A week or so ago, I was invited to attend an event in D.C. Though I am quite happy to be a work-at-home mom every now and then I like to pretend that I am a professional working person. I dress for success. Leave my house early. Commute in to the city. After a few hours, I am good and ready to get home to my cozy, comfy clothes and my chilly, yet home-y home office.

AT&T was a sponsor of the Family Online Safety Institute annual conference. The Family Online Safety Institute or FOSI is the leading advocate for online safety. Like me, you are probably a strong advocate for making the internet a safe place for young and old. Truly, I could never have imagined the opportunities available to kids back when I was a mom of a newborn. Times have changed. That newborn is on the verge of turning 16. How on earth did that happen?

I attended Day 2 of FOSI. Here’s what I learned…

Frederick Lane — author of Cybertraps for the Young — is an attorney and computer forensics expert. He began his presentation by telling us what we all know to be true…that kids are now capable of doing things on the internet that they were once unable to do. A case in point, my oldest at 3 was able to use the computer if she sat on my lap. Many of the PC games were tough to play even with the mouse. My youngest at 3 was already playing Webkinz and other online games without help, but a whole lot of supervision from mom and dad.

Lane took us on a trip down memory lane when he reminded us that the devices of old were uni-purpose…typewriter, clock. Today’s kids are well versed in apps, smartphones, iTouch, iPad, and iPod, and other tablet devices. Lane, an attorney who specializes in computer forensics, explores the legal implications of online acts. What are the legal implications for kids, teens, and adults?

As a parent of 3 school-aged kids, I know all too well how damaging cyberbullying and cyberharassment can be. With the advent of mobile devices, kids can bully and be bullied from anywhere. I had heard about Phoebe Prince — in fact I saw Piers Morgan interview her mother last night, but I hadn’t heard about other victims like, Stephanie Burlingame from the U.K., Jeff Johnston from the U.S., Jesse Logan, Tyler Clemente from Rutgers University, or about perpetrators like, Eric Stenkel.

Lane explained that education is key, as well as observation and monitoring. As Lane put it supervision of your kid is not an invasion of privacy. Kids need to be taught how to become digital citizens. Parents, and teachers are their primary teachers.

Next up was a university lecturer from Bristol. Paul Howard-Jones’ voice reminded me of home. I’m originally from Manchester. Jones is a university professor and researcher on neurology. His site is http://www.neuroeducational.net.

Howard-Jones spoke on a topic near and dear to me — The Impacts of the Internet on the Brain. Haven’t you wondered what the effect of computer use will be for everyone down the road? 20 plus years ago, I had never heard of computers. Now I use a computer, laptop, or smartphone multiple times a day. All 3 of my children will more readily reach for an electronic device to answer a question than a book. Professor Howard-Jones talked about the elasticity of the brain. He explained that the brain will rewire for any thing we experience. Food for thought.

A recent social networking study found that social networks increases interaction and relationships. But, too much of anything is never a good. Howard-Jones explained that too much computer time leads to too little sleep. Ever see a teen or young adult texting in to the wee hours of the morning? We need sleep so that our brains can switch from encoding information to the consolidation of information acquired during the day. Teens who text at night are very likely to experience daytime sleepiness.

Of note…the AAP recommends 2 hours of screen for children. Are your children like mine? Depending on the day… one day my kids may spend a great deal of time staring at screens while the next day they are outside playing. Depends on the day.

Howard-Jones posited…are video games the environmental equivalent of Ritalin? Video games can be seen as “teachers.” Highly social games can teach empathy. As we know, violent video games can teach aggression.

So, the bottom line is…

• Excessive internet use, like any other activity that you do without taking consistent breaks, is not good for you.
• Excessive use can cause disrupted sleep.
• Violent games can cause kids and teens to exhibit aggressive tendencies.
• Practice moderation.
• Limit screen time for kids and teens. And for yourself!

After a tasty lunch, I chose one of the breakout sessions — Mom & Dad Bloggers Speak Out. My good friend, Leticia/@TechSavvyMama was one of the panelists. The panelists and audience agreed that parents need to be actively involved in their child’s online world. While teachers are there to assist parents, parents must be aware of what sites their children are visiting.

Seize teachable moments, like a Leticia’s suggestion of a dinner table conversation, to start a conversation. Get the ball rolling. Don’t be shy about asking kids to explain how a certain site or device works. Kids love to be the teacher. Chances are good that while you are chatting about your kid’s favorite app, you can talk to them about ways she can stay safe online.

One audience member likened the discussions between parent and child about online safety to the sex talk. You wouldn’t let a stranger give your child the sex talk, right? So why would you allow your child to play online without supervision? Of course, as your child ages you will want to pull back to give your tween and teen the space to make mistakes and learn from their mistakes. But, for the preschoolers and kids, you will want to begin by sitting beside them as they navigate the web through online games, apps, email, or text messaging. I’m starting that process with my youngest as we recently gave him an email address.

One of the audience members was from Club Penguin. He explained that Club Penguin will email parents if their child is cyberbullying or acting inappropriately online at CP. A colleague of mine, Mary Kay Hoal founded a site online where kids and tweens can be well, kids and tweens! No adults are allowed on Yoursphere.com. Parents are contacted if their child is not being a good digital citizen on Yoursphere.com. Mary Kay, an online safety and parenting advocate, shares her online safety tips, resources, and practical suggestions on her blog.

AT&T is committed to investing in safety and parental controls. To learn more about AT&T’s safety controls and initiatives, check out the AT&T Smart Controls page.

I was compensated by AT&T for attending FOSI — the Family Online Safety Institute annual conference. I was also given an AT&T Impulse 4G phone. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

My workday is unpredictable. Some days my mornings start bang on time. I put all three kids on three buses with everything that each could possibly need for the day — backpacks, books, lunchboxes, etc. — and head down to my office to work without a problem. Oh, how I love those days!

Other mornings, my day just seems doomed from the beginning. We oversleep. There is no clean laundry…or more precisely the outfit that one of my girls needs is still in the laundry. I spill milk on the floor…and yes it is possible that I shed a tear at cleaning the floor at such an early hour. One of the kids dawdles and dithers and dallies and misses the bus. I realize that I have practically nothing to make lunches. Another kid calls from school about a missing notebook or homework assignment. Basically, my day does not get off to a good start. You know how it is?

On days where everything is off track and I find myself on the road to school with a missing lunchbox or folder or P.E. uniform, I am grateful to have the next best thing to my desk in my pocket. I like to call it my “office away home.” What am I talking about? My smartphone.

Almost two years ago, I did not have a smartphone. If I was away from my home office, I had no way to check email or tweet or post to Facebook. As a social media marketer and blogger, without a smartphone my hands are literally tied behind my back.

I was asked to test drive the HTC Rhyme phone. The Rhyme is an HTC smartphone available through Verizon Wireless. The Rhyme may seem like just another phone in the Android market, but it is the suite of accessories that make the phone a hit with anyone on the go.

• Comes with a docking station for charging.
• The phone rests on the dock to charge.
• I moved the charging dock from the kitchen to my office to my bedroom — very easy to move from room to room
• Unlike regular charging cards you don’t need to fumble in the dark as you try to locate the charging cord hole. Instead, just place the phone on the docking holder to charge. I never had a problem aligning the 3 pins on the back of the Rhyme with the corresponding 3 pins on the cradle part of the charging dock as the dock is contoured to cradle the Rhyme.
• While the HTC Rhyme rests in the dock, you can use the phone as an alarm clock or a music player. We listened to music while I prepared dinner and the kids did their homework.

Ever hear your phone ring, know that the phone is in your purse, but not be able to find the phone no matter how much digging you do? Just me? The HTC Rhyme comes with the Charm. You attach the Charm to your phone  using the headphone jack. The Charm will light up to let you know about calls, messages, and more. No more digging around in your purse…just pull on the cord attached to the HTC Rhyme to find the phone! Although I didn’t use the headphones, the flat wires would lead to few to no tangles.

The setup of the phone is very similar to the HTC Thunderbolt I currently use. I found all my favorite apps in the Android Market. I set up the Rhyme to mirror as much as possible my Thunderbolt. I use the extended battery with the Thunderbolt, so I missed the battery power. The Rhyme screen at 3.7″ WVGA super LCD is smaller than the Thunderbolt’s 4.3″ screen. I found both screens easy to use and read.

The only downside to the phone was that the opening on the side of for inserting the charging cord is covered by a flap. When I tried to insert the charging cord in to the phone, I fumbled quite a bit. Most of the time you can simply place the phone on the docking station. However, if you need to transfer data from phone to laptop/PC you need to connect the phone to the computer via the charging cord. I was able to insert the charging cord in to the phone, but the little flap was awkward to use.

The bottom line is that both phones are great for moms, dads, and even teens on the go. My two teens both found the Rhyme fun to use. One has a cell phone and the other has a multimedia phone, so both enjoyed exploring all the capabilities of the HTC Rhyme and its platform, HTC Sense.

You can purchase both phones in time for the holidays:

• HTC Rhyme is $199.99 at Verizon with a 2-year contract or check out amazon.
• Find a cute purple gel skin to fit the HTC Rhyme at amazon.
• HTC Thunderbolt is $149.99 at Verizon with a 2-year contract or find it on amazon.
• I bought an extended battery with door for my HTC Thunderbolt.

I was sent an HTC Rhyme to facilitate my review. I returned the Rhyme at the end of the review period. Earlier in the summer — during BlogHer 11 — I participated in a focus group with other bloggers where I was given an HTC Thunderbolt phone. The views expressed in this post are my own. I follow the tenets of Blog With Integrity.

The end-of-the-school year was a chaotic, mad dash, harem scarem, crazy mess. Come to think of it the school year wasn’t much better. We raced from homework to activity to school to the sports field. Isn’t it supposed to get easier as kids get older?? Not so in the Musings from Me household.

I always thought that once all of my children were in full-day school that magically my days would get easier. Wrong. Wrong. And did I mention…wrong. Instead of easier, our days are harder. From homework to parent-teacher conferences to science fair projects to after school activities to sports to you-name-it-and-we-are-probably-doing-it, every day is long and complicated and wonderful and awesome. But, did I mention long??

We’re slowly but surely adjusting to summer. Finding a rhythm. Getting in to a routine. The summer is less scheduled than the school year. We still have swim team, a few camps, and a few activities on the calendar but nothing like the August-June calendar. By comparison out June-August calendar is very tame.

How about you…how is your summer going?

The term Brand Ambassador has a nice ring to it. It rolls off the tongue. Sounds official, but not pretentious. Evokes the notion that the bearer of the title is “in the know.” And doesn’t this sum up blogging? Bloggers know what is happening. Bloggers may not know EVERYTHING but if it fits the blogger’s niche the blogger will know about it…I can assure you!

Last year I was chosen to be a Purex Insider. If you were reading my blog back then or following me on twitter or Facebook, you may have noticed I wrote about Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets. This “All-in-one Laundry Solution” worked for my family’s laundry needs. I used 1 sheet for the washing and drying. The sheet was also a fabric softener. No mess. I stocked up my laundry room with Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets using free coupons. Go to Purex.com to find more promotions for free products.

This year I am reprising my role as a Purex Insider for Purex Crystals. According to the Purex website, “Purex Complete Crystals™ Softener are 92% natural crystals that go in at the start of the wash so they spend more time with your laundry infusing them with long-lasting freshness.” I was sent a sample to try…very sniffy! I have coupons for you and a contest!

You can find videos featuring Purex research scientist (and mom) Dana at purex.com. Purex reps have told me that they hope the videos will help consumers understand the drawbacks of oil based softeners and the advantages of 92% natural Purex Complete Crystals.

As a Purex Insider, I’m part of the first Purex Insider competition to see which blogger can drive the most traffic to the Crystals web page on Purex.com. Want to help me win? I have coupons to offer you…go here to download and print. If you want to, you can tweet, post to Facebook, or blog about this contest to help me win. The contest will run for two week ending at midnight pacific time on Sunday March 13th. Thanks to everyone who helps me win this contest!

I was sent a sample bottle of Purex Complete Crystals. The opinions expressed in this article are my own.

I’m thankful for family near and far, a supportive husband who sees that my blogging as a hobby is starting to pay off in more than just free DVDs and coffeemakers, kids who are adjusting to my new work schedule begrudgingly(!), a comfy if untidy home to live in, a garage (finally!) to park in, and friends — on Facebook or IRL from all walks of my life…my childhood in England, college years at F&M, Aspen Publishers, preschool for 3 kids, moms’ group, PTAs, and online, local blogging buddies. Thankful!

