When it comes to growth charts, we're the pencil on the wall type of family. Believe me. It's not like we love to write on our walls, but we have yet to find a growth chart that is both functional and is something we'd actually hang some…
I love my husband and am perfectly happy giving his name to my children, but just a teeny tiny part of me would like to take some visible credit for pushing them out of my nether regions. (Except for the stretch marks, that is). That's w…
I find it hard to believe that there are still scrunchie wearers in the world, unless they have all arrived here via time machine direct from 1991. Better option--wayyyy better option--is Knotheads . I will admit it took me some time to …
The very best gift you can give a new mother is a group of slightly more-seasoned moms upon whom she can rely. I was lucky enough to have such a thing after my first was born, but I also had times that I was pacing the floor at 2:00 a.m.…
Having grown up in Iowa on a farm, I'm probably at a slight advantage for identifying poisonous plants and snakes. But for the rest of us, or just kids who love all things creepy and crawly and generally nasty, there's Don't Touch That! …
In theory, I do love those make-your-own-doll kits, but even with the craftiest of kids (and moms) at the helm, they still scream "homemade" a little louder than you're hoping for at times. (Oops...there goes Teddy's eye.) With Make My O…
It's the invasion of the eco-bags! They're flooding the market and the truth is, as long as they keep being cute, we're going to keep posting about them. The latest entry: BYOB from two ever eco-consicous women up in Vancouver, Canada. T…
A certain purple dinosaur has given this dude a bad name. But I'm thinking Barney Saltzberg is taking the name Barney back (yeah!) with 30 incredible children's books and four really swell CDs in his arsenal, including his latest musical…
Call me old-fashioned, but I love the idea of calling cards. Problem is, I have different contact information for different people. It really ruins the elegance of handing over a calling card when I have to scrawl corrections on it first…
You know those people who have a second home and visit it every vacation? Well, that isn't me. If we are going to pack up our family of five and go somewhere, I need to figure out where we're going, where we'll sleep eat and what we'll d…
We're going to go out on a limb and say if you've got money tied up in petrochemical pesticide stocks, this might be a good time to get out. The entire world is going greener, right down to their fair trade organic cotton underwear. Yes,…
I really do love my kids' names. Considering how many fights my husband and I got into before we finally nailed down Quinlan and Drew I might have them plastered all over their walls except for the fact that I have yet to run across a wo…
What do you get when you mix modern sensibilities with the ancient art of letterpress printing, then sprinkle the top with a dash of whimsy? The sweet yet minimalist designs of Dee & Lala , it would seem. My kids are unfortunately too ol…
Say "bean bag chair" and my mind flashes back to 1975, an image of a shiny vinyl blob sitting on shag carpeting. I can even conjure up the squeaking sound it made when I landed on it. The bean bag chairs by Cocoon Couture? Yeah, not one …
The CMP staff has just returned from the BlogHer conference, that magical yearly event in which hundreds of bloggers gather together to hone our craft, take thousands of photos and drink copious amounts of wine - yes, even those of us to…
Personalized gifts are fantastic for new babies, but there are other ways for a mama to know you ordered something especially for her bambino besides having it monogrammed. A great new pick: The splendid custom wallpaper panel art from L…
You should know right off that I am not the biggest Barbie fan, for all of the obvious reasons. But there did come a day when my daughter's begging got the best of me, and I went out to survey the choices. I came home with a doll we henc…
We're always on the lookout for cool empowering tees for our girls that aren't so empowering that they're cheesy. You know what I'm talking about. Oh yes you do. A nice example of ones that work: The tees from Ava's Closet , mom Katie Di…
My daughter is insistent on drawing anywhere and everywhere, which isn't so bad when we're sitting in our kitchen. When we're in our car it can present a bit of a problem. But now with her Room it Up lap desk, I can barely get her to com…
I've tried several ways to manage the ever growing load of water toys that seem to be overtaking our bathroom. None of them have worked as well or looked as sleek as the Kuster Bath Toy Store . (Which is not actually a toy store, but a w…
Rather than argue about the value of a changing table, I'd much rather complain about the crappy changing pad options out there. Most are incredibly flimsy, and require covers that end up in the wash almost as often as I'm changing diape…
When you get a pitch for something called Poo-Pourri you think it's a joke. Maybe a teaser for a Will Ferrell movie or an April Fool's email that got lost in the ether for three months. But holy cow, it's for real...and it's good. Very g…
While I've got way too many little pouches and cases to keep all my kid's items clean and safe, I tend to just toss my own things right into the depths of my diaper bag without even thinking twice. That's probably why I'm on my third pai…
I hate plastic bags. There are just too many of them, and most end up in the trash to do nothing but take up space for the next bazillion years. I applaud Dallas mom Mandolyn's decision to turn hers into something useful, like clever bab…
