Androgyny

I was up late as usual on November 13 and was also, of course, on Facebook. This whole paragraph about an "incident" at a new Wyckoff boutique came up in my newsfeed because someone I'm friended to is a fan of the boutique's FB page. The story was something about a sweatshirt in the window causing a whole scandal in that town. Now, me being...well, me, I was all interested and needed to know what's going on. I start investigating further.

Turns out the sweatshirt said "Shit Happens". And it was in the window. Sounds like someone, a woman, took a cell phone photo of it, and went nuts with it. Went to the Chamber of Commerce, then the POLICE. The POLICE. Over "Shit Happens" on a shirt. I felt the need to be involved. So I publicly supported the owner on her FB page and told her that I never heard of her place but now I can't wait to come in. And not to worry about the haters. That for any pearl-clutchers she may have lost, she'll gain double the new, cooler people. That I'd be in to check out her place after E's dance class the next day. 

The owner is Christina and it turns out her store is actually IN the same building as Wyckoff School of Dance. It's right in the front of the building, whereas the dance school is in the back. Christina said she just got her sign even though she's been open almost five months. Permits. I know ALL about that stuff. Her sign is huge & red now, but if you were just going to the dance school, and coming from the Boulder Run/Dairy Queen side, you might miss it. There's that huge sign that juts out that has the names of all the businesses in that building, blocking view of the front as you come up Franklin. But you can see it if you're coming down Franklin from the other side. 

  

After E's dance class on Saturday morning, I had time to kill so we walked around to the front to check out the store. She opens at 11a, so that was convenient. It's a decent sized store with a good amount of inventory. She has really cool, fun and funky costume jewelry and some more expensive pieces. I prefer the costume stuff personally. Evil eye bracelets, rings, sparkly stuff. Perfect for tweens, teens and me. There aren't many boutiques for trendy, edgy stuff in the area. There aren't any in Glen Rock, no others I know of in the immediate area. Nothing like this kind of stuff. Yes there are boutiques, and places that sell clothing and accessories, but not like this. I'd say the closest are a two I can think of in Ridgewood. I don't think there are any others in Wyckoff. At least I haven't seen or been told of any. Androgyny is definitely a welcome addition. 

I like that it's more of a one-of-a-kind type place. I don't know the labels on her merchandise but it is definitely of the more unique variety. Every third person isn't wearing the same shirt you bought there. She also has a vintage video game machine. E played Pac Man there for the first time ever. He also liked the old-school game machine. He recognized what it was from Wreck It Ralph. 

Christina is really nice, friendly and she looks trendy. The kind of girl you expect to see as the owner. In her 20's and edgy. She isn't pretentious and she was happy to chat and make us feel welcome. A minivan of teens with a mom chaperone came in while I was there and I was happy to see it. I own a small business too and I know how hard it is to carve out your niche. And it can't be easy when people are trying to take you down for a "Shit Happens" sweatshirt displayed. She wasn't even fighting it. The person didn't come in and ask her to take it down. The offended party just immediately went to the police, the Chamber and social media. It sounded like a witch hunt to me. Before Facebook and Instagram, if you had a problem, you had to actually take it up with someone personally. Now, you don't like something, you just go on the attack with social media and your complaints get traction. Well, sometimes that works for good- like in discrimination cases. And sometimes it works for evil. Like when someone gets their panties in a bunch about a curse word and tries to ruin someone's new small business. Come on. Give the girl a chance! 

So check out Androgyny in Wyckoff. Especially now, for gifts. If you have tweens and teens and have no idea what to get them, pick up some unique, blingy jewelry or maybe she has gift certificates. I saw some fun scarves, sweatshirts, T's, etc. 

https://www.facebook.com/AndrogynyLLC

291 Franklin Ave, Wyckoff, NJ 07481

(201) 485-8577

• Hours: Monday 11am-4pm, Tuesday-Friday, 11am-7pm; Saturday 11am-6pm

WGIRLS Hope for the Holidays

Sponsor the Holiday Wish of a Child in Need!

http://www.wgirls.org/wgirls-nyc-hope-for-the-holidays-2013/

Sponsor the Holiday Wish of a Child in Need. Your tax deductible donation of  $35 dollars or more will cover the costs of toys and clothing for a child in the Head Start Program! The WGIRLS will purchase, wrap and distribute your gifts to a child living below the poverty line in NYC.  Learn more about the Head Start Program at Bank Street!

http://www.wgirls.org/

 

Light the Menorah

There's no Menurky, but there is now a Menorah!
Some of my favorite people worked really hard on
getting this to happen. The celebration has finally
come to fruition. Please come out in fun & support!

