An umbrella is a terrific gift for a preschooler. My toddler loves to hold her own kid-sized umbrella, and it gives us something to do on a rainy day – go outside and stand there with an umbrella over our heads.

I saw this rainbow umbrella for kids in a Museum catalog and thought it was worth sharing. Then, when I searched for it on Amazon, I found even more cuteness – all six umbrellas are less than $20.00. Great gift for nieces or nephews.

Rainbow Spectrum Umbrella

Cloud Umbrella for Kids (comes in adult size, too!)

Monkey Umbrella

Red Polka Dot Umbrella

Apple of My Eye Umbrella

Ladybug Umbrella

I was way into football in high school and college: face-painting, dating the quarterback, the whole nine yards (which might actually be a military metaphor rather than a football metaphor, but whatever!). Since moving to San Francisco from America’s heartland (and marrying a man more interested in triathlon than touchdowns), my interest has waned.

But if I were still a football chick (or had one of those football-loving partners), I can imagine a whole bunch of weekend afternoons trading naptime for tailgating.

Baby Gabriel is 3 months old at his first game

Amy is a mom of 4 year-old Becca ...

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Some people you just like instantly. Even if you’ve only met them online through their blogs.

This summer, my friend Isobel introduced me via email to Susie who is an artist and a writer. She is the same age as I am, and a mother of two kids who are the same ages and genders as mine. Now I read her blog, Inner Toddler. She’s so funny and real, I feel like she’s a friend.

I loved Susie’s idea to let her son give HER stickers for good behavior, and I want to give it a try. Who cares if ...

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When I am queen of the universe, I will never ever have to do another dish. Nobody in my house will leave the cap off the toothpaste or leave a wet towel on the floor. And if, by chance, I ever do it, someone will pick up immediately after me without any judgment or dirty looks.

Part of our task master (AKA referee)

Since I’m not the official queen of anything and I still hate doing dishes, Alec and I used the Nest’s Task master checklist ...

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Yesterday while my baby slept, I went around the house and gathered up all my shoes. There were some in my bedroom, some in the hall closet and some under the desk and dining room table. I brought them all into one clear space and laid them out in a grid. My objective? Toss my six least-favorite pairs of shoes.

Setting up the grid was satisfying. I was able to see how many shoes I have in the Sneaker category, Dress Up category and Boots category. It was a revelation and quite a trip down memory lane. I picked the worst ...

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This week marked my fifth anniversary in parenting. My rookie baby is five years old.

This means that it was exactly five years ago that the story that Heather and I like to tell about our concurrent pregnancies occurred. I was in labor at the hospital, and when the nurse notified the doctor, who was across the street seeing patients at her office, to head over to my L&D room to check on the baby’s heart rate, it was Heather who was left sitting on the exam table.

It was five years ago that Ryan and I met our son.

And now ...

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This week marked my fifth anniversary in parenting. My rookie baby is five years old.

This means that it was exactly five years ago that the story that Heather and I like to tell about our concurrent pregnancies occurred. I was in labor at the hospital, and when the nurse notified the doctor, who was across the street seeing patients at her office, to head over to my L&D room to check on the baby’s heart rate, it was Heather who was left sitting on the exam table.

It was five years ago that Ryan and I met our son.

And now ...

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Irony alert: I don’t let my kids play video games and I limit their TV screen time, but I’m usually willing to hand over my iPhone to pass the time.

I realized that I was a huge hypocrite on a recent flight from San Francisco to Cleveland when we let Holden (now 4) watch the entire Toy Story movie on the airplane, then we let Milo (precious little 2 1/2) watch the movie next.

Milo and Holden using the iPhones

Afterward, we felt a little better worse mixed-up about tossing the iPhone into the back seat during long car-rides around town. But we ...

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Irony alert: I don’t let my kids play video games and I limit their TV screen time, but I’m usually willing to hand over my iPhone to pass the time.

I realized that I was a huge hypocrite on a recent flight from San Francisco to Cleveland when we let Holden (now 4) watch the entire Toy Story movie on the airplane, then we let Milo (precious little 2 1/2) watch the movie next.

Milo and Holden using the iPhones

Afterward, we felt a little better worse mixed-up about tossing the iPhone into the back seat during long car-rides around town. But we ...

Click here to read the entire blog post

This is my favorite format of a Mom’s Group picture. If you have the chance to imitate it, please do!

I saw it on the Facebook page of a former co-worker and he gave me permission to publish. Thanks, Rookie Dad Eric!