Category — Community

Hooray for Bekki, who won the Snip-its Giveaway!

If you’re sad that you weren’t a winner this time, you might want to “like” the Snip-its Facebook page so that you can hear about other discounts or special offers. Or, if you read this week’s KidsOutAndAbout.com e-newsletter, you’d know that there’s another giveaway over there! Speaking of which, if you haven’t gotten around to it yet, go ahead and sign up to receive the weekly e-newsletter.

Meanwhile, if you weren’t distracted with that other story about women’s health that was all over the news today, you might have heard that Friday, February 3rd is Go Red for Women Day to raise awareness about women and heart disease. I just happened to wear red today, but I have two fun links that are heart-related, so I thought that I’d take the opportunity to share.

First, here’s an amusing little official Go Red Video by Elizabeth Banks from Parenthood. I first saw it on Ask Moxie, who is smart enough to answer all sorts of difficult and sensitive topics for mothers and actually embed videos into her blog post, which I remain too technically inept to do myself. Yes, tech friends, this is a cry for help.

Second, do you know that Kina Grannis song Message From Your Heart? I’ve been on a bit of a Kina Grannis kick lately, but even if I weren’t, the song is really quite apt for occasion. But wait, when I went to look for that link, I realized that this video won her a big  Doritos contest for Super Bowl XLII (aka 2008). Okay, I missed that part completely. Where was I? Probably chasing children or hovering in the kitchen because another hot dip had just come out of the oven. So it’s a doubly timely link, for heart health and Super Bowl hype (did you need a recipe?). Gosh, I guess Doritos has been doing these contests for years. Huh. I only notice Doritos these days when I’m rolling my eyes at their obnoxious and sexist ads. If you, like me, are on approximately a 4-year delay when it comes to pop culture, maybe it’s new to you. Kina Grannis has a more recent super-fun jellybean In Your Arms video.

J loves the Message From Your Heart song, but she insists that the “Taking blood and making art” line is really “Taking love and making art.” It sort of fits, I’ll admit, but it’s wrong. This drives me a little nutty. Actually, J gets this from her father. Cute W frequently gets lyrics wrong, and he’s often emotionally attached to the incorrect lyrics. It’s become a bit of a running joke in our family. Right now, the girls love to sing, “I got the moves, Mick Jagger” instead of “I got the moves like Jagger” just because they know it makes me squirm. Hey you guys! That one’s from 2011, isn’t it? Thank goodness for Zumba! I get cardio (heart healthy!) while learning about pop culture. Woo, hoo.

Update: okay, okay. Have I mentioned that I’m not too tech-savvy? My first plug-in, which would have kept you in the dark at Capital District Fun all day, didn’t work, so you just got a teensy blackout. And here’s more info. if you’d like it:

If you spend slightly less time on the internet than I do, or if you’ve been taking care of toddlers or sick children, you might not realize that there are going to be quite a few blacked-out sites tomorrow. Capital District Fun will be one of them. I wanted to give you a little warning in case you want to look something up and write it down with an old-fashioned pencil.

I am blacking out because I like to link & comment with wild abandon, and I like to link to people & places where people are talking about all sorts of things. Sometimes these are vitally important and politically relevant. Sometimes they’re tasteless, not-suitable-for-the-kids spoofs of pop culture. I want access to all of them without fear that my site, or the sites that I love, will be shut down.

Here’s more information, in case you’re looking for it.

FightFortheFuture.org video (this has a quick form to send to Congress) and information on the SOPA Strike.

TechDirt’s got what it calls The Definitive Post On Why SOPA And Protect IP Are Bad, Bad Ideas.

If you don’t feel like reading, and you’d rather listen to a guy ranting in a British accent while you, I don’t know, fold laundry or wash dishes, here’s your link.

Here’s a commentary from Time’s Techland Blog.

Here’s a legal memo by a smart guy from Harvard.

The Bloggess takes on SOPA in video form and makes us fall in love with her all over again.

M, who was shut out of Girl Scouts in kindergarten, has finally joined a troop. Actually, this marks the girls’ 3rd attempt at joining a troop (M tried one at another school for a bit, J tried this year, but it was way too huge a group for her). So much depends on the leaders, and that is hard work. Her leaders are awesome: welcoming to her, kind to me especially when I screw up and drop her off an hour late (don’t ask), and they do great stuff, including plenty of smarty-pants girl power and community service activities.

M started showing up in October, I think, and she’s already got 4 badges. And I only know this when she happened to bring her sash home after the last outing, because someone who is not me orders and attaches each badge after doing its required enrichment activities. I mean, how much does that rock?

