Where Your Littles Need to be the First Saturday of the Month

If you are looking for something fun, free, and creative to do with your children on the first Saturday of every month, head to your local Home Depot. From 9am-12pm the Home Depot has an orange apron waiting for your littles in the lumber section. A friendly staff member will also supply you with goggles and a craft with the instructions and every piece of material needed. They will pull a big orange bucket up to a table for you to sit at and watch your little build their own little masterpiece. We started taking the Felon at one, so disregard the website that says for ages 5-12, no one cares! There is no registration required for the one in Riverhead. I know that Lowes does the same workshop, but has limited spaces and registration is needed. If you are a good planner, than definitely go online and sign up for that as well! At the completion of the craft, your little gets a pin on their apron to prove they accomplished their task and a certificate. Put it in your icalendar now!

PreK the Hamptons Way

I registered the felon for Kindergarten this week and I think he will be SO ready come Septemeber because I will have gotten a really solid 6 years of Momma School in by then. I made sure they all were potty trained, had manners and could articulate well enough to be away from me for two hours and forty five minutes before they started nursery school at two years old. I still only let them go twice a week at that point because it wasn't something that they needed, but a nice break for us all. A small part of me misses being a kindergarten teacher and having my own classroom, but that feeling goes away fast when I get to live on my own schedule and feel fulfilled watching my own littles learn. We do 30 minutes of reading a day and usually have at least one craft. But my favorite teachable moments are always outside exploring. We read signs at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge, learn about the ocean at the aquarium, play some instruments at the children's museum and exercise all day long. We also are super lucky to have friends around us who let my littles share in their lives as well. When we first moved out here, I helped my boss open a beautiful textiles showroom and the felon was there with me everyday. He has been to the military base down the street a few times with my friend's husband and learned all about being a paratrooper. We've even been able to sit at the beach and watch them jump from the planes, into the water and swim to the coast guard. My littles go to the High School football practices with the Alaskan Assassin and watch home games. They've seen my friends teach workout classes from the gym's kids room and they've been in commercials and photo shoots and have seen what it takes to make a magazine. The felon's favorite lesson came this week when he got to join Rocco J Lettieri Design and Build. He got in the Big Cat with Rocco and knocked a house down. He couldn't believe their was music playing in the machine or that they would smush a refrigerator that still had ice cream inside. Roo watched from the sidelines because knocking things down loudly isn't her cup of tea. Roo likes to stop and admire all of the mansions being built around us in the Hamptons and tell me how beautiful "Rocco's houses" are. Because to her, every single house being designed and built is from him. This town would be gorgeous if that was the case! We are so lucky to be surrounded by so many talented friends and to get to learn first hand from their experiences.

Easter Egg Hunt Schedule for the Hamptons 2016

Why is it so hard to figure out when all the egg hunts are? I called a couple of chambers of commerce for the North and South Fork and compiled a list for your little egg hunters. If I hear of more, I'll post them! Happy Easter!


ARF'S EGG HUNT (91 DANIELS HOLE RD WAINSCOTT): Sunday March 20, 2016 11am-1:00 pm (hunt at 12)

THE HAMPTON LIBRARY HUNT (BRIDGEHAMPTON) : Saturday March 26, 2016 10am-11am

CMEE'S ANNUAL MAD HATTER HUNT: Saturday March 19, 2016 10:00 am (reservations required)

QUOGUE WILDLIFE REFUGE EGG HUNT: Saturday March 26, 2016 11 am and 2 pm (reservations required)

SOUTHAMPTON AGAWAM: TBD

WESTHAMPTON BEACH GREAT LAWN HUNT: Saturday March 19, 2016 time TBD

STOTZKY MEMORIAL PARK: Friday March 18, 2016 6:00 pm (meet at the picnic tables between baseball fields 1 and 2)

ORIENT BEACH STATE PARK: Saturday March 19, 2016 11 am

MATTITUCK PARK DISTRICT AT VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK: Sunday March 20, 2016  1:30 PM

SAFARI ADVENTURE: Saturday March 26, 2016 10 am

SOUTHOLD TOWN PBA AT SOUTHOLD HIGHSCHOOL: Saturday March 26, 2016 at 10am

THE OLD FIELD VINEYARDS IN SOUTHOLD: Saturday March 26, 2016 2pm (There will be hidden bottles of wine for adults!) Reservation required call (631) 765-0004

SAN SIMEON BY THE SOUND (61700 ROUTE 48 GREENPORT): Saturday March 26, 2016 2:30 pm

GREENPORT'S STIRLING SQUARE: Sunday March 27, 2016 11 am ( Contest for best Easter bonnet and pet costume to follow)

ATLANTIS AQUARIUM EGG HUNT AND BRUNCH: Saturday March 26, 2016 at 10 am, noon, and 2 pm

There will also be a Batik and Pysanky Egg display at Rogers Memorial Library for the next two months

Current Events

I will be the first to admit that I need to do a better job staying on top of current events. My mornings are a rush to feed and dress littles and then I get  a quick workout in before starting an action packed day. There is no sitting around enjoying the newspaper and coffee. PBS is on cartoons in the morning, so I have no idea what's on the news and my little bit of Internet time is spent writing a quick blog post. Then, one of my girlfriends invited me to join The Skimm. So Monday through Thursday I get an email in the morning quickly explaining world news that I should know. Here is today's email so you get the feel:

Skimm for March 2nd

Skimm’d with sliders and politics

QUOTE OF THE DAY “See you down below!” - Astronaut Scott Kelly, tweeting from space to his fellow Earthlings. Last night, he came back to his home planet after spending almost a year eating space food. Zetus Lapetus. SKIMM THIS

