It is truly amazing how many people who grew up in this area come back after having kids! After years in digital marketing, and then several years managing a $50M fund that awarded grants to the families of health care workers who died fighting COVID-19, Sara Beitman decided she wanted to do good in her own community, and joined The Jewish Federation, working on education and family engagement programs. She helps to run Merkaz Community High School for Judaic Studies, and is very excited to be opening a new campus in Westport this Fall. Merkaz is a really cool weekly educational program open to all community teens, grades 8-12. In her spare time, Sara loves spending time with her 2 year old daughter, finding great restaurants, and cooking! Sara is excited to build a program that her own children can partake in as they grow up!

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For anyone in Westport, the restaurants Don Memo, The Whelk, and Kawa Ni are all known for having exceptional food, offering fun atmospheres, and being often impossible to get into! Dad of two boys – Bill Taibe – is the master behind all three, and though an introvert himself, he has loved creating social experiences with amazing food for the people in his community. Bill has been a restauranteur in Westport for 12 years, beginning his journey with the beloved Le Farm, and he hasn’t stopped since. In his spare time, Bill has loved coaching his sons’ sports teams (though they are both grown now!), family hikes with their dogs leading the way, and skiing as much as possible! Bill shares how quickly his kids have grown up, but how they continue to inspire him, and encourages all the dads (and parents) out there to enjoy all the moments along the way! For over a decade now (many thanks to Bill and his team), the Westport food scene has been elevated to a whole new level, and we couldn’t be more grateful he chose to call our community his home! Thank you Bill- we appreciate YOU so very much!

Father’s Day is on the horizon, and we’re sharing a shortlist of A-list Dads who balance busy careers with being engaged parents. Not to mention, they’re all easy on the eyes, ha!  Who are your favorite celeb Dads?

Summer is here and if you’re looking to upgrade your backyard fun, we have you covered! In our roundup of Best Outdoor Toys of Summer, we look beyond the usual swing set and share toys that will keep your kids outside and off screens for hours—and make your backyard playdate central.  

In honor of Pride month, we are thrilled to feature Sarah – mom to three kiddos – who spent years in NYC pursuing a musical theatre path, followed by several years at NBC Sports Group, and now works in gaming/digital play for the LEGO group, deeming her undoubtedly “a cool mom!” As a “not straight” mom, she spends a lot of her efforts focused on changing perceptions about parenthood and sexual orientation, and is thrilled to be performing at the Westport Pride Rally THIS SUNDAY on Jesup Green and in the Pride Cabaret at the Westport Library (free to the public) on June 17th at 7pm. Sarah opens up about her path to sobriety over the last year, her love for Amy Schumer=) and the exciting transitions her three children have ahead of them! She admits she was reluctant to move to the suburbs originally, but now couldn’t imagine It any other way! In a world that is evolving faster than we can often keep up, we are lucky to have Sarah at the forefront of our community working for positive change!

If you’re a chocolate lover but not so sweet on extra calories, you’ll definitely want to know about our newest find, @gatsbychocolate! Founded by Doug Bouton, the cofounder of Halo Top ice cream, Gatsby Chocolate is the lowest-calorie chocolate you can buy. We spoke to Doug, a Dad of three young kids, about his newest venture, fatherhood and more. Link in bio for all the details – and use code LOCALMOMS50 for 50% off your first purchase!

Summer is around the corner and after a long two years, we are all ready for some travel – and a change of scenery! Many of the adults and older teens and kids are fully vaccinated, but what if your younger child is still waiting on their COVID-19 vaccine? We were lucky enough to get guidance from Connecticut Children’s infectious disease expert John R. Schreiber, MD, MPH, which hopefully will help before and as you make any upcoming summer plans!

Have you ever just needed an extra hand – and fast? This is a rhetorical question, of course –   all Moms can use an extra hand sometime, and the busiest life moments seem to happen with little notice! That’s why we LOVE QuadJobs, a company founded by two Moms, Andra Newman and Betsy O’Reilly.