This will be my last post on Mom in the City. Starting tomorrow, my new blog home will be Foodie City Mom (www.foodiecitymom.com). As of July 1st, Mom in the City readers will be automatically redirected to the new site. (As soon as my ex-computer programmer husband has the time to figure out how to redirect my Yahoo small business account blog over to my new domain, I will redirect this site. Meanwhile please check for all of the new posts over at Foodie City Mom. Thanks!) Over the last few months, I have been changing the content here to reflect the direction that I will be taking over there. Foodie City Mom will still be a peek at living and parenting in NYC. It will just have a stronger focus on the foods of New York. I’m especially excited that I have hired a “Healthy Choices” and “Dessert First” columnist. They will help my blogging life to be even saner…especially during the summer. (Did I mention that I’m administering the camps again this summer? Whew!) Anyway, I’m excited.

I just want to take the time to say “thank you” for being such wonderful readers. Mom in the City has been what I call a “happy accident”. Six years ago, I had no idea that my new hobby would lead to such wonderful friends, experiences and related parenting work opportunities. (Of course it has led to some great “stuff” too, but my consistent readers know that I’m adverse to clutter, so most of the “stuff” has been given away to people who would truly enjoy it the most!) I always say that there are a gazillion and one moms who live in the city, but I want to thank all of you for making this site #1.

Before ending, I just wanted to quickly answer two of the questions that I have been receiving a lot lately.

1. Why are you no longer writing at Mom in the City?

There is two parts to this answer. Primarily, I am moving on because I am at a different life stage. When I decided to stay at home with Michael, I created Mom in the City as a multicultural offline group for moms of preschool aged and younger kids. When the group became too large to continue meeting together, the website transitioned to a blog so that I could learn and grow together with my mom peers. Well, my youngest son is going to school in the fall, so now I’m ready to learn about and explore new things – primarily food – in depth. (I knew that it was time to start something new when I couldn’t stop the constant barrage of stroller and diaper bag pitches!)

The other reason is that I’m tired of my super loyal family and friends asking me about all of the new online variations of Mom in the City. For the most part, I didn’t/don’t care. Urban parents are a hot demographic and there are many moms in the city. Besides, the only person who people in the parenting industry have ever confused me with is Kimberly Allers. Since she is a renowned journalist/word genius, that is a compliment to me (a number cruncher turned information sharer).

2. What will you do with the Mom in the City site?

I really don’t know. Initially, I was going to turn it into a local parenting resource and events site since I have a lot of paid work experience in that area. After my initial research, I realized that there are 20+ similar sites covering NYC. That is too saturated a field for me! So, I’m just going to redirect the traffic over to Foodie City Mom (where I will also archive my favorite Mom in the City posts from the last six years). Mom in the City is a pretty solid url, so I’m going to keep it. I might want to do something with it later in life. I might sell it or partner with someone who has a great idea regarding how to best utilize it. Who knows? I’ll see what happens, but I will be focusing on Foodie City Mom for now.

That is it for now. Once again thank you! Over on BlogHer, there is a post entitled “My Blog Changed My Life”. I agree with the author. Mom in the City has changed my life. It has brought me new friends (readers, fellow bloggers, marketers, etc.) and opportunities. It has helped me to transition from one career (research/finance) to the next (parenting) and has also provided the opportunity for me to merge the two along the way. Most of all, it has allowed me to be the mom (and wife) that I want to be – one who fits work around her life and not vice versa (for the most part). I look forward to sharing the next chapter of our journeys together!

Michael is becoming quite the karate kid and says that he wants to be a Sensei (karate teacher) when he grows up. Actually, he wants to own a chain of karate schools and have me do the marketing for him. (Don’t you just love how kids think that their moms will work for them their entire life?!) Anyway, he’s practicing by teaching his little brother Sean the basics. It’s one of the cutest things ever watching them play karate class together. Michael even gifted Sean with his old yellow belt today…

Last night, one of my high school friends Tammie Hill tagged me on Facebook. I screamed when I looked at the picture. It was a 1991 newspaper photo and article about me when I was a student in high school. I did a google search to see if that 20-year-old article is online and it is! Oh my goodness…the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The three things that have changed:

1. My name. I was Kimberly Newby. “Kim Newby” – I loved that name. My dad joked with my husband that he should change his last name to Newby. That wasn’t happening. I wanted Reggie’s last name, but I will always have a little “Kim Newby” in me!

