This past weekend I took a walk down craft memory lane when my mother-in-law brought a Klutz potholder making kit for Laurel. To be perfectly frank, it’s not the most chic craft, but boy does Laurel love it. It’s a fantastic project that enables kids to experiment with colors, patterns, and the dexterity needed to weave the cotton loops onto the loom (it was fun to see Laurel figure out her own way to weave without the plastic tool). I actually need to buy extra loops ASAP because Laurel is burning through this kit (she already has gifted three potholders to me) and we haven’t even gotten to the woven chicken project yet.

Posted by Christine Koh on 30 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | Filed in Art Supplies & Toys
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Today, Kate shares a book recommendation for grownups:

“I have long been fascinated by marriages. What keeps two people together over many years? What really goes on during all of those dinners together, those long car rides, those epic changes and everyday activities? How do some couples manage to strike the right balance between independence and interconnectedness? And how is it that some couples - even after decades - still share private smiles that suggest love and excitement, while others seem like barely more than comfortable companions?

Katie Roiphe - the wonderful writer and observer who first tackled the issue of sexual and romantic mores in her 1993 critique of campus relationships The Morning After - has returned to the subject in Uncommon Arrangements, a fascinatingly readable analysis of seven English marriages in the early part of the 20th century. Each relationship included one or more major literary or artistic figure, and each involved some sort of unusual twist on the standard pairing of marriage. Some relationships opened to include a third or even fourth person. Some involved various permutations of separation and rejoining. Some came apart and some stayed together. Most included privilege, egotism, and a certain amount of cruelty, but all are to be admired for their efforts to develop, nurture, and sustain happy and healthy long-term love in unusual and even brave circumstances.

The Morning After was an important work when I was in college, shedding harsh light on the ways in which we were coupling in the earliest years of adulthood. Fifteen years later, Uncommon Arrangements offers a new way to think about the possibilities and pitfalls of marriage, and to celebrate all over again the power of human love and devotion.”

Posted by Christine Koh on 30 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Books & Entertainment; Family Issues; For Grownups
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Crafts and toys typically occupy separate real estate in stores and playrooms, but CALAFANT cleverly has figured out how to merge the two, offering kids a wonderful vehicle for creativity and play, and parents more bang for their buck. CALAFANT’s cool line of recyclable cardboard toy kits are available in affordable small, medium, and large sizes (plus a giant crawl-able castle). The kits are fun for grownups to pop together (no tools or adhesive required), and offer a blank canvas on which kids can paint, color, collage, and bling to their heart’s desire. Laurel loved decorating the CALAFANT palace (glitter glue was her favored medium) and the palace can serve both as a pretty display of her artistic style and a happy home for her Playmobil and Polly Pocket figures.

The folks at Creative Toy Shop kindly are offering 15% off CALAFANT products; use coupon code BOSTON during check-out.

Posted by Christine Koh on 29 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Art Supplies & Toys; Eco Living
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

It’s hard to believe we’re coming up on July 4th weekend and starting tomorrow locals and visitors alike may enjoy a celebratory windup to the holiday weekend via Boston Harborfest. Taking place at and around City Hall Plaza, the festivities run June 30 – July 5. Included in the itinerary is a special Children’s Day on July 1 and of course, plenty of chowder.

Posted by Christine Koh on 29 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Fun Outdoors; Local
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Last weekend on the Cape I was reminded that a little rain doesn’t stop enthusiastic kids (i.e., grownups were huddled under umbrellas while the kids happily swam in the pool). Hopefully, these outdoor weekend picks will prevail over the weather. On Saturday: Summer Bazaar (Amesbury), Family Fun Day (Somerville), Arnold Arboretum Drop-In Family Activities (Jamaica Plain), & Kite Festival, A Family Fiesta (Lawrence). And through the weekend: St. Peter’s Fiesta (Gloucester) & the Sand & Sea Festival (Salisbury).

Posted by Christine Koh on 26 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | Filed in Fun Outdoors; Local
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Few things spell summer like the welcome return of water play, and today (2 - 3:30pm) the Boston Common Frog Pond will host a Frog Pond Wading Pool opening celebration, replete with activities, snacks, and of course, a lot of water. The pool is open June through Labor Day, 11am – 6pm.

Posted by Christine Koh on 26 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Fun Outdoors; Local
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Today, parent educator Hetti Wohlgemuth shares tips for coping with public tantrums:

“Small children tantrum; sometimes in a big way. And sometimes in a public place. We manage tantrums just fine at home, but less well on the playground, or at the public library, market, or mall. Why? Because it's embarrassing to watch Alex collapse to the floor and go completely out of control when everyone (or so it seems) is watching/judging how we deal with this tiny tornado. Here are some tips for coping with public displays of tempestuous behavior:

Keep in mind, you are not alone. You are not the first Boston mama to experience a child's melt down in Target and you're not going to be the last. And keep in mind that these patrons who are busy judging you most likely have the largest skeletons in their parenting closet. And keep in mind that schadenfreude (satisfaction or pleasure experienced at someone else's misfortune) is not just a 13 letter word in the dictionary. It's a real phenomenon. And all those parents and never-been parents and never-will-be parents experience a small high watching us at our lowest.

Tantrums may just be a toddler-style text message. Tantrums can signal that our ever growing children have feelings and opinions about the perhaps contradictory restrictions we constantly (necessarily) impose on our them: wake up, get ready, eat your greens, don't eat the dirt, slow down, hurry up, use your words, be quiet, watch this video, don't watch TV, etc. In other words, toddlers tire of their mamas and papas pushing and prodding them (or so it seems to them) and they rebel in the only way they developmentally are able. It's not implausible that they act out of control when they feel we are controlling their harnesses (metaphorically speaking) too tightly. If we are seeing too many tantrums - public or private - maybe we need to reappraise our restrictions and lighten up where we can.

Conversely, is your child begging for more limits? We used to belong to a babysitting co-op with a family made up of two laissez faire parents and their two sons. The boys painted on their formal dining table, fashioned weapons from sticks, and ran around the back yard terrorizing my two little girls. And they disrespected other adults to such an extreme that I still carry an image of another six foot six inch tall parent picking up one of the boys and speaking to him - albeit, gently but firmly - eyeball to eyeball. These boys were begging their mild mannered, but well meaning parents to impose some limits on them; limits that a small child is not developmentally able to impose on himself.

Try to read your toddler's mind and reflect those feelings back. Is your baby overtired, hungry, getting sick? Or is there a stress that's less obvious, more esoteric, and more emotional? Did they have a bad day at day care? A skirmish with their older sibling or best friend? Often when I returned home after a day away, Jessie might throw her stuffed animals and slam her bedroom door on me. It took me several of these outbursts to figure out that maybe Emmy, our older, was capturing the babysitter's attention too readily and Jessie was floundering. I tried these thoughts out on Jessie, after she had calmed down (the actual tantrum definitely is not a teachable moment), in words she understood. I'll never be certain whether my offerings were apt, but lo and behold the tantrums stopped. Maybe Jessie appreciated my attempt to understand her. Kids do.

Do remember that the less you have invested in this toddler scheme, the better. Feeling fury and yelling at your tantrumming two year old to "STOP, RIGHT NOW!" is not going to work well. If you must speak to your child during their outburst, talk in as objective a tone as possible, simply stating, "I know you're mad (sad, frustrated…) right now, but I need to keep you (and me) safe so I'm going too hold you (take you outside or over here…). Counting to three and taking a few cleansing breaths also helps. Honestly.

Bottom line. Nobody - children nor parents - behaves perfectly. Never. Nor should any of us aspire to that. We need to give our children some slack to be tired, hungry, and mad. We also shouldn't be too hard on ourselves or too invested or feel as if we're the only ones when a tantrum erupts. Remembering this can be calming.”

Image credit: Original illustration by Posh Peacock

Posted by Christine Koh on 25 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3) | Filed in Development & Behavior; Family Issues
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

My bargain savvy sister-in-law sent me two leads that are handy for families looking for budget entertainment now that school is out (and the rain doesn’t seem interested in letting up for long). Both programs are national (simply search by state) with a good number of Massachusetts options (though listings are outside Greater Boston): Regal’s Free Family Film Festival runs now through late August with G and PG movies starting at 10am each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival, and KidsBowlFree offers kids two free games of bowling each day plus families can purchase a family pass that covers up to four adults for the entire summer.

