Mashable Link Round Up - August 1 Weekly Reading Pleasure

Here's a shout out to some of favorite posts of the week.

• Parenting is not easy as we all know so I am always looking to other parents for tips. Loved the 3 parenting tips that Shinybrite uses to reign the chaos of the day. My favorite takeaway is if you're snacking, you need to sit. I am the master of multi-tasking but I need to reign that in and focus in on one task a time. Kids should focus on eating, not eating and walking. Read all of her parenting tips at http://shinybrite.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/3-parenting-tips-for-calming-the-chaos/
• Leeks, what to do you with them? I never know. Shinybrite has a simple easy recipe definitely worth trying. I am going this week. 
• Looking for a new diaper bag or a gift for friend, check out momfinds for cheap diaper bags. Where were these cool bags when my daughter was a baby? 
• "Mom, do I look fat?" For someone who has been a diet since she was fifteen, I sooooo am not trying to pass along my "fatness" fear onto my daughter, the last thing I want her to do is start dieting the way I did. Donna Fish, a licensed clinical social worker provides tips for parents with tweens/teens over at Child Grows in Brooklyn. Well worth reading. 
• I had no idea Vitamin D was so important for kids and me. A Child Grows in Brooklyn provides reasons why Vitamin D is so important for all of us and ways to get into our diet. 
• Everyone who becomes a parent realizes pretty quickly, that we are winging it as parents every day. Mom delicious tells about her thoughts about a friends compliment "now you look a mother." We have all been there.
• I love ad hoc moms mommy etiquette  in 8 simple rules - Every mom should read it and hopefully recognize themselves, I am talking to you moms who brag about what a difficult decision they have on which G&T school to go to.  
• It's hot out people and like ad hoc mom, I am more than happy to stay in rather go to the playground in 95 degree weather with no shade. Read her bribery attempts to stay inside over braving the heat wave. 

Per Elizabeth Hasselbeck I am a LESBIAN

I had to comment on the latest gaffe by Elizabeth (I should be sitting at the kid's table) Hasselbeck. This week on The View. Yes, I watch it but don't know why. Instead of Celebrity Rehab, MTV should have a reality show - "The View Rehab" but I digress.

This week she made one of her wackier comments and there are so many. In discussing why some older women get involved in same sex relationships, her assertion is that  it's because older women can't find a man.

"All older men are going for younger women, leaving the women with no one." according to Hasselbeck. And her response to Joy Behar when Behar said her comment was "ridiculous." Older women are looking for companionship not a sexual relationship.

Oh Bitsy. What planet are you on and who feeds you this stuff?

So according to her, I, an "older" women should just give it up and find a lesbian or another woman to hang with instead of a man.

There is one fatal flaw in her twisted logic.

" I am not, never or will be attracted to women."  And I am sure, every woman who fit's her definition who is now single doesn't either.

What exactly did you and that famous lesbian Melissa Etheridge talk about when she was at her house???

Thoughts from the single 40 plus crowd are welcome.

And for the record, I do have hope I will find a guy one day although as my friends, I need to do some work to find him, he is not going to be knocking on my door.

Pearl S. Buck Foundation - Saving Lives Everyday - Event Hosted by NYC Single Mom and Mommy Factor

This week Onica (http://mommyfactor.blogspot.com/) and I hosted an event highlighting the Pearl S. Buck International Foundation. The event was part of Johnson's "Girl Talk Cause Party," Johnson's committment to raise awareness about worthwhile causes, in connection with B-Link Network.

I was excited that Onica asked if I wanted to co-host the event given that I adopted my daughter and because I am supportive of all the amazing work that The Pearl S. Buck foundation is doing to help kids to live a better life.

Amina from mixedchild.com was our guest speaker and provided a start to a great discussion on what it means to grow up bi-racial in the Phillipines and Brooklyn. Interesting, right?

Being bi-racial in today's age is no big deal, even the President is bi-racial. And speaking personally, as a bi-racial person, my mom was Japanese and my father was African-American, I think often about lucky I am to be an American.

