Kristie's Site has moved!

www.KristieFinnan.com

Author Kristie Finnan has moved her site!  Please follow her at:
www.KristieFinnan.com

Take a walk over and see her...

Thursday Night Blog Hop

5/13/2010

Tune in to Mom TV tonight at 7:00 pm.

5/11/2010
Elizabeth Norton is featuring Mommy's High Heel Shoes tonight on her Let's Read Together show on www.MomTV.com Tune in to see her creativity in action!

Fan Mail

Why I write children's Books!

Finally, A Face Book Fan Page!

Become a Fan- Click to See Fan Page!

Feature on AroundMainLine.com (The Region's First Online Magazine)

3/29/1010 Thank you AML for the awesome feature on your site!  And Belle Vie Photography- thanks for taking such great shots!  Click the below link to read the article on AroundMainLine.com

 Mommy’s http://aroundmainline.com/living/mommys-high-heel-shoes.htmlHigh Heel Shoes

Posted using ShareThis

A Video Review! Thanks Mrs. Mo

3/8/2010   I met Hilary at the fun Todays Moms Event in NYC last summer.  Thanks Mrs. Mo for the awesome video review (It's First!) of Mommy's High Heel Shoes.

If you are looking for the scoop on people, places and businesses in the Garden State- check out  www.MrsMoNj.com  or follow her on Twitter @MrsMoNJ.

How do you throw these away?

2/28/2010
Organizing today- One of many pictures in my office. This one, my 5 y/
o daughter made me.

"It's me and you," she said.  I hope she's still making me these pics when she's 10!

Philly Moms Blog- Philadelphia Snow Storm Post

2/28/2010
Here is my Latest Philly Moms Blog Post

Philadelphia Snowstorm #4- Are You Snover It? Ready for Flowers?
I'm drinking my cup of french vanilla coffee watching the beautiful flakes begin to fall next to my daughter who is busy (for now) coloring in her girly garden fairy coloring book. "No school- yippee," she says as memories of my own childhood race through my mind.
Philadelphia's fourth snowstorm is already hitting us hard this morning, ironically, right before the Philadelphia Flower Show this weekend. While many people are Snover It, complaining and griping about our city's stinky effort this season to remove the snow from the previous few storms, I'm loving it! As much as I love warm weather, flowers and my gardens in the spring and summer, this record dumping snow has been a blessing and given me several days off of work this winter and more time with my kids.

My husband is gearing up his broom arm in an effort to save our trees from what they predict to be wet heavy snow accompanied by some crazy winds later today. The kids are already bugging him to build up and repair the half melted mini Olympic luge course in our slightly sloped back yard (Don't worry- it's truly mini and not nearly as dangerous as the Vancouver course!) And, of course, to bring our "Frosty" the snowman back to life again! It's hard to believe in just a month or so we will be watching the daffodils and tulips pop their heads out of the ground and the hummingbirds come out from hiding.

But for those of you who can't wait for spring to get here (and it's Snow Wonder!)- The Philadelphia Flower Show begins this Sunday- February 28th, 2010 down at the Philadelphia Convention Center. For an entire week, you can walk into a room of flowers and plants that have been fooled by artificial lighting and temperature controls. To those flowers, these winter storms didn't exist!

This is an original post to Philly Moms Blog.  Kristie is the author of the children's book:Mommy's High Heel Shoes and works full time in the Bio Oncology world.  When she isn't enjoying the snow, you can find her writing on her personal blog and Real Mommy Reviews.  Follow her adventures on Twitter @MommyshhShoes.  This photograph was taken in her own backyard by her husband, Chris.

Mommy's High Heel Shoes for you iPod and iPad. Yep, It's an iTunes App!

Click THIS LINK to dowload the Mommy's High Heel Shoes App for your iPod or iPad. It's just 99 cents and so far getting all 5 Star Reviews. Kids love the interactive app and read it alone or along with the hardcover picture book!

Have fun and let me know what you think!

Kristie

Tweet forwarded by @mommyshhshoes

mommyshhshoes: http://bit.ly/cquvgD  Afraid to talk about Work Life Balance?

Original Tweet: http://twitter.com/mommyshhshoes/statuses/9528239639

Sent via TweetDeck (www.tweetdeck.com)

The No Phone Zone- What Do You Think?

February 22, 2010
My Latest Philly Moms Blog Post... What do you all think?

Making My Car A No Phone Zone Is Just NOT For Me.

Cell phone I'm a huge fan of being a safe driver, NOT a distracted driver. I'm also a huge fan of Oprah. But I'm just NOT on board with her recent campaign to make our cars No Phone Zones. I've been in sales for 15+ years and have had a cell phone since as long as I can remember. I've had BIG phones, speaker phones, flip phones and now have a blackberry and an iPhone (yes, I have two phones!) I'm on the phone so much that I generally get a new phone every year. Verizon...LOVES me.

Talking on my phone while driving makes all the travel I do bearable and time efficient. It's lonely and tough being on the road so much, especially when I'm missing my three kids at home and thinking about all of the things that I need to get taken care of for both work and my personal life. And if I pulled over to the side of the road to make calls, I'd be there all day. If I waited until I got home, I'd be ignoring my kids and be a distracted parent. I'm all about time management. My car is my second home and my office. Would you take the phone out of your home or office?

