Giveaway: iPad Mini and myCharge Hub 6000
Bragging about your parenting skills is not allowed in today’s world. No one wants to hear about how your child is hitting her milestones early because you introduced reading and classical music while she was still in the womb. Or how your son is perfectly behaved in restaurants because you fed him homemade baby food instead of crap from a jar, giving him a finer appreciation of real food.
You know what happens when you say such things in public?
People nod their heads while secretly thinking— If you want to think good parenting is responsible for your early-talking toddler with the undiscerning palette, that’s fine. We just won’t be friends.
Most people know that nobody wants to hear about their perfect kids, so they either keep things to themselves or more often, they let their parenting feats spill out in the form of “humble brags”. You know those self-deprecating status updates on facebook that are actually thinly veiled ways to pat one’s own self on the back?
I keep trying to get my seven-year-old to go outside and play, but he just wants to read and read and read. What can I say? The kid loves his chapter books!
A friend gave my kids store bought pop tarts and they refused to touch them! It was so rude! I guess they are used to the whole wheat ones I make at home with strawberry jam from the farmer’s market. LOL.
I am so nervous about dropping Atticus off at his first day of preschool. After all the stuff we’ve taught him at home, I hope he’s not bored!
You get the idea. Somehow it’s more obnoxious when moms are trying to pretend the shout-out to themselves isn’t there.
But that doesn’t mean we aren’t allowed to be proud of our finer moments! Especially when we self-identify as an imperfect parent and our bragging opportunities aren’t as readily apparent.
Today, I want to give every mom permission to brag about her parenting skills. Not a humble brag. A FULL OUT BRAG. Don’t disguise it with the genius of your child. Make your brag all about yourself! Don’t stick an LOL or a winking emoji at the end. OWN IT!
But I’m not good at anything…
Don’t sell yourself short! Every mom is good at something. For instance, I might suck at cooking, cleaning, crafting and making sure my children brush their teeth before they walk out the door, but…
I AM AWESOME AT HAIR BRAIDING.
Ah, that felt good. I’ve been wanting to say that for awhile.
I can braid Mazzy’s hair like nobody’s business. It’s a skill I taught myself in sleep-away camp when I was thirteen and I could not be happier than to have a long-haired daughter on which to show-off my god-given talent.
Elsa’s hair? Yep, I can do it.
Anna’s hair? Yep. I can do that too.
How else do you think Mazzy beat all the other Annas roaming the streets for Halloween? Her hair was ON POINT.
I also did Mazzy’s hair myself both times she was asked to be a flower girl.
For the most recent wedding, I had her look at a Pinterest board of braiding styles, pick the photo she liked the best and then I was able to replicate it for the big day.
Did I practice a few days before hand? Nope! I didn’t even need to! I am THAT confident in my skillz.
Here’s what I did to her hair for picture day at school yesterday:
Here’s what I did for her birthday party last year:
Here’s what I did for no occasion whatsoever:
I officially award myself the “Best Mom at Hair Braiding Award”!
(Yes, I know, I know, you can find many moms who are way better at braiding on Pinterest, but Pinterest is a make-believe place and I don’t think these moms actually exist in real life.)
Want to win your own award? Nominate yourself! You could win fabulous prizes!
Today, I’m partnering with myCharge to launch the “Moms in Charge Awards” which is your excuse to brag freely about your parenting abilities. Even if that ability is licking your kid’s ice cream cone so it doesn’t drip. (I’m really good at that too, by the way.) Are you the best at lunchbox notes? The best bedtime storyteller? The mom who always has the best snacks at school pick-up? Perhaps you have a story about the time you microwaved a hot dog preventing your picky eater from starving.
No feat is too large or too small for this contest.
Post your mom skill in the comments or upload photo proof to facebook or instagram and you could win a MyCharge Hub 6000 plus an iPad Mini with a case.
Yes, that’s right. AN iPAD MINI.
What’s a myCharge Hub 6000? Funny you should ask! It’s a portable charger with built-in cables and connectors for smartphones, tablets, e-readers or whatever device your little rugrat is choosing to drain the battery out of that day. You can get up to 27 hours of additional talk time, as well as integrated, quick-charge wall prongs. That’s why myCharge refers to it as their “Swiss Army Knife of portable power devices”.
You don’t need me to explain an iPad mini, do you?
I will also give ten runner-ups a myCharge hot pink Razor Plus. The Razor Plus is super light, ultra-thin and delivers 13 hours of additional talk time for your smartphone. So you can let your kid play Candy Crush on your phone all through dinner at the diner and still be able to call Grandma on the way home.
I’ll be picking my favorite entries (both written and photo entries) and then judges (to be determined) will pick the winners. I might get other mom bloggers to be the judges. I might get moms of mom bloggers to be the judges. I might get my own mom to judge. We shall see. Whoever judges, I’m guessing humor and creative answers will come into play.
