Role Mommy Fave Five

The July 4th Fave Five

In honor of Independence Day, we've selected five links that celebrate and salute our heroes - from a poignant essay from Lee Woodruff, to patriotic recipes and more - click away and enjoy the read.

1. Red, White and Blue by Lee Woodruff - A bittersweet reflection from Lee Woodruff about the injured service men and women who should never be forgotten.

2. Three Easy Party Ideas for the Fourth of July - The gals at Partybluprints are back with some fabulous recipes, decorations and flowers just in time for July 4th.

3. Support our Troops with Just One Click - There's still time to help the USO support our US service men and women overseas! Every time you click on the Taste of Home flag cake recipe, Taste of Home will donate 10 cents to the USO up to $100,000! Every dime raised allows a service member to call home free for 2 minutes. So what are you waiting for? Click now and support our troops!

4. What's Great about America at Traveling Mom - Recently, the folks at Traveling Mom held a Twitter Party to share their favorite 140 characters about the U.S. Check out these great TMOM tweets and see if you agree! And make sure you join #TMOM on Mondays at 9pm ET/PT for some informative and fun Traveling Mom Twitter events.

5. The Best July 4th Movies - If you want to bring your patriotic spirit indoors, then check out CNN's fave five list of the best military movies of all time. My personal fave: "Born on the Fourth of July."

Have a wonderful July 4th holiday everyone!!!

Posted in: Role Mommy Fave Five, Role Mommy Recommends on 07/03/2011

Five Ways to Cure a Sore Throat

Let me just start this post by saying I am not a doctor or a nurse. But I am quite good at Googling and when I woke up five days before my big show at my synagogue with a sore throat, I panicked.

I could feel my throat start to get a bit scratchy before I went to bed but I tried to ignore it and not freak out. But when I awoke at 6 am and the pain started to get worse, I went into full on state of emergency mode. You see, my pattern for sore throats is as follows. Redness gets worse to the point where I feel like I've swallowed knives. Within 24 hours the sore throat dissipates as I develop a full blown head cold. At this point, I can't breathe at all through my nose and I can't taste food. Horrendous.

Making matters worse, after about two days of the cold, the mucus usually heads down to my chest and I get stuck with a cough that keeps me up at night and sometimes even develops into laryngitis. Did I mention my show is in five days?

So, back to my story. I woke up this morning and raced down to the kitchen. And while the cat thought I'd be breaking open a can of Fancy Feast a few hours before his usual meal time, I headed to the cabinet that's chock full of cold, sore throat and stomach bug remedies. So what did I do? Popped two vitamin C, gargled salt water and ate an Airborne throat lozenge. Since there are other remedies I've yet to try, I'm going to include them in this fave five, but do it at your own risk since I'm not desperate...yet.

1. Pop two tablets of Vitamin C. Although after copious Internet searching I learned that Vitamin C is not that effective, I ignored that piece of information and immediately swallowed the required dosage.

2. Gargle with Salt Water. That has been the resounding choice of doctors and consumers all over the web. Take a glass of warm water and add about a teaspoon of salt.

3. Gargle with mouth wash and hydrogen peroxide. While you'd think that sounds like a recipe for a stomach pump, supposedly the anti-bacterial action in the hydrogen peroxide will kill off those throat germs.

4. Gargle with Cayenne Pepper. Okay, this one you must try at your own risk. At the Earthclinic website, I saw a huge response to the method of gargling with cayenne pepper powder. However, I also read a few of the mishaps - one woman swallowed the pepper, it went down to her stomach and she proceeded to throw up so much that she forgot about her sore throat. Another man swallowed it too and his head caught fire. Okay - not really but it felt like it did. There are over 300 testimonials from people who say it worked instantly but just be careful - put in an 1/8 of a teaspoon of pepper because if you over do it, you could turn into a red hot chili pepper and your throat will still hurt.

5. Eat a Garlic Clove. I have no idea why this works, but again according to the holistic cures for a sore throat, garlic is at the top. The thought of it totally grosses me out but I guess I can stomach garlic over cayenne.

Now of course, there's always zinc lozenges, echinacea, hot tea, chicken soup and a crazy remedy that I had once with honey, lime, lemon juice and pepper - but I'm not desperate yet. Check back with me later in the day if the sore throat gets worse because if so, I could be trying all of the above.