2. My career choice. When I was young, I thought that I wanted to be a lawyer and a politician. However, when I researched both professions more, I lost interest. In reality, my mom mainly wanted me to be a lawyer with her Agatha Christie/Matlock/Murder She Wrote-loving self! It took the distance of college for me to come up with my own career dreams. (They changed over time too! I’m so happy that I live in today’s society where people aren’t stuck in the same job for a lifetime!)

3. My personal style. When my husband saw the newspaper photo, he asked, “Was that your hair? You looked like a poodle!” Whatever. I actually had a good sense of style (although looking back, it was pretty colorful!) back in the day. Thank God for style updates though!

The five things that have remained the same:

1. Community-minded focus. I was raised to believe that everyone could do something to help others. Volunteering and community service aren’t optional for me…or my family.

2. A strong sense of fairness. I don’t think that will ever leave me. I know that life isn’t fair, but I try to even the scales within my realm of influence whenever possible!

3. Confidence, determination and competitiveness. Although time has definitely given me a better perspective overall, I haven’t lost those attributes. (Now, I’ve just learned to channel that competitiveness towards being my personal best!)

4. A love of learning. I have always loved to learn from a variety of people and experiences. That’s one of the reasons that I enjoy blogging so much – it gives me access to some of the top minds regarding practically any topic that I’m interested in!

5. My mom is still my greatest inspiration. Now that I am a mom myself, I appreciate her and all of the challenges that she faced even more. I am so grateful that I have choices (stay at home/work at home/work outside of the home/etc.) that she didn’t have but sacrificed to ensure that I received. Most of all, she is still always there for me – even though we are in different states!

The neat thing is that of the things that have remained the same, I can clearly see #1-4 in both my mom and my kids. The apples really don’t fall from the tree. (Well, at least not sometimes. I’ve seen some great trees with some sour apples and vice versa!)

How about you? When you think back to your high school years, do you see more similarities or differences?

Anyway, I love that “Kim Newby”. She was “cool people”. I also love this “Kim Coleman”. She’s a work in progress .

Looking back, looking back, looking back…

(Although the blooming spring flowers are wreaking havoc on my family’s allergies, I must admit that they are beautiful…)

How was your Mother’s Day? Great, I hope. I had a wonderful day. It started with my guys bringing me gifts and breakfast in bed. After church, we had a quick snack at Chipotle’s, because I have been in a Mexican food mood since Cinco de Mayo. Later, we met up with Reggie’s family for a group Mother’s Day dinner.

Last week, I had spoken with Consumer Reports regarding what moms want for Mother’s Day. You can read what I said on their Is it okay to give mom a vacuum cleaner for Mother’s Day? post. One part of my commentary that wasn’t included in the piece was this note:

***Of course, the things mentioned above are presents that are wished for from the adults in moms’ lives. Anything that our kids give us – handmade cards, poems, paper flowers, handprint gift items, etc. – are always appreciated and valued above and beyond everything else. (No, really!)***

In keeping with that comment, below are my most precious (besides my kids, of course) Mother’s Day gifts…

-A card from Michael (I love that they used their paint-covered fingers to make the flower petals.)

-Paper flowers from Sean (He was so pleased that he was able to make the flower at the top of this post as a gift of his own for “Mommy”.)

Being a wife and mom truly is a priceless gift!

For the last couple of days, I have been playing “mom” to four kids. Well, two of them are actually mine. The other two are my niece (2 months) and nephew (3 and a ½). My hat goes off to moms with four or more kids – especially those who live in the city. We will probably have the kids for another couple of days, so I’ll pick up posting on the blog then. Meanwhile, spending time with my yummy niece has reminded me of the good, the bad and the ugly of the baby years…

The good:
- There are few things that smell better than a freshly washed baby.

