2009 December | Theta Mom®

12.31.09

Please Pass Me the Bread, Salt and Wine

So here we are, arriving at the final day of a decade. This is when New Year’s Resolutions are truly created. In case you missed this post, what do I really want for 2010?

I just want some bread, salt and wine.

Taken from one of my favorite movies It’s a Wonderful Life, allow me to share why:

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Bread–so that this house may never know hunger.

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Salt–that life may always have flavor.

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Wine–that joy and prosperity may reign forever.

Along with good health, please pass me the bread, salt, and wine in 2010! Cheers to a happy and healthy New Year Theta Moms! I look forward to an amazing 2010 with you!

{ 64 Comments }

12.29.09

Plagiarism Will Not Be Tolerated

I feel compelled to write about this because I take my blog very seriously. As I’ve said in the past, I began this blog as a way to begin the dialogue about what it means to be a Theta Mom. I have since built an amazing community of women and mothers here. When I receive emails, I respond to the best of my ability and I even helped many of you find the resources that you needed, especially in reference to blogging.

This is the kind of support I am proud of. This is the kind of support that communities thrive from.

However, never would I imagine that a fellow blogger would actually plagiarize an entire page from this blog word for word and place it on her own blog as if it was her own. She literally copied and pasted my entire page, simply adding in the name of her own blog where appropriate.

That is STEALING.

I work very had to create posts that are authentic and original. Furthermore, every company that I work with knows who they are dealing with at Theta Mom because of the policies that I created myself and set forth on this blog.

The bottom line?

Plagiarism is stealing.

It’s unethical.

And it needs to stop.

As bloggers, plagiarism is something that potentially affects all of us, so I would love to hear your thoughts. How do you feel about it and how do you handle it?

***Update: I found out about this yesterday and I am so grateful for your support. As fellow bloggers, you totally understand how wrong this is. Although the blogger referenced in this post has not responded to my emails, she has taken down the page. I was just on her blog this morning and it has been removed. Maybe she finally got the hint that plagiarism is a serious offense and it certainly won’t be tolerated.

{ 154 Comments }

12.28.09

The Best of Theta Mom 2009

This time of year is always a great time for reflection. It’s a time to think of the past year and the accomplishments and pitfalls that came with it; the funny moments, the sad ones and all of those in between. It’s a chance for us to look ahead toward the future with new goals and aspirations, especially as we begin to kick-off the New Year.

Jill at Scary Mommy has a great idea of posting “The Best of 2009” in blog posts. It’s a great way to share your personal favorite posts and at the same time, link up and meet other bloggers that are doing the same!

Here are my favorites at Theta Mom from the past six months of beginning this blog:

July: Jellybeans {My very first blog post for which I am very proud, an honest take on the reality of a working mother}

August: Rocks in My Jellies {When I came to realize that a baby changes everything}

September: Goodnight Mommy {A moment with my son that will stay with me forever}

October: For This Rockefeller Center, I Heart You {Where my future began}

November: Mommy Bloggers, Rockettes and Rubber Stamps {An eventful and unforgettable trip to NYC for many reasons}

December: Carrie Bradshaw Would Be a Theta Mom {An inside look at how Carrie would be a member of the club}

So grab a cup of coffee, get comfortable and come hang out with me for awhile. We’re just getting started…

{ 50 Comments }

12.26.09

The Joey Boey Town Play Mat Review and Giveaway

***This contest is now closed. Congratulations #22 Amy. An email has been sent.***

The Joey Boey Town Play Mat provides the opportunity for children to have a space for full imaginative play. The possibilities are endless as they create their own community using people, cars, boats, and planes. With The Joey Boey Town Play Mat, traveling and role-playing is so much fun! The mat itself is 4ft x 6 ft which is big enough for many children to play at the same time. It’s made with a layered vinyl and scaled for all popular die cast cars. It is completely spill-proof protected, making spills and messes an easy clean-up. Also, the mat rolls up for easy storage and what Theta Mom doesn’t love that?

I was given The Joey Boey Play Mat to review. My son was immediately drawn to all of the artistic detail on the mat. When I first placed the mat down, he wanted to go through the entire town and “read” the different parts with me. The mat contains an airport, a city park, a church, homes, corner stores, museum, a gas station, etc. Everything a child would want and need in a town is located on this mat. My son enjoys moving his cars and trucks along the streets. He also likes to pretend he is going on an adventure, stopping for gas, buying something at the store and then taking a flight at the airport.

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I even placed my 1 year-old daughter on the mat with my son and they played together. Although she does not play the same way he does with this mat because of her age, she does like touching it and looking at all of the different buildings. So, I sit her on this mat with some of her toys and she is occupied as well! The mat is very durable, too. My daughter was curling the ends up while trying to rip it (such a fun age) but the mat did not budge! It returned to its flat and solid state. I think my 1 year-old is an excellent test of a product’s durability. If it can withstand her, it is durable! The mat is also big enough to comfortably fit both of my children at the same time and many toys on it as well. From a Theta Mom’s perspective, my favorite part about this product that separates itself from other mats on the market is that The Joey Boey Town Play Mat rolls up for easy storage. Since it is made of layered vinyl, clean up and storage has never been easier!

You can purchase The Joey Boey Town Play Mat for $19.95 here OR you can enter to win because Joey Town is giving one lucky Theta Mom reader a Joey Boey Town Play Mat!

How to Enter The Joey Boey Town Play Mat Giveaway:

Required Entry: Follow my blog publicly and tell me you are. Easy peasy!

Extra Entries: (You must leave a separate entry for each extra entry to count and extra entries won’t count unless the required entry is done)

1. Follow Theta Mom on Twitter and leave me your twitter name. (1 entry)

2. Become a fan of Theta Mom on Facebook and leave me your FB name. (1 entry)

3. Subscribe to Theta Mom via email. You must activate the subscription for this entry to count. (2 entries)

4. Subscribe to Theta Mom any other way. (1 entry)

5. Grab one of my cute buttons and add it to your website. (2 entries per button)

6. Click to vote for me at Top Mommy Blogs. Just click the banner on the right side bar and tell me you clicked. (1 entry)

7. Tweet this giveaway! Just copy/paste the following: Enter to win a Joey Boey Town Play Mat #giveaway @ThetaMom http://tinyurl.com/ydbhjve Please RT (1 entry per daily tweet)

8. Post about this giveaway on your blog and link back to me. Leave me your link to show the post. (2 entries)

9. Add Theta Mom to your blogroll. (2 entries)

Giveaway Rules:

This giveaway is open to US residents only. It begins on December 26, 2009 and will end on January 7, 2010 at 9 pm. One winner with a valid entry will be selected at random using random.org. The winner will be announced and must respond with a current email address within 48 hours to claim. Otherwise, another eligible entry will be chosen. Enter as many extra entries as you would like Theta Moms and good luck!

I was provided one Joey Boey Town Play Mat to review. I was not compensated for this review. These are my own honest opinions and experience with the product.

{ 350 Comments }

12.21.09

From My Home to Yours

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the support you have shown me since I started this blog. I have met some of the most amazing women I would not have met otherwise and I have enjoyed getting to know each and every one of you. I have come to know you, your families, and your lives through the writing on your own blogs. There is a community of moms here I am so proud to be a part of and I look forward to another fantastic year together.

I am also especially appreciative to those bloggy friends who have followed me from my move to WordPress. Thank you, sincerely, for staying with me. I’m honored to be blogging with you. And to my new readers, welcome to Theta Mom! I look forward to getting to know you better.

I also wanted to let you know I’m taking a mini holiday break to spend some QT with my family and will be back to post over the weekend.

So until then, from my home to yours…

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