 

Join the Village of Ridgewood and the

Jewish Community of Ridgewood for the

1st Annual

 Chanukah
Menorah Lighting
Wednesday, November 27th
at 5:30 P.M.
Memorial Park at Van Neste Square in Ridgewood

There will be music and refreshments.
Come and celebrate this
joyous occasion!

Make Reservations

Trying to go out of the house to eat dinner anywhere in Bergen County, specifically the Paramus area on down to Riverside Square (or whatever it's called now- Shops At Riverside?) is actually comical. You have to have that shit down to a science. And I thought I did, and I also thought I could spit in the face of all I know this past Saturday night.


We went to a nursery school Havdalah program at the temple which was 5:30p-6:30p. But it actually ended a little early. B and I LOVE Houstons so he asked if I wanted to eat there. Now, everyone knows that Houstons usually has at least an hour wait even at an off time, but if you know your way around it, you can usually figure out how to get in quickly. Plus, McCormick & Schmick's was next door. They did well taking the overflow from Houstons. I could eat there if need be. They closed but a new fish restaurant was supposed to have opened "Fall 2013" so I assumed they were open already. That would leave SIX restaurants to try to get into. There was no way we wouldn't be able to get into ANY, right??

If you go to Houstons during the week, if you get there before 6:15p, you're looking at 0-20 minutes. WELL...I was just pretending that none of this waiting nonsense was going to be an issue because I wanted their grilled salmon something fierce. Yeah, we got there at 6:37p and,"75-90 minute wait", we were told with a sincere smile. I didn't think that one was going to work out. But B put our name in.


Then we had the brilliant idea to just put our name in almost all the restaurants and take whatever one called us first. So we walked over to Cheesecake factory- 60-75 minutes. Then on over to Maggiano's- TWO HOURS. But, we did know someone working there. My friend Jenn's brother was there. We thought we had an in! We put our name in there. Houstons and Maggiano's have these awesome new systems where they can text you instead of having to stick close with their buzzing pager. While I was putting our name into Maggiano's, I sent B off with Ethan to PF Changs. They gave him a pager, which I added to the one from Cheesecake Factory in my bag. After I took a photo of the pagers and my phone just to immortalize the silliness of the whole thing.

We had to sit somewhere to wait so we picked outside of Cheesecake Factory since they had the shortest wait. I thought my friend's brother would be able to make some magic happen but that would be via text so we could sit anywhere waiting for that call.

Ding ding ding! At 8p, we had a winner. Cheesecake it was to be. I really wanted Houstons- I was jonesing for their grilled salmon and their house salad. But it looks like we're going to have to do the early bird special at like 5-5:30p if we ever want to eat there on a Saturday night again. Granted, it was the Bloomies Friends & Family sale that weekend so the mall could've been crazy due to that, but honestly, I think it's just Bergen County. It gets more and more crowded with every condo added. And they keep adding up. So I think we just have a ridiculous surplus of people. And apparently they're hungry.

By the way- 8:55p I got a text from Maggiano's saying our table was ready and B got the Houstons text at 9p. Yeah, no. We were just leaving Cheesecake then. Laughing at those texts. I can't imagine anyone would seriously wait that long unless they were on a date and drinking at the bar at either place, with time to kill and no small children. Or, they just REALLY love chain food.

There's not much of a point to this post besides the comedy of having a bag full of hopeful dinner reservations - either in the form of awaiting text message or pager. Personally, I'm loving the texting systems and think those pagers should be eliminated completely. It's antiquated and annoying to have to stay so close to the restaurant when it's in a mall and you can at least walk around the mall. It's better for the mall as a whole if people feel like they can walk around the mall and shop without losing their precious reservation.

If it was just B and I, we could've eaten at the bar at Morton's. We've done that before. We still had to get there by 6:30-7p to be able to eat but it was fine. We just weren't doing that with E. He doesn't need Morton's and the bar area isn't exactly the most kid friendly. They don't even HAVE butter knives there. It's the weirdest thing. They only give you steak knives. They only HAVE steak knives to give. I'm not giving my four year old any knives, but only having steak knives is a good indication they aren't really kid-friendly.

