Category — Uncategorized

Here’s a new & modified weekend list. It’s past midnight and I drank wine at book group, so bear with me if you can!

On Saturday, it’s the Saratoga Chowderfest. Okay, the truth? I like chowder as much as the next mama, but I’ve never schlepped to Saratoga for the fest. Luckily, Mamatoga Jenny created a delightful Chowderfest with Kids Guide. If my calculations are correct, she put this together while awaiting the imminent arrival of a baby. Either she’s unbelievably motivated or she was feeling deeply hungry that day. Whatever.  I’m impressed.

There were also a bunch of snowshoe walks, but frankly? It’s not looking good. In fact, Glenville cancelled their Winterfest due to the lack of winter. Sad, right?

I love that everyone’s trying to keep us entertained on Sunday afternoon prior to the big game. There’s a Super Bowl Sunday Family Dance at Saratoga Springs Library , and if you’ve never danced with the Homespun Occasions crew, I think it’s lovely and wholesome fun. Or if you want to test your smarts, there’s a Washington & Lincoln Spelling Bee at the Albany Institute of History and Art . Keep in mind, you guys, that the toy exhibition is still there, so it’s totally worth a trip. Or if you can embrace basketball with the The Harlem Globetrotters at the Times Union Center.

Here’s the link to this week’s KidsOutAndAbout.com e-newsletter.

Here’s a list of what’s happening each day of the weekend:

•  Friday
• Saturday
• Sunday

Keep in mind, also, that you have until noon on Friday to enter to win the Snip-its Giveaway.

You might have already heard that there’s a new Snip-its opening in Guilderland. Snip-its offers haircuts, spa services, and birthday parties for little ones. They’re celebrating a grand opening this weekend with plenty of fun planned, and as part of the celebration, they’re offering a giveaway to Capital District Fun readers!

The winning Capital District Fun reader will win one free kid’s haircut valued at $17.99 and a product gift pack valued at about $30! For the gift pack, our winner can choose three of the following hair products:

• Shampoo (Burstin’ Bubbles or Silly Strawberry)
• Conditioner (No Yellin’ Melon)
• Morning Miracle Mousse Styling Spray
• Funky Spiker Super Hold Styling Gel
• Sparkle Spritz Shining Mist

The Snip-its folks sent us a gift pack, too. I mentioned the other day that my girls especially like the Sparkle Spritz Shining Mist. Today when it was time for me to coax J into the shower, I asked her to please try the shampoo and conditioner, and this increased her shower enthusiasm exponentially. A few minutes after her shower, I interviewed her.

“So, how was it?”

“It smells heavenly. And it was very easy to get out of the bottle.” She tends to have a difficult time with this.

“And did you notice a difference in how it felt when you combed your hair?”

“Argh! I was supposed to comb my hair! I forgot!” Sobbing. I win the Mama Prize again!

To enter, comment on this post and tell us about your greatest joy and/or frustration regarding your child(ren)’s hair before this Friday at noon.* I’ll randomly select a winner, email her/him, and announce it on the blog later on Friday.  The giveaway will be available for pick-up at the Guilderland Snip-its at 2080 Western Avenue.

If you’re entering to win, it’s probably worth your while to go check out the Guilderland Snip-its Facebook page, because it looks like they’ve got special offers and discounts for folks who “like” them.

I’ve realized that I need to get to work earlier on my weekly posts now that Downton Abbey is on again. I am simply to enraptured to multitask. Speaking of tv fun, last night we watched Crazy, Stupid, Love, and it was surprisingly sweet and enjoyable. Put it in the queue.

Here’s what I’ve found for this week. I love additions in the comments, and check out KidsOutAndAbout.com for more ideas.

All Week:

Bethlehem Middle School presents Guys and Dolls, Jr. starting Tuesay and continuing Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Monday, January 30th:

• The Family Life Center  on Western Avenue in Albany has Prenatal Yoga from  12-1:15 p.m. and Mommy/Daddy and Me Yoga from 1:30-2:45 p.m.  Call or email Kristen for more information: 518-859-3136 or kmullaney@me.com.
• It’s PJ Storytime at 5:45 pm or 6:30 pm at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library. This is a drop-in program.

