Allison's blog

We hear a lot about the benefits of cooking and eating healthy meals together as a family, but despite our best intentions, it can be tough to make that happen on a daily basis, whether for lack of time, energy, creativity—or all of the above.
 
You can get a little help in the kitchen and have fun doing it by taking a cooking class to learn easy, healthy recipes and techniques for getting food on the table for your kids. Despite what you might think, cooking classes don't have to be fancy or expensive, there are some casual options here in the city that are a good fit for parents for making family meals. 
 

If I had to give one piece of advice to a new parent in NYC, or anywhere for that matter, it would have nothing to do with stroller choice or sleep schedules. It would be to find a parents group and find it fast.

Being a new mother (or father) in NYC can be surprisingly isolaing. There's people all around, but it's hard to actually meet other new parents and we need that essential support network of mommy and daddy friends here in the city more than anyone. While there are lots of resrources, from community groups to fee-based classes or clubs, what worked wonders for this Manhattan mom was the internet, specifically Meetup.com.

We recently wrote about the new Extreme Sleepovers at Ripley's Believe it or Not! Odditorium. Museum Sleepovers are all the rage ever since the Night at The Museum movie hit theaters. Not only can you spend the night at the Museum of Natural History, just like they do in the movies, but you can sleep over at 6 other cool spots as well.

A new generation of readers can now check out the historic St. Agnes Library branch on the Upper West Side and its brand new children's center. The building reopened earlier this month after a 2 year renovation project, and a day of community and children's activities is being held this Thursday, February 11, 2010 to celebrate.

We've been updating our Indoor Activity Guide and parrticularly our list of drop-in indoor play spaces so NYC families can find lots of fun things to do during this cold weather.

With cabin fever setting in over these winter weeks, I've been bundling up my 13-month-old and taking field trips to a few indoor spaces with open play times. With drop-in play areas, it's great to be able to hang out for a few bucks admission without having to commit to expensive memberships or classes. My son loves exploring the new toys, and I love not having to clean up the mess.

Check out one of my new favorite drop-in indoor playgrounds:
 

Sometimes the MTA takes a while to update their website, so I was pretty excited to spy, recently, a new working elevator at one of my most traveled transit hubs.

I hadn't been to the movies in 10 months since having a baby and I missed it. I missed debating over the listings with my husband. I missed smuggling in Duane Reade candy and rating the preview trailers. I missed the dark that settles over the theater like few other places in this city, allowing you to escape for two hours even though you're rubbing elbows with a stranger in the next seat.

I'm not a movie buff, really. Going to the movies just sits on that list of adult things I no longer do, and therefore completely romanticize, since having a baby. Still, while I miss Fandangoing, I have a hard time justifying a babysitter when there is Netflix, so I was intrigued when a friend told me about a movie theater that not only allows, but encourages, parents to come with their babies.