Last night, 10/24/06, I attended the AMNH (http://www.amnh.org/) Family Party.  It was excellent. 

On the second (ground) floor, families were welcomed into the museum with tunes by Jeffrey Friedberg and the Bossy Frog Band (http://www.bossyfrog.com/), a fun lively family music band, along with friendly stilt walkers.  The Butterfly Conservatory, which houses a variety of beautiful living butterflies and foliage, and butterfly origami were also on this level. 

The first and fourth floors of the museums were where the majority of the festivities took place.  I headed to the fourth floor first.  I stopped by the “Lizards and Snakes: ALIVE!” exhibition first.  The little boys especially loved this exhibit which was full of creepy, crawly actual lizards and snakes (behind glass, of course).  The dinosaurs, primitive and advanced mammals were also on this floor.  There were many activities from which to choose.  The more popular areas were the “Dino Doo’s by Cozy’s Cuts for Kids” where the kids were able to get cute, gelled-out hairstyles; the “Dino Tattoos” and the “Decorate Dino Cookies” stations.

On the first floor, I observed families with smiling children enjoying a variety of activities.  Highlights included the inflatable moonwalk, the “Build a Book” station by the Scholastic Book Factory, and the “Meet & Greet Joe from Blue’s Clues” areas.  In addition, the children especially enjoyed the music by Music for Aardvarks and other Mammals (http://www.musicforaardvarks.com/), clown performers and face painting.  Lastly, the great array of food and gift backpacks added to the evening’s overall festive mood.

All in all, it seemed as if everyone had a great time for a great cause. 

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Normally, I carry a basic black “carry-all” tote when I’m traveling with my son.  I can throw a little bit of everything in it (his stuff/my stuff) and just go.  Unfortunately, since my favorite bag broke, I haven’t found one that I like.  As such, I’ve been traveling around with my little purse and my son’s “essentials” in one of his little bags…more things to keep track of (argh!)

Anyway, last Friday, after a playdate at Chelsea Piers Toddler Adventure Center and lunch, I was heading home with my son, my many bags, umbrellas (it was a rainy day), etc.  We get inside the subway station and I rush to get on the train.  Somewhere between the turnstile and the train, my little purse (containing my keys/id/credit cards/ metrocard/cash/ etc. falls off my arm.  Of course, because I’m holding so many other things, I don’t notice the missing bag until the train pulls away.  After looking like a crazy lady (talking to my self!) on the subway,  I rush back to the previous station, give the security card my sob story in case I have to get back on the train with no money/no card.  I then go back over to the side where I lost the purse and search for it.  “There it is!”  my 2 year old helpfully says.  (It isn’t…it’s just a black umbrella cover on the ground.)  Finally, I go to the train attendant and half-heartedly ask if anyone has turned in a black purse.  To my overwhelming delight and surprise someone had in fact turned in the purse and everything was inside…including the cash!  As the clerk said, “There are still some good, honest people in New York.” 

So, all that to say….

1. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to whoever handed in my little black purse at the 23^rd street station in Manhattan last Friday.  (For some reason, I think that it’s a mom and I hope that she’s reading this.)

and

2. That’s it for me traveling with multiple bags with my son.  I’m too pregnant and too distracted to keep track of so many things at one time.  I’ll be searching for a new big, black bag this week.  I welcome any suggestions!

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Last week, I received a great “thank you” note from a friend.  The note itself was nice (I like mail/stationery), but the thing that stuck out the most to me was the mailing label.  It was so cute!  It was a caricature of her family and their pets.  I was happy to find out that they were from Vistaprint.  They are reasonably priced, starting at $7.99.  If you go to www.vistaprint.com and look under “Caricature Products", you can make some for your family too!

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Here’s a list of some more books that my husband and I have to read several times a day at the request of our little dictator (son):

-Bunny Mail by Rosemary Wells.  It’s a really cute “Max and Ruby” story combining the Fourth of July and presents from Santa.  (Most of Wells’ books are hits at our home.)

-Howdi Do by Woody Guthrie.  My husband won’t read it , so I get the honor. (The repeating course is a type of tongue twister…”Howjee, heejee, hijee, hojee….” )  My son loves it though.

