Don't Forget

Do you consider yourself brilliant and utterly intelligent? How about busy? And forgetful? If so, then we have found the to-do list for you. ... [More]

Who Stole The Cheese Factor From the Cookie Jar?

If you've got kids, you've got cookies. Unless you're one of those moms. Oh man, you're not one of those moms, right? Phew. ... [More]

Cupcake Baking as Competitive Sport

As my daughter prepares for preschool in the fall, am just now learning that baked sale goods are not taken lightly there.
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Green Cleaning Products of Epic Proportion

To be perfectly honest, it's not just cleaning that I avoid - I haven't changed over to environmentally friendly cleaning products just yet. Although I have started to notice that all those chemicals may be giving me more of a headache than the actual cleaning. ... [More]

Stick 'Em Up

We love when readers tip us off on their own great picks around the web. So when two readers wrote us gushing about Mayfair Lane, we most definitely had to check it out. ... [More]

One Way to Distract Them From the Overcooked Meatloaf

Dropps it Like it's Hot

I really wish someone had warned me about the crazy amount of laundry that one tiny baby requires - and the crazy amount of extra-special baby detergent that, truth be told, doesn't work worth a damn. ... [More]

Pillows Almost Too Cute To Hurl at the Kids

We know. When it comes to kids, sometimes you just have the urge to, you know, toss something about. For such an occasion, we humbly suggest the throw pillows from the Modern Basics brand new Baby Boo collection. ... [More]

Doing Good Meets Looking Good

I've got a thing for alpaca. And not just because my daughter wants one as a pet. (Thanks, Diego.) It's eco-friendly, it's soft and warm, and it doesn't pill. ... [More]

A Remedy For That Not-So-Fresh Feeling

Once they're past that delicious newborn phase, kids (and their rooms) do not continue to smell like sunshine and rainbows. After a couple of serious playground sessions, my girls' rooms take on that not-so-subtle twinge of sweaty sneakers. ... [More]

Decorating With Florals

New Year's not being what I had hoped for (i.e. We both passed out well before midnight) we've got a bit of a leftover stash of bubbly in the fridge. ... [More]

New Year, New Beginnings

I have a friend who spends every New Year's day plants a new tree with her family. ... [More]

Solid as a Clock

Thanks to frequent military moves and furnished rentals, my daughter's baby room decor was an eclectic mix of favorite items and gifts. Which is a nice way of saying that it had no style whatsoever. ... [More]

A Little Separation Between Your Kid and the Dining Room Table is Never a Bad Thing

Just because my daughter can feed herself does not mean she actually gets all the food in her mouth. Hence our love affair with Bibbitybop's Placemats. ... [More]

Giving New Definition to The Soft Shape Sorter

Art You Can Walk On

I have been in love with Lisa Masterson's artwork for so long I could hang it on my walls, my ceiling, lean it against my furniture, and rub it all over my body. But walking on it? Something I hadn't considered. ... [More]

Pot Luck-y

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. ... [More]

Evidently You Can Run as Fast as You Can and Catch the Gingerbread Man

Plenty of families have their own weird Christmas traditions. At my mom's house, it was to bake gingerbread men to hang on the Christmas ficus, then bite their ilmbs off while they dangled from the tree. ... [More]

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. ... [More]

Getting Your Fixx of Indie

Just in time for the holidays, our blogging friends at Indie Fixx have come along with their very own online boutique, appropriately named the Indie Fixx Shop. Perfect! ... [More]

Calling All Anal-Retentive First Time Moms-To-Be...

Everyone knows that designing the nursery is one of the most painstaking endeavors of pregnancy. That is, the first nursery. Once you're on your second kid you're like, eh, this crib that someone left on the side of the road looks okay. ... [More]

Kaboost Makes My Heart Go Kaboom

Okay so maybe we're the last shopping blog to cover the new KABOOST chair booster. What can I say - we're picky and it looked a little too good to be true. I had to try it out for myself. ... [More]

The Elephant in the Room

Please tell me that my child isn't the only toddler in the world who sleeps with like 800 stuffed creatures in her crib. What can I say, the girl loves animals. ... [More]

Beans, Beans, They're Good for Your Decor

Children of the seventies: If you've ever crashed out in a bean bag chair in front of the Partridge Family, raise your hand. Yep, me too. ... [More]

