More coolness from recent weeks…
The joy of bins
With three kids running circles around me, I've made some concessions when it comes to cleaning up. And one of them is that I'm not going to be doing all of it. My philosophy has always been that if my kids can make a mess, then they can most certainly help pick it up...
Eco-Fingerpaints inspire a hair less dread than ordinary fingerpaints
When the kids ask to fingerpaint, I conjure up visions of them covered in gelatinous, who-knows-what goo which doesn't make me too eager to indulge them in their favorite medium. But, when they come calling with puppy-dog eyes and promises to clean up after...
Good karma’s in the bag
Say that you need a giant-sized tote bag for the beach next weekend -- or if you're a family of geeks like mine, your library books -- and you're just not the preppy major-label canvas tote type. And say that you not only want something earth-friendly and a little...
A baby wrap so pretty you might steal it for yourself
My younger son has always been a big blanket kid; even now, at six, he sleeps with at least one baby blanket every night. I love this, both because a kid with a blanket melts my heart and because we got some great blankies when he was a baby, and we're still dragging...
You’ll be wonton Handstand Kids’ Chinese Cookbook (Heh)
Fried chicken fingers and pink boneless spareribs are not real Chinese food, I tell the kids whenever we order take-out, and now I have the latest Handstand Kids' Chinese Cookbook to back me up. The latest from Handstand Kids' Italian Cookbook creator Yvette Garfield...
Corsage 2.0
The sentiment of a flower on your wrist is really quite lovely, but there's little I dislike more than an actual wrist corsage. That's why I love this sterling interpretation - the beautiful Stargazer Bracelet from Lealand Eve Boutique. The skinny cuff adorns any size...
Go play outside!
While I wholeheartedly support the idea of grandparents getting outside to play with the grandkids, don't let the fact that this downloadable Go Play Outside guide is being offered through Grandparents.com dissuade you from checking it out yourself, mamas. It's packed...
Brag book lite
My husband is a photographer, and the good news is that we have countless professional-quality photographs of the kids. The bad news is that almost all of them exist only on my husband's computer. Ahem. Because just as the shoemaker's children go barefoot, the...
One teeny reason to get excited for summer camp
Camp season is nearly upon us, at least for some lucky mamas. The first place we tend to think to see what's new in the exciting world of labels is CMP reader fave Mabel's Labels. Their newest offerings are the Teeny Tags, colorful mini 1.2" ID tags personalized with...
Sugar mama
Summer's here, and I'm getting ready to bare some skin. Along with sit ups, a quickie pedicure and hedge clippers (you know what I mean), I've added The Spoiled Mama Orange and Chamomile Sugar Scrub to my bag of tricks. In those fleeting moments I get to myself in the...
It’s a pull toy! It’s a bookmobile!
When my son was younger, he'd shuffle around the house balancing a stack of his favorite books in his overloaded arms. I was thrilled to have raised a mini bibliophile, but after seeing countless board books tumbling onto his little toes, we both could have used...
Keepsake jewelry in unexpected places
I'm a complete sucker for keepsake jewelry, but not enough to sacrifice my style. These days, there are plenty of keepsake necklace options, but not so many keepsake bracelets in a style that I would actually wear around my wrist. But when I found the "M" Memory...
Stop. Hammer time.
I don't consider myself to be particularly girlie, but when I was forced to install the safety gate at the top of our staircase, I realized that my screwdriver and wrench skills were not on the level with say, my straightening iron skills. I hope it doesn't offend the...
The skull’s the limit
Just when we think we're over the skull trend, something cute comes along and makes us go aw okay -- just one more. And right in time, because skulls are coming back to kidswear with a vengeance this fall from what we've seen. In this case it's the skull barrettes...
Sorry my kid sucks. Can we come over again tomorrow?
Noah is playing with the toy truck. Sam wants the toy truck. Sam grabs it out of Noah's hands and bops him with the front left tire when Noah tries to take it back. Sam's mom wishes she could spontaneously disappear. The next day, Noah's mom receives a card slipped...
Giving a hand to a better hand sanitizer
I'm more anti-bacterial phobic than germophobic, preferring regular soap and water over anything much stronger. That said, with paranoia-inducing Swine Flu stories taking over our local news in recent months, I've dialed up the use of hand sanitizers around these...
A truffle only a mother could love. Actually, nah. Everyone will love them.
The only thing actually ugly about Ugly Truffles is the way they have forced me to behave since they arrived at my door; I am suspicious of anyone entering the kitchen and laying a single pinkie within six inches of my Ugly Truffles. The accusations! The lies!...
Meet my new friend Alice
The day I was contacted about the new site Alice, I had run out of toilet paper. And since they promised to make sure I would never run out again, you can bet my interest was piqued. So I became a beta tester. And I liked the site so much I'm even trying to figure out...
Let’s panic about babies! (You know you want to)
The funniest thing I've seen in a good long time is the satirical new website, Let's Panic About Babies! which just launched today. Think of it as a cross between What to Expect When You're Expecting and The Onion. It might even be funnier than the Onion. It might...
Swaddling blankets for summer
With a baby born in almost every season, I'd have to say that I had the hardest time swaddling my oldest, a July in Mississippi baby, mostly because the last thing you really want to do is wrap a hot little baby up tightly in a blanket. That's why we've been a fan in...
Mommy calling cards, now for more than calling
I guess now that social media has taken over the world, it's time to redo all those mommy calling cards and start adding your Facebook vanity URL, your Twitter name, your Skype name, and whatever other way there is to reach you these days. Smoke signals? Telepathy?...