I’ve been shopping for toys for my niece and nephew, and I accidentally got sucked down a Gorgeous Toys wormhole. My kids are all out of the baby/toddler-toy stage, and a LOT of their toys are UGLY and PLASTICKY. Feast your eyes on THESE riches instead:

Small Rainbow Stacker (photo from Amazon.com)

Plan Toys Balancing Cactus (photo from Amazon.com). I saw this in Ann Wyse’s gift post and SWOONED.
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My nephew was born yesterday, which puts me in the mood to discuss baby stuff. I was mooning over baby clothes and noticed that all the cute HATS are coming in.

Raccoon hat (photo from TheChildrensPlace.com), $7.95. When it came down to the final decision I’d almost certainly get the bear, but it’s nice to have a novel choice!

Owl hat (photo from TheChildrensPlace.com), $8.95. This time I’d choose the owl over the bear.
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Several bloggers have announced pregnancies recently, and it’s put me in a baby frame of mind. Here are some of my favorite baby things—things I’ve given away and would have to repurchase if we had an unexpected baby at our house.

North States Superyard XT Play Yard (photo from Amazon.com). This is not the prettiest item to ever take up half my living room, but it saved my sanity in those days between “the baby is mobile” and “the baby grows brains” (approximately 9 months through 3 years). I could put the baby in the play yard and then I could GO TO THE BATHROOM. Or cycle the laundry. Or get the mail. Or do any of those quick little things that would give a freed baby enough time to get into the cat food.
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In the past year or so I’ve been finding that wall art from Etsy is very satisfying to buy. I’ve bought several things for the kids for Christmas and birthdays: not only does it last longer than a toy (sometimes I fantasize about them decorating their adult homes with it later on), we REALLY DON’T NEED MORE TOYS. And whenever I’m in the kids’ rooms I feel happy seeing the picture all over again. Two favorites: Little Dinosaur (for dinosaur-loving Henry’s birthday) and a custom name portrait from WirlyGrrl (for Edward, for Christmas).

Here are some “seasonal” Etsy prints that might be a fun way to commemorate a child’s first year of school:

My Favorite Book is Blue print by TrafalgarSquare on Etsy (photo from the shop). My sister-in-law bought several prints (including this one) from this shop, and when I saw them I was like “???” and she was all “!!!” and I replied “!!!” and then I went home and added the store to my favorites and that brings us up to date. The greeting card version of this print would be great with a teacher gift.
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I love Valentine’s Day.  “Hallmark Holiday”?  Pfff.  It WAY predates Hallmark.

Paul and I don’t often celebrate it between us, though. Some years I’ll have a yen for a heart-shaped box of chocolates and he’s happy to indulge me, or other years I’ll use the day as an excuse to give him something that took some extra effort, like the year his favorite slippers wore out and he couldn’t find any he liked to replace them, so I researched it and found him some I thought would be perfect and gave them to him on Valentine’s Day.  Ooo la la, SLIPPERS!  Slippers are not exactly the one single perfect long-stemmed rose, but they are, for me, a better way of saying “I love you and what you want is important to me.”  (It seems to me as if the “single perfect rose” is another way of saying “I didn’t spring for a whole dozen but you have to act as if this is better.”)

But most years we don’t treat it as a couple’s holiday.  I like giving a little Valentine’s Day treat to the kids on their breakfast plates in the morning, and I like helping prepare for their classroom valentine exchanges.  I like sending valentines to my friends sometimes.  I like using valentine postcards for my Postcrossing hobby.  I like the pretty decorations:  I nearly always get a new cute mug or picture frame or plate.  And I like the way it breaks up the low-holiday stretch of winter.

I’m picky, though.  I had a boyfriend long ago who would give me, like, a red teddy bear holding an “I luv you” heart, and, uh.  I mean.  Thank you for the thought, but what IS that thought?  I have said it before and I’ll say it again:  if you want something that doesn’t look like it was grabbed from the “Oops, did you forget it was Valentine’s Day?” display at the grocery store, try Etsy.

Be Mine Little Valentine Sampler by Stitched by Julie Ellen on Etsy

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First, a quick shout-out to all of you who gave me ideas and atta-girl you-can-do-it comments about traveling with my preschooler—everything worked out perfectly, and we had an absolutely wonderful time. Thank you so much!

Today I’d like to talk about evening routines, and what sorts of things help mitigate the chaos. As a quick primer to my thrilling home life, we have two boys: a 3.5 year old and a 15-month-old. Here’s our typical end-of-day routine, along with the items I’ve come to rely on:
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Lately I’ve been realizing that even though we’re trying to cut back on our expenses, it’s worth the cost to plan for eating dinner somewhere other than our house at least a couple times per week.

I don’t know about your household, but mine drops straight down the rabbit hole between 5-8 PM or so. The kids are restless, the baby is cranky, my husband and I are wiped out, and yet life must march on, hopefully with a minimum of screaming. So it’s in our best interest to get the heck out of Dodge, and since spending time outside isn’t a great option yet, this usually means heading out for a meal.

We usually go to a nearby mall, because that’s the easiest place to manage small, loud, messy children, but even in the noise and chaos of a food court it’s a real challenge to keep the kids at least marginally entertained (and stationary) long enough for the adults to bolt our teriyaki bowls or whatever. Assuming we ever ate in a real restaurant like civilized people, I’m sure it would be even harder to keep the distractions coming, and as most of you probably know a baby will only play quietly with a spoon for so long before everything goes to hell in a (tantruming) handbasket.

So, are there products that can help make dining in public with kids a little easier? Happily, the answer is yes:
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Baby books get filtered over time:  they come into the house via shopping and gifts, and then some of them become favorites and others get donated to the library.  Here are the ones that have been most successful at our house (through FIVE children now), and which I may or may not have purchased for my impending niece (she was due YESTERDAY, and doesn’t seem to care about the 10-cent-a-day overdue fee):

Maisy’s Bedtime, written and illustrated by Lucy Cousins.  We’re on our second copy of this one:  the first copy finally fell apart.  Maisy puts on her pajamas, loses and finds her stuffed Panda, reads a story, and pees on the potty.  Heart-stopping drama!
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If your household is anything like mine, you’re probably doing some cutting back these days, and luxury items seem a little more . . . luxurious than they used to be. As in, boy that necklace sure is pretty but I have other things I need to buy right now, like FOOD.

With budget restraints in mind, it can be hard to justify a high-end purchase, especially if you’re not really sure if it’s worth it. Is that spendy moisturizer really going to “revitalize” your skin, or will a drugstore brand do just as well? Let’s explore a few buzz-worthy purchases:
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I was thinking about writing a Milk & Cookies article on different stroller brands, and it occurred to me that instead of all that tedious research, I could just ask some of my fellow parents what they thought about their own strollers. Using the highly scientific method of posting a call for help on Twitter, here’s some real-world feedback on strollers:
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