I’ve been considering it for more than two years, but it was 2010 that the stars finally aligned and I made it to my first BlogHer conference.  And it did not disappoint.

I absolutely agree with Aimee’s assessment, BlogHer is what you make of it.  Everyone’s experience of the weekend in New York was a little, or a lot, different.  Some people went to every single session, some went to none at all.  Some spent hours on the Expo floor, some skipped it entirely.  And on and on.

I had my own set of hopes and expectations, that were probably somewhat different from many others.  I wasn’t there to actively network and promote my blog in the hopes of amazing new opportunities and a dramatic spike in traffic.  I’ll write more on that in another post, but I am not currently and do not wish to become a “professional” blogger.  And I’m happy with that.  Oh yes, I made business cards and I gave them to people.  I absolutely welcome new readers and new friends, and even fun opportunities when they arise.  But that wasn’t my overarching goal when I got on the train Thursday afternoon.

I went because I thought it sounded like a whole lot of fun.  I went because I didn’t want to read about it and be jealous because I didn’t go for another year.  I went because a weekend in New York without any kids was just what the doctor ordered.

I enjoyed some sessions more than others, but am glad that they’re all available as liveblog entries and (if not now, soon) podcasts, so I didn’t really miss any of them.  While I have a hard time putting into words exactly what I learned and took away from the experience, I can certainly say I got a lot out of it, even if a lot of it was self-reflection.  But there’s really something about being in a space full of people who blog, on such an amazing range of topics with such completely different approaches, that’s pretty powerful.

I got over any awkward hesitation and made it a point to introduce myself to the women behind some of my favorite, what I would call “A-list”, blogs: Sarah and the Goon Squad, Mom 101, Amalah, and many more.  I had read each of them, in turn, write something along the lines of “please please please just say hello,” and so I did.  And they were all nothing short of lovely.  I saw Aimee in one of the photography sessions and recognized her instantly, and ran over to give her a hug, finally meeting in person someone I’ve been commenting back and forth with for years.

I had awesome roommates in Caro, Kami, and Amber.  I got to spend lots of quality time with Charlene and Cindy.

I shook my booty on the dance floor with Cheryl.  (Seriously, if you’re considering going to BlogHer, you should do it just so you can hit up Sparklecorn).

I shook my booty on the Expo Floor with Christina, Liz, and Kristin. (God help me, there’s video.  I’m the short, fat one who almost won.)

I went to a party that had firefighters as eye candy, and admit to some confusion as to the social expectations.  Were there supposed to be dollar bills involved?

I saw the Sun from the Jimmy Dean commercials, as well as Elmo, the Pillsbury Dough Boy, and some possessed rabbit from a video game.

I witnessed and tasted something made by Charm City Cakes.

I saw the Pioneer Woman.

I brought home an extra suitcase full of free stuff, mostly toys for my kids.

It was exhausting, it was fun.  It was imperfect, but it ran amazingly smoothly.  I had substantial anxiety before I went, but felt surprisingly at ease once I got there. I felt just as welcome as anyone else. I am absolutely glad that I went, it was worth the time, energy, and money.

Will I go back, year after year? Well, probably not. I can say with almost 100% certainty that I will not be going to San Diego for BlogHer ’11, awesome though it sounds.  If, another year, it wasn’t on the opposite side of the continent and the timing worked out? Yeah, quite possibly.

And if you’re thinking about making the trip? I say go for it. Have a blast, introduce yourself to your favorite bloggers (in a friendly, non-crazy way), chat with people you’ve never met, and shake your booty whenever the opportunity presents itself.  You won’t regret it.

Well, now this sounded like a good time!

Here you go, the final card. When I saw that picture, I knew I had to use it. The faces are too perfect. Rebecca all cheesy, Daniel with his mouth wide open (the boy can’t keep it closed!). A fun moment.  Happy Holidays, whatever your celebration of choice may be!

I ordered the cards from Shutterfly and they came very quickly. Names removed in post-production, of course.

Welcome to Thursday Theater, everyone!  This week’s optional theme was: Giggles.  What got the giggles out for you this week?  Play along with Mr. Linky below…

I had some ideas when I set this theme, of things I could do to get my kids to laugh.  Turns out I didn’t need anything contrived, and the giggles presented themselves to me quite easily.  Why?  Because Gramps was here.  My dad is really great with my kids, and loves to do any number of things that make them laugh.  Here’s just a couple of examples…

Giggling with Gramps from Goddess in Progress on Vimeo.

Next week I’m setting another editing challenge: Short and Sweet. How much of a story can you convey in 30 seconds or less?  That’s right, half a minute.  Pick one small point/story/theme, and get out those virtual scissors and be ruthless in your editing.

OK, yeah.  You could just take a super short video clip, too.  And I won’t call you a cheater. At least, not to your face.

I feel like I’m in a major blog slump right now. Maybe it’s the whole toddlers-kicking-my-ass thing, maybe it’s seasonal, maybe it’s just one of those things where you kind of run out of things to say.

And, so, I’m turning to you guys and repeating a call for questions!  I loved it last time, and there are still some lingering questions unanswered from the first go around.  So, please, ask me some questions and give me a nudge for something to write about!  Anything about me or the kids or anything else you’ve wanted to know or want to hear my take on?  Ask away.