Another interesting observation was all the ridiculously expensive cars that were parked outside the mall. We saw a Lamborghini outside Mortons. It used to be that a Mercedes was a status symbol. Now, no one would even notice your paltry Mercedes because at Riverside, chances are high you will be parked next to a Maybach or a Maserati. Hello, people? You're still in a MALL. A busy mall in the Paramus/Hackensack area. Maybe people who have money to burn like that don't mind paying to get a ding out of their car? I don't know. I was going to take a picture of the Lamborghini as we went by but there was a guy outside wearing a diamond encrusted pinkie ring, smoking a cigarette, that it looked like it could belong to. I didn't want him to get all Sean Penn on the paparazzi on me so I erred on the side of caution. But really? You take your shit car to the mall. The spaces at Riverside are made for Smart Cars, not for cars you don't want getting messed up. Half the time people take up two spaces there because the spots are so narrow. I don't know if they're there because they need to show off or what. But it seems so ridiculous to be driving sports cars meant for speed when you can go about one mile an hour in Rt 4 or Rt 17 traffic on a Saturday evening.

All in all, the evening was fine. We got in to eat by 8p, E was fine- he rolls with the punches. He doesn't even like food. Because it was so late, he actually ate. The key to getting him to eat, obviously, is starving him till he's hungry enough. He's used to going out to dinner. We have gone out just about every Saturday night for dinner with him since he was born. We had crayons, paper, and B's cell phone. We were totally prepared. Maybe because we were so hungry, the food tasted like the BEST MEAL EVER. My Cheesecake Factory grilled salmon was perfect as was my strawberry shortcake dessert. We just won't be going there again on a weekend unless it's before 6p. Or I will try to make a reservation.

Sing like an Aardvark Winter Semester

Need a Mommy & Me activity?

I got an email from Music for Aardvarks:

We hope you are having a wonderful Fall!  We want to let you know that our Winter Semester Schedule is now available on our website.

Click Here to view it!

We hope you can join us for another great semester of family music and movement in Waldwick, Glen Rock, and Park Ridge.  Please email us if you have any questions, we'll see ya' soon!

Announcing our 2014 Winter Schedule!!

• Winter semester will begin on Monday, January 6th, and run for ten weeks (through mid-March)
• Registration opens for families not currently enrolled on Black Friday, November 29th at 9am, on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Many classes fill quickly, be sure to register early to guarantee your spot!
• Tuition for Winter semester is $250, but is discounted to $235 if you register on November 29th (discount expires at midnight!)
• Tuition for siblings enrolled in the same class is $150.
• If you have not registered for a class before, please create an account here before November 29th. 

A Hum Music | 175 Rock Rd. | Glen Rock, NJ 07452

Ale & Accessories for Angelina

Book Fair & Open House

Wizardry

Tickets are now on sale for The Harlem Wizards!! See The Wizards play against a team of Glen Rock teachers and community leaders, including Dr. Weber, Mayor John van Keuren, Officer Matt Stanislao, and Francesca's Owner Sal Reina. Enter for a chance to win a basketball signed by future Hall of Famer and Brooklyn Nets Head Coach Jason Kidd, and to participate in a halftime free throw contest.

Tickets purchased before the event are $12 for general admission. A limited number of reserved seats in the first two rows of the bleachers are available for $25 each. A small number of VIP court side seats are on sale for $50 each, and include a meet-and-greet with the Wizards, a free giveaway and dinner of pizza and a drink.

Ticket order forms are available at www.byrdhsa.com, or by emailing Maria van Duffelen at mariavan@verizon.net. General admission tickets are also available at www.harlemwizards.com. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the door the night of the event for $15 per person.

For more information, visit the Byrd HSA website at www.byrdhsa.com.

The Big Jewish Questions

This sounds really interesting....Glen Rock Jewish Center Presents:

Where For Art Thou Ricky?!

Where is Ricky? "Richardo O'Gorman", you have like a two hundred mom-mob searching, desperately, for you to cut their kids hair.

Ricky worked at Rita's Snips for Pips in Ridgewood. He is really good with all the kids and I'll go out on a limb and say he was pretty much the favorite in Bergen County for kids cuts.

I'll be honest- I stopped going to Ricky for two reasons- one, Rita's is ridiculously expensive and Ricky was so precise with his haircutting that a haircut for a boy would take 30-45 minutes. My son's hair, while important to have a good stylin' cut, did not need that amount of attention. The cost- not his fault. The time...well, whatever. I just don't have that kind of time. Not when my son needs a haircut every 4-6 weeks.

BUT, my kid never had a problem sitting for a haircut. He likes it. No sensory issues, no haircut fear, nothing. For kids who have issues getting their haircut, apparently, Ricky is a god-send. He is careful, patient, engages the kids, has a special key chain with a million things on it to get their attention off their haircut, and I've never seen a kid cry while in Ricky's care.

