September 2009

School Pick-up Paranoia

by Kimberly on September 28, 2009

Now that we’re getting into this full day school groove, I must say that the most intriguing part of the day is the after school pick-up. Three things have stood out to me:

1. Grandparents rock. The majority of the parents at Michael’s school work outside of the home during the day. When, I go to pick him up, the majority of the people who are picking up the other kids are the grandparents. It’s so sweet to see the bond between the little kids and their grandparents. They yell their names and run to them. Some of them are granddads and it’s so sweet to see how their grandkids have them wrapped around their little fingers. It’s just so precious. I love it!

2. Teachers need to use discretion when praising and/or criticizing kids. Several kindergarten classes are let out where Michael gets out of school. One day, there was this teacher (not Michael’s) who released the first kid to his guardian. “He’s such a good boy,” she gushed. Of course, the guardian was smiling from ear to ear. (Who doesn’t want to hear how great the kid that they love is?) That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that she didn’t say anything else about the individual kids whom she released after him. I was looking at the other guardians’ faces and they were each waiting with expectation to see what she would say about their kids. Eventually, one of the parents said, “And how was he?” about her kid. “He was alright. He’s getting better.” the teacher replied. I could literally see the parent’s face drop. I felt so bad for her. The point: if the time is too short to comment on each kid, then don’t comment on any! Even better, save the commentary for one on one time. Pick-up time is hectic as it is…no need to add to it. (That’s just my opinion.)

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3. I must never be late for pick-up. For safety reasons, the parents are not allowed to come inside the school. So, the kids are lined up by class and released to their parents/guardians. It is SO depressing when there isn’t someone to pick up a kid. The teachers will say, “Do you see anyone here for you?” and the poor little kid will peer through the crowd and sadly say, “No, there’s no one.” Then, they have to wait inside to the side of everyone else until someone comes to claim them. Awww. There’s one little boy in particular whose dad is consistently late. One day, the little boy sadly said, “Awww man. My dad’s not here. Here’s NEVER here on time to get me!” I know that I can be a “Mama Bear”, but I just wanted to claim him, so he wouldn’t look so miserable! (That’s where the paranoia kicks in. I have nightmares of me being stuck on a subway somewhere in Manhattan AND my kid being the one waiting in the corner forever because no one is there to pick him up! I know…I have “issues”. I was talking about this with other moms and I’m just happy to know that I’m not the only one with this fear!)

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The Selfish Giant at The Players Theatre

by Lesley on September 28, 2009

This past Saturday, September 19th, I had the pleasure of taking my family to see a musical adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s tale “The Selfish Giant” at the Players Theatre on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village. It was put on by the Literally Alive Children’s Theatre and was written and directed by Brenda Bell. I am never sure what to expect with children’s theater and have seen some weird ones to say the least. So I was pleasantly surprised, when the playwright and actors all came to sit at the edge of the stage and talk to the kids about what goes into a theater production. They really broke it down to their level, asking questions, explaining why they made certain choices about movement, lights and music. Then all of the kids were invited on stage for a craft project. They made flowerpots and planted flower seeds inside. The energy of the kids was great and so were their big smiles.

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The play started with a great musical number called “Wilde Imagination.” My kids were on the edge of their seat the whole time. The characters are engaging, especially Hailey and Hector, played by Stefanie Smith and Dustin Cross. They portray hail, tap dancing and joking around the stage. My kids were laughing hysterically the whole time. The story has a great message about not allowing our fears to build walls around us that make us miserable. It also reminds us to hold on to the inner child inside of us all. The company does a wonderful job bringing the stage to life and making some innovative choices that had my kids full of wonder.

“The Selfish Giant” was a big hit with my family, and we will be looking forward to seeing more shows that Literally Alive Children’s Theatre puts on in the future.

-By Mom in the City Reviewer, Lesley Thompson

The Selfish Giant runs from September 13-October 25, 2009 on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets range in price from $25 to $40. (There is a FREE WORKSHOP one hour prior to each show.)

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Swiffer Allergen Reducing Blogger Roundtable

by Kimberly on September 28, 2009

The ten winners have been notified.

