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 JerseyLove Social Media For Social Good Trip
The Social Media for Good #JerseyLove retreat is being sponsored by D6 Sports and Caesar’s Entertainment. This includes accommodations, meals and transportation. All opinions are my own.
And, we are off to a wonderful weekend of Social Media for Social Good #SoGo to shine our light and love to New Jersey’s Beaches after Hurricane Sandy left a lot of dark days for much of the Jersey Shore.
We spent our first full day in Belmar, one of the worst hit beach towns by Hurricane Sandy! D’Jais, Belmar’s popular nightlife spot, hosted our group for the day. I didn’t know they got super crafty after suffering severe damage from Hurricane Sandy. They thought of the fabulous idea to sell pieces of the damaged dance floor to those that danced the night away many times in the past and would cherish owning this memorabilia from this happening night life dance spot. Many people bought up the pieces of the old dance floor (hey if I had super memories from D’jais like meeting my sweetie there or lots of summer fun night’s out, I would have been waiting to purchase a piece of my past too). D’Jais raised $20,000 to donate to Belmar’s Sandy Relief Fund. They hosted a delicious day for our day at Belmar Beach. I can’t wait to go back in the evening and check out that new dance floor in my dancing shoes!
While in Belmar, we were treated to surf lessons from Hangten and got a sneak peak at the surfskimmer which is a creative new product that just launched, designed by D6 Sports available just in time for our summer fun! I especially loved this summer beach product because it helps children of all ages shred the waves close to the shore, much like a skimboard but with a sturdy handle for our children to feel secure as they begin skimming, making us parents feel more comfortable letting the little ones try skimboarding safely. And, it’s not over once they feel confident in their new skills. Once the child or adult (ahem, I would like to learn too) is secure in their skimboarding skills, the surfskimmer has a removable handle (much like removing training wheels from bicycles) so this entry level skimboard becomes a traditional skimboard .
I have a D6 Surfskimmer coupon code for you: jerseylove will get you 20% off a surfskimmer for your little one or for a summer birthday gift idea (this is what I intend on doing…shhh, don’t tell the little ones with Summer birthdays in my life). Honestly I believe in D6′s creative new product that is fun and builds confidence in children so much that if D6 would ask me to fly around to beach destinations throughout our country or other countries, I would show parents along the shorelines everywhere how they can feel at ease while their little ones learn to skimboard safely with the surfskimmer. Hey, D6 would probably get some amazing footage too! But, they would have to send me to each destination with hundreds of surfskimmers to sell, because you know once I give a few children this product to go shred some surf, the rest of the children on the beach are going to want to join in on the fun immediately! Plus, it will create such a stir, I’m sure the local shop owners are going to want a supply for their shelves before I leave town. Because they know parents are going to think this new cool summer fun beach product must have been purchased at the local surf shop. We couldn’t leave the surf shops empty handed like that, setting them up for disappointing so many children would just be sad!

Even before participating in the first of its kind #SoGo event (Social Media for Social Good), I’ve always volunteered and have been heavily involved in my community through local volunteering and community service projects for humanity in general, so of course I jumped at the opportunity to participate in the #JerseyLove Retreat designed to bring awareness to the Jersey Shore in order to revitalize New Jersey’s economy, a state heavily supported by the summer economy of beach goers. The major mission of this service project was to help stimulate the economy by letting the online audiences of the bloggers in attendance from New Jersey Digital Moms & Social Media Moms know the New Jersey Beaches ARE open for business this summer, AND they are better than ever thanks to people like, Mayor Matt from Belmar NJ finding a silver lining in Sandy’s aftermath.

Belmar Beach has been on my radar for years, but its actually making me consider not having to leave New Jersey for a great family beach vacation destination. He has created better beaches that are more mom friendly with cleaner, bigger bathrooms and has plans which include showers in the near future at New Jersey’s Belmar Beach. I quote Major Matt in his speech to our group, “We want Belmar to be known as the Mom’s Beach”. So, this mayor has been making strides in upgrading his beach town by focusing on positive actions as one chapter ends and another begins. Seriously, as a Mom, after a day at the beach with your child, being able to shower your child and dress them in clean clothes for evening festivities or even pajamas if you intend on hitting the road for home as the sun sets is a welcome amenity that goes a long way towards making a huge difference in my decision for which beach town to visit for a more enjoyable day trip to the beach.