Image credit: Small popcorn cups from Oriental Trading

Posted by Christine Koh on 25 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2) | Filed in Fun Indoors; Local
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

In response to an invitation to submit an idea for an episode of The Juice, last week I wrote about a topic I care deeply about: nurturing relationships and the value of doing good things for people. And I’m honored to report that The Juice selected my post as the winning entry of their Trop 50 Juice Contest. As a result, I’ll head to San Francisco to film a webisode with host and BlogHer co-founder Jory Des Jardins, featuring the tips I wrote about, plus some additional useful ideas and resources on the topic.

I’ll let you know when the webisode is live; meanwhile, I’m flattered that my post was selected from what no doubt was a pool of thoughtful and insightful entries, and am happy to have the opportunity to spread the good karmic word!

Posted by Christine Koh on 24 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (4) | Filed in Family Issues; Mama in the Workplace; Web (Admin)
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Today, Sheri shares a review of Sage Stossel’s On the Loose in Boston: A Find-The-Animals Book. Read on for Sheri’s review, as well as to learn how to be one of three winners to receive a copy of On the Loose in Boston:

“Born and raised a Bostonian, it can be hard to find new books that capture the essence of Boston as well as Make Way for Ducklings does, but Sage Stossel’s new book On the Loose in Boston is one book for Bostonians to take a good, close look at.

And to clarify, I mean a very good, very close look since in this book the game is to locate many creatively hidden animals on every page. You see, the Franklin Park Zoo animals are wandering through Boston causing all kinds of mischief. Stossel entices the reader using pen and watercolor illustrations to create a visual essence that is Boston in all its glory. Not only are the illustrations awesome, Stossel engages the reader with challenging searches for the Franklin Park Zoo animals artistically hidden among her drawings, and she entertains us with a rhyming plot that tickles the tongue with wonderful vocabulary.

My eight-year-old Trey and I sat down to read this book at bedtime the other night only to find that we became captured by the search challenges and could not put the book away until every last zoo animal was found. This book is a fantastic gift for Bostonians and visitors alike as it features all the hot Boston spots that you know and love. The details Stossel uses in her illustrations are amazing and my son said that he loved the “great views.” Trey’s excitement as he said, “We’ve been there!” at every page turn was priceless. This book could easily provide hours of entertainment at home or in the car and even includes a website where children can make their own Boston comic book.

As a teacher and mother I have bought many books and continue to search for books that can entertain beyond one reading. Sage Stossel’s book On the Loose in Boston could easily do that!"

Now, want to be one of three winners to receive a copy of On the Loose in Boston? Here’s how:

Today, Kate shares her favorite means for fitness:

“I turned 35 this year, which - combined with other major changes in my life - prodded me into thinking that I should be doing more to keep myself healthy and active. In the past, I've tried gyms, pools, classes, DVDs, and different pairs of sneakers, but nothing has ever stuck for very long and nothing has really felt right: classes don't fit my schedule, gyms are too impersonal, pools are too much of a nuisance (the chlorine! the wet hair!), and I've never quite had the discipline to commit to exercise at home. However, my family has a history of heart disease and I have some very special people for whom to remain healthy, so I decided that this spring would be the season in which I would figure out a way to exercise that I could both enjoy and sustain.

The trick was, I wanted something free (or almost free) that I could do on my schedule, and something that required little coordination or skill. I started with running, but found that I couldn't get more than a few blocks without feeling sick. Plus, I felt kind of foolish, out there with the experienced runners who glided by so effortlessly as I panted to the end of the block. I knew that it would get easier with time, but it wasn't fun and I wasn't motivated. So I thought about it more. What kind of movement do I love? What feels natural? And I realized: walking.

I walk for almost everything in my life, which made it an easy fit. I just increased the speed a few notches, figured out a route that was interesting, and now I'm out of bed and on the pavement two mornings a week. I hope to work up to more outings as my schedule allows, but I find that even those couple of walks a week make me feel looser, more toned, and like I've really grabbed the early part of the day. I get to exercise, reflect, and see my city in a new way. What could be better or more accessible for all of us parents who have little time to ourselves but want to keep in shape?”

Editor’s Note: If you find it challenging to add dedicated walking outings to your week, consider building it into your daily routine; for example, walking instead of driving your kids to school, opting to do errands on foot, or changing up your commute to add in walking stretches. I also have pet-lover friends who attribute their fitness level to their dog walking duties.

Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Posted by Christine Koh on 23 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | Filed in Bath, Beauty & Health; Family Issues
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

You know you’re either terribly predictable or somewhat loved when folks write in asking if you’re trapped under something really heavy on a day (yesterday) with no posts or tweets (thanks, folks!). I actually was enjoying a much needed long weekend away with a couple of other families and made a conscious decision to remain unplugged. Our packing was decidedly uneven – too much food for our numbers and too many bathing suits given the weather – but one thing I did right was pack plenty of rainy day entertainment. Here’s a list of 10 smart things to pack to keep the kids from going crazy on rainy vacations:

1. Basic craft supplies. We brought coloring pages, but it was the blank paper (for general doodling and coloring in pictures the grownups drew) that got a lot of action from all of the kids (ages 2-6). Don’t forget to bring plenty of colored pencils, markers, and crayons to avoid squabbling over colors. And if you’re thinking ahead, consider purchasing a Kid’s Busy Box kit for plenty of craft options on the go.

2. Puzzles. I picked up this Disney 8-in-1 Puzzle Box several months ago on ridiculous sale at Toys R Us and it was perfect for our trip. It’s an impressively compact box that includes 8 puzzles of varying difficulty (four 100-piece, two 300-piece, two 500-piece) so there’s plenty to go around for older kids and grownups.

3. Games. Again, on crazy toy sale, we recently purchased Operation Rescue Kit for $10. For those of us who grew up on Operation, the new version took a little getting used to (there are four fancy playing modes), but the kids loved it. And I like that the game comes in a snapped first aid kit style case. Super easy to transport and no crushed cardboard box. I also brought Laurel’s other favorite games: Sorry! and the Fairytale Spinner Game.

4. Books. I literally filled an entire reusable grocery tote full of books, including pop up books, short stories, and Laurel’s favorite Elmer and the dragon chapter books.

5. Activity books. Word search, maze, letter, shape, or math activity books offer a nice change of pace from stories and art projects. You usually can find these at drugstores.

6. A trusty DVD. Laurel is obsessed with the movie Enchanted (except for the scary witch parts…) so of course it came with us. I was glad that we got enough sun one day, and the other activities on this list were entertaining enough that she only ended up watching this movie once.

7. Roll, build, stack, and dump toys. For younger ones, trucks or cars to roll around and soft foam blocks to stack and knock over (go with soft blocks to prevent parental headache) are good both for motor skills and to burn off energy inside.

8. Sculpting projects. Play-doh or other types of sculpting clay are always a good option for indoor fun.

9. Tactile precision projects. For older kids, mosaic tiles are terrific (portable and easy to clean up) or if you are OK with the ironing step, Perler beads also are a great rainy day option.

10. Cooking project. Finally, another great option – since I’m all about getting kids involved in the kitchen – is bringing supplies + recipes to make your family’s favorite cookies or brownies.

Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Posted by Christine Koh on 23 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | Filed in Art Supplies & Toys; Books & Entertainment; For Babies & Kids; Travel
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

In addition to the various weekend community events I posted on earlier, there also are a couple of great philanthropically oriented events tomorrow. Life is good will host the Boston Life is good Festival and Good Walk for Kids to benefit Boston’s Project Joy. And our friends at P&K are co-hosting a new and gently used baby item drive in Wayland to benefit Boston's Cradles to Crayons.

Posted by Christine Koh on 19 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Fun Outdoors; Local; Outreach
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Keep your fingers crossed for sun, folks, as there are lots of family friendly ways to connect with your community this weekend. On Saturday: Allston-Brighton Family Fair (Allston/Brighton), Arts Fest (Beverly), Boston Center for the Arts Summer Solstice Celebration (Boston), Soly y Canto Family Music Festival (Cambridge), Endicott Park Day (Danvers), & Family & Friends Day (Reading). On Sunday: Chinatown Main Street Festival (Boston) & Minuteman Family Bike Ride (Lincoln; advance registration required). And through the weekend: South Shore Art Center Arts Festival (Cohasset).

Posted by Christine Koh on 19 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | Filed in Fun Outdoors; Local
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Welcome to Boston Mamas Rock! – where I share the voices of fabulous local mamas from all walks of life. Read on for today’s interview with Carol Fishman Cohen, mother of four and career specialist for women looking to re-enter the workforce. Carol is the co-author of Back on the Career Track and co-founder of iRelaunch. Then go ahead and nominate a fabulous fellow mama!

