Are you the parent of a young daughter and are dreading - or already are deeply entrenched in - arguments over questionable clothing choices? Today, PPLM Parent Education Program Manager Amy Cody addresses the question “What to do when your pre-teen daughter wants to wear makeup and skimpy clothing?” Amy offers general guidelines and links to additional resources for strategies and talking points on this tough topic:Are you the parent of a young daughter and are dreading - or already are deeply entrenched in - arguments over questionable clothing choices? Today, PPLM Parent Education Program Manager Amy Cody addresses the question “What to do when your pre-teen daughter wants to wear makeup and skimpy clothing?” Amy offers general guidelines and links to additional resources for strategies and talking points on this tough topic:
I’ve noted before my inability to cope with invasive critters, so imagine my panic when I came home today to find that a squirrel had worked its way into our home and ravaged our kitchen and laundry room (and, oddly enough, left a peanut in Jon's slipper). Sitting here with the panic zone closed off, and cringing in anticipation of the inevitable next round of activity, I’m not feeling particularly charitable towards squirrels, but we are gearing up for humane squirrel removal. Click here if you find yourself waging a similar urban wildlife battle (UWR also addresses raccoon, skunk, beaver, and fox removal).
I never would have thought a preschooler could be so adept at shoveling snow, but Laurel really rocked yesterday’s storm, thanks to a pint sized snow shovel borrowed from our neighbor’s granddaughter. The shovel is the perfect solution for busy, cabin fevered kids on light and fluffy snow days (we spent an hour shoveling and Laurel could have kept going). The shovel Laurel used isn’t labeled but the Suncast Kids Snow Shovel (shown) looks similar and is inexpensive (at Kmart and Amazon).
Let your holiday baking season begin with this masterpiece by Jules:
"I realize that the holidays are a tough time for those trying to watch calories, but I fully believe in indulging on special occasions, which include snowstorms and cozy Sunday afternoons. This bread pudding is a must-try; a comforting, heady dessert that will satisfy your wish for something rich, creamy, tart, crunchy, and seasonal. You can use egg substitute if you are watching your cholesterol, and I have swapped the classic whole milk and cream for mostly skim milk with some heavy cream to save a few calories. As with most of my desserts, I think this is served best with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream, but fear not, this dessert is bold enough to stand on its own.
Dear Readers (and potential writers!): I am looking to expand my merry band of contributing writers to include one or more mamas who can provide insight in the realm of useful general and local resources (e.g., gear, books, programs, etc.) for kids with developmental delays and disorders. If interested, please email me at editor@bostonmamas.com for more information.
As someone now professionally obsessed with color and fabric, one of my aesthetic regrets from Laurel’s babyhood is that I didn’t properly outfit her crib. All the individual bedding component options (and their price tags) quickly overwhelmed me; so Laurel didn't have much else other than a lonely little crib sheet and blanket.
Having grown up in a large household with little in the way of material luxuries, I am grateful on a daily basis for what our household has. We subsequently made a point this weekend to celebrate the collective joy of giving and receiving by trimming a Christmas tree with Laurel, purchasing gifts for our school's holiday drive (it was really marvelous to involve Laurel in the shopping process), and depositing several bags of warm clothing and shoes to a donation station. In the latter vein, today Kate reports on her excellent experience with Room to Grow:
Today, Tracy reports on a fashionable yet highly functional apparel & accesories line for food allergic kids:
“The products offered by Blue Bear Aware are designed with food allergic kids (and their parents and caregivers) in mind. These shirts, badges, and accessories send a message about allergy alerts in style.
We've recently received some useful leads for toy and safety guides, good for the holidays and all year round. Locally organized Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment (TRUCE) has a printable toy guide featuring recommendations for toys that promote positive play (and those to avoid), as well as great ideas for themed creative play gifts made of household items. ToyTips.com features unbiased reviews generated by a team of psychologists, educators, child-care, and health professionals. And the Toy Industry Association has launched ToyInfo.org, a site dedicated to toy safety information.
Today, Little Lettice's Sara Cabot goes to bat for the humble potato, including recipes for the whole family:
"A mom of an 8-month-old baby came up to me the other day while I was doing a demo and said, “I’ve been doing the 4 day rule for each new food" [i.e., feeding your infant a single food for 4 days to check that there is no reaction], “but I’m a bit scared of potatoes.”
These have been tough toy times, and whether Laurel is aware of this on some psychic level, or whether she’s simply narrowly obsessed with art and puzzles these days, her response to The Discovery Channel’s Ready Set Learn! Paz's Lift-Off Rocket
unfortunately was lukewarm, despite my thinking it’s actually a pretty cool toy. I’m reviewing this product today in conjunction with The Parent Bloggers Network.
Today, Heather shares a fabulous family photo system find, SmugMug:
“I’ll admit to my uncontrollable need to document my 4 children's every smile, frown, silly face, and everything in between. With my first child I was vigilant about taking, loading, and emailing loved ones about photos that were ready for viewing. I tried various online album services, but my main complaint was the requirement for viewers to create an account to log in to view. I also needed to send an invitation email in order for friends and family to check out the latest collection.
As promised in an earlier feature on The Handbag
, here’s the first of a series of posts on fabulous luxe and low budget bag solutions. Kate starts us off with a review of the service Bag Borrow or Steal
The closest I’ve come to a panic attack was when I was trapped like a sardine at London’s Tate Modern, shortly after the gallery’s opening in 2000. Not surprisingly then, aside from supporting our little local shops, I’ll be opting for online shopping over mall mobs this holiday season. For those who similarly dread crowds, our bargains page has lots of exclusive shopping codes from independent retailers, as well as deals from our shopping affiliates. Some of the latter are running great limited time holiday offers (some expire today); we’ve created a special section for these deals and will update the listings as we hear of more special offers. Enjoy!
If you’re fed up with the recent toy recalls and want to do something about it, the Consumers Union is running a Twelve Days of Safe Shopping campaign to engage and educate shoppers. Ground efforts will take place in Boston, New York, Chicago, and Minneapolis this Friday (the biggest shopping day of the year). To become part of the local effort, meet up at 9:45am this Friday at the Park Street T station. CU also has an easy online means to send a message to lawmakers urging for improved toy safety legislation.
It’s almost as if Michelle knew I was on side dish duty this Thursday. Today she shares two tasty Thanksgiving recipes – Cranberry Sauce with Dried Cherries and Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Caramelized Apples – along with her typical fabulous tips on how to involve kids in the cooking process. I hope your little helpers look as happy as these cuties!
Modern parenting can create challenges in the most unusual places. Today Tracy writes on an issue she found surprisingly contentious amongst her parent friends; that of how much the tooth fairy is expected to cough up, and what to do with the teeth after the fact. Read on for her solutions, and feel free to post a comment if you have ideas or alternatives to share.
Two days removed, I can hardly believe that this weekend symbolized my first solo 30-hour stretch since becoming a mom more than three years ago (Jon took Laurel on a trip to visit his parents). And despite fanciful visions of sitting around indulging in movies, bon bons, and spa treatments, I went into characteristic superfreak mode, working on design and writing projects, tweaking the layout and static content of this site, catching up on my ridiculous email backlog, assembling Laurel’s big girl quilt (more on that in a forthcoming post), and tidying up the house.