Call me ecologically bankrupt, but I’m willing to pay for convenience. Disposable dipes and wipes are a mainstay around here, as was jarred baby food–until I tried the Beaba Babycook.

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• Baby Dolls Dolls Dolls Bears

• Baby Alive Interactive Dolls Dolls Dolls Bears

Continue reading → Beaba Babycook: Now you’re cooking, mama

I know I’m not the only mama out there went a little nutty trying to down those 10 glasses of water a day during pregnancy. I’m all for hydration, but after a while it was nice to change up to…

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• Glow Sticks Flashlights, Lanterns Lights Camping Hiking

• Hydration Running Exercise Fitness

Continue reading → Glow Mama, Glow

My daughter loves cooking with me. Loves it. And, while a mother/daughter cooking extravaganza might sound good in theory, the reality is actually quite messy. So I was intrigued by the many promises…

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• Cooking Utensils Cooking Supplies Camping Hiking

• Cooking Supplies Camping Hiking

Continue reading → Baking kits for your own little Betty Crocker

Now that I’m a nutrition-obsessed mom, I get where those raisin people were coming from that I made fun of when I was trick or treating as a kid. They didn’t plan on being the lamest house on the…

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• Maxwell House Coffee, Tea Advertising Collectibles

• US House of Reps US Political Historical Memorabilia Collectibles

Continue reading → Healthy treats that won’t get your house egged on Halloween.

I’m happy to say that these

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• Happy Bunny Animation Characters Animation Art, Characters Collectibles

• Casper The Ghost Animation Characters Animation Art, Characters Collectibles

Continue reading → Ghost Clusters!

About three days after I gave birth to my daughter, my friend Lisa brought over some dinner. I can still remember the exact menu:  Bulgarian Stuffed Peppers, salad and a loaf of crusty bread. In…

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• Red Hot Chili Peppers R Rock, Pop Music Memorabilia Entertainment Memorabilia

• Halcyon Days Decorative Collectible Brands Decorative Collectibles Collectibles

Continue reading → Forget the $2000 stroller. Register for homemade meals instead.

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I was very careful about what I ate. No booze, no sushi, and hearing that soft, raw milk cheeses could be harmful, sat quietly weeping while my friends and…

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• Milk Modern 1900-Now Bottles Bottles Insulators Collectibles

• Soft Plastics Baits Lures Freshwater Fishing Fishing

Continue reading → Because when it comes right down to it, pregnant women are HUNGRY

Take a moment to suspend your disbelief (and perhaps the eyeball damage caused by the googly-eyed neon bugs on the packages) and hear me when I say this: My kids love kefir.

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• A Bugs Life Pixar Collectibles Contemporary 1968-Now Disneyana Collectibles

• Bugs Bunny Warner Bros. Animation Characters Animation Art, Characters Collectibles

Continue reading → Bugs don’t have to be gummy to be yummy

When I first received the package of beautifully-decorated Halloween cookies from Fancypants Bakery, I thought they were just too cute to eat. Five minutes later, with mouth full of shortbread, I…

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• Cookies, Crackers, Pretzels Bakery, Baking Food Restaurant Advertising Collectibles

• Candies, Cookies Ornaments Christmas Current 1991-Now Holiday, Seasonal Collectibles

Continue reading → Just try to keep your costumed little hands off these cookies

I’ll confess: When I first saw that Relish! required a small monthly fee for their meal planning service, I was skeptical. Sure, current economics and busy schedules have put me on the weekly meal…

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• Service Businesses Businesses for Sale Opportunities

• Forest Service Government Advertising Collectibles

Continue reading → Even busy families should relish dinnertime

I’ve already blown my promise to make Christmas cookies, Valentine’s cookies and first day of school cookies this year, so I’m hoping to make amends this Halloween. Although at this point I’m on the…

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• Candies, Cookies Ornaments Christmas Current 1991-Now Holiday, Seasonal Collectibles

• Cookies, Crackers, Pretzels Bakery, Baking Food Restaurant Advertising Collectibles

