From the category archives:

Month 12

Activity #366: Set up a backyard festival

August 27, 2009

Entertaining Julian in the afternoon is best done outside. Inside he is totally crabby from about 3 to 6 pm. I’ve discovered things he likes and have been lazy enough to just put them all in the backyard at once so that he can roam from activity to activity over the course of an hour. [...]

Activity #285: Swap, Mamas!

August 13, 2009

We are big fans of the clothing swap as a girls-only daytime get together. Because why shouldn’t your good stuff go to someone who will enjoy it?! We’ve been doing it for about 10 years. Since we entered the world of parenthood, we started adding some maternity and baby items to our swaps, but since [...]

Stow your stroller

April 2, 2009

Outside of the side door of my house lives an attractive collection of strollers and their cousin, the red wagon. I am using the word “attractive” sarcastically. There’s the single stroller, the jogger, the double. And I’m not the one who is the stroller whore. It really reminds me that my family is living not-a-completely-urban [...]

Give thanks (a holiday bonus) to your regular caregiver

November 21, 2008

I love our very sweet caregiver for Scarlett. She comes to our house three times per week, for five hour shifts, to allow me to do some of the freelance writing and marketing work that I do. Around here, it’s pretty common to set up what we call a “nanny share”. In our case, another [...]

Activity #430: Thrift your heart out

October 7, 2008

Dutch from Sweet Juniper is psyched about passing on his love for thrift stores to toddler Juniper. His recommended outing sounds best for a toddler who will truly enjoy the piles of broken baby dolls, rusty toy cars and weird furniture that a thrift store has to offer. (photo: Sweet Juniper in a thrifted outfit) [...]

Activity #525: Sew a tshirt dress for little missy

July 25, 2008

You know I’m officially crazy when I stop a mom in the park and ask if I can take a picture of her baby for my blog. As if a blog is something that she should understand and clearly want to be a part of. Cuckoo. Anyhow, little Natasha’s mom was agreeable, and I am [...]

Activity #484: Facilitate thank you notes with a personal touch

January 3, 2008

Carolyn sent us this activity for the brave: My son couldn’t help write the thank you notes for his first birthday but he could help make the cards! I put him in his high chair, wearing only a diaper. I got out some heavy paper and non-toxic, washable finger paints, squirted a little paint on [...]

Activity #45: For a good time, check the garage

October 10, 2007

Let’s see… we have in our garage a baby bathtub we’re not using, a jogging stroller we rarely use, baby toys that are too young for my son, and some gift wrapping paraphanalia that he’d surely love to dig into. Do you have gear you never use? Get out that backpack or jogging stroller, even [...]

Activity #313: Make a fancy photo book

August 9, 2007

Just in case you haven’t been so good about keeping a baby book… photo websites make it super easy to make gorgeous coffee table type albums that will make you look so very together. When my mom and I took a very special girls trip to Italy to celebrate my 30th birthday (thanks Mom!), I [...]

Activity #346: Go on an Awfully Big Adventure and leave the house empty

July 20, 2007

When Julian and I walked into the house at 7 pm one day this week, Rookie Dad remarked that it was the first time in months that he got home from work to an empty house. I was happy for him. I thought he should have been laying on the couch, but we found him [...]

Activity #214: Love your local library

June 18, 2007

You already know that the library is a fun place to take baby, but did you realize how it can be a money saver and a sanity saver too? You can stop by the local library and bring home board books, big kid books, learning-to-sign dvd’s, and video rentals for grown-ups (often free for a [...]

Activity #395: Find a new bookstore

June 14, 2007

Today we went to Piedmont for a birthday brunch and found ourselves with 20 minutes to kill and a dirty diaper to deal with. Magically, I looked up to find that we were standing in front of Lucciola, a children’s bookstore. It was the type of place that Meg Ryan would have had in You’ve [...]

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