1.  Gear that lasts and lasts (giggle): Heather tells us which items in her aresnal of baby products have had the longest lives.
2. Is it okay to announce a birth on Facebook? (babycenter): Whoever checks Facebook the most frequently will be the first to hear about your new baby, right?
3. Organizing the kitchen for kids (closet factory): This post seriously needs comments and suggestions. If you have a big kid, please join the conversation!
4. Forcing motherhood to be more fun (babycenter): Heather describes how following her own advice is tougher than it looks.
5. 5 tips for dating, new parent-style (giggle): Just in time for Valentine’s Day
6. Great idea: Eventbrite for school events (510families): If you are an organizer of groups and gatherings, you should know about this tool for selling tickets — even if they are free.
7. Please! No more gadgets! (babycenter): Whitney worries that the next generation will never make eye contact again.
8. A good idea: Earth Baby compostable diapers (510families): Heather has gone greener with her third baby.
9. 4 easy tips to hosting another family (babycenter): What should you know before you agree to have Heather’s family come stay with you? She shares her wish list.
10. My life as a blog (blogstar): Heather confesses that her youngest child may have been conceived as blog fodder. MAY have been.
11. Sh*t urban moms say (babycenter): This one is pretty funny, yo.
12. Teaching our kids about money: Whitney sums up what she learned at a parenting lecture for those who are concerned about raising a responsible citizen.

Heather has very strong opinions about certain things, and that, next to her hair, is one of her best qualities.

Tell her about a concert for preschoolers scheduled during naptime and she will tell you how misguided that is. A meeting during lunch hour that doesn’t include food? She will rant for the rest of the day. And if the food offered at the meeting includes cilantro, she might just walk out in the middle.

As her business partner of the last several years, I’m surprised how few arguments we’ve had. Mostly, her fiery convictions make me laugh. And smiling is one of my New Year’s Resolutions.

I hope one of Heather’s New Year’s Resolutions is to document more of her very strong opinions. Here are some that I enjoyed in 2011.

• Do NOT take your little one’s to see Cars 2
• Yes I am. Top 10 reasons Whitney should have suspected I’m pregnant
• What to expect when traveling with a baby
• My very strong feelings about baby socks
• On introducing allowance
• What we REALLY want for Mother’s Day

One more flashback item for the road. Here is my friend Heather posing for a picture with a total stranger, whose permission I do not have to share his picture.

This was ten years ago, and Heather and I had decided to stay out all night in San Francisco, hopping from location to location until dawn. This guy worked at the first restaurant we stopped at, and agreed to model for a picture as if he were on a date with her. Perhaps he is now a dad of three himself? The camera I carried that night was NOT EVEN DIGITAL!

My house is slowly being overrun with LEGO. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy about it. Most of the time.

We have other toys, of course, but nothing else comes close in terms of play value. Whereas the grandparents look at our stash and think, “these kids need some other toys!” I feel the exact opposite. Bring ‘em on. (Although, for the love of all that’s holy, can we please organize them!!)

If you are also living the LEGO life, you will enjoy this three-part series on The Frog & Snail Society about the so-called LEGO problem:

Ah, LEGO. Most parents have a love/hate relationship with the things. On one hand, they’re undeniable awesome. On the other, keeping track of them, cleaning them up, sorting them, (often multiple times a day) can be a major source of headaches.

1. buying too much (and finding more to do with the ones you have, yay!)
2. organizing lego (self-explanatory but lovely post after my own heart!)
3. what’s that brick? (figuring out which piece came from which set)

If your household would choose LEGOland over Disneyland, here are a host of gift ideas that might inspire you:

Sort ‘em

Box4blox – a sorting tray system that sorts your LEGOs as you put them away so that the tiny pieces are together while the medium ones and the larger ones stay with their own kind as well. If you have a small collection, this could be used for storing as well, but we are beyond that chez moi.

Build your collection for pennies

Try eBay for basic bricks with maximum versatility. Any set with better than $0.10/brick pricing is a good deal. Pick up a copy of The LEGO Ideas Book to go along with your haul.

