The Parent Bloggers Network

Back in the Swing of Things

January 5th, 2009

From Hanukkah to Christmas, and from Kwanzaa to New Year’s, we’ve survived another holiday season.

While we love the holidays and look forward to all the joy they bring, putting away the festivities is certainly no party. Between all the decorations, seasonal dinnerware, and party preparations, it’s a chore to return to normalcy.

Tell us how you clean up, pack up and put away the holidays. Do you have a schedule or a system? Have you organized your holiday décor so it’s easy to get to next year? Or are you the neighbor who still has lights on display in June? Let’s hear some good tips on how to get back into the swing of things!

Speaking of tips, the new SC Johnson website - Right@Home - is chock full of them! They’ve got a ton of helpful homecare articles with bite-sized chunks of information about cleaning, cooking, home design, and family fun. We bet you’ll learn something new!

Here’s how to participate:

Write a post on your blog about how you clean up after the holidays (or how you don’t!). Post anytime this weekend - Friday, January 9 to Sunday, January 11 and include links to:

1) http://rightathome.com
2) http://blog.parentbloggers.com

Make sure to send your blog post link to parentbloggers@gmail.com and we’ll round them up here at PBN - so give your post a creative title!

What can you win?

We’ve got a $250 VISA gift card to give away (maid service for post-holiday cleaning, perhaps)! One winner will be chosen at random.

Special bonus: The first 15 bloggers to send in their post links will each win some assorted SC Johnson cleaning products.

NO PRE-SCHEDULED POSTS. You’ve got to publish your post, copy and paste your permalink, and email it to us - anytime after 12:01am ET on Friday, January 9. Placement in the first fifteen bloggers will be based on the order in which we receive your emails, not the date/time stamp on your posts.

We’re looking forward to your posts!

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Posted in Blog Blasts | No Comments »

Parent Bloggers Network Favorite Books for Mom 2008

January 4th, 2009

If you can actually find time and a little bit of quiet that doesn’t involve you looking at the insides of your eyelids, these books should definitely be on your reading list.

Mama Rock’s Rules - “Rose Rock had me right from the statement ‘Being a parent is not about being right, it’s about doing right.’… She made me smile, laugh, and most of all - made me wanna be a better parent!” - Glamorous Geek

Raised by Wolves - “Overall, I liked the chatty, friendly tone of the book. The writer’s style is breezy and humorous. She infuses energy and wit into what could be a very stuffy and staid subject. ” - Midwestern Mommy Reviews

Amazing Baby - “I don’t think you have to be a parent just to enjoy Amazing Baby; after all, we all started out this way.” - Mama Tulip

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Tags: Amazing Baby, Mama Rock's Rules, Raised by Wolves
Posted in Books | No Comments »

New Year, New You, New Blog

January 1st, 2009

Happy 2009 Parent Bloggers Network readers, friends, and members! We’re looking forward to an exciting year of campaigns, Blog Blasts, and other new projects as part of our New Year’s Resolution to help better serve our parent blogging community as a whole.

As we usher in the new year, look for a new swanky blog design in the coming weeks, along with some other cool features that will highlight our awesome clients and equally awesome bloggers.

Also, for the month of January, we’re sponsoring 2009 - The Year of the Mom - and giving away FIVE (count ‘em) $100 gift cards to Spa Finder! You can read about how to participate at Motherhood Uncensored.

If you’re looking for some ways to give your blog a quick new “makeover” for the new year, here are some suggestions:

a) Play with your about page and/or bio! Make it clear as to who you are, what you do, and where else you write.

b) Clean up your sidebars! Retire those “someone gave me this award and I don’t remember who” buttons from last year and start fresh.

c) Play with your template! Flip around to some of your favorite blogs and see how they have things ordered in their sidebars as well as their center column. Sometimes just a little moving around can make a big difference.

A few things to leave in 2008:

- Automatic music playing when you open your blog

- Tags/signatures after every post

- Bad grammar, spelling, and syntax (it’s the year of good writing!)

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Posted in Administrative | 7 Comments »

Parent Bloggers Network Favorite Kid’s Toys 2008

December 31st, 2008

A good toy is hard to find, particularly one that keeps the kids entertained for longer than five minutes. And even though some of these toys require batteries, if they love them, we love them too.

V-tech V-Motion - “For younger children, the V.Motion Active Learning System is a good video game console system. Not only will they learn from the games, they will move their bodies while playing. For a lot of kids, this feature will make learning much more exciting and fun.” My Readable Feast

V-tech Cyber Pocket - “If you’re looking for something to ask Santa for, this might be just what you want.” Zebra Review

Leapfrog Tag - “Totally recommended for geek parents with pre-readers and early readers with money to spare on fun titles (or gifty grandparents).” The Rookie Moms

Hot Wheels - “My daughter, who preached for three days it was DADDY’S TOY and she DID NOT LIKE IT and WOULD NOT PLAY WITH IT literally squealed with delight the first time she got the stunt to work on her own. We have a convert here, folks.” Surrender Dorothy