My husband and I were talking about our first couple of cell phones. Back in the day…I might as well refer to this time as the “Wilderness Years.” We purchased our first cell phone in 1995. Note, that I said “we”…that’s right for about 3 years my husband and I shared the phone.

This phone was called the “baby phone” for a long, long time. The so-called baby phone was purchased when I was 6 months pregnant. I was supposed to use it for emergencies. I couldn’t call to chat with my husband when he was on his way to and from work because he didn’t have a cell phone. No friends or family had phones.

The phone was about the size of 2.5 decks of playing cards laid end to end. I phone weight at least 3 pounds. Because the phone didn’t have a “go to sleep” button, I had to store the phone in a bag which I carried in my purse. This prehistoric phone was about as far from the smartphones of today as you could possibly imagine. My phone was like your phone. No personalization at all.

HTC has a new phone that is billed as the phone that lets you be you. The Android-powered HTC Wildfire S runs on HTC Sense. You can customize the way the phone “looks and feels” by swapping out skins, scenes, and sounds. Perfect for the first-time smartphone adopter, too!

Like the HTC Status that I reviewed in an earlier post, the HTC Wildfire S is the social phone. Use both of these phones to keep up with your social media scene. Consolidate all your social media channels on your phone in a way that works for you.

When you’re feeling like taking a break, pull out the HTC Wildfire S for some fun music, games, and apps. The Android Market is the source for all your app needs.

Want the deets on the HTC Wildfire?

• The HTC Wildfire S can be purchased from Metro PCS. Find a location near you.
• Works on Android with HTC Sense platforms.
• HVGA 3.2″ touch display screen.
• Internal memory of 512 MB RAM.
• 5.0 MP camera with front and back cameras.

The kind folks at HTC want me to giveaway an HTC Wildfire S. So, here is how you can win an HTC Wildfire S phone…

Winning is easy. First, leave a mandatory comment. Second, leave one or more of the optional comments. Remember, you must leave the mandatory comment for the other comments to count. Oh, and don’t forget to leave your email address in the comment, so I can contact you if you win! Want a chance to win another HTC phone?! I’m giving away an HTC Status (ends 1/5/2012)!

Mandatory Comment — Leave a comment.

Go to HTC, look at the HTC Wildfire S, and leave a comment about what you like about this phone or any other HTC phone.

Optional Comment — Leave a comment.

• Follow @MusingsfromMe on Twitter.
• Like Musings from Me on Facebook.
• Like Jill MusingsfromMe on Facebook.
• Subscribe to my blog’s feed.
• Stumble one of my posts that is not a giveaway.  Use your Stumble toolbar or use the Share button that is placed to the left of the post.
• Subscribe to my YouTube Channel.
• Tweet this giveaway and leave a link to your tweet: @MusingsfromMe is giving away an HTC Wildfire S smartphone! Enter http://bit.ly/uVYUBJ. Ends 1/6.

I was not compensated for this review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Giveaway ends Friday, January 6 at 11:59 p.m. Any links in this post are affiliate links to my amazon affiliate account. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

“There’ll be a lot of kerfuffle.”

I remember like it was yesterday my grandmother warning me about an upcoming commotion or fuss or kerfuffle. She was all about anticipating potential disaster. I definitely inherited my “it will end in tears” attitude from my grandmother. Kerfuffle is one of those words I like to drop in to conversation every now and then. Like discombobulate. You have to love words like these.

A few Thursdays ago…Thanksgiving Day to be precise, we decided to seek out some good old commotion through good ole fashioned game playing. Our family of 5 is all about seizing family time. True some are more in to it than others, but a little game playing on a major holiday is always fun.

The game: Dicecapades! Kerfuffle!

The players: The Tween, The Kid, The Mom

The watchers: The Dad, The Grandfather

The nonwatchers: The Teen — curled up in bed reading a book, the Grandmother — popped in from time to time to watch the game.

The object of the game: In the game — Dicecapades! Kerfuffle! — players choose a color of dice. We had a minor squirmish or three over the color each person needed to have. Oy! Players roll their dice to create a pair, four of a kind, or a straight by lining the dice on the grid. But, there’s a catch…a twist if you will…

The catch AKA what will keep everyone playing a long time: Each player has to do something while taking their turn…like turn around three times in a circle, or jump up and down, or any number of crazy moves. The players liked doing the moves, but I have to tell you that the watchers had just as much fun watching everyone play the game. My FIL thought it was hilarious that The Kid had to run around in a circle while taking his turn.