I was impressed to learn Mayor Matt is placing donated funds directly in the hands of displaced families. Cash in hand goes a long way when disaster strikes in meeting some of the more immediate needs of the people that live in the town year round. D6, one of our generous sponsors for this #SoGo trip gave MayorMatt a $5,000 check for the residents of Belmar the day we visited Belmar Beach, one of the worst hit beaches along the Jersey Shore during Hurricane Sandy! I liked D6′s new product, the surfskimmer before that donation, but I can’t deny that the benevolence of D6 Sports towards the residents of Belmar didn’t make me like D6′s new, cool surfskimmer just a little bit more .

Before this trip to AC, I didn’t know just how much Atlantic City had to offer. #DoAC had me wondering, what else can you do besides casinos and the beach while in AC? For example, I had no idea how well kept the family owned and operated, Steel Pier is and about their amazing renovations plans over the next few years, which include 60% of all rides to be under cover to be enjoyed rain or shine. That’s huge travel insurance for us moms while deciding on a vacation destination for the family! Steel Pier is not affiliated with a casino, which I had no idea. This makes me want to go even more and get even more excited to share a sneak peak at the new look of Steel Pier!

I’ve always loved the beach, so finding out Caesars, another one of this #SoGo trip big sponsors, had a beautiful beach front location with chairs, umbrellas and beachside food/beverage service right to where you were sitting on the beach…WOW…reminded me of being in a remote location at a fancy resort. I had to check that I was still in New Jersey. Very cool indeed! As if being able to enjoy refreshments without having to lug my own beach gear wasn’t enough, this casino was filled with upscale restaurants and café eateries alike….whatever mood you were in or amount of money you felt like spending would be easily accommodated here at Caesars Casino. Also, there’s just something to be said about a room with a beautiful view of the beach and ocean as well as being able to watch the TV embedded in the bathroom mirror while you are getting yourself ready for the day…very innovative; I was pleasantly amazed with my entire stay at Caesars!
 
Right outside the Caesars Casino they have the beautiful pier shops. I found the most amazing must #DoAC activity. It appeared that every hour on the hour there was a beautiful, colorful, set to music water light show that had my attention so much it made me just a little bit late for our next event. I mean it, I was peacefully mesmerized as was everyone that was lucky enough to find this little hidden gem of AC. Young and old sat in amazement as we watched approximately a 15 minute show with water dancing to music in colorful patterns. I have to say, and many of the other bloggers will tell you I said it a lot (okay a lot, a lot) it’s a must see. It’s free and just amazing!

All-in-All…I will be adding many New Jersey Beach towns to my summer ideas list of things to do, day trips to take and yes NJ is now in my mind as being worthy of a complete family vacation destination. I’m impressed with all AC is right now as a family destination and has in the works to become in the near future. AC along with Belmar’s Mom Beach and all the other fabulous beach towns with amazing boardwalks is a complete affordable package for a fabulous family vacation destination worthy of your attention!!

A little tip of a really neat event Atlantic City is hosting this September: Sweat AC will be September 21 & 22, 2013 with lots of celebrity trainers & lifestyle experts, including two I would love to workout with: Jillian Michaels with BODYSHRED and Shaun T with INSANITY. Click here for more info on this two day Atlantic City Health and Fitness Event.
As always, please leave your comments below on anything you can add to this article on New Jersey Beaches, Atlantic City, Belmar, Social Media for Social Good or any other topic relevant to this post.
 The Jersey shore is back and so is the summer fun! And this summer there’s a NEW way for the kids to have fun in the ocean, so we’re throwing a party to introduce you to it: the D6 Surfskimmer!

You can learn more about the D6 Surfskimmer and also have a chance to WIN IT and other goodies at the #Surfskimmer #JerseyLove Twitter Party! Hang Ten D6 Sports and the #JerseyLove Social Media For Social Good Moms are headed to the Jersey shore next week to give #JerseyLove! We will be surfing, our kids will be surfskimming and with the generous support of D6 Sports, we will be making a donation to Belmar, NJ Mayor Matt Doherty for families that were displaced after Super Storm Sandy.
Help us spread the word to give #JerseyLove and meet our friends at Hang Ten D6 Sports.
