Hip cats can learn to appreciate jazz as the museum’s 18th annual junior jazz festival winds down this weekend.

The 18th Annual Junior Jazz Festival

Hip young cats across the Delaware Valley take note! It’s time for Please Touch Museum’s jazziest festival of the year! The 18th Annual Junior Jazz Festival, the only area event to introduce young children to the wonderful world of jazz, is winding down this week at Memorial Hall. The fun family event transforms the museum into the biggest and hippest jazz club around! Live music, theater performances, and educational activities will fill the museum for five weeks focusing on musical expression and the history of jazz. “Jazz is a genre for everyone to enjoy,” explained Francis Coates, the museum’s music coordinator. “Music and embracing the creative arts is so important to the development of children and their education. It encourages creativity and discipline that translates into many areas of life-science, math, and improvement of speech patterns. And, jazz is fun! Every performance we have had this month has been filled, so parents should come at least thirty minutes early to make sure they can get in,” enthused Coates.

Top kid-friendly musicians will take the stage of the museum’s Playhouse through February 28th. And, kids will also learn a bit of jazz history by taking in a Please Touch Playhouse performance of “Scat Cat’s Junior Jazz Jamboree.” This interactive show tells the “tail” of an everyday alley cat who happens upon “Max Roach,” who teaches her the history of jazz. Max also introduces her to some of the well known artists who made it popular—Stingray Charles, Bunny Goodman, Louie Arm and Hammerstrong and Piggy Lee. “Scat Cat’s Junior Jazz Jamboree” will be on the Please Touch Playhouse stage weekdays February 1-26, with performances Mondays-Fridays at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Free with museum admission.

Main Line and Philly-area families can escape the winter chill and head indoors to the Museum for a unique environmental education exhibit-‘Exploring Trees Inside and Out.’

Special Performance Schedule

Performances take place Saturdays at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and are free with museum admission. Schedule is subject to change. Free with museum admission.

Saturday, Feb. 27
Francis Coates Ensemble

Making its debut at the 2010 Jazz Festival, this young ensemble adapts jazz standards for both parents and children to enjoy.

Sunday, Feb. 28
Putumayo

Making its debut at the 2010 Jazz Festival, Putumayo Kids is sure to entertain with fun music that educates, while inspiring cultural curiosity.

Big Band Swing Dance Party
Noon & 2 p.m.
Under the direction of Matthew Schwartz, the St. Joe’s Prep Jazz Band will have all our little jazz cats swingin’ to the music as we hold a Big Band Swing Dance Party in Hamilton Hall to end our Junior Jazz Festival in style! Four swing dancers will also take the floor and demonstrate their moves to all the junior dolls and daddy-os.

Everyone enjoys a carousel!

Exploring Trees Inside and Out

Main Line and Philly-area families can escape the winter chill and head indoors to the Museum for a unique environmental education exhibit-“Exploring Trees Inside and Out.” Presented by Doubletree Hotels and the Arbor Day Foundation, “Exploring” is a national traveling exhibit that opened at the museum on Saturday, January 23. At a time when Philadelphia and its 63 parks are experiencing the traditional winter chill, spring will be in full swing at the museum as children and families warm up to the sounds of woodland creatures beneath colorful green tree canopies.

This three-year touring environmental education project encourages family members of all ages to explore the beauty of the great outdoors through the wonders of trees. The spacious, 2,500-square-foot exhibit, developed by Arbor Day and the Dimensions Educational Research Foundation, is designed to create a better understanding among children age two to 10 about the significant role trees play in the environment. A variety of interactive activities encourage children to explore trees in a multi-sensory way through its fun-packed and educational components. For example, children will be able to:

• Crawl through a log and experience it as a habitat for other living things
• Help a seed “grow” into a young oak inside a huge acorn
• Explore the “heart” of a tree trunk and move the “blood” of the tree up and down its “veins”
• Smell scents from various trees, then discover just a few of the many products we get from trees
• Hear the sounds of animals that live in trees, and even become a forest creature in a “green screen” experience that allows children to fly like a bird and soar over the treetops

Please Touch Museum's Autism Access Program with Holly Robinson Peete is scheduled for Saturday, March 27th from 6 to 9 p.m.

Exploring Trees Inside and Out will be on display at Please Touch Museum through May 1, 2010.

Autism Access Program with Holly Robinson Peete

Please Touch Museum’s Autism Access Program with Holly Robinson Peete is scheduled for Saturday, March 27th from 6 to 9 p.m. The Museum is teaming up with Variety, the Children’s Charity of Greater Philadelphia, for its first evening event for families of children with autism. The evening of hands-on, interactive, sensory-filled activities will take place at Please Touch on Saturday, March 27 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Children of all ages are welcome. The event is a partnership between Variety’s Autism Initiative, which provides support for families and caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), and Please Touch Museum’s Autism Access Program, which aims to provide families of children with ASD with innovative tools to make a museum visit more comfortable and enjoyable.

Families can connect with caregivers and other professionals while exploring and playing in the museum’s exhibits, where accommodations have been made to provide a sensory-friendly experience for all. A highlight of the event will be a reading in the Museum’s Story Castle by actress Holly Robinson Peete and her twelve-year-old daughter, Ryan Elizabeth Peete. Their new Scholastic picture book, “My Brother Charlie,” will be published on March 16 to coincide with Autism Awareness Month in April.

Tickets are required to attend the event and are available at a cost of a $20 donation per family. One hundred percent of the $20 donation will go towards the growth of Variety’s Autism Initiative. Families must register for the event at www.varietyphila.org. Organizations interested in sponsoring a resource table at the event may contact Marissa Tabak, Variety’s Autism Resource Center Director, at marissatabak@varietyphila.org.

Please Touch Museum® at Memorial Hall, Fairmount Park is dedicated to enriching the lives of children by providing learning opportunities through play. Recognized locally and nationally as one of the best children’s museums, Please Touch is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults and children age one and over. Children under one are free. For more information, please call 215-581-3181, or visit www.pleasetouchmuseum.org.

Whipped Bakeshop’s Valentine designs are almost too pretty to eat!

Pastry chef and owner Zoë Lukas is an artist by trade. And one glance at her elegant creations of cupcakes, cookies and cakes on her website, whippedbakeshop.com, and its clear this is no ordinary bakery. Her intricate, custom designs-from Yoda cupcakes to elegant wedding cakes to oh-so-Martha vintage Valentine replicas-and attention to detail are part of her booming business and soaring city reputation. “Baking and art are my two loves so my cookies and cakes are really my canvases…in essence. I love looking at patterns and fabrics and I enjoy knitting and sewing. If I go to a museum, it reignites my creativity. I can see a vintage plate or a piece of beautiful stationery and get a concept for a wedding cake or a new cookie pattern; it’s a constant process for me. I really love and appreciate anything that is designed well and I try to transform that to my work,” explained Lukas.

