Mom-Spotted: Jersey Shore and Lake George!

Oh boy, are we tan! After spending three days in Long Beach Island, NJ and three days (I know, its nutty) in Lake George, NY; we are finally home and settling back into reality.

Summer time blues? Definitely beginning to set in. You can help but smell Fall in the air. The streets of New Paltz are filled with the hustle and bustle of students moving back in, the stores are busy and I remember this nostalgic feeling that always seems to surface this time of year. The ending of another summer and beginning of Fall that in evidently leads to a long winter.

What is it about the summer that just makes us feel so much calmer? Could it be the books we try to read, the warm humid air, the barbequed dinners, the swimming or play dates at the park? Overall, for me its the freedom that comes with being outdoors. Somehow during the winter it feels limited.

This summer has brought lots of changes emotionally and for my family. Job changes were made, babies were born, accidents happened but mostly we grew closer to one another. Learning to respect one's space and lend a hand more often. As I grow, I realize that we really need one another to lean on and the summer gives a perfect canvas for us to do so.

And as for this Fall, the season of change, we have lots to look forward to. I begin a new journey towards my Masters in Teaching. Gary continues to grow his business and our little Gavin is growing a changing by the second. We have weddings coming and birthdays on the horizon.

Here's to the season of freedom and the season of change....

Spotted: Little One's in New Paltz, NY

What a great little shop for babies and children! Little One's owner, Raissa, does an amazing job with a mixture of new and gently used clothing and miscellaneous children's merchandise! Little One's has an amazing selection of Stride Rite, Pedipeds and many other infant and children's shoes. The shop is also an authorized retailer of Sigg bottles, the safe alternative to BPA plastics! (For more info on BPA, please see 'Spotted: Safe bottles and sippy cups). Located on Route 32 North in New Paltz, Raissa's shop is in perfect walking distance from the heart of town and the locally renowned Huguenot Street. If your ever in New Paltz, Little One's is great for gifts or something for your own little one!

Spotted: Krista Salinda

On Sunday, August 10th @ 10:34pm, my little sister Lauren and Alex welcome their little angel into the world: Krista Salinda Bisceglia. We are all so excited! Lauren had one heck of a labor but she made it and we are soo proud of her!

Welcome Little Krista...

Spotted: Our Identities?

Three weeks ago, I was a full-time working mom. I never stopped. From 5:00am to 11:00pm and beyond, I was on the move. Working full time has it's advantages and obvious disadvantages. When I left my full time job, very suddenly, I thought deep inside: "Yes, this is my chance! I get to be home with my son and be a house-wife!!!" Three weeks later, I am finding it difficult to get into my groove. Our days can be structureless and sometime I find myself missing my job! I can't believe that I miss the hustle and bustle of working outside the home! It seems as though I am beginning to loose my identity. I clean, cook and take care of Gavin in what is kind of a Thank-less job. At work, the clients and co-workers often say "thank you". As meaningless or trivial it may be at the moments, looking back, I really miss that! The office humor! Oh, do I miss the office humor. The inside jokes with co-workers and the funny moments sometimes very NBC's "The Office"-like are all but non-existent now-a-days.

Structure and schedule are going to be a must. It's easy now, what happens when the winter comes along? I guess mostly for us ex-corporate junkies, finding our placed in this alternate society of mothers and babes, can be somewhat confusing for us to navigate. Although, we may be used to the daily work structure of meetings, phone calls and emails; now the "adult contact" is few and far between. The structure at home is so different. If you child does not want to nap- the whole day is thrown for a loop!!

Spotted: Safe bottles and sippy cups

Safety in our daily plastics. This is a BIG topic for parents! Here is the low down on BPA!! According to The Center for Health, Environment and Justice (www.chej.org); "BPA, a synthetic sex hormone that mimics estrogen, is used to make hard polycarbonate plastic. Ninety-five percent of all baby bottles on the market are made with bisphenol A. The results of the U.S. study show that, when new bottles are heated, those manufactured by Avent, Evenflo, Dr. Brown’s and Disney/First Years leached between 4.7 – 8.3 parts per billion of bisphenol A. Recent research on animals shows that bisphenol A can be harmful by disrupting development at doses below these levels."

This is terrible scary considering most of us have used some of the bottles named above. Some tips to keeping you child and family BPA free are:
1. Do not place plastics in the dishwasher! Hand wash and let air dry!
2. Do not boil the bottles! This one was a biggie for most of us because it is a time honored tradition to boil for sanitation but this is where the chemical bisphenol A leaches from the bottles and sippy cups- through heat!

There is hope! Here are some great BPA-free alternatives:
Thinkbaby.com (for sippy cups and bottles)
newBornfree.com
thesafesippy.com for sippy cups by kidBasix
mysigg.com

Most are available on Amazon.com!

Locally, you can purchase Sigg bottles at Little Ones in New Paltz, NY!

The Sigg Kids Bottle (16.99 USD)

The Safe Sippy (16.99 USD)

Do you have a great place to get safe sippy's and bottles?? Please let us know!

Welcome to Mom-Spotted!

Mom-spotted is specifically designed for the best of our region, for moms! I am always "on the hunt" for the best of the best!! Some tid-bits about me! I grew up in Westchester County and I have two fantastic sisters and one amazing older brother. My mother and father were amazing! They raised us in a loving and supportive environment where we all flourished! Now, I live in the Hudson Valley New Paltz area with my wonderful husband and the Mayor of Toddlerville, our son Gavin! As a new stay at home mom, I find the day-to-day activities sometimes challenging. Mom-networking has become a must! I have a way of finding pretty good deal for moms and awesome toys, clothes and gadgets for the tots. I also find that I have a knack for networking people together, meaning, "you do this- my friend needs that!"

So what's Mom-spotted? This blog is designed for the mom-to-mom connection to the best of our area. Whether it be good deals at the stores, great finds at websits, tried and true gadgets for the kids, style-musts for the mommas, great gift ideas for the dads and basically everything in between!