Avoiding Your Own Version of the Nanny Diaries

Oh, the problems most moms are facing these days: Top tier pre-school interviews, PTA meetings conflicting with opening night at the opera, challenges with the live-in help.

Just Add Cake. No Really. I Mean It.

If there's anything I like about throwing a party (other than the actual partying part) it's the amassing of all the themed goodies. Apparently my inner Martha comes out. ... [More]

Feeling Glam in L&D. If That's Even Possible.

In the final weeks of my pregnancies, I was alphabetizing my CDs, scrubbing out the kitchen cabinets, and laundering everything in sight. I most certainly was not thinking about packing my hospital bag. ... [More]

Your Child 2003-2008: An Artistic Retrospective

Tada Baby has got a brilliant way to help me keep my daughter's art but ditch the reams of paper: A personalized poster featuring my her favorite artistic creations. ... [More]

Gifted At Birth: You. And Yeah, Maybe the Kid.

I only wish Gifted at Birth had been around when my daughter was born. A service that delivers newborn essentials then has a premiere NYC doula on call? ... [More]

Dear Husband, Get In My Head.

One would think that because I run a shopping website, my husband would have no trouble finding me gifts. Every year I tell him to just click on anything in our Baubles and Bags category and he'll be the world's greatest husband. But every year, he ignores me and decides to go out on his own. ... [More]

Hey, Someone Forgot to Make the Online Invitations Look Ugly

In an increasingly paperless world, online correspondence is rapidly replacing snail mail even for major events. Does evite ring a bell? But I haven't lost my love for beautifully designed correspondence, whether offline or online. ... [More]

Paging Doctor Mom

I'm thrilled to have found a reputable source of information at MommyDocs. Founding doctors Jamie Freishtat and Rachel Schreiber bring a practical perspective to their site -- they're both moms themselves. So they understand that frantic need to help a sick kid feel better. ... [More]

The Next Best Thing to Annie Liebowitz Popping By the Maternity Ward

Oh my God, where was Bella Baby Photography when I needed them? This is such a brilliant concept - talented freelance photographers spend a little time at the hospital with you getting those first precious hours or days captured the way they should be. ... [More]

Junking Junk Mail

Recently we reviewed Catalog Choice which I continue to love (love! love!) but recently I've been turned onto a similar service to help cut down on junk mail: Green Dimes.  ... [More]

DIY Baby Announcements That You Won't Regret Having DIY'd

Self-serve baby announcements that you create on the computer aren't necessarily my thing. Although I appreciate the cost savings (particular for children number two through 17) I am always squidgy about the quality of those things, to say nothing of... ... [More]

Video Birth Announcements: It's a New World, Isn't It

I procrastinated greatly putting together my second daughter's birth announcement, in part because I couldn't settle on a single photo ... [More]

Family Photo Sorting Help, Just In Time for Mother's Day

Inspired to tackle our own mess of family photos for the benefit of the next generation, we're counting on CatchMyMemory to help get the job done. ... [More]

Delaying Mommyhood But Not Mommy Friends

Sometimes moms of (ahem) advanced maternal age just need some kindred spirits to hang out with. You know, so we can reminisce about our assymetrical prom hairdos and our crushes on Scott Baio while the rugrats run circles around our arthritic ankles. ... [More]

Children's Car Seats: Better Safe Than...Not Safe

Of all the things most likely to make a new parent's head spin, I submit that it's not the colicky baby or the first diaper blow-out that's the hardest. That honor belongs to the selection of a car seat.
... [More]

"I'd Like to Thank Cool Mom Picks..."

Motherhood means giving up more than your waistline, I realize, as Oscar weekend is upon us and of all the nominated flicks, I've managed to catch only one of them. ... [More]

It's Better to Give and To Receive

ECHOage is an interesting service which aims to show kids both the joy of giving even while doing a little receiving, all in a way that's kinder and gentler to the environment. ... [More]

Virtual Showers, Real Presents (Yeah!)

While we would hope that all of our bestest friends and relatives could fly/drive/hitchhike on over just to shower our babies-to-be with the requisite 84 receiving blankets, it doesn't always work that way. For a better alternative than some virtual internetty-thing, you have to check J. Marie Events. ... [More]

Gift Baskets Without That One Sucky Item In Them

The problem with most gift baskets is you don't always like everything inside. Red Wagon Presents, on the other hand, puts together fun, themed book baskets that are great from top to bottom. ... [More]

Attention: Lazy Gift Card Redeemers

Not to look a gift (card) horse in the mouth, but I when I get one I often forget to use it in time. I guess it's people like me who account for the $8 billion in gift cards that gets wasted each year. Yikes.
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Contrary to Popular Belief, Moms Do Have a Few Brain Cells Left

After months spent in OB offices browsing parenting magazines that ran the gamut from mindless fun to downright annoying, I had no idea that there was something out there for moms that was actually (gasp) literary. ... [More]

Next Stop, Oprah's Book Club

I have yet to nail down the perfect way to effectively collect and display my daughter's massive amounts of artwork. But then I found Little Author, an awesome mom and dad-run business that will take your kid's artwork and turn it into a real live book. ... [More]

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 need.

