Date: December, 2009
Pratt’s New Year’s Eve Whistle Blow
by Karen on 12/31/09 | 0 Comment(s)
I wasn’t sure if the recently unfriendly Pratt would allow nonPratt people on campus for their annual New Year’s Eve Whistle Blow. It appears that they are as reported by The Local! Could this the breaking of the ice between Pratt and the Brooklyn community? I doubt it, but can only hope! Since Pratt forbid [...]
Recalls: Play Yards and Kendamaspot Wooden Toys
by Karen on 12/31/09 | 0 Comment(s)
Safety 1st Disney Care Center™ Play Yard and Eddie Bauer Complete Care Play Yard are being recalled. This recall is for about 213,000 play yards. Hazard: The one piece metal bars supporting the floorboard of the bassinet attachment can come out of the fabric sleeves and create an uneven sleeping surface, posing a risk of [...]
Event Picks Dec. 31- Jan. 10th
by Karen on 12/31/09 | 3 Comment(s)
New Years Eve- as a parent this is probably not your night out anymore. Sitters can charge you twice as much and you are darn tired by 10 pm anyway! There are 2 easy ways to celebrate your homebodiness in Brooklyn. If you have a partner, one of you can stay home while the other [...]
Atlantic Terrace applications due- hurry!
by Karen on 12/29/09 | 0 Comment(s)
The Local reminded me that the applications for the co-ops at Atlantic Terrace are due by January 6th. Though the building’s location isn’t ideal (on noisy Atlantic Ave and near Atlantic Terminal- one of my least favorite places in all of Brooklyn)- the apartments can come at a good price. *1 bedroom, income $35,000 – [...]
Metro Card deals for families
by Karen on 12/28/09 | 0 Comment(s)
All this news about the MTA phase-out of student fares and the February fare hike made me wonder what DOES the MTA offer families? Have a visiting friend with kid in tow? Try the 1-Day Fun Pass. The cost: $8.25 which is good for unlimited subway and local bus rides from first use until 3 [...]
Happy Holidays!
by Karen on 12/23/09 | 0 Comment(s)
Thank you all for reading this year and sending in your thoughts and comments. I feel incredibly lucky to have such a wide group of interesting, informed and supportive friends as you. I am signing off for the week, and hope to see you all back on Monday. With all my heart, I wish that [...]
Regression Over The Holidays
by Karen on 12/23/09 | 7 Comment(s)
I really needed this information below from one of our Parent Coaches, Alice Kaltman. Maybe you do too. Thirty-six, Going on Sixteeen by Alice Kaltman Parents of small children often ask my advice on how best to prepare for holidays with extended family. “Expect regression,” I suggest. “And I’m not talking about your kids. I’m [...]
Deal for Crystal Winter at NY Hall of Science
by Karen on 12/23/09 | 0 Comment(s)
Try transporting your kids into a crystal winter snow globe or racing with them down a tobaggon hill (safely!) this week and weekend. Yes, it’s possible at the ultracool exhibit “Crystal Winter” at the New York Hall of Science. We went to the Crystal Winter show last year and loved the special winter exhibits and [...]
Recommended winter books for kids
by Karen on 12/23/09 | 0 Comment(s)
If all this snow has made you fall in love with winter, why not choose a book about it? Eensies.com posted a great winter reading list today. Some of my all-time favorites are on it. What would we do without Owl Moon? The writing is some of the loveliest I have come across in a [...]
New BOCOCA parenting blog
by Karen on 12/22/09 | 0 Comment(s)
Okay, so I am late on publishing this good news, but I wanted to get to it tonight finally. BOCOCA (Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens) is a dense area full of great restaurants (think Smith Street), shops (Ola Baby, Pizzazz) and play spaces (NYC Explorers, Ikea- yes, that counts- and Families First) so [...]
Booster Seat Tests: Best and Worst
by Karen on 12/22/09 | 0 Comment(s)
Today, The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released the results of their new booster seat ratings. They tested 60 booster seats and rated them based on their fit with shoulder belts in various cars. Why use booster seats at all? Safety belts were designed only with adults in mind. Boosters raise a child up so [...]
Our organizer’s tips for reducing holiday stress
by Karen on 12/22/09 | 0 Comment(s)
This blog’s “professional organizer” Amanda Wiss, whose help we can always use, has generously answered my request for ways to reduce holiday stress. I am up to my neck in stress and desperately needed some advice. 3 Simple Strategies to Reduce Holiday Stress by Amanda Wiss of Urban Clarity December can be both joyful and [...]
What to do on Christmas Day
by Karen on 12/22/09 | 0 Comment(s)
NewYorkology has put together a great list of shows to see, places to visit, religious services and activities to do on Christmas Day. They even have a list of restaurants that are open. Here is a small sampling from their list: Museums Jewish Museum with the Alias Man Ray: The Art of Reinvention exhibition and [...]
