Not all of us can afford to hang real pieces of art in our toddlers' rooms, or spend hours strolling with them through museums gazing at the works of masters. Fortunately, for less than $15, we can all afford to share this little gem fro…
When your daughter is begging to stick 6,000 glittery clips in her hair, sometimes the plain old barrette doesn't cut it. So I've come up with this motto: "All bling in moderation unless you are Carmen Electra." And even then I can't say…
Being that my daughter was a little baldie for a very long time, imagine my excitement when she became obsessed with hair clips. Especially because I am not the type to stick barrettes on a bald scalp with Karo syrup. My enthusiasm was q…
I love my husband and am perfectly happy giving his name to my children, but just a teeny tiny part of me would like to take some visible credit for pushing them out of my nether regions. (Except for the stretch marks, that is). That's w…
I find it hard to believe that there are still scrunchie wearers in the world, unless they have all arrived here via time machine direct from 1991. Better option--wayyyy better option--is Knotheads . I will admit it took me some time to …
Having grown up in Iowa on a farm, I'm probably at a slight advantage for identifying poisonous plants and snakes. But for the rest of us, or just kids who love all things creepy and crawly and generally nasty, there's Don't Touch That! …
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…
We're going to go out on a limb and say if you've got money tied up in petrochemical pesticide stocks, this might be a good time to get out. The entire world is going greener, right down to their fair trade organic cotton underwear. Yes,…
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…
We're always on the lookout for cool empowering tees for our girls that aren't so empowering that they're cheesy. You know what I'm talking about. Oh yes you do. A nice example of ones that work: The tees from Ava's Closet , mom Katie Di…
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 …
I see a whole lot of items presented as wearable art that, well, I would say wearable yes. Art, not so much. But in the case of Lark and Loon , the descriptor really fits. This two mom-run shop commissions original pieces from artists ac…
So here we are, well into summer when just now I realize my toddler's shoe wardrobe is not really cutting it. What I need is something more like a sneaker-sandal hybrid; something that looks cute with a skirt but can still handle impromp…
Sometimes you touch an article of children's clothing and it is so buttery soft, so absolutely luxurious, it makes you want to toss everything else your kid has been wearing pronto. That's how I felt when I first caressed the exquisitely…
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-…
I have resisted featuring tutus here for like a million years - or at least two - because frankly, 99.9% of them are too frilly, foofy, poofy and mega-princessy for even our little princesses. Rule of thumb: A tutu shouldn't look as if i…
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…
Oh Lou and Lee , where were you when my daughters were still young enough for your beautiful handmade onesies? I suppose I'll have to forgive LA designer Ann Dewitt, who's captured my heart with unusual details like vintage lace and trom…
When I was expecting my first child, I packed my hospital bag quite ambitiously with pair of pre-pregnancy pants for myself (don't laugh) and a few newborn hats so my sweet baby's head would not have to suffer in those awful polyester on…
I don't think I've seen a good happy face redux since that mutant icon with the single eye. (Doesn't anyone have any idea what I'm talking about?) In any case, Foxibaby has taken on the task with great charm, turning their happy baby fac…
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…
Nothing says "welcome baby" like a personalized gift. But aside from all the economically unfeasible keepsakes out there, I've only found a few options that 1) I can afford and 2) won't end up shoved in the back of a closet somewhere. So…
I'm pretty sure that even if I weren't Chinese, I'd still have a penchant towards Asian-inspired kids clothing. Given the chance, I could probably dress my daughter in gorgeous lotus fabrics and mandarin collar dresses all year long. But…
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…