Ready to Learn Mom

Moms, we need your help again! Are you frustrated, like me, by companies like Abercrombie & Fitch who seem to think that too sexy is right for our kids and teens?  I called to complain and they said the Managers don’t take complaints — must be too busy surfing the web to find nude inspiration or maybe playing Farmville?? I love www.onemillionmoms.com who think like I do!!

Abercrombie and Filth
August 26, 2010

Abercrombie and Fitch continues to push the envelope and now has become more p*rnographic than ever before. A & F’s p*rnographic posters are desensitizing our youth which can lead to addiction and destruction. They are ignoring parents’ concerns and have outdone themselves by printing images which are more graphic than in years past.

A & F’s s*xually explicit posters have images of models posing n*de with parts blurred out, full rear n*dity of a male and men and women with clothes barely covering themselves wadded up so you can tell nothing about the article of clothing they are attempting to sell. These posters will shock, embarrass and potentially hurt the teens they hope to profit from. This type of marketing is damaging to our youth since so many struggle with self-esteem issues which can lead to obsession, eating disorders and depression as well as addiction. The destruction continues in the A & F Quarterly which is published with more s*xual imagery. (* used to bypass internet filters.)

OMM has received numerous complaints from our members over Abercrombie and Fitch’s new ads and store displays. Even though the company has blocked our emails in the past, we will not give up. We will call their corporate office and voice our concerns. We know from past experiences that calling may take a few more minutes of your time, but it will be time well spent. We have found from past experience that we have been successful in doing this and that most of you have no problem in giving your opinion to a retailer that is displaying nasty images to make a buck.

TAKE ACTION

Call Abercrombie and Fitch’s corporate office at 1-614-283-6500 & press #3 & #4 or you can press 0. If you get the recording asking you to email them, then just call back to get the menu to talk to someone. (The email address given came back as undeliverable for OMM since they block us.)

Then ask, “As a mother and a member of OneMillionMoms.com, I would like to know why your ads and posters have images of models posing n*de if you are in the market to sell clothes?” Let A & F know that if they do not remove these outrageous posters from their stores immediately, then as a parent this Christmas Season you will not be shopping in their stores (A & F, abercrombie Kids, Gilly Hicks and Hollister’s) for your family’s Christmas gifts. This type of marketing is ridiculous and we want answers. They can block our emails, but they can’t keep us quiet.

Sincerely,

Monica Cole, Director
www.OneMillionMoms.com

“Ready To Learn Mom” with Stacey Kannenberg Radio Show at 10 CST/11 EST every Wednesday!  Join us on 09/01/10 with the Top 2 Winner in the Business Baby Shower Contest, Lori Sawyer of Mommy Moves who is going to help us get fit! 

About Lori Sawyer, M.A., ATC, Owner

National Athletic Trainiers Association Certified Athletic Trainer
National Academy of Sports Medicine, Personal Trainer
National Association of Sports Nutrition Consultant
Owner, LS-Fitness and Founder of Mommy-Moves
Co-Owner, Kids-Move

Lori Sawyer earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Movement Studies and Exercise Science with a concentration in Athletic Training from East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania.  She then earned a Masters of Arts Degree in Exercise Science from Montclair State University in New Jersey. 

After graduating, Lori took a position at Seton Hall University as an Athletic Trainer for two years.   She then moved to Los Angeles to take a position as a staff Athletic Trainer at UCLA in 2001.  While at UCLA, she traveled with the women’s basketball team and was directly responsible for the  women’s tennis team and the 2003 national championship women’s water polo team. 

Her focus as an Athletic Trainer has been on injury prevention, rehabilitation, and sports specific training. She has developed a well deserved reputation in the field for bringing athletes back from injury, quicker and safer than before.  While at UCLA, she was certified in the Graston Technique for pain and injury management. 

Since undergraduate school and throughout her career, she has trained people from every walk of life to help them improve their lifestyle and achieve their specific goals.  Now, her lifestyle and goals have changed.  She has created LS-Fitness, a personal training, nutrition and rehabilitation business that focuses on core strength while achieving your goals.  When Jake was born she wanted to stay at home with her new son, she also didn’t want to end her professional career…so MOMMY-MOVES! was born!  Now with 2 beautiful boys (Jake  and Chase) She runs the Mommy-Moves program and continues to teach classes, while working on building Kids-Move with Co-Owner, Mary Patterson.  They are working on building a family fitness franchise!  She is also working on becoming certified in the Tupler technique, a non surgical way to close diastasis recti, a common abdominal problem in women with children.

Fore more information, visit Lori’s websites at www.Mommy-Moves.com and www.KidsMove.com.  

For more information, please CLICK HERE.

