Seattle Mom Blogs

Hands on Small Business

I’m very excited to announce that Seattle will be able to experience the awesomeness that is the Hands on Business workshops that have been held across the country since October. And even more exciting? I’M TEACHING! I was approached by the indomitable Mrs. Flinger to help give our Puget Sound friends the opportunity to understand the intricacies of the internet and how it can help you and your small business.

IT’S FREE.

THERE WILL BE GIFTS.

AND FOOD.

I WILL BE THERE! So please check it out. The official deets are below.

Kirtsy and Microsoft Office Live are hosting FREE gatherings across the country to introduce a few easy ways to build and promote a start-up or small business. The hands-on sessions will offer practical advice, instruction, and application tips.

At the events, attendees cover popular platforms and get hands-on direction setting up accounts and applying them to their small businesses.

You don’t have to be a business owner to attend either session. Anyone can come!

Friday, November 20th, 7:00pm-9:00pm
* Location: Youngstown Cultural Arts Center – South Classroom
* 4408 Delridge Way SW, Seattle, WA 98106

Saturday, November 21st, 10:00am-12:00pm
* Location: Youngstown Cultural Arts Center – South Classroom
* 4408 Delridge Way SW, Seattle, WA 98106

Please visit Hands on Small Business for more information and to register.

Mona is a blogger and mother who lives in Seattle with her toddler and husband. She tries to stay out of the rain, mostly. You can visit her blog at kirida dot com

From Elliot Bay Bookstore:

RACHEL BROWNELL
Saturday, September 12 at 2 p.m.

Rachel Brownell, the mother of twins and a newborn, and suffering from postpartum depression, was using alcohol to cope and maintain a sense of herself as “more than mommy.” Gradually, she faced the truth about her alcoholism and found the help she needed to get sober. Her book, Mommy Doesn’t Drink Here Anymore: Getting Through the First Year of Sobriety (Conari Press), is part-memoir, and part-self-help book, providing hope, help, and support for a less visible part of the recovery community. “Brownell doesn’t pull any punches about the ugly side of her addiction, and her first year of sobriety is fraught with times where she felt lost, as if she were hanging on only by her fingernails, and overwhelmed by life without alcohol o help buffer it … There is no glowing happy ending, just the reality that life must be faced one day at a time.” – Library Journal.

Come see a local author and blogger! Hope to see you at Elliot Books Saturday.

Come support Rachel and her new book Mommy Doesn’t Drink Here Anymore: Getting Through the First Year of Sobriety She’s fabulous. She’s a blogger. She’s a writer. She’s a mom. What’s not to love?

Join us!

Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Time: 6:00pm – 7:00pm
Location: Third Place Books
Street: 17171 Bothell Way NE
City/Town: Bothell, WA

If you’re not going to the awesometacular event that is the Blogher 2009 conference, here’s a great opportunity for you to meet other bloggers and also get your bowl on! (Do people still say get your [blank] on? I’ve been inside playing Wii Bowling for too long, I’ve lost touch with reality.)

On Saturday, July 25th, you can be apart of this fun, free, bowling soiree, but you have to RSVP here for what is sure to be a rocking and rolling event. (Okay, I know people don’t talk like that. I need to get out more!)

You’re all invited to come to a Pre-BlogHer meetup this weekend. What’s that? You’re a little shy? Well! This is PERFECT for you (and let’s face it… YOU ARE NOT SHY.. I read about your hayhay on the internet. Oh, wait, no, you read about mine. Whatevah.)

Please join us at Kelsy Creek Farms this Saturday at 2pm in Bellevue. This is a family friendly event. Bring something to share (brownies, I hear? or Juice for the kids? Or chips and dip? Keep it easy and cheap. This is Seattle, after all) and come take photos as we meet and get ready for The Big Conference In Chicago.

People who have expressed interest (and thus made me squeal) include (but is not limited to):
Linda at Sundry
Sizzle at Sizzle Says
Mona at Kirdita (our very own SMB Editor!)
Angie at All Adither
Jenny at Jenny On The Spot
Leslie at Mrs. Flinger (me.. I will totes be there)
and you!

Comment with your name (what we will call you when we see you) and your website address and twitter name. Can’t wait, Seattle!

You can find information on Kelsey Creek Farms here.