Here’s a favorite tradition they do:  each girl takes a turn bringing Brownie home with her.

Along with Brownie, they get a journal, and each girl writes about what she and Brownie did together. At the beginning of the journal it’s all childish scrawls, and now that they’re 4th graders, it’s much more refined. I love documenting stuff. M made a chart of Brownie’s favorite things and drew an unbelievable portrait of Brownie which I was too unskilled to photograph for you.

At M’s last outing, they brought cookies and sang Christmas carols at the Schenectady City Mission.

With all the time I saved not attaching badges, I whipped up some of our yummiest cookies. M and I agreed that the folks at the mission probably don’t eat nearly enough super-yummy cookies. She was so excited and proud to be a part of it.

Here’s a guest post from Fazana. For more on Jazzy Sun Birthdays, check out the Facebook page. Thanks, Fazana!

Hello, Capital District families!  My name is Fazana and I am a stay-at-home mom to a creative and sensitive seven-year-old daughter and a spirited and active two-year-old son.  I’m thrilled that Katie has given me the opportunity to let you all know about Jazzy Sun Birthdays, a project that I started six months ago and in which I believe many of you might be interested.  What is it I do?  I host personalized birthday parties for homeless children.

I believe that allowing children (particularly those who have been exposed to much more hardship than most of us can begin to imagine) to experience some of the simple joys of childhood is important.  Giving a child a birthday party may not be poverty-fighting, but it is smile-producing!  Most of the children in our lives are fortunate enough to be shielded from the harsh realities of the world.  Even if they are exposed to them, it is likely to be in a second-hand fashion.  The children I reach are those who know first-hand what it is like not to have a roof over their heads and possibly had their parents struggle to figure out the source of their next meals.  Celebrating their birthdays with cake, decorations, games, presents and goody bags will help them feel less like “homeless kids” and more like “regular kids”, if only for a few hours.

I have always loved throwing parties for family and friends–from surprise birthday parties to bachelorette parties to baby showers.  After I gave birth to my first child, I added children’s birthday parties to my repertoire.  I have derived great pleasure in putting together theme parties (often on a shoestring budget) for my children.  The joy in their eyes evident during each party is something I wanted to replicate in the eyes of children whose lives are in a state of flux.  There is a lot of focus on homeless children during the holidays in December but a birthday is a very special day for any child (and most adults!) because it is his/her day to shine.  Hence, the birth of Jazzy Sun Birthdays!

I am currently volunteering my time with St. Catherine’s Center for Children and hosting parties at their transitional shelter for homeless families in Albany County.  I hope to work with additional organizations (such as Joseph’s House in Troy and St. Paul’s Center in Rensselaer) in the near future.  At present, I do the following at the family shelter run by St. Catherine’s:

1)      Host age-appropriate theme-parties on the third Saturday of each month for all children whose birthdays are in that particular month.  (Past themes include Dora the Explorer, Disney Princesses, Justin Bieber, Mickey Mouse, Transformers and Spiderman.)

2)      Provide birthday children with 3 to 4 gifts, one of which is a book.

3)      Provide pizza and cake along with party games and arts and crafts activities.

4)      Distribute goody bags to party attendees (i.e., other homeless children living in the shelter who are not celebrating their birthday).

5)      Provide a photo book to each birthday child containing pictures taken during his/her party so they will have lasting memories of the event.

As most of you know, throwing a child’s birthday party generally takes a lot of time and resources.  I pound the pavements (usually with my toddler in tow) and send countless emails to try to get as many items as possible donated or sold at reduced prices since my funds are extremely limited.  For each of the past six months, different pizzerias have donated pizzas for the parties.  I am grateful that most of the cakes to date have been donated by individuals who simply heard about the mission of Jazzy Sun Birthdays and wanted to help out.  Many different people have donated gifts, party supplies, and goody bag items thus far.  When I do have to purchase items out-of-pocket, my go-to places are Dollar Tree, Yankee Dollar, Walmart, the clearance rack of Party City, Marshalls and Craig’s List.

To ensure that Jazzy Sun Birthdays continues to thrive and grow, I am constantly on the lookout for more wonderful individuals and groups who are willing to lend a hand and/or donate items.  I take advantage of all opportunities to get the word out about the project; hence, my excitement about providing a guest post here!  So…how can you, your friends, your family, and/or your colleagues help?  The beauty of this project is that anyone can be a part of it, no matter how busy your schedule or how tight your finances.

