A few months ago I wrote about our visit to the Jacob Burns Film Center and what an incredible day the girls and I had there. We can’t wait to go back next month to catch Matilda.

Because we love the place so much and I think you will too, I wanted to let you know that JBFC is currently in the midst of their May member drive, where they’re giving new members two extra month’s membership for free!

In case you’re unfamiliar with JBFC, it’s a nonprofit movie house located in Pleasantville, NY that screens new releases, foreign and documentary films, unique series, and special events. Even more exciting, you can meet filmmakers and actors like Richard Linklater, Billy Crystal, Ryan Gosling (!!!), and Meryl Streep, or learn to make movies of your own with classes in animation, screenwriting, and filmmaking at the JBFC Media Arts Lab. They also throw one heck of a party.

Last Sunday we threw our big community Mad Science party at Big Bang Coffee Roasters in Peekskill. I’m not going to lie, parties like this always make me crazy nervous because a lot of time and energy goes into them and you never really know how many people will actually show up. But I’m happy to say that it was a huge success. I was actually surprised at how many Westchester and Hudson Valley locals came out to see the incredible show!

I was even more thrilled to see that kids and parents alike were completely captivated by the science demo. The cafe was packed and parents in the back were craning their necks to make sure they didn’t miss anything while their kids laughed and squealed up in the front.

Thank you again to everyone who came! I can’t wait to do more fun (free!) local events like this in the future.

For more on our Mad Science party, head over to my post about it on Glamamom.

If you own a business in Westchester or the Hudson Valley and would like to work together on another community event, email me at jen@cuddlesandchaos.com.

A few weeks ago the girls and I were fortunate enough to attend an incredible event at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville. It was a special preview screening of Academy Award-nominated director Mark Osborne’s latest animated film, The Little Prince, followed by an awesome party at the Media Arts Lab. We had the best time!

Before the screening we got to participate in a special meet and greet with Mark (who lives in Hastings and is a refreshingly down-to-earth, kind human). We saw some of the figures that were used in the stop motion portions of the movie as well as the copy of The Little Prince his wife gave him while they were dating, and the César he recently won in France for the film.

Mark told us that the making of this film was more or less a family affair, which got the interest of this momma’s heart right away. The movie is the story of The Little Prince within a story about a little girl, who was inspired by his daughter. And Mark’s son voiced the Little Prince. My girls thought that was so cool.

After being cooped up for a couple of weeks with a nasty case of mono, Samantha was so ready to go back to school once her fever went away last week. Unluckily for her, that happened to coincide with some snow and a school cancellation. She was livid. At me, at mother nature, at her immune system, at pretty much anything she could think of.

Luckily for her (or, more accurately, my sanity), the snow cleared in time for us to head down to Ridge Hill to catch the premiere of the brand new LEGO 4D Movie at LEGOLAND Discovery Center Westchester. Ellie and I had visited back in November when we got to meet a couple of the Rockettes, but Samantha had never been there before. This visit definitely won her over—and did wonders for her mood.

I was mindlessly scrolling Facebook the other day (as one does when one is avoiding being productive), when I came across a local mom group post about Time to Kiln, a paint-your-own pottery place in northern Westchester.

Since the girls and I have never checked it out before and we were looking down the business end of a cold, gray, three-day January weekend, what better time to try it? I texted some friends, set up a surprise play date, and off we went.