The verdict: The game was a hit. Easy to play after an initial discussion about what was a straight, four of a kind, etc. We had never played a dice game before.

Would you like to win Dicecapades! Kerfuffle!? To win the game, leave a mandatory comment with your name and email, so that I can contact you if you win. For more chances to win, leave other comments. You must leave the mandatory comment to win. The giveaway ends December 19, 2011. The giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada only.

Mandatory Comment

• Go to The Haywire Group site. Come back and tell me about a game.

Optional Comments (leave one comment for each)

• Like The Haywire Group on Facebook.
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I was sent Dicecapades! Kerfuffle! to facilitate my review. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

My oldest is always ahead of the game. As an almost-tween she “discovered” the Bobby Jack monkeys. For a few years she was all about those cute monkeys. Posters on her wall. Desk accessories. Many, many tees. Even a pair of sweatpants. And then nothing. No more monkeys. No more cute monkey pencils. Nada. Nothing.

She was the same way with the home computer. One day she was all about playing educational games on CD-ROMs where you shot a rocket to get the correct answer or followed a trail to find clues to solve a puzzle. No logging on to worry about…at the time our internet connection was painfully slow. And the next day she declared that the games were too babyish for her.

And so she moved on to the land of cute Arctic creatures. At about the same time my younger daughter — then a tween, too — discovered an online world of plush animals that you could buy at a store and play with online. Both girls also found their way to an online site where kids can play games, start a webpage or sphere, play in a virtual world, earn credits, etc.

In a matter of a few short months, I was faced with not one but two kids who wanted to play games online. We talked. We discussed. We educated our kids about online safety. We made it clear that playing games on online was a privilege not a right. If grades dropped or attitude waned or chores were neglected, the computer and any online privileges would disappear. No discussion.

I was adjusting well to this when my oldest then an almost teen requested a Facebook page. I hemmed and hawed and debated whether I should allow her to get a page until finally relenting when she turned 14. Her sister wasn’t far behind in asking for a Facebook page.

Having a Facebook page is a privilege and not a right for my girls. I keep track of their passwords for Facebook and email. But, I don’t check their accounts each and every day. I trust both girls to act responsibly with their pages. But, I want to know for sure that both are acting responsibly.

Recently, I was asked to check out a service called Safely. Safely offers a number of services to parents:  Safely Locate, Safely Drive, and Safely Social Monitor. I was asked to review the Safely Social Monitor service. Safely Social Monitor helps parents AND kids stay smart on Facebook. The Social Monitor is a free service for parents.

The Safely Social Monitor service is now available for parents to keep an eye on their child’s Facebook page. I found the service to be very easy to use. Here’s what I did:

• I opened the Safely Social Monitor using this invite code link. Remember there is no fee to join Safely.
• I created an account for our family. I shared the password and email that I used to sign up for an account with my husband.
• I added the email that my oldest child used to create her Facebook pages to our family Safely account.
• Safely Social Monitor prompted me to log in to my oldest child’s Facebook page. I keep both of my children’s Facebook passwords handy. The children know that I have their Facebook passwords and may log in. I’m not spying…I’m letting them know that I trust them to act responsibly, BUT I want to be able to log on from time to time.
• Once Safely had logged in to my child’s Facebook page, a Safely Report was generated that gave my child a score for safety including:  a score out of 100 for overall safety and a letter grade for the following categories — Connected to Safely, Number of Alerts, Appropriate Language, Friends’ Ages, Mutual Friends, and Number of Friends.
• I repeated the process with my middle child.
• The process was easy.

I am pleased to report that both children scored a 98 out 100 on their overall safe use of Facebook. I am so pleased as this means I (and my husband) have done a good job educating them about Facebook. Both kids “operate” their Facebook pages using safe practices.

One interesting feature is that I can see any new photos that the kids have added. I can also see the number of friends each has by age. The majority of their friends are their age. I like knowing that they are associating with tweens and teens their age, rather than young adults.