Carol Fishman Cohen, Co-Founder, iRelaunch

Christine: Welcome, Carol! You’re a career specialist who focuses on helping women re-enter the workforce. You yourself worked full time, took several years away from the work force to raise your children, then returned to work full time. Can you tell us a bit about your relaunch story?

Carol: My kids are now all teenagers – almost 14 to 19 years old. But when I went back to work full time they were much younger – my youngest was just starting kindergarten and my oldest was 11. I graduated from business school in 1985 and worked first in manufacturing and then in corporate finance at investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert. Drexel collapsed in 1990 when I was on maternity leave with my first child, so there was no “should I go back, shouldn’t I go back” decision to be made – there was no company to which to return. However, I did have to decide I wasn’t going to look for the next big job. We weren’t getting any younger and we wanted to have more kids. We had three more kids over the next five years, so I was caught up in that endless cycle of pregnancy and nursing that my co-author Vivian Steir Rabin likes to call “reproductive hibernation.”

My old Drexel office in Boston still had a viable business even though the parent company was gone, so they re-incorporated independently and I worked part time doing special projects for them during the five-year period while I was having more children. When I had my fourth, I left the paid workforce entirely to be home full time for the next six years. Similar to many “relaunchers” I took on all sorts of volunteer assignments at my children’s school and in the community.

I relaunched my career by taking a demanding, full time job at Bain Capital, a private equity and investment management firm. Eventually I realized it was not the perfect match, but I stayed for a year. After I left, Harvard Business School decided to make me the subject of a case about a mom who built a career, took a career break, and then returned to full time work. When it was published, I got called into the classroom to tell my story. I started speaking and writing about my experience and about career reentry in general, and then Vivian and I got the contract to write Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work. Then we formed iRelaunch to provide career reentry programming for employers, universities, organizations, and individuals. We run conferences and coaching programs and webinars all on the topic of career reentry.

Christine: What was your biggest fear about returning back to a full time, high pressure work environment after 6 years away? How did you negotiate that fear?

Carol: I barely read the newspaper for the six years I was home with my little kids. So even before I got the job, when I was in the interviewing stage, I was terrified I was going to start talking about companies that didn't exist anymore because they had been taken over, or had gone bankrupt, or changed names. I re-subscribed to the Wall Street Journal and read it cover to cover for a good six months before I had a handle on what was going on in the general business world. I had to create my own course of self study to get up to speed not only on companies, but on new financial instruments that didn't exist before my career break, plus a review of financial formulas, calculations, and definitions, and a technology update on spreadsheet programs, Word, and PowerPoint. Remember this was 2000-2001 and there were no career reentry programs or return to work strategy books around like there are today. Even with all this prep, I still wasn't sure how I would do when on the job and my employer didn't know either. We had an open dialog about it, but Vivian and I advise relaunchers in a similar situation to get early and frequent reviews - starting at six months, and then every six months for the first two years, so job responsibilities, compensation levels, etc. can be re-calibrated along the way.

Christine: Tell us more about the case study at Harvard Business School. And actually, can you share what that means – from a work perspective (e.g., time, compensation) – to be the subject of a case study?

Carol: As I mentioned, I left Bain after a year and very shortly after that became the subject of the case. You do not get compensated for being an HBS case subject. I did several days of interviewing with one student who was working on the case as part of a field study and then with two professors. They also asked me to do a videotaped interview that they used when they taught the case in executive ed programs in other parts of the country. Since the case was published in May of 2003, I have had numerous opportunities to come to HBS to speak about my career path and career reentry in general. The case is actually called "Carol Fishman Cohen: Professional Career Reentry."

Christine: Let’s talk more about your book Back on the Career Track and iRelaunch. Tell us about the timing of these two major ventures, and how this intersected with raising your children.

Carol: We got the book contract in July 2004, but before that, we had already started interviewing women who had made the transition from home to work, thinking about the strategies involved in reentry and speaking with universities, employers, work life experts, academics, recruiters, and family members about the relaunch topic. We had to have a very solid idea of what the book was going to look like in order to create the book proposal, which is the document that circulates to publishers before they decide whether they have an interest in a book project. We had good interest from agents and publishers, and ended up having a publisher auction for the book. We received a nice advance for it, so we were pretty happy.

That was five years ago, so my kids were ages 9-14, in elementary and middle school. Researching and writing the book was hard work, and it required a lot of focus, but the beauty of this kind of work was that we could arrange it around our kids’ schedules. Vivian has five kids who were ages 7-14 at the time, plus she was running her executive search business, which she still runs now, so it was even more intense for her. Plus, we absolutely loved the topic, and still do, and to this day we can’t get enough of it, so writing the book was both interesting and fun.

In the course of researching the book, we started getting asked to speak on the career reentry topic because not only were we writing about it and speaking in-depth to women who had made the home to work transition, but we had lived it ourselves and had our own first hand experience returning to work in very different ways after multi-year career breaks. It was this authenticity of experience that not only helped us relate deeply to our interview subjects, but made us more in demand as speakers. People ask us how we can maintain our speaking schedule with the demands of all of our kids. The reason it works is because all of our speaking involves planned travel; our kids know in advance when we are traveling to speak and are prepared for it. Spontaneous travel would be very difficult for us. Also our kids are at ages where we can discuss our travel with them.

After speaking all over the country about career reentry, we decided we wanted to create our own return to work event and that’s how the Career Relaunch Forum, our one-day return to work conference, was born. After we ran a couple of Forums, the participants were demanding more follow up programming so we decided to develop a concept we introduced in Back on the Career Track called Relaunch Circles - a four session, coach led, small group, return to work series, with curriculum built around our “7 Steps to Relaunch Success.” We have also introduced our Back on the Career Track webinars, with the first one on LinkedIn for Beginners, and our Back on the Career Track blog is a regular feature on Yahoo’s Women’s portal Yahoo! Shine.

Christine: Can you talk more about what attendees gain from the Career Relaunch Forum? And do you have any Boston area events planned in the near future?

Carol: The Career Relaunch Forum is a one day return to work conference in which every participant leaves with the beginnings of a personalized return to work plan. We introduce the “7 Steps to Relaunch Success” return to work strategy, offer workshops that explore some of the steps in depth, and have panels where participants can hear from successful relaunchers and companies interested in relaunchers. We have a small group of corporate sponsors and always hold the event at an educational institution to allow for low pressure, informal networking that is educationally based and very different from a job fair environment.

We just finished running our Relaunch Circles coaching series in the Boston area and will run Relaunch Circles again here in the fall. Our LinkedIn for Beginners Webinar is now available for download. We will probably not bring the Forum to Boston for a while because there is so much career reentry programming going on in this area, from Bentley University’s More Opportunities for Mom program, to Harvard Business School’s Charting Your Course and The New Path, to MIT’s Career Reengineering Program.

Christine: What is your top advice for expecting or new moms wrestling with the decision to be a stay at home mom or return to work force fairly quickly?

Carol: This is delicate territory with lots of unique factors for each individual – including physical and developmental health of the baby (and siblings if there are some), whether the mom is already working in the career that is a perfect match for her, what her work environment is like in terms of her boss and co-workers, her spouse’s employment status, and goals (if she has one), and her family’s financial situation. We have now seen hundreds of cases of different paths women take because of the range and combination of these and other factors.

Having said that, our advice to expecting moms is they should stay at the top of their game as they are approaching maternity leave – you want to go out on maternity leave performing at your highest level at work. Stay in touch with your network periodically during maternity leave. Find out what the issues are at work or set up a Google search for topics that are relevant to your industry and forward along articles that might be of interest (sometimes when people are busy at work they don’t have time to do this and you can function as their unofficial news-clipping service).

If you love your company and want to return but need more time or even an extended leave, go in and be frank with your boss about it. Companies are often not in a position to say there will be something waiting for you in a year or more when you are ready to return, but proposing ideas such as filling in for maternity leaves of other workers, working on special projects, or working on professional association events where you can bring in individuals from your company as speakers are all ways to keep the relationship intact whether you are on a short maternity leave or on a longer career break. Also, make sure you stay in touch with people who are junior to you – if it turns out you are out of the workforce for an extended period, they will be moving up, and will sometimes be in a position to open a door for you later on.

Christine: What is your top advice for moms who have been out of the work force for a long stretch (e.g., 5 – 10 years or more)?

Carol: Make sure you do a rigorous career assessment - you have to figure out how your interests and skills have changed or have not changed during your time away from work, and the longer you have been away, the more important this is. In Back on the Career Track, we have a framework to help you through this process called the “Job Building Blocks Worksheet” where you break your prior work and volunteer experiences into components and extract those components you love and are really good at, put them in a “pile,” and then build back a new career path for yourself - whether that means you return to exactly what you left, a permutation of your prior career, or you relaunch in an entirely new direction.

