Messy and outside, a toddler’s dream. Modern Playhouse has made an outdoor playhouse for all those times when you want to go out and play in the garden rain or shine. It’s called the Dacha playhouse, named for a Russian garden house. Not to be confused with danke, which is German for thanks.

The playhouse can simply provide shade or it can be a garden/green house or a lemonade stand or a club house or, well, whatever your kid can come up with.

Apparently this playhouse is tool-less, so even the clumsiest of handymen and handywomen can assemble it. They say it takes minutes. Hopefully their directions are somewhere in between IKEA’s no word mystery directions and the 10 page tome bicycle assembly directions. “Assembly required” is a parent’s nightmare!

Oh how I yearn for a yard to put this in. As it stands, right now we live in an apartment and we have no place, inside or out, to put a playhouse. Instead, we throw a blanket over the back of the chair and hook it over their little kitchen to make a “cave.” It works for now.

But this little darlin’ would be a hit!

Maybe come summer. Maybe.

photo credit: Modern Playhouse

Cooochichooochicoooooo.

Truth be told, it’s not hard to photograph babies. They are always so, so, so cute. But it is hard to take a GOOD picture of babies, what with all their moving, squirming, and drive-by smiles. You’ve got to be on your toes!

Here are few tricks I use when I’m at work – oh, yeah, did I mention my other job is taking photographs of families?

1. The hotter the better. Keep the room/house warm with babies. They like to nuzzle and snuggle so when they are cold, they are unhappy. Not good for the picture taking. Crank up the heat, even if that means you are sweating.

2. Level as she goes. Get the camera on their level. Don’t photograph down on them. If you photograph straight on, or even below their eyes, they tend to look like the majestic angels they are.

3. Quiet on the set. Tone down the background. If you can, make it all one color – a sheet, a big coat, a chair or couch cushion. Anything to make the baby pop right out of the photograph.

4. Strike a pose, juxtapose. Babies look best when they are either near really big things (to emphasize their smallness) or really small things (to make them look larger than life).

5. Moody, moody, moody. Don’t be afraid to snap away when the tears come. Or in the middle of a big yawn. Sometimes, it’s the absence of a smile that makes the memory stand out even more.

Bonus* 6. Back to basics. Even a photo from behind can capture just the right thing.

Now, it’s hard to photograph with a point and shoot or camera phone that has a delay. Really frustrating. My advice – press the button BEFORE you think you have to. You know your baby. You know when a smile is coming. Snap away. And don’t be shy, take thousands. You can always edit later.

One day, I hope that some baby will take it upon herself and photograph/video her parents trying to photograph her. Wouldn’t that be awesome, to see the faces we all make?

photo credit: MHMB

I know it’s been around a while, it being from sheep and all, but I’m just discovering how amazing felt is. Felt can be used for oh so many things. And, 100% wool felt is amazingly earth friendly – again, think sheep!

Think coasters, like these from Etsy. Since wool is naturally water resistant, it makes for a perfect coaster. One that won’t let your glass drip all over your table when you pick it up either. So no little dribbles.

What about folded and stitched into a bin for toys? Get a load of this adorable felt toy bin from Wooli. Oh, the possibilities.

Not to mention all of the out of the box uses…like rugs. I think this hall runner from Filz Felt is just the bomb. I wonder how slippery it is, but that’s probably easily fixed with one of those under rug pads that is designed to un-slip the slip. And as a circle rug. Divine!

And finally, get ready to have your mind blown. Felt window coverings (also from Filz Felt). Whaaaaat? Now, admittedly, felt window coverings aren’t for everyone, and they do require the right space. But used in a loft, or even as a huge room divider…I think it’s genius. Don’t think I’ll ever have occasion to live with felt window coverings, but that doesn’t stop me from appreciating the idea.

My mind is spinning and my fingers are itching for a DIY project! Felt, here I come.

photo credit: “KIUKO“

I think whoever said that idle hands were the devil’s workshop must have had toddlers! Oh, what can happen.

While you can put toddlers to work whenever you need to busy them, I can think of no better time than the holidays, with the possibility of being stuck inside with adults who are busy themselves, to have a “busy bag” for a toddler (or any aged kid for that matter – it just depends on what you fill it with). A busy bag is simply a toy or game that can keep little hands busy that is stored in a gallon Ziploc bag and whipped out when needed.

I love these bag ideas from The Rigneys. So many options for little hands to get down to some focused work. The felt board is especially great and can transform into oh so many things:

Here are great directions.

These paint chips with laundry clips would entertain my girls for a seriously long time, especially if all the paint chips were somehow pink. Of course, they’d be clipping and snipping each other’s noses and toes. But that’s another story.

Personally, I think you could take this idea and transform it to whatever fit your personality and need. We head over to the grandmother’s house for dinners every Sunday and I can imagine having these packed at the ready to entertain them over there.

Better than Barbie, I think. But is this a case of when Mommy doesn’t know best? I can’t tell.

photo credit: all photos courtesy of The Rigneys

OMG. Fairies! When did fairies take over my children? Fairies are like crack. You get one taste and you gotta have more, more, more. Not that I know beans about crack, it’s just that, well, you know.

Both my girls are wild about fairies, especially the older one. Oh, how I did her wrong!

See, my friends over at I See Me thought my girls would like a fairy tale made just about them. And I did a bad thing. I over-thought it.

I thought that I could get one book, for the younger daughter, and let her feel like the princess for a change. She’d be the ‘chosen one.’ And my older daughter would see that her sister was, in fact, pretty damn cool because she had a fairy tale written about her!

Ok. Ok. Ok. I, myself, am the younger of 2 sisters. It’s possible that I was thinking of my childhood. My sister. Possible. Oh alright. Yes.

So I got the ONE book about the YOUNGER daughter. It’s incredible. It’s adorable. We all love it. All the fairies get together and ‘elect’ or nominate one among them to be princess. They ‘reveal’ who the lucky fairy is by spelling out her name. As in the “Lingonberry Fairy” talks about her “Lively” friend (whose name happens to start with an “L”). And so on until the name is all spelled, first and last.

Then they make a throne and celebrate how great they think the princess is.

So, yay to that!

Needless to say, we read the book ALL THE TIME. And, I will say that my older daughter has taken to saying that her sister is sweet and cute. That’s new and I love to hear it. Only she figured out the construct and last night asked if I’d get her a book made for her.

Damn their little brains!

I See Me has a variety of books that can be personalized to your child’s name, ranging from My Very Own Fairytale for girls (which we got) to My Very Own Pirate Tale, for boys. The books cost $29.95 each, which is a bit more expensive than you might pay for a regular book, but the personalization is well worth it. Thanks to I See Me for providing a review copy!

Well alright! I gotta tell you about this Retro Kitchen from Pottery Barn Kids. Seriously. My girls LOVE it.

But first. Pottery Barn Kids. Honestly, I burned myself out on Pottery Barn with my first house. I had a few hand me downs that I loved, but every time I bought furniture – any furniture – it was from Pottery Barn. And then, I looked around and I lived in a catalog. So I stopped perusing their things for a long time. And stopped buying.

Until I discovered Pottery Barn Kids. Same thing happened. I looked. I loved. I bought. And then I thought, “this is getting ridiculous!”

So I’ve been on a self imposed fast from them. And you know what happens when you fast…the first bite of food tastes delicious.

The folks at Pottery Barn Kids asked me and my girls if they wanted to test drive the All-in-1 Retro Kitchen collection. How could I not bite? I did. And is it good. For my girls of course, my girls.

First off, the kitchen came assembled. YES. Assembled. So no hassle, no fights with the hubs late at night while the girls are sleeping as we put it together. NOPE. Just slide it out of the box. I did have to screw on the pot rack, but that was 2 screws. Done.

Ours is pink. Because of course it is. I have two girls.

There is a fridge, a stove with two burners, an oven and a sink. Oh, and shelves and a pot rack for storage. And yet it’s very contained. The construction is really solid and the styling is, well, retro as the name implies.

The footprint is roughly 4 feet by 1 and a 1/2 feet. So longish and narrow.

Talk about putting busy hands to work! Now, at dinner time, we all cook. They do it side by side (with some pushing each other and a little yelling, but mostly quiet) while I’m in my kitchen. I filled their pots with pasta and they ate it dry, but what the hell. I did draw the line when my older girl asked for real water to “wash” her dishes.

It’s a real treat to have. Plus, I love that my girls’ play involves mimicking my actions because developmentally that’s exactly where they are anyway. They already ‘talk’ on the phone or go pretend grocery shopping, so why not rummage through the drawers to find utensil?. Or bang pots around. Open and close the fridge. Better than doing it underfoot in the actual kitchen.

So thanks Pottery Barn Kids for this. Now, if only I had the patience to wait for Christmas for them to open it. Whoops.