I bookmarked the Safely Social Monitor site so that I can check in regularly to see how the kids are doing on Facebook. I shared the log in details with my husband so that he can check in as well. Oh, and I sent an email to both kids letting them know that I was proud of them for using their Facebook pages in a safe manner. Kids love praise.

I would highly recommend that parents use Safely Social Monitor to keep track of their child’s Facebook page. I would also suggest that parents should not allow their children under the age of 13 to get a Facebook page. Facebook terms of service specifies that children should be over 13 before starting a Facebook page.

Want more information about online safety for kids, tweens, and teens?

• Like the Safely Facebook page.
• The Safely Spotlight — free digital parenting guide with tips and advice — will be regularly published and made available on the Safely Facebook page.
• Learn more about Safely Social Monitor by watching this YouTube video.

I was compensated for this review of Safely Social Monitor through a compensated post campaign sponsored by Location Labs. The views expressed in the post are my own. I follow tenets of Blog With Integrity.

Options. Enrichment. Opportunities. Advancement. Like all parents, I want the very best education for my kids. I’m fortunate to live in the county where the school system is on the rise academically. About 5 years ago, our school district surpassed a neighboring county’s test scores. This change was monumental for our county.

If you know anything about education, you won’t be surprised that the list of top schools in this country is based on the all-important test scores in reading and math. In order for students to score well on these tests, students need to have the have a strong grip on the fundamentals of reading and math that are the foundation for all subject areas. Without knowing how to read with a critical eye, a child will not be able to comprehend a historical document or follow a recipe. The same is true for math. Learning how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide is necessary before embarking on higher level math classes in geometry, algebra, and trigonometry.

Parents with middle and high schoolers know how critical math is to current and future education, as well as career opportunities. I read an interesting quote from Sylvan while preparing to write this review:

A critical gateway subject, algebra is the foundation for higher-level mathematics and science courses in high-school, which in turn can open doors for college and lead to better careers and lifetime earning potential.

According to Sylvan, American students are failing algebra at an “alarming rate.” Algebra is a foundation course that is critical for your child’s future school success. Tweens and teens with low algebra skills could encounter difficulties with the ACT and SAT standardized tests.

Do you have a 7th or 8th or 9th grader who is about to or taking algebra this school year? Sylvan in partnership with Let’s Go Learn is offering a FREE 21-question Algebra Readiness Check-up. I was asked to review a site that will assess your child’s readiness for algebra.

After finding out that I needed to review the math site — Fit 4 Algebra — I enlisted my daughter’s help. I needed her expertise on the finer points of algebra. Over the years, I have forgotten quite a bit of the algebra I was taught in school. She was willing to do the screener for me as she is taking algebra this year. The screener, given to me by Sylvan Learning, is a tool that evaluates your child’s knowledge of algebra.

The process for accessing the algebra diagnostic test was straightforward. I set up an account on LetsGoLearn.com for our family using my email address. I chose a password that I shared with my children. I have one child who has completed Algebra 1, one child who is taking the class, and one who will take the class in a few years. I added all 3 children to our family account.

After my daughter completed the Fit4Algebra diagnostic tool — which took her about 15-20 minutes — I asked her what she thought about Fit4Algebra by Sylvan. Here’s what she said:

• She answered all the questions on the Fit4Algebra site, but she was able to use scratch paper to work out her answers.  Her math teacher always require that students hand in their scratch paper to see how they solved the problem.
• She liked she would be getting a reward for reviewing this site.
• She liked that the site helped her work out algebra problems.

Once she completed the Fit4Algebra Algebra Readiness Check-up I hopped on to the site to access the results of her check-up. The Results page showed her school grade level, for instance, 7.1 , 8.4. By clicking on “Results,” I was able to see my daughter’s algebra readiness level.

The Fit4Algebra “AlgebraMeter” listed not only her overall fitness level, but broke down her algebra readiness by topic areas showing whether her grasp of the material was STRONG, MODERATE, or whether she needed to BUILD her skills:

• decimal operations
• comparing and converting
• fractions
• ratios and proportions
• coordinate graphing
• geometry
• integers

I would highly recommend using the Fit4Algebra Readiness Checkup with your middle and high school children. Since the test is only 15-20 minutes, students shouldn’t be averse to doing the screening.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Sylvan Learning and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

I love a show with a voice over. A witty tongue in cheek voiceover. You know kind of like the voice of the dead housewife on Desperate Housewives. Mary Alice was only on the show for 1 episode, but she lives on season after season. She’s the voice of reason. She tells it like it is. She watches over the cul-de-sac’s happenings. She knows a thing or two about the inhabitants of Wisteria Lane.