Tuesday, January 31st:

• It’s Tuesday for Tots at The Children’s Museum at Saratoga.
• Albany Pine Bush has Pine Bush Pups: Sleeping, Sleeping All Winter Long at 10:30 am. It’s free, and you can register online.
• Go for a Beaver Walk in Winter from 11 am to 1 pm at Moreau Lake State Park. This is advertised as a kid-friendly adventure. Registration required.
• From 11 am to 12:30 pm, it’s Preschool Naturalists at Saratoga Spa State Park. Registration is required, and it’s $3/person, $5/family.

Wednesday, February 1st:

• At 10 am, there’s a Snowshoe Walk planned at Thacher Park. Snow’s not looking great, but you can call to see if they’ll still hike.
• There’s a Family Playtime from 10:15-11 am at the Bethlehem Public Library.
• Albany Pine Bush has Pine Bush Pups: Sleeping, Sleeping All Winter Long at 10:30 am. It’s free, and you can register online.

Thursday, February 2nd:

• From 10:30 am until noon it’s Silly Science: Camouflage at The Children’s Museum at Saratoga.
• At noon, there’s a free film called “What is color?” at the New York State Museum.
• There’s a Family Moonlight Ski planned for 7 pm at the Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve if there’s snow.  Cocoa & marshmallows by the fire.

Friday, February 3rd:

• There’s a new Snip-Its children’s hair salon opening in Guilderland, and they’re celebrating their Grand Opening all weekend with face painting, a kid’s DJ, balloon artists,  and activities for the kids. They were kind enough to send us some products and the girls are particularly fond of the good-smelling shine spray.
• At 11 am, it’s Story Art at the New York State Museum. Free.
• Albany Pine Bush has its First Friday Hike at noon.
  
• It’s First Friday Albany from 5-9 pm.
• It’s Ballston Spa First Friday  from 6-9 pm.
• Update: this has been moved to March’s First Friday due to the unseasonable weather conditions. Thanks to MamatogaJenny for Tweeting this so I wouldn’t miss it. There’s a Candlelight Ski and Snowshoe from 6-8:30 pm at Saratoga Spa State Park.  Snowshoes available for rent, ice skating, and refreshments are planned (again, we’ll see about the weather!) at the warming hut. This kicks off the weekend-long Saratoga Winterfest.
• At 7 pm, the Siena Saints are playing basketball vs. St. Peter’s at the Times Union Center. $14/adult, $8/student.
• Ballston Spa Middle School students are performing Annie at 7 pm and through the weekend. Tickets are $7.
• Burnt Hills Ballston Lake Theatre for Children is presenting Pinocchio and Treasure Island today at 7 pm and on Saturday. Tickets are $7.
• The Phantoms are playing hockey vs. Norfolk at Glens Falls Civic Center. Tickets are $13 and up.
• The SMSA Community Players present Annie at 7 pm at Wood Theatre in Glens Falls, and again on Saturday at 1 pm. Tickets are $15.

I promise that this is my last alliterative title. I couldn’t help myself.

We went to M’s first school orchestra and chorus concert. For the chorus portion she had a solo, and she did a great job. Poor J, who had seen the program as part of an assembly once already during the school day, tried her best to be patient in the hot, crowded gym. After the concert, roughly a million 4th and 5th graders and their families knocked around expensive, unwieldy musical instruments while praising each other’s performance, gossiping, and shuffling toward the cafeteria, where a spread of cookies and juice awaited everyone.

And that’s when the fire alarm went off. Everyone was ushered outside into the freezing rain, where mothers frantically sought out their children to ensure that coats had been retrieved (and, crucially, put onto bodies) and at least one music stand was abandoned in a pile of slush during the melee. Fire trucks were arriving, and although the word in the hallways was that someone had accidentally leaned against an alarm pull, prospects for getting back inside to the food and warmth were dim.

On the walk home, J cried, because she’d been looking forward to the best part, chatting with her friends and eating cookies after all the sitting still and “listening” was finished. I feared that M would be disappointed, too, but she was fine. “It’s too bad that you had to miss that extra time eating cookies and having people tell you how great you did,” I said to her. “Oh, it’s okay. I got, like, five compliments just while I was walking up the stairs.”

Anyway, here’s the link to the KidsOutAndAbout.com weekly newsletter. And here’s what I’ve found for this weekend. I love additions and corrections in the comments.