- There are few things cuter than a baby’s smile and/or a sleeping baby.

The bad:
- Babies need to be fed and diapered every 3-4 hours.

- Most babies need to be changed every 2-4 hours.

The ugly:
- Poop, snot and vomit. Enough said.

A few other observations:
- The Baby Bjorn is one of the best baby inventions ever. I call my niece “my little attachment”, because she likes to be held. The Bjorn is the only way that I can get anything done while holding her.

- Formula is expensive! (Now, I see why formula companies advertise so much.) I don’t get into the whole “breast versus bottle” debate, because I think that moms need to do what works best for their individual families. However, I must say that I am so grateful that I was able to breastfeed both of my sons…simply because formula is so expensive! I was doing some calculations and formula can easily add up to $100+/week (?!)

- Unless I have an “oops”, my baby making days are over. At first, I thought that having a baby around would possibly make me want to have another one. In reality, it had the opposite effect. I love my niece and nephew, but I really don’t desire to do the baby thing all over again. I love my sleep and my (ever-changing) family rhythm too much. That’s the great thing about having family and friends with newborns around. I can love up on them and snuggle them. Then, I can send them home

(P.S. I would include a picture of my niece and nephew but I want to respect their privacy. Besides, you might not be able to handle the “baby cuteness”!)

Earlier this week when some extra funds landed in my hand, I decided to cross “spruce up the dining room for spring” off my April “to do” list. (It really fell into my hands. I was looking in my husband’s nightstand for something and I saw an envelope with my name on it and an American Express gift card inside. I guess that I had stuck it in their one day when I was straightening up and had forgotten about it.) As we all know from my Nate Show experience, I’m a minimalist who needs outside design inspiration. Below is a video of my current dining room that I want to lighten up…

I use the word “love” a lot, right? Oh well, I really do love my table set and mirror. I want to leave the space open, since we sometimes pull the table out for company and the kids like to do puzzles and such over there. I would love ideas for a new table setting for my long, rectangular table. I’m also open to adding chair cushions and more pictures on the walls (although, I like for my eyes to “rest” on plain walls). Our home is so full of activity that I don’t like a bunch of busy accessories. Can you help a minimalist out…please?

Who knows? While I’m out shopping, I might just pick up a little something for one of you who shares a helpful idea…

The last few months, we have spent a lot of fun times together as a family. However, my husband and I have not had our much anticipated monthly date nights. They have pretty much come to a standstill. That is why I happily agreed when a great PR friend reached out to me on behalf of Cottonelle Ultra’s “Make the Ultra Switch” Sweepstakes to see if I wanted to “switch up” my date nights by planning and going on a “NYC Night on the Town” themed ultra date with my husband. My husband was also game after I assured him that participating didn’t mean that I thought that there was something wrong in our relationship! After getting input from friends on Facebook, my husband and I settled on an Argentine themed date. (My friends had so many great ideas that I’m going to do a separate post later this week on “ultra date night” ideas.)

We started off by taking a private tango dance class with Audrey Martinez at Dance Manhattan. She was the perfect teacher for us – talented but not too strict. She taught us the beat to step on, as well as the proper way to walk and two versions of the four-step. She also shared with us the #1 way to show that you are a beginner when dancing at a tango spot, which is to keep dancing once the music stops!

Reggie’s thoughts: “It was easier learning the moves when I was doing them by myself rather than when I did them with a partner. I was afraid of stepping on your feet and bumping your knees. I actually did better when I was less concerned! Every time she said, “Good job” I got distracted and messed up though.” (Personally, I think that he did great. The guys have the harder part in tango – leading. It was pretty easy for me to do the steps/follow. I just had a hard time not bouncing with my movements…it’s the Tigger in me !)

