I went to the Yahoo! Mother Board Summit and all I got was this wonderful time.

I returned yesterday from the Yahoo! Mother Board Summit in Silicon Valley. (Full disclosure: yes, Yahoo! paid for the attendees’ travel costs and accommodations; no, we are not required to write about the trip, and I am not being compensated for this post).

As a loyal Yahoo! user since the mid 90s I was so excited to learn about some of the products and services the company is working on, like an interface that will integrate all my social networking (Facebook, etc) with my Y! mail, which I check probably–and no, I am not exaggerating–150 times a day. A few years ago I attended a Yahoo! focus group in Chicago and when we were asked about products that would make our lives better, I remember saying something about wanting a single place where I could do everything at once…check in with Facebook, tweet, blog, read my mail, post photos, etc. I like to think that maybe my one little comment somehow made it all the way to the powers that be, though in reality, it’s more likely they’d been working on it all along. Still.

I learned more about services I already knew a little about, like Flickr (I keep meaning to get better about using photos…) and Shine!, Yahoo’s blogging platform. I also met new friends, and got to hang out with old friends; ate well, sipped mojitos by the pool of the Four Seasons, exchanged ideas and information with Yahoo! employees and some super-smart bloggers, and yeah…enjoyed a few days without kids in the beautiful California weather. It was a much-needed refresher after the month I’ve had. I am way too tired (and too busy playing catch-up) to get to all the details, so I’ll let Kimberly Coleman’s fantastic wrap-ups do it for me. But here are a few little details I’d like to share:

I wore the Blue Dress. And I shimmied for Kim Coleman, aka Mom in the City, who I thought was taking pictures.

But…it turns out she was actually taking video.

During Kim’s (from my Cup of Creativi-tea) PJ craft party,  I learned that I’m just as crafting-impaired as I always thought…

But realized that, even though my felt flower hair clip looked as though it had been created by untrained monkeys and then run over by a car, the process of making it was a lot of fun. Maybe I don’t have to be “a crafty mom” to occasionally enjoy getting my hands glittery with the kids, even if it does mean the occasional glued (or stitched)-together fingers.

I learned a ton about SEO and headline writing…, and am thinking it would be wise to put some of what I learned into practice…

But I promise I’ll always try to put quality writing above drawing a lot of random traffic.

I remembered how fun it is to spend time all, all alone with my husband, who accompanied me on the trip and made those nights at the Four Seasons Silicon Valley just that much more enjoyable. And we both got a small taste of those free, independent lives we once led.

But…it sure was nice to see Clara’s huge grin and hear her shout “Hi!”, and to get piled on with hugs from the boys when they woke up to find us home this morning.

Now, back to writing. Deadlines are coming up. And did I mention…my book The Happiest Mom: 10 Secrets To Enjoying Motherhood is now available for pre-order? Don’t get too excited…it won’t actually be out for, oh, about 9 months. But just take a look at the great cover! (and click over to Amazon for a peek inside.)

Thanks everyone for the encouragement, comments and emails as I’ve worked toward making this book happen. I am so proud and excited about it.