One of the best outcomes of the toy recalls of 07 is the transparency we're now finding from so many retailers--where and how their products are made, what they're made with, and how confident you can be when your 9 month spends the bett…
Update : This site no longer exists. RIP Kid's Busy Box. I thought that 4 hours of preschool every day would satiate my daughter's immense hunger for crafts, but alas, she still comes home from school running directly for the glue and co…
I'm always on the lookout for ways to teach my four-year-old about conservation other than asking her to turn off the lights 400 times a day (followed by my long boring speech about saving the earth). Thankfully, Eeboo has created these …
I won't be winning any cooking awards any time soon, but as far as the concoctions my daughter and son are creating in their play kitchen, courtesy of Haba's new Biofino line of cloth play food , they're on their way to winning Top Chef.…
You wouldn't think a bunch of blabbermouths like our family would need help starting a conversation, but I've got to thank The Chatterbox for providing some welcome encouragement in that area. Instead of questions about obscure Baby Boom…
When it comes to buying gifts for my friend's kids, I really try hard to find unique items that no one else would think of, but aren't so obscure that the poor kid has to ask his parents what the heck it is. Enter the Dumpling Dynasty Ex…
"Oh my", I thought,"these look like a bunch of colorful floppy discs. What in the world are the kids going to do with these?" Silly mommy. Don't you see that they easily fit together and make...a rocket ship that I can fly around the hou…
I used to think that a rattle was some generic baby gift that people gave when they couldn't think of anything more original. Wow, was I wrong. My babies adored their rattles so much, we kept them in every diaper bag, crib, Pack n Play, …
I have a strong sense of empathy for the uglier creatures of the world. I have an English bulldog, not a lab, always thought those misfit toys from the Ruldoph movie were cooler than the non-misfit ones--even if I never was entirely sure…
In theory, I do love those make-your-own-doll kits, but even with the craftiest of kids (and moms) at the helm, they still scream "homemade" a little louder than you're hoping for at times. (Oops...there goes Teddy's eye.) With Make My O…
You should know right off that I am not the biggest Barbie fan, for all of the obvious reasons. But there did come a day when my daughter's begging got the best of me, and I went out to survey the choices. I came home with a doll we henc…
Aside from my finger and a random corners of our furniture, the only thing that temporarily relieved my teething babes' sore gums was a frozen wet washcloth. So leave it to a fellow mom to create a teething toy with just that very thing …
Q: When is having Mixed Emotions a Good Thing? A: When they are the super-cute kind that comes inside a Kimochi. What is a Kimochi you ask? Kimochis are soft, cuddly, stuffed toys that come in a variety of shapes, with a surprise inside-…
Generally speaking, I pry out the batteries from those loud plastic toys at first opportunity. But upon seeing the New School DJ Mixer at Ollie Bollen, the only thing I could think about digging out were my go-go boots; you know, if I co…
I bombed Goody Bags 101 at my youngest daughter's party. The Play-Doh bits ended up all over my couch, the babies ate the crayons, and the cheap imitation slinkies broke faster than you can say choking hazard. The one thing I did get rig…
Mostly we're fans of handmade plush around here, but we also understand that not everyone wants to spend $85 on a penguin hand-knit from recycled sweaters then hand-stuffed with locally harvested cotton (even if it is totally awesome and…
Pity the average supermarket shopper; w e have to push around banged-up, one-wheel- jiggling, sticky-handled metal shopping carts when we do our food shopping. If our carts looked more like the toy shopping cart from Plan Toys, I may enj…
While I'm definitely way pickier when it comes to buying rattles for my upcoming third baby, I admit that at times, the eco-friendly choices in their various shades of brown almost make me miss the bright colors of some of our retired pl…
One of the best pieces of advice I got at my baby shower was to save the gift bags. Sure enough, I reused almost all of them--except that one that already looked reused enough. I'll withhold names to protect the regifter. Mom Jennifer Pa…
The smell brings me right back to childhood, but the first time I found my daughter with a wad of Play-Doh in her mouth, I wondered, "what the heck is in this stuff?" An all-natural alternative is the unscented eco-dough , made by a fami…
With my kids loving their play kitchen (hello, best investment ever!) I'm getting a little tired of the heavy spaghetti and meatball dinners. How about a little summer fare, like this adorable BBQ Grill set found at Nico & Zoe ? Almost i…
My daughter is destined to be the artist of the family, no doubt about it. If she's awake, she's got a crayon in her hand. This is great news when we take her out to restaurants because she's easily occupied. But it's bad news when I for…
We've found a whole lot of companies that transform your children's art into everything from custom lamps to chic jewelry to delicate handbags. It's so cool to us that those favorite scribbles and stick figures can have a life beyond the…
At last count, we had twelve ride-on toys in our garage so I am definitely an expert in that department. Of all these toys, I want to sing the praises of two that stand out from the crowd: The Mini Micro scooter and the oddly named Skooo…