Unfortunately, bi-racial children in other countries especially Asia are not so lucky. The Pearl S. Buck foundation works to try to make a better life for these kids who are denied the basic rights; right to an education, healthcare and most of allm, acceptance that we all take for granted. These children pay the price for their parents.

If all you do is pass the word onto your readers and friends/family about the Pearl S. Buck foundation, my work is done.

And there are other ways of making difference than adopting a child. To learn more about how the foundation provides health and education assistance, cultural events which improves the quality of life and provide opportunities for children in various countries, visit Pearl S. Buck Foundation


Thank You to all our sponsors for without their support, this event would not have taken place.

	Johnson's Baby Oil and The B-Link Network Johnson's provided Johnson's products for the attendees.
	Din Dins Din-Din meals are organic, all-natural  and homemade prepared from recipes devised by a nutritionist. DinDins meal come fresh and are freezer stable for 3 weeks. Meals are delivered right to your door. Great for quick cooking when we need a break. Visit dindins for more information and menus.
	Lucky L'il Darlings LLD provides a full range of sitter services including weeknight, weekday or weekend babysitting, weekly sitters or on-demand requests. Currently servicing over 100 families in Manhattan and a growing clientele in Portland, Oregon, Lucky L'il Darlings has a well-established reputation for quality reputation for quality and excellence. Each babysitter has been carefully selected through an in-depth screening and interview process and given a background check. Visit http://www.luckylildarlings.com for a full list of services, rates, and FAQs.
	toysrus.com,  the world's leading toy and baby products. Toys "R" Us is opening 100 new stores this year. visit http://www.iwanttobeatoysrusmom.com/ to see if there is a new store opening near you.
nd thanks to all the attendees.  Southard Communications	Thanks to Esther and Bill at Southard Communications for graciously providing conference room space for our event. Visit Southard Communications to learn more about their client roster.

And thanks to all the attendees. 

Wordless Wednesday - Visiting Day At Camp

Last Friday was visiting day at camp. It was a wonderful day to head out to Staten Island and see my daughter and her friends at play.

Chatting with Kathie Lee Gifford

Last week, I mentioned that I went to an event hosted by Hayneedle.com, an online furnishings retailer in celebration of National Hammocks Day and to announce the nationwide campaign of Childhelp.org, a national organization dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect.

After learning about the organziation, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kathie Lee Gifford,

I attended the event with gaynycdad.com so they asked if we would do the interview in tandem. I did not care so we waited with the other writers. After about 10 minutes, we were whisked away to the interview room.

Kathie Lee was gracious in introducing herself to Mitch and me. Before we started the interview, she asked us if we wanted a drink.

"Are you drinking?" Yes, I having a champagne. I could not resist having a drink with Kathie Lee, how fun is that to say, "I had champagne with Kathie Lee Gifford."

Q: How long have you been working with Childhelp.org?
A: "I have working with them for close to 20 years, trying to make a difference the best way I can. Did you know that every 10 seconds, there is a report of child abuse? That is a startling statistic."

Q: What is a parenting tip you can give parents?
A: "Structure is the key to parenting. Children need to have structure in their daily lives"

Q: How many hammocks do you have? This question came from gaynycdad.com
A: Three, one in all of our houses.

At that point, we talked about a wide range of subjects from parents needing to decompress from all the gadgets, cellphones, technology and yes, it might be a seque but swinging in a hammock is a great way to relax and reduce stress. "In these economic times, parents are under so much stress that relaxing is a way to reduce neglect and child abuse."

All in all, we had a great conversation. My only regret is that I did not tape the conversation. She was so nice and great conversationalist, she made it to easy to talk to and it was hard to write what I did, I was too busy talking to her. I must admit, I had a great time.

And I am sure you are curious, and I would be remiss to mention. She looked great.

At the end, she asked her assistant to send us her book, Party Animals. It came today and it was addressed to my daughter. That was truly nice and shows a lot of class in my book.

