Today's Fresh Blogs...

• Martha Stewart (and staff): Parenthackers?

  Published: August 4, 2007, 11:24 am

  Tags: 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, 13 18yrs Teen, 18yrs Grownup, Fashion General Cuteness, Feeding Nursing, Fun Toys, Getting Organized, Habitat, Learning

  There's a fine line between the hacker-ish DIYers and the stylish crafters. Case in point: the Martha Stewart Omnimedia folks got in touch to tell me about Good Things For Kids, a new special issue of on newsstands now. It's full of pictures of unnaturally well-groomed children, and I can't help but wonder what life would feel like if it actually

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• Consistent front-back swimsuit color makes kids easier to track in the pool

  Published: August 6, 2007, 12:11 pm

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, 13 18yrs Teen, 18yrs Grownup, Fashion General Cuteness, Getting Organized, Travel Going Out

  Richard's hack is one that would never become apparent unless you're in the situation: I made the mistake last year of buying my son a set of swim trunks that are red on the front, but black on the back.  This makes him MUCH harder to find in a crowd, especially since every other piece of clothing he owns is color consistent

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• Blowout damage control: pull the onesie off down over the legs

  Published: August 10, 2007, 9:09 am

  Tags: 0 01yrs Infant, Fashion General Cuteness, Poop Pee Potty Etc

  hedra has just caused me to say, out loud, "WHY didn't I think of this when my kids were babies?" If you're one of the lucky parents whose infant has those ghastly blowout diapers where the poop shoots up their back, take advantage of the crossover fold shoulders on most infant onesies. Take the shirt off DOWNWARDS rather than over

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• Custom silicone bracelet as preschooler travel ID

  Published: August 13, 2007, 10:14 am

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, Fashion General Cuteness, Getting Organized, Travel Going Out

  With the summer travel season upon us, it's a good time to revisit the ways in which we can make our lost kids "findable" in crowded places. We published a hack last year suggesting rubber bracelets as ID, but Dawn's hack points to a company that prints small quantities. (Erin's comment on the original post pointed to the same company,

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• Give toddlers a bell necklace to more easily locate them

  Published: August 24, 2007, 12:07 pm

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, Fashion General Cuteness, Fun Toys, Travel Going Out

  by shiny object or animal or general forbidden items). 3) Bonus, kids like to make loud noises. Here's one that's allowed! (Big tip - pick a bell that doesn't make you wince when it rings) 4) Cow bells, turkey bells (like cow bells but smaller), and brass bells (like the Indian and other 'asian' bells you can get for door chimes) all should

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• Real Simple Family: full of good hacks

  Published: September 5, 2007, 1:27 am

  Tags: 0 01yrs Infant, 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, 13 18yrs Teen, 18yrs Grownup, Attitude Mindset, Fashion General Cuteness, Feeding Nursing, Fun Toys, Getting Organized, Habitat

  I couldn't resist -- Real Simple Family -- a special issue of the lifestyle mag Real Simple -- found its way into my shopping cart this afternoon. It's full of good hacks, including taping a few unused board games together to form a smooth, stable building surface for blocks (we're always cursing the carpet in our finished basement for that very

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• Simplifying the standing diaper change

  Published: September 13, 2007, 9:15 am

  Tags: 0 01yrs Infant, 01 03yrs Toddler, Fashion General Cuteness, Poop Pee Potty Etc

  Cathy, aka Mayberry Mom, makes good use of those onesie/bodysuit crotch snaps: Here's something I figured out recently--can't believe it took me two kids and many years to do so. I've been doing stand-up diaper changes for a year now with my son, who much prefers looking out the window or standing in front of a chair flipping through a book

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• Rubber band pant legs over sockless baby feet

  Published: September 23, 2007, 2:24 pm

  Tags: 0 01yrs Infant, Fashion General Cuteness, Travel Going Out

  Shirky McLazy's little sock hack: We went out and the baby lost his socks. I pulled his pants over his feet and rubber-banded the ends closed. Tada! Warm feet! Speaking of lost baby socks, the only thing that ever kept socks on my kids' feet were Robeez booties. Not really necessary for the non-walker, but they sure are cute. Just got a note

