The first time Max broke a board in his Tae Kwon Do class, I nearly fainted.  Outside of class, his 3 year old brain had trouble focusing on much of anything, as 3 year olds usually do.  But, as he walked through the doors of the dojo, he switched on a laser-like attention span we'd never seen.  The Martial Arts, in its various forms, offer both fitness of the body and mind, something not found in many kid-friendly activities.  If you've considered enrolling your kiddo, here's some class options around Eastern Connecticut!

Ugh.  Here I was trying to think of a fantastic spring day trip to take with my nearly ten year old and where does she ask to go? THE MALL!!!!.  The birthplace of bad spending habits and teenage attitudes.  Bastion of bad taste and fast food.  Anywhere, I said to my teeny bopper, anywhere but the mall.

Naturally, the more I argued against it, the more my pre-teen daughter wanted that trip to the mall.  Fast forward several arguments and a battle of wills, and we found a brilliant – brilliant!- alternative … South Norwalk’s SoNo Marketplace.  

This new, dare I say hip, market is a converted old warehouse in South Norwalk, and its more than 40 vendors offer gourmet food, gifts, clothing, art and toys.  The vendors are largely located in stalls throughout the space, and there are great indoor and outdoor spaces for dining and relaxing.   

Patty Lennon is the CEO and Founder of Mom Gets a Life & Mom Gets A Business. She is a mom advocate, coach, writer and speaker based here in CT. Patty thinks it is important for moms to care for their own needs while raising their children. She speaks with hundreds and hundreds of women across the country each year and inevitably what she hears is that moms know exactly what they need to make their lives better… they just don’t have the money to make it happen.