Mommy FTW

I just wanted to spread the word about an upcoming mom’s night out that was posted on Parents Around the Hill (PATH).

When: Thursday, Feb 25th from 8-11

Where: Chez Lola which is at 387 Myrtle Ave (next to the gas station on Vanderbuilt)

Please RSVP to: Tracy Joerss tamcdonagh AT yahoo DOT com

Members of Parents Around the Hill can see more on the Events Page.

I know hard it is to get moms to commit and organize everyone – so please do RSVP if you think you might go!  You know you deserve a night out, and a cocktail or two, so secure yourself a babysitter or husband type, and I’ll see you there!

FYI for those of you who don’t know Parents Around the Hill is a ning (s0cial networking type-site) that brings together families from Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and Bed-Stuy.  If you want to learn more about them before joining the ning, you can check out their public site at ParentsAroundtheHill.com

I am so fortunate to know a lot of moms who share with me their ideas and advice.  This post is based in their experiences, as well as information gained from the Fort Greene Babies Yahoo Group and Parents Around the Hill (PATH).  I haven’t checked out all these places myself – so I can’t speak to every one of them personally – but my mom friends haven’t steered me wrong yet.  The reason I have decided to post about them before being able to check them all out is I am guessing that a lot of you are starting to feel a little desperate with all this snow and cold weather – I know I am!  So here are some ideas of places to take your baby in the Fort Greene / Clinton Hill area:

The Booklyn Flea – The Flea has moved indoors for the winter months.  It’s new home is at One Hanson Place on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 5pm.  The Flea is on the main floor and lower level.  According to one mom, the lower level has food options, and the upper level is where the sales go on.  She said the lower level is a great place to take kids and let them roam around, and that there is space for strollers.  So if you are looking for a weekend activity – check out the indoor Flea!

Story time at Greenlight Bookstore – Greenlight Bookstore is located at 686 Fulton Street and has a free story time on Saturday mornings at 10:30 AM.  Check it out for more weekend fun.

Playgroup at Brooklyn Junior – Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon there is a free playgroup at Brooklyn Junior (150 Clinton Ave – corner of Myrtle) from 3:15-6.  Please email info@brooklynjunior.com if you would like to go.  Children of all ages are welcome.

The Clinton Hill Library – Not only does Clinton Hill Library (380 Washington Ave) have a great and free Reading for Babies program on Tuesdays at 10:45 and 11:30, but I’ve also been told it’s a great place to take your kid to let them roam around even when no scheduled activities are going on.

Chuck E Cheese – Now this one, I never would have thought of!  Last Thursday a few of us were hanging out at Der Schwarze Kölner and one of the moms said that she had just been at Chuck E Cheese with her baby (he is an early walker).  She said that it was her nanny who had originally suggested it, and although she was skeptical – it turned out to be a great place for him to roam around, and it was free (since they aren’t playing any games).  Chuck E. Cheese is located in the Atlantic Terminal Mall.

Der Schwarze Kölner aka the Beer Garden – As I mentioned above I’ve been going to the Beer Garden (710 Fulton Street) with Cameron and some other moms + babies.  It is a great winter option – and they are so welcoming and nice!  Read more about Der Schwarze Kölner at this other post I wrote a few days ago.

If you have other ideas to share, please leave a comment!

I’ve been putting Cameron in Pampers since the very beginning (with the exception of night times, where we use Huggies Overnites).  If you also use Pampers religiously, they you may have noticed at the end of last year Pampers made a change to their product – for the worse.  There was a forum discussion on Parents Around the Hill (PATH) about it, which linked to a blog post containing pictures of the downgrade.  The newer diapers are less absorbent and thick, and I found the velcro tabs to be flimsy.  Cameron’s came undone all the time, and the tabs kept rubbing his legs and irritating them.

Well, given my annoyance with Pampers, and my love of Huggies Overnites, I decided it was finally time to jump ship and go Huggies 100% – and I am SO GLAD I did!  Cameron’s new Huggies are plush and absorbent.  The velcro is strong, and grip well even when he is wiggling and crawling around like a maniac.  Now that I’ve switched, I have no idea why I waited so long!

Move over Pampers, here come the Huggies!

