Welcome to the newly redesigned Pittsburgh Mom.  I thought I'd give everyone a quick primer on how to use the site:

Logging In - Everyone will need to create an account to be able to post. Even if you had an account at the old site, you'll need to create a new one (the software is different so we could not carry accounts over). Creating an account is easy! Just click the JOIN link at the top of the page (just to the right of center, in peach color background).  Once you've created your account, you can just go to SIGN IN when you visit the site to get signed in or out.

Your Profile - With this new software, you can now create a bio for youself, including an avatar picture, if you'd like. Just click the EDIT button at the top of the page (just past center, in the peach bar). There you can upload an avatar picture and post as much information about yourself as you like.

Message Boards - I really hope this site becomes a great, active forum for discussing our kids, asking questions and making friends. There are several ways to reach the message boards. From the home page of the site you will open up to a list of the most recent posts to the board. If you want to read the full text of any post or reply to a post, just click the title and you'll be linked to the post.  You can also click the tab for the most popular discussions if prefer.  If you'd like to go directly to the message boards and perhaps create a new thread, just click on FORUMS at the top of the page in the green bar and you'll be taken to the main forum page. On this page you'll see a list of the most recent posts, again, but scroll down below that and you'll see all of the forum categories. You can browse through the different categories and posts.  To start a thread simply go to the top of the forums page, near the recent posts and you'll see a link on the right that says Write a New Post. Just click that and choose which category you feel it fits best in.

Blogs - We have carried over the original Pittsburgh Mom blog that I write along with some friends that guest blog on occasion. To read my blog you can either click on Blogs at the top of the page in the green bar or see the most recent entries on the right side of the page (click an entry to read the full text). To reply to the blog, simply comment to a post, as long as you're signed into the site you'll be able to reply to both the blog and the message boards.  In the near future we'll be adding more blogs for you to read, so look for those!

News - Something new with this redesign is the Mom News area.  This is where we place news stories from all over the globe that might be of interest to parents. You can reach the Mom News by clicking the News tab in the center of the home page.

Resource Directories - The driving force of the original site, the directories, are here! You can get to the directories two ways. You can either click Directories at the top of the page, in the green bar, or click on the directories listed on the right. We've listed the most popular ones there, but you can get to the rest by clicking View All Directories at the  bottom of that box.  The look of the directories has changed a bit. We've now listed them in paragraph form instead of the tables. If you have an addition or correction (or a Pittsburgh Mom tip) just click the link on the directory page that allows you to send me a message.

Calendar - Another new feature of Pittsburgh Mom is the event calendar you see on the right.  This will take you directly to the Family listings of the Post-Gazette's events calendar. It's an excellent resource, I hope you enjoy it!

Please post a reply here if you have any other questions!!