All Weekend:

• Hansel & Gretel continues at Steamer 10 Theatre.
• It’s Sesame Street Live presents 1-2-3 Imagine! with Elmo and Friends at Albany’s Palace Theatre, where tickets range from $15 to $67.
• Shrek the Musical is at Proctors in Schenectady. Tickets are $20 and up.
• It’s Snow Fest with Armlin’s Army, NYSERDA & Schoharie River Center  on Saturday and Sunday at Mine Kill State Park. They’re planning: Chili Contest, Survival Workshop, Winter Energy Tips, Snowshoeing Clinic, X-C Skiing, Camping, and more!

Evening of Friday, January 27th:

• The Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company will be performing Unannounced: Dance in Unexpected Places! at The Arts Center of the Capital Regionat 7 pm. This free performance is part of Troy Night Out, which runs from 5-9 pm. Another fun-sounding event as part of Troy Night Out is a Broadway Musical Singalong.
• There’s an Adirondack Phantoms hockey game at 7 pm at Glens Falls Civic Center.
• There’s a Barn Dance in Delmar with Homespun Occasions starting at 7:30 pm.

Saturday, January 28th:

• There’s an Ice Fishing Clinic for kids from 10 am until 2 pm at Moreau Lake State Park. Registration is required, but no equipment needed.
• People aged 10 and up can Learn to Snowshoe at Saratoga Spa State Park from 11 am to 12:30 pm. Pre-register; $5 includes snowshoe rental. Cancelled if the snow gets washed out by rain.
• It’s a Critter Scene Investigation from 11 am to 12:30 pm at Albany Pine Bush. Pre-register; it’s $3/person, $5/family.
• They’re planning a Snowshoe Hike at Up Yonda Farm from 1-2 pm. $7/person includes snowshoe rental, or $4 if you have your own.
• It’s Sundae Funday from 2-3 pm at New York State Museum.
• From 2-4 pm it’s the first meeting of the Harry Potter Club at the Bach Branch Library. They’re making it for ages 10-16, which seems like it will leave out some very pro-Potter 8- and 9-year-olds.
• From 2-5 pm at the Delaware Branch Library, it’s the Albany Mommies Monthly Meet & Greet Pizza Party. $5 covers pizza.
• There’s an Albany Devils vs. Adirondack Phantoms hockey game at the Times Union Center at 5 pm.

Sunday, January 29th:

• Learn about Groggy Groundhogs from 1-2:30 pm at Albany Pine Bush. Pre-register; it’s $3/person, $5/family.
• At 1 pm kids 5 and up can get Stuck on You while experimenting with stickiness at the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology. Pre-register; it’s $2/non-member.

Really, it’s impressive that I’m pulling this post out at all. We spent much of the afternoon and evening skiing, I sampled some delightful home-brewed home cider, and frankly? I’m pretty much ready to be sleeping. So I’ll ask in advance for you to forgive typos or missed items. And always don’t forget to check out the pages to your right, like What About TODAY?, which includes regularly scheduled events, and the Embrace Winter! page, which has links to skating, sledding, and other winter fun.

Here’s what I’ve got:

All Week:

• It’s Sesame Street Live presents 1-2-3 Imagine! with Elmo and Friends at the Glens Falls Civic Center on Tuesday and Wednesday, where tickets cost $14 to $52 and are required for ages 1 and up. Then it moves on to Albany’s Palace Theatre over the weekend, where tickets range from $15 to $67.
• Shrek the Musical is at Proctors in Schenectady starting on Tuesday through the weekend. Tickets are $20 and up.
• Moreau Lake‘s got several snowshoe hikes, including a Beginner Snowshoe from 1-3 pm on Thursday.

Monday, January 23rd:

• At 10 am, it’s a Fluffy Friends Fashion Fiesta for kids ages 3 and up at the Bethlehem Public Library.
• The Troy Public Library is having  a Chinese New Year Party at 4 pm for children 5 and older. Please call to register.
• There’s a drop-in PJ Storytime at Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library at 5:45 pm or 6:30 pm.
• There’s a Three Stooges Film Festival at the Palace Theatre at 7 pm in Albany.

Tuesday, January 24th:

• Albany Pine Bush has Pine Bush Pups: How to Stay Warm in the Bitter Cold? at 10:30 am. It’s free, and you can register online.

