_NEWSLETTER_

Snowy Valentine by David Petersen

Meet Jasper, he’s a little bunny on a mission to surprise his wife for Valentine’s Day. He wants the perfect present, so trudges out in the snow looking for inspiration from his neighbors. When no gift seems just right for Lilly, he is surprised by what his being willing to make the journey shows her about his feelings.

Author David Petersen is the the Eisner Award–winning creator of Mouse Guard, and his first work in tells a delightful tale that becomes the perfect way to say “I love you.”

Available at Amazon.com and Independent Booksellers

Kids will also love: Plant a Kiss by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

“Mom, what constellation is that?” “Um, I think it’s the Big Dipper.” “Oh. And that one?” “Uh, also the Big Dipper?” Admit it, if it’s not the Big (or possibly the Little) Dipper, you don’t know what on earth (get it?) is up there in the sky.

Squinting at a star map is hardly a help with a sky that changes with each season. And it’s hard to see it out there in the dark. So why not let your telescope find the stars for you? iOptron’s Astroboy telescope has a scroll-through electronic list of constellations and planets on its side that works almost exactly like a remote control. Pick your favored viewing point, hit “enter, and the Astroboy swivels around until exactly that point is in its sights.

On the other hand, if you don’t want the Astroboy to do its automatic thing, you can use it in old-school mode. It won’t get its feelings hurt.

iOptron Astroboy, $150

Trading the utilitarian wood or metal knobs on your kids’ furniture is one of the fastest ways to change the look of the room. In a small, subtle way, the knobs give the room personality, a feature to show off. It’s one of those little touches designers often put in, but other people may never think about.

For sheer size and whimsy, few collections of kid-adored knobs can rival the one at Posh Tots. Green, pink, or purple? Looking like a bouquet of flowers, striped with the American flag, painted with elephants or mermaids or your child’s first initial, these are attention-getters with a surprisingly long lifespan. At about $15 - 20 apiece, these knobs aren’t cheap. You can find far cheaper at any hardware store, and maybe that’s enough for you. But for $60 to $100 bucks you can spruce up an old piece of furniture and make it your own.

Posh Tots’ designer knobs, $15 - 40

Outdoor experts call cotton “the death fabric” for a reason. Once it gets wet, it’s worse than useless to keep your warm. In fact, it literally sucks heat right out of your body. Or, if you’re a small child in damp cotton winter socks, right out of your little feet.

Thus wool socks, which keep the wearer warm even when wet, have been the choice of eons of moms. But the old-style ones are so scratchy, and so ugly. They’re no fun to put on and even less fun to wear. Smartwool’s kids line to the rescue!

The Smartwool socks are comfy and soft, not one bit scratchy. And they come in fun colors, like green and pink, instead of old plain black or gray. They sure are an easier sell.

Smartwool for kids socks start at $10 a pair, with sizes for infants and big kids.

New York Times best-selling authors Karen Tack and Alan Richardson of Hello, Cupcake! and What’s New, Cupcake? are back and this time, it’s not just cupcakes. Cupcakes, Cookies & Pie, Oh, My! includes some surprising and spectacular projects that turn pound cakes, cookies, pies, cheesecake, and Jell-O, into entertaining desserts.

As you’re busy planning Valentine’s Day treats for your loved ones, you might be inspired to prepare something a bit more unique this year with chapters that include: build a pet, make ‘em laugh, animal planet, guys and dolls, life of the party, and holidazed.

If you’d love to meet the authors and watch them work their magic with high heeled cupcakes and more, join them for an event in at Sur La Table, NYC on Feb. 15th (click here for more information).

Available at Amazon.com and Independent Booksellers

Peas of Mind is a San Francisco company started by a mom who despaired of finding healthier snack (read: junk) food for her family. The result? Found in the frozen food aisles of Whole Foods and Targets nationwide. Peas of Mind offers Puffets, hockey-pucks of rice, pasta, and vegetables, Veggie Wedges, French fries made out of things other than potatoes, and new Peas of Pie, with broccoli and carrots kneaded into the crust.

The vegetable content is not that dazzling really: 1.5 vegetable servings for pies that supposedly serve 3. Considering that most moms think of “sauce” as the vegetable in a pizza, a tiny bit more vegetable content isn’t that thrilling. However, after buying a Peas of Pie cheese pizza at a local Whole Foods store and giving it a try, I’d have to say, it’s pretty good. If you didn’t know to look for them, you’d never see the veg-flecks, and the crust is tender and well-flavored, the sauce tangy but not spicy. I’ll buy it again.

Highlights from the boards for the week of Jan 26th – Feb 1st:

Baby Subconsciously Wants to Spend More Time with Nanny… (18 Reply)
DB always sleeps later on days when I’m home vs when the nanny is here. She also naps better for me. Do you think she subconsciously wants to spend more time with her nanny than with me? Signed, First Time Mom.

WOHMs: Who Supervises Your DC’s Homework Progress… (35 Replies)
Who supervises your DC’s homework progress if you don’t get home from work until about 6 or later? Anticipating needing to at least sit down with DC once he starts to have homework next year, just to help teach him good habits and set up a good pattern that he can later do on his own. But if I get home after 6, then we do family dinner at 6:30 or 7, then bath, then bed by 8pm, I just don’t see when or if I can help him. What do other WOHMs do? Does your nanny (if you have one) help with this?

Tuition Entitles Me to Tell the Teacher What I Expect… (13 Replies)
Private school moms: Do you feel like because you pay tuition, you’re entitled to “tell the teacher” what you expect, etc? My DC goes to a wonderful religious school in CA. I was surprised when another mother was talking after school today that the reason she sends her kids to our school is because she feels that she’s paying them to hear what she has to say about how the school is run–and more importantly, how it should be run. Does anyone else feel this way?

Babysitting MIL Invites Friends Over When Watching My DCs… (7 Replies)
I know this really isn’t a big deal but my mil (whom I adore in general) helps us with dc sometimes. She’s great with him (if way lax with the rules) the thing that gets me is that she keeps inviting people to hang out with her, whom I don’t know really well. I don’t get advance notice so the house is a mess and sometimes I only find out after. I don’t want to say anything because we’re so grateful for the help but I just wish she’d give a days notice. Yesterday I had bras drying in the bathroom, the house needed a vaccuuming and there was no bread in the house. It just embarasses me.

Miscellany

What Will You Do to Prevent Your DS from Teenage Pregnancy? (25 Replies)

Career Moms: What are Your Opinions on Working Past 5 pm? (54 Replies)

Raise a DD Comfortable with her Body & Values Health Over Simply Being Thin (5 Replies)

We’ve seen robot matryoshkas. We’ve seen punk rock matryoshkas. We’ve seen monster matryoshkas, Rolling Stones matryoshkas, and male matryoshkas. But no one’s ever seen the best matryoshkas of all: the ones featuring your family.

Chalkboard Matryoshkas come blank, with blackboard coating on the outside, and several sticks of chalk to draw yourself (or whatever you like). If you’re a family of 6, draw all the kids inside mommy and daddy, or use the extra to draw pets, friends, or whatever you think would go nicely inside the family pod.

Chalkboard Matroshkas, $15.50

Tori Spelling is not exactly known as an icon of taste and style. Which is why I was so surprised to love the pieces of her Little Maven line. Apparently, Tori goes in for silkscreened fool-the-eye patterns. They’re all over Little Maven, including ones with scarves, purses, and very cool old-fashioned suspenders.

Spelling, or whomever’s designing for her, also has a nice eye for colors. They’re just off-kilter enough to be interesting, but not screaming/jarring like Hannah Andersson’s or the eye-gouging palates at Gymboree. There are a lot of comfortable high-quality knits, and upscale touches, like enclosed seams, piping, dress linings, and very soft fabric tags. Prints are often inspired by vintage designers, like Missoni or Marimekko. There’s a general casual beachiness to the clothing, and it washes and wears very nicely.

Unfortunately, the distributor that dealt with Little Maven, Hartstrings, went out of business last year. Little Maven’s website has been under construction ever since. Plenty of pieces are still out there in stores, however, and online. Best Dressed Tot has a bunch, as does La Bella Flora Children’s Boutique and, as always, eBay. Worth seeking out.

Is your household a bit too reminiscent of a “Nanny 911″ episode that you’d like? If you could all use a refresher course in how to talk to each other calmly and reach solutions, you might want to reach for a reliable source, now updated for this generation.

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish is now available in the 30th Anniversary edition with new insights as well as paperback and e-book format.

It has been hailed as the “parenting bible” with over 3 million copies in print across 30 countries worldwide. If you haven’t read it yet, there is no excuse (there are even cartoons). It will help you build a solid foundation with your child as you solve everyday problems together. Learn how to:

* Cope with your child’s negative feelings.
* Express your strong feelings without being harmful.
* Set firm limits and maintain goodwill
* Use alternatives to punishment that promote self-discipline.
* Resolve family conflicts peacefully.

It’s still January after all - the season of making resolutions for the New Year. Maybe the skills and practices in this book are just what you need for creating a more peaceful year for the whole family.