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Heading To NYC for Book Expo & To Showcase Updated “My Parent Plan”

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I’m excited to share that this week I’ll be attending BookExpo America (BEA), the largest author and book event in the nation. The show is being held from May 30th to June 1st at the Javits Center in New York City. You can find me and my book, My Parent Plan: How to Create a Family Project Plan to Organize Your Life and Kids , at Booth #377, where I’ll be joined by Alicia Dunams, and other Best Selling Authors with their new and popular  books. (*SEE bottom of this post for launch events  BOOK SIGNING times).

 

 

An updated version of my book, “My Parent Plan – How To Create A Family Project Plan To Organize Your Life and Your Kids” is now up on Amazon and I will be bringing copies to sign at the Book Expo. The book combines my experience as a Mom of three, quickly-growing boys plus my 20 years in professional project management to help parents understand the process of creating and working through a parenting plan based on their individual family’s needs and personalities. My Parent Plan empowers parents to step back to think about their daily, weekly, seasonal and yearly activities and set up a plan in advance. This gives families the time to find the right information, identify budget-friendly options, consider the needs of each family member and make informed choices to create the optimal family plan.
Without a plan I would have never had time to write this book. When I share with friends and colleagues that I wrote a book, and they know all the other things I have going on they frequently respond, “what – you wrote a book?”  The most wonderful thing is that many of these individuals either have book ideas, are writing a book or have something special they want to share. We discuss the importance of turning dreams into goals, then goals into plans and plans into action. One of my favorite parts of writing this book has been using the tools I talk about to empower other people to reach their goals while facing the challenge of work life balance. Luckily I had a plan that helped me juggle my priorities while keeping family on the top of the list and keeping other lower priority items on hold. For example, I have not washed my minivan in MONTHS. I even took a picture of my minivan so that if anyone asked how I do it, I could show them my secret. Success in one area requires trade offs in lower priority areas.
On topic of success, one of my dearest friends , Barb Gottesman, is not only an amazing life coach but also had life-changing adventures with her family sailing the Pacific Ocean for 2 years.  It was a story that needed to be told so I suggested to Barb, who already had a plan to write a book, to join in the Best Seller program. I am so proud of her – she followed through and (shriek of excitement) she is joining me and the other authors at the Book Expo in New York to announce her new book. Two moms heading to the Book Expo America in New York…proud to show their professional voice reflected in their new books!

 

 

Barbara Gottesman is the author of “How to Slay a Pirate: Lessons on Success from Sailing the Pacific”. The reference to ‘pirates’ in the title refers to the negative self talk that robs people of their dreams.  Barb describes her book as the ultimate guide for setting goals, slaying pirates, and achieving what you’ve only dreamed of until now. It delivers five surprisingly simple lessons and strategies for turning your vision into reality and reaching your true potential.  Accompanied by travel blog excerpts from her own nearly two-and-a-half year family sailing adventure across the Pacific (through Mexico, the South Pacific, and into Australia), How to Slay a Pirate delivers a candid account of challenge, risk and reward to make a compelling case for why finding and following your passion is essential.

 

BOOK EXPO SIGNINGS:

 

Beth Blecherman “My Parent Plan“: May 30 from 1-2pm, May 31 from 11-12pm and June 1 from 1-2pm. I will have an additional special signing on May 30 from 2:00 -2:30pm

 

 

Barbara Gottesman ” How to Slay a Pirate: Lessons on Success from Sailing the Pacific” will also be signing her books during the following times: May 30 from 1-2pm, May 31 from 11-12pm.  She will have a special signing on May 30 from  3:30 – 4:00 pm.

 

Joining Barb Gottesman and I  will be five other authors from our Best Seller group including:

 

  • Diane Beck, author of Project Management Secrets: Fortune 500 Project Manager Reveals How to Succeed in the Trenches.
  • Melissa Steach, author of The Housing Project: Decorating a Home That Tells Your Personal Story and Reflects the Real You.
  • Suzanne Letourneau, author of Soar with Vulnerability: 11 Insights to the Full Enjoyment of Your Life.
  • Bill Paravanno, author of Knees for Life: The Natural Approach to Eliminate Chronic Knee Pain and Have Strong Healthy Joints That Last a Lifetime…Without Surgery
  • Dr. Sherri Vie, author of Dr. Vie’s Vedic Weight Loss Secrets: Lose Weight, Prevent Disease, and Love Yourself.