Wednesday, January 25th:

• Albany Pine Bush has Pine Bush Pups: How to Stay Warm in the Bitter Cold? at 10:30 am. It’s free, and you can register online.
• At 10:30 am, it’s Alphabet Soup: S at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga. Free with museum admission, for ages 3 and up. Funny that the letter this week is S, considering my title! Or maybe it’s only funny if you’re overtired. . . .
• There’s a Story Time Mix for 3 to 6 year olds at 1:15 pm at Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library. It’s a drop-in program.

Thursday, January 26th:

• They’re doing an Eagle Survey from 10 am until noon at Moreau Lake.
• At 10:30 am, it’s Silly Science: Magnets at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga. Free with museum admission, for ages 3 and up.
• The Bethlehem Public Library is hosting a 6:30 pm Children’s Circle, a story time designed with special-needs kids in mind.

Friday, January 27th:

• The Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company will be performing Unannounced: Dance in Unexpected Places! at The Arts Center of the Capital Regionat 7 pm. This free performance is part of Troy Night Out, which runs from 5-9 pm. Another fun-sounding event as part of Troy Night Out is a Broadway Musical Singalong.

Looking Ahead to the Weekend:

• There’s an Ice Fishing Clinic for kids from 10 am until 2 pm on Saturday at Moreau Lake State Park. Registration is required, but no equipment needed.
• Hansel & Gretel continues at Steamer 10 Theatre.

It’s a surprisingly busy weekend! Of course, we’ve got too much going on our own to take advantage of most of it. M has ice skating lessons on Saturday morning followed by a soccer double header, and then on Sunday afternoon we’re heading out for our annual Jiminy Peak trip. So think snow!

Hey, have you signed up for the KidsOutAndAbout.com newsletter yet? If not, here’s the link to this week’s edition.

And of course, if you have additions or corrections, feel free to comment or email me about future fun at capitaldistrictfun [at] yahoo [dot] com.

Evening of Friday, January 20th:

• It’s Art Night Schenectady from 5-9 pm.
• From 5:30-7 pm, there’s a Family Scavenger Hunt with Radio Disney at Colonie Center.
• Go on an Owl Prowl from 6:30-8 pm at Albany Pine Bush. $3/person.
• There’s Phantoms vs. Albany hockey at Glens Falls Civic Center at 7 pm.
• The Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company is performing at The Egg at 8 pm. Tickets are $24.
• Debuts Theater Company is presenting Seussical the Musical at 8 pm today and through the weekend. Tickets are $10.

Saturday, January 21st:

• Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region take their 2012 Radiothon to Crossgates Mall with family-friendly activities throughout the day.
• A five-week session of My Parent & Me, a science program for preschoolers, begins at the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology today at 9:30 am. The website isn’t updated, but it was $75/non-member the last time.
• Students aged 9-17 can audition to join the Capital District Youth Chorale from 9:30 am until noon. You must call to schedule an audition, and it’s a $10 audition fee per family.
• At 10 am, learn about Chinese Calligraphy and Zodiac Signs at the World Awareness Children’s Museum. For ages 5 to 12, cost is $5 museum admission plus $5 program fee, and pre-registration is required.
• From 10 am until noon there’s a Preschool Fair at Saratoga Springs Public Library.
• Celebrate National Squirrel Appreciation Day from 10:30 am til noon at Albany Pine Bush. $3/person, $5/family, register online.
• From 10:30 am until noon, there’s a Saturday Morning Workshop on Landscape Painting at The Hyde Collection. It’s for ages 6-14, and it’s free.
• At 11 am, it’s a Winter Nature Walk at Wilton Wildlife Preserve.
• From 11 am until 1 pm it’s a Winter Hike at Mine Kill State Park.
• From 11 am until 4 pm it’s the Annual Winter Festival at Grafton Lakes State Park.
• There are 11 am & 1 pm Planetarium Shows at the Henry Hudson Planetarium at the Albany Visitors Center.
• They’re planning a Snowshoe Hike at Up Yonda Farm from 1-2 pm. $7/person includes snowshoe rental, or $4 if you have your own.
• Learn about Winter Sleeperzzz from 1-2:30 pm at Albany Pine Bush. $3/person, $5/family, register online.
• They’re planning a Snowshoe Hike at Up Yonda Farm from 1-2 pm. $7/person includes snowshoe rental, or $4 if you have your own.
• Celebrate Chinese New Year at the World Awareness Children’s Museum. The $5 museum admission includes the program.
• There’s a Chinese New Year Celebration at 2:30 pm at The Egg. Tickets are $20 and up.
• At 3 pm, the Empire State Youth Orchestra is performing at Niskayuna High School. It’s $10/adult, $6/student, and tickets are available at the door.
• There’s a Phantoms hockey game at 7 pm at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Tickets are $13 and up.

