Olivia's Pick 5 October 2009

It's the Great Pumpkin Patch Season, Mamas! And this weekend we burst onto the scene with uninhibited enthusiasm (despite Mama's broken toe). A corn maze, a hay ride and fresh cider are all hallmarks of our favorite pumpkin patch, Jones Family Farms in Shelton, CT.

Looking for a pumpkin patch, hayride or corn maze near you? Check out Pumpkin Patches and More. Scroll down for a list of states, click your state and then scroll down for area autumn adventures.

Happy pumpkin hunting!

Olivia's Pick--14 September 2009

Olivia and Mama are both loving Olivia's new duvet cover from Saffron Marigold, a small textile company offering handprinted linens in traditional Indian style.

It's beautifully made, with a wood button enclosure. Olivia loves the girlie rose print we picked together. Mama loves that it's machine washable.

Olivia's Pick--6 September 2009

Last week's pick: solved.

How'd I do it, you ask? And so quickly? We got rid of the nap.

I admit, I held onto it--selfishly--as long as I could. But her rigorous new school schedule made me realize that we weren't long for napping anyway around our house. She'll be coming home from preschool too late to start a nap.

So, we went cold turkey.

And while it's led to a couple of meltdowns and several bouts of uncontrollable laughter, it has also made bedtime a dream.

Our current routine now consists of bath, two books, lights out. And, after 8.5 minutes: silence.

Olivia's Pick--31 August 2009

"Mommy, Mommy. I need some water."

"Mommy, Mommy. I need a book."

"Mommy, Mommy. I need to go on the potty."

"Mommy, Mommy. I need you to come back upstairs and into my room because I don't want to go to sleep."

OK, in truth, she hasn't actually said that last one. But that's what every other "need" she suddenly discovers at bedtime boils down to. This, dear Mamas, is most definitely what she's into this week. And I'm sure she's not the only 3 (or 4 or 5) year-old with this particular affinity.

I'm trying--most times gently--to break her of this affliction. Not only is it highly annoying, but, on the worst nights, it robs her of an hour of sleep. (Not to mention that it also robs Mama of an hour of Mama time.)

Bedtime has never been a big deal around our house. So I'm not used to jumping through these hoops just to get her to go to sleep.I

t's likely that I'm handling the situation all wrong. I've been walking that tightrope between sweet words of understanding and fire-breathing dragon Mama. I'm hopeful, however, that preschool will prove so utterly exhausting for her that, in less than two weeks, this problem will seem but a distant dream.A Mama can hope, right?

Olivia's Pick--17 August 2009

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

It's been a zooey summer for the little one. We've explored, we've safaried, we've petted. From camel rides to train rides, Olivia's seen just about everything a zoo has to offer--and she even has the mountain of gift shop paraphernalia to prove it.

This summer's best zoos:

1. The Bronx Zoo
2. The Toledo Zoo
3. The Central Park Zoo
4. The Beardsley Zoo

And I'll also mention the Butterfly House in Whitehouse, OH. It couldn't be a more out-of-the-way location, but their indoor butterfly garden is simply spectacular. I'd even go so far as to say that it's better than the butterfly garden at the Bronx Zoo. Now that's wild.

Olivia's Pick--9 August 2009

"Mama, I love Misha," she said this morning, speaking of our very old dog. Mama's best friend was around before Olivia and before Papa. "I don't want her to be anyone else's dog. Can we keep her?"

So, Misha, despite your stinky breath and daily med schedule, you'll be thrilled to learn that you've got a loyal and committed fan in the family.

Do you think that age 3 is too young to hand over doggie duty?

Need an old (or new) dog around your house? Check out Petfinder. They'll match you up with local animal shelters in your area.

Olivia's Pick 27 July 2009

Leave it to Grandma to come up with the best birthday gift. Olivia doesn't want to take off her brand new backpack--even at bedtime!

Maybe it's because she's got the coolest new pack on the market, from the geniuses over at Skip Hop. Branching out from their baby background, these veterans of infant gear have created some adorable products for the preschool set.

They make Mama happy too, because this brand new backpack is BPA-free, Pthalate-free and PVC-free. And at 20 bucks, what's not to love?

Olivia tested, Mama approved!

Olivia's Pick--20 July 2009

There's no question that Olivia's pick this week was her backyard, Pooh Bear, pool-side, bouncy-house birthday party! Friends, sun, cake and hours of bouncing made it an afternoon to remember.

We borrowed a bounce house with a water slide from a generous Mama friend; let me tell you, it made the party. The kids bounced around the yard like a pack of Tiggers, stopping only to shove handfuls of cake into their mouths. It was a perfect summer party for my special little birthday girl, one that she likely won't remember and one that I will surely never forget.

Olivia's Pick--12 July 2009

Olivia and I spent a girls' weekend on the town, living it up in the Big Apple. The weather was perfect. We celebrated a sunny Sunday morning eating our bagels in the park and dog-watching. It was divine.

