It’s here! The gift guide to end all gift guides!!! Whatever holiday you celebrate and whoever you are shopping for, you should be able to find something on this list! We’re following the same format as last year: starting with some general categories, like “hottest new toys,” and “last year’s best sellers,” and then moving on to categories by age with Mazzy, Harlow, Jack and Neve’s current wishlists, as well as their favorite gifts from previous years. After that, I’ve got all the categories by interest, with a heavy focus on gifts that will appeal to big kids, tweens, teens and even some yo ..read more

It’s here! The gift guide to end all gift guides!!! Whatever holiday you celebrate and whoever you are shopping for, you should be able to find something on this list! I’ve broken up the categories a little differently this year. I included some general categories, like “hottest new toys,” “old school family games” and “toys to play with on Christmas morning.” FYI, Those toys are for big kids too– don’t forget to get them toys, even if they say they are too old for them! Next, I’ve got Mazzy, Harlow, Jack and Neve’s current wishlists broken down by age, but instead of putting every year’s pre ..read more

You know how Picasso had his blue period? I feel like we’re in a beige period. Home design, fashion– everything is neutral, and you know my feelings on neutral…I want all the colors! Thankfully, I am not alone in this. MoMA Design Store is full of meticulously designed housewares and accessories that can bring a whole rainbow of colors into your life. If you don’t know MoMA Design Store, it is every chic, savvy New Yorkers’ go to shop for memorable gifts, across all different categories and price points. They have a rigorous selection process where every item is reviewed and approved by curat ..read more

On the last day of school, summer seems like it stretches out endlessly, with plenty of time to play, swim, and travel. But, as we all know, July comes and goes before you can even blink and then all of a sudden, it’s August with back-to-school shopping to do. Is it just me or do the summers seem to go faster as the kids get older?  Harlow grew a few inches last year, so it’s time to update her school clothes. Especially in the pants department. I feel like all her leggings started hovering above her ankles by the end of last year. She gets very attached to her favorites (I’ve been trying ..read more

  Harlow has always been interested in nonfiction, both history, and current events. It’s why her favorite books are biographies. She has an uncanny ability for memorizing names and dates, and she likes to watch the news. She likes to deliver the news, too— remember Harlow’s News? That was back when the topics of the day were Olympic figure skating and the release of Descendants 2. In more recent years, the stories on the news have become way more dire, but when we go to turn it off, Harlow always says, “Keep it on! I’m interested.” We’ve learned a lot as a family because Harlow is very ..read more

This year, I crossed off my  Valentine’s Day gifts early because Mazzy is newly obsessed with Build-a-Bear. There is a pink frog she HAD TO HAVE, complete with a “Toadally Cute” red t-shirt. We’d never been to Build-a-Bear before, so it was fun to see my big kids get excited about something so innocent. Anyone else have older kids with stuffed animal obsessions? I was never that big on Valentine’s Day when I was younger (too many years of being single), but I love getting Valentine’s Day gifts for my kids. I think it’s because, unlike the more major holidays, there are no expectations. I ..read more

This post is sponsored by LIVALO® (pitavastatin) and Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, and should not be construed to constitute medical advice. Personal opinions and thoughts are my own. I am not a medical professional and am not qualified to give medical advice. Please talk with your doctor about your individual medical situation and see below for important safety information about LIVALO. —- Mike and I both come from families with a history of high cholesterol. Although I’ve been able to keep mine under control, Mike consistently has high cholesterol and has ..read more

It’s here! The 2021 Mommy Shorts Holiday Gift Guide! I got it together early this year because Hanukkah is starting at the end of November(!) and I keep reading all this concerning stuff about the supply chain that makes me think we all need to do our online shopping STAT. After the crazy success of last year’s guide, I was like— how the hell am I going to top that??? So, I did the same thing I did last year— I built off the previous year’s guide instead of starting from scratch. We added 18 new categories in total, really focusing on building out the big kid categories since they are the har ..read more

This blog post is in partnership with Google Kids Space. One of the hardest things about giving your kids access to a tablet is the wide variety of apps, videos and content available to them. Especially since they use their tablets mostly on their own. What’s appropriate? What’s educational? What’s a scam that’s going to lead to countless in-app purchases? What will keep them busy but not become too addicting? What’s fun but might also teach them something? Every time my kids have asked me to download an app over the years, I always have to do additional research before I let them get it. And ..read more

This post was written by Kay Akpan of The Mom Trotter. Full time RV living has become quite popular in recent years because of everything it has to offer families. For my family, our RV is a home on wheels that gives us the opportunity for everyday adventures. The RV lifestyle gives us complete freedom over where we go and what we do. I also love that we have been able to save money and spend lots of family time together. We have found that RV living suits our family perfectly, but it is not for everyone. Living in an RV full time comes with tradeoffs and for some, those trade offs will not b ..read more