Sunday, January 22nd:

• Take a 10am Snowshoe Walk at Thacher Nature Center.
• Celebrate Salsa Sunday from 2-5 pm at the National Museum of Dance.
•  At 3 pm, the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra has a concert at Proctors. $12/adult, $8/student, Kids 7 and under are free.

Looking ahead:

• At the Glens Falls Civic Center, it’s Sesame Street Live presents 1-2-3 Imagine! with Elmo and Friends on the 24th and 25th. Tickets cost $14 to $52 and are required for ages 1 and up.
• Shrek the Musical is at Proctors in Schenectady from January 24th to the 29th. Tickets are $20 and up.
• At 7 pm on Monday, there’s a Three Stooges Film Festival at the Palace Theatre in Albany.

I hope everyone had an excellent 3-day weekend. We embraced winter with ice skating on Saturday and today,  and our first downhill skiing of the season yesterday at Maple Ski Ridge! We had a super-excellent deal because we took advantage of that Groupon with 7-hour lift tickets for $15 each (and if you missed that Groupon, maybe you should “like” Capital District Fun on Facebook, because whenever I see a  Groupon, Living Social or great deal for fun in the area, I post it so it shows up in your newsfeed).

Skiing was fun but cold, cold, cold. Honestly, we weren’t paying attention to the weather forecast. I usually don’t, because I don’t trust the forecasters, anyway. So I only hear about upcoming weather if it’s newsworthy enough that everyone’s talking about it. We started skiing on Sunday morning and we kept saying, “Dang! It’s cold! Is it super-cold, or are we just wimpy because it’s our first time out this year?” Everyone had a great time, but by the end of the day we were freezing. During our car ride home, I was singing about how our toes were ice cubes, and Cute W was moaning in pain as his feet thawed. So we were quite pleased to find that it was actually extra-cold, and it wasn’t just that we were wimps.

Oh, I also accidentally abandoned J, getting onto the chair lift and leaving her in the (snow) dust. She rode up all by herself like a champ, but my nickname was Katie-Quick-to-Leave-Her-Daughter-Behind. M was alternately called either “Mad Dog” or “Princess Snowy Pants” and J was “The Jet.”

Here’s what’s going on this week.

All Week:

• From the 17th to the 22nd it’s Take Your Daughter to Gore Week, with free tickets for girls with a paying adult.
• The Blue Roses Theatre at Schenectady High School is presenting Shakespeare in Hollywood from the 18th through the 21st.
• Kids up to 35 months and their caregivers can do Tiny Tots and kids ages 3 to 6 can do On My Own several different times throughout the week at Bethlehem Public Library.

Tuesday, January 17th:

• Albany Pine Bush has Pine Bush Pups: Hoot Like an Owl at 10:30 am. It’s free, and you can register online.

Wednesday, January 18th:

• A five-week session of My Parent & Me, a science program for preschoolers, begins at the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology today at 9:30 am. There’s also a Saturday morning session. The website isn’t updated, but it was $75/non-member the last time.
• At 10:30 am, it’s Alphabet Soup: R at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga. Free with museum admission, for ages 3 and up.
• Albany Pine Bush has Pine Bush Pups: Hoot Like an Owl at 10:30 am. It’s free, and you can register online.
• At 11 am it’s Baby Bookworms for babies from birth to 18 months at the East Greenbush Public Library. Pre-register.
• Capital Region Midwifery will host an open house from 6 to 9 pm at its new location at 2109 15th St. in Troy. The midwives will offer tours of the new facility and light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to the office at 326-1620.

Thursday, January 19th:

• From 10 am until 1 pm it’s a Moreau Lake and Mud Pond Snowshoe at Moreau Lake.
• At 10:30 am, it’s Silly Science: The Earth at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga. Free with museum admission, for ages 3 and up.
• From 3:30 to 4:30 pm, it’s a Rosey the Reading Dog Open House at the Troy Public Library.
• Go on an Owl Prowl from 6:30-8 pm at Albany Pine Bush. $3/person.

