George Washington, protector of religious refugees In 1790, George Washington responded to a letter from the congregation of the Synagogue of Newport Rhode Island, congratulating him on the passing of the Constitution and his role in the founding of the country. Washington had previously chosen not to visit Rhode Island on his tours of the new nation because they had delayed in ratifying the Constitution. After it was signed though, he visited the city and state in an attempt to meet the American people and learn how they viewed the new republic.

Give me your tired, your poor, well not all of them! Back in 2015 I felt a need to speak out against a proposed policy that would see refugees from certain countries prevented from entering my home state of NJ. I felt that such an act was not only un-American, but a dangerous first step in a slippery slope downward to further nationalist policies. Though that policy was not enacted, it hasn’t stopped considerably worse policies like last week’s immigration ban.

Talking with TheNewFamily Podcast about data driven parenting This past week I was fortunate enough to speak with Brandie Weikle on TheNewFamily Podcast about my data driven approach to parenting. We discussed A/B testing, Machine Learning, the quantified self movement, and when to listen to your gut. I think it was a phenomenal conversation. Go ahead and check it out here: http://thenewfamily.com/2017/01/podcast-episode-122-data-can-shape-parenting/

The 5 best breweries for parents in Northern New Jersey Chemistry, responsible behavior, socializing, and getting used to being out of the house and not the center of the universe, breweries have a good number of benefits for parents with small children. Parents need times to focus on something they enjoy and times to let children occupy themselves and not be the center of attention. Breweries provide these opportunities. With so many small craft breweries opening or expanding recently, even in an area that entered the brewing revolution late like Northern NJ, there are now a good number of places that work well with children.

8 Lessons in parenting from Agile Scrum training with master Ken Rubin Last week I spent three days in training for Agile practices and scrum at scale for large organizations for work. The training was conducted by the man who literally wrote the book, in this case the best selling Agile book on Amazon, Essential Scrum, Ken Rubin. I admit I was hesitant going in as I thought I knew the majority of scrum principles and it would be redundant for me as I’ve been participating in and running versions of scrum for nearly 10 years, but I was quite wrong.

The 5 best child, infant, and stroller friendly hikes in Northern New Jersey Let’s face it, in 2017 you want to get outside and into nature more. With a stressful and often worrying 2016 out of the way, there’s no better time to disconnect from the pressures of technology and the anxiety of news and get back to the outdoors. If you have children, especially ones who aren’t yet mobile, getting on the trails can be a challenge.

Parenting in 2020 — according to CES Hoverboards, jetpacks, and robots. These are some of the things parents in the past thought their kids might have. They were probably a bit scared as well. In the fifties, it was also common to see “Home of the Future” videos with smart ovens and appliances and robots that would talk to you and possibly even cook for you. That future seemed comical a few years ago, but after seeing some of the latest technology and gadgets at CES, it may not be as far-fetched as it seems.

You need more sleep in 2017 Make sleep your New Year’s Resolution Exercise more, lose weight, learn something new, become more productive, reduce stress. Chances are, if you are making any New Year’s Resolutions, at least one of these are included. What if there was a way to accomplish not only one, not a couple, but all of them? The largest impediment to achieving goals cited by those who fail their resolutions before the end of January is a lack of time.

Time keeps on ticking: Getting the most out of time with your kids How did they get so big? Didn’t we just leave the hospital the other day? The boys are somehow already six months old and I can’t believe it. Not only is the time flying, but it’s getting hard to remember things at the beginning with the boys. Looking at pictures from the first few months, I can’t believe the boys were ever so small.

Why I run in front of my babies Healthy kids become healthy adults Shoes: check. Water bottle: check. Pack and play? Sometimes getting a run in with two infants requires getting a little creative. Even if the only option sometimes wasn’t bringing the boys down to the basement while I’m on the treadmill, I’d do it anyway. I make the boys watch me run because I plan on keeping them involved in my running and encourage them to run and be active in their lives.