Generally I have an entertaining personal discussion with myself every summer. On the one hand, I don't feel good about putting DEET on my kids. On the other hand, most DEET-free insect repellents don't seem to work all that well, and I'…
When it first came time to baby-proof our apartment, I went to that big-box baby store to get supplies and learned there were far more ways that my baby girl could injure herself than I'd ever imagined. (Hello, bubble wrap). What I didn'…
The wonderful Duck! Rabbit! is the newest book from the prolific Amy Krouse Rosenthal, who you might know for children's books like Little Pea or even her wonderful adult book, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life . In this title, she's team…
The first time I heard Recess Monkey a few weeks back, I instantly fell in love with their unique sound and smart lyrics. This Seattle based three-man band combines kooky with clever in their new album, Field Trip , to create songs that …
My wine snob sigOth has gently pointed out to me that it's tacky to give wine in those mylar wine sleeves they have at the liquor store. Who knew? But when I showed him the absolutely wonderful PopTags wine tags , he smiled and said, "No…
When I moved to the Deep South almost 10 years ago, I admit it was a bit of a culture shock. Okay, I lied. It was a whole heckuva shock. Clearly I wasn't the only person that saw the humor in aspects of the culture, as you can tell from …
Check in with us every Friday for the best deals and discounts of the week ! Get discounts up to 70% off (!!) beautiful crib bedding, blankets and more at Serena & Lily . The long-sleeved superhero outfits at Little Capers are 50% off wi…
When Missy Chase Lapine's The Sneaky Chef appeared on the scene in '07, I didn't think I needed her help since my kids were pretty adventurous eaters. Shoot forward two years though and ho boy, do I need her. With her new book The Sneaky…
I am not a baby book person. I mean, I wanted to be a baby book person, but my children's baby books ultimately overwhelmed me and now sit in a drawer, not even half filled out. I can't remember to record every little thing! The pressure…
Maybe I'm just a German tourist at heart or something, but I do like that look of knee socks on my kids. Okay, so not with khaki shorts and sandals--but it can totally kick a pair of Mary Janes and a short skirt into gear. Pork Chop Kids…
When I put my little guy down for a nap, I close the door and don't look back. I'm not one for compulsively checking on him (because with my luck, I'll wake him up) and I'd never even considered using a video baby monitor. Until now. Lat…
I recently got a look at Alphabetica: Odes to the Alphabet , Diana Spieker and Krista Skehan's mind-blowing alphabet book filled with multisyllabic metaphors and modern, deep-inked illustrations. This book bursts with detail. Each page c…
Now that things like environmentally-sound manufacturing, use of post-consumer waste, and organic textiles are fast becoming the standard (which is awesome), it does take a lot to make us go oooooh these days when we get a "green" pitch.…
When I stumbled upon the Second Line Frames etsy shop, I went wow - those are cool. And that's before I knew the backstory. Turns out this Tampa-based cooperative salvages wood siding from homes destroyed during Hurricane Katrina, and tu…
One place we will never ever tell our readers to skimp, not even in this economy, is your child's car seat. You want the best possible car seat that you can afford, and you can quote me on that. The Britax Advocate CS is a brand new entr…
I've read a few reviews that liken Ben Rudnick & Friends' new CD, A Frog Named Sam , to a kid-friendly Grateful Dead or Phish album which I guess could be a real plus for a lot of people. For me, though, who spent one blurry weekend at a…
We here at Cool Mom Picks love our sponsors (love them!), but some we have to admit we love just a bit more than others. So when we found out that The American Cancer Society would be a part of our site over the coming weeks, we immediat…
There's no shortage of adorable, swoon-worthy items on Etsy, but Amy Joyner's She Knits shop is clearly trying to kill me with handmade cuteness. Her 100% organic cotton/wool blend "chocolate dipped" baby booties do indeed look good enou…
I'm on a British kick for absolutely no reason these days, which is why I've had the British flag t-shirt from Childish Clothing bookmarked for ages. I love the distressed look and how the word RAD is spelled out in Scrabble tiles. This …
I bet you've wondered how we find the great children's books we review here at Cool Mom Picks. Well, we will share one hot tip: Bookmark sites like the brand new One Potato . This children's book site is like literary nirvana for book-lo…
I realize there's something wonderful about the scent of clean fresh laundry -- except around our house, that means someone's used the wrong detergent. With a bunch of kids with sensitive skin, we're always on the lookout for gentle, bab…
1) Make a donation in her name to a an organization like Global Giving which will send an e-mail confirmation right away. 2) Send this aweeeesome custom Mother's Day video courtesy of Moms Rising . Seriously, you totally have to do this …
Not to brag, but for a non-geeky girl I know my way around a computer. I'm not even afraid to dive into code. But where it comes to video editing, I'm a complete dolt. So when I created my very own free (free!) 30-second video at animoto…
I think that one of my roles as a parent is to expose my kids to music that doesn't suck, so when I see one of them reaching to put on Bunny Clogs' CD, More! More! More! , I breathe a little sigh of relief that they are choosing somethin…