I did think about signing Oprah's no phone pledge. I clicked on her website and when I thought about it, I just could NOT check all of the boxes. There were three boxes. The first, to agree to NOT text while driving. The second, to only use a hands-free device while talking. And the third, to completely agree to NEVER text or talk while driving- making your car a NO Phone Zone. I could only agree to the first.

Continue reading "Making My Car A No Phone Zone Is Just NOT For Me." »

Learn A Lesson Or Two From the Dancing Guy!

2/16/2009

Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy

Check out this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ&feature=youtube_gdata

Kristie

Sent from my iPhone with as many typos as possible.

Interesting link from BabyCenter

1/27/2010
kristie@mommyworkshop.com has sent you this BabyCenter link.

Here's something I found on BabyCenter -- take a look!

Working parent's guide to weekend fun (ages 2 to 4)

http://www.babycenter.com/0_working-parents-guide-to-weekend-fun-ages-2-to-4_65393.bc
(If clicking doesn't work, simply cut and paste the link into your Web browser.)

BabyCenter is the leading destination on the Internet for new and expectant parents. To receive our free personalized e-mails written especially for your stage of pregnancy or your child's age, take a minute to join BabyCenter. It's free!

Find out more about BabyCenter membership:
http://www.babycenter.com/

Martha's High Heel Shoes

Yves St. Laurent...

Making a difference

1/8/2010
I got this e-mail from my sister in law. I usually don't pass e-mails like this along, but thought this one was particularly heart warming! Sometimes, you'll never know when your making a huge difference. Have a great day!

"ONE OF THE BEST STORIES I'VE EVER HEARD!

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big 'F' at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to be around..'

His second grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.'


His third grade teacher wrote, 'His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest, and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken.'


Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.'


By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, 'Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to.'

After the children left, she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her 'teacher's pets..'

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer. The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.

The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs.. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.

They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, 'Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference.'

Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, 'Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you.'

(For you that don't know, Teddy Stoddard is the Dr at Iowa Methodist in Des Moines that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing.)

Warm someone's heart today. . . pass this along. I love this story so very much, I cry every time I read it. Just try to make a difference in someone's life today. Tomorrow. Just 'do it'."

Random acts of kindness, I think they call it!"

Author Unknown

Today is going to be an awesome day!

1/8/2010 Today is going to be an awesome day.

Kristie

Sent from my iPhone with as many typos as possible.

Soak Up Every Minute- 2010!

1/3/2010
Today I was in my very cold office trying to get organized and ready for tomorrow...back to work after having 13 days off in a row with my family. I looked up at my bulletin board- a board I put up 2 years ago as my Vision Board. Smack in the middle of the Bulletin Board is a picture my daughter made during her 1st year of pre-school that says, "Life will be Great in 2008!" I looked at the board and thought, "Is it really 2010?" I mean really? My husband and I have been together now 10 years (married 7 1/2) We have 3 healthy kids who mean the world to us- they are my heart. We are truly blessed.

And as I write this post, my little baby is sleeping on my shoulder making her cute squeaky noises (as usual). When I think that she is 5 months old already, my eyes tear up at the thought of how quickly this baby stage flies by. My big girl is 5 already- kindergarten next year. My son will be 4 this May. On New Years day, we put our Baby Bear in the jumper in the door way. She found her legs...jumping, smiling and bouncing all over the place. She's been giggling, interacting...growing up- just as fast (maybe faster) as my older two. I just want to soak up every minute with her, with all 3 of them.

So my #1 New Years Resolution is just that!

To soak up every minute of being with my 3 kids- which to me means a few things:

• Listening- When my kids are telling me a story, I vow to stop what I am doing and listen...really listen and be in the moment with them soaking up their little voices.
  
• Looking- When I am being presented with the latest painted picture or paper craft, I am going to stop and soak up the colors.
• Hanging up the Phone- I am promising to be with my kids on the way to or from school, talking to them, sharing and soaking up the things in their day- not planning a meeting or small talking with friends. I will also try to limit the phone at home for the few hours I have with them before bedtime.
  

Of course, being the Type A girl I am, there are several other things on my resolution list which include:

• Updating that 2008 vision board.
• Fostering my friendships with those friends who make me feel good and with those who I aspire to be more like- not worrying about those friends who seem to never make time for me or make me question me. I heard a motivational speaker at work last month who said, "Surround yourself with your A team!"
  
• Sticking to a budget...yep- that means Starbucks trips may have to cease for a while.
• Eating less meat- making more vegetarian dishes. Eating more vegetables and fruits-not getting lazy with the kids either- encouraging them to try new foods.
• Yoga- need to find a class to go to again.
• De-cluttering! Getting rid of stuff I don't use and figuring out a system for all the paper.
  
• Blog more regularly and more authentically (not worrying about what people will think all the time!
• Less TV- not that I really watch that much, but I feel like it's always on in the background.
  

Happy New Year!