The following is partial list of ways to help:

1)      Volunteering at a party by helping with arts and crafts, serving pizza and cake, overseeing games, etc.

2)      Putting special skills to use by face painting, making balloon animals, taking photos, etc. during parties.

3)      Making up goody bags for 25 to 30 children.

4)      Helping with the purchase of gifts/party supplies.

5)      Baking a half-sheet cake.

6)      Thinking of craft projects to go with the theme of the party.

7)      Donating leftover party supplies/decorations and/or unopened gifts to the project.

8)      Spreading the word to people you know about Jazzy Sun Birthdays so that I can acquire more volunteers and/or donors of funds/gifts/supplies.

9)      Connecting me with business owners who might donate items such as cakes, pizza, paper products, gifts, books, etc.

I would love to expand to more shelters and make more homeless children feel like kings and queens for a day.  If you would like to help me do so, please contact me at jazzysunbirthdays [at] yahoo [dot] com.  Also, please “like” the Jazzy Sun Birthdays page on Facebook so that you can view photos of past parties, get information about upcoming ones and provide advice on gifts or craft projects, among other things.  If you’d like more background about the project, check out the article about Jazzy Sun Birthdays in the September print edition of Capital District Parent Pages. Thanks for reading this guest post!  I hope to hear from many of you soon!

I linked to a couple of places for hurricane relief, and here are a few more.

A reader wrote me with this:

I am a teacher in the Schalmont School District and many of our families in the Rotterdam Junction area lost everything in the flooding after Irene.  The district has set up a donation center at Jefferson Elementary School (100 Princetown Road, Schenectady, NY 12306).  For more information you can follow this link to the district homepage.

Many of these families have small children and lost everything so we are really hoping the community support will turn this tragedy into something positive.

Here’s a Facebook page for helping Schoharie County with hurricane relief.

Here are a bunch of links that the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp. sent out via email:

• The Chamber of Schenectady County will be accepting donations of non-perishable food items, canned goods, diapers and more. Call 518-372-5656 for information.
• The Galesi Group is offering short term warehouse provisions to local businesses for temporary real estate and warehousing needs. Call 518-356-4445.
• 1st National Bank of Scotia is offering special loans for those in our area affected by Tropical Storm Irene. Call 518-370-7200. More…

We hit not one, but two fests today. First it was the Schenectady Kids Arts Fest, then the St. Basil Greek Festival in Troy. We usually try to visit the arts festival, and I’ll tell you more about it later, but since this was our first time at the Greek Festival and it continues tomorrow afternoon from noon to 5 pm, I’ll tell you a little bit more about that one.

So, M has a final social studies project, and it’s on Greece. She tends to think of serious questions and answer them diligently. It’s just her style. This is a great deal of work for her, and it isn’t necessarily the best suited for the project, in this case a tri-fold poster display that they’ll be presenting to 2nd graders. So on Thursday, she was asking for details about the difference between the Prime Minister and the President of Greece. I  Wikipediad as well as I could, but then I gently tried to sway her toward something more fun, like Greek food or the fabulous islands themselves or Greek Gods. We ran to the library, she checked out three interesting-looking books for kids about Greece, and then when we arrived home, she set them aside, sat at the computer, and started typing about how the president’s powers are largely ceremonial. I am not kidding.

So yesterday I remembered that there was a Greek Festival this weekend. Perfect, right? We decided to go for dinner, because really, food is the center of the whole thing.

We arrived and there were a few carnival games (most $1 each) and two bouncey-bounces $3 or 2/$5). The girls each played two games.  They were especially kind to J and let her stand extra-close since she was so little, and she cleaned up, prize-wise, and then M lost her games and there was Tragic Drama. There were also a few vendors, including one who had groovy bags that M loved. I managed to purchase one and then fold it up so small that she has no idea that it was shoved in my purse. Yay. Her birthday’s in two weeks.

Anyway, food-wise, we tried some Chicken Souvlaki (meat on a stick-$7), Pastitsio (lasagna-esque-$7), Spanakopita (spinach-feta pastry-$3.50), Gyros (beef & lamb on pita bread with tzatziki sauce-$7), and Loukoumathes (fried dough-$4/small order) for dessert.

Gyro

For their main dish, the girls both liked the Souvlaki best, I thought the Spanakopita was awesome, and Cute W was a sucker for the Gyro. All of which I could have predicted. For the full selection of all possible foods, we went inside, but  you could easily just feed yourself under the tent outside. Between the Souvlaki and the fries, you could keep most kids happy, and they also serve beer and wine (woo, hoo!).