Our back to school ritual involves Back-to-School shopping.  Every year (this was our 6th year) my daughters Heidi, now 11 and Megan, now 9 and our next door neighbor/big sister/babysitter/who has known the girls since day one, Amanda, who is now 17 and I go shopping.  This isn’t just shopping we turn it into a fashion show extravaganza and involving many times the entire store.   Honestly, I hate shopping and so do my girls.  But years ago I decided to tell the girls we would be having a fashion show with their favorite person in the entire world, Amanda.  We went from “fit n’tears” to “fun n’laughs” just by making it into a special event – a few stores for a few hours and lunch in a nice restaurant.   They gear up to the event with the girls painting their nails and picking out a special outfit to wear shopping and Amanda does their hair.  So they “feel” special for picking out even more “special outfits”.

We only go to a few stores and each of us takes one girl and we work with the help of a sales person with that girl.  This year we had one sales girl who keep going in the back room and finding us the cutest clothes that I would never have found on the rack in a million years.  Once the girls explain what they want – I have learned that if my girls really, really don’t love it and they are only buying it to please me – they will NOT wear it; so now we explain to the salesperson we want A line waistlines from one girl that cover her appropriately and will not show her belly button when she raises her hand in class and more fitted outfits for the other girl with the same description that they need to be covered appropriately and honestly, the salesperson does all of the work.  We have so much fun the manager and a bunch of salesreps usually gets involved too helping us decide which ones we should select.  The girls feel special and love the attention!    We have stores that remember us each year and enjoy the “fun and excitement” we bring back to Back-to-School shopping.  

The key for me, everyone needs an Amanda and salesreps who enjoy their jobs!!

Stacey Kannenberg
Fredonia, WI

Astrological Sign: LEO

# of children: 2

Ages: 11 &  9

Favorite Business Book: Anything by Authors Tamara Monosoff or Joyce Bone

Favorite Family Book: The Dream is Clear to Believe is the Reward – Mike Kannenberg

Favorite Quote: Winners never quit and quitters never win! Vince Lombardi

1. Which came first: the biz or the kid? The kids were 3 and 1 when I started the biz!
2. What is your biggest productivity secret- the thing that helps you accomplish the most in your day?  My ability to multi-task keeps me on track!
3.  How well do you feel you are balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship? As the kids get older it gets easier.  Any tips? Involve the family so they support you and the family business; Try to establish a routine that works for the family; Work around your family time; and most important remember it takes practice to balance it all!
4. What was the tipping point for you when you realized you were truly an entrepreneur? It started with my hot dog stand from 1969-1974 in front of my grandparent’s busy family bowling alley in Hayward, WI.  I always knew I would have my own business but I wanted to learn from the corporate world first and start my own business from home when I started my own family!
5. What one word describes your purpose in your family, your biz and your life? EMPOWER
6. Where do you find your greatest source of support for your goals in your family, business and life? I have the unconditional love of my husband and kids and the support of thousands of people standing behind me that have gotten me to where I am today.  From the love of family and friends to the support of so many people that I didn’t even know in person, who once they heard my story, have cheered me on by sharing my story and have continued to rally behind me!
7. What do you do to recharge your spiritual batteries? Pray and read the Bible!
8. What’s the one thing you can’t live without? Electricity!
9. iPhone or Blackberry? Blackberry
10. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate
11. PC or Mac? PC
12. Which do you do most often: Eat out, Order In or Cook it yourself? Cook it
13. Who is your biggest supporter? My amazing husband Mike who gave me a crystal clear clock in 2004 engraved with the Cedar Valley Publishing logo that reads:  The Dream is Clear – To Believe is the Reward
14. Who is your greatest inspiration?  I was raised by my grandparents who were both my “rock”.  My grandfather told me every day that I was destined for greatness and that I could make the world a better place.  He started me on my path and passed the baton off to Mike, who continues to support the mission!
15. What do you see yourself doing in 5 years? More of what I am doing today and loving every minute of it!

Name of Businesses: Cedar Valley Publishing and HerInsight Media

URLs: www.cedarvalleypublishing.com

www.herinsight.com – coming soon

Radio Show Get Ready to Learn Mom

Twitter Name @StaceyKann

Facebook Page www.facebook.com/stacey.kannenberg

The Work Smart Mompreneurs Blog:  http://www.worksmartmompreneurs.com/blog/

“Ready To Learn Mom” with Stacey Kannenberg Radio Show at 10 CST/11 EST every Wednesday!  Join us on 08/25/10 with Fantasy Trilogy Author of the Everland Foundation by Ricardo Amado who is not only an amazing author and dad but also a twice-deployed Iraq soldier.

“Everland Volume I:Opal’s Book of Winter” is the first installment in an all-new fantasy trilogy by fantasy author and twice deployed to Iraq soldier R.J. Amado.

Four teenage girls escape from a miserable foster home existence to a world where anything is possible.

