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• Last minute Father's Day gift idea

  CityMama has a Father's Day Gift Guide. It's only one item, but it's a goooood item. Read More... Posted Jun 12 2008, 02:00 PM by Brett Singer with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: presents, gifts, holidays, dads, fathers, Harrison Ford, gift guide, father's day, Fathers Day, star wars, CityMama, Brett Singer, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, george lucas, amanda lucas, carrie fisher, chewie, wookie, chewbacca, mark hamill, han solo, c3po, princess lea, r2d2, lightsaber

• What a WAHD: Work at Home Dad's Day is Friday

  OMG everybody! Hop in the minivan right now and get to shopping! We almost missed Work At Home Dads Day!! It's Friday, June 13. Here's what the press release announcing it said: "Held each year on the Friday before Father’s Day, it is one day set aside to honor and celebrate those fathers who have elected to work or remain at home – either as home-based entrepreneurs, teleworkers, or full-time caregivers – as a means to improve family interaction, professional satisfaction, and balance between the two." Okay, nothing wrong with that. Until I read this: It's also, according to the press release, a day for work at home dads to "finally get their due." How does one type.... Read More... Posted Jun 11 2008, 02:02 PM by AmyinMotown with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: parenting, holidays, work-life balance, equality, division of labor, partnership, work -at-home moms, playground politics, work-at-home dads, stupid ideas

• A Very Special Father's Day Song ... From Jem

  That's right, Jem. Jem and the Holograms. Now that we're finally done with that wholly contrived "holiday" brougt to you by the makers of greeting cards and chocolate roses, it's time to move our attention to something truly important: dads. And really, nothing says "I love you, dad" like a very special Father's Day tribute from the very favorite cartoon band of some completely anonymous father out there.   Read More... Posted May 12 2008, 07:57 AM by Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) with | with no comments Filed under: holidays, Mother's Day, father's day, jem

• So. Was it Good for You?

  Mother's Day is nearly over.  Thank God!! Partners and their baby mamas everywhere are breathing a collective sigh of relief, children are high on the sugar from the early morning pancakes, phone calls have been made (it's not too late!!). So.  How was yours?   Read More... Posted May 11 2008, 07:30 PM by Rachael Brownell (Redsy) with | with 6 comment(s) Filed under: teens, holidays, adult children, Mother's Day, mother's day sucks, i hate mother's day, adult children who don't care, kids who don't call on mother's day, family conflict, set up, emotional baggage, holiday hell, when husbands forget mother's day, mothers and children

• Happy Mother's Day Fatso!

  If you want to ensure that the mother of your children – or even your own mother! – never speaks to you again, do I have some gift ideas for you! Read More... Posted May 08 2008, 04:00 PM by Brett Singer with | with 7 comment(s) Filed under: presents, gifts, holidays, plastic surgery, Mother's Day, mommy makeover, Brett Singer, wii fit

• Help me pick a Mother's Day gift (still)

  Thanks to everyone that weighed in here about what would make a good mother's day gift for the wife. Since I still haven't gotten anything, I thought I'd keep asking. Lots of options out there, of course, including this one that Redsy mentioned. Here are a couple of others: Read More... Posted May 01 2008, 03:30 PM by Brett Singer with | with 8 comment(s) Filed under: gifts, holidays, ebay, etsy, supermom, pajamas, help, Brett Singer, mothers day

• Help me pick a Mother's Day gift (please)

  Mother's Day is Sunday, May 11th, and I'm out of gift ideas. So I'm asking you, the readers, to help me out. I'll post some items and you give me a "yea" or "nay" in the comments (even a simple "y" or "n" will do.) If you have any items you'd like me to consider gifting, leave that in the comments as well. First up: Supermom Pajamas. Read More... Posted Apr 22 2008, 09:00 AM by Brett Singer with | with 9 comment(s) Filed under: gifts, holidays, supermom, pajamas, help, Brett Singer, mothers day

• Easter Bunny Cracks, Injures Kid

  Ever since I read "Santaland Diaries" by David Sedaris (highly recommended for being utterly hilarious,) I've been sort of fascinated by those folks who dress up in costume and pose for photos with the kids around the holidays. Think about it: What gets you into that line of work? Perhaps some people are so into the spirit of various holidays that they clear their calendars to become Santa and the Easter Bunny, but I imagine it's circumstance that brings most people into the job. And while Santa has some dignity, being a grown adult in a giant bunny costume and dealing with legions of sobbing children... Well, it's ripe for a "Falling Down" moment.  Not that I'm justifying the actions of this Bunny gone bad, mind you. Apparently frustrated...   Read More... Posted Mar 24 2008, 04:46 PM by Kelly Mills with | with no comments Filed under: infant, babies, holidays, crime, stress, child abuse, easter, photos, jobs, arrest, mall, crying

