Don't we all need a little break? With hectic schedules and so many responsibilites it's very hard to find time to ourselves. With the help of Maria Bailey, internationally known Mom expert and author of “The Ultimate Mom”, host of Mom Talk Radio, Founder of BlueSuitMom.com, Co-Founder of Newbaby.com and Founder of Mom Select, the first ever National Mom’s Nite Out is planned. The National Mom’s Nite Out is the first nationally organized celebration of motherhood intended to bring together today’s moms, physically and virtually, The National Mom’s Nite Out will unite over 150 social media groups, companies, local playgroups, mommy bloggers and mother social networks in giving moms a well deserved night off.

When
Thursday, May 7, 2009 (Thursday before Mother’s Day)
Where
Online, On Twitter, In Social Network Sites, In-home and In Sponsoring Retail Locations
Who
The National Mom’s Nite Out is being orchestrated by Maria Bailey, Host of Mom Talk Radio and author of “The Ultimate Mom Book” as well as top Mom Websites, Newbaby.com, BlueSuitMom.com, and MomSelect.com. Simon Property Group, Inc, the largest operator of regional malls, is a host event sponsor of The National Mom’s Nite Out and will provide venues for moms to attend local events in their cities.

Going on a kid-friendly vacation doesn’t have to mean wearing mouse ears or getting sand in your shorts. Stay close to home or hop in the car for a road trip. The following destinations will give your family memories to last a lifetime without needing a passport.

Great Wolf Lodge-Wisconsin Dells, WI
With a 100,000 sq. ft. indoor and outdoor water parks, toddler playzones, a kid-friendly spa, huge arcade and 24 hour Fitness Room this resort has something for everyone. Many of the rooms, suites and condos include a mini fridge, fireplace, Wi-Fi and park passes.

Pennsylvania Dutch Country-Lancaster, PA
Amish country isn’t just horse & buggys. Hershey Park and Dutch Wonderland are 2 of the largest attractions but with Hot Air Balloon rides and petting zoos and children’s museums your stay doesn’t have to be stuck in long lines. With the right timing you can enjoy the Lancaster Ghost Tour, the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire or the Kutztown Folk Festival.

The Tyler Place Family Resort, Highgate Springs, VT
Allowing Parents and children to enjoy activities together and alone is what keeps families coming back year after year. With “camps’ designed for every age group from infant to age 15 and separate activities for adults there will never be a dull moment of your vacation.

Portland, Oregon
With the famed Portland’s Children Museum, Oregon Zoo and North Clackamas Aquatic Park you children will fall in love everything they see. Make it a green vacation with a visit to the Forest Park Conservancy, a 5,000 acre forested wilderness in the city of Portland.

Hyatt Wild Oat Ranch, San Antonio, TX
Float down a lazy river or make some smores in a fire pit. Adults can enjoy a round of golf at the acclaimed Hill Country Golf Club while the kids attend Camp Armadillo while being a short distance to the Alamo, Seaworld, Six Flags and San Antonio’s Riverwalk.

GreenFestivals.org is the place to be to learn about all of this and so much more about sustainability. A joint project of Global Exchange and Green America, this expo is showing you how to increase “green” for people, business and communities.

''Think of Green Festival™ as a walk through a sustainable community. It begins with finding solutions to help make our lives healthier—socially, economically and environmentally. Individuals along with business and community leaders come together to discuss critical issues that impact us at home and abroad. Organizations and businesses showcase programs and products that restore the planet and all that inhabit it. Neighbor-to-neighbor connections are formed, and skills are shared to empower people to create positive change in the world.

See the most recent developments in renewable energy and green technology; sample Fair Trade chocolate and coffee (yes, they really do taste better); and learn how to invest in your community, green your home and avoid products made in sweatshops."

While the Green Festival has already happened in Seattle, March 28 & 29, it may be coming to your town soon
Denver May 2-3
Chicago May 16-17
Washington DC October 10-11
San Francisco November 13-15

For more information on tickets or to view the list of exhibitors visit GreenFestivals.org.

pam, April 6, 2009 2:43 PM 4
Tweet:http://twitter.com/ccmouse/status/1464502589
Thank you for the opportunity to win:)

(emailing you now Pam, thanks for entering)

I’ve found the most rockin’ product for little ones, Little Fit. If you are like me you are always looking for cool stuff for the kids. Little Fit makes the cutest trucker and baseball flex hats. They come embroidered and embellished and screen printed and blank. Whatever your style you will find something to LOVE.

