I love to give gifts. I just love it. I love to find the perfect something for that someone that’s going to make their day. And it doesn’t just have to be for a birthday or a holiday. I like to give gifts. Period. Who needs an occasion?
Up until about one month ago, I never [...]

Pea is not a baby anymore. Nor a toddler. Her age group is referred to as “preschooler.” That’s a mouthful. And anyway, in my eyes, my little Pea is a kid. Not a preschooler. But a bona fide kid.
She calls me mom. Mom. As in, “thanks, mom.” What happened to mommy? I miss those days.
As [...]

“Toys with Integrity.” That’s the tag line for ImagiPLAY. It sounds snooty, right? But as a toy snob, I get it.
The girls received another incredible gift today, from my brother-in-law and his family. And they get us. The girls. What kind of children’s “entertainment” we like in our home. And before you roll your eyes, [...]

I’m not into pink. Or prissy. Or fussy. Or Disney princesses. Personal preference. But last night, a close family friend stopped by with a gift for the girls. And insisted that they open it on the spot. No waiting until Christmas morning. She wanted to see their sweet little faces when the wrapping paper was [...]

So my trip to Heidelberg was lovely. It was just what the doctor ordered – a little time with my husband, kid-free, in a foreign country. And Germany is one of a few European countries I have not visited. It was perfect. We found a lot of hidden gems on the little side streets, off [...]

Kids have way too many toys these days. Mine included. In fact, I just spent yesterday evening packing up two trash bags and a moving carton with stuff that I then threw into a closet. I’ll pull them out down the road. When my girls have long since forgotten about them. But going through the [...]

As we prepare the house for the long winter ahead, I have cozy on my mind.
A few of my favorite cold weather items, to keep me (and my kids) toasty warm in our home…
Flor tiles at our back doors. It’s the entrance for our dogs from the wet backyard, and I can’t figure out how [...]

I love Muji. The Japanese store. But I could never find an American shop, outside of NYC, that stocks any of their products. And since I’ve moved away from NYC, that’s not really an option. And although my husband is known to travel to Japan now and again, I very well could not ask him [...]

Years ago, before Pea was even born, my mother-in-law gave me a box of “Animal Parade Alphabet Cards” which are made by a company called eeBoo. I never paid much attention to them, at first glance they looked like your typical child’s cutesy themed cards. But I recently started to notice a growing trend in [...]

I realize it’s a tad too early for Christmas and Hanukkah talk, at least by about 3 days. Day after Halloween, right? When the stores start building their holiday displays, and the lights on the houses start to go up. Seems like it gets earlier and earlier every year.
But this year? This year, I will [...]

My husband returned from a recent trip with 2 Groovy Girls. One for Pea and one for Coco. Both girls went nuts for them, and have since been carrying them around everywhere, referring to them as their “babies.”
Fast-forward about one week. We were at the local mom & pop toy store, where Pea was choosing [...]

Several weeks ago, our incredibly awesome babysitter came over to spend a few hours with the girls while I went to Parent-Teacher conferences at Pea’s school. The girls both love it when L is coming to watch them. In fact, Pea had asked me just a day or two prior when L would come to [...]

When my husband returned from China, there were so many gifts for the girls. Really, it was ridiculous. And I know, I get it. Six weeks is a long time. And aside from the postcards that arrived nearly every day for Pea and Coco, from Beijing, there was not a lot of room to let [...]

Over the summer, while my husband was in China, I ordered a tee-pee for Pea and Coco to paint. We had a little party at the house, one night after camp, and several kids came over to join in the fun. And fun it was. The little ones, from 17-months old to 7-years, all donned [...]

About two years ago, my mother gave Pea a Frida Kahlo doll. Frida has long been a favorite of my mother’s. In fact, one of the first things that my mother ever bought for Pea was a tee-shirt with a silkscreen of Frida on the front. I guess if you knew my mother, this would [...]