I Enjoy Being a Girl

I might not be a huge fan of the lacy froo-froo get-ups for my daughter, but that doesn't mean I can't get sucked in by some of our awesome girlie picks - like these custom wool felt crowns from Cakies.

Granted, they're not really that girlie, except for those of us more likely to dress our daughters in pants and a baseball cap than a tutu. Mom Rubyellen Bratcher creates each simple and sweet crown (love the flower one too!) by hand, adding a comfy fabric covered elastic to the back of each, so the crowns actually fit and stay on her head. Smart.

They're a must-have for any special birthday celebration, and afterwards will fit right into your daughter's dress up box. And moms of boys need not feel left out; she makes super great ones for the xy family members too. -Kristen 

Lanolin Goes Beyond Nipples

Believe it or not, lanolin can be used on other parts of your body too, like those chapped lips that are an inevitable side effect of pregnancy and nursing. LanoLip is a lip balm made with real medical-grade lanolin and a host of other soothing ingredients but the packaging makes the stuff almost glamorous - yummy flavors like wintergreen and dreamsicle re even carried in fancy spas like Bliss.

But the real appeal to me is how well it works; it's not waxy or clumpy like other lip balms, but smooth and it absorbs immediately. Plus it comes in a pot, so you can get  quick swipe across your kids' chapped lips before they even realize what you're up to.

Order yours at at their online shop where you can engage in "lano luxury." Their words. -Julie

Mommybloggers Take Over the World. Or at Least the Bookshelves.

There is one book that the editors of CMP have been waiting for more eagerly than any other: Sleep is For the Weak: The Best of the Mommybloggers.

Because it will be awesome. Because you won't be able to put it down. Because you will laugh your arse off then cry, shaking your fist at the world's injustices, and then laugh again, and then generally feel delighted that you are not alone in all the parenting mayhem.

Also because we're in it.

But no, really. We're totally objective when we say this a wonderfully curated anthology of spectacularly good essays put together by talented editor (and CMP contributor) Rita Arens with a foreward from Redbook editor-in-chief Stacey Morrison.

You'll find gems from the likes of Alice Bradley of Finslippy, Amy Storch of Amalah, Mir Kamin of Woulda Coulda Shoulda (Hey! that's CMP's "Mir"!), and our own superhero alter egos, Mom-101 and Motherhood Uncensored. You'll also get a little counterbalance to all the estrogen from the erudite Laid-Off Dad.

If you're already a parent blog fan, you'll love new and adapted essays from two dozen of the brightest voices in the blogosphere and probably uncover some new ones to add to your feed reader. If you think blogging parents just write about diapers and what their kids ate that day - well, you're in for a surprise. Alice's opening piece could take on David Sedaris's funniest New Yorker essay any day of the week.

Preorders start today at Amazon. Yay! -Liz and Kristen

EXTRA-COOL: WIN IT! How could we not give away copies of our own book? Three of them! Just email contests@coolmompicks.com by midnight tonight with SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK in the subject and tell us the name of editor Rita Aren's personal blog? We'll draw THREE winners at random. For the rest of you, we'll probably just hand out copies free on the street if you happen to run into us this summer.

Sitting Still is Highly Overrated

At first glance, the shell-shaped plastic Bilibo seemed sort of odd to me. Is it a seat? A stool? Another container for junk? I was skeptical when it came our way to say the least.

But then I gave it to my three-year-old and she literally played with it for a solid hour. Geared for kids 2 and up, the Swiss-made seat/stool/whatever found at toy shop The Crimson Wagon allows your kids to let their imaginations run wild.  My daughter made it into a spinning seat, a reading chair and a balancing stool, all on her very own.

My only gripe is that I didn't get two, mainly because it would have saved me from the battle between my kids over who gets to play with it next. -Kristen

Use code "COOLMOMS" for 10% off your order at The Crimson Wagon.

Ignoring Your Parents Just Got a Little Harder

Everyone knows that Jet Blue is God's gift to traveling families. Even those who turn their noses up at TV for kids have to be at least secretly psyched for a few hours of Nickelodeon distraction. But I do admit a little hesitance to stick those earphones on my kids. And not just because I don't know where they've been.

