Smile is Mike Park’s debut kid’s album.  Mike Park has been putting out music on his punk record label, Asian Man Records, for quite a while. He’s married, has kids and runs his business out of his parent’s garage. He had a vision and his vision became a big success.  I have been a huge fan of Mike Park, the person, for a long time.  I am now a huge fan of Mike Park, the guy who wrote a great kid’s album.

Smile is everything I want to listen to with my kids.  It’s my kind of music and is completely enjoyable for all of us.  If you like punk rock, indie, pop, and ska, you’re just gonna love the entire album. Here are a few of my favorite tracks: Turn Off the Lights, Everybody Loves to Jump and We All Live at Animal Park. The entire album of 12 songs is really fun and upbeat. We kinda can’t stop listening to it…ever.

Mike and I had a Skype interview the other day.  I babbled, rambled and stumbled, like always.  He was super friendly and it was such an honor to speak with someone I have admired for so many years.

Here is our interview, including all of my spectacular video editing skills. The interview stops abruptly and that is because we filled up an entire 8 gig SD card.  Hope you enjoy our chat as much as I did – oh – and when you’re finished watching the interview – you should totally order a copy of Smile.

PS: Make sure to watch the entire interview, as Mike makes a special announcement somewhere in the middle!

Mike performing “We All Live at Animal Park” for us via Skype:

Here is a stop-motion video that Mike’s friend put together for We All Live at Animal Park:

I was asked to join Chicago’s Bump Club and Beyond at the local Microsoft Store to be a part of a panel with three other terrific bloggers and writers.  We each had a topic to talk about and mine was online safety.

My kindergartener is currently familiarizing herself with the online world, so, online safety and privacy protection are topics that cross my mind on a daily basis.  It’s part of my job to keep current on the latest technology trends, so I can effectively do my job as a parent, which is protecting my kids and steering them in the right direction.

That being said, here are some things to keep in mind for online safety and privacy:

• Social Networking – When creating an account online where you’re going to share personal information about your life, research the site’s privacy settings before posting or uploading anything.  Whether it’s Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace or Twitter (to name just a few); each service has privacy options that need attention.  It’s important that you understand how each one works, before you completely dig in.

• Blogging – Blog platforms (ie: WordPress, Blogger, TypePad, etc.) also have privacy settings.  You have the option of keeping your blog unlisted from internet search results or password protecting individual posts.  You can also password protect your blog, so that only the people you specifically give the URL and/or password to will be able to view it.

• Photo Sites – (ie: Flickr, Photo Bucket, Shuterfly, etc.)  You have privacy settings here, too.  The ability to set photo visibility to contacts only, excluding your photos from search results and setting your sharing terms are just a few of the options to review when uploading personal photos.

• Using Names – Depending on how social you wish to be online, you may want to refrain from using yours or your kid’s full names.  For example; I don’t always use my daughters’ first names.  I’ll say, “the kindergartener” or “the toddler”.  A lot of people have nicknames they’ll use for their kids, like, “little miss” or “little mister”.

• Forever is a long time – Remember that anything you post online is there forever.  When your kids are older, they may see what you posted about them when they were six.  Be mindful of their dignity.  I would specifically encourage you not to post pictures online of your babies/toddlers/kids when they are naked.  I have taken thousands of photos of my kids and yes, there is an occasional shot of their cute little bottoms as they’re scurrying past me, but those are filed away for me, not for the rest of the world to see.

• Times are changing/Announcement Etiquette – This tip is geared toward those of you who are having babies.  Chances are, many of your friends and family are using social networking sites.  Be aware, that in their excitement, these friends and family may post their own status updates, sharing your special news.  I think it is important that it is made clear to them whether or not this is acceptable.  You may have to consider sending out an email to those on your friend list, asking them to refrain from posting anything until you give the ok.  We are all pretty immersed in technology but unfortunately, not all of us are up to par on online safety and privacy.  You have no idea who will end up seeing your news if you’re not the one posting it.  The etiquette should be: You shouldn’t post anyone’s personal information or special announcements without permission or before they do.

