Lunch with Yahoo.. Shine

We just finished our fist panel sessions. Kelly & Shannon sat in on I Blog Therefore I am...Figuring Out Your Blogging Mojo and Jenn and I sat in on Social Media Can Save Media featuring Lisa Williams from placeblogger.com.

We are now sitting down for a working lunch sponsored by Yahoo Shine.

Shannon & Meghan from Seventh Generation

If it isn't fresh.. it isn't legal!

Just finished dinner at Legal Seafood with the gals from GM. Yummy dinner and great conversation. Thank You, Natalie, Robyn & Lish!
We are off to bed for an early morning of blog, blog, blogging.... stay tuned!

The White Diamond is a girl's best friend

Here we (Shannon, Jenn & Kelly)are with the Saturn of Berlin team: Jill, Nick, Tom, and Jay.

We decided in the car that it would be fun to make a surprise stop at a Saturn dealership on our way to the conference today. So, we just pushed our handy-dandy On Star button and got directions to the nearest dealership and swung by. We stopped at Saturn of Berlin, CT to say hi and have an impromptu photo with the staff there! We posed in front of our super-cool "White Diamond" Saturn Outlook. Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to meet with us, Saturn of Berlin!

Like our matching Chester County Moms t-shirts? They were given to us courtesy of Embroid Me in Lionville.

Road Trip Photo Fun!

Kelly, our professional passenger, riding shotgun.

Jenn and Shannon being silly.

Making our way through Connecticut

There's the Flag Man!

Oh No! Overturned tractor trailer. Just trying to get there safe.

Like our matching Chester County Moms t-shirts? They were given to us courtesy of
Embroid Me in Lionville.

Kid tested.. Dad approved!

The Saturn Outlook parked in my driveway is making a big splash with the neighbors.

Baby, you can drive my car!

The Chester County Moms Blogging team is headed to the Blog Her Reach Out Tour in Boston this weekend and we are road-tripping in style in a brand new Saturn Outlook courtesy of GM.
Our vehicle was delivered this afternoon thanks to Fred Mackerodt, Inc., transportation services.

We are so excited about our trip!
The Saturn Outlook we are driving is fully loaded!Leather seats, power everything, navigation, OnStar (the folks at GM pre-loaded minutes onto the in car phone for our use while we drive to Boston.. how cool is that?)
We are leaving bright and early tomorrow morning and will blogging from the road and all weekend long. You can also follow us on Twitter: ChescoMoms
Boston or Bust!

Build & Grow Workshop at Lowe's

Get ready for Halloween! Bring your child to Lowe’s and they can build this glow in the dark Spooky Skeleton! The Build and Grow Workshops at Lowe's are FREE!

Lowe's - Downingtown (Rt. 30)
Saturday, October 11, 2008

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Please Note: Registration Required. Click Here to register online.

Yom Kippur: A Brief Explanation

Starting at sunset this evening and continuing through to nightfall tomorrow is the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. It is the most important of the Jewish holidays. In English Yom Kippur is referred to as the Day of Atonement. It is actually the last day of the Ten Days of Repentance, which started with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. This is the Jewish year of 5769 and Yom Kippur is always on the tenth day of Tishri, the seventh month on the Jewish calendar.
According to the beliefs of the Jewish people G-d inscribes each person’s fate for the coming year into a book on Rosh Hashana and waits until Yom Kippur to seal the verdict. During this time the Jewish people try to amend their behavior and ask forgiveness for their sins. At the end of the holiday he/she would consider oneself to be absolved by G-d.
Jews most typically observe Yom Kippur by spending time in synagogue and adhering to a strict fast for the duration of the holiday.
For those of our readers who will be observing the holiday we wish you an easy fast and a belated Happy New Year.

Women's Wellness Series - 1st Lecture

Has your hectic lifestyle caught up to you? Join women like you at ACAC for the first night in the Women's Wellness Series sponsored by Paoli Hospital and ACAC.

Wednesday, October 9th at ACAC ( 1130 McDermott Drive, West Chester, PA 19380)

Topic:
Sleepless Nights
Aching Body
Putting Your Health First

Moderator:
Margaret Moses, RD - ACAC Nutritionist

Speakers:
Andrew Frankel, MD - Orthopedic Specialist
Lauren Rome, MD- Sleep Medicine Specialist
Pamela Tedesco, DO - Family Medicine Physician

This session will run from 6:30PM-8:00PM

* Seminars are FREE but, registration is required. Call 866-CALL-MLH or visit mainlinehealth.org

An Usborne Books Giveaway Fit for a Princess!!!

I am so excited for the opportunity to introduce myself and my enthusiasm for reading with an awesome giveaway from Rachel Hagan at Usborne Books. The giveaway includes the Usborne Books Pink Princess Basket seen above. It's a great gift for any princess in your life!

Usborne Books markets over 1300 titles through direct sales, home shows, fundraisers and book fairs. The company and it's consultants are committed to the idea that reading is truly beneficial for our children and their educational future, which is evident in their mission statement:

"The future of our world depends on the education of our children. UBAH delivers educational excellence one book at a time. We provide economic opportunity while fostering strong family values. We touch the lives of children for a lifetime."

