My youngest child is still learning to tie his shoes. He can get it right about 50% of the time -- just enough to be absolutely confident he can do it himself with no help from me thankyouverymuch. As you can imagine, this makes it hard …
Way back when my mom packed lunch for me, the brown paper bag always came adorned with a smiley face, a heart, or on days she was feeling really ambitious, a rough portrait of our dog, Maggie. And as a kid, it made such a difference, esp…
I know a little something about dealing with separation anxiety when it comes to young kids and school . Back when my kids were in preschool, this was my routine: drop them off at the classroom, peel around the corner and press my back a…
While there are all kinds of kids lunch bags and boxes that I find are really durable and effective, I've long been a fan of the lunch bags from Built NY -- in no small part because the size and styling means I can borrow them from my ki…
When we lived in a big city, my kids loved to watch teens skateboarding to school. There was this effortless coolness to gliding along, flipping the board, tossing it over a shoulder, and hopping on a bus. If you think your kids might be…
We love pencil cases! They're where we put all our pencils! And pens, and earbuds, and erasers, and... pretty much anything that'll fit. As our kids head back to school , we're getting serious about corralling clutter, and if we can do i…
If you've done any back-to-school shopping lately, you may have noticed, like we have, that llamas are taking over the world. Quietly. And with deceptive cuteness because let me tell you, llamas mean business. The takeover may be inevita…
We've been binging on the Olympics at our house, and it has us seeing gold, silver, and bronze. (Go Team USA!) Now, our love for the medals is spilling over into our closets too, because a little metallic accent is always a good thing. A…
Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind. ― Henry James You stocked up on school supplies, bought your kid a cool new lunch box and backpack , and purchased …
You've probably heard of Lululemon , but did you know that they have a special line for girls? Yep, the company ( formerly ivivia, now under the Lululemon brand name ) offers cool activewear for girls , including a new Lululemon backpack…
We've always made it our mission to encourage kids to keep the art of handwriting alive, and to help parents looking to do the same. So we've put together some really terrific handwriting practice printables for kids of all ages . Yes, e…
I am definitely a fan of no-tie sneakers. I mean, even though my 9-year old son knows how to lace up his sneakers perfectly fine, he much prefers being able to slip his shoes on in the morning right before he runs out the door. And I'm a…
We're all for making those crazy school mornings as un-crazy as possible, which is why we're big fans of having our kids pack their own lunches the night before. Yes, even our little ones! It can be done, promise. Not only does having ki…
So once you've gotten the hand sanitizer, the tissue boxes, and everything else on that classroom shopping list , it's time to have a little fun with some colorful school supplies! We always recommend getting a little goodie or two for t…
While we admit we don't always love packing lunches every morning, we do love picking out cool new lunch boxes for our kids each year in time for back to school. And so, our Cool Mom Picks 2016 Back to School Guide continues with tons of…
A new water bottle is one of our back to school staples, and we've always been big Camelbak fans in my house. So how cool that they've teamed up with the National Parks for this new collection of water bottles that actually give back whe…
We're continuing our 2016 Back to School Guide with our picks for cool backpacks for teens and bigger kids this year. This is the age kids get pretty picky about what they're wearing every day, because it really is a reflection of them. …
After following the awful account of indie artist Tuesday Bassen and her legal struggles with Zara , which we shared a couple weeks back, we reaffirm our ongoing, ten-year commitment to supporting small makers and original artists -- esp…
It seems like our annual Back to School Guide gets earlier each year, because hey - we're here for you, parents! Whether you're already scrambling to get those school shopping lists covered or you've got a good month left to track down t…
I'm not even ready to think about back-to-school season yet, but it's coming -- and sooner than later for parents like me in the south! While I've never been the type of parent who attempts to learn Bento arts or making a panda bear rice…
With lots of kids heading back to school in early August, and September really not that far behind, it's not too soon to start thinking about back to school. Especially when they're some of the most adorable backpacks and lunch boxes you…
Have your kids been slacking on their daily chores lately? Or really, have you been slacking on enforcing them? First, give yourself a break; summer just unofficially ended. Second, I've got help for you: Download one of these cool print…
Back-to-school season is in full swing, some of us just starting this week and others already a month in. But however long your kids have been in school this year, you know how hard it can be to adjust to the new schedule -- homework, ac…
We've spoken here -- a lot -- about never shopping online without first searching for a discount code, and one of the first places we always turn for that is RetailMeNot.com . You too? Perfect! Because they're our newest sponsor and we l…