Parenting in the Social Media Age: Don't Fall Behind!

The Social Media age is a major part of our life now and our children's lives now, usage increases among younger children every year. What can you do as a parent? Have you caught up yet? Don't fall behind mom and dad, it is your responsibility to keep your kids safe. I know it is not easy, we are struggling everyday 

with the same things you are. I am right there with you with a pre-teen and teen daughter that are glued to their iphones and laptops everyday.

The best thing you can do as a parent is keep the lines of communication open, dialogue about social media with your kids is one of the best tools you have. Keep your conversations open and very honest, let them know just how you feel (they can't read your mind, just like you can't read theirs). They need to know the consequences and real dangers that are out in our world today. Don't think that bad things only happen to other people, it can easily be you.

This info-graphic credit "Teen Safe" shows some great thoughts. 

Creating some ground rules from the beginning about how your kids will use social media, how you will monitor their computer and cell phone usage will help you tremendously later on. 

I like the statement that online lives should never take priority over real lives. Keep that in mind and have family nights often, no phones allowed, even you mom & dad. Remember kids will watch and do just what you do too (remember monkey see monkey do?)

Are you always face- deep in your smart phone? Do you post online photos, messages or tweets that are not becoming of the person you want your child to be or see?

How is your social media and phone use, what example do they have to follow. Don't be the bad monkey!

Social Media and Tech Savvy Kids: Can You Catch Up?

Now, I love the internet and my social media sites, they are not ALL bad if they are used in the right ways.
The growth of the internet has opened the world to so many opportunities for learning, education and connection. As a homeschool family we use the internet daily for learning and education, but we also know that being online can be a huge time waster if we don't watch out.
As a mom I have tried my best to keep up with the latest technology and social media sites that my children might be visiting. All three of my kids are tech savvy and have a passion for being online.
I realized that I must stay at the same level with them and educate myself about all the possible social media sites out there. This includes knowing what apps are on their phones and what sites are visited via their laptops.

How technology and socially savvy are your kids? How close do you watch their activity on social media sites? You may think you are a media smart parent, but even the smartest of parents may not know just what those kids are up too. Letting your guard down even for a little while can have dire consequences.

Long gone are the days that we worried about our kids sneaking out and meeting others down the street in the middle of the night. Today they can be talking to anyone, anywhere in the world, right in their bedroom via their cell phone. With the advancements in technology our smartphones have almost gotten too smart. Webcams, cameras, gps tracking devices and many different apps can tell a child predator exactly where your child is and just how to lure them out and away from the safety of your home.

Case in point 13 year old Nicole Lovell, a middle school student who was killed by 2 college students just recently after being lured by one of them via the social media app named "KiK". Apparently the 13 year old was social media savvy and a victim of bullying, the college student took advantage of that and used it against her for his own selflessness. Such a beautiful young life gone.....

Story here http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/02/us/virginia-tech-students-arrested-girl-killed/

Middle schooler "Nicole Lovell" age 13 stabbed to death

Do you regularly check your children's phones? laptops, tablets etc? why not? Do you ask them what they are doing? Do you discuss the risks of posting online photos, tweets or posts that might not be smart or might harm someone else?

Parental controls can also be a tool to use for parents, many cell phone and internet providers have this. Control when and how your kids are accessing the internet. No cell phones at bedtime, it is proven to affect their sleep. 

Educate yourself on all the latest social media sites, apps and language that is used in text messaging. You are the parent, you pay the bills remember that. 

Tomorrow we will explore more of those social media and smart phone apps that you might need to know about.....stay tuned

T is for Triberr of course! #atozchallenge

T is for Triberr , heck yeah!





You ask what on earth is a Triberr, most bloggers know what Triberr is, but for those of you that are not using this awesome community of blogging fantastics, I will tell you.