I’m not what you would call a “domestic goddess.” My house is not spotless. My kids always have clean cloths, but…just not the clothes they want to wear. “Put the shirt on…it looks fine! is a common statement from me on most school mornings.

I cook. I clean. I do laundry. I get it done, but I’m no expert.

I’m not winning any awards for cooking either. Cooking is something I do. I have three children and a husband. I’m the defacto cook in our house as I have always been the SAHM. Even now that I am a WAHM I still do the lion’s share of the cooking. I’m not saying that my husband never cooks. Far from it. He is good at grilling. Swoops in after work MANY days to finish off the cooking that I started, but drifted away from to tend to kids or homework or work. I cook because my family needs to eat, but I don’t cook because I love it.

Before I became one of #theFamilyDish Ambassadors my attitude was that cooking was a task I needed to get done. My family needed to eat, right?

Over the past few months I have cooked for my family with foods provided as part of #thefamilydish Ambassadorship.  I had a choice to make…either continue to view cooking as something that needs to get done or go out of my comfort zone and make cooking fun.

“Get it done” v. “Make it fun”

What won? “Fun” won by a landslide. I started taking cooking more seriously. Following recipes. Creating dishes from scratch. Meal planning. Buying ingredients ahead of time instead of dashing off to the store in a panic or calling my husband in a panic or just getting panicked! In short, I got my act together.

Funny, right? I had to take cooking more seriously to find the fun. When I took the guesswork out of cooking I found the fun side. By following recipes in the #theFamilyDish recipe book, I learned to make dishes that my family now love. Onion burgers.  Tuna and veggie casserole. I prestocked the pantry with ingredients. I looked for recipes BEFORE grocery shopping. By getting my cooking act together, I started enjoying cooking more.

A couple more links:

• I’m giving away a #theFamilyDish Cookbook. Enter to win.
• Meet my fellow #theFamilyDishambassadors.
• See MusingsfromMe cook — Spinach dip. Sneak-it-in Milkshake. Feeding  Tweens.

As part of my #theFamilyDish Ambassadorship, I was compensated for my time with products. The opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Another lengthy comment that I am turning in to a blog post!!

You would think that since my children are 14, 11, and 7 that this summer would have been a breeze. Nope. It was an utter nightmare.

Thank goodness my teacher/administrator husband was off for part of June and all of July. He did the swim practices, camp runs, and play date drop offs. But, it was still hard to do work in set hours. I frittered time away on twitter when I could have been writing. It is also extremely hard to work when you know your family are having fun at the pool.

Health club? Have not exercised since early July. I believe I can verify my visit with a lone foursquare check-in.

When the kids weren’t in scheduled activities, all 3 clamored for screen time. I forced the older two to go outside and play, but really it was a losing battle. The days of entertaining kids outside with a swingset, bubbles, and chalk only work with the 7 yo.

Now that my husband is back at work…well our situation is actually worse. Swim team is over. I scheduled no camps for August. The camps I scheduled for July were only half-day for 2 weeks. I only did camps for the older two. This month I am working in between high school volleyball practice, playdates, and football practice. Why oh why is there no internet access at the practice fields?!?!

School can’t start quick enough.

Anyone want to do coffee on Monday???

The only plus to this otherwise trying and hectic summer? I bought a boatload of crafts from Michaels. The kids have done Model Magic, popsicle stick building, Perler beads, gimp thread, duct tape purses, and sand art. My kitchen is a mess but I have a little peace each day!

I click on many links throughout the day. Sometimes I click a link to join, but realize that I have already joined. Do you ever do that? I guess I am a little click happy.

MyLikes is proving to be a good one to join. Basically, here’s how it works…

Like Sponsored Tweets, I receive an e-mail every couple of days. The e-mail lists items, products, and services that I might like to like. I go through the list to find products that I have already used or reviewed or seen in a store or…well you get it. If I have not had some form of contact with a product or service, I’m not liking it. How credible would I be to you — my readers — if I liked tobacco or a nudist colony?

This blog is family friendly. I only choose items on “MyLikes” that I like and I know you will like.

Do you want to try out MyLikes? If you click and join, I know you will like it. It’s an easy way to make a little extra cash. It’s easy to use. You can pick and choose the MyLikes that you want to select and tweet to your readers. Oh and you can add to your Facebook wall as well. You can add to you blog, too.