- – -

OK, in truth, I’ve been doing a little bit of writing, just not here.  I’ve kind of been obsessing on the sewing front, and instead of totally changing the focus of this blog, I started a separate one just for craftiness.  If you feel like geeking out with me, do come on over to www.teenytinyquilts.com.  But if quilting ain’t your thing, I won’t take it personally.  It’s only less than a week old at this point, but it’s another outlet for a different side of me.  Got to reclaim some non-mommy aspects, right?

Playing along, for the first time, with Bad Haiku Friday!  Hosted by Laura at Catholic Teacher Musings.  You’ll understand why I was no poetry major in college.  Behold, my Friday morning, in Haiku:

Some clocks blinking twelve
Guess we lost power last night?
I blame new Fios.

I don’t remember
turning off my computer.
Now it won’t turn on.

Photos! Videos!
Nothing is backed up, ‘cept blog.
Kicking myself. Hard.

Apple guy tells me
Trick to reset the power.
Magic solution.

Backup in progress.
One-hundred-forty-nine gigs
Takes a long damn time.

Say what you will about the Massachusetts demographics that contributed to this phenomenon, but there are a fair number of bloggers in my local Moms of Twins club.  For a while, we’ve talked about trying to get together for a night out, and last night was the time!

So, with representation from seven mama blogs, we met up at Applebee’s and enjoyed cheap drinks and apps.  And while my stomach is regretting my food and beverage choices, I had a great time meeting up with my fellow twin-mom-bloggers.  In attendence were the moms from The Finbergs, Mommy, Esq., Snickollet, Sotoriffic Twins, What A Card, and The Zimmer Zoo.

It was a fun gathering.  While different combinations of us have met in real life, not everyone had.  And yet, there was an ease.  For one thing, many of us keep up with each other’s blogs, so we already know roughly what everyone’s up to.  Plus, there was no self-conscious pretending that we hadn’t seen the most recent pictures of each other’s kids or read a recent struggle.  Hi, we were all there because we blog, so it’s not like we were going to act as though we didn’t.  Plus, of course, we all had the twin mom thing in common, and traveled in overlapping circles.

Anyways, we had lots of fun, we had a few drinks, and I hope we do it again soon.  Oh, and yes… I did bring my camera.  But the picture turned out terribly, so I’ll just have to hope Nancy‘s was better than mine…

Right.  Posting may be a bit slow this week, lots of real-life stuff to deal with.  Including, but not limited to, the fact that my MOT club is having its sale this weekend and I have tons and tons of stuff to sort through and price.  Yipes!

I did want to make sure I throw out the optional theme for this week’s Thursday Theater: O.M.G.  That’s right, anything that made you say, “OMG, I have to get this on video.”  Whether unbearable cuteness, ungodly messes, a clever new trick, or something that just screams “document me!”  Don’t forget last week’s challenge: see if you can edit yourself and keep things short and sweet.

In the meantime, I feel just a little bit off.  So, apparently, does Rebecca.

My good friend, Random.org, has picked lucky number 19 as the winner…

Congrats to Laura!  She’ll be getting a LeapFrog reader plus three books, including the Cat in the Hat!

Just a heads-up for those who would like to participate in this week’s Thursday Theater…

This week’s optional theme: Food!  Anything food-related.

And, for this week, your first challenge: make the clip under one minute long.  Use the editing software that came with your camera, use iMovie on your Mac, use online tools like One True Media.  Use whatever suits you, but get out those virtual scissors and EDIT!

See you then…

And now, for something completely different!

I’ve gotten such a cool opportunity for a giveaway, I’m all excited to share it with you.  You see, it’s National Reading Month, and I’m not sure there are many causes more worthy of celebration.  M and I were both big readers growing up, wasting pair after pair of batteries in our flashlights, reading entirely too late into the night.  We can only hope to inspire the same willful disobedience in our kids, who seem to be getting a good start as they ask for more and more stories every night (and morning, and afternoon).  For as tiring as two toddlers can be, I can never turn down a request to read a book.

Well, the folks at LeapFrog are all over this.  Head over to their National Reading Month page and you can pledge to read a certain number of hours with your kids this month.  And to celebrate, they’re letting little ol’ me give away one of their Tag Readers.  It comes bundled with three books, including The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs & Ham.  How cool!  I think it’s great to have more ways for different kids to interact with books, and this is a nifty tool to help encourage independence in young readers. (Not to mention like a $75 value……)

Here’s the rules for the giveaway. First, check out Christy’s review at About.com’s Family Computing site.  Leave a comment below between now and Sunday, March 22 at 5pM Eastern, telling me one thing you learned about the Tag Reader from that review that you didn’t know before, and also what book you most hope they have included in their library.

For additional entries, you can tweet all about it (just don’t forget to include me: @etowndz), and/or write your own blog post and be sure to link back here.  Just leave an additional comment for each additional entry (no more than one Twitter entry per person, per day, please).

Remember, this ends next Sunday!  Good luck!

Also, be sure to check out Christy’s Family Computing blog for lots of super info and reviews on technology and kids.  And, check out the other mom blogs featured that will be participating in this giveaway!

3 Carnations
So Much More Than a Mom
What about Mom?
Parenting by Trial & Error
My Sweet Baboo
Verbatim
Miss Britt
Stop, Drop and Blog
Callapidder Days