Christine: Tell us more about your four kids. Do they understand the magnitude of what you do for other mothers, and how they undoubtedly inspired this work?

Carol: My kids have given me constant "input" about everything I do since I returned to work - they still point out "my building" where I returned to work, when we pass it on the highway, they had opinions on relaunching from a kid's perspective while Vivian and I were writing the book, and they have ideas for the iRelaunch business, on what I should be wearing when I speak (lots of ideas about that!), and on how to make my slides more entertaining. You name it, they will give you their two cents. I think my kids are proud of the work I do, and they have been there when people have come up to me and told me how much Back on the Career Track helped them in their relaunch.

Christine: We’ve talked all business up to now. Tell us about the favorite things you do to unwind or any hidden/unusual talents you may have.

Carol: I love to take walks and this helps me unwind. Usually it’s just my dog and me, but sometimes I walk with friends and occasionally with my husband or one of my kids! Hidden talents? Hmm....I am excellent at parallel parking - how about that? I have no sense of direction, and can't get anywhere, but once I'm there I sure know how to park!

Christine: And finally, what’s your favorite thing about being a Boston mama?

Carol: I was born and raised in Southern California and didn't come East until grad school. My husband grew up in Newton and that's where we live now. I think the Boston area is beautiful and is a wonderful place to raise kids. I love how people in Boston are so opinionated about everything! Whether the topic is sports, traffic, politics, or religion, you can always count on a good debate and lots of emotion.

Know a fabulous local mama? Nominate yourself or someone else to be featured!

Posted by Christine Koh on 18 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | Filed in Books & Entertainment; Boston Mamas Rock!; For Grownups; Local; Mama in the Workplace
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

I've been meaning to recap and credit the lovely pre-BlogHer Boston event this past weekend (graciously hosted by Susan Getgood), but Karen of 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires already did an awesome job of listing and linking up the event sponsors and bloggers. Karen even created a video with e-introductions from attendees (impressive!). You also can see my photos from the event on the Boston Mamas Facebook fan page.

If you're heading to BlogHer this year and are feeling a tad intimidated, fear not, there are several ways to connect with local folks in advance. Feel free to comment in below and include your link so others can find you, join the Boston-area BlogHers group at BlogHer, and/or join the Boston Mamas group on Momlogic. Also BlogHer has a (somewhat overwhelming but super fun looking) party roster for the weekend if you would like to RSVP for some social events in advance.

See you in Chicago!

Thank you 360 Public Relations and Stonyfield Farm for your BlogHer Chicago '09 sponsorship!

Posted by Christine Koh on 18 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | Filed in Web (Admin)
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Last fall I had the pleasure of meeting BlogHer co-founder Jory Des Jardins, who recently collaborated to launch The Juice, a site geared towards helping women “get more of what they want, and less of what they don’t out of life.” I think a lot about this topic so was compelled to respond to an invitation to submit an idea for an episode of The Juice, as follows.

I’ve always been a relationships person. I value the people in my life enormously and try to stay in touch as well as possible (even if it means sending my holiday cards in March). I also believe in karma, and feel that there’s immense value in doing good things for people – not just because the goodness may circle back to you in the future, but because the universe truly needs as much positive mojo as it can get. No matter how busy I am, I feel compelled to nurture my relationships, sometimes devoting time to connection and good karma in seemingly nonsensical ways (as far as the clock and my inbox are concerned).

So, my proposed episode for The Juice is Giving More To & Thus Getting More Out of Relationships with these tips:

1. Consider helping someone, gratis. I recently was approached by a friend who was willing to pay for some design work; however, I felt really passionate about her new project and my gut told me: give her a gift. It felt fantastic to do so, and now she is reciprocating with her own creative skills. The exchange is replete with happy, creative mojo.

2. Take the time to connect people. These are trying economic times and connections matter more than ever. Whenever I hear of a friend who is hunting or hiring I immediately make e-introductions. The gratitude and good feelings are palpable.

3. Give a creative gift. One area in my life where I completely forget about my work pile up is when I’m creating a gift for a loved one. I’m currently hand stitching a baby quilt for a girlfriend and to me, there’s something so wonderful about how much love goes into each tiny stitch. Even if you don’t craft, consider gifting in whatever way you are creative, be it by letter, a photograph, or baked treats.

4. Connect beyond the mouse. I’ll be the first to admit how convenient technology is for staying in touch, but few things truly rejuvenate like in-person connection with my husband or a girlfriend.

5. Nurture your relationship with yourself. Thanks to a humorous blogger fitness challenge that bloomed into an amazingly supportive community, I now make self-care a priority. When I take better care of myself, everything else runs the rails more smoothly.

Bottom line: Work and household minutia will always be there, but the relationships are what matter. If you give more to them, you’ll get more out of life. And mysteriously, I find that important work and home matters rise to the top and always get done somehow.

Posted by Christine Koh on 17 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (4) | Filed in Family Issues; Mama in the Workplace
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Today, Kate recommends MFS Eyewear’s My First Shades for kiddie sunglasses. Read on for Kate’s review, as well as to learn how to be one of three winners to receive a pair of MFS shades!

“Last summer, my daughter - then 2 years old - would reject hats and sunglasses with an impatient gesture, leaving me to fret about sunburn and sunstroke and retinal damage and every other possible sun-related ill that could befall my very fair-skinned family. This year, with summer slowly beginning to show itself, she seems more open to the idea of covering up from the rays. So, I was happy to discover MFS Eyewear, which makes sunglasses for babies and kids (up to 12 years old) that not only look fun and can withstand rough treatment, but also protect from UV radiation.

MFS Eyewear’s My First Shades are award-winning sunglasses that have a soft wrap-around band that helps to keep the shades in place even on fast-moving kids, and the range of colors is sure to appeal to almost every taste. We'll definitely be sporting them this season as we gradually spend more time outside, and I'll be grateful for the protection and the fun.”

Now, want to be one of three winners to receive a pair of MFS Eyewear sunglasses? Here's how:

In my work, I definitely tend to be bound by perfection, but one area of my life where I’ve really enjoyed letting my perfectionist tendencies fall to the wayside is in my parenting. Not only is it too hard (and somewhat pointless) to strive for parenting perfection, but the extra bonus is that letting go often translates to fun (and often educational) experiences for Laurel that also foster her independence and free up my hands. Here are two examples where this played out beautifully (while prepping yesterday for Jon’s birthday):

Present Wrapping

When it comes to wrapping presents, let me just say that at one point in my life, I actually got paid to wrap presents perfectly. But Laurel really wanted to wrap Jon’s present yesterday, and since lately we’ve been a tad challenged in getting her to work on projects independently, I followed her lead and set her up with several rolls of wrapping paper (she loves collage work), kiddie scissors, and plenty of tape. I love how heartfelt and perfectly imperfect this gift looks. I bet Jon will love it too.

Food Preparation

About this time last year I did an interview with NECN on parent friendly kitchen gadgets. Among the items I recommended was a cherry pitter, primarily because it helped me keep up with Laurel’s speed in gobbling cherries.

Laurel has always loved helping me bake (she knows the rewards) and last night when I started prepping Jon’s birthday cherry pie she was clamoring to help out with the cherry pitter tool. I let go of perfection in the sense of knowing there likely would be a very messy child, counter top, and floor to clean up, and proceeded to teach her to balance the cherry and squeeze the pitter. This was a HUGE success. She loved depitting the cherries and it ended up being enormously helpful, allowing me to clean up the kitchen, make pie dough, prep all the other ingredients, and even (admittedly) have a few quiet minutes to check my Blackberry. She even carefully counted the pits as she went to make sure she wasn’t missing any.

Both of these tasks encouraged independence, math and measurement skills, motor dexterity, and helping out. How utterly cool is that?

Posted by Christine Koh on 16 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3) | Filed in Development & Behavior; Family Issues
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Today Tracy shares a recipe to simulate summer BBQ when the weather is uncooperative:

“One of the things I crave during the late winter and through spring - when the weather is grill prohibitive - is the smoky, sweet taste of barbecue. This recipe for pulled pork in the slow cooker is our solution to simulate summer any time of year actually; it takes the sting out of winter and satisfies BBQ cravings during raw spring or soggy summer days.

This dish is a real crowd pleaser and I serve it with cole slaw or Caesar salad. I recommend serving it on Kaiser rolls rather than a crusty dinner roll because crusty rolls make the filling squish out the sides. You also can wrap in warm flour tortillas with tomato and red onion, but I like the buns with the coleslaw right on top. Also note that this is a saucy, messy meal so serve with lots of napkins to catch the drips!