If you are fed up with the change Pampers made, but weren’t sure what to try, I say go with Huggies!  I realized at the last minute that I was low on diapers, so I went with Diapers.com because of the overnight shipping.  Then the snow storm foiled me, and we had to run out to Walgreens!  But, for the long haul I’m going with Huggies Supreme Little Movers from Amazon because they are cheaper than Diapers.com when you use Amazon Subscribe and Save (15% off).  FYI – Amazon Subscribe and Save also has Huggies Overnites!

It's all Huggies all the time in this house

As I have mentioned, Cameron and I were in DC this week visiting the grandparents, going swimming, and having a great time!  I had decided that instead of driving we would try taking Amtrak from Penn Station.

I did some research both on Parents Around the Hill and via the Fort Greene Babies yahoo group before the trip.  The neighborhood moms left me fairly assured that it wouldn’t be too bad when I got to the station.  I was still nervous!  I took the Q from Dekalb Ave to 34th Street Herald Square for the sake of elevators, and then made my way towards Penn Station on foot above ground.

The entrance to Penn Station that has the down escalator is at 31st St and 8th Ave.  I thought the diagram of the building posted on the wall said there was an elevator here, but I didn’t see it, so I went down they short escalator with Cam.  (Yes, I know, you’re not supposed to do this).

Once we got down to the main area I started looking around for a red cap, who I had been told would be able to help me out.  I didn’t see anyone, so I walked over to the Amtrak Customer Service desk (not the ticket counters) and a friendly man told me what track my train would be leaving from and that there was an elevator over by the police desk.  Indeed there was.

I got in – the choices were a little confusing.  I went down to “TL” – Track Level, I figured.  When when the doors opened I found that I was stuck in between the tracks, and not at the right number.  Apparently I was supposed to go to “LL” where you can move to any of the tracks and then take a different elevator down.  I went back up to “LL,” found my track, then took another elevator down to “TL.”

Cameron relaxes in his PJ's

Since I had gotten to the train early there were plenty of places to sit.  I found Cameron and I a section of 4 seats (2 and 2 facing each other).  It was perfect – there was lots of room for him, and for all our stuff.  Overall, getting to the train was pretty easy!  Stay tuned for more updates on the trip to DC, and the train trip back to New York.

There was a discussion on Parents Around the Hill recently about kids’ music and it made me want to post about Cameron’s favorite CD’s.  Most of these were given to me by another mom whose child loved them – and with Cameron they were also an instant hit.  I also like them because they are classic kids songs which I already know the words to.  Here’s what’s on Cameron’s play list:

Playtime Favorites

Playtime Favorites has classics like BINGO, 1 2 buckle my shoe, itsy bitsy spider, hokey pokey, wheels on the bus, and London Bridge, a lot of which are sung by kids (he seems to like hearing the kids voices.)

Silly Favorites

Silly Favorites is similar to the other one, and has more classics – the ants go marching, apples and bananas, do your ears hang low….

Singable Songs for the Very Young

We also have Singable Songs for the Very Young (by raffi) which has Down by the bay, brush your teeth, baa baa black sheep….

Lullaby Themes for Sleepy Dreams

And before naps and bed time Cameron listens to Lullaby Themes for Sleepy Dreams which has all the classic lullabies.

The amazon links have little samples of all the CDs you can listen to.

Brooklyn Junior Opening Party

You might recognize this old storefront on Clinton near Myrtle

New details were posted on Parents Around the Hill (via Fort Greene Kids) about the Kids store that is comming to Clinton Hill / Fort Greene.  Check out the website and Blog for the clothing line / store named Brooklyn Junior where you can read more about the clothes and see what they look like.  Super cute!  Of course the store will also have some toys and accessories.  I am hoping once it opens I won’t have to trek over to Area Kids for Birthday Presents…. with this place and Greenlight Bookstore, we are set!

The opening party is Halloween Night, 6-9pm.  After that, regular business hours will be Tuesday – Sunday 12-6pm (closed Mondays).  CLICK HERE TO GET A COUPON FOR 10% OFF!! Valid until 12/31/09.  I will visit once the store is open and post some pics!

I know this mommy could sure use a night off and out!

Beer, but no babies!

If you are free this Wednesday night (or can wrangle your husband or other babysitter-type) join some Fort Greene and Clinton Hill mommies at the new Bier Garden Der Schwarze Kölner at 710 Fulton St starting at 8pm.  Full details of the event can be found on PATH (Parents around the Hill) who organized the event.  I didn’t make it to Mom’s Night Off and Out #1, but I am really hoping to be there for this one!

Check out Parents Around the Hill for more great stuff!