Come Say Hi at Art in the Park

My best friend is a mom of a small baby boy and a 2-year-old girl living on 125th Street in Manhattan. She just wrote me that she wasn't freaked out about swine flu until the New York Times reported a case at the teachers college at Columbia University yesterday. "It's directly across the street from us," she says.

Chandra Turner (that's her) is mostly worried for her young baby who doesn't yet have a strong immune system. Her mother, head of an infectious disease department at a hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, offered to send her surgical masks. Chandra's not ready to put one on yet, but she does say she's concerned when she rides the 7 train everyday.

Another Montclair mom is being proactive. Her kids aren't attending school until she feels more comfortable about their safety....

Continue reading "Swine Flu Freaking Moms Out" »

Update: Due to yucky weather, there was no rally last Sunday. It's rescheduled for May 17. Young Eagles leader Harry Parsons says, "We did have some Cub Scouts show up, so we finagled a tour of the control tower."

A free flight? Like in a real airplane? Yes, if you're a kid. (A real kid, not just a kid at heart.)

I wish I were a kid! My dad was a mechanic in the Navy's Blue Angels, so we traveled the country to see air shows and military bases. I'm awed by aviation. I keep hoping for a Top Gun for our time.

When my kids are big enough, I would love to expose them to The Young Eagles. YE is hosting the free flight rally this Sunday, and they are a part of the Experimental Aircraft Association. The local chapter is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, according to leader Harry Parsons, father of two in Bloomfield.

Twice a year, kids ages 8 to 17 are invited out to Essex County Airport for a free flight. Harry explains that volunteer pilots provide the aircraft, fuel and their time. "We expect twin- and single-engine aircraft and a helicopter," Parsons said. Pilots do the event so parents "can expose their children and themselves to new experiences and share the freedoms we uniquely enjoy as American citizens."

"Kids love it," he adds. "They learn how airplanes fly, how the cars and houses look small from the air, and that their own potential in life is unlimited."

Here is more information on this exciting free flight. Food is free too. Hot dogs, hamburgers and BBQ will also be served on the house...

Continue reading "Free Flight for Kids on Sunday" »

I let the children try the equipment--even the monkey bars--when they're comfortable trying it. I don't push them, and I don't hold them back. One of my daughters, Estelle, is athletic, confident and fearless. She was playing with 5-year-old boys in the park when she was 2. Some kids are like that.

But this weekend, a parent at the playground crossed the safety line. My husband took the kids to the Montclair Community Pre-K park on Sunday after church. There is a wonderful climbing tree there. But should our 3-year-old Estelle be climbing it?

Continue reading "Playground Drama: What Would You Do?" »

Montclair mom Alison Ganci, left, emailed me to let me know about a workshop Thursday night for adoptive parents, see info on the jump page. It's specifically geared toward raising a multicultural kid in a multicultural family. The Spence-Chapin nonprofit adoption agency is sponsoring the event.

My very unscientific observation is that we have a lot of adoptive families in our area, and Alison agrees. She has two children ages 6 and 3.5. Their family incorporates the culture of their children's origins into their everyday lives.

"This is a great place to be an adoptive family," Alison adds. "It is a fairly common way to create a family here, so we get fewer inquisitive, confused looks. This is a very supportive town."

My friend, Ellen Kahaner, is also an adoptive parent. She recently wrote about her experiences in the Maplewood/South Orange melting pot.

If you're also part of the community and seeking parenting tips, catch Thursday's workshop. There is another adoptive/foster parent meeting tonight for people interested in adopting and fostering. I have always wanted to be a foster parent, and I just may do it one day...

Continue reading "Two Workshops for Foster & Adoptive Parents" »

Shortly after I turned 18, I was able to vote for our 42nd president, William Jefferson Bill Clinton. At the time, the nation was excited. We were out with George H. W. Bush and his Gulf War policies. We were in with a new Democratic future.

Obama's first 100 days have a similar feel--only this time the issues seem more important and historic and intense.

Today's high school kids feel connected to politics just like I did. See the Shorter kids who attended the inauguration in the photo. From left are Austin, 10, Julian, 5, and Jasper, 12. They went to the inauguration, and -their mom, Lisa Prince, blogged for us about the trip.

