Category — For Moms

Thanks so much to those of you who were kind enough to comment or share the link on Facebook for yesterday’s post.

On the topic of romance, a reader asked (aka, ARA) Kristi Gustafson for ideas for a “date night” on her On the Edge blog, so I thought some of you might be interested in the responses.

On the Edge also had another ARA post looking for things to do for teens during the summer.

And on the very same day, they were also wondering about things to do with teens on All Over Albany.

Which reminds me,  I wrote a post about the Niskayuna Co-op and the ShopRite at All Over Albany last week.

That’s it: I’m slacking off tonight!

Those oh-so-helpful folks at All Over Albany shared that a bunch of videos are available from the recent TEDxAlbany event. I’m excited to check these local ones out, because I love me some TED Talks.

Speaking of things I love, I also love Girl Power Books, so I was excited when Lisa Belkin over at Motherlode kicked off what she calls “the start of a list of books for young girls that turn more than a few stereotypes on their heads while remaining fun reads.” Lucky for us, plenty of folks continued the list in the comments. I’m going to have to take notes for my next trip to the library.

Finally, tonight we were walking around downtown Schenectady and there were folks from the new Paul Mitchell school were creating a nutty-artistic hairdo in honor of Art Night. I’m still regretting that I didn’t pull out the camera and get a picture for the blog. Anyway, if anyone’s feeling adventurous, you can get super-cheap services (like $10 for a manicure or $12 for a hair cut) by students there. I’d be interested to see how it goes.

Have I mentioned that I’m sort of phobic about getting my hair cut? Well, that’s not the right word. I guess I just don’t really love staring at my wet-headed self in a big mirror while wearing a gigantic hairdresser’s smock in unflattering lighting while making polite chitchat with a near-stranger. Each new person “discovers” the single wave in my otherwise straight hair and announces it to me with the fervor of Ponce de Leon announcing that the fountain of youth is right there! Which gets old. Plus I always feel like the person doing my hair is disappointed in my lack of devotion to the care and upkeep of my hair. Which, of course, is silly. It’s not like it’s my job or anything, right?

Wow!  I took a walking tour of the neighborhood around Upper Union Street, Schenectady, this afternoon.  There are a ton of new businesses that have opened there recently, so I thought that I’d check them out and report.

Okay, I don’t know if you’ve already heard, but my entire moms’ group has been talking about the new kids’ consignment shop on Baker Avenue, Trendy Tots. In fact, while I was there I ran into a friend who’d recently consigned clothing there.  The buzz–great clothes, very cheap–was true.

Of course, their best selection is in the teensy-weensy kids’ section, but there were lots of items that I found tempting for my bigger girls, too.  But they’re so opinionated that I’m just going to have to come back with them later.  In the meantime, could you please do me a favor and keep your hands off that tan jacket at the end of the higher rack?  Because it really looks like M’s style.

Also excellent?  It’s lovely inside, so you don’t feel like you’re at, you know, a garage sale when you’re shopping there.  All tidy and clean and pretty, so that the jeans look exactly like at the mall, except that they’re 3 or 4 dollars.  Woo, hoo!   [update:  Natalie's offering readers 5% off their total purchase if you mention that you heard about Trendy Tots on Capital District Fun!  Thanks, Natalie!]

I was pleasantly surprised by how nicely decorated it was, and then I went just around the corner to visit Vintage Chic Furniture, which recently moved to Schenectady from Troy.

Okay, really gorgeous inside.  So much so that I took way too many pictures, which I will share now.

There are tons of pieces of furniture that Donna has refurbished as well as all sorts of adorable pieces and other great stuff, like the old-fashioned chenille bedspreads (hanging on the rack in the picture below):

Besides all the stuff, did you notice how pretty the walls are?  They’re painted by Michele of Designs by Michele.

So, my little sister is still waiting to go into labor with her first baby.  If it’s a girl, I am so reporting back here immediately.

