Spawned Parenting Podcast: Latest Episodes
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More coolness from recent weeks…
Adopting Style
I just received an email from a friend who’s recently returned from Kyrgyzstan with his beautiful new adopted daughter. Another friend is currently in China on a similar mission, and then CMP received an email from the author of a popular adoption blog–all of which made us realize that the adoptive parents market is underserved when it comes to cool gear.
Keeping the Baby Dry. Outside the Diaper at Least.
Despite my reaction to the contrary at my baby shower, I soon realized that one can never have too many blankets.. Some are lightweight, some are warm, some work for swaddling, some are so ugly, they’re just the thing to toss in the car trunk for emergencies. The one kind of blanket I could have used but didn’t get – something waterproof.
Keeping a High Profile
I’m always thrilled to bits to get personal, handwritten notes. But I can’t help but snicker when I get a thank you note supposedly written in first-person by a newborn. Are the new parents already outsourcing their chores to these (clearly gifted) children? Call me a skeptic, but I’m pretty sure I can recognize adult handwriting.
Monogramming for the Non-Yacht Owning Set
I’ve always had this weird aversion to monogrammed items, as if they should only be owned by people named Winston or Finston or anyone the third.
Why Just Drive the Dumptruck When You Can Own the Company?
When you ask a kid what he wants to be when he grows up, you usually get those great juxtapositions: a gymnast and a veterinarian. A firefighter and a circus clown. The way I see it, as long as I don’t hear ballerina and metal groupie, my daughter can dream away.
Works Like a Diaper Bag, Feels Like a Purse
I admit that at first, I fell victim to the ugly pricy diaper bag. Then I transitioned to the large purse, which has worked well for me since my daughter reached toddlerdom. However, with #2 arriving in a few months and the threat of leaky bottles looming, it’s time to go back to the world of bags made to handle spills and messes.
Cop A Feel, Save A Life
Today marks the beginning of breast cancer awareness month. While seeking out some cool but under-the-radar organizations affiliated with the cause, one of the first we fell in love with isFeel Your Boobies. And that was just on the name alone.
Rub a Dub Dub, No Toys in My Tub
There’s nothing like anticipating that glorious, uninterrupted, naptime shower only to have to spend an extra ten minutes emptying out all the darn bath toys that are scattered around the bottom of the tub. And the net thing? Please. That holds one rubber duck and my scrub brush, if that.
Handwashing Fun (You Heard Me)
With all the lovely fall and winter illnesses headed our way, plus the whole potty training thing looming, I figure it’s time to get the hand washing thing down. Except in my daughter’s mind, you’d think that "washing up" was another expression for "getting a shot."
Maybe Pooh Needs a New Home
I won’t go into exactly how many stuffed animals I have lying around my house, but I will say that I recently sent a few into on an extended trip to "toy vacation land" in order to make room on my daughter’s bed for, well, my daughter.
The Fashionable Binkie
I’m a little weird when it comes to my baby’s pacifier. While of course I’ll pop in the closest one at hand at bedtime (or during meltdowns), it makes me a little wonky to give her say, the purple one when she’s wearing green and orange. Her dad thinks I’m nuts. But my feeling is, as long as we have one that matches the outfit, why not use it?
Your Business is Our Business
If you read Cool Mom Picks for all of about 10 seconds, you’ll realize we’re huge supporters of the community of mom-trepreneurs. We know how hard it can be to get a business off a ground, particularly while chasing small children around, and so part of our mission is to help get the word out about cool stuff that moms are making and selling.
THE Fall Handbag
Recently a friend asked me for advice on THE handbag for this coming season. I’m the wrong person to ask. Not because I don’t know what the magazines say is THE handbag for fall. But because there are so many fantastic bags that haven’t been deemed THE bag by a fashion editor who, by the way, gets her $6500 THE bag for free.
No, Bless YOU, Lotta
Ever since having a kid, I find we’re going through four times the tissues. Maybe it’s because someone’s always got a cold. Maybe because someone’s always spilling something. Or maybe it’s because my cat is acting out in really disgusting ways. (Sorry, carpet.)
For Those of Us With A Lot to Say
I’m one of those folks thatleaves 14 minute long voicemail messages and answers multiple choice questions with a full page essay. So you can imagine what I do with my friends’ new baby cards. While I like to think my beautifully composed messages are glue sticked into the baby book, I’m pretty sure they get tossed right in the baby box (or worse) before the new parents get halfway through reading.
Give Me Strength!
I’ve always loved the mysticism associated with bamboo. It’s a symbol of long life, protection against evil, and strength–all of which I could use more of these days. Especially strength.
Wear Smocks, Not Spaghetti
I am amazed at how, in the two seconds that I turn my back, my daughter is able to get food inside her sleeves, down the back, under the hems of her jeans. I just never know where a wayward farfalle noodle will end up –or when I’ll actually find it.
Good Thing They Didn’t Name It For Its Real Use
I’ll never forget the morning of The Big Meeting at work, when my little girl Rosie was about 6 months old. I was just about to walk out the door — when suddenly she horked all over my best suit. I had protected my shoulder with a burpcloth, but still ended up with a line of spit-up dribbling down my back and all over my clean pants which of course I didn’t notice until I was already at the office.
Crafting for Compliments
Growing up, I rarely saw my mother without knitting needles in her hands. Whether we were on long car trips or visiting family and friends, the needles clicked away endlessly. The lesson I took from it: Great way to stay entertained while visitingthe in-laws.
The Sheriff is in Town
I can’t pinpoint the exact moment it hit me, but I remember feverishly rummaging through my daughter’s drawers trying to find the bibs I had buried during my misguided early "this child will never ever be caught in a bib" days. And then I saw the awful bibs I actually owned and quickly shoved them back.
There’s a Future Johnny Cash in There
Here at CMP, we talk a lot about stuff: Stuff for you. Stuff for your children. Stuff that makes us happy. But we don’t want our children’s lives to be ruled by how much stuff they have. And that’s why the message of singer-songwriter Paul Reisler seems so important.