HOSTS: @D6SurfSkimmer @SMMoms @DawnSandomeno @hollywoodhotmom @njdigitalmoms
WHEN: Monday June 3rd – 9 – 10 PM ET
WHERE: #Surfskimmer and #JerseyLove with Tweetgrid: http://bit.ly/1163gqw
PRIZES: D6 Surfskimmers, Hang Ten Gift bags and Shaun White Supply Co. Helmets
HOW: Follow #jerseylove #hangten and #surfskimmer hashtags and tweet with us. You MUST RSVP and Tweet to WIN . Enter your information below.
Meet the Social Media For Social Good team and follow them on twitter below.
You can join them again LIVE online on Friday, June 7th in Belmar, NJ
by following the #JerseyLove hashtag and #Surfskimmer.
First- Of- Its- Kind Product Takes Over California And New Jersey Beaches With Bi-Coastal Launch
Introduction of Must-Have Summer Product at Zack’s Pier Plaza in Huntington, CA June 1st with Belmar, NJ Boardwalk Reopening Celebration June 7th
COSTA MESA, CA – May 31, 2013 – D6 Sports, distributor and manufacturer of sporting goods focusing on the action sports and wheeled categories, today announced the debut of its first product, the SurfSkimmer, an innovative skimboard with gripper technology designed to give kids a chance to skim and advance quickly within minutes on the water.
“We are proud to announce the arrival of our first product, the SurfSkimmer,” said Jeff Balaban, Senior Vice President, D6 Sports. “We have licensed brands and produced incredible sporting goods for many years, but to unveil our very own product that also happens to fall in to a new category in action sports is very exciting to us.”
Debuting for public test runs at Zack’s Pier Plaza in Huntington Beach on June 1st, the SurfSkimmer offers kids a hands-on skimboard experience that is both fun and safe. The SurfSkimmer is designed with gripper technology, a stable handle and sleek design allowing the board to glide effortlessly over the white wash giving kids the opportunity to experiment and excel in skimboarding. The handle easily comes off so each board has the ability to act as a traditional skimboard. The 2-in-1 functionality allows for easy learning and advanced maneuvers.
D6 Sports will also join over 40 women from Social Media Moms and New Jersey Digital Moms at the #JerseyLove Retreat in Belmar, NJ June 7th. Coming from all over the country, the moms will convene for the first time ever to utilize their social reach to help raise awareness for and promote the reopening of the Jersey Shore for the 2013 summer season. Now that the official ceremonies are over, the women want to document real families, moms and kids having fun to show the world that the Jersey Shore is still a great place to vacation and visit. They will do this by experiencing it in real life and telling their stories virtually on a myriad of social media platforms.
“I am a New Jersey native who has, literally, hundreds of friends and family members who were affected by Sandy so when we learned of this event, we had to get involved,” said Ben Young, Vice President of Creative and Marketing for D6 Sports. “We have partnered with Eastern Lines Surf Shop to treat the moms to surf and stand up paddleboard lessons, while we introduce kids to the new SurfSkimmer. After the event, we will donate several boards to the local shops so people can continue to enjoy the beach all summer.”
D6 Sports and the #JerseyLove Retreat moms will also present Mayor Matt Doherty with a donation to the Belmar Relief and Recovery foundation that was created to assist displaced families and help rebuild the Belmar Boardwalk after Superstorm Sandy.
For more information and to stay up to date on SurfSkimmer news, developments, event images and fun videos.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/D6SurfSkimmer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/D6SurfSkimmer
YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/D6Surfskimmer
Instagram: @d6surfskimmer
SurfSkimmer-At-A-Glance:
- Designed to give kids a chance to skim and advance quickly within minutes on the water;
- The D6 SurfSkimmer is available this June at select retailers for $69.99;
- The SurfSkimmer is a skimboard with a detachable arm extension and handlebar that allows kids to run and glide without losing balance;
- Once kids are ready to ride without the handle, they can remove it and skim just like the pros.
For more information, please visit: http://d6surfskimmer.com
a Rafflecopter giveaway

This week’s featured Mama of the week is Erica from the blog Mommy’s Fabulous. Erica is the busy mom to a toddler and an infant. She feels blessed to have a girl and a boy and remarked that they are done! Eric is works at home full time currently. She said, “Before last summer, I worked outside of the home full time. I am a writer/marketer/social media manager. I wear a lot of hats, but I primarily work in health care. Before I had my own company, I used to think, “Wow, my job would be so awesome if I could just hang out and talk to my friends all day.” And, with all the social media work I do, I feel like I am doing my dream job. I am really passionate about health care communications, social media and blogging. I love it all.”
Erica’s business is called Fabulous Communications. She was blogging at Mommy’s Fabulous prior to starting her business and wanted to tie in her business to her blog. On her website, www.fabulouscommunications.com, you’ll find information about her marketing and writing consultations that specializes in digital and print media marketing, social media management and content strategy for businesses and health care.
In discussing social media, Erica explained the following:
Way back in the day before “social media” there was this thing called “word of mouth.” It’s how you learned about businesses, brands, products and services. Today, we post questions on our walls, search resumes on LinkedIn and interact with brands on Twitter. It’s different, but it’s the same. Social media has helped small businesses find their voices, and has allowed customers and potential customers to explore a brand before they try – or maintain a relationship once they are connected. For me, social media has let me do what I do best- interact and promote with other people via conversations. That’s what I enjoy the most. My husband and I met online in 2004 – before the explosion of social media, but I would surmise we would have connected on Facebook if we met today.
Parenting presents many joys and challenges. Erica enjoys teaching her children new things, and watching them interact with one another. She mentioned that her “absolute favorite thing about being a parent is never being able to go to the bathroom alone. Who knew I spent 32 years not knowing the joy of having company while I go to the bathroom?” This is something that many moms seem to discover! A challenge for Erica is having patience with her children. She wants to encourage her daughter to do things for herself, but at times it is hard to not do them for her. Her advice to new parents is to encourage them to develop patience, as each stage of parenting presents different tests of patience. Whether it’s dealing with an infant that cannot communicate with you besides crying or a toddler who takes forever to complete minor tasks or a teen who needs to learn from their own mistakes, patience is a characteristic of parenting that repeats throughout the ages of development.
The best advice about parenting Erica was given was about sleep schedules. She said, “I had no idea how important sleep was, and while sleep training was difficult in the beginning, the payoff is SO worth the trouble. “
Erica enjoys taking her kids out on the weekends. As a family they visit Sesame Place, the Please Touch Museum, and the Philadelphia Zoo. They also really enjoy visiting the boardwalk. Erica and her daughter are also fans of crafts and Play Doh! Erica said, “my toddler loves driving us crazy, playing with dog food, and running away from us in parking lots. Oh yes, this is a fun stage My 4-month-old currently enjoys sleeping through the night, smiling and batting at toys on his playmat. Obviously, he is the easier of the two.”
Erica mentioned that she “hates cooking but it is a necessary evil… or is it? Here is my favorite recipe.” Erica has a great sense of humor! To relax Erica enjoys editing home movies, as she is a video editor by trade. “I haven’t had time to do it in a while, but I love editing them to music, and creating non-traditional “home movies” that we all like to watch. I also love to exercise – and to just zone with music and sweat in a Spinning class or running in the park.”
You can catch up with Erica on her website, on her Facebook page, or on Twitter!
Thanks so much Erica for being a featured mama of the week!
  This week’s Featured Mama of the Week is Jessica Mudrick, a Realtor, owner of the blog Delaware County Moms, and mom to two amazing kids, Olivia, 8 and Ryan, 4. Jessica’s kids both enjoy to doing arts and crafts, gymnastics, and playing baseball, by their own rules! Jessica said, “Olivia loves to read and is into fashion and Ryan is into cars, dinos & digging in the dirt.” Watching her kids become their own people with their own opinions is Jessica’s favorite thing about being a parent. She finds her kids to be very funny, keeping the family laughing all the time. The challenges she faces as a parent are similar to most parents, dealing with keeping the kids’ rooms clean and talking back to mom and dad. As parents, they set clear consequences for not following the house rules, but they also accept that they really do have great kids and having a messy room isn’t all that bad! Jessica also mentioned Respect is a big thing our home. We want our kids to respect us, teachers, each other and themselves. Respect is hard to teach, but we often ask how they would feel if we said or did X to them…we also try to respect them & let them have options and choices when possible.
Jessica is able to balance being a Realtor and a website owner around her children’s and husband’s schedules. She is able to schedule office time during the day while her kids are at school and schedules appointments to show houses and meet clients in the evening or weekend when her husband is home. She also is able to rely upon her neighbor or brother (who lives down the street) for childcare, in addition to friends and her in-laws. Jessica’s website, Delaware County Moms, is a resource for parents in and around Delaware County to find fun activities, family deals and some awesome local giveaways. She recently co-hosted an annual Philadelphia Costume Swap with Trina O’Boyle from O’boy Organic last Friday, which is a great event to check out next year to find and recycle Halloween Costumes!
Using Social Media tools, like Facebook, help stay connected!
To stay in touch with friends, or to connect with new clients, Jessica uses social media to help. Facebook has been the most helpful for her, and she is starting to use Twitter more now that she knows other to connect with there. Jessica mentioned that she finds she is most effective making connections on Facebook out of all the social media platforms. It helps her share photos, view friends’ photos and remember birthdays easily. She also is able to post new house listings on her Facebook page, which is a big help with her business too. The downfall of Facebook is how much time one spends on it without realizing it. Jessica said, “But I really have to watch how much time I spend on it…because I can sit there for an hour and not realize it, so I am now very aware!”
Parenting is a fun and rewarding job for Jessica and she enjoys spending time exploring the world with her kids. They visit the arboretum in their neighborhood where exploring the outdoors is fun for all. They also live in a neighborhood filled with kids so there are always lots of playmates around to run around with or ride bikes. Jessica works on instilling in her kids kindness and charity for others by setting examples of volunteering for Cradles to Crayons and Philabundance. She likes to show her kids how to help others in the community, since there are so many struggling. She said, “I feel that even I only help one person, that is one person whose life has been made easier and that makes me feel so great!”
Jessica shared a family favorite recipe with Mama’s Little Helper readers. She said, “This is my Grandma’s recipe and she makes it every year for Christmas breakfast and if we can’t make it back to my home state of Ohio, I make it Christmas morning for my family. It is also a great go to dinner because you make it the night before.”
Ham & Cheese Strada
- Sliced Italian Bread (you can use any bread but heartier bread holds up better)
- Ham
- American cheese
Grease a pan and make sandwiches with bread, ham & cheese. Mix 1 egg, ½ cup of milk per sandwich and add 1 tsp. of mustard (add more if you like mustard J) Take egg mixture and pour over sandwiches cover for at least 1 hour or overnight. Cook @ 350 for 45 minutes to an hour.
We like to eat ours with fresh sliced tomato.
Thank you Jessica, for being a feature mama of the week on Mama’s Little Helper!
 Jessica Mudrick, from DelcoPAMoms
 This week’s Featured Mama of the Week is Barb Hoyer, blogger at A Life in Balance and mom to five kids! She has four sons, ages 15, 7, 5, and 3 and one daughter, age 4. Her kids love to play with Legos and most days you’ll find their basement floor covered in those little bricks. Barb loves to see the creative side come out of her kids and she encourages them to express themselves in creativity and through play. Her oldest son has developed into a wonderful writer and she is encouraging him to explore his talents in high school. Barb herself has always needed a creative outlet, whether it be writing, photography, drawing, painting or knitting.
Family meetings held weekly are a great way to connect with the family!
Being the parent of five and running a household of seven people takes a lot of organization and comes with challenges. Managing all of those people in one house, with all of the noise and mess, is difficult. Barb mentioned that during this school year she plans to implement some changes at home to make life go more smoothly, especially with all of the activities the school year brings. Barb and her husband are planning to hold weekly family meetings during their Sunday night dinners when they know the family will all be together. This is such a great idea for any size family!
Barb is currently a stay at home mom (SAHM) although she was also a working mom for a while in the past. She said, “I’m a SAHM, though I did spend a year working on a Shaklee business. I became a SAHM when my oldest was about 4, and we decided I would homeschool him. When I was working, I worked in the fundraising offices of several nonprofits. My last gig was an Office Manager/Special Events Coordinator at the University of Pennsylvania Library Development Office, my favorite job. My boss was fabulous and being a dad himself, very flexible about my working from home at times. I love being a SAHM because my skills in running an office have translated to the home though it’s taken me awhile and 5 children to realize this.”
Barb’s blog, A Life in Balance is all about how she is working to keep balance in her and her family’s life. She mentioned regarding her blog, “No one has exactly the same situation as me, but they can identify with the issues I deal with whether it’s replacing an appliance or feeding a family while watching the grocery prices continue to rise and rise. I also want to discuss as a mom how to have a healthy balance in our lives and what that looks like. I want my readers to take what they like and leave the rest.” Barb is an avid gardener too, and shares a great deal about gardening on her blog. Barb shared her favorite family recipe with Mama’s Little Helper readers too: Chicken Parmesan.
Social media has become a resourceful tool for Barb, especially when talking on the phone can be challenging with five kids interrupting! “I use Facebook and Twitter a lot for my blogging, and Facebook for connecting with my family and my husband’s family. I love both as social media tools and yet, I am mindful that they are tools. I think face time is just as important, and I also like to pick up the phone to chat with distant relatives from time to time. I tend to rely more on Facebook and Twitter right now because my kids have phone radar and always want my attention when I’m on the phone. I usually have to retreat into the bathroom (my Gibbs-style office) to have a conversation. Interruptions from the kids are not interruptions when I’m using social media.”
Teaching respect in a family of seven is very important, especially in regards to other’s toys, possessions and space. With four kids sharing a bedroom, Barb found that using a combination of boundary setting with locking cabinets and gates, along with reinforcement of rules repeatedly helps. She mentioned that one of the first topics to be covered during family meetings will be formulating a written list of rules for the family and posting them publicly.
Having five kids means Barb’s received lots of tips and advice from others over the years regarding parenting. She said “the best piece of advice was to pay attention to what might be affecting my kids when they misbehave. I can tell when they’re tired, and I will often suggest that they spend a little time by themselves until they’re ready to be with us again. For the really young ones, I make sure that they get the much needed nap to be their happy, bright selves again. Barb’s advice to a new parent is “a baby can never be held too much. I used a Bjorn to carry my four young ones, and my oldest spent a lot of time in car seats or strollers. I think that level of touching between a mom and baby has made a huge difference in my children’s lives. If I could raise my oldest again, I would carry him a lot, have a family bed, and breastfeed him.”
Barb likes to spend her “alone time” walking. She used to be a longer distance runner before being a parent and loved to run five miles at a time. Currently her best walks are up to an hour long. Pounding the pavement really helps her walk out things and de-stress. She uses her cell phone and sends herself emails while walking if she thinks of things to do, that way she doesn’t risk forgetting a thought before she gets home. Then she can move on to the nest issue. What a great way to wind down!
 Barb Hoyer from A Life in Balance
Thank you Barb, for being a featured mama of the week on Mama’s Little Helper!
 This author of Spit That Out! loves raising her family in Philadelphia
This week’s featured Mama of the week is Paige Wolf, mother of one cute two year old son and owner of Paige Wolf Media & Public Relations, which she has had for 10 years. Paige said, ”in the past few years I have been fortunate enough to work with green and sustainable clientele. Paige Wolf Media & Public Relations offers communications services to clients who contribute to a sustainable world and positive change. My clients range from national green beauty companies to local nonprofits to large community events. In addition to that, I am the author of Spit That Out: The Overly Informed Parent’s Guide to Raising Children in the Age of Environmental Guilt and I blog at www.spitthatoutthebook.com about making green living more practical, manageable, and affordable.”
Paige utilizes social media. She said, “I am addicted to Facebook and Twitter. Someone once said, “Facebook is about who you know and Twitter is about who you want to know.” I think that’s very true and why both mediums are equally important.”
Regarding childcare, Paige shared that her son is now in preschool five days a week, which he loves. He started at 14 months going 3 days a week. Prior to that he was cared for by a part time nanny. Paige said that her husband is able to work from home some days as well, so they’ve managed to balance their time!
Paige’s son, Sam, loves to play outside in their tiny city garden, color, and generally make a mess. She said she views her son as “a little mini version of yourself and your spouse that you created and how funny, smart, and adorable they are!” Her current challenge as a parent is dealing with the terrible twos. She said that she relies on other moms for advice and tries whatever works! Paige and her family live in Philadelphia and love their neighborhood. She said, “love having Seger Playground across the street! Also right by Whole Foods and my son’s preschool – it’s a regular loop around the neighborhood filled with familiar faces and wonderful city scenery mixed with plenty of green spaces! We love the park, going to festivals and outdoor activities – there is always something to do in the city and it’s usually walking distance!”
In regards to feeding her family Paige mentioned “we get a CSA (community shared agriculture) share from a local farm delivered to the city. I love that it challenges us to try new and healthy things, and finding ways to incorporate all these fruits and veggies into our meals! Sometimes we do get stuck with something we hate – like beets – so we share them with the neighbors!”
Paige’s book, Spit That Out: The Overly Informed Parent’s Guide to Raising Children in the Age of Environmental Guilt, covers a wide range of parenting tips. To sum it up, Paige’s advice to new parents is that just because your feel you can’t do everything does not mean that you should do nothing. This applies not just to green living but various aspects of parenting including activities, quality time and so on.
Thank you, Paige for sharing a bit of your life with Mama’s Little Helper readers!
 Paige Wolf, author of Spit That Out!
If you know a mom who you would like to see featured here, please email Diane@mamaslittlehelper.org.
 
This week’s featured Mama of the week is Amy Benninger. Amy is the owner of the website Lehigh Valley Little Ones/Lehigh Valley Family Fun, a great resource website for parents of kids in the Lehigh Valley Area. Her website has an activities calendar, information about area parks, a community bulletin board, birthday party ideas, and seasonal activities, just to name a few. Not only is it a great resource for families living in the Lehigh Valley, but it’s also a good place for Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia families to research ideas for day trips to the Lehigh Valley.
Family comes first to this Lehigh Valley Mama!
Besides authoring and managing her website, Amy is the mom to two kids, ages 7 and 4. Her children love to swim and “just be kids!” Amy enjoys being there for her kids accomplishments and supporting them when they fall. One of her parenting challenges is staying focused and remaining calm. She feels that she is “still a work in progress, but learning every day not to stress the small stuff in life.” She focuses on remembering to prioritize what is important now and moving on from there. A favorite place to pass the time is hanging out in the back yard watching her kids on the swing set. Amy works hard at teaching her kids to respect the Golden Rule She said, “we speak often about the “Golden Rule” Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If you don’t want some to do it to you…don’t do it to them. I have them repeat it all the time.”
Family time is very important to Amy. Her advice to new parents is to put the computer and phone away during times with your kids. She said, “I, myself, forget this rule all of the time. And my youngest reminds me frequently. They are so impressionable and they notice everything. Now is the time to show them you listen, care, understand.” She also mentioned that the best parenting advice she ever received was to listen to other people’s advice and then do what you want!
Amy is a stay at home mom (SAHM) and has been since the winter of 2005. She mentioned that she left her full time job because she couldn’t handle leaving her daughter at daycare anymore and she knew she wanted to be with her full time. ”Prior to having children I was an Account Manager in the Direct Mail Industry. I am now the owner of a website resource – Lehigh Valley Little Ones.com. It is a FREE website resource for Parents, Grandparents, Caregivers or WHOMEVER to find stuff for their kids to do in the Lehigh Valley, PA & surrounding areas.”
Amy founded her website because in 2008 she was trying to sign her daughter up for ballet lessons and having trouble. She said, “after being frustrated, I realized how awesome it would be if there was a centralized location of kids information for the Lehigh Valley area. That is how Lehigh Valley Little Ones came into being. I love being my own boss and I love spreading the word about great programs for our LV kids! There are tons of great things out in the Lehigh Valley…I just want to help spread the word.”
Social Media helps Amy stay connected to her audience.
When asked about her use of social media, Amy replied that using social media has been a huge benefit for her website. She said, “we have begun holding contests on our site – featuring prizes from local, Lehigh Valley companies. Without social media, we would rely heavily on search engines. But social media has allowed us to talk to our Viewers and get their feedback. We have found that Facebook & Twitter have been our best outlets.” You can find Lehigh Valley Little Ones on Facebook and Twitter, where parents can stay up to date with the weekly events and activities occurring in the Lehigh Valley.
So if you live in the Lehigh Valley area or are planning a visit, be sure to check out Lehigh Valley Little Ones and Lehigh Valley Family Fun!
 Amy Benninger from Lehigh Valley Little Ones
Thank you Amy for being a Featured Mama of the Week on Mama’s Little Helper!
If you would like to nominate a mom to be featured here, please email Diane@mamaslittlehelper.org!
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