Continue reading → The perfect apron for whipping up some witches brew

Food allergies suck. I am very lucky to have kids who don’t have them (knock wood), but with a fish allergy of my own, I am sympathetic to those who do. I still remember crying at camp when the kids…

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• Kids Ceiling Fans Home Lighting

• Kids Shoes Clothing, Shoes Accessories Golf

Continue reading → Chocolate bars for kids who rarely can have chocolate bars, poor kids

I can’t even believe we’ve entered the phase of Nooooo that’s MY plate! I’m not sure exactly what makes my daughter think something is hers besides the fact that her sister touched it first, but I’m…

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• Personalized Romance Books

• Personalized Romance Audio Books

Continue reading → Keeping the peace with personalized plates. And maybe a whistle.

Every fall, when the new school year rolls around and I stare down at that bane of my existence, the empty lunchbox, I tell myself that this year will be different. But every year by about December,…

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• Current Year, Next Year Calendars Paper Collectibles

• New Year Holiday, Seasonal Collectibles

Continue reading → ilunchbox.com - helping parents suck less at lunch making

I love a baby shower, but for the life of me, I have yet to bring home a favor that I don’t immediately pass off to my oldest as a “cool prize mommy picked just for you!” However if you decide to…

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• Long Life Light Bulbs Home Lighting

• Little Mommy Interactive Dolls Dolls Dolls Bears

Continue reading → When you can’t have booze, might as well gorge on chocolates

I’m one of those lucky women with a husband who loves to cook. The man not only knows the difference between tarragon and cardamom, he actually cares. Too bad our girls still prefer kiddie foods. So…

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• Lucky Women Discount Fragrances Store

• Girls Handbags

Continue reading → Petite Palate - One bite for baby, one bite for me…

Yeah, I love fancy lunchboxes, too, but my daughter’s getting to that age where she’s leaving splashy behind for a more subtle sense of style. She’s also leaving behind her homework, her jacket, and…

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• Lunch Boxes John Deere Agriculture Advertising Collectibles

• Love Romance Books

Continue reading → Make Lunch Unforgettable

Ridding my home of all of our plastic water bottles of questionable safety felt good, but then I realize- duh-I needed some water bottles.

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• Bottles Bottles Insulators Collectibles

• Reproduction Bottles Bottles Insulators Collectibles

Continue reading → Aluminum bottles for kids are getting cuter precisely every 4.7 seconds

I spend a lot of time complaining about breakfast, but that’s what happens when you take an anti-morning person and add kids. One of my tricks for dealing with mornings when I’m feeling less than…

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• Build a Bear Bears Dolls Bears

• Tricks Magic Fantasy, Mythical Magic Collectibles

Continue reading → You Know Build-A-Bear? Well This is Build-A-Bar.

There are plenty of ways to pledge your allegiance to your presidential candidate - bumper stickers, t-shirts, anonymous troll comments on Daily Kos.

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• Presidential Political Autographs Collectibles

• Presidential 2007-Now Dollars Coins US Coins Paper Money

Continue reading → Dave’s Presidential Hot Sauces - Promoting your democratic right to spice up your bloody mary with your candidate of choice

There is no shame in cooking with baking mixes or prepared foods, although I have a pretty stringent list of criteria for them to make it into my shopping cart. I am delighted to discover that the…

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• Bread Bakery, Baking Food Restaurant Advertising Collectibles

• Monkey, Ape Animals Collectibles

Continue reading → Monkey Bread for Your Little Monkeys

For those of you who have seen the word vegan in the headline and are about to click away, don’t. Yes,
the meals in the newly reissued Vegan Lunch Box recipe book all skip the animal products, but…

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• Lunch Boxes John Deere Agriculture Advertising Collectibles

• Funny Animal Golden Age 1938-55 Comics Collectibles

Continue reading → Vegan Lunch Box - Definitely Not Just for Vegans

When I got married (the first time… ahem), we received endless items from Crate and Barrel. And don’t get me wrong, it’s all very useful stuff, but… well… plain. Boring. So color me surprised…

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• Time Travel Romance Books

• Time Travel Romance Audio Books

Continue reading → Comic Book Fans, Start Your Appetites

I’m part of the low blood sugar brigade, which means I’ve always got a stash of energy or protein bars tumbling out of my bag. Unfortunately, most of those protein bars taste like butt. You know what…

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• Bars Foods, Bars Snacks Weight Management

• Lounges, Bars Matchbooks Paper Collectibles

Continue reading → Kind Bars - Kinda Awesome

Have you tried Hint Water yet? You have to. You just totally have to.

Take it from me, because I’m not a flavored water fan. Mostly I think water is pretty darn good, and it doesn’t need a whole…

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• Water Womens Shoes

• Portuguese Water Dog Dog Animals Collectibles

Continue reading → Hint Water - Totally Indulgent and Yet Totally Calorie Free. Figure That One Out.

My memories of picnicking as a child include my poor
dad struggling to carry a giant plastic cooler weighing approximately
100 pounds to our picnic site.  He’d heave the monstrous beast onto a…

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• Tote Handbags

• Patio Picnic Ware Outdoor Cooking Eating Yard, Garden Outdoor Living

Continue reading → Picnic Week: Built NYC’s Neoprene Six-Pack Tote

There is one definite problem with toting your eco-friendly 21st century reusable water bottle around, and that is, eventually it runs out of water. At least if you’re me and you drink like a fish…

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• Water Womens Shoes

• Portuguese Water Dog Dog Animals Collectibles

Continue reading → That Water Fountain Just got about a Milion Percent More Appealing

I’m tired of unpacking a picnic lunch and finding that the
sandwiches have been squished or the plastic containers have spilled
their contents all over the inside of the cooler.  Next time, I am…

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• Patio Picnic Ware Outdoor Cooking Eating Yard, Garden Outdoor Living

• Picnic Baskets Backpacks Outdoor Cooking Eating Yard, Garden Outdoor Living

Continue reading → Picnic Week: The Mod Bento Lunchbox

I find that reading labels is hard enough when I’m trying to figure out which cereal has less fat, or whether sugar is hidden in yogurt using some sixteen-syllable code name. But when you’ve got a…

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• Hard to Find Romance Books

• Hard to Find Romance Audio Books

Continue reading → Big Brands Doing Cool Things: Peapod Makes Shopping Easy for Parents with Allergic Kids

While in the great outdoors, someone once said, Take Only Memories, Leave Only Footprints, which is really a polite
way of saying, Don’t You Dare Throw That Cup On The Ground, Bucko.  If only…

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• Handmade Handbags

• Napkins Linens Textiles, Linens Antiques

Continue reading → Picnic Week: Cool Handmade Napkins and Eco-Tableware

Allergies seem to be taking over the world, and as I’m about to add “parent of schoolchild” to my resume, I admit  I’m nervous about bake sale duty. If it’s not nuts, it’s gluten. If it’s not…

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• Planters Nuts Candy Nuts Advertising Collectibles

• Candy Nuts Advertising Collectibles

Continue reading → Hold the Food Coloring, But Not the Yum

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day for kids, but if your household is like mine, you probably struggle a bit taking this knowledge and applying it to your daily life. I…

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• Little Mommy Interactive Dolls Dolls Dolls Bears

• Household Advertising Collectibles

Continue reading → Ice Cream For Breakfast? Mommy Says Yes.

The average American school year is 180 days long, which translates to a whole lot of lunches to pack. It’d
only be a number of days before I was sending my kids off to the bus stop
with a can of…

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• Halcyon Days Decorative Collectible Brands Decorative Collectibles Collectibles

• Current Year, Next Year Calendars Paper Collectibles

Continue reading → Wicked Whoopies: No Seriously, It’s Totally G-Rated.