Loukoumathes

They had two groups of youth dancers, and the girls really loved watching them. A couple were pretty young, plus they had on traditional costumes, so my kids were enthralled.

Senior Dance Group

There was some pre-recorded and some live music, and M decided that she definitely needs some Greek music for her display project, so that will liven things up, right? Another favorite part was that spectators approach the dancers and shower them with money while they’re dancing as a traditional sign of appreciation.

Dancers with Money at their Feet

Anyway, especially if it’s another beautiful day tomorrow, it seems like an excellent way to spend a Sunday afternoon: under a tent along the river, clapping along to the music, watching the dancers, and eating a bit too much. In fact, just now I looked at my notes to add food prices for you and I thought, “Damn! The cheapest thing we ate was that Spanakopita! I should have bought another one!”

Britin & Nick from All Good Bakers sent me an email asking if I’d be willing to spread the word about their new Community Supported Bakery.   They also offered me free samples!  Yes, please! So, of course I wanted to like them–what a good idea.  You already know that I belong to a CSA, and that occasionally it feels like a time-consuming hobby.  But it’s difficult to imagine feeling burdened by croissants.  Right now I’ve got one and a half heads of cabbage judging me from the refrigerator, and yet my remaining Free Sample cinnamon bun rests easy, confident that someone will consume it before it spoils.

So it was all yummy.  Trust me on this.  Friends know that I’ve received free samples in the past that I declined to mention because I couldn’t endorse them.  Even though other bloggers apparently could hold their noses and write posts and get delightful additional merchandise and giveaway items.  Not like I’m bitter.  Okay, I’m a teensy bit bitter, but perhaps I’m just cranky because I hosted a party for six-year-olds a few hours ago?  It was lovely, thank you–I’ll show you the fairy gardens later.  Meanwhile, back to the bread!  Here’s what I got:

Rustic Italian Bread

The bread was moist and tasty and basic.  Soft instead of crusty, which is good with the kids, because isn’t it irritating when they just poke holes in your baguettes?  We had it with some butter with dinner, but it would have worked great sliced up for sandwiches.  It’s vegan.

Crispy Brown Rice Energy Treats

These funny-looking balls were my personal favorite.  They’re brown rice with peanut butter, maple syrup, seeds, coconut, & chocolate chips.  J and I had the same reaction when we saw them:  we immediately took a bite.  Then J became distracted by the other baked items, but I finished one pretty quickly.  And then I couldn’t stop myself:  I ate the other one as breakfast.  I was thinking about how shameful this was prior to posting, but then I looked at the ingredients list, and maybe it was reasonable.  It’s just a good thing I didn’t receive more of these.

Vegan Cinnamon Buns

The cinnamon buns were tasty.   W kept saying that they were pretty good “for vegan” in a tone of voice which began as insulting (it wouldn’t be the first time) and evolved into admiring.  Yum-a-licious and flaky.  They’re way too huge–that’s a dinner plate that those are sitting on, so you could pretty much divide one between the four of us.  But usually I’m not a huge cinnamon bun fan because I feel sick pretty much as soon as I take a single bite, so these were a lovely version for me.

All Good Bakers is looking for members to join their CSB for a winter membership.  Memberships run 26 weeks from November through April, and pick ups are on Wednesdays from 5-7 pm in Albany or Delmar.  It’s $6 per unit, which is equivalent to, say, one loaf of bread or two cinnamon buns or 4 bialys.  They use organic and local ingredients whenever possible.  When you sign up, you can pre-order your choice of items, and your membership can include 1, 2, or 3 units per week.  If you’re interested, you can email them at allgoodbakers@gmail.com and they’ll send you more detailed information.  They’re also at the Delmar Farmers’ Market on Saturdays.  Sign-up for membership is available until October 24th or they reach their limit, whichever comes first.

While I was reviewing the regularly scheduled events, I noticed that Explore in Glens Falls has a special program in September and October.  Adults enter free if they bring in 4 non-perishable food items in September or 4 sealed toilet items in a ziploc bag in October.   The usual adult admission is $3.95, so it’s not a ton of savings, but you’ll have the Joy of Giving included, free.  Admission is $9.95 for kids and infants under 1 & seniors are free.

Meanwhile, Kristi over at the TU’s On the Edge Blog passed on a reminder that on Thursday the 30th, Coldstone Creamery will be handing out free ice cream from 5-8 pm.  Yeah, okay, it will be a mob scene, I’m sure.  And yet. . . tasty.  Just don’t actually come with no money, because then you’ll feel extraordinarily guilty when everyone around you is giving it up to the Make a Wish Foundation.   It’s also one specific flavor for free, so who are we kidding?  If you take the kids, you’ll end up paying for them if they’re not into, say, baked apples.  Maybe you should just ditch the family and run over with a friend real quick?

