Hoboken Metro Mom

Who says pancakes have to be round? Apparently you can make just about anything out of pancake batter!  I’m not sure I have the technique to make filigree ships and butterflies, but using fruit and chocolate chips to make things like fancy fish or piggies are a possibility for everyone!

If you have to make pancakes round, making an orange-ricotta version or a cinnamon-oat version gives them an extra kick (although once you start the shapes, who knows if the kids will let you go back to regular round)!

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MONDAY JUNE 29

10am, Art in the Park on Pier A. Or try one of the free kids activities and classes at Battery Park.

TUESDAY JUNE 30

10:30am, Madison Square Park Kids Concerts (NYC), featuring the Jimmies.

10:30am, Music Together has free trials this week! Today’s class takes place at Newport Fitness Center (25 Riverside Drive) in Jersey City. Call 201-869-4704 to RSVP.

11:30-2pm Bryant Park presents Meet the Birds, where kids can see exotic birds up close.

WEDNESDAY JULY 1

10am, Art in the Park at Elysian Park. Or try one of the free kids activities and classes at Battery Park.

10:30am, Music Together has free trials this week! Today’s class takes place at Hudson Athletic Club (130 Washington Street) in Hoboken. Call 201-869-4704 to RSVP.

1pm-2:30 take the ferry to South Street Seaport for the South Street Seaport Museum’s Toddler Play Group. There will be interactive materials, book readings, and activities like sailing toy boats and building a city out of blocks. $7 per child.

THURSDAY JULY 2

10:30am, Madison Square Park Kids Concerts (NYC), featuring Moeys Music Party.

10:45am, Music Together has free trials this week! Today’s class takes place at Palisades Fitness Center (7700 River Road) in North Bergen. Call 201-869-4704 to RSVP.

At noon Union Square Park has their Kids in the Square Program featuring Toe Jam Puppet Band. FREE

At 1:30 is weekly preschool time at the NY Transit Museum in Brooklyn. There are transportation stories, special tours, and kids can play in vintage subway cars. Perfect rainy day activity and admission is just $5 for adults, $3 for kids.

From 6pm to 7pm enjoy a Classic Kids Concert at Bryant Park, featuring a String Quartet.

FRIDAY JULY 3

10:30am, Music Together has free trials this week! Today’s class takes place at Club H (60 Christopher Columbus) in Jersey City. Call 201-869-4704 to RSVP.

Other Things To See and Do:

- Cathedral St. Paul the Divine

- The Rubin Museum

- The Staten Island Children’s Museum

- The Swedish Marionette Theater

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This weekend is filled with weekend long events which won’t make you a slave to the calendar… just pick what you like and go either Saturday or Sunday!

SATURDAY JUNE 27

If you missed Strawberry picking season, never fear because blueberry picking is even more fun! There are two big blueberry festivals this Saturday and Sunday. One is the Whitesbog Blueberry Festival in Browns Mills, NJ (Pemberton Township) and the other is at Terhune Orchards in Princeton, NJ. Whitesbog will have music and their famous blueberry pie-eating contest where as Terhune is a pick-you-own farm complete with hay rides and pony rides. Either way, you get to eat your fill of Blueberry everything!

Looking to stay closer to Hoboken? The Liberty Science Center has their Annual All About Construction Touch-A-Truck exhibit on this weekend. Let the kids see, touch, and climb on to every imaginable truck and meet the construction workers that operate them. The event is free with admission.

Bryant Park (NYC) is holding Camp Broadway from noon to 1pm. Kids can meet the stars of ongoing musical hits and learn some dance steps from them. And there is always the Carousel to visit afterwards!

Budding Ballerinas can spend the day in Central Park learning Swan Lake ballet moves from the American Ballet Theater and making crowns. The event is at 106th Street and Central Park West (NYC) from 11am to 1pm.

SUNDAY JUNE 28

Blueberry festivals and Touch-a-Truck are all happening today too (see Saturday).

Or head out to Monmouth, NJ for the re-enactment of the Civil War. There will be camp tours, army drills & artillery demonstrations, children’s drills, hospital demonstration, and more. This event takes place both Saturday and Sunday, so pick your day!