Or do you remember Claire Danes’ voice over on My So-Called Life? Danes and My So-Called Life tackled numerous hot button teen issues — teen homosexuality, premarital sex, drugs — that were barely mentioned in the 90s when the show had its brief run. Come to think of it other shows about kids have used the voiceover technique. Remember The Wonder Years? Didn’t Malcolm in the Middle use one, too?

The teen who is not in control of his life narrates his view of the world for anyone to listen to. Tessa was recently uprooted from the familiarity of her NYC apartment to the SUBURBS! Can you imagine how it would feel to live in the plastic world of Tessa’s new suburban neighborhood…Suburgatory? Tessa shares her first impressions in this new series on ABC premiering tonight at 8:30 p.m. EST. Click below for a sneak peek.

Want to see more of Suburgatory? Visit http://abc.go.com/watch/gate/suburgatory to watch the full first episode. Enter code:  EYQdcfiUg

So do you live in Suburgatory? If you can answer “Yes” to any of these questions, you just might…

• Your dog’s haircut is more expensive than yours.
• The drinking fountains offer sparkling or still.
• The school cafeteria serves tuna tartar.
• The majority of medical procedures are elective.
• “Brunette” is a dirty word.
• The top three industries in your community are tanning, spandex and peroxide.

Suburgatory just might be my favorite show…it is a comedy without a laugh track. Are you like me? Do you loathe a laugh track? I don’t care that a show was filmed before a life studio audience….just stop with the canned laughter.

Get the scoop on Suburgatory…

• Official website http://abc.go.com/shows/suburgatory
• Like Suburgatory on Facebook
• Follow @SuburgatoryABC on Twitter #Suburgatory
• The cast: Tessa Altman is played by Jane Levy, Jeremy Sisto plays Tessa’s dad, George Altman, Cheryl Hines is Dallas Royce, the pushy, plastic-y neighbor. I don’t know what Sisto has starred in recently, but as a teen he was in Grand Canyon with Danny Glover, Kevin Kline, Mary McDonnell, and Alfre Woodward.

Links to DVDs from shows mentioned in this post:

• Desperate Housewives — Season 7
• My So-Called Life — Complete Series

I was not compensated to write this post. The links in this post are to my amazon affiliate account. The views expressed in the post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

A friend asked about my tween’s knee socks. The knee socks are bright. And by bright I mean neon. Sometimes striped. Often with a repeating pattern of frogs or Nemo fish. The socks could be argyle or plaid. But, for my tween the brighter the better.

I told my friend that with tweens all bets are off. Elementary and middle schools have strict dress codes, which saves some aggravation in the mornings. The kids know not to argue about what to wear. The rules are usually…

• No t-shirts with offensive messages on the front.
• No images having anything to do with drugs or alcohol.
• No spaghetti strap shirts.
• No bare midriffs.
• No low rider pants showing underwear.

So, you would think that the dress code would mean there would be no further discussion about dress. Uh no. We still spar about foot wear. I say “No!” to flip flops. She says “Yes!” I say “No!” to shorts in the winter months. She says “Yes!” It’s a battlefield many mornings. My teen went through a brief phase where she wore one outfit to get on the school bus and then changed in to a second outfit after PE. I would see her get off the bus in a dress and say “What??” I made it clear to her that if she was ever abducted on her way to school, I would need to give the police a description of what she was wearing when she left for school. I know this may sound extreme, but I also wanted to nip in the bud the whole “I’ll wear ‘mom-approved’ Item A and switch it for ‘kid-approved’ Item B.” She agreed…reluctantly.

We spar about t-shirts. While the girls would never ask to wear a tee with an inappropriate or offensive saying, they have been known to pick up a shirt with something about hating homework or “I Hate Math.” These t-shirt slogans are a no go for me. I don’t want a teacher to look at the shirts and make an inference that my kid hates doing homework. I may be overreacting, but I have drawn a line in the sand. No anti school tees. Period. Ditto for “I hate my brother/sister” tees.