• Santa Claus Is Coming to Your Town

  I guess Santa is a busy guy. In addition to overseeing the elf toy-making operations, and keeping a nice/naughty tally of every dang child, he's also been busy elsewhere. Joining PETA protests, visiting hospitals, participating in pub crawls, running up buildings--I hope he takes the whole of January off or he's gonna burn out. I mean, he probaby gets like, two hours sleep, tops. I'm not even a huge Santa fan (sacrilegious, I know) but... Read More... Posted Dec 25 2007, 09:40 AM by Kelly Mills with | with no comments Filed under: christmas, santa, toys, santa claus, holidays, international adoption, protests, busy, pubs, slideshow

• Single Mom Duped By Evil Lottery Fake

  Mary Ann Shaffer was given a lottery ticket from a customer at her concession stand, and she thought her ship had come in. The single mom of two scratched her ticket to find she won $25,000. But when she looked for a phone number on the ticket to see how to collect her winnings, she realized she'd been had. The ticket read, "Claim forms supplied by Santa Claus. All winning tickets must be validated by the tooth fairy and conform to her game rules ... All winners are losers and must have an excellent sense of humor." And this is why I detest crappy practical jokes like this--"sense of humor"? What is that bullshit? I'm with the patrol officer who examined the ticket, Bear Terstegge (isn't that a great name?) who said, "How can anyone be so mean around Christmas time?" But since it's Christmas Eve, I wouldn't post a shitty story like that if it didn't have a somewhat happy ending. Read More... Posted Dec 24 2007, 03:30 PM by Kelly Mills with | with no comments Filed under: christmas, holidays, pranks, Money Camp, single moms, generosity, hoax, lottery tickets

• Tracking the Baby Jesus

  I don't know if you are aware of this, but around this time of year there's typically a rash of stolen baby Jesus stories. Pranksters (I love that word) make off with baby Jesus out of nativity scenes all over the country, and often there's a sort of cat-and-mouse game where nativity scene keepers try and devise methods of preventing the infant savior from disappearing. Well, after a Florida town's Jesus went missing from the founder's circle nativity scene despite being bolted down (Mission Impossible 12 anyone?) a Jewish attorney in Cincinnati donated a new figure, and this time the scene keeper has taken unusual precautions to protect him from disappearing again. In addition to erecting a plexiglass  screen in front of the display, people in the town raised money to do something else. Can you guess what? I'll give you a hint: Once the season is over, someone could probably get extra use out of the figure by afixing him to the dashboard of a car, perhaps next to a plastic adult version of his holy self. Yep, the townsfolk raised money to... Read More... Posted Dec 24 2007, 09:05 AM by Kelly Mills with | with no comments Filed under: christmas, holidays, gps tracking, pranks, baby jesus, nativity scenes, theft, wise men

• Want To Raise a Gambler? Give Your Kid Lottery Tickets

  Meh. I don't actually know how I feel about this. Can I be on the fence? Here's my thinking: on the one hand I see where exposure to addictive behavior like drinking, drugs, and gambling can trigger an already addictive personality or send messages that those behaviors are okay. But on the other hand I really really really hate the idea of certain behaviors being discouraged or made illegal simply because some people think they are undesireable. I'd much rather give people the benefit of the doubt to make their own decisions. So how does this relate to giving kids lottery tickets? Easy. Read More... Posted Dec 21 2007, 04:48 PM by Karen Murphy with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: parenting, kids, gifts, holidays, lottery, gambling, lottery tickets, addictions

• Judgment Day: Obligatory Gift-Giving, Yea or Nay?

