by Heather
What do Studio Grow, Tumble & Tea, Cafe PriPri, Habitot, and even the Berkeley YMCA have in common? They’re all fighting for my rainy day toddler entertainment dollars.
Whitney challenged me to go to them all (not a problem, I’m making the rounds anyway) and write up my opinions. I challenge you to do the same for your hometown so when the rains pour down or the snow piles up, you’ll have some options.
I’ve got the dirty details on our Berkeley toddler hot spots (tot spots?) over on our blog. Each has something good to offer depending on your circumstances.
The totally-free destinations that I like to frequent include:
- Albany Target for train-watching and errands
- El Cerrito Plaza for Barnes & Noble (train table!) and the pet store
- Cody’s on 4th Street (cozy goodnight moon area and good train spotting)
- Whitney’s house and her set of different toys
- The library for official story time or just to enjoy a safe space and some different books
by Heather
If you’re feeling too lazy, cheap, overwhelmed, or frazzled to face holiday shopping for all your friends or relatives this year, I would like to suggest a little Secret Santa action.
Last year, baby Holden assigned each of my five siblings another person’s name for gift-giving. He used his own email account to tell everyone who they had while I more-or-less stayed out of it. This weekend, Alec and I were musing what an easy web business idea it would be to run a little secret santa site on the side… and lo and behold, I found that SecretSanta.com already exists.
So, this year, I added everyone’s names and the site should (theoretically) manage invitations, assignments, a spending limit, and little wishlists — cool! The service is free — you just have to dodge the landmine of free offers and ads. I hope it works or Holden will be ho-ho-ho’ing it again for us next year.
by Whitney
Is your family big on gift-giving? Make a wishlist online on behalf of your baby to help them pick appropriate gifts. You get the joy of “shopping” without spending any money. 
Amazon, BabyStyle.com, Target.com, you get the idea.
If you like the unique stuff found in more boutique-y style stores, check out MommiesWithStyle.com for tips and coupon codes (for both mom and babe!) or ClassyMommy.com (excellent gift finder and affiliate proceeds are donated to charity).
Since we both have boys, we like some of the brands found at Little Boy Chic.
Finally, when you’re out of your own good ideas, check out what the cool moms at CoolMomPicks.com are featuring.
by Heather
Have you seen this Oprah episode where the woman proves she can decode baby’s true language? The episode was called The Secret Language of Babies. It’s pretty crazy cool and I wish I’d studied baby talk (AKA baby’s cries) before Holden was born.
According to Oprah.com:
After testing her baby language theory on more than 1,000 infants around the world, Priscilla says there are five words that all babies 0–3 months old say—regardless of race and culture:
* Neh=”I’m hungry”
* Owh=”I’m sleepy”
* Heh=”I’m experiencing discomfort”
* Eair=”I have lower gas”
* Eh=”I need to burp”
Hey, at least it’s only five words, right? Learn to listen to baby talk the right way. Check out the video footage here>
Now you can buy the Baby Language DVD series from Amazon: Dunstan Baby Language
! Let us know if it’s any good.