Triberr a Blog Amplification Platform. The basic principle of Triberr is that each member shares their latest blog posts, and other members amplify the blog by sharing each other's posts to Twitter, as well as Facebook and LinkedIn. Members join Tribes based around specific topics and categories so that each blogger is sharing and reading blogs from other similar bloggers. I've been a member of Triberr personally for a while now, and can attest to the enormous impact it's had on website traffic and reader interest. Triberr currently boasts over 50,000 tribes and over 2,000,000 visitors a month sent to member blogs. 
As a very busy mom blogger, health and medical specialist & blogger (ERnursescare & Ed4Ed4All.com) and social media advisor for The Mommies Network, I need easy, anything that can help me multitask to many social media platforms at once gets an A+ in my mommy book! My own triberr outreach has grown to a massive 8 million, I can not be more pleased with that number.
Wow that is a lot of people!! I can say that my tribes have grown, my twitters followers have grown immensely and I have met some of the most amazing people on Triberr.  I cannot say enough positive about Triberr, you just need to get yourself over there and check it out yourself!! 
The newest changes that the creators of Triberr, Dino Dogan & Dan Cristo have made have done nothing but improve the concept and the ease of sharing blog posts. Every time a new change rolls out it improves my overall feel, ease and love of the platform. 
Imagine posting your blog post and then having it posted again via your fabulous tribemates to their own Twitter followers, Linkedin, Google +, Facebook, Stumbleupon,  and more social media avenues. Your one blog post has the potential to reach thousands, even millions of other people that you would not have reached before Triberr. In turn you are also helping others by amplifying blog posts you choose to send out of your tribemates. It is nothing but a win- win situation! 

Now get your hiney over to Triberr and sign up! Don't know what the heck you are doing? Here is a great complete guide video on how to use Triberr. 

Yes the video is long, but very helpful if you are a Triber newbie and need some help starting up. Key points I can add.

• Join Triberr
• Update your profile with a picture and all about you -- here is my profile Leslie Conway Block 
• Follow some tribes that are in your niche, 
• Be diligent to visit daily and approve posts
• Ask to join tribes you think are a perfect fit for you
• Visit the Bonfires and post a note about yourself, asking to join tribes
• Create your own tribe and start looking for tribemates if you want 
• Sit back and enjoy Triberr! 

Happy blogging and sharing with Triberr!! 

Awesome to be a Homeschool Mom #atozchallenge

Being a homeschool mom most days is very challenging, but with all the frustrations and challenges it has to be the most awesome job I have ever had. There are many reasons to homeschool here are just 20.

Fascinating Facts Friday~~ The Human Body

                                                              Source: visual.ly via Theresa on Pinterest

Blog Buttons 101: A How To

How to Make a Button For Your Blog

My fabulous pal Amy at Consider Me Inspired  has been posting some great information for

the techno challenged bloggers out there (me included) and I would love to share what I
learned. 

Once again another code thing that took me a little bit to figure out. 

I wanted to have the blog button that had the code below.  

Simple and easy....just wait you will have a button made in no time.

Step 1:
Decide on the image you will be using and upload it to a photo editing program. 

Amy used Photoscape because it is awesome and it was free, I prefer my Photoshop Elements

Step 2:
Alter your image to an appropriate size that will fit on your sidebar.

Step 3:
Upload your button to Photobucket, ImageShack or some other photo storage
program that creates an HTML code that you can copy and paste.

Double check your photo size before you grab the direct link code.

Step 4:
Go to: http://www.mycoolrealm.com/sandbox/gbgen/ and follow the instructions.  

It doesn't save your code, just gives you an easy and effortless button experience. 

All you do is preview and if it looks the way you want it then copy the code.

Head on over to your Layout page in Blogger; click Add a gadget; 

pull up the HTML option and insert your code; move it where you want it.  

Preview your page before you save.

Here is my button created with the code box:

<div align="center"><a href="http://chipsofftheoldblock.blogspot.com/" title="Chips Off the Old Block" target="_blank"><img src="http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg121/blockmom/blog%20images/chipsofftheoldblockbutton.jpg" alt="Chips Off the Old Block" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

And here is Amy's button you can share ~~ you can click on the snippet of her button and it will take you to her blog, it's awesome!

That was super easy, Thanks Amy for the info and teaching me how!

Blogging Success Tips!

