Amy, Influencer Marketing, Sunnyvale office

Author Archive

New School Year, New Goals for Mom Too

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

It’s funny, September has always felt a lot more like the beginning of the year to me than January. There’s something about summer coming to an end, the evenings growing crisp and the start of a new school year that fill me with hope, excitement and—quite honestly—a bit of anxiety.

Since I only have one kid in preschool, I certainly don’t feel the pressure of back-to-school shopping lists, impending homework assignments or endless volunteer sign-up sheets like many moms do. But I can’t help but feel my heart tug as I send my son off into the world with a new teacher, new classmates and new opportunities to learn and gain independence.

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Our family has just a week until school starts and I’m realizing I need to kick into high gear. Luckily the Yahoo! Mother Board has provided me with great inspiration and motivation. (more…)

Posted in Family time | No Comments »

A Working Mom’s Favorite “To Do”

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

Bragging about my kids at work is one of my favorite pastimes (which makes this whole blogging thing all the more perfect for me). But a couple times a year, I get to take my mama pride to a whole new level. I get to actually bring them with me. Last Friday was one of those pride-filled, crazy-making days. It was Yahoo! Family Fun Day!

Instead of my computer bag, I grabbed the diaper bag. I wiped the ketchup from the corners of my boys’ mouths (though it was quickly replaced with cotton candy loveliness) and headed to campus. Bouncy houses, bubbles, bands…it’s was a kids’ dream come true. And, let’s face it, getting to spend a little time parading my boys around was a dream come true for me, too.

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Posted in Family time, Jobs at Yahoo!, Place: Sunnyvale | 1 Comment »

The Mother of All Conferences

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

There are days I’m especially proud to be a mom. Or a Yahoo. Or even a blogger. Last Thursday and Friday—at the Yahoo! Mother Board Summit—I got to celebrate being all three. (All in 140 characters or less!)

Over 60 women from around the U.S. and Canada, who had formed virtual friendships online as part of the Yahoo! Mother Board, finally came together and met face to face at our welcome reception. Eyes lit up with recognition and shoulders relaxed as the moms stopped worrying about the kids they’d kissed goodbye and started diving into conversation (and mojitos, of course). Listening to these inspirational women chatting at the party, there was no doubt this was going to be one great exchange of ideas.

And it was.

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On Friday morning the group arrived at Yahoo! headquarters. (more…)

Posted in Events n' conferences, Place: Sunnyvale | 8 Comments »

Smart Ways to Keep Your Family Safe Online

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

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In honor of National Internet Safety Month in June, Yahoo! released some interesting data from a survey of 2000 U.S. Internet users done to gain insight into consumers’ behaviors and perceptions around online safety. The good news, parents are doing pretty well—Yahoo! gave them a B+. The better news, our Yahoo! Mother Board got the opportunity to speak with Catherine Teitelbaum, Director of Child Safety at Yahoo!, and now we’re all a bit smarter and sharing the insights we learned about keeping families like ours safer online.

Here’s the summary in numbers:
• 70% of parents talk to their children about online safety at least 2-3 times a year; 45% talk to their children least once a month.
• 74% of parents are connected to their children’s profiles on social networking sites.
• 71% of parents have taken at least one action to manage their children’s use of the Internet or cell phones. Parents are checking to see where children are searching online, setting time limits, setting parental controls on video sites, and using filters to limit where their children go on the Web.

And huge kudos to dads:
• 71% of dads (compared to 63% of moms) say they are taking at least one action to help manage their children’s online behavior, including having conversations about respecting the privacy of others and checking their children’s privacy settings. (more…)

Posted in Family time | 2 Comments »

From Anti-Soccer Kid to Pro-Soccer Mom

Friday, June 11th, 2010

It turns out you don’t have to drive a minivan across town at 7a.m. on a Saturday morning to be a soccer mom. You can simply have an 18-month old who chases his big brother around the front lawn while dribbling a shiny ball, and counted “soccer” and “goal!” as two of his first words. Or a 4-year old who insists on wearing shin guards, soccer shorts and the Sweden jersey his grandparents bought him as a souvenir to every single “game” where he doesn’t even make contact with the ball. But that smile and enthusiasm he has out there on the field, those are what make him a dedicated soccer kid. And me a proud soccer mom.

I never played soccer as a kid—and honestly, never really cared for the sport until my kids fell in love with it. Now I play it every day (yes, we even play in the garage when it’s raining), and I love the passion my boys show out “on the field”. We laugh, we get great exercise and I can see that we’re all showing signs of improvement.

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And today, as the World Cup begins, I find myself surprisingly excited to share in this experience with my kids. (more…)

Posted in Events n' conferences, Family time, Parenthood | 1 Comment »

Seven Years and Itching For More

Monday, June 7th, 2010

Today is our 7-year wedding anniversary. And it’s funny, until we went away over the weekend, I hadn’t thought of it as a milestone year. But as we told people we ran into along our adventures what we were celebrating, the seven-year itch jokes began. I couldn’t help but wonder, should I be itching? (Besides the patches of sunburn that grace my typically bathing-suit-phobic skin, that is.)