Nadya has always dreamed of being a Nature Princess, whatever that is. Opal would settle for a castle with a moat and a matching prince to accessorize with her wardrobe, while Crystal would give anything to be a pretty knight in pink armor. And Sam would just like to be left alone.

Then one night, a genie-like being offers to whisk them away from their decrepit foster home for a whole year to a place where their most deeply treasured fantasies can come alive. No catches, no questions asked, no strings attached. Well, sort of…

Because upon arrival, nobody told these four ordinary girls that among other things they would be pursued by a mysterious Black Knight’s horsemen; imprisoned by a bad-tempered King Bear with an infestation problem in his Enchanted Forest; and going up against a Fairy Colony with militaristic ambitions.

R.J. Amado invites YOU to join Opal, Sam, Crystal and Nadya on an unforgettable one-of-a-kind fantastic journey that is quite unlike anything else you will ever experience. Because when making it through the year means no less than coming home together, nothing else matters.

“Everland Volume I: Opal’s Book of Winter”
It’s only the beginning!

And coming this Summer 2010…
“Everland Volume II: Nadya’s Book of Spring”
There’s no turning back.

Join the Everland Foundation on Facebook at:  http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=58439601923

For more information, please CLICK HERE.

When I was asked to review the ISafeBag (www.isafebags.com); I could hardly wait to receive it.  It was invented by an entrepreneur in the Chicago area after he heard a news story about a woman walking on the street at night who was raped by four guys.  He was so upset by this story that he decided to do something to help protect women and kids from abductors, muggers and rapists…and even your run-of-the-mill school yard bullies!  I love that he was inspired to take ACTION!!!

Essentially, the ISafeBag looks like a regular backpack but underneath a flap on the right strap is a rip cord that, when pulled, activates a LOUD alarm (equivalent to a car alarm) and a strobe light.  It will sound for two hours so it’s also wonderful for campers or hikers who are lost.  It works on two nine volt batteries and the weight and price of this back pack is similar to any other back pack BUT this offers PEACE OF MIND!!

Ironically, on the day it arrived, I had received an email alert that an alleged kidnapper was on the loose in our tiny community. I am not kidding! The alert contained a picture of a man who looked very familiar as someone we had all recognized as seeing before in our small town.  I work from home so I turned on our home security alarm.  When it was time to walk down to the mailbox, our lovely babysitter and neighbor (who we all love like a family member) Amanda (Photo by Heidi Kannenberg) wore the ISafeBag Sling Bag and pulled the ripcord.  

It’s LOUD and will definitely scare away a predator and get attention!  My girls reminded me that it will also scare away the coyotes who have been getting braver and braver, and the recent black bears that have been seen in our neighborhood too!   I just reminded the girls that it was not a toy, but a tool. 

So the ISafeBag isn’t just for back to school for kids and college students; it’s perfect for traveling, hiking, camping, biking and other outdoor adventures, the zoo, the park, shopping and any place you need a little extra PEACE OF MIND! 

We all love the ISafeBag!  Please share it with your loved ones too!

Smiles – Stacey

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary ISafe Bag for this review. No other compensation was provided.

Heather Jack is the Founder of The Volunteer Family Org and finalist with WE TV!

Heather will be on my show this week – please vote for her amazing foundation, www.thevolunteerfamily.org to win a $10,000 grant. Her organization connects families with organizations who need additional volunteers and focuses on volunteer activities you can do with your kids to help!!

To vote, please visit http://www.wetv.com/wedogood/vote.php and to find out more about We tv, visit http://www.wetv.com/.

For more information, please CLICK HERE.

This video is from CBS and HerInsight’s Own Jill Starishevsky.  A New York City District Attorney who is on a mission to give us tools to help our kids stay safe.  Please share this video with every parent!! Jill also is the author of another must have, My Body Belongs To Me, a book to fight kids stay safe from child abuse.  (www.mybodybelongstome.com)

Watch the Video Here

Recently, Barb was a guest on my radio show and we were discussing how her Baby Dipper would be perfect for special needs families.  Well, check out this review, by a mom of a special needs 5-year-old child: http://www.able2able.com/2010/06/review-giveaway-ends-78-increase.html

Rebuild a charity resale shop that supports abused women and children. 

WINGS Program, Inc.

Founded in 1985, the WINGS Program (Women in Need Growing Stronger) provides shelter and support for women and children who are escaping homelessness or domestic violence. WINGS has 24 transitional homes and an emergency domestic violence shelter in suburban Chicago.

Right now, Wings is trying to win the Pepsi Grant for $250,000 which would really help rebuild the resale store.  Could you please take a few minutes of your time to visit the link below and vote for Wings to receive the funds?  Also, please feel free to share this wonderful cause.  Thank you sooo much!!!

Vote to give this idea 250K: Rebuild a charity resale shop that supports abused women and children. http://pep.si/cL7KZ2

Together, we can make this happen!!!