Then I  walked along Union Street to  Divinitea, which makes and sells premium certified organic loose leaf teas.  You may have seen them at a farmers’ market near you.  I was just checking out their beautiful website,  thinking, wow, I can contribute to world peace through delightful self-indulgence?  Yes, please:  sign me up!  Anyway, as Linda shows below, they have a tremendous variety of teas:

Many of the tears are made with healing plants, such as blends that are good for folks who have asthma or PMS or just need a little immune-system boost with a big, warm cup o’ antioxidants.  They don’t use any nuts, and they can work around most food sensitivities.

Linda’s  super-passionate about tea, and she loves to teach adults and older children about growing plants, cooking, and making teas.  She says that she’s done tea parties, 4H programs, and visited schools, and if you visit, she’s likely to give you a nice smelling tour of some favorites.   If you’re looking to learn more or to introduce tea to your family, there’s plenty of information as well as tea varieties that kids particularly enjoy.

I’m warning you, now, though:  there are some serious breakables in here (like the case above–yikes!).  If I were you, I’d only bring someone in under, say, 8, if they’re in a sling or strapped into a stroller.  Linda admits that she can get a little tense when a preschooler is examining the merchandise.  Which, of course, would make you tense.  I’d just skip it and leave the kids on the porch or find something else for them to do.

Like, for example, the Candyland Activity & Enrichment Center on Woodland Avenue.

Maya, who used to run the Curves that was there, will be starting up winter session classes for kids ages 1 to 6 soon.  Classes will emphasize fun with learning through music, art, and activities snuck in.  The very youngest class includes parent participation, but that ends as early as the Sugarplums group, which will be made up of 2- and 3-year-olds.  Fees are $110 for an eight-week session.  She’ll also host  birthday parties.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Maya’s continuing the fitness regime with a Fit Teen program designed for ages 9- to 18-year-olds who would like to do some strength training and learn about wellness after school.

Finally, there’s a new restaurant in town, Rubbin Butts BBQ, also on Union Street.  I only have an exterior picture because by the time I made it to Rubbin Butts it was lunchtime, and it was busy enough that I couldn’t take a picture without getting some stranger in the shot.  And most of them were looking a teensy bit sloppy!  The food smelled excellent, though, so I think that this will have to be our family’s next take-out venture.  When it comes to BBQ, I like to order with a group so I get a chance to sample all the side dishes.

There’s a lot more going on, too.  The Head-to-Tail Pet Wellness Center is expanding,  Firefly Florist (which used to be on Consaul Road)  is moving onto Union, and it looks likely that there’s more popping up that I didn’t get a chance to see today.  Anybody have additional scoop on Union Street to share?

My little sister and her husband are due to become parents sometime this month, so it’s been baby shower season in our family.  Which always reminds me of our very favorite shower gift ever:  a set of blocks that another sister made for us.  Look:

In the front stacks, the block to the left is a baby picture of cute W, and the block to the right is me with my (now pregnant) little sister.  The background blocks are my parents as youngsters.  It’s a bunch of blocks with all sorts of photographs of the baby’s family, mostly baby pictures, too. Right? Isn’t it a good idea? And unbelievably, super-thoughtful?  I have some excellent sisters, I tell ya.   My sister is a super-crafty artist, so she painted the cute little ice cream cone and kite and lollipop and queen and all.  But theoretically, someone who’s just somewhat crafty and super-ambitious could do a similar project, maybe using stencils and decoupaging pictures instead.

Or, if you weren’t super-ambitious, wouldn’t you want to buy something like it?  I’ve been bugging her to try to sell something on etsy or something like that.  I nagged her again when a blogger posted about another personalized block selling for $68.  Jeepers, based on that I think that she could ask for a great deal of money.  Although I’m not a shopper and I’m cheap, I can’t judge too well on this one.

We’ve been pretty busy just getting the basic routine down around here.  J’s been lobbying hard to pull out the Halloween decorations, but I generally try to resist until October.  The official household rule is that I don’t pull out exciting holiday decorations until the entire house is beautifully clean.   It’s an excellent motivator.  When we were outside the other day, J saw leaves falling and argued that if there was an enormous pile of autumn leaves on our front lawn before the house became beautifully clean, we should take out the Halloween stuff.  I readily agreed, although I was saddened to hear that she thought it would take weeks and weeks before our house was clean.  I mean, seriously:  it’s not that bad.