Location:
410 130th Pl. SE
P.O. Box 90012
Bellevue, WA 98009

Note: IF you’re unable to come this Saturday, we’re going to have an AFTER BlogHer gossip fest at a local margarita pub in August. Come share your stories and photos after BlogHer as well. Because Seattle is fun like that. If you want to be notified about August’s meet up, please let us know that as well. )

On Wednesday night, some Seattle-area bloggers, moms and mom bloggers were invited to a night of pampering courtesy of 5 Minutes for Mom and Pledge.  It was held at the aptly-named Swoon Boutique Spa in Capitol Hill, where the guests were treated to free manicures, pedicures and massages.  I don’t have enough exclamation points to describe how luxurious it was to even be offered such a beauty-trio, and on top of that, all of our laptops were given some pampering, too, thanks to Pledge Multi-Surface.

swooning

I was very happy to meet some local bloggers, some of whom I have only met twice or only seen on the internet. Who knew that these were very real (and really photogenic) women existed outside of their internet spaces? I love meeting bloggers, especially female bloggers, because it’s nice to have a conversation with people who “get” it; people to whom you don’t have to explain what twitter is, who Dooce is, and how weird it is when your elementary school classmate super pokes you on Facebook.

pedis

I signed up first for the pedicure because I knew it was my most urgent of the beauty procedures.  The last pedicure I had was in 2006, shortly before I gave birth to my son and my boss at the time mentioned that fire-engine red toe nails would be a good touch since everyone would be looking at my feet.  Though I can assure you, my feet were not the focal point in any of those 12 hours. The beautician did wonders to my huge Shrek-like feet. What’s it like to have feet like Shrek? Imagine leaving footprints that would make a dinosaur crater seem tiny.

maggie isn't hiding at all

It was also a first pedicure for Maggie from Mighty Maggie, whom I have coerced into being my best friend.  Don’t you see how she loves that I’m sticking a huge camera lens in her face and telling her to act natural!  Like I’m not even there! I’m so stealth!

ellen snaps a shot

susan tweets

It’s just like bloggers to immediately broadcast their experiences on twitter. What did we do before twitter? I think I just stuck my head out the window and yelled, “HEY, MY KID JUST POOPED AGAIN!” or hollered in the grocery aisles, “O-M-G BACON! NOM NOM NOM!”

good times

stacia and wendi

shannon!

rawr!

It was a great night even though we had to pour out a little lavender lemonade on the ground–gangsta style–to remember our sick homie, Leslie who could not make it.

swooning for pledge

We also left a with a goodie bag with Pledge Multi-Surface cleaning tools, plus a Pledge flash drive which hosted product info and a survey to find out what kind of cleaner are you. You can also take this quiz on their website. I’m more of a follow-the-leader cleaner, which means, I wait until my very spic-and-span husband walks through the house bellowing, “THERE’S A TRAIL OF MONA HERE!”  or waves his hands over my various piles and says, “What are we going to do about this?” Hopefully, with Pledge, I won’t have to wait until my husband is giving me dirty looks before I work on making my house sparkle.

Check out more photos of our debauchery (okay, debauchery with a small “d”) here in my Flickr gallery.

You can read Mona’s personal blog Kirida, which means “favorite child” in her native language, Chamorro. She doesn’t mind explaining this to people because she’s just keeping it real, yo. She also hopes to have another manicure in the future, perhaps before her three-year-old graduates from high school.

The Internet has been shaken by the death of a lovely and amazing little girl, Maddie Spohr. The thing about blogging is that you can know, and love, people you may never have met in person. I was lucky enough to meet Heather in person in room 704 at Blissdom where we found a quick affinity for whiskey together. “I like her!” I said as I turned to “Vdog.” She laughed. “I know, right?”

The rest is history.

When someone you only briefly met, but read, has a tragedy, it hits so close to home it’s as real as any life experience. To know someone is suffering the worst kind of suffer, the loss of a child, makes you forgot your relationship is based on ASCII characters and code. Instead, it becomes very obvious how strong this online community really is and the love that can poor from the people sitting at their computers is as real as an actual hug, tears and all.

On April 6th, Heather and Mike rushed their daughter, 17 month old Maddie, to the hospital. We read as Maddie fell ill on Saturday and left comments for Heather, Mike, and Maddie to get well! We’re here! The internet loves you!

We watched and waited.

When the tweet (and blog post) came that she had passed away, April 7th, there was shock, denial, tears and finally: action. The Internet pulled together an d raised over $25,000 in honor of Maddie for March of Dimes. Blogs started turning purple in honor of Maddie. Teams are being formed in her honor.

Seattle, we have a team to walk in the March of Dimes for Maddie Spohr and all the preemies who need extra special care.

Please consider walking with us. If you’re unable to walk, then maybe give a few dollars to the March Of Dimes. I don’t ask for donations in my own life but for the lives of those preemies and those who lost babies and children, I can certainly beg.

We, at Room 704 and the Mamaspod girls are making purple bracelets and earings as donations for purchase. All profits go to the Spohr family to help with memorial service and burial costs. If you’d like to join with us on the walk, please consider purchasing a purple earing or bracelet. We’ll be wearing purple in honor of Maddie (and if there’s interest, I may have some t-shirts made up) so let me know ahead of time.

Join our team in person or in spirit. I know she is an LA girl, but she’s effected us up here in Seattle as we, moms and daughters and friends, can feel the weight of such a loss. I’m walking for Maddie and for my own preemie son, Owen, who is one gigantic two year old now and I will never ever take his life for granted.

I hope you’ll consider joining us!

Details: Qwest Field
May 3, 2009
Qwest Field
800 Occidental Ave S
Seattle, WA 98134

Walk Distance: 3.5 miles
Registration Time: 8:00AM
Start Time: 9:30 AM
Chapter: Greater Puget Sound Division
Phone #: (206) 624-1373

Read more of Leslie’s sarcastic blahblablah at Mrs. Flinger and find podcast reviews, interviews, crafts, events and topics for the Seattle Parent at Mamaspod.Com.

We’re all preparing for a great 2009. We’re hopeful, inspired, making plans. We’re organizing. We’re creating budgets. We’re saying good-bye to one year and ushering in another. Which is why it’s the perfect day to say thank you to the gals who established this community as they step forward to new opportunities.

Kathryn, Jenny, and Eve, the founders of Seattle Mom Blogs, have passed the torch to Mamaspod. We’re excited to come together and bring both podcasted reviews of places you suggest, interviews of local bloggers and reviewing recommendations from resources like Red-Tricycle, and Parent Map. You’ll see these updates occuring over the next few weeks as we launch our exciting new section. Everything else remains the same with the same fantastic columnist writing the quality posts you’ve come to love and enjoy.

But before we start the new year, we want to make a promise to you: Our resolution is simple, one word actually, and it’s “Connect.” We’re honored to be trusted with this community to continue the momentum Eve, Kathryn, and Jenny started. We couldn’t fill their shoes but we’re honored to walk in their wake.

So thank you, Jenny, Kathryn, and Eve, for getting such an amazing group of women together. For thinking of community in our local area. For wanting to bring moms together in person as well as online. It’s been freaking lovely to meet each of you and I know this isn’t a good-bye, just a new venture for you all. We’re glad to keep alive your vision and hope you’ll stay close.

Do you have a story you can share? Do you have a memory from SMB that you want to post? Let us hear it. Tell thank you to these ladies who brought us together. I know I personally gained not just a new venue to share thoughts but friends I consider real. So thank you, ladies. Very. Much.

The next gathering will be sometime in February. We’re starting an anual wine-tasting event. Watch for that announcement. We may need plastic wine cups, though. As it’s been told, ONE OF US breaks things. (And thank you for that memory, too, ladies. It’s one of my favorite SMB stories: That night at the Method Party that I totally SPAZZED and broke a glass. Rad. I love you for loving me anyway.)

Much love and bringing in the happiest of New Years!

On Thursday night, I trekked through the blustery Seattle streets to The Purple Cafe and Wine Bar to meet my fellow Seattle Mom Bloggers. The Purple Cafe is dimly lit downtown restaurant with a huge column of wine shelves spiraled up to the ceiling. It’s like the library I wish I had in college, less Chaucer and more Chardonnay.

After we were seated, I flipped through the extensive 75-page long wine list and asked Eve what she was having, and then was hit by the “OH HELLO!” moment when I suddenly remembered that she’s due in July and it’s probably not the best move to ask a pregnant woman what kind of wine she wants.

