Mommy FTW

Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s annual fall family event—Ghouls and Gourds—is right around the corner on Sunday, October 24!  This year, the event has a farm theme to it, complete with giant scarecrows and a barn dance.

Visitors can experiment with dyeing and spinning wool,  making field mouse masks, instruments made out of junk, and much more!  Also, (and new for this year) they’ll have large-scale collaborative workshops where kids can pitch in to create a giant pumpkin sculpture, oversized spider web, and an enormous mandala out of recycled materials .   Families can also visit the Children’s Book Barn where 20+ of Brooklyn’s best children’s book authors and illustrators will be on hand for readings and signings.
As far as music goes, Slavic Soul Party, Suzi Shelton, The Xylopholks (who dress up in furry costumes), and more will fill the afternoon with family-friendly tunes.  And then there’s the flea circus, larger-than-life puppets, pretend petting zoo, and more!

If you’re looking for some fall fun this weekend in Brooklyn, check out Ghouls and Gourds at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.  The Garden is located at 1000 Washington Ave Brooklyn, NY 11225.  For more information on how to get to Ghouls and Gourds, check out the Brooklyn Botanic Garden website.

Hello dear readers – those of you who keep up with the blog might have noticed that I’ve been posting more about Washington DC activities lately.  Well, that’s because Cameron, my husband and I have moved down to DC – my home town!

For my Brooklyn readers, never fear, I still plan to keep up with Brooklyn news and post information for you guys.  Also, I will keep posting general baby and toddler info (like “What’s Cameron Eating?” and updates on favorite toys, books, and other products and so on).  I also hope to help readers out there who have new babies or who have just moved somewhere to find out how to meet other moms and get your kids involved in the communities.  Starting (over) can be so hard… and we can do it together!  So hopefully there will still be something for everyone.  This leads me to my second big annoucement…..

I’m expecting a second child!  I’m due in early April 2011 – so I will be blogging about my pregnancy, juggling two children, and my experiences with a newborn (since I started the blog when Cameron was a few months old, I missed out on these topics the first time around).  I hope that all my readers find this useful – especially those of you who are expanding your little families as well!

Last week the owner of Monk’s Trunk, a new kids consignment shop in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, emailed me to let me know about her store, and to tell me that they do pick ups of clothes!  For busy moms, I know this is key!


Of course we have Still Hip in our neck of the woods – but if you can’t make it over there to drop things off, or just want another option (for getting rid of used things, or for shopping) then check out Monk’s Trunk located at 23 Hawthorne Street.  Here’s a little more info on Monk’s Trunk:

*Sizes 0 to 6 for boys and girls from Gap, Tea, Janie & Jack, Jacadi, Petit Bateau, etc. in excellent used (or even new) condition, averaging 75% off retail.
*Selected baby gear and toys as well
* Bring in your kids’ clothes today for consignment and earn 40% off of sales price in cash. We are especially interested in sizes 3 to 6.
STORE HOURS:
Fridays: 8:30 am to 6 pm [closing at 4 pm on 9/18]
Saturdays: 10 am to 6 pm [closed on Yom Kippur, 9/19]
Sundays: 12 noon to 5 pm
Also check the Facebook page, website, or twitter for additional store hours
You may bring things by anytime during store hours (Friday and weekends for now)
or contact us to make an appointment during the week.
Check out the website to learn more about pick ups and the tore in general!  You can also find Monk’s Trunk on Facebook and Twitter.

It was last fall when Cookies, the kids department store in the Fulton Mall, first appeared on my radar.  I was at Camel Park and I noticed one of Cameron’s friends had a super cute new coat and pair of jeans.  I made a comment to the mom about the outfit, and she told me she got it at Cookies – and it was really affordable!  She went on to tell me that Cookies had an amazing selection not only had a HUGE selection of clothes for kids of all ages, but also lots and lots of toys.

It really is a Department Store for Kids!

Then, this spring when a local dad was looking for a Fisher Price walker for his daughter, but didn’t want for it to wait to come from Amazon, I suggested he check out Cookies or Target.  Well, Target didn’t have it – but Cookies did.  He also commented on the great selection of everything for Children that they carried.

