Hey folks - You'll notice that I've added the following "Parent Talk Today Ethics Policy" in the sidebar: "Parent Talk Today always discloses potential conflicts of interest,
affiliations, etc. Full disclosure also is made when reviewing
products, travel destinations, entertainment or anything else that has
been provided for review at no charge."

Because some readers see this blog content, without sidebars, on their favorite regional-parenting-publication website, I wanted to make sure I posted the policy here.

I attended the BlogHer conference in Chicago this summer, and there was a lot of talk about ethics policies, full disclosure when receiving something for review, etc. The FTC is looking into how bloggers are handling these issues, and I applaud that.

Of course, it has always been my policy to let you know, up front, when I have a potential conflict of interest, when I go on a press trip to a destination that I'm writing about, when I receive a free product for review, etc. But I wanted to make it very clear, with this statement, what the policy is here.

Thanks for your support for the past two years! I'll keep those posts coming… And I welcome your comments!

Recently I joined 1,400 women (and about 12 very brave guys) at BlogHer '09 in Chicago. It was insanity in the best sense of the word.

To say this is an opinionated bunch of women would be an understatement. (They're bloggers, after all!) And not everything about the conference was sunshine and roses. (Search for #BlogHer09 on Twitter to follow the conversation.) But I loved the sessions, meeting other bloggers and moms — and the chocolate, which seemed to be everywhere.

It was held in an amazing city — Chicago. I brought along my husband and son, and they had a ball going to two Cubs games while I was at the conference. We had a great time in the evenings, going out for deep-dish pizza, seeing an amazing Second City performance. (Can't wait to see some of these folks on Saturday Night Live one of these days. Such talent! And guts!)

And I even showed my son that *I* had guts. We went to the Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues, and I ended up on stage, dancing with about 20 other people. And my 13-year-old didn't die of embarrassment — although I'm sure he thought he might!

BlogHer '10 will be held in New York City next August. Want to go? Make your reservations soon. This year it sold out.