Did you know that you can wash used well-loved bricks in the dishwasher? Use a lingerie bag with fine mesh to keep tiny pieces together.

LEGO playtable

This clever play table does double duty as a train table. Based on the size, it is probably a great option for smaller LEGO aficionados. If you’re handy, we have DIY LEGO table instructions.

Thematic accessories

Unlike other licensed characters (which shall remain nameless), I have not yet gotten my fill of those cutie patootie mini figures. LEGO headlamp and Yoda alarm clock? Adorable (or perhaps adorkable since that’s a word now)!

More guys (and gals)

You can never have too many LEGO mini-figures. You can purchase them individually for stockings or in larger multi-packs that would be perfect for my son the great pretender. I love this hairpiece kit for turning more characters into girls.

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One final note: If your family collection of bricks and specialty pieces is driving you insane, see also 54 clutter-free gift ideas for all members of your family!

Everyone loves a cute case for their smart phone, right?

Wrong! Men do not. They do not want a cute case for their iPhones. Which is why today I am rounding up a few choices for manly iPhone cases.

When uncommon offered me a chance to try their custom iPhone case ordering system, I was excited to create one for my husband. But then it got hard. A picture of the kids? Too cute. A picture of me? Too weird. His favorite sports team? Too logo-y. A solid color? Ok, but not really taking advantage of the ability to do a custom case. So here’s what I settled on.

I used a photo editing program to drop the color out of the photo and then I reduced the contrast a tone so that the design on the phone would be a lot more subtle than a vivid family photo. I know it’s still a bit much for him on an every day basis, but when he travels for business, he takes that cover with him.

Here are a few other manly cases I’ve spotted recently:

For the Spider-Man lover who has outgrown his Spider-Man lunchbox:

by Hard Candy on Amazon.com

For the man who is more daring when it comes to texture than color:

by chilewich, via CoolMomTech

For lovers of hardwood floors. (God, who wrote this copy? Oh, me.)

from J.Crew

Another fun but totally not cute choice:

From incase on Amazon.com

What say you? Do you rock a hot pink cell phone case? I do. What does your partner have? What’s a good choice for a custom case design for a dude?

On the giggle website, where I noticed today that shipping on holiday gifts is free, as is gift wrapping (score!), I noticed that they put out a very appealing holiday catalog that you can browse online. I didn’t receive it in the mail, which I might say is a mistake on their part, because if I’m not the target audience, then who is? (Ok, maybe someone who is a little more trigger happy when it comes to pulling out their credit card.) Seriously, I think that as someone who doesn’t have a baby in my house, I am maybe MORE likely to splurge on the cutest newest STUFF for little ones, because I am not distracted with financing the necessities like diapers.

So let’s play the game IF I had my own tiny baby, what would I buy on giggle?

For my imaginary 0-3 month old baby:

I love this activity mat from skip*hop, which is great for tummy time. My stepmom just gave it to a family friend and I saw it at her house last week. I’m already ruining this game because I wouldn’t buy this for MYSELF. (Who spends $75 on their own playmat? No one, that’s who.)  But I would easily buy the matching mirror because I know how much my babies loved their little activity mirrors. (Also great for promoting tummy time.) This mirror is $17 and adorable.

For my imaginary 4-6 month old baby:

Time to start thinking about food. I loved our clip-on feeding chair and will be handing it on my kitcheniest friend when she has a baby because she’s got a kitchen island that makes this the most space-saving solution for solid food-eating babies.

I’m not sure if that feels like a gift for baby or for his parents, so I’m going to throw a second option in for this age group. This cozy, organic striped sleeper comes in a girly (below) and boyish (click) color palette. Cute, right? You can also get the same look and feel in a 2-piece outfit.

For my imaginary 6-12 month old:

I am a strong believer in the power of the lovey. My kids were both attached to small blankets like this one, and I promoted their attachment by placing their loveys-to-be in their carseats with them every day from the age of three or so months. My four-year old daughter is still sleeping with three of them. (If you are going to move forward with a security blanket strategy, buy three of the same one upfront, and rotate their usage to reduce trauma when one gets inevitably lost or forgotten.)