Keep reading for kids' current thoughts on this historic presidency. And check out yesterday's article where little kids give their advice on how Obama should celebrate.

Continue reading "Obama's 100 Days: What Do Teens & Moms Think?" »

Where did April go? Friday will be May 1st and May in Montclair is a celebration. There will be great events in town all month, so check our Upcoming Events often. Here are this week's highlights:   

Continue reading "This Week's Highlights: April 29 - May 5" »

Update: We are so sorry to hear about the swine flu death of a toddler in Texas this morning. There are 66 confirmed cases in 6 states. Here are more updates on swine flu from CNBC:

We got our first swine flu advisory via email from our school nurse on Tuesday evening.

This the first time I've felt like staying inside my house and avoiding the entire world to avoid getting sick as a pig. Something about getting the note from The Montclair Cooperative School just made the whole ordeal seem real. Before, it sounded like media hogwash. But I did think it was serious enough to advise my au pair to cancel her upcoming trip to Cancun. She agreed and had already started looking up flights to Florida instead.

But seriously, as Baristanet reported on Monday, the US has reported this a public health emergency. Nj.com says there are 5 cases of swine flu in New Jersey from travelers who visited Mexico and California. The good news is that these people were never hospitalized, and they are now doing better.

Our school reports that a few families have recently traveled to Mexico--our Spring Break was last week. But according to the Montclair Board of Health, these children cannot be asked to stay home unless they show signs of illness. That makes sense to me.

Just FYI, here are symptoms of swine flu, according to Nurse Beth Tengwell at the Coop...

Continue reading "Swine Flu Worries Hit Local Schools" »

How are you spending this beautiful afternoon? We're actually swimming--swimming!--in our backyard.

Christin, our wonderful German au pair went to Toys R Us, and she bought a kiddie pool. We rushed outside to help when we saw she was trying to blow the thing up the old fashioned way. (See the video on the next page.)

It's hot in our house. We haven't even put in the air conditioners. I mean, it's April!

We'll enjoy the heat today. Tomorrow, it's back to April with rain and highs in the 60s for several days.

Did you get to enjoy the early summer? Click over to Baristanet to see Debbie's favorite walk.

Continue reading "Summer & Swimming in April" »

Here is what our insightful local kids had to say...

[Portrait by Sydney Solenthaler, a Northeast 3rd grader as featured in Mini Masterpieces last month.]

Continue reading "Obama's First 100 Days: Kids Think He Should Party" »

Talk about smokin'. I just heard that more local kids reigned victorious over the weekend. I wrote about awesome essay writer Shanelle Russell earlier today.

Just in case you didn't hear, last weekend was the National School Scrabble Championship in Rhode Island.

Three 6th graders from Glenfield Middle School in Montclair finished in the top 16 kid Scrabble players in the nation.

Sixth grader Paolo Federico-O'Murchu (middle child in photo), 11, made it all the way to the championship final. Along with team member Nicky Vasquez (at right), 10, from Livingston, Paolo won a $5,000 prize. Together, they whooped several teams of 7th and 8th graders.

Two more Glenfielders, Conor McGeehan (left) and Rachel Keller, both 11, finished 8th out of 102 teams from across the country.

Feeling inspired, I just might dust off my own Scrabble. Go to Scrabble's site for useful tips and tools. Meanwhile, here are a few creative word ideas that might come in handy next time you play...

Continue reading "Middle Schoolers Win the Scrabble Tournament" »

Everyone wants to be good to the environment (except for Kristen), and going green is on our minds especially around Earth Day. So I have been thinking of what to do with all the worksheets and random pages of scribbles 3-year-old Alan creates. We decided to turn them into placemats. You know, so he'll have something to eat his mud pie on (chocolate pudding).

We also wanted a centerpiece. So we decorated old formula cans and put inexpensive plants. Because we got hungry, we also made our mud pie.

Here's how we did this easy, fun craft.

Continue reading "Kids Create: Recycled Placemats, Plants & Mud Pie" »

Congratulations to Shanelle Russell, a high school senior from Montclair.

Yesterday, she was honored at the 94th Anniversary Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide (1915-1923) at a ceremony in Times Square.