Recently I was over in the Fulton Mall and I was able to check it out for myself.  I have to admit, since I wasn’t there to shop my visit was short lived as Cameron was really excited and wanted to buy every toy – but if you are looking for something for your little one, weather it’s new fall clothes, back to school supplies, or maybe a last minute birthday present for a friend, think Cookies!  Cookies is located at 510 Fulton Street, just off of Flatbush, in the Fulton Mall.  You can also check out the Cookies Website to get a better sense of what they sell.

Posted from New York, New York, United States.

Summer is almost officially over, but there’s still lots of time to fit in some fun Brooklyn adventures!   The post below is mostly a re post of the information I gathered on my first visit to the Prospect Park Zoo back in April – but maybe you missed it!  If you haven’t checked it out yet with your toddler, make some time to go and see it.  It’s not the most impressive zoo on the planet, but it’s a good size for little kids.

The main goal of  this post is to give you an idea of what to expect in terms of getting there, parking, and a little extra information to make your trip as easy as possible while still toting your little one(s).

How to get there and Parking:

My route, parking location, B,Q Station, and Entrance point to the Park and Zoo are marked.

Coming from Fort Greene, I found the easiest way to drive there was straight down Washington Ave – though the Prospect Park Zoo website recommends driving down Flatbush. There is no parking lot – so if you drive you will need to find street parking. I had thought this would be challenging, but going at 3pm on a weekday, I didn’t have any issues. I parked on Washington Ave near where it intersects with Sullivan Place (Pink). It turns out this was a decent spot, as there are actually two entrances to the zoo – one further in the park down Flatbush, and one near the carousel closer to the Flatbush Ave and Empire Blvd intersection (Green). I think in the future, I might give parking on Flatbush a try just to see if I can get a little closer. But my walk was certainly less than 10 minutes from the zoo entrance. This entrance near the Carousel was also the closest to the B,Q,S Prospect Park Station (Purple).

The Entrance point I used, Vending Machine Room, Barn area, Baboons, and Stairs are marked - click to enlarge.

A few other things of note (Food, Stairs, What’s Cool):

There is no real food to speak of sold at the zoo. There is a room with vending machines (Purple) – some sell drinks, some ice cream, and one hot dogs I think – or maybe pretzels? I didn’t really investigate it. Hot dogs from a vending machine? Yikes. Anyways, definitely bring some snacks or even pack a whole lunch. At the Flatbush entrance to the zoo there’s a huge set of stairs to navigate (Red) which isn’t so great if you’re bringing a stroller. There’s none at the other entrance I used. Also, if you are going to check out the sea lion feeding, you might want to stand on the south side of the Sea Lion area (Light Blue). Most of the action faces this direction, and you will get the best view. Sea Lion Feeds are at 11:30 a.m., 2:00 p.m., & 4:00 p.m. The most favorite part for all the kids was the Barn with the domestic animals (Pink) which is basically a petting zoo type thing. I think it was exciting for the kids to see and touch a cow – even hear the cow let out a hearty MOO! In order to get out of the sun for a bit, we went to check out the Baboons (Blue). I think Cameron personally had more fun just exploring the building than looking at the animals – whatever floats your boat!

Posted from New York, New York, United States.

On a recent hot and humid summer day Cameron and I headed to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum (located at 145 Brooklyn Avenue – @ St. Marks Avenue) for the first time.  I had heard it was great fun especially for the kids, so I was excited.

Cameron and I drove over – it’s a pretty quick and easy trip down Atlantic Ave to Brooklyn Ave.  I had been worried about street parking… but it worked out beautifully.  In this neck of the woods street cleaning happens from 8:30-10am.  The Museum opens at 10am.  Perfect!  So, when I got there at a few minutes after 10 there was ample parking directly across the street.

Admission to the Museum is a little steep at $7.50 per person – only children under 1 are free.  They stamp your hand so that you can come and go as many times as you like in one day.  Keep this in mind if you want to head out for lunch.

Cameron was first drawn down the main hallway in the center of the Museum which has a lot of flowing water and mechanical things to observe.  Our first exhibit was Neighborhood Nature.  There’s a pond the kids can look in from below getting a “fish eyes view,” some stuffed ducks which Cameron enjoyed pointing out while yelling “duck!” “duck!”