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While our marriage certainly isn’t perfect, I know that “perfect” wasn’t in our vows. I’m afraid I can’t tell you what was exactly—our 5-pound wedding notebook made its way into the attic when Dr. Seuss and Sandra Boyton took over the few bookshelves our teeny house holds. But I know the traditional better and worse, sickness and health, along with some not-as-traditional phrases made the cut. And, as fate would have it, there have been years where the scales have tipped toward the undesirable half of each phrase. But we haven’t just “survived” as people have joked. We’ve built a life—and started two new ones—together. (more…)

Posted in Family time, Parenthood | 6 Comments »

Making A Difference In Our Own Ways

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Volunteerism. The word inspires some people to take action and makes others run and hide. These days, it seems, it’s doing more of the former. One year after President Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, Yahoo! uncovered some pretty amazing stats about the increase in online searches for volunteering. In fact, from May 2008 to April 2009, searches for “volunteer work” had a 653% spike on Yahoo! Search. Perhaps it’s an online Obama effect, unemployment freeing up people’s time or even the Web and social media making volunteer opportunities more accessible. Whatever the case, it’s good news.

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We asked the Yahoo! Mother Board to share their experiences with volunteerism and got a lot of great perspectives. It’s All About Balance shared her heartwarming story of how people stepped up to help her when she reached rock bottom. And now she’s paying it forward and teaching her children wonderful life lessons. Hormone Colored Days’ husband made the most of a tough situation as well by volunteering while he was out of work.

Some moms jump at the chance to be involved in every opportunity that comes to them. Bonngamom is one of the many Yahoo! Mother Board members who loves to volunteer at her kids’ school to connect with her children—and get a peek into their world beyond home. I love the approach Coast 2 Coast Mom has taken with her family who has moved frequently. They explore and connect with their community by participating in various charity walks and races in the greater NYC area.

As for me, I couldn’t help but relate to JavaMom who said that she falls into both categories: super-volunteers and slacker moms. Just like her, if you ask people in my various worlds, I’m one extreme or the other. While I would love to be an active part of my neighborhood (which has a bizarre, but wonderful number of ways to be involved), my son’s preschool, local charities and friends’ various walks, races, etc., I can only do so much well.

I’m trying to learn to say yes and no—at the right times. I was inspired by Chefdruck Musings who said, “Now when I say yes, I never do it in the heat of the moment, regardless of the pleading eyes directed at me. I take the time to consider the good my contribution will do and how much time it will take away from my family.” The bottom line for me is that I want to enjoy the volunteering I do, dive in and do a great job and inspire my kids to be do-gooders in the process.

Happy volunteering…however you choose to do it!

*For more posts on Volunteerism read the blogs of the Yahoo! Mother Board!*

Posted in Family time, Giving back, Parenthood, Tips and tricks | No Comments »

The Sweetest Mother’s Day Gift

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

Those of you who know my husband know he’s a pretty amazing gift giver. He’s extremely thoughtful, generous and creative. This Mother’s Day was no exception. He and the boys surprised me by sending me away to the local Westin for a night to enjoy some “me” time. They decorated the room with flowers, musical cards (this was the first year Munch could actually write his name!), candy, wine and magazines.

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At 4 years old, my husband trusted Munch with the secret. He knew for a week and worked so hard not to tell. One time he even sang quietly, as if to convince himself, “I have a secret and I’m not going to tell.” And he almost made it. Almost. But when they came back from their last pre-celebration errand, he shouted, “Mom, we saw a limo at your hotel!”

It was ok though. I had my suspicions. This glorious tradition started last year when I was at the end of my rope after just returning to work from maternity leave and having a sick baby who hadn’t slept more that a 2-hour stretch in a couple months. (And, hey, if that’s what it took to be a spoiled for a day, so be it.) (more…)

Posted in Family time, Me-time, Parenthood, Place: Sunnyvale, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Four Injuries and a Funeral, A Lesson in Gratitude

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

You know how they say bad things happen in threes? Well, somehow my family seems to be the exception to that rule. Multiples of three maybe, but it never seems to stop at three.

In the past week or so my mom has come down with shingles (I know, technically not an injury, just go with it), I’ve re-injured my mysterious bruised ribs/torn muscle, my dad—whose mobility is already limited due to the effects of brain cancer—fell and broke his leg, and my brother got in a bike accident that left him with road rash, a concussion and a bruised arm bone. On top of all of that, my sweet aunt who loved and lived life with such zest passed away.

Cue the violins…I know.

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Truly, I’m not sharing all this to gain sympathy—we all go through hard times. But this time of insanity has given me a bit of perspective. Don’t get me wrong, there are days I just want to scream. There were times in my life when one of these incidents would have pushed me over the edge—and the collection is certainly overwhelming at times—but today I find myself filled with gratitude. (more…)

Posted in Family time, Place: Sunnyvale | 6 Comments »

Yodeling Mamas