 

 

BookExpo America will also feature exhibits, conference sessions, networking and autographs. I can’t wait to share the updated version of my book  and experience the excitement of being part of the world’s largest author and book gathering. If you’re in the Big Apple, stop by, pick up an autographed copy of my book, and join in the excitement!
OTHER FUN AUTHOR EVENTS:
MAY 30 MEETUP (NYC): Bush Street Press and Alicia Dunams, Founder and CEO of Bestseller in a Weekend™ organized a  Meet-up on May 30. Please join us! Click on the following link for more information: http://bpmmeetup.eventbrite.com/

 

 

JUNE 4 VIRTUAL BOOK LAUNCH: You’re invited! Don’t miss out on my virtual book launch party on June 4 from 1 PM to 3 PM (PST).  Win a free autographed copy and some cool prizes. Also learn about the book-writing process, the good and the bad, from me and 7 other non-fiction debut authors by attending our virtual book launch party on June 4 from 1-3 PST. It’s sure to be informative, enlightening, and fun! Sign up for free here: http://bestsellervirtualparty.com.

 

“My Parent Plan” is available on Amazon (CLICK HERE to buy). The Amazon Kindle version will be available May 30 as well as June 4 on iBookstore, Google Books, Barnes & Noble Nook formats.  You can also wait until June 4 and join in the fun of our virtual book launch party!

 

 

 

 

Vilynx – a busy mom’s best friend in managing family videos

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**GUEST POST**: Winnie Root is a busy mom trying to balance between chasing after two very active boys and Director of Communications at a fast-paced Silicon Valley-based startup, Vilynx. She was invited to guest post at TechMamas.com to discuss Vilynx, a video management app for busy moms.
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Over the winter holidays, we took a couple of weeks and travelled to the mid-west to visit family and friends. It was always such a treat to visit and this year the weather even cooperated. We had the perfect snow to make a snowman and snow angels. The boys even got to sled.  Oh what fun! I could show you snapshots but a video just tells so much more.

 

 

I love family videos. We’d sit and watch family videos for hours on a Friday night. The kids love to see themselves when they were just learning to walk or sitting on a high chair making a big mess. I remember in the old days I used to have to connect my camera to my computer to upload the videos, or physically take out the card and plug in into my computer. That was so last year. These days, I use a mobile app called Vilynx to take, organize and share all my family videos.  I have Vilynx on my Android phone, my iPad, and my Nexus 7. The app allows the users to access their family videos that are stored across devices. When I take a video using Vilynx on my Android phone, I can view it on my iPad, my Nexus 7, on my computer browsers, and even on Google TV! The best part is the videos are stored in the cloud account(s) of my choice, automatically. I no longer have to worry about losing my videos or maxing out the storage on my phone.

 

 

The 5-second summary display makes it so much easier to find a particular video. The traditional thumbnail view from my film strip doesn’t always tell me what the videos contain. The Vilynx summary technology solves this problem I had.

 

 

There is also the sharing option which we all can’t live without these days. I can share my videos easily via email or on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in the same 5-second summary format as well as sharing the entire video.

 

 

 

 

 

Vilynx works on my browsers which makes it so easy to insert videos on my blog. I can now simply go to the share option on the web app, copy the iframe and paste it onto my blog. Again, the same 5-second summary format appears. See a tutorial here. If you use WordPress, you’ll have to install the iFrame Widget first.

 

As a mom, I find myself taking more and more videos. Vilynx has been a great way to capture those precious memories.

 
Disclosure: This is a guest post/ press update. This is NOT a sponsored post.
 

 

RedRover Expands To Local Event Listing Streams

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Red Rover appWhen I hear of apps and websites that make parents lives easier, I always love to share the details. I just received the press release for a new feature the site RedRover. RedRover offers a fun and social way to search for local activities.  The press release explained “RedRover users follow event listing streams from their favorite places or brands  — kind of like Twitter, but for time-based activities.  The mobile app and website then give the user the ability to sort by date, distance, age groups and categories. The result is a swift and pain-free decision-helper.” I look forward to checking it out and will share more details soon as it comes to San Francisco. RedRover’s Founder and CEO, Kathryn Tucker, shared information about Founding a startup as a single mom on Huffington Post Parents. RedRover currently covers New York City and will be expanding to other cities soon.

 

 

 

 

PRESS RELEASE:

RedRover Introduces Brand New Service So Families Can Have More Fun

 

NEW YORK (March 8th, 2013) – Today RedRover launches a revolutionary new platform to make parents’ lives easier and more fun. Offering parents a new and truly innovative way to discover the things going on in their town that are just right for them, RedRover has broken new ground in social software by launching a unique and clever platform into a demographic long underserved by innovative software.

 

RedRover users follow event listing streams from their favorite places or brands  — kind of like Twitter, but for time-based activities.  The mobile app and website then give the user the ability to sort by date, distance, age groups and categories. The result is a swift and pain-free decision-helper.

 

“Parents lives are hard enough,” says Kathryn Tucker, RedRover’s Founder and CEO, and mother of two. “I wanted to build a service that eases the burden around trying to figure out what to do — there is too much information out there and no easy way to reduce it to just what’s right for me. My goal is to find the easiest way to connect parents with the kind of high quality, fun events they are looking for.”

 

Partners like The American Museum of Natural History, 92Y, and the New York Public Library were quick to sign on. Tucker reached out to more than 200 institutions nationwide and was met with a warm reception. “These non-profits, which have wonderful programming for kids, saw the point of RedRover immediately. The inefficiency of search for parents has kept traffic from their doors. It took no time for them to see the value of a service which consolidates all the available choices and suggests events to the people most likely to enjoy them.”

 

From the New Victory Theater and Central Park in NYC, to the Denver Zoo, The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Bay Area Discovery Museum, The International Spy Museum and the Dallas Museum of Art, RedRover is filled with high quality kid-friendly things to do. Museums, libraries, sports teams, film festivals, farmer’s markets, and nature centers are all publishers on the platform.

 

RedRover partners have the opportunity to publish events in real time and color their event listings with descriptions, photos, directions, and even offers the ability to buy tickets. RedRover gives partners, venues and marketers, a brand new mobile way to reach their customers.

 

“The New York Public Library is proud to be a founding content provider of RedRover. RedRover will promote the diversity of programs available to parents and children, and the Library is excited to share the thousands of free family and educational programs offered by the Library throughout the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island,” said Johannes Neuer, NYPL’s Associate Director of Marketing.

 

RedRover is available on iPhone and iPad as well as on the web at https://redrover.co.

 

The new platform is launching first in New York City with plans to launch in Atlanta, San Francisco, and across the country in the coming weeks.

 

Test Prep Sanity: New Book Out To Help Parents Prepare Kids For Tests

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When I wrote my book – My Parent Plan, the goal was to help parents learn how to use professional project planning skills to plan for their family. One important thing to plan for is helping kids understand how to take standardized tests so it is less stressful. I have been looking for resources that can help parents prepare their kids for tests – and the new book out “Test Prep Sanity” by Elie Venezky is just that. Test Prep Sanity provides all the information to help parents create their own “test” plan including: When to start preparing, How to find the best tutor for your child, When to register for the exam and which books to buy, How to make sure your child studies without constant supervision, How to talk about the test with your child, How to handle complaining, What to do if your child won’t study, What to do, eat and wear on test day, When to expect results and How to improve test scores on subsequent tests.

 

Here is the press release and link to the Prestige Prep website for more information:

Continue reading →

 

Book Is Out: My Parent Plan – How to Create a Family Project Plan

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**New version of My Parent Plan coming out May 30 2013 while I will be at the Book Expo America in New York City (CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO). Please check back May 30 for info on the UPDATED VERSION!

The Amazon Kindle version will be available May 30 as well as June 4 on iBookstore, Google Books, Barnes & Noble Nook formats.  You can also wait until June 4 VIRTUAL BOOK LAUNCH PARTY and join in the fun of our virtual book launch party ! If you are interested – please sign up here.

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While I’m known today as “TechMama“, discussing family technology across social media platforms, I started my career (before kids and blogging) in Corporate Finance, Computer Auditing, Computer Programming and then Technical Project Management at a top consulting firm. After marrying TechDad and having my first child, I quickly realized that while I had mastered the art of managing technology projects, managing a family was the toughest – yet best – challenge of all.

 

Four years later, my son was joined by twin brothers. Years of parental trial and error mixed with sleep deprivation brought the realization that when I applied professional project planning concepts to parenting – the process worked. While there are always surprises with parenting, using professional project planning concepts helped me lay out a path I could use to understand my family’s needs in advance and create a flexible plan.

 

My family plan helped keep the family on track and, just as important, helped me, the mama, enjoy motherhood without getting too bogged down in the logistics. For example, instead of just buying the coolest or latest technology gadget, I first documented what features our family needed and how the technology would be used – then purchased the technology that fit with our needs and budget. This helped me make educated buying decisions that would benefit the boys instead of spontaneous purchases that would not hold up over the long haul.

 

Through my experiences, I hope to help parents and families create their own parent plan based on their individual family’s needs and personalities. My book, called “My Parent Plan” , will help you learn to apply project management concepts for parenting, the toughest but best project you will ever have!

 

At the end of my book I have a link to the growing “My Parent Plan” online resources section.  I will also be reaching out to my community (yes, that is you) to address your questions, share your family project planning tips and generate the online knowledge and support to complement your own IRL (In Real Life) support system.

 

 

My Parent Plan by Beth Blecherman is available now (soft cover) on Amazon. The Kindle and updated version will be out by May 2013 when I will be the the NYC Book Fair.  Do you have any parent “project plan” tips or challenges to share? What online sites do you use as resources for information? Please share so I can add them to the online resource section I am developing.

 

*Big Thanks to Alicia Dunams – Best Seller In A Weekend (the program that helped me make a plan to create this book). That is a plan and process that works!

 

 

 

Tips To Use Tech (&Low Tech) For Homework Humor

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It all started out of my desperation to inspire my teen son to do his homework, without a battle. That journey led me to creating my own 5 ways to use Humor as Incentive for Homework, which I wrote about for a Mashable post. The post shares my tips – along with a very surprising use of the song “Gangnam Style” by Psy (satire of the Gangham district of South Korea which is compared to Beverly Hills in LA).

 

 

 

My journey also took to Kimberley Clayton Blaine (TheGoToMom), who is a Therapist. Her video called -  “Be A Funny Family: Why Kids Need Laughter” taught me that laughter is key for positive parenting:

 

 

 

Having access to watch this video (and others like it) was a good way to arm me with ideas for using humor.

 

My humor post at Mashable also mentioned tips I learned from Mary Kay Morrison, an independent consultant who works in the field of humor studies and brain health has a book: Using Humor to Maximize Learning and Using Humor to Maximize Living. and website: Quest For Humor. Here are more details from Mary Kay Morrison about using humor for homework:

 

  • “Create positive communication between parent and child before homework time by telling riddles, or funny stories as a practice before beginning. Make it a point to engage in mutual laughter as part of the homework routine.
    Create a homework environment of fun. Movement is critical for learning, so encourage frequent movement. Let the child sit on a  yoga ball, give them a squishy ball to use when stressed, or a tennis ball bouncing break every so often. A great break is a laughter break. Laughter yoga is a great way to relax and get oxygen flowing to the brain. Just stand take deep breaths and laugh.”
  • “Set a timer with a reasonable amount of time allowed to complete the work. Let the child know that at the end of this period there will be a surprise. Examples of the surprise would depend on the age of the child, but can include time together reading a joke book. I avoid food as a reward, except on rare occasions, making sure the snack is healthy.”
  • “Be creative. For younger kids, give the child a flashlight, darken the room and have her spell the words on the ceiling with the flashlight. For older kids, do math homework while riding bikes together.”
  • “Have fun with assignments. Without telling them, put sticky notes with quotes, jokes or “I love you” notes inside the book or chapter that they need to read. Use a “hunt for the cards” idea for rote math practice like multiplication. Find weird places in your house and place the flash cards there.”

 

 

Do you use humor as an incentive for your kids to do homework – or humor in other ways? I always love learning new ways to bring (age appropriate) humor into our family.  Beyond Family Guy – which makes my boys laugh – but as the Common Sense Media site says — Family Guy is rated for 14 and above!.

 

 

Photo credit NickS

 

 

 

Texting While Driving Can = Death.. It Can Wait

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The lure of texting while driving is a challenge I (and others) have fought for years. But when I became a parent, I felt an even stronger responsibility not to text (or use my phone w/o handsfree accessories or apps) while driving. If not only to be a role model for my kids who will be driving sometime (too soon now that I have tweens), but also for the safety of my family and others.  Using phones in cars without handsfree accessories (i.e. distracted driving) is also illegal in many states.  For years I heard stories of people that were either hurt, hurt others or died from texting (using the phone) while driving.  While it is uncomfortable to watch the AT&T videos where real people share their stories about the dangers of texting and driving as well as a documentary with accident stories, I felt like it was important not only for me to watch but also for my tweens to watch.

 

 

 

 

In a interesting twist of fate, the first person I *almost* knew that could of died from texting or using social media while driving was a celebrity plastic surgeon. The exact cause of his crash is not known, but *speculation* from the news articles links his car accident to possibly his use of social media very close to the time of his accident. I remember the moment I read about his death, I looked at the certificate on the wall that I had been saving for a trial dermabrasion (a skin treatment) and realized that would never come to fruition. Of course, my top feelings were sadness that he had died and sympathies to his family – but having seen his tweets so close to his accident really made me think that it could happen.

 

 

I have worked with AT&T on initiatives in the past. Today I received a press update about the It Can Wait website and thought it was important for me not only to take the It Can Wait pledge (click here) but also to share with my readers in hopes they take the pledge.

 

 

So take the no txting while drivng pledge, be safe.. it can wait!

 

Disclosure: This is a press release update.

 

 

PRESS UPDATE FROM AT&T:

 

 

Continue reading →

 

Exciting Announcement: TechMama is guest columnist at Laptop Mag

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For years, reading online and buying Laptop Magazine has been one of my regular stops to catch up on the latest in mobile tech. Laptop Magazine was (and is) an important part of my daily curation of family technology and social media.

 

Other then my personal blog TechMamas.com ( and as a big fan of CoolMomPicks),  I was thrilled to be part of the team at their sister site CoolMomTech – the top tech shopping site for moms. It was also my dream as a tech blogger to contribute to a mainstream tech site.

 

I am excited to announce that I am a guest columnist at none other then Laptop Magazine (ok, yes I am giddy)! My first column discusses if Augmented Reality toys are bad for your kids. To find out my thoughts – you will need to check out Laptop Magazine online or the May magazine issue. Even better if you do both. As I head out on a business trip next week, I picked up my regular “plane” – shut off your electronics and read a magazine – reading. I must say, buying the recent issue of Laptop Magazine was extra special this time.

 

 

 

So Exciting – Cool Mom Tech Has Launched!

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If I have not posted for some time on my personal blog TechMamas.com, it’s because there is something keeping me busy. My wonderful family is always a priority and those with kids that just entered 6th grade (like my son just did) understand what a big transition that is.

This middle school transition would be so bloggable if I had not already promised my son to keep things under wraps. In fact, my tween is probably reading this post on his smartphone right now – so I may as well say hi to my son: “Hi sweetie..Whoops, I am not supposed to call you that in public. Sorry”.

Let’s just say that kids these days are skipping from kids to teenagers, and it happens fast. As my dear friend with a newly “teenaged” kid told me last year: Put on your seatbelt. And I did.

On the business front, my most exciting announcement is that I joined on as Chief Technologist of a sister site to the fabulous Cool Mom Picks (a top shopping blog for parents).

The amazing founders of Cool Mom Picks Liz Gumbinner and Kristen Chase were planning to develop a sister tech shopping blog for parents when I happened to call them saying I would looove to work with them on such a venture. Wella: Cool Mom Tech!

Does it show how excited I am? If I could add audio, it would sound like cyber-shreaks of joy! Check our our awesome Cool Mom Tech team, I am so honored to work with them (another cyber shreak).

Here is a link to a post about Cool Mom Tech on BlogHer written by an fabulous tech mom herself (I have a soft spot for tech moms) Little Tech Girl Kris Cain : “Get the Real Scoop on Technology with Cool Mom Tech“.

Here are juicy details from the Cool Mom Tech About page:

“Cool Mom Tech is the intersection of tech and style, of parenting, practicality and fabulosity, brought to you by the same moms behind the influential shopping and design site, Cool Mom Picks. Plus a few more who really know their tech stuff.

We’re not techies who parent, we’re moms who use tech in our everyday lives. Same as you. Same as millions of mothers who are online every day.”

Please take a click over to Cool Mom Tech and see what we are up to!

 

Parents Magazine Lists the Parents Power Moms

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I have been reading Parents magazine for some time, it is a great resource parents of babies, toddlers and even big kids. So I was thrilled when I found out they included me (TechMamas.com) on their list of Parents Power Moms along with DesignMom.com, CityMama.com, CoolMomPicks.com, AlphaMom.com, TheMotherhood.com, MomItForward.com, Dooce.com and CutieBootyCakes.com Click HERE to see the article on their website. The print article will be available in their February issue. The Parents’ Goodyblog.com has blogging tips, including information about social media such as Twitter and Facebook.