Mashable Link Round Up - July 23 Weekly Reading Pleasure

• Shinybrite provides all the different ways she has used Mabel's Labels to tag her son's numerous items and fun way she personalized her son's "dog"tags and her helpful tips for spending the day at Coney Island. Don't go until you read it. 
• A Child Grows in Brooklyn provides a Eczema 101 primer for parents who are experiencing the rash or what to look out for and when more importantly, when it's time to got to a specialist. Did you know that you don't have to have been in the water to get swimmer's ear? Click here to read what causes swimmer's hear, how to detect if your child has swimmer's ear and what you could you do to treat it. 
• Check out the latest in baby shower gifts from momfinds.com. There are some super sweet gifts in the collection from personalized bowl and mug set to most adorable stuffed animals.
• Thinking about a family cruise? Culture mom describes why cruises make great family vacations. She provides a listing of the major cruise line deals where kids sail for free. 
• Mad Men fans don't miss out. Click here for details on twitter party to be held the night of the Mad Men premiere to be held on Sunday, July 25 at 10pm. 
• Learn why momdelicious thinks  "patience is a virtue" in getting her son to take swimming lessons.
• Does having a baby in a natural delivery more of woman than women who have "drugs" or c-section any less of a woman. Read mom delicous' take on the comment made to her about being a real woman. 

Mommy, You Are so Disorganized

Originally posted on NYC Moms blog June 27, 2010


When my daughter was an infant/toddler, I was your typical Type-A mom. I had multiple bags neatly filled with wipes, Kleenex, Neosporin and band-aids, just so I would not run out and be left hanging if some boo-boo popped up. And I used to fill in supplies every two weeks, that's how anal-retentive I was.

Now that my daughter is seven, my helicopter mom days are over and I have retired to the benches, reading my paper, checking emails and talking to the other moms, all those activities I used to look on with envy in the early years. Don't worry, I would look up every few minutes just to make sure my daughter was doing okay, but I certainly did not run after her the way I used to.

So when my helicopter mom days ended, I stopped carrying my first-aid bags around and winged it.

Recently, I went to the playground with my daughter, where all the usual running, jumping, laughing type of activities ensued, basically, a lazy afternoon. About 20 minutes into our lazy afternoon, my daughter ran up to me crying that she had fallen and scratched her knee. As we all know, it doesn't matter if it's the least little nick, kids act like they were in a major accident. Of course, I could barely see the scratch and only saw the smallest little speck of blood.

"Mommy, don't you have a band-aid?" she asked while crying. Knowing full well I did not have a band- aid, I feigned rummaging through my bag. "Sorry, I don't have one", giving her my best sad face (I missed my calling as a bad actress.)

"That's okay, I will go ask Sean's mom for one," and off she skedadled. Of course, Sean's mom had a band-aid. I chalked it up to a bad mommy moment and a forgot about it.

A few days later on a playdate with her BFF, my daughter again fell and asked again for a band-aid. I didn't even bother searching in my bag and gave her the sorry, I don't have one look and she announces loudly, "Mommy, you are so disorganized, you never have anything when I get hurt." The other mom sort of gives me the you don't have a band-aid look and pulls one out. I sheepishly mustered a thanks and again forgot about it.

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, little incidents kept happening, spilled ice cream, runny nose, insect bites and I, of course, was completely unprepared.

So bringing my head out of the sand, I acquiesced and started pulling together my first aid kits again because summer is here and it's a matter of time before a nick is not a nick and turns out to be gusher of scratch and I just can't be unprepared.

More importantly, I really don't want my daughter to grow up thinking her mother was disorganized and unprepared when she was a child. I liked her to hang on to the illusion that her mom was supermommy until the dreaded teen years where I transform into evil mommy.


This is an original nycmomsblog post.

Kathie Lee Gifford, Bethany Frankel, Kelly Rutherford and NYC Single Mom Celebrating National Hammocks Day

Yesterday, I went to Midtown Loft & Terrace (great view from the Terrace of the Empire State Building) in celebration of National Hammocks Day Even to announce the nationwide campaign in support of Childhelp, a national organization dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect.

