I loved the gift ideas for teachers that Phillip Done, a Disney nominated Teacher of the Year and author of Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind: Thoughts on Teacherhood shared back in December of 2009. Until I find a piece that I like more, I will keep running this one as a reminder regarding what teachers appreciate and (more importantly!) don’t like on their special days…

What are the most memorable teacher gifts from your staff room?

•A pair of earrings from a child who said they reminded him of his teacher. They were hoop earrings with marijuana leaves in them.

•A set of high ball glasses.

•A Barbie doll with a crocheted dress that fits over a toilet paper roll.

•A box of chocolates. One third was gone. The other third was half-eaten. Apparently the child put them back until he found the filling he liked.

•A porcelain mask of Elvis.

•An Emergency Survival Kit including: Red Bull, teacher’s favorite candy, and quick microwavable meals.

•My aide received one earring. When she asked about the other one, the student said he gave it to the librarian.

What are some of the funniest teacher gifts you’ve ever received at the holidays?

•A used roll of duct tape.

•An avocado wrapped in aluminum foil.

•A mug that said “Happy St. Patrick’s Day.”

•A wall calendar that was about to expire.

•Santa boxer shorts. From the kid’s mother.

The Five Absolute BEST Gifts for Any Teacher:

1. Gift cards: You can never go wrong!

2. Movie passes

3. Food: Dinner, homemade treats, chocolate

4. Books for the classroom

5. The Best Gift of All: a note of appreciation from a parent or student

Michael has 6 teachers this year, so we will be buying Starbucks gift cards for them. I figure that they will like coffee, tea, a cake pop…or something! If we have some extra time this week, we might also add something homemade. Any ideas?

Several of my friends have mentioned going apple picking near NYC. I’m going with a group of family and friends in a couple of weeks, so I have been asking my friends and family for orchard suggestions. Below are the top seven suggestions:

1. Mom in the City reader Sandra Polanco recommends Barton Orchards. “(They have) hayrides, apples, pumpkin patch, playground, petting zoo, place to eat, and delish apple donuts!! You can also pick peppers, tomatoes, etc. We had a blast.”

2. Parenting blogger Mitch picks DePiero’s Country Farm. “This is on my list, we went 3 weeks ago and traveled too far. We hope to go back here for pumpkins, it is 45 minutes away.”

3. Mom blogger Lisa Perez (along with another personal friend) suggests Dubois Farms. “I like Dubois Farms in Highland, NY. “(It’s) not so commercialized like some I know.” You can actually read Lisa’s thoughts more in-depth on her post about apple picking at Dubois Farms.

4. Mom blogger Renee Smith raves about Wilkens Farm. “Beautiful, does not feel at all like an apple picking factory; homemade donuts and candy and stuff, and hay rides.” were some of the things that she loved about the farm.

5. Another Mom in the City reader, Mandy, sang the praises of Applewood Orchards & Winery. I asked her if it was easy to get to the site from the city and if she would recommend it for a group outing. Her response: “(It’s) extremely easy to get to, same exit as Woodbury Commons and about 10-15 min once you exit. For the toddler set it is PERFECT as they have “miniature apple trees”in some sections that are their height and the full grown apples are the size of their palms. LOTS of toddlers were having a blast picking their own apples and parents were thrilled they didn’t have to lift them up. Well taken care of orchard, NO BEES! I recommend it for the toddler to 10 year old set. They would enjoy the marionette/face painting/folky band, etc. My early 13 year old ended up having a good time (much to my surprise!), but I don’t think he would have had a good time if it was a bunch of his friends. Great for a family outing. Oh yeah, they have their own vineyard, so we had a good time sampling wines!”

Other offline friends recommended the following two farms/orchards that they visited with their families this year:
6. Terhune Orchards in Princeton, NJ

7. Masker Orchards in Warwick, NY also received high praises for being less commercial than other local produce farms (although it is not organic).

I compiled the list and gave it to my husband with my top two picks. Our final pick ended up being Dubois Farms. I think that the barbecue lunch is what tipped the hat in their favor. With my husband, it’s (almost) all about the food! We’re planning on going with a group of folks on October 24th, so I’ll let you know how it goes. (You’re welcome to come along!)

