It’s custom for the parents to say a few words (or in some cases more than few words) about their honored child at some point in the course of the bar or bat mitzvah celebration. So here and there I’ve been thinking about my daughter and what I want to say about her, and, invariably, I start getting little teary even though this is just me thinking to myself. Not all that surprisingly, I guess. I keep re-visiting the day the day of her birth and the moment I first held her. She had to be rushed to the neo-natal critical care unit because my wife had a slight temperature, and they wanted to monitor Elena for infection. The nurse was like, “Here she is. Gotta run.” She turned out to be fine–more than fine.

I spend a lot of time being a parent, which, as of all of you know, is hardly easy. And yet, I think it is my favorite responsibility in the world. What a gift! I have a lot of people to thank next Saturday, but Elena most of all.

Eric Messinger is Editor of New York Family. He can be reached at emessinger@manhattanmedia.com

The post Gearing Up For My Daughter’s Bat Mitzvah appeared first on New York Family Magazine.

Are you preggers? Here’s a perfectly good scientific explanation as to why you can get away without shaving your legs for nine months. (The Atlantic)

One stay-at-home dad gives the low-down on what it’s like picking the kids up from school and making dinner, all the while giving advice on how to keep a hand in the job market. (Huffington Post)

ADHD may make males less focused on everyday tasks, but a new study shows how it’s increased their focus on eating. (Time)

A recent survey explains why having three children proves to be the most stressful number of kids for moms to manage. (NBC’s Today)

Does technology help or hinder a child’s imagination? Actress Kellie Martin says she keeps her daughter away from computers. (People)

Moms in bikinis! This blogger says her “future self” recommends wearing them now. (Rookie Moms)

Father’s Day is arriving soon. Here are 7 great ways to show dad you care. (NYMetroParents)

Parents, we know bedtime can be a bit difficult. Have you ever wondered what your kids think about it? (Huffington Post)

The post Our Favorite Parenting Stories Of The Week appeared first on New York Family Magazine.

Erin's dad and a family friend assist her during a pony ride when she's 3 years old.

I can’t explain why I started riding. I guess in a way I was born into it, since both of my parents are horse lovers. My mother rode when she was younger and my father was involved in the thoroughbred racing business. I barely remember the first time I was on a horse, but according to my parents it was the pony rides at a festival in my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, when I was 3 years old.

I finally asked for riding lessons a few years later. As an animal lover, I wanted to be involved with horses any way I could, and learning how to ride seemed to be the answer.

Soon after my first lesson, I found myself going to the barn a few times a week for either formal instruction or to hang out with the other kids. On Saturday mornings, I enjoyed getting there early to help clean the stalls in exchange for riding lessons. At that age I was more willing to clean a horse’s stall than my own room.

The lessons I learned in that messy but much-loved stall ring true to this day as I navigate the world of being a twentysomething living and working in New York City. I gained respect for animals and other people and discovered how to be a responsible young adult. If one of the riders had been careless in not cleaning or putting away the bridles after a lesson, our trainer would hide them from us so that we’d have to go on an elaborate search before we could tack-up our horse the next time. After an exhausting few minutes spent searching for your stuff, you make sure to never leave anything laying around again.

Riding also taught me independence and discipline. I soon realized that no one else was responsible for my achievements and mistakes but me. Working hard day after day was expected. It wasn’t easy going an entire lesson without stirrups while a trainer yells, “Eyes up! Shoulders back! Heels down!” But it was worth it after bringing home the ribbons from shows.

As I got older, I started riding almost every day of the week—sometimes multiple horses a day—and showing regularly. The barn wasn’t a place to simply hang out anymore; it was a break from school and a time to perfect my sport. I worked with serious trainers and equally serious competitors so that I could be stronger during competition.

When I was 14 years old, I started to feel pain in my right elbow. It seemed to be overworked from cleaning stalls in the barn, playing softball, and riding. During a jump-off round (used to determine the placing of the competitors) my high-spirited mare, a former racehorse named Kim, forcefully yanked her head down. I felt a sharp pain radiate through my arm. Like any serious competitor would, I finished the jump-off with the reins in one hand. I immediately went to the hospital straight from the ring. I later found out that I got a second place in that class. Not too bad for one-handed riding.