  Yesterday afternoon my younger son's bus driver handed me a small packet decorated with a snowman and told me it was "for Eric." Surprised, I took it and thanked her. Inside were two gift cards. Eric also came home with a wrapped gift from his teachers. I noticed that both gifts were presented with timing such that I could reciprocate the following day and still not miss the gift-giving occasion. And last week there was a note taped to my trash can from the trash guys, with plenty of time to tip them this week before Christmas. So when did gift-giving become an obligatory thing? When did people who provide a service for us begin to expect gifts? Read More... Posted Dec 21 2007, 10:08 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 12 comment(s) Filed under: gifts, holidays, Judgment Day, obligations

• Woman Sexually Assaults Mall Santa

  I'm down for the count with the stomach flu, but I roused myself just long enough to bring you this crucial story: A 33-year-old woman has been charged with disturbing the peace and sexual assault in a case of Santa groping. Apparently the woman, Sandama Lamy, took her lap-sitting opportunity to try and feel up Mr. Claus, leaving him "shocked and embarrassed by the whole incident," especially since there was a line of kids waiting to see him.  When police tracked the woman down by phone... Read More... Posted Dec 18 2007, 04:22 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: christmas, santa, holidays, sexual abuse, Santa claus is coming to town, assault, malls

• Don't Get All Guilty About Eating Crap

  You'd think I'd be totally into an article on why you shouldn't feel bad about "diet flubs," but apparently I'm so crabby I can find fault with anything right now. Basically the gist is that nobody eats perfectly all the time, and that you may not be as bad as you think. So if you lament that you eat empty carbs, you can chillax because only half your grain servings need to be whole grain; if you love red meat, just keep it to lean cuts three times a week; if you only like carrots as a veggie, don't stress because you'll probably get sick of them; and if you don't read nutrition labels, great cuz you aren't being suckered by healthy, sugar-free claims, just keep an eye out for hydrogenated oils. Fine. So why am I still somewhat hissy? Well...   Read More... Posted Dec 18 2007, 08:11 AM by Kelly Mills with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: holidays, eating, diet, Paris Hilton, weight loss, nutrition labels, mistakes, whole grains

• Holiday Movies With (Popcorn) Balls

  I'm not a very sentimental person, so most of the traditional holiday movie fare doesn't do it for me. I generally prefer films with a dark, snowy backdrop and occasional Santa suit mishaps and plenty of bitterness or big explosions to the kind where the true meaning of Christmas triumphs over some dark force as the music swells. The Poop had this great, great post with comments on fringe holiday movies you can bust out and make part of the season. Films like Die Hard and Trading Places and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. And apparently, I must watch the Hebrew Hammer very soon. Of course my favorite movie for the season is one you can watch with kids, and while it isn't as edgy holiday as the ones listed here, I feel like it should get a special mention since the director just had a baby.  Read More... Posted Dec 17 2007, 04:06 PM by Kelly Mills with | with no comments Filed under: christmas, santa, Movies, holidays, films, die hard, traditions, tim burton

• The "Joys" of Family Gatherings

  I love Christmas.  Despite, many many things that conspire to turn me into a big old grinchy Grinch. And by "many things" of course, I mean the various family gatherings the season presents us with.I love, and am close to, my family, but both mine and my husband's sides offer up plenty of critical attitudes, passive aggression, and religious, political and financial differences of opinion, which usually end with my feeling judged and defensive on my kid's behalf  if not my own.  Drinking is out this year, so I welcomed this article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer about dealing with judgy relatives for the holidays. It's packed full of good suggestions, such as "don’t take the bait," "ease up on the drinking" and "lower your expectations." Also, give your kids... Read More... Posted Dec 15 2007, 03:45 PM by AmyinMotown with | with no comments Filed under: holidays, families, passive-aggressive, craziness

• Kitchenista: Easiest Christmas Cookies in the Universe

  I wrote a whiny post earlier this week over at Parentricity all about this time of year and cookies. See, there's a birthday right smack in the whole holiday thing and even though I've been doing this for nearly 12 years now, I still don't quite have the knack of the timing thing, working in birthday cake amid cookies, and what kind of cookies and how many, and hello, who's going to make them (don't answer that. I already know who). Which is why I absolutely LOVE this cookie recipe. Not technically a cookie (it's actually a meringue), it's not only easy but also forgiving. As in, you can leave it in the oven all night. What's not to love about that?   Read More... Posted Dec 14 2007, 01:57 PM by Karen Murphy with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: holidays, cookies, kitchenista, meringues, holiday cookies, meringue cookies, easy cookies, Parentricity

