Rolemommy

Events

Must See Webcast: Passions, Priorities & Community

I recently participated in a one-of-a-kind live web event that was held on behalf of the R Baby Foundation, which was established in 2006 to organize and fund efforts to improve the outcomes of medical care for infants, particularly those who contract certain viral infections within the first month of life. The R Baby Foundation is dedicated to helping newborn babies with often-misunderstood viral infections and other infectious diseases receive the highest quality of care and service through supporting education, research, treatment, training and life-saving equipment.

I had so much fun moderating the webcast along with the incredibly inspiring Emily McKhann, co-founder of The Motherhood. Panelists include R Baby founder Phyllis Rabinowitz, along with seasoned and successful mompreneurs: Brenda Berg, Nicole Feliciano, Lauren Parisier and Kimberly Seals Allers.

The session featured candid insights, intimate confessions and thoughtful advice from women who have built their lives and their businesses around their passions and priorities. In case you missed it, you can watch it below!

R Baby Foundation "Live" (Unedited) from TrakVu.com on Vimeo.

Feeling inspired but don't know where to start first? Well, have no fear. Yours truly is launching an innovative fundraiser on behalf of RBaby. Starting today until Mother's Day, I am offering one on one PR 365 consultation for your brand. And if you book a 30 minute session with me, I will donate the proceeds to the RBaby Foundation. Email me at beyondpr@gmail.com for details of how I can help you build your brand and you can help RBaby make a difference!

Posted in: Events, PR 101 for Moms, PR 365, TV on 03/06/2010

Tri-State Area Moms: An Invitation to Indulge!

I don't know about you, but two of my favorite foods in the entire world are chocolate and wine. And so, imagine my thrill to have received a special invitation from iVillage and Dove chocolate to attend an event on Tuesday, March 9 at Chelsea Market filled with chocolate, wine pairings, freebies, beauty and relaxation treatments and much more! And here's the best part...you can come too! RSVP now at indulgentmoments@nbcuni.com.

Once you arrive at Chelsea Market, located at 75 Ninth Avenue from 3-7pm, sign in at the door and mention that Role Mommy sent you and if we bring the most guests, we'll be eligible to win a dinner for two at Del Posto (a $400 value). If we do win, I'll be giving away that amazing meal to one of our amazing attendees!

Comment now if you plan to attend! And if you can't make, then don't despair. You can still enter to win a DVD of Couples Retreat starring Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman and Kristen Bell. Make sure you leave your email address or else we won't know how to find you. Get ready to escape and indulge with Role Mommy!!!

Posted in: Events on 02/25/2010

Tennis Anyone?

And the winner of our latest promotion is....DaDa Rocks! Hope you enjoy the games!!!

I don't know about you, but when it comes to sports, my favorite hands down is tennis. Perhaps it's because when I finally stumbled upon a sport I could excel in without striking out or getting kicked in the shin by a teammate, I knew I had hit paydirt. And lucky for me, I'll be front and center watching the ultimate match between women when tennis returns to Madison Square Garden on Monday, March 1st at 7 pm!

While I check out the Grand Slam Champions battle it out for the Billie Jean King Cup one of our lucky readers will get to join me with a guest if you participate in our latest giveaway! Comment on this post along with your email address on why you'd love to go and we'll let you know next week if you've won!

The event will feature a one-set singles semifinals followed by a best-of-three-set final for $1.2 million in prize money and, addition to our prize giveaway, here at Role Mommy, we're offering a $10 discount off select tickets with code PARENTS.

If you'd like to attend, click on the link above, enter your PARENTS promotional code and then, check out who is playing!

SERENA WILLIAMS -- 2009 Australian & Wimbledon Champion, Defending Showdown Champion
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA -- 2009 French Open Champion
KIM CLIJSTERS -- 2009 US Open Champion
VENUS WILLIAMS -- Seven-time Singles Grand Slam Champion

For up to date information on the event, you can follow it on MSG Twitter: or on MSG Facebook. Plus, if you'd like to see what's in store for you if you attend, then check out this video today!

Don't forget to comment today because you could be watching an awesome match with us...looking forward to your comments (and email addresses!!!)