Lukas started Whipped Bakeshop in 2007 and this past October opened the doors to her Fishtown storefront to much aplomb, with the support of her husband, Brennen. “We started getting a ton of momentum with the business the first year through our Flickr site. My husband encouraged me to take pictures constantly and upload them on a regular basis and that really kept people engaged. Then the website followed, and Twitter took off. Now, we are here and business is very, very good,” said Lukas.

Cake Boss Zoe Lukas credits social media, a strong following on Twitter most notably, with her shop’s speedy notoriety in just three months of business. Follow Lukas on Twitter: WhippedBakeshop

Zoë credits social media, most notably a strong following on Twitter, for her shop’s speedy growth in just three months of business. “Networking with my Twitter followers is huge for my business—its incredible how one blog post or retweet can ignite orders and notoriety,” said Zoë. Her Twitter followers number over 1,000 and she keeps them entertained and engaged with clever and comical daily posts. A recent tweet begged for someone to “…order a Bruce Springsteen cake.”

Lukas earned her stripes as an apprentice at a petit four bakery in Olde City and worked in an administrative role at The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in between other pastry gigs. The sweet creations at Whipped Bakeshop certainly look appealing but Lukas is quick to explain her creations are also delicious. Her team works tirelessly editing recipes to perfect their taste. They will also customize and incorporate logos for corporate catering and events.

Lukas, 33, is a native of Red Bank, New Jersey who grew up in Bel Air, Maryland and earned a degree in painting from The Maryland Institute of Art. This December in the heat of the holiday rush the phone rang in her shop and a certain name beginning with the letter “O” appeared on the screen. A flustered Lukas, knee deep in chocolate ganache and cream cheese frosting, took a deep breath before saying hello. “The phone was upside down but I could still read the caller i.d. It said the name Oprah Winfrey. I had no idea what was going on,” recalled Lukas.

The call was indeed from Harpo Studios-a staff member was placing a holiday order for their local ABC affiliates and, after a review of the bakery’s website, they choose to send WPVI four dozen sets of Zoë’s cupcakes. “They googled around and found my website and checked out our style. Business is so different these days with the power of the internet and the possibilities are endless. We are getting noticed and utilizing these tools, like Twitter and Facebook, to generate business and its working and is just an exciting time for me. We are really having a lot of fun!”

Whipped Bakeshop will be delivering Valentine’s Day weekend. Pricing for delivery to Center City is $20, pickup is free.

Whipped Bakeshop’s Valentine’s Menu
www.whippedbakeshop.com

Cookies ($22.50 & up for 1 dozen)

Gift-wrapped Valentine cookie collections come in all shapes and sizes, from lovebirds and personalized heart tattoos to X & O cookies and big scalloped Vintage Valentine hearts.

Cupcake Box Sets ($21.50)

These specially decorated Valentine cupcakes come in sets of 6, nestled in a cute eco-friendly tote box and all tied up with a festive bow. Choices are as follows:

Red Velvet: 6 moist red velvet cupcakes iced with our old-fashioned vanilla buttercream and topped with pretty handmade fondant St. Valentine decorations.

Über Chocolate: 6 rich chocolate fudge cupcakes—2 Chocolate-Peanut Butter, 2 Triple Chocolate, and 2 Chocolate with Vanilla Buttercream. Decadent!

Valentine Cakes ($45)

The Whipped Bakeshop Chocolate Waterfall Cake is a 6” chocolate fudge cake iced with chocolate Italian meringue buttercream and topped with a bittersweet ganache waterfall and pretty handmade sugar flowers. Choose your filling: yummy peanut butter buttercream or decadent whipped chambord ganache. We’ll even add a fun inscription of your choice. The cake will serve 4-8 guests.

The Whipped Bakeshop Store is located at 636 Belgrade Street at the corner of Berks and Belgrade Streets in Fishtown. Visit their website, whippedbakeshop.com, for more information. Also, follow Whipped on Twitter @WhippedBakeshop. They are open Saturdays only from 10-6pm. Sunday through Fridays Whipped accepts appointments and pick-ups. Call 215-598 5449 or email owner Zoe Lukas at zoe@whippedbakeshop.com.

Dr. Catherine Foote, a Lower Merion high school grad who boasts an undergraduate and medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, is a third generation dentist.

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. So, there is no better time to catch up with one of the Main Line’s most beloved orthodontists—Bryn Mawr’s Dr. Catherine Foote. Foote, an Ardmore native, Lower Merion grad and third generation dentist holds an undergraduate degree from The University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Foote dedicated ten years to higher education at the University of Pennsylvania where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology followed by a DMD degree and Certificate of Orthodontics. In her state of the art, newly renovated office across from Bryn Mawr Hospital, Dr. Foote treats both children and adults, offering traditional braces, ceramic braces, Invisalign, and take-home whitening.

Each February, the American Dental Association (ADA) sponsors National Children’s Dental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of oral health. NCDHM messages and materials have reached millions of people in communities across the country. According to the ADA, developing good habits at an early age and scheduling regular dental visits helps children get a good start on a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums.

Each February, the American Dental Association (ADA) sponsors National Children's Dental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of oral health.

Foote Orthodontics’ mission is to provide the highest quality orthodontic care in a comfortable and welcoming environment where patients are treated with excellence personally and clinically. Dr. Foote deals with some of the most common issues parents and prepubescent children face and she advises that the earlier a patient is seen, the better a plan can be put in place for proper care. “Interceptive orthodontics helps to take advantage of growth. By evaluating the bite when there are still baby teeth, we can deal with any issues and plan accordingly from there.”

AroundMainLine.com: What is the common age or scenario where a parent would bring a child into your practice for the first time?

Dr. Foote: The American Association of Orthodontics recommends that children be screened at the age of seven to evaluate for issues such as thumb sucking, cross bites, spacing, or crowding. Generally, between the ages of 8-10 years old is an ideal time to begin interceptive orthodontics, if necessary. This is often referred to as Phase I treatment.

AML: Thumb sucking with an older child, I would assume, is a sensitive issue. How do you approach the parent and child to deal with the habit?

Dr. Foote with her friendly staff at their renovated, state-of-the-art Bryn Mawr office. You can follow Dr. Foote on Twitter: FooteOrtho

DF: I find that thumb sucking is a very pacifying behavior for young children. I don’t think parents have to be too worried about it until it starts to affect permanent dental structure. With time, consistent thumb sucking will affect the shape of the palate and can flare the upper teeth. School age children should not be sucking their thumb all day. If that is the case, there should be an evaluation for some type of orthodontic intervention, which is typically around 7-8 years old.