Brooklyn Flea back for the winter
by Karen on 12/22/09 | 0 Comment(s)
We miss going to the Brooklyn Flea in the winter time- so do a lot of people in Fort Greene and elsewhere. So, it was good news to me that The Brooklyn Flea is moving to a winter location in the spectacular former Williamsburg Savings Bank at One Hanson Place in Fort Greene. The Real [...]
Putamayo Christmas CD
by Karen on 12/21/09 | 0 Comment(s)
If you celebrate Christmas, you usually have a small collection of Christmas music. My parents favored Neil Diamond, Manhattan Transfer and Whitney Houston. (Yes, a collective EWWW! is permitted here!) I couldn’t wait until I got older and could build my own little stash of Christmas music. But, honestly, I have never, ever bought one. [...]
Recalls: Vicks and infant car seats
by Karen on 12/21/09 | 0 Comment(s)
Here we are again, more recalls and more victims. The infant car carriers are very troublesome: the handle you use to transport your baby safely is the very thing that can come off. We are talking infants falling! Yes, those newborns with the most vulnerable skulls. Shame on Safety 1st, Cosco, Eddie Bauer and Disney: [...]
Best sledding hills with snowstorm and how to make a sled
by Karen on 12/18/09 | 5 Comment(s)
We are supposed to get pounded with snow tomorrow. From the graphic above, we are due to have our storm hit in the morning, with as much as up to 12″. Whoo hoo!!!! I can’t wait to get out my new Costco sled and run it down the hills of Ft. Greene park. There will [...]
Event Picks Dec. 18- 21
by Karen on 12/17/09 | 1 Comment(s)
The end of December and Chanukah are coming which means it might be time to hit some of those holiday events before the New Year comes. Don’t forget to visit the New York Holiday Windows 2009 , and Santa in NYC before he heads back to the North Pole, and see all the Holiday Trees, [...]
Brooklyn Children’s Academy Preschool head gets jail time
by Karen on 12/17/09 | 0 Comment(s)
Do you remember Andy Lewis who cheated parents out of tuition money, kids out of a safe school, teachers out of their salaries at Brooklyn Children’s Academy Preschool and then had the gall to start a summer camp in Fort Greene, taking more parents’ money? Andy Lewis has finally met his fate. As reported by [...]
Roman Shades and Roll-Up Blinds recall
by Karen on 12/17/09 | 0 Comment(s)
This recall is for ALL roman shades and ALL roll-up blinds. I can only imagine this numbers in the millions and millions! About five million Roman shades and about three million roll-up blinds are sold each year. The recall is due to 5 deaths and 16 near strangulations from Roman shades since 2006 and 3 [...]
In Brooklyn we know the MTA at it’s worst
by Karen on 12/17/09 | 0 Comment(s)
In Brooklyn, we have known the MTA at its worst: The G (ghost) train, the F ($%&*!)ing train that never comes and the C (cacophany) train. And now they want to make things even harder on us by phasing out free student fares, eliminating the W and the Z and reducing/ending service on bus lines! [...]
The site has been relaunched!
by Karen on 12/16/09 | 3 Comment(s)
Surprise!! The site has been totally redesigned, shifted, and well, had a general facelift. The redesign was much more fun than a real tuck (and relatively less painful I think…) But please be patient with me as I am definitely feeling my age (and looking it) with all the late nights. What is new: the [...]
Chanukah Events
by Karen on 12/11/09 | 0 Comment(s)
Brooklyn Heights Blog posted about some Chanukah celebrations that will take place in downtown Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Supreme Court and other events hosted by Congregation B’nai Avraham. To get the full scoop, check their post. Time Out New York Kids also has some events to check out. In particular, this one sounds great: Downtown [...]
Hydrogen Peroxide for everything in your home
by Karen on 12/11/09 | 0 Comment(s)
The Brooklyn Frugal Family Examiner has written a genius post about using Hydrogen Peroxide for almost everything. I had no idea that it could be used as mouthwash! The best two reasons to use Hydrogen Peroxide: it’s cheap and it’s nontoxic. Yes, nontoxic! The Brooklyn Frugal Family Examiner explains, “(it) is simply a mixture of [...]
A Child Grows Event Picks from Dec. 11th- 17th
by Karen on 12/11/09 | 0 Comment(s)
Wow! You guys might be really busy this weekend. In order not to overwhelm the Weekly Event Picks List (and you!), I have split some of the Event Picks up into Guides. Below are all the holiday shows (The Charlie Brown Show- LIVE, Dear Edwina, Nutcracker), Book Fairs, Pictures with Santa (that are just for [...]
