AT&T participates in Text4Baby: Tips on your Baby’s Growth & Development

Today’s tech savvy guest is Laura, a wife and working mom who has been with AT&T for 13 years and is currently the Executive Director of Multicultural Marketing. Laura is here to share how expectant mothers can track their baby’s growth and development in the womb and receive milestones and tips from AT&T and Text4Baby.

Hello, my name is Laura and I’m a mom who is about to be a mom for the first time – sounds confusing. I have a stepson with a disability who lives with us, and my husband and I are expecting our first child together in May. My stepson is completely dependent on technology to communicate, so if we want to communicate with him when we are not at home, e-mail and texting is the way to go.

I use technology in every aspect of my life. Aside from using my Blackberry to stay connected to work issues, I use Navigator to get around my new city of Dallas, and I use multiple smartphone applications to manage grocery lists, get restaurant reviews or find important locations, like the shoe repair, tailor and, yes, even clean bathrooms. As two working parents juggling the demands our stepson presents us, we use technology to coordinate social schedules and yoga classes and to keep our friends and family up-to-date on happenings in our lives. More recently, I have used the internet to track how my pregnancy is progressing.

Since I learned I was an expectant mom, I became obsessed with all things related to the little one, and was anxious to know every detail of how my baby was growing and developing in my womb. I am sure this is consistent with most first-time Moms. I started scouring Web sites and filling out all sorts of profiles about myself so I could join online communities to keep up with my baby's growth (and mine). I would search Web sites to understand which symptoms I should be expecting and the reasons for those symptoms. At last, I learned about AT&T and Text4Baby, a text service that I registered for that sends me text messages with prenatal updates. It took me only seconds to enroll in the service, and my quest to learn everything possible about our new addition was abated.

Now instead of searching for information online, I get a brief text with helpful and, more importantly, timely prenatal updates. I am reminded of milestones - like when I reached that third trimester. I get helpful reminders about diet and what to avoid. These reminders are especially helpful as our Mommy brains are working on overdrive by now, and it is easy to forget that right about now is a good time to kick up our intake of healthy fats to help with brain development.

The free service, made possible through the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Baby Coalition provides messages at just the right time. This is made possible because while enrolling, you provide your due date so messages sent are relevant to your stage of pregnancy. This is especially important for new Moms, because we don't know what we don't know, so we need lots of questions answered. Last week, I started to feel the dreaded backache I had read about - but hadn't yet understood how to minimize the discomfort. As if on cue, I get a message from Text4Baby with a helpful tip on how to alleviate back pain discomfort and some limitations I should keep in mind. And just today, while waiting to see my doctor for my gestational diabetes test, I get a text that reminds me of the test and how important it is to the health and wellbeing of my baby that I go through a glucose screening.

Admittedly, while I still scour for information on the internet about my baby’s growth, I am now more focused on specific topics that I know are important at this stage in my baby's development. This frees me up to seek information on what kind of car seat will fit my car or which breast pump is going to be right for me.

Huge thanks to Laura for sharing how Text4Baby has helped her can track her baby’s growth and development!

For tips on how to stay calm, cool, and connected through technology in this hectic world, visit AT&T’s Calm, Cool, & Connected site where moms and dads blog about their experiences using technology to stay sane.

No compensation was received for sharing this guest post.

Nook What Came in the Mail!

Yes, a Nook!

To me, there’s just something about a new book. The stiff binding and crisp pages always feel wonderful in my hands but as a lover of technology, I’m pretty giddy that a Nook arrived on my doorstep today but wonder how my traditional book reading self will like it! I don’t own a Kindle or a Sony Reader so this is truly my first experience with an electronic reading device.

While my Nook is charging, I’m setting up my account on BarnesandNoble.com, exploring the titles to figure out what I might read on the Nook first, and want to know...

What do you want to know about Nook as I test it out for my review? If you don't own an e-reader, tell me what, other than price, makes you hesitant to buy one. If you own a Kindle or a Sony Reader, what features are you hoping Nook has that might make you switch?

I’ll be participating in a conference call to learn more about my shiny new Nook on Thursday so leave a comment with a question for me to investigate and if I can’t find the answer, I’ll be sure to bring it up during my call.

Then be sure to come back to visit because I’ll be giving away a Nook to one very luck Tech Savvy Mama reader!!! I can’t say when but you did read that correctly!