Last trip we tried a pair of Air Drives kids headphones and at least some of that worry went away. They were a bit small for me and a bit big for my three-year old but that didn't stop me from appreciating the concept. Basically they're designed to direct the sound towards your outer ear and not blast it directly into the eardrums. It's obvious what the pros of that are. But even better, it means ambient sound isn't totally gone when older kids are listening to iPods while riding a bike or crossing the street. Or having their moms call them in for dinner.

Time for a new excuse, kids. -Liz

Shopping Cart Covers as Organic as the Stuff Inside the Cart (Right?)

Why have we not seen any organic shopping cart covers yet? Think about it, it makes perfect sense: If you're the type who is freaked out by what might be on that rickety cart in your local Albertsons, you're probably also worried about the chemicals that are treating the fabrics your kiddos come in contact with. To say nothing of whatever's being sprayed on those apples and berries to keep them shiny and produce aisle-friendly.

CMP fave Just Peachy Baby is coming to the rescue of germaphobe ecomoms everywhere with their fabulous new organic shopping cart seat covers.  So far there are three nice solid colors available, each one 100% certified organic and made with no-toxic dyes. Bonus: Though they feel fleecey, they're partly made with hemp which is naturally anti-microbial. 

Microbial. Eek. Just the word gives me the shivers. Hard not to buy one, and a life supply of hand sanitizer, after reading the word microbial. -Liz

CMP Readers save 10% on new organic styles with code CMPORGANIC through 5/31/08

Congratulations to Sara P, winner of an organic shopping cart cover from Just Peachy Baby!

I Never Thought I'd Utter "Perry Farrell" and "Juice Box" In the Same Breath.

While we Gen-X parents may have outgrown our Lollapalooza days (Primus so rocked it in '93) it doesn't mean we're ready to hang up the proverbial Docs just yet. Which is why the Kidzapalooza summer concert has become such a rollicking annual success.

This three day family-friendly rock festival was put together by Perry Farrell himself along with producer extraordinaire Tor Hyams, and I can't think of a better reason to plan a trip to Chicago the weekend of August 1. Scheduled performers include CMP faves The Terrible Twos, the Dream Jam Band and The Jimmies. Plus expect mainstage appearances from Farrell along with rock god friends (members of Wilco, Nine Inch Nails) who manage somehow to keep it all G-rated.

Music isn't all you'll find - this is a festival after all. There are activities for kids from tattoo painting by Small Paul to hip-hop and break dancing workshops, even actual music lessons from Paul Green's School of Rock. Watch the video or check the myspace page and you'll be dying to go like I am.

Even if I do look totally ridiculous in Doc Martens these days and my hair is hopelessly un-blue.  -Liz

Nursing Pads That Stem Both Leakage and Landfills

While I'll readily admit that I'm not the greenest mama out there, it's not for lack of trying. Let's face it: a lot of environmentally friendly products aren't as effective as their counterparts - and they're more expensive. I have no interest in spending more money on something that doesn't work as well. So you can be assured that if I recommend an environmentally friendly product, it's definitely worthwhile.

The bamboo nursing pads from Kai Kids get my highest accolades. Far superior to any other washable nursing pads I've tried, they're invisible under a fitted tee and fantastically absorbent, even overnight. Buy a three pack, and hand wash one set every other day. These Canadian-made pads pay for themselves after a month, when you'd normally have to buy another box of disposables.

Good for the boobs, good for the earth. Feels pretty good in both cases.  -Julie

Sk*rt Is Now Kirtsy. Cool.

What is cool? This site. And now it's got an even cooler name: Kirtsy.

Just makes you want to flit around in a little floral twirly skirt to the Nutcracker Suite, doesn't it?

Click over and check out the same awesome link sharing, same enjoyable time suck. In fact, leave a comment anywhere on the site and email about it and you'll be entered to win $1000 worth of prizes. Seems fair.

By the way, any time you see something you love on CMP, feel free to share it with the world just by clicking that little "add to kirtsy" button below the post. 

Seriously, try it now. Just for fun. To see what happens.  

This concludes our kirtsy public service announcement for the day.  -Team CMP

Somewhere on the Toddler Swimwear Continuum Between Innapropriate and Amish

It's bathing suit season and I'm not ready. Not for me (although really, I'm not ready) but for my three year old daughter who, if this year's crop of children's suits are any indication, is supposed to be wearing a string bikini, a flirty tankini that says "hula honey" across the chest, or something with cherries on the nipples.

I'm not kidding. It's gross.