SUPER TROOPERS

THE STORY Yesterday, about a quarter of US voters did a polls dance. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? Super Tuesday. The biggest day of the primary season. Just call it Miss Cleo, since it plays an important role in predicting each party’s nominee. WHO HAD A GOOD NIGHT? Donald Trump and former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton. Both won big down South (think: AL, AR, TN, VA, GA). Trump also took MA and VT, while Hillz also scooped up MA, TX and American Samoa. Sen. Ted Cruz (TX) used his hometown advantage to turn Trump into Texas toast - and pulled off wins in OK and AK for good measure. WHO DID NOT? Sen. Marco Rubio (FL). He managed to pick up his first primary victory in MN, and was really hoping to also check off VA, but got Trumped. Rubio did manage to win big in the VA counties outside Washington, DC. Cough, establishment, cough. Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT) brought VT, MN, CO, and OK into his corner. Meanwhile, Gov. John Kasich (OH) won zero states, but that’s because Super Tuesday wasn’t in his “game plan.” Dr. Ben Carson pulled a big fat nada too. ANYTHING ELSE? There’s also a super sideshow going on. Earlier this week, Donald Trump seemed to avoid flat-out rejecting the support of David Duke before later disavowing him. That would be the former leader of the KKK. And House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) is not having it. Yesterday, he said any person who wants to be the GOP nominee must “reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry.” Mic drop. theSKIMM Last night, many candidates took their victory - and ‘victory’ - laps from Florida. Hint: that’s the next big primary along with OH and NC, coming up later this month. SKIMM THIS

REPEAT AFTER ME...

WHAT PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT… The ghost of Osama bin Laden. Yesterday, the al-Qaeda leader’s handwritten will was released  along with more than 100 other docs seized during the 2011 raid that killed him. The takeaways? Bin Laden was paranoid, and thought his wife’s tooth had a tracking device planted in it “about the length of a grain of wheat and the width of a fine piece of vermicelli.” Theory: he was not gluten-free. He was also not poor, and claims he had about $29 million - most of which he wanted used on jihad. Money wasn’t the only kind of green on his mind. Instead of waging a ‘war against Islam,’ bin Laden felt strongly that the US should focus on fighting climate change. Bin Laden and Oscars acceptance speechesapparently have something in common. SKIMM THIS

WHAT TO SAY IF YOU STILL HAVEN’T SEEN “SPOTLIGHT”… Best Picture, tough topic. Yesterday, a grand jury report revealed that two Roman Catholic bishops helped cover up sexual abuse in central Pennsylvania. By more than 50 priests. Over four decades. Affecting hundreds of children. Ugh, ugh, ugh. And no criminal charges have been filed because some of the accused have died, or the statute of limitations has run out. A search warrant helped dig up this info from a secret archive.  Ever since the 2002 Boston Globe investigation that “Spotlight” is based on, there’s been even more of a, yes, spotlight, on sexual abuse in the church. And this week, the Vatican newspaper praised the movie for confronting “horrendous realities.”

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR FRIEND CONVINCES YOU TO TAKE A KICKBOXING CLASS… Hit me with your best shot. Just not if you’re an Ivy League football player. Coaches in the League voted to ban tackling  during regular season practices. The goal? Reduce concussions and injuries. The NFL - and football programs across the country - have been under fire recently for a rise in the number of players getting concussions that can lead to long-term damage. So it looks like the Ivy League decided to use their really big brains and make some changes. It may put pressure on other football leagues to update their policies, too. Speaking of policies in professional sports, Yankees pitcher Aroldis Chapman  will be the first baseball player punished under the MLB’s new domestic violence policy. Yesterday, Chapman was suspended for 30 games for a domestic dispute he was involved in last year. And he’s not going to appeal. One strike, you’re out. SKIMM THIS

WHAT TO SAY TO YOUR FRIEND WHO WANTS BEYONCE TO PERFORM AT HER BDAY PARTY… You can’t always get what you want. Unless you want a free Rolling Stones concert in Cuba. SKIMM THIS

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU WANT TO SLIME YOUR CO-WORKER… Insert Nickelodeon fix here.  SKIMM THIS

THING TO KNOW QA: That term your co-worker used in a team meeting. It stands for quality assurance, or ways to make sure your product doesn’t suck. Think: a startup testing its website before it goes live, a restaurant testing its ingredients before you eat them. SKIMM THIS

SKIMM GIFT We want you to snow what’s up with a trip to Whistler. Three nights, flights, ski rentals, lift tickets, and a spa package for apres-ski. Get into it. Current events in my life: Just signed this baby up for Kindergarten!

A Super Secret Seal Watching Excursion

I'm not sure how I've lived in the Hamptons for 6 plus years and not known about this little patch of heaven? A friend of mine told me about seals that sun themselves in the winter and spring at Cupsogue Beach. To get to them, you have to drive to the end of the parking lot, passed the concession stands. Then, you get the choice to park and enjoy a 15 minute nature walk to the spot, or to drive your 4 wheeler to the spot where the campers park in the summer. Check the tide tables before you go and plan on going during low tide. Apparently other people knew to go at that point as well because it was pretty much a dog park.  Which was a perfect way to celebrate Cubbie's eighth year of life.  Look to the bay once you get to the campers parking area and you cannot miss those cute little creatures. When we got there they were swimming and not sunning themselves, which made for a fun game of find the seals with the littles. The Felon and Roo decided that 50 degrees was warm enough to wade in the water with their clothes on and I may have followed suit. It would be smart to put your Hunter water boots on to avoid getting drenched because you will want to explore.  I was holding two dog leashes and didn't bring our good camera, so I will have to post better seal pictures another day. But I highly recommend you taking your littles here ASAP!

This last picture is my favorite of the Felon and one of the seals playing peak a boo: