Moms Club of Huntington Offers Support for Stay-at-Home Moms

Kelly Pietro of Monroe remembers choosing to leave her job in IT management to care for her two boys, Michael, 5, and Aiden, 2, when she lived in Shelton last year. But finding ways to keep her children busy during the week proved to be a challenge.

"I was literally scouring the papers for things I could do with my kids," Pietro recalled.

Then she saw an advertisement on an open house for the Moms Club of Huntington, an international nonprofit support group for stay-at-home moms. The club's membership is open to Huntington, Shelton and Monroe residents.

"My first event was the open house at Wolfe Park last year," Pietro said.

The Moms Club offers a full calendar of playdates and other events centered around children, as well as having a charitable arm for members to give back to their communities.

Pietro wanted her children to develop social skills and to keep them busy and happy with the opportunity to make new friends.

"That's exactly what I was looking for with the Moms Club, but it turns out that I made friends myself," Pietro said.

One of those friends is Kadie Conklin of Shelton, who is president of the Moms Club of Huntington. Conklin, who has a daughter, 5, and a son, 3, was new to the area two years ago, when another parent at her daughter's preschool invited her to join.

"It's how I've gotten involved in the community," Conklin said of the Moms Club of Huntington. "It's also a service organization."

At least once a month, Conklin said the Moms Club does a charitable activity. Its members recently assembled 9/11 goodie baskets to be delivered to the EMS, police and fire stations in Huntington, Shelton and Monroe.

Among the Moms Club's other charitable endeavors, some members will participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in New York City, members assist the Spooner House, and every Thanksgiving the club works with nurses from area schools in making meals for families in need.

Madeleine Bratz of Shelton, associate vice president of the club's executive board, is in charge of community service. 

The Moms Club of Huntington has 42 members in its three towns, with the average age of the children being from birth to seven years.

Two playdates are open to aspiring new members. One is at Great Hollow Lake's playground on Purdy Hill Road in Monroe on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 10 a.m. Then on Tuesday, Oct. 11, a playdate is scheduled to be held at Riverview Park on Howe Avenue in Shelton at 10 a.m. For information, contact either Kelly Pietro, (203) 954-8434, kellyapietro@gmail.com, or Kadie Conklin, (203) 513-2092, kadie233@att.net.

The club will also have a booth at Shelton Day on Oct. 2.

Conklin said most mothers learned of the Moms Club through pediatritians' offices. To join, she said there is a simple form to fill out and a $25 annual fee. The purpose of the form is to see what aspiring members' interests are and what committees they may want to serve on, according to Conklin.

Some of the committees are the Play Group Committee and the Sunshine Committee, in which meals are organized for members who just had a baby, are sick or had a death in the family.

A business meeting is held on the second Wednesday of every month at different locations. Conklin said a guest speaker is always invited to make a presentation on a topic of interest to moms.

A Sounding Board

A monthly newsletter written by one of the members keeps everyone informed. There is also a monthly Kids Day Out Calendar, full of events.

"It can be as simple as meeting at a library or a park or it could be spending a day at the aquarium or having a playdate are someone's house," Pietro said, adding playdates are usually arranged by age group.

While most events are centered around the children, the Moms Club of Huntington also finds ways for mothers to let their hair down.

"We have a Moms' Night Out activity," Conklin said. "We'll do a movie or a dinner."

Pietro added, "We went to the Blue Lotus Spa the last time and had manicures and pedicures — some pampering."

 Most events are planned with eVites, and the membership also uses the email list as a forum. Both Conklin and Pietro agree it has become a reliable resource for finding a good babysitter.

"Someone may say, 'I need a pediatrician. Does anyone know a good one?'" Pietro said.

"Or a plumber or an electrician," Conklin added.

Pietro said the emails can also be a great sounding board for sharing frustrations over issues mothers have in common. But the biggest draw for her is the daily events and the playdates.

"The great part about a playdate is you're invited, even if you don't know the host," Pietro said. "It's like I have 40 instant friends."