Being the born New Yorker that she is, Olivia suggested we spend the late morning and early afternoon at the Museum of Natural History.

Dinosaurs and other beasties ruled the day. She was most impressed by the life-size blue whale model and kept asking why it wasn't swimming. It was fun-filled and action-packed to say the very least.

Try as she did to keep the momentum going in the city that never sleeps, she wound up crashing for a monster 3 hour nap in the afternoon, giving Mama some much needed down-time.

On our way back to our little seaside Connecticut town, she looked back from her car seat at the skyline and said, "See you next time, New York!"

Olivia's Pick--21 June 2001

Our lucky little girl attended not one but two birthday parties this weekend. Both were the very best kind of summer party; both were POOL PARTIES!

We had so much fun splashing around while the pads of our fingers shriveled up like our dried fruit snacks. It wouldn't be a stretch to assert that this weekend was one of the best of her life.

It was also a nice reminder that safety and summer fun are inseparable. For kids as young as mine, life jackets are a great accessory for a pool party--or a lakeside or beachside vacation. There's some helpful "Life Jackets 101" information out there, like this from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Pool toys, floaters and rafts are all fun for young swimmers, too. Of course, the most important accessory for any waterside fun is simply a parent's vigilance. Whether they can swim or not, children are drawn to water like 'tween girls to a Jonas Brothers show. In either case, a parent's watchful eye is recommended.

And of course, if you're planning on more than just a little fun under the sun, don't forget the sunscreen.

Olivia's Pick--14 June 2009

"Mama, Mama! I see a bunny! I see a bunny!" Olivia was standing at the back door off the kitchen, gazing into our yard.

I looked out the window over our sink and, sure enough, there was the sweetest, smallest baby rabbit nibbling at our lawn.

"Mama, can we go out and see him?"

"Sure, angel."

So we opened the door as noiselessly as we could. And we tiptoed out, as noiselessly as a 3-year-old in close proximity to a baby bunny can tiptoe.

Before too long, the bunny caught on that he was being stalked and bounced away to safety under our hedge.

"Bunny, come back," Olivia was on the move after him when, all of a sudden, she fell down. Except, from where I was standing, it didn't look like she had actually fallen. She was on the ground, one leg out to the side, but...where was her other leg?

It was, as it turns out, stuck up to the knee in a groundhog hole in the back of our yard. She started crying while I tried very hard not to laugh. I rushed over and pulled her out. But when her foot came out of the hole, I saw only her little pink sock; the hole had kept her sneaker. Once discovered, this prompted a round fresh tears at increased volume.

"MwaaaalssshhhhMySHOOOOOO!"

I brought her inside, dried her tears and offered up a second pair of shoes. (I had peeked down that hole and it was pretty deep. I wasn't about to stick my hand down there after a well-used sneaker from Target.)

Despite the lost shoe, she was calm and smiling within minutes. She's also had considerable fun recounting her harrowing adventure to friends and family.

She hasn't even soured on the bunny in our back yard, or rabbits in general. As I type this, in fact, she has recruited her Papa to go out and look for our backyard bunny. But this time, she's doing it barefoot.

Olivia's Pick--8 June 2009

Central Park has always been one of my favorite things about New York City. It's an oasis, a sea of life surrounded on all sides by the steel and concrete on which New Yorkers build their dreams. The park makes the noise and the pace of the city a bit more bearable; inside its lush greenery, you can come up for air.

Yesterday, Olivia and I spent the day (the perfect, glorious, sunshine-y day) exploring the park. After poking around the flea market on the Upper West Side and stowing our treasures in canvas bags hanging off the stroller handles, we made our way east into Central Park.We entered at Strawberry Fields and watched the tourists snapping photos. We saw penguins, puffins and polar bears. We snooped on one of Manhattan's most famous residents with a high powered telescope. (It's someone we've enjoyed reading about recently.) We admired sailboats as they glided silently past. We joined a mad tea party, already in progress.I

t was one of those days when the universe conspires to spread smiles on the faces and joy in the hearts of Mamas and little ones everywhere. It was as perfect a day as any in my memory. And I got to share it with her.

Lucky, lucky me.

Olivia's Pick--31 May 2009

Writing! W-R-I-T-I-N-G! Olivia has burst through the initial barrier of literacy! This weekend (with a fair amount of assistance from me, I'll admit it) she wrote her name! In hot pink sidewalk chalk on our slate patio, the letters O-L-I-V-I-A are clearly and gloriously legible.

I felt like throwing a party.

She made calls, told the grandparents and reveled in the general hooplah Mama and Papa were making. But despite all that, her memory of The First Time She Wrote Her Name will doubtless fade into the mists of childhood experience.

But not for me. I'll never forget it: The bright pink color of the chalk and how she had it smeared on her forehead. The navy batik shirt she was wearing, and how it tied in the back. The way she went running, yelling "Papa! Papa! I wrote my name!" The hug I gave her and the way her skin smelled like sunshine, sunscreen and the ocean.