The company's mission statement really spoke to me as a mother committed to encouraging her own children's interest in reading. As a former high school teacher, I know the importance of reading, not only for educational success but also as a way to foster a life-long love of learning. We read a bedtime story (or two) each night and Usborne Books provides parents an affordable opportunity to introduce some new books in their nightly routine.

To enter the Usborne Books giveaway, please email contests@chestercountymoms.com with Usborne Books as the email subject. The winner will be chosen at random at 10:00 p.m. on October 15th.

Click here for a chance to win $50 in free books from Usborne Books.

If you are interested in learning more about Usborne Books or wish to get more information on hosting a party or fundraiser, contact Rachel Hagan at hagan221@comcast.net or visit her on the web.

** The winner of this contest MUST be a resident of Chester County and make arrangements to pick up the prize with in 10 days of notification. The winner has 10 days to respond to the "You won" email. If the prize remains unclaimed for over 10 days we will choose another winner**

Close to home...

My friend, K.C was recently diagnosed with Stage 2A Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer. She had a double mastectomy and will under go chemotherapy for 4 months, Herceptin IV infusion treatment for 12 months and hormone therapy for 5 years. All while chasing around her young daughter and running her Mommy business, The Diaper Bag Wrangler. To read more about her diagnosis and treatment plan, click here to vist her blog.

In support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 10% of The Diaper Bag Wrangler sales from 10/1- 10/31 are going to be donated to The Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition.

Click here to start shopping!

Make Up 101 at Calista Grand Salon & Spa

Earlier this afternoon The Chester County Moms Blog Team and 10 friends attended a Make Up 101 Class at Calista Grand Salon & Spa in West Chester. The class was taught by Calista Grand's Make Up Artists....

Jess & Kate

They taught us make up application, what brushes to use and showed us what colors worked best with our skin tones. We all looked beautiful after our make up lesson and felt like a million bucks! Thank you Kate and Jess, you are the best!

Since Jenn and I are headed to Blog Her in Boston this weekend I surprised her with an "Ambush Makeover". Mia was her stylist and did an amazing job. Jenn has two kids and is always on the go so she needed something quick and easy. In less than a half an hour Jenn's split ends and dated Mom haircut was gone and a beautiful, totally hip, trendy mom emerged.

If you have never been to Calista Grand Salon & Spa... you owe it to yourself to make an appointment. Whether you need a fresh new look or a relaxing spa day you will NOT be disappointed! Jenn has never been to Calista Grand before and now is so excited and scheduling spa appointments.

Calista Grand Salon & Spa
Commons of Thornbury
Building 300 · Suite 301
1211 Wilmington Pike
(Crossroads of Routes 926 & 202)
West Chester, PA 19382
(610) 399-6677

We also want to thank the Spa Director, Marianne for organizing such a fun event. We really appreciate all of the time and effort you put in to make sure we had a great day.

Congratulations to Beth S. the winner of a 60 Minute Massage compliments of Calista Grand Salon & Spa

Gal to Gal with Classy Mommy

The Chester County Moms Blogging team attended a benefit for the Gal to Gal Walk at the beautiful home of Philly's own Classy Mommy. There was a great turn out and it was so nice to get out and support such a worth while cause. For more information on The Gal to Gal Walk please click here

The Swag!

The CCM Bloggers
(Jenn, Shannon, Jen & Classy Mommy)

The amazingly delicious dessert!
Compliments of Clay's Creative Corner Bakery
700 Lancaster Ave
Berwyn, PA 19312
(610) 647-2119

National TV Show is looking for 2 Types of Moms

Mike & Juliet in The Morning....

#1: We’re looking for a Mom who considers herself a “Perfectionist” and fully admits to pushing herself and tries to be the best at work, school, in her marriage and of course as a mother. Type A mom who worries about failing and it drives your husband and kids crazy?

#2: We’re looking for a Mom who is a little bit more laid back. Someone who believes mom don’t have to be perfect to be a good Mom. Who believes Moms make mistakes and we’re only human.


If this is you or someone you know, please call email Michelle N. at Mike and Juliet.
michelle.niger@mikeandjuliet.com

Greening your home: Power Down

Vampires, phantoms, and bears, oh my!

Okay, so there aren't any bears in this story. But there are vampires, phantoms, idlers, and warts. We're talking about vampire power, phantom loads, idling standby current, and wall warts however.

These terms all basically refer to the same thing: Electronic devices with two sharp, pointy teeth that latch into your wall sockets and suck electricity day and night, whether they're on or off, charging batteries or not. These can include TVs, VCRs, DVD players, answering machines, iPods, cell phones, stereos, laptops, desktops, anything with a remote, anything with a charger, and anything with a clock display. They are everywhere. Lurking.

Top 10 ways to fight vampires:

Unplug your devices. It's as simple as that. Pull TV/computer/stereo/etc. power cords out of the outlet. If they're not in use or if they're totally unneccesary (are you really going to ever use that VCR player again?), unplug.
Reduce your demand. Sure, electronic gizmos are fun. But do you really need 2 TVs for one room? If the answer is yes, then at least follow No. 6's advice!
Use the other off switch. Many devices also have an 'off' switch in the back. For example, most computers come with one 'soft' power switch on the front, which takes it from standby to on. Separately, there is usually a real 'on/off' switch located in the back on the power supply (near where the power cord goes in).
Turn off your power strip. Plug your devices and chargers into a power strip. And when you're not using those devices, turn the strip off.
Remove chargers from the wall when you're not charging. Your cell phone charger, iPod charger, laptop charger, etc. keeps drawing electricity even if your phone/Ipod/laptop/etc isn't charging. So if your phone says "Charge complete" (or worse, isn't even attached to your charger), pull the charger out of the wall.
Buy Energy Star certified appliances if you're in the market for new stuff. Energy Star takes standby power into account, and devices that qualify for certification draw less energy than others in "off" mode. Some of their best electronic items include cordless phones and audio equipment.
Get a cell phone that tells you to unplug it. Nokia will be rolling out new phones with audible alerts that say, "Battery is full, please unplug the charger." This feature will first appear in models 1200, 1208 and 1650 and will most likely debut in Europe.
Use a smart strip for your computer accessories. These work really well when it's not feasible to unplug your devices. Check out the Isole Plug Load Control. This power strip saves energy by monitoring occupancy. The Smart Strip Power Strip monitors power differences between computers and peripherals. This way, when you shut down your computer, the Smart Strip automatically shuts off the accessories. The Mini Power Minder also works by communicating between your computer and your accessory.
Use a Kill-A-Watt device to measure your electronics' power consumption. It can actually be kind of fun (and definitely enlightening) to run around your house and see how much juice each piece of equipment takes. You'll likely be surprised. (If you want something a little more hardcore, try Watts Up?).
Check out the GreenSwitch wireless home energy control system, which let's you cut power to various electronics quite easily. For other whole house devices and monitoring, this interview that might be right up your alley.

Source: Yahoo! Green

Make Up 101 at Calista Grand

Calista Grand Salon & Spa in West Chester has invited 30 Chester County Moms to a fun day of Make-Up 101 on Sunday, October 5th.

We will learn...
* What brushes work best
* Colors that compliment your skin tone
* Picking the right foundation
* Tips and tricks that will make it easy for you to do at home

Please bring...
* A clean face
* Your make up brushes
* Your camera for before & after shots *


WHAT YOU WILL RECIEVE:
* 20% off any make-up purchases that day
* A FREE make-up lesson valued at $70,

This event will begin at 1:00PM and end at 4:00PM.

Registration Required. Space is limited. Please Register to sarah@chestercountymoms.com by 10/1/08

NBC10's Great Shredder Event

NBC10's Great Shredder Event is back!

When: October 4, 2008
10am-1pm
Where: Delaware County Community College
901 S. Media Line Road, Media, PA 19063-1094


We continue to work with our partners at Iron Mountain to help you shred all of your old unwanted documents to keep you safe from identity theft. Even with technology, one of the most common ways thieves get your information is by going through your trash and finding something that has your name, address and account numbers or social security number. That is why it is so important to shred all of those kinds of documents.

Here's how it works:

Bring all of your old documents.

Do not bring binders, computers discs, videotapes, CDs, or DVDs. We will only be shredding paper!

When you arrive at the mall, leave your stuff in your car and come get in line. When you get to the front of the line, we have volunteers who will go with you to your car, load your documents into huge bins, and then you'll follow them to one of the many Iron Mountain shredding trucks.

There, you'll get to watch your material get shredded right in front of your eyes, so you'll know it's being disposed of properly.

Then you can join us under the NBC10 tent for freebies and more information about protecting yourself from identity theft.


We ask that no businesses come out, because we want to serve as many consumers as possible.

Sad News...

THE GIRLS AT PLAIN JANE ARE SAD TO SAY, THAT AFTER 3 YEARS THEY ARE CLOSING THE DOORS!

50% off the entire store, fixtures included and you know they have super cute stuff there!! Perfect for holiday gifts or just stock up on all your favorites! Paula Dorf!!

Mark the dates you don't want to miss this sale!!
Friday 10/3 - 11 - 9
Saturday 10/4 - 11 - 7
Sunday 10/5 - 12 - 5
Saturday 11/11 - 12 - 5
Saturday 11/18 - 12 - 5

Cash sales only...so remember to bring your checkbook!

Raising Itty-Bitty Bookworms

Tara Rison, a new-to-the-area mommy and founder of Itty Bitty Bookworms, is launching her personal blog and is hosting tons of great giveaways.

Some of the prizes are:
·$25 in products from Discovery Toys
·$35 in products from Thistle Girl Design (graphics)
·$25 in products from Lost River Naturals (organic bath and body products)
·A book of your choice from Barefoot Books
·Children's books from The Itty-Bitty Bookworm
·2 beautiful bracelets

...and much more! So head on over to Raising Itty-Bitty Bookworms right away and keep your eyes open for a great giveaway from Tara and Itty Bitty Bookworms in November.