I have this fantasy of one day living in Paris, in some old, sunwashed apartment on one of the old arrondissements . Trouble is, although I read French - a hangover from graduate studies - I don't speak much of it, and what little of it …
Games on the iPhone are nice, having books on hand make you feel a little less guilty about trying to keep the kid occupied on mile-long supermarket checkout lines. Now you can always have books on hand without carting around pounds of h…
I'm one of those moms. You know, the kind who's doing my best not to let the kids watch television or play computer games and, as a result, doesn't get a second of time to herself if her children are awake. But at the same time, I really…
Look, I'm going to be honest: When I read that Family Matters is the family game for ages 8+ that helps your family get to know each other better, I steeled myself for my daughter rolling her eyes and my son sliding underneath the table,…
A few weeks ago I had some friends over to the house, and one of them brought her three-year-old, who immediately commenced leaping around on the furniture like a chimp on crack. Given that my children are past that phase (or can be reig…
I learned long ago that the best way for my son to learn about "boring" things was to find creative ways to teach him . Although I personally am fascinated by Modern Art, he could probably not be able to withstand an extended visit to th…
I want to be the mom who sits on the floor and plays board games for hours with her kids, but I usually start losing interest right around the same time my son tries to see how far he can hurl the dice. So we've tracked down some fantast…
Next week is Thanksgiving, and if you're like my family, that means lots of little kids around. The cousins are all getting to the age where they can entertain themselves (hallelujah!) which means we're stocking up on craft supplies and …
Deep down, I'm a 13 year-old boy with a thing for video games, as any of my friends who have ever seen my "drum face" when playing Rock Band will tell you. So I am totally coveting the new Microsoft Xbox 360 which I had a chance to try o…
Is there anything better than random acts of kindness? Well, maybe intentional acts of kindness. And if anyone is going to start a worldwide kindness revolution, my money is on the women behind Boom Boom! Cards . Essentially each of the …
My husband is taking my two kids on a transatlantic flight all by himself, bless him. My contribution to the experience is my iPhone, fully loaded with toddler-distracting applications. Three of the iPhone apps I have lined up for her ar…
I am one of those moms who avidly resisted a DVD in the car until I finally broke down before a 10-hour car trip with two under three. Even so, I am a strong believer in looking out the window, playing word games, and singing along to mu…
My oldest daughter is now firmly planted in PG-movie territory which means I really have to pay attention to what she is seeing, reading and listening to -- hopefully without having to actually watch, read and listen to it all myself. Th…
I must say, despite the CPSA I still remain most confident by mass produced toys when they're made in Europe. The standards are consistently high, and the products seem made to last more than one kid. Or more than one month as the case o…
Now that the weather is nice, I kill some time during those dreaded post-nap-pre-bed hours at our neighborhood playground, which sadly consists of two swings, a terribly neglected sandbox, and a very scary spider web jungle gym. As a fun…
As a former therapist educator, I spent many a class period educating students about how there are no bad emotions. But as a parent of a preschooler, that concept, along with feelings in general, are a bit more difficult to explain -- as…
Whether you need a last-minute Mother's Day gift or just want to appear more stylish than everyone else while waiting for the pediatrician, I love the Posh Puzzle books by The Puzzle Society. These are the people who bring you nationally…
As the only boy with two older sisters, my son knows that he may get stuck playing dolls or carrying his toy cars around in a sparkly pink bag. He has always been a good sport when playing dress-up, donning whatever his sisters put on hi…
My oldest is cursed with two parents are good at math. Yes it's a curse, because while we can help her with her homework, we also tend to get frustrated at the drop of a hat: How can you NOT understand that? Guilty as charged. So I was r…
In case you missed them, here are five of our favorite picks from this past week from Cool Mom Tech. 1. A smart, affordable gadget that makes using your iPhone as a camera much easier. And safer. 2. Here's a helpful beginners' guide to M…
My kids are always coming up with some crazy games from our board game graveyard, and anything else they can find in my craft cabinet. So I figure, why not let them put their creativity into action by letting them invent their own board …
I am completely geeking out on the idea that you can buy Monopoly money refills. Seriously, why did no one ever tell me before that this was possible? For one, the extra $16,550 in Monopoly money means we can play major high stakes knowi…