Posted in: Events, giveaway central on 02/16/2010

A Girl's Gotta Laugh Contest

I don't know about you, but every time I walk into a card store and sift through the selection of greetings, I always think to myself, man, I would so love to be a greeting card writer in my next life. Well guess what? Thanks to Hallmark and Ovation TV I can stop dreaming and so can you! Starting now, you can enter a new contest called "A Girls Gotta Laugh" The objective of the contest is to create a funny card that helps any mom laugh about the crazy reality of motherhood.

The contest launched on Feb 8th and deadline for submissions is Feb 22.

To learn more about the contest, then visit Ovation TV which offers tips and instructions to create an award-winning greeting card plus there's a direct link on the Ovation site where you can visit Hallmark and enter your work.

Now the question for me is, what should I write about? A funny moment with kids? Me dreaming of going off to a faraway land where nobody calls my name (that name being Mommy) or a realistic card of me behind a bathroom door with everyone including my cat attempting to barge in.

Do you have a funny mom moment that you can turn into a greeting card? Well visit Ovation TV today and find out how your creation could wind up being sold in Hallmark stores and broadcast to more than 35 million homes!

*Sponsored post

Posted in: Events, Role Mommy Recommends, TV on 02/12/2010

Tween-agers go Bananas for Cody Linley

Monkey (Step and Rolling Around) with Cody Linley by Nancy Friedman

Cody Linley loves his mother. "My mom is amazingly strong and wise, " the twenty year old star of Hannah Montana fame told me last night. "I'm really lucky to have a super-mom, because that's what she is."

There you have it, proof positive that Cody Linley is not only a tween heart throb, not only talented, not only the on-again, off-again, on-screen boyfriend of Hannah Montana (he plays Jake), he's perfect in every way.

I got the chance to talk to Cody the other night at the launch party for Sega's Super Monkey Ball Step and Roll the newly updated version of their wildly popular game for the Nintendo Wii, Super Monkey Ball. In a downtown restaurant filled with tween girls thrilled to be near him and (mostly) too embarrassed to talk to the young star, Cody played the game - in more ways than one.

When we got there, Cody was playing Super Monkey Ball Step and Roll. And like any kid (hey, if you're young enough to be my kid, you are a kid) he was totally absorbed. Did he see the fawning metal mouthed tween-agers gawking? Probably not, he was too busy racing his Monkey around. Like the original Super Monkey Ball, the Step and Roll version has players move their favorite Monkey characters through an increasingly difficult serious of challenges. This version adds new characters, new brain teasers, and most important, the Wii Fitness Board. (As long as you have one - it doesn't come with the game or anything and you can play it without one.) Now, players can use either their Wii Remote or their Wii Fit boards to move their Monkey through the many levels of the game. You can even set the game to count the Monkey Calories you burn - the more you move, the more you burn. (That's what I like to call the "mother-marketing" aspect of the game: if you tell a mom she can burn calories doing something fun...you can bet she's gonna do it.)

When it was time for Cody to play the celebrity game - to stop playing and get to work shaking hands, giving interviews, and posing for pictures, just like that, he changed gears. (Further proof of Cody's perfection.) Wouldn't it be nice if all of our kids did that? Imagine, if they had (home)work to get to, we asked them to stop playing a video game....and they did right away!!!!

In work mode, Cody thrilled my daughter by posing for a photo with her, giving her his autograph, and (and this was big) telling her he liked her shirt. He answered the questions sent to me by Role Mommy Beth Feldman's daughter:

Question: Do you like Hannah Montana in real life?
Cody: We're really good friends. I haven't spoken to her in a couple of weeks, because she's really busy. But she's so nice, and her family is really great.

Question: How long have you been playing DS and Wii games?
Cody: Since I was two! I have older siblings, and they showed me a lot of stuff when I was young.

He also told me that he's in New York rehearsing for his Broadway debut in the musical "Over Here" in which he reprises the role originated by John Travolta in the 1970's. It's set in the 1940's, and he's getting to use his Dancing with the Stars experience to do some Jitterbugging in the show. He loves New York, he says. Growing up in Texas, he didn't have anything like Times Square or the Statue of Liberty outside of his window.

Through all of this, though, I couldn't help but wonder - what does Cody Linley have to do with Sega, or Chiquita? (Chiquita and Sega are partnering up for the "Super Bananza Sweepstakes" where you can win prizes such as a complete game room makeover including a 50" HDTV, sofas/chairs, and Wii console and Balance Board!)