Note: The original recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of crushed chilies in the dry rub. If you like a spicy, spicy dish, go ahead, but it’s too much for our kids, so we eliminated that and just use the 1 teaspoon in the sauce. Also, if you're time pressed, you could always opt to use your favorite store-bought barbecue sauce instead of making it from scratch.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

This past Saturday was remarkable in that: a) Laurel happily attended a drop-off playgroup with a group of kids she largely was unfamiliar with (she tends to turn reticent around strangers, even little ones); and b) the playgroup essentially was organized and hosted by a 9-year-old (supervised, of course). This concept was fantastic for several reasons: it offered the families of the young guests a means for socialization and separation, it provided a way to teach an older kid about responsibility and earning money, and it gave me food for thought as I mull how we’ll handle the whole new ball game that will be kindergarten, with its vacation stretches and early school pick up days.

The context: At our previous flat, we became friends with our landlords, one of whom is a former childcare provider and expert in the field of child education. We also quickly befriended our landlord’s granddaughters (ages 5 and 9; Laurel played with them regularly when we lived there) and their parents. The play date invitation came from the older daughter, who planned the event with her Nonna.

Logistics: We received an invitation for a drop-off playgroup - starting between 9 - 9:30am and ending at 11:30am - that would be hosted by Laurel’s 9-year-old friend and her Nonna (our former landlord). The invitation indicated that the cost was $5 and guests were asked to bring their bathing suit for water play if the weather was favorable.

Activities: Essentially, activities were as they would be at any play date but with more formally laid out stations. The backyard was set up for a variety of activities, such as a picnic blanket with books laid out for story time, an arts and craft table, outdoor games, etc. Snacks also were served.

Safety: I was impressed that our young host created a separate sign in sheet for each parent to indicate the child’s name, primary and alternate contact phone numbers, allergies, and any other issues she should be aware of.

Why it rocked: From our perspective, this event was wonderful in that Laurel was able to have fun playing with friends while Jon and I got to do things such as read the newspaper, do yoga, and catch up on a little work. But what I thought was especially awesome was that hosting the playgroup offered a creative way to teach an older kid about responsibility and earning money. All of the basic details – how many kids to invite, sending invitations (and making sure to include information about timing, money, the fact that it would be supervised by a grownup, etc.), planning activities, serving food and being aware of allergies – needed to be thought out, and then of course there was the actual act of entertaining and looking after the kids, and handling unexpected situations (e.g., my forgetting to sunscreen Laurel).

The parents of the hostess tried to decline payment, saying they would take care of compensating their daughter, but I wouldn’t hear of it. Not only was $5 a major bargain for two hours of childcare, but it was a pleasure to pay the hostess for a job well done. When Laurel starts kindergarten this fall, I'm hoping we'll be able to take cues from our 9-year-old friend and her Nonna and set up a revolving playgroup scenario with other families that allows the kids to have fun while the parents juggle work and home demands with open afternoons and vacations.

Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Posted by Christine Koh on 15 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2) | Filed in Development & Behavior; Family Issues
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Today, April reviews the Clear2Go, an eco-friendly filtered water bottle with an unexpected bonus parent feature. Read on for April’s review, as well as to learn how to be 1 of 2 winners to receive a Clear2Go:

“My sister visited the other week and took one look at the sports bottle I was drinking from and raised an eyebrow. Later she confessed that she couldn't believe that I was drinking from a grey plastic bottle. Plastic is not my favorite material for food—mostly because it's bad for the environment and sometimes adds icky plastic tastes (and more) to your water or food. But there I was, guzzling water from a grey sports squeeze bottle. And pretty much loving it. Turns out it has a secret bonus when you share a sip with your kids, too.

Clear2Go sent me a bottle to review and I have to admit that I was an initial skeptic. I have an adorable Sigg bottle but my main complaint with those is that you can't drink out of them fast enough and the mouthpieces drive me crazy (just personal preference - I like faster, easier drinking). So I knew I wanted to try something new. I drink a lot of water.

The Clear2Go has one great feature that made me really want to give it a try—it has a built-in NanoCeram(R) NASA-derived water filter (the Clear2Go bottle comes with one filter and then you can purchase replacement filters many gallons down the road). So, instead of waiting until you're near a Pur or Brita, you can simply put in tap water at home or on the go and get good-tasting and healthier water.

The downside to the Clear2Go bottle is the limited "cute" factor. Yes, grey goes with everything, but it's a bit of a duct-tape look. The general greyness means I've also left it behind in several shops because it's near invisible, which would have been terrible if I hadn't raced back to get it time and again. Another downside is that it's plastic, but if you want to be able to squeeze it for an extra fast flow, it needs to be plastic. Luckily the plastic is BPA-free.

The bottle top and pop-up mouthpiece are made of BPA-free TPE (thermoplastic elastomer resin) plastic, which has a kind of rubbery feel. That's a bonus for me because after biking or walking a lot, my hand-to-mouth aim isn't so hot and I've been know to wallop my front teeth with my previous bottle. The softer plastic on the mouthpiece is a bit more forgiving in my klutzier moments.

The filter is good for 100 gallons - the equivalent of 757 single-use water bottles - so it saves a lot of plastic from going into the landfill. It filters out chlorine taste, turbidity, cryptosporidium, giardia, and similar "class I particulates" (as assessed by WQA, a non-profit independent laboratory). And when you're done with the filter, you can disassemble it and recycle the parts, which is totally cool. Although the bottle is not made of previously recycled materials because of its injection-molding production, it is recycleable when you've worn it out with constant use.

Another feature that challenges the filter for coolness is the separate air intake valve. Most bottles create a kind of mouth vacuum where air needs to rush back into the bottle after a few big gulps, sometimes suctioning your lips in the process. The Clear2Go has a separate intake valve that lets air in and leaves your mouth un-sucked. Sipping and gulping are a bit more refined.

Best of all is is this unexpected bonus: when my darling 3-year-old asks for a sip from my bottle to wash down the mouthful of chocolate cake she's not quite done eating, the water is safe from cake contamination (aka backwash). With the Clear2Go, your bottle is free from bits of snack du jour even when you share with the kiddies. That's the best parent feature for sure.

Well, that, and you know that the water you're sharing is filtered and safer than random tap water.”

Now, want to be one of two winners to receive a Clear2Go bottle? Here's how:

One of the things I love about weekends is restoring a sense of order to our home after a busy (typically rather untidy) week. And purging is one of my favorite mechanisms to achieve said order. Appropriately then, for the first installment of my new monthly column as Minimalist Mama at Shoestring Magazine - where I’ll share tips and tricks for less is more living (undoubtedly with a stylish and/or green spin) - I offer strategies for purging family clutter. Enjoy!

Posted by Christine Koh on 12 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | Filed in Eco Living; Home; Solutions
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Once again there’s no shortage of festivals this weekend; consider these family friendly picks to suit a variety of interests and locations. On Saturday: Feast of the East (Arlington), River Festival (Cambridge), Living Green & Renewable Energy Fair (Salem), Green Briar Strawberry Festival (Sandwich), Topsfield Strawberry Festival (Topsfield), and Festival by the Lake (Wakefield). On Sunday: DeCordova Art in the Park (Lincoln). And through the weekend: RiverFest (Sudbury, Assabet, Concord river areas).

Posted by Christine Koh on 12 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | Filed in Eco Living; Fun Outdoors; Local
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Today, Kate shares her lice-related struggles and solution:

“When I was in second grade, a friend and I were sent home from school with matching cases of headlice. I still remember the head mistress using a pencil to separate the strands of my hair as she checked me over, the dismayed look on my mother's face when she picked me up, and the feeling of liberation at being out of school in the middle of the day without actually being ill or in trouble. In my memory - recently confirmed by my father - my mother treated my hair with a medicated shampoo, washed all of the linens and stuffed animals in the house, and life went on as normal. Not so for my own recent parental experience of headlice, a saga that has now gone on for more than two months and pushed me to limits of frustration and despair generally reserved for much more important things but recently triggered by tiny, pernicious, and seemingly indestructible insects.

When my daughter first started scratching her head and neck, the weather was still cold and I assumed it was dry scalp, an affliction to which I am also prone. I blithely changed her shampoos and thought nothing more of it, until one fateful morning when the sun happened to hit her hair in a certain way and…my heart stopped. What were those things moving in her hair? And oh my god - there were MORE of them! Suddenly understanding all too well the cause of her itching, I geared up to repeat my mother's actions of 29 years ago: medicated shampoo, laundry, done. Or so we thought. The scratching came and went. More medicated shampoo, for all members of the family. More research. Efforts at combing. More scratching, but also some itch-free lulls. We thought we were in the clear until last week, when she was sent home from school and I decided that it was time to get serious. We were under attack, and it was time to bring out the heavy artillery.

