Childproofing window blind cords – that should be the least of a new mom’s problems

by Lexi Petronis | Living

Our new house has lots of windows, with lots of brand-new window blinds. That means lots of window blind cords — and, to parents, those are serious business. That stats about kids strangled by the cords each month are pretty disturbing. So I was really happy to...

Fighting evil with rock ‘n’ roll, Aquabats style

by Lexi Petronis | Entertainment + Media

The minds behind Yo Gabba Gabba! are not content to settle with one successful kids show. In fact, they have just hooked themselves a certain daughter I know with a brand-new show–and some truly awesome rock music. And I’m betting a lot of other daughters...

A special book for a mama’s special thoughts

by Lexi Petronis | Baby

When our daughter was born, I did what so many mamas do: I started a baby book. I wanted to capture everything about her, along with the wonderment of being a new mom; I’d lost my own mother to cancer a year earlier, to the date, and I thought writing about...

Adorable, eco-friendly baby clothes and gifts, 50%-80% off until they’re gone (sniffle)

by Lexi Petronis | Baby

It’s bittersweet when we see a mom-owned boutique that we love, close up shop. What Every Baby Needs, say it ain’t so! But if there’s an upside, it’s the amazing discounts. You can now score 50% off everything on the site and up to 80% off sale...

This sheep rocks!

by Lexi Petronis | Toys + Playthings

My kids inherited a rocking horse that’s all bells and whistles–it whinnies, neighs, clip-clops, and plays some sort of country song. I’m pretty sure it says “yeehaw,” too, which doesn’t really make sense.It’s too much, even...

Shirts for books

by Lexi Petronis | Doing Good

I believe in the essential power of reading–my kids have the stuffed bookcases to prove it. But not every kid does. So I love the idea of this website that lets you buy an amazingly cute, supersoft, combed-cotton T-shirt to get more books in the hands of little...

New Year’s Resolution Help: Take a family vacation!

by Lexi Petronis | Cool Tech

All week long we’re offering our tips and ideas to help you tackle your (and our) New Year’s resolutions. Whether you’re a staunch believer in resolutions or not, we hope our cool picks will help motivate you as we hope they do for us!Like so many...

Great gifts for your kids that benefit their school, too

by Lexi Petronis | Toys + Playthings

I admit it: I’m a fan of pretty much every one of those daily-deals sites. Hand me an exclusive membership to sweet deals on designer merch and I get a little thrill. And this new site totally supersizes that thrill in the coolest way possible, because...

Personalized stamps for the holidays? There’s still time!

by Lexi Petronis | DIY

Okay, Cool Mom Picks is a safe space where I feel like I can admit this freely: I’m starting to panic a little. The gift-purchasing isn’t going as planned. I keep seeing all these amazingly fabulous personalized gifts–that I should have purchased two...

When you’re a cool kid, the sun shines on you 24 hours a day

by Lexi Petronis | Baby, Kid Style

Kid (and baby) sunglasses are usually one of those things that are terribly cute in theory but not always so great in practice. They’re often slippy, stomped, and broken within, like, minutes.So these new sunglasses for kids are worth their weight in sunscreen....