More coolness from recent weeks…
Toy storage solutions? Reader Q+A Part 2: Bins and Baskets
Yesterday a reader wrote to us about her toy storage woes, and we loaded her up with toy storage solution possibilities. Today we continue the organizational help with some of our favorite boxes, bins, and baskets. While I love putting things away where they can't be...
3 kids calendars that start the year off a little wild
It's up to me to keep my kids' schedules straight, but they still love to count down the days until the next big event, whether that day is a Saturday, their birthday, or the next candy holiday (Valentine's Day, for the record).Instead of giving them that freebie...
A chore chart that doesn’t look like a chore.
The chore chart that has worked the best for my family so far been a (not-so-pretty) laminated list with my kids' pictures that I made myself. But even then, I can't really add or change jobs unless I make a whole new chart, which made them obsolete a few months ago....
Toy storage solutions? Reader Q&A
We have wood crates, with toy fruit and veggies, crafts, blocks, trains, etc., but no way to store or organize them. Do you have a toy storage solution? Do you dump everything by category into bins or baskets, and shelve them that way? Thanks in advance, and while I...
This week on Cool Mom Tech
In case you were too busy playing with your new iPhone over the holidays, here are some top picks on Cool Mom Tech you might have missed this week-- including old things, new things, and really expensive new things that might change the world.1. Big news about Kindle...
Keelhauled by cardboard
Cardboard cottages are more common than refrigerator boxes these days, and cardboard castles are no longer hard-to-find real estate. But we've found a new line of structures that go beyond the typical rose-covered cottage-- and that boys will enjoy, too. Box Creations...
Save Handmade update: C’mon, Congress. Help us out.
As you probably know by now, there's a bill in Congress to ensure that toys and clothing are free of toxic chemicals and heavy metals. Which is good. Unfortunately, while the Consumer Protection Safety Improvement Act is well-meaning, the way it's been implemented has...
Kids snow boots that actually work in the snow
I did this year what so many parents do, and I should know better by now: I bought the cheap kids' snow boots for my daughter. I knew they weren't really waterproof, but they seemed like they would suffice. Until the actual snow came. (All that snow!)So I bit the...
What could be uglier than an Uglydoll? An Uglypillow!
I love the new Uglypillows from Uglydoll. Perhaps it brings out the motherly instinct in me? A face that only a mother could love? Oh, no. I hope this isn't a throw back to my awkward years. Do you think the Uglypillows would be the last to be picked for kickball? And...
A swaddling blanket for the swaddle-impaired
I remember wrangling that swaddling blanket and trying to wrap our first newborn babe like a burrito over and over and over again. More often, we accomplished a tortilla, flat and floppy, with baby girl seriously unimpressed with her parents' swaddling skills.Oh, if...
13 Words to add to your child’s bookshelf
My five year-old's current vocabulary include words like despondent, haberdashery, and Mezzo-Soprano. Not because she's any sort of verbal genius, but because her grandmother introduced her to one of the most wonderful books for kids I've seen in a long time. 13 Words...
Altitude Design Summit, here we come!
I am so excited about heading to Salt Lake City in two weeks for the Altitude Design Summit, I'm already stressing about which boots to pack. (The really warm fashionable ones? Or the super waterproof Hunter boots? Or wait, what if I go skiing with Julie...does that...
An heirloom-worthy stacking toy
I'm one step closer to becoming a treehugger. My new toy crush is made with organic maple, cherry and walnut wood and tackles balance, problem solving, pattern recognition and fine motor skills. Oh, and it's for babies. The Brainbow Stacking Nesting Arches (Brainbow!...
Guilty pleasure TV shows for moms. Hold the guilt.
While we love bringing you what's new and cool and educational in media, we thought it would be fun to share with you our own staffer's favorite guilty pleasure TV shows. Admit it--or only to yourself-- we all have those shows we love to watch when the kids are asleep...
Tiny bubbles end the whine
My favorite parenting hack: If you give your kids a bubble bath and encourage them to roll around a lot, they get clean and smell great without loads of scrubbing and whining. Most of the store brands give my daughter a rash, so I'm super picky about what I'll pour...
Your baby’s first pillow
Trying to figure out the culprit behind your baby's fussiness can prove to be one of the most frustrating tasks around. There are a ton of products out there that try to remedy the crying and overall miserableness (ie the pacifier, swings, teething toys). Now there's...
The peas are touching my carrots!
My daughter used to be the kid who would try anything. She liked broccoli. She ate eggs. She even liked horseradish. My husband and I would brag about it. Well, now she's a typical, picky three-year-old and she has a few eating quirks. One of them is she won't allow...
Happy birthday, from Justin Bieber. And the American Cancer Society.
I do my best to send greeting cards for the birthdays of friends and families, but these days, I admit that my best usually ends up being a quick email, maybe an e-card, and perhaps, a little rendition of "Happy Birthday" on their voice mail. (Hey! I am a trained...
Drink in the coolness with Paul Frank
If your resolution includes cutting back on plastic water bottles, and doing it with style (what? that could be a resolution) then we have an awesome new option for you. Café Press has teamed up with Paul Frank to create a design-your-own SIGG water bottle, and not...
Frames with flair. Fun. Possibly fuchsia.
DIY is great--no doubt about it. But those of us with a passel of kids and a craft room full of unfinished projects sometimes settle for DFY for now. That's Done For You. Well these gorgeous DFY frames can help bring a pop of unique, vintage-y color to your walls, and...
Baby shower gifts with a sense of humor. (Unlike most baby showers.)
I'm proud to admit that I like a good breastfeeding boob joke. And I always say that if I wasn't laughing about parenting, I'd be crying. So too bad the awesome products from Egg2Cake weren't around when I had my baby shower, four births ago.[don't miss a fun giveaway...