http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vm-cdxDSxz0/S3W9VN9dtjI/AAAAAAAAHB0/NUof8MHrxB8/s1600-h/477_4839.JPG Yesterday I was at the grand opening ceremony for http://thankyoumom.com/ at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.  Marc Pritchard from P&G shared his vision for the home, "A place to gather, celebrate, relax, have some fun and enjoy the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games experience together as a family.” And believe me, the athletes like Noelle Pikus-Pace are going to love recharging their batteries here. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vm-cdxDSxz0/S3Xac3EF7fI/AAAAAAAAHCM/Vq0nGLLQal8/s1600-h/477_4916.JPG Noelle was generous enough to chat with me at the Family Home opening.  The http://www.nbcolympics.com/photos/galleryid=262313.html had lively red and blue streaks in her hair and was simply bursting with energy and enthusiasm. Her daughter and husband were set to arrive soon and she said this experience is a "family dream." Noelle told me husband works full-time so she can train and plans to make the most of these Olympic Winter Games. Noelle told me the being here was the "best opportunity." I took a moment to ask Noelle about the P&G Thanks Mom campaign and what her mom did to help her achieve her goals.  "My mom is my hero--she took of hours and hours of work to help me and always believed in me." Nabbing time with this mom, was such a treat and I was moved to see her basking in the spotlight.  Watch her compete on the 18th and 19th. Athletes like Pikus-Pace, Jeret Peterson and speed skater Chad Hedrick gathered to celebrate the home and the inspiration behind the home--all the moms that made it possible for these athletes to achieve greatness.  P&G rolled out the two commercials that will début tonight (and believe me you'll want to have your hankies ready--these are emotionally packed ads!).  As Pritchard shared the all the details of the P&G campaign, he shared the spotlight and the stage with Jenny Chu's mom, Miriam, and gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi. One special detail of the evening was P&G efforts to bring families together in Vancouver.  The P&G team offered athletes up to $3000 to fly and house their families here in Canada.  This is an amazing offer for athletes that have had to scrimp and save for training and equipment.  Several athletes were moved to tears at this generous gesture. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vm-cdxDSxz0/S3XG_3thveI/AAAAAAAAHB8/MKMgMCmy3mA/s1600-h/477_4848.JPG After athlete photos, I got a grand tour. The multi-story home is centrally located in downtown Vancouver.  Within the home are experiences designed to take the pressure off for a little bit of time.  There's a cyber lounge with free wifi, an incredible Pringles snack bar with more than two dozen flavors, and that's just on the first two floors. From there you head to the Tide Laundry Lounge.  That's where athletes can drop off laundry and pick it up clean and folded the next day.  Tots will adore the Pampers Village packed with toys, a diaper changing station and tons of the new Pampers Swaddlers and Cruisers Diapers with Dry Max. Crest had a cool interactive photo session (I'll post my virtual speed skating image soon), but this mom loved the top floor.  It was packed with all the beauty supplies this mom uses and loves.  More on that soon! http://thankyoumom.com/ will be the online place to check out the action.

Google search undergoes 'most radical transformation ever' (CNN) -- Google search is about to get way more personal. In a change that's been called the "most radical transformation ever" to Google's search engine, the Mountain View, California, company on Tuesday announced an update called "Search, plus Your World," which causes Google's robots to incorporate data from its social network as well as the public Internet when delivering search results to people. "Search is pretty amazing at finding that one needle in a haystack of billions of Web pages, images, videos, news and much more," Google said in a blog post on Tuesday morning. "But clearly, that isn't enough. You should also be able to find your own stuff on the Web, the people you know and things they've shared with you, as well as the people you don't know but might want to ... all from one search box." The company added: "Search is simply better with your world in it." On the prominent blog Search Engine Land, Danny Sullivan writes that the updates fundamentally change the way Google's search engine functions, calling it the "most radical" change ever. "The new system will perhaps make life much easier for some people, allowing them to find both privately shared content from friends and family plus material from across the Web through a single search, rather than having to search twice using two different systems," he writes. "However, Search Plus Your World may cause some privacy worries, as private content may appear as if it is exposed publicly (it is not). It might also cause concern by making private content more visible to friends and family than those sharing may have initially intended." Keep reading: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/10/tech/web/google-search-plus/index.html?hpt=hp_bn6

Hi, I'm Momwich - I've been a mommy blogger since my gorgeous daughters were 6 and 2... fast forward a few years and several thousand dollars in girl scout fees, cheer uniforms and orthodontics and they're now 16 and 12 - and I'm still blogging about my parenting fails :) http://www.momwich.net