Shanelle wrote an essay on this intense, important topic, and she took first place in a nationwide contest.

1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Empire. Shanelle wrote:

"The world has led crusades and jihads for love and peace and often times has been victorious. However, there were no pins, no ribbons, nor billboards for Armenia, a place that had so desperately needed and desired peace...

The world has seen genocides in Germany, in Armenia, in Rwanda, in Cambodia and throughout the entire globe. Today, the world sees genocide in Sudan. Is there to be no end to this cycle of hate and pain? This cycle has not yet been broken, for the world has not yet been able to learn from history."

Shanelle is in advanced placement classes at the high school.

Since Wednesday, April 22, The Newark Museum has been celebrating their Centennial with a 100 Hour Marathon. Today is the is the last day to celebrate, but there are lots of fun events to enjoy.

We went yesterday for Dinosaur Day. That's my 22-month-old having fun digging for magnetite. Today, there will be a jazz brunch, dance performances, music, storytelling and more. With the temperature hitting 90 degrees, a cool museum is the place to be.

What are your plans today? Will you enjoy this summer-like weather or stay indoors and keep cool?

We’re in a post Spring Break haze. It seems like the girls have been out of school more than they’ve been in it during the month of April. If you didn’t get away on a Spring Break vacation, but you really wanted to, check out our favorite day trips: Fire Island.

Even when it’s not warm enough to swim, there’s plenty of fun on the sandy playgrounds in Ocean Beach, Seaview and Fair Harbor. Several overpriced restaurants by the sea are open. It only takes about 2 hours to get there if you don’t go during rush hours.

Fire Island is magical. I’ve been going for 13 years. I don’t remember a few of those years thanks to cheap rotgut and group shares. But I’ve traded the booze for kiddie beaches. And we’d really like to stay more than just a day. We are still trying to find a house to rent for a week or a month that won’t set us back $40K or $20K or even $10K. (If you know of a nice rental, email me.)

The reason we love Fire Island is this: No cars are allowed. It’s so quiet, and the kids get a lot more freedom from our usual over-protectiveness. To get there, you have to take the ferry from Bay Shore, NY.

We went last weekend. You can hang out on the beach—or at least on the sandy playground at Ocean Beach. Bring your lunch (the food there is sort of okay). And stay on the bay side. They’re currently dredging the ocean side of Fire Island, which is really cool (see photo on the next page), but you can’t fly a kite next to bulldozers. Even the machinery was absolutely fascinating to see.

Continue reading "Day Trip: Fire Island" »

My family loves music and we love going to concerts. These days they are mostly kid concerts, but we have been to some pretty rockin' shows. Dan Zanes and They Might Be Giants might be our favorites, but we're also jazz fans. Tomorrow we get to enjoy some jazz at a free concert at the Montclair Art Museum.

WBGO, that's 88.3 FM on your radio dial, is Newark's public radio jazz station. Every Spring they sponsor a Kids Jazz Series around the area. We attended the concert last year at MAM and my girls loved it. This year the Steven Kroon Sextet is performing. They perform jazz inspired by Latin, Brazilian, African and Caribbean music.

Continue reading "Free Jazz Concert for Kids at The Montclair Art Museum" »

Yesterday, as part of Turn Off the TV Week, I turned our set off.

The was a stinker, a flop, just like an episode of last season's ER.

No one suffered but my husband--and me a little bit, too. The kids ate cookies and ran around like wild monkeys instead of watching. They loved it. Their parents didn't.

Here is a play-by-play of the day without our beloved boob tube...

Continue reading "Turn Off TV Day a Big Flop" »

I was willing to be dishonored.

You can call me a coward and a bad mommy. That's fine. It's better than what my day would be like if I turned the TV off.

You see, my digital nanny is my only nanny. During the week, I, alone, take care of my 5-year-old and 22-month-old all day. My husband doesn't get home until they are in bed. I have a babysitter 2 hours a week so I can make appointments, meetings and occasionally, if I'm lucky, have lunch with a friend.