Thank goodness for Cabana Life, a fantastic company dedicated to making protective SPF clothing for kids. Turns out they're doing a dandy job with their burgeoning new swimwear line, as we recently had the good fortune to see for ourselves. The boys board shorts are cute (of course) but I particularly breathed a sigh of relief with the girls collection.

Since I'm a-okay with my girls in one-pieces until the day they graduate college, having found a two-piece I could live with is a big deal. Or in this case, a three-piece. The boyshort bottom is the right size to cover up swim diapers on little ones, and if the sports halter top isn't modest enough for you (which, really, it is) you can swap it out for the longsleeved rashguard.

Sadly, these suits only go up to size 6x. I was hoping for a junior 16. -Liz 

Get 10% off orders with code CMPICK through 6/30/08 

Congrats to Alexa W, winner of the red vine 3-piece set from Cabana Life!

A Princess Book for Anti-Princess Parents

Despite my husband and my efforts to foist sidewalk chalk and softball bats on my daughter, she prefers the sparkly, the frilly, and the delicate. I've often changed the words to fairy tales while reading them to her because they seem so dang sexist. Enter Princess Bubble, the best princess book I've ever read. 

This is a book in which the main character joins a dating web site for royalty to get her mother off her back; a book in which the princess finds out in the end she doesn't need a prince to be happy.

Princess Bubble is in a lot of her princess friends' weddings, and my favorite part of the book is when she's told that she'll be able to wear her bridesmaid dresses again. As I read that part, I looked at my daughter and told her if anyone ever told her she would be able to wear a bridesmaid dress again, she shouldn't bet her tiara on it. -Rita

[via eco child's play] 

The Shower Invitation No One Can Ignore

Fact: Moms like cookies.

It is based on this statement of truth alone that I can highly endorse Sweet Talk Boutique, which turns yummy homebaked cookies into custom shower invitations, baby announcements, birthday cards and more.

It may seem tough to mess up flour, butter, sugar and eggs but plenty do. This is not one of those cases. These cookies seriously rock - and I have the crumbs under my laptop keys to show for it. Everything is baked fresh to order. Everything. Owners Erin and Jen, longstanding pros in the bridal business, don't like to send orders more than 2-3 days after baking, which is a testament to their refusal to use preservatives in their creations.

Speaking of things they don't use, you can even get a wheat/dairy/egg-free version if allergies are a concern.

One-of-a-Kind Dolls For Kids Who are Pretty Unique Themselves

I have never seen my 12 month-old daughter take to a doll quite like the handmade cutie that arrived from Poot & Boogie. Mostly she's happy to entertain herself with blocks or turn things like paper clips and dog kibble into playthings.

It's not surprising considering each one-of-a-kind little rag doll made by Canadian SAHM Leanna is the perfect size and weight for a little one. I know the artist's reco is 3+ but unless yours has buttons for eyes I wouldn't worry.

The dolls are available at CMP fave shop Natural Pod so naturally the craftsmanship is stellar - clothing made of pre-washed cotton and wool, truly engaging fabric combo, multiculti skin tones, and an eco-friendly stuffing. But it's the face that your kid is going to love - that inviting, smiley, rosy-cheeked face.

Well, that and the floppy arms that fit perfectly in baby's mouths. Much better than paper clips. -Liz 

Get free shipping on orders over $50 with code CMPFREESHIP50 through 5/31/08

Congrats to Carissa D, winner of the Poot & Boogie handmade doll!

The Medela Freestyle: Holy Heck, It Actually Works

You'll never guess what I was doing while I typed this post. Even if you guess, you'll never believe it. I didn't believe it either.

I was pumping.

Given my dubious relationship with my old breast pump, which caused total work stoppage (and parental incompetence) three times a day, I'm blown away by the new Medela Freestyle Hands-Free Electric Pump. It's incredibly compact, it's rechargeable, and it really and truly is hands-free. Yes, there's a bunch of gear that comes with it that might look a little overwhelming at first, but the instructions are clear and concise and getting started is a snap.

While I pumped, I was able to reply to email, empty the dishwasher, refill sippie cups, fold laundry...you get the idea. I bet I could even pump while driving - but that's where I draw the line in terms of research.

Here's one more very cool effect I hadn't considered: With my hands available to do other things, shockingly I don't mind pumping longer at a stretch. Meaning more milk to add to my freezer stash to help keep my baby on breastmilk longer. So Medela Freestyle is better for both of us.

Get it any number of places including Amazon. It's not cheap. But neither is formula. -Julie

The Greening of Playtime

Okay so it's like that old joke about grandparents who look at your kids' video games and say VIDEO GAMES? Back in my day we played with twigs and rocks and we LIKED IT. But the truth is, is there really anything so bad about playing with twigs and rocks?

That's exactly what Kimberly Monaghan was thinking when she wrote Organic Crafts, a book with 75 activities that get your kid out of the house to forage for art supplies. Masks can be made from grass, puppets from pebbles, even a gourd birdhouse. Plus I like the info on stuff older kids can get into, like recycling, John Audobon's story, and plants you can use to make paints.

It's enough fun to keep the kids entertained all summer long. And you won't have spent one penny on batteries. -Liz

[thanks, rebecca] 

Happy Mother's Day, Cool Moms

Hope you're enjoying plenty of pampering, relaxation, a few goodies to unwrap, and most of all, the love of your doting family.

With major emphasis on the doting. Big, big big time doting. That's almost as important as the love part

-Liz, Kristen, Julie, Nancy, Tina, Laura, Mir and Rita 

[card via moderncard] 

Slainte Bags: Giving the Hippie Diaper Tote an Overhaul

I can certainly appreciate some moms' love of the classic fabric diaper tote. It's not too bulky, not too heavy, and can be tossed in the wash without thinking twice. But what I don't get is why they're still making them in the same old lame "mommy" fabrics.

If you're a die hard diaper toter, then you're going to love the Slainte Supertote diaper bag. Handcrafted in San Francisco, this is definitely an improvement on its predecessors. With fantastic, updated fabrics, these low-maintenance zip-top totes come chock full of pockets (inside and out) and are lined in vinyl for easy cleaning. The changing pad fits easily inside with plenty of room for all the other essential junk we all insist on carrying.

Put it this way, I'm not a diaper tote kind of mom. But when I saw the Slainte totes, my eyebrows shot way up. -Kristen

EXTRA COOL: WIN IT! In honor of mother's day, we've got a snazzy black circles Slainte Supertote up for grabs. Send an email to contests@coolmompicks.com with "SLAINTE" in the subject by Midnight EST and your answer to this: Who's the founder of Slainte bags? We'll pick one winner at random (US residents only please).

If Your Breastfeeding Boobs Wrote a Book

There's not a lot of fun involved in breastfeeding in the beginning, as I can attest as a two-time, soon to be three-time nurser. Unless you enjoy the feeling of your boobs about to explode.

But moms Shannon Payette Seip and Adrienne Hedger certainly found the humor in it all in their new book If These Boobs Could Talk... Truly, they had me laughing at page one. There's everything from a comic strip called "Bad Times to Breastfeed" to hilarious lists like The Top-10 Things You Can Do When You're Up for a 2:15am Feeding and Can't Fall Back Asleep. (May we suggest taking a look at Cool Mom Picks?) They even find the lighter side of unsuccessful attempts to get a a boob-baby to take a bottle

Is this book making light of what can be an extremely emotional experience? Absolutely. That's why I suggest you snatch this book up and pop it in with your next shower gift. Because other than a good nap and some warm compresses, more than anything, a new nursing mom could use a good chuckle. -Kristen

Happy Mother's Day, moms - Especially you first timers out there. Enjoy the day, you've earned it.

Congrats to Joni C, winner of an autographed copy of this book!

Cookies That Hold the Allergies, Not the Taste

“Hey cool! My mom gave me a high-fiber vegan cookie bar!”

Okay so phrases like high fiber, no refined sugar, no dairy or eggs aren't generally an indication that kids will be excited about the resulting snacks. That's why the newest goodies from Nana's Cookie Company, "O”Mega-Fiber Cookie Bars, are such a treat.

Chewy, moist, sweet and delicious, these cookie bars sneak a whole bunch of good things like Omega-3's (that's the "O") into a relatively allergen-free vegan cookie without losing the most important thing - the “swoon” factor. And swoon we did as my family gobbled up the Chocolate Chocolate, Peanutty Peanut Butter and Vanilla Toasted Almond cookie bars in record time.

Don’t believe me? Then take it from my kids: My 7 year old with the dairy allergy gave them “600 thumbs up” and my 5 year old, “42 hundred thumbs up”. Then, my 3 year old gave them his highest compliment, "a number 8 red race car”. We have a winner. -Guest contributor Christina