These things, I will not forget. Not for the rest of my life.

This is how it was, the day that she wrote her name for the first time.

Olivia's Pick--24 May 2009

18-months'-worth of weekly swim lessons at our local Y have paid off; Olivia has, for the last several weeks, been doggie paddling without Mama's assistance, further proof that she'll be going off to college in about a week.

The swim lessons are great, and our teacher is first rate. Best of all, the better Olivia gets, the more she enjoys it.

I think learning to swim is a necessity, especially when living close to the shore. Olivia thinks it's the coolest thing since pedaling a tricycle.

Olivia's Pick of the Week--17 May 2009

The summer festival season has begun. This weekend, we visited a beach festival in a neighboring town. Olivia rode the carousel, the train, the cars, the fire engines and the ponies. She was all smiles and excitement. I looked on in complete astonishment that she is old enough to ride on these things all by herself! Didn't I just give birth to her like last Tuesday or something?

One of the games we played entailed throwing darts at balloons. The sign proclaiming "Everyone Wins!" beckoned to us, perhaps skewing our sense of our dart-throwing capabilities. Giant teddy-bears, stuffed dogs and flamingos looked down from their perches on high, smiling at us, their eyes saying "Take us home!" So we shelled out 6 bucks for three darts.

45 seconds later, we walked away from the booth 6 dollars poorer. But we were the proud new owners of a very loud harmonica, the kid-sized stuffed animals remaining frustratingly out of our reach. No shrinking violet, my little Olivia proceeded to regale festival goers and workers alike with her natural abilities on this nuanced instrument.

She has brought the magic of the weekend into Monday morning and currently has her harmonica talents on display for the family and the family dog.

Someday, when she's playing at Carnegie Hall, this will be a funny story for me to relate to the New York Times. Right now, it's just loud.

Olivia's Pick of the Week--10 May 2009

It's Children's Book Week and Olivia has decided to celebrate by compiling her first ever Top 5 list.

Olivia's Top 5 Favorite Books Ever:

1. Winnie the Pooh -- A.A.Milne
2. Olivia and the Missing Toy -- Ian Falconer
3. Peter Rabbit -- Beatrix Potter
4. Madeline -- Ludwig Behmelmans
5. The Wind in the Willows -- Kenneth Grahame

Olivia's Pick--4 May 2009

Our little artiste has been busily expanding her oeuvre of late, and has been enjoying experimenting with watercolor.

Mama likes watercolor, too. It isn't very messy and it provides hours (OK minutes) of entertainment.

Even better, I found a quick and easy recipe for making your very own watercolor paint.

Cheap, easy, non-toxic. What else could a Mama ask?

Olivia's Pick--27 April 2009

It doesn't take long for the weather to warm up in the Northeast. What I mean is, once Old Man Winter finally releases his death grip on the region, we usually go from 40 degrees to 80 degrees in the space of about six days.

This weekend, the mercury spiked and our backyard became a summer-like wonderland. Sure, the leaves on the trees were still curled tightly into little buds, but the sprinkler was out and Olivia & Co. were running, jumping and laughing their way into the season.

Her Green Toys sand play set is still her favorite outdoor dirt & sand kit. It's made from recycled milk jugs, but you'd never know it. It's cute, durable and "eco-groovy." And if that's not enough, it's made right here in the USA.

Olivia's Pick--20 April 2009

Q: What's more fun than the zoo for an almost-3-year-old?

A: The Bronx Zoo

This place is definitely not your average zoo. In fact, it's the largest metropolitan zoo in America, clocking in at 265 acres. They work hard to give animals room to roam in landscapes that resemble their natural habitat.

Well-placed signs inform urban adventurers about the zoo's inhabitants and the challenges they face. For instance, I had no idea that only four to five thousand tigers remain in the wild. Or that recycling my old cell phone (something you can do at the Bronx Zoo) could help preserve the Congolese gorilla population.

Even if you don't live close enough to plan a day trip, their website is a terrific resource, loaded with video, facts and ideas for sustainable living. They even have a special section on their website just for teens.

As for Olivia, she's busy planning her next trip.

Olivia's Pick--13 April 2009

Our house guests for the holiday included a lovely, patient, 15-year-old cousin, whom Olivia adores. In fact, when she's around, Olivia has very little use for me!

Over the weekend, this cousin was painting her fingernails pink. As you might imagine, Olivia was thoroughly intrigued and wanted her nails to be pink, too. So, Olivia had her fingernails painted for the first time this weekend, two different shades of pink, one shade for each hand. I have a feeling, however, that it will not be the last.

It was another moment for the memory bank, another small step on the path from baby to little girl. A moment she will surely forget, the memory of her tiny pink fingernails poking out from the sleeves of her Easter dress will stay with me forever.