It is also Family Day at the Museum of Chinese in America in NYC from 10am to 5pm, where kids can see a lion dance, a kung fu demonstration, and do various craft projects including paper cutting and making shadow puppets. The event is FREE!

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The Giveaway winners for Muffetta Natural’s Cleaners are:

#2 Lara and

#3 Cathy T.

Congratulations! Please email me at mom@hobokenmetromom.com with your address so I can get your gift package to you!

We have not one, but two fabulous offers for you next week, so don’t forget to check back on Tuesday for more chances to win!

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Tenafly Nature Center put you in an oasis of nature, just 30 minutes away from Hoboken. The 400 acre preserve lets kids get up close with bugs, birds, frogs, and flowers in warm weather. The highlight is Pfister Pond, filled with birds and huge lily pads and flowers, bordered by a trail of wood planks (to keep you out of the mud). In wintertime, the preserve is perfect for snowshoeing and you can ice skate on the pond. There is a small, interpretive center with some turtles and snakes that kids can observe, but the highlight is the outside area with cages filled with owls, hawks, and a small garden with bird feeders where we spotted a wide variety of birds of every color. There is also a coThe Tenafly Nature Center has a wide array of public programs, summer camps programs, after school programs, and birthday party plans.

Bang for your Buck:Free! Special programs range from $5 to $10 for non-members.
Best transit route: Just 20-30 minutes away by car.
Stroller friendly: yes, there are a few straight trails that can easily be navigated with a stroller
Rainy day recommended: no
Potty situation: Bathrooms at the interpretive center
Snack friendly: yes, bring a picnic
Hyper-child friendly: Yes.
Estimate of time killed: 2-3 hours
Nap factor: excellent

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Flat Rock Brook Nature Center is a 150 acre nature preserve and the perfect place nearby to take the kids if you feel they need some nature. There are several trails you can walk, one which leads right along a small rocky brook, perfect for kids to play in and watch leaves or sticks drift over the rocks and down the stream. There is an amazing playground just a short walk from the parking lot, complete with bathrooms and picnic area. The pond outside the interpretive center has fish, turtles and frogs that kids can observe. There is also a roomy interpretive center filled with live snakes, frogs, hissing cockroaches, turtles, stuffed birds and animals, shells and furs that kids can touch, blocks to play with, books to read, and a fabulous puppet theater with animal puppets of every imaginable kind. The nature center also has some great programs for kids ranging from hikes to gardening to summer camp.

Bang for your Buck:Free! Special programs are usually $8 per person for non-members. Payment must be mailed (no reservations online or over the phoen).
Best transit route: Just 20-30 minutes away by car.
Stroller friendly: There is one short stroller-friendly trail, like a board walk, close to the interpretive center.
Rainy day recommended: no
Potty situation: Bathrooms at the interpretive center and at the playground.
Snack friendly: yes, bring a picnic
Hyper-child friendly: Yes.
Estimate of time killed: 2-3 hours
Nap factor: excellent

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Mommy Poppins, the fabulous web resource for families in NYC, just launched a New Jersey Kids Guide! If you are looking for more ideas on what to do with kids in New Jersey, check it out!

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Using Muffetta’s Natural Cleaning Products is the closest you will ever get to a spa experience while cleaning your house. I’m serious! Your house smells like a spa, it is clean, and best of all it is all natural and safe to use around small children.

Muffetta’s Natural has generously offered two very special gift packages to two lucky Hoboken Metro Mom readers. They include several of the gorgeous smelling cleaners (orange scrub, lemon-mint glass cleaner, thyme and mint multi-surface spray, blooming garden cleaner) along with some micro-fiber cloths to go along with them. Thank you Muffetta’s Natural!

So, in order to win…. check out Muffetta’s Natural Cleaning Products website and leave a comment below letting us know which product you would like to win!

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MONDAY JUNE 22

10am, Art in the Park on Pier A.

FREE trial week at Hoboken Dance Academy! Classes for kids 4 and up start today at 3pm and include ballet, tap, jazz, and musical theater. You can check out the full schedule and class descriptions to see what your child might be interested in.

TUESDAY JUNE 23

10am to 10:45am, FREE trial class of Kids Yoga in the Park for 2-4 year old with parent. The class takes place at Maxwell Park and is taught by a certified yoga instructor. The cost is usually $10 per child, but the first class you try is free! email Jess at jldub85@yahoo.com to reserve.

