Around the House - Cool Mom Picks

Jenny Lawson on depression, anxiety and why we have to talk about it | Spawned Episode 255

by Cool Mom Staff | Books for Adults, Health, Fitness + Wellbeing, Podcast

We can’t believe after all these episodes of Spawned, we’ve never had the chance to chat with Jenny Lawson. A.K.A. The Bloggess. A.K.A. the best-selling author. A.K.A. new indie bookshop owner. A.K.A. the woman who first left a comment on Liz’s blog...

How to be a compassionate parent of LGBTQ kids | Spawned Episode 254

by Cool Mom Staff | Books for Adults, Podcast

If you have questions about parenting LGBTQ+ kids, wow do we have the answers, thanks to the absolutely delightful Kristin Russo, author of This is a Book for Parents of Gay Kids. If you know her — or her terrific book, or popular podcast about Buffy the Vampire...

10 fun just-because cards for a friend who could use a little pick-me-up right now. It’s hard out there.

by Caroline Siegrist | Cards + Stationery, Living

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how to support my fellow pandemic parents, and I’ve landed on sending some funny, “just-because” cards as a start. To be clear, I think every parent who’s survived the past 18 months deserves a...

The ECOVACS Deebot N7 robotic vacuum cleans and mops your floors with the press of a button. Amazing!

by Cool Mom Staff | Living

This is a sponsored message on behalf of ECOVACS In our own pretty vast experience with robotic vacuum cleaners, we can say with certainty that not they are not created equal. So, if you’re looking for a one-stop robot that mops and vacuums your floors without...

10 ways to make the most out of the last weekend of summer, most of them free

by Cool Mom Staff | Living

With the final unofficial days of summer so close (wah!), we’ve got one more long weekend to milk the most out of the late sunsets with the family. So we’re bringing back this post from a few years back, when our editor Liz offered up 10 wonderful little...

This list of the best YA books of all time is absolutely awesome

by Caroline Siegrist | Books for Adults, Books for Kids

Not to brag, but here at CMP, we’re kind of kids’ books experts. We round up the best of the best lists every year, keep taps on the new releases, and share all kinds of YA book recommendations for parents. Which is why I was so happy when I saw that Time...

Your family’s hydration situation just got a whole lot easier.

by Kristen Chase | Kitchen + Dining

With school around the corner — which means sports and activities and all the things that keep us all very busy — the challenge of keeping our kids (and ourselves) hydrated is top of mind. Actually, if I’m being honest, it’s always at the top...

10 of our most popular summer articles to help get you through the season

by Liz Gumbinner | Kids, Living

This week we’re doing something I don’t think our team has done in 15+ years — we are taking a full staff summer break. (Whoo!) Some of us are traveling, some of us are hanging with the kids, some of us are counting the seconds to Ted Lasso season...

The coolest Ted Lasso gifts, just in time for Season 2

by Caroline Siegrist | Entertainment + Media, Living

The AFC Richmond fans say it’s the hope that kills you, but I’m here to say that it’s really the anticipation — of Ted Lasso Season 2, obvs. Luckily, it’s finally here, starting July 23, and I can almost taste the homemade biscuits. So to...

We need to talk about our alcohol use, parents: An honest review of Quit Like a Woman

by Kristen Chase | Books for Adults

This past December, I decided to stop drinking. While I’ve always had a complicated relationship with booze, I wouldn’t consider myself an alcoholic. I’ve been drunk a handful of times in my life, and for the most part, just have a couple of glasses...

This non-profit creates absolutely free, Instagram-worthy room makeovers for adopted kids and foster families

by Kate Etue | Art + Decor, Doing Good, Kids' Furniture

Several months ago I stumbled on the work of the non-profit group Bloom Family Designs on a friend and fellow adoptive-mom’s Instagram feed. This organization creates beautifully designed rooms for adopted and foster kids — at absolutely no cost to the families....

Are Ruggable rugs really washable and stain-resistant? We bought one to see. | “Damn you, Facebook ads” series

by Caroline Siegrist | Art + Decor

Those ads for Ruggable have been popping up in my Facebook and Instagram feeds for ages, but it wasn’t until their Star Wars line of rugs debuted that I finally gave in and bought one. In my defense, the designs are super cool! And subtle enough that our house...

Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz!

Kristen Chase + Liz Gumbinner of Cool Mom Picks

We started Cool Mom Picks in 2006 to help make life cooler, more meaningful, and more fun for parents of all kinds.

Trivia: It was called Cool Mom Sh*t for the first two days. (Yeah, we rethought that.)

We had no idea our site would grow to become a major lifestyle network, that we'd end up sharing our finds with the TODAY Show and Martha Stewart, that we'd be able to make a real difference for so many small businesses and women-run companies, or that we'd end up with an incredible community of the coolest readers on the planet. (If we do say so ourselves).

We still love what we do every single day. And we're so glad you're here.