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Wow, did I just give away the whole post in the subject line? Last year, good friend and rookie mom, Joanne sent us an email to alert us to the very exciting offer that the AMC chain has right now: Free Admission on Wednesdays at 10 AM. And they're at it again. The movies are G or PG rated and they are encouraging kids and parents to come. Believe me, your newborn's cry is barely audible compared to a 4-year old who's telling her mommy that she needs to go potty RIGHT NOW. I think this is also a great offer ...

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Over at momready.com (which is packed with tips for busy parents) Elisa writes about a night out for fun and fundraising. Sometimes moms just need a night out! Although I adore my children, I find I'm a much better mom if I occasionally get an evening out with friends to just have fun and break the bath time, bedtime routine. Sure, dinner is fun and so is an occasional movie, but how about something different that you don't regularly do with your significant other. The other evening I participated in a great night out. Some friends of mine had organized an ...

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Jeff Pfaller is the rookie dad and blogger behind 365parents.com. He published all 365 posts into this this eBook, 365 First Time Parenting Tips: Infant Edition, for other first-time parents. Jeff is also a recent transplant to Chicago, one of my favorite (pre-kids) cities of all time. He was kind enough to share his version of "A Week of Windy City Fun" with us -- Enjoy! Looking for stuff to do in the city by the lake, Chicago? There's something for everybody, no matter who you are or what you like. Animal Lover Monday Head up to the North Side (be sure to ...

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Rally some other friends with babies for a camping adventure. Pick some place close enough to home that you can be delayed getting out the door and still enjoy much of the day outside (also easy to return home in case the comforts of home are needed!). Holden loved the sleeping-in-tent experience. We purchased a tent big enough for the pack-n-play. If you go with a younger baby, you may be able to get away with the moses basket... or, heck, if you're already a co-sleeper, maybe you can all snuggle into a few zipped together sleeping bags! Then again, you can ...

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When we first added Goodnight Moon to our bedtime ritual, I thought, "This book is sort of boring." After a few months, I thought "This book is painfully boring." One day, my friend Sunny said, "I see new things in that book every time I look at it." What? So I started paying more attention and here are my suggestions to keep your interest level tolerable as you read Goodnight Moon. Maybe it works with other books, too. You'll have to tell me what you've found. The bunny is in a different position in bed each time the bed is pictured. Check ...

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This idea was suggested by Bundlo, the self-reported love child between Blogger and Flickr (although I understand paternity may still be contested). It's a geeky twist for you parents running baby blogs: instead of dryly recounting events and milestones, really channel your kid's experience and write from their unique view of the world. My husband did this once when Holden returned from a particularly busy holiday vacation being thrust into (relative) stranger's arms and sleeping in odd places. It was a fun change of pace for our rather dull family blog. Christmas. What a funny word. I don’t really know what its about ...

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Rookie Dad and I enjoyed some relaxing time in our backyard this weekend as Julian was totally occupied with his swimming pool and some plastic mugs and mixing bowls. I highly recommend this activity. Set up a baby pool in backyard with a few inches of water and some plastic cups. Grab a swim diaper or introduce Junior to the art of skinny dipping. Since you're a great mom, I don't need to tell you how closely this activity needs to be supervised. If you think my son looks like a superhero in this picture, it's because he is wearing his ...

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Mommy Poppins runs a fun site about getting more out of living in NYC with babies. She was sweet enough to write up a week's worth of her favorite activities exploring different neighborhoods: This is my idea of the ultimate itinerary for a week of things to do in NYC with a baby or toddler. It involves what, I think, are the major necessary bones for getting out for a day with the baby: Lots of food stops, playground visits, a little shopping -- or at least ogling -- of beautiful things for baby, but mostly just good, relaxed wandering around ...

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Remember you? How crazy, quirky, unique you are? So this picture of me is shoveling a cream puff in my greedy mouth and it got me thinking that I should make sure to have enough pictures of myself in my collection. Let selfportraitchallenge.net inspire new and creative ways to narcissisize. For the past two days I've been trying to fulfill this month's challenge to take a "street picture" of myself. I have a few urban, detached shots still in my camera (one of my foot, one of my belly -- eek! -- and one of the back of my head) so ...

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Those bike trailer thingy-doos are cool, right? My friend Erin has one and it can carry two kids. So fun! Erin has also used the extra space for Target merchandise. Yes, my friend, you can ride your bike to Target with your baby in the trailer and shop your little head off. Isn't life grand? We have ridden our bikes to breakfast with both of our kids in her trailer. My son fell asleep with his big helmet head smushing her son's face.

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In my house, we think it is great to take pictures in the same chair each month (or each week!) to really see the baby grow before our eyes. We got in the habit of dressing Holden up and propping him in the big yellow chair. Now that he's bigger, our challenge is not to snap the photo before he tips over, but to snap the photo before he lunges for the telephone. Ahhh, progress is a beautiful thing! Other ideas: Put your baby against a solid color sheet on your bed. Snap a picture next to the same stuffed animal each ...

