Ad seen on CNN.com

Really, Comcast?

Did your market research show that Crocs were a good incentive - perhaps the cherry on top of your $150 savings?

Wow, this is one odd promotion.

Check out ebeanstalk for toys

This time around, now that I'm (ahem) an "experienced" mom, I'm even more interested in child development. 

Ebeanstalk is dedicated to a baby's development. And they select the best baby toys matched to a baby's development. To see great information on how a baby grows up, check out the info on their baby toys page.

Picking toys for a baby is not as simple as it sounds. Here are some quick baby facts:

• Toys for a newborn baby: A newborn baby is briefly looking at objects and attempting to imitate facial expressions. They can follow objects with their eyes and usually quiet down, when they are picked up.


• Toys for a three month old: They will enjoy ‘frolic play', reaching for objects and will repeat enjoyable activities. Believe it or not, they will respond to ‘no' (about half the time) and will start babbling.


• Toys for a six month old: They'll search for hidden objects (object permanence). They'll reach for themselves in the mirror, play peekaboo, crumple paper, roll from their stomach to their back and even respond to their name.


• Toys for a nine month old: They are pushing toy cars, playing pat-a-cake and looking for hidden sounds. The baby toys they are playing with are also getting more fun.

Now, here is a 15% discount on any first purchase at ebeanstalk — TGS345 — just enter the code at the shopping cart. Have fun!

Review: MyPunchbowl.com & Contest

We're celebrating my grandmother's 90th birthday this summer, with friends relatives joining from 11 states and Ontario. Hey, that's Canada - I suppose this makes it an international celebration!? 

There's a good deal of coordination involved, from organizing the location & site rental, to lining up hotel rooms and of course, inviting everyone. 

I've used Evite in the past, but this time I decided to use MyPunchbowl to send invitations online. The user interface is really intuitive, with clear step-by-step instructions. I designed the invitation, set up the guest list and attached map links in just a few easy steps - it probably took 15 minutes in all. And that included my design tweaking and fiddling.

Once the invitation went out, I could monitor the guest list. The host functions allow you to see who opened invitations and when, plus monitor their responses. Like a lot of other sites, guests can add guests, host can add guests without having to re-blast the initial guest list, leave comments on a message board.

Probably the unique selling proposition of the site (at least, to investors) is the constant opportunity to buy products to support the event. Each communication includes a link to the MyPunchbowl store. Guests who RSVP are walked through the invitation details step-by-step and the final screen (after they've confirmed) is also a sales offer. It's not obtrusive, but it's clear (to me as a marketer) that this is where they'll make their money - traffic to the e-commerce section of the site.

All-in-all, I'd recommend MyPunchbowl to others. It's intuitive, quick and easy to use, and who doesn't want that? When you're excited about planning a party, inviting of guests should be fun, too. This site does all that and more.

====================

CONTEST: I'm giving away TWO memberships to MyPunchbowl Premium. This is a one-year subscription, valued at $49.95, and gives you special access:
- Premium designs 
- More fonts, papers, and ribbons
- Advertising free invitations and eCards
- Priority tech support

- Exclusive partner offers

To enter in the contest, please leave a comment below. First come, first served!

Idea for getting kids to talk at school...

Thought this was interesting...Source: ebeanstalk

How Can I Get My Child to Tell Me About Her Day at School?
By: Shari Harpaz, CCC-SLP (Speech-Language Pathologist)

Ever ask your child, "what did you do at school today?" and get the response, "nothing?". Rest assured, you are not alone!

Parents often complain that they can't get their children to tell them much about their day at school. A child's response to "How was school today?" typically consists of "great!" (often followed by a grunt or sigh). I'm sure a as a parent you can be frustrated with the lack of response, so here are some tips to help you get more valuable information and better details.

1. Simplify the topic. Asking about an entire school day may be difficult for a child to reflect on. However, if you ask about a particular time of day (i.e. "what did you do before lunch that you enjoyed?" or " what did you learn during circle time? Work time?") it helps them focus and come up with a more detailed answer. It's a good idea to ask the teachers what 'lingo' they use so it is consistent (i.e. meeting time vs. circle time; work time vs. centers)

2. Ask specific questions that relate to another child in the class. For example: "Did you and Jon play today? What did you do together?" This gives them an additional context to relate to.

3. For younger children, you can ask them to draw a picture about their favorite activity at school and then have them tell you a sentence about it. You can turn this into a little book 'About School' that you can share with the whole family.

OTHER WAYS TO BUILD STORYTELLING: Use these same ideas to talk about other special activities (day at the zoo, trip to the museum, vacation). It's a great way to start building story-telling/narrative skills and to help share experiences together with your child.

Just done.

I just laid someone off. She was not surprised. 

She even offered to help with the transition of anything that is needed.

This is a sign of the times...