Spawned Parenting Podcast: Latest Episodes
The latest from Spawned, our award-winning parenting podcast
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More coolness from recent weeks…
When is a Box Not a Box? When It’s a Mansion
Like all parents, I've learned that indeed it's true, kids are often happier playing with the package a gift comes in than the gift itself. Of course it doesn't stop us from giving them more than cardboard boxes. Until now.The cardboard playhouse is maybe my...
Bring Home a Kitten for the Holidays
I am a little melancholy as I embark upon my first holiday season in close to two decades without my beloved, nasty, shedding, crazy, man-eating cat. But if the trade-off means that I can justify bringing home these Little Dear Fatkitties from artist Aimee Ray,...
Baby Gifts That Give Back
If you hear the words "fair trade" thrown around but never really knew what it was, let us 'splain: It basically means that you're buying from people who take care of their artisans and workers by paying more than minimum wage, providing benefits, and...
On the Outside Chance That No, You Don’t Feel Like Feeding Your Baby in the Bathroom
Heading into the home stretch with baby #3, I've been starting to think about all of those upcoming feedings. Nope, not the ones that will jolt me out of bed every hour on the hour, but the ones that take place during the day. In public. With other people around....
Coats on the Wings of Angels
I confess I'm totally guilty of tossing the kids' coats over chairs, the stroller handle, the exersaucer (the floor) - pretty much everywhere but in the coat closet. Excellent example I'm setting, I know. Maybe I'd be more apt to hang the outerwear if I didn't have to...
I Go to Extremes
If you rummaged through my son's drawers you'd find absolutely no sports themed wear. I'm just not a fan of overpriced licensed jerseys that help fund overpaid athletes.But I am loving Milkshaxs, a Vancouver clothing company that caters to the sports fanatics of the...
Kiss These CDs, They’re Irish
Enough with the four thousand versions of "Lullaby, and Goodnight" already. For something out of the ordinary but with the same lulling qualties, I'm loving Putumayo's new compilation, Celtic Dreamland. The tracks fall on the opposite side of the energy...
Yo. My Blocks are Cooler Than Yours.
So blocks are blocks, right? They're wooden, you build with them, you knock them down. Blocks. Yeah, well, not the Graffiti Blocks from Rockin' Blocks. No alternababy or rock n' roll love child's toy collection is complete without a set. They're handmade in Brooklyn,...
Baby’s First Way Cool Christmas Clothes
I have never understood what people need with a "Baby's First Christmas" onesie spelled out in red and green bling anyway. Do you think that without it, the parents will look back at photos of their five month old surrounded by gift wrap and say, "Hm, I...
Hey, Snowflakes Really Are One-of-a-Kind
I've always been more of an artisan-made, crafty ornament type. I know, you're not surprised, but shiny balls that come in the 30-pack from CVS are not really my style. I'd rather have fewer ornaments, each one special and beautiful. So when I came across the lovely...
Evidently You Can Run as Fast as You Can and Catch the Gingerbread Man
Plenty of families have their own interesting Christmas traditions. At my mom's house, it was to bake gingerbread men to hang on the Christmas ficus, then bite their limbs off while they dangled from the tree. So wasn't I delighted to find what trendsetters we all...
Giving Thanks to the Trees, Too
Team Cool Mom Picks has always been a bit rah rah about books as gifts. Besides the obvious benefits, they're not quickly outgrown and they're pretty much guaranteed not to be on any recall lists any time soon. (Unless you're one of those weirdos trying to ban Harry...
Better Living Through No Chemicals
After my daughter’s first bath irritated her skin from head to toe, I have been on the lookout for great baby bath products that are made from ingredients I feel I can trust. And pronounce. You know, more honey and oatmeal, less DMDM Hydantoin. Am I glad to have...
![Pop[up] Art](https://coolmompicks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/c8af808a8da00984cdd45110L-400x250.jpg)
Pop[up] Art
Whoever (or maybe that's just my mother-in-law) said you need batteries and talking toys to get kids interested in learning has obviously never seen How Many, Ron Van der Meer's new pop-up art book that will have any kid over five enraptured. Van der Meer, a...
I Hear the Tooth Fairy Pays Double With These Pillows
One of CMP's all time favorite artists, Michelle Caplan is now wowing us with her brand new tooth fairy pillows. The coolest part? They don't look like tooth fairy pillows. (Or at least that's cool to me.)She's essentially taken some of her brilliant mixed media...
Possibly the Only Holiday Travel Without Delays
When I popped the Travel Time Stories CD in and a sweet woman's voice called my daughter by name and proceeded to tell her a story, just for her, well, it was like magic. Magic spun by fairies while dancing on rainbows with shiny golden unicorns. The very nicely...
They’ll Never Be Able to Throw These Cards Away
I've decided to forgo the traditional family Christmas picture holiday card extravaganza this year. And thanks to Ruva Cards, my excuse will not be total laziness (for a change), but rather, my desire to show off my daughter's artistic talent.Designed by New York...
Yet Another Reason to Wear Your Baby
After wandering around a conference for two straight days with my son in a sling, I realized a couple of things: 1. He's pretty darn heavy. 2. It didn't matter what I wore because the only thing anyone could see all weekend was my sling. Knowing your baby carrier...
How Many Trees Have Died for Our Mindless Bathroom Reading?
I cannot be the only mom dreading the walk up from the mailbox these days. It would be fine if it was filled with all sorts of cards and gifts and, you know, envelopes of free money. But nope. Just bills and about sixty million pounds of catalogs that I totally don't...
Gifts That Make You Wish You Had Cooler Friends
Each holiday season, I make sure to stock up on emergency hostess and holiday gifts. They're the kinds of things you can pretty much give to anyone when you get a last minute invite, or--horror of all horrors--someone hands you a gift and you haven't reciprocated.This...
Christmas Tea
Every time I click over to Tiny Prints for a little virtual window shopping for Holiday Cards, I've found myself drawn to the same kinds of designs--they've got a slight Asian flair, and incorporate more unusual motifs than holly, like birds and delicate flowers. Well...