Networking. I have been doing a lot of networking the last 2 weeks. Talking to people I don’t know about business is a skill I need to brush up on. I've spent the last 6 years of my life talking about places I can go with my kids, what the kids have been doing, and everything else "kids". And I prefer to talk about those things over a bottle of wine or two. Now that I have Kidwinks.com I have to put my business hat back on. I enjoy talking about the site especially to people who "get it" -- both the idea behind kidwinks and why there is such a need for it. As a business owner, socializing and getting the word out is something that I have to do. Luckily, it turns out I actually like it. I used to get kind of bored doing this in my past corporate life. Now, I'm talking about something I'm passionate about, instead of representing a big corporation at muckety muck meetings. Finding time for it all is the hardest part. There are just not enough hours in the day, and I find myself working long into the night (ok, make that morning), and then sleeping maybe 5 or 6 hours before I have to start the kids off to school. Not enough sleep makes me irritable and forgetful. I need to schedule more time for sleep and exercise - those are the 2 things that have been laid at the sacrificial table in honor of kidwinks. Volunteering has taken a back seat too. I had to cut back on the pto committees, church committees, and the "what can I do to help yous" to people in need. I hate that, but hope that kidwinks eventual success will allow me to pick those things back up. I want to shout from the rooftop what a great site Nina and I have created and that every parent should know about it. The goal – make Kidwinks.com a household name. For those of you who don’t know what the site is, here is a little info:

Kidwinks.com is a resource for parents looking for kid-friendly events, activities, restaurants, shops and services throughout the Chicago land area. Find everything from story times at area libraries and neighborhood festivals to all sorts of Chicago fun -- all in one place! Get the lowdown from the experts by reading reviews posted by other parents. Sign up for our newsletter and get a list of upcoming kid-friendly events emailed to you twice a week! If you find yourself searching for family fun using the search terms, chicago kids, or chicago for kids, kidwinks.com is the site to know.

Chidren's Charities

Another week has gone by. I am still trying to come up with any and every way to let Chicago parents know about kidwinks.com. We are now working with some of the area libraries and will give away tickets to Kiddieland and Donley’s Wild West Town during their story-time events. I will post when and where we will be once we establish our schedule. We are also going to start doing some fund raising for children’s charities. We will be asking our members for charity suggestions, which should generate a lot of great ideas. The plan is to create some banner ads and make announcements in our newsletter encouraging members and non-members to donate to the children’s charity. I think this is going to be a great way to help kids. We are helping parents with our site; it will be nice to help kids who may not be able to enjoy all of the fun activities found on kidwinks.com. If you have not heard, www.kidwinks.com is a searchable website for parents looking for places to go and things to do with their children. We are a great site for families who find themselves searching for: Chicago fun, Chicago for kids, kids Chicago, Chicago kids, kids eat free, family fun, kids activities, kids fun.