4  | 

I found this helpful Thank You! Your vote will be tallied soon!

Why should the kids get all the playdates?  I have to remind myself that I make a better mom when I have some balance in my life.  Connecting with girlsfriends is important to me and I don't do it enough.  I have found, however, that connecting online with moms can be a good way to get a little dose of "girl time" without leaving home.  It does not REPLACE "playdates" but for me I have found that online mom pals help me bridge the gap and get my "girl time fix" when I can't do it the "old fashioned way".  For me, there is nothing better than being out on a friend's deck or patio, listening to music and having a margarita.  But when I can't do that, I try to make do with emails, phone calls and online communities have been fun for me to participate in.

Since I am a marketing geek-type of person and a blogger, I connect via online groups with other moms to share information, tips, advice.

There are as many "mom" groups out there as there are mothers, so please let me know what communities and groups you like.  Here are some of my favorites:

Family.com is, of course, a wonderful resource and community for parents and even if I did not blog here, I would be here.  I like the fact that Family.com has such a wide variety of topics and information and the fact that Family.com has the depth of information that is sometimes not available on other sites.   I realize I am probably not completely objective when it comes to Family.com but in general, I have found online communities extremely helpful for me as a mom.  Family.com and other online communites make it easy for me to instantly find ideas on gifts, school issues and things in the news that I want to know more about.

I like the tone and info I get from the Posh Mama social network.  It's a hip site for moms that aren't quite ready for "mom jeans" yet.

My rockstar friend Melinda Roberts is the "Blogger in Chief" of a new network for moms.  
The Mom Blog Network is the name and it's very new but I joined immediately when she told me about it because Melinda usually is involved with things that are interesting.  Go here to check out  The Mom Blog Network.

This next is a social bookmark/shopping site.  I am addicted to it and I love the cool stuff I find here.  Because I am so "addicted" to This Next, I have also met some cool mom pals in the online community.

TreeHugger is one of the biggest "green" destinations on the web.  There is also a social network within TreeHugger that is a good way to connect with other "treehuggers". This is another "green" site that is focused on family issues and concerns.

Please let me know of the communities and websites (besides Family.com naturally) that you like to visit.