Dots Fade 02 Dots Fade-DF11-002 is a high quality, fashion design sock, designed in Sweden. Dots Fade-DF11-002 is one of our comfortable, colourful socks, available for both men and women.

And then there are the dress choices that are no exactly inappropriate…not anywhere near offensive…but just a little off center. Examples…if you know my kids you’ll know I have a bunch of examples to choose from…

• Neon or brightly colored knee socks
• Toe socks worn with flip flops. Ow! My toes hurt just thinking about wearing these socks.
• Tigger ears, antlers, bunny ears, and probably any other “ears on a headband.”
• Jewelry and lots of it. Only a “No” on PE days.
• Makeup — “No” if the child is in elementary school. Minimal makeup…lip gloss…if child is in middle school. I allow my high schooler to wear makeup if it is minimal and tastefully applied.

When my girls were 8 and under I had them in matching dresses (my girls are 2 years apart but have worn the same size clothes since the youngest was 6 and the oldest 8), Disney Princess outfits, and Osh Kosh clothes. Around 8, both discovered Justice and basically all bets were off. Justice is better than Forever 21…but not much. By 12, both had moved on to Hollister/Abercrombie/American Eagle/aeropostale — more normal…less of the too-grown up clothes. Oh, how I miss those days.

I look at my tween in her favorite look…a pair of gold, sparkly Ugg boots with a pair of striped or Argyle knee socks…with a pair of shorts…in the winter. All I can I say is Tweens!

The links in this post are to Happy Socks via Commission Junction.

Readers of this  blog know that I am all about family time. With a teen on the cusp of adulthood, I grasp at family time any way I can. Even my youngest is now 8. Still a little boy, but his preteen years are not far off.

If I see a movie in the theater, I plan a family outing to the movies. When a show comes on TV that looks promising, I turn dinner time in to movie time. Dinner on movie night becomes pizza rolls, bagel bites, and taquitos. It may not be gourmet cooking, but if I can get my family to watch a movie together…I’m all for it.

Walmart and P&G have teamed up for Family Movie Night. You might recall that I posted about another Family Movie Night, Who Is Simon Miller? From the intensity of espionage to the play-by-play of high school football, Family Movie Night is enabling families to gather to watch a movie together.

I watched Game Time: Tackling the Past online two days ago. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the movie. The storyline is a good one. Now that I have a high schooler there is no way that I could avoid getting immersed in the world of high school football. I’m not a sports fan, but there is a certain energy to a football game that I like.

High school football is the antithesis of what I experienced at high school in England. We had no school mascot, no football team, no interschool rivalries except for perhaps a tennis match.

American high school football is just as intense and high energy as the pros. Kids take the game seriously. So do parents. Game Time: Tackling the Past centers around a football family. Dad is a curmudgeonly, “we must win” high school coach played by Beau Bridges. Is it me or was Beau Bridges always an old soul? He never seemed young to me even though he played youthful roles.

The film begins with Bridges having a heart attack during family dinner. The stress of seasons past and present has finally caught up with Coach Walker.

In times of crisis families gather. The Walkers are no different. Mom — Catherine Hicks who you will remember as a the mom in Seventh Heaven — becomes the family rock and mediator between silent, brooding Dad and their two sons who are at war with each other. Mom has her work cut out for her as she tries to quell anger between her sons: returning NFL star Jake and “never left his hometown and now coaches with Dad” Dean.

Jake and Dean have never seen eye to eye as adults. When Jake returns home, he has to evaluate more than his relationship to his family. He must find a new job as his NFL contract is over. What will Jake do? Play for another NFL team? Stay in his hometown and mend fences?

Do you know how many times I find a movie on Netflix or Fios Flex View that I think will be a great family movie only to find that the movie has an R or PG13 rating? Almost every movie that I think my teen will be interested in turns out to be a no-go due to an R or PG rating. A good resource for finding the skinny on movies is Common Sense Media. I love finding movies, like Game Time: Tackling the Past, that are free of offensive language, violence, or sexual content.

You can catch a sneak peek of Game Time…

Don’t forget to watch the premiere of Game Time: Tackling the Past on Saturday, September 3 on NBC at 8pm ET/7pm CT.