This is from one of our readers, Amy:

When my neighbor and friend tossed around the idea of having a block party just for fun, I initially balked. But as I never say no to a party, I agreed to give her a hand. After all, she had already paid for and obtained the necessary permit from the city. But the date was set for a mere month away. Was there time enough to pull this off?

As things were already set in motion, another neighbor friend got to work on a “Save The Date”, with a list of potential activities, etc., which she promptly hand-delivered with kids in tow. (Thankfully this neighbor friend is a graphic designer who also made a “Reminder” flyer the week of the block party!) Then came the slew of phone calls to the police and fire departments, local businesses, entertainers, and non-profit organizations. With the requests and little time we had, what surprised us most was the overwhelmingly positive response we received from nearly all, that YES, they would support us. Not to mention what both they and our neighborhood contributed in time, money, and expertise. (Some groups contacted declined to support us either because there was not enough notice, we were not affiliated with a non-profit, or simply because “it wasn’t something they did.” And that was okay too.)

Firefighters! We love 'em!

And it happened.  A week ago, on Saturday, it happened and then some!!  Through both rain and shine, all had a good time. With real live policemen, a police horse and police dog, real live firemen and a fire truck to explore, a kids road race, face painting, a mass tie-dying activity, ice cream sundae making, a children’s musician, chair massages, soil testing, grilling in the middle of the street, drawings for floral arrangements and children’s CD’s, and other fun-filled activities, who couldn’t have fun???  We spent time with old friends and made some new ones. Friends of friends came as did a few relatives. Yet, without the collective efforts of our neighborhood and the community at large, this day would not have been possible.  We may even do it again next year. If we made all this happen over the course of a month, just think what we can do with a whole year of planning!

Getting Crafty

The wonderful people, organizations, businesses, and non-profits that so graciously supported us:

• Donations of time/services: Albany Police Department, www.albanyny.org, Albany Fire Department, www.albanyny.org, Spear Design, www.spear-design.com , Cornell Cooperative Extension of Albany County, www.ccealbany.com, Albany Massage Therapy Associates, www.albanymassage.com
• Donations of food: Uncommon Grounds, www.uncommongrounds.com, Honest Weight Food Coop, www.hwfc.com, DC’s Pizza, www.dcspizza.com, and mini-cupcakes from Sweet Sisters in Guilderland
• Donations of goods: Price Chopper, www.pricechopper.com, Splendid Stems Floral Designs, www.splendidstems.com , Albany Artroom, www.albanyartoom.com, Andy the Music Man, www.andysings.com, Fingerprint America, Inc., www.fingerprintamerica.com
• Non-Profit Collections: Food Pantries for the Capital Region, www.foodpantries.net, Bright Red Bookshelf Community Literacy Program, www.centersquare.org

For more than 30 years, ice cream trucks have been banned in Niskayuna after a girl was hit by a passing vehicle.  After kids submitted a petition asking to get the ice cream trucks rolling around town, they’ll be discussing the issue at the regular Town Board meeting Tuesday at 7 pm.

I am generally quite pro-ice cream, and I do like the idea of the ice cream truck roaming throughout the neighborhood.  It’s fun, it’s tasty, and it encourages all of those kids to come outside and gather together.  Maybe they’ll hang out and play.  On the other hand, we’re on a main thoroughfare, and that ice cream’s gotten expensive!  If they’re around too much, beyond enduring the tinkling music, I’ll have to establish an Official Ice Cream Truck Response Policy. . . .  I’d love to see them once or twice a week, maybe.  Enough so that it’s still an exciting occasion, and I can say yes every time.

I laid the paper copy of the Spotlight news article out where the girls would notice it and, when they didn’t take the bait, mentioned it in passing to M.  I pointed out that the original petition was pretty skimpy and that if someone took a petition to town camp, they’d probably get loads of signatures.  Secretly I was hoping that she’d get all excited about it and hand around a petition and then we could present it to the town board and it would be a wonderful Lesson in Democracy.  Instead, her reaction was:  1) Ho, hum; followed by a smidgen of: 2) What-ever.  Sigh.  Just as well:  we’ve got plans tomorrow night.

Incidentally, as I was looking into this, I learned that you can get a Mr. Ding-a-Ling truck to come to your party or special event!  I know!  At the risk of  being redundant, I’ll have to pronounce that fun.