Elementary Spirits| Professional Homeschool Mommy Blog

What Comes to Mind When You Think of Drunk Drivers?

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:48:21 +0000

Shoes Image Courtesy of Grant MacDonald

For me, it is SHOES.

SHOES????

Yes, SHOES! That was the only image the media was able to show after a car going 60 miles an hour ran a red light and hit her. She was 4. She was walking with her aunt and brother to get a popsicle at 7-11. She was dead instantly. Her body destroyed by the impact of the car. She was knocked out of her shoes and they flew into the middle of the road.

Her name was Jenny Marie and I used to babysit her. Her mom was a very good friend of my mom. She was the most adorable little girl. The kind people stopped to notice. Everyone who knew her was devastated.

I was 15. Just getting my drivers license. I remember two images: the shoes and her distorted body in the open casket. Why they choose an open casket I will never understand but her flattened face has never left me.

I learned that day what immense power a car had. It has the power to destroy lives, destroy families. I learned that cars deserve a lot of respect. I learned that you had to respect the power a car has and never, ever think that you are more powerful than it. I learned a lot.

Then I forgot….

I was a college freshman and lets just say it wasn’t the year of best judgment for me in so many ways. I woke up in my dorm with a pounding headache and an upset stomach. Weird thing was, I had no idea how I got there. I was last at a large party with way too much alcohol….

To my horror as the haze cleared I realized I drove myself home. It wasn’t more than a few blocks but what the hell was I thinking? How could I do I that? I remember being soooo scared. What if I hurt someone? Of course, nothing was hurt but her face and those shoes came back into view and I remember just crying and crying.I can’t believe I would let her down like that.

I have never been behind the wheel of a car after drinking again. I can’t. If I am driving, I go to a party and see everyone having fun but I still see the shoes.

If everything that happens in life has a reason, I would like to think she left those shoes lying in the middle of Indian School road as a reminder to everyone that saw them the immense consequences of not respecting the power we have to choose not to drink and drive. I would like to think that, perhaps, the people that remember her shoes have made different choices that may have saved others. Perhaps the shoes are meant to remind us that we all have a responsibility to remind others that drinking and driving kills and leaves holes in the hearts of millions. That extra drink isn’t worth it.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of MADD. A donation was made to MADD in my name to thank me for taking the time to participate. Please check out the Power of Parents website for more information.

New Mythbusters Science Kits

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:38:27 +0000

A few weeks ago the boys and I were poking around Borders and we spied some new science kits from Mythbusters. We all love Mythbusters in this family. It is one of the first shows that I recommend to homeschool families, especially ones with boys. It is no secret that I am a science geek but the messaging in Mythbusters is what I truly love. The show promotes the message that it is not only OK to make mistakes in science, but sometimes it is preferred. So many of our inventions have come from ‘mistakes’. But in a world where kids are constantly drilled the ‘right’ answer I fear we have created a generation of kids afraid to make mistakes. Public schools don’t have time to let kids figure things out on their own, so when they do have ’science’ they have to make sure that the kids get the ‘right’ answer all wrapped up in a 45 minute class period. Which of course, usually means spoon feeding them the answers. This is where we, as homeschoolers, have a real opportunity to change things for our kids. We can let them wonder, ponder, try, fail, leave it, come back to it, and try again as much as we like. It is precisely this reason that I love Mythbusters for showing kids that the way real scientists work. But, yet, I digress off on another tangent….

OK, so even with my love of Mythbusters, I was not about to shell $19.99 for a kit. So, I filed it away as something fun to look at later, when they went on sale! I was surprised that week when I got an email from Marie at Team Mom Media asking if she could send me one to review (funny how the universe does things like that) and I readily jumped.

She sent us the Weird World of Water kit. This is what the kit contains:

The kit contains most things you need for the experiments. The boys wanted to do this one:

which is essentially a bottle rocket but they were sad to find out I didn’t have any baking soda in the house. They settled on creating a vortex. I have done this one plenty of times in the classroom and surprised they had never done it in public school. It is so easy to do. You just take two 2-liter bottles and connect them together. You use a fancy little screw cap that comes in the kit (or you can buy for $5 at any teaching store). I have even heard tale that duct taping them together real tight works. This is the effect of putting momentum on the top bottle (giving it a little swirl)

The boys were fascinated with it and kept it going for a while putting in glitter and then beads that came in the kit.

I promised them that I would go get baking soda so they can do the pantry rocket soon. So, would I recommend this? Yes! With the caveat that I think the price point is too high. The book is the best part of it and does a wonderful job explaining the concepts in true Mythbusters style. $9.99-$14.99 is probably a better price point so if you can find it on sale, go for it! I know Target, Walmart and ToysRUs are selling it as well as Borders. The age range of my boys was just about right (11 and 13). It is made for kids 9 and up. Just be sure to have baking soda on hand….

PR Peeps I Recommend

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:45:56 +0000

I received a lot of great feedback about the post I did on getting mom bloggers started with product reviews. So, what is the step after you have signed up with those companies? Getting your name out and creating personal relationships with PR people.