How Awesome, found this infographic on Pinterest of course (I love that place) and it has so many great tips and ways to help you promote your blog posts it was worth the share! Whether you are a mommy blogger or a hot shot corporate blogger all of these tips apply to you. Find that niche, your audience and go for it. Be yourself, honest and your own voice. Consistency is key, you don't have to blog daily if you can't! Just stick with it! Be social and make friends, comment on other blogs, join a blog hop or twitter party, get your name out there, just like real life be dependable. Just be you, we love to read about real life and see your real life pictures (I know I do), giveaways and coupons are wonderful, even lots of charts and statistics, but an interjection of your own personal style, humor and humanism goes a long way to get people back, commenting and following you via all your social media platforms.
Man there are some tips that I did not know about, gotta try them all!!

 Do the 30 things on this infographic and I guarantee that you will notice a huge difference in your traffic and blog followers! Ready ....Set.... Go!!

                                                                             Source: launchgrowjoy.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Reflecting on a mission, one I feel called to...

What kind of mom's group can last for 10 years and still keep growing? The Mommies Network, that's who! I feel like its my mission field some days.

It began with just 2 mom's getting together talking, supporting each other, helping each other and grew from there, and grew and grew. Our local chapter here in the foothills of North Carolina is just a small piece of the "mommy puzzle" CentralfoothillsMommies was founded March 26th 2006 by Erin Moore, now lead by Chapter Manager Leslie Block (that's me).

CentralFoothillsMommies.com was born when two existing sites, HickoryMommies.com and StatesvilleMommies.com decided to join forces to better support the moms in their combined local area. Feeling that each site had a unique identity and wanting to bring both communities together, the management decided upon a new name to better describe their new, combined community. Thus, CentralFoothillsMommies was born!

We chat online in a private forum - discussing everything from the best photographers to the worst temper tantrums and all that lies between - and meet-up regularly at member-driven events around town. Whether it's a late night commiseration on a crying baby (there are 4 am posts to prove it) or a Mom's Night Out, CentralFoothillsMommies provides what our members need, when and how they need it.

But CentralFoothillsMommies is more than just a community of moms. It's moms in and for the community. Our members work full time, stay home full time, work part time, represent many races, are pregnant for the first time, are adoptive moms, were adopted themselves, recently moved to the area, have lived here all our lives, have twins, are happy with one, are single moms, are searching out schools and have watched their kids graduate. In other words, we are a reflection of mothers in the real world. And we help out our neighbors as much as ourselves through organized fundraisers and other charity events - specifically those focused on providing for mothers and their children.

We serve over 30,000 women in our mission to provide a safe and FREE place to find support and encouragement, advice and friendship.

Each dollar you donate allows our network to run for about 8 minutes. Your donation assists us in maintaining our chapters, expanding our network, upgrading critical technologies, and providing the very best place for moms to find what they are missing, online and in real life.

We’d love to tell you how great The Mommies Network is, but why not let our members tell you for us?

That is why as the Chapter Manager I wanted to reflect and reveal why I love TMN so much myself. Below is a great video from Charlottemommies that I love, then below that my reflections on being a member and mom within the network of TMN. A mission that I feel lead to continue for at least another 10 years I hope and pray.

 

My reflections as a Chapter Manager,TMN Advisor and member.

As the Chapter Manager and a member myself I can totally attest to the overwhelming support I have received from the awesome friends and sisters that I have found with my CFM mommies! They are my world, I am excited to share my life with them, little things that my family experiences I can't wait to get home and get online to tell my "mommy friends" , A new recipe I have tried, I love to share, A stupid moment with my husband, I have an outlet to ventilate or bounce ideas off a sister before I say something totally crazy and hurt his feelings.

I have experienced depression and PPD for many years and found others who have the same problems as I do, we have so much in common and it lets me feel like I am not alone crying at 3am, I have the support of my network right behind me.

When my father passed away from liver cancer and I had to go out of town, one of my best mommy friends came to my house to care for my pets, even washed windows for me. Again when my husbands father passed away I had support once again .

I recall a day my husband had to have back surgery and I was all alone in the waiting room of a local hospital, I was online on CFM to keep myself busy and from worrying. I got a phone call from one of our members who asked what my favorite flavor of "Starbucks coffee" was, before I knew it she was pulling up threw the breezeway of the surgical suite area, calling me to come out the door and get my "mommy coffee". She was on her way home from work and had a few minutes to spare, thought of a fellow mom in need and knew that a cup of "Starbucks white chocolate mocha" would absolutely make my day! And it did!

