Yesterday my 8-year old taught me I was a dummy. Not about everything, just shoes.   “Mom," she said, "those are for little kids.” Oh, um… of course, they are. I knew that. Who didn’t know that?   It was our annual back-to-school shoe hunt. And at Marshall’s on Route 440, it is a hunt. Parents prowl up and down the aisles, stalking the mate to the left shoe or the right that they found in the wrong box under the wrong sign with the mislabeled price… all to save a couple of bucks for what their kid will outgrow within the year anyway. Give me the floor and I’ll pontificate about how badly kids…

Folks, I’m very excited Patch has given me a column. I’m not sure what they were thinking, but my mom told me to “never look a gift horse in the mouth”. Some of you know me as the Hoboken blogger, Grafix Avenger.  Sure, blogging is what I do, but a mom is what I am. This column will be devoted to what I’ve learned at this extraordinary experiment called parenting.    Now, everything I know about parenting could fit on the head of a pin. It’s a learn-as-you-go process, and your child reaps the benefits of your experimentation.  If this doesn’t work then try that. If that doesn’t work, try the …

Thanks to my new miracle blanket swaddle, I’ve been finally getting enough sleep to try out another class with my newborn.I tried out Megan Avery’s Wednesday Mommy and Me Sewing class, which is where the mom sews while the baby sleeps nearby. Avery is on hand to both assist with the sewing and even pick up the occasional crying child. I had such a great time, and the class is offered every Wednesday at 2 p.m. Full disclosure: I did take sewing lessons with Megan last year, when my husband got me a gift certificate for six lessons. However, I still ain’t exactly Martha Stewart, and the sewing …

I was planning to write this week's column about Megan Avery Designs’ New Moms Sewing group. I had the date all marked off in my planner, and had saved some fabrics up to cut and sew into a blanket for my new baby. The class is every Wednesday at 2 p.m., but I didn’t make it last week because I had what I call a “new mom freakout.” A new mom freakout is when you rush your baby to the pediatrician, with the sound of its wet cough ringing in your ears, or his pink spot on his leg staying in your mind, or her dry skin which you mistake for cradle cap giving you a scare. When you arrive at the …

Last week I became a member of the Hoboken stroller mafia. When I met up with the group of new moms that make up my Wednesday lunch crew on the corner of Fourth and Park, I passed my friend Danielle who shouted, “Hey Kate, you’re in the stroller mafia now!” Well, I suppose I am. Indeed, as I rolled my seven-week old up to The Turtle Club I was surrounded by a colorful hive of pink Bugaboos, aqua Uppa Babies, and my own dark blue Bob jogger I bought to hopefully actually jog once in a awhile and shed this baby weight. We all met through the Hoboken Moms Yahoo group, and our mushy little …

Since I was in high school, I’ve loved shopping at bargain stores and getting good deals on items. That hasn’t changed since I became a mom six weeks ago; if anything, my coupon clipping has reached a zenith previously unknown to womankind. Since joining the Hoboken Moms Yahoo group, I’ve made friends with another mother named Lindsay, mom to a seven-month old, who shares my money-saving obsession. This column is a combination of Lindsay’s fabulous ideas plus ways to save in the mile-square that I’ve discovered on my own. KC Kids Consignment: Located on 5th between Adams and Jefferson, this …