It turns out that, in the decades since my own run-in with them, lice have evolved to be able to withstand most of the medications currently available to combat them. So, while a good dose of a medicated shampoo is still a standard part of any anti-lice treatment - in moderation only, given the toxicity of the medication - the real work of getting rid of the little creepy-crawlies and their eggs must be done by hand: patient hours of searching and combing, under a bright light and with special brushes and clips. This is painstaking and time consuming, and leaves one terribly uncertain as to whether all of the lice and nits have really been removed. I tried my best to do it, but each effort left me more anxious. Was I getting them all? Were they multiplying right under my nose and I couldn't even tell? Would I have to cut off all my daughter's hair? Change schools? Move out of my apartment? Everyone had different advice - this comb, that comb, mayonnaise, vinegar, no never vinegar! Our stress built, as did the piles of laundry to be washed (on the highest of heats) and new lice-killing gizmos to be bought and tried. By her second full day out of school, I was on the verge of losing it, and something needed to change.

And then, salvation. I once again sought guidance from our pediatrician, who recommended The Nit-Picker. Based in suburban Boston, The Nit-Picker is the brainchild of a mother and entrepreneur who once faced down her own household case of headlice and decided there was a business to be had in it. She now employs a small team of 'nitpickers' who bring not only knowledge and experience but also serenity to an extremely frazzling situation. The woman who spent two hours calmly sorting through my squirmy daughter's head of infested hair is the closest thing that I can imagine to an angel on earth, and she has helped to restore some equilibrium to our lives.

Two last notes: First, when and if we encounter lice again, I will go immediately to the nit-picking option. I now regret having used so many toxins on the heads of my loved ones, particularly when the shampoos clearly weren't very effective. This is one situation where the old-fashioned route seems to be the best way to go. Second, if your child shows any signs of lice, have them checked - by a doctor or nurse, if need be - immediately. Lice spread like wildfire through schools and camps, and each family must do its part to try to slow it down by catching and treating it quick.”

Posted by Christine Koh on 11 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | Filed in Domestics; Local
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Though we still read piles and piles of picture books, over the last few months, Laurel has grown very attached to “chapter books” notable both for their increasingly complex story arcs and reduction in illustrations. We received three such books – Ruth Stiles Gannett’s My Father's Dragon, Elmer and the Dragon, and The Dragons of Blueland – as gifts from friends and the books now are firmly entrenched in our bedtime (and sometimes morning) routine.

These tales were written between 1948-1951 and it’s not surprising that they have endured. The books chart the young and brave Elmer Elevator’s quest to rescue a baby dragon, return back home, forge off again to help the dragon rescue his family from hunters, and find his way back home again. The stories are wildly imaginative and funny – truly entertaining for kids and grownups alike – and the illustrations by Ruth Chrisman Gannett capture the sweetness of the characters and the absurdity of the adventures perfectly.

An added bonus: given the bad rap that fairy tales typically give dragons, I love how these books cast dragons in a gentle, friendly, and family-oriented light. I’m pretty sure I can attribute Laurel’s improved attitude towards dragons to this wonderful collection of books.

Posted by Christine Koh on 10 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | Filed in Books & Entertainment; For Babies & Kids
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Today, Jennifer reports on Tikatok’s story writing and publishing site for kids. Read on for Jennifer's review, as well as to learn how to win a $25 Tikatok gift card!

“Co-founded by two mothers and based in Lexington, MA, Tikatok is a free online community that allows kids under 13 to write, illustrate, share, and publish their original literary work. From inkling of an idea to bound copy, Tikatok inspires, guides, and preserves the creative process of aspiring writers in a spirit of kid-friendly collaboration not available in other self-publishing venues.

It can be challenging to find an activity that is appropriate and fun for all four of my kids (10-year-old son, 6-year-old twin daughters, 4-year-old son) but impressively, they all had a great time creating stories on Tikatok. The interface is straightforward and the browser-based tools put young authors in charge of every aspect of their creation and are easy for older children to use independently (my 10-year-old enjoyed the site independently while my three younger kids needed some help using the tools and typing). A step-by-step "book editor" coaches kids along as they create text and upload or mail in photos and artwork. Optional, customized "Story Sparks" prompt even reluctant authors with questions and suggestions that banish writer's block and give structure to wild imaginings.

Additionally, kids have the option of collaborating and sharing their work with other site members. A thoughtful, thorough privacy policy safeguards identity and allows parents to monitor public activity. Site-wide consideration of both parent and child is rounded out by excellent customer service; I was impressed that my e-mail request for help was answered the next day.

When finished, kids can have their books printed to hard cover or paperback for around $20. My kids were delighted to see their own work in print, and I was impressed by the quality construction and durability of the finished product.

We have tested various options for story writing, but Tikatok truly is a winner; I cannot recommend this site highly enough. These books make excellent gifts for birthdays and holidays or will serve well to share tales of summer vacations or school milestones.”

Now, want to win a $25 Tikatok gift card? Here's how:

I wish I had picked up this cool lead from ArtsBoston earlier, but at least there still are a couple of days left to enjoy the Boomtown Festival at the Multicultural Arts Center in East Cambridge. Tomorrow’s activities include a dance intervention, hands on art workshop, and public art walking tour. And on Thursday you can enjoy the MAC gallery reception and the Cambridge Community Chorus in concert.

Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second Street, Cambridge; 617-577-1400

Posted by Christine Koh on 9 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Fun Indoors; Fun Outdoors; Local
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Today, Kristin shares her favorite sippy cup solution:

“In an ideal world, sippy cups should: a) hold liquids; b) not leak; and c) keep beverages cold and bacteria-free. Unfortunately, during my first son’s early years, I struggled to find a cup that performed all of these functions well. I thus was thrilled to (re)discover Thermos (yes, the makers of my metal Peanuts lunchbox with Thermos bottle!) and their awesome sippy, straw, and grown up cups.

About a year ago I began purchasing these fantastic Thermos FUNtainer straw cups for Robert (my oldest). About 6 months later I got the Thermos Intak Steel Hydration Bottle and Thermos Steel Hydration Bottle for myself. I love, love, love these cups! They don’t leak, they’re easy to clean, and they literally keep beverages cold for about 6-12 hours depending on the type of cup. So imagine how psyched I was to discover the sippy version, perfect for my 15-month-old son Jake.

Thermos’s Foogo collection includes sippy cups, straw bottles, and food containers made from stainless steel. These cups come in pink and purple or blue and yellow combinations and complement the stainless steel bottle nicely. The actual sippy has a faster flow than most, which I feel is a great thing for a child learning to use a cup, and they then can graduate to the straw cup quickly. It also has a nice soft spout so if your child is like mine they can nibble on it from time to time. The vacuum-insulated stainless steel interior and exterior is nonreactive to all food and beverages. The soft drinking spout is made from “food contact safe” Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE) and all Foogo products are BPA-free.

I love that when assembling the cup the spout remains in the center and you don’t have to line anything up. Just screw it on and it’s ready to use. I did find that cleaning the top proved a bit of a challenge because the spill proof valve is tricky to remove. The other thing I had a hard time understanding is why the sippy cup only keeps drinks cold for up to 6 hours while the straw cup keeps beverages cold for up to 12 hours. However, the pros outweigh the cons. The products are dishwasher safe, have nonslip scratch resistant bases, the exterior stays condensation-free to save your diaper bag from getting soaked, and the best part is that these bottles apparently are unbreakable. This is a good thing if your kid is like mine and has figured out that the effects of gravity are pretty rockin’! The leak-proof food jar will keep food cold for 7 hours or hot for up to 5 hours.

Now, these products don’t come cheap. The sippy cup retails for about $16 and the food container is around $20. But here’s my feeling on that. I believe you get what you pay for in life and these products deliver. I find that I take care of these items much better than my take and toss products because I invested in them. With the right care you can have these for a lifetime. Plus, you can leave your drinks, including your child’s milk, in a sauna and they apparently stay cold no matter what!”

Posted by Christine Koh on 9 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2) | Filed in Eco Living; Feeding & Nursing; Home; Solutions
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Whether or not you’re minding your carbs, here’s a terrific way to engage in some guilt-free, grain-related goodness. The Bread Art Project, Grain Foods Foundation, and Feeding America have partnered to help fight hunger in a remarkably creative, easy, and free manner. Simply create a piece of digital bread art by the end of June (uploading and “toasting” an image – such as one of my cute Boston Mamas buttons - literally takes seconds, or you’re welcome to play with their fancier freehand tools), and for each slice artistically rendered, Grain Foods Foundation donates $1 to Feeding America. Amazingly, a $1 donation equals 7 meals, 10 pounds of food, or 4 bags of groceries. Good deeds just don’t get easier or more inspired than that.

