My 10 Most Memorable Moments at the Mom 2.0 Summit

I am still recovering from the wonderful first annual Mom 2.0 Summit this past weekend. Thank you to Kirtsy and OpMom for organizing and executing a productive work and social event.

This list is inspired by Holly Buchanan’s recap post of the Mom 2.0 Summit (you should read it, it’s great). I don’t think this qualifies as a meme, yet.

These are in no particular order….

1) Meeting online friends face-to-face for the first time.
Yes, I am still amazed at the friendships that I have formed online, particularly now that Twitter is the right tool for me to have awesome conversations. I was so excited at finally (!) meeting Stefania of CityMama, Marie of Make and Takes, Ciaran of Momfluential, Jodi of Multitasking Mommy, Allison of Petit Elephant, Joanne of Pundit Mom, and of course Cecily of Uppercase Woman.

2) Being asked to be a mentor.
I am honored to have been asked to be a mentor to a well-established blogger whom I respect very much. I am surprised how touched I am by the request.

3) Dinner with existing and new web friends at T’Afia in Houston.
I was able to venture beyond the hotel walls to have dinner at an amazing restaurant with Mediterranean cuisine with fresh foods all sourced locally. Chef/ Owner Monica Pope took wonderful care of our large group (which included an infant). If I lived locally I would be there every week bogarting the free hors d’oeuvres served Tues thru Thurs in the lounge.

4) Hosting CheeseburgHer 2.0
That’s right, we did it again. Me and my dear friends Lindsay of Suburban Turmoil and Yvonne of Joy Unexpected hosted another CheeseburgHer party. This one was sponsored by Burger King (you da best for taking a bet on us!). Looky here, we even had a special CheeseburgHer logo made because we hope to make this an official ongoing tradition.

Lindsay, Yvonne and I had a blast running around with trays passing out BK cheeseburgers to past and new CheeseburgHer partygoers. The look on the faces of clueless new CheeseburgHer party people who happily put paper bags and BK crowns on their heads as they played along with our tradition… priceless.

5) Holly Buchanan’s intro during her keynote panel
A petite woman, Holly Buchanan, author of the Soccer Mom Myth, taught us all about effective presentations when she stood up, with a frosted cupcake in hand, and explained that the magic in marketing to women is all about finding the cupcake. Brilliant. Read her website if you want to learn more about the proverbial cupcake.

6) Finding the “cupcake” at Mom 2.0
He is 9 months old, named Jasper and belongs to Her Bad Mother’s Catherine Connors.

7) Hanging out in the Four Season’s “presidential suite”
Probably not presidential, but a palatial suite. Either calculated or not, Mom 2.0 felt like a much less frenetic conference than others. I definitely had more opportunity to hang out and have discussions both professional and social. The palatial suite housing Catherine of Her Bad Mother as well as Kristen and Julie of Parent Bloggers Network served as unofficial headquarters for discussions ranging from kindergarten schedules to trademark defense.

We were also able to sneak in some leftover Burger King Cheeseburgers. Did you know that you if you reheat in the microwave for one minute at 50%, your cheeseburger will be perfectly nuked? Now you know!

8) Presenting at a conference for the first time.
Yes, I did it. Thank you Mom 2.0 for asking me to speak. I was able to highlight Bossy’s Excellent Road Trip and her Saturn car sponsorship as an example of elegant product integration. Thank you Jenny, The Bloggess for being a supportive face in the audience.

9) Her Bad Bra flying into the air
Yes, in jest, Catherine Connors of Her Bad Mother flung her nursing bra at youngish Yanni Voices member, Nathan Pacheco, who took it like a great sport. Well done young man. You have earned your mommy blogger cred.

10) Suddenly realizing that my bloggy friends are the teachers in the room.
True that many of the presenters and speakers have held court at other conferences, like BlogHer. But there was an omnipresent nurturing quality to this conference that was like no other. At one point during an expert talk round robin, I suddenly looked up and realized that the vast majority of the “experts” were my friends. They were the teachers, not the students in the room. Oh boy, did my chest expand a couple of sizes with pride.

Notes to Self:
1) Tell everyone to attend Mom 2.0 Summit next year.
2) Must throw another CheeseburgHer Party at BlogHer.
3) Make sure Her Bad Mother is at every conference I attend.

Photo courtesy of Suburban Turmoil