For my imaginary toddler:

I’m having trouble narrowing down amongst the push toys. I’m thinking the combo of pushing AND blocks is pretty awesome for a toddler.

This art-to-go box is only $10 and is a super convenient way to introduce colored pencils and pastels to your child’s art vocabulary. My son’s pre-K teacher specialized in art education and was a huge advocate for getting kids into pastels, something many of us would not come upon naturally. We have a case very similar to this (must be a deluxe version) and love how it all packs up together.

That’s the end of my product picks. Here’s what Heather posted on the giggle GAB blog this month:

My hospital packing list. I have been to the hospital for childbirth three times now and I’ve concluded that packing almost anything is a nice-to-have with the possible exception of a car seat for the babe. That doesn’t mean I arrive empty-handed, however. In fact, during my third pregnancy, I began tucking away little odds and ends into my hospital bag about two months before my due date. Just in case. (Read more >)

Note: We are employed by giggle to contribute to their blog in a column called ParentTalk. When we tell you about those posts, we like to throw in a few pretty pictures, hence the length of this post, in which I clearly got carried away.

As I sit in the corner of my bedroom in the wee hours of the morning nursing my baby, I have one hand free. With an iPhone in that hand, I can do almost anything! Being a mom of a newborn is different than the last time I did it; that was the old days — 2007. 2011 smart-phone-enabled mothering is mind-blowingly awesome and I want to tell you why I love it:

1. Twitter. I can keep up with all matter of news overnight as well as commiserate with other sleepless moms (hashtag #zombiemoms). Not so lonely anymore.
   
2. Amazon app. Get this free app and sign up for Amazon Mom to get deals on baby stuff and free-two day shipping on nearly anything with one thumb click.
3. Baby tracker. Using Baby Connect ($4.99), I can track feeding and sleep patterns like the nerd I am. An extra geeky feature syncs this data to my husband’s phone and our iPad. Eat Sleep is also pretty good for $0.
4. Text messages. No need to yell to the other end of the house. When I text I need a hand, my husband comes quickly.
5. Camera. When I’m stuck under a sleeping floppy baby, I can take pictures. Lots of pictures.

Super baby close-up

If you have an Android or Blackberry, your world is probably just as fabulous, but I don’t know the details. Share your best uses for a smart phone as a mom of a newborn and I’ll try your suggestions out tonight!

Here are fourteen recent posts we wrote on other corners of the web. They range from smoking pot, dog safety, chewing seaweed, and what to spray on your girl parts after you birth a baby:

1. Mama’s little helper: Dermaplast
2. Is pot smoking ok for moms?
3. Is it ok for pregnant ladies to drink wine? (Sure.)
4. Nobody kisses my baby but me
5. I threw away 64 science projects this summer
6. I keep forgetting my newborn’s name
7. Are backpacks for babies “over”?
8. 5 steps to babyproof your dog
9. 5 brilliant ideas (you didn’t think of yourself)
10. 5 kid things you should never buy used
11. Tougher safety standards for cribs
12. Love letter to my bathroom stool
13. Alternative teething snack: seaweed
14. How to: combining and office and a nursery

In the coming weeks, I’m going to run a “You’ll totally wear that again” Halloween series where we show specific costume ideas that can be assembled from items that will be useful in your child’s wardrobe through November and beyond. These sleep and play jammies from Carters.com (above, $16.50) are perfect for the baby who will be sleeping through most of the evening anyway.

I’m looking for submissions, so if you’re interested, please comment and let me know — I’ll get in touch with you.

For now, a few things I bookmarked for this purpose. May they inspire you to create something your child will love to wear over and over again.

Elmo hat – pair with a red sweatsuit to be Sesame Street‘s most popular monster and wear it forever. Cheap version is a baseball cap-style; expensive version (similar to above, $35) comes as Elmo, or alternatively as a sock monkey.  SO CUTE!

Vintage personalize baseball jersey

Yes, it’s splurgeriffic at $58, but you can keep it forever and don’t need much else to call it a Halloween costume. Plus, how adorable would it be on a little girl with pigtails?