AML: You are a female in a medical field primarily dominated by men. But, considering your background it’s not so surprising since you come from a big dental family and are the oldest of seven!

DF: My grandfather was a dentist, my father is an oral surgeon, as is my uncle, and two other uncles are orthodontists. That is all on my mother’s side of the family. My father’s brother is a general dentist. I was lucky enough to attend dental school at Penn with two of my cousins, and one of my brothers is in dental school now. Dentistry is a great profession, especially for women, and I am beyond lucky and blessed to be fortunate enough to do what I do!

AML: I’ve mentioned you to a few people lately, and it was evident to me you have a stellar reputation across the Main Line. What makes your practice such a success?

DF: I treat my patients as I would want to be treated. I feel like we are a very comfortable, caring office that is genuinely concerned with the best interests of the patient and giving them the attention that they need.

Dr. Foote’s office is located in the heart of Bryn Mawr on South Bryn Mawr Avenue between Lancaster Avenue and Haverford Avenue across from Bryn Mawr Hospital.

Address: 101 South Bryn Mawr Avenue, Suite 320, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010

For office hours and additional information, call 610-525-6142. Visit their website at www.footeorthodontics.com or follow them on Twitter. Dr. Foote can also be reached via email at: footeorthodontics@yahoo.com.

By AML Publisher
Photos courtesy of Belle Vie Photography
All photos taken at The Strasburg Railroad

Santa’s Paradise Express will be pulling into Lancaster’s Strasburg Rail Road, bringing Santa on his journey to spread the magic of the season to thousands of families who believe.

The Strasburg Railroad
Strasburg, PA
www.strasburgrailroad.com
“Santa Paradise Express”
Dec 11th 12th, 13th, 18th, 19th & 20th
$16 Adults, $10 Children
717-687-7522

The Strasburg Railroad’s ‘Santa Paradise Express’ has been a family tradition for thousands across the Delaware Valley for fifty-one years. “I think riding with Santa on the train is just a different experience then seeing Santa in a traditional atmosphere-like the mall where the children sit on his lap for a minute or two and pose for a picture. On the Paradise Express, Santa comes to the kids and the family-and that is something very special,” explained Strasburg’s Event Manager Ric Gochenauer. Many families visit Strasburg every holiday season, some returning for decades bringing back generations of family members for the ride. This year Strasburg added a third weekend for the annual adventure (starting with Thanksgiving weekend) and expects over 10,000 riders for the ’09 Express.

Riders of the Strasburg Railroad experience an authentic vintage steam train, warmed by a potbelly stove, that travels past more than 1,000 acres of picturesque farmland on the way to Paradise, PA.

The Paradise Express, an authentic vintage steam engine, has been fortunate to have the same ‘Santa’ for ten years, bringing Mr. Claus on his journey to spread the magic of the season to thousands of families who believe. In addition to the adventure on the tracks, visitors can enjoy a gift shop with goodies to take home, a forty-foot water tower topped with a Christmas tree and more. And, each coach on the Paradise Express is heated by old-fashioned pot belly stoves. “It is such a relaxing forty-five minute ride, the steam engine does a ghost whistle half way through the ride and you can hear the clickety-clack of the train on the rails. It’s a great time to get away from the hustle and bustle for an afternoon,” enthused Strasburg’s Kathy Gochenaur.

Lucky riders of Santa’s Paradise Express are entertained by Santa, carolers and musicians during the 45 minute adventure.

After the train ride, children are treated to storybook readings of holiday classics. Children of all ages can also enjoy a ride aboard the Cagney, a miniature steam train. As a special treat, children ages 3 to 11 will receive a gift from Santa and his helper.

Santa’s Paradise Express will be at Strasburg Rail Road, Route 741, Strasburg, PA, December 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, and 20, 2009. Trains run throughout the day during weekends and a special 7p.m. train runs on Friday, December 11th and 18th. Tickets are available for $16 for adults and $10 for children ages 3-11. For a complete listing of dates and times, or to purchase tickets go to www.StrasburgRailRoad.com or call (717) 687-7522.

The West Chester Railroad
West Chester, PA
www.westchesterrr.com
“The Santa Express”
Every weekend through December 20th
Train Departs at 11am, 1 and 3pm
Adults $15, Children 2+ $10
610-430-2323

A ride on the West Chester Railroad’s Santa Express this holiday season offers kids young and old a trip back to a simple time along the beautiful Chester Creek in Chester County. The route is part of the old Pennsylvania Railroad central division on the West Chester and Phoenixville branch. Historic stations along the way are the Westtown station, now an art gallery, which is located next to the new Westtown Township Park; the 19th century village and station at Cheyney, which is also home to one of the nation’s oldest African American universities; Locksley Station, which is near one of the oldest iron slitting mill sites in the country and the Frazier Farmstead of Revolutionary War fame; and finally the picturesque village of Glen Mills with its restored Victorian station operated as a museum by the Thornbury Historical Society. It is believed that the station may have been designed by the noted Philadelphia architect, Frank Furness.

Upon their return to West Chester, families can enjoy one of the nation’s oldest county seats, with plenty of shopping and dining choices. A visit to the nearby “History Center” at the Chester County Historical Society is also a great experience after your holiday ride on West Chester’s Santa Express.

The New Hope Railroad & Ivyland Railroad
New Hope, PA
www.newhoperailroad.com
“The North Pole Express”
November 20th-December 23rd on select days
215-862-2332

The New Hope & Ivyland Railroad once again welcomes Santa and Mrs. Claus along with a whole host of holiday revelers. The North Pole’s most famous resident will be parking his sleigh and riding aboard the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad’s steam powered “North Pole Express.” Santa will be visiting onboard with children, while posing for photographs and offering them a small gift and holiday wishes!

The festively decorated rail cars are filled with holiday cheer as the train chugs merrily along its route through beautiful Bucks County’s countryside to the “North Pole”. All passengers will enjoy creamy hot chocolate and cookies while listening to local musicians perform classic Christmas carols in anticipation of dear Santa Claus.

The North Pole Express runs from November 20th through December 23rd on select days. Reservations are strongly suggested. For reservations, ticket fares and a complete schedule, visit www.newhoperailroad.com or call 215-862-2332. All trains depart from the New Hope station, located at 32 West Bridge Street. The New Hope Train Station is located one block west from the intersection of Bridge and Main Streets in downtown New Hope, PA.

By AML Publisher
Photos by Belle Vie Photography

Local celiacs and vegans now have the first Philadelphia-area bakery to call their own with Lansdale’s Virago Baking Company.