However, there was bad news. My arm wasn’t just overworked; I had a benign tumor growing close to my elbow and needed surgery. But while I was bold enough to ride a 1,200-pound animal over a four-foot fence, the thought of having an arm operation terrified me.

Cut to four surgeries and almost three years later: I was finally tumor free and ready to resume riding. When the time finally came for me to get back in the saddle, it just so happened that Bo, a sweet older thoroughbred in our barn, recently had colic surgery and needed to be rehabbed back into shape—just like me. We started slowly and both made full recoveries later that year, eventually competing in the jumper divisions with Bo’s new show name, Bodacious.

Years later when I went to college, I volunteered with an organization that retrained ex-racehorses for new careers. Being a thoroughbred lover, this was the opportunity of a lifetime to be able to give back to the community and work alongside the animals that gave me so much while I was growing up. Training young, sensitive thoroughbreds taught me to be strong mentally and physically, since they take advantage of any weaknesses and mistakes. If you’re not giving all you have, you’re not helping the horses. Some days I would start before the sun came up, ride multiple horses a day, do barn chores, and then go to class. The real reward was seeing them adopted into loving forever-homes and start new careers as pleasure horses, show horses, or children’s horses.

Sadly, I don’t ride much nowadays, but I would take it up again in a heartbeat. The introspection and lessons learned from riding can be beneficial to anyone, especially young children who are just learning about personal responsibility. I’ve been able to apply the confidence, dedication, and respect that I’ve learned through riding to all aspects of my life. And, on a no less trivial note, I’ve learned to have better posture as a result. If I ever begin to slouch, I can hear a trainer’s voice in the back of my mind, “Shoulders back!”

WHERE TO LEARN TO RIDE

Manhattan

NYC Riding Academy nycridingacademy.org

Brooklyn

Jamaica Bay Riding Academy horsebackride.com

Kensington Stables kensingtonstables.com

Queens

Forest Equine Center forestequinecenter.com

Lynne’s Riding School lynnesridingschoolnyc.com

Staten Island

Richer Farm, Inc. richerfarminc.com

The Bronx

Bronx Equestrian Center bronxequestriancenter.com

Riverdale Equestrian Center riverdaleriding.com

Westchester County

Boulder Brook Equestrian Center boulderbrookequestrian.com

Chicory Meadow Farm chicorymeadowfarm.com

Fox Hill Farms foxhillfarms.com

New Jersey

Essex Equestrian Centre essexequestrian.com

Rockleigh Equestrian Centre rockleighequestriancentre.com

The post Reflections Of A Horseback Rider appeared first on New York Family Magazine.

TLB

On Wednesdays in May and June, Princess Superstar will be schooling ages 4-6 in the ways of dance, music, and culture with Hip Hop 101 at TLB Music. Students will freestyle dance and rap, create percussion beats, and learn some age-appropriate slang from an experienced pro. tlbmusic.com

Writopia Lab

Offering half- and full-day creative writing summer camps for students ages 6-18, Writopia Lab workshops are led by published, award-winning authors and playwrights who guide peer-driven conversation during class. Campers choose from either Fiction and Fun—where the focus is on short stories—or Playwriting and Performance, which involves theatre workshops and culminates in a performance. Activities include graphic novel writing, songwriting, trips to publishing houses, poetry in the park, acting workshops, and original writing games such as Character Kickball and Steal the Story. writopialab.org

Eastside Westside Music Together

Children from birth to 4 can attend their family-style Mixed Ages class, which cycles through one of nine song collections each semester. Younger children enjoy watching and imitating older ones; older children learn by leading younger ones; and each child participates at his or her own level in singing, moving, chanting, listening, watching, and exploring musical instruments. eswsmusictogether.com

The post Classes & Camps: Rapping & Writing, Singing & Moving appeared first on New York Family Magazine.

Liberty Science Center (Block Party); photo by Tom Moore

Who’s ready for another action-packed week amidst the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple? Included in this week’s picks are a couple of brand-new exhibits that we’ve been itching to tell you about!

Friday, May 24

American Girl at “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella”
American Girl Place
5:30pm
It’s a fairy tale come true! Girls ages 8 and up will have a lovely night with their American Girl doll at “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” on Broadway. The group will see this magical show and then be treated to a special Q & A with the actors. Plus, prior to curtain time, guests will enjoy a feast at the store’s cafe. Tickets are $135 per person. Reservations are required.

Block Party Exhibit
Liberty Science Center
9 am-4pm
This Friday, Liberty Science Center will open its newest exhibit, Block Party. Boasting over 1,600 giant building blocks of all shapes, the exhibit allows kids ages 6-12 to create anything they can dream up. Make a car out of foam blocks in the Imagination Playground and a castle from cardboard boxes in the Creative Cardboard area. The younger set (ages 5 and under) can build with over 600 wooden blocks designed especially for little hands. Free with center admission.

Shipwreck! Pirates & Treasure Exhibit
Discovery Times Square
10 am-8 pm
Ahoy there, landlubber! In “Shipwreck! Pirates & Treasure, all ages will learn of the secret stashes of loot and priceless objects that were found at the bottom of the sea. Featuring over 500 authentic items and a robotic arm installation where treasure-seekers can dig for gold and silver, this exhibit is worth walking the plank for. Free with museum admission.

Saturday, May 25

Governors Island Opening Weekend & Family Festival
Nolan Park on Governors Island
12 pm-4 pm
Governors Island will officially open for the season this weekend, and to celebrate, the Governors Island Alliance will host their 9th Annual Family Festival. This fabulous, free fest will include bubble and puppet-making workshops, face painting, clowns, bouncy houses, and more. But wait, there’s more! Stick around for live musical performances from Arm of the Sea Theater, The Maybelles, Michael Arenella, Astrograss for Kids, and Julie Pasqual.

The post Picks of the Week: May 20-26 appeared first on New York Family Magazine.

We’re giving away a Summer Infant Fuze Stroller Travel System–including the Fuze stroller and Prodigy Infant Car Seat–with our friends at Gymtime Rhythm & Glues!

The new stroller has a lightweight frame, forward and rear facing seat, and holds up to 50 lbs–not to mention sweet features like front swivel wheels, a one-step rear break, and three-position recline. We especially love the removable canpoy with a peek-a-book window, so you can see that your baby is comfortable, just in time for summer.

The infant car seat has a Smart Screen technology that indicates when you’ve installed it safely–which is easy to do with straps that don’t need re-threading and an original belt tightening system.

To enter the contest, click here. Deadline is Friday, 5/31.

Special Note: One of the city’s leading activity and enrichment center’s for children, Gymtime has a wonderful menu of programming for children, including their Tiny Tot Fitness class for ages 6 months thru 14 months. For more information, visit gymtime.net.

The post Win A Summer Infant Fuze Stroller Travel System ($499.99) appeared first on New York Family Magazine.

Many parents already love Residence Inn by Marriott for their thoughtful long-stay amenities for the whole brood, and this month the brand is giving families another delicious reason to go back: Cat Cora’s appointment as its Resident Mom of the Year.

What this means is that families staying at any of the Residence Inn suites, which all have fully functional kitchens, will have access to three easy but scrumptious recipes especially designed by Cora–not to mention free grocery delivery service during their stay. Cora, Bon Appetit‘s executive chef and the only female Iron Chef, has whipped up wholesome goodies like: curried quinoa salad mediterranean; spicy chicken, tangerine, and shiitake stir fry; and banana yogurt split with berries and coconut.

Not planning on traveling this month? Don’t worry, you can get a taste of all this deliciousness. We checked in with Residence Inn for Cat’s banana yogurt split recipe, perfect for a light and healthy summer treat for the whole family.

Banana Yogurt Split with Berries and Coconut

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2 bananas, peeled and split longwise
• 2 cups of blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries
• 1 pint low fat or non-fat plain or vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup crushed graham crackers
• 1/4 shredded coconut (optional)
• 1/4 cup goji berries
• 4 bowls

Directions

In a nice bowl or wine glass, spoon a dollop of the yogurt into the base of the glass and then top with a sprinkling of graham crackers, a layer of sliced bananas, then a few berries, and then start again with the yogurt, continuing the pattern until the glass is filled. Garnish with coconut and goji berries. Repeat with the remaining 3 glasses and serve immediately.

Summer treat tip: This also works nicely with a light vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt.

The post Cat Cora’s Banana Yogurt Split With Berries & Coconut At Residence Inn appeared first on New York Family Magazine.