Tuning Out

I used to say that I'd never lie to my child. But the older he got, and the more obsessed he became with watching registered trademark cartoon characters, the more often I've found myself saying, "Sorry honey, the television is broken again."
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Delicious, Not Deceptive

There's been quite a bit of buzz among parents lately about whether hiding healthy foods in other foods is the right thing to do. For those who prefer to keep nutrients in plain view of the family, I've found a great resource in the Smart Foods Healthy Kids web site. ... [More]

For Moms Not So Good With the Glue Gun

I can barely find time to take pictures of my kids, let alone actually get them off my computer and into a photo album or scrapbook. Or even a shoebox. ... [More]

Safer Toys For Kids. You Know, The Unleaded Kind

For your browsing, buying, and drooling pleasure, we're happy to present The Cool Mom Picks Safer Toy Guide, featuring some of our favorite playthings for younger kids.

Toys That Won't Sit in the Closet for Three Years

I'm definitely not the person to count on for remembering what developmental milestone comes when so good thing I found ebeanstalk before I bought the poor girl a rattle for her first birthday. ... [More]

Beverly Hills Manners Lesson #1: Don't Bogart the Caviar

I think we can all agree that we'd like our children to be skilled in the social graces, whether they're enjoying supper with the ambassador to Switzerland on your next family ski trip to Gstaad, or at a Chuck E. Cheese birthday party. ... [More]

Best Editing of a Motion Picture Goes To...

Like all parents in this digital age, I've taken thousands of photos of my two girls. I've captured those "firsts" both big and small, but it's not easy to share those precious moments with friends and family without making them suffer through 75 nearly identical shots of, say, "first spit up." ... [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]

Hey Bud (Or Cadyn), Let's Party

Being a minimalist where it comes to children's birthday parties, particularly those early ones, I applaud Lilybeans for creating these fabulous all-in-one party packs. ... [More]

Speed Dating for Sitters

Scoring a fantastic, trustworthy babysitter can be like searching for the holy grail. It's hugely time consuming to call for references, conduct background checks and beg all your friends for personal recommendations, to say nothing of making sure you've hidden all the toys under the couch for the interview (ahem). ... [More]

So You Think You Can Dance?

We're already huge fans of Baby Loves Disco, and for good reason. Any child-friendly event that combines ABBA, hummus, and beer is on the top of my list. But add a contest and prizes to the mix and we're talking serious business. ... [More]

Match.com Meets Flea Market

Perhaps you bought a few items (before discovering Cool Mom Picks of course) and realize now that you don't want them. Here are a few solutions to minimizes your carbon footprint, as the kids say today. ... [More]

Trading the Treadmill for a MacLaren

Say what you like about my postpartum figure, but getting back in shape after pregnancy sucks and we all know it. Some parts will never look the same again without surgical intervention - like tummy wrinkles and those two "rocks in tube socks" - but that's no excuse to ignore the muscles. ... [More]

How Much Do You Hate Your Inlaws?

If the last thing you imagine doing after delivering your baby is having to call six million family members and answer the same questions over and over again (8 pounds, 2 ounces...yes of course it hurt...I don't know who he looks like, he's two hours old!) you're in luck. ... [More]

Knitting 101 That Looks Like Knitting 504

It's easy to appreciate beautifully hand-knitted garments, but creating them isn't necessarily a piece of cake. The mere presence of two X chromosomes does not endow a woman with a talent for needlework (as much of the CMP staff will assure you).
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Swimming with Konfidence

I know, I know, it's just too hard to choose between trombone for toddlers and, pre-k/ickboxing. But whether you're the type to go overboard on kids' activities or not, I hope you're fitting swim lessons in there somewhere. ... [More]

The Only Thing They Can't Do is Push the Kid Out for You

It took me all of 20 minutes to run screaming out of Babies R Us while attempting to put together my registry. If only I had a bit of guidance--and a trust fund--to help me navigate my way through baby preparations. I would have surely relied on one off the two amazing if indulgent mom services we've recently uncovered. ... [More]

Bag Ladies

With my daughter's third birthday rapidly approaching, I'm already in party planning mode. While she's got definite opinions about her cake and party theme, the party favor bags are my territory. ... [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]

Making Grandma's (Mothers') Day

I am not a diy-er, crafter, Martha-in-training, or whatever you want to call people who have the genius ability to make things that don't look, well, like they made them. This is not a big deal until my own mother gets on the phone and tells me to "make her something" for Mother's Day. And I don't think she's referring to the new grandbaby on the way. ... [More]