There are hundreds of moms, literally, FREAKING OUT, that Ricky is gone from Rita's and nowhere to be found. It's become the Where's Waldo? of kid-cutting. "WHERE'S RICKY?"

Moms are stalking his extracurricular activities to find him and won't stop till they do. He's been found on Twitter but by the looks of his account, he's not much of a social media fiend. For anyone interested though, his Twitter handle is Dagudlif3

They're coming for you Ricky! With all these clients, you can open your own place. You're just going to have to cut down the time on those haircuts or you'll be working 24 hour days.

If anyone has any information on Ricky's whereabouts, please put the information in my comments section below. Or the next step is putting Ricky's picture on a milk carton.

They want YOU Ricky and ONLY you. Once they find you, you will have customers for life. Even if you have to cut hair at your kitchen table. Maybe you should look into purchasing one of those plane chairs. And a DVD player. They need the DVD player. Just FYI...

Thanks!

Update: THERE IS NONE. People are still looking for Ricky and I have no answers. And Elle Hall- I can't find you on FB- you're like, on lockdown- so find me in case there is an update.

PLEASE PASS THIS ENTRY ON so the moms looking for Ricky can get some PEACE!

In Memoriam: James Heaney

I'll be the first to say that I did not know James Heaney very well. But I'm going to tell you a story. I'm telling this story not because it's about me, or happened to me or whatever. I just want to get it out there, in my usual verbose perspective...I want people to feel the magnitude of how someone touched our lives and how to help his loved ones in this terrible time.  Here's the story....

I was sick for like three weeks. It was a really long drawn out cold. On October 25th, there was going to be a Mini Cooper "Rally". We were invited by the sales guy who sold us the car and weren't going to go. It's where like hundreds of Mini Coopers drive together somewhere- this time it was the Warwick drive in movie theater. You have dinner at Mini, supplied by them, there is a car-dress up contest, then we all drive. But it used to be in warmer months so it was going to be dark by the time we actually left Mini and not good at all because it's hard to follow that way.

Let me back-track a little. Two weeks before the rally (Rally was 10/25/13), I ran into my neighbor, Sharon Sullivan-Heaney. We met Sharon and her husband James at the Progressive Dinner or Wine & Cheese night in town about five years ago. I'm pretty sure it was before Ethan. They're a few years younger than us, and were friends already with another neighbor couple or two we are friendly with from town. We really liked Sharon and James. Bryan thought Sharon was one of the funniest people he'd ever met. We'd only see them here and there over time because we're all busy. At some point I had Ethan, they still had no kids. Then the next or the next progressive dinner or some event we saw them. But whenever we did run into them, we'd gravitate toward hanging out with them for the duration of the evening. The last thing we saw them at, the four of us were the last to leave someone's house together.

About two weeks before Oct 25, I ran into Sharon in the park. Totally odd because we both work full time but we happened to be off or I left early or whatever. No one else we knew were even there which was also kind of strange because it's "the" park. Everyone we know goes there. We ended up there an extra hour just to catch up and I told her that if she and James ever want to come over just for pizza night on a Saturday that would be cool...and it really seemed like it would. I REALLY like her. And with busy lives, you know, you can only make time for people you really want to spend time with. They are those kind of people.

 

Then we heard about this Mini thing. But we had plans to go to a party. I had Jordan, Sydney's sister lined up to babysit. It was going to be Jordan's first time staying alone, I thought she was looking forward to it, and I'd already cancelled on her the week before because E was sick. I still had a really bad cold though and I didn't want to go anywhere. THEN, James Heaney, Sharon's husband emailed me on FB. We were FB friends but never had any personal email communication. He was really into Mini, which I forgot. He was all geared up for this thing. He seemed to genuinely want us to go. He really pitched the rally, which I found kind of amusing- I don't know. I thought his Mini passion was funny. I'd had a Saturn for ten years before we got the first Mini in 2006 and Saturn people were like that too. I guess I like cars that have a real cult following. Bryan kind of wanted to go when we'd first heard of it but his interest had been waning because it was going to be so cold outside the night of the event.

 

BUT, here I'd seen Sharon, told her we should hang, her husband bothered to get in touch to make sure we knew about it and wanted to coordinate going together. I felt like I should put my money where my mouth is, decided to forget the party since we weren't sure it was even definitely happening, cancelled Jordan, and told James we'd go. We made a plan for them to meet us at our house and we'd go up together so we'd be next to each other for the movie. I think a day or two before the rally, James emailed me and said that Sharon couldn't go. She had a work meeting. James met us at our house, without Sharon but with the twins.