Kathie Lee Gifford has joined forces with Hayneedle.com, an online furnishings retailer. In the spirit of reducing stress in among families and promoting peaceful parenting, a portion of every hammock sold via Hayneedle.com will be donated to Childhelp. Learn more about the campaign at http://www.hayneedle.com/hammocks

It was definitely a fun event with the topper of my forthcoming interview with Kathie Lee Gifford, who was gracious, entertaining and fun. And looks pretty fab in person. 

             Bethany Frankel                    Kathie Lee Gifford, Kelly Rutherford (Gossip Girl), Bethany Frankel 

Kathie Lee Gifford and NYC Single Mom Support National Hammocks Day to Support Childhelp

July 22, 2010 is National Hammocks Day.  A portion of every hammock sold through www.hayneedle.com, an online furnishings retailer and Kathie Lee Gifford partnership will support the mission of Childhelp, a leading national non-profit organization dedicated to helping the victims of child abuse and neglect.

Learn more about the campaign at http://www.hayneedle.com/hammocks

25% Off Walking With Dinosaurs Tickets Now through July 21 - July 25

Dinosaurs once again roam the earth in a spectacular theatrical arena show, Walking with Dinosaurs, the Arena Spectacular. Internationally renowned designers have worked with scientists to create 15 life-size dinosaurs, including the terror of the ancient terrain, Tyrannosaurus-rex! It's a dazzling 10 million pound arena spectacle of unprecedented size and quality set to captivate young and old alike. Marvel at the story of their 200 million year domination of life on earth. Watch them walk. Hear the roar. Be there as they fight for survival and supremacy. From the ripple of their skin to the glint in their eye, you will know the dinosaurs really have returned!

Walking with Dinosaurs will perform 12  performances at Madison Square Garden from July 21 -25 only.

Madison Square Garden is selling tickets at 25% off Select Tickets when you use discount code: LASTCHANCE.

Click here to purchase your discounted tickets:

For video of the live show, please visit www.dinosaurlive.com, and look under "Meet the Dinosaurs" tab in the middle of the front page.

DATES:

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 – 3PM & 7PM
Thursday, July 22, 2010 – 11AM  7PM
Friday, July 23, 2010 – 11AM  &7PM
Saturday, July 23, 2010 – 11AM, 3PM & 7PM
Sunday, July 25, 2010 – 11AM, 3PM & 7PM

PRICES: $35-$99

SUGGESTED AGE: The recommended age for the show is from three to 93.

New York City is a Small Town

The borough of Manhattan has 1.5 million people living in it. Scary, isn't it? But on any given day, if you are a parent, you are bound to run into another parent over the course of the week and that excludes camp and school.

This past week, I ran into a pre-school mom friend at the supermarket. During the summer, I never see them since they are out at their summer house so that was a pleasant surprise.   Our daughter's have been BFF's since pre-school and have been taking ballet every week for 3 years.  She and her husband (a great and funny guy) are both amazingly down-to-earth, funny and just fun to be around.

And yesterday, coming back from a birthday party, I ran into a single mom friend who I have been trying to arrange a playdate with for weeks. We ended having a mini-playdate and dinner. If I had tried to arrange this, it would have never happened. We had fun, the kids had fun and I got to enjoy a non-pizza related meal (2 ginger mojitos and drunken noodles for  me, yeah.)

So here's to living in small town New York City.

Mashable Link Round Up - Weekly Reading Pleasure

1. As someone who continues to debate the private vs. public school choice, shinybrite provides more insight into the differences between public and private school. Definitely worth a look as it adds more information on the discussion. 
2. Shiny Bright highlights one of my cooking heroes, Mark Bittman listing some of his best Summer 101 lists of recipes from 101 Fast Recipes for Grilling, 101 Quick Meals, 101 Simple Meals Ready to go in 10 minutes or less, 101 Simple Salads for the Season and 101 Simple Appetizers in 20 minutes in less all in one place. As she says, get them now before the Times starts charging for them. 
3. Mom Finds has some cool-looking diaper bags for dads, although if I were you I wouldn't call it a diaper bag. Hardly seems cool or masculine. 
4. Sesame Place is one of the more popular day trips from New York. If you are looking to visit Sesame Place this summer, A Child Grows in Brooklyn provides helpful tips to make your trip more enjoyable. 
5. Adhoc mom provides us with her take on what she and her husband would name their fictional child. It's pretty funny, I will give you one name Bacardi Chardonnay. I can only imagine what names they would come with after a few Bacardis. 
6. Is Eminem appropriate for a two year old to listen? Read Ad Hoc Mom's response to being castigated for exposing her child to his music. 
7. Mom Delicious wonders if she has about the age old question for moms - womanhood vs mommyhood and decides she can choose both. 