Lady bug raincoat:

Add black leggings and a an antenna-style headband. Rainy Halloween? No prob. ($14.99 on Amazon.)

Bumble bee  swaddler

Yes, this picture looks totally Photoshopped and I’m sure the swaddle would not hold snug through even the shortest of newborn snoozes, but still, a very sweet way to take a little one out for a Halloween stroll. (I found it on Amazon, but One Step Ahead carries ladybugs and puppies in the same style.)

Basic toddler cape

Don’t buy one that can only be Batman or whomever he wants to be this year. Make or buy a simple cape that can grow with kid to transform with all of his imagined superfantasies over the course of the year – you’ll even enable him to be a magician or vampire with it.

Looking for more Halloween costume ideas for babies?

P.S. I posted a list of everything you need (all reusable!) for a train conductor costume on BabyCenter.com today.

Handmade Halloween costumes for babies are my weakness. Some girls like diamonds or Coach bags. Whatever.

From etsy, this incredible Max suit for lovers of Where the Wild Things Are, is made by katesy.

This DIY owl knocks my socks off. I love the fabrics in the feathers.  Instructions on Alphamom.

You know I have a thing for chick superheroes. Apparently so does smallforbig. Her little super girl could not be more charming, right?

Oh wait, there’s more super kid cuteness to be had. Styling on this photo courtesy of etsy cape-seller craftymamaky. Snapsuit atop tights layered with sock fragments, paired with shiny waistband? Kapow!

I put Scarlett in this same costume back in 2007, but did not think to add a boombox. Homemade by Jill has taken it to a new level with her felt accessory, and I love it.

Swoon! This costume is enough to make me want to have another baby. A baby that will drive me to find a sweater at a thrift store that looks like a sock monkey and … just, wow.  Grosgrain Fabulous is the talent behind this beautiful baby and wonderful sock monkey costume.

So which of these fabulous handmade costumes is your favorite?

Do you have any other ideas for helping to cover Every Little Bottom?

Note that as ambassadors for the Huggies campaign dedicated to raising awareness of diaper need, Heather and I are posting about this cause twice each month. Still, all the brilliant ideas we share come from the heart, and we would be completely thrilled if you hosted a diaper drive.

When I was a little girl, I had no siblings. At my birthday parties, I frequently received board games as gifts, but they mostly sat on the shelf in my closet until I got too old for them. Sure my mom and step-dad and I played Monopoly from time to time; I played Sorry! with my next-door neighbor/best friend; and Candyland with my grandma. But, back then, the assortment was more limited.

After Scarlett’s recent birthday party, during which she collected quite a few board games, I was chatting with Heather about which ones our children really like to play. After we collaboratively listed out a bunch of them, I realized that three new companies stood out as excellent designers of preschooler games. Blue Orange, I Can Do That! Games, and eeBoo are responsible for most of the organized turn-taking fun we have around here. While I still appreciate Hasbro and the other old-school brands, I think it’s cool that there are so many new kids on the gaming block.

And of course there are more. Here’s the rundown of eight games that we personally own and enjoy:

1. Angelina Ballerina Dance With Me! Game. Children get up and perform the moves on the game cards. The board is a diorama of a stage. Not only is my 4-year old enchanted by this game, but my 6-year old son also likes to perform.

2. Zingo. I should add another reliable brand to the list of game producers: ThinkFun. We love this bingo-style game and the plastic game pieces are fun to play with for three-year olds, even when not engaged in an actual game. Find it at Barnes & Noble.

3. Honey Bee Tree. Another refreshingly gender neutral toy, this game doubles as a solitaire activity when no siblings are available.

4. Picnic Game by eeboo. Comes with a gingham picnic table cloth to set the mood. Players spin to fill their plates with main dishes, desserts, and drinks. This identical “spinner game” format is available in other themes: a tea party, building a robot, and fairy tales. Again the materials in the game can be used for open-ended pretending as well.