 

B and I were saying how impressed we were- James was so into this hobby of Mini and wants to share it with the girls that he's willing to take twin two and a half year olds by himself to this thing. I mean, anyone with kids knows that with just one, the worst hours are the "witching hours"- dinnertime through bedtime. Who really wants to take their kids out of the house at that time? After working a full day. James acted like it would be a breeze. We just shrugged and followed his lead, kind of thinking he was nuts but thinking maybe he knew something we didn't. And if he could do it with two kids, surely we could do it with one kid.

 

We got to Mini and James was playing with all the kids. He wasn't just "dealing" with his kids. He was chasing Ethan and this other boy, they were running and playing out in the cold on the grass. He'd gotten the girls to eat dinner, got them to the bathroom, all with minimal help and a smile on his face. He just seems like a really good dad, really HAPPY to be a dad.

 

It was too cold that night to really hang out- we finally made it to Warwick and we had to watch from the car, closed in. It was hard for him with both girls- they are the cutest kids ever but twins at two and a half are no joke. Amelia tried to touch every button on the dashboard of her dad's car. She was all over the place. Just thinking about it is still funny. I wouldn't have been surprised if she'd figured out how to drive away. they didn't want to sit still and halfway through he said it was time to go- for them. So they left and that was that....It was Friday night, October 25th.

 

I was stressed out all week from then on because I was still sick, Bryan got re-sick, we were hoping E wouldn't get re-sick, and I was trying to prepare to go away. I was leaving for a four day trip the next morning. Thursday night, October 31st, I planned to go to bed early because I had 5-6 hours of driving alone to do on Friday. I checked Facebook ONE last time around 11:30ish. I saw all these photos posted by someone I don't know, in my feed, saying goodbye to his dear friend James Heaney. But there were many photos, with numerous people in them.  

 

WHAT?? No, it must be someone else that passed in these photos. Maybe his father or brother or something. We were JUST WITH HIM. SO randomly. I hadn't seen them in like a year, I ran into Sharon, then we go with James to the Mini thing and now he's 36 and just GONE?? So I went to his page, her page, and yes, indeed, he had passed away. I was floored. It's not about me, but I couldn't even sleep. It was like in About Last Night when Demi Moore wants to talk to a sleeping Rob Lowe, going, "Dan...are you awake? Are you sleeping?" B was sleeping, I was supposed to be sleeping, and I had no one to confirm, deny, nothing. It felt totally surreal and I felt AWFUL for Sharon...and those sweet, beautiful girls whose dad just loved them to pieces. James died on Sunday Oct 27- two days after we were with him.

 

It's awful to say, but there are some people you hear of this happening to and you're not exactly surprised. Maybe they do some drugs, party a lot, work ridiculous hours in a high stress environment, are out of shape, have all kinds of health problems. This was not the kind of guy you'd think this would happen to- he was in what looked to be like in generally good shape, he was only 36...

 

And unfortunately, there are people you hear of stuff like this happening and you feel for their family, but don't feel THAT bad because they aren't stand-up people. James was not one of those.

 

He was sort of quiet. But quietly funny. He was super nice and when I think of him, I think of him with a smile. Playing with kids. I think of he and Sharon as one of those couples you like to be around because they showed a genuine affection for each other. They didn't bicker. At least in public. You know you know those couples who you want to retreat into your own skin because it's so uncomfortable to be around them. What struck us about them is that Sharon is one of the funniest people we encountered and he was her quieter, but still funny, partner in crime. I didn't even know they were together for so long. But it makes sense. It's like they were puzzle pieces that just fit. And that's just the perception of someone being around them together just a few times. But I've been around couples just a few times that I would expect to hear not long after that they'd divorced. Not them. They seemed truly happy and enjoying each other's time.

 

Sharon is going to need a lot of help. She didn't SAY she needs help. But anyone would need help in her situation. I don't know what kind of help she'll utilize and/or ask for. It's always weird when someone dies....People are around, making meals, trying to help, all in the beginning. But, then, as is human nature, people go back to their own lives. It's not a fault, it's just a testament to how resilient human beings are. Time does heal and life does go on. But, Sharon is in her 30's and their girls are only two and a half years old. They're going to need monetary help as anyone would in her situation of being a single working mom now. It's just a fact. I'm sure everyone wants to disrupt the girls lives as little as possible now and the only way to do that effectively is to make sure they have the money they need to keep life as normal as possible.