Anyway, speaking of cleaning, when I’m doing something extraordinarily lame, like washing the kitchen floor or cleaning the bathroom or driving for a long time, I like to listen to stories.   So I’m sharing my favorite story sources.

This American Life is a public radio show that usually tells a few different stories all centered around a theme, like Summer Camp or Ruining it for the Rest of Us or Poultry Slam.  The stories might be family dramas or peculiar social experiments or stand-up comedy, but they’re generally good.  I’ve mentioned this before, from the “live” blogging car trip adventure.

Radiolab is another public radio that has a similar premise, except that all of the stories are related to science.  The other day I was listening to the Oops show on the radio while doing errands, and I had to sit in the grocery store parking lot to listen to the end of one of the stories.

The Moth is a storytelling organization.  You can listen to stories directly off their website or subscribe to their podcast for a weekly story.

The only bummer, for all of these, is that many are not appropriate for kids for a variety of reasons.  So I usually just gather up podcasts and listen to them with headphones either when I’m alone or when the kids are off playing elsewhere in the house.

Anyone have any other good sites to recommend?

For those of you who’ve been wondering how our weekend was, I’ll update you with my first-ever blog post chock full of triumph. 

Triumph #1:  The ice cream cake turned out pretty well. 

M's "Pool" Birthday Cake

It was touch and go for a bit when I lost track of time and whipped the cream too much.  This, coupled with my fear of over-coloring led to some gloppy, murky pool water.  Luckily I had extra cream, so I made another batch and just threw it on top.  Because, really, was anyone going to complain that there was too much whipped cream? 

Polly Pocket fits cozily into a gummy Lifesaver.

Of course, at the very end, the girls wanted to spread the whipped cream and place all of the little props themselves, which didn’t go along with My Cake Vision.  But I did an excellent job of restraining myself.  We had tremendously beautiful weather and the girls had a good time.  I was afraid that they’d get sick of slipping, sliding, and spraying each other with water, but they didn’t.  I could barely get them to stop long enough to eat cake. 

Triumph #2:  I ran the entire way through my 5k. 

It was quite warm, and I’d been very nervous because I’d hurt my calf a week earlier, so I’d only run once in the week prior to the race.  Plus, I’ve been stopping to walk at about 2.7 or 2.8 miles pretty consistently, except on my extra-awesome days.  So I ran very, very slowly, because I did not want to stop or walk at all.  I made it.  Yay, me!  I basked in my success for about five minutes, and then by the time I’d located the bananas I started feeling irritated with myself that I hadn’t run the whole thing faster.  No, I’m not going to tell you my time–it was slow.  And yes, I realize that I should just be pleased.  I’m trying. 

Triumph #3:  I have almost 500 fans–oops, I mean people who “like” capitaldistrictfun–on Facebook! 

I’m at 496, and this tends to go in little spurts. . . I’ll go weeks with very little change at all, or, even worse, I “lose” somebody, which is surprisingly depressing.  And it leads to all sorts of hand-wringing and teeth gnashing.  So I try not to look.  But then, when a couple of people join, of course, it’s contagious.  And I get to feel triumphant.  Woo, hoo!  Which reminds me, if you’re on Facebook and haven’t “liked” me yet, would you, please?  Then maybe your friends will see and they’ll find some fun, too.  And unicorns will prance through the Capital District, frolicking through rainbows with butterflies.  Well, not really, but it’s a lovely thought, right? 

Triumph #4:  I found a bathing suit! 

With a bit of photoshopping at the thighs, I think that I could almost look like a B-list 40s pin-up girl.  But you’ll have to take my word for it, because I will not be posting a photo.  I actually ran into a friend while I had a pile of suits over my arm, and she congratulated me on having the good sense to shop alone this time.  The winning suit was located in Macy’s at Colonie Center.

J went to a birthday party today at Bumble Beads in Latham.  I hadn’t ever been inside, although I’d peered in one day when we were visiting Hoffman’s Playland, which is right next door.

Party Area Decor

The mom provided snacks, pizza, & dessert.  The store provided the space (a little alcove portion of the store), two crafts per child, and a teensy goody bag with a candy necklace, a honey stick (because of their bee theme), and a coupon.  They also had tiaras and fairy wings available to wear during the party.  The party was 1 1/2 hours.

Supplies for Necklace

Here was a good idea:  they had little felt fabric place mats for each girl to keep the beads from rolling.  I will so use this technique in the future.  The crafts themselves were a little blah.  Both were items that you could have done just as easily by buying basic supplies at the craft store.  I know that the kids were 5- and 6-year-olds, but I want it to be extra messy to do and/or look extra fancy at the end if I’m going to a crafty destination.  Of course, that’s me.  I know that some people will pay significant money just to keep the party out of their own home.

I’m also a little bit freakishly sensitive about the girl party thing:  this idea that little girls want to sit quietly and make themselves beautiful and/or create accessories so that they can be more beautiful.  Yeah, I know that they like it.  And I’m okay with that.  I mean, I made that princess castle cake, right?  But I just don’t like to completely pigeonhole them quite so much.  I want them to be able to run around and laugh and shout, and the space just wasn’t there for the wild abandon that makes a great party.  In fact, there was a hopscotch design on the floor, and J kept on getting up and doing hopscotch.   At one point a few of  the girls started to run in a little circle, and they got pulled back into the quiet activity.   There was plenty of giggling, though.  And the birthday girl is currently nutty about jewelry, so it was absolutely perfect for her.

I think that this would be a terrific destination for an older girls’ party, when they’re at the age when they might just want to hang out and chat and do an absorbing project.  Or even a moms’ night out:  they do grown-up crafts.  There was a tremendously enthusiastic customer buying items who had come back after going to a class for the first time last night:  looks like she’s got a new obsession.

I thought that the party prices (they’re on the website) were expensive, but the items in the shop were priced well.  You know I’m not a shopper, but there were plenty of nice things  for the moms to examine during the party.

Cute Bracelets!

I barely managed to suppress my desire to buy one of the thin turquoise bracelets for M–it’s just exactly her style.  But I’d already completed her birthday shopping.  In fact, now I’m a little bummed that I didn’t go ahead and buy it and store it for some future occasion:  she saw the picture and liked it, just as I predicted.  There were cute gifts.  I also wanted a mood ring for myself.  I’m a sucker for a mood ring, probably because I’m naturally a warm-fingered gal.  So mood rings always tell me that I’m happy & relaxed, and then I’m convinced.  Come to think of it, I’m the same way about most things like that:  I only “believe” in horoscopes and fortune cookies when they tell me that everything’s going to be great.

One scheduling note: tomorrow’s 9:45 am hike listed on my weekly events post has been canceled.

More free summer stuff!

But first, as a public service announcement, I’m issuing a parental advisory.

Moms, you must not, under any circumstances, take speaking children with you into the dressing room when trying on swimsuits.  I know:  it’s such an unpleasant task anyway that it’s tough to use precious “me time” for this. However, it’s important for your self-esteem that you do not bring anyone else into the room with you, especially, for example, a five-year-old who might offer all sorts of kindly-meant comments* such as:

• Oh!  Not that one!  Because did you look at the back?  It looks like your back is saying, “It’s too squishy in here!  I’m too tight!”
• Mommy?  Is that underwear comfortable?  Because it looks like it might be too small.
• Oh!  I like that one!  Except not this part. . . or here. . . or that. . . or the color.  Uh, never mind.
• That one is not a really good idea because your breasts look all flat and squashed down.
• I like this one better than all the other ones, but I still don’t think you should buy it because the other ones were really terrible and this one is mostly good but also a tiny bit terrible.

Ummmm, no.  I didn’t buy anything.

On to the  Summer Events:

At Canal Square in Cohoes, there are Friday night concerts in July and August from 6:30-8:30 pm.

In July and August, there’s the Music Haven Concert Series at Central Park, generally at 7 pm on Sundays.  There’s food there if you don’t have the chance to pack a picnic.

The Grand Street Kids Club is a free summer camp for inner-city Albany kids aged 4 to 12.

This week kicks off the Tuesday night concerts in Cook Park at 6:30 pm.  They run through July and August.

At Clifton Commons Park, there’s music or theater on Sunday evenings at 7 pm, and family-oriented entertainment on Wednesday evenings at 7 pm. (The link for this is a huge booklet, so for the concert info., check out pp. 26-27, aka “inside 24-25″)

*Yes, these were all actual comments, alas, and not hyperbole for the cheap laugh. Although I didn’t take notes right then and there, so the quotes  may not be exact.

Phew!  Would you believe that we didn’t get home from J’s dance recital–she takes dance with Ginny Martin– until 10:30 pm? It was at The Egg downtown, and we were so starving that we stopped at Emack & Bolio‘s before heading home.

The recital was great, J enjoyed herself immensely, and I’m too tired to write more.  So tired I’m not going to try to figure out why this particular picture is ginormous. [I fixed this.]  Lucky for me, I just put up a sappy related post on the CBS 6 blog.

Did you hear that a week from Saturday there will be an AweSomely Adult Prom?  I read about it on the All Over Albany blog.  I was briefly deeply excited because it’s actually on our wedding anniversary.  17 years, baby!   I do love me some dancin’.  But on second thought, I think that this is really something that you need to recruit a whole mess of friends to truly enjoy.   Sigh. . . looks like dinner for us.   Unless, anyone have some good date ideas?

Anyway, as the anniversary approaches, I can’t help but be thankful that my love life has been a delightful constant in my life for lo these last two decades or so.  (This is where I segue into whining–don’t say I didn’t warn you!)

Next week is our last week of nursery school for J. Which means the last week of nursery school for the entire family, after 5 years straight (two successive sisters plus a kindergarten “red shirt” year).  I feel a little bit sad about it.  It’s not because my little baby is growing up.  I love to watch the kids evolve–I spend very little time mourning the loss of my babies and toddlers, because these big kids are wonderful.  And I’m not worried about her starting kindergarten.  She’s ready.  Excited, even.

Nope, I’m just sad for me.  My nursery school experience  has evolved.  I started out intimidated by the people running it and frustrated by M’s sobbing, thigh-clutching separations each morning.  Then I knew many people and over-volunteered.  For years.  This year I’ve already pulled away–I had a very small job, and I don’t know most of the newer parents who come on my “off” day.  But it’s still like a second home, a comfortable fit for me, full of people I know and care about and enjoy seeing several times a week.  It’s the kind of place where you can show up in the morning in your pajama bottoms and burst into tears and you’ll instantly have someone holding your baby for you while another leads your big kid into the classroom and someone else fishes a candy bar out of her bag.  And then dinner appears on your front porch.  Not like that has happened to me.  It’s, you know, hypothetical.

But the truth is, just like J, I am ready to move on.  Because I don’t go out in pajamas anymore (just sweaty workout clothes these days), and I hardly ever spontaneously burst into tears in public anymore.   But I know what I’m losing.  J’s classmates will go to several different elementary schools, and I already know how rarely I see the folks from previous years.  And that doesn’t even take into account the moms’ group friends whom I still miss, even though I stopped doing that two years ago now.  Just coordinating a cup of coffee is a freakin’ logic problem.

I’ve barely gotten acclimated to the elementary school scene, which is, frankly, decidedly less warm & fuzzy than my cuddly ol’ moms’ group and nursery school.  I’m working on that–bringing some more warm-fuzzies in.  But meanwhile, the scariest transition yet is looming.  Soon, I’ve got to come up with a paying job.   I actually thought that this blog could help me to forge a new plan–to see if I could manage to write consistently (along with, of course, helping people find some fun).  But even though I like capitaldistrictfun, it’s not satisfying enough, really, and it sure as heck isn’t going to pay for the new bathroom I want, much less the dang roof.  So if I was operating under the optimistic delusion that this experiment would lead to some sort of Oprah Aha moment that would light my path to the future. . . umm, well, it hasn’t.

I think that I’d just like to stop evolving for a little while.  I know:  that would be death.  Could you stop being a smartass, please, and just feel my thirst already?

Or, you know, you don’t have to just feel my thirst, if you happen to have a glass full of fabulous lucrative career that’s  tremendously satisfying  in what my father likes to call “an asshole-free” environment that gets me out of the house while still allowing me plenty of family time, then I am absolutely open to your input.