Continue reading "TV Turnoff Challenge: Why I Refused to Accept" »

Continue reading "Puppets at Cafe Eclectic" »

Today is Take Our Daughters & Sons to Work Day. Did any local parents try it? I can't wait until I can send Annabelle to work with Daddy. Then he can see how cranky she gets when she doesn't eat lunch on time. But we have awhile. This day is recommended for kids ages 8 to 18.

Maybe in honor of this famous day, I'll put them to work. They really need to pick up their toys in the living room.

Did you take your kids to work today? Do you remember your parents bringing you?

Without TV, I'm manically blogging for you today. I'm tweaking (and Twittering) without my CNN/Today Show/View newsfeed, so I'm reading all of my favorite online sites instead.

Here's what I just found from New Jersey Newsroom, a new site I learned about on Baristanet.

Someone stole Cinderella's carriage in Belleville! No one would do that but a really evil fairy--or witch.

Or actually, it was two evil males. Two guys were caught trying to sell the thing for $100 in a local KMart parking lot. The carriage, which is used as a parade float, cost upwards of $2,000.

Continue reading "Who Would Steal Cinderella's Carriage?" »

Instead, I am reading The Montclair Times. I just learned from them that NJ schools spend more money on heating and lighting than they do on books.

Montclair Environmental Affairs Coordinator Gray Russell says in the piece,

"If you can get students and teachers to do a few simple things like turning out the lights when they leave a room, or turn off computers and AV equipment at the end of the day and over weekends, you can conserve energy and cut costs."

Read more over at the Montclair Times: including what the average school tax burden is for Montclair homeowners.

Turn off the TV Week? I'd like to say that I don't watch. And that I don't let my kids watch. I'd like to say that I read The New Yorker instead. But the truth is, I canceled that subscription. I hardly have enough time to watch Oprah as it is.

My kids like Cyberchase. I prefer Weeds. Life without TV would be like living without cappuccinos, Charmin and Vitamin Water.

I have many friends with far superior TV morals. Like Montclair's David Blackburn. He hasn't had a TV in his house for 14 years. And he has twins. But why?

"It's a colossal waste of time. Too much mediocre content that is too tempting but not worth the lost hours and minutes.

But has he seen Intervention? Or Psychic Kids? Unfortunately, my kids Annabelle, Estelle and Soren have. We watch it while Mommy checks her Gmail.

Do parents in Baristaville have better TV morals? I asked them what they thought...

Continue reading "Turn Off TV Thursday: Can Local Parents Do It?" »

Montclair schools are closed for Spring Break this week and I've been on the look out for things to do with my girls. Luckily, Baristaville doesn't disappoint. Today is Earth Day and if you read our post about ways to celebrate, then you already know about the "earthy" events happening today. The rest of the week is filled with fun too. Here are this week's highlights:

Continue reading "This Week's Highlights: April 22 - 28" »

Over some delicious treats from Le Baker's Dozen, the moms at our playgroup started talking about Wii, the interactive video game from Nintendo. It seems like most Baristaville preschoolers are big time Wii gamers. Many of us felt like our kids were the only ones without the game.

One mom in our group bit the bullet and bought her 8-year-old a Wii for his birthday. My girls don't even know what a Wii is, but if they wanted one, I'd at least wait till they turned 8. Would you?

Continue reading "Playgroup Discussions: When Should a Kid Wii?" »

I often get the question, how do you keep up with your blog?

The answer is easy. I ignore my children. I figure they can watch The Little Mermaid while I watch Barista Kids.

One day when I was procrastinating on my mommy blog duties, I came across good good things, a sweet site by Bloomfield mom Jennifer Hamilton Prochilo. She kindly let me use this photo of her little girl Reno at left. Reno, that's her real name, loves the "chicken" nuggets from Veggie Heaven. Yum.

I love good good things' photography. I think I have blog envy. Here is what Jenna had to say about balancing it all...

Continue reading "One Bloomfield Mom's Yummy Mommy Blog" »

I have been taking photographs of the extra special projects and saving them on my computer. Especially the ones from building class at the Little Y. My 3-year-old Alan made a great bird with Ms. Maryann. This is the kind of project that won't last for long--Alan already wants to know if the bird will float in the bathtub.

So I just uploaded photos of his best crafts to the Blurb website, and they'll make me a great art book. See the cover of the one I'm working on at left.

