Today, Kate recommends a humble yet essential household gadget:
“Our world is filled with the seductive calls of shiny, splashy, colorful things, all vying for our attention, time, and money. I like to shop because I enjoy pretty, clever, and well-packaged products; however, I have a number of items that are simple, un-fancy, and humble, and that make me inordinately happy because they do what they are designed to do so well, so effortlessly, and with so little razzmatazz, and by doing so genuinely improve the quality of life in my household. One such product is the Black and Decker DustBuster.Today, Kate recommends a humble yet essential household gadget:
“Our world is filled with the seductive calls of shiny, splashy, colorful things, all vying for our attention, time, and money. I like to shop because I enjoy pretty, clever, and well-packaged products; however, I have a number of items that are simple, un-fancy, and humble, and that make me inordinately happy because they do what they are designed to do so well, so effortlessly, and with so little razzmatazz, and by doing so genuinely improve the quality of life in my household. One such product is the Black and Decker DustBuster.
Monday night I met up with some mama friends for a lovely evening of catching up, crafts (bring a long abandoned project to work on…), and desserts. My fabulous friend Sarah brought a plate of divine meringue cookies studded with chocolate. Sarah kindly has shared her recipe for Two-Chocolate Forgotten Cookies (pictured, the last cookie standing):
Planning a homebirth? Today, Tracy shares tips that proved useful in preparing her sons for the homebirth of their third child:
“As we anticipated and planned the homebirth of our 3rd child, my husband and I quickly realized that aside from preparing ourselves, our gear, and our hearts for the arrival of a new baby, we had two boys to prepare as well.
BlogHer Boston was such an amazingly fun ride that there was no question that I wanted to get myself to the big BlogHer meeting this summer. And I’m so very grateful and thrilled to announce that the Boston-based PR firm 360 Public Relations is sponsoring my trip to Chicago. Thank you, 360PR! Read on to learn more about 360PR and a cool (paid!) opportunity they offer for moms across the country.
Welcome to Boston Mamas Rock! – where we’re giving a voice to fabulous local mamas from all walks of life. Read on for today’s interview with Isabela Garcia, a young mother who has overcome the challenges and stereotypes associated with teenage pregnancy to create a loving environment for her son, while pursuing her education and contemplating future aspirations of becoming a psychologist or doula, writing a book, and advocating for more realistic sex education in schools.
Let go of mom guilt with Heather’s tip about baby documentation:
"Capturing every 'first' was easy to do with our firstborn. I was given a beautiful baby book as a shower gift and religiously kept it up to date until Emma was about two years old. I had every intention of doing the same for our triplets. I was determined to treat them all equally; what I did for one I wanted to do for the rest. I even purchased 3 separate baby books.
I've recently had the honor and pleasure of conducting some really lovely interviews, and last week I sat down for a one-on-two chat with 2006 Olympic silver medalists Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto before they led a skating clinic at the Simoni Arena in Cambridge. Read on for my interview, in which I talk with this personable duo about everything from competitions, to shows, to tips for skating safely with kids, to important advice for parents who are enrolling their kids in any types of lessons, to why Boston ranks among Tanith’s favorite cities. (Visit Pop Discourse for additional personal photos.)
Today, Kate shares a lead for a local, simian inspired playspace:
"This has been a long winter in New England, and each weekend presents an opportunity - challenge? - to find new ways to keep my toddler daughter happy and occupied while indoors. Recently, a friend passed along a great tip for a different kind of indoor playground: Monkey Joe's in Danvers.
I’m honored to share the link for my UNICEF guest blog post, in which I describe how my interactions with UNICEF and Pampers turned me from skeptic to believer. It certainly is ironic that the in-person interactions made such an impact on someone who lives and breathes online media, and I can only hope that my reports do justice to the events and thus possibly inspire action for others. It truly is a privilege to share my story alongside the other amazing reports on UNICEF’s Field Notes blog.
I’m thrilled to introduce new guest contributor and local parent educator Hetti Wohlgemuth; today, Hetti covers the basics of baby stimulation:
We all worry that our babies get too much or too little milk, too much or too little sleep, they cry too much or too little, their baths and porridge are too hot or too cold and we worry that we stimulate our babies too much or too little. Rarely do we think we are doing it just right. However, I believe that as long as we feed, bathe, change diapers, clothe, comfort, and love and look at our babies often, those baby-related activities add up to the just right amount of stimulation.
Perfectly timed for yet another snow day, today, Tracy shares her favorite winter boredom busters:
Despite having been raised in Northwestern Ontario, where winter hangs around for about 8 months of the year, I dislike late winter intensely. So do my kids. I mean, really, after you’ve built your 10th snowman, gone sledding for the umpteenth time, and spent countless hours playing board games (I swear my 7-year-old thinks these are “bored” games), you need to shake it up a bit. Here are some of my favorite winter boredom busters:
Welcome to Boston Mamas Rock! – where we’re giving a voice to fabulous local mamas from all walks of life. Read on for today’s interview with Melissa Roiter, mother of triplets and owner of Yummy Mummy Brownies, a locally based but nationally serving brownie and apparel business. Then nominate yourself or a friend!
Today, Evadne shares a key ingredient for her family surviving winter sicknesses:
“Hailing from Canada, there are many things I love about wintertime. But as a mom to a sociable preschooler and thumb-sucking toddler, the season has become overshadowed by sniffles, colds, stomach bugs, and - most recently - a bout of pneumonia (sigh). The road to recovery for us inevitably involves visits to the pediatrician, vitamins, and lots of rest, but we've also added another ingredient to the remedial mix: chicken soup - the quintessential comfort food.
I’m incredibly grateful to everyone for their support following last week’s unfortunate dealings with Boston.com online marketing. The subsequent comments, tweets, and posts truly reflected the passion that readers and bloggers have for transparency, as well as the beauty and power of social media. I just wish I could thank everyone individually; please accept my virtual hugs and handshakes!
When I first launched Boston Mamas in July 2006, as far as I could tell (or as far as Google could tell me), I was the only kid on this particular niche block. That has changed in the last couple of years, however, with a number of national-with-niche-offshoot sites cropping up, as well as Boston.com’s BoMoms launch in May 2008.
My passion for recycling no doubt is at least partly attributable to growing up on hand me downs (as the sixth of seven kids), and I’m thrilled to announce that Boston Mamas now offers a free way for you to recycle your kiddie and parenting gear. Check out our new classifieds section powered by Hand Me Downs (a national mom classifieds website), and enjoy acquiring and purging via this prettily designed service! Also, for those of you who dig celebrity things, the central site recently launched their first celebrity auction, in which Gwen Stefani has donated goods to be auctioned off for charity.
Despite the glorious weather of the last couple of days, no doubt there’s more winter in store. Today, Carole Arsenault of Newborn Nurses shares simple and effective tips for protecting baby’s dry skin during the winter. Many of these ideas also are practical for older kids and adults.