Friday, January 20th:

• At 9:30 am it’s Preschool Story Hour with Pam at the Open Door Bookstore.
• There are Preschool Movies at 10:15 am at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library. This is a drop-in program.
• From 11-11:45 am, have a Preschool Picnic at Bethlehem Public Library.
• It’s Art Night Schenectady from 5-9 pm.
• From 5:30-7 pm, there’s a Family Scavenger Hunt with Radio Disney at Colonie Center.
• Go on an Owl Prowl from 6:30-8 pm at Albany Pine Bush. $3/person.
• There’s Phantoms vs. Albany hockey at Glens Falls Civic Center at 7 pm.
• The Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company is performing at The Egg at 8 pm. Tickets are $24.
• Debuts Theater Company is presenting Seussical the Musical at 8 pm today and through the weekend. Tickets are $10.

I’m not up for much today. I’ve had a series of technical difficulties, I still have a splitting headache, and in moments I plan to have a big slab of brie that’s softening on the coffee table. So, let’s throw this together quickly, shall we?

If you’re thinking about joining a CSA, here’s a post I wrote with links to help you find a CSA. Really popular ones fill up fast, but many will be available through March. The optimistic tone in that old post made me laugh. This year, I’m taking a break from the CSA and I’m just going to spend more freely at the farmer’s market.  With everything else going on, it was a bit too much for me last season.

January’s also Nursery School Shopping Season. In fact, if anyone has open houses or general nursery school plugs to share in the comments, please do!

Wow, what a gorgeous day today! I hope you managed to get out there. It was perfect weather for me to dismantle my Christmas wreath–I often leave that for months, because it’s best done outside (pine needles everywhere) and it’s usually too cold. I also managed to put away all the rest of my Christmas stuff. It’s funny, because I love putting the tree and all the decorations up. But after all the holidays I love getting my house back to normal, too. It makes my teensy house seem spacious again.

As I was lugging the tree outside, there were still a couple of stray ornaments. One was this adorable little tin gingerbread boy. Luckily the tin clanged on our steps, so I found it. The other was one I chose to discard:

Okay, so what the heck is this? Cute W and I speculated that J tied this little candy cane to the tree. Festive, right? Except, look: it’s clearly been licked. What do you think she did? Did she start eating it, then get bored and she didn’t want to waste it? Or did she tie it on the tree, and then it looked so good she had to lick it a couple of times? The thought of our daughter pressing her face into the pine needles to get a little candy cane hit made us laugh so much that Cute W insisted that I take a picture for the blog. And here it is.

You’ve heard that Trader Joe’s is coming to Albany, right? At Wolf Road, where the old Office Max used to be.

The Autism Society of the Greater Capital Region is having another Sense-able Movie for kids with sensory issues on Saturday the 21st at 10 at Bowtie in Schenectady. The film is Beauty and the Beast, and if you want to go, you should reserve right away, because these fill up.

Breathing Room in Delmar has prenatal, baby & me, little kid, and big kid yoga classes starting up. Whenever I hear about baby stuff I like to spread the word, because I know it’s hard to find baby-centered activities.

We’ve got a busy day tomorrow! Ice skating in the morning, then Laurie Berkner, and a soccer game in the afternoon. Have a great weekend, everyone!

I’ve been collecting links to share. And I’m too lazy to write. So, here’s what I’ve got:

I thought that saying I’m an organ donor on my driver’s license was enough, but apparently it’s not. So here’s a form for New Yorkers to fill out to register as organ donors.

I thought that this video, created by a girl with her sisters to support The Girl Effect, was awesome. Her mom must be so proud!

New Moon Girls has a list of Girls Choice Books.

Have you heard about Khan Academy? If you or your kids want to learn about something–math, art history, economics–there are tons of free tutorials.

The family of a woman who died of liver cancer on December 15th is collecting breast milk for her newborn baby Violet. They live in Dutchess County and there’s a drop-off spot in Coxsackie, but if I hear of someone collecting closer, I’ll update this. Update: Call 813-9290 or 788-7821 if you want to donate locally. This is a friend of a friend of that Katie girl whose blog you read, if that’s enough of a reference for you!