At the end of August, I attended an Allergen Reducing Blogger Roundtable at Apple Seeds NYC that was sponsored by Swiffer. The focus was on educating moms and teachers on how to reduce in-door allergens during the back-to-school season. While there, pediatric and adult allergist Dr. Ehrlich discussed the effects of in-door allergens with several bloggers (Carole, Esti, Isabel and Melissa). You can see the highlights in the clip below:

Besides what was discussed in the video, the three other main points that I took away from the event were the following:

1. It is okay to be “that mother”. For example: if your kid is really allergic to pets, it’s alright to ask the teacher not to allow them to share a cubbie space with kids that have pets in their home. (The allergens are carried on clothes.)

2. Don’t trust grandparents. Not really. It is just really important to emphasize what your kids are allergic to with them so that they will take the allergies seriously. That makes sense. Grandparents and grandparent-type family members sometimes have the tendency to be “soft” in enforcing rules. For instance, my husband had recently taken the boys over to a family member’s house when I was out. Sean didn’t eat his dinner, so my husband told him that he couldn’t have any ice cream. When he looked back, Sean had a cookie in his hand! No, he wasn’t given ice cream, but he STILL received dessert without eating his dinner first…

3. Choose the right pediatrician. If your child does have allergies, be sure that his pediatrician is skilled. Granted, pediatricians are busy. If they are too busy to give your kid the necessary time to diagnose and treat their symptoms, then consider changing pediatricians or going to a pediatric allergist.

At the end of the event, I received a Swiffer 360 Duster from MS&L (Swiffer’s PR agency). Confession: I don’t do the dusting around my home. My husband dusts and mops the floor. (Now that the majority of our floor is carpeted, his “home” duties have been drastically cut.) Anyway, I gave my husband a break in order to test out the duster. It was fun – probably since I don’t have to dust all of the time. Sean even helped with the lower surfaces. The Swiffer got rid of the dust and I like knowing that it removes up to 90% of allergens. We don’t have pets, but we do have dust mites. (You do too – everyone does!) The only dusty areas that I felt the need to go and get an additional cleaner and a rag for were my windowsills. Other than that, it easily cleaned the other surfaces in my home.

The fun part is that Swiffer is giving away 10 of the Swiffer 360 Dusters to Mom in the City readers. To win, simply share something that you (or your kids) are allergic to in the “Comments” section below by October 15th.

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Animal Planet Halloween Costume and Trick-or-Treat Bag

by Kimberly on September 28, 2009

Congrats to the winner: Jenny

This year is flying by. Halloween will be here before we know it. I still haven’t bought my kids’ costumes yet. My husband and I are having “conversations” about that which I’ll be sharing more about on Wednesday. Meanwhile, if your kid is 6-12 months, you can enter to win an Animal Planet Collector’s Edition Monkey Infant Costume and a blue dog bag for your little one’s first Halloween.

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Animal Planet has some really cute costumes (SRP: $49.99 – $59.99) for infants and toddlers. When kids are that little, they look cute dressed as animals. (Older kids – not so much.) Also, they have Envirosax Kids bags (SRP: $8.50) that can be re-used long after Halloween is over. (It’s good to throw in a bit of environmentalism with holiday celebrations!)

To win, please tell me what your favorite Halloween costume when your were growing up in the “Comments” section below by October 15th. For an additional entry, leave a comment on any of my other (non- giveaway) posts during the giveaway time frame.

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Saving Money While Giving Back

by Kimberly on September 25, 2009

I’m all for doing good AND doing well at the same time. That’s why I wanted to let you know about a partnership between P&G and the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. They have partnered to launch a program focused on early detection of breast cancer in women.

As part of the partnership, there will be a special edition of the P&G brandSAVER coupon booklet in newspapers this Sunday (September 27th). Every time one of the coupons is redeemed, a two-cent donation will be made to the NBCF. (Two cents doesn’t sound like a whole lot, but there are over 60 coupons in the booklet times the many, many households that buy Sunday newspapers.)

Honestly, I’m not someone who shops based on coupons. It takes too much time and energy for me to do that. However, I do use coupons for the things that my family normally purchases. I have looked through the booklet and I will be clipping out coupons for: COVERGIRL products (I buy their LashBlast mascara); Secret deodorant and Duracell batteries amongst other ones.

If you use P&G products, be sure to look out for their special coupon booklet this Sunday. (I’ll be writing a lot more about Breast Cancer Awareness next month…)

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