BlogHer Voices of the Year!

Good morning! I have TWO incredible announcements to make today — things I’m very proud of, and which make me extremely happy!

First — This morning, I was able to get up, make breakfast for my kids, throw in a load of laundry, and take the kids to their morning event ALL BY MYSELF.  That’s right!  I drove for the first time in 3+ weeks, and I was there for my kids as they met new friends, got settled in a new place, and played with other children all morning instead of driving each other nuts (as even very close siblings are wont to do in the later days of an unplanned summer).  I even picked them up, arms open wide for their happy going home hugs, admired their beauuuuuuuuutiful crafts, and drove them home, responding to their happy backseat chatterings all the way.

Even the PB&J was sweeter for the fact that I made it myself.

And then — Little Bear and I napped, and we woke up to the announcement that I was one of the
BlogHer Voices of the Year.  I’m blown away by this, even more so when I see the incredible quality of the finalists in the Opinion/Editorial category where I was nominated.  Thank you, TeachMama, for nominating me way back in April, and thank you to the judges who pored over the 1,000 entries submitted this year to select the three speakers in each of the five categories.  The Op/Ed curators were Mom-101 Liz Gumbinner and Redneck Mommy Tanis Miller; the panel of judges included Katie Orenstein, Founder of The Op-Ed Project; Stacy Morrison, the editor-in-chief of Redbook Magazine; Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman; Heather and Jessica from Go Fug Yourself;  Annalee Newitz,  founder of IO9; Riccardo Spina, creative and brand director for BlogHer, Walmart, Sun, and Disney; and Lizz Winstead, co-creator of The Daily Show — our generation’s answer to surviving the daily onslaught of depressing news while keeping our collective sense of humor.

The other finalists are amazing and beautiful and I won’t steal their thunder except to say LIZ HENRY! SCARY MOMMY! STEPHANIE ROBERTS! LIZ RIZZO! MARINKA! KGIRL! LISSA RANKIN!  I am honored and amazed to be in such good company, and I am so looking forward to speaking at the BlogHer community keynote! 

Whew. 

After a day of sessions, including Stimey‘s and the session where I’m presenting with TechSavvyMama, TeachMama, and Jessica-A Parent in Silver Spring, this will be the perfect end to a terrific day.