Posted by Christine Koh on 8 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Good Deeds
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Though I’m a proponent of moderation over an “all you can eat” mentality, it’s tough to knock enjoying frozen treats for a good cause. Running June 9 – 11 (12 – 8pm daily) at Boston City Hall Plaza, the Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl is in its 27th year of raising money to support cancer treatment and research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Admission – which allows you to sample all the ice cream you are able - is $8 for adults, $4 for children ages 3-9, and free for kids under 3. Particularly cool: in addition to traditional ice cream and frozen yogurt, this year’s offerings include sorbet and gelato (oh how I love gelato), and Kosher ice cream will be available.

Posted by Christine Koh on 8 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Food & Drink; Fun Outdoors; Good Deeds; Local; Outreach
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Today, Jennifer recommends a book for your summer reading list:

“A writer friend recommended Allison Winn Scotch’s Time of My Life and oh did I love it! I grabbed it at the library (quite proud of myself for being so frugal) and read almost the entire book on a train ride from D.C. to Boston. I loved it so much I bought myself a copy to share with friends.

What’s it about you ask? Picture this: you’re entrenched in your life…the house, the husband, the baby. Sound familiar?! But the ghosts from your past (and those of past loves) keep coming back to haunt you from time to time (yeah, thanks Facebook). Then, one day you wake up and you actually have the chance to do it all over again. Would you choose a different path?

This is a great novel that’s real, funny, and thought-provoking (marriage, relationships, motherhood, and sense of self) all at the same time. A great read to tuck in the beach bag!”

Editor's Note: For more book recommendations, check out the Best Reads of 2008 post!

Posted by Christine Koh on 5 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | Filed in Books & Entertainment; For Grownups
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Never a dull moment in this beloved city and its surrounds, and thankfully the weather is looking favorable for some fun festivals this weekend, including: the See New England Festival (Boston; June 6), the Coolidge Corner Arts Festival (Brookline; June 6), Summer Fest at Elm Bank (Wellesley; June 7), and the Dragon Boat Festival (Cambridge; June 6 & 7).

UPDATE: Also consider the Dorchester Day parade on Sunday (lead courtesy of Adam at Universal Hub; thanks Adam!).

Posted by Christine Koh on 5 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Fun Indoors; Fun Outdoors; Local
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Today, Heather recommends childproofing products that have kept her triplet tots out of trouble:

“Will, Adie, and Theo turned two in January and while I wouldn’t say that we are in the throes of the terrible twos, I will say that they have given the word busy a whole new meaning. We have found the need to take extra precautions in safeguarding our home. Working together as a team, my three tots often can outdo the efforts of a single child, scaling greater heights, exploring more remote cabinets, and outdoing restraints with greater efficiency! My husband and I joke that we are living in lockdown mode. There are many products available to childproof your home; here are some tried and true recommendations that have worked for us:

Cabinets and drawers: Our 30 nimble little fingers have learned to open the press and pivot latches. We now use magnet locks. They are pricier but we find them more effective. Just be sure to get a spare magnet key in case you lose one. I recommend KidCo’s Adhesive Mount Magnet Locks.

Door knobs: Apparently, nothing is more intriguing to a toddler than a closed door. They not only want to see what’s on the other side but they find much joy in repeatedly opening and closing (or should I say, slamming) a door. Want to keep your child in or out? I recommend Safety 1st’s Grip n' Twist Door Knob Covers. These covers fit over standard doorknobs and are sold in sets. Don't forget to protect your exterior doors as well, to prevent your little ones from escaping outside.

Doors: I live in fear that little fingers will be pinched in a door. We use Safety 1st’s Finger Pinch Guards. The guards are a soft, flexible foam form that provide a cushion between the edge of the door and the frame, preventing the door from closing on small hands.

Outlet covers: Outlets have almost a magnetic attraction for young children. They will attempt to stick everything from their fingers to their toys into the outlet opening. We started with the plastic outlet plugs until my kids found they were able to remove them. We have since replaced all of our standard outlet covers with KidCo’s Universal Outlet Covers. This product covers the entire plate, but still allows use of the outlet. This product works on both Standard and Decora style outlets by automatically covering the outlet when a plug is removed.

Dishwasher: Much to my dismay we even need to lock the dishwasher. I recommend Safety 1st’s Ultra Multi-purpose Appliance Latch. It is very easy to install and use.

Refrigerator: Safety 1st's Lock Release Fridge Latch is a great lock! I have tried several and this one is very easy to use. I can open it with one hand and even my 5-year-old can open it when she needs to (a good thing!).

Stove/Oven: I recommend Safety 1st's Stove Knob Covers to prohibit children from turning on the stove. The hinged lid allows parents convenient access to stove knobs, without removing the product. And don’t forget about the oven door. My kids sure don’t. We use Safety 1st's Oven Front Lock to keep this door shut.

Crib: My first child never even once tried to climb out of her crib. In contrast, each triplet had the art of climbing out of their crib mastered before they were even two years old. It was clear that we weren’t ready for big kid beds so we opted for crib tents, which did wonders for our sleep! I recommend the Crib Tent II with Inside Surround Net, which not only prevents the child from climbing out of the crib but helps prevent crib rung-related injuries. It is easy to assemble and collapses easily for travel.

Furniture: Finally, furniture wall straps are must haves if you have climbers in the house.”

Posted by Christine Koh on 4 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2) | Filed in Development & Behavior; Gear; Home; Solutions
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Nine years ago today, my hair was in a seemingly impossible up-do of loops and pearl pins, the sun was shining brightly and the ground had miraculously dried out after a huge rainstorm the previous night, and I was about an hour shy of getting married. Not surprisingly, I’m feeling a bit reflective today, so I thought I’d share some lessons (nine of them, actually) I have learned over the last nine years. I hope some of these are helpful to you; if you have other family or partner lessons to share, please feel free to comment in below.

1. Think about people - not parameters - first. One lesson I wish I had taken to heart as we planned our wedding was to think about people - not parameters - first. I read this advice in (the hilariously on target) Miss Manners on Painfully Proper Weddings; the idea being that when you plan a wedding you should think first about who you would like to have present and only afterward, what you can afford to feed them (versus cutting guests in order to have more frills and an expansive menu). By today's standards, our wedding actually was rather modest, but we definitely felt the strain of our space and excluded some people (a regret I still carry). To me, this general idea also translates outside of the wedding sphere; for example, for Laurel’s last birthday, instead of cooking up a huge party as in previous years, I tuned into her personality (shy) and preferences (just a few close friends) instead of looking at the affair as a way to catch up with all of our parent friends in one setting.

2. Don’t fester. Jon and I tend to be pretty level emotionally (no plate smashing or shouting arguments). This, however, invariably leads to periodic festering. Which is bad. For so many reasons. We’ve worked hard on expressing emotion in the moment, and have found that situations are more quickly diffused and understood when we talk things out instead of withholding.

3. If you can’t work it out, get help. Sometimes it’s just incredibly hard to see your way through and out of issues when you are deep in them. Jon and I never have been on the brink of splitting up, but we have definitely had issues - particularly around the challenges of transitioning into parenthood - and we’ve benefited enormously from counseling. Don’t be afraid to seek help if you need it!

4. Prioritize “me” time. Plain and simple, “me” time is essential, no matter how big or small the mindful dose. One way we have achieved me time is via “swap time” over the weekends. In addition to time spent together as a family we also swap up, where Jon will hang out with Laurel while I do my own thing and vice versa.

5. And don’t forget about “we” time. A couple of years ago I joked about the fact that therapists who didn’t even know me told me that I needed to prioritize date night. It’s a cliché but it’s utterly true. For a relationship to survive, you need to get out and actually talk and listen to one another, away from the clamor of family life.

6. Own up to your insecurities, even if they’re kind of embarrassing. Recently, Jon and I have been working on owning up to various insecurities, from the major life ones to the minor and seemingly inconsequential. We’ve found that life is much easier when we're totally open about being who we are.

7. Beware of old habits. At some point in our marriage, Jon and I fell into predictable patterns – him taking over financial matters and me taking over domestic. And over time, it led to periodic tension. We’ve recently started merging more in our responsibilities, to much happier effect.

