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Theta Mom®

Redefining Motherhood

End of Summer Sabbatical

I’ve done some soul searching and I’m on a new path recently. I’m taking more and more time to foster one of my loves – the art of writing.

In my latest post, I shared the wish of publishing more on the blog than once per week. But I realized the major challenge in reaching this goal continues to be the growth of social media. Even two years ago, it was easier to maintain blog posts at 3-4x per week because there weren’t nine gazillion other platforms that took up our time such as Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram. With the addition of some new platforms, bloggers are doing more microblogging, publishing “mini” posts on Instagram and Facebook more than their own blogs. It’s a trend I’ve seen more and more of these days. Although I haven’t done this, I find myself using these platforms often which leaves less room to do what I love most – write on my blog.

This earth shattering revelation has come at a pivotal time; the time in which we are reaching the end of the summer when my kids are getting ready to head back to school. It’s the time we put away the sandy flip flops and beach memories to embrace homework, packing school lunches, and much needed routine.

In the four years I’ve been blogging, I have never taken more than one week “off” from my blog. Year after year, I always published (at minimum) once a week. So, this will feel a bit strange being away from this space I love so much, but I need time to revel in the last few moments of summer with my family.

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Call it an online sabbatical.

A blogcation.

A digital break.

Regardless of the title, I am giving myself some time away to do some living. You know, without the need to post a single update about it. Anywhere.

Wow, I know what you’re thinking. That’s pretty hardcore, right? Think I can do it? Well, I’m going to give it a try and see what life is really like without being connected to the online world.

In the meantime (so that you don’t miss me too much), I am going to share links to some of my all time favorite storytelling posts. I look forward to seeing you in your shiny new school outfits in September. I know I’ll have so much I will want to share from this experience…

Until then, enjoy the rest of your summer. Every single moment of it.

A Warrior Mom

Goodnight Mommy

On Motherhood in a Post 9/11 World

I Love Technology

In a Heartbeat

Back to Basics

I miss writing.

I miss blogging.

I miss storytelling.

Lately, life has been on the fast track. Between running my business, running my household, running my kids to eight million different activities and just, well, running everywhere in every direction possible, blogging has taken somewhat of a backseat.

I go through this transitional phase a couple times a year as I experience the true ebb and flow of blogging.

Heather_PhotoI need to get back to what I love most – sharing the details of life and motherhood to a community of women who understand me.

I need to share my voice with other moms who connect to my words.

I need to get back to a place where my blog served a bigger purpose – the time when a single post resonated with other lives in some meaningful way; a place in which my words have weight, depth and above all, meaning.

I need this to be an evolving space where I can connect to the very women who make this whole crazy bloggity blog journey worth the ride.

I miss posting 2-3 times per week.

I miss the reply emails in my inbox from readers who felt a connection with the words I weaved together.

I miss the conversation that ensued upon an initial post.

I miss the blogging community for what it is and what it should remain and I need to be more actively involved in this process.

I need to get back to basics and just write.

Thank you @HeatheroftheEO for providing bloggers with the opportunity to do this every Tuesday – sharing a moment with the blogging community with what we do best, when we just write. To learn more about Heather’s linkup, visit the full details on her blog here. Heather is awesome not only because she has the coolest name on the planet {ahem} but because I met her in real life several years ago at BlogHer10’ and she is exactly that – a truly awesome blogger.

Life moves pretty fast, so I have to make time for the very thing that makes my heart beat – I need to get back to basics.

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As a side note, many of you know Google Reader shut down last month. So if you are the blog subscriber kind, you can always catch my posts by subscribing through email (link on the top right hand of the blog under my header) or you can follow along using Bloglovin, my favorite new way of following awesome blogs.

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Send Your Kids Back to School with Lunchbox Love®

I recently partnered with the amazing team at Say Please, Inc., serving as the Brand Ambassador and Director of the Lunchbox Love® Mom Panel. Theta Mom® readers know I only partner with brands I fully endorse and Lunchbox Love® is absolutely no exception.