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Alameda is an island full of moms, dads and kids, right next to Oakland. My former co-worker Jen lives there with her husband and baby Rebecca. She tells us, "The island is very family friendly. Parking is easy, and a quarter will buy you a whole 30 minutes worth of it." Jen's tip: If you are a new mom, definitely sign up with New Parent Support. Their old name was Smart Healthy Babies, and the website is not under their new name yet. They offer lactation consulting, moms groups, and other services for new parents, free of charge. If Jen were ...

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It's time to make your own fun. Plan out your week and write up the schedule. Pick an activity and a time and tell everyone who might be available that they are welcome to join you. Be brave and invite folks you hardly know. Or send out an email with your whole week to get your friends excited about how much fun you are about to have over the next seven days. You are the cruise director. They'll thank you later. Berkeley and Oakland moms, you can cheat by using one of our itineraries: A Week in Berkeley A Week in Oakland Other moms, ...

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Your baby has now been on the outside longer than she was on the inside... so it's time to celebrate! Unless you're currently knocked up, I suggest doing all those things you weren't allowed to do (in good conscience) while pregnant, stuff like: Drink wine Eat soft cheese Luxuriate in a hot-tub Ride an ostrich or mechanical bull And go bungee jumping These are just my own ideas... maybe you're dying to burn a duraflame log or indulge in some other activity that has us wondering if it's so bad for the pregnants, why do we do these things to ourselves at all... Have at it!

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Dress up your baby in the worst, ugliest gift outfit and invite over some other poorly dressed babies for a costume party and ugly-clothing contest. Dorky gifts, ratty hand-me-downs, and hopeless mismatches can finally have their day. Try not to be offended if your idea of cutest-outfit-ever winds up on one of the other models. Cute is completely in the eye of the beholder here. My younger brother Chad (pictured) models something from the mid-seventies in the hopes that I won't offend any of YOU with my idea of ugly. I actually think he's pretty adorable here anyway. Take lots of pictures, but ...

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When Whitney was a brand-new-rookie-mom, I brought over a half-cooked lasagne and a carton of Tom's Cookies. I thought I was pretty darn smart. Unlike most other things I thought I knew before having a baby of my own... I was right about the cookies! You can bake them one (or two) at a time and have a freshly baked dessert 20 minutes after the mood strikes. I like my hot chocolate chip cookie served over cold vanilla ice cream. In the interest of full disclosure, Alec and I have also discovered the almost-as-easy DIY version. One evening a ...

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Thank God for TiVo, but did you know some theaters also have special showings for new parents? These showings have different names in different cities, but the idea that yours will not (most likely) be the loudest baby in the theatre is the common thread. Julian’s first movie as a newborn was Closer [...]

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For those of you not in the business world, this expression, "Eat your own dogfood" means that you should be willing to use the product you're selling. You know, like "I'm not just the President of the Hair Club for Men... I'm also a member." Or in this case: Take your own advice. Heather and I frequently call one another after work and say "What is there to do this afternoon?" What?! We, the authors of hundreds of activities, cannot ourselves think of something to do today? "We should eat our own dogfood," Heather might say, meaning that we should ...

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Be the first on your block to own the hilarious Three-Martini Family Vacation: A Field Guide to Intrepid Parenting. I found it mighty funny and instructive, good for the rookies and more experienced parents alike. My full gushing review is over on our blog. We'll have a random drawing of all of our e-mail subscribers to win both the Three-Martini Family Vacation and Playdate on May 7. So, if you're not one... sign up! Local moms, Christie will be reading and signing copies in June: June 14: The Bookshop West Portal San Francisco June 16: Book ...

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With over 100 million iPods sold as of this month, I figure most of you have one. If you have a Nano or a regular iPod (not a Shuffle) you can put pictures of your baby on your iPod and eliminate the need to carry photos. Trust me, on your iPod, photos look 80 billion times better than on your phone. So here's the tutorial. If you already know this, just move along, geek. I just thought I'd share because it seems to me that a large percentage of baby-owners are also digital picture-takers and iPod-listeners, and that sadly, very ...

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Looking for a little "me" time? Jessica had the brilliant idea of using her Google Calendar to schedule in some quality time for herself and called it "a year of lovely things to do." I'll be receiving e-mail "reminders" of "events" such as "read a poem today" or "go browse at a bookstore this week," or "listen to at least one song on headphones this week." Her list includes: Listen To An Old Favorite CD This Week Draw A Picture of Something You See Out the Window My list would include: Have a healthy snack Make more lists Schedule a massage If you are looking for more inspiration, have ...

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When I saw the web site of Janet Moran, a photographer in the Chicago area, I immediately fell in love with this image. Assuming that this family values their piano, I thought that it was a brilliant idea to include your first baby in a portrait along with your new (real) baby. Whether your first baby is your Vespa scooter, your 12 year-old cat, or a carefully tended vegetable garden, take a picture that includes your two loves. I emailed Janet and she explained, "A precious family asked me to come over and take pictures of their new baby. When I ...

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