More coolness from recent weeks…
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...
You’ve Got Guts, Kid
I'm not sure why strangers feel the need to go up to my little girl and call her "Princess." Is she wearing a tiara? Waving a wand? Setting me up in a 60 room castle filled with jewels? If only. Perhaps she can deflect the moniker with the tee from Tough...
7 Crazy Nights Plus 1 Semi-Responsible One
I remember as a kid getting the choice of one big awesome present for Hanukkah, or eight smaller ones. Of course, eight being more than one, the decision was a no-brainer. If your kids use the same logic, and you're still out there scrounging around for that seventh...
Come on Baby, Do the Locomotion
There's a rumor going around that boys love trains. I wouldn't know for sure, but I will assume that every boy I've ever seen who needs to be pried kicking and screaming from the train set in our local toy store speaks for his brethren.If you want to indulge your...
And The Award for Least Annoying Kids Music of 2007 Goes To…
If you have one long car ride to the in-laws planned this holiday season, or even one trip to the mall where you're likely to get stuck in 16 hours of traffic just to get out of the parking lot, you might want to consider updating your savage kid-soothing music...
DaScoop on DaBib
With Baby #1, I made the mistake that some parents do with gear, putting aesthetics ahead of practicality. Let's just say that a cream-colored cashmere cardigan on a baby is only worth it if it's $7.99 at Daffy's, and that a gray flannel sling in the summer is just...
Look Prettier As You Wrestle That Turkey into Submission
Next week, as you tirelessly slave over a hot turkey and your eighteen meticulously prepared and garnished side dishes (What? You don't do that? Really?) I can only hope that you are looking as lovely and fresh as can be.This of course is nearly impossible. So...
The Breast Advice
In my experience, the average book on breastfeeding is about as interesting-slash-entertaining as your 6th grade health text. While it may contain valuable information, how much of it can you absorb when you're nodding off from third trimester narcolepsy anyway?...
Dear Santa, Please Don’t Bring Me Anything On the Recall List
I admit I'm cynical about a lot of things, but Santa, for some reason, is not one of them. I am already having the best time telling my 2 year-old about how this guy sneaks into the house while she's sleeping and eats the cookies that she's just made.(Come to think of...
It’s Never Too Early for Custom Shoes
You might think that baby shoes made to order are merely something just for the rich. Allow me to correct that misperception. While perusing the wares at haute mama-run shop, Tiny McSmall, I lingered over all sorts of wish list-qualifying goodies from the likes...
C’mon, Get the Kid a Pony Already
I honestly didn't understand the appeal of stick horses until I set my two year-old loose on a toy store display filled with them. My God, you would have thought they were real ponies the way her face lit up as she mounted one and took off down an aisle towards the...
Meta Ornament
I have this thing about choosing holiday cards - if there's any chance that mine ends up shoved to the back of the mantle behind the 8 million other cards, I'd just as well not send one. The Ornament card from Sprinkles Invitations is a very clever idea for a...