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Say Please, Inc. was founded by Judi Willard, a mom of two and licensed psychotherapist. She developed a product with positive messaging to help boost children’s self-esteem. Lunchbox Love® has been seen on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and The Wall Street Journal serving a huge purpose that goes far beyond the lunchbox. It’s the idea of communicating to our kids that we love, respect, and honor them – the kind of daily reminder that’s the perfect way to bring positive messaging into our children’s lives, especially when cannot be there.

LunchboxLoveNotes1I’ve been using Lunchbox Love® with my kids (ages 7 and 4) for the past couple of months. My kids absolutely love the surprise notes I give to them and as a Theta Mom® I also love selecting which Lunchbox Love® note I will choose for them daily – it certainly adds some fun and love to lunch!

LunchboxLoveNotes2I even surprised my husband with some Lunchbox Love® on his sandwich:

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And the company also offers a full line of Lunchbox Love® for your tweens and teens, how awesome is that?

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You can purchase Lunchbox® Love directly from the company site or you can purchase them at fine stores such as AC Moore and Pottery Barn Kids. Stay updated on the latest Lunchbox Love® news and promos on Twitter and Facebook. You can also follow the hashtag #LBLmoms to stay updated on the latest Mom Panel news.

Since we are quickly approaching the Back-to-School season, wouldn’t you LOVE some Lunchbox Love® this school year? Well, you are in luck because the Lunchbox Love Mom Panel is hosting giveaways all month long to kick off Back-to-School. Say Please, Inc. will be giving away four volumes of Lunchbox Love® to a lucky Theta Mom® reader!

GIVEAWAY RULES:

***This contest is now closed. Congratulations Carolyn! An email has been sent!

Simply follow my blog and leave a comment telling me why you LOVE Lunchbox Love®! Be sure to tweet the following as an extra entry:

I would LOVE some @Lunchbox_Love for Back-to-School! I just entered the #giveaway @ThetaMom http://bit.ly/1cogFDB #LBLmoms

This contest is open to US and Canada residents, ages 18+ and will close on Wednesday, August 7th. A winner will be selected via random.org. {The winner must have a valid email address and claim the prize within 48 hours. Otherwise, another winner will be chosen}.

Theta Mom® abides by word of mouth marketing standards and believes in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. As the Brand Ambassador for Say Please, Inc., I am compensated for the work I perform including posts such as this. In addition, I received Lunchbox Love® to facilitate this review. However, all opinions expressed are purely my own and the content of this post was not influenced in any way.

Get Organized for Back-to-School with momAgenda®

It is that magical time of year friends. It’s the time we start adding a little skip in our step as we dance through the aisles to purchase the required pencils, crayons, folders and school notebooks. It’s the time of year in which we bid farewell to those summer memories and think about planning for a new school year ahead.

Although I absolutely adore the summer season and wish I could wear flip-flops all year long, I also do enjoy the change of scenery when the kids go back to school. And of course for this working mama, my life gets a whole lot easier when I don’t have to worry about summer camps, activities, and – well, you know the drill.

As the Brand Ambassador for momAgenda® and Leader of the Council of Media Moms, you know I am an absolute organizational freak. And I could not imagine my life without the daily planning, resources and products from this company.

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Let me share more about the Home Office Edition which is my must-have Back-to-School product. This product runs on an academic calendar (August 2013 – August 2014) keeping you perfectly aligned with the school year. It’s a large, spiral-bound planner which is perfect to leave at home and it gives you ample room to record appointments and reminders for each member of the family – even enough room to serve your business needs! The Home Office Edition provides weekly and monthly views as well as convenient monthly tabs and folder pockets for those important papers.

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You can purchase the Home Office Edition for $32.95 here and be sure to follow momAgenda on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date on new products and deals. You can also follow the COMM Team and the momAgenda® Blog for the latest community news.

And because we are quickly approaching the Back-to-School season, we know you Theta Moms are in need of organization this time of year so the COMM Team is launching a series of giveaways that will run through the end of August to get you ready! At Theta Mom®, momAgenda® is giving away a Home Office Edition to one very lucky reader!

Woohoo!

