JANUARY 2012 HOT MAMA: Shayne Moore Is The Global Soccer Mom 

Shayne Moore is a soccer mom who is making a difference by getting out of her suburban American comfort zone and taking her “mom heart” global.

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FEBRUARY 2012 KID-O CHANGING THE WORLD: Politi-Kid Connor Brantley

Connor Brantley is changing the world by changing the face of politics, although, he’s more likely to be using pimple cream than shaving cream on his! 

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Active Discussion Groups

Photo Martin Schoeller for Time

UPDATED February 2, 2012- Facebook goes public!  The most influencial social media network, with almost a billion users, has filed papers to become a publically traded company, and is hoping to raise $5 billion in its initial public offering.  Founder, Mark Zuckerberg will stay on as Facebook chairman and largest stock holder. 

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Originally posted December 2010

Facebook founder...

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Photo AP

Punxsutwaney Phil stayed above ground and...you know what that means?  Spring will come early.  Thank goodness for those Americans living through this terrible of terrible Winters.  The groundhog forecasts a little spring in our step…so, we should be thawing out soon!

Not a second too soon for those in the Midwest and Northeast who are getting slammed by a winter storm that has shut down busin...

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The GOP field is not quite doing it for me...58% of GOP primary voters agree with me and want another candidate to enter the race?! And, I find myself imagining if I could create my very own candidate - what would he/she be like? I do like a little something-something from most of them, but none of them are the complete package.  So, want to play with me?  My ideal candidate would have…

•     ...

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Change Begins at Home

"Next to love, balance is the most important thing."
- John Wooden

President Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Ave
Washington, DC 20500

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Things to do:

"Pay it forward."

Our kids watch everything we do (even when they pretend they don't)!  So, when they see us open a door for someone just cuz, it rubs off on them.  If they hear us say "thank you" and treat someone with respect, it makes a difference.  When someone is short on change and we can spare some, it shows them that we can do nice things for no reason at all.  There's no expectation, nothing in it for us, except a smile and a full heart.  

It doesn't cost us anything, but time and patience. These are priceless lessons we can teach our kids during the holidays...and every day!


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"It's a small world afterall."

Our world is getting smaller all the time...we are connected by technology...like it or not.  Our kids need to understand their place in their family, school, community, country and world.  The first step is knowing your world is figuring out where places are...so, when you see a movie, like Happy Feet 2, show your kids where it is on a map.  Play a game.  Mark it with a sticky note. When you talk about the Grand Canyon, show it to them.  It will open little roadmaps in their brains.  

If you do it place by place, as their interests are peaked, it will be relevant and remembered.  So, when they hear about Libya on the news, show them where it is in North Africa (so, they don't confuse it with the Middle East when they are all grown up and a representative in Congress?!#@!).

What other fun geography games do you play with your kids?

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"Be an Energy Miser - Use Electricity Wiser."

It’s easy to save energy and money MAMAS.  Here’s a few suggestions for saving cash and the environment:

• Tell kids not to leave lights on when no one is in the room. Fill up jar with marbles and tie to some incentive - i.e., if they have 20 marbles at the end of the week, they get special movie night.

• Make a reminder sticker or a sign to hang next to the switch that says "Lights Out!" or "Don't Forget!"

• Where possible, use compact fluorescent light bulbs. Those funny-looking bulbs produce the same amount of light by using 1/4 of the electricity. Plus, they last for years and years without burning out.

• Turn off the TV when no one is watching it. The same goes for computers, radios and stereos - if no one using it, turn it off.

How do you get your family to turn off the lights!?

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"Together, anything is possible."

The United States led a heroic endeavor to eliminate, yep eliminate, AIDS.  The goal is to have an AIDS free generation in just 3 years.  That is amazing.  When you join the RED initiative and buy RED products, partners will donate proceeds to the effort. The progress that has been made is staggering.  Bono summed it up best in his New York Times opinion piece, when he said:

"A conservative president, George W. Bush, leading the largest ever response to the pandemic; the same Mr. Bush banging his desk when I complained that the drugs weren’t getting there fast enough, me apologizing to Mr. Bush when they did; Bill Clinton, arm-twisting drug companies to drop their prices; Hillary Rodham Clinton, making it policy to eradicate the transmission of H.I.V. from mother to child; President Obama, who is expected to make a game changing announcement this World AIDS Day to finish what his predecessors started — the beginning of the end of AIDS.

And then there were the everyday, every-stripe Americans. Like a tattooed trucker I met off I-80 in Iowa who, when he heard how many African truck drivers were infected with H.I.V., told me he’d go and drive the pills there himself.

Thanks to them, America led. Really led."

For more information, check out blog.AIDS.gov.

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"The best inheritance a parent can give to his children is a few minutes of their time each day."

- M. Grundler

We are so crazy busy that we are eating on the run, doing homework in the car, running to and fro always on the go go.  So, stop.  Set aside sacred kitchen table time with the kids.  Sit down at the table and slow down enough to check in and find out about their day...have a laugh...digest.  It is so important to stay connected and this is an easy time to do it.  No phones.  No tv.  No interference.  Just family time.

According to Time, "studies show that the more often families eat together, the less likely kids are to smoke, drink, do drugs, get depressed, develop eating disorders and consider suicide, and the more likely they are to do well in school, delay having sex, eat their vegetables, learn big words and know which fork to use."  Geez - enough said?!

What are your fav ways to find out about your kids' day?

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Michelle- Close X
I voted for Barack Obama. I believe one person can make a difference. I love living at the beach, skiing and finding treasures at the swap meet. I grew up in Rochester Hills, MI. I was raised by a single Dad. I graduated from the University of Michigan and moved to California to go to grad school (never went, long story). I married a California “surfer boy.” We traveled around the world for a year. I was a Vice President of an advertising agency and I ended my career when I had my first baby. I have three kids who go to private school. I am happily married to a guy who helps me do the dishes.
And, that’s just the beginning…my opinions on political/ social issues might surprise you. It also might surprise you to know that Debbie and I are good friends…and I respect her opinions. She is a mother, too, so we learn from each other.
I am a wife, mother, volunteer, creative thinker and aspiring environmentalist. I have a lot to say. I am an O-MAMA.
Debbie- Close X
I voted for John McCain. I believe in smaller government. I love traveling, hunting and horseback riding. I grew up in Newport Beach, CA. My father was a Navy Seal and my mother a debutante. I graduated from the University of Southern California. After studying abroad and becoming fluent in Spanish, I went to work for CNN. I married an Alabama “country boy.” I am a teacher. I started a student travel abroad company that takes American teens to Latin America to do community service. I have two children – one goes to private school and one goes to public school. I am going through a divorce.
And, that’s just the beginning…my opinions on political/ social issues might surprise you. It also might surprise you to know that Michelle and I are good friends…and I respect her opinions. She is a mother, too, so we learn from each other.
I am a mother, educator, businesswoman and internationalist. I have a lot to say. I am an O-MAMA.