Continue reading "Kids Create: Make a Book of Their Artwork" »

Cherry Blossoms in Newark

Who: Families, dogs & spring lovers
What: Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom
Where: Branch Brook Park
When: Just a few more days this week
Cost: Free

Though it is supposed to rain Monday and Tuesday, which will probably blow away those petals. Sigh. There's always next year--and our memories of this past amazing spring weekend.

What did you do to enjoy the weather?

I'm Greek on my father's side. My father is not a religious man, but being Greek, he loves food and celebrations. In my family, Greek Easter was a way to celebrate our heritage.

My father would make a huge leg of lamb, spanikopita, and loukoumades, Greek doughnuts dripping with honey, for our celebration. I have wonderful memories of the lamb roasting, filling our home with the scent of lemon and oregano.

Once, we even dyed traditional red eggs and played the game where you go around and try to crack each others' eggs.

Above is a picture of my friend Effie and her daughter at their Easter celebration last year. Effie, who is Greek Orthodox, told me about the religious meaning of the red eggs...

Continue reading "Happy Greek Easter" »

I tried to figure out exactly what Healthy Kids Day was, but the young woman in at the reception desk wasn't quite sure earlier this week. She just said it would be fun.

I think everything at the Little Y is fun.

Healthy Kids Day is a national YMCA event happening at more than 1750 Ys all over the country today. The flyer says it will be a free day of engaging and creative activities for children and families to promote year-long wellness and healthier living.

I'm curious what they're going to do in their colorful gym. Let me know if you go.

Being "green" is practically a religion in Baristaville, so it's no surprise that there are a bunch of events celebrating Earth Day. The first official Earth Day was on April 22, 1970. I was born in the early 70s. Growing up, we didn't learn much about protecting our environment and I don't think I even knew about Earth Day until I was much older. 

Our children are part of the Green Generation. I didn't start recycling until I was in my late 20s but my 5-year-old already knows which plastics are recyclable. This is a good thing, and we plan to attend some of the awesome events around town to celebrate.

Here are Baristaville's Earth Day celebrations:

Continue reading "Earth Day in Baristaville" »

Over the past two weeks, my friends have emailed me whining about their barfing children. I promptly delete their emails thinking that even their electronic notes might give us the virus we all dread.

Plus, I was smug. I thought to myself, Oh, we'll be fine because we barfed 18 months ago. Or sometimes I tell myself, We're way too healthy to get the stomach bug.

Last night, I got what I deserved.

Annabelle barfed all over her bed at 11:49 p.m. She wasn't crying because she felt bad. Instead she screamed, "Mommy, my bed is dirty!"

Continue reading "Illness of the Week: The Dreaded Stomach Bug" »

I played for about 4 weeks, then quit for the rest of my life. But I will never forget that hot boy named Jason who was on our co-ed team. My gear littered our house for two more years. And I followed Jason onto the middle school ski club.

If you have some sports gear that is littering your home, donate it to Girl Scout Troop 1197 in Glen Ridge. They're collecting gently used sports equipment through this Friday, April 17.

Here are more details...

Continue reading "Donate That Old Sports Equipment" »

If you know a girl who's interested in getting healthy and making friends, the new Go Girl Go! and Fit Girl! sessions are starting tonight at Aspen East in Montclair.

Kate Rogan Monahan, a certified trainer, is the director. She's passionate about teen wellness and has been a gymnastic, cheerleading and tennis coach for years.

She knows all about body weight issues, too. She was a cheerleader for 4 years at Boston College.

Kate teaches her girls about self-esteem and body image--all while incorporating yoga, Pilates, kickboxing, dance and meditation. The preteens and teens love it. Here is more from Kate on why she is so passionate about her programs...

Continue reading "Program Boosts Girls' Body Images" »

Oh chop sticks. Now I can't try to catch random pieces of zucchini in my mouth while I eat my miso soup.

Our favorite hibachi restaurant has closed, much to my and my kids' disappointment.

Read more about Daruma's closing over in Food.

In this town, I might not get into the right preschool if I state my honest opinion on the topic of Earth Day, which is on April 22.

But I can't help it. The truth is, I'm over it.

I am not feeling the damn earth. I'm just not down. I don't tweak from being green.