And if you leave a question that you have about Nook before my call on Thursday at 2 pm, I’ll count your question as your first entry for the giveaway! Please note that only real questions that contain an e-mail or Twitter handle will count. Comments that don’t contain relevant questions to the Nook and e-reading devices will be deleted at my discretion.

Now I'm off to set up my Nook!

Barnes & Noble provided me with a Nook for review purposes and as a giveaway. No compensation was received for this review, the conference call I will be participating in, or my giveaway/review post.

PBS Teachers Free Webinar (Wed 3/10) & Search for Innovative Educators (ends 3/12)

The PBS we know and love for our kids also has an outstanding site for teachers that offers free webinars and is currently searching for the most innovative educators. PBS Teachers is a web portal designed for preK-12 educators to access PBS’ educational services and a searchable library of more than 9,000 local and national standards-based teaching activities, lesson plans, on-demand video assets and interactive games and simulations. The site hosts a wealth of content that aligns with curriculum areas and includes lesson plans, suggested links for student use, and an online community specifically designed for teacher use.

Before I managed their online community, I taught and participated in affordably priced online courses offered through PBS Teacherline and sought out their other resources for my own professional development. For the past year I’ve been participating in free hour-long PBS Teachers LIVE! webinars which I have loved! The topics are always interesting and I walk away feeling like I have learned so much for free!

On Wednesday, March 10 PBS Teachers LIVE! is presenting another free live webinar called “Copyright & Fair Use in the Art World and the Classroom" beginning at 8 pm EST with PBS producers and curriculum experts.

During this event, participants will have the chance to hear from and interact with filmmaker Kembrew McLeod, whose film "Copyright Criminals" recently aired on PBS's Independent Lens, law professor Peter Jaszi, and media producers and educators Chris Runde and Joe Fatheree. The four will discuss the implications of copyright and Fair Use laws in the classroom and share best practices in student media production. Annelise Wunderlich, National Community Engagement and Education Manager for ITVS, will be present to share film modules and lesson plans based on the film and developed by ITVS Community Classroom.

At the end of every live Webinar, attendees will have the opportunity to request a Certificate of Participation. Hint: Print this and save it in your professional portfolio!

To Join the Webinar, Click the Link: Online at Elluminate Live! For a list of upcoming and archived webinars, click here.



PBS is also inviting innovative educators to apply for their Innovation Awards and demonstrate how you inspire your students before this Friday, March 12.

Ten of the most innovative teachers will receive a behind-the-scenes trip to the Annual PBS Showcase in Austin, Texas on May 17-20, 2010, to see sneak previews of PBS programs, meet producers, and attend premiere events. Forty winners will receive a bag of PBS gifts that will include best-selling and award-winning PBS programs in digital formats and much more. All of the winners will receive free enrollment in an online facilitated professional development course from PBS TeacherLine, and will be invited to partner with PBS and local stations as leaders in classroom innovation. Teachers will have the opportunity to contribute their ideas and provide feedback on PBS programming and educational services For more information about the grand prize and the many other prizes being awarded, click here.

Don’t delay in getting your entry in or sharing this with an innovative educator at your child’s school since the deadline is this Friday, March 12!

Here’s some more information from the Innovation Awards page on the PBS Teachers site:

From math and science to music and the arts, your inventive thinking continuously fuels, inspires and engages young minds. Whether you teach your students physics with rocket launchers, social studies by re-enacting historical events, or literature by inviting kids to create digital stories, you are innovating and making a difference – and we want to recognize and thank YOU! PBS and local public television stations invite you to enter the PBS Teachers Innovation Awards!

How do I enter? It's easy — simply…

1. Join PBS Teachers.
2. Tell us why you are an innovative educator in 200 words or less.
3. Submit a video clip or a photograph showing us how you inspire your students. (Be sure to have the video or image ready before you click "Enter Now." *Innovations using PBS content are a plus, but not required.)
   

What is the deadline for entries?

• The PBS Teachers Innovation Awards runs January 25th through March 12th.
• Winners will be announced April 5, 2010 and winning entries will be featured on the PBS Teachers web site.

Click on the following links for contest rules and FAQs.

I am sharing this information about PBS Teachers LIVE! Webinars and Innovation Awards as a paid consultant to PBS but honestly believed that PBS resources were fabulous well before I started working for them. PBS logos are courtesy of PBS.