So, yeah, that can be kind of scary to just ‘cold call’ on a pr rep. Guess what? A lot of times they are just as nervous to reach out to you. Sometimes, they are actually afraid YOU will reject THEM. But, not to worry, I work with some really great reps and I asked a few how they would feel about having you reach out to them. The ones I listed below would be thrilled to get an introduction from you. They are listed in no particular order at all. Just send them a note introducing yourself and what your blog is about. Tell them a little about “your average reader” and what types of projects you see being a good fit for you. You really don’t need to send them stats. They can look that up really easily when they get to know you and on that note, don’t ever, ever ’stretch the truth’ on your numbers. It takes 2 seconds for them to use the very basic level of compete.com to check you out and from my experience, getting pitched for certain things is not always about your stats. Most of the time, they are looking for people who are genuine, authentic, and can reach the target audience. In other words, are you a good fit?

My sample intro for this blog would probably go like this:

“Hi, my name is Barb and I was reading on Elementary Spirits that you are looking to connect with some new bloggers. I typically write about my family, homeschooling, and blogging. I would say that most of my readers are moms, and some are bloggers themselves. I would love to work on any family friendly pr campaigns you have coming up. I really enjoy writing about science, reading and charitable events. If you could keep me in mind for any future projects, I would really appreciate it!”

I have purposely left out what brands these reps work with. They are more than invited to leave a comment with more specifics on their clients if they would like. Some, it will be pretty darn obvious I think it is more important to connect with them on a personal level first. Some of these reps work with many different clients or work in offices that cover 100’s or 1000’s. Just like with us, they tend to pass on the names of good bloggers to each other.

Nora Sarrawi: nsarrawi AT webershandwick DOT com
Josslynne Welch: jwelch AT litzkypr DOT com
Elizabeth Cron: ECron AT webershandwick DOT com
Susan Wells: susan AT stevespangler DOT com
Jeff Esposito: jesposito AT vistaprint DOT com
Melissa Garcia: @fastfixin on twitter
Marie Baker: mb AT childsplaypr DOT com
Erin Connolly: Erin.Connolly AT adventure DOT com

Above are some of my favorites that said it was OK to share their information. Toni-Lynn has a full list of brands on twitter on her site. Once your name gets out into the blogoshere as someone looking to work with brands, you will need to start setting your guidelines. I will talk about that in a future post. For now, enjoy getting to know some new people!

The comments are open to any PR rep who would like to leave their contact info for bloggers to reach out to them. Also, bloggers, feel free to do a little self-pitchin’ in the comments too!

5 Nights, 5 States Road Trip

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:38:59 +0000

OK, the title is a little more dramatic than it actually was but we did have a hoot and hollarin time as we circled most of the great Southwest.

The trip started with some VERY d(icey) road conditions through the Rocky Mountains. From the Foothills to Vail we were on ice a good part of the way. A family in a suburban in front of us figure-eighted off the road first, they were fine but shaken up. Next came the flipped over semi truck, and then two big Ford trucks went into each other. I have never seen Bob so white knuckled. For him to actually want to get out of the car to shake it off in Vail, you know he was nervous. After Vail the ice disappeared but we were met with one more obstacle before Grand Junction: a fallen boulder smashing a concrete pillar. I swear, it was just like being in a video game from hell! From Utah on it was easy sailing though. 14 hours later we pulled into Green Valley Ranch by our old home in Vegas. PHHHHEEEWWWW! We headed straight for the bar and buffet! GVR’s buffet has really changed. $80 is soooo not worth it!

I enjoyed some yummy breakfast the next morning with Cindy at the Original Pancake House and we were off to play with the Luna’s shortly after. Connor had an absolute ball running around the old neighborhood. It felt so good to see him so happy with his friends again. We were able to go to a halloween party with our old homeschool group and I had a ball talking with Elizabeth, Tara, Darlene, Stephanie and Paula again! It was so nice to reconnect. We brought some cool science stuff from Steve Spangler to share with our friends at the party.

But, after some really fun times with friends it was time to hit the road again. We had to re-route home because of the crazy storm that hit Colorado that week. So, we left Vegas and headed to the Grand Canyon. Once there, Bob pulled a Clark Griswold and we left ASAP. Even though it was three hours out of the way, I am glad we went. Connor was really interested in the canyon statistics and the boys willing bought and watched a documentary about it during the trip home.

We crawled into Albequerqe at 9:45, with just 15 minutes to spare to get some take out from Sadies Mexican food. Next morning we were back on the road and headed home early to get some trick or treating in.

Even though it was way too short, I am so glad we went. I realized on this trip that what I have been really missing about Vegas is the sense of community we had there. The feeling of having a ‘village’ to raise our kids in. Good friends that would do anything for you at the drop of a hat. People who bought me a 12 pack of diet coke for the hotel room and people who loved my kids whole heartedly. It comes down to people who truly knew us and cared about us. But what I realized is that I am going to have to try to find that here. As much as our friends there will always be special to us, and I hope to remain friends for years, I have to try to recreate that feeling here. I think we may be on the right path, when we drove up on Sat. our driveway and walk had been shoveled for us. I went over to thank the people across the street but they told me there was no need, the whole neighborhood had pitched in because they were worried Carter wouldn’t be able to get in.

