The Big Toy Book’s Sweet Suite was part party and part connecting with brands. I found some old favorites including Faber Castell and Tomy and new discoveries such as Kurio, Fashion Angels, USAopoly, Thames and Kosmos, Hexbugs (did you know they had big robots too?), Skylanders and Disney Infinity among others. As a child, my…
Category: Parenthood
Summers in the City
Between heat, exhaustion, anxiety, computer foibles and faults, and erratic work at home schedules, there is the real stuff summer is made of. Camp. New Friends. Old Friends. Staying up late. Pool time. Days and Mornings at Camp Camp is an option for some families and a necessity for others based on childcare needs,…
Birthday Parties: As a guest and a host
Whether you have little toddlers or school aged children birthday parties are a part of your regular routine. Even if your children are not a part of a traditional school, homeschool, not in school yet, rural school, one room school house, there is a good chance you’ll be attending several parties each year. This page…
Great Wolf Lodge: Family Adventure in New England
I have to admit that I’m more of the “cabin in the woods with bears” type of person, but my husband is more of a “Wolf in a costume, hotel room beds and amenities” kind of person. I first heard about Great Wolf Lodge (GWL) when I was looking into places for a family reunion…
Talking to Fathers
I have a father and for most of my life also had two grandfathers. Now that I’m married I have fathers-in law. Now that I have children I have a husband who is a father as well. Until recently, when I’ve been interviewing several Boston area fathers for a few pieces I’m working on I’ve…
Kirkland Tap & Trotter: Kids May bring their Well Behaved Parents
My daughter and I recently caught up with Chef Tony Maws to taste some of his new menu items on the grown up and the kids menu at Kirkland Tap and Trotter. We sat ringside for our chat with Chef . As we talked, Chef Maws would step away to taste food being prepped in…
Life’s a Ball: Now Duck!
You begin by sitting up on the rug or the tickly green grass and your mom or dad or brother or sister rolls it to you. You learn to roll it back. Then, you get a bit older and your mom or dad or brother or sister or friend throws it to you and you learn…
It’s Out of the Park!: Fenway Beyond The Green Monster
You don’t have to be at Fenway to gather with Red Sox Nation and enjoy the game. You don’t have to be sitting on your couch either. You don’t have to bring the kids to a local sports bar to watch the game either. Today you have the perfect solution: Out of the Park. Out…
Definition: Serendipity
Serendipity is waking up to the sound of an alarm clock except you did not set an alarm. Mother and daughter got back late from the ballet. Husband texted that he was going to swim early in the morning. At 7:15 the construction trucks outside back up and sound like an alarm. I stumble into…
Kirkland Tap and Trotter: Brunch
Kirkland Tap and Trotter, which just over the Cambridge border, outside of Harvard Square, is the guy (could be girl but since Chef Tony Maws is a guy this analogy works better that way) on campus that everyone wants to know. It’s not the Big Man on Campus but the really nice, approachable, easy going…
Long Island: Closer than You Think
When I was a high school student in New York, Memorial Day weekend was a long awaited weekend, because it was the kickoff to summer. For many of my friends that meant it was time to kick off shoes, trade cars for mopeds and take the ferry to Block Island. It has been a long…
Family Time in Long Island Wine Country
One of the reasons I love living is Boston is that you can get just about anywhere from here. In an hour or so you can be at the beaches on Cape Cod or the Islands, you can settle into the base of a mountain in Vermont, or you can walk the rocky shores of…
Leah's Life: Pearls and Oysters 