What I Learned At BlogHer

I learned some valuable things this year at BlogHer 2009 -

1. I NEED a cell phone. It's true, I don't own a cell phone. I haven't owned one for over 4 years. Apparently that is a very rare thing these days. The car service people I talked to using the payphone at the airport, were in shock....so were the lovely reps at the T-Mobile booth, when I spun the prize wheel, hoping and praying to win a phone. I didn't win one by the way. But I did receive a container of mints...in the shape of a cell phone.

1.5 If I had had a cell phone, I would not have found it necessary to walk for miles and miles around the Sheraton, in horrible shoes, trying to locate Janice and Susan. And just so you know, those ladies can be HARD to find!

2. My favorite booth at the expo was the Hanes booth because it had cupcakes..tons and tons of little, delightful cupcakes. They were a smart bunch, those Hanes folks...and attracted many.....or maybe just many visits from me.

3. The only swag you need to bring home for your kids is Mr. Potato Head. All of the other stuff will hardly get a second glance.

4. Speaking of Mr. Potato Head, his wife, Mrs. Potato Head, is an extraordinary dancer and loves to jam out to Baby Got Back.



5. PR people are the beautiful people, seriously. They are also super friendly and easy to talk to.

6. Some of the sessions at BlogHer are for people who are quite a bit more liberal than I am. I was a bit uncomfortable in the few that I did attend....to be honest.

7. When you are sorting through pounds and pounds of swag with your roommates and cameraman at 3:00 A.M. and are so tired that all of you are acting drunk (very loud, hyper, funny) the knock on your door won't be a hotel employee or security. It will instead be a group of drunk folks hoping that they found a happening party.

*side note: we gave tons and tons of the swag away to charity and were so happy to have the opportunity to do that.*

8. The conference and parties are almost more exhausting than caring for 3 kiddos.I still haven't caught up on sleep.

9. It's fun getting to the parties a tad earlier than everyone else...due to setting up for interviews. There was something relaxing about getting to chill in the party area...before all of the screaming, blasting music and hundreds of people.

10. I do get teary-eyed listening to a former American Idol contestant perform...because deep down I want so much to be making albums and putting on shows. But then the tears stop as I reflect on what I do have in my life....my gorgeous, amazing children and wonderful husband. Mine is a far more blessed life. :)



11. When you have been away from your kids for a number of days, when you finally get to see them again...they look tons bigger. I swear my kids grew like crazy while I was away.

12. Janice and Susan rock! They are incredible, seriously. When those two are at a conference, they work so hard. They've got the X factor in the social media world. I am so blessed to work with them.

13. Rachel at Grasping For Objectivity, has got to be one of the sweetest people I have ever met....and has convinced me that I need to visit Alabama.


14. Gwen Bell is such an amazing, incredible person. We have a fabulous interview with her....that you must watch as soon as it's live.
Photo from Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/eyeficard/3755804825/)

15. I am already looking forward to BlogHer 2010 in NEW YORK CITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Walk Like An Egyptian

He's walking, so I HAD to make a little video!

Just promise me that you will ignore my messy house. It's easy to do, if you just focus on his cute little legs, instead of all of the toys strewn about. Deal????

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Getting To Know Me, Before BlogHer

Yep, I stole this idea from the BlogHer site, a couple other ladies did it, so in case you'd like to know a bit more about me, before bumping into me at BlogHer, here goes:

* Hi, Howdy, I'm Erica. Mommy of three little ones. I'm very sweet, sometimes pretty shy, and I can be loads of fun. I look MUCH younger than I really am, just so you know...in fact I am turning 30 this year. CRAZY!

* I work for 5 Minutes for Mom.

* In fact, I will probably spend most of my time at the side of Janice and Susan at their beck and call...I am their trusty assistant. :) We like to pretend I'm their little sister...once you see the three of us together, you'll understand.

* The girls will be doing tons of video interviews, so be sure to look for us if you'd like us to interview you and feature you on 5 Minutes for Mom.

* You will also find me singing my heart out during the karaoke party. At least that is the plan. :)

* I have a tendency to be pretty quiet around people I don't know, especially in large groups. But once I feel comfortable, you won't be able to get me to shut up.

* I love to people watch too, so sometimes I am off in my own world, just observing and taking it all in. Just hit me upside the head if you want to talk to me and I seem to be out of it. :)

* I will break out of my shell at the parties, I will...music and fun...I can't wait.

* At BowlHer, I will try to get pretty close to where Brooke White is performing, because I LOVE her, and I will try to convince Janice and Susan to interview her, so I can have a chance to let her know that I love her and that I loved the butterfly dress she wore on idol.

* I am horrible with names, so horrible...I'm sorry. :(

* I still have no idea what all I am going to wear....I have like no clothes, seriously...just tees and jeans with holes in the knees. I work from home and sometimes I stay in my pjs all day.

* I can't wait to meet all of you...and to put faces to all the lovely blogging ladies who I have gotten to know online.

* Oh, Oh.... I will be the one with the power strip. Yep, I plan on having mine with me at all times. So, if you have a low battery, look for me in the sessions, okay? I will happily let you plug in.

* I get to use my brand new Toshiba laptop at BlogHer! Oh, and while YOU are there, be sure to look around for three lovely ladies who will be wearing Toshiba buttons and carrying around Toshiba laptops and/or minis, because if you find one of them, you could LEAVE BlogHer with a new Toshiba laptop. SERIOUSLY!

* More about the Toshiba BlogHer hunt here.

* Oh, and again...I AM SOOOOOOOO EXCITED FOR BLOGHER!!!!

Our 4th of July Barbecue

How quickly holiday weekends come and go. Did you all have a wonderful 4th? I hope that you get a chance to take part in the Hebrew National July 4th Virtual Backyard Barbecue over at 5 Minutes for Mom.

We had such fun during our 4th of July barbecue. The sun was shining, the kids were smiling and the food was divine!

Here's a fun little slideshow from my 4th of July barbecue sponsored by Hebrew National. ENJOY!

Today's Happy Moments

Audrey Finally Earning Her Jewelry Box


Isaiah Excitedly Playing His New Diego Game


Creativity With Flowers and Toys, Courtesy of Audrey


Tickles Before Bed Time

Three Little Pigs

Audrey (5 1/2) has summer reading assignments for her new school. Have I told you that I am so excited that she will be entering kindergarten next year? There are 12 books that we are supposed to read together and a little assignment for her to complete at the end of each book.

But, I decided to take her reading assignments a step further and incorporate even more learning into the process. This summer, I am doing several units with all 3 kids, based on her summer reading assignments.

Three of her required books have to do with farms and farm animals. So, we are currently doing a farm theme. I have found such tremendous resources online.

Audrey will be learning a little more in depth about various farm animals. We will also work together on handwriting, spelling and phonics. Isaiah (2 1/2) and Christian (14 months) will be working on animal identification, colors, numbers and letters.

At the end of their unit, I will be taking them to a park in a neighboring city, that has a small child's farm.

The other night after dinner, since the kiddos were due for a bath, I had them do a fun activity. We used chocolate pudding to finger paint pigs, giving them a mud bath.

Audrey slopped the pudding all over, she is good at making a mess. :)




Isaiah made tiny blobs of pudding all over his pig.



Christian thought I was nuts, wanting him to paint with the pudding. He was the smart one, knowing that pudding is much more fun to eat!!!! Once he finished devouring his pudding, he decided to try to eat his picture. That boy loves to eat.



So far we have learned about sheep and pigs. We have made several crafts, sung songs, reviewed various vocabulary words and letters and watched several educational videos online, including one that showed a sheep shearing. They have been having lots of fun.

At the end of the unit, Audrey will complete a Farm Lapbook.

Here are just a few of the sites and activities that I have been using for our farm unit.

• What is in The Barn Mini Book


• Sheep Paper Roll Craft


• Pig Shapebook


• Duck Dot to Dot


• Farm Animal Coloring Pages


• Handprint Lamb Craft


• Farm Themed Printable Books


• ig words booklet


• Cyber Farm Tour


• Farm Animals Talking Ebook


• Kiddyhouse - All About Farm Animals


• Old Macdonald's Farm at The Virtual Vine


• Farm Animal Bingo


• Sheep Phonics Sheet


• Farm Words/Pictures perfect for Pocket Charts


• Farm Playdough Mats - Sparkle Box

The Invisible Children RESCUE has made it onto OPRAH!!

I HAVE to tell you that I am so excited, so very excited about the outcome of the RESCUE event that took place on Saturday, April, 25th, for Invisible Children. You may recall that over at 5 Minutes for Mom, I recently told you about the event and why it was so important.

Invisible Children is an organization determined to help the thousands and thousands of abducted children in Northern Uganda and The Congo, who are taken from their homes at young ages, desensitized to violence by witnessing horrendous beatings and killings, and then forced to fight as child soldiers for a terrorist, Joseph Kony.

Invisible Children decided that it is time that Joseph Kony is captured and arrested and his child soldiers are freed. So they organized an event called The RESCUE, where thousands and thousands of people gathered in over 90 cities all over the world to abduct themselves to bring media, political and cultural attention to the longest running war in Africa and to the situation affecting the 30,000 abducted child soldiers.

On April 25, 2009, I was a part of this incredible event in Denver.

We gathered at the state capitol and then walked for a couple of miles in a single file line, holding a rope, just as the abducted children are forced to do. Finally arriving at a nearby park, we set up our sleeping bags and blankets, wrote letters to our senators asking them to rescue the child soldiers in Africa, and waited for a political or cultural figure to come out and rescue us by pledging their support to do something about the situation in Northern Uganda and The Congo.

Here is a little video montage I made of the event in Denver. 1500 people showed up in Denver, for the RESCUE! 1500!!!!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We were rescued by a representative from Senator Udall's office at around 9:30 P.M. The majority of the cities in the U.S. were also rescued Saturday evening. But there were several cities that by Monday had not been rescued yet.

Yesterday, there was still one city left, waiting to be rescued, Chicago. Since Saturday, many had been going from location to location in Chicago, even in the middle of downpours, waiting to be rescued and spreading the word about the child soldiers.

Many Invisible Children staff members and volunteers drove from all over the country, to join the group in Chicago. Deciding that they TRULY needed to do something spectacular in Chicago, to get attention, they came up with a choreographed version of the song, "In the Name of Love." They rehearsed it several times before heading outside of OPRAH'S STUDIOS to sing it to her, asking her to rescue them.

Here is a video of all 500 of them rehearsing "In the Name of Love." It will give you goosebumps.



As they sang in front of her offices and then studio, Oprah's staff members came out and watched, proud of them. But there was no sign of Oprah. Soon they were told by Chicago police that it was time to leave, they were trespassing on private property.

Determined, they showed up again this morning, and what happened next, was incredible. Oprah came out, handed out cupcakes, found the 3 filmmakers of the Invisible Children film who are also the founders of the Invisible Children organization and brought them into her studio. She changed her show schedule around and today INVISIBLE CHILDREN will be on OPRAH!

She will rescue Chicago and share the story of the child soldiers, today, on her show. So, if you are able to, tune in. You will NOT want to miss it. :)

I am so proud to have been a part of such an incredible event. I KNOW that what we did will make a difference and I can not wait to see the outcome of this event.

There is also the Lobby Day event planned in June where Invisible Children staff and volunteers will head to D.C., take part in symposiums, hand out thousands of letters written to senators during the RESCUE event and spread the message that "the time for peace is now, and this is how it ends. The program will include lobbying trainings, VIP speakers, a kick-off rally and will culminate in an unprecedented outpouring of activism on Capitol Hill, with hundreds of meetings taking place between Members of Congress and their constituents." I WOULD LOVE TO ATTEND and hope to save up the money to do so.

Please let me know if you are able to watch the Oprah telecast today.


RESCUE group in L.A. (5,000 showed up and were rescued by a host of celebrities including Kristen Bell, Ben McKenzie, Kirsten Dunst and Tom Arnold)



RESCUE group in D.C.



RESCUE in New York