Here’s a recent MyLike that I can stand behind. Do you see how I added something a little something about how my family liked it? When I review products on this blog, I always had a Musings from Me touch of authenticity.

Bling iPhone Cases – www.bizrate.com

If my tween had an iphone she would love the Bling iPhone cases. Part fashion statement. Part protection. #ad

sponsored like

Jill Berry’s profile on MyLikes

Yesterday was a blur. Woke up to a stiff neck after falling asleep downstairs. My son found me. I’m sure he wondered why I was up so early yet not really up since he woke me up. If you know what I mean.

Too early to go back to bed. I stayed up to do some decluttering. I have no idea what I decluttered. As I said I was in a fog this a.m. I have a stack of broken down boxes for recycling, but no idea what was in the boxes.

Do you ever have days like that…where you get things done but you are so tired that you can’t think straight?

I had that kind of day yesterday. By 5, I was out of gas. I hadn’t completed the work I set out to do. I hadn’t finished the writing. I decided to have a quick shower and head to my Book Club.

I am so glad I decided to go. Yes, it was time I spent away from household tasks and writing, but it was so worth it to hang out with friends. I needed a boost of friend power after the crazy days of summer. Friends!

And yes we even discussed the book. We read The Help. Good book about an appalling, “how could his type of thing happen in the 1960s?” type of book.

Book club restored me. Today I am ready to tackle my work.

As sleep deprived as I will be for BlogHer, you can bet that I will experience everything about BlogHer that I can. I’ll need to eat a little, drink a lot, and sleep a little to remain charged for BlogHer.

Have I mentioned our family mantra? I should say “mantras.” We have two:

1. Seize the Day

2. Play/Party/Shop/Vacation til You Drop

When I first got married, my husband was on board with Mantra #1 but not so much on Mantra #2. You see Mantra #2 is my family’s mantra.

As a kid I lived in England, America, England, America, England, Italy, and finally America. My parents never knew if we would stay in a country for 6 months, 1 year, or forever, so we Seized the Day AND Vacationed Til We Dropped. In one year we visited Williamsburg, Philadelphia, Florida, Skyline Drive/Luray Caverns, and Washington, D.C.

After a year or two, my husband adopted both mantras as his own. If we are going to do something we go all out. Vacationing in Disney World? You can bet that our family will arrive at the park when it opens and be the last ones to leave. We keep the kids going with frequent refuelling stops…recharging their batteries so to speak. Just like the Energizer Smart Charger.

BlogHer will be no exception.

While at BlogHer — my first BlogHer — I will arrive on Wednesday and leave on Sunday. The conference may officially be two days, but I am going for 5 days including travel days. I’m stretching my budget to accommodate the extra days. In this economic climate it’s a struggle for many people, myself included to go on vacation. While my family spends a few days at the beach, I will be spending my part of the family vacation in New York at BlogHer. We can’t afford two separate vacations this year.

You can bet that I will be like the Energizer Bunny if chosen to be the Energizer Smart ChargHER I will wear my Energizer t-shirt with pride. I’ll hand out the USB drives. I’m a person with a mission when it comes to meeting people. If Energizer charges me to hand out the USB drives, I will hand out and engage each person I meet with reasons to purchase Energizer products. If chosen as the Energizer Smart ChargHER I will accept the charge.

For the last two summers I have made it my mission to photograph EVERY swimmer on my children’s swim team. Do you know how hard it is to find and take each child’s photograph in a season that spans 6 short weeks, where kids are on vacation or at camp, or sick? But, I did it. Last year I photographed 230 kids with their moms and dads. This year I am taking over 200 individual photos of each swimmer. I charged myself with a mission. I completed the mission. I’m an Energizer Smart ChargHER at home and online!!

The $2000 will help me pay for my hotel. I’m sharing a room with the fabulous @MorethanMommy. My train — I’m traveling by train as it is the cheaper option. Flying is too expensive. My conference ticket? I have one, but I wasn’t able to buy it when the tickets were first available. I did not have enough cash in my Paypal account. When I had enough money in Paypal? You guessed it the conference passes were sold out. I bought a pass, but did not get the early bird rate. I’m kicking myself for not buying the pass earlier. Oh well, at least I have a conference pass, right?

This post was written as part of the entry for the Energizer Smart ChargHER contest. I was not give a product for review. The opinions expressed are my own.