Walk into Lansdale’s quaint corner Virago Baking Company and the cases are packed with one delicious treat after another: dozens of mouth-watering, generously iced cupcakes, hearty pies, breakfast breads, birthday cakes and more. Seems like any other small town bustling bakery business until you take a close look at the menu. Everything in Regina Mason‘s sensationally successful bakery is gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan. “I knew I wanted to open a bakery in Lansdale, but not your typical concept. There really is no way to compete with the local supermarkets in a traditional bakery model and there is very high demand now for what we offer with food allergies being so prevalent. A bakery for the Philadelphia region that prides itself in offering the same items but made for those dietary restrictions in mind are what we pride ourselves on-and, what can I say, it is working,” explained Mason.

Opening an all natural bakery café catering to vegans and celiacs in 2007 was an astute business move by Mason considering the prevalence of those Americans following a vegan lifestyle or diagnosed with a gluten intolerance-known across the medical industry as celiac disease. Celiacs were not part of mainstream America until these past few years when celebrities like The View’s Elizabeth Hasselbeck became diagnosed and produced a top-selling cookbook. Also thrusting celiac disease into the limelight with numerous appearances on Larry King, Oprah and prime time television-actress Jenny McCarthy who embraced a gluten-free diet for her autistic son.

Virago offers gift boxes, trays, baskets, and cupcake and cookie trays to order and ship across the country for the holiday season.

According to Philadelphia’s National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) and their website celiaccentral.org, over 3 million Americans have celiac disease but only 5% have been correctly diagnosed. Celiac disease is an autoimmune digestive disease that damages the villi of the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. This means that, essentially, the body is attacking itself every time a person with celiac consumes gluten.

Celiac disease is triggered by consumption of the protein called gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye. When people with celiac disease eat foods containing gluten, their immune system responds by damaging the finger-like villi of the small intestine. When the villi become damaged, the body is unable to absorb nutrients into the bloodstream, which can lead to malnourishment. Left untreated, people with celiac disease can develop further complications such as other autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, thyroid disease, and cancer.

Yum!

Regina has designated days of the week where Virago only bakes gluten-free. So, there are strict guidelines in place to avoid any cross contamination for those with higher sensitivity to gluten-free particles. In addition, Virago serves a light lunch menu using all natural products. Items such as wraps, salads, soup, quiche and frittata are available as gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian for customers. On Fridays and Saturdays, Virago offers gluten-free pizza by the slice, take & bake or a plain pizza shell.

The good news for local celiacs looking to celebrate the holiday season-Virago Baking Company will ship anywhere across the Delaware Valley (and country) to make sure you have your fair share of holiday treats and sweets. “The goal of my bakery is that we want our baked goods to look just like they would if you walked into a traditional bakery. If you are a celiac, you deserve a beautiful birthday or wedding cake that is gluten-free, looks great and tastes delicious. Dietary restrictions and choices exist and it’s really our job to make our customers excited to have our pies and cakes and enjoy them just as they would if they did not have to watch, or choose, how they eat. We have a lot of customers who buy from us just because they find my baked goods delicious, not because they have a food allergy, restriction or intolerance,” explained Mason.

Virago Baking Company is located at 620 South Broad Street in Lansdale, PA 19446. Their hours of operation are: Tuesday through Friday 7AM to 6PM, Saturday 8AM to 5PM, Sunday 8AM to 1PM. They are closed Mondays. Call: 215-412-7071.

Their website is: www.viragobakingcompany.com

Follow Virago on Twitter at: twitter.com/ViragoBakingCo

Join their Facebook Fan Page to keep up to date with specials and bakery news.

Think you may have celiac disease? Visit celiaccentral.org for a checklist of symptoms and comprehensive information.

O’Doodles owner Fran O’Donnell embraces an ‘unplugged’ philosophy when it comes to his toy store.

Since 1997, Chestnut Hill’s renowned toy store O’Doodles has prided itself on its motto: “Toys Unplugged!” Owner Fran O’Donnell believes in bringing back the good ole days of play with his style of inventory which is, for the past, not powered by any electronics. So, you won’t find any DVDs, PS3s or Wii anywhere ‘round these parts. Instead, O’Doodles aisles are filled with puzzles, board games, books, stuffed animals and more. “I think nowadays everyone is so plugged in with either organized sports, activities or electronics-and that to kids now is defined as ‘play’. We firmly believe here at O’Doodles in a back-to-the-basics philosophy and introducing the fun of playing and encouraging imagination. So, by embracing the idea of only having toys that are powered by a child’s creativity, we offer a unique and exciting selection for parents,” explained O’Donnell.

O’Doodles has a spacious second floor and due to customer demand, in Mid December, the store will start hosting kids’ birthday parties. And, in January, O’Doodles will offer a series of yoga classes for the little ones. For now and the next three weeks, O’Donnell and his staff will be concentrating on stocking his shelves with the best toys possible for his customers. Here are seven of our store favorites below to guide you for the gift-giving season and of course, suggest to Santa.

Wild Creations’ Eco Aquariums are a popular choice for families who want a low maintenance family ‘pet.’

1) EcoAquarium
www.wildcreations.com
Ages: 6 and up
$24.99

If your kids want a family pet but you do not want a mess or the cost, then the EcoAquarium by Wild Creations is ideal. It’s a complete aquatic ecosystem environment that requires no additional chemicals, filters, or aeration. The frogs only need water changed every five or six months using fresh, bottled spring water. In addition, the compact aquarium has “living gravel”, which acts as the natural filtration system for the aquarium so it never has to be cleaned. And, each EcoAquarium comes with two male frogs so there are no worries of the couple multiplying. O’Doodles received the aquariums in August and has already sold over a hundred, so they feel confident it will be a top seller for shoppers the next few weeks.

2) Perplexus!
www.perplexus.net
Ages: 6 and up
$24.99

Recommended for kids 6 years of age or older, the toy challenges children to move a ball through a complex maze. Perplexus is a 3-D labyrinth game enclosed in a transparent plastic sphere. By twisting and turning the sphere, players attempt to maneuver a small, steel ball through an intricate maze composed of narrow plastic tracks. There are obstacles of varying difficulty that must be navigated in order to reach the end. The experience offers hours of entertainment and fun.

“Dream It, Build It, Drive It.”

3) Automoblox
www.automoblox.com
Ages: 4 and up
$11-$50

Automoblox’s motto is “Dream It, Build It, Drive It.” A great toy to keep kids occupied for long car rides or dining out with the parents, Automoblox is a high-quality building system that will inspire children’s creativity. Creator Patrick Calello holds a degree from Carnegie Mellon University in industrial design. A toy car concept fashioned out of wood, Automoblox encourages creative problem solving, gross and fine motor skills and Visio-spatial processing.