Other posts that might be of interest regarding apple picking orchards and farms in the NYC area can be found at:
-CBS New York Local
-TONY Kids
-Babble (Congrats to Carol on her new gig over at Babble!)

That’s it on my end. Did I miss any other noteworthy farms/orchards that your family has visited that are within a couple of hours of NYC?

(Top Photo Credit: Tehrune Orchards)

Last month, I was invited to attend an upcoming The Electric Company taping of a music video with Benji and Joel Madden of the band Good Charlotte. Although the new season will not air until next February, I wanted to share about it now since Good Charlotte has a new record coming out this November.

The studio that they shot in was pretty little, so I was only able to go inside for a little while. The remainder of the shooting time, I was sitting with friends Jen and Nikki in a nearby greenroom watching the group on a live studio feed. By the time that I thought to tape some of the feed, Benji and Joel were practically done. This small snippet is all that I managed to capture:

While we were waiting to interview the band, Priscilla Diaz, “Jessica,” from the Electric Company, stopped by. She was so cute and sweet. (Jen’s son loved “Jessica” and wanted to feed her…so cute!) We were able to speak to Benji and Joel briefly. Overall, I was impressed that the brothers were so cool, down-to-earth and hardworking. Both brothers are hugely popular so I tried to find out some things that fans might not already know about them. Below are my top seven tidbits:

1. They both have really great work ethics. When I was in the studio with them, I took note of how well they took instruction from the director. I admire performers because they have to do the same thing over…and over…and over again for extended periods of time. Refreshingly, there were no male diva attitudes on set.

2. Good Charlotte is a kid-friendly band. It was obvious that Benji loves being an uncle. He was psyched to perform something that his nieces and nephew could “get into”. He mentioned that practically everyone in the band has kids and that life on the road revolves heavenly around the kids.

3.The parents of the Madden brothers had a profound influence on their musical tastes. As kids, their parents listened to Lionel Richie (prelude to future pairings?), Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, gospel and Christian singers like the Winans. They were not really allowed to listen to a lot of other music because their mom was pretty strict about it in the house…although they used to sneak music in later. Their dad’s love for soul music obviously rubbed off on both Joel and Benji…they sing with soul!

4. Joel and Benji are big fantasy football fans. It was funny hearing them talk about being fans of the Redskins and Ravens. Tom Brady and Eli Manning, Calvin Johnson and Randy Moss are also some of their top picks. (I won’t mention which teams they “hate” though.)

5. Joel is a devoted dad. Benji is a doting uncle. Joel’s daughter is a big Sesame Street fan who loves music and when he makes up songs for her at home. He wanted to do something his “daughter could dig”, so he initiated with Sesame Workshop. Both Benji and Joel think that the kids will love the little musical skit that they were taping. (It is quite catchy!). The skit is about a missing hat and it turns out that the brothers actually fight over hats in real life. One of them (I forget which one) even has a prized fedora collection…

6. They think that their upcoming release Cardiology is their best record ever. As they said, “Knock on wood.” The video for “Like It’s Her Birthday” is already out on youtube. (No worries for Good Charlotte fans though…it’s not a kiddie album.)

7. Joel thinks that being a dad changes everything. He said that parenthood has changed him as a person…including making him a better songwriter. Although things are more deep and meaningful, he was quick to point out that some things are still just fun. (Although I was one of those people who used to roll my eyes mentally when parents said things like that before I had kids, I now agree. Being a parent definitely changes everything!)

I could totally be wrong and you might have known all of the above, but I didn’t. I’m not a good “fan” though….I don’t keep up with all of the latest interviews.

