Meet Smoke Rise Mom Blogger & Author Jen Singer

Happy Mother's Day! What a perfect occasion to introduce you to Mom Blogger and Author Jen Singer - photographer, too; these are her two boys jumping into Lake Kinnelon - a Smoke Rise neighbor whom I've just 'met' thanks to Sunita Narma, another neighbor who joined in on the Kakeout Reservoir Hike.

Jen is amazing. A fellow blogger, she writes Good Housekeeping's Good Grief! Mom of Tweens blog, started in May 2007.

She's the creator of MommaSaid.net, a community for mothers around the world in search of comic relief. Do explore, laugh over the sweet stories that MommaSaid.net's community shares, and linger over the insightful MommaSaid.net blogposts, too.

Most recently, Jen just published Stop Second-Guessing Yourself--The Toddler Years: A Field-Tested Guide to Confident Parenting. You can find all kinds of information on the book including the Blog Tour, which just ended, and Book Signings.

Here follow a few questions I asked Jen about herself, her family and the Kinnelon area.

C.B.: Jen, you've lived here in Smoke Rise since 1994. Where did you move from and why?

Jen: My husband, Pete, was working in Butler at the time, and the commute from our condo in Somerset was wearing on him. We knew we wanted to start a family, and we thought Smoke Rise was a great place to do it. Thanks to my husband’s boss at the time, Norm Dotti, who with his wife Nancy raised their kids here, we knew all about how wonderful Smoke Rise is.

C.B.: What do you love most about the area? What about your boys?

Jen: We love the neighbors, the woods, the lake and the feeling of community. When I had cancer two years ago – at the same time we had house-wide construction – neighbors pitched in to cook for us three times a week. Susan Stadeli was in charge of the dinner schedule and Kim Marsden organized carpools and playdates for my kids. We couldn’t have done it without the help of the kind friends and neighbors in Smoke Rise. I am now 18 months in remission – and the house is all done.

The boys love playing in the woods and at the lake with their friends. Last summer, they played Manhunt on the beach one warm Saturday night while the grown-ups sat on the benches and talked and ate. I remember thinking that so few kids these days get to have experiences like that, and how lucky my kids are to grow up here.

C.B.: How do you use Smoke Rise and the Kinnelon area? What activities do you do?

Jen: My husband Pete is in the Smoke Rise Runners Club, and I belong to the Tennis Club. One son plays baseball and soccer, and I help coach soccer. Both boys are scouts, too.

C.B.: Are there any Kinnelon specific resources you'd like to bring to people's attention?

Jen: Don’t forget our local library, which is really well stocked and is staffed with very bright, helpful people.

C.B.: How did you get started with MommaSaid.net?

Jen: I launched it in 2003 and it’s grown considerably since. I just published the first book in a series of MommaSaid branded parenting guides, “Stop Second Guessing Yourself – the Toddler Years.” You can find it at the Kinnelon Library and at the Borders in Riverdale.

Thanks, Jen, and congratulations!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Smoke Rise and Kinnelon Moms!






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