Okay, so I haven’t felt this cool in a long time. I know technically, since I’m the Cool Mom Guide, I should feel cool constantly but that’s basically only with  my husband and children.  I never really thought anyone LIKED me (other than my dad, thanks Dr. B).  I know I have some regular readers and commenter’s, but I just assumed I stalked you all into reading me (and I’m grateful I did).

Well, I tuned in to the radio Show, The Classy Closet this morning.  The Classy Closet is hosted by Classy Jen “Keep it Real, but Keep it Classy”, Crassy Kadi “Piss on Proper Manners” and Diva Danielle “Ugly Shoes Make Me Cry!”.  I know you’re all familiar with one if not all of them.  They rule the blogosphere.  They have the Posh Point of View, Keep It Classy, Mommi Mafia, Cowgirl Chic, A Womb At the Inn (Sane) and that’s not even all of them!  They also run the Posh Parent with some friends and almost all of us are a part of that.  If you haven’t joined it yet, you should.  It’s so much fun!

Anyway, they just launched a daily blog show that airs at 9 am Pacific (which translates to 11 Central and noon East coast, took me a second to realize that.  Quite a few actually, considering I was staring at the computer at 11 my time and was freaking out when I realized it didn’t start for another hour).

This daily radio show features news and highlights from around the blogosphere.  I found out about Blogher ’09 (in Chicago this year) and learned about some really cool blogs I didn’t know about.  I got to hear them talk about my own blog, and some posts I’ve written, and that was the COOLEST FREAKIN’ THING EVER.

I suggest you check it out, I attached today’s show to this post (because I’m mentioned and it’s the COOLEST FREAKIN’ THING EVER).  These gals are super smart, super hot and super nice.  They urge us all to tune in daily and to contribute our own thoughts by calling 646-200-0503.  I haven’t called yet, because I’m stuck getting my kid at noon M-W-F, but one of these Tues or Thurs I’ll get the nerve up and give them a shout.  I hate the sound of my voice this time of year.  My sinuses make me sound like Janice on Friends.

So, again, check these gals out.  If you’re not familiar with any of their sites, feel free to explore them and get a feel for these Classy chicks.  I lack class, but I’m apparently Posh so I fit in quite well at the Posh Parent.  I want to thank Jen, Kadi and Danielle for thinking of me.  I’ll be listening to you tomorrow!

The Classy Closet: Meet: THE JIMMIES!!

The Classy Closet

Well, it’s that time of year again.  Time to shop!  With so many choices out there and so little time, I thought I’d put together a list of this years ‘must haves’ to get for your loved ones.

• For Him
• For Her
• For Your Toddler Boy
• For Your Toddler Girl
• For Boys
• For Girls
• For Your Parents/Family
• For Everyone

For Him:

For the guy who grills, you can’t go wrong with Grill Charms.  Similar to wine charms used on glasses to tell who’s drink belongs to who, Grill Charms are dime-sized solid stainless steel charms are placed in your food BEFORE grilling. The stems are serrated to hold securely while grilling, moving and flipping. With 22 collections to choose from, you can get charms to determine the rare, medium-rare or well done steaks and burgers cooked on the grill.  Even better, With The Pink Collection, they donate 10% of the proceeds to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

For Her:

There isn’t a gal (or guy, from what I’m hearing) who doesn’t want a Wii Fit.  Personally, it’s changed my life.  I don’t have the time or motivation to go to a gym or use a boring workout video but the Wii Fit makes working out both easy and fun.  I’ve had 2 kids and it’s the only thing that’s worked to get that baby weight off.

For Your Toddler Boy:

To help teach your child responsibility, compassion and dexterity my favorite game for Jake is Nintendogs for the Nintendo DS Lite.  Owners care for and train their puppy by petting it, walking it and buying it supplies to play with. As a puppy competes in obedience and agility trials, owners can win money to purchase other puppy breeds. There are five versions of Nintendogs each with six breeds available from the beginning. All 18 breeds are unlockable in each version. The pups will vary in gender, color and personality.