Anyway, I’m excited to see if Michael will be interested in Electric Company now that he is a little older and has outgrown Sesame Street. (Both shows are produced by Sesame Workshop.) Speaking of Sesame Street, there have been many Sesame Street related things that have passed through my “Inbox” lately. Below, are three of my favorites:

1. Sesame Street Live – Elmo’s Green Thumb is going to be at the Theater at Madison Square Garden on February 17-21. In this show, Elmo and his friends shrink due to an Abby Cadabby plant-growing spell mishap. Tickets go on sale to the general public on November 7th but there is a special presale going on now through November 6th., Mom in the City readers can use the exclusive presale code INTHECITY at http://www.theateratmsg.com to buy tickets before the general public.

2. Sesame Street has joined the gaming movement by launching Wii and DS Games.

And

3. Sesame Street is trying to make math fun for pre-k students with their free “Math Is Everywhere” kits. Bilingual parent guides and materials can be found at http://www.sesamestreet.org/parents/math. I will definitely be downloading this set for Sean’s (pre) pre-k homeschooling.

Many of our kids are around the same ages. Which Sesame Workshop show are your kids more interested in now…Sesame Street or Electric Company? Who are their favorite characters? (Sean still loves Elmo best.)

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to a special blogger lunch with Jill Herzig, the Editor-in-Chief of REDBOOK. When I arrived and saw many of my favorite fellow bloggers (Alice Bradley, Amy Oztan , Beth Feldman, Ellen Seidman, Emily McKhann, Isabel Kallman, Jennifer James, Kelcey Kintner, Liz Gumbinner and Marinka) there, I knew that it was destined to be a great time. I was right! The lunch was held to discuss the makeover of REDBOOK since the new format hit the newsstands in the October issue. I have mentioned many times how much I love printed material. Online formats are great (and are especially wonderful for the fact that you don’t have to clip the posts that you like!) but I will never tire of ink and paper…

During lunch, our conversation jumped from one topic to the next (including “judgy moms”). That was great and all, but I wanted to see the difference in the actual magazine. Honestly, REDBOOK is one of those magazines that I had seen and even picked up from time to time in the past. I had found it to be informative but nothing spectacular. Fortunately, I was given this opportunity to see the newly designed magazine. I took on the personal challenge to see if I could find at least 10 things that I liked in the October issue of REDBOOK. Was I able to do so? Let me count the “likes”…

1. Blow-out instructions (pg. 209): I love this article which gives specific instructions about how to straighten a variety of hair types…including ethnic “kinky” hair…like mines!

2. Be part of the solution: Domestic Violence Awareness Month (pg. 168): Practically everyone knows that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I wasn’t aware that it was also Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This article shares 10 ways that you can help the cause.

3. Smart about money (pg. 150): I had never heard of copykat.com (a site that provides recipes for restaurant meals) until I read about it as a money-saving tip.

4. Just call us Halloweenies (pg. 144): I’m admittedly biased because I really like Ellen Seidman (she was the person who invited me to the lunch) but I really enjoyed her article about the fact that her kids don’t like dressing up for Halloween.

5. Who’s been sleeping in your bed? (pg. 138): This post about kids – of all ages – sleeping in their parents’ beds made me think twice about letting the boys crawl in on occasion. (I think that I’ll just stick with our “if the sun is up, just knock before entering” policy.)

6. Rocket mom! (pg. 136): I can find it challenging to stay connected with my kids all of the time, so I liked this short piece with tips from astronaut/mom Nicole Stott.

7. Freebies (pg. 56): There is $263,184 worth of free stuff available and a chance to win $250,000. I’ll take the island vacay or the cash…

8. Brightly colored expresso cups and saucers (pg. 45): Although I would drink tea rather than coffee in these cups, I enjoy the bright colors (and the price tag – $45 for the set).

9. Mommy blogger face-off (pg. 30): I like that mom bloggers get the chance to sound off on various issues in this section. This month’s question was “Should babies be allowed in bars?” To each her own choice, but I’m siding with Jill Smokler of Scarymommy.com on this one. (That would be a “no”.)

10. Lauren Graham’s earrings (pg. 17): I smiled when I saw a lookalike version of actress Lauren Graham’s ($2,495!) earrings. They are by Lia Sophia…and are “a steal” at $78. They were the exact same ones that I was gifted at the Getting Gorgeous suite during BlogHer. (I loved my earrings, but they looked better on a reader than me…so I gave them to her.)

In any event, I saw enough good things in the October issue to grab my interest. I’ll be peeking in more often to see the other upcoming changes. What about you? Are you “online-only” at this point or do you still enjoy magazines? If you do enjoy magazines, have you ever read REDBOOK?

(Thanks to Ellen for the invitation to the lovely lunch!)

Friday was school picture day at Michael’s school. Although I still have a sheet of photos from last year’s picture day, I had signed up to buy the least expensive package for two reasons. One, I love my son’s school and I want to help support it (even though I prefer direct financial support…I vented about that over on Momtourage). Secondly, I noticed that on the order form it said that the kids who didn’t buy a package would not be allowed to sit for an individual photo…that they would only be allowed to sit for the class/group photo. There are enough times in life that my son will be necessarily singled out, so I didn’t want this to be one of them. After I filled out the form, I thought, “You’re being silly. Kids don’t care if they take individual photos or not.” Oh well, I had already paid. Que sera, sera.

On the way home from school on Friday, I asked Michael how school picture day went. “It was good,” he said. “I didn’t do the “crazy” smile.” (He has the tendency to smile like “The Joker” for staged photos.) “Oh good,” I said…and with that I thought the conversation was over. Then he chimed in, “The kids with no money didn’t get to take a picture.” What?! He then went on to explain that “the kids with no money” could only take the picture with the other kids who had money (in other words – the class/group shot). I explained to him that just because certain kids didn’t buy photo packages didn’t mean that their families didn’t have any money. “Maybe they just didn’t want to buy any more pictures, because they still had pictures left over from last year…like we do,” I elaborated. Whatever…he had already moved on to another thought.

Later, I reflected on why a thing like mandatory school supply lists and exclusionary school picture days get under my skin so much. In reality, they are not big deals. I came to the conclusion that in my mind these minor situations boil down to the economics of the “haves” and the “have-nots”. Growing up in a family headed by a divorced single mom of five kids, I most definitely found myself in the “have-nots” role at various times in my life. My kids are very fortunate in that they have never lacked for anything/missed out any opportunity simply based on economic reasons… and I hope that will always be their reality. In any event, I realize that I will probably always connect emotionally with the “have-nots” and raise my voice for what is best and fair for all, not just the privileged. I’m okay with that. In fact, that’s one of the character traits that I hope to pass on to my kids.

On a lighter note, how do your kids dress for school picture day? We go classic all of the way. Michael wore a navy sweater pants, navy slacks and a while button-down shirt. (If I’m going to pay for those crazy pictures, then at least he should look cute in them!)

On Wednesday, I attended lunch with the co-hosts of CBS’s new daytime talk show “THE TALK” and several of my favorite bloggers. It’s very rare (as in it has never happened before!) that I get to sit, eat lunch and chat with Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete, Leah Remini and Marissa Jaret Winokur…all at the same time. I was excited beforehand, but in the back of my mind, I wondered “Do we really need another View-like daytime talk show even if it’s through the lens of motherhood. Really?” After spending time with the co-hosts, my answer is a resounding, “Yes!” I’ll tell you why in a bit, but first I want you to get a glimpse of what I saw and heard in this clip that I took on my tester Droid X. It doesn’t get much more “behind the scenes” than this!

So, that’s what the various hosts had to say regarding why they wanted to be a part of the show. That’s not the reason for my “yes” though. Moreso, there are three main reasons that I will be tuning in when the show premieres on October 18th. They are the following:

1. The time: The show will air at 2pm EST. I don’t watch a lot of television. I especially don’t watch morning television too much, because I’m too busy with the kids! This 2pm time slot is reasonable though. My home is calm then. Sean is having his nap or quiet time before it’s time to pick up Michael from school. I can realistically “do” 2pm.

2. The women: Each of the co-hosts are fantastic in their individual ways….all very different, but all fabulous. Below are my quick “three-words” first impressions of the six:

-Julie Chen: I couldn’t really get a gauge on her personality, because she was called away for most of the lunch.