 

Some local/mutual friends have set up a donation site for them. I'm passing it on to get to as many people as possible. Please share it- share if from here, from my FB page, from my blog FB page...share, share, share. I want it everywhere. The goal on there is $10,000. I'd love to go to the page and see the goal hit as soon as possible. It would probably be a huge weight lifted from Sharon. There isn't much we can do to help, because there are very few words that can comfort at a time like this, but at least we can raise money! Nothing can bring James back, but we can bring some peace of mind.

 

Rest in peace James Heaney and peace and love to Sharon, Layne & Amelia, and all of James's friends and family.

 

https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/nld3/the-james-heaney-family-fund

Check Yourself!

Anyone who knows me knows I'm on Facebook all the time. I'd say I'm on "social media" but anyone who really knows me knows that I'm also a little social media one-sided. As in, I prefer Facebook to any other site. I don't have to worry about getting all my thoughts down in one hundred and forty characters or less and I don't want a separate site just for photos. I have twitter but I rarely use it. After all this time and like 4000+ tweets, I still don't really "get" it. Most of the people that follow me there, I don't even really know. But FB is all people I *do* actually know. And who know me back.

I post a lot and I share a lot. But I don't post anything controversial without CHECKING THE VALIDITY. I don't want anything coming from me that's just perpetuating false information or rumor. I'm stymied as to how many people just hit the share button without checking to see if what they're sharing is even true, valid, and/or proven. Yet, I see it happen almost every day. In all the years I've been on FB, I may have posted something in error maybe once, that I saw somewhere and shared quickly. But as soon as it was pointed out to be incorrect info, I was able to take it down quickly because I'm always online.

People could argue that if it's political, it's left to interpretation. And some stuff is left to interpretation and that's fine. But even with politics....hello, Obama is an American citizen. He just is. You can dislike him, you can be against his policies. But if you post moronic, incorrect things like that he isn't a citizen of the country, then who can even take you seriously? It's not about being democrat or republican, it's not looking like you just take anything and everything you see from the sites you frequent as gospel and 100% truth. Just because something is available to read or the opinion of a "news" source you like, doesn't mean they always have the correct information.

If there is a disturbing photo of something, like a dog being fed alcohol from a vodka bottle, you can even just google "snopes dog being fed vodka" and see if something comes up. An animal loving friend reposted a photo like this because who wouldn't want this guy in the photo caught and punished? I would. It made me physically sick seeing it. BUT, then someone posted- "This is fake, please stop reposting". So I didn't even need to see it- had my friend known it was fake, he wouldn't have reposted it. But he shared it from someone he presumably trusts and it just goes in a cycle of information that hasn't been validated as true. There are plenty of validated atrocities to send around for people to be able to do something about. We need to weed out the false stuff. PLEASE.

I'm in a few different FB groups of intelligent women. If there is something I'm not sure if it's true, I post it in one of my groups and ask if anyone knows if the item or the source is credible. That's step one. Then, based on what they say, I then go to the internet and check again. Because I don't want to put out false information! Recently, an article was sent to me that the Pope basically SAID he was for gay marriage. I thought it couldn't be true, because if it was, I would think it would've been bigger news on the grand scale. It would've been everywhere and it would've been a huge deal. I asked my friends if anyone heard or read this and posted the link that was sent to me. I was told it was a British version of The Onion. A satire-esque news site. Thank goodness I didn't share that article because I'd look like a schmuck.

It's SO easy to check to see if a story is true. Snopes is right at the click of your fingers. If you don't know what snopes is- here is the Snopes story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snopes.com

Here is Snopes: www.snopes.com

If you want, all you have to do is start typing in the subject matter you're looking for with the word snopes and chances are, it'll come up for you. People on FB this past week were sending around an old article, not credible, about the courts linking the MMR vax to autism. It was an old article from an Italian court. I don't know if any of you followed the Amanda Knox story, but I'm not apt to believe anything out of the Italian court, ever. But check the sources and dates before perpetuating stories. PLEASE! It's so easy and google can be your BFF.

Sometimes I'm surprised. I go to Snopes expecting something to be completely untrue and it's a mix. And they even WRITE the word "mixture". Like the thing going around now about the Salvation Army saying gay people should be put to death. It's going around again because it's going to be holiday time soon and we're going to start seeing many a Santa ringing the bell next to the red Salvation Army money collection bucket things. Yes, the media relations director based out of Australia made some hateful comments but they have also explained their position in greater depth and issued an apology. So while it's somewhat true, there is more to the story. I think it was Drita D'Avanzo who shared the original story recently with her fans from her FB page. And you know, I'm ALL ABOUT gay rights and whatnot, but I also am all about wanting the whole story. I don't support the Salvation Army because their beliefs really don't gel with mine, probably on more than just homosexuality, but it wasn't as cut and dried as the original story made it out to be.