Thankfully, Kathryn rescued me by asking, “What kind of wine does the baby want?”� Eve did not have any wine, of course.� She did have lemonade.� On the rocks!� Wild!

The rest of the night continued in the same hilarious vein.� We discussed our blogging rules, thoughts on watermarking pictures and how one of the restaurant patrons had the biggest breasts I had ever seen (I spearheaded that conversation, naturally).

I was happy to see Carrie, Kathryn, Eve, Carrie, and Jenny again and to finally meet Angie (all 6′2″ of her!) and Stacy, who has a very calming voice (very fitting for someone named Mama Om).� I need to get voice lessons from Stacy because my voice sounds like two goats fighting.

I feel really fortunate to travel the same blogging circles as these intelligent, fascinating women.� It also helps that I’ve been recruited to join the Seattle Mom Blogs Dance Crew with these ladies who will always be super hot and young enough to bust a move, no matter what the So You Think You Dance rules dictate.

You can read Mona’s personal blog Kirida, which means “favorite child” in her native language.� She doesn’t mind explaining this to people because she’s just keeping it real, yo. You can also email her at mona@seattlemomblogs.com, but please, nothing she has to forward to 15 people.� She gets enough of that from her in-laws.

Once upon a time, in a far off land (Poulsbo) there lived a blog mom. She truly considered herself a Blog Mom… living in the very trendy and very hip Kitsap County.

In hesitation she would tell select “locals” that she “keeps a blog”. **crickets chirping** With the exception of a few fellow local mommy bloggers, she felt alone like a dork. When someone would ask, “What do you do?” She would carefully reply “I’m a mom…. andIblog…” **eye twitching**

Why does she admit to blogging in some conversations? Because it is what she does. It is what she loves. She considers it part of who she “is”. And as a blogger from “Little Norway” she can’t wait to write all about about her little town’s obsession with lutefisk, metal hats with horns the Viking Fest that was just this past weekend.

But. It can be lonely blogging on her side of Puget Sound in a horned metal hat.

�

One day, when she should have been folding laundry (c’mon ladies, we’ve all done it), she stumbled upon Seattle Mom Blogs! She immediately emailed her information to join. She worried she wasn’t Seattle-ish enough, but much to her delight they said, basically, “You fit here!” The mom said, “YAY!” and with feather-light key-strokes, she posted the SMB badge on her site.

The End.

The mom in that story is me, and 2 Saturdays ago, Little ‘ol Kitsap County Jenny had lunch with 6 Seattle Mom Blogs members. I was beside myself with excitement for several reasons.

1. I got to leave all 3 kids at home (yay husband!).
2. I got to head to the “big city” and browse stores we don’t have here on the Kitsap Peninsula.
3. I enjoyed a delicious meal in the company of 6 really great women – who blog too!

This is me, in Seattle, livin’ it up.

�

To be honest, I was very nervous in the beginning. I think I suffer from a yet to be documented condition called, “What if no one will look at me, like me or want to talk to me”. I know. How high school is that?

I was greeted with a warm welcome and was delighted to meet Denise, Eve, Isabel (with her sweet little Baboo), Janna, Kathleen (with her precious Elanor), and Kathryn. Many of them already knew each other, but brought me right on in. We talked about mom stuff, self-stuff, writing stuff, stuff-stuff… big stuff, small stuff, red, white and blue stuff. So, maybe not the red, white and blue stuff…

And a new world began to open up to me. There was conversation about how to get into writing for anthologies. I talked to Janna who is writing the final few chapters of her book, and it was fascinating to listen to what it is really like to have to write a chapter a week! We talked about our blogs and our identities. We shared about our families and their perspectives on our blog-lives. I was so excited to openly talk about writing and blogging and dreaming without having to guard my words about what I “do”. These gals got it and for once I didn’t feel silly about loving my passion for writing, expressing… blogging.

There was an entertaining circus of conversations happening all around the table – so what I list here is just my small portion of a 2 hour casual lunch at Il Fornaio with 7 members of Seattle Mom Blogs. Fortunately, this lunch was not a one-time thing. If you haven’t been able to make one of these outings, do try to make it happen. You will be so glad you did.

Visit Jenny’s lovely blog Jenny on the Spot!