4) Laser AirZooka
www.cyi.net
Ages: 12 and up
$19.99

Mom always said don’t play ball in the house, but she never mentioned any restrictions on air! Created by a company called Can You Imagine, Laser AirZooka promises to help youngsters “launch a full air assault without ever leaving the ground.” Airzooka is the ‘fun gun’ that sends a harmless ball of air towards any object, or person from up to fifty feet away. Kids can have fun as, seemingly from nowhere, they are able to mess up a person’s hair, ruffle their shirt, dress, or just plain blow them away!

Scientific Explorer’s Ultimate Scientific Explorer Kits, $21.99

5) Scientific Explorer’s Ultimate Scientific Explorer Kits
www.scientificexplorer.com
Ages: 8 and up
$21.99

A camouflaged chemistry set, kids can create their own pizza, crystals, perfume, slime, soda pop, bubblegum and more with Scientific Explorer’s fun variety of kits. A winner of the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Toy Award, Gold Seal, the ‘Ultimate Spa and Perfume Kit’ includes everything you need for a complete spa experience. Using natural ingredients, little girls can have a blast creating bath oils, oatmeal soap, foaming baths, bath balms, and more. In addition, kids can learn about aroma therapy as they blend five different kinds of perfume. Perfect for spa parties, sleepovers, and rainy days, it’s no surprise the explorer gifts are expected to be one of O’Doodles top sellers for the season.

6) Sticker Factory
www.alextoys.com
Ages: 5 and up
$19.99

Loaded with 120 funky and fun sticker designs, kids can play for hours cutting out a picture, using the included stencils, or drawing their own design. Roll it through the Sticker Factory and it instantly creates a sticker-cool! Kids can create fabulous gift tags, decorate notebooks, or stylize a scrapbook. The Sticker Factory comes with 178 pre-printed sticker designs, one 10-foot roll of sticker paper, one 10-foot roll of sticker film, one 6-design stencil, burnishing tool, pencil and easy to follow instructions. A Sticker Factory refill (sold separately) includes an additional 10 feet of sticker paper and sticker film.

‘You’ve been Sentenced!’ was created by Wilmington native Don McNeill who is in talks with major tv networks and Nickelodeon for a game show version to launch this spring.

7) “You’ve been Sentenced!”
www.mcneilldesigns.com
Ages: 8 and up
$29.99

The latest in the evolution of games, “You’ve been Sentenced!” is the first game in history to really turn making sentences into a very funny, playable, and challenging game. Using a unique word deck of pentagon shaped cards containing conjugations of funny words, famous names from throughout history, familiar places, and wild cards, players have to make grammatically correct and justifiable sentences. The real fun begins when players have to read their sentences out loud and explain what they mean to the rest of players. They form the jury and vote thumbs up or down on whether the sentence and justification stand and the points are scored. 540 cards with over 2,500 words insure billions of possible sentences so the game is never repetitive and has unlimited re-play value.

Wilmington native Don McNeill came up with the idea of ‘You’ve been Sentenced!” in 2004 and launched the game on May 5, of 2005 to coordinate with the pentagon-shaped packaging. Winner of nine national awards, the game has a cult following and is about to be on the national radar thanks to a recently completed television pilot. “This year we have actually sixteen articles written about the game. Tomorrow, I am having a peek at the game show pilot that was just completed in Hollywood by a production company,” enthused McNeill. In February, McNeill signed an agreement with Arizona State University who is creating an online version of You’ve been Sentenced! In addition, ASU will develop an interactive white board for classrooms across the country. McNeill sums up the super popular board game in two words: “seriously hilarious.”

O’Doodles is located at 8335 Germantown Avenue, Chestnut Hill, PA 19118. Holiday hours of operation are: Monday thru Thursday 10-7pm, Fridays 10-8pm. O’Doodles will be open till 9pm on Stag and Doe Nights starting Dec 9th. Saturday 9:30 to 6pm, Sunday 11-6pm.

Visit their website at: www.odoodles.com or call 215-247-7405.

Looking for a fun holiday guide for the next few weekends? We have got you covered with six super towns that are pulling out all the stops to entertain and delight the young and old.

The most cherished holiday tradition in Chestnut Hill is its Stag & Doe Nights which will be held on Wednesdays: December 9th, 16th and 23rd. Pictured is a holiday display in Robertson’s Florist.

Chestnut Hill
Holidays on the Hill
December 2nd through December 24th
www.chestnuthill.org

Discover wonderful holiday design ideas this weekend at the Chestnut Hill Holiday House Tour on Saturday, December 5th. Five magnificent homes, each with unique design and architectural styles, will be professionally decorated for the holidays and open from 10 am to 4 pm.

The most cherished holiday tradition in Chestnut Hill is its Stag & Doe Nights which will be held on Wednesdays, December 9th, 16th and 23rd, from 6 to 9 pm. Shops offer evening hours with wine and cheese or cocoa and cookies. Live music, roasting chestnuts, carolers and merriment make the nights come alive with joy and holiday spirit. And everyone looks forward to greeting Santa as he, too, enjoys the fun of Stag & Doe. New this year is Girls Night Out on Wednesday evening, December 2nd from 6 to 9 pm. Participating shops will offer lots of goodies and the ladies can get a head-start on their holiday revelry (and shopping, too).

Chestnut Hill’s highly anticipated Holiday House Tour is Saturday, December 5th from 10am to 4pm. For full info on the tour, visit chestnuthill.org

For a special treat, Santa will be in Chestnut Hill every Sunday from 1 to 4 pm. He has invited all the children to visit him at his gingerbread house and tell him their wishes for Christmas. The Morris Arboretum has a special gift for all children who stop by to see Sant-admission for two children for the price of one with a full-price adult admission to the Arboretum’s 9th Annual Holiday Garden Railway Display. Visitors of all ages will be wowed by a quarter mile of track featuring seven loops and tunnels with fifteen different rail lines and two cable cars. The Garden Railway opens on Friday, November 27th and remains open through January 3rd.

Marshallton
Christmas in Marshallton House Tour
Saturday December 12th, 10am to 4pm

Located just four miles west of West Chester, Marshallton offers a charming Chester County daycation year round. This year’s Christmas in Marshallton House Tour is the perfect reason to experience the town for the first time. The tour benefits the Marshallton United Methodist Church and offers a fun glimpse of unique Victorian homes and buildings decorated for the holiday season. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 the day of the tour. Tickets are available at the church Monday through Thursday from 9am to 1pm. No food, drinks, high heels, smoking or children are permitted on the tour. For more information, call 610-696-5247 or 610-793-0201.