Here is Shae in her Butterfly embroidered hat. It’s pink and girly like her but also very Rock & Roll. It has the most precious rhinestone embellishment she points at and says “pretty”. She tilts it to the side and wears it backward and pull it over her eyes. She got the “big” size, 18 months-4/5 years and it fits great with plenty of room to grow. She manhandles everything and this hat is no different. It is withstanding stuffing in the toybox, stepping all over it and tug-a-war with other toddlers. It still looks great, the workmanship and quality if superb and I look forward to years of wearing.
“There seemed to be a real shortage of high quality, "cool" hats that actually fit our toddler's head. Like most parents, we've had lots of ideas about improving children's products and decided to run with this one. So we went to see a man about some hats and... Little Fit was born.”
Did you think I would just show you something so stinkin’ adorable and not share the love. Little Fit is giving one of my readers a hat of their very own.

MANDATORY ENTRY:Visit Little Fit and take a look at all the great hats, come back and leave me a comment letting me know which hat you would pick. (non-bloggers are welcome to enter. Be Sure To Leave a Valid Email Address)
Extra Entries: Mandatory Entry must be done first. Leave a new comment for each action taken

• Follow LookWhatMomFound on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway (Copy & paste each day for an additional entry: Little Fit giveaway @lkwhtmomfound Adorable! http://www.lookwhatmomfound.com/2009/04/little-fit-review-and-giveaway.html
• Follow LookWhatMomFound publicly (button on right sidebar)
• Grab my LookWhatMomFound button or add LookWhatMomFound to your blogroll
• Blog about this giveaway with links back to Little Fit & LookWhatMomFound
• Join PlayDate Picks Forum, leave an introduction let me know your member name

If your entries do not follow the rules, they will not be eligible to win.
Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on Wednesday April 22, 2009. If the prize is not claimed within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen. I will email prize winner and also post winners name here on this post LookWhatMomFound.Winner will be chosen at Random! I will be using Random.com to select the winner. Contest open to U.S. & Canada residents only.

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What do you say to young ones when someone close has passed away? How do you explain heaven? How do you explain death?
This book is a touching story of Maria Shriver explaining all of these things to her children when they lost their grandmother Rose Kennedy many years ago.

“Heaven isn’t a place you see,” she explained. “It’s somewhere you believe in.”

The story approaches topics like funerals and the death of pets and distinguishing between body and soul. These are great beginnings to further conversations with your own children. The explanation of heaven is lovely and delicate it isn’t over the top with descriptions of pearly gates and harps and golden statues. It delivers a vision of peace and comfort that a child may comprehend without fear.

This beautiful and touching book, What’s Heaven was written by Maria Shriver and illustrated by Sandra Speidel. I recommend it even if you haven’t lost anyone. I’m not sure what my reason was for buying this several years ago but it is going to be helpful today.

Death has put its hand on our family this week. My grandmother, Mom Mom passed away very suddenly yesterday afternoon so I will be scarce for a couple days as we handle some details and arrange services. We’ve explained her death to the children but this should be a little more comforting.
Here is my Uncle Mickey and my father (right) with Mom-Mom.

Here is Mom Mom holding Shae for the first time she's less than 2 weeks old.

Walking is a must for everyone. Whether you are walking to work, school, for fun or for exercise we all do it at some point during the day. My problem with walking especially in the summer is I love to wear flip flops; they are my all time favorite. During the summer I wear flip flops every day, every single day. My feet are paying the price now but that won’t me from stop wearing them, I just switched to something better for my feet.

Thanks to FitFlops I’ve been wearing a pair of WalkStar III for about a week now and while I can’t claim that they have toned my calves and thighs I can say that my feet don’t hurt at the end of the day or when I wear running shoes like they used to. “It’s the Flip Flop, with the Gym built in” is FitFlops claim and the testimonials speak for themselves. They fit tight against the top of my foot so they don’t actually flop around as much as my other flip flops and my foot fits nicely inside the sole instead of sliding around. With this secure fit I find myself not clenching my toes to keep the shoes on and taking smoother steps almost like I was wearing sneakers. I received a black pair which are perfect for most everything but I might buy myself the bronze or super cute purple for something fun for summer.

Here are the claims that Fit Flops makes to its wearers

1. FitFlop midsoles incorporate patent-pending micro-wobbleboardTM technology, to give you a workout while you walk. Developed by Darren James and Dr David Cook at LSBU, the FitFlop's unique safely -tapered midsole places varying densities of EVA under your feet each time you step, to challenge the support and balance muscles of the foot and leg.
2. They challenge hard to reach muscles more. FitFlops are engineered with a multi-density midsole that stimulates your muscles more while you're wearing them. In independent University testing, FitFlops have been shown to trigger increase gluteal muscle response, increased hamstring response, increase rectus femoris (thigh) response and increased calf muscle response .
3. Every step you take in your FitFlops helps tone and trim your legs: Studies at Salford University by Dr. Philip Graham-Smith and Richard Jones have shown that the FitFlop midsole extends the amount of time that the slow twitch* muscles are engaged during each step (by approximately 10-12%). So just by wearing a pair of FitFlops you'll get more exercise while doing just exactly what you're normally doing. (*slow twitch muscles produce energy by converting fats into energy aerobically)
4. FitFlops work your bum muscles more. FitFlops have been proven to increase the amount of time that the gluteus maximus muscle is 'activated' during every single step.
5. FitFlops have been shown to have a significant effect on the toning muscles of your thighs: The rectus femoris muscle (one of the large muscles in the group of muscles in your thigh) is activated for a longer period of time while walking in FitFlops than while normally shod or barefoot .
6. Walking in FitFlops is like walking barefoot, but a little bit better. According to a study done at the University of Salford in Manchester, UK, the FitFlop wearer's gait is very similar to that of a barefoot walker, but the added cushion provided by the EVA midsole helps reduce joint strain and absorb shock. In fact, several FitFlop wearers have already reported relief from back pain after a few days of wearing them.
7. FitFlops make it easier to stay in shape. Just throw them on while you're running errands, walking to work, or working around your house. Most first-time FitFlop wearers report feeling their muscles working more, while 'fitter' wearers feedback has been more toward great comfort and cushion. One woman reported feeling like she'd had a 'bum-blasting' workout after a half an hour of FitFlop-shod walking.

FitFlops can be found at Bath and Body Works, Macy's and Victoria's Secret.

I'm a terrible award receiver. This Uber Amazing Blog Award was given to me by Betty of It's Me Betty over a week ago and being the slacker that I am I'm just getting around to accepting. I know I suck.

If you are looking for fun songs and crafts for your toddler through preschooler (and sometimes even older) look no further. Allie at NoTimeforFlashCards is your gal. You can see my previous review and interview with Allie here.
Shae's favorite song is Owl Song with Shark Attack a close second.
Thanks Allie for an awesome song. As you can see Shae loves it and you can also hear Shaun singing in the background. (turn up your sound)

What if we got our food from the sky? I’m not talking the rain that feeds the crops, I’m talking bowls of spaghetti and meatballs with loaves of garlic bread literally falling from the sky. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs tells this exact tale.

In the small town of ChewandSwallow it doesn’t rain rain or snow snow; instead it they get their 3 meals a day from the sky. All is well for many years until the weather take a turn for the worse and the food gets larger more of up crashes down on them. Their town in virtually destroyed by tomato tornados and giant pancake that lands atop the school.

That pancake was so enormous in size and massive in weight there was no way to remove it so they had to close school. The people of ChewandSwallow have to make a decision to survive. They make boats from giant stale peanut butter sandwiches and set sail for new land. When they arrived in their new land they had a new life to learn. Food now had to be purchased in stores not caught on plates. This was a very new idea but they knew this had to be the way since no one wanted to go back to ChewandSwallow because they were too scared.

This is an entertaining book for preschoolers through adults. The illustrations by Rin Barrett are vivid and dramatic and the story-telling by Judi Barrett is captivating. This is a favorite in our house.

Sony Pictures is releasing an animated film loosely based on the book this fall. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will be based on an inventor that discovers a way to make food fall from the sky. The city looks more like New York City not a small town of ChewandSwallow. It’s something we’d definitely see but know to expect some difference in the story.