After the dance class, the Carey car service driver picked us up and drove us to dinner at Novecento. The food was amazing and plentiful. We started off by ordering a combination appetizer for two. In reality, there was enough food for four! The beef empanadas and chorizo sausages were our favorites. (I’m trying to get the recipe for the empanadas from the restaurant. If not, I have a really good recipe for empanadas that I have used in the past.)

For the main course, I enjoyed both of our picks. Reggie chose the ribs and fries, thinking that they were American-styled ribs. They were not. Rather, Argentine ribs are more like a steak. Fortunately, it was very tasty and Reggie enjoyed his meal. I “borrowed” some of his fries…they were delicious. Meanwhile, my meal was the perfect choice. I had the tilapia with mashed potatoes, capers and fresh spinach. At first, I had to get used to the strong lemony taste. That was easy though and I thoroughly enjoyed my meal.

For dessert, I had a crepe. The crepe was filled with caramel and it had a scoop of ice cream and a strawberry garnish on the side. My only regret is that I was so full from the plentiful meal that I really couldn’t eat most of my dessert. Note to self: dessert first!

After dinner, the car service drove us home. Since there was no school, the next day, we had allowed the kids to wait up for us. After devouring our leftovers and watching us dance together, the boys went to bed happy. (We need a break from them sometimes and vice versa it appears!)

In any event, we had a wonderful time on our date. Tango is a very close, in your partner’s face style of dance, so it was nice to spend that intimate time with my husband. It was great, but we decided that we would try something a bit “bouncier” the next time – like swing dance. We have been married almost 9 years and we have done many things together, but we never thought about taking a dance class together(?!) I think that is the biggest “switch” that came from this date. Going forward, we will make more of a concentrated effort to do the things that we naturally like to do in an “ultra” way every few months or so. It was also just really great to have the time to talk and laugh kid-free over a dinner that someone else prepared! (That’s nothing new though. Most of our dates include delicious food.) Overall, I would definitely give this ultra date the grade of an “A+”!

Be sure to check back the rest of the week. There will be an “ultra switch” giveaway; some other special date night ideas and an empanadas recipe in celebration of my special date. Meanwhile, I would love to hear about what you do to switch up things in your life (dating or otherwise)…

Thanks to Cottonelle Ultra for providing the car service and American Express gift cards to cover most of our date and childcare costs.

Business is in my blood. I just love learning about the inner workings of successful companies. As the time for Sean to go to full day school draws closer (1 year, 6 months and counting down), I can feel the call of getting back into the mix growing stronger. That is why love shows like the new “America’s Next Great Restaurant”. I have no affiliation with the show at all. My husband and I just happen to have really enjoyed the premiere episode on Sunday. I hope that it continues at this pace!

Have you heard about the show? Basically, ten entrepreneurial hopefuls are competing to win funding to open three of their ideal “Next Great” fast casual restaurant. The first episode showed the judges narrowing down the top 21 to the top 10. The only one that was sent home that I liked was the Soupz concept. I liked the idea of a made to order soup restaurant, but I understand that it might not be best year-round. (The three restaurants will be opened in New York, Los Angeles and Minneapolis.)

There are many strong contenders in the remaining ten. I like several of them (especially The Sports Wrap, Saucy Balls and W3’s) because of the entrepreneurs’ personalities, but I don’t necessarily think that their concepts are strong enough to take them through to the end. My husband and I both had the same top two favorites – The Tiffen Box and Limbo. The Tiffen Box is described as an “Indian Chipotle”. I happen to love Chipotle and Indian food, so this is the perfect mix in my mind – healthy, delicious Indian food that I can customize. Limbo would offer both healthy and decadent options of the same/similar dishes. I love the idea of mixing things up because that is how most of us live – while we want to be healthy overall, sometimes we want to indulge! I’m predicting that one of those two will win.

In any event, there were two overall themes that stuck out to me regarding what is necessary to make a great anything: character and concept.

Character: There were several traits that the four judges praised consistently. Leadership, energy, likeability, passion, drive, commitment, humility, control under pressure, endurance and the ability to represent their “brand” were key.

