The Fisher-Price Smart Fit Park is a sensor pad that plugs right into your TV and allows your kids to learn a wide variety of topics by running, hopping and jumping for joy on the activity pad. On the TV are a host of colorful, animated games that focus on educational topics such as spelling, addition and subtraction, shapes, numbers and counting and many more. The games are competitive and fun and your child controls a player in the game with their movements. The Smart Fit Park is so easy to set up by simply plugging into the input/output on the television. The pad does take 4 AA batteries but no other equipment is required. Now you won’t have to move the Wii from room to room if the TV is occupied and you can take it with you to hotels, relative’s houses – anywhere with a television.

Yes, we’ve all been there. Many a meal, shopping trip and outing has been ruined by the good old tantrum. The embarrassing and frustrating experience of watching everyone stare at you while your child kicks and screams can make you never want to leave the house again. But, you must stand strong and work to curb your child’s tantrums. Encourage her to use her words and to put her feelings and wants into words. Explain you want to help her, but she needs to talk to you, not scream. Always give her choices whenever possible. Let her choose among three menu items instead of simply ordering her something and expecting her to like it. Praise her good behavior and let her know how proud you are when she behaves well. She’s bound to listen more when she’s behaving and happy than in the middle of a tantrum. If all else fails, try your best to distract her. If you sense that she is getting fussy and a meltdown is imminent, find something else for her to think about and focus on.

Find out how to enter this Pinterest promotion here: http://www.babyblankets.com/blog/2013/05/mom-contest-baby-blankets-pin-to-win-baby-blanket-giveaway/

The deadline for entries is June 2, 2013, so get pinning!

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The giveaway ends on May 31, 2013, so hurry!

Come up with a list of simple games and contests such as three-legged or potato sack races, a cracker whistle where you fill your mouth with crackers and try to whistle. The entire family can get in on a tug-of-war or a water balloon tossing competition. The list of games is endless and is only limited by your imagination. Enlist the help of your neighbors and you may be able to use several backyards as the staging area for your field day. Provide some light snacks and pick up some fun prizes for the kids to receive when they win a competition. This is also a great way to celebrate the arrival of summer with your younger children who aren’t in school yet and don’t get to enjoy field day.

Give the kids a little something to channel their energy into by working together to create an End-of-School-Year Countdown Calendar. This works in pretty much the same way as an Advent calendar that counts down to Christmas. Print out a calendar for the months of May and June in as large a size as you’d like. Then starting at today’s date, write the countdown numbers on each day’s square, counting backwards from 30 (or however many days are left of school) all the way down to one on the last day. As your child crosses off each day they can also open a slip of paper with the coordinating