To find out more about Game Time: Tackling the Past, click here. Also, Like Game Time: Tackling the Past on Facebook.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of P&G and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

So, here’s the deal. I have wanted to write a book since I was about 9. I filled composition books, notepads, scraps of paper, and even those thin as onion skin sheets of typing paper. I can still feel the pinch on my fingers as I jabbed too hard at the typewriter keys. Ahem…the typewriter was a manual one. And no I am not 80. But I did live in England back in the late 70s where the small appliance had not yet reached our corner of the world. I had never heard of microwaves, coffee makers, electric alarm clocks, or automatic typewriters back then.

My grandmother, with whom we lived, did have an electric washing machine, but in order to run the washer you had to attach a hose to the kitchen fawcet. That thing was loud and moved around the kitchen for the length of the cycle. My grandmother would have to hold on to the machine so that the hose didn’t disconnect and spill water all over the kitchen floor. Can you imagine how arduous wash day was? But back to writing a book.

My mother’s old manual typewriter was all I had. I used that typewriter to write a story of two kids who traveled the world and had adventures. One of the kids…the boy in the story…was me. The kids’ lives in my “book” mirrored my life. I was born in the UK, moved to the US at age 4, returned to the UK briefly when I was 7, returned to the US until I was in 4th grade, before it was back to the UK for the rest of 4th grade and all of 5th grade, and then back to the US for 6th grade. But, not all of 6th grade as I returned to England to finish out the school year. Nutty parenting decision?! My family also lived in Italy later on when I was in high school, but at least then only my dad lived in Italy while we visited on school vacations and long weekends. Can you say nomadic?

Anyway, so my hopes of writing a book are still alive although I am doing nothing to further my dreams. I write and write on this blog. In fact I post all over the place it seems. I post over at the new The DC Moms site about raising kids in DC. I write on Oysters Locals Blog about Lego, cupcakes, and food trucks. I write about all things Baltimore when it comes to parenting and…surviving parenting tweens. Writing about tweens works as I have a former tween, a present tween, and a up-and-coming tween, so you can catch me over at TypeAParent, too. As a blogger/writer living about the same distance from DC as Baltimore, I stick to my close-to-home, hyperlocal roots at Ellicott City’s Patch site.

But, no book is on the horizon…no book from me that is. I am in a book. The next best thing, right?! The book in question is an ebook from my favorite site for busy moms and dads who love to give back to their children’s schools through volunteering. VolunteerSpot provides an online hub site for coordinating sign ups for volunteering in the classroom, class parties, and of course schoolwide events. Last year I would not have kept track of when I was supposed to volunteer if not for VolunteerSpot.

I was asked to give my opinion on class parties for a very helpful, packed with tips and resources ebook from VolunteerSpot. I didn’t have to be asked twice. As a mom who has had a kid in a school since 1999 I know I can speak about class parties. Interestingly enough I have never been a room mom or had anything to do with planning a class party. I’m the go-to person to provide juice bags, snacks, or volunteer on the day of the party. But, I leave the planning to the uber-creative types.

Want to learn more about VolunteerSpot? Features and Benefits?

Check out the superb selection of ebooks here.

Like VolunteerSpot on Facebook. Follow VolunteerSpot on Twitter.

I hated the feeling of being caught off guard. Still hate it. Twice when I had heavy bleeding I was at school…high school. You don’t want to stand out in high school…ever! But, there I was…stuck at school and totally caught off guard. I have never felt so helpless.

As an adult I can and do talk about such subjects as heavy bleeding and menstrual cramps here on this blog or on Twitter or to my offline friends. I’m a grownup and I’m comfortable talking to women who may be experiencing the same problems. But, back kin high school, I was stuck.

I couldn’t talk to my high school friends about the heavy bleeding I experienced each month. No, I could not. I wonder which of my friends were going through the same pain and discomfort as I was? I also couldn’t talk to my teachers, either. I was at a religious affiliated school and quite honestly the teachers were not approachable at all. Neither were the nuns. I rarely remember having a conversation about anything with any of them on any subject, especially not heavy bleeding during my period. And my school did not have a school nurse or even a place to go and lie down when you were not feeling well.

Schools and times have changed. I have quite frank conversations with friends about how to deal with issues that can make your life uncomfortable. There is certainly no shame in seeking advice on heavy bleeding from a medical professional. In fact, I want to help my readers better understand the condition and its impact, and strategies for talking with a healthcare professional about finding the right treatment options.