Product Reviews: How To Get Started

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:16:16 +0000

Product reviews are a natural fit with ‘mommy bloggers‘. With women connecting more and more online, it makes sense to get advice on which stroller to buy, which curriculum to choose, which detergent best gets out crayons, etc.. from your online friends. Through my company, I do a ton of product reviews and I am constantly being asked by moms just starting to blog how they ‘get into’ product reviews.

This post is aimed at the new mom blogger looking to get their feet wet with product reviews. I have a few companies that you should get signed up with. The sign up process is free and depending on your blog audience, these may work out well for you. I personally work with the first two often and have met both their owners (and wonderful employees) in person. I can highly vouch for their companies and feel comfortable sending my closest friends over to them.

Mom Central- In the right hand sidebar there is a link to sign up for their mom testing panel. They are very organized and will send you emails with campaigns that may fit your readership come up. You respond to the email by filling in their questionaire. They will contact you to let you know if you are chosen. I really like that Mom Central usually sends a giftcard to compensate you for the time it takes to post your review and test the product.They have some wonderful campaigns, including Feld Family Activators which I proudly participate in.

Team Mom Media-Wonderful women to work with. I really like that when I get a product to review from them, I get a press kit in the package. After you start doing a lot of reviews, that will be a big plus. While Team Mom usually does not compensate you for the posting time, I really like the campaigns that they offer and the products tend to be things that fit well with my family. Team Mom spends time getting to know their bloggers personally so they can keep you in mind when that perfect fit comes up.

MyBlogSpark-I have just signed on to do my second review through them but several of my online mom buds swear by them.

As you get more into product reviews, you will develop relationships that lead to higher paying opportunities and ‘mom teams’. I have always enjoyed the opportunity to do reviews and I hope the companies above can get you started on this path.

One last suggestion! Have a company you adore and are a natural brand advocate for? Contact their pr directly.I have a list of people I adore and will post that later this week but twitter is an excellent way to begin a relationship with brands. Here is a list of companies on twitter to get you started. Remember, there are real people behind those accounts so just saying hi and showing your interest goes a long way in building a relationship before you ‘pitch’ them.

Take a look at the list of PR people that I recommend getting to know!

Perspective From the Wicked Witch

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:00:24 +0000

I have waited for years for the chance to see Wicked, so H1 (yes, it is running through our house) be damned, I was NOT going to flake out on tickets that we got 6 months ago to go see it! If you have not seen or heard of Wicked, it is a Broadway musical based on the book written in 1995 by Gregory Maguire that tells the untold story of the witches of OZ!

While the musical is funny and fabulous it is also very thought provoking, to me in any case. As the story of Elphaba unfolded I kept thinking about how many times I have played the part of the Wicked Witch. I thought of all the Wicked Witches that played central parts in my stories through the years, perhaps not even knowing about their character. And as a society, how many times a person is spun into that role without any of us taking much time to examine the back story. It seems we are so quick to point fingers and cast blame without scratching the surface to see how others may be viewing the same story.

While I really, really enjoyed the play and encourage all of you to see it I have to say that the Wicked Witches perspective was a golden gift I took away from it. I am going to try my hardest to try to see her perspective the next time someone shows up auditioning for that part in one of my stories. I can try for just one second to see the role I may be playing in her story. And if I can’t change the perspective at least I can exit stage left and know that it was not really a part I auditioned for. And, if worse, comes to worse and I have to play the role of the Wicked Witch I will realize that sometimes you can’t change everyone’s perspective, and I will aim, at that point, for a standing ovation, because sometimes there is no other choice than to play the part you are cast the best you can!

*and sadly, in this age of FTC regs, I feel compelled to disclose that I was IN NO WAY compensated for discussing Wicked on my blog*

Picture Perfect Day

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:55:46 +0000

My boys may be coming down with some very terrible illness. Either that, or I have to go buy a lottery ticket. My day was SPOOKY!

Carter had therapy which he loves.

Connor and I went to the gym where I actually RAN (yes, ran, people) on the treadmill.

Boys listened intently as I read a short story by Langston Hughes and then intelligently discussed Harlem Renaissiance.

Boys played nicely together.

But the kicker here???? They each asked for and DEVOURED 3 helpings of cauliflower mash potatoes which I can only kindly describe as white barf. Don’t let Bob & Jillian (Biggest Loser) lie to you. They DO NOT taste just like mashed potatoes.

So, should I call the CDC and report this strange illness? or go buy a lottery ticket?

Loot Lovin Linky

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:54:03 +0000

This linky doesn’t expire (but we keep it up to date thanks to Toni-Lynn so leave your giveaways ANY DAY and go visit others!
Just as a reminder, member of my site The Coupon Cupboard can leave their giveaways anytime they want for free so go join up over there too!