Wordless Wednesday - Reading on the Subway

I am Happier Since Becoming a Mom - So there New York Magazine

Last week, New York magazine ran an article, "All Joy and No Fun - Why Parents Hate Parenting", which has been tearing up the blogosphere and getting lots of buzz on CNN and NPR, etc. The article makes the case that having children doesn't make people happier.

Here some quotes from the article.
"Most people assume that having children will make them happier. Yet a wide variety of academic research shows that parents are not happier than their childless peers. I don't agree no matter what the data says. 
"Mothers are less happy than fathers and single parents are less happy still." I don't agree.
"Children bring unrivaled moments of joy but also unrivaled moments of frustration, tedium anxiety, heartbreak." I agree. 
"Studies have found that parent's dissatisfaction only grew the more money they had, even though they could buy more child care." So don't agree. 

So here is my response to Jennifer Senior's article:

Am I happy that I adopted my daughter? Yes, of course I am.

Am I happy all the time? No, but I wouldn't I say I was unhappy. What I would say is that, sometimes I am tired,  worried about on my financial future, worried about my daughter's education, wonder if she is overscheduled and the big question, am I good parent.

Of course, if I had a personal assistant to help with all the chores, make appointments, pick her up from school, watch my daughter when I am sick or when I needed a break, I might be a little less everything so the notion that if I had more money is bulls**t.

I will admit, over the last few years, I have had a good cry because I am so overwhelmed. I think it's more from the lack of support from my family not my friends. I know they don't do it intentionally because they have their own issues but...

Luckily I have friends who offer to take my daughter to church, or the park when I need some mommy time.

The Upside to having a child - New Friends - I don't know about you but after a certain point, you stop meeting new people especially in New York.  It's just get exhausting and tedious trying to make friends.

Because of my daughter, I met people who I would have never crossed paths with if I did not have her.  Sure, our initial and continuing bond are our children but true friendships has definitely evolved.

Am I jealous of my single friends? Occasionally. Sure, I would like to go to dinner on the spur of the moment and not be disappointed when I can't find a babysitter (damn, those girls with lives and plans.) Sure, I would like to go on trips. Sure, I miss opening weekend of a movie or being able to get a mani/pedi when I want but it usually passes.

Even if I was still single and carefree, my life would not be perfect, either. I think we all learned ago, life is not perfect. You can choose to be happy or sad or complain or blame your parents, they system or whatever.  Life is about choices. I maybe naive, but I choose to be happy and positive with a litte anger and a good cry thrown in for good measure every so often

I love my daughter and when she makes me laugh with her nutty skits or her role playing being "in the business" or learns to ride a bike on her own or boldly introduces herself to kid on the playground or has full scale conversation with one of her aunts, I am so happy and proud. Those moments happen more often than the frustrating ones.

Of course, check back in a few years during the tween/teen years, I am pretty sure, then I will unhappy.

Are you happy that you became a mother or father?

I don't want to be the Mayor of Foursquare

Last Dave Pogue of the New York Times wrote an article, For Those Facebook Left Behind providing a quick primer social networking sites/apps. One of the sites, he mentioned was Foursquare which has come out of the gate and has become one of the hottest social networking sites out on the market.

I have no idea why I embraced Foursquare. Maybe because I am a blogger and must be on top of all the social networking sites.

Foursquare is an app you open up on your phone which uses the internal GPS so that you can see restaurants, shops, museums, etc where you are standing. The purpose is to "check-in" so your friends know where you are.

The person who checks in the most becomes that place's " mayor."