Making Inevitable Head Bonks a Little Less Inevitable

When my daughter hit the coffee table contact stage, we invested in that adhesive padding that not only collected dirt and crumbs but became a toy for my daughter, who would pull it on and off as if to say "Try and keep me away!" ... [More]

Monster Repellent

I've tried all sorts of tricks to convince my girls that monsters do not inhabit their rooms. I even resorted to logic at one point, to no avail. Silly me for even trying such a longshot. ... [More]

Those Who Skipped the Changing Table, Raise Your Hand

With my daughter, I invested in a handy dandy changing table that I used all of four times. I strongly suggest you use a dresser top and a changing pad...or like I did, maybe just your bed. Then all you need is a cute little diaper caddy to hold the essentials. ... [More]

Caterpillars in the Shower

My daughter has been introduced to the scientific concept of metamorphosis by, of all things, an episode of The Wonder Pets. She now understands, in her 2 year-old way, that a caterpillar turns into a "buh-fwy." Also that butterflies sing and dance.
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Lights Out, Pardner

Great nurseries and kids rooms are often made in the details--and they don't have to be expensive. I've found a funky old 25 cent postcard leaning on a bookshelf can make more of an impression than that $800 crib. ... [More]

Eating Groovy

Who says that kids have to eat off of plates with ducks or chickens or other barnyard animals on them? Besides if you ask me, there's got to be some sort of bad karma when it comes to feeding a kid a burger on a plate featuring a cute cartoon cow. ... [More]

The Writing on the Wall

As far as I'm concerned, one of the best parts about being the grown up in the house involves the simple fact that I can write whatever I'd like on the walls if I so choose. ... [More]

Because I'm the Mommy, That's Why

It doesn't seem that long ago that when someone mentioned The Rules, my mind leaped to "don't accept a Friday date on a Thursday," as opposed to, "no eating the cat litter." How quickly things change. ... [More]

Little Green Thumbs

There's no better way to honor Earth Day than to grow something. Anything. That is, something besides mold on the expired sour cream in the back of the fridge. Or is that just me? ... [More]

Matchy-Matchy, Not Tacky-Tacky

As a fairly style conscious woman, I always thought that looking put together, in body, mind and home was an easy, natural thing. Until I had a kid. And then another one. And now it takes as much energy as I can muster just to pick out a bag that goes with my barely matching outfit. ... [More]

The Joan Crawford Seal of Approval

I have been known, on more occasions than I should admit, to saving those cheap free hangers you get with purchases. But lately, the sea of plastic has been taking over my daughter's closet, and they just don't cut it for those extra special outfits that deserve a little more TLC. ... [More]

Have Your Art and Eat Off it Too

I'm a firm believer that presentation is everything, particularly when it comes to feeding toddlers. So why not take that concept a step further and serve your cool shaped sandwiches and alphabet fries on some equally entertaining plates? ... [More]

Let's Dish

Anything that gets me a little more excited to spend time in the kitchen is a good thing indeed. And by time in the kitchen, I don't mean standing at the fridge in the middle of the night, looking for the last ice cream bar that someone ate without asking my permission. ... [More]

My Daughter the Lighting Designer

It seems like overnight, our refrigerator became a full-on child's art gallery. And while I love checking out my daughter's masterpieces every time I go for a snack, that old fridge door just doesn't do her creations any justice. ... [More]

Shopping With a Conscience

I simply can't say enough about HandCrafting Justice, a partnership in which women from developing countries have an opportunity to better their lives by making and selling handmade items under decent working conditions for fair wages. The organization absolutely stole my heart with their mission of economic justice for women - to say nothing of the fantastic items they offer on the website.
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Dinner for One, Hold the Microbes

Whoever invented the Tiny Diner Portable Placemat has definitely walked a mile in my shoes. Whenever we go out to eat, I have no choice but to put pieces of food right on the table because my year-old son is known to send his plates sailing without so much as a head's up, suckas! ... [More]

Food is For Playing, Right?

