Refining Toner
Pore Refining Exfoliating Cleanser
Deep Clean Long-Last Shine Control Cleanser/Mask
Oil-Free Moisture Broad Spectrum SPF 35
Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser

The party will be hosted by the lovely ladies at The Motherhood – make sure to follow them! @theMotherhood, @CooperMunroe, @EmilyMcKhann. I’ll be co-hosting along with a number of other bloggers.

Hope to “see” you there!

For more information on skin care from Neutrogena, check out the Neutrogena Expert Center: http://bit.ly/15HXMdn

Disclosure: I’m being compensated for my time, but my opinions and goofy Tweets are all my own.

May 15, 2013

Ready or Not. And I am the LATTER.

Spring in Ohio behaved remarkably like winter in Ohio through most of April. I was not a fan. But dropping the temperature every-other-day or sending cold fall-like rain (thereby really messing with Jonah’s “I get to play outside/it’s too cold to play outside” emotions) weren’t the only tricks Mother Nature had up her sleeve. By delaying the seasons, she tricked me into thinking time had also been delayed.

But the calendar marched on while my brain stayed back in March.

Therefore I now find myself with 80-degree temperatures and in a BLIND PANIC because SCHOOL IS ALMOST OVER and I’m completely unprepared.

I’m the mom who likes it better when her kids are in school. Judge me all you want. This is how I’m wired. I handle the pressures of life better when there is only one kid in my face from 7:30-3:30 on the weekdays. But the party is almost over! Sophie has only 7 school days left and Joshua has 11. (Why do kindergartners get out a week early? RIP OFF!) School ends May 31st – not even in June! And the last week is the week of Memorial Day and Joshua will only go 4 days that week. RIP OFF again!

Here I am, not ready for summer. Although I have had the whole school year to prepare. I don’t know what pool we’re joining, have planned zero activities, don’t have a schedule set up (I’ve got to get Joshua and Sophie on some sort of a schedule because too much free time = bickering with those two, or asking for food ALL DAY LONG.)

And I am afraid of the jelly-filled mess that my brain becomes when there are three kiddos under my feet all day. I haven’t worked from home through a summer yet, so there’s getting my job done to consider as well.

EEPERS!

Hold me, people. Summer’s coming, ready or not!

What are you doing to keep your school-agers busy this summer? I need some ideas so that we can all enjoy each other! (Don’t say “day camp”. I can’t afford it!)

May 14, 2013

Girls Unstoppable

The main sponsor of last week’s Mom 2.0 Summit was Dove. Their goal was to spread the word about their “Girls Unstoppable” campaign.

Their mission?

“To encourage all women and girls to develop a positive relationship with beauty, helping to raise their self-esteem, and thereby enabling them to realize their full potential.”

I have to say – it was the highlight of the weekend for me, and I want to share with you what Dove is doing, how you can get involved, and how you can use the tools they’ve developed with your own kids.

Here’s a quick video produced at Mom 2.0 (I didn’t see Jenny or me in the background but we were THERE!)

Why is this important? Take a look at these statistics:

– 72% of girls feel pressure to be beautiful.
– More than 60% of girls avoid certain activities because they feel bad about their looks. For example: 19% won’t try out for a team or a club; 23% won’t go to the beach or pool; 13% won’t give an opinion; 15% won’t go to school.
– Satisfaction with body image decreases as girls progress to adolescence. While 75% of 8-9 year old girls say they like the way they look, by age 12-13 only 56% like their appearance.

I am having a really, really hard time putting into words how meaningful the experience was for me, and how much I believe in the work they’re doing. But let me tell you this – when I had a chance to meet Dove’s Global Self-Esteem Ambassador Jess Weiner last Saturday afternoon? I couldn’t speak – my emotions got the best of me. But it was ok, because Jess got it, she knew what I was communicating even though I couldn’t say a word.

In any case, I encourage all of you to visit Dove’s Girls Unstoppable website and take a look at all the resources they’ve made available. One of the most helpful things I found on there is the self-esteem activity guide for mothers and daughters – it’s full of conversation starters and activities to get our daughters talking with us. I cannot wait to go through it with Kate! You can download a version for girls 8-11 or one for 11-16 year olds.

You might learn a thing or two about your own self-esteem while you’re at it.