First, I was able to find their wonderful list of kid activity options in the area. You can find it by going to the site and clicking on Fun For Kids. There were definitely some options on there that I did not know about even after living here for almost 8 years now.

As I perused the site deeper, I found that it is an excellent site that us not only operated by local moms, but it provides excellent resources and for local Moms. Even better, the site features local Richmond businesses and devotes 10% of their profits to Richmond Charities. Check out their Savvy Savers Card for savings while you patron local businesses.

Thanks Kate for launching http://www.Richmondmom.com- it is a great portal for local area moms!

Now, with the implosion of many of our large employers, there has never been a time like this when so many of our neighbors and friends are out of jobs.  I can honestly say in my entire adult career life I have never known so many people who were laid off at the same time.  I know of at least four families in town where both the husband and wife have been laid off.

It is quite upsetting to see this happening, but I must say that I am seeing some positives.  Many ex-employees are taking this opportunity to take more control of their lives by starting their own businesses.

Some are leveraging their expertise by starting up consulting businesses and reaching out to their network.  Others are finding contractor opportunities and setting up companies to handle this new kind of business. I have a friend who decided she would start a wedding planning business she has wanted to do for over ten years!  And another is launching an online business.

While the general economy is tough and with capital markets at a standstill, you might think entrepreneurship is not possible.  But many great businesses today started off in trouble times.

The state of unemployment is a wake up call that even government jobs are not secure anymore.  I have another close friend who is still employed but has started a part-time business to create a secondary income flow in the event she loses her job.

Virginia Business Formation.com, a popular incorporation and LLC formation services provider based in Richmond, is forming more businesses for local budding entrepreneurs than ever in its history.  I see this as a sign that we do not give up in troubled times.

We should also help out our local short pump business owners. . . buying a gift from a local gift store owner v. Target or Kohls or patronizing a locally owned and operated restaurant v. a corporate owned restaurant makes such a difference to that business and to our community.

The Breast Cancer 3 Day is a is a 60 mile walk over three days benefitting Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.  It is a 501 (c) (3) charity.  In 2007 a local team was formed and raised $14,000.  In 2008 team America the Boobiful raised almost $60,000.  Our goal for 2009 is to raise $75,000.  Every person on the team is required to raise $2,300 and many weekends you will see us training all over ten miles or more.  Past fundraisers have included The Bust Bowl, Bust for Bogey’s, Blues for Boobs, raffles, and partnerships with several local restaurants.  We will be walking in October, 2009.

Our team has made quite a name for itself in the local community and in the larger 3 Day family.  We have been mentioned in many publications including the Richmond Times Dispatch, The Henrico Citizen, VA Jewish Life magazine and a center spread layout in Short Pump Life magazine.

Out of 700+ teams, America the Boobiful came in 4th overall for fundraising dollars  and number of teammates.

The interesting part about our team is that it is made up of many cancer survivors, mother / daughter combos, walkers, crew and women and men ranging in age from the 20s – 60s.  We are an inclusive team and won’t turn away anyone that wants to participate.  Our biggest goal is to work as a team and share the wealth as we meet our financial requirement.

Come join us as a walker or crew.  We are having a big Fundraiser, The Bust Bowl 2009 at the Short Pump Bowl America Feb 28th.  Check us out at www.americatheboobiful.com for info.

The movie is rated PG and all the advertisements were of a DOG doing funny things so I figured it was the perfect movie for our young family.

As soon as the movie started- which opens with a couple scene (lots of kissing), I started to question whether I got the rating wrong- did I mistakenly think a PG 13 movie was PG?  – I quietly whispered to my husband about the rating, checked my purse for the tickets and took out my blackberry to confirm- yes, it was indeed PG.

The movie did have some good fun scenes about cute Marley growing up and being out of control, but the movie does have some language that was shocking at times (the words sex, shit, and bitch). In addition to words, there are a few couple/kissing scenes that while harmless to a PG13 crowd were definitely a little too blunt for children.  Also, there was a scene that involved a stabbing of a girl which, again, really should not have been in there as it was not needed to serve the purpose of having the family decide to move to a bigger house in a nicer neighborhood.

The movie also had adult themes throughout which, in a typical PG movie may be present but not so obvious to the young kid viewers.  Disney does a great job of making movies that have a level 1 kids story but have deeper level adult morals and stories.  But this movie does not hide marital discord from any audience.

I do not want to ruin the ending for everyone, but just know that as with many movies, there is sometimes a tragedy that brings people to the realization of something real or deeper.  This movie is no exception but watching a loved animal get sick, die and be buried physically is a little heavy for kids who love dogs and think only about the fun and love a pet brings to a family.

Anyways, the movie overall was okay for the PG13 crowd, but I am shocked it has a PG rating.  After the movie, I did do some researching on the Internet to see if perhaps I was just overreacting but I found out that I was not alone in my conclusions about this movie.  Lesson learned- do more due diligence before taking any young kids to a movie.

Well, my husband and I only go a non-kid movie about twice a year. . . kind of sad given that we loved going to the movies before we started a family.  It seems our movie time and movie budget gets allocated to Disney, Pixar and other animated movies throughout the year.

But, we do make it a tradition to go out sometime before the crazy Christmas holidays . . . so last week we went to see “Four Christmases” at the Short Pump Regal Cinemas.  This movie was so funny that I felt I had to recommend it to fellow Short Pump parents and couples.

On its surface it is a romantic comedy but it has so many scenes about families and the interesting relationships that we have with parents and siblings.  I am sure most anyone can relate.  When you mix these universal family matters with really funny sayings and scenes, it makes for a great movie.

If you want to laugh A LOT and feel a little sentimental about the seemingly traumatic childhood incidents that so affect us in our present life, this is a great movie to see.

Image via Wikipedia

Last night we went on the annual tacky lights tour in Richmond.  There is no better way start the Christmas season (other than shopping of course) then to visit these houses with their amazing displays of lights!

If you are going to go to many of them, my advice to you would be to start off with the smaller ones and save the biggest ones for last.  We made this mistake a few years ago but going to the Asbury house first.  It is all relative.  The kids were especially bored at seeing smaller displays after being in awe with the biggest one.

Now we start off with some smaller displays and move to the ones that have hundred thousand lights!  First I would like to recognize all these homeowners that work so hard to create these wonderful sightings that provide so much holiday spirit for so many people in Richmond.  The creativity is unbelievable but I am just amazed at the effort and energy that is needed to do this each and every year.

There are many houses that are fun to see but these are our two favorites.  These are definitely worth getting out of your car to see the details!  So, if you do not like the cold, pick a warmer night.  You will not be disappointed.

#1 House. 9604 Asbury Court.  This house has been doing this for years and I think that it gets better each year! This one actually spans over two houses and it is just plain amazing.  There are all the traditional christmas characters like snowmen, gingerbread men and even the Grinch on the rooftop.  But there are also others like Mickey Mouse and Big Bird!  There are little sections of special themes.  Something for everyone.  You can spend some time here just taking in the detail and everything that is here.  If you can only go to one, go to this one!

#2 9716 Wendhurst Drive. This is our family’’s second choice. This one looks almost professionally done with layers of lights throughout. Again, it is one you need to get out and walk up to in order to appreciate the entire display. Lots of lights- well organized and just awesome to look at at.

We went to most of the ones that were listed in the Richmond Times Dispatch on November 27th.  I wonder if there are any other out there???