Bah Humbug!
Narberth’s popular Dickens Festival, slated for December 12th, is chocked full of old fashioned fun for the kid in all of us. ©2008 Donald D. Groff

Narberth
The Narberth Dickens Festival
Saturday December 12th, Noon to 4pm
www.narberthonline.com

The Narberth Dickens Festival is a free family event held on a Saturday afternoon every December on the streets of downtown Narberth. This year’s event is from Noon to 4pm on December 12. The event had a modest start in 2006, when the Narberth Business Association (NBA) hired a brass quartet to stroll through town playing holiday music. It was met with such enthusiasm that the NBA expanded the entertainment to create a Dickens themed event, complete with horse and carriage rides, musicians, Christmas carolers, plus Ebenezer Scrooge and all the characters from “A Christmas Carol.” There’s a scavenger hunt for the children, sending them searching high and low for every character in order to win a prize. The 2008 prize was a top hat that was worn all afternoon by hundreds of kids throughout Narberth’s version of 1840’s London.

Malvern
Malvern’s Victorian Christmas
Friday December 4th, Saturday December 5th
malvernbusiness.com

NBC Philadelphia’s Lori Wilson is the emcee for this year’s Victorian Christmas festivities in Malvern. Rain or shine, starting on Friday at 6:15 p.m. in Burke Park, the community will gather to light Malvern’s town tree for the season. The ceremony will be covered live on NBC10 for the sixth year.

Following the tree lighting, there will be musical performances throughout town, strolling street performers, children’s shows, horse and carriage rides, a hay ride and more. Malvern’s shops will also be hosting open houses with refreshments. In addition, the most highly anticipated guest, Santa Claus, will hear the wishes of all the children in the pavilion Friday night. On Saturday at Malvern Federal Savings Bank, Mr. and Mrs. Claus will be welcoming the children from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with plenty of activities and workshops for families to enjoy.

Wayne’s Finer Things will be one of the town’s stores open late for the annual First Friday ‘Wayne Christmas,’ with over a thousand locals expected to attend.

Wayne
Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, Old Fashion Christmas
Friday December 4th, Saturday December 5th
waynechristmas.com

The Wayne Hotel is the title sponsor of the Old Fashioned Christmas in Wayne, an annual event presented by the Wayne Business Association (WBA). The two-day community and family celebration begins Friday evening, December 4th with festive caroling and horse drawn carriage rides along North and South Wayne Avenues and culminates with the lighting of the Christmas Tree at the Wayne Train Station. The countdown to the tree lighting, scheduled for 7:30 p.m., will be led by 6ABC Action News Reporter Cathy Gandolfo.

The festivities continue with a parade on Saturday morning, December 5th. Led by Radnor High School’s marching band, Jolly Old Santa will make his way down Lancaster Avenue from the Wayne Acme on a fire truck to the porch of the Wayne Hotel. Wide eyed children and their families will gather on the porch to visit with Santa, while enjoying fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate compliments of the hotel. New this year is the opportunity to contribute to Toys for Tots and on Saturday you are invited to bring a new, unwrapped toy when visiting with Santa on the porch of The Wayne Hotel. Bring your loved ones to celebrate at the Wayne Hotel’s Old fashioned Christmas!

West Chester’s popular Old Fashioned Christmas is in its 30th year.

West Chester
Flavia Old Fashioned Christmas
December 3rd-6th
greaterwestchester.com

Now in its 30th year, the four-day (Thursday through Sunday) celebration features over forty events including theatrical and musical performances, guided walking tours, a holiday craft bazaar and breakfast with Santa. The parade, scheduled for Friday, December 4, begins at a new time, 8 p.m., giving spectators plenty of opportunity to get into the Borough and enjoy all the evening has to offer. Beginning at 5:30pm, many businesses and organizations throughout the downtown will host Holiday Open Houses featuring refreshments and seasonal entertainment. At 7 p.m., the First Annual Jingle Elf Run kicks off at Market and High Streets with a 2-mile run and a 1-mile walk.

The evening culminates with the Old Fashioned Christmas Parade which offers a blend of traditional and new elements. In keeping with West Chester’s small town ambiance, a host of local schools, businesses, volunteer fire companies and service organizations will be represented among the many marching bands, floats and antique vehicles that have become a mainstay of Old Fashioned Christmas. Appearing for the first time will be Radio Disney recording artist, Joey Page; the United States Submarine School Silver Dolphins Drill team from Connecticut; and the Cultural Fraternidad Pachamama Dancers from Maryland. Meteorologists Karen Rogers and Adam Joseph from 6abc Action News will serve as emcees. The parade also features a “Salute to the Military” and, of course, the arrival of Santa Claus.

Two of Sesame Street's most famous characters: Bert (played by Frank Oz) and Ernie (played by Henson)

Jim Henson’s Fantastic World is just that-fantastic. And for lovers of America’s most well known puppeteer, the exhibition at Doylestown’s Michener Museum is a must-see for families across the Delaware Valley. Fantastic World wraps up its fall run this coming holiday weekend.

The exhibit offers a rare peek into the imagination and creative genius of this multitalented innovator and creator of Kermit the Frog, Big Bird, and other beloved characters. Henson, who passed away from pneumonia at the age of 53 in 1990, has been on the national media forefront lately with this month’s fortieth celebration of Sesame Place.

The exhibit features 100 original artworks, including drawings, cartoons and storyboards that illustrate Henson’s talent as a storyteller and visionary. Among the variety of exhibition objects are puppets and television and movie props, photographs of Henson and his collaborators at work and original video productions, including excerpts from Henson’s early career and experimental films. From Dark Crystal to Sesame Street, the Michener’s museum shop is filled with rare collectible figurines, lunch boxes, comic books, CD’s, DVD’s, books and more-all representing the marvelous creatures from the imagination of Jim Henson.

“All cultures across the world have some sort of puppets. Jim Henson was really a very brilliant man, and he was also a very astute businessman so he was able to translate this enormous amount of talent and creativity into a very successful business,” explained exhibit docent Jean Stevens.

Two of the most famous of Henson’s creative cast of characters which visitors will delight in seeing is, of course, the dynamic duo of Bert and Ernie. Ernie, the constant pudgy prankster, was the contrast to the slim, straight shooting Bern. “The whole dynamic of Bert and Ernie is very purposeful. When Henson was making Bert, one of Henson’s assistants insisted that Bert needed eyebrows to complete his look and stern expression. There are such subtle parts of Henson’s creative genius that are fascinating to learn about for our visitors,” explained exhibit docent Jean Stevens. Stevens, a Doylestown native, is a retired librarian and diehard Henson admirer.

Henson’s early childhood in rural Mississippi shaped his career and was where, later in life, he recalled falling in love with nature. A picture of Henson as a young boy in his backyard shows him mocking a snake charmer. While Henson was in high school in Maryland, he saw an ad in a local newspaper for a puppeteer. After picking up a book at the library on puppet making, he grabbed his mother’s old spring bright green coat out of the closet and created the first version of Kermit the Frog. The version of Kermit at The Michener is from the ‘70s and is not the original. “Jim had a friend as a fifth grader in Mississippi named T. Kermit Scott and that is where the inspiration for the name of the most famous Kermit came from. Kermit did not originally have a collar around his neck; it was later added to hide the jointing of the neck and the body. And, his feet were later webbed. Jim Henson often referred to Kermit as his alter ego, explaining the famous frog was able to say things he could not,” explained Stevens.

Snowths & Mahna Mahna
Considered a precursor to Henson’s Fraggle Rock

The touring exhibit which wraps up Sunday November 29th at The Michener is part of a dozen city national tour. It includes an interactive educational area for children to sketch, develop storyboards and a mock theater with puppets for visitors to create their own plays. “This exhibit appeals to everyone. It’s nostalgic for moms and dads and it is playful and educational for children. Jim Henson really wanted to change the world, and I think he did just that. One of my favorite famous sayings from Henson is that he said ‘There are no rules and those are the rules.’”

The Michener Museum is located at 318 Pine Street in Doylestown, PA. For full exhibit details and hours of operation, call 215-340-9800.

Prep School 101 blogger Jennifer Grove
Photo courtesy of Jubilee Photography

Baltimore’s Jennifer Grove, 35, is a single mom to five-year-old Calista and one savvy blogger and businesswoman. Grove created the blog Prep School 101 in May 2009 after writing a fashion and entertainment blog for several years. Grove saw very strong reader feedback when she posted personal pictures and stories and, most importantly, her recipes. Her ex-husband was a sommelier in Manhattan and she spent ten years dining in New York’s finest restaurants, developing a sophisticated palette.

Over 5,000 unique visitors a week across the country checked in on Prep School 101-a chic mix of East Coast fashion, food, wine, family fun, and more. As if the blog and her duties as a single mom didn’t keep her occupied enough, Jennifer recently launched a brand new website and company in late October. A few weeks ago, this mompreneur began her second business venture with Sky Blue Events (www.skyblue-events.com), a Baltimore-based wedding and event planning company. Sky Blue designs and provides consulting services for stylish soirées, private gatherings, formal affairs, chic weddings, milestone celebrations, store openings and corporate functions throughout the Baltimore region.

Now, Grove takes those memories (and very loyal audience) and her current fun family times with Calista (and her boyfriend) to her popular new blog, blog.skyblue-events.com. With everything Jennifer is successfully juggling, we asked her to offer AML fans one of her delicious seasonal recipes from her Prep School repertoire! And, we were thrilled when Jennifer said she was game. Grove’s own take on an American classic, deep dish apple pie, is below.

Bon Appétit!

Deep Dish Apple Pie

Bring fresh apples home from a nearby orchard, like Media’s Linvilla, for your delicious Deep Dish Apple Pie recipe.

Pie Crust:

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 pound (3 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into bits
3/4 cup ice water

Directions for pie crust:

Using two pastry blenders or a food processor blend the flours, salt and sugar to combine. Add butter and blend or process until butter is incorporated and mixture is coarse. Slowly add 1/2 to 3/4 cup ice water until the dough holds together. Do not overwork the dough.

Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Press into a flattened circle and wrap up with the plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using.

Filling:

All-purpose flour (for dusting)
2 pounds of Gala apples
2 pounds Granny Smith apples
2 pounds Empire apples
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 6-tablespoons
1 large egg yolk
Sugar (for sprinkling)

Directions for filling and assembly:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place three-quarters of the pie crust on a lightly floured work surface and roll into a 12-inch-diameter circle, 1/8 inch thick. Brush off excess flour; roll dough around the rolling pin and lift it over your deep-dish pie pan. Gently press the dough into the pan and into the corners. Trim the dough so that it hangs over pie plate by about 1/4 inch. Roll out the remaining dough to a 10-inch-diameter circle and transfer it to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Put both crusts in the refrigerator to chill.

Peel, core and cut apples into 1/4-inch-thick slices. As you go along, place the slices in a large bowl and sprinkle them with the lemon juice to prevent discoloration. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Toss apple slices with the sugar mixture.

Divide the butter between 2 large skillets and melt over medium-high heat. Divide the apples between skillets, and cook, stirring often, until sugar melts and apples are golden (but still firm) and coated in syrup approximately 8-10 minutes.

Remove the crusts from the refrigerator; transfer cooked apples to prepared pie pan and make a mound of the apples at the center. Whisk egg yolk with 2 tablespoons water to make an egg glaze. Brush glaze on edge of dough. Center the rolled pie dough over apples. Tuck edges of the top crust between pie pan and bottom crust. Using your fingers, gently press crusts together along edge, and crimp.

Using a fork, prick the pie crust in several places. Using a knife cut several steam vents into crust, in a circle. Brush surface with egg glaze, and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Collar the crust with foil. Bake pie until golden brown on top, about 15 minutes. Remove foil collar and reduce heat to 350 degrees. Bake until the crust is crisp and the apples are soft, 45 to 50 minutes more. Let stand at least 30 minutes before serving.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

For more fantastic, seasonal recipes, check out Jennifer’s new blog, blog.skyblue-events.com. Did you make this recipe? Let us know how it turned out! Feel free to comment below.

Mathews’ success as one of America’s most popular mom bloggers is no accident. Jana completed an undergraduate degree at BYU in two years and holds a PhD from Duke.

Know a mom blogger? We do too. Except Jana Mathews is a bit special. Mathews has one of the most prolific and popular mom blogs in the country. So what? Well, consider the crowd she is standing out in. There are millions of mom blogs on the world wide web. But there is only one ‘Meanest Mom.’

In the spring of 2008, The Meanest Mom Blog (themeanestmom.blogspot.com) began with Mathews, 33, a Los Angeles native who now resides in the Philly burbs, jotting down her daily experiences with her four young children. Her posts were cleverly presented and purposefully humorous. Mathews sent the link to a close knit group of friends on a whim. “For the first couple of months it just built very gradually. I literally sent the blog out to five friends. They passed it on to their friends and within a few weeks I had a few hundred people reading it,” said Mathews.

Seven months after she launched, in December of last year, Mathews, who says she does not pay “that much attention to my Google analytics, I just tend to write and move on,” noticed that she had reached a consistent 5,000 unique visitors a day. With 60,000 eyes reading the Meanest Mom Blog each month, her husband, Tim, prodded Jana that those numbers translated into one very respectable audience in a crowded (blog) world. “I guess when I stopped and considered, and we really saw what those numbers meant, it was a heck of a lot of eyes. Now, those numbers typically range from 8-10,000 a day,” explained Mathews.

Jana’s youngest child, one-year-old Cameron

Jana Mathews grew up in a suburb of Los Angeles, the oldest of seven children. Jana and her husband, Tim, were college sweethearts and married shortly after she whipped through an undergraduate degree at Brigham Young University in two years. Mathews also holds a PhD in Medieval Literature from Duke University. Mathews’ blog does not focus so much on the Philly region as on her daily experience as a stay-at-home mom to four children six and under: Six-year-olds Camber, Kellen and Cortlen and one-year-old Cameron.

Since its inception, The Meanest Mom has some staggering traffic numbers. Mathews was even voted Parent and Child Magazine’s Best Mom Blog of 2009. Advertising revenue? You better believe it. Mathews has joined forces with big corporate names like Sears, Western Union, General Mills, Body Shop, and more.

“The kinds of stories I tell are unique to my family but they can also happen to any other family in America...every family has something embarrassing and unpredictable that happens to them every day,” explained Mathews.

And corporate America clued into the gold mine of moms online years ago. According to Emarketer.com, 34 million moms (across the country) make up a very active group of consumers online who resource the web at least once a month. A survey by Razorfish and CafeMom found that websites, referrals from friends and family, and information from search engines were the most common sources online moms used to make a purchasing decision. The moms were less likely to use TV, magazines, newspapers or radio. And, according to Experian Simmons, 70% of online moms made a purchase online in the past 12 months.

Mathews’ blog is superbly written, clever, funny, unpredictable and brutally honest. Jana always adds in a strong dash of self deprecation about the Mathews’ experiences: “People just take motherhood now so seriously. It’s gotten to the point where everything is so intense and we beat ourselves up with every little thing that we do and our children do. As parents, I really think we internalize every little problem that we have on a daily basis and make them bigger than they are. I wanted to provide a forum through which we could start to laugh at ourselves, our own feelings as parents and our own mistakes. In turn, this has helped me to step back and take perspective of my own life as a mother.”

Mathews was voted Parent and Child Magazine's Best Mom Blog of 2009

AroundMainLine.com: Why has the Meanest Mom Blog resonated with thousands of moms across America?

Jana Mathews: I don’t really know why exactly people are drawn to my blog. I really hope it’s because of the writing, I’m a writer by trade and certainly there is a difference between academic writing and blog writing. I hope that people like the stories I tell and they keep coming back because the writing is good. That’s really what I take the most pride in; that the style of writing is as good as the story I am telling.

AML: What is your business background?

JM: In a previous life, I was a college professor. Now I’m a stay-at-home mom, a job which has proven to be way more psychologically demanding.

AML: How did Meanest Mom the concept come about?

Photos courtesy of Bernadette Uzcategui,
of Bryn Mawr’s BUP Photography

JM: My kids accuse me of being “the meanest mom in the world” on a daily basis. I’ve been called it so much that it’s now permanently etched into my identity.

AML: Ok, so I know you have a lot, I mean a LOT of traffic. Let’s talk numbers.

JM: I rarely check my blog stats for a couple of reasons…including the fact that I have no idea what half of the numbers on most stat counters mean. I’m honored and excited that people want to read my blog, but I never want to get to the point where my self-worth is tied to the number of people who read or comment on each post. I write this blog primarily as a record for my kids. My mom passed away from breast cancer when I was 15 (she was 39). She didn’t leave much in the way of a written record of her life, and I don’t want the same for my kids.

AML: You have a national following and very loyal fans and followers. What kind of emails have you gotten that are interesting?

JM: I am blessed with amazingly supportive readers who send me super funny emails about their own personal mishaps and blunders, experiences raising small children, living with chronic illness (I have Crohn’s Disease and talk quite openly and often about it). The emails that I like the best are the ones that say “I read your blog and I almost peed my pants laughing” and “Today’s post made my day.” In almost all cases, laughter really and truly is the best medicine.

AML: Talk about the cult following you established with some women at Bryn Mawr College? I thought this was very interesting.

Jana juggles one of America’s most successful mom blogs-and raising four young children-with the support of her husband Tim.

JM: A few months after starting my blog, I got an email from a student at Bryn Mawr saying that she found my blog and loved it. A few weeks later, I got another email. And then another. And another. Quite unexpectedly, I’ve acquired quite a substantial following of college-aged women across the country. I’m thrilled to have them, of course, but was initially confused about what they found interesting in a so-called “mom blog.” One reader, who I think speaks for many, told me when I posed this question in an email, that she reads my blog because it reminds her of her past and provides a glimpse into her future. I like that! Though with the stories I tell, I have to wonder sometimes if my blog is promoting motherhood or serving as a kind of birth control.

AML: You had a recent contest on Meanest Mom where you had over 2,000 votes cast. What resonated?

JM: All of my contests are classy and sophisticated. Case in point: my Ms. Chronic Disease of America e-Pageant, which I hosted in August. Hundreds of women (and a few men) afflicted with chronic illnesses ranging from Rheumatoid Arthritis to Lupus to Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome nominated themselves or their friends for this illustrious honor. A panel of judges read the entries and narrowed the contestants down to five finalists. The contestants presented their cases (why they deserved the crown) and 2,000 readers voted. I’m happy to announce that with 32% of the votes, Ms. Psoriatic Arthritis was named the winner.

AML: Tell me about two or three of your most popular posts!

JM: My most popular post by far is the story of when I got semi-nude pictures taken at the dermatologist’s office. Other favorites include the story of when my son ran away from me in Macy’s and they had to close down the store (we finally found him in the women’s dressing room) and when my kids accidentally drank boxed wine at a neighbor’s Labor Day picnic (in my defense, the wine was placed next to the fruit punch).

AML: What advice would you give other Mom bloggers?

JM: Be yourself and know your audience. This sounds cliché, but it’s absolutely true. Figure out what you do best and do that and that alone. This was hard for me when corporations and PR firms started offering me all sorts of cool stuff in exchange for reviewing their products: expensive cameras, fancy trips, gorgeous clothing, fun gadgets. I had to make a decision early on about what my blog was, and what it wasn’t. While of course I would like free stuff (who wouldn’t?!), my blog is not a review or shopping blog, and to include such elements would be distracting to say the least. Every time I am tempted by a fabulous offer that appears in my inbox, my husband steps in as the voice of reason and reminds me that “there are other blogs for that.”

AML: What is next for the Meanest Mom?

JM: At some point—probably sooner rather than later—the blog will run its course and have to end. That will be a sad day because I’ve grown rather attached to my blog as a forum for my creative expression. I try not to think about the future too much. Everything happens for a reason and in due time. I’m sure that I’ll know what to do when the time comes.

Jana Mathews’ blog can be found at: themeanestmom.blogspot.com