What's funny about this app is the line "so your friends" know where you are. It's laughable because NONE of IRL friends have this app. Some of my friends don't even have a smartphone and even have phones that are 3-4 years old. And I am pretty sure that when they upgrade to a new phone that they will not get this app.

So why do I do it? Who the hell knows? Maybe secretly, I think I am going to meet new friends. So far, I have 46 friends which some are blogger friends but most are strangers. Weird, huh.

Great Reading for the Weekend

Here is my first link round up that I thought you might find helpful, interesting, thought-provoking and fun.

Take some time over the weekend and check out some cool new blogs.

• Looking for the best maternity tops (or have a friend who needs a pregnancy makeover,) then head over to momfinds.com and check some cool and stylish tops. 

• Want to start a babysitting coop, visit a childgrowsinbrooklyn.com to get a well-though out how-to on what you need to think about, what needs to be included, where to reach out to others on joining and much more. I am actually going to do this because as a single mom, sleepovers are becoming more needed so I can actually get a mini-vacation without leaving town. 

• Head over to shinybrite and get ideas on some cool board books. 

• Shinybrite offers her thoughts on the New York magazine on Why Parents Hate parenting. (look for my thoughts over the weekend.)

• Have you ever been to City Island? M,  either. Check out culturemom's post on her day trip to City Island. Like me after reading her post, you will want to go. 

• All first-time mothers experience Mom Delicious idea of motherhood (i.e. doing it all) but she has somewhat ratched down her Type -A personality realizing that she can't do it all. Hey we all have been there. 

• Adhocmom sets aside her fear of wearing a bathing suit in public to take her child to the Red Hook pool. 

• Read mommyfactor's post on her trip to Sesame place to celebrate Sesame Street's 30th birthday. 

Guest Post - Single Mom & The City

One of the most gratifying and (flattering) things about writing my site is that someone actually finds my site and likes what they read. I was thrilled and flattered that another blogger and a writer for numerous women's magazines sent me an email about providing a guest post about why I love raising my daughter in New York City.

Well, click here to head to andrea's site to read my 5 reasons New York City is a most excellent place to raise my daughter. I think as a recent suburbanite and now urbanite, she was looking for reasons why families live here.  And I will tell you there are more than 5.

Thanks, Andrea for the opportunity for the exposure.

And I hope you stay and check her out, she has a great site, Stories from the Stoop (I love the title) http://www.andrea-stanley.com

Latest Children's Place Purchases

Click on the Title to see my latest vlog on my recent purchases from Children's Place.

Disclosure: NYC Single Mom was not compensated for this post. I am just a huge fan of the store, of course, if you would like to hire me a spokesperson, feel free to contact me.

Kids Club 13 Upcoming Event at the Noguchi Museum

Kids Club 13 members rock out at the Noguchi museum this Sunday, July 11 with Bendaroos art, a musical performance, Explorers challenge and much more. Admission is free for members only as is participation in Kids Club 13 activities. 

Not a member, join before you go. 

Location: Noguchi Museum, 9-01 33rd Road b/w Vernon Blvd. and 10th Street, Long Island City. 

Time: 11am - 2pm 

So what is  Kids Club 13? It is the new family membership program run by Channel 13.

For an annual gift of $75, your Kids Club 13 membership includes the following:

• 13 Free and Fun events for your children (four this summer)
• Discounts to places you are already go or have been dying to try out like the Brooklyn Museum, Police Museum, International Center of Photography, Gazillion bubble Show, New York Liberty and many more places. 
• Your Kid's birthday on TV!!

Upcoming Free and Fun Member Events

• August 8 - Hurray! Hudson River at the Hudson River Museum
• August 14 - Explore the South Street Seaport with Curious George
• Sept 25 - Fall Harvest Day at the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms 
• Oct 24 - Calling all Explorers at the Intrepid Museum
• Nov 13 - Children's Book Fair at the Brooklyn Museum
• Dec - TBD 

Disclosure: NYC Single Mom is Kids Club 13 Ambassador

2010 Summer Songs - I am so clueless

My latest vlog on this summer's big songs.

Click here if you want to read about the artist and their big hit.