-Sara Gilbert: endearing, humble and smart (She came up with the idea for the show and is one of the executive producers, but you would never know it. She was quick to praise and listen in order to get input from others.)

-Sharon Osbourne: powerful, compassionate, and kind (As we all chatted about bullying and helping your kids deal with fame, I was struck by her kindness of heart…and I’m not just saying that she’s kind because she called me “beautiful” when I spoke with her. Really!)

-Holly Robinson Peete: focused, inspring and service-minded (She is definitely the type of women that I would want on my team…no matter what the task!)

-Leah Remini: hilarious, honest and vulnerable (She had us cracking up the entire time. She’s naturally funny. It’s the truth and vulnerability behind her quips that make her so endearing though. On the way out, I told her that she was so funny and so small framed/teeny. The camera really does add weight – all of the women were much smaller than they appear on screen. She was like, “Awww…thank you. Now tweet that!” I did!)

-Marissa Jaret Winokur: bubbly, chatty and enthusiastic (That lady can talk…and talk…and talk. It’s cute on her though, because she’s so excited about everything. It’s really quite sweet and refreshing.)

With all of their different personalities, there is bound to be at least one woman that you can relate to as a mom. I enjoyed spending time with all of them, but it will be interesting to see which ones I will be drawn to the most. Initially, it was Holly and Sharon because I was more familiar with them. I just thought that they were strong, smart women who were devoted to their families. After sitting with the six though, I see that description applies to all of them. So, I’ll see…

And lastly,

3. Respect: I like to hear a variety of opinions. I do. What I don’t like is when people talk over one another or attack the person rather than the difference in views. So, going into the chat I wondered how in the world would six different women with such a wide range of views, lifestyles, etc. come together for this one show. (Honestly, any of the six has enough personality to have her own individual talk show!) I was happy that they addressed that. Their intention is to not talk over each other but to share and listen to diverse opinions. I am hoping that their intention becomes a reality. There’s already enough negativity in the world…and on television.

So, that’s my take. I hope that you’ll tune in to the season premiere on October 18th so that we can compare notes! Definitely let me know your thoughts…

(P.S. Thanks to Beth for the invite!)

10/8 Update: Here’s the video that I mentioned:

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a lunch sponsored by Disney Parks. While there, I learned about the launch of Disney Parks’ “Let The Memories Begin” promotion as well as other Disney plans. If you’re a big Disney fan, you can see the full presentation below (there was live coverage):

The main announcement at the event was that with this new “Let the Memories Begin” celebration campaign, guests will now become the stars of their Disney TV ads and other print and online media. Guests will be able to submit their videos, photos and stories at http://memories.disneyparks.disney.go.com.

Personally, my favorite part was seeing Michael J. Fox (love him!) share about his families’ favorite Disney memories. I also loved the new song that was created for this campaign “Let the Memories Begin” that was performed by Tony nominee/former Walt Disney World performer Montego Glover. (I have been having trouble uploading her performance. If I figure it out, I’ll update this post…it’s really beautiful.) Meanwhile, here are my photos:

Personally, my family had such a great time at Disney over two years ago that Michael still includes a return visit in his nightly prayers (that and a dog). Obviously, it made a big impression on him! Does your family have any favorite family memories from Disney Parks?

Over the last couple of months Nate Berkus (yes Oprah’s beloved Nate) and I have become great friends. Okay, not really. I did attend two of his events though.

Back in August, I attended the launch party for The Nate Berkus Show. What I remember the most is how he took time to speak with each blogger who wanted to speak to him. He was very warm and personable. Because I live in NYC, I get to go to several events with various celebrities. I haven’t had one bad experience, but I must say that (to date) Nate and Tyler Florence stand out in regards to how available they make themselves to those who come to see them. Kudos! Most recently, I went to a special 9/21 taping of The Nate Berkus Show. The audience was composed primarily of design bloggers. Somehow, a few of us moms who blog received invites too. (Maybe someone from his staff read that I’m going to be focusing more on “home” for the next few months after my whirlwind summer. Maybe not. Who knows?) Anyway, I went with Becca and Amy since they both love Nate. Personally, I think that Nate is a very natural host. It is obvious that he cares about helping people. Once again, he is also very generous with his time. At the end of the show, he answered questions from the audience after the taping ended until he needed to leave. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to ask my question. So, I’m going to ask you…

