Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine

I'm not big on the word "best," it seems to exclusionary.

But I'm pulling out the big guns for Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine.

It is the BEST children's CD my daughter has ever become obsessed with.

The first album for kids from Apples in Stereo's indie-rocker Robert Schneider, it's a little bit pop, a little bit funk and a lot of fun.

The tunes are intelligent and catchy, short enough to keep the kids listening (the CD itself is just over twenty minutes long), long enough to tell a story. And the stories are some of the best bits of the disc - like the high pitched rodent tracked by a giant human (Fee Fi Fo, Fee Fi Fum) who raps about changing his ways from snack stealer to model mouse.

Drawing comparisons to everyone from the Beach Boys to Cake, Robbert Bobbert isn't just bearable for adults, it's an album added to the iPod and played in loops. Because they will beg for it again . . . and again . . . and again.

Get it at Amazon, or sign up for the giveaway over at Strollerderby.

Check out a few of the clips at Schneider's Robbert Bobbert Myspace.

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Welcome to a Live Voice

And your extension, Ma’am?”
They always ask that – as if extensions are ubiquitous these days, as if the ability to bypass the real live go-between is some sort of achievement.
I get the sneaking suspicion I annoy people with my cheery response: “No extension here, we have a real person answering the phone!”
Drat. Foiled again.
I admit it can be a burden to me too. All I want to do is call in to check my messages, and a busy member of the office staff is forced to put me on hold and send me off to my own desk upstairs.
I feel like I’m wasting his or her time.
And yet, there are those human moments. The hello, how do you dos? The bit of gossip about what’s going on at the office while I’m working from home. The back and forth about the weather.
I like talking to a real person. Especially now that I spend a bulk of my time at home with a toddler, I crave that connection to the adult world.
Don’t you?
How many times have you yelled at a machine – “I just want to talk to someone, I just want answers”? How many times have you pressed 1 and 1 and 1 and 1 and begun smashing your fingers into the buttons, begging for that “boop” to bring a voice to the phone?
And yet, we angle for the extension, the direct line, the time saving option of bypassing the human being in favor of a digital voice.
Not me.
I might be a bit smug about it all, but I’m proud to say I can offer you the option of talking to a human being instead of a machine.
Try it - you might like it.
They’ll chat about the weather with you too, maybe even offer up some gossip.
Just remember they’re busy too – they have people calling in for messages.

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Bonk me On the Head and Tell Me It's Raining

Someday, somewhere, somehow (sorry, I've got Babs on the brain), I missed picking a winner for the kick ass Mama Runs with Scissors giveaway - one of my favorites every, by the way.

So I did a little randomizing, and came up with Suzanne - who needs to shoot me an e-mail to claim her prize.

The rest of you, please go shopping, because Mama Runs is absolutely hilarious!


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I'm in the Washington Post

I was interviewed for a feature in the Washington Post this week - by a writer who read my essay about parenting as a recovering bulimic for Babble.

The touching piece by Joanna Chakerian was also picked up by Jezebel - so check them all out.


Have you "liked" Inside Out Motherhood on Facebook yet?   

Become Beauty's Beautiful Hands

A woman - a mother - could always use an extra set of hands. But what does she do for her own?

As much time as we spend caring for everyone else, we could always use a little extra pampering, but common sense always gets in the way. Why should I spend money on some more hand lotion when I could be buying my baby a new pair of shoes?

Become Beauty has come to America from Australia to lend a little common sense back to Mom. Take care of your hands - they're the only two you've got.

A company with a focus on taking beauty back to the earth - using the good old-fashioned earth elements in all its products - Become Beauty's hand rejuvenating cream mixes sweet mint and orange oil with aloe to soothe your hands and bring them back to life. Absorbing quickly so you can get back to your daily routine, Become's cream breathes moisture back into winter-chapped hands.

Get back your own hands with Become - it's as good as getting an extra set.

Become Beauty has put up a hand rejuvenating cream and a set of its luxurious hand soothing complex for one February Inside Out subscriber. An additional five winners will walk away with a Weekend prize pack! Already a subscriber? Refer a friend to be entered into the giveaway for five more. If they subscribe in February and shoot me an e-mail, you'll get a prize!

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Masterpieces of Fun Art . . .That You Can Win

There are dozens of hair clippie makers out there on the 'net, so how do you choose?

Quality, quality, quality. Clippies can be absolutely adorable and fall apart the second your little girl starts yanking at the piece of fabric perched just so atop her head.