Scrapbooks Out, Storybooks In

Those fill-in-the-blank baby books didn't work well for me. While some of the questions didn't apply, I just didn't like to leave the pages completely empty--or worse, use the bureaucratic Not Applicable. Eventually, I decided to eschew the preformatted books and put together a baby book of my own design. ... [More]

Like Craig's List Without the Weirdos Looking to Buy Placentas

You've spent months agonizing over bedding options for your baby's nursery, only to discover your must-have ensemble was discontinued, and the whole county is sold out. Who'd have thought Pirate Bunnies would be so popular? ... [More]

Craft Your Way to Unboredom

It's the phrase all mothers dread: "Mom, I'm booooorrrred!" After the kids have made their way through every puzzle ("I've done that"), book ("read it already"), and game ("we played that this morning") in the house, what's a mom to suggest?

When You Think of My Family, Think of Booze

We have seen any number of ways to incorporate your kids' photo into gifts - mugs, keychains, jewelry, purses. I think we've unearthed something that tops them all: Alcohol. ... [More]

Making Date Night a Reality

There are a few things about parenting that you just don't get until you actually have kids. Okay, a lot of things. But one of them is how difficult it is to find reliable, trustworthy childcare if you're not one of those lucky folks to live near willing family and friends. ... [More]

Couch Potatoes No More

One year ago, two other movie-loving moms, Sarah Bowman and Diane Shakin, founded Kids off the Couch to help LA-area families turn the passive act of film-watching into active adventures around town that get kids psyched about film, culture and yes, even spending time with you. ... [More]

Gift Baskets Get a Much-Needed Update

There have been a few occasions for which I have put aside my obsessive gift-picking regimen and sent a gift basket; I blame it on postpartum dementia. Not that all gift baskets are bad, but there always seems to be one or two lame additions hidden in there. ... [More]

Whitney Biennial, Here We Come

I rarely brag about my toddler, however, I will say that at 2.5 years old, she's drawing better than I am. The only problem I have is figuring out what to do with the piles of colorless pencil drawings she creates daily, except tape them to the fridge and pop the rest in an old shoe box. ... [More]

Procrastinating Parents: We Have The Baby Books for You

I'm an overachiever in many ways, but a huge slacker in the baby book department. I started the book for my first child just one day before #2 was born. Oops. Don't even ask about how I've documented milestones for the second child. (Okay, it's Post-It notes).
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Oh Lord, Won't You Buy Me a Mercedes-Benz. Or Maybe a Jag.

Why do car manufacturers leap to the conclusion that moms and minivans are synonymous? Do they think that we all just turned in our sense of style and adventure along with our placentas? ... [More]

A Star is Born

When I first heard about Hello Beautiful Films, I swooned. Who wouldn't want a professionally written, edited and produced video of your children that blends your own photos and home video footage with new footage shot by a pro cinematographer?
... [More]

You Spin Me Right 'Round, Baby

Since joining the cult of motherhood in 2004, my regular trek to some loud, late night dance club where I slugged down glow-in-the-dark cocktails has been replaced with a different kind of play. One that's decidedly strobe light free.But oh how... ... [More]

"My Baby is Due In January. Is it Too Early to Apply to Preschools?"

In most cities in America, the stress of getting into college is a distant second to the stress of getting into preschool. Because of course not getting into the right preschool will take your child down a path of misery, destitution, or possibly a career in fast food service. ... [More]

Photo Cards Just Got Less Photo Card-y

Holiday cards never fail to make me smile. Yes, even the ones containing a single-spaced, full-page dissertation of the year's activities--heavy on the boredom, light on the entertainment (and ocassionally the truth). My favorite cards include pictures, but let's be honest, most photo cards leave something to be desired in the taste department. ... [More]

Let's Give Them Something to Talk About

Living away from friends and family has its good and bad points. Sure, you don't have to deal with unannounced visits from the in-laws, but you do have to cope with the millions of questions pertaining to your child. Is she talking? What is she saying? Why don't you put her on the phone...? ... [More]

The Girlfriend's Guide to "Get That Out Of Your Mouth"

I'm not a big fan of the "D" word, but when I do need to watch what I eat, I find that misery loves company. Or to put it in a more positive light, I like to have a friend to diet along with me so we can scream YEAH! together when the scale moves in the right direction. ... [More]

Hold the Peanuts, Keep the Sugar

When I was a child, everyone ate peanut butter sandwiches and drank milk - no questions asked, no concerns voiced. Fast-forward twenty-five years, and I'm overwhelmed by the number of children with food allergies, especially life-threatening ones. It took the perspective of becoming a parent myself for me to grasp this new reality, and now I routinely ask parents before playdates: "Does your child have any food allergies?" ... [More]

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 visiting the in-laws. ... [More]

Isn't a Jack Jill's Brother?

I am clueless about cars. Give me a reliable car with four wheels and a good mechanic and I'm set. However, it has crossed my mind that I'm not so sure what I would do if I had engine trouble on the road, or God help me, had to buy a car without the assistance of my husband (aka The Haggler). ... [More]

Run Mommy, Run

I learned that if there are two things that all new moms have in common, it's the desire to meet other new moms, and the desire to fit back into the pre-pregnancy jeans. Like, yesterday. ... [More]

Block Party

The pressure to outdo, outspend, outimpress when it comes to your child's birthday party is extraordinary. We're not necessarily advocates of extravagance, but we understand that sometimes you just can't resist going all out where the kiddo is concerned. In which case, have we got an idea for your next bash. ... [More]

Putting Your Fingers In Your Ears and Going LALALALA

I have mixed feelings about watching the news. I do want stay on top of current events; but to do so I have to get through 20 minutes of tragic, ratings-trolling disaster stories just to get to anything actually of value. ... [More]

Thanks, Made it Myself

Whenever Hillary Lang posts photos of her crafty creations on her blog, Wee Wonderfuls, I sigh and try to imagine what it must be like to have that kind of talent. Mending a sock or sewing on a button, I can handle. Anything more complex gets outsourced. ... [More]

Seeing Read

When a recent trip left me pondering The Complete Works of Shakespeare versus How to Fix The Kitchen Sink as potential beach reads, I realized I had a problem. The shelves in my home library are overflowing with nonfiction and kids' books, but the fictional reading selections are positively uninspiring.    

... [More]

When You're Too Sleep-Deprived to Cut Through the BS

As a new mom, it’s hard to know where to turn for good advice. There are several websites offering free newsletters, which at their best clutter up your in-box unopened. At their worst, they make you feel like if you don't buy a particular developmental toy from their online store right now now NOW, your child will grow up to rob banks and torture small animals. ... [More]

Dads-To-Be, Rejoice

If your partner is anything like mine, his definition of hell is eight consecutive weeks of Lamaze class. Modus Five has come up with such a simple solution, it makes you wonder why no one has done it sooner. ... [More]

Oh, Just Print the Damn Photos Already

Switching to a digital camera was supposed to mean no more shoeboxes of curling, dusty photos in the closet. Of course now my snapshots are cluttering up folders on my hard drive, never to see an album or picture frame... ... [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]

Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll?

Remember when you were both younger and would go see bands play at the local club? If you're like me, your kids came along and put an end to that. Is it really worth forking over seventy bucks for a sitter to see your nephew's garage band fumble its way though Sweet Home Alabama? ... [More]

These Designs are a Chou-In

While I love the loose picture inserts in announcements and holidays cards, I find that it's very hard for the picture to actually make it out of the card and onto my fridge without getting crumpled, folded, or dirty.

PopPop? Uncle Marty? Who are They?

As a military family, we do our best to keep everyone posted on the goings on of the first  grandchild. But, let's face it, I can barely keep track of my own relatives, let alone my husband's huge family. And,... ... [More]

Once Upon a Time There Was This MP3...

Hard to believe, but your computer's MP3 player can be more than a repository of embarrassing one-hit wonders and Lite FM ballads. It can also be a source for encouraging your children's love of literature. ... [More]

Let Someone Else Remember For You

You look at your calendar and realize you've forgotten your mother-in-law's birthday. You jump online and send her a crappy e-card that she won't be able to open anyway because she still uses dial-up. And even if she can get... ... [More]

First Impressions

Got a bun in the oven? Know someone who does? Voila! Ceci New York for your custom Baby Announcement needs.

If Only I Could Exchange My Belly...

There's nothing like paying $50 for a designer (muumuu) maternity shirt that you're only going to wear for a few months at best. ... [More]

Erin Go Organic

While I have seen a pint of Guiness served as a three course meal, you might want to consider some other options for your St. Patty's Day fare. ... [More]

Green beer is nice and all but do you have a shamrock pinata?

There is pretty much no point in having a St. Patty's Day bash if you're not going to do it up. I'm talking glittery shamrock centerpieces on the tartan table cloth, shamrock guest soaps in the bathroom, baskets of... ... [More]

More fun than wiping up poo? I don't believe it.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard a nervous mom-to-be ask, "so what did you do after the baby got home? Just...look at her?" Well, kind of. Yeah. I also watched more mindless TV than I ever thought possible.

This is My Kind of Scrapbooking

Isn't there a saying that goes something like The Road to Hell is Paved in Good Intentions? Well, that seems to be where I'm headed when it comes to putting together my daughter's baby scrapbook. I haven't been lax in... ... [More]