So, all I'm saying is before you hit share, take the few moments it takes to just look it up and see if what your posting makes sense and if it's based in fact. Not just sharing someone else's opinions. Because often these "controversial" postings have attention grabbing headlines and the real story isn't even close. Make people want to take you seriously- have correct information. When you pass along incorrect information you have the potential to hurt, alienate, and scare people. For NO reason except that you didn't feel like dotting your i's, crossing your t's and knowing/checking your facts.

Check Your Seat

My friends online discuss car seat safety all the time. But I never hear people talking about it in real life. In real life, it seems people are afraid to tell their friends that their kids look hella unsafe in those adorable selfies or other photos taken of those little ones in the car and posted to Facebook or other social media. People are afraid their friends are going to get angry or tell then to mind their own business. And they may be right. But some people just don't know. They don't read about guidelines or worse, they just blindly listen to their mom or grandma for all their kid advice. So I'm bringing it to you...it's right here. All of it. It's up to you if you choose to read, listen, implement, etc. But it's here. For better or worse.

I copied & pasted from an article on Yahoo.

 

Everything you thought you knew about car seats is wrong. Okay, not everything, but things have changed and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) along with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced new guidelines today. And it's big news! The recommendation is that children rear face longer and they also changed the details for kids in boosters.

More from The Stir: 7 Rules for Buying & Installing a Car Seat
It was believed that 1 year and 20 pounds was the benchmark for forward facing babies in car seats, despite evidence elsewhere that that was still dangerously early. Now, hopefully, with new guidelines, parents and doctors can get on board and spread the word about the safest practices for children. Here are the details.

New Rear-facing Recommendation: Parents are to keep children rear-facing until 2 years old, or until they reach the maximum height and weight for the seat as noted in the manual.

 

Safe Kids agrees. Two years is a goal easily met, considering even some of the lowest cost seats now rear-face until 40 pounds. When your baby outgrows their infant carrier, that is when you buy a convertible seat that rear-faces longer, not a forward-facing seat, which you can put upright up to 30 degrees when kids are bigger with better head control, often making them take up less space than infant seats.

New Boostering Recommendation: Children should ride in a belt-positioning booster (that means a high-back!) until they are at least 4 foot, 9 inches, AND 8-12 years old.

 

Jennifer Hoekstra, the Safe Kids Program Coordinator at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids, shared:

 

In working with parents, we educate them beyond the law and share with them the best practice for keeping their child safe. We strongly agree with the new AAP policy and support the extended rear-facing limits as well as the new booster seat advice. 

It's best to keep children in their harnessed seat until they outgrow it, which is into elementary years with the height and weight of most convertible seats and even harness-to-booster seats these days. But they will outgrow it and go into a booster, and eventually they need to meet all points in a 5-point test before they're ready to sit in a car's seat without a booster of any kind. Remember that these belts are designed to fit an average adult. Best practice is also waiting until children are 80-100 pounds as well.

More from The Stir: The Forward-Facing Car Seat Controversy Continued
Beyond that, all kids need to stay out of the front until they're at least 13 years old.

While 2 years or 8 years may now be the minimums, we don't parent by minimums, do we? Buying a high quality (not necessarily high cost!) seat to start, after you do all your research to choose the best seat for your child, can easily help you meet these recommendations.

 Make sure you're using the car seats correctly, too. There's a lot of intricacies for both harnessed seats and boosters. When in doubt, find a Safe Kids inspection station or event and get checked out by a tech. And hopefully more and more pediatricians, with these new recommendations, will be on board as well, and we can maybe put an end to vehicle related-injuries being the number one cause of death in kids ages 2-14.  

Image via MelanieLouise/CafeMom


Written by Christie Haskell for CafeMom's blog, The Stir.

Glen Rockers: Super Sessions

The Glen Rock School District announces "Super Sessions," a series of informal gatherings hosted by Superintendent Dr. Paula Valenti where residents can provide input on educational matters relevant to students in the Glen Rock Public Schools. The first session is planned for Thursday, Nov. 14 at the Glen Rock Public Library from 9:30-11:30 a.m. and 6:30-8:30 p.m. All are welcome to drop in, discuss issues, ask questions or otherwise join together with Dr. Valenti in sharing ideas that will positively impact the district.

https://www.facebook.com/events/636607563045065/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular

Inside For Winter Fun

I got the most for my money when E was 1-2 years old buy going to New Park & Play. It was the best place ever for him to be social, get his energy out, and just have a good time. Here is the email I got from them today:

Mark your calendars for The New Park 'N Play's Open House!

