BlogHer '07 MILM's (Moms I Liked Meeting)

So, BlogHer '07 has come and gone, and for me at least it was over way too soon. I met lots of great people and attended really interesting seminars, including a few where I wrangled a microphone for BlogHer, which was really fun! I actually had people coming up and asking me for extra tickets for free cocktails, thinking I was "connected" because they had seen me in a few meetings, running around with a microphone like Phil Donahue used to (younger Moms, imagine Sally Jesse Raphael or Geraldo).

Anyway, I wanted to take the time to let all of you know about some of the great Moms I met!

On Friday, I knew I wanted to find the MayasMom table. MayasMom, if you aren't a member, is the best community for Moms around anywhere. They don't do product reviews, so yes, you need to keep reading Cool Moms Rule! : ) But they DO have some great groups you can join.

Before I tracked down the MayasMom group, I met up with three Moms over lunch, the ladies who write for moxie-mom.blogspot.com and mommylu.blogspot.com, and another blog called "My Funny Family"--hey, you can't see that unless you are her friend! Oh, well, maybe she will see this and fix it? Anyway, these ladies were great company and made me feel right at home.

Luckily, CrazedParent, the Director over at Maya's Mom actually found me! So then after we hugged, she pointed me over to Ann, the CEO who started the whole community, who was seated with Jean, the Director of PBS.org/parents. Jean was talking about how she wanted more people to know that her site was interactive, that she wanted to do more to increase the interactivity, and that she wondered why more parents didn't come by. And I have to tell you, I felt ashamed of myself. My kids grew up on PBS shows like Arthur and I grew up on Sesame Street! When Mr. Rogers died this year, I was saddened by this loss. Although I wasn't a fan of his show in particular, anyone who knows anything about the man knows that he lived his life as a role model for kids and adults alike.

I found myself thinking fondly about those childhood days spent watching all the great PBS shows. Anyone remember Miss June from Romper Room? Remember clomping around on your Romper Stompers, while Miss June looked into her magic mirror, and you were just praying she would say your name as she started with, "I see Billy and Lisa and.."? I sure do. So, please, do remember how fantastic PBS is, and take a trip over to the PBS parents site!

I felt very privileged, on the second day of BlogHer, to meet Kristin over at PPD Survivor, because I just can't praise her enough for what she is doing. Kristin was actually an executive before she went through her own traumatic ordeal dealing with postpartum psychosis, and now she has reached out to an entire community of women, openly discussing just what that's like. Her pet peeve is the way the media portrays only the very worst--Mothers committing infanticide, horrible tragedies--about PPD, and not the success stories. She's been writing to Oprah (and others), trying to get them to show strong women who have suffered with PPD and still managed to gain control of their lives, and I think she should be the first one they call.

In one of the seminars, hosted by Microsoft, I met a wonderful young woman, Jennifer, from Malaysia, whose blog is entitled "The Imperfect Mom." As you might guess, we hit it right off! Interesting enough, Jennifer mentioned that now that she has moved to America, even though she is from Malaysia and will be returning there, her Malaysian readers seem to feel she has lost some of her validity to comment on Malaysian matters, especially politics. So let's all try to make her feel at home here, as well, and maybe check out her site?

Wow, there are so many women I want to write about, and this post is becoming long, so I guess I will need to speed things up! Kate, from Life the Universe and Everything was friendly as could be, and I rode the trolley with Susan from WMAG (Working Moms Against Guilt). I had snacks and a short break with Melissa of Under Construction, and of course there were all the great Moms who I met in passing and just neglected to exchange business cards with.

Thanks to all, and I'm sorry I had to leave anyone out, because I enjoyed spending time with each and every one of you.