Simone at Masterpieces of Fun Art puts your mind at ease. Her clippies stay in one place on your little girl's head (thanks, in part, to free addition of grips for kids with fine baby hair, but even those without the grips are made of quality materials that stick). What's more - they stay in one piece over time, crafted with care and an attention to detail that's hard to find in the burgeoning business.

The mother of one, with another on the way, turned to crafting to keep her mind busy and bring a little business into the home. For those of you who like to support hard-working mompreneuers, Masterpieces of Fun Art is a must-stop on Etsy.

Her clippies are delicate, and her grasp on color and what works together is unequaled. Simple works, and Simone has created simple masterpieces . . . and she's right, they're fun to slip into a little girl's hair and see how they tranform her smile.

Want a set for your little girl or a little girl you know? Simone has put up a set from her spring line for one Inside Out reader. Check out the Masterpieces of Fun Art site, come back and tell me what must have set of clippies you must have. Get extra entries by grabbing my badge and/or blogging about this contest and all (remember to leave the link in comments as well).

Open to U.S. and Canadian residents, the contest will close on March 2, so remember to check back or subscribe at left to be notified right away. NEW SUBSCRIBERS for the month of February will all be entered to win the Become Hand Smoothing Complex and Rejuvenating Hand Creme. An additional five winners will walk away with a Weekend prize pack! Already a subscriber? Refer a friend to be entered into the giveaway for five more. If they subscribe in February and shoot me an e-mail, you'll get a prize!

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Get Fit On the Road

Getting to the gym may be out, but you've figured out what to do at home to get your jiggly butt moving. Now you're heading out on the road. What do you do?

Take the Fit Traveler off the shelves.

A book stocked with a fitness band and easy directions for workouts that work anywhere (even at home if you're still searching for the right thing for you), the Fit Traveler was crafted by "fitness globetrotters" Kari Eide and Lissa Mueller. When an accident kept Kari out of the gym, Lissa came to her - and they worked out a workout that you could do sitting in your family room with the kids or in the bedroom before the kids wake up.

Forget the gym guru that doesn't get what it takes to carve out a few minutes here and a few minutes there when your kids are otherwise engaged. The Fit Traveler works for you - so you can work out . . . for you.

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And the Winner Is . . .

Minxy Mimi is walking away with a new gift box and tee (or onesie) from {.jig}.

Sorry guys - I leave it up to random.org, and they gave her the nod.

But there is good news - and not just the upcoming giveaways that I have planned (or the one that's going on now). You can always shop at {.jig} and show the rocking Alyssa how much you love her stuff!

Minxy Mimi - you have 72 hours to drop me a line and claim your prize!

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Smackdown Time

Are you disciplined out? Need a time out?

I faced off with my colleague Kate on the good old time out over at Strollerderby this past week - she says no way, I say go to your room.

What do you say? Weigh in:

Smackdown: I Need a Time Out!

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Think Fun . . . and Chocolate

They had me at chocolate.

You too, huh?

ThinkFun has been spinning games out of its offices for 20 years, but the Chocolate Fix is the one game for kids that makes adults stop and salivate. A game of logic for kids 8 and up, the game board looks markedly like the square box of candies you picked up for your sweetie last Valentine's Day.

Chocolate Fix puts kids in the role of candy store owner to fill orders and follow them too. A thinking kids game, it's sweetest for its Soduku-like simplicity - fewer pieces to work with means fewer pieces to get lost in the house. What's more, for kids with younger siblings, the parts are large enough they won't become a swallowing hazard.

ThinkFun has tasted success with Chocolate Fix - check out what else they've got in store to get their little minds going.

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Valentine? Bah! Give me a car wash anytime!