FREE trial week at Hoboken Dance Academy! Creative Dance for 2-3 year olds is at 10am, ballet and jazz for kids in kindergarden and up start at 3:15pm. You can check out the full schedule and class descriptions to see what your child might be interested in.

10:30am, Madison Square Park Kids Concerts (NYC), featuring Erin Lee & Marci.

11:15 to noon there is a free trial class for a Mommy and Me Yoga class at Sky Club Fitness and Spa for kids ages 1 to 3. Email
lisa.usherovich@gmail.com to rsvp.

7pm, Shipyard Concerts in Hoboken with Yosi - Sing-A-Long.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 24

10am, Art in the Park at Elysian Park. Or try one of the free kids activities and classes at Battery Park.

1pm-2:30 take the ferry to South Street Seaport for the South Street Seaport Museum’s Toddler Play Group. There will be interactive materials, book readings, and activities like sailing toy boats and building a city out of blocks. $7 per child.

FREE trial week at Hoboken Dance Academy! Dance for 2.5-3 year olds is at 9am, ballet and tap for 3 year olds are from 3pm to 6pm. You can check out the full schedule and class descriptions to see what your child might be interested in.

THURSDAY JUNE 25

10am to 10:45am, FREE trial class of Kids Yoga in the Park for 4-6 year olds. The class takes place at Maxwell Park and is taught by a certified yoga instructor. The cost is usually $10 per child, but the first class you try is free! emailJess at jldub85@yahoo.com to reserve.

10:30am, Madison Square Park Kids Concerts (NYC), featuring Opus Ditty and the Hoedown Gang (folk rock).

At noon Union Square Park has their Kids in the Square Program featuring Baby Loves Disco. FREE!

FREE trial week at Hoboken Dance Academy! Today’s classes for elementary school age children start at 3:15 and include modern and ballet. You can check out the full schedule and class descriptions to see what your child might be interested in.

At 1:30 is weekly preschool time at the NY Transit Museum in Brooklyn. There are transportation stories, special tours, and kids can play in vintage subway cars. Perfect rainy day activity and admission is just $5 for adults, $3 for kids.

FRIDAY JUNE 26

10am to 10:45am, FREE trial class of Kids Yoga in the Park for 7-9 year olds. The class takes place at Maxwell Park and is taught by a certified yoga instructor. The cost is usually $10 per child, but the first class you try is free! emailJess at jldub85@yahoo.com to reserve.

FREE trial week at Hoboken Dance Academy! Creative Dance for 2-3 year olds is at 10am, beginner ballet for elementary school age children is at 4:15. You can check out the full schedule and class descriptions to see what your child might be interested in.

Or spend the day at Governor’s Island! The ferry ride from downtown Manhattan is free! You can take your bike or rent them there for some car-free bike riding, there are wonderful lawns for picnics, a mini golf course, art exhibits, and “children have the opportunity to meet with a National Park Ranger, Union Soldier, Confederate Prisoner or a middle class lady from 1863 in Fort Jay and Castle Williams every Friday.”

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All this rain has just made it seem NOT like ice-cream weather. So we’ve been eating a lot of “hot ice cream” or Baked Alaska. Now my girls only want their ice cream “hot” (well, me too)!

- In a bowl, use an electric mixer to beat two egg whites with a pinch of salt. Beat until foamy. Add one tbs of sugar and beat. Gradually add about 6 tbs of sugar, one tbs at a time, beating of about 1-2 minutes in between each tbs of sugar (you can reduce or increase amount of sugar to taste). Beat until stiff peaks form (about 10-12 minutes total).
- Take 4 small ramekins or heat resistant bowls
- If you have some pound cake or a soft cookie, put a slice in the bottom of the ramekin
- Put one scoop of ice cream in the ramekin. If you want you can top with some chocolate sauce.
- Heap the egg white mixture on top of ice cream. Put in freezer for about 30 minutes.
- Put oven on top brown or broil. Put ramekins in oven. Don’t leave the oven alone unless you wanted melted ice cream! Top should brown in about 2-3 minutes and ice cream should still be hard and cold. ENJOY!

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