As much as we love finding treasures that are sure to be a hit at baby showers, it doesn't seem fair that all the goodies are for the babies. Don't forget to shower some love - and some fabulous beauty products - on those mothers-to-be. They may look like they're smiling, but it's just gas.
So run through the raindrops (or stay warm and dry in front of your laptop) to gather up these super pampering packages made just for the owner of a brand new set of cankles. Oh, and a new baby too.
*From Mama Mio, a set of three miraculous anti-itch creams to help ease the expansion of those assets (gift sets grouped by trimester - goodies for all nine months!) $65
*Pull out all the stops with the New Mom gift set from vedaMAMA - chemical- and preservative-free, designed especially for the sleep-deprived new mom on a hormone roller-coaster $185
Cankles or not, there's still plenty of great picks every day at Cool Mom Picks!
CMP Momtrepreneur of the Month: Asha Dornfest
Name: Asha Dornfest
Superhero Alter-Ego: Brains behind Parenthacks.com, one of the hottest online communities where parents to share their little parenting tips and tricks -- or "hacks."
Inspiration: "The idea came about during a rare four-day, child-free stint in Amsterdam with my husband, Rael. We had been kicking the idea of "hacks" around for quite some time, as Rael was the series editor for the O'Reilly Hacks tech book series. Pretty soon we were brainstorming "parenting hacks", and it wasn't much of a leap to share them, and to encourage others to share theirs."
On Parental (In)competence: "We're all, at the same time, novices and experts at parenting. Most of the time we don't know what we're doing, but every now and then we hit on a flash of brilliance. Those little tricks we stumble upon as parents -- whether they simplify our lives or help us better connect to our kids -- are incredibly valuable."
On Balancing Parenting/Work/Family: "It's all about sleep deprivation. I wish I were kidding."
Find the hacks you can use -- or submit your own -- at Parenthacks.com.
In Case You Missed It: Staff Picks for March
We're so over coloring books thanks to the cool color-your-own tees from Foco Loco. I'm not sure what's cuter -- watching her make her own shirt, or parade around proudly in it. -Kristen
My girls find jeans too hot in the warm weather, and shorts lead to skinned knees on the playground. But the adorable pants from So Anna are the perfect compromise: cute worn long or short, lightweight, and available in several great patterns. -Nancy
I love getting Kids off the Couch's newsletter in my inbox each week. They help bring family flicks to life with suggestions for movie-themed adventures that, well, get the kids off the couch. And it's totally free. Too cool. -Liz
I love shoes, so my little guy has lots of them, but See Kai Run is tops for me. They're cute, and they actually fit my kid's huge Fred Flintstone feet. -Laura
Park Slope Parents--The Albumis going to become one of the new essentials in any cool kids' CD collection. It's a compilation of some of the greatest kindie rock bands of the day, most hailing from the great borough of Brooklyn (says our Brooklyn-based editor, Liz). -Staff
Living in a neighborhood full of seniors and nary a trustworthy (read: un-pierced) high schooler in sight, I’m totally thrilled about finding the services of Sittercity.com. With the safety of background checks, access to interviews and references and varying schedules of availability, I’m spending the last 10 weeks of my pregnancy with peace of mind - writing a to-do list for my brand new mother’s helper. - Tina
Can a child ever have too many books? I think not. "Baby, Mix Me A Drink" will not only amuse both you and your little ones, but since it's a board book, it can withstand a few splashes of vodka. Budding bartender? Be proud; there are less honorable career paths. -Julie
April Calendar: Any Reason To Shop
National Kite Flying Month
National TV-Turnoff Week (April 22-28)
April 2 - National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day
April 7 - No Housework Day
April 17 - Nikita Krushchev's birthday
April 21 - Kindergarten Day
April 23 - World Book Day
April 27 - Arbor Day
Featured Sponsor
Do not for a minute use that old "I couldn't get a sitter" excuse to blow off date night or adults-only invitations. Sitter City is the much-lauded service that helps pair parents with fantastic prescreened local caregivers, and it gets as many thumbs up from Cool Mom Picks as our staff has thumbs.
Welcome
Breathe a sigh of relief, tax day is behind us for another year. We hope you're all on track to big fat refunds. And, like magic, here we are to help you spend just a wee bit of it on great goodies.
Hard to believe but it's less than one month to Mother's Day. Don't miss our comprehensive gift guide with creative ideas for the cool moms in your life--including yourself, the coolest one of all.
There's still time to put a button code on your website or blog, help us spread the word, and be automatically entered to win spectacular stuff from CMP fave Mahar Dry Goods along with a $250 Zutano gift certificate. How awesome are our sponsors?
Just email us at info@coolmompicks.com with your url and consider your name thrown in the hat.
In other very nice news, CMP has been nominated for several Blogger's Choice Awards including Best Shopping Blog. If you devote one minute of your precious free time to click over and vote for us, we'd be honored. We don't know what we win exactly but if we do (or even if we don't) we promise to spread the love right back at you and continue to give away tons of freebies on our site almost every day.
As much as we love finding treasures that are sure to be a hit at baby showers, it doesn't seem fair that all the goodies are for the babies. Don't forget to shower some love - and some fabulous beauty products - on those mothers-to-be. They may look like they're smiling, but it's just gas. 
Name: Asha Dornfest
On Parental (In)competence: "We're all, at the same time, novices and experts at parenting. Most of the time we don't know what we're doing, but every now and then we hit on a flash of brilliance. Those little tricks we stumble upon as parents -- whether they simplify our lives or help us better connect to our kids -- are incredibly valuable."
We're so over coloring books thanks to the cool 
My girls find jeans too hot in the warm weather, and shorts lead to skinned knees on the playground. But the 
My fave pick for March is 
I love getting 
I love shoes, so my little guy has lots of them, but 
Park Slope Parents--The Album
Living in a neighborhood full of seniors and nary a trustworthy (read: un-pierced) high schooler in sight, I’m totally thrilled about finding 
Can a child ever have too many books? I think not. 