Another mom offered to drive 3 hours and pick up my kids when my husband was very ill and had to spend a few unexpected days in an out of town medical center. These amazing women are in every chapter of our network, even in the leadership of TMN. I think of many more instances just like these since 2007 when I joined The Mommies Network that another mom has been there and done something incredibly selfless just for me.
The founder and president of The Mommies Network "Heather Fortune" has become a wonderful friend herself to me, a shoulder to lean on, an outstanding example of servant leadership that will get right in the trenches and dig in to work with her team. I am also very proud to be a part of the Senior Advisor team of TMN, all volunteers that spend countless hours, up late hours all night sometimes just to make TMN the best place for all moms we can. I plan to spend another 10 + years helping to make TMN grow and serve our communities all across the US. into the vision that Heather has for TMN.
We need your help to continue our mission, please consider visiting the link HERE and donating even a small amount to help, it will be used to help women just like the women who help me.

Thank you so much for your time

Chapter Manager CentralfoothillsMommies.com

National Sr Advisor of Social Medial for The Mommies Network

 

 

Tuesday Twitter Hopping with Friends!

So, link up your Twitter account, find some new tweeps and have fun!

If you've never linked up before, use this format:

http://twitter.com/twitterhandle

Like mine is http://twitter.com/BlockmomNC
and twitter.com/ERNursescare

If you'd like to help spread the word, grab the button, tweet, post to Facebook or +1 this post! Or, you can grab the linky code below and post the whole hop on your blog!

Twitter Hop with my fellow blogger Heartfelt Balance/Handmade Life

The Great Catsby Event 9/1 ~ 9/15 ,So Many Winners!

                                              

The Great Catsby Giveaway Event hosted by Parsimonious Pash and co-hosted by Bloggity Blog and Saved by Grace!

We all are so excited to bring you this huge cat event chalked full of great prizes for everyone who owns a cat! There will be multiple winners in this giveaway... totaling 27 winners!!! This giveaway really is meant for all of you crazy cat owners out there who are like all of us bloggers bringing you this giveaway as well as the companies sponsoring it! So, here we are spoiling your cats just like we spoil ours!

The Prizes:

Litter Robot!	Kitty A Go Go Litter Box!	Double Cat Feeder Bowl and Silicon Mat from the Martha Stewart Pets Collection From Pets Smart	Zanies Froggie Cat Tunnel Cat Toy!	KV Supply $25.00 Gift Card!
$25.00 Gift Certificate From Mr. Chewy	Tails to Scales Pet Supply $25.00 Gift Card!	Neko Flies Cat Toys!	Ace Cat Furniture Cat Bed!	Newman's Own Organic Cat Food Sample Box
Mr Green Cat Deodorizer	Newman's Own Organics Kitty Sample Pack!	Purina Cat Food Sample Pack!	Soft Claws Kitty Nail Caps!	Ace Cat Furniture Cat Toys
Zainies Froggie and Duck Catnip Toys!	Halo Cat Food!	Lucy's Cat Grass!	The Worlds Best Cat Litter!	Fresh News Cat Litter! 2 WINNERS!
Precious Cat Attract Cat Litter!	Feline Pine Litter Box Sand!	Arm & Hammer Litter Box Sand!	Cat Collar from Mommy of 2 Little Monsters	Vita Nip Catnip
Slurp 'N Fresh Pet Breath Freshener! 3 Sample Sized Bottles!	Pawbreakers Eats Edible Animal Treats!	Pawalla Mystery Box

InLinkz.com

I want to say a special thanks to my generous sponsors Zaines Toys who sponsored a 50.00 prize pack, KV Supply and Newmans Own Organics Premium Pet Products please be sure to thank them my visiting my reviews and their sites Where you can purchase any of their items directly from them! Zaines, KV Supply and Newmans Own Organics Premium Pet Products.

This giveaway is open to US Residents 18+ and will run from September 1st-September 15th.

All you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Winners will be verified for their entries and will be given 48 hours to respond to their notification email before a new winner is chosen.

Good Luck Everyone!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway