Friday Favorites- Great Posts from Other Bloggers

With only two posts this week (ok, this makes 3!) and now a roundup of favorite posts I’ve recently read from other bloggers, it does seem that I’ve been severely slacking. I assure you I haven’t been. I wish I could say it has been a feet-up-on-the-couch-bonbon-eating-week but it hasn’t. I’ve been working on BitMoms, writing about teachers policing electronic communication for The LeapFrog Community, sharing my experiences using the Tilt2 for the Lose the Laptop campaign, taking on a new role for Blogalicious that I'll be sharing soon, oh, and yeah, doing some standardized testing during my day job as a teacher. Phew!

Since I’ve been a little busy elsewhere, I thought I’d showcase some of the great posts I’ve seen recently around the blogosphere. Enjoy!

The always hilarious Stimey admits to being “a little bit of a disaster in the kitchen” and reviews America’s Test Kitchen, Let’s Get Cooking for the Nintendo DS. See how your child’s DS can help you figure out what to make for dinner here. Oh, and Stimey has some new pet mice that are just adorable!

Both Beth Blecherman (aka TechMama) and I are dying for one of these robots that were designed by Willow Garage in Silicon Valley. With their mission to “get robots out of factories and into the real world” she and I would really like one to knock on our door and take over! Read all about them in her post called Robots That Do Dishes- Soon To Be A REALITY!

Amy from Teach Mama is a like-minded teacher mom who sneaks in learning into every part of her day and shares it through her awesome site which is now in the running for the 2010 Parent & Child Magazine Parent Blogger Awards! Published by Scholastic, Parent & Child Magazine is my favorite parenting mag and I just love that Amy is one of the three finalists in the Books & Reading category. Please help a wonderful friend out and make sure she’s the winner by voting for her here by June 4. It only takes a second! Promise!

Michelle is a super tech savvy mom who writes Scraps of My Geek Life and has a great list of 9 Resources to Help You Write Your Media Kit. Regardless of your audience and objective, every blog should have a media kit and luckily Michelle has done the hard work for us and compiled everything into this nice neat post. Thanks Michelle!

If you are heading to the movies this weekend, stop by UrbanMama where Sandie always has the 411 on movies. As a professional movie reviewer and mom of 3, I know I can always count on her for the real deal on upcoming movies. Read what she has to say about Shrek Forever After, Toy Story 3, The Tillman Story, Eat, Pray, Love, and more in her post called Ten to See This Summer! Or if you are traveling this weekend, be sure to read Surviving a Solo Roadtrip With Kids even if you are going as a family!

And if you are in the voting mood, I’d love it if you threw a vote my way for AT&T’s Lose the Laptop Challenge! I’m writing about my experience with the Tilt2 in this month’s Social Media challenge and hoping to get your votes to win 2 phones to give away to my readers! Plus when you vote, you also have a chance to win and this month's prize is 2 $200 AT&T gift cards and 2 HTC Tilt2 phones- one for you and a friend! With just a few more days left for May’s challenge, I'd love any last minute votes! Thanks!

I hope you enjoy the above posts and have a great long weekend! Here's wishing that I'll have a feet-up-on-the-couch-bonbon-eating-long-weekend but I'd be content catching up on sleep!

Sex and the City 2: Blogalicious DC Meetup, Soundtrack Review & Fashion Fun

Watch live streaming video from sexandthecity2 at livestream.com

If you are feeling out of luck in getting opening night tickets for Sex and the City 2, don’t despair! Blogalicious is hosting a pre-movie happy hour meetup at Zengo for DC area bloggers who want to show off their shoes, enjoy a cocktail, and speculate on Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda fashions in the new movie. For details about the meetup, visit Blogalicious Weekend.

Since I wasn’t quick enough to score coveted tickets for Thursday’s show, I’ll be driving to and from the meet up listening to the just released Sex and the City 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack that just arrived in my mailbox courtesy of One2One Network.

The star studded soundtrack features Alicia Keys singing the Blondie classic “Rapture,” a brand-new duet of “Love is Your Color” by Grammy and Academy Award® winner Jennifer Hudson and global superstar, multi-platinum recording artist and three-time Grammy Award nominee Leona Lewis, Liza Minelli covering Beyonce’s chart-topper “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” Alicia Keys’ Empire State of Mind that was the inspiration for the title of this year’s Blogalicious BlogHer10 party- Bloggy State of Mind, and tons of other great music that has me clamoring to see the movie with my gal pals!

Until I can make it to see Sex and the City 2, I’m reliving all the great moments of Sex and the City including this great fashion flashback on MTV.com that came courtesy of a Tweet from @YummieTummie.

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Sex and the City fans can enter to win a phone call from Sarah Jessica Parker on the day the movie opens by clicking here and entering their cell number to get a call on the day the movie opens. One lucky caller will get a call from SJP herself! Now that’s definitely worthy of raising all cosmos to clink glasses!

No compensation was received for this post. I received a review copy of the Sex and the City 2 Soundtrack from One2One Network. I am a Yummie Tummie brand ambassador who just happened to see the Tweet about SATC fashions and serve as the social media manager for Blogalicious but was not required to post about the meetup on my personal site.

MomzShare and BitMoms Unite to Benefit American Cancer Society's Relay for Life in Honor of WhyMommy

Photo courtesy of thenagainphoto

Last night Jennifer Gerlock and Lara DiPaola of MomzShare brought together almost 80 bloggers for a networking event that benefitted the American Cancer Society (ACS). Hosted by the wonderful Jessica McFadden of A Parent of Silver Spring fame at The Little Gym, the night’s theme was finding your passion and tailoring your blog to your goals.

One of the questions that we received from Lauree, a life coach from Simply Leap, asked who we are when we are at our best. When I’m at my best, I am using my passion for blogging and my personal network of brands and bloggers to unite people and companies towards a common goal. Last night’s MomzShare was akin to the perfect alignment of planets in the solar system to benefit a wonderful cause that has touched everyone in some way shape or form. (Planet reference was for you Susan!)

A couple of weeks ago I went to Fort Lauderdale to meet with BitDefender about my new role as Chief BitMom. I was getting to know the company and product when I heard that they had just announced that they would be giving a portion of proceeds from every sale of their software to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. Seeing the newly branded boxes with the pink ribbon and hearing our marketing guru, Pete, talk about the importance of charitable giving immediately made me think of MomzShare and my involvement in ACS’ Bloggers for More Birthdays.


Suddenly I was talking about how great it would be to get BitMoms involved with MomzShare, sending an email to Jennifer and Lara, and within minutes, had a commitment from BitMoms to donate $1000 to the cause. Yes, $1000! Plus BitMoms swag!


The week after I came home from Florida, I received an email about helping ACS celebrate their 97th birthday by building awareness and getting more people to sign up for the More Birthdays movement. Party hats, t-shirts, and bumper stickers were on their way for the celebration so what a perfect thing to bring to MomzShare!

Photo courtesy of 1momof5

So last night everything came together beautifully! The wonderful Lara put her Martha Stewart-like skills to good use in crafting an Ed McMahon- Publisher’s Clearing House-size check from BitMoms to present to Sunday Stillwell and Susan aka WhyMommy from Toddler Planet.

Photo courtesy of 1momof5

Beautiful gift baskets from local businesses and BitMoms were arranged, raffle tickets were purchased, and attendees went home with some fabulous items- all in the name of the American Cancer Society!

Photo courtesy of 1momof5

At the end of the night, the cash box was quite full as were our stomachs as we dined on delectable eats from local business owners while networking to make connections that will certainly benefit everyone in the future.

Photo courtesy of 1momof5

Like Cinderella after the ball, the night may be over but our work isn’t. Here’s how you can get involved:

• Visit ACS' More Birthdays site to be part of their movement. Spread awareness by sending an ecard, creating your birthday page, declaring ACS as your official birthday cause via Facebook, make a donation, and bloggers- please get a badge for your site to show your support!
• Participate in Team WhyMommy Relay for Life by donating or becoming a team member who will walk in Catonsville, MD on June 12
• Join me on BitMoms to learn how you can keep your family safe online and while you are there, view wonderful pictures and video interviews with MomzShares attendees
  

Thanks to…

• MomzShare for a wonderful night
• Jessica and The Little Gym for being our hosts
• All the companies who donated gift baskets and prepared delicious food
• American Cancer Society for providing t-shirts, bumper stickers, and party hats
• And special thanks to my new company, BitDefender, who made a donation from BitMoms to the American Cancer Society and not hesitating about providing an iPod as part of a gift basket.

Photos courtesy of Lolli (aka @1momof5 from Better in Bulk) and Dumb Mom who blogs at Parenting By Dummies and posts her pictures at thenagainphoto on Flickr. For more photos, visit MomzShare on Flickr.

I am employed by BitDefender to serve as their Chief BitMom for our online community but I am not required to mention the company or the community on my personal site. I voluntarily participate in ACS’ Bloggers for More Birthdays to raise awareness of this very important cause.

Calling Shutterbugs for National Geographic Photo Contest! Novices welcome! (w. giveaway)

Congratulations to Lauren who won the Canon SLR camera bag and a supply of Energizer Lithium batteries!

Have you ever envisioned one of your photos in National Geographic? Well, now is your chance to make it happen!

National Geographic and Energizer have teamed up to present the 3rd annual Energizer Ultimate Photo Contest. The winner will have their photo featured in the December issue of National Geographic magazine in an ad for Energizer® Ultimate Lithium batteries, and they’ll also be awarded the trip of a lifetime – a National Geographic Expedition for two to the Greek Isles.

One thing I love about this contest is that this contest is open to everyone from novice photographers with point and shoot cameras (like myself!) to those with the fancy DSLRs that I covet. In fact, one of last year’s winners was shot by a zoo employee on a regular point-and-shoot camera!

National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson serves as a contest judge, and will also be doling out photography tips and participating in a Q&A session on the contest website.

“You don’t have to be an expert or have professional equipment to capture a magnificent shot,” said 20-year National Geographic photographer and contest judge Jim Richardson. “One of last year’s Category Winning photos was shot by a zoo employee on a regular point-and-shoot camera. Great photography is often about being in the right place at the right time and making sure you’re prepared to capture the moment when it happens.”

To enter, submit your best photos – in categories like animals/wildlife, nature, people/cultures, travel, weather, and action/energy- until Wednesday, June 30 to the Energizer Ultimate Photo Contest site for your chance to win the National Geographic Expeditions trip to the Greek islands and be featured in an ad in the December issue of National Geographic magazine.

After the entry period closes, Richardson will review all of the entries and select two finalists in each category. Then, from Aug. 17 through Sept. 15, Americans will be asked to go online and review each of the Category Finalists and vote for their favorite in each category. Once the Category Winners are determined, Richardson will help choose a Grand Prize Winner, to be announced on or about Nov. 4.

To get you ready to shoot award winning photos, National Geographic and YouCast are providing a lucky reader with a prize package containing a Canon 2400 SLR Gadget Bag ($65) and Energizer® Ultimate Lithium AA and AAA batteries. Energizer® Ultimate Lithium batteries are the world's longest lasting batteries in high-tech devices. They last up to eight times longer than Energizer® MAX® in digital cameras (results vary by camera)-which means you can take your mind off your batteries and focus on capturing that winning photo.

Enter to win by telling me about a photo you plan to enter in one of the categories and I’ll choose a winner using Random.org by Wednesday, 5/26. Please be sure to leave your email address or make sure I can find you on Twitter when you win!

Tweet this for an extra entry: @TechSavvyMama shares @NatGeoSociety photo contest details & giving away @Canon_Camera SLR bag + @Energizer batteries: http://bit.ly/cXv7iQ

Thanks to National Geographic, Energizer, and YouCast for providing giveaway items. No compensation was received for sharing this information however, I am getting some Energizer Lithium Batteries.

Win 500 Business Cards from UPrinting.com

Congrats to Stimey for winning cards for her Autism Unexpected site that she will be handing out after her BlogHer panel!

Despite the chatter about parties, what to wear, and panels to attend (like the one I’ll be on!), BlogHer has a tendency to sneak up on me and at the last minute I’ve found that I’m without business cards. Not this year though!

Thanks to Uprinting.com, I’m planning ahead and already thinking about what business cards I’ll be carrying at this year’s BlogHer in New York City. I love the square cards that would fit my blog button and their die cut business cards for something a little different that will make me stand out in a stack of cards.

I might add some slim cards to my order to carry as mommy cards. Mommy cards (aka business card-like cards that you hand out to a fellow parent you meet at school, the playground, or in line at the grocery store) always helped me seem more together because they contained my contact information all in one place. Having a set of mom cards replaced endless digging for the most ragged piece of paper (always found at the depths of my purse) to scrawl my phone and email address.

GIVEAWAY: Uprinting.com is giving one Tech Savvy Mama reader the chance to win 500 standard (2 x 3.5”), square (2 x 2”) or slim cards (1.75 x 3.5”) printed on 14 pt gloss cardstock, 14 pt matte cardstock, or 13 pt recycled uncoated cardstock with the option to have full color on both. Cards will be printed using 3 business day printing and ship free via UPS Ground.

Enter to win by leaving a comment about which style of business cards you like and where you will be handing them out. 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 500 business cards from @UPrinting perfect for #BlogHer10. Enter to win: http://bit.ly/aN1fhe

Fine print: This giveaway will end on Wednesday, 5/26 and winner must provide full name and email address by Thursday, 5/27. You must be at least 18 years old to enter and this contest is only open to US residents only.

No monetary compensation was received for this post. I am offering this giveaway as part of UPrinting’s Blog Sponsorship Program and will receive 500 business cards for hosting this giveaway.

Prevent the Summer Slide with Hands on Science and Summer Reading Programs

With May here, it seems like summer is truly around the corner. Some of us breathe a sigh of relief while others clamor for things to keep their kids busy or try to strike a nice balance between the two. I like to keep the learning going in fun hands-on ways that are directly tied in to my kids’ interests. Here are some things that I plan to do this summer between pool trips, tending to our backyard garden

Hands On Science Videos from Curiosity Zone via MonkeySee.com

Captain Computer loves to use the hose on hot summer days so water experiments are right up his alley. I’m looking forward to trying the Water Power Science Project- Flow & Go Boat that features Curiosity Zone founder, Mary Porter Green, in a science tutorial on MonkeySee.com in our kiddie pool.



MonkeySee currently houses 7 videos with Mary Porter Green that provide step-by-step directions and explain the science behind the experiments in easy to understand ways for children and even adults who don’t love science. All experiments use simple objects you are likely to have in your home to create creating hands on science experiments. Other videos include wind power science with balloon squids, hovercrafts, rocket pinwheels and learning about chemical reactions through a gas-o-meter and rockets.

Summer Reading

Nothing is better than coming inside to cool off with a story that transports us to a faraway place in our minds so it is nice to recognize my children’s love of reading by participating in summer reading programs. From our local library’s reading program to those at nearby bookstores, it is fun to write down the many books that we read each day and watch our sheets fill up. Here are summer reading programs for 2010 that will help your kids keep reading all summer long and help them keep up their skills, enrich their vocabulary, and maintain their interest in books until school starts again in the fall.

Scholastic Summer Challenge- WordGirl joins forces with Scholastic for the Read for the World Record challenge. As the Ambassador of Summer Reading, WordGirl will use her “vocabulary strength in a never-ending battle for truth, justice and use of the right word” while kids can create an account and log into The Stacks to record the number of minutes they have read in order to read towards a World Record!

Scholastic also has a variety of helpful resources available for parents such as a list of hot summer reads for all young readers, timeless chapter books, 9 ways to integrate reading into everyday life, and suggestions for enticing a restless reader. For more great suggestions visit Scholastic’s Teacher page that is full of ways to keep your child reading in order to prevent the summer slide.

Barnes and Noble’s Passport to Summer Reading with The 39 Clues capitalizes on the popularity of the 39 Clues series and invites readers in grades 1-6 to join the Cahill family to read 8 books and record them in their reading passport to get a free book and be entered to win an autographed book. Download the form here to start reading and upper elementary 39 Clues fans will enjoy the downloadable printable activities that accompany Barnes & Noble’s summer reading challenge! Teachers can download their own activity kit that is centered around the themes in the 39 Clues.

Borders ’10 Summer Reading Double Dog Dare- Children 12 and under are invited to download Border’s form and read any 10 books of their choice, list them on the form, and return to the store to get a free book. With titles ranging from Beverly Clearly’s Ramona the Brave and Dear Mr. Henshaw, Flat Stanley, award winning Hoot by Carl Hiaasen, to the classics like The Witch of Blackbird Pond and Johnny Tremain, there are many wonderful books to choose from as a nice incentive for reading. Offer is valid in-store and while supplies last so download the form and get reading!


No compensation was received for this post. All images courtesy of Scholastic, Barnes and Noble, and Borders.

Learning on the Go: Teaching Map Reading Skills While Traveling

After spending a gorgeous weekend in New York City with our favorite plastic laminated fold out map, I was reminded that despite living in a high tech age where GPS navigating with technology is becoming more and more common, a child’s natural interest in maps provides a wonderful opportunity to reinforce spatial skills, math, and geography.

Come visit me on The LeapFrog Community where my most latest post, "Learning on the Go: Teaching Map Reading Skills While Traveling" was inspired by our trip to Manhattan where I realized despite my tech-savvy ways and love of accessing Google Maps on my iPhone and the Tilt2's AT&T Navigator, that there's something about a map.

Click here for the full post.

I am a paid contributor to The LeapFrog Community but am not required to share my posts on my site.

Tech Savvy Guest: Travel the World Virtually with ProjectExplorer.org

One of the most powerful things about the world wide web is the way it brings information from all over the globe into our home. I can look up the weather in Cannes, find pictures of the erupting volcano in Iceland for Little Miss Techie, and take a virtual field trip to Egypt to show our kids where their grandparents just traveled. I have always been a fan of virtual field trips and was quite excited to find ProjectExplorer.org.

Today’s Tech Savvy Guests, Matthew Boggie and Jenny Buccos are here to share how your children can cross borders for free via ProjectExplorer.org and travel to places like Jordan and South Africa. Jenny is currently in Cairo and just got word that they will be in Portugal this fall to bring new content to ProjectExplorer.org.

Crossing Borders via ProjectExplorer.org
By Matthew Boggie & Jenny M. Buccos

Educators have always strived to incorporate the latest technology in their classrooms. From filmstrips to Smart Boards, teachers have use technologies to engage their students. With this vital connection between technology and education in mind, ProjectExplorer.org was created to provide students and teachers with free multimedia materials and lesson plans geared toward creating the next generation of global citizens.

ProjectExplorer.org is an award-winning educational website that began back in 2003 to help educate students about the wider world in which they live. Since our inception we've been on the cutting edge of Internet technologies, and have evolved throughout the last seven years to keep pace with the changing educational climate.

In starting the site, I knew that reaching out to every style of learner - readers, listeners, and watchers - was critical, so video was always a critical component for us. When we began production on our first series (Shakespeare’s England), YouTube hadn’t yet launched, and while web video had been around for a little while, we had to write our own rules for creating multimedia experiences online for young users. We focused on delivering Flash Video, since it was the plug in that had the largest base of users. It seems that we picked the right technology, as YouTube and other video sites that launched since then all used this same model.

The online videos we create, and their accompanying educational blogs and other multimedia content, are geared toward learners as young as eight or nine years old, but also work for students in high school and beyond. To accomplish this, we needed to make the site as easy to use as possible, with consistent navigation controls and layout on every page, across every level.

More than that, however, we make sure that our videos and blogs speak directly to students as equals. So many sites, especially those geared toward children, speak in a voice that kids hear as lecturing. We strive to have our on-camera correspondents think and write in a way that shares a student’s natural sense of wonder and amazement. While most of our team has travelled, we are genuinely thrilled to get to see the world through ProjectExplorer.org and when we’re on location we know that enthusiasm comes through in our videos and educational blogs.

Since we launched ProjectExplorer.org the web has changed dramatically, and we, of course, have been changing with it. Some of our content is shared on YouTube and Facebook, to help draw users in who wouldn’t have found us through the usual searches and browsing. We’ve launched our own social networking site on Global Citizenship which driven directly from the interviews we’ve had on location, and through this site we invite students and teachers to contribute their voices to this unique global dialogue.

We’ve also gotten onto Twitter, helping drive traffic as well as wider awareness of global issues and news. We also use Twitter to help get the word out about integrating our site into the classroom linking breaking news and events to the pages we've created. These new methods of communication reach far beyond what email ever could, providing educators immediate access to classroom-ready content and lesson plans.

Parents and teachers alike are embracing the web in all its forms to educate their students, who are way ahead in trying new technologies and experiences. While these new opportunities are great for a wide variety of social and recreational uses, ProjectExplorer.org strives to create experiences that teach and inform. In an increasingly shrinking world where borders matter less and ideas matter more than ever, global awareness is critical to participating in a wider conversation at every age. Using the latest in web technology and communication, ProjectExplorer.org is creating that conversation.

Huge thanks to ProjectExplorer.org for sharing their wonderful site on Tech Savvy Mama!

Since ProjectExplorer is a free site and a nonprofit venture, they would love it if you might consider an online donation to support their mission of raising global citizens through virtual travel.

Matthew Boggie is a Senior manager at Accenture in their Media & Entertainment division. He has served as ProjectExplorer.org’s Technical Director since the organization’s inception in 2003. Jenny M Buccos is the Founder of ProjectExplorer.org and the series Director/ Producer. Ms. Buccos is the recipient of a GOLD Parent’s Choice Award for Excellence in Educational Programming.

No compensation was received for sharing this guest post. All images are courtesy of ProjectExplorer.org. I was asked very kindly by Jenny if I might suggest to my readers to make an online donation to ProjectExplorer.org to support their fall project in Portugal.

Lovable Ralph S. Mouse Comes Alive in Runaway Ralph DVD (w. giveaway)

I loved Beverly Cleary’s books as a child and have passed on my love of her iconic stories to Little Miss Techie and have recently enjoyed watching Runaway Ralph ($14.95), a newly remastered DVD featuring the beloved mouse who comes to life through this live action DVD.

If Ralph sounds familiar, he’s the lovable little motorcycle-riding mouse who has crept into our hearts. The trilogy begins with readers meeting Ralph at the Mountain View Inn where he is gifted with a motorcycle in The Mouse and the Motorcycle, a trip to a school in Ralph S. Mouse, and finally his departure from the inn to a camp in Runaway Ralph.

In the third installment of Cleary’s classic tales building on the hilarious excitement of previous books, Ralph is tired of living at the quaint and quiet inn and dealing with his annoying younger relatives who are always clamoring for rides on his motorcycle. He longs for “a life of speed and danger and excitement.” He certainly gets his wish when he sets off on his mouse-sized motorcycle and meets a series of fur-raising adventures.

After some run-ins with the resident cat at the Happy Acres Summer Camp, Ralph befriends a young boy named Garfield (aka Garf) and helps him through a difficult decision. In this fantastic tale of friendship and growing up, Ralph learns that the wild is not necessarily better than home, even with all its problems.

Perfect for early readers, ages 3 to 8, the 60 minute DVD features an enhanced read-along function and Talk about the Story questions to enhance early literacy skills. Fans of Ralph will love this newly remastered DVD featuring their favorite motorcycle-riding mouse but as Little Miss Techie said, “The movie wasn’t the same as the book!”

Win a copy of Runaway Ralph on DVD by leaving a comment with your favorite Beverly Cleary book and your email or Twitter handle. Winner will be chosen among all entries in approximately one week by Random.org
Thanks to Scholastic Storybook Treasures for providing a copy of the DVD for review purposes and as a reader giveaway. No compensation was received for this post.

Bonjour from....

As many of you may know, I was supposed to embark on my World Tour this week by attending several events held at the Cannes Film Festival. While this sounded like a spectacular opportunity to take the Tech Savvy Mama brand global, it has gone au revoir or kaput.

However, I was able to take a fabulous trip last week


While it wasn’t on Swiss Air or Lufthansa as planned and
didn’t involve a passport, I was upgraded to the A group
and was able to choose my own seat on this flight:


Rather than spending time in the South of France, I was still
able to enjoy some great beach time. I got my toes wet….


And found some shells…


Here.


I enjoyed my daily breakfast of café au lait and croissants


From my local


Even though I wasn’t able to wear my gorgeous
Yummie Tummie Maxi Dress
on the red carpet as planned


I'll enjoy being incredibly stylish on my couch while watching


I loved coming home to find that the Yahoo! Mother Board
surprised me with a delivery of

And I didn't have to miss what was a very

Huge thanks T-Mobile for overnighting me an international SIM card to use while in Cannes, Yummie Tummie for outfitting me with a Maxi Dress and Chiffon Tier Top so I could be red carpet ready (they are letting me keep them as a very generous consolation prize despite my offer to return them), and Yahoo! Mother Board for the bouquet of flowers that greeted me at my doorstep when I got home.

While I could be incredibly disappointed and mad about the fact that this trip came about at the last minute and I made myself crazy making all the necessary arrangements (last minute plane ticket for my mom to come from CA to serve as grandma-in-charge), I'm not. Indeed it was an amazing opportunity but I have been very fortunate to have had some incredible opportunities over the last two years.

When I first started blogging, I dreamt of working with companies like LeapFrog, PBS, Yahoo! , T-Mobile, AT&T, Microsoft, and HP to review the latest and greatest gadgets. Now, not only do I get to review some pretty cool stuff, but I've developed relationships that I never thought I would have and work for companies that seemed so out of reach when I first started. And that's pretty cool for a techie loving teacher!

So yes, I could be disappointed and say mean things about how terrible the company/PR firm/life-is-because-I-don't-get-to-go-wah! but I'm pretty grateful that my little hobby has become so much more, for the many companies and PR people that I get to work with on a regular basis, and for all the other cool things I get to do.

Merci to Yummie Tummie, Clever Girls Collective, and T-Mobile for coming to my rescue at the very last minute even though I had to say au revoir to Cannes!

I was not asked to post about Yummie Tummie or T-Mobile in exchange for the items that they provided for my trip. I am incredibly grateful that I get to work with Yummie Tummie as a brand ambassador, am part of the Clever Girls Collective Clever 1000, and write freelance articles for T-Mobile's 100% You Magazine where I get to try out their latest phones.

Tech Savvy Guest: Caroline from Smarty Pants Mama Shares her Favorite Money Saving Sites

Smarty Pants Mama, aka Caroline, combines her expertise in technology, education and consulting to reach out to fellow moms through Smarty Pants Mama. She finds Smarty Pants Mama to be a great resource for moms, new and veteran, looking for ways of being a smart mama!

Caroline is a true smart mom whose money saving ways have been featured on a Miami - WSVN segment on The Grocery Game where she shared her insights on how smart shopping can save mom hundreds of dollars of month. Caroline and I have known each other in real life for years and today she’s here to share a couple of her favorite ways to save her family money.

Are there websites that can truly save families money? Yes!

Coupons, giveaways, freebies and more. You name it, you search for it, and you will find it online. The cyber world, while bountiful with fabulous resources for moms, can be quite overwhelming for many of us. It’s often a challenge to figure out which sites are worth it and which ones are just junk. As a pretty successful coupon clipping, money saving Smart Mama, I’ll share 2 fantastic online resources.

TheGroceryGame.com

I have saved well over $4000 in 14 months using Teri Gault’s weekly shopping list from TheGroceryGame.com!

The idea behind The Grocery Game is to use a combination of manufacturer coupons with store sales (advertised and unadvertised) to get the lowest possible price of an item.
You will see an item on the list when Teri, founder of The Grocery Game, believes that the price, let’s say of Heinz Ketchup, has hit its rock bottom price. At this point, she recommends to stock up (I have had as many as 4 large ketchup bottles in my pantry.)

This strategy will prevent last minute shopping runs for a recipe, which in turn will typically lead to a full price purchase. The Grocery Game wants you to have all, if not most ingredients, constantly stockpiled in your kitchen. The weekly updated list outlines exactly where coupons can be found (online or in Sunday circular.)

TheGroceryGame.com offers a 4 week trial that is certainly worth it. They also have a great referral program.

Pro: color coded, detailed information on coupons, decent message board to get support
Con: monthly fee after trial period, not updated until mid-Sunday morning

BabyCheapskate.com

In the summer of 2007 my husband and I walked into Target with 60 Target/Gerber coupons. Baby Cheapskate had posted that using this online coupon along with the current pricing of Gerber baby food, a 2-pack could be purchased for 2¢! Sounded unreal! Well, it wasn’t! We walked out with a ridiculous amount of baby food, and spent under $1.00! You should have seen the cashier’s eyes when I kept handing her more and more coupons! Baby Cheapskate had my heart from that moment. For smart mamas of formula drinking, diaper-wearing little ones, Baby Cheapskate is essential. A weekly post details the best deals for diapers and formula. She includes links, coupons information and restrictions. See the site also for other great deals circulating throughout the cyberworld and the real world!

Pro: updates daily for last minute deals
Cons: honestly, I can’t come up with one!

I encourage you to try these sites and see how they can help you and your family be a Smart “Saving” Mama family!

Visit Caroline's site, Smarty Pants Mama for the latest Smart Mama savings ideas, recipes, CPSC product recalls, teachable moments, reviews, giveaways and more! Be sure to let her know you saw her guest post here!

If Caroline looks familiar, you might know her from the Huggies’ Potty Project, a reality web series on potty training that can be found here. She has also presented at various conferences on the role of technology in education and can be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Huge thanks to Caroline for sharing her money saving ways. She pays for her family's subscription to The Grocery Game and was not compensated for this guest post.