More coolness from recent weeks…

Complete home makeover: Yours

Complete home makeover: Yours

Once you start a family, your home is in a continual state of flux-- I need a nursery. I need to turn the nursery into a kid's room. Oh shoot, I need to make it a nursery again. And ack, why didn't anyone tell me that the toys would somehow breed overnight while we...

Hugs make the world go round

Hugs make the world go round

Call me a total dork, but I get all teary and melty every time my three year-old hugs one of her friends goodbye. There's is something beyond adorable about two little girls squeezing each other tight-- and anyone who disagrees has a heart of coal and dryer lint. So...

Natural. Beauty.

Natural. Beauty.

Don't you love 20-something models advertising anti-aging creams? And yet, I fall for it every time. I have the drawer full of cosmetic jars to prove it.Admittedly I'm a sucker for hope in a bottle so when I had the chance to review the Ma Mi Skin Care line,...

Stroller hooks that work: A thing of pure beauty.

Stroller hooks that work: A thing of pure beauty.

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best ones - for every ten pitches we get for products you didn't know you needed and really, still don't, we get one for something like the Mighty Buggy Hook, which totally improves your stroller (and kind of your life).From...

Take a walk on the mild side

Take a walk on the mild side

By my third child, I learned that once the walking starts, the trouble really begins. But unless I kept him in a playpen (like our mothers did with us, right?), I knew my kid would eventually start toddling around, using a chair as a makeshift walker. The Wooden Baby...

Raven and Lily – Cards for a cause

Raven and Lily – Cards for a cause

While I love to send a card and a little something to our friends and family on special occasions, that "little something" can definitely add up. So if you're looking for a way to send just a holiday or birthday card and not look like el cheapo, you'll want to visit...

Bag the plastic habit

Bag the plastic habit

I realize that there are about 400 different kinds of reusable grocery bags out there these days. But that just means you have 400 more opportunities to stop using disposable plastic or paper bags, right? Well, let me present you with option 401-- Bag the Habit. At...

A little Rat Pack for your rug rat

A little Rat Pack for your rug rat

Some people think having a sense of environmental awareness and a sense of humor are mutually exclusive. This awesome kids' Mensch t-shirt featuring Sammy Davis Jr. proves them wrong. In fact the folks at Curly Monkey take irreverent and eco-friendly to a whole new...

Everybody farts

Everybody farts

We made a trip to the emergency room recently with the wee one (everything is fine).  She was scared, we were scared, and only maudlin humor would do. Fortunately, we had along Fiona Bayrock's Bubble Homes and Fish Farts, an entire nonfiction children's book...

Yes, We Like Waffles

Yes, We Like Waffles

After listening to the 24 bite-sized songs on Parry Gripp's Do You Like Waffles?, I'm pretty certain he could come up with a rockin' song about any food product out there. In fact, this album was born after Parry tried his hand at commercial writing for some sort of...

Psst…I know a mom…

Psst…I know a mom…

At Cool Mom Picks, we love to cheer on our fellow moms, spreading the word about cool stuff created by parents we know and the ones we wish we knew. Whitney Hill, founder of iknowamom.com, has brought together hundreds of those moms she knows in an ever-growing index...

I shall hug him, and squeeze him, and call him George

I shall hug him, and squeeze him, and call him George

The stuffed animals I painstakingly selected for my babies as to be "loveys" were never the ones they ended up dragging everywhere. When it comes to that special attachment, kids don't care if it's pretty or where it came from--they care that it's soft and easy to...

Books for boys, beyond baseball

Books for boys, beyond baseball

When I go to teacher conferences, the thing I hear the most about my son-- always said with great reverence-- is, Wow, he sure likes to read! I come from an entire family of readers, so this doesn't seem odd to me... but it is odd, because boys trail girls in...

The mood necklace

The mood necklace

I'm intrigued by the idea of versatile, interchangeable jewelry; however, I have to admit that interchangeable rings, necklaces and bracelets of the sort I usually see at the jewelry store rarely strike me as something I'd actually wear. But when I saw Mini Mosaic, I...