There were no candy hearts, no presidential birthdays marked, but I celebrated my favorite February holiday on Wednesday.
I washed my car.
No, really.
It was the warmest day of the year by far, and on the way back from covering a press conference for Jim Farrell, the newest candidate to throw his name in the ring for Sullivan County district attorney, I had my windows wide open and the iPod was blasting through my speakers.
But I was still wary of getting anywhere near the outside of my car – its dirt-smeared doors and the mud-encrusted tailgate.
It’s an aversion I can’t say my daughter shares; she’s spent the past few weeks wiping the sleeves of her powder blue coat up against the fender as we skitter across the ice to load into the car in the morning. Her sleeves newly browned, she then turns to me, “Help, please!” spreading her arms toward my own blue coat while I shrink back in horror.
Pulling into Jeffersonville, I made a last minute decision. I turned next to Sal’s and headed for the car wash.
There were two cars ahead of me, but I switched off the ignition (yes, I try to be good to the environment) and settled in for the long haul.
One and a half stories of New York Magazine later, it was my turn.
I pulled every quarter I could find from my center console and got to work. The magnets – so brown I could barely tell they were there – were first to go, blowing off at the power of the soap and water shooting from the gun.
I rescued them and tried to spritz them off, shooting dirt all over my white sweater. It didn’t matter. It was worth it.
Because in the next two and half minutes or so, I obliterated every inch of road salt and sand from my car, top, side and bottom.
Punxsutawney Phil and his shadow be darned; I was blowing winter away with every speck.
It’s a sort of tradition for most of us here Sullivan County. One warm February day (if we’re lucky), we turn into the car wash lane and say bye bye to the salt and sand.
Sure it will come back.
We’re only kidding ourselves if we think this is the end to winter. The salt, the sand, they’re part of Sullivan County life in the winter the way the tourists are in the summer, and we’ve accepted them. But just as we have the pre-summer Memorial Day weekend hike in visitors, we have the pre-spring thaw, the little taste of no more winter.
Some of you celebrate February with cards, flowers and days off for presidents.
I’m too busy looking ahead.
Spring is almost here.

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This messy desk is sign of busy mind

Somehow last week's Inside Out from the Democrat never made it on the Web! So you get a twofer today!

******

The funny thing about splitting your work between home and an office is the need for organization… and the utter lack of it.
My desk at the Democrat is now legendary. A giant box has been created for the community birthday cards, lest they be buried under the pile of papers on Jeanne Sager’s desk and never make it to the happy holidaymaker.
It’s OK – I’m taking it in stride.
My desk might be messy, but what is it they say about a messy desk and a busy mind?
With my daughter enrolled in nursery school, I’m spending more time in the office these days – and getting more phone calls.
I’m also finding more paper piling up on my desk.
Remember all those promises that we’d one day find ourselves in a paper-free society thanks to the computer age? I’m still waiting.
There are mass company memos and press releases that are faxed to every media outlet – regardless of content.
There are pieces of paper scribbled with a phone number and dropped on my desk with the idea that I’ll deduce from the handwriting who to talk to.
There are those insidious one-day-at-a-time calendar pages too cute to throw away or too funny for someone to let me miss.
Throw in the pile of reporter’s notebooks full of notes from every board meeting, press conference and one-on-one interview, mock-ups of the pages you’ll see in the paper on a Tuesday or Friday and the desk essentials like my phone and computer, and you have yourself a mess.
But it’s OK.
I know where my calendar is, my mouse and my monitor.
I can find the phone number for the appropriate authority on a moment’s notice – even if I have to pick it out of my brain because I can’t find the Rolodex (yes, we still have those around here).
I can wrangle a wad of old meeting minutes from just the right place to provide background on a story, and I can unearth a picture of my daughter to share with a visitor.
It’s a messy desk that’s well matched with the messy mind.
Now where was that birthday card?
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Heat Up Your Lunch - And Win

Brown bagging it makes you feel like you're back in high school, and it isn't particularly green. Or you can go with the big cooler, take up most of the space in the communal fridge and feel like the uber dorky mom you are.

Maybe not.

Haute Lunch has taken the functional but frumpy lunch bag that's de riguer thanks to the green-up-the-workplace move, and made it into haute couture. Think mod spots and zebra stripes in place of that same old foldable neon green pouch.

With ample space for a three-course meal and your kid's sippy cup, er, a Thermos of your own, Haute Lunch bags have the size and look that makes them a stand-in for your purse. Except they're not.

Lined on the outside to avoid leaks and on the inside to keep in the cold and keep out the heat, the Haute Lunch is making it worth bagging your lunch again (as if you had any other choice in this economy).

Want one? Haute Lunch creator Wendy is handing out one of her zebra totes to one lucky Inside Out reader. Check out the Haute Lunch site, come back and tell me what must have bag style you must have. Get extra entries by grabbing my badge and/or blogging about this contest and all (remember to leave the link in comments as well).

Open to U.S. and Canadian residents, the contest will close on February 23, so remember to check back or subscribe at left to be notified right away. NEW SUBSCRIBERS for the month of February will all be entered to win the Become Hand Smoothing Complex and Rejuvenating Hand Creme. An additional five winners will walk away with a Weekend prize pack! Already a subscriber? Refer a friend to be entered into the giveaway for five more. If they subscribe in February and shoot me an e-mail, you'll get a prize!

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Yoga to the Rescue

Parents probably need to work out more than most - we tote kids around to the detriment of our backs, and then there's the pregnancy weight (for her) and the sympathy weight (for her partner).

Now how many parents do you know who have time for the gym? Forget about it.

For those of us who need it (not just parents but the busy, busy, busy who don't have kids) Rescue Girl comes tumbling through with the Yoga Deck, a thick packet of sturdy cardboard cards on a key ring that breaks down what you need to know to get more sleep, get over your hangover or just jumpstart your butt out of the jiggles.

Broken out in to sections for energy, sanity, sexy, restoration, and more, the Yoga Deck is a beginner's guide to feeling better without either breaking the bank or breaking the family routine. Pulling you out of your rut with simple routines that work anywhere for anyone, the Rescue Girl is worth her weight in gold. . . and she'll help you get rid of yours.

Namaste!

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Have a Good Night On Us

If you're a night owl, you're bound to find your child is an early bird. It's murphy's law.

What if it didn't have to be that way? The Good Nite Lite has been earning attention in the parenting world as a mini miracle worker, aimed at getting kids off to bed earlier and keeping them in their rooms later.

Does it work? Yes . . . but I will warn you that if you have a "scared of the dark kid," the efficacy of the set, sleep, learn system is cut in half.

The round face of the light turns blue at a pre-set time (I warn you, it is difficult to set, READ THE DIRECTIONS) looking fairly similar to the moon of their favorite kiddie books to let them know it's time for bed. The light will dim as the night goes on to diminish the potential sleep disturbance.

By morning, it's ready to light up not only the center face but the surrounding "rays" in yellow to let the child know it's time to get up. This is likely the most useful part for parents - until the "sun" turns yellow, they can direct their kids to stay in bed. Some parents have taken to drawing on their kids' clocks - letting them know they should stay in bed until the minute and hour hands hit the big drawing, but this does the job nicely. What's more, it works as a night light as kids are going off to bed, and the dimmer switch (which goes into effect during the day too) reduces electricity consumption.

Think your tot could use the help? Get the Good Nite Lite here.

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She's Pinking it Up

The OtterBox giveaway closed up last night, and I could pick only one winner with Random - but they've still got a special going on for Valentine's Day.

Buy a pink case anytime, and 10 percent of your purchase goes straight to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade. Buy one by Feb 16 to celebrate the holiday, and OtterBox is kicking in free shipping.

For the first time, a former sponsor of an Inside Out giveaway is actually a winner! The very talented Leah Waarvik (creator of the I Sit and Stay book for kids) walks away with an iPod or iPhone cover from OtterBox.

Also remember new subscribers in February are entered to win one of 11 prizes from Become Beauty, so if you haven't already, subscribe. If you have (subscribed that is), you can still win a gift pack by referring a friend - just tell them to shoot me an e-mail letting me know what subscriber referred them.

And in case you need a laugh . . . or just some thought-provocation . . new over at Strollerderby:

Only Child Syndrome Doesn't Explain Octo-Mom

Sasha and Malia See Hogwarts with Harry

Kindergartner Gets Best Birthday Present EVER

Is the Sitter Just There to Watch the Kids?

Earn Cash: Give the Kid a Normal Name

Doggie 101: How to Hug a Baby

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The Jig is Up - Win It

Cutesy wootsy it's not.

{jig.} is the home of kids' tees and onesies that are funky, funny and handmade. What could be better?

Creator Alyssa has the rockin' sense of humor of all my favorite Etsy shopowners, with a focus on spinning out quality duds for the kids. Screened on 100 percent cotton tees, {jig.} outfits sport the child's name in a funky font with Alyssa's personal designs.

If your little boy is more Erik the Red when he's throwing his tantrums, {jig.} has its Hats Off to him with a Viking helmet that says much more about his personality than the everyday baseball cap and ball. For the girls, how about a wooden box stocked with Days of the Week tees to match her days of the week panties?

The clear winner of the {jig.} rockingest tee collection is her Groucho glasses design, which comes packed with a pair of goofy glasses for giggling fun. So popular it's off the site right now, Alyssa promises it's coming back, so bookmark her site.

In the meantime, how about walking away with a {jig.} tee or onesie of your own? Alyssa will be sending a gift set (in decorative wooden box) the way of one Inside Out winner this week. Want in? Check out the rest of the {jig.} site, come back and tell me what must have tee you must have. Get extra entries by grabbing my badge and/or blogging about this contest and all (remember to leave the link in comments as well).

Open to U.S. and Canadian residents, the contest will close on February 9, so remember to check back or subscribe at left to be notified right away. NEW SUBSCRIBERS for the month of February will all be entered to win the Become Hand Smoothing Complex and Rejuvenating Hand Creme. An additional five winners will walk away with a Weekend prize pack! Already a subscriber? Refer a friend to be entered into the giveaway for five more. If they subscribe in February and shoot me an e-mail telling me who referred them, you'll be entered to win!


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East Meets Brazil, and the Weather's Fine

Punxsatawney Phil be darned. I'm ready for spring.

And not just to be done with wet feet and puffy parkas. The Tea Collection has let fly word about its spring line - and let's just say it's jets to Brazil. The darker hues of winter meet the splashes of bright Rio-inspired colors to ease them out of the doldrums.

The Liberdade Plaid Dress liberates little girls from the same old character-imprinted frock, and what it lacks in decoration it makes up for in a simple elegance that's both feminine and fun. She can be a little girl and look it too. Best of all? She can don spring now with a pair of Tea Collection's jeans and a tee to go.

For your little man, Tea Collection's slipping some Carnivale-inspired hoodies and henleys on the racks to keep them warm until they can once again start kicking the soccer ball around the block.

Come on spring, our little citizens of the world can't hardly wait.

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When You Need an Extra Hand . . . in the Car

Do your kids climb over all of your valuables (like your purse) in the backseat with reckless abandon?

Not anymore. The Clutch for Packages is incredibly simple. A stretchy cord to wrap around the headrest of the set with a Velcro attachment on the end to wrap around the handles of your bags.

That's it. No more turned-over takeout. No more mashed milk cartons. Best of all, it's under $10.

So let's see - rebuy your groceries and constantly be cleaning the upholstery or get the Clutch. Grab this one guys.

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Up Up With the Hilarity - and the Valentines

OK, I'll quit with the Valentine's posts soon enough (February 14 can't come fast enough for some of you people, can it?).

But first, one of the funniest card-makers on the net. Julie at UpUp has mixed a wicked sense of humor with an incredible sense of style.

Her Crazy Love cards are the Valentine's you can give your guy without having him give you that tight smile and promptly chucking it in the garbage when he gets to work. Case in point: Crazy Love Card II (inspired by a true story):

I love you so much that if you woke me in the middle of th enight to yell at me for stealing the covers I would forgive you by morning.

Can't see yourself saying it? Then don't bother looking. But if that's you all over (it's me, it's me!), the rest of of UpUp will pump up the love quotient this Valentine's Day.

Even better? She's got her own take on kids Valentines too, like the animals set that you can order for a mere $3 and print yourself (calculate the savings in your head Mom, it adds up fast).

Check out UpUp, and if you're not crazy in love, you might want to sit this V-Day out.

Related Posts:

• Pink up Your Tunes - and Win

• Charming the Holiday
  

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Wubbzy's Got a Friend in Me

Maybe it's having grown up in a household without TV. But I've found a lot of today's kid shows are . . . not too shabby.

Some totally suck, don't get me wrong (Max and Doody, I'm talking to you). But I've got a thing for that little yellow Wubbzy guy. Did you know he was a guy? I didn't, but I digress. They've put out a new Wubbzy movie just in time for Valentine's Day.

Want to know more? Check out my review over at Strollerderby:

Review: My Wubbzy Little Valentine

And don't forget to sign up for the Valentine iPod or iPhone cover giveaway.

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Smackdown

Would you throw a birthday party for a kid under 3? I love parties, so you can bet your sweet bippy I would.

But my friend Jen over at Strollerderby says no way, no how.

Want to weigh in on our Smackdown? Check out the site:

Smackdown: Party On Baby!

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Small sacrifice for a great cause