Winter. Stuck inside again. Instead of baking yet one more batch of cookies, try playing a little lap game with your wee one. These are good for babies all the way up to toddlers. My older daughter is 4 and she still loves playing, albeit she flails a bit more and likes to throw herself off my lap at the end. She’s very dramatic. (Mom, I hear you snickering!)

First: get on the floor. Yes, all the way on the floor. Legs straight out so you can bounce your knees up and down.

There are two pony songs we sing: Trot, trot, trot and Trot, trot, trot to Boston. The specific tune doesn’t matter so much as the knee bouncing and the falling over at the end part. I always add a ‘weeeeee’ as I fall, to be extra silly. They go like this:

Trot, trot, trot
Go and never stop.
Pony you must gallop faster
If you want to please your master.
Trot, trot, trot, trot, trot
Go and never stop!
(weeeeee)

Trot, trot, trot to Boston
Trot, trot, trot to Lynn
Be careful when you get there
that you don’t fall…In!
(weeeeee)

I learned a horse shoe putting on song, too, that is fun to do right before. Take your little one’s foot in your hand and slowly pick it up, stroking it from toe to heel as you say it. Then you pat the foot with each ‘nail.’

Pitty patty polt
Shoe a little colt
Here a nail!
There a nail!
Pitty patty polt

What do you do to pass the time on a cold winter day?

photo credit: rolands.lakis

The second my younger daughter saw this book, Strange Bedfellows and other critters, she started running through the house saying “cock-a-doodle doo!” which, for a 2-year-old comes out something like “cock doo doo.” Until I saw the rooster on the cover, I thought, “oh boy, what’s going on now?” Like when your baby yells “fu*k” at the dinner table and you look all flabbergasted at her until you realize she’s just asking, very loudly, for a fork.

The book, by my step-dad Campbell Hutchinson (aka Hutch), is a compilation of his paintings and limericks about the bond that forms between differing species in the animal kingdom. These pairings work together, transcending their differences to unite against a common enemy. Much like grandparents and grandkids.

I think Hutchy, as Hutch is known in our household, wrote the book because of all of his grandkids and their cumulative unquenchable thirst for stories. And yes, my kids are his grandkids. Well I’m lying a little. Yes, Hutch is their granddad but we don’t really just call him Hutchy. To be honest we call him MinnieHutchy because he’s is married to my mom and when my babies started talking ‘Grandma’ was definitely NOT an option.

Maybe you can relate? Minnie became Grandma’s name since she has been affectionately known as Missy her whole life and my older daughter just couldn’t quite make the ‘s’ sound. How sweet are those little happenstances! Now the grandparents are BOTH known as MinnieHutchy. As in ‘hi MinnieHutchy and MinnieHutchy.’ It is actually fitting since those two are joined at the hip. At the hip. But I digress. Just wanted to be upfront about the family ties! And I’m sure MinnieHutchy two times is thrilled that I added this part. Thrilled.

Back to the book. It’s just plain fun to read! The paintings are sturdy but whimsical – abstract enough for the reader to project personality onto but you know when you’re looking at an elephant or a zebra, even if it’s from the rear. My favorite one is the cows kissing for the rhyme “A Swiss Kiss” (I think of it as a MinnieHutchy self portrait). The way the Swiss bovine leans into the smooch is so endearing.

The favored limerick by far is the one about Basil, the ‘Fraidy Cat. As cats are wont to do, this cat just sits and watches with disdain, even in the presence of a mouse:

“Catch that mouse,” I implored
advice which Basil ignored.
there she sat
on her kitty mat
looking for all the world bored.

My kitty-obsessed older daughter wants to hear this over and over. And over.

And that’s actually OK because it’s fun to read. While the limericks are easy in form to read, Hutch uses words that will tickle an adult’s fancy like “fume”, “transcend” and “contrarian” (to rhyme with vegetarian). You don’t often find those in children’s books! And, they are actually educational in the sense that you can glean the animal’s traits and environs from the rhymes.

For older kids, the limericks are long and interesting. For the younger set, the pictures keep the attention. I will say that my 4-year-old will sit for a long long time listening while the 2-year-old listens for a bit then busies herself with crayons, shoes or water glasses – you know, whatever is nearby. Sometimes, when I’m reading to just the wee one, I’ll chose one limerick and stretch it out, repeating it slowly and really getting animated with my voice. It makes her happy. Which makes me happy. I’m sure the girls will enjoy these books even more when they are just a bit older.

All in all Hutch has published four books so far. He started with Wild Things. Funny, he published that just as each of us siblings had our first child. I wonder if that was a coincidence, that title? Hmm. Then there is Strange Bedfellows, Animal Treks and another one called Great Woolly Beasts and some feathery aminals (no that’s not a typo, just another malapropism from the family). Here’s how to find them on blurb.com. Hutch’s books start at around $30 for softcover and go up to around $45 for hardcover.

Oh, and guess what! The original paintings that the book pages are based on are available, too. If you like the one of a kind paintings, you can visit his website to see what he has available. He also has archival prints of some of the critters as they appear in the series of his books. You fan find those, too, on his site.

I’m really excited that he’s chosen to make these books and artworks available to a wider audience than his ever-growing family. I thought we were just the lucky ones, but now you can delight in them too! Maybe you can help me spread the word?

Childcare is one of those things we agonize over. To send or not to send? In-home daycare or center? Nanny or babysitter? Part-time or full-time?

It can really drive a parent crazy!

But when choosing childcare, one thing is the most important: your gut feeling. I’ve been looking for daycare for one child or another since 1999. And in almost 13 years, it’s never gotten easier — or cheaper.

However, there’s a few questions you can ask yourself before you start looking for childcare.

Do you need part-time or full-time childcare? This is actually the very first question you should ask, and here’s why – it will have bearing on what type of childcare choices you have. In many places, if you are only looking for part-time care, a home-based daycare will likely be ruled out. Since states regulate how many children can be at a daycare, as well as the child/provider ratio, many home daycares are reluctant to take part-time children because it messes up the ratios and gives them one less full-time slot (and, frankly, full-time = money).

What is your budget? As parents, we are often reluctant to admit that we have a budget on what we can spend on childcare because we relate what we are able to pay with what we are willing to pay. Which is unfortunate, because these are two totally different things. If you have an unlimited budget, you have unlimited options; if you’re on a budget like most of us, you need to make some decisions. A home-based daycare is typically less expensive than a daycare center, but a center will have more flexibility. A nanny will typically give you the most flexibility, but will cost you the most money per hour.

What type of care do you want for your child? One-on-one? Lots of social interaction? A mix of the two? For most of us, a healthy mix of both is often the choice. A center will give the most social interaction, while a nanny or babysitter will give the most individual attention. Typically, a nanny is more willing to take your child out for story hours and play dates than a babysitter (unless you get really lucky) because a nanny makes more money. You can view our earlier post on how to choose a good nanny if you’re thinking about going down that path.

Are you able to set boundaries? This is actually a very important question, though you’re likely wondering why I’m asking it here. With a center or a home-based daycare, the rules are set for you because the people caring for your children are also business owners. However, with a nanny or babysitter, it’s your job to set their rules and enforce them; that can mean some uncomfortable conversations if you’re unhappy with your care provider.

I can speak from two camps: the home-based daycare and the nanny. My first daughter was in a home-based daycare with a wonderful woman and equally wonderful children. Twelve in all with one full-time and one part-time provider. Our second daughter is with a nanny — first a nanny share and now by herself. As she approaches two, we are thinking about a part-time preschool situation, just to get her some additional socialization with kids her own age (the only drawback I can think of with a nanny).

What have your experiences been with childcare?

We’ve all been there. A baby shower to go to and no idea what to buy.

Like, do you really want to buy baby toys? Or more baby clothes? And yes, you can shop off the registry, but I’ve talked to more and more moms that aren’t registering at all because no one ever buys them what they ask for anyway.

So, what’s a shower-goer to do?

Try Citrus Lane.

Frankly, this idea is genius. The only fault I can find is that I didn’t think of it first.

Citrus Lane is a business which gathers the most popular and most highly recommended baby products and pulls them together all in one place. Then, they package them up and send them to new and expectant parents. As the gift-giver, these packages are part of a subscription service. Each and every month (for the term you specify), the new parents will receive a box in the mail filled with products valued at $50.

As an added bonus, there’s always helpful parenting tips included. I love that last part — I always hated it when another parent would tell me what I was doing wrong, so it was easier for me to read it from a magazine.

Here are a few examples of the boxes: Month 1 includes a bib, gripe water (a mother’s savior!!), an organic washcloth, diaper cream, and a small stuffed toy. Month 5 is all about starting solids. The contents of each box are for the parents to keep and it also includes a list of places where they can buy more of the products if they love them.

Subscriptions start at 3-month intervals and, if paid monthly, start at $25 per month. If you prepay for 6 or 12 months, you’ll save $25 (or basically get a free month).

This is such a fantastic service and I wish that it had existed when I had the baby just a few years ago. As a new mom, there were so many things I wanted to try, but hesitated because of price. And I was totally interested in everything being organic, but then the price issue crept again. If I had gotten boxes with organic products in the mail each month and was able to try out each and every item, I would have been far better equipped to pick and choose what was right for our family.

As a parent, would you have enjoyed a gift like this? As a shower-goer, is this something that you would consider giving?

Just look at those clothes for a second. Can you say, “adorable”? I am so in love with this line.

Target has a long history with a slew of designers who create lower priced clothes exclusively for the discount chain. I have enjoyed many of these lines, but none quite so much as the Harajuku Mini for Target line, created by singer Gwen Stefani.

In fact, in the other part of my life, I write about baby clothes for About.com and so I’ve had my eye on this line since it was announced in the summer. The fact that it will be unveiled to touch and try on my kiddo on November 13th is nearly as exciting as the premier of the new Twilight movie.

Yes, I’m pretty geeky.

So what’s so great about the Harajuku Mini for Target line? Well, for one, it’s crazy-affordable. Prices for accessories are starting at $4. And as far as I can tell, the most expensive item will come in somewhere around $60. Not bad for designer items.

Second, the styling. In particular, the boys’ styling. I have two girls and think the girl options are fantastic. I really do love them. But the boys clothes are awesome! Primarily because I know how difficult it can be to find decent-looking boy clothes.

Third, it’s going to be widely available. Target is all over the place and though the quantity of items released in each store will vary, you will be able to get at least something from the line at any location.

Finally, I love that this limited-edition line is focused on kids and so different from everything else that Target carries. Known for their selection of OshKosh, Circo, Hello Kitty, and Cherokee, this will be a nice departure and I hope to see  more like this in the future.

Included in the line are the normal accessories you would expect (headbands, little bags, and leg warmers), awesome slip-on shoes, skinny jeans for the boys (which, on older boys I do not like, but on little boys they look so cute!), tutu frocks, hoodies, and jackets. If I had to sum up the individual lines for boys and girls I would classify the girl stuff as cute with a little bit of sass and the boys’ line as straight-up edgy.

You can tell this rockin’ momma has two boys of her own.

I, for one, know that I will be at Target on the morning of November 13th. I also know that I will be unable to control myself, nor will I be able to stick to a budget of any sort. And you know what? I’m going to be okay with that.

photo credits: Target

Awwww. This is about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in a nursery, aside from the baby that is. Well, even then, these portraits of baby animals by Sharon Montrose ARE pretty damn adorable…that baby best be gurgling and coo-ing just to keep up.

I mean, look at that little lamb’s face. OMG!

And the duckling:

Oh, oh, the monkey, look at the monkey, as well as the tiger and the baby kangaroo!

I’m so in love with these I can’t stand it. These pics are so cute it’s not even normal.

How does Sharon do this? Magic, I’m sure. Or, she’s a really good photographer.

And, if you’re wondering, no animals have been hurt in the making of these portraits. Here’s what Sharon says on her site, “The animals…are real live animals, raised (and most rescued) by loving, experienced, and dedicated animal keepers and handlers who care for them as their own and ensured their welfare while being photographed (in studio or outside at the facilities where they live, then photoshoppped into the backdrop).”

If you like animals, you have to look into this! Also, by supporting this series, Sharon is able to help organizations devoted to animal rescue, educational programs, and nurturing wildlife. So you can help her help animals. All while you get to gaze at those fuzzy little faces.

Plus, at $25 per print (8.5 x 11) these are incredibly reasonable. Unless you want to paper the walls with them, like I do, and then it could get outta hand.

Hello Babybot! My bare naked walls have been dying to meet you, only I didn’t know it. Until now. How cool are these wall stickers?

At first glance, the whole ‘bot’ thing kinda threw me. I’m not necessarily a robot girl, and neither are my kids. But then again, how sweet are these designs? The little bots hiding in holes – too cute. And that doodle on the wall! Hopefully this wouldn’t put ideas in little heads, and yet I could so see these on our walls.

See how far good design will get you?

So, as I perused Babybot’s entire wall decal store, I found a couple of other great decals, too. Ohh, so much.