• Disclosing your location: “Checking in” is all the rage these days.  People use social networking applications like, Foursquare, Get Glue, Facebook, etc. to log where they are at any particular time.  Remember that when you check in somewhere and you’ve made this information available to the public, the wrong people may assume you are not home and act on that.  Please check and double-check your privacy settings and only share your location with trusted contacts.

ONLINE SAFETY RESOURCES

Online safety:

http://safely.yahoo.com/
http://www.google.com/familysafety/
http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/net_safety.html

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

Stay current with social media and technology trends:

http://www.mashable.com
http://www.techcrunch.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/social-media/
http://www.nielsen.com

We were recently invited to attend a performance of Cirque Du Soleil’s OVO in Chicago under the Grand Chapiteau on behalf of Infiniti, OVO’s exclusive automotive sponsor.  Such a fun night!

OVO is the third Cirque Du Soleil show my husband and I have seen, so we had an idea of what to expect.  We have seen O at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and I saw La Nouba in downtown Disney on the first Disney Mom Blogger Mixer trip.  Each of the Cirque shows were unique in their own way and I have really enjoyed each one of them.  When human beings perform extreme acrobatics in make-up and costume, how can you not appreciate that!?

To start out our evening, we attended the Tapis Rouge event on behalf of Infiniti.

Inside, we were treated to an array of super yummy hors d’ oeuvres, as well as drinks and desserts.  Not half bad!  Hubs and I were nearing our 9th wedding anniversary at the time, so this was a very nice date night for us.

The luxurious Infiniti M was on display.

The M is such a gorgeous vehicle!  I could never afford to own one but it sure was nice sitting inside of it and dreaming.

After filling our bellies, we headed into the Grand Chapiteau for the performance.

Ovo Synopsis:

OVO™ is a headlong rush into a colourful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement. The insects’ home is a world of biodiversity and beauty filled with noisy action and moments of quiet emotion.OVO is overflowing with contrasts. The hidden, secret world at our feet is revealed as tender and torrid, noisy and quiet, peaceful and chaotic. And as the sun rises on a bright new day the vibrant cycle of insect life begins anew.

The show was fascinating!

After the performance, a group of us were treated to go behind the scenes and look at Cirque Du Soleil’s OVO from beyond the audience.

We loved the experience. (Thank you Infiniti and Cirque!)  I highly recommend checking out a Cirque Du Soleil show.  I also recommend entering Infiniti’s sweepstakes for a chance to win a private Cirque Du Soleil event in your hometown for you and 25 guests.  Here is the link to the Infiniti Cirque site where you can enter to win!

We were encouraged to take home some of the butterfly confetti, so, the following day, I “surprised” my girls with a display of orange, yellow and gold butterflies:

It has been one month since the Midwest Moms Media – Brands and Bloggers Summit.  The Summit was just the right size, with just the right amount of information for my tired mind to absorb.

What I took away from the BBSUMMIT is how we’re all making an effort to help each other to be successful and expand our personal and professional connections.  Brands and bloggers need each other.  Online media has taken the world by storm and by attending niche conferences like this one, we can really dig in and focus on what it takes to help one another.

Our first session consisted of a panel of influential bloggers and brands, discussing their experiences being pitched and making pitches.  The session was moderated by Barbara Rozgonyi.  Bloggers are all very much connected with each other and if someone thinks a pitch was not delivered appropriately, chances are, there are many more that also feel this way.  This fact lead to discussions across the board on how bloggers would like to be pitched and in turn, how bloggers can pitch the brands they love.

I know that we all have our own opinions on pitches.  What some think is a major faux pas, others may just press the delete key and move on without looking back.  The goal of Session I: Building Blogger and Brand Relationships was for us to express our opinions and spark ideas about how to better approach pitching and being pitched.  Because, if no one speaks up, how can we improve our interactions?  We all shared ideas and gained some great insight from the session’s expert blogger and brand panelists.

Next on the agenda was networking.  I loved how the networking time was managed.  Each attendee had a name badge and on the inside of that badge was the day’s agenda, prize drawing entry form and sponsor table checklist.

Each numbered box represents a sponsor’s table.  Visit each sponsor and exchange contact information.  The sponsor “marks” your card.  After you have visited each sponsor, you can complete the Prize Drawing Entry on the reverse side for a chance to win big prizes at the end of the day.  I can’t stop raving about this idea!  I thought it went really well.

After networking and lunch, we settled back in at the DoubleTree for Session II: FTC Guidelines Overview and How it Impacted the PR and Blogger World.  This session was lead by Sarah Evans.

Sarah was adorably pregnant in the photo above and I’m happy to share that she brought her baby boy, @KashtonEvans into the world just a few days ago (Congrats, Sarah!).  You can view her presentation right here:

After Sarah’s presentation, Nancy Loo took the stage for Session III, Catching Traditional Media’s Air Waves – Beyond Press Releases.  Nancy helped us understand how to prepare for on-air interviews.  I could have used her tips a few years ago!  She offered BBSUMMIT attendees some good pointers about online presence related to catching a reporter’s attention and getting your story noticed.

After some more networking, Miss Lori took the stage and gave us all a boost of self-confidence.  If anyone is good at encouraging a positive attitude, it’s Miss Lori.

Her presentation was inspiring and her advice to all of us is to take A.C.T.I.O.N.  You can learn all about that in Miss Lori’s recap post.  I encourage you to watch the videos in her post and make mental notes of her wise information.

I really enjoyed myself at the Brands and Bloggers Summit and not just because I was a media sponsor, although, it was very cool to have my own table with my own banner attached to it, passing out uber cool products from BBSUMMIT11 swag sponsors: Jabra, About Your Time, LLC, Cascadian Farm and Erin Gallagher Jewelry.  Oh yeah. That was so cool!

Here are some other great recaps of BBSUMMIT11 across the web:

Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy – Life as a working mom with three boys!

Suburban Scrawl

The Megalomaniac Mommy

Mommypalooza

My Crafty Life

StarChiLife

Wired PR Works

Alright, I know there are more recaps out there!  Unfortunately, I just don’t have time to go and grab all of the links right at the moment.  Please leave me a comment and a link to your BBSUMMIT recap post if you’ve written one.  I’d love to read your thoughts!

Also, I’ve linked up to everyone (hopefully) that stopped by my table at the Summit HERE.

I didn’t feel good about much of anything.  Nothing was exciting anymore and I didn’t care to share anything with the world (and you know me, that’s what I do.)  After some time and some good medication, I feel like me again.  I feel good about life again.  It’s weird how when you’re in it, the funk, it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel unless you really push yourself.  It’s a scary place.

That being said, I feel great.  I feel excited about opportunities and about life in general.  Don’t get me wrong, it took a while to get back to this point and I still have my moments (many of them, actually) but they’re minimal compared to the place I was in just over a year ago.

These last few months have been a whirlwind.  We’ve done so much.  We’ve made the most of our summer for sure.  Multiple visits to the zoo (which, we’re taking advantage of again today), multiple trips to the city.  New friends have been made and old ones have been reunited and exciting opportunities have arisen.  It feels so good to feel good again!

There has been so much to do that it’s been hard for me to update ParentSphere on an as-it-happens basis.  In case I haven’t mentioned, I have an extremely busy (we’re talking non-stop) 2 year old and 5-1/2 year old itching to get to kindergarten in a couple of weeks.  As much as I long to sit down and write about everything the minute it happens, I find myself just trying to enjoy things and write about them later.

I have many fun things to write about, like the BBSUMMIT last month (wow, last month already?), lots (and I mean LOTS) of new music to hip you to, Lollapalooza/Kidzapalooza weekend (the older I get, the longer it takes to recover!) and a dozen or so products to promote.

I’m here. It’ll happen. I’m just enjoying life.  Are you?

I remember last year’s Lollapalooza festival like it was yesterday.  I remember when the weekend was over, how I couldn’t wait for this August to get here.  We made a ton of great memories and a bunch of new friends at Lollapalooza 2010.  It was most definitely an unforgettable experience.

I’m so happy that it’s finally here again!  Lolla is this weekend and celebrating its 20th anniversary to boot.  My favorite part of the festival is Kidzapalooza (year 7!), for obvious reasons.  We’re bringing both of the girls tomorrow and I hear the weather is supposed to be fantastic.

Hailey had a blast last year.  It will be fun to have both of the girls with us this year.  This is Teagan’s first Lolla and Hailey’s…third!  Lucky kids.  I love that they get to experience a music festival like this.  There are so many fun things for them to do in the Kidza area.  I’m sure both girls will have their hair punked up a bit, learn some hip hop with the Q Brothers and rock out to the awesome bands on the family stage.

In case you weren’t aware, I do quite a bit of the online social outreach for Kidza.  So, you’ll find me updating the Kidza Twitter account, Facebook page, blog, website, etc. all weekend long.  There are some great acts this year, like, Big Bang Boom, Kate Diaz, Ralph’s World, Northbrook Garage, etc.  I’m so excited to see them all!

So, whatever you’re doing this weekend, I hope it’s an inspiring one!  Hard to believe it’s August and the kiddos start school again soon.  Time flies…

Hailey in the VIP area of The National's set - Lollapalooza 2010

One of the things in my life that I make sure to have time for is getting pampered at the salon.  I tend to get a little stir crazy when my hair reaches shoulder length.  I’ve always loved having a cute, stylish cut.  If I let my hair go for too long, it ends up in a pony tail and when that happens, I find it hard to get out of my jammies all day long.

Jon-David, master stylist at Joseph Michael’s Salon and Spa (1313 N. Ritchie Court in Chicago) took really good care of me the other day.  When you’re in the Chicago area, consider seeing him.  He’s a master at helping his clients achieve healthy, beautiful hair.  Oh, he’s also a writer.  A man of many talents.  His novel, “Mafia Hairdresser” is available now!

I’m currently reading J-D’s novel. Can’t wait to gush about it when I finish!

My fabulous friend took the time to tell us all what magical things he did for my hair:

“The colors I used in Amy’s highlights were very hot cherry/orange light browns from Schwarzkopf, a high-grade creme color. It’s more on the traditional coloring scheme because she has fine hair and you want the cuticle opened and filled, just a bit to give body.

The low light was also from the same line in a black with higher volume of peroxide; one would usually use for black to give a matte sheen to the texture (this is a master stylist technique). Then, all the hair left out, I covered Amy in our new INOA color.  It has no ammonia in it, which mean the cuticle stays intact and no color escapes.  This means shine and lastablity because the door to the hair is fully closed and I could take her base lighter than I could with another color without worrying that it will get orange or weird.

INOA exists because more and more clients are becoming sensitive to ammonia due to environmental and exposure over time to sensitizing, food, air, etc.  INOH rinsed clear in the sink and is better for your skin AND the environment.  After the color was shampooed out, I used my secret favorite, called Nexxus Emergencee.  It’s a polymer which fills in any divots in the hair.  It increased the diameter of each hair shaft, reflects light and gives you strength and body.  It will last for two months and makes trashed hair like new.

After rinsing that out, I used Aquage uplifting foam because Amy likes body and no yucky feeling on the hair.  Aquage has a very clean feeling and is not expensive!

Lastly, I used Amy’s favorite, Beyond Body Thermal Spray.  It protects the hair from the flat iron heat.  I will not let my clients use an iron without this product!  This product gives the hair the memory to stay the way you iron it and it keep the humidity off of your hair and also gives you non-greasy shine.

Mwah and wallah!”

Thank you so much, J-D, for taking such good care of me!  I wish you much success with your novel and your other new books that are coming out soon!

-xoxo-

Twitter: Follow J-D.  Follow Joseph Michael’s Salon & Spa.

Photo By: Fabie de Silva

Alright, I decided that I wanted to link up to anyone who stopped by my table at the Brands & Bloggers Summit.  I knew when I concocted this little idea that it was going to take a big chunk of time.  But, I wanted to do it anyway because I want a permanent reminder of who I met that day.

So, hopefully if you stopped by my table at #BBSUMMIT11, you left me your card and I’ve linked up to you below.  If you don’t see your name, please leave it in the comment section of this post so I can add you because you deserve to be included in this list!

MJ Tam (the creator of Midwest Moms Media – Brands & Bloggers Summit) Chicagonista
Amy – Tiramisu Mom
Amy – interactiveAmy
Melissa – A Broken Compass
Paula – frosted fingers
Jodi – Jodi Michelle
Lisa – Oh Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy
Stacey – StaceySays
Toni – The Shopping Adventures of Cheapo McFrugalpants
Clair – Mummy Deals
Jen – Hot Mom Reviews
Danielle – Daisy, Just Daisy
Heather – Inexpensively
Jen – Creating Chaos
Kim – Fashion Cents
Jill – The Diaper Diaries
Jen – Mommy Instincts
Karen – Mom-mom-mom.com
Antoinette – Sister Save-A-Lot
Rita – Chi-Town Cheapskate
Jen – born just right
Candy – mommypalooza
Jolon – Savvy Chic Savings
Virginia – EmmaMom
Stacey – Evolving Stacey
Nicole – Splitcybernality
Kelly – Kelly’s Lucky You!
Jen Rattie – My Crafty Life
Melanie – Reviews from the crib
Jenny – Minimalism Defined
Michelle – Honest & Truly!
Rowena – She She Shoppers
Alicia – Making Time for Mommy
Melanie – My Joy My World
Maria – A Savings WOW!
Rae Lewis-Thornton – Diva Living With AIDS Blog
Liz – make it better
Agnes – Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
Elma – LATISM Chicago
Debbie – Jewels by Park Lane
Melisa – Suburban Scrawl
Candace – Serendipity {mommy}
Miss Lori – Musings From My Minivan
Tanya – Mommy Goggles
Jenna – For The Love of Baby!
Ann & Betsy – My Milwaukee Mommy
Alli – Couponing For 4
Amanda – MarocMama
Sidney – Hysterical Mom
Whitney Wyatt (Communications Manager) – Mr. Rooter
Xenia – Thanks, Mail Carrier
Melissa – the life of a Sippy Cup Mom
Theresa – the Local Tourist
Tara – Three P’s in a Pod
Elizabeth – Table for Five
Rita – Look It’s Megryansmom
Shannon – Same Old Shannon
Johanna – Momma Cuisine
Sharon – Simply Shay
Deb – Just a mom’s take on things
Dawn – Girlfriend Celebrations
Bonnie – ChiIL Mama
Jennifer – Destined for Home
Tricia – The Night Owl Mama
Sarah – Sarah’s Deals
LaTosha – TargetStars
Anne – The Megalomaniac Mommy
Lisa – Lisa Reviews
Beth – Real Moms Love to Eat
Maureen – Wisconsin Mommy
Marta – Gig Masters
Jennifer – Raising the Next Generation of AWESOME
Sarah – Toddling Around Chicagoland
Tracey – Just Another Mommy Blog
Sheryce – Diva the Budgetista
Mrs Windy City – Mrs Windy City UnPluGGed
Sylvia – Just Sylvia
Lisa – In the SPA-t-Light
Kim – Reluctant Renovator
Stephanie – Adventures in Babywearing
Sheila – XiaolinMama (Clever Girls Collective)
Sami Ari – Social Sami
Meagan – The Happiest Mom
Wendy – Woo! Jr Kids Activities
Sara – Self Made Mom
Jon-David – Mafia Hairdresser
Nancy Loo – Big Tiny World
Duong – Digital Girlfriends
Dwana – Healthy, Happier, You!!!!
Parissa – Two Cents by Parissa Behnia
Barbara – WiredPRworks
Beth – 2 Broads Casting

Sarah Evans is our speaker and she is touching on the subject of bloggers and brands working together.  If you are contemplating starting a product and/or service review blog, please do your homework.  You’re just protecting yourself and your readers will respect you for it.

I’ll have to come back and include the valuable links to the sites where you can learn how to create your disclosure policy and whatnot.