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• Cut the snaps off the shirts of potty training toddlers

  Published: September 25, 2007, 11:51 am

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, Fashion General Cuteness, Poop Pee Potty Etc

  Ellie said "I'm sure this is too simple to send in," but it most certainly is not. It never dawned on me while I was potty training my oldest...I struggled with snaps all the time. Duh. I am potty training my two year-old and was having the hardest time finding shirts without crotch snaps for 24 months-2 years. So, my mom cut off the bottoms and

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• Glue down collars on baby outfits to keep them clean

  Published: October 15, 2007, 10:52 am

  Tags: 0 01yrs Infant, 01 03yrs Toddler, Fashion General Cuteness, Feeding Nursing

  Hilary, you are brilliant. Anything that reduces the amount of laundry is GOOD. All those baby outfits with collars people gave us were cute, but not helpful at feeding time. The collars inevitably flip up and cover baby's mouth, or get in the way. I got so sick of them, I wanted to cut them all off, but then they wouldn't look cute. So, I

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• Metal pet tags make great backpack IDs

  Published: October 16, 2007, 8:53 am

  Tags: 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, Fashion General Cuteness, Gear, Getting Organized

  idea, and it makes a decent fashion statement, too. From JT: When my son started kindergarten, I wanted to put an ID on his backpack. The luggage tag I got him disappeared pretty quickly, but the next time I was in the pet store, I got an idea. I bought tokens for the pet tag etching machine, and created a tag with his name and street address

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• Chew on This: Teething Bling

  Published: October 18, 2007, 12:19 pm

  Tags: 0 01yrs Infant, 01 03yrs Toddler, 18yrs Grownup, Fashion General Cuteness, Fun Toys, Gear, Health Development

  When my son was an infant, I often found myself wearing a big multicolored teething toy on my wrist like a giant clown bangle.  It was practical, but it definitely lacked style- especially on the days I forgot to take it off when the baby wasn't with me. Teething Bling by Smart Mom Jewelry can save other moms from a similar fate.  Their

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• Forget struggling with baby socks in winter: let them wear tights

  Published: October 21, 2007, 9:22 am

  Tags: 0 01yrs Infant, 01 03yrs Toddler, Fashion General Cuteness, Travel Going Out

  Fiona's hack makes me remember back to my kids' baby days...was always trying to cover up that bit of exposed leg between the bottoms of their pants and the tops of their socks. This would have done the trick... I read your hack about sockless baby feet - nice one! But I have another suggestion...put them in tights! Yes, baby boys can wear

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• Expand the dress-up wardrobe with discounted Halloween costumes

  Published: November 1, 2007, 9:19 am

  Tags: 01 03yrs Toddler, 03 05yrs Preschooler, 05 12yrs Kid, Fashion General Cuteness, Fun Toys, Getting Organized, Holidays Special Occasions, Saving Money

  Rather than raid the dress-up bin for Halloween, Wendy raids the after-Halloween sales for the dress-up bin! Great setup for future costume swaps, too. My 3 year-old daughter loves playing dress-up, but we only have a couple of items.  I've been searching for a way to expand her dressup wardrobe without spending tons of money.  I

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• The Daring Book for Girls is out!

  Published: November 4, 2007, 12:42 am

  Tags: 05 12yrs Kid, 13 18yrs Teen, 18yrs Grownup, Attitude Mindset, Fashion General Cuteness, Fun Toys, Learning, Things We Like

  If you'll recall, we had a fascinating discussion after my review of The Dangerous Book for Boys...touched off by the question: what about girls? Ladies and gentleman, I give you... I have a review copy of The Daring Book for Girls in my hot little hands, and, though my review isn't scheduled to appear until later in the month, I'll tell you

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