It’s been just over a month since my last haircut. It’s already starting to itch on my neck and creep across my forehead.
It’s curling around my ears.
It’s driving me nuts.
It’s OK. It’s worth it.
Because on March 28, I’ll step back into the Liberty Firehouse with (hopefully) a huge group of other people who have been growing their hair out to have it all shaved off.
In exchange, they’ll be taking your money over the next two months, socking it away to be shipped off the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, where the money will start helping doctors fight for our kids.
It’s going to help cure children’s cancer.
For four years, Sullivan County has offered its support to make a better future for our kids.
Here at the paper, I’ve written story after story about children struck by the threat of terminal illness. Some have fought against the dying of the light, some have fought and fought until the fight has left them.
Sitting with my little girl at night, I can’t forget them. I can’t forget the kids whose parents have poured out their souls to a newspaper reporter. I can’t forget that in return, these parents have gotten the support of a small community that suffers the same troubles as the rest of the country and still somehow puts up the money to try to ease the burden.
People care about kids.
They can show it in March by showing up at the Liberty Firehouse to put their heads – at least their hair – on the line. They can show it by writing a check even in troubled times.
They can stop by that day and egg us on or just hand over a small token of their support, a dollar for a raffle ticket, refreshments donated for the volunteers.
They can call Fay Cerullo, the woman who has taken charge of the St. Baldrick’s movement in Sullivan County since 2007 to ensure that other parents will never live her nightmares.
She had a child diagnosed with cancer. He’s now out of high school, attending college. He’s a survivor. He’s the kid we want all kids to become – a child who has grown up.
But childhood cancer remains the number one disease killer of American kids – that includes kids here in Sullivan County.
Some kids don’t get the chance to grow up.
A little itching and a few misplaced curls have nothing on that.
I’ll be shaving it all off on March 28 – will you be there?
For information on the event (or to donate), visit my "shavee site."

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Fly Me to a Polka Dot Moon

Sick of the perforated sheets of the same old, same old Valentines but not Martha enough to make your own?

Fly on over to Polka Dot Moon. Mom Denise (she has a Jillian, but that only won her bonus points in my book!) has put heart and soul into creating a line of cards, gift tags and other ephemera that are hard not to love.

Taking the "less is more" attitude" to paper art, Polka Dot Moon's simple styles are feminine and sweet, with flashes of the extraordinary that pop out at you without taking away from their sheer simplicity.

Where you see carnival tickets, Denise saw prizes for a sweetheart - and a set of 12 is just $1.13. So you can buy one for every kid in the class and still have cash for Valentine cupcakes that are sweet enough to eat and newspaper posies that carry all the funk that was fit for the print.

Polka Dot Moon's got you covered for Valentine's Day - they'll make you a star in your kids' eyes this holiday.

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Breastfeeding at Babble

Breastfeeding is one of the biggest hurdles of early motherhood, and I could have written volumes on it. Instead I had a short space to give Moms a look at how to mount some of the biggest of the big.

Check out the newest story over at Babble: Your Breastfeeding Timeline.

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Pink up Your Tunes - and Win

Ready for the big V-Day?

Me neither. But my iPod is. Decked out in the new iPod cover from OtterBox, I'm fighting breast cancer, celebrating the holiday and protecting my iPod all in one fell swoop.

The OtterBox Avon Breast Cancer line of super-strength iPod and iPhone covers are Superman with a bright pink cape. Like the rest of the OtterBox line, they defend the innocent little gadget from bumps and falls (with kids around, who hasn't seen their iPod take a tumble?) and crumbs and jam hands.

The bones of the OtterBox case are plastic, with a silicone cover that stretches across for added bounce factor, and plugs that keep both the headphone and USB ports covered up when you don't need them, easily accessible when you do. Made to cover the iPhone first generation or 3G or the iPod nano third and fourth generations, they're also available in black, white, or yellow.

Buy a pink case anytime, and 10 percent of your purchase goes straight to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade. Buy one between Feb. 2 and Feb 16 to celebrate the holiday, and OtterBox is kicking in free shipping.

Or, you could comment on Inside Out and walk away with an iPod or iPhone cover of your choice. Want in? Check out the rest of the OtterBox site, come back and tell me what must have gadget you must have. Get extra entries by grabbing my badge and/or blogging about this contest and all (remember to leave the link in comments as well).

Open to U.S. and Canadian residents, the contest will close on February 9, so remember to check back or subscribe at left to be notified right away. NEW SUBSCRIBERS for the month of February will all be entered to win the Become Hand Smoothing Complex and Rejuvenating Hand Creme. An additional five winners will walk away with a Weekend prize pack! Already a subscriber? Refer a friend to be entered into the giveaway for five more. If they subscribe in February and shoot me an e-mail telling me who referred them, you'll be entered to win!

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Newborn Babies: Too Cute or Alien Cute?

I've got to tell you, I don't think newborns are beautiful. Adorable in an ugly way? Of course.

Beautiful? Are you kidding me? The debate is going over at Strollerderby, where I've got some of the cutest pictures EVER (second to my own little girl, natch) of newborn babies up for review.

Check it out and weigh in!

Newborn Baby Pics: Cute Little Aliens

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