Holy Cow. It has been a busy month. Just checked the last post date and it has been too long. With each new event this last month I kept telling myself I would come home and blog about that. Then, getting home I would check my email and take care of a few things and that would be it for me for the day. It has been one of those months where you are so busy you climb into bed at the end of the day and you’re almost asleep before your head hits the pillow.
But what a month!
One of my kiddos graduated from High School. That flew by. Just yesterday he was toddling around the back yard in North Carolina with his wheel barrow helping me with the landscaping tasks. It seems like just a few days ago he was saying his first real sentence on a trip we took through Las Vegas Nevada. Yes, he started talking when we set him in a rocket ship ride at Circus Circus in Las Vegas. It was just a few days ago that we watched him as he took off with his friends for the first time going snowboarding without mom and dad for the first time. All these firsts and other memorable moments came rushing back this month.
Over the past 30 days I have dragged one of my kids to a live performance of the Duke Ellington Big Band. It was amazing. He didn’t object but he did find it was great music to go to sleep to. I loved the event – the performers were exceptional. It did make me wonder about dragging my kids to events. Should I – shouldn’t I? Is it for their own good or should I just let them find their way and support their own interests ( I personally think as parents we need to drag our kids to some things as well as encourage their own interests ).
A highlight of the last month was a trip to Washington DC to attend the 10th Annual Wired Kids Summit. Parry Aftab really knows how to throw a party. Once again she has proven that she really knows her stuff when it comes to Internet Safety and keeping our kids safe online. She does not rely on a group of erudite grown ups to explain what kids are doing online these days – she goes right to the source. And once again, I marvelled at the amazing kids who were in DC presenting research they had done on subjects such as Cyberbullying, Sexting, and appropriate use of video games. In one very fun panel discussion the kids talked about when it was ok to swear at video games. The panel consisted of three Internet experts who have been working on this subject for over 3 years. They were all 11 years old. It was amazing. They were delightful and it was truly a substantive discussion that was actually very helpful for all of us grown ups in attendance.
This is a great event and I have really enjoyed meeting the Teen Angels (WiredKids.org) and all of the industry attendees that come to support the kids. This year was even more exciting for me because I was able to invite some of my favorite Mom Bloggers in the DC area as guests of the events. We had Mom bloggers spread out across several tables at the event. They really don’t like the term Mom Bloggers but for lack of a better description we’ll go with that for now. The day zipped by and we barely had enough time to actually talk to each other but we all tweeted, blogged, and took pictures throughout the day and now we can picture the faces behind such amazing women as Jennifer from HipasIwannabe and MaryMac from Pajamas and Coffee and Shelley from the DC Ladies and many more.
It was also really fun to see familiar faces too like the team from Build-a-Bear, and Holly from AOL. Smiling faces and shared experiences make these events worth any jet lag that may set in afterwords.
As many of you know a couple of my passions in life involve meeting new people and hearing their perspective on life, my family, kids, technology, travel, good food / good wine, and a really good book. So, this is one of the reasons I adore the Wired Kids summit because it involves just about all of these (except for the wine). This year was even more of a treat because I had the chance to chat for a few minutes with the author of “Queen Bees and Wannabes“ Rosalin Wiseman. If you have a tween age daughter or teenage girl or know anyone who does – you have to read this book. It is amazing. The thing I love about this book is that you can open it to any page and read just that page and get something out of it. It is updated to include new social media conflicts and ways that girls interact with each other now that it has gone beyond just telephone calls, passing notes in class and spreading rumors in the hallways. This is a must read and it was a real treat getting to talk to Rosalind. I have not read her other book about Queen Bee moms but I have to get that on my nightstand.
For the full report on the Wired Kids Summit you can catch the updates on http://www.stayathomemom.com and wiredmoms.com
There have been quite a few other fun moments in the past 30 days. I have written them down in my regular Offline journal. One of these days they may even make their way to the web but I am still getting my brain around their significance.
My family makes me laugh every day – what a treat. There have been so many interesting people that I have had the great fortune of meeting this past month – including a group of college kids just returning to the states after a two week exchange in Kabul Afghanistan. It was great getting to spend a couple of days with a cousin of mine and her hubby.
Now we are on the homestretch to the end of school for the kids and that is always an exciting time. FInals and making sure they are set for the next school year before taking time off the summer.
Will do a better job about keeping my posts updated but at the same time if given the chance to get out on an adventure or stay home and blog about adventure – I will choose the actual adventure. I aspire to live a blog worthy life. And some days I do.