To enter, you must complete three easy steps:
1) Describe your mom skill in the comments below or post photo proof on the Mommy Shorts Facebook page or on Instagram with the hashtag #momskillz. Your description can as short or as long as you like. Something general or an isolated story of which you are particularly proud. If you enter through Instagram, you must follow and tag both @mommyshorts and @mycharge.
2) Share this post in some way— like it on facebook, tweet it, pin it, etc.
3) Sign up for the myCharge newsletter using the email entry form below.
You can read the full rules here.
That’s it.
Good luck giving yourself some credit!
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This post was sponsored by myCharge but all thoughts, opinions, and braiding skillz are my own.
[…] week, I asked everyone to brag about their #Momskillz for the chance to win an iPad Mini and a myCharge Hub 6000. Reading through all the comments and […]
My best mom skill is making awesome halloween costumes for my little boy Noah and making silly noises to get him to smile on cue. This year for his first halloween we counted down to halloween with 31 homemade costumes (you can see all the action on my instagram @JChavkin). Halloween is my favorite holiday and it was so wonderful to get to share that with my little guy who had fun getting dressed up and hamming it up for the camera. It was always be a special project that we shared and I can’t wait until next Halloween!! I hope as my little guys continues to grow I develop some other mom skills that are applicable year round 🙂
If I’m the best at anything with being a mom…it’s expressing anger at my 3 kids through THE BEST smart ass remarks I can come up with…and usually make them laugh (and walk away in defeat). And I mean the best! You didn’t clean the cat litter? Aww that’s ok, I’ll put it on your bed so it’s easier for you to reach. You flicked a booger onto the seat? Could you just be more sanitary and eat it next time?
My mommy skill…I can pick up anything with my toes! Anything! Carrying groceries and a toddler and she drops her cup? No problem! Carrying 2 baskets of laundry up the stairs and socks fall out? Phst! I got this!
So I don’t do bento lunches, perfect Pinterest cupcakes and crafts, homemade greatness, organic anything, or enviable Mommyness that make others jealous at the playground. I don’t have tons of money or perfect ass and abs. What I do have is 5 boys ages 8, 6, 4 yr old twins and 2- 6 boys if you count my husband who is 47. I am an active duty Soldier in charge of the training of over 200 brand new Soldiers. In many ways I am barely holding on and often wonder how bad exactly am I screwing up my kids. I work 14 hour days on average so my home time is short. Then something magical happens- complete strangers will tell me how well behaved they are, on career day they chose to be doctors when they grow up so they can heal sick kids, they say yes ma’am and yes sir and hold the door open for strangers, they are on the honor roll and all of them are starters on their football team. Even though they sacrifice and I sacrifice our time together they hug me and tell me they love me and I do the same for them. They love me when I’m feeling fat and skipped a shower or when I’m at my best. I give them my all and they are growing up everyday to be men I am so proud of. So even though I reward them with candy and sometimes they may say a bad word they have the good hearts of strong future men and it is an honor to serve them as Mom and wife.
My mommy skills I am awesome at is just being a mom! Never missing a moment, fixing the best pancakes in the world, running the stopwatch when he says mom did I do it faster this time, saying our prayers together, laughing at his silly faces, fixing all the scrapes, talking about what he wants to be when he grows up but the best part of being a mom is when he says “Mom I want to marry someone just like you”. Mama’s got skills!
Site would not let me post picture. Being able to be a first time mom at 40 iam a winner either way! So blessed
I’m not a mom, but I have a great one. I went through a stressful period where I was struggling badly with anxiety and panic, and she helped me pull through. I’m hoping to be there in the same way for the kids that I have.
I have mastered positive behavior motivation for the two year old mentality. I don’t use bribes of sweets or TV to get my kid to do the right thing. In fact, I often use things that are good for her as motivation to do other things that are good for her. For example, she loves to pull floss from the container, so I say “If you brush your teeth nice, then mommy will let you floss.” OR “If you eat your green beans, then you can have some broccoli.” Or she may want to do something silly like put on mommy’s shoes, so I say, “Well, my monkey, if you pick up all your toys, you can put on mommy’s shoes.” She’s also in a sort of anti-Daddy phase, so instead of dragging her to give him a kiss in the morning, I say, “I’M going to give daddy a kiss.” Being a toddler, her response is always: “NO! ME FIRST.” And she runs ahead of me to give him a big smooch.
When I was seven months pregnant with my first daughter, and my son was eight months old my husband deployed to Iraq. I was alone in a new state, with no family or friends. I managed to take care of all three of us and my goofy black lab Lucy. We went through two huge snowstorms that had us trapped in the house for weeks at a time. I went into premature labor twice, and finally gave birth via c section while my hubby was halfway around the world. I also managed to keep us all happy and healthy until my baby girl got to meet her daddy at three months old. Four years have passed and still, those are Days I will never ever forget. I found out just how strong of a person I am.
I am the best birthday party thrower ever, ha! Every year the kids are planning their next party after the last guest leaves. I listen to them and let them pick their theme. Then, I go to work on everything else 🙂 From the cake pops, food, fairies, goody bags, bounce houses, invites, decorations and everything in between, I do by myself. And, I love every minute of it. I am always on a budget, but everything is done cute and perfect. The kids are 5 & 9 now, so I will make the parties smaller, but they will still be fabulous!
I am the mom of a recently-turned 17-year-old daughter and have MAD mommy skills in that her friends think I am a cool mom even though I am a tough rule-maker mommy.
I have always insisted on good manners, dressing appropriately for one’s age (no hoochie mama dresses at 13), doing the best that YOU can do in your own way and that’s always OK…I never say no directly but explain the ‘why’ in a way that she doesn’t need to rebel against the ‘no’. (If your skirt is too short, you’re going to sit your bare legs on top of whatever the last person left behind…in her short skirt. Think about it…yeah, gross is right…)
I believe that a big part of being a parent is to give our society a nice, decent person and I have really done that…she is strong and secure in herself, easy to be around and above all, a rockin’ artistic chick with her own wonderful sense of self.
I did that…I DID THAT!!!
A year and a half ago my husband came home from work one day and told me he wanted a divorce. I had NO idea it was coming. My kids, ages 12,10 and 5, had no idea. We had always told them that we were committed to each other through thick or thin. Over the last year and a half I have found “mom skillz” that I didn’t know I had! I have killed spiders;) and fixed bicycles. I have refilled my own wiper fluid and learned how to grill. But more importantly I have wiped tears of heartbreak and confusion as they cried themselves to sleep at first when they were missing Daddy, I have reassured them repeatedly that their father loves them and is a good man when everything in me wants to rage at the unfairness of it all. I’ve sat on the floor of the shower and behind the clothes in my closet and cried where they can’t hear me and then walked out with a smile on my face. I’ve also cried with them and let them see that sometimes it’s hard but we WILL make it and we will be stronger for it. Whew…long story I know, and probably not what you had in mind! But honestly, it feels AWESOME to give myself some props and say it “out loud” that my mommy skill is that I didn’t quit when my whole world was flipped upside down. I always said that if that situation happened to me that I wouldn’t be able to keep going…but guess what, I’m still standing:) And I’m doing a pretty decent job if I do say so myself!
My mad-crazy-awesome mom skill is providing on a dime. My husband and I make about $20,000.00 a year and live a VERY modest lifestyle so we can afford a little “we-deserve-it extra” every now and again for us and our son. Last year I saved $40,000.00 couponing and saving in every way possible! Not only did we save all that money, but we consistently have on hand enough toiletries, cleaning supplies and non perishable foods to last us (in the event of a catastrophic event) roughly 8 months! To top it off I have the storage of it all down to a science! I can store all of my “coupon hoard” inside one small linen closet and store over 60 pounds of meat, quick microwaveable meals (which I made myself to save money), and, of course, some froxen treats inside of a tiny apartment freezer! I don’t hardly spend any time couponing anymore since it has just become a way of life for us, maybe an hour a week. The best part is that our son helps us and is learning while he is young that a little hard work and sacrifice will get you more of what you want out of life 🙂
This is the first time that I’ve heard about Linguee.Thank you for sharing.
I’ve got the mom skills to get us to the softball field prepared for 14 hour days. I make sure we have snacks that can keep my oldest daughter energized and ready to play and snacks that keep my youngest daughter from screaming about be hungry. I make sure my oldest daughter has all of her stuff in her bat bag and that my youngsest has everything she needs to keep herself entertained for the long day. It may not seem like much but this is our life. For 10 months out of the year, we spend most weekends on a softball field. We wouldn’t trade it for anything though.
The best mom award is mine! Every summer my daughter and I would have school. We would do many things, read write, mathematics, we also would take day trips different to different places. We would change up who taught for the day sometimes she would teach! She told me now that she’s older that I should have been an honors teacher! That really moved me! She is in all honor classes and also takes as many ap classes as possible. the best part she is a governor’s scholar! I could not be any prouder of my daughter! That is why I think I deserve the best Mom award!
I am an excellent cook, and I have infinite patience when cooking with kids. I taught all three of my sons how to cook and I also taught my 7 year old grandson.
I shared on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/klm40/posts/10153345196826679?pnref=story
I raised 4 daughters, many of those years as a single parent and they didn’t kill each other. They turned out to be remarkable women, in face and though each is very different from her siblings, they are all amazing.
My mad skillz is using Pinterest judiciously so that people think I’m “that” mom. My Girl Scout troop thinks I’m super creative with crafts. The kids’ teachers think I’m spectacular at making food that’s cute and fun. My friends and neighbors think I make up amazing recipes. But they all come from Pinterest!
[…] the ten runner-ups and the grand prize winner for the Mom Skillz contest sponsored by myCharge was probably harder than judging any other contest in the history of this […]