Today's Dear Boston Mamas question comes from Victoria in Chicago via e-mail:
Dear Christine, I live in Chicago and I am planning my best friend's baby shower in the Boston area. She lives in Newburyport. Any suggestions for places in Boston or Newburyport?Today's Dear Boston Mamas question comes from Victoria in Chicago via e-mail:
Dear Christine, I live in Chicago and I am planning my best friend's baby shower in the Boston area. She lives in Newburyport. Any suggestions for places in Boston or Newburyport?
Thanks to an invitation from Electrolux (who kindly handled my travel and accommodations), earlier this week I had the pleasure of traveling with Laurel to New York City for an event to benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. With the incredibly gracious and down to earth Kelly Ripa as hostess, and Serendipity 3's Stephen Bruce as banana split master, the kids got to go nuts in the kitchen (Laurel left no topping unturned) while the grownups learned about a sweet new virtual campaign.
Today, Kate recommends a cool craft supply that little artists no doubt will go crazy over:
My daughter loves nothing more than to make art in all of its various forms. Give her pipe cleaners, tape, a few markers, and a ball of yarn and she'll make something full of imagination and all her own. She is voracious with art supplies and, though we've got loads of markers and crayons, I'm always looking for something new to spark her creativity.
During my recent quest for non-tchotchke awesomeness for Jon's birthday, I was thrilled to discover Soaptopia (another lead from my pals at Cool Mom Picks; thanks ladies!). Operated by a team that clearly has a sense of humor (see the names of their soaps, for example) and is immensely passionate about natural body products (a quick tweet asking for man product recommendations led to an impressively thorough e-mail response about options), I pretty much think it's impossible to go wrong with anything from this online shop.
Next month will mark the second year of living in our not so new, new house, and we are just getting around to hanging things on the wall. Seriously. Part of the delay is attributable to uncertainty (and repeated testing) about where furniture should finally land, and part because some wall hangings required crafting. A couple of weeks ago I finally got around to assembling inspiration boards for my office and my workspace is now approaching a cosmic level of awesome. Read on for the how-to; these boards would be great in other areas of the home as well.
I'm a major proponent of tchotchke-free gifting and one of my favorite gifts to give is soap; it's useful, one can never have enough of it, and it can look like little works of art. Jon and I have a tradition of soap gifting around his birthday and this year I wanted to try some new brands. Following a query on Twitter, I was grateful to my friends Liz and Kristen at Cool Mom Picks for responding back with some of their favorite soap shops. The first place I put in an order at was Abe's Market.
Laurel's transition to kindergarten was rough. It took 2-3 months for her to get to a point where she happily jumped into line and marched into class with the other kids. Save the occasional social tussle, the next 5 or so months were blissfully easy. But the last few weeks have been a struggle of similar proportions to the kindergarten transition. Freak out drop offs. Sobbing in the evening in anticipation of school. Her teachers looking disgruntled. Her parents looking exhausted. It was helpful for me to revisit the advice I collected in the fall, and now I want to share advice I have amassed for coping with end of year transitions. I hope this is helpful for those of you whose kids are struggling as the school year winds to a close.
Today, parent educator Hetti Wohlgemuth of Alphabet Soup 4 Parents suggests that it's never too late to see BABIES:
I went to see BABIES last night, for the second time. Who would have thought that a movie about four babies' first year of life would continue to attract an audience? We went to see Sex and the City 2 a week ago at a small town theatre and only seven women and one man came to that showing; in contrast, last night 10 men and women opted for a not recently released, small budget movie that proceeds with no conflict, plot, or fast pace. The movie clearly has legs (other than the eight adorable and pudgy ones sported by the babies in the film), and while the movie's babies mesmerize, I also found some parenting take away points following two viewings.
On Saturday we had some fellow soccer-loving friends over to watch World Cup, and my friend Heather brought a fantastic bean dip that was -- admittedly -- way more awesome (and quickly devoured) than the basic layered dip I made. Heather kindly sent me the recipe, which originated from her friend Betsy. I'm totally making this dip next weekend for another party I'm hosting. Yummy.
Today, Kate shares a great lead for those who want to experiment with cake baking:
I don't generally write about activities outside of the Boston area, but a recent trip to N.Y. Cake provided me with inspiration. And of course if you can't get to the store in New York City, you can order online.
Sometimes it's hard for me to believe we're already discussing social quandaries with Laurel in kindergarten. And I know it will only get more complicated as she approaches the teen years. If you need help figuring out how to communicate with your teen, consider this lead: Tomorrow at the Boston Health & Fitness Expo, medical staff from MGH and Newton-Wellesley Hospital will lead a session to offer parents of teens strategies on ways to support self-esteem and independence, and recognize and address signs of depression and substance abuse. Registration required.
At the Hynes Convention Center, Boston.
Today, April recommends the MFA for creative and educational birthday parties:
We love going to birthday parties. Esmé has a great time playing with her friends and we love talking to everyone. When Esmé turned 4, I knew that she would love a party--and that we'd love to give her one--but I've never really considered myself a birthday party person. Even though it sounds easy (kids + pizza + cake + goodie bags), I could see myself getting stressed out hosting a party and trying to keep 20 kids happy--and what good is that? I needed to find a little structure so I didn't have to worry, and everyone would have a good time.
Last year I wrote a post titled Nine Years, Nine Lessons, in which I shared nine lessons I learned during Jon and my nine years of marriage; those lessons still resonate a year later. Today is our tenth anniversary, which alternately feels like a huge amount of time and no time at all (despite milestones such as three stints of grad school, four moves, and a baby). I feel enormously grateful to have a supportive, thoughtful partner who continues to grow and evolve with me. Today, in honor of our ten years, instead of looking back on lessons, I am setting intentions for the future. I hope these intentions will resonate with you as you reflect on your relationships.
Today, parent educator Hetti Wohlgemuth of Alphabet Soup 4 Parents shares a review of food for thoughtful parenting. Read on for Hetti's review, as well as to learn how to be one of three winners to receive a copy of food for thoughtful parenting:
As some of you may know, I took up running last summer and have gotten into it enough to actually run some races. I love the minimalism of running -- you can hit the pavement on your own schedule and can go pretty minimal gear-wise, with running shoes being the major expense (that is, unless you're like some of my crazy barefoot running buddies). But one piece of gear that I was thrilled to learn about and now use regularly is the Moji Knee. I wanted to share my thoughts about the Moji Knee here because it's been great to have it in my running "toolkit" and it also seems as if every week I connect with more readers and bloggers and friends and family who are taking up running.
Today's Dear Boston Mamas question comes from Kimberly via Twitter:
Dear Christine, my hubby and I are celebrating 10 years in September. Any suggestions for a nice getaway? I am in Malden (so, about 5 miles from Boston). We are willing to travel a little!
Today, Kate highly recommends Henry in Love:
How do we learn about love? Not parental love -- something so fundamental that I assume it is part of us from birth (if not before) -- but romantic love? My daughter has started asking questions about love songs, about the composition of different families that we know, and about why Cinderella falls for the Prince even though he barely utters a word throughout their (admittedly brief) courtship.
I've long been a proponent of gardening with kids, but that wasn't the only reason I adored the hands on, tchochke-free garden(ing) party my friend Nicola (of teddy bear tea party fame) assembled for her daughter's sixth birthday party. You will totally want to copy this awesome idea.