Friday, October 31, 2008

Last Minute Cancellation

This morning's RWW Playgroup has been canceled. It will be back on as usual next Friday and will meet in the Baptist church basement on the corner of Edwards and Livingston in East Rock.

More details to come next week!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Upcoming Events At The New Haven Public Library

Events at the Main Library for children
for info call 946-8129

MAGIC SHOW!
Escape from the Goblins!
with Cyril the Sorcerer
Thursday, October 30th - 4:00p.m.

Magic Week New Haven 2008 is sponsored by the International Brotherhood Of Magicians Ring 59 and hosted by the NHFPL.


For the Birds!
Tuesday, November 4th - 4:00p.m. (no school - election day)
Stories about winter birds and how they can brighten your snowy days . . . we’ll make pinecone birdfeeders to hang out-doors.


Knights of the Round Table

Tuesday, November11th – 4:00p.m. (no school - Veterans Day)
Let’s go back in time for stories about knights in shining armor. You’ll craft your own sword and shield to take home.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

What's Going On This Weekend?

November 1st and 2nd
in Essex


"Thomas the Tank Engine Day Out With Thomas™. Essex Steam Train, One Valley Railroad.
Is there a young child in America who is not a fan of the little tank engine that tries so hard to please? We're proud to bring Thomas the Tank Engine to the Valley Railroad for a day of rides, games, entertainment, and fun for the whole family. Thomas is sure he can pull the Valley Railroad coaches...so be sure to be on board! 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Tickets: $18 for ages two and up. Advance purchase recommended. www.essexsteamtrain.com For tickets and information visit www.ticketweb.com or call 866.468.7630"
FYI: This event is also going on next weekend, November 8th and 9th.

November 1st
in Orange


"Fright Haven's Family Day: Kid-Friendly, Non-Scary Halloween Matinee 401 Boston Post Road, Route 1, Orange, CT (former CompUSA building) FRIGHT HAVEN is CT's Newest and Greatest Haunted House Attraction offering visitors three different haunted houses of horror all under the same roof: Dead End Manor, Frightmare Fear Institute Pitch Black Haunt, and Carnival of Evil in 3D! 25,000 square ft of INDOOR terror (open even if it rains) - scarier and gorier than ever.
Because Fright Haven may be too intense for young ones, we have organized a very special FAMILY FUN DAY on Saturday afternoon, November 1st (the day after Halloween) from 1-3pm. It's an all-ages, kid-friendly 'lights on' matinee where our ghost-guides will show guests through the haunts without the scary music, working animatronics and, most importantly , without the scares. There will be an educational tour of the three haunts, and visitors will learn all the secrets of the haunted attraction, and reveal the hiding places where actors would normally jump out at people. Everyone will still be able to experience the 3-D house (but without the menacing clowns), and all the elements of the three different themed haunts. There will be refreshments available and face-painting artists on hand. 1pm-3pm $10 per attraction/$20 discounted combo pass. www.FrightHaven.com 203-795-4737 or 203-799-FEAR. Admission is $5.00 off for children under 10 when accompanied by an adult (no coupons or other promotional offers accepted)."

Do you know of any other fun events going on this weekend? Leave a comment or drop us an email (newhavenkids@gmail.com) and let us know!

Candy Recall

Please send this message to everyone you know that has kids who are going to be going out for Halloween!

Send this to anyone you know who gives out candy for Halloween!

With Halloween fast approaching comes a warning to parents and kids regarding Sherwood brand Pirate's Gold milk chocolate coins imported from China.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is warning the public not to eat, distribute or sell the candy.

It is sold across Canada by Costco and may also have been sold in bulk packages or as individual pieces at various dollar and bulk stores.

The chocolate contains melamine which is the same chemical responsible for killing several babies in China , and sickening thousands more.

The following link is from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to provide you with further information.

Booties For Sock Houdinis



At Toddler Tunes this chilly morning, I watched as baby June tugged at her adorable wooly socks only to reveal a second pair underneath. Her mother explained that she double bags June's footsies in an effort to outsmart her little sock Houdini. I remember when my little guy (now 16 months) used to pull his socks off... Oh, who am I kidding? He still loves to free those toes! Especially in the car...or in the grocery store...or in his crib at night--Really anywhere at any given time. But when he was still tiny, like June, I would try anything to keep them on. Then one day the sky opened up and a friend (and fellow blogger mom) gave us the most wonderful gift: Zutano booties. (Note the "us" here, because it truly was as much a gift for me as it was for him). Zutano booties are the only booties that I, and my fellow blogger moms, have found that these little Houdinis can't get off. Plus, they are washable (though they do shrink on the first wash), super cozy, and come in tons of colors. I love these booties so much that they have become a baby shower gift staple.

You can find Zutano booties on the Zutano website, among many other baby boutique sites, or at Urban Baby in New Haven or Mirabelle in Westville.

Enjoy! And as always, spread the word!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

A Good Reason to Leave the House

A few weeks ago my husband and I watched the movie "Baby Mama," which I highly recommend, especially for those of you who have little common ground in terms of Netflix queue selections with your significant other. Also, it features Tina Fey, Greg Kinnear AND Steve Martin, which pretty much guarantees its universal appeal. In one particularly cute scene, Tina Fey peeks into a "mommy and me" yoga class on the way to her class. (Which presumably, was a real class. Which - as an aside - I can't wait to get back to.)

In the meantime, however, I decided to look into baby yoga as an activity that my 3-month old baby and I could do together. This morning, we attended our first Itsy Bitsy Yoga class at Fresh Yoga. It was great! I was a little concerned that we wouldn't make it through the entire class as he's still on an every-two-hours feeding schedule, but the hour flew by, was full of other sweet babies in the same age range, and provided us with a fun and different way to connect and listen to each other ... aside from our singing to each other while he's on the changing table. I only hope that my husband never catches me singing to the poor kid on camera because it's not pretty.

Fresh Yoga offers 6-week series of Itsy Bitsy Yoga, and they also offer a class for moms & toddlers -- visit their website for details on the next series.

Rainy Days...



Let's face it--no one loathes a rainy day more than a kid. The weight of this fact couldn't be more obvious as I look at the weather outside and then over to my toddler, hurling his toys across the room and yelling "boom!" as they hit the ground. This, of course, only when he isn't turning on and off the television, begging "Elmo." (I know...I'm so ashamed).

So what do we do with these munchkins on these rainy, cold days? Here are some ideas:

Check out our list of children's museums to the right of this post. And here is a tip: If you pay the $100 for a year-long reciprocal membership at Kid City, Lutz, Stepping Stones, CMSC, Imagine Nation, and West Hartford , you get into all six! (Please note that the Stepping Stones membership is actually $175 and West Hartford is $125, so you may think joining at one of the others is the better deal).

Did you know that some of the play set stores have open play times? Jungle Jim's in Orange and Timbergyms in Newington cost $5, for example.

We are all eagerly awaiting someone to open an indoor playspace in New Haven (hint hint, budding entrepreneurs out there), but in the meantime, there are several outside of the Elm City limits. Playtime Village in Monroe, Stay and Play in Old Saybrook, Coco Key indoor water park in Waterbury, to name a few.

Let us never underestimate the power of Ikea. The store's Smaland (for kids over 37 inches tall and potty-trained) and even the plain old toy section are enough to keep these blogger moms' kids happy for hours. Seriously...hours.

Okay people--it's your turn. Leave comments with the names of places I've forgotten!

Trick-or-Treat




Calling all New Haven parents! Where are you trick-or-treating this year? Drop us a comment and let us know the best spots!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Welcome!

As described above, we've started this blog to help parents of the New Haven, Connecticut area find fun, educational, kid-friendly things to do with their children (of all ages). We are just beginning, so bare with us as we get this blog up and running! We hope to provide you and your families with tons of helpful information, and we welcome any and all comments and suggestions!