This July 4th I'm Discussing Responsible Drinking with My Kids

My kids are four, eight and ten years old, and it seems like the day I'll need to talk to them about responsible drinking is still years away, but of course, it's not. My oldest starts middle school this fall, and I can only guess that means high school is going to come around the bend sooner than I can imagine.

In fact, my kids not only aren't too young to have a talk about responsible drinking, according to the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (FAAR), they're actually the perfect ages to have these kinds of discussions because the most “preventative years” for children are between the ages of six and ten. This is the perfect time for us to discuss, and for them to learn, healthy, balanced behaviors around drinking.

July 4th weekend is a favorite holiday for our extended family. We all get together at the beach: aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. We have a huge feast, featuring our favorite summer food, Maryland hard shell crabs smothered in Old Bay.

And what goes best with crabs? Beer. Lots and lots of beer.

While my husband and I could be at most described as casual drinkers, it doesn't mean that we don't pass on a lot of thoughts about drinking to our kids. They hear us discussing what we'll be eating and drinking over the long holiday weekend, and how much we're looking forward to it. They hear the discussions of how much beer we think we'll need for a party of twenty adults, and what other drinks we should serve as well.

And conversations about alcohol don't happen over just July 4th weekend. Our kids hear us agree when friends say they "need a drink" after a long day, and they hear us laugh when someone makes a joke about drinking too much, although the truth is we don't think jokes like that are necessarily a laughing matter. Even if I don't drink much in front of my kids, these other passive messages about alcohol definitely get passed on to them.

So this July 4th when our family gets together, I'll be sure to talk to my kids about the role of responsible drinking at holiday get-togethers, and on "regular" days, too. I'll take this opportunity to remind them that even at events where alcohol is part of the celebration it's always a good idea to drink responsibly and to do what they think is right, whether that means not having another drink, or even just not laughing when someone makes a joke that's really not that funny about drinking too much.

Thank you to the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility for encouraging me to have this important conversation with my kids.

The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility created this video to help parents begin a lifetime of conversations with their kids about alcohol responsibility. Talking with your kids about alcohol early and often is the best way to keep them safe and the Foundation has tools and resources to help. Visit www.responsibility.org, follow @goFAAR on Twitter and "like" their Facebook page at fb.com/gofaar and begin the conversation today.

This post is written in conjunction with the sponsorship by the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (FAAR) for The Blog University (BlogU) conference held this spring at Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Top Ten Things I Learned at the 2014 BlogU Conference #BlogU14

This weekend I was part of the faculty of the inaugural BlogU Conference in Baltimore, and it was a fabulous experience from the moment I walked in the door and was greeted by friendly bloggers who directed me to a room filled with candy, 'til the final awards ceremony, which handed out illustrious honors like "Most Likely to be Kicked-Out of the Dorms."

In addition to all the fun, I also learned a lot. Here's a list of my top ten takeaways from BlogU:

1. Public speaking doesn't have to suck. I am usually a nervous public speaker, but for the first time ever I wasn't when presenting my session at BlogU, How to Make Money with Your Writing. This was because I presented with Nicole Leigh Shaw, who showed me you can look forward to and enjoy talking to a group just as easily as you can worry about it and hate it. Thanks Nicole for the inspiration, you have a serious gift.

Photo by Kerry of House TalkN

2. There's no party like a NickMom party. When NickMom throws a party, they throw a party. In a word it was epic, from the DJ who played every single one of my favorite songs from the 80s and 90s, to the centerpieces made with cassette tapes, everything was perfect.

Nicole (NinjaMomBlog.com), Kerry (HouseTalkN.com) and Susan (DivineSecretsofaDomesticDiva.com)

3. A Girl and Her Band make the best headbands ever. I had already had a few blogging friends tell me how these headbands are incredibly cute and comfortable, but I didn't realize how truly great they were until I tried them for myself. They were also a huge hit with my daughters, so big thanks to A Girl and her Band for making me look good to my kids.

Photo from the A Girl and her Band website.

4. If you bring home a fun mustache, your tween will immediately steal it and even say "this is so awesome! Thank you!" So, thank you, Ashley from Big Top Family for the excellent swag!

5. Friends in the computer are even more awesome in person. BlogU was the first time I got to meet in person lots of people I only knew through blogging, but had never actually met IRL. And while their 3D selves are even better than their Twitter personalities, many did betray me by being taller or shorter than I had imagined.

Photo by Erin of the Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

6. The best dorm mates ever are Kim, Paige and Robyn. The fact that I manged not to get a photo to document this fact is clearly a giant fail from the weekend.

7. The best time to pin things to Pinterest is Sunday night. I learned this and so much more about Pinterest from Anna of My Life and Kids.

8. All conferences should have cupcakes. Actually, why stop at conferences? All events should have cupcakes. And places. Especially boring places, like the DMV. The cupcakes at BlogU were from Macklin's Cafe and were insanely good.

Photo from Blog U's Twitter.

9. Real Beanz Iced Coffee makes a long drive home after a weekend of very little sleep really not so bad at all. But still not nearly as good as the ride down with the fun and hilarious Kim of The Fordeville Diaries.

10. Your kids won't notice you were gone when they are enjoying the ultimate staycation with Daddy. Apparently, when dad is in charge it is not business at usual. I complimented him on there being no dirty dishes in the sink, but apparently that was only because they ate every single meal out. When they weren't busy dining at brunch with a chocolate fountain, they enjoyed an afternoon party at his brother's house, ran a 5k, went to the movies to see Maleficent and even fit in not one but two trips to the pool, and a Wii tournament that my ten-year-old described went on "until so long after bedtime you seriously don't even want to know when it ended, Mom." Well-played, husband. Well-played. And, you even got the roses to bloom while I was gone.

You can learn more about Blog U on their website, Facebook page and Twitter, and also by following the hashtag #BlogU14. For tons of photos from the NickMom Prom check out #NickMomProm.

I was not compensated for this post, but many of the products mentioned were sponsors of Blog U.

This June, Get Schooled: The Inaugural Blog University Conference is Coming to Baltimore!

This June, Get Schooled!

The inaugural The Blog University Conference is coming to Baltimore, and I'm honored to be a part of this fantastic new conference that is happening from June 6 to 8 at Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore.

If you have a blog or have been thinking about starting one, join us for education, making connections, and more.
But hurry... tickets are only on sale for a few more days.

Tickets to Blog U are all-inclusive (check out the full conference schedule here) and includes all meals, parties, social events and sessions and accommodations on the beautiful and historic Notre Dame of Maryland University campus.

I'll be speaking with Nicole Shaw about How to Make Money with Your Writing. You can read more about our session as well as all the course descriptions here.

So fast-forward your writing career, hone your skills, make friends, and network!

You an stay up -to date with all things The Blog University (BlogU) Conference on Facebook at /TheBlogUniversity and on Twitter at @theblogu. Oh, and I almost forgot, to register: click here.


And one more thing... this Sunday night, May 11, we're having a Twitter Party and the grand prize is a ticket to BlogU. So join us online from 9-10 EST for fun and for one lucky person... a ticket to BlogU!

Hope to see you at BlogU this June!