Free Blogalicious Bytes Tax Tips for Your Blog Webinar (3/10)

If you are like me and wondering what to do about any revenue generated by your blog (freelance writing, consulting, ads, etc.) and how to be IRS-compliant, you will want to attend Blogalicious Bytes' FREE webinar "Tax Tips for Your Blog" with Tax Attorney, CPA Shannon Nash this Wednesday, March 10 at 9 pm.

Register for the free Blogalicious Bytes webinar with Shannon here and then tweet using #blogabytes to follow the conversation.

If you can't make it, you can always view the @beblogalicious Twitter stream and search the #blogabytes hashtag to see what tips were shared and what you missed!

Don't forget to register! Everyone is welcome to participate!

A little more about Shannon...

Shannon King Nash is a CPA, Attorney, Author and Entrepreneur. She is the President of the Nash Management Group, an entertainment and business management firm based in Los Angeles and Atlanta that represents entertainers, producers, foundations, high net-worth individuals and companies. She is also a partner with Atlanta based, Register Lett LLP, a boutique law firm specializing in entertainment, media and intellectual property law.

Shannon was Senior Counsel for Amgen Inc., where she worked at both its US headquarters in California and its European headquarters in Switzerland. She was responsible for contracting/procurement, compliance, international tax, and federal and state income tax audits and appeals. Shannon was also counsel to the Amgen Foundation.

Prior to Amgen, Shannon was a Tax and Corporate Associate with Cooley Godward Kronish LLP (formerly Cooley Godward LLP) and K&L Gates LLP (formerly Kirkpatrick and Lockhart LLP), where she concentrated on corporate and partnership taxation, venture capital fund formation and operations, mergers and acquisitions, trusts and estates, and nonprofit organizations.

Shannon is the author of the award winning book, "For the Love of Money: The 411 to Taking Control of Your Taxes and Building Your Net Worth.” This practical financial empowerment book uses popular songs (from Marvin Gaye to Snoop Dog) to teach valuable finance and tax lessons. She also wrote the "Vault Guide to Tax Law Careers," and "Helping the Nonprofit Client."

Shannon received her BS in Accounting from the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce and her JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. You can find Shannon on Twitter.

This information is being shared as part of my role as Blogalicious' social media consultant.

DC Metro Ticket Giveaway for Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey

Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey is returning to the DC Metro area with Zing Zang Zoom, a “thrill-filled, mind-blowing circus spectacular where family fun is no illusion.” Illusions like children levitating their parents, a disappearing 4 ton elephant, and a tiger transformation will be part of the fun along with graceful aerialists performing high above the arena floor, human cannonballs blasting through the air, and high-wire walkers skipping across a thumb-thin wire. Chinese acrobats will perform the trapeze on swinging balance beams and two performance troupes join forces to create a never-before-seen Quadruple Russian Fire-Swing while daredevils on dueling Wheels of Steel tempt fate.

Catch Zing Zang Zoom either at the Verizon Center (March 18-21) or The Patriot Center (March 25-April 4) on these dates and times:

Verizon Center (Washington, DC) March 18 – 21

• Thursday, March 18 - 7:30 p.m.
• Friday, March 19 - 10:30 a.m., 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, March 20 - 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, March 21 - 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m.

Patriot Center (Fairfax, VA) March 25 – April 4

• Thursday, March 25 - 7:00 p.m.
• Friday, March 26 - 10:30 a.m., 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, March 27 - 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, March 28 - 1:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, March 31 - 7:00 p.m.
• Thursday, April 1 - 7:00 p.m.
• Friday, April 2 - 1:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, April 3 - 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, April 4 - 1:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m.

Additional performances will also be taking place at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore from April 7-18. Tickets can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets via charge or by phone at 202-397-SEAT or 703-573-SEAT in Virginia.

If you are planning to go to the circus, feel free to get there early! One hour before show time, families can meet the performers, get autographs, and see an amazing elephant that paints during the All Access Pre-show for free! During the preshow, you can get up close and personal with the performers and even participate.

Last year Captain Computer jumped in the ring to beat the clowns at a game of tug-of-war and Little Miss Techie loved watching Kelly Anne, one of the elephants, paint. Yes, paint! And of course there was the guy on stilts, costumes to try on, lots of clowns, and ladies in sequins. It was an hour of pre-circus fun!

TICKET GIVEAWAY: Win a family 4 pack of tickets to any weeknight show courtesy of Feld Entertainment. Just leave a comment about your favorite part of the circus and the date of the show you would like to attend. Winner will be randomly chosen and notified on Tuesday, March 16 and must provide full name for tickets to be held at Will Call.

No monetary compensation was received for this post although I did receive a media kit with circus-related goodies.

Win 18" x 24" Poster Print from UPrinting.com

UPDATED- Congratulations to @ItsMeCassieB for being our randomly selected winner and thanks to everyone who entered! More great giveaways from UPrinting are to come!

Real photos are always better than jpgs. If you are like me and tend to have more pictures in your online photo gallery than printed and framed on your walls, then this giveaway is for you!

Uprinting.com is giving one Tech Savvy Mama reader the chance to win a 18”x24” poster print of their favorite photo on high gloss or semi gloss paper. This poster will come rolled and ready to frame so all you have to do is find the right frame for instant wall art.

If you aren’t familiar with UPrinting, they offer affordable poster printing and promotional printing. I’m already thinking ahead about ordering my business cards for BlogHer and am liking their specialty shapes with die cut corners to make me stand out from the crowd!

GIVEAWAY: Enter to win the 18”x24” poster print courtesy of UPrinting by telling me how you usually share your pictures:

• In frames
• Real photo albums or scrapbooks
• Through an online photo gallery (Flickr, Picasa, Snapfish, Shutterfly, Kodak, etc.)
• Digital picture frame
• On your computer

Be sure to include your e-mail or Twitter handle so I can contact you when you win!

For additional entries, tweet this daily: @TechSavvyMama is giving away 18"x24" poster print from @UPrinting. Enter 2 win here: http://tr.im/QFSH

No monetary compensation was received for this post. I am offering this giveaway as part of UPrinting’s Blog Sponsorship Program and will receive my own poster print for hosting this giveaway.

Census 2010

Every child loves a good game of hide and seek. There are the fun butterflies they get in their tummies when they're waiting to be discovered and the pride they feel when they're able to count to ten and then yelling, "Ready or not, here I come!"

But children who are hidden from the U.S. Census counts (taken only once every 10 years) are not a laughing matter. So, ready or not, here comes 2010 Census ... and you have an important role to play!

Many parents may not realize the importance of accurately reporting the number of children in their family, including newborns. The truth is that the undercount of children means that we do not get a true picture of our nation and our communities do not get their rightful share of public funds.

Why Children Count Too

Children have been undercounted in every census since the first one in 1790. Local communities rely on census information in planning for schools, child care, health and other critical services. Babies need to be counted today, so they can benefit tomorrow from community services.

Census counts are used, in whole or in part, for more than 140 programs that distribute more than $400 billion of federal funds to states and localities, including such child-focused programs as:

• Special Education Grants to states ($10.8 billion)
• Head Start ($6.9 billion)
• State Children's Health Insurance Program ($5.9 billion)
• Foster Care Title IV-E ($4.7 billion)
• Improving Teacher Quality State Grants ($2.9 billion)

Unlike adults, who may bear some responsibility for making sure they are counted in the Census, children are dependent on others to make sure they are included. Yet in 1980, 1990, and 2000, Census Bureau data show children, particularly young children, are one of the groups most likely to be missed in the Census. In fact, in the 2000 Census, there was a net undercount of more than 1 million children under age 10.

Global Influence is working with 2010 Census to help spread this important message for the next week to all of the parents who read our blogs. We need your help to make sure that every child is reported so they can receive the services they will need in the future.

When playing hide and seek your children have the opportunity to be found after ten seconds.

The Census only comes around every ten years. So when you receive your Census form in mid-March, make sure your child (no matter how old) is counted!


This post is a public service announcement that is part of a campaign by Global Influence. By posting this PSA, I am entered to win one of five $20 Amazon e-gift cards.

WEDNESDAY 3/3: Teachers Share State of Their Schools via Scholastic Webcast

What would the teachers of America say if asked about the state of their schools?

Scholastic asked and teachers responded! The largest survey of America’s public school teachers will be presented in a live webcast tomorrow- Wednesday, March 3- at 10 am EST.

The live webcast presentation of the findings will be moderated by Harry Smith of CBS's The Early Show and features:

• Vicki Phillips, Director of Education, College Ready, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Margery Mayer, President, Scholastic Education, Scholastic Inc.
• And a panel of teachers from America's public schools.

For more details visit Scholastic’s On Our Minds blog or register at Primary Sources. I have been assured that the webcast will be archived for access at a later date so stay tuned and I’ll share the information when I have it!