Today, my 16 month-old son, enjoyed his very first Harlem snowfall. He woke up to our beautiful Hamilton Heights neighborhood covered in SNOW! Right away, he learned to say “no”, his version of “snow”. Would you like to go out in the snow, Caleb? “No”, he retorted!
We wrapped him up in his snow suit and took to the streets. It was time to explore this Harlem wonderland!

We made our way to a nearby park.

We sized up the snow. Hmmm this stuff is interesting… And cold!

We huddled together to keep warm…

We admired City College’s Tudor-style campus built in 1847 and wondered what Harlem looked like then.


We took in some of the glorious churches.

We walked along Convent Avenue, one of THE most stunning blocks in all of New York.

We stopped to say hello to a neighborhood dog who also was enjoying the snow.

We admired the still-fresh snow as we made our way back home.

Reminded why we moved to Harlem, we came in from the “no”, ready for some hot cocoa!

I was thrilled to be a part of the launch of “The Gift of San Antonio – 15 Days of Holiday Gifting”, tonight at Tolache Mexican Bistro, in midtown Manhattan. With flowing and picante (ay! caramba!) margaritas, fantastic food (think guacamole, ceviche, and churros), and an amazing all-female mariachi band, we were charmed, San Antonio-style. The event was to kick off The San Antonio Visitors and Convention Bureau’s “15 Days of Holiday Gifting” where they will be giving away trips to San Antonio and local style gifts. Tomorrow, San Antonio will be the main attraction on Good Morning America as they unveil their first holiday window for 2009 in Times Square. Fittingly named “Pride, Passion, and Pinatas”, San Antonio’s window, designed by Jill Giles, will highlight the city’s deep culture and ethnic pride. The major of San Antonio along with the all-female mariachi, Mariachi Las Altenas, will be along for the festivities. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting San Antonio’s young (35) and charming major this evening, Julian Castro. I was honored that he took the time to speak with me and tell me about the brand new performing arts center they are building to draw more arts and culture to their great city. I also had the pleasure of speaking with Scott White the head of the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau about kid-friendly things to do in San Antonio. I learned about The River Walk, The Institute of Ethnic Culture, Sea World, The Children’s Museum, and of course The Alamo! Right then and there I decided we need to take a family trip to San Antonio! I was surprised to hear that San Antonio is now America’s 7th largest city. With it’s walking streets and deep cultural roots, San Antonio seems like a great place to explore with kids! Now that’s what I call a learning vacation.

I often marvel at all of the resources available to new and expectant moms in New York City.  Lucky NYC mommies can take an endless variety of pre and post-natal fitness classes ranging from Aquamom to Physique 57, they can visit specialty boutiques like Yummy Mummy for everything breastfeeding and Rosie Pope Maternity for the utlimate in chic maternity gear, they can consult sleep experts like Dream Team Baby, and they can even take classes on how to make their own baby food right in the comfort of their own home with rosaberry.  I must say, though, the one thing NYC is lacking, is a Mommy Superstore (new business idea?)!  I’m talking a one-stop “mama experience” – a place where moms can browse, test, and buy everything baby, get massages, join social groups, and take prep and educational classes all under one roof.  Luckily, every once in a while, NYC mommies can experience all of this, even if just for an evening.

Last week, iKidNY, was fortunate enough to be a part of a terrific event called “Essential Products & Tips for New Moms” presented by babybites, an educational and social group for moms and moms-to-be.  A long list of first-rate vendors showed off their products for hundreds of pregnant ladies wandering from booth to booth.  There were representatives from The Bump, Destination Maternity, and Planet Kids, just to mention a few.  I, personally, was especially pleased to find out about some newbies: MMMunch, Baby Bodyguards and Sugar Sweet Baby.  Moms were able to get great discounts, find out about new products, enter raffles and leave with generous gift bags.

Now, all of this shopping makes a mama’s feet tired, so the evening was topped off with some sit down events.  These included a short seminar on essential tips for new moms given by Pamela Weinberg, author of City Baby, and even a “mommy” comedienne.

Shopping, learning, socializing, and fun…  Now that’s what I call a mommies’ night out.

On Monday night, I attended a class called Hands On Small Business.  These “hands on” sessions are absolutely free and directed towards small business owners.  Offering practical advice on social media, and tutorials on Microsoft Office Live and Kirtsy (yes, they are the sponsors), this class teaches you how to use these technologies to advance your business.  I especially enjoyed learning about what Microsoft Office Live was all about, since up until now, I have been using its competitor, Google Docs.  It seems that MOL may even be easier to use and better organized.  I love the idea of having a virtual workspace that can be accessible from anywhere you are.  And… I don’t have to worry about losing my hard-drive anymore!  It is also so useful to be able to share documents with others rather than having to send emails with attachments back and forth.  Your share buddy can even leave you a note on the changes they’ve made so you know what’s been done!  It seems that MOL will be perfect for working on just this – my new blog!

The second half of the HOSB class was about Kirtsy, a sort of Digg for women. Using Kirtsy, you can upload a web link of choice or rate/browse articles that others have found interesting.  Kirtsy is a great place to find out about cool new things and catch up on what’s popular on the web.  Lastly, HOSB gave great advice on how to use Twitter as a tool to build your business and create brand awareness.  The two instructors, Carol Cain, aka NYCityMama, and Mariah Bruehl, founder of Playful Learning, were outstanding.  Even the other attendees were impressive: Laura Mayes, one of the founders of Kirtsy, Danielle Maveal of Etsy, and Maggie, writer of the NYC health and fitness blog, The Fit Post.

Microsoft Office Live and Kirtsy sure got their money’s worth with me – I look forward to trying them both out.  If you are an entrepreneur or a small business owner, I highly recommend you attend one of the HOSB sessions between now and November 22nd if they are in your city.  It’s free.

As an extension of the iKidNY iPhone app, I am excited to share my favorite kid-friendly finds in NYC and beyond.  I look forward to writing about the great places, people and things I discover while running around with my fifteen month old son, Caleb.  Throughout our adventures, we will check out all things kid-friendly and so much more.