And then I saw a bunch of tween-aged girls swarm Cody for a picture and an autograph, and I realized...it's because everybody goes bananas over him!

Role Mommy correspondent Nancy Friedman is a former TV promotions producer turned writer, author, ghost writer extraordinaire, retired Bar/Bat Mitzvah singer and contributor to See Mom Run. Nancy, her husband and twin daughter and son live in NYC with their new puppy who was recently discovered by a big time pet agent (no joke). Her blog, From Hip to Housewife offers a hilarious glimpse into Nancy's life as she ponders important feminine topics like aging gracefully without the influence of botox and her 20 year quest to lose the same 10 pounds.

Posted in: Events on 02/07/2010

Skating with the NY Rangers

My husband John, was like a kid in a candy store when he woke up last Thursday morning!  You see, that night we were heading into the city for a Skate with the Greats Ronald McDonald House of New York/Rangers event at Rockefeller Center.  My husband has not only been a Rangers fan since birth, but also an avid hockey player for most of his life. 

Growing up in a lake community in Northern New Jersey, John spent his entire winters - and some years they were long ones - on the lake.  I'm talking his every free waking moment was on the ice.  My mother-in-law said she used to literally drag him off the ice at dinnertime.  All John wanted to do was shoot the puck into the net.  His dream was to play for the Rangers and I'm told he's a pretty good hockey player.  He was so obsessed with the Rangers that he even permed his hair back in the seventies so that he could look like Ron Duguay.

Fast forward 25 years, I am pregnant with our second child and we're trying to decide on a name for our baby.  I've always liked the name Adam.  After mentioning it to John, he thought about it for a moment and agreed to keep it in the running.  I later found out that was because one of his all time favorite hockey players is Adam Graves #9.  While we didn't end up naming our baby boy Adam, it still makes me smile thinking about how he "agreed" to consider the name. 

You can only imagine my excitement when Beth received an invitation to attend the Ronald McDonald House of New York's "Skate with the Greats" event.  Headlining the event were New York Ranger veterans Brian Leetch and Rod Gilbert and, wait for it...ADAM GRAVES!  O-M-G!  I begged Beth to please let me be her Role Mommy "correspondent" on this special assignment.  As you can tell by this post, Beth sent me on my way with a Flip camera in hand. 

The night was truly amazing!  The event helped raise over $489,000 including a Live auction of valued sports memorabilia and Rangers experiences.  The Ronald McDonald House of New York offers children battling cancer and their families shelter and support while they undergo active treatment. Ronald McDonald House of New York is supported in part by the Rangers through a partnership with the Garden of Dreams Foundation, a non-profit charity that works closely with the Rangers and all areas of Madison Square Garden to make dreams come true for kids in crisis. 

The event was generously sponsored by RBC Capital Markets, one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies and among the largest banks in the world.  When I told John what we were doing a few days prior to the event, he was beyond thrilled and completely taken aback.  Minutes later, he was on his phone, calling and texting every hockey/Rangers fan he knew - and trust me, that's a lot of people. 

On the day of the event, I cracked up when I walked into our bedroom and saw John's clothes laid out on our bed - Adam Graves' Rangers jersey was proudly on top of the pile.  Off we went to Manhattan and when we arrived, there were over 850 attendees! While we weren't sure whether we would get to meet any of the great legends, we both felt grateful to be there for such an awesome cause.  It turned out to be beyond our wildest dreams!  John not only got to meet many of his all-time dream players, but he even got to skate with a few of them.  A smile was literally plastered on his face the entire evening.  The players were all so gracious signing autographs - John alone had about five different items autographed.  The event was truly incredible and ranks as one of my all-time favorite experiences with John, not because I'm a hockey fan (I barely even know the game) but because I was responsible for making one of my husband's dreams come true.  It truly was a priceless moment! 

Posted in: Events, TV on 02/02/2010

See Mom Run on Better TV!

While we launched See Mom Run back in November, today's edition of Better TV featured a segment on our New York City launch event at Miraval Living. Featured in the piece are Real Mom's Guide and Kids in the City editor Melissa Chapman, Liz Gumbinner at Mom101, my mom (Role Bubbe) and my two kids! Meanwhile, just checked our Amazon numbers and we're in the top 30 in humor parenting books. Woot woot!

