by Heather
We started RookieMoms.com when we each had one baby son. We challenged each other to think of fun things to do with our babies and we started listing them and describing them. I, Heather, had a five-month old so I took the first six months of life and Whitney had an eleven-month old son, so she (the Expert) took the back half of the first year.
Well, time marches on. Now, we have charming preschoolers that can be reasoned with about 80% of the time. They know how to put on their own shoes and eat at the table with spoons and forks. Interestingly, they still have plenty of crying jags.
And we have new babies too. Scarlett is six-months old and Milo is just over ten months old. So, by our earlier definitions, we are not even rookies anymore.
In the interest of keeping it real, we’ll keep sharing our favorite baby and mom activities, toddler activities, fun stuff to do with two little ones (or how to best strap one on while you chase the other), and even some preschooler favorites over on the main site! Oh yeah, and the great things to do when you get a moment to yourself…
by Heather
On Friday night, Alec and I returned home from our big date (to see Hot Buttered Rum — good times!) to play with the TiVo and look for new shoes. You see, that’s what we do when we get home before 11pm and we forget that our babies tend to wake us up early… we hang out on the couch and chill.
So, we looked up Lucy Daughter of the Devil (one of Alec’s high school friends plays a homicidal nun) and How to Look Good Naked for future sampling. Well, HtLGN was on right then so we sat there transfixed, jaws partially agape, and watched it. And it was kinda cool.
I absolutely love the idea behind the show: help women find what’s great about their bodies and celebrate that. I also like that they’re not pushing product (very much) and that Carson seems so genuine while still being entertaining. I was a little bit freaked about the building-size billboards of the women naked that surprised the participants.
Anyway, go check it out and let me know what you think!
Related Links: Susan Wagner reviews the show or snoop around on the Lifetime TV site.
by Karen
I don’t know if you’ve had the opportunity to work with Play-Doh lately, but my niece Mitra loooooves the stuff so I get to play with it all the time. It comes in all kinds of crazy colors these days- you can actually buy a pack that claims to have 50 different colors! Oh, and it smells disgusting.
I never knew about REAL Play-Doh as a kid, because my resourceful mom made my sisters and me play with homemade play-dough. It’s cheaper, it’s safe, it’s edible, and it’s great for people like me who don’t have too many toys in their house. It only takes a few minutes to make, and can even be composted afterwards (if you’re into that sort of thing.)
You don’t need the fancy toys and accessories either- you can find all kinds of great substitutes around the house. A garlic press was our personal favorite as kids. Plastic cookie cutters and rubber stamps are really fun as well. With littler kids, anything that makes a texture is fun and educational- a pot scrubber, a mesh strainer, etc.
To make play-dough: In a saucepan, combine 1 cup flour, 1 cup water, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon oil, and ¼ cup salt. Stir over medium heat until smooth. Remove from pan and knead until blended. Store in a plastic bag or airtight container when cooled.
If you want to add colors, you can knead in food coloring pastes or liquids. It won’t be as vibrant as the store-bought stuff, and your hands will pick up the color when you mix it in. If you don’t want to risk blue hands, just let the kid mix it in! 
> Related: A gallery of sculpting ideas from Play DOH
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Karen is our friend and the sneak behind the gift Heather and her husband both got this Christmas: mailboxtees and a very colorful Auntie.
by Heather
I’m three months into doing this trick on my husband’s clothes. I don’t know why I couldn’t start with my own.
I turned all of his hangers around on all of his shirts so that they were with the open hook facing out toward us rather than the other way. Over time, as he wears the shirts, he replaces the hanger in the “right” direction. This is giving us a perfect view into what he actually wears.
Oh yeah! Now I remember why I didn’t do mine… it’s called post-partum bs shirts-not-fully-covering-my-midriff-yet-itis.
[Thanks for the idea, 43 Folders!]
by Heather
Did anyone else visit long-lost family over the holiday break and have their child greeted like a celebrity? And by “like a celebrity,” I mean that not only was everyone falling all over themselves to get a piece of the little angel but that friends who’ve never met the kid treated him like they knew him already.
Is your kid caught on camera with no makeup on or pants down? Do you write about her like she’s a little diva with tales of her conflicts with studio heads and drugs parents and juice boxes?
In addition to this site, my husband and I (barely) keep up a little family site with pictures and (only-the-charming) anecdotes because our families are all Back East. We do it for ourselves as much as we do it for Them, but it’s the Them that I’m talking about.
Some examples:
- Our friend Sunny hosted a book swap (just like it sounds) and her four-year-old, Lucas, was playing and hanging around the fringes of the party eating crackers and making funny faces. I have met him a handful of times, but my familiarity with his misadventures and quirks goes well beyond what he might know about me. That’s what got me thinking about the one-sidedness of our relationship. And how the children we blog about are becoming minor celebrities in their own right.
- My sister, K, has never met Holden but she thinks she has. She’s not sure anymore because she’s seen him so very much in pictures. It’s like thinking you know Jennifer Aniston because you’ve seen a lot of episodes of Friends. Believe me, she does not feel that same confusion about you.
- In college (in those pre-blog, post-email days), I sent long and winding emails about my relationship woes to my friend studying abroad. My heartache was pouring into the computer like a Doogie Houser style journal and I didn’t consider my audience at all. She came back from that semester feeling very close to me whereas I felt no closer to her.
- Last week, I “met” a man at my holiday party and was not sure if we had ever met in person or if I just knew way too much about him from his blog. So, I’m guilty too.
When I was little, I was occasionally subjected to visits from my Mom’s friends who would chirp, “you’ve grown so much?” or “do you remember me?” and was appropriately annoyed.
Now, there’s a whole new level of “have we ever met?” or “you are so cute in your new footie pajamas” that we didn’t experience when we were little.
My friends who live too far away to visit keep me posted on their children’s cuteness via digital pictures, emails, and websites. I treasure that interaction and am not ready to give it up. So, it’s just a thing to wonder about.
Am I alone on this or does anyone else have any thoughts on this? Stories to share?