Since the earth is super important, I hope I don't get banned from church for saying that it sucks. I belong to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, so we really could get stoned.

I'm just going to be honest about a few things and worry about the consequences later.

Here are 5 things I do all day, every day that harm the Earth...

Continue reading "Mom Confession: I'm Over Earth Day" »

Today is rainy and cold, but this weekend will be sunny and warm. It's beginning to feel like Spring! Baristaville offers great activities to celebrate the season. Stay tuned for our Earth Day in Baristaville post at the end of the week. Here are this week's highlights:

Listen to a Book Reading
April 15
Go to Watchung Booksellers after school today and hear author Patrick McDonnell read his book Art.

Celebrate Spring
April 18
Enjoy the season at Van Vleck House and Garden's free family event.

April 19
Montclair Art Museum offers another free family spring celebration in the theme of Bugs and Buds.

Listen to Nursery Rhymes
April 21
Bring your preschooler over to the Montclair Public Library for Mother Goose Storytime.

Continue reading "This Week's Highlights: April 15 - 21" »

I love Kal Penn.

I considered him my boyfriend after he appeared in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Then when I saw him in The Namesake, I wondered if I should tell my husband about my crush.

Kal Penn never returned my adoration, but he stayed on my radar. Then I found out last week from the blog Evan Almighty that Kal grew up in Montclair.

Evan Almighty, AKA Evan Lucas, is originally from Montclair but now lives in the city. He and Kal attended the same summer program when they were in high school. Evan reported that Kal was recently killed off the Fox TV show House M.D. because he's been hired as the associate director at the Office of Public Liaison. Kal will help the Obama administration connect with arts and entertainment groups as well as the Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Baristanet reported on Kal Penn's latest trip last week, too.

Kal Penn heading to Washington!? That is so much cooler than when he was headed to White Castle (or Guantanamo Bay or even Amsterdam for that matter). Dude...

Continue reading "Montclair's Kal Penn Trades TV for Washington" »

Hillside School's Drums of Thunder will perform at Madison Square Garden this Saturday, April 18, during half-time of the Jordan Brand Classic regional game, showcasing the top prep basketball players from the New York City area in a City vs. Suburbs showdown.

Drums of Thunder is the famous drum corps directed by teacher, Mr. Louis D'Amico, as part of Hillside School's percussion program. The 34 members from 4th and 5th grade practice daily during school hours. They travel throughout the year performing at professional sports events, in front of the Lincoln Memorial in our nation's capital and even on NBC's Today Show.

People locally--and nationally--go crazy for these pint-sized, perfectionist percussionists.

Continue reading "Montclair's Drums of Thunder Performing at Madison Square Garden" »

Today is Monday. I feel fairly normal for the first time in several weeks. My vacation was wonderful and horrible.

We had an amazing time on our Norwegian cruise that left right out of the Hudson River terminal in New York City. We didn't barf from sea sickness. We walked all over Atlantis on a day trip. We drank pina coladas on a beach. For the first time in a long time, I relaxed. On the Norwegian Gem, you can't lift a finger even if you want to. Delicious dining halls serve all of the meals and clean up afterward. The staff caters to every ridiculous whim. You don't even sign credit card receipts--you take care of your tab at the end.

Before I left for this cruise, I'd been cramming in three jobs and, as I wrote here, one of my daughters had been in admitted to St. Barnabas hospital for 5 days. I was looking forward to my time off.

Maybe the cruise was going too well. Everything was too perfectly blissful--and perfect just isn't real life.

Early in the morning on Thursday of our trip, my mother had a stroke in my room.

Continue reading "Drama at Sea: My Mom's Stroke on Our Vacation Cruise" »

Is anyone else completely exhausted today?

We are whipped. I'm thankful for the rainy spring weather. It's a great excuse for us all to stay home and get some sleep.

I just put my pumpkins in for their naps. I think that's where I'm going, too.

How are you spending this rainy spring Saturday?