There’s a Community Garden where the kids can dig and play in the dirt (which is really just ground up cork – don’t worry they can’t get dirty at all!)  There were supposed to be watering cans and shovels the kids could play with, but there didn’t seem to be any around.  I thought there was supposed to be a place to touch horseshoe crabs and starfish – although I saw some sort of water area, there wasn’t any staff there, and I didn’t see anything larger than a gulf shrimp in them.

From here we made our way to the Science Inquiry Center.  Cameron loved the bird, chameleon,  and snake that live in here.  There was some sort of shell display with knobs Cameron slid back and fourth for a solid five minutes.  I think it was supposed to do something – but it looks like it was broken.  There were coloring pencils and paper around the kids could draw with.  There was also a light table with shapes for the kids to play with.  We unfortunately had to leave this area before Cam was done because there was a Birthday Party on the way.

Next we checked out the World of Brooklyn exhibit.  Cameron played the steel drums, got dressed up in a Carnival outfit, and touched everything in the West African Import Store.  He also really loves sitting on the Vespa.  We evacuated this area as two camp groups swooped in.

We turned our attention to the upstairs area, where we found the 30,000 object collection (which we had to flee as there were some toy cars which Cameron got upset about because they were behind glass).  Then we went to the Children of Hangzhou exhibit.  Cameron really loved the big water buffalo, but unfortunately you weren’t supposed to put the kids on it for a ride.  He found some buttons which controlled a video that he could push relentlessly, which he really enjoyed.

It was getting close to lunch time so we headed over to the Cafe.  I was pretty disappointed – the salads and sandwiches looked old and sad, and the hot food options – mini pizzas and chicken tenders – looked pretty unappetizing.  I decided to skip the food and feed Cameron at home.  I would recommend packing a lunch, or checking out the local neighborhood for something to eat.  The Museum website lists a few suggestions.

On our way towards the exit I finally spotted Totally Tots.  I had heard about this section from other moms, and probably should have headed here first.  As the name implies, this area is designed for toddlers.  Everything is at their level, and there’s lot of fun toys.  There is also a water are for the kids to splash around in.  Smocks are provided so the kids stay dry.  Cameron had a lot of fun, but it was getting on to nap time, and Cam was hungry, so we headed home.

Overall, Cam had a great time, and it was a nice way to spend a hot summer morning.  I was a little disappointed – most of the exhibits seemed pretty warn, with a lot of things broken or missing.  But I guess it doesn’t really matter since Cameron didn’t know or care.  I think for older kids they might find it a little annoying.  I would certainly consider going back, but perhaps on a free day. Free hours this summer are the second and fourth weekend of each month from 2-5pm.

For more information check out the Brooklyn Childrens Museum website at BrooklynKids.org You can also find them on Facebook and on Twitter.  For a list of all the current exhibits, check out this page of the Children’s Museum website.

Posted from New York, New York, United States.

The fact that there is a Target in Brooklyn certainly isn’t news to anyone, but I often forget to check it out when it comes to Cameron. I went recently and was happy with all of the great stuff I found.

Bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and more!

On the second floor in the toy area, there is practically an entire aisle of bubbles. The ones I ended up are a real hit at the playground – children follow me around like the pied piper, and parents ask me where I got them. You can also pick up sidewalk chalk (50 pieces for $3.99!)

I was also able to find some great sandals and summer shoes for around 10$ each. Cameron loves them so much he refuses to wear any other shoes – so I bought him a pair in the next size up as well. The toddler / baby shoes are on the first floor with the rest of the shoes. There is a “boy” and “girl” isle – I didn’t realize this at first, and I kept wondering why there were only girls shoes!  It was a blond moment!

Currently in the kids department there are also swimming trunks, sun hats, and protective sun shirts (rash guards).  I got Cameron his swimming gear for our upcoming vacation at a great price.

So if you are in need of summer supplies, drop into Target and pick up a few things.

Posted from New York, New York, United States.

I am all about cutting Cameron’s hair myself – it’s free, and after all… when else in his life can I give him a really bad hair cut, and he won’t mind? But, after over a year of at home cuts Cameron’s hair was getting pretty out of control. I’ve never been really able to get a good cut around the ears or in the back. So I decided it was time to bite the bullet and call on the professionals.

