Links mentioned: Sharon Timlin Memorial 5K Race to Cure ALS | The Rapture | Great Wolf Lodge | JetBlue - Boston to Buffalo | U.S. Customs and Border Protection - Child traveling with one parent or someone who is not a parent or legal guardian or a group | Become a Notary | Moms In Motion | Jury’s Verdict Leaves Heather Boyum’s Family Disappointed | Bath salts (drug) | Scribblenauts

Listen: iTunes | mp3

There are days when I honestly feel like nothing in my life has equipped me to understand or provide any kind of meaningful guidance to my own child. You know – I start to worry we are doing a crappy job.

But then we have a moment that fills me with hope.

One of those moments arrived unexpectedly this weekend when the kids and I attended the 10th Annual Sharon Timlin Memorial 5K Race to Cure ALS.  Having decided to upgrade her registration from the 1 mile kids run to the full 5K, Sophie started to get a bit nervous about the race. Enter Anders, a pro having completed his first 5K a few weekends before, to offer her encouragement and words of wisdom.

Kind of kills you, doesn’t it?

I will tuck this moment away, storing it in my admittedly overtaxed brain, as something I can hold onto when we hit another rough patch as a reminder that maybe, just maybe, we are doing something right.

Basking in the attention of both parents.

Getting help with his bike gloves.

Following my boys.

While we still have a few years before we will be taking the children on bicycle tours of Europe – one of many destinations on his bucket list – yesterday we took a big step in that direction. It doesn’t matter what else we gave him for Father’s Day, because I think this glimpse into the future was the perfect gift.

Happy Father’s Day everyone!

Please share your favorite fundraising idea in the comment section!

Links mentioned: Dunk Tank Rental | Moms get into brawl at children’s talent show in Central Florida | Dream Killer Nike Shirt | Dinosaur Bar-B-Que | Wrap up music: I’d like to thank you all – The Machines | What is a Meme | Vine | Minecraft Diamond Pendant Necklace

Manic Mommies is supported in part by Audible.com. Visit AudibleTrial.com/ManicMommies for your free 30-day trial and download. Check out our Pinterest board for recommendations.

Listen: iTunes | mp3

Links mentioned: Moms are primary breadwinners in 40% of U.S. households | Greta Van Susteren Rips Sexist Male Colleagues: ‘Have These Men Lost Their Minds?’ | All-Male Fox Panel Freaks Out About Female Breadwinners (VIDEO) | Megyn Kelly grills Lou Dobbs, Erick Erickson | Invisalign | Audible recommendation: Me Before You | Wrap up music: I’d like to thank you all – The Machines

Manic Mommies is supported in part by Audible.com. Visit AudibleTrial.com/ManicMommies for your free 30-day trial and download. Check out our Pinterest board for recommendations.

Listen: iTunes | mp3

While our host provider monitors the site for additional attacks, we are working with our programmer (who has been kind enough to take a break from his Hawaiian adventures) to restore Manic Mommies to her former glory. We are also fortunate, thanks to our sponsor, to have the resources to retain and pay people who can help us.

As I said on last week’s show – show notes up next! – admitting your site has issues like these is a bit like telling people your kids have lice. Everyone gets a bit uncomfortable and itchy. On the plus side, most also take the opportunity to think about how they can protect themselves – I swear, sales of Fairy Tales Hair Care products must spike every time the school sends out a lice notice – and what they would do to respond to a similar situation.

Thank you to everyone for your patience as we work through the issues and stay tuned as we get ManicMommies.com back on track!

Arriving before the museum opened their doors, there was already a line stretching down the sidewalk!

The MFA remains one of my favorite museums in the city both because of the depth and breadth of their collection, but also their welcoming attitude towards children.

Boston Strong was on full display at the museum during this visit – from the signs hanging on the front of the building, to the free buttons handed out to visitors. But the exhibit that really took my breath away was the over 1,600 hand-sewn flags created by quilters from all over the country and the world to support our hometown.

There were lots of flags, but the one I found my camera coming back to was of a small blonde runner. She reminded me of my own little girl.

And the little girl that still lives inside of me.

The book is available in paper and electronically – for those who love their ereader.

———————————————-

Synopsis: Elizabeth Lancaster, an English professor at Pasadena City College, finds her perfectly dull but perfectly orchestrated life upended one summer by three men: her movie-star ex-husband, a charming political operative, and William Shakespeare. Until now, she’d been content living in the shadow of her high-profile and highly accomplished family.

Then her college boyfriend and one-time husband of seventeen months, A-list action star FX Fahey, shows up with a job offer that she can’t resist, and Elizabeth’s life suddenly gets a whole lot more interesting. She’s off to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for the summer to make sure FX doesn’t humiliate himself in an avant-garde production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

When: Wednesday June 12th at 9PM EST
Call in details: 724-444-7444, call id: 90383#, Pin 1#

Lian will join us for 30-40 minutes before transitioning to chatting about books and life.

Giveaway: To enter this month’s giveaway, send an email (comments are not considered entries) with ‘Elizabeth the First Wife’ in the subject line. Please include your shipping address in the body of your message.

Winners will be selected at random on Sunday evening, June 2nd.

Happy Reading!

Yes, this is when I had way more time on my hands.

The kids recently discovered the cartoon, now running on The Hub, and both are obsessed. They regularly recap their favorite “Mime Time” moments, and we’ve all taken to quoting Mindy when saying good (“Okay, I love you, bye-bye). We’ve even started listening to an Animaniacs-inspired channel on Pandora.

Which brings me to the songs. There are several Animaniacs classics including Yakko’s rundown of the Nation of the World, and Wakko’s review of the States & Capitals. But the one that has captured our daughter’s heart, and now may be her official theme song is “I’m Cute” by Yakko and Wakko’s sister Dot.

You know, all of them.

Going through all the photos later, the challenge then is how to get the pictures of these other children to their parents. Keeping in mind some parents don’t want their children plastered all over the Internet (I can’t imagine why), and that most of my friends and family don’t need to see multiple photos of children they don’t know. E-mailing isn’t a option because the files are too big, and to be perfectly honest, I’m just learning all of her teammates names. Forget about matching each girl with her corresponding parent and e-mail address.

So this year I’m using a new solution – Share sites from Shutterfly.

While there is a lot you can do with a Share site – post the team schedule, message members of group, share the team roster, assign snack responsibilities – I have primarily been using the free service to share photos with other parents.

While I didn’t do a ton of research – seriously people, what kind of time do you think I have? – this solution has worked so far because:

• Price – Did I mention the free? The free was important.

• Setting up the site was super easy – and I can manage multiple share sites from one sign in.

• Password protected – To access the site visitors either need to either have a Shutterfly account (and permission from me) OR the password for the site. That way player families can pass the URL to friends and family who want to see photos.

• Contributors welcome – Other snap-happy parents can be added to the site so they can also contribute their photos of our darling, photogenic and athletically-gifted children.

• Download or order – Some parents prefer to pay for Shutterfly to make prints. Others prefer to download files for their use. The site allows for both.

Realizing it’s not a perfect solution, I’d love to know how you share (or prefer to receive) team photos?