Do you have any surefire remedies to stop a sore throat and cold in its tracks? Let us know because at this point, we will try anything! Now if you don't trust me and would like to consult someone more official on the web, then hit one of my favorite sites that's chock full of great medical advice...WebMD.

Posted in: Blog, Role Mommy Fave Five on 09/28/2010

The Role Mommy Fave Five

Let the countdown continue to Mother's Day with a few shout outs around the web to some of our favorite blogging moms!

INSPIRING ROLE MOMMY: First up is Ellen at Love that Max with this inspiring post:
Top 20 Reasons Moms of Kids with Special Needs Rock.

DYNAMO ROLE MOMMY: Have to say - I adore Audrey McClelland at MomGenerations. She's got 4 boys and still has an unbelievable figure, upbeat personality and can do everything effortlessly - from writing, to vlogging and getting glam, in a throwback to my Ricki Lake days, Audrey - you are all that and a bag of chips.

MARKETING GURU MOM: And the pick for brilliant marketer Role Mommy goes to Ciaran at Momfluential. Every time I need to think of a great title or concept for anything and anyone, Ciaran is my go-to gal. And tonight, the master of social networking is hosting a virtual jeans party for Miracle Body where you can enter their WeShapeWomen contest for a chance win a trip to NYC where you get to be fitted by a stylist and photographed for a People.com advertisement! everyone who enters receives a $20 coupon code per pair of jeans they order (so if you order two pair, you'd get $40 off).

Check out how much fun a dozen West Coast blogging moms had trying on their jeans and chat with us tonight at 9 pm at #MiracleBody!

4. FUNNY ROLE MOMMY: Momma Said founder, mom of two boys, soccer coach, and author extraordinaire Jen Singer is always on hand for a laugh with her hilarious videos about parenting and this one, that arrives just in time for Mother's Day, totally fits the bill.

5. THESE ARE FEW OF MY FAVORITE ROLE MOMMIES: Our fifth slot is dedicated some moms I absolutely adore - from Kim at Mom in the City, to Esti at Primetime Parenting to Issa at Your Single Parenting - there's something about these moms that always brighten my day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing Role Mommies out there - feel free to chime in with your faves too!

Posted in: Blog, Role Mommy Fave Five on 05/06/2010

Five Ways to Work Out without Working Out

Lately, I've been avoiding my gym. And let me tell you - that doesn't bode well for my thighs, butt and mid-section. But I've decided, rather than do the same thing I do all the time at my local gym (elliptical, stationery bike and treadmill), I'm going to do five things that will hopefully melt the fat from my lower half without me realizing I'm actually working out.

1. Rollerblading - Back in the day (meaning the mid-nineties), I was quite the rollerblader. In fact, my favorite thing to do each weekend was to strap on my blades, slip on my headphones and sing as I rolled through Central Park. During the winter, I'd even rollerblade to Wollman Rink, put my rollerblades in a locker and ice skate for an hour. Hello, Old Me - where are you and how do I get my mojo back?

2. Dancing Lessons - When I was on a cruise recently, I realized that I am a dance spaz. I mean, I can certainly do the typical side to side, hand bopping move that I perfected in the eighties and I personally love the "Baby Mama" 'Stop Framing Your Face' line, but what I've realized is that dancing burns a serious amount of calories - just look at how Kelly Osbourne transformed her body. Sign me up for some salsa lessons stat!

3. Commuter Calorie Burn - Give yourself less than 10 minutes to catch your train. Then sprint in high heels carrying your purse that includes a laptop, your cell phone, iPhone, files and notepad. Now, make sure your train is on the furthest possible track imaginable - for an added burn, climb three flights of stairs at top speed and then collapse on the train. Do not, under any circumstances buy a bag of pretzels before you board the train because if you do, the calories you burnt will be useless.

4. Tennis Anyone? My favorite sport since the time I was nine years old is tennis. The reason - when I'm in the zone, I can really play well. And when I play outdoors, I actually sweat - which means I burn calories. So I will step into my time machine, pretend I'm back in high school and start hitting those balls like a fiend.

5. Wii and My Family: Never count out my Wii Fit - which will definitely call me obese once I step on that balance board but I can take it. All I need to do is stick with a routine, even if it's 15 minutes per day and I will be on my way. Besides, I love the kick boxing and hula hoop games - feel the burn without the burden.

So there you have it - five ways to lose weight without it feeling like a total chore. I'm kick starting my routine tomorrow and will let you know soon how it's working for me. Summer is right around the corner and all I can say is I refuse to spend another season fretting over my knee fat and cankles!

