How many of you were once aspiring musicians? Wannabe rock stars?

The opportunity to create a roster of willing musicians with large enough garages or basements to hold monthly jams is too good to pass up. Use the comments section to let us know who you are and what you play. In addition give yourself a quick rating so the right folks can get together (e.g., I play trumpet and am an intermediate level player).

As more comments come in, this blog and the comments section can serve to connect those folks together and hopefully spur some new Glen Rock parent bands.

Rock on!

Photo courtesy of northjersey.com

How did you fare? Did you lose power? Are you still without power?! That was some storm last weekend and Glen Rock certainly took a beating. From the comfort of our homes perhaps it didn’t seem as vicious as it was (unless of course something fell on to your house). The aftermath however proved to be disruptive to most Glen Rock residents. 80% of homes lost power in our town according to the town web site. That’s significant. In addition, all schools were closed for a couple of days. This of course made any kind of transition back into the work week, a bit more challenging.

There are still many trees down around the neighborhoods and it’s not clear whether everyone has power back. The outages, at least for the younger children can cause confusion and anxiety but once that wears off the fun of candles, flashlights and perhaps a trip to grandma’s for some heat, light and warm food brings on a small sense of adventure.

So, how did you make out? What accommodations did you have to make on Monday and Tuesday since the kids couldn’t go to school? Tell us in the comments.

Any parent (not just a Glen Rock parent) will tell you that a good babysitter is worth her weight in Lucky Charms. Babysitters are the great equalizers. They allow you, the parent, to shed that title, albeit for a fleeting set of moments and become, dare it be said? An adult!

Yes, an adult who can dress up a bit, get a drink, see a movie, watch a band, grab a late-night meal, cut a rug and generally put the (extremely rewarding) monotony of parenthood away for a bit. Babysitters make that happen. Yet finding the right one for your family is a challenge.

What is the best way to find a babysitter in Glen Rock? Ads? Word of mouth and referrals? Should we focus on high school kids for this? We all used to be high school kids. Would we trust our former selves to watch our current kids?

This is one of those resources that most parents won’t share with others. Availability has to be maximized and the more parents that have a babysitter’s number the lower the chance she will be available to help you out when you need her.

So what do you do? Who do you use? Can you make any recommendations? Tell us in the comments.

Central School is nearing it’s 100th day of classes this year. To commemorate this milestone the kids at the school have split into groups and are putting together efforts based around the number 100. One group has decided they would like to raise funds for the victims of the Haiti earthquake. This group of 1st graders are focusing their efforts on building shelters and new homes for the residents of Haiti.

The group has chosen Habitat for Humanity as their charity to support focusing specifically on their Disaster Response arm. According to their web site, the mission of Habitat’s Disaster Response arm is:

To develop innovative housing and shelter assistance models that generate sustainable interventions for people vulnerable to or affected by disasters or conflicts. In addition, Disaster Response builds the capacity of the global Habitat community in the areas of disaster mitigation, preparedness and recovery through education, training and partnerships.

To symbolize their support for the organization, the group from Central School is nailing 100 nails into 4 boards (one for each child) to kick off the building of new shelters and donating $1 per nail for a total of $100.

If you would like to help the team please consider donating to Habitat for Humanity as well.

Children have no problem making friends almost instantly (teenagers are a slightly different story) – it’s actually quite amazing. Adults, however, have a harder time. After all, this isn’t high school or college anymore and, while parents may run into each other here and there, we certainly have no obligation to hang out together. The toughest part for Glen Rock transplants is making a connection with a clique of parents who have known each other since childhood. The folks have shared history and very clear ideas about who their friends are and what they bring to the friendship.

So how do you break in? How long does it take?

Parents see each other at the drop off/pick up lines at school, birthday paries, the train station, the store, the gym etc and at some point have to take that awkward step, introduce themselves, see if there’s any chemistry and decide if there will be any future contact.

The easiest way to break in is the play date. You bring a kid. They bring a kid. Let the hang out begin. The kids provide a source for conversation as well as distraction if the hang out isn’t going well. Another effective way is to volunteer for a school or local activity. Making yourself the point of contact for a school event instantly gets your name out there and provides valuable interactions with the other parents. These are precious networking opportunities that should be exploited.

A very unscientific poll conducted by this blog recently revealed that it takes between 2 and 3 years to truly get established locally. The first two years are spent familiarizing with the town and its offerings. The 3rd year, you become a fixture on the scene and the conversations begin to flow much more readily. In many ways, 3 years is a long time to wait. More than 2 years of alone time is not exactly fun but in the end it sems to be worth it. Obviously certain personalities thrive on introducing and meeting strangers. These folks seem to be the exception rather than the rule.