I have a few resources for you if you suffer from heavy bleeding or know someone who suffers. I normally don’t ask this, but if you have a friend or relative with heavy periods…pass this blogpost on.

HealthyWomen.org has a host of resources for dealing with the effects of heavy bleeding. In fact, did you know that 92% of women with heavy periods say that the condition frustrates them, while 68% say that their periods control them. I’ve been there and I can say that I don’t want to go back to my teen years.

But, there are treatment options for those women with heavy periods. From ice packs on the abdomen to taking vitamins to taking medications, Health Women has a comprehensive listing of options for you to peruse. Use them now or bookmark the link for later. Look in to medical options. Ask your gynecologist. Whatever you do, don’t suffer in silence.

Other resources from Healthy Women include:

• A Q&A on what to ask during your medical visit.
• A Q&A on what is heavy bleeding and what is a normal menstrual cycle.
• And finally, what is the cause of heavy periods?
• Follow HealthyWomen.org or Facebook.
• Follow HealthyWomen.org on Twitter.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Ferring Pharmaceuticals and received a promotional item to facilitate my review.

My teen first started talking about Facebook in 5th grade. I joined Facebook around the same time.

We don’t friend our Teen, BUT we have her password. She knows that anything she posts could be viewed by one of us at any time. She’s a conscientious student and all-around good kid who “gets” that the Facebook account is hers alone, but mom and dad need to know that she is using her Facebook account in a positive way.

The issue of friends comes up when I talk to my Teen. I’m friends with a ton of people because of my job, but I’m in social media. I want to friend or follow more people so that more people will see what I am writing about. If you know me on Twitter you know that I have many followers and I run multiple Twitter accounts. My Teen on the other hand should only be friending people she knows. Period.

We also made the rule that the Teen can only friend people she has actually met in person…school, sports, camp, church, but I don’t want her friending her out-of-town friend’s friends or random people. Facebook is a massive network built on the concept of friendship. For teens, there’s a problem with having access to too many friends. I want my Teen to only friend kids she knows.

But, what about younger kids? I saw a disturbing news report about an 8-year-old who has a Facebook account. 8! Her mom set up the account for her, so she could play games. Seems harmless enough to let a kid play Bejewled like mom, right? When this child was allowed to get on Facebook to play a game, she was friended by a bunch of people unknown to her and her mom. Before you knew it the little girl was having photos sent to her. Nasty photos, too. Bizarre and inappropriate messages were posted by unknown-to-her people to her wall. In fact what started as a harmless way to let a kid play games online turned in to a situation where a little child was exposed to images and language far beyond her years.

There’s a reason why the Facebook TOS specifies that all users are 13. But, where can younger kids get the experience of being online, but not be bombarded with inappropriate material and language from unknown-to-them people? Yoursphere

Two years ago, our family discovered Yoursphere.com. We have been with Yoursphere since our Teen was a Tween, and our Tween was a Kid, and our Kid was a Preschooler. We’re part of the Yoursphere.com family, that is for sure.

Yoursphere lets our Tween play Bejeweled like Dad. Only our Tween is playing in a safe, secure online community only for kids, while Dad is playing on Facebook. Both have the same experience, but I know that my Tween is safe.

Here’s the deets on Yourpshere, if you’re interested:

• Yoursphere.com is FREE. Free!
• Kids and Tweens can not create an account without parental validation of that account. Peace of mind for this mom.
• Kids and Tweens can play games — Bejeweled, Diner Dash, Crazi Taxi, Space Kidnappers, and so many more.
• Kids and Tweens can join groups or Spheres with other Kids and Tweens who enjoy the same things.

Once your kids are signed up for Yoursphere.com, they can join Animal Planet’s Victoria Stilwell It’s Me or the Dog Sphere or get a little wild with the star of Wild Recon Donald Schultz’ Sphere. Are your kids in to watching fun game shows like mine are? Then they will love newest celebrity sphere:  Jeff Sutphen. You many not know him, but you will know of the two shows he hosts…Nickelodeon’s BrainSurge and our family favorite, 101 Ways to Leave a Game Show.

I am the Social Media Manager for Yoursphere. If you sign up for a FREE Yoursphere account for your kids, use code YSMA-JILL…your kids will receive 75 credits to spend in the Yoursphere Gift Gallery when you use my code!