If you have any fun calorie burning tips to share, please feel free to comment!

Posted in: Blog, Role Mommy Fave Five, The Girdle Chronicles on 03/18/2010

Role Mommy Fave Five

The New York Times has their week in review, but if you don't have time to comb through it, here's the next best thing...the five things you should have found out while you were working, carpooling, checking up on old friends on Facebook, you get my drift...

1. 80's Actor Corey Haim found dead - Over at PopEater, where my friend Rob Shuter is a gossip columnist, you can find out all you need to know and more about how he died and his film and reality TV career.

2. You can use Verifone to process credit card payments on your iphone - for budding entrepreneurs constantly chasing after money, this is a great new option to charge your clients right on the spot and get paid instantly. Found out about this while watching Taxi TV. Cha Ching!

3. Great article on the Rise of Mommy Blogging in the NY Times - I knew I was onto something four years ago when I jumped into the blogosphere and now the NY Times has validated what I felt all along - parents want to hear from authentic voices and the best place to find them is online. And the best part is, blogging is becoming a lucrative career for many moms. Plus, some of my favorite peeps, Momfluential, Resourceful Mommy and Scary Mommy were featured. Nice work!

4. Ruffles are the New Black - If you watched the Oscars on Sunday then you probably learned one thing. Ruffles are so in, it isn't funny. From J Lo to Demi Moore, every time I blinked, another ruffle dress appeared. Funny twist...guess which box office diva loves Ruffles potato chips?

5. The End of Hannah Montana - Okay - you do need to connect with your tweens too. If you've been hiding under a rock or too busy blogging, then you may not know that the last episode of Hannah Montana could be airing tonight. I still don't know for sure since I never believe anything until I see it, but judging from last week, Miley is convinced that she wants to go back home to Nashville because her talking horse told her she must come home. Ooh, that is deep.

Posted in: Blog, Role Mommy Fave Five on 03/13/2010

Role Mommy Fave Five

Now that we're jumping into the New Year, I wanted to share some of my favorite links of the week to some of the most talented bloggers I've had the great fortune of meeting these last few years. So without further ado, it's time to check out these awesome blogs.

Momspective Fitness Friday Post - want to get a dose of inspiration and motivation, then read Julie Maloney's latest post on her six week EA Sports Active fitness challenge.

Check Out Momspace - offering tips on how to actually keep your New Year's Resolutions this year. As a special bonus, check out this post by former radio host and Momspace TV host, Joey Fortman - heartfelt and powerful at the same time.

The Spice Up Your Love Life Challenge - Gotta love Mominatrix and her new year challenge to get all of us to add a lot more spice into our lives (and I don't mean cinnamon).

Cruise on over to From Hip to Housewife - where the fabulous Nancy Friedman blogs about her life, fabulous finds and even shares her latest secret...she sings too! In fact, she used to be a Bar Mitzvah singer. Gotta love that!

Last but not least, visit Mom in the City and find out about how job elimination turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Plus, Kim shares what she has in store for her readers in 2010...can't wait!

More fabulous fave fives to come!

Posted in: Blog, Role Mommy Fave Five on 01/02/2010

Fave Five Family Flicks

There is nothing that quite compares to a rainy weekend filled with popcorn, M&M's and DVD's of the best family movies of all time. While your list might be different, for me, it's about re-capturing my childhood and reliving it right along with my kids. Check out my fave five and see if you agree. And, if you want to check out my top 10 picks of 2009 movies, then visit me at Lifetime Moms and see if you agree with my selections!

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - Willy Wonka currently tops our fave five list with Gene Wilder as the eccentric candy genius in the 1970's classic musical. Haven't seen the film in a while? Well, if you have a seven year old who was just introduced to the original film at school, you will have the best time kicking back and watching it right along with them. In this clip, Willy Wonka sings "Pure Imagination." Incidentally, when you see the reaction of the kids and adults to the factory, all it took was one take to film that first scene. The bonus features on the DVD share all special Willy Wonka moments.

Big - There are several movies with Tom Hanks that are pure classics...Forrest Gump, Sleepless in Seattle, Saving Private Ryan, but the one that is fun for families with tweens is one of my personal faves, Big. Any time a child gets the chance to be transformed into an adult and then lands the ultimate job as an executive at a toy company, is my kind of movie.