So how do you do it? How do you break into the social circles in Glen Rock so as not to talk about kids and diapers and poop all day? Tell us in the comments.

Depending on the age of your kids, the decision on which local restaurant to patronize can be a tedious one. In this post, there are some suggestions for where to go locally based on the editors’ experiences. However, the surprisingly large number of places to dine in Glen Rock (and surrounding towns) means that there is always room for more reviews. Here are 5 options:

• Jalapeno’s (930 Prospect St.)- what was once a Mexican restaurant, then a Greek place and now, back to Mexican is pretty much the only Mexican place around here. Given that fact, one could say it is the best Mexican restaurant in the area. The food here is fairly good. The kids like the tortilla chips and, as a bonus, those same kids eat free on Sunday.
• Mangia (918 Prospect St.) – Italian food with great variety is not hard to find in Northern New Jersey but Mangia adds a nice home-cooked feeling to their food. The strip mall location (a stone’s throw away from Jalapeno’s) takes a bit of the authenticity out of the experience but the quality of the pizza and the food make up for it. Service is typically very good though their recent 50% price hikes have made it a far more expensive night out than it used to be.
• The Glen Rock Inn (222 Rock Rd.) – A local institution, the Glen Rock Inn serves up classic American fare in a familial setting. Those who go there seem to continue to come back. Add in the Cheers-style “everybody knows your name” vibe when you step in, and this nets out to be a pretty good place for a family dinner.
• Rock Fuji Sushi (186 Rock Rd.) – Local, authentic and delicious – not to mention they cater to the little kiddies with spring-loaded chopsticks and other treats. The prices are reasonable and the proprietor, waitstaff and chefs are so friendly, it’s worth going just for that.
• Chicken Kebab (898 Prospect) – This mom and pop Mediterranean place focusing on Turkish foods is short on table space but long on flavor and value. The food is homemade and prepared in an open kitchen format. Again, a strip-mall location doesn’t help the atmosphere of the place but it does allow you to relax and let the little ones run around a bit should they get restless. The pita, hummus and, well, chicken kebabs are fantastic and the price is absolutely reasonable. Toss in the warmth of the owners and it’s an easy choice for a casual dinner out.

Who did we leave out? Put it in the comments.

Regardless of what your profession, hobbies or interests are, there is likely a group here in town that’s meeting on that very topic. Here are just a few examples:

Glen Rock Fan Page on Facebook – connect with folks on Facebook who live here now and who used to live here.

Glen Rock Network on LinkedIn – professionals live right here in “the Rock.” Reach out and connect.

Glen Rock Triathlon Club – the premiere group for triathletes in Northern NJ.

Glen Rock Newcomers and Neighbors – new in town? want to reconnect with folks here? This is the group to join.

MOMS Club of Glen Rock – stay at home moms unite! This group helps you get to know each other and do fun things together.

There are many informal (read: without a web site) groups of folks that get together who share common interests, professions or other traits. Getting in touch with people on the networks mentioned above and asking some questions should easily lead you to those folks as well.

What have we missed? Add it in the comments.

Huh? You say. The Polar Bear Club may be a choice for the more adventurous folks out there but there’s no way you’re getting me out in any kind of water…you say. The truth is, this is prime time to take your kids in for swimming lessons. Swimming is not only a fun activity but it’s a survival skill. Every child should know how to swim and winter time is the best time to learn. Summertime will be here in no time at all and an extra ounce or two of stress could be removed if you felt comfortable with your child’s ability to navigate the public pool and all those other pool parties.

Yes, there are already a thousand and one extra-curricular activites going on but this one’s important.

The Ridgewood YMCA has swimming lessons. So does the Ramsey New York Sports Club. Where else?

Tell us in the comments.

The two that always get mentioned in general conversation at the drop-off/pick-up lines and grocery stores are not actually in Glen Rock. First Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood has an outstanding, non-religious preschool as does the Fair Lawn Jewish Center.

Where do you send your kids? What has your experience been? Have you had kids at First Pres or at the FLJC? Tell us in the comments.

The design is dated but, more importantly, the content is organized in such a way that it makes the adults using feel like first grade students. This is true of ALL the system’s sites and it’s time for a redesign. This shouldn’t have to be costly but even if it does cost a bit, the savings gained from the reduced time supporting curious and confused parents would be well worth the cost.

What do you think? Have you used the Glen Rock School System web sites? What was your experience. Tell us in comments.