When my kids were younger, they adored lacing cards, though I can't say any of them had illustrations quite so adorable as the Lacing Cards from House 8810 . What I do remember is how quietly and intently they would sew their cards, and …
You know how much little babies love things that are black and white? Well, I'm kind of getting a kick out of imagining a baby freaking out on this awesome play mat. Seriously, they wouldn't know where to look first. Leave it to the MoMA…
If you're not familiar with TableTopics , it's such a fabulous little secret weapon to have around the house for those holiday weekends in which the throngs of relatives descend upon you. I mean, uh, honor you with their presence. Each b…
When it comes to unwrapping gifts, people usually fall into two camps. Either they take their time, delicately lifting the tape and neatly folding up the paper; or they rip through the paper like a present-seeking claw machine. This pers…
The Conductor is the kind of children's book I've always adored having in our collection; it's richly illustrated, with a story that kids can appreciate in different ways at different ages. It's got another aspect I happen to like a lot …
I am probably the last mother in all the land (or at least in Brooklyn) to discover just how comfy and awesome Toms Shoes are. But I don't think I'm the last to assume that is the time of year that we put them in the back of the closet i…
I am a total Etsy junky; it's my first stop when I'm looking for cool, quirky accessories or for gifts for friends and family. I'm always particularly amazed by the beautiful handmade kids' clothing on Etsy, which is why you see so much …
My son's car obsession knows no limits, which is why we've got tubs and tubs full of plastic race cars and trains packing our playroom shelves. But the play life of those tiny cars seem to be pretty short, which is not at all what I can …
If you're a bibliophile like me, then you know that nothing smells as good as an old book. Age, ink, paper, maybe a dash of cracked leather cover. But we've discovered a gorgeous trio of classics with a redesign so spectacularly beautifu…
My middle son loves graphic novels. They really get him excited about reading, and I'm certainly down with that. I want him to excitedly pick out a book from the library and read it on the ride home. So he about nearly flipped when we sa…
When new babies make their grand entrances, their bigger siblings can sometimes feel the shaft. It's important to include them in welcoming the new addition--or, you can do what I did and have them so close together the older one doesn't…
Every year I go through my son's clothes to see what has stood the test of a season, and what needs to be retired. Since discovering Red 21 Boys last year, I'm delighted to say he's still wearing everything. And for my crazy active boy, …
My oldest daughter, now 7, learned how to ride a bike in a matter of minutes thanks to a few months spent on a balance bike beforehand. However, when it comes to my littler kiddos, they tend to get more frustration than fun out of riding…
Let's face it: If Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter had twins, they would look just like this, and Johnny Depp would give them a set of onesies like this at their Beetlejuice-themed baby shower . The Skeleton Love Kids organic shirt fr…
As much as my 5 month old would love for me to hold him 24/7, it's just not humanly possible. For the times I need to put him down, I think there's nothing better than a well-designed bouncy chair to keep baby upright while giving him a …
Sometimes it feels like we're in the middle of a plastic doll takeover. Those little dudes are everywhere (pretty sure most of them are in my living room) I am more convinced than ever that the last thing the world needs is another plast…
Ask my mom, and she'll tell you that she knew I was a writer from the moment I was born, or at least from the moment I started scrawling my first story on the wall in... um... nevermind. Too bad they didn't have this onesie back then. Th…
I have animal-crazy daughters, a wonderful characteristic I attribute in part to awesome grandparents that think to buy them "animal things" before buying them "princess things." So I was thrilled to see a nice partnership between Nation…
We played lots of board games in my house growing up, and with a 4 year age difference, there were few my sister and I could both make it through without quitting. (We in fact have never completed a game of Monopoly to this day.) One of …
I did this thing last year where I decided it to hand-make my daughter a Big Bird costume for Halloween--feather by feather. I'm not a natural costume-maker, so the whole thing was imperfect--but it was fun to make and she dug it. This y…
When we're running out the door on one of our million weekly errands, it's way too easy to just grab the iPad or a handheld electronic game to occupy the kids. But in my ongoing quest to "unplug" a little more often, I've discovered a ne…
I have a soft spot for Anthropologie ; their clothes have a kind of romanticism that makes me want to run off to Paris and spend my days eating macaroons in little sidewalk cafes. But this fall, Anthro brings that same dreamy style to ki…
On Saturday, our family will welcome a new addition. It's a girl, and she's black, furry and rescued from the streets of Indiana. So it seems entirely appropriate (if oddly coincidental) that one of our favorite PBS Kids' cartoons, Marth…
I've loved the spectacularly gorgeous, understated kids wear from Shirin NYC since first discovering them a few years ago. This is the kind of clothing I spot in a boutique, and the second I touch the silky cotton, I (attempt to) start j…