Our Open House will run from Monday, November 18th through Thursday,
November 21st from 9:30am to 5:00pm.  We are located at 15 Shuart Lane,
Ramsey, NJ inside The First Presbyterian Church.

Our full season will be from Monday, November 18th through Thursday,
February 20th at a low cost of $150 per family. We will also remain open
during Christmas week this season.

Come for a visit and see why we are the Best Bargain in Bergen.

www.thenewparknplay.com

Angelina's Fundraiser

About Angelina - -

Angelina is a sweet 4 year old girl from Maplewood Township, NJ who has been diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma. This is a rare type of childhood cancer. Right now, Angelina is receiving a stem cell transplant and she is officially halfway through treatment. And if she continues on the path she is on now - we KNOW we have a survivor!





Above Restaurant: One South Orange Ave, South Orange, New Jersey 07079

https://www.facebook.com/AngelinasArmy

Downtown Cool

People in Glen Rock are always ruminating on what to do about the downtown, how to get more cool shops, how to keep current tenants and how to revitalize.

Well, two new shops opened so I want to make the announcement here- It's good stuff so shop local!

The two new places opened near each other on Rock Road. One is Verdi Blu (227 Rock Rd), which had been selling only online prior and has now opened a brick & mortar location. The other is The Curious Reader. Verdi Blue seems to have had a great online following so hopefully people will support them being in a store location and The Curious Reader looks like an awesome place to take kids for a fun reading experience. It's not "just a bookstore". It's a bookstore and a reading nook.

"Like" them both on Facebook too- I posted their FB page links under the descriptions.
I pulled some info off their websites-

Verdi Blu is the culmination of years of collecting. Collecting inspirations, experiences and great products. As a mom with three fabulous daughters and one amazing son, I knew it was time to put it all together.  Verdi Blu was launched in October 2012 and continues to tap into the design, style talents & inspiration from all four (now grown) children. 

The Verdi Blu style is classic American and influenced by many style icons like Ralph Lauren, Lily Pulitzer, Jackie Kennedy Onassis & Katherine Hepburn. While we may seem a little preppy, we also add that modern touch. Never pretentious and always about looking great while feeling great in what you are wearing.

Our love of great fabrics, textures, and details are evident and most especially you will notice our love of color (especially Greens and Blues) Verdi Blu is a collection of carefully chosen products for you and your home. We are always looking for products that will give you the most style and best quality for the best price. Whenever possible we look for designers that design and produce in the USA and when we see other great products that aren't, we assure that they use responsible manufacturers abroad. We strongly believe in giving back to the community. 

 

Live, Laugh, Love... ​

It’s that easy. Take a moment and be thankful. Laugh whenever you can. Live your life joyfully. Love everyone in your life.  And always pay it forward!

I hope you enjoy Verdi Blu,

Feel free to contact me at lori@verdiblu.com

https://www.facebook.com/VerdiBluCreates
www.verdiblu.com

The Curious Reader’s goal is to provide the community with a specialty bookstore designed for children. It is focused on supplying books that will inspire curiosity in children and lay the foundation for a lifelong love of learning. We understand that reading should bring pleasure as well as enlightenment, and the extensive range of our hand selected inventory will feature the following sections:

• Board books designed to stimulate infants and toddlers with indestructible volumes ranging from innovative to comforting to cheeky
• Picture books that spotlight beautifully illustrated stories meant to be read by parents with their children
• Easy readers and chapter books to encourage reading for pleasure at a crucial early age Activity & art books to inspire creative expression
• Fairy tales, graphic novels, poetry and short story collections to present different styles of storytelling to stimulate young imaginations
• Beloved classics of children’s literature
• Young Adult literature’s freshest voices and most popular titles
• Nonfiction books on history, the sciences, sports etc.
• A selection of the best parenting skills books suggested by local professionals

An important feature is our separate library of titles arranged by the guided reading system used by many area schools to teach reading as a foundational skill. A selection of fiction and nonfiction titles in each level from A to Z is clearly displayed on dedicated shelves, making finding just the right book easy for parents and teachers.
 
Articles:

• Ridgewood-Glen Rock Patch - Tuesday, October 8, 2013
• Stacey Loscalzo’s blog - Wednesday, October 10, 2013
• Publisher’s Weekly – Thursday, October 11, 2013

https://www.facebook.com/thecuriousreaderbooks
http://thecuriousreaderbooks.com/