Shivani’s hack won’t get the present purchased the week before the party, but it will help save some driving hassle on the way there.
Archives for October 2009
In the Parent Toolbox: Family cash flow spreadsheet
If you haven’t already dropped by the smart personal finance site Wise Bread, do. I discovered it when they joined the FM posse, and I’m hooked. Family Budget spreadsheet by Wise Bread View more documents from Julie Rains. Their contribution to the Parent Toolbox is so simple, and yet so powerful — a “Where does […]
No-mess applesauce: single-serve cup + straw
THE CUTENESS! Oh, and the hack’s good, too. From Erin: While on vacation with my aunt, my daughter (almost 2) messed up a ton of outfits while eating applesauce. She loves to feed herself, but is such a messy eater. My aunt had the brilliant idea to put a straw in the top of the […]
Turn bread heels into kid-sized hamburger buns
The too-big hamburger bun? No longer! From Ellen: When we make hamburgers we don’t make a full-sized burger for our 3-year-old son. So instead of wasting a full-sized bun on the little burger, we take the heels of the current loaf of bread and cut out a circle from each using his kiddie-sized cup. They […]
Freeze pureed vegies into cute shapes and then use them to cool down kids’ food
This beats my “just add frozen peas” hack hands down. From Kelli: When I would prepare a meal for the whole family our food was either too hot for our preschooler and toddler or too cold for my husband and me. Because we also have a seven month-old baby, we have cubes of pureed veggies […]
Halloween hack: Use colored pencils in place of face paint for fine lines
Julie’s precision face “painting” hack: I had some trouble when I was trying to make a thin scar on my little pirate. The face paints I had bought were anything but precise, and the colors weren’t vibrant. I got out the kids’ colored pencils (they should be water color pencils, most are, but some more […]
In the Parent Toolbox: A slideshow explains Daddy’s deployment to Afghanistan
Making the abstract concrete. It’s a fundamental part of the teaching we do as parents. But how does one take a huge, scary concept such as a father’s military deployment and make it understandable for a toddler and a preschooler? Daddy’s Tour of Duty Slideshow by Cool Mom Picks View more presentations from Kristen Chase. […]
Eyeball toddler’s shoe size by looking at the insoles
Emily’s smart shoe-shopping hack: I’ve been having a hard time keeping up with the rapid growth of my toddler’s feet. It’s so hard to get him to stand still long enough to check the shoe size with the “toe squish” method. Recently after a romp in the creek his shoes were soaking wet, I pulled […]
In the Parent Toolbox: “Make me a playdate!” chart
New in the Parent Toolbox: Mindy Roberts of The Mommy Blog came up with a smart playdate chart that not only puts friends’ contact information front and center, it reminds her kids about the rules for setting up playdates in the first place. Have you come up with a visual prop or an organization tool […]
Turn empty drink bottles into indoor bowling pins
Laura’s indoor bowling hack is simple, fun, and (basically) free: In late Fall, and Winter especially, it can get pretty boring to have the kids indoors most of the time. My three young boys and I came up with a bowling game that they love, causes no mess and keeps them entertained for a long […]