More coolness from recent weeks…
17 fun rainy day indoor activities to keep kids happy and parents sane
It's been a pretty mild winter for everyone this year, but the season isn't over yet folks. In the words of the late, great Prince, "Sometimes it snows in April." Plus, March comes in like a lion, and all that, so it will still be a bit longer before we're in full on...
7 cool art museum store toys under $50: Supporting the arts through shopping!
We all know that art and design museums are magical. Where else can kids feast their eyes on important paintings, goof around with hands-on exhibits, and giggle at naked statues (come on, you know that's true), all before dinnertime? And with a lot of us nervous about...
5 natural recipes for homemade slime, all safe and Borax-free
Slime is sweeping the globe. And I don't mean that in any sort of metaphorical way. So we looked for some good, natural, homemade slime recipes for you all because eek, there's been a lot of talk about how dangerous the traditional Borax-based recipe can be for kids...
Bitchen! Found these totally tubular 80’s clothes for rad babies, like, yours, you know?
So like, the 80s are toooootally back, you know? And like, as much as we loved the rad shark romper from Rosie Pope that we just shared, turns out there's a lot more to love in her collection of righteous new 80s inspired baby clothes for little dudes and dudettes?...
A sweet 7 year old stripped of his bowling medal for the craziest reason. What is going on?
While I am not a fan of the "everyone gets a medal" school of thinking, I do believe in earned accolades. So I was startled to read a story about 7-year-old Canadian student Grayson Powell, a little bowling wunderkind who actually earned a trophy at a Canadian Youth...
10 of the best, thoughtful gifts for newly adoptive parents and their kids
As a newly adoptive parent, I've received a lot of generous adoption gifts from friends and family that celebrate our daughter's culture and heritage, and speak volumes about the fact that she came into our family in a way very different from our other three children....
A Hamilton Musical LEGO set: Do not throw away your shot to vote for this!
We are big Hamilton Musical fans around here, with my son rapping Guns and Ships in his sleep and weaving lines into his school papers, so when I saw this Hamilton Musical LEGO set up for voting on the LEGO Ideas site, I just had to share it. Especially since he's a...
Can it be summer now? Please?
If we ever needed one more reason to wish we could blink and have it be June, it's so we could slip our girls in this ridiculously adorable shark romper from Rosie Pope. A shark romper! For babies! And girls! You can understand my excitement, right? Of course you can....
An unexpected way to turn snack time into together time — even with older kids.
My kids are wiped when they get home from school. They always seem to need a snack to recharge and a bit of time to zone out before gearing up for the rest of their day, whether it be for basketball practice, homework, or just running around for some free play time....
7 creative winter birthday party themes for the great indoors (no jackets required).
Kids with winter birthdays may not have the same options that their summer friends have -- playgrounds, parks, picnics, pools, and other outside fun is, er, out. And that's exactly why we love these creative winter birthday party themes, and all the smart, fun ideas...
6 celeb-worthy, creative birth announcement ideas for twins + multiples. We’ve got you covered, Beyoncé!
First Beyoncé and Jay Z, now the Clooneys and Madonna? In case you haven't heard, twins are seriously hot right now. So I've rounded up some super creative birth announcement ideas for twins with a little extra oomph -- for those of you lucky enough to be in on the...
The one scene in Hidden Figures that every parent should be talking about | Thinking: Parent
Hi, nice to meet you. I'm one of the many parents who tries desperately to squeeze in a few last-minute Oscar nominated movie screenings just before the actual ceremony each year so I have at least a moderate shot at the family Oscar pool. You too? At the very top of...
The backpack that might convert even the most anti-backpack people
This hard core tote lover hasn't been so excited about a bag in a very long time, let alone a backpack, but just a few hours into carrying around the new Dakota laptop backpack that our friends at Dagne Dover sent me and I want to tell everyone how great it is. CMP is...
Here’s what happened with I tried Hubble, the company that sends daily wear contacts to your door.
I'm a long-time contact wearer here, especially in those glasses break now and then moments (or when a style moment hits hard). And as much as my optometrist has tried to get me to try daily wear contacts because they're waaaay better for my eyeballs, they dry out by...
4 fabulous DIY Mardi Gras masks for kids to save you a trip to New Orleans
Your kids may not be ready to attend the parades in NOLA just yet, but they can get into the spirit with fabulous, feathery, jeweled-up DIY Mardi Gras masks for kids. So for those of us who'll be eating our King Cake at home, it's a good time to start procuring beads...
Three cool LEGO add-on sets that make your builds even cooler
I'm not so sure my kids could ever get bored of the LEGO sets that are currently blanketing the floor of our playroom, but just in case, I found three cool LEGO add-on sets that will make their builds even more exciting. These sets are for kids who are able to follow...
How to get kids to eat better, even picky eaters. | Spawned Episode 68
If you have kids, then you know all the challenges that come with trying to feed them, especially those picky eaters. Well, on this week's episode of Spawned with Kristen and Liz, we've got our amazing Cool Mom Eats editor and cookbook author Stacie Billis, who...
The courageous action figure that helps kids with cancer. Now that’s super!
This fierce, courageous action figure does something pretty amazing: She helps kids fight the toughest battle of their lives. For each Courage Core Power action figure purchased, one is donated to a child affected by cancer who could use a little courage. That's her...
Meet BoyStory, cool boy dolls that kids will love. Parents, too.
If you're excited about the new American Girl boy doll that was just announced, we've found a mom-run company at this year's Toy Fair that's already making boy dolls that are diverse, too. Created by two sisters who wanted their sons to have quality dolls that looked...
A trés cool graphic novel anthology of inspirational women. Let’s hear it for the girls!
My girls and I love graphic novels, especially when they feature strong female role models, which is why I’m so excited about the Femme Magnifique Kickstarter project, fundraising now. This hardcover anthology of comics will feature 30 strong, fierce,...
A complaint and compliment box: How this simple change could make your family life so much happier
I recently finished reading How to Win as a Step-Family (great book for blended families, by the way), and one of the suggestions they made to help family morale was a complaint and compliment box where everyone can air their grievances and share encouraging words in...