For Your Toddler Girl:

New to Nintendo DS is the 21st century baby doll with the new My Baby Girl and My Baby Boy for Nintendo DS. The new baby doll is designed to allow children to nurture, engage and raise their baby at their own pace with their own sensitivities, instincts and style. How they raise and relate to their baby will be their very own personal experience.  My Baby Girl and My Baby Boy are suitable for children ages three years and older and will be available starting November 10, 2008. You can check out a preview for the game here.

For Boys:

The Moonfly Gift Pack is a great gift for boys. Contains one copy of “Moonfly: The Aerial Adventures of Owen and His Captive Moon Balloon” and T shirt with silk screened logo, all in one reusable “adventure” bag. Read about Owen’s fantastic adventures, and see how the “Moonfly” story begins.

For Girls:

Ideal for girls of all ages is the custom jewelery offered at Pickled Tink.  Give them your childs initials or a special word and you can create a special charm, necklace or bracelet with a beautiful vintage background any girl is sure to adore.

For Your Parents/Family:

My gifts year round are always a hit with my parents and extended family because I shop at Vistaprint online.  Not only can you create personalized Christmas cards- saving money uploading your own photos instead of shelling out hundreds to the portrait studios- but you can also create and send personalized gifts to your entire family. From calendars, magnets, hats or t-shirts the only limitations to what you can create are your imagination!

For Everyone:

For a great site to find amazing deals, check out One Goodie on the web.  One Goodie is a product-per-day boutique where they sell only one item for 24 hours or until sold out on each of their sites: One Foodie Goodie and One Mommie Goodie. Prices are always discounted and products are high-end.

If you’re looking for fun for the entire family, you can’t go wrong with Nintendo’s Wii Music.  You can turn an average night in into a concert with up to 4 people playing any of the ove 60 instruments featured.  Make a music video and share it with your friends.  With Wii Music, everyone’s a rock star.  Read my detailed review here.

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One thing you can say about me is that I’m social.  I was social in school and I’m social now.  When I had kids, I joined every SAHM parenting meet-up.  I’ve been on Myspace and Facebook for years.  Once I entered the wonderful world of blogging, I learned of the term ‘Social Networks’ and yelped with glee.

I’m registered with Digg, Technorati and Stumbleupon.  You can find me at Twitter Moms, the Mom Bloggers Club and the Parent Place.  If there’s a place for me to meet and talk to people (while upping my site exposure) I’m on it.

A while back, I came across a new Social Bookmarking site called ‘Mommy Ranks‘.  They’ve recently undergone a site remodel and now it’s cooler than ever.  Mommy Ranks is like Digg for Moms.  It’s free to join, and you just submit a link, type up a summary and then people vote for you if they like you.

What’s more, the site uses screenshots of your site when you submit the article.  You can supply your own shot or the site will take the default shot of  your site to put up.

While I’ll still continue to use all the social bookmarking sites because I have a serious need to constantly socialize, I can say I prefer Mommy Ranks because I know it caters to the same reader base that I read-Moms.  Digg and Technorati are great, but it’s loaded with technical and entertainment blogs.  Mom blogs dominate Mommy Ranks.  I submit my material to the same readers who I’d read, so I know they enjoy reading my stuff as well.

When you get a spare moment, go sign up and explore Mommy Ranks.  You’ll be glad you did.  While you’re there, look for my screenshots and vote for me!!!

A friend of mine at the Parent Place, Suzanne Franco, is on a quest to win Blogging Idol, hosted by Daniel Scocco on his blog, “Daily Blog Tips.” The contest will run from November 1, 2008 through November 30, 2008.

Suzanne asks for our support by asking that you please Visit her site and take a look at her “Blogging for Bucks BootCamp”.  If you like what you see, subscribe to her RSS feed (she’ll explain more about that if you’re not familiar with it) and please vote for her on Daniel’s site.

More details are available from her site, so go check it out and show your support for a fellow blogger!

On October 20, 2008, Nintendo launched their newest game for the popular Wii gaming system, Wii Music.  When I first got it, I thought it was either going to be like Guitar Hero, where you have to hit a specific note at a specific time or like American Idol Karaoke (which I also want lol).

Let me start by saying I come from a very musical family.  My father has the gift of perfect pitch and can also pick up any instrument and play it, even if he never has before.  My brother Chris plays piano and Mark can play the drums and is also a DJ.  While I can play a few tunes on the piano, my specialty (if you can call it that) is singing. (more…)