In my neck of the woods, LuLu’s Cuts (48 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, (718) 832-3732)‎ is pretty much the place to go. I was able to get Cam a same day appointment. Unfortunately, although we showed up on time, they were running about 15 minutes behind schedule. I was stressing because we had to get home for Fresh Direct, but Cam was having a great time playing with the huge train set that is in the front of the store.

Once it was our turn, they put Cameron in a firetruck chair, which he thought was pretty cool – especially the bell on the front.  They gave me some options for videos to put on (Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, etc) that show on a little TV in front of the chair.  Cameron was having a grand ole time until the cutting began, and then he freaked out.  But, the stylist kept on going without batting an eyelash.  She was done in 10 minutes.  I did my best to keep Cameron calm, but it didn’t really help.  Once he got his balloon at the end, everything was honky dory again… and his hair looked great!  They also gave me an adorable little certificate with a lock of his hair commemorating the experience.

So, was it worth the $22 for a child’s cut?  I say yes.  Would I do it every time Cam needs a trim?  Most likely no – I think alternating between home hair cuts and professional would be just fine for now.

During our little heat wave a few moms and myself took our toddlers to the Prospect Park Zoo.  While not exactly the most impressive zoo on the planet – it’s a good size for little kids.    Hopefully this post is to give you an idea of what to expect in terms of getting there, parking, and a little extra information to make your trip as easy as possible while still toting your little one(s).

How to get there and Parking:

My route, parking location, B,Q Station, and Entrance point to the Park and Zoo are marked.

Coming from Fort Greene, I found the easiest way to drive there was straight down Washington Ave – though the Prospect Park Zoo website recommends driving down Flatbush.  There is no parking lot – so if you drive you will need to find street parking.  I had thought this would be challenging, but going at 3pm on a weekday, I didn’t have any issues.  I parked on Washington Ave near where it intersects with Sullivan Place (Pink).  It turns out this was a decent spot, as there are actually two entrances to the zoo – one further in the park down Flatbush, and one near the carousel closer to the Flatbush Ave and Empire Blvd intersection (Green).  I think in the future, I might give parking on Flatbush a try just to see if I can get a little closer.  But my walk was certainly less than 10 minutes from the zoo entrance.  This entrance near the Carousel was also the closest to the B,Q,S Prospect Park Station (Purple).

The Entrance point I used, Vending Machine Room, Barn area, Baboons, and Stairs are marked - click to enlarge.

A few other things of note (Food, Stairs, What’s Cool):

There is no real food to speak of sold at the zoo.  There is a room with vending machines (Purple) – some sell drinks, some ice cream, and one hot dogs I think – or maybe pretzels?  I didn’t really investigate it.  Hot dogs from a vending machine?  Yikes.  Anyways, definitely bring some snacks or even pack a whole lunch.  At the Flatbush entrance to the zoo there’s a huge set of stairs to navigate (Red) which isn’t so great if you’re bringing a stroller.  There’s none at the other entrance I used.  Also, if you are going to check out the sea lion feeding, you might want to stand on the south side of the Sea Lion area (Light Blue).  Most of the action faces this direction, and you will get the best view.  Sea Lion Feeds are at 11:30 a.m., 2:00 p.m., & 4:00 p.m.  The most favorite part for all the kids was the Barn with the domestic animals (Pink)  which is basically a petting zoo type thing.  I think it was exciting for the kids to see and touch a cow – even hear the cow let out a hearty MOO!  In order to get out of the sun for a bit, we went to check out the Baboons (Blue).  I think Cameron personally had more fun just exploring the building than looking at the animals – whatever floats your boat!

I was at Trader Joe’s last week and as I entered the Court Street store an employee asked me if she could park my stroller for me.  “Oh my God – you guys do that?!” was my reaction.  I took my valuables, threw Cameron in a cart, and sent her off with my stroller.

Waiting for me at the check out!

They park them at the end of the check out line, right before the lane of cash registers.  After we did our shopping, we waited in line, and pick up our stroller on the way out.  It was awesome!  Cameron is much more entertained when he gets to ride in a grocery cart – so it made my shopping experience much easier.  Next time you head over to Trader Joe’s – ask them if you can park your stroller!