Dream

Reality: I’m having tea with Mommy and Grandma at Lady Mendl’s tea salon. I can tell this is a rather fancy place because they wouldn’t let Mommy bring the clip-on high chair since there’s crystal and fine china set on the table. So the delightful staff hooked me up with a beautiful, new high chair that is secured to one of the lovely armchairs. I feel like royalty.

It’s so exciting that I’ve mastered the art of eating. Well, unless you want me to use a fork and spoon properly and drink from a cup that’s not a sippy cup. That will come later. For now, I prefer to use the water glasses as a receptacle to wash my hands and the utensils to drum and entertain the dining room.

During our tea, I wow Grandma by using a lot of my words and even try some new ones. I tell her that I’m an intelligent, sassy, sweet, and good girl. Really, I did. I at least said the good girl part unmistakably. My vocabulary is rapidly growing. Mommy notices every time we read books and I say the words with her (or if she asks me to repeat a word or tell her what something is and I do!). She is so proud and it makes her feel better that I pay attention. Sometimes Mommy doesn’t think I pay attention, but the truth is that I’m absorbing everything. I’m a very quick learner.

We’re enjoying our tea thoroughly and having all sorts of fancy fare. My favorites were the finger sandwiches. I ate them like a big girl. With my fingers. From a china plate! And I loved the scones with cream and preserves. I took a bite and then used my words to ask for more preserves for each bite and Grandma gave me more after I said please. I really am so well mannered. I even made sure to toast the special occasion by clanking my sippy cup with Mommy and Grandma’s tea cups to say cheers. And then I insisted on cheers with the teapot. It was extra special. But the most special was my fancy milk cup. Grandma used it to pour milk into her tea. What a mistake. The milk is perfect on its own. So I grabbed hold of the creamer (I think that’s what Grandma called it) and drank the milk pure and simple. If the Queen could see me now!

We finished the tea party with some cake and cookies. These tasty treats made for a fantastic finale. They saved the best for last. Being the adventurous eater that I am, and also mindful that I have to keep my milk belly growing, I tried at least one bite of each treat. Then I gave it to Grandma and Mommy to try bites, too. Mommy laughed and told Grandma how good I am at sharing. I was just glad she noticed.

Being the thoughtful baby that I am, I decided to pick up the tab. I reached for Mommy’s wallet and took out my favorite credit card, the one she had custom designed for me with Puppy on it. I waved it in the air with excitement, but the waiter came by and actually tried to take it. What nerve! Can you imagine? Mommy quickly got out another card instead. That was a close call!

We wrapped up our special tea party and wiped our hands and mouths clean. I wiped by myself but Mommy tried to help so I protested of course. I was already clean enough! I gave a round of applause for a terrific tea service and waved goodbye to all my fellow tea partiers. After taking a couple of family photos, we said thank you to the hostess and were on our way. As you can see, my social graces are unparalleled.

My physical accomplishments are pretty great, too, as I demonstrated by taking Mommy’s hand in mine and Grandma’s hand in the other, and climbing down the brownstone steps. I did it effortlessly and really didn’t need to hold their hands, but I know they like feeling needed. I used my big muscles to descend the steps and then hail a taxi.

I was ready for a nap after such an exhausting adventure in displaying all my passing milestones for Grandma. Plus, I was tea-partied out!

Elle Belle is a beautiful baby girl who lives in the Upper East Side of Manhattan with her magnificent mommy, dapper dad, and her five-year-old four-legged brother (who’s adopted). She enjoys reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar, trying new foods, doing yoga, taking walks in Central Park, putting things in her mouth, and cruising around NYC in her stroller while making everyone smile wherever she goes. She can be reached LilElleBelle@gmail.com and found on tugsonmyheartstrings.blogspot.com

The post It’s A Tea Party In The City With Baby Elle Belle appeared first on New York Family Magazine.

Fast forward some thirty years later, I’m raising two girls in a slightly modified result of the fantastical MASH games I played as a child. I do live in NYC and did attend the graduate program of my choosing, but I did not marry Michael Marcus (the Kirk Cameron lookalike in my sixth-grade class) and I definitely don’t live in a mansion OR a house. The first on the list is well worth the compromise of the last. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel like the awe-struck woman in the play Annie singing the song “NYC,” “Three bucks, two bags, one me!!!”

