Why mamas should check out Moomah

Though I love my suburban life south of Boston, there are times I glance over at what is going on in NYC and get envious of all the cool stuff they have. You know, like great deliver-to-the-door sushi, endless entertainment options, and a lovely little creative art playspace and cafe in Tribeca called Moomah, built just for kids "and their parents." It's the kind of place with a sign in the front door that says "unaccompanied children will be given an espresso and a free puppy." While Moomah has no plans to move to other cities just yet, they've now come out with an excellent journal to help the rest of us bring the same energy into our own homes. Moomah the Journal captures the spirit of creativity, mindfulness and beauty that I imagine the physical space does so well. It is also like that friend with all the best ideas and advice for dealing with some of the stickier aspects of parenting. In this case, that "friend" is Moomah founder Tracey Stewart, mom of two, and wife of a guy named Jon. You may have heard of him. Divided into four sections, Nourish, Discover, Connect, Create, I found at least one article in each section with new-to-me ideas for making my relationship with my kids better and more fun. I love The Magical Dixie Cup idea for rewarding good behavior and the Dream Journal for making our bedtime a lot more peaceful and less chaotic. And if I had a child headed to preschool in the fall, I'd be all over The Family Necklace (shown at top) to ease the transition. I especially like that many of the ideas can be aged up or down to fit your own family's stage, and found the tone to be honest but also upbeat and positive. As you may guess, many of the ideas have a crafting or creative element to them, though I wouldn't call this a crafting journal--it's more of an idea place where even topics like dealing with our fears of "Barbie angst" is covered. For me, Moomah the Journal is definitely a place I want to visit, put my feet up and discover. -Christina Check out the latest issue of Moomah the Journal and, if you are in the NYC area, visit Moomah for classes, a little cafe, and a great art space. They even have some of their more popular items--like stickers, lithographs, and party invitations--on sale at  the Moomah Etsy store.