More coolness from recent weeks…
Natura paints, hold the VOC’s
When I was pregnant with my firstborn, I spent a lot of time thinking about the nursery color, but spent exactly no time actually painting the room since the VOC's in most room paints are considered a no-no for pregnant women. My asthma didn't like it much either....
The best travel friendly diaper bag? – Reader Q&A
Do you have a recommendation for a favorite diaper bag for plane travel with two young kids? -PII used to travel alone with both my kids quite often, and even do it now that I have three (eep!). Personally, I'm all for bags that are easy to clean,...
Shoelace chic
Tween girls are often the hardest to shop for at the holidays - everything they covet seems to be a fortune (iPod Touch, I'm talking to you) and most of the inexpensive gifts are hopelessly disposable. But I think I just found a home run with the affordable Japanese...
It’s a blanket! It’s a pillow! It’s a Balob!
My son, the one who is afraid there may be a monster under his bed, is totally willing to curl up with a Balob, Joop or even a Doot as he heads off to dreamland. Who can blame him: Muddy Cloud's adorable cast of characters, which we've loved on their childrens hats...
Christmas cookie decorating, hold the artificial colors
Well, it's officially Christmas cookie baking season. And while I now know to look out for things like peanuts and eggs, I was surprised to learn recently just how many kids have sensitivities to artificial colors and food dyes. Then I thought of India Tree, a company...
Princess Katie represents for feisty royalty everywhere
For my niece's first Christmas, I got her a big collection of DVDs from great kindie rock artists, hoping it would help keep her away from all that awful kids' music as she got older. But I never really think to check our favorite musicians' websites for holiday gift...
Happy Naked Polka Day. Or, you know, Christmas.
One of the challenges to sending out holiday cards is that I either end up buying a bunch of Christmas, a bunch of Hanukkah and some horribly generic "Holiday" cards. Not only does it get expensive, but I end up with a bunch of leftovers that I stick somewhere for...
Plates to support the hungry and the art-starved
While we're busy here trying to support artists with our holiday picks, we love that the artists are trying to support others too. Case in point: The Ferrin Gallery Paper or Pottery not Plastic exhibition. This Berkshire-area gallery called on dozens of artists to...
How the Grinch Monopolized my Blu-ray Player
When I found out that How the Grinch Stole Christmas, one of my all time faaaaavorite Christmas movies was out on Blu-ray I couldn't wait to see it in glorious high def. Especially now that we're officially into Christmas season.As it turns out, the Blu-ray isn't...
Adoption t-shirts that say just the right thing
With the end of November just around the corner, we had to sneak in one more adoption gift in honor of National Adoption Month - this time the incredibly sweet I was born in my mama's heart shirt from friend to Cool Mom Picks, mom-owned Baby Brewing.While Baby...
9 reasons to do your Black Friday shopping online
As if you needed any other reason than preservation of all sanity to avoid the lines at the malls today, we thought we'd remind you just a few of the reasons why we simply love shopping online. 1. Shopping in your slippers. Even the old, nasty ratty slippers. (In...
A new Thanksgiving tradition thanks to Mercy Corps
I love Thanksgiving. Just love it. Despite the fact that the whole history behind it might be somewhat mythological. (Were the Native Americans really that underdressed in November? Hm.) Still, I adore what it's become, at least in our family. But then, I have a...
Yo, Thanksgiving Thanksgiving!
Yo Gabba Gabba! adds a float to the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in New York today? Suddenly we have renewed commitment to tune in. No offense, Underdog.Bonus points if Biz Markie makes an appearance. But we'll settle for Brobee doing Party in My Tummy and trying to get...
Underwear to the rescue!
Clearly the green movement is everywhere, including, now, your underwear. Indeed your skivvies are the next if not final frontier for a demonstration of your commitment to all things eco, as we've recently discovered.At the UK's Love Eco, the Pants to Poverty undies...
Cool Mom Picks loves CBS 4 Denver
Thanks so much to CBS 4 in Denver for the lovely coverage of our Holiday Gift Guide and their focus on our support of mom-run businesses and more affordable options for parents this year. Click over (while you can!) to see CMP VIP and Denver resident Julie Marsh, plus...
Ceramic Christmas ornaments and other bits of loveliness
We fell in love with Paloma's Nest last year when we first featured this Austin artist's ceramic Christmas ornaments in our holiday gift guide. (Speaking of which - our 2009 guide should be out next week. Whoo!) We were so blown away by this Austin artist's clean,...
Charity starts at home – 15 of our readers’ favorite dot-orgs
The nicest thing about our recent XBox 360 giveaway was seeing all the fabulous local children's charities that you wanted your second XBox donated to should you win. The lucky winner was reader Marcela W (Go Marcela!) along with her charity, Ann Arbor's Ele's Place...
Not your ordinary colored pencils
I still remember being about seven and getting my first set of "serious colored pencils" from my mom. I recall the pride of knowing I'd outgrown the kid stuff, and that I had been deemed worthy enough to own art supplies that came in a fancy tin with French words on...
Children’s bandages as avant garde human art project
If you've got a kid older than about a year, you probably know that bandages are pretty much the best little gift or stocking stuffer ever in the whole wide world. I have no idea if it's the process of sticking and unsticking them, or the actual wearing of them that's...
Slippers for kids without the cartoon characters
With the weather getting cooler (yes, even here in Atlanta) my barefoot kiddos are sporting some pretty chilly tootsies. I perused a few stores for some kids' slipper options, only to find gigantic square cars and other impractical licensed character footwear. I...
Breaking News: Stork Craft crib recall is the largest in history
We tend not to post too many recalls here of brands we don't tend to cover because, ugh, there are a lot of recalls. But in this case, today's Stork Craft crib recall of 2.1 million units is the largest crib recall ever, so it seems to warrant a mention. Particularly...