Concept: There were many great, solid ideas for quality businesses. The ones that the judges picked were simple yet appealing, relevant, doable/manageable and what people (customers) will regularly want. They all also came in to meet the judges with well thought out ideas showing that they knew about the fast casual industry.

All of the top ten didn’t possess everything yet they knew their personal strengths and weaknesses. They were also willing to be coached and get help in their areas of weakness from the more talented, experienced judges. I think that those are principles that all of us can learn from – whatever the type of “business” that appeals to us.

How about you? Does “business talk” excite or bore you? Is there anything that you are particularly working on making great right now?

Let me start off by writing that I am totally biased when it comes to voting in contests and competitions that involve my friends and/or acquaintances. I vote for whomever I have the closest relationship with…or I just don’t vote at all if I’m equally close to everyone. Having said that, several of my blogging friends are participating in Lifetime Moms’ Clean Start Challenge 2011. I am voting for Team 3 because I have known Beth the longest and the closest. All three teams (Follow Your Dreams, Increase Literacy and Boost Kids’ Self-Esteem) are really great though. You should check them all out and vote for the cause that moves you personally. This post really isn’t about the Challenge though. Rather, one of the segments that Stephanie (from Team 1) shared, Karen Walrond’s Tips for Finding Your Passion, really spoke to some of the things that I have been working through (career-wise) so far this year.

The first thing that Karen spoke about was how she found her passion. Basically, she wrote down everything that she loved to do/the things that brought her joy. Then, she grouped them into three categories. (For her, it was speak, write and shoot.) Lastly, she made the decision to only choose opportunities that were fun and/or that involved two of her three things/categories.

I heard Karen speak at Blogalicious a couple of years ago and I thought that she was fabulous, so I did what she did. I realized that I am so blessed because there are so many things that bring me joy in my personal life – walking Michael to school in the morning; sitting on a blanket in the middle of the living room to have picnic lunches with Sean; those “catch-up” times at the end of the day with my best friend/husband; and so much more.

There are also many things that make me happy work-wise. Last year was a bit insane, but it helped me to see what I enjoy – as well as what I extremely dislike in opportunities. Overall my three “things” are learning, leading and talking. I love to learn so that I can go and teach what I’ve learned to someone else. When I say “leading”, I don’t mean by title. I mean that I like to help groups come up with a vision of what we all are trying to accomplish as a team and facilitate coming to a consensus regarding ways to get from “A” to “B”. One of the highlights (in some ways) of last year was overseeing a team of talented paid writers. As far as talking – it’s just what I do…a lot. Anyway, over the last couple of weeks, I have been offered several work opportunities. It has been very helpful to have this type of framework along with my business advisor (also known as Reggie) to run things by. So far, few things have been especially good fits, but that’s alright. Last year was a great teacher -doubt really does mean don’t! Anyway, I prefer spending time with my family and laying the framework/building up my own sites in the absence of excellent outside opportunites. (Yes, sites. My wonderful, amazing close friends and family have encouraged me to keep Mom in the City – for parenting resources, events and such – in addition to launching Foodie City Mom where I will focus on the foods of New York. Yay!)

Back to passion…Stephanie also asked Karen if she had any advice for moms in regards to helping them find their passion. Karen’s response was that we moms should get to know ourselves. Once we figure out what turns us on, the next step is figuring out how to do it for a living. While the “figuring out how to do it for a living” is usually the most challenging part, I think that this advice is a wonderful start. As Polonius said to his son Laertes in one of my favorite parts of Shakespeare’s Hamlet:

This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.

In the play, this was a father talking to his son. I can only imagine what impact it would make if we moms taught this concept to our sons and daughters – by both our words and our actions. I’m trying and I’m sure that you are too!

Would you say that you have found your passion? If so, have you figured out how to do it for a living? (I’m taking notes!)

(This image has nothing to do with anything. A nice elderly gentlemen just randomly gave me this bouqet of beautiful flowers today. Wasn’t that just lovely?!)