Most kids yearn for frequent visits to places like Applegate's, or Nauna's - Aaron Stagoff-Belfort, a seventh grader at MKA, however, has been making a weekly stop at his neighborhood bookstore, Watchung Booksellers for years. Aaron's literary thirst and outgoing personality prompted Nicole Ban, the store's guru on "young adult" books to make him an offer he couldn't refuse. Two summers ago, she asked Aaron if he'd like to read and critique a new kid's book before it hit the bookstore shelves. The book hadn't even been published yet, didn't have a cover, and wasn't fully edited - it was called a publisher's "galley." He was surprised, no, flattered by the offer which included getting published on the store website. His answer was yes.

Aaron finished writing his first review, Simon Bloom, The Gravity Keeper, just in time for the author Michael Reisman's book signing in Montclair. What Aaron turned in was not your average 6th grader book report - in fact, the author thought the review was the work of an adult. "I like to critique, what could make it better if I had to tell the story again?" says Aaron. "I guess I learned from my dad, he's a lawyer...and I've been reading a lot from an early age," he says.

Continue reading "Montclair's Budding Book Critic" »

UPDATE:  Awesome!! is canceled due to weather.

Looking for something to do with your Tween and Teen kids tomorrow? Gather up the family and bring them to Nishuane Park for Terry's Serendipity Café's Awesome!! Festival. It will be going on all day Saturday.

Terry's Serendipity Café is an organization run by Baristaville students, with adult volunteer advice and supervision. The café puts together a live musical and artistic event featuring all types of performances and music from classical to rock, from jazz to hip hop. They also have open mic time set aside at each café for people to come up on stage and perform.

Edwin Carine, an adult coordinator of Serendipity Café, spoke with me about this awesome organization and the event recently...

Continue reading "Party at Nishuane Park Saturday with Serendipity Café" »

Glen Ridge Mom Nancy Breslin is one of my wonderful mommy friends. I love getting invited to her house for play dates. Her dining room table is always filled with beautiful, fun craft ideas my kids love.

Nancy is mom to 3-year-old Alan (see his artwork, left) and baby twin girls. She has agreed to share her craft ideas with us in a new feature called Kids Create. She is an artist herself and an interior designer.

This week, she's all about watercolor Easter Bunny cards. Here's how to do this fun springtime craft...

Continue reading "Kids Create: Easter Craft Idea from Glen Ridge Mom" »

Have a child who is attached to her blanket? Glen Ridge mom Patrick Preblick knows all about it. Her child's Linus-like ties to her blankie nearly erupted in a crisis. Here, Patrick tells their story:

Our family narrowly avoided a crisis last weekend, when my 4-year-old daughter's blankie, called Booty, disappeared for a few hours right before bedtime. We'd lost Booty a few months ago for a day or two when Erin forgot that she had stored Booty inside her cardboard Build-A-Bear box along with Flappy the Penguin.

But this time, it was worse. We had taken Booty with us on our Saturday errands to karate class, Bed Bath & Beyond, Five Below and the Tick-Tock Diner.

Continue reading "The Case of the Missing Blankie" »

Want a free week of summer camp? If you live in Montclair, and your kid is going to kindergarten next fall, you can get one. But you better act fast (see registration details on the next page).

The Montclair Public Schools are offering a Summer Screening Program (i.e. free summer camp). It's a week-long, half-day session where a teacher observes your child and assesses her language, cognition and motor development skills. Your child's new teacher will receive results in September.

Continue reading "Free Week of Summer Camp (Sort Of) for Montclair Kindergarteners" »

Debbie Hotz is really busy tonight.

This Montclair mom of two teenage girls is preparing for Passover.

According to her, it's no easy feat. (Just reading about her work is making me hungry!)

Here is what Debbie wrote recently on MontclairUnmoderated, one of my favorite local Yahoo groups. She told me I could reprint her words here...

Continue reading "Preparing for Passover: One Mom's Week" »

I’m totally out of it this week post-vacation, so maybe I’m seeing things.

Did it just snow outside?

Maybe I’ve been watching too much Dumbo with my kids. You know the scene where Dumbo drinks the champagne that accidentally fell into his water bowl? Dumbo gets loopy.

That’s how I feel today, like Pink Elephants on Parade.

So tell me, did it really just snow? At least it stopped. Good news: It’s supposed to get up to 61 degrees tomorrow in Baristaville.