5.  Discovery Beach from I Can Do That! Games features Curious George and tests kids’ memory. A reviewer on Amazon wrote: The thing I enjoyed best was watching my 5 year old daughter help my 3 year old son to find things–they played together, rather than against each other.

6. Pengoloo is a good one from Blue Orange, as is Coocoo, an all wooden game in which you take turns balancing balls on a rocking clown. For kids who aren’t ready to compete, this can be approached as more a cooperative building activity than a game. (Refrain from yelling “In your FACE!” when your three-year old knocks the clown over with her naive placement of the balls.)

7. I Never Forget a Face is a memory and matching game. The kids faces are from all over the world, and it’s lovely to see all the skin colors and hair textures together in one game. Like I said, I’m a sucker for everything eeBoo. See all their products at Barnes & Noble.

8. Busytown – The board game is half the fun in Busytown. It’s longer than your preschooler’s body.

This is a search and find game where everyone works together. My kids loved it for months but when I tried to validate their opinions for this post, they claimed not to. (See Thingamababy’s review for details on this game.) We have another search and find game called Pictureka that was distracting them. I think they are both quality games and as my kids get older, even just month after month, they get more out of these.

What games do your kids like to play?

(Disclosure: I received Busytown and the Angelina game from my friend Kimberley, a rookie mom who does public relations for the company who makes them. Kimberley and I worked together at LeapFrog Toys well before our children were even a twinkle in our eyes.)

Thanks to Trop50 for sponsoring my writing about fabulous bloggers. This year Trop50 is granting 50 Fabulous Wishes. Click here to enter for a chance to win $1,000 to celebrate a friend with a refreshing attitude about looking and feeling fabulous!

When I first agreed to share a short list of fabulous bloggers for this program, I thought it sounded so easy. I have a Google Reader full of blogs I love to browse. But I felt a little bit embarrassed at the prospect of gushing, in a public way, over someone who doesn’t know I’m alive. Then I feared it was too much of a jumble. Not everyone cares about the craft blogs I pour over, or the blog “industry” blogs. I thought about highlighting other dynamic duos, in a tribute to my amazing partnership with Heather. Or other folks who have inspired or influenced us.

All of this brainstorming and procrastination was in an effort to say something new, to avoid talking about the same resources over and over again. But I keep coming back to the idea of “fabulous” and for me, fabulous means it fits me just right. Fabulous feels good every time. So I bring you my list of fabulous bloggers, all of whom keep it real in a way that draws me right in. If a feed reader could hold only five feeds, these are the ones I’d keep. (Is that the blogger’s equivalent of the stranded on a desert island dilemma?)

In no particular order, I encourage you to browse my Internet heroes at:

1. The Happiest Mom. Page after page of thought provoking discussions about motherhood, home, balance, and managing expectations of oneself. Author Meagan Francis is both sensible and sensitive, and her book, The Happiest Mom is a must-have for all moms.

2. Parent Hacks. Another blog with sincere intentions to help parents problem solve, Parent Hacks can be navigated by topic and age, but is also simply fun to read through. Asha Dornfest is a fellow old-timer in the parenting blogosphere and we are all lucky to have her here.

3. Wendolonia. Prepare to be impressed when you see the lunches Wendy prepares for her boys. In between documenting her fun with bento boxes, she shares her vivid pictures of real life with two little boys and one little house. Wendy’s creativity is inspiring and even if your baby is not old enough to eat, you may want to imitate her lunchbox art for yourself.

4. Prudent Baby. Craftastic projects for moms who sew.  I eat this blog up like dulce de leche ice cream. Jaime and Jacinda share step-by-step instructions for using tools that make everything look Martha Stewart-dreamy.

5. Ain’t No Mom Jeans. What to wear? Shana and friends will tell you, from mom-friendly shoes to date night ensembles to which bathing suits will complement a postpartum bod.

Don’t forget to enter the 50 Fabulous Wishes contest for a chance to win $1,000 to celebrate a friend with a refreshing attitude about looking and feeling fabulous. I was selected for this Tropicana Trop50 sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do. I received compensation for this post (but not from the folks to whom I just introduced you!)