My question is, “How do you hang curtains when you can’t put holes in the wall?” . That has been my dilemma since moving into our current home about a year ago. We have blinds covering the window, but I don’t especially love blinds. I want curtains! Curtainworks.com had even reached out to me and sent me a lovely curtain set to review. I chose the Lexington curtains.

I looked over on Apartment Therapy where they had a discussion thread on this very topic. Score! Not. Whoever suggested using 3M hooks owes me $20. My husband went out and bought some hooks and hung the curtains while I was out. He was so pleased with himself (and rightfully so) that I had to bite my tongue…you can see those ugly white hooks peeking through the curtains. Back to the drawing board. Well, just because I’m having curtain issues, doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy a set of curtains from Curtainworks because their customer service and curtains are both really great.

To win a set of curtains (you would get to choose the curtain/color/length on Curtainworks.com), simply let me know which set of curtains that you would pick. For an extra entry (leave it separately), let me know if you have any answers to my curtain dilemma. Leave your answers in the “Comments” section below and I will pick a random winner at the end of the month. Good luck! (I also have 5 coupons for 25% off at Curtainworks.com to give away.)

Thanks to the Nate Berkus Show for the party and show invite. Thanks to Curtainworks for the review and giveaway set of curtains.

I am pretty sure that you have heard of Eggland’s Best (they are America’s #1 egg brand). I’m also pretty certain that you have heard of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, an organization that is focused on eradicating breast cancer. (You might know them by their former name Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation). What you may not know is the link between the two. Eggland’s Best is a pink ribbon sponsor of Susan G. Komen. As such, they are donating $50,000 to Komen. As part of the campaign, an official pink ribbon stamp will be on specially marked packages of Eggland’s Best (as well as on each individual egg). The pink ribbon stamped eggs are being sold in grocery stores nationwide from September 1, 2010 – November 15, 2010. (For more information, you can visit http://www.egglandsbest.com/news/egglands-goes-pink.aspx.)

Where do I come in? Well, I’m happy that I was asked to become a digital ambassador for the effort. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month and I will be helping to spread the word. I have never been diagnosed with breast cancer and although several family members and friends have battled various types of cancer, no one in my immediate family or close circle of friends has been diagnosed with breast cancer. That is not the norm. Somewhere in the world a woman dies of breast cancer every 69 seconds. Later this month, I will be hosting a small, intimate event in the NYC area – just a dozen women or so. It will either be a food-related or pampering event…perhaps a combination of the two. If you have any type of connection with breast cancer, let me know in the “Comments” section below. I would love to hear your stories. If you’re local (NYC area), please indicate that so that I can invite some of you to my little get-together when the details are set. Thanks!

FYI: I am being compensated by Eggland’s Best to participate in this campaign. However, the opinions are mine, because that’s how I roll

There are a lot of different toy showcases in New York City every year. I must say that Time to Play is consistently one of my favorites. (Granted, if you are really into “green” and/or unique homemade toys, this isn’t the toy fair you you. In that case, I recommend the Cool Mom Picks website and viewing Dr. Toy’s Best Green Toy picks.)

I quickly dropped by this year’s showcase for a little while before attending a lunch afterwards. I’m so glad that I did. Time to Play announced their “Most Wanted List”. They are the following:

-Air Hogs Moto Frenzy from Spin Master

-Zoobles from Spin Master

I will be sharing my top picks closer to the holiday season. Meanwhile, I want to give you a glimpse of all the toys that I saw today. You can see them below.

When I left, part of me wondered “Is it really time to start thinking about holiday toys already?” Then I realized that this year has flown by. October starts at the end of this week…whew! Have you started thinking about the holidays yet? If so, is there any toy that your kids are already asking to get?