I often wonder: How do I raise my daughters to feel both at home here and also to realize/appreciate that they live in, arguably, the most famed, wonderful, iconic city in the world?

When I watch my girls during their skating lessons at Wollman Rink, I hear the theme from Love Story in my head as I channel a shivering Ali MacGraw (minus the cancer ptoo ptoo ptoo). The Plaza stands proudly in the background as my little six-year-old-who-would-eat-Eloise-for-breakfast screams from the ice, “We’re getting hot chocolate after, RIGHT???”

We live on the Upper East Side and the girls go to school on the Upper West Side, so their commute involves driving through Central Park twice a day. When I do drop off or pick up, I marvel at Olmsted’s undulating hills and serpentine tunnels. The girls ask from their seats on the bus, cab, or car, “What else do you have for snack?” or “Can I play on your phone?” Still, when there is time to meander or play, they gleefully treat this landmark like their very own Secret Garden, albeit a secret they share with 8 million others.

New York is the best place to move to from just about anywhere because friends and family visit often. I doubt my guest room and sofa bed would get as much use if I were back in the small Canadian college town where I met my husband. And our visitors allow us to experience the city as tourists so we don’t neglect the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, etc.—as it is all too easy to do when you live here permanently.

Some popular sights do become old hat. Bloomingdales is not a sartorial attraction, but a place to buy socks and underwear. We go to Dylan’s because it sells candy, but not because it is “Dylan’s Candy Bar” of Dylan Lauren fame. (E.g. “If you behave while we are buying socks and underwear at Bloomingdales then I will buy you candy across the street at Dylan’s afterwards.”) When we’re at the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue trying to fix the latest iPad “incident,” we curse every tourist from Wisconsin who is taking up space at our genius bar.

Flesh and blood icons also abound. We treat celebrities and their children with a proper New Yorker’s nonchalance, at the playground and at the pediatrician. There is one celeb however, who, to me, is the icon of icons. I am so love with Tina Fey that I’m seriously considering applying my second child to the same private school her daughter attends. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of stalking.

The people we meet are endlessly interesting and from all walks of life. One day, my older daughter came home from school saying, “The new boy in class is telling lies. He says his father was the president of (small African country) and owns diamond mines.” I was about to start in on an explanation about wish fulfillment and the need for attention soon after starting a new school in the middle of the year, when I remembered where we live. I took the class list and did a little Googling. “Kiddo, he’s telling the truth.”

My girls have been to more Broadway shows than they have movies, could hail taxis from their strollers, learn tennis at Sportime with John McEnroe swearing a blue streak one court over. But they also desperately miss the minute, filthy backyard from our previous apartment and play soccer on Randalls Island where, if the wind blows in the wrong direction, the methane and sulfur smell from the sewage treatment plant is like something out of Dante’s Inferno. Life in New York presents great challenges, but has great rewards.

They get their suburban fixes occasionally. I remember my little one running towards an empty park in the ‘burbs shouting, “All the swings are free!” She may be used to waiting on line at the playground, but she’s not used to waiting for much else. Later that day, she asked, “Can we go to a restaurant for snack?” “No doll, we don’t have a car today.” “What about a grocery store?” “Same problem. We can’t walk to one.” She clenched her three-year-old fists and wailed at the sky, “I just want to go somewhere to buy food!”

On Thanksgiving, we leave a nearly abandoned Upper East Side and stroll, pull, or carry our girls over to Central Park West to watch the Macy’s Parade from the sidewalk or a fortunate friend’s apartment. This past year however, the little ladies were tired and we were cooking, so we stayed at home. My older daughter curled up with me on the sofa and said, “I am so thankful we get to watch the parade on TV this year.” Ah, well…

My daughters will likely never know my starry-eyed wonder, but hopefully they’ll also be spared my imposter complex. New York City is their home, from the bedbugs to the skyscrapers. They are a part of it and they take it in their stride. Knowing life’s cruel ironies, they’ll probably break my heart and move to Florida or, worse yet, Westchester.

Lani Serota is the mother of two young girls, besotted wife, sleep aficionado (both her own and that of children), and celebrity child name enthusiast who loves a good giggle. When she is not working at one of her three jobs, taking advantage of everything New York City has to offer, or procrastinating, she loves to write. Lani lives with her husband and two daughters on the Upper East Side.

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