-please, baby, please by Spike Lee & Tonya Lewis Lee.  It’s an adorably illustrated (by Kadir Nelson) book about the things parents beg their children to do on a daily basis.  Both parents and kids will get a familiar smile out of this one.

And

-Hooray for Fish by Lucy Cousins.  This colorful picture book follows a little fish as he speaks to his various fish friends.  It helps reinforce colors, emotions, numbers, etc.  It’s also an easy read so your child will probably end up reading it to you.  (Lucy Cousins’ books are also very popular in our home.)

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The Daily Stroll highlighted a great new site, http://www.boulevardofblue.com/ today.  It’s a site that caters to parents of boys.  Since I’ll be having two boys soon, I especially find the clothing, accessories and room décor appealing.  Enoy!

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I’m so happy that I live at this moment in time.  Because of today’s technology, I can stay at home with my son and still be in touch with the business world.  I really have the best of both worlds.  Yesterday, I was able to listen to a great teleconference regarding starting a business while playing Legos (and various other things) with my son.  Thank God for the “mute” option.  Momentarily, I imagined the horror if the telephone system malfunctioned and the rest of the panelists and attendees could hear what was going on at my house…the Noggin, the potty talk, the random screaming that my son thinks is so hilarious when I’m on a phone call, etc.,..  Fortunately, that didn’t happen.  It’s great to be wired!

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I took my son to the preview of the Big Apple Circus’ carnival-themed “Step Right Up” performance at Lincoln Center last night.  It was so great!  The adults in the audience were having as much (if not more!) fun than the kids.  In fact, there were several couples that were there on a date without the kids.  The jugglers, acrobats and bicyclists were my favorites.    My son’s favorites were the performing dogs and horses.  He also loved “Grandma” flying through the air.  After the circus, he said “Thank you Mommy for the circus.  Good job!”  (That’s a pretty good endorsement from a 2 year old.)  Highly recommended.

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If your family travels to Orange County, California for business or vacation and you need to rent a crib/stroller/etc., try www.travelneedsforkids.com .  They are a baby equipment rental company that specializes in renting baby furniture, baby equipment and accessories to families traveling to southern California.

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In case you’re interested…

Calling All New York Moms!

HOPPING THE WHITE PICKET FENCE!

AUDITIONS FOR “HOTTEST MOM IN AMERICA” TV SHOW

COMING TO New York – Sat Oct 14, 8am

Move over Heidi Klum, Britney Spears, Jennie Garth, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Brooke Burke. Production Executives and Casting Directors are coming to New York to discover sexy, engaging, confident Moms in New York for an upcoming TV show, Hottest Mom in America.

An Emmy Award-Winning Producer from Survivor, Felicity Huffman’s former manager, and a host of Casting Directors, are coming to New York on Saturday, Oct 14 to hand-select contestants for the upcoming TV program, Hottest Mom in America.

“We’re looking for Moms that turn heads wherever they go – the supermarket, the football stands, or Kindergarten,” says Jamie Gold, President of Production at Buzznation, the company behind the casting call. “We’re looking for the Hottest Moms in New York, with style, confidence, and sexuality beyond the carpool…it’s like American Idol for Moms.”

For busy Moms on the run, there’s even a reminder call service for the auditions: dial 1-800-438-2899 (1-800-Get-Buzz), and just like a wake-up call at a hotel, you’ll get a reminder call the day before and day of auditions.

Final two cities of the six city national tour:

* New York, October 14
* Los Angeles, October 22

Click here to see TV commercials running in New York:

http://backstage.2mg.com/americashottestmom/ahmny2.mov

For more information:

http://www.HottestMomInAmerica.com

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My family is addicted to Johnson’s Buddies Instant-foam Hand and Face Wash.  It all started with a great promotion months ago…to introduce the product, Johnson had coupons for free ones in local newspapers.  That was so smart, because now, months later, we are hooked.  My son, who it’s geared to, likes the foam….so does his little friends who come over.  It’s not just the kids though.  My husband and I love the smell and so do our adult friends (including the men!) who wash their hands in our bathrooms. (I don’t really use it as a face wash for my son, because he has extremely sensitive skin.  I have used it on my face when I was in a rush…it worked really well (and I have pretty sensitive facial skin myself.)

Try it…you might become addicted too!

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