Find more videos like this on Role Mommy

Posted in: Events, TV on 01/24/2010

See Mom Run: Maryland

We just made it to our ninth city and thankfully, we made to Maryland and narrowly missed a colossal snowstorm. Our first event took place at the B'nai Shalom Synagogue in Olney and some of our favorite DC bloggers came out for the fun including Jill at Musings from Me, Amy at Resourceful Mom, and Devra at Parentopia. Plus, we got to meet some Twitter friends too, including @ThienKim and @TeachMama. Special thanks to Giant supermarkets for providing the delicious crudite and snacks for our event. And now for a sneak peak of the event...

Now that you've seen a snippet of my story, take a look at Meredith Jacobs who shared her harried moment, "The Secret."

More videos to come, plus we'll be sharing details from our event at the brand new Be with Me Playseum in Bethesda where we finally got to meet author, mom of twins and See Mom Run contributor Cheryl Lage! Plus, we also had several amazing writers in attendance including Jessica McFadden (A Parent in Silver Spring); Sarah Pekkanen, whose first novel is being published by the same house that brought us the Nanny Diaries and all of Jennifer Weiner's books. And we also got the chance to spend a wonderful afternoon with Julia Beck at Forty Weeks - a marketing company with its finger on the pulse of new products and trends for pregnant and new moms. Lots more to come...but before we go, enjoy this special song...shot by Jill at Musings from Me.

Posted in: Events, TV, see mom run book tour on 12/21/2009

Jetta Setting in L.A.

After zipping out of Chicago with absolutely no airline delays (thank you aviation Gods), we arrived in Los Angeles on a brisk Friday afternoon, hopped in a cab and waited for our cell phone to ring with our latest set of wheels. You see, the awesome folks at Volkswagen provided me with a car for our west coast leg of the See Mom Run tour and while I did ask about that hard top convertible (the EOS if you haven't been following our tour), the fancy Thelma and Louise sports car was on display at the Los Angeles Auto Show so we were out of luck again!

Instead, a gleaming white Jetta TDI showed up at the Hilton Checkers hotel and within minutes, I was navigating the freeways of L.A., Beverly Hills and Hollywood and having the time of my life. There is something about that zippy little car. I first hopped into a Jetta when I was 17 years old and so when it came time to reclaim my life after becoming a mom, I decided to lease a Jetta a few years back and since then have been a VW driver ever since. Take a look...

Posted in: Events, TV, see mom run book tour on 12/07/2009

See Mom Run: Chicago

The jet lag is beginning to set in and I still have a gazillion videos to edit, but in the meantime, I've got a great photo montage of my visit to the windy city. I literally blew into Chi-town at the crack of dawn and hit the ground running. From WGN-TV, to Eli's Cheesecake Factory, to 1-800 Baskets, a shopping diversion at the 1-800 Baskets warehouse (OMG, the deals we found), the Chicago Board of Trade, a narrated city tour by Nancy Loo, mad dash to Garrett's popcorn for some off the hook kernels and finally, our event at Comedy Sportz Theatre sponsored by Allstate's Vehicle Vibes, Dominicks and Safeway Stores and Whimsical Jewelry Designs. Over the course of the next few hours we were running all over town and enjoyed every minute of it.

I've been busy editing videos from our visit and we'll also have a more professional version available soon from our fabulous cameraman Ben, but in the meantime, check out the behind the scenes tour of Eli's Cheesecake factory.

Now that you're hungry, why not do a little holiday shopping? Check out our insider tour of the 1-800 Baskets factory. Amazing food, wine, fruits, gorgeous baskets? And we even got to shop their once a year warehouse sale for friends and family...good thing we're officially a friend!!!

Next stop...the Chicago Board of Trade, where Fox TV anchor Nancy Loo and I discovered that if you have a kid with a messy streak, he may have a future in the finance industry.

Posted in: Events, see mom run book tour on 12/05/2009

Older Entries

12/02/2009: Leaving on a Jet Plane

11/24/2009: See Mom Run Hits Charlotte

11/24/2009: Snacking on the Run

11/12/2009: See Mom Run Through the Philly Burbs!

