What to say about the Fall Momz Share event?

Should I start by telling you about how I completely forgot my pants (yes, I said PANTS) and had to go back and fetch them? Or perhaps let you in on the secret that I later discovered that I also forgot my bra? (Ridiculous much?)

Maybe I will skip that part and begin my tale with the scruptious food from Piv’s Restaurant or the social media themed cupcakes.

Hmmm….But if I did that I would be missing the heart of the event, which is the bloggers themselves. These women are my tribe, my peeps, my virtual therapists and without them I am fairly certain I would go stark raving mad. When people ask me why in the world I spend my time planning these events, I tell them about the women of Momz Share. That is all the explanation they need…

Come to think of it, it might be best to instead tell the tale with pictures…

The Fall event was hosted by the awesome and fantastic Jill of Scary Mommy and brought to life by the Momz Share power trio: Sunday Stilwell, Lara DiPaola, and yours truly. (Okay, obvious self-promotion but, DANG, we worked hard y’all!)

I would just like to take up a little bloggy space to send out my heartfelt thank you to some of the people who made this night a success:

Pivs Restaurant – Seriously? Their food rocked. I had no idea what to expect. If you live in the Baltimore area, stop what you are doing and go to their restaurant. Right now.

Sponsoring this event was Washington Family Magazine. I’ve been lucky enough to have worked with Jolie from Washington Family for some time now. They are fantastic and super supportive of moms who blog!

A big shout out to Amy Phillips of Social Pollen who was another event sponsor. Not only did she provide hands-on help for all sorts of WordPress issues, she also brought the killer social media cupcakes. Honestly? Social media cupcakes? Phenomenal, just like her.

We were also treated to our first splendor station courtesy of Leiann from Love and Kindness.  She gave lotioned hand massages and we all fell in love. Not only are her lotions and candles to die for, she is also a terrific example of a mom entrepreneur.

I can’t go any further without mentioning the photographer, Eddie Winter of Edward Winter Weddings. He went above and beyond to make everyone comfortable and captured the essence of Momz Share perfectly. I admit to being a little biased here because, well, he is my brother. That being said, his work speaks for itself. He was the consummate professional and put everyone at ease. (Plus he is way cute, if I do say so myself…)

One last shout out to Michael Guill of 107 Designs who streamed our video LIVE on Saturday night. It was our first time live streaming and it was mighty fun! (He is not only tech-ily gifted, he is also one hell of a dishwasher.)

Other sponsors of our fall Momz Share event that I have to mention are Madeleine from La Papillon Spa who hosted a fun Twitter beauty Q & A contest last week and Melanie and Theresa from Sisarina. Sisarina designed our new Momz Share website. Stunning, right?

If you head over to the Momz Share site later this week, we will have a full accounting of all of the amazing people who provided giveaways and gave support to Momz Share.

Remember, if you live in the DC, MD, VA, WVA, PA area – you are always welcome to attend!  Our next event will be announced soon!

Tags: DC Metro mom blogger, Maryland, mom bloggers, Momz Share, networking, virginia, washington DC

Let’s give a big welcome to the second Momz Share participant for the first quarter!   Be sure to stop by her blog to meet her…

Name and Name of Blog: Jessica McFadden

Blog Name: A Parent in Silver Spring

Twitter name: JessicaAPISS

Other blogs that you write:

I contribute to A Parent in America on The Washington Times Communities and the DC Metro Moms Blog, I freelance in The Washington Post Weekend Section on family activities, I work writing for Nickelodeon Parents Connect, and on Thursday nights I appear on A Family Affair with Tommy McFly on Mix 107.3, DC’s #1 FM Radio Station to provide listeners with fun, out-of-the-ordinary weekend activities.

Tell us a little bit about your blog, A Parent In Silver Spring:

I am a family features writer.  I started A Parent in Silver Spring two years ago in order to help parents in the DC area easily find resources and fun activities to share with their kids.  I don’t preach – I’m just a fellow mom making oodles of mistakes – but I try and deliver the goods with a sense humor.

Most surprising or coolest thing that has happened as a result of your blogging?

By logging onto Blogger for a free blog and creating a homespun family resource in January 2008, I have been able to create a flexible, profitable career that incorporates educational fun for my children, keeps the kids as my top priority, but satisfies my dream of working as a writer.

Name one thing that might surprise people about you.

In my 20s I used to go out every night of the week, and in my 30s I’m now obsessed with all these daytime activities for kids (the shoes are sure more comfortable!)  I sleep with two cats on my feet but have an irrational fear of encountering undomesticated small mammals in the wild.   I love pretentious indie films and also tweenie bopper romances about traveling princesses wearing ice skating pants.  I used to be horribly messy until the ability to DVR all those home organization and hoarder shows straightened me out. Pretty standard really.

We all love to discover new blogs.  Name two of your favorite blogs on the internet (with links) and briefly tell what you love about them.

Only two?  How about two types of blogs?  And I have got to keep it within the DC area family or we’ll be here all day!

For fellow resource blogs, I think that AutMont, Baby Bunching, Mothers With Cancer, Teach Mama & Tech Savvy Mama are incredible sources of information and I am inspired by the work they are doing.

For personal blogs, I think that Jodifur, Lemmonex, LivitLuvit, MamaLaw (the masterminds behind Blogalicious), Mommy Needs A Cocktail, Not a Girl, Not Yet a Wino,  Petroville, Smiling Mama, BananaBlueberry, DC Urban Dad, Caffeinated, Laundry for Six, and heck all of the voices at DC Metro Moms and The Washington Times Communities (um no, they don’t pay me to say that) are distinctive and should receive a tiara-wearing place in your RSS.

Tags: A Parent In Silver Spring, DC Metro mom blogger, Jessica McFadden, Momz Share, Momz Share participant