I literally ate my way through the International Fancy Food Show in New York a few weeks ago, and came home with a belly that could get me a seat on the subway, a couple of blisters, and piles of new…

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• Subway Transportation Collectibles

• Take a Seat Willitts Decorative Collectible Brands Decorative Collectibles Collectibles

Continue reading → Lactose-Intolerant Ice Cream Lovers, Grab Your Spoons

Clearly the best way to cut down on environmental waste as far as bottled water goes is not to drink it at all. But we know that’s not always realistic. If you’re in a building with old scary pipes…

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• Water Womens Shoes

• Portuguese Water Dog Dog Animals Collectibles

Continue reading → Primo Water: A Nice Shade of Light Green

I still remember my first “care package” sent to me at overnight camp and how exciting it was to not only get mail, but mail that had food in it. Junk food! Instant popularity.

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• Cookies, Crackers, Pretzels Bakery, Baking Food Restaurant Advertising Collectibles

• Air Mail Back of Book United States Stamps

Continue reading → Happy Camper Week on Cool Mom Picks: Great Outdoors Cookies from Eleni’s

Bringing the circus to our home is a little redundant, but these circus animal cookie cutters are making me consider it.

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• Circus Art Circus, Carnival Historical Memorabilia Collectibles

• Circus, Carnival Historical Memorabilia Collectibles

Continue reading → Mmmm…Baby Seals

Okay, so you know we’re getting a little sucked into the world of eviro-shopping when we eagerly await a new SKU.

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• Colored Chandeliers Home Lighting

• Colored Light Bulbs Home Lighting

Continue reading → The Colored Klean Kanteens Are Here! The Colored Klean Kanteens Are Here!

Although she’s an NPR contributor and food columnist, Betsy Block is also a typical wife and mother. Which is to say that her family of four, she realizes, is mired in unhealthy dining habits at the…

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• Mother and Child Statues, Figures Christianity Religions, Spirituality Collectibles

• New Kids on the Block N Rock, Pop Music Memorabilia Entertainment Memorabilia

Continue reading → And Then They All Ate Whole Grains and Lived Happily Ever After

Today both my kids’ daddy and my own daddy are going to open up their brand new copies of Top Chef: The Cookbook. Which is why I held this review until today.

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• Today American Girl By Brand, Company, Character Dolls Dolls Bears

• Open Salts Tableware Housewares Kitchenware Collectibles

Continue reading → Top Chef Comes to Your Kitchen. Yes, Sam Too.

Check out any of the mom message boards and you’ll find members bragging about having used Born Free bottles since way before anyone else knew the dangers of BPA or knew how to pronounce Phthalates.
…

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• Bags, Backing Boards Supplies Comics Collectibles

• Hard to Find Romance Books

Continue reading → Born Free, Free of BPA.

Open Matthew Mead’s new Cakes for Kids cookbook and you’ll experience a combination of awe and complete intimidation. It’s as if my inner competimommy is saying Yes! We can make this! while my inner…

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• Cakes, Doughnuts Bakery, Baking Food Restaurant Advertising Collectibles

• Complete Bicycles Bicycles Transportation Collectibles

Continue reading → Cakes That Truly Take the Cake

Despite my usual aversion to cutesy names, I have to concede that Domenica Catelli’s Mom-a-licious cookbook delivers deliciously on what its subtitle claims: Fresh, fast, family food.

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• Food Storage Cooking Supplies Camping Hiking

• MREs Freeze-Dried Food Cooking Supplies Camping Hiking

Continue reading → The Reluctant Joy of Cooking

It is definitely a certain kind of fellow who has the need for more than one basic pair of cuff links in his wardrobe. And it is definitely who  has a thing for Formula One race cars.

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• Cuff Links Original Items Current Militaria 2001-Now Militaria Collectibles

• One of a Kind Artist Bears Dolls Bears

Continue reading → Racecar Chic. Who knew.

We’re always looking out for safer, non-leaching plastic baby bottle alternatives, but I’m still a bit reluctant to make the leap to glass.

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• Glass Buttons Sewing Collectibles

• Glass Thimbles Sewing Collectibles

Continue reading → The Glass Sipper

I have one of those toddlers who insists on feeding himself with a spoon or fork. He also refuses to wear a bib. Put those two together and it’s a brutal combination.

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• Spoon Rests Kitchenware Housewares Kitchenware Collectibles

• Mills and Boon Romance Books

Continue reading → Boon is Putting the Self in Self-Feeding