11/11/2009: See Mom Run: Getting Our Groove On

11/10/2009: A Whirlwind Week for See Mom Run

11/03/2009: Ready for The Catwalk

10/16/2009: Cupcakes, Sneakers & Stars...Oh My!

10/14/2009: Jillian Michaels Gives Mom Bloggers a Fitness Ultimatum!

10/12/2009: Special Giveaway: Kiss Cancer Goodbye Benefit

10/11/2009: See Mom Run...Let The Tour Begin!

10/10/2009: Celebrity Role Mommy: Elisabeth Rohm

10/08/2009: Role Mommy University Workshop - How to Land a Book Publisher

10/03/2009: The Accidentally on Purpose Tweet-Up

09/30/2009: Saving the World One Patchwork at a Time

09/24/2009: Building a Successful Family Business

09/19/2009: Role Mommy University: How to Write a Killer Book Proposal

09/16/2009: An Interview Olympic Gold Medalist Shawn Johnson!

08/12/2009: A Family Play Day with Kool-Aid & KaBOOM!

07/01/2009: Food Glorious Food

06/25/2009: If You Knew Suze, Like I Know Suze

06/09/2009: Role Mommy Interviews Kelly Ripa!

05/28/2009: Get Ready for Your Close-up!

05/13/2009: Build it And They Will Come

05/12/2009: Turn Your Passion Into a Paycheck

05/01/2009: I'm Going to Hollywood!

04/12/2009: Open Mom Night on May 7

04/01/2009: A Role Mommy Networking Event on April 22!

03/17/2009: A Can't Miss Event for Parents, Teens & Tweens

02/20/2009: Moms Who Make a Difference

01/28/2009: New Year, New You...The Recap!

01/27/2009: New Year, New You

01/25/2009: Mom Bloggers Lunch & Laugh with Monica Potter

01/24/2009: Role Mommy at the Ritz!

01/24/2009: Role Mommy at the Ritz!

12/05/2008: A Role Mommy Yoga Event!

10/13/2008: A Tribute to Dorit Shapiro

10/05/2008: Our Latest Event...the Gal to Gal Virtual Walk NYC Launch Party!

09/19/2008: October Fundraising Event for the Gal to Gal Foundation

08/16/2008: Moms Night In...with Role Mommy!

08/10/2008: Video from Kyra Sedgwick Event

07/14/2008: A Chocolate Fountain, The Closer & Kyra Sedgwick

06/10/2008: A Method Cocktail Party

05/11/2008: Who is Your Role Mommy?

05/08/2008: The Role Mommy Fashion Show!

05/01/2008: Get to Know Our Amazing Mom Fashionistas!

04/27/2008: America's Next Top Mom...A Sneak Peak at our Fashion Show Stars!

04/17/2008: Come Celebrate with Role Mommy at Macy's!

04/16/2008: Fit For Life Part II

03/28/2008: Photos from our Latest Event...Fit For Life

03/02/2008: FIT FOR LIFE! MARCH 26 AT THE WHITE PLAINS LIBRARY

02/03/2008: Role Mommy Authors We Love - January 23, 2008

01/26/2008: OUR NEXT EVENT! FEBRUARY 27 AT THE WHITE PLAINS LIBRARY... MOMS OF REINVENTION

12/27/2007: OUR NEXT EVENT! JANUARY 23 AT THE WHITE PLAINS LIBRARY... AUTHORS & BOOKS WE LOVE!

10/19/2007: NEW EVENT!!!! NOVEMBER 17 AT THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY CENTER

09/24/2007: BORDERS BOOK SIGNINGS IN SCARSDALE & RAMSEY, NEW JERSEY

07/15/2007: NEW EVENT - BOOK SIGNING & CHAT SESSION AT LET'S DISH ON JULY 26

03/30/2007: Keep It Simple Workshop at the Westchester County Center on May 9!

03/30/2007: Let Your Hair Down Event at the Premier Atelier Salon - April 10!

03/16/2007: Book Signing this Weekend in Danbury, CT

03/04/2007: NEW SEMINAR FOR PARENTS WITH SESSIONS MODERATED BY ROLE MOMMY!

01/19/2007: OUR BOOK LAUNCH PARTY!

11/29/2006: MOTHERS OF REINVENTION