• Weekly Check-Up: Healthy Gifts Are Okay...For People You Wanna Alienate

  I've seen a couple of these stories lately: Instead of boring old candy or wine or pajamas this holiday, why not give some fitness-related gift? Like some piece of exercise equipment (iGallop anyone?) or a certificate for a massage or a consultation with a nutritionist. I say, BAD IDEA. Okay, yes, wine is bad for non-drinkers and candy is harsh for diabetics and pajamas are lousy for people who sleep in the nude (boo-ya) so I'm not saying other gifts are without peril. But even as someone who might stand to personally gain from, say, you giving away a certificate for three sessions with a personal trainer like me, let's just stop and think this one through a little more. Because I think there's one strong possibility to consider, and I believe I've said it before. Fitness gifts could easily be interpreted as saying... Read More... Posted Dec 13 2007, 09:03 AM by Kelly Mills with | with no comments Filed under: gifts, holidays, fitness, exercise, health and kids, weekly check up, massage, exercise equipment

• Breaking News: Salon Finds a Non-Dysfunctional Family

  In these modern times, claiming to be from a dysfunctional family is about as novel as shopping online for gifts. At least one movie studio always comes out with a film about a zany, eccentric family who alternately abuse each other and teach each other about the power of love; news sources print columns about how to survive holiay dinners with the relatives; and some people drink too much and pass out under the strings of lights that snake over many storefronts and rooftops. Estranged family members are noticable by their absence, and at least one person is in rare form at every gathering. Awww, joy to the world. I guess that's why I actually noticed this bit on Salon's Table Talk about a non-dysfunctional family. Read More... Posted Dec 12 2007, 04:35 PM by Kelly Mills with | with no comments Filed under: Movies, drinking, holidays, Salon, relationships, dysfunctional family, normal, relatives

• Have a Scary Merry X-mas Cuz Santa is Talking To YOU

  I should've known I was in for it when I misread the e-mail to get a personalized video greeting from Santa as a "personalized video greeting from Satan." (As Mir from Droolicious said, ""Ho ho ho... why hello, BEELZEBUB! I remember you from last year... you live in THE BOWELS OF HELL, home of ETERNAL DAMNATION, and you turned FIFTY THOUSAND this year....") But in truth, the video greeting was more terrifying than anything Lucifer could have created. You've heard of these? Using the magic of computer generated voices and video editing, you can get a video message for your child where Santa uses their name and certain key details to make the whole thing real special. Oh god, after the jump you'll see how special it can be.   Read More... Posted Dec 12 2007, 01:33 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: computers, santa claus, holidays, technology, video greeting, just plain wrong, creepy, satan

• Are Your Holiday Decorations Really Instruments of Death?

  Or something. Actually, the article is titled: "Can my holiday decorations kill me?" and the answer is: Yes, yes they can if they include a lead-leaching plastic tree and strings of lights. So by "holiday" they mean "Christmas" unless some other holidays have co-opted the fake tree shtick unbeknownst to me. 'Course your menorah or your Kwanzaa candles could also burn the house down, but right now we only care about lead danger, because we see our society falling like Rome over lead secreted in every damn thing we own.  Okay, maybe decorations "killing" is a little strong, and there is a solution... Read More... Posted Dec 09 2007, 12:29 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: christmas, dangerous, holidays, safety tips, hazards, childproofing, lead exposure, decorations

• Juggling Holidays and Birthdays

  In my little circle of family and close friends, there are, no kidding, six birthdays and two anniversaries between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve. So, although my own birthday falls in June, I've long been sensitive to the potential problems of holiday birthdays even before my daughter (due at Thanksgiving, born a week late) came along. Of course, I found this article interesting. This mom actually cancelled Hanukkah (or, I am assuming, at last the gift giving portion thereof) when her son, whose birthday falls right in the middle of it, got a little gift-grabby. Read More... Posted Dec 08 2007, 02:10 PM by AmyinMotown with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: christmas, holidays, birthdays, thanksgiving, Hanukkah

• Charities Checking Toy Donations for Recalls

  U.S. charities like Toys for Tots, the Salvation Army, and Goodwill are working overtime to check toy donations for dangerous recalled toys. That is, if they're accepting toy donations at all: Goodwill stores and Salvation Army stores in a number of places across the country are simply choosing not to deal with the problem at all due to staff limitations or choices about culpability. You weren't considering foisting off that Easy-Bake Oven, Lead Version Dora, Thomas the Lead Engine, or Aqua-Dots Psychadelia Set on a charity, were you? Good. Didn't think so.   Read More... Posted Dec 05 2007, 10:04 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: toys, holidays, salvation army, oys for tots, toy donations, charities, goodwill

• Strollerderby Playdate: When Mommy Stuffs Her Own Stocking

  No no no, this isn't another post about mommy's "alone time" while the carob chip cookies are in the oven and Wonder Pets is blissfully playing in the basement. But frankly, it should be because at Strollerderby, we can't get enough of talking about stuff we know you -- and most sixth graders -- think about pretty much always. On to the thesis of this post, which is (and will surely continue as soon as you stop thinking about whipping up some cookies as an excuse for your own "alone time") that many mommies spend a lot of time during this particular (insert faith/consumerism/obligatory practices here) season giving to others. I'd like to change that up a bit and just validate that you do deserve to get yourself a little something sparkly, whether that is a new box of teeth whitener you bought with a sweet coupon or a pair of shiny patent leather his-n-hers that inspire a little less of that "time" being spent "alone," as a way of reminding yourself that you are worth the time/acknowledgement/energy/investment/being thrown over the credit limit at least once a year. Face it, you're naughty and nice. Here's how a few mothers are wrapping up the year by putting themselves at the top of the list and a few things that might distract you from buying another Wii (unless that's your sparkly, kitten): Read More... Posted Dec 04 2007, 06:57 AM by Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: gifts, holidays, strollerderby playdate, mother bloggers

• Teacher Gifts for the Holidays

  This is one of those things I always think of, decide I'll deal with later, and then forget again until the last minute: the dreaded teacher-gift for the holidays. It all started earlier today when I read Linda S.' blog "Milk and Cookies" over at Work It, Mom! in which she talked about teacher gifts and asked for guidance. I can personally attest to the sheer enormity of the well-intentioned crap my teacher-mom would bring home year after year and have sought not to repeat those mistakes for the teachers of my kids, but the not-planning ahead has usually resulted in gifts of cash or nothing but an embarrassed thank-you. So what are some fabulous ideas?   Read More... Posted Dec 03 2007, 05:33 PM by Karen Murphy with | with 6 comment(s) Filed under: gifts, holidays, teachers

• Your Holiday-Stress Affects Your Kids

  Hey! Isn't it great to know that everything you do is watched by people who file every little thing away in their huge complicated computers? And no, I'm not talking about these annoying people who make studies that blame all our kids' problems on the parents. No, I'm talking about your kids. Our kids, because we all have the same situation: kids pick up on what we are feeling in everything we do and are affected by it.   Read More... Posted Dec 03 2007, 10:33 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: parenting, holiday stress, holidays, stress and kids

• What the Hell to Get the Baby Daddy for the Holidays: Green and Geeky Gifts

  As December approaches, the panic sets in about what to purchase for the men in our lives at the holidays. Sure, you could open any old Circuit City circular or type in some random geekguygifts URL and find something to stuff your sweetie's stocking. But if your obsession with paper waste dictates that you don't even look at Sunday adverts or your man is way more eco-chic than hempie-hubby, then what you need is one more handy little gift guide. Read More... Posted Nov 28 2007, 03:57 PM by Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: holidays, eco-friendly gifts, green daily

• Strollerderby Playdate: Spiritual Crap

  At this time of year, lots offreaks us have that whole blah-blah-spirituality-prayer-8 pound 5 ounce Baby Jesus-rituals and rice cakes-blah attitude that certainly gets us the last hemp diaper cover in the whole boutique and the last three 2008 special edition Bratz Dolls but doesn't necessarily feed the family's souls. Rather than hi-yah that lady who darted in front of you in the WalMart line at 5 a.m. on your way to church, have a few pranic breaths and dig into this blogspiration: Read More... Posted Nov 27 2007, 06:47 AM by Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) with | with no comments Filed under: holidays, spirituality, ali edwards, jen lemen, the silent i, intent blog

• Strollerderby Playdate: Endless Love For Ms. Pants

  Thanksgiving is over, I think I have gout, everyone and their cousin is stampeding to the stores, I'm working all day, and I'm trying not to make myself ill on chocolate pecan pie again (which is basically sugar crack.) You know what I need, besides a consensual, mostly non-sexual backrub and a good Calgon bath? A really, really funny playdate to take me away. Not just a guffaw or two: I require a laugh riot.  Luckily, I happened upon one in another blogroll, and she's so great she can play all day and I'd never check my watch and say, "My, just look at the time..." In fact, this could be (dare I say it?) Endless Love. Read More... Posted Nov 23 2007, 07:01 AM by Kelly Mills with | with no comments Filed under: holidays, strollerderby playdate, mom blogs, endless love, mimi smartypants, blogroll