The Sound of Music - Give me Julie Andrews and eight kids dressed in curtains and what you have is pure magic. Okay, there's way more to the film than the outfits. In fact, when I got married I contemplated having the band play "How do Your Solve a Problem like Maria" when I walked down the aisle. I went with another number from Phantom of the Opera, but either way, Sound of Music will forever be one of my all time favorite musical films. Check out this classic movie trailer...

The Wizard of Oz - When it comes to musical movies, nothing comes close to Judy Garland as Dorothy and her fearless and fearful friends, the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and of course, the Scarecrow. When my kids were little, we must have watched the film two dozen times and my son even dressed up as the scarecrow at his third birthday. My husband even played the cowardly line at the party and unfortunately scared a few kids along the way. This year, I am determined to take my kids to see "Wicked" (or I'm going by myself because I've got to get a musical theatre fix stat.) And while I'm waiting on a great deal for tix, I guess I'll pop in the Wizard of Oz and take a trip down memory lane.

Grease - Well, we featured Tom Hanks in our fave five round up so we of course have to conclude the list with Danny Zuko....better known as John Travolta. The original movie, starring Travolta, Olivia Newton John and DiDi Cohn (gotta love that scene in the diner with Frankie Avalon as the Teen Angel), has always been a personal fave of mine and now that my daughter is a tween, it's fun to step back in time and remember the first time I ever saw the film. Come to think of it, I think was younger than she is. Man, do I feel old. Either way, take a look at this classic scene and then get ready to rent or buy.

If you'd like to pick up any of these classic movies (along with one of our bonus picks from 2009), just check out the carousel below!

Posted in: Blog, Role Mommy Fave Five on 12/26/2009

Fave Five Holiday Time Saving Tips

Find more videos like this on Role Mommy

This morning, we got up at the crack before dawn to make an appearance on the WPIX morning news with Tamsen Fadal (love her!) We were on the show to offer time saving tips for the holidays and in case you missed it, we've got the clip above. Or, if you don't have time to watch but want our tips pronto, well, here they are.

Time Saving Tips for the Holidays
1. Shop for groceries online. Who has time to hit the supermarket when you're busy buying a snuggie for your Great Aunt Tilly? Instead, visit my hands down favorite online grocer - Fresh Direct. So why do they win top honors in my book? Simple. Not only can you order prepared meals that are restaurant quality (they've got dishes from Rosa Mexicano, Tabla and more); you can even order meats that are pre-marinated; four minute meals and if you dare to cook from scratch, they've got recipes right on the site that you can add directly to your shopping cart. Best of all, if you order this week between Tuesday-Thursday, delivery is free.

2. Visit parenting blogs for all your holiday gift needs. If you're like me and still haven't started shopping for gifts, no need to fear. Some of the best blogs I know are featuring incredible holiday gift guides. From Cool Mom Picks, to Classy Mommy, Twitter Moms and Lifetime Moms - where 13 blogging moms share their picks on everything from toys to home, beauty and fun (that would be my category). Incidentally, my three favorite picks this year for gifts include:
1. Kids - Scribblenauts for Nintendo DS - a game that requires imagination and spelling - gotta love that one!
2. Your Family - HP Touchsmart Wireless Printer
3. Friends and Family - 1-800 Baskets - I visited the basket factory in Chicago and trust me when I tell you - those gift baskets are gorgeous - they've got everything from wine to chocolate, cheese, crackers, Starbucks coffee and much more. And best of all - it's affordable!

3. Make clean up a breeze - No need to schlep your vacuum up and down the stairs when there's a spill in the living room. Make sure you have the brand new Swiffer WetJet with anti-bacterial solution handy and get your kids in on the act. My kids happen to wrestle over who gets the Swiffer and sometimes, if I have two in the house we hold races to see who finishes first. If only I could teach my cats how to Swiffer too.

4. Make Plans before You Leave Home - the worst thing you can do during the holiday is leave your home without a plan. I always love to check out sites like Mommy Poppins or New York Metroparents for their calendar of events. Instead of hitting all the tourist attractions and being crammed like sardines, we opt for fun alternatives like off-Broadway shows, museums, aquariums and holiday craft fairs. In the burbs, I visit Essential Mom. And when in doubt, there's always moviefone.com.

5. Relax and don't sweat it! I know - better said than done but trust me - if you take some time for yourself, you'll be armed and ready to take on the holiday singlehandedly. Even though my daughter asked me to find 26 dreidels for a class project that was due this morning, I didn't sweat it. Wandered into Papyrus and lo and behold, there was a bucket of dreidels awaiting. Sometimes visualization is key. Obviously, the people who run Papyrus are busy moms.

Enjoy the holiday and don't get stressed!!!

Posted in: Blog, Role Mommy Fave Five, Role Mommy Recommends, see mom run book tour on 12/15/2009

The Role Mommy Fave Five

It's been a crazy week over here at Role Mommy (when isn't it a crazy week), but while we were racing around town, we've compiled a Fave Five that's entertaining, informative and hilarious.

1. Eating Candy Could Turn Your Kid Into A Criminal. This is by far my favorite story of the week. Some researchers were testing kids since 1969 and found that the ones who ate too much candy became hardened criminals moreso than the children who ate a balanced diet. Thank goodness my parents shipped me off to Weight Watchers at 12 - there's no telling where I would be today if they hadn't put an end to the candy insanity.

2. Want to Find High-End Children's Clothing, Baby items and more for a fraction of the cost? Then register today for Totsy.com, an exclusive private "flash sale" site that officially launches on October 7. Two of my favorite mom bloggers, Audrey from Mom Generations and Nicole at Momtrends are the faces of the site and they'll be sharing their top picks on the latest trends and products that are turning heads in the children's fashion and accessories industry. Incidentally, did you know that Nicole used to work at Ralph Lauren and Audrey used to work at Donna Karan? Love that!

3. One of Our Favorite Role Mommies Makes the NY Daily News...I love it when I can flip through my local paper and then Bam! I get to read a profile of one of our contributors to our new humor anthology See Mom Run - Issa at YourSingleParenting and New York City Mamasan. The paper even featured a gorgeous photo of Issa and her son, that was taken at one of our Role Mommy events with celebrity photographer extraordinaire, Jade Albert (photo was in the print version, not online). Go Issa!

4. Fall TV is Back!!! I can't tell you how beyond thrilled I am that my favorite shows are back on TV. I don't know about you, but I was on the edge of my seat this week watching Private Practice. Any time a crazy looney tune performs a c-section on Amy Brenneman, steals the baby and both survive, I've got to say it doesn't get any better than that!

5. The Secret Behind Giveaways! On our latest Role Mommy on the Run and Traveling Mom Show, we gave the secret behind getting lots of comments on your site for giveaways. Listen in and unlock the key to building traffic on your site!

Posted in: Daily Shout Out, Role Mommy Fave Five on 10/03/2009

Role Mommy Fave Five Fantasy Vacations

Now that we're in full back to school mode, yours truly is fantasizing about vacations. In fact, I'm in the process of planning my dad's 70th birthday and we're about to sail the open seas in February to the Caribbean. But while I'm planning the shindig, I've been having fun checking out the places I want to go next. And here's a snapshot of my Fave Five Fantasy vacations.

1. Aruba - I have always wanted to go to Aruba - from the white sandy beaches to the gorgeous ocean views and the perfect weather all year round, one of these days I will finally make it to Aruba. And while I've been surfing the web, I've even found Kid Friendly resorts in Aruba with tons of activities and gorgeous rooms.

2. Hawaii - Another destination on my must vacation list. Once you buy your plane tickets, check out how reasonable these hotels are for families! I think it's cheaper to go to Hawaii then to head to Florida during spring break!!!

3. Dominican Republic - We went to Club Med Punta Cana several years ago with our kids and totally loved it, and since that time, several resorts have popped up that are perfect for families. Plus, the price is right too.

4. Jamaica - Love, love, love Jamaica. Food is amazing, service is unbeatable and the music is amazing! I'm determined to hit the Half Moon resort in Montego Bay next go round because kids under 16 stay for free!!!

5. New York City - Okay - since I live in New York - I don't really need to stay at a hotel but if I do decide to check in, why not feel like an A-lister and book yourself where the celebrities stay? Sure they usually are staying there free of charge (because they're promoting a movie, TV show, or new CD), but why not put on a pair of oversized sunglasses and pretend you're one of the new stars of Real Housewives of NYC (or the Biggest Loser).

Want to hear more about my latest adventures this week? Then listen in and laugh to my latest Blog Talk Radio show with Traveling Mom!

This is a Traveling Mom dedicated post.

Posted in: Role Mommy Fave Five on 09/26/2009