I am convinced that the only way to get kids to stop throwing their forks and spoons on the floor isn't to improve the food, but to improve the forks and spoons. ... [More]

Hanging Around the Fridge, As Always

I've always found something really homey about employing the fridge as a magnetic board for family photos and postcards. But with the ridiculous assortment of magnets we end up accumulating it ends up looking less like a gallery and more like a bulletin board in the college dorm. ... [More]

Hey Little Thing Let Me Light Your Candle

For me, one of the few downsides to the holidays is having to smell that nasty synthetic pine tree scent wafting from candles everywhere. Or worse, the cinnamon scent. It smells less like grandma just baked a pie, and more like grandma just got back from the cheap candle booth at the flea market. ... [More]

Your Tree Has Competition

Every year, just before Christmas  the stocking debate ensues at my parents' house: "Whose is the reindeers?" "No wait, mine is the snowflakes." "Hey, his holds more than mine!" ... [More]

Pick Up Your Damn Coats Already!

My house has a nice entryway with a coat closet just as you walk in the front door. So why is it that all the family's coats and bookbags end up in one huge pile on the living room couch? Perhaps the child-sized coat hangers from Pakhuis Oost at Rose and Radish would help to keep my living room (relatively) tidy.

The One Purple Dinosaur Allowed in My Home

My 2-year-old daughter thinks that everything must follow a specific theme and lately, it's dinosaurs. Pink or purple, only. However, have you tried finding pink or purple dinosaur anything these days--that's not the bloated guy in the suit? ... [More]

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.) ... [More]

Skip*Hop Goes Domestic

My kitchen is overflowing with useful but highly unattractive items designed to clean, sanitize, and organize baby feeding paraphernalia. I'm sure visitors wonder what kind of illicit chemistry lab we're running with all the clinical looking gizmos and gadgets covering every inch of counter space. Fortunately, our friends at Skip*Hop – yes, makers of those great diaper bags – have brought harmony back to the kitchen. ... [More]

Girl Loves Robot

I've had a thing for robots ever since Lost in Space. It continued with Rosie from the Jetsons, and then of course, R2D2--who, between he and C3PO, was clearly "the cute one." ... [More]

Super Dishes!

When I was a kid, our chores included washing our own dishes after dinner. Entirely coincidentally, my brother managed to break his plate en route from table to sink at least once a week. Imagine that. ... [More]

Balloon Animals

Ever since I got wind of the whole latex balloons are the devil stuff, I've been distraught. While I would hate for my daughter's birthday celebrations to be entirely balloon free, I also don't need to decorate the place with a bunch of colorful choking hazards. ... [More]

No More Ring Around the Coffee Table

There were a few precious pieces of furniture we sacrificed after having kids, but our gorgeous coffee table? No way. ... [More]

The 45-Watt Cocktail Umbrella

A Little Birdhouse In Your Soul

When it comes to baby gifts, I don't want to be the practical mom who gives the ten-pack of store brand burp cloths. I want to be the fun mom! The one who gives something that will never be spit up on, peed on, or pooped on over the course of its lifespan. ... [More]

Mamas, Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowgirls

When I was young I wanted to be an indian princess. I didn't know from PC terms or that this wasn't an actual career that one could pursue; I just knew that Tiger Lily was the prettiest thing I had ever seen in my whole seven years of existence. ... [More]

Summer Essentials for the Dad in Your Life

Since summer has quickly reared its hot and humid head here in the Northeast, I thought I’d start preparing for the season. Like most men, this entails digging out those flip flops from storage, loading up on some steaks, firing up the BBQ grill and enjoying some cool alcoholic beverages with friends. ... [More]

Everything I Needed to Know About Parenthood I Learned from a Cocktail Napkin

In honor of today's Cinquo de Mayo festivities, we scoured the web for a pop culture pinata or a designer sombrero. Just some little knick-knack or doodad, that we might pay homage to one of the most underrated holidays outside your local Chili's. ... [More]

This Little Light of Mine

There's a few things you don't realize the importance of until after you have kids. Okay, there's a lot of things, but as of late, it's night lights. I don't want to jinx myself, but I'm pretty certain our new toddler bed child will be making her way to our room on more than one occasion. So, she might as well find it in style.

De-Snot in Style

When you think of baby items that make you go "awwwwwwww...." humidifiers don't exactly spring to mind. But that's only because no one ever thought to disguise that big plastic eyesore as a panda bear. ... [More]

Cooshie, Cooshie, Cool

Restaurant booster seats? Hate 'em. They're always covered with the slimy remnants of another toddler's meal -- or we hope that sticky mess is from leftover food and not something worse.

Go Ahead and Overextend Yourself

We here at Cool Mom Picks are all about making life easier for ourselves. While we can't help moms grow an extra arm, we have found something to make your kid's arm longer, so you can save yours for other important stuff. ... [More]