HomeOfficeEDITIONS

GIVEAWAY RULES:

***This contest is now closed! Congratulations Beth! An email has been sent.

Simply follow my blog, visit momAgenda and leave a comment telling me the name of the momAgenda product that’s on YOUR wish list this Back-to-School season! Be sure to tweet the following as an extra entry:

I’m getting organized with @momAgenda for Back-to-School! I just entered the #giveaway @ThetaMom http://bit.ly/13TKsAu #momAgendaCOMM

This contest is open to US and Canada residents, ages 18+ and will close on Monday, August 5th. A winner will be selected via random.org. {The winner must have a valid email address and claim the prize within 48 hours. Otherwise, another winner will be chosen}.

Theta Mom® abides by word of mouth marketing standards and believes in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. As the Brand Ambassador for momAgenda® and the Leader of COMM: Council of Media Moms, I am compensated for the work I perform including posts such as this. In addition, I received a Home Office Edition to facilitate this review. However, all opinions expressed are purely my own and the content of this post was not influenced in any way.

Learning with Reading Kingdom

Many of you know that I am a former elementary school teacher so it’s safe to say I am always on the lookout for quality programs I can integrate at home with my kids especially in the summer. My daughter (who is entering Kindergarten this Fall) has made some amazing strides this past school year in pre-K but I wanted to continue building upon the skills she already has and provide her with the kind of program that allows her to learn and adapt new skills at her own pace. As a parent, I want her to have a solid foundation for reading and writing, especially as she enters Kindergarten.

Reading Kingdom is a fun and easy-to-use online program that teaches reading and writing skills geared for children ages 4-10 years old. The program was developed by the Director of the Light on Learning Program at Columbia University, Dr. Marion Blank, one of the world’s top experts in reading and literacy.

Dr. Marion Blank has spent over forty years studying how children learn to read and is recognized as one of the world’s top experts in literacy and language. She has devoted her life and career to helping children learn to read using innovative methods and has made many television appearances on programs including ABC News, CBS News and FOX. Her groundbreaking reading program, Reading Kingdom, is now available to every parent via the internet.

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I started using the program with my (almost 5 year-old) daughter toward the beginning of the summer. I am impressed that the program has a patented six skills method for reading success. These skills include sequencing, motor skills, phonics (phonemic awareness), meaning, grammar and reading comprehension. What I love most about Reading Kingdom is that it is designed to have children meet success. Users will see immediate results and feel proud that they are achieving success because the program is customized to meet the child’s specific level and needs. Achieving success early on in the program makes children want to continue on to the next level.

ReadingKingdom

We all know that every child learns differently so the secret to this program is that the child will take an assessment at every level of the program. As the parent, you are NOT to help your child in any way as the program is assessing your child’s current skill level. Based on the performance of the assessment, the program will know exactly where to properly place your child within the program. This is the key to success because the program will not be too hard or too easy for your child – it will be at the very level they should be at which will motivate them to move confidently through the program.

The Reading Kingdom also keeps parents notified of your child’s progress. A detailed report is emailed to the parent on a regular basis. You can also login to your account at any time and view the reports directly from the dashboard within your account. This keeps the parent aware of all the progress that has been made, where the child is currently placed, and the next level they are working toward achieving.

My daughter looks forward to seeing the little owl “speak to her” and asks me to have computer time to “play” Reading Kingdom. Since each of the activities are presented in a fun way, she thinks she’s playing games when in fact, she’s really learning – and that to me is the sign of a great program. Additionally, knowing the program is targeting some critical elements such as sequencing, motor skills, phonics, grammar, and reading comprehension, I know this is a great use of time spent on the computer.

With so many different programs available online these days, it’s getting harder and harder to decipher which programs are a better value and a better use of your time. See why more and more parents are turning to Reading Kingdom – learn how to get started with the Reading Kingdom and WHY the program works.

You can sign up for a FREE Reading Kingdom account and try the program completely risk-free for 30 days here. After thirty days, you have the option to purchase the program monthly at $19.99 or $199.99 for the year.

Be sure to stay updated with the Reading Kingdom Twitter and Facebook.

Disclosure: Theta Mom® abides by word of mouth marketing standards and believes in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. I received a one-year subscription from Reading Kingdom to facilitate this review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.