8. Put down the baby. We joke (sort of) about how our approach with Laurel has, at times, gotten us into trouble (e.g., refusing bottles, refusing alternate caregivers). We’ve been working on getting better at “putting down the baby” - a phrase that harkens back to our first week of parenting, where we realized on day 4 that we had not put Laurel down for one single second since she was born (seriously!). Not only does it help us to not be so on top of her, but it helps her.

9. Follow your instincts, even if they seem crazy to other people. Some people were surprised that I could so easily leave a career I spent 10 years building, to forge a new life in the unknown (to me) and unstable world of freelance writing, editing, and design. And when I tell people that Jon is soon to transition from his current (stable, lucrative) job to (less lucrative) counseling work, I can see the thought bubble, “Are you guys freaking nuts? In this economy?” But I followed my instincts and things have worked out, and my instincts tell me that things will work out for Jon and for us as a family. There undoubtedly will be bumps in the road, but for us, following our instincts translates to pursuing passions and joys. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Posted by Christine Koh on 3 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (8) | Filed in Family Issues
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Today, Jules reports on her and her son’s testing of a series of Playtex baby products, including their BPA-free bottles, BPA-free bottle liners, and pacifiers. Read on for Jules’s review, as well as to learn how to be one of two winners to receive a collection of BPA-free Playtex bottles!

“Years ago, Playtex only meant one thing to me: women’s personal hygiene products. These days, Playtex offers so much more and I am excited to be the new owner of some of them.

The Playtex VentAire bottle system is unique, practical, mimics nursing, and is BPA-free, the latter of which particularly appeals to me since I was one of those moms who discarded all of her non-BPA-free bottles and products, scared to the bone about all the hubbub. My 15-month-old son is pretty accustomed to the type of bottle we’ve been giving him since he was born, but took to the Playtex VentAire Advanced bottles very easily, which I must admit surprised me (given his established bottle usage with another brand). However, Playtex prides itself on testing, and apparently evaluated the bottle system over 11,000 feedings, working on a design to help reduce colic, gas, spit up, and even prevent ear infections; the result is a bottle that helps avoid air bubbles from entering the liquid, and an angled bottle that is more comfortable for both baby and baby-bottle-giver. Thankfully, William is no longer colicky (three months was plenty long!) but in the event that my next baby, due in just 5 weeks, is colicky, I will turn to these bottles and give a silent prayer (well, actually, I plan on using the bottles regardless, because I love the design, ergonomics, and BPA-free material)!

Another option well worth mentioning: as much as I love the quiet time with my son when I am giving him his bottle, one of the daily things I dread is cleaning the many bottles we go through, so I particularly love the Playtex Drop-Ins system. It is a huge time and hassle saver. The drop-ins are pre-sterilized, leak proof, recyclable liners that fit into the Playtex bottles. As baby drinks, the liner collapses, keeping the air out to reduce colic and gas. Simply discard the liner for easy clean up!

One final product I tested is the Playtex Ortho-Pro Pacifier. Most babies stick to the pacifiers that they are accustomed to, and William is no different, but I definitely recommend these ones, and plan on using them with my second baby because I love that they come with a sterilizing cover. Simply fill it with water, snap onto the pacifier, pop in the microwave, and voila, 99% of bacteria is cleaned from the pacifier. How easy is that?

Playtex seems to have hit the nail on the head with these baby products; they’re easy to use, easy to clean up, safe, and well designed for baby. What could be sweeter?”

Now, want to be one of two winners to receive a collection of BPA-free Playtex bottles? Here's how:

Every so often Jon one-ups me in the kitchen, which leaves me both a tad surprised (read: vaguely jealous) and utterly grateful that he knows how to cook and bake. And this past weekend, he decided to make banana bread with Laurel and it was way better than my standard recipe. The loaf was gobbled up within a day and Laurel and I repeated the recipe yesterday, instead opting to make muffins - the advantages being plenty of awesome crustiness, faster baking time (handy for summertime baking), and improved portion control.

This recipe comes from Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything. Below is my revised and annotated version. Also, I highly recommend buying this cookbook; it’s a fantastic basic reference.

Ridiculously Awesome Banana Muffins

Yields 18

When playing board games with Laurel, coping with the whole winner and loser thing has, at times, been challenging. So one thing I love about eeBoo’s prettily illustrated Fairytale Spinner Game is that the game can be more about storytelling. While there are formal rules (object = obtaining one scene, character, and object per category), we simply spin until all the pieces are collected then (often with two scene boards apiece) make up fabulous stories. Not only is it fun to stretch the imagination, but it allows me to work in some life lessons (e.g., appearances aren’t everything; ogres can be friendly and have feelings too…) along the way.

Posted by Christine Koh on 2 Jun 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Art Supplies & Toys
Share: Facebook   kirtsy   StumbleUpon   Delicious

Today, Tracy reports on HomeFree Treats, a great source for allergen-free, organic goodies and ingredients. Read on for Tracy's review of some HomeFree goodies and their allergen-free cookbook, as well as to learn how to win a HomeFree organic cookie sampler pack!

“Given my oldest son’s allergies, I’m always happy to learn about companies who make allergen-free products. And HomeFree Treats – from which I recently tested some product - did not disappoint. This purveyor of allergy friendly fare offers a collection of cookies, coffee cakes (which arrive at your door in a cooler!), and more. We tasted the large oatmeal cookies and the mini chocolate chip cookies, both of which were met with smiles and delight from our kids, and also tested recipes from their Allergen-Free Baking Cookbook.

The oatmeal cookies were almost a cross between a cookie and a muffin top in terms of texture, and they were well spiced and not too sweet. A great lunch box addition. The mini chocolate chip cookies took me back to the days of McDonald’s boxed cookies (in a good way). The were crisp, loaded with chips, and being bite-size made it way too easy to grab a few here and there as supper was cooking. Despite our intention for these to make it into the Monday lunch boxes, they were gone before Sunday afternoon!

HomeFree also has worked hard to make their snacks as healthy as snacks can be. They carry a whole grain symbol, which made me feel at least a bit better about the kids noshing on cookies for most of the weekend.

The best treat of this product testing experience was trying out their Allergen-Free Baking Cookbook. There was some serious sleuthing involved in trying to source some of the ingredients (e.g., in my smallish city, safe potato starch was not to be found, so I had to substitute), which delayed my efforts at trying some of the more involved recipes. These ingredients also tend to be rather pricey, but a little goes a long way, so I tried to think of it more as a baking “investment.” You can order some of the more unusual ingredients, such as xanthan gum, from the HomeFree store, and these ingredients are guaranteed allergen-free.

The recipes in this book are not what even the most experienced bakers are used to. Because the recipes are very close to completely allergen-free, they use alternative flours, binding, and leavening agents. Preparing these ingredients probably takes more steps than the average cake-baker is used to. That said, recalling my early experiences with trying to eliminate 3 allergens from my baking (to negotiate my son’s allergies) made me appreciate the intensive testing and re-testing of recipes that would have gone into this comprehensive cookbook. Bakers new to baking without allergens will be thankful that most of that legwork has been done for them. Recipes for cakes, cookies, muffins, pancakes, and even ice cream alternatives are included.

We tested three recipes: Raisindoras, Vanilla-Pear Birthday Cake, and Blueberry Scokiemuffs. The Raisindoras were the easiest of the recipes, and I made them primarily because they called for nothing unusual. I was able to use my regular baking ingredients and made them up in a jiffy. They tasted like Hermits (without the nuts) and were a delicious dark brown color. Almost like a no-chocolate brownie, these have become a play date staple in our house. The Vanilla-Pear Birthday cake was quite yummy, too. I didn’t taste much vanilla or pear, which I was somewhat disappointed with, these being two of my favorite flavors, but the cake was moist and sweet with a delicate crumb. There are frosting recipes in the book, but we ate ours with a raspberry jam filling and a dusting of icing sugar over top. I made the Blueberry Scokiemuffs because how could you not make something with so interesting a name? A scokiemuff is, according to the book’s author, a cross between a scone, a cookie, and a muffin in terms of texture, and I would say that the description is spot on. These were a great mid-afternoon snack, and while they were the most complex recipe - multiple siftings and steps - they could easily become a breakfast, brunch, or lunchbox regular feature around here. My son and I gobbled them up in about a day and a half!

Overall, of the allergen-free products I have tested to date, HomeFree offers the broadest range of allergens they avoid. Being able to recreate some of their best recipes on your own at home is an added bonus, saving you money on shipping costs, if not time in the kitchen. Allergen-free baking is a labor of love, and HomeFree makes it easier to love doing it!”

Now, want to win a HomeFree organic cookie sampler pack? Here's how: