• Last updated 11/16/12 by Cynthia Mosher

Image courtesy of Creativity103's Flickr photostream   Are you on Pinterest? This virtual pinboard that lets you create, organize, and share what you find online. Because it’s a visually-oriented site, it attracts us using something other social media sites haven’t done nearly as well: images. While online we tend to be seekers. We look for information, distraction, connection, and inspiration. Pinterest lets us find (and revel in) all these things through compelling images. The site was launched in March 2010. One of the founders,... read more

• Last updated 12/27/11 by Laura Grace Weldon

Years ago we started a new tradition.  Slacker New Year’s Eve. No more loud, crowded events. No more babysitting nightmares. And no more driving back home in the early morning hours on icy roads. What a relief. Instead we stay home with the kids. We put lots of goodies on the table, including snacks that are rarely seen in our fussy-about-nutrition household. We get out amusements like board games and videos, build a fire in the fireplace, and basically slouch around together. It’s fantastic. After all the holiday rush it feels downright indulgent. A key element of... read more

• Last updated 11/16/12 by Cynthia Mosher

A drawing my son, Reeve, did in kindergarten. I love how jubilant Mary is here. Anyone who’s given birth knows that feeling. . . WOOHOO! (And Merry Christmas, y’all!)   Tags: baby, birth, christmas=, drawing, Jesus, joy, jubilation, kindergarten, manger, Mary, nativity, reeve This entry was posted on Saturday, December 24th, 2011 at 2:20 pm and is filed under illustration, living, miracles, momdom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently... read more

• Last updated 11/21/12 by Cynthia Mosher

aussiegall Flickr photostream CC by 2.0 Frenzied sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become holiday shopping traditions. Both are about grabbing up deals before someone else gets them. Not much about the spirit of giving. Not fun either. There are alternatives. They offer the satisfaction of exchanging wonderful presents while also shifting holiday gift-giving in a positive direction. Here’s how.   Enjoy tradition or create new ones. Some families choose to generate their own traditions that have little emphasis on gifts but are... read more

• Last updated 11/30/12 by Cynthia Mosher

Exciting news! Much loved publishing company, Barefoot Books, has just released their all new World Atlas and is doing a HUGE giveaway to celebrate. I recently had a chance to explore this wonderful new addition to the Barefoot library with my seven-year-old. and we both adore it. Barefoot has skillfully combined a diverse array of information about our world with captivating images, fun flip-up “Did You Know” tabs, and an easy-to-navigate layout into the best world atlas for kids I have seen yet. Now until Nov 23rd Barefoot Books will be... read more

• Last updated 11/30/12 by Cynthia Mosher

Hi, It’s me, Jessica Williams creator of L.O.V.E. Parenting. I am in the home stretch for the publication of The Ultimate Parenting Course due this month. My mom (who happens to be a children’s book author and an educator!) is here with a guest post. ENJOY! “Don’t Make A Picture, Make a Mess!” by Stephanie Waxman I took my 2-½ year old granddaughter Zena to the local mall for “Toddler Tuesdays.” Enthusiastic Sheri in a bright red apron directed us to a table where other toddlers sat. At each place was a cup of crayons, a cartoon of a... read more

• Last updated 11/30/12 by Cynthia Mosher

  “The future will belong to the nature-smart—those individuals, families, businesses, and political leaders who develop a deeper understanding of the transformative power of the natural world and who balance the virtual with the real. The more high-tech we become, the more nature we need.”    Richard Louv   Get out there! The compelling reasons kids need nature were explained factually and forcefully by Richard Louv in Last Child in the  Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder. In fact, that book inspired... read more

• Last updated 10/23/12 by Melanie Mayo

  One of the most important steps you can take for the planet is to avoid tossing food-waste into the trash. Lynn from Green Halloween shows you how easy it is to compost natural décor, edibles (including candy) and other food-scraps left over from Halloween festivities. Visit Green Halloween for more links and details on carrying out the tips in this video. Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are the mother-daughter founders of Green Halloween® and authors of the book, Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the... read more

• Last updated 11/30/12 by Cynthia Mosher

It’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and in honor of it, I wanted to highlight writer, mother, and breast cancer survivor Tracy Lynch’s fantastic essay, “Inappropriate.” When I first read Tracy’s essay, I immediately connected with it. Which is to say, I suddenly became aware of how much I use the word “inappropriate” as a way to wave off my son. That blog I’m snort-laughing over, with the texts that make unfortunate sexual entendres? Inappropriate. That episode of Weeds I’m trying to sneak in? Inappropriate. Those pics of my sister at a bachelorette... read more

• Last updated 10/23/12 by Melanie Mayo

Candy Experiments by Loralee Leavitt   I loved candy when I was a kid, but when I became a mother, I worried about my kids eating too much of the stuff. Still, I’ve never banned it from our home. Now, when my children come home on Halloween night, examine their candy, and go to bed without asking to eat a single piece, it’s not because I’ve forbidden it. It’s because they have better ideas about what ?to do with it. It began with a simple question three years ago, when I was overwhelmed by our collection of Halloween candy. An afternoon with too-generous... read more