My boy Riley is going to be three years old at the end of this month, which sort of freaks me out every time I think about it. He’s getting so BIG! And wait, I thought all this bratty behavior we’ve been experiencing recently has to do with being three, are you saying I’ve got more than a YEAR of this to go?

With birthday presents in mind, here are the things we’re planning to gift his way this year: Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been a month since my baby had his first birthday, and it’s time to call the winners of the Best Birthday Present for a One-Year-Old competition.

First prize goes to the Fisher-Price Baby Gymtastics Bounce and Spin Zebra.  My parents gave this to Henry, and he lovvvvvvves it.  So do his 3-year-old siblings:  the twins are a little big for it, but can still play on it.  It spins Read the rest of this entry »

As far as I’m concerned, one of the best investments we’ve put into our house is the corner soaking tub in the master bathroom. It wasn’t cheap, but I use it every single night, and it’s big enough to fit all four of us in its soapy depths.

(Sure, someone’s toes might kick you in an unpleasant location, and sure, someone is bound to produce a thrilling arch of pee, but still: a toddler, a baby, and two adults in one tub! As long as no one poops, it’s all good.)

My solo bathtime is right before bed, and I can literally feel the stresses of the day melting away under the hot water. It is one of my favorite rituals, and one that can only be improved by the right consumer products.

Which leads me to: bath soaps! Let me discuss my favorites with you: Read the rest of this entry »

My daughter has her third birthday coming up. She likes dinosaurs, so I spent an evening on Amazon.com looking for dinosaur stuff—ideally stuff I could get shipped for free. The evening went by so FAST. I thought, “You know, this was supposed to save me time over going to the store.” But look! I found some great stuff! And if YOU need dinosaur gifts for a child, perhaps this WILL save YOU time!

The first thing I found was Read the rest of this entry »

Father’s Day is my least favorite holiday to buy for. Guys want boring stuff that is boring to shop for. Oh, not ALL guys: I’m sure SOME guys are like, “You know what I’d love for Father’s Day? New towels for the bathroom! And let’s go out for brunch!” But most of them want things that are expensive and who even knows what they are: Ooooo, a TI-nspire Cas! Whatever that is! And all the gift guides assume that dads drink beer and play golf. Sigh. Well, I have a few–A VERY FEW–Father’s Day gift ideas to make the process less painful: Read the rest of this entry »

Hey, did you know Father’s Day is June 15? I had no idea. For some reason, I was thinking it was in September. Or maybe I was thinking, a whole holiday for FATHERS, why not just call it Hooray For Whining About Having to Change a Poopy Diaper Day and shower them with lumps of coal?

Ha ha, I’m just kidding. My own personal husband is an incredible father, very hands-on and loving and engaged, and if he maybe acts like kind of a wuss about a poop-filled diaper every now and then, well, at least he’s good at killing spiders.

I’ve got some gift ideas to share, even though the official day is a few weeks off. These are mostly from the “things you can purchase from online retailers” category, as opposed to “sentimental hand-crafted gifts from the heart”. Not that heart-gifts aren’t wonderful, DUH, but for the purposes of today’s entry we’ll stick to the Amazon-type merchandise.
Read the rest of this entry »

Man, including shipping times, you don’t have a lot longer to think this over: it is time to purchase some teacher gifts and get it over with. If none of last week’s ideas caught your eye, how about these? Read the rest of this entry »

I worry EVERY SINGLE YEAR about teacher gifts. I worry about it twice: once before December vacation, and once at the end of the school year. We’re heading for the end of the school year now, so I’m about a month into worrying about it already.

One of my favorite ideas is Read the rest of this entry »