Continue reading "Montclair Public Schools Summer Camp: Register Online" »

You're probably busy this week getting ready for Passover or Easter and your kids will be off of school on Friday. If you're looking for things to do, you've come to the right place. Check out Upcoming Events for everything going on in Baristaville. Don't forget that the Easter Bunny will be around again on Saturday! Find out where to find him here. Here are this week's highlights:

Continue reading "This Week's Highlights: April 8 - 14" »

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One option is hosting an au pair. (See Kristen's sweet German au pair, Christin, in the photo on the right.) Being a host parent is not an easy decision, because you are opening up your home to a stranger who will take care of your child. When it works, it's a great situation and I have met many parents who love hosting an au pair. 

If you are considering being a host, The Adult School of Montclair has the perfect class for you. They are offering a Boot Camp for the Au Pair Host Parent class to help you make your decision. Instructor Nancy Felix, has been a host parent for twelve au pairs. 

Nancy spoke with Barista Kids about the hosting experience and her upcoming class... 

Continue reading "Hosting an Au Pair: Advice from a Pro" »

The Easter Bunny is in Baristaville. He will be making the rounds until April 11 and then gets to work filling baskets for Sunday morning. 

Some of the events are small and good for the littlest egg hunters. Others are better left to older kids - The Brookdale Park egg hunt is huge and gets so packed, that little kids will either get trampled or end up with no eggs, because the big kids got them first. 

Meet the Easter Bunny and go on an egg hunt at these locations:

Continue reading "The Easter Bunny in Baristaville: Where To Find Him" »

As if you didn't have enough stress over keeping your children safe, here's another thing to add to the list of things that scare the crap out of you. 

I just read an article on CBSnews.com about The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention release of their results from a study on powdered baby formula.  

It turns out that traces of perchlorate, a chemical found in rocket fuel, was found in samples of baby formula. Perchlorate has also been found in several cities' drinking water supplies. The fear is that mixing up formula containing trace amounts of this chemical with water that may contain it, can cause the levels to exceed what's considered safe. 

Continue reading "Rocket Fuel Found in Baby Formula" »

Kristen posted here about the warning that was issued by the Montclair Police Department on March 30th about a predator attempting to lure kids into his car. Over at Baristanet, they have been providing full coverage on the incidents.

It seems that everyone in town is on edge and it led to a lockdown at Mt. Hebron School yesterday. Apparently, a student told a teacher that he noticed a strange man walking in the building. The teacher alerted the principal, Dr. Mark Jennings, and he made the decision to go into lockdown. Get all the details here on Baristanet.

Parents in town are very scared about these incidents. It was all the talk at my daughter's Pre-K class at pick-up yesterday. Baristaville mom, Joan Garry, wrote about how she is feeling on her blog earlier this week.

Are these predator incidents affecting your life?  Are you driving your kids to school, rather than letting them walk, since this has happened?

Continue reading "Do You Let Your Kids Eat Junk Food?" »

As we listed in This Week's Highlights yesterday, there will be a great sample sale this weekend.

Suburban Sky was started by two Baristaville moms. They came up with a way to bring great items to people at discounted and wholesale prices and raise money for charities.  

Their 2008 holiday event benefitted the educational programs at the Montclair Art Museum.  This year, the sale will benefit Dress for Success of Morris County.  

Barista Kids wanted to learn more about their event. Organizer mom, Malia Valchar spoke with us....

Continue reading "Suburban Sky Sample Sale: Shop For a Good Cause" »

Are your Girl Scout cookies long gone? Not able to score some this year? Good news - you can get your cookie-craving satisfied, but you're going to have to act fast! 

This was posted on The Montclair Watercooler:

"From what I understand, my granddaughter's Brownie troop still has boxes and boxes of Girl Scout cookies in the event if anyone is interested in buying more. Please contact my daughter, Angela at angelalarkin@yahoo.com or call her at 973-818-5078 for additional details. Thank you for supporting the Girl Scout of America."

Which Girl Scout cookie satisfies your cravings?

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It's April 1st and, no joke, there are some great things to do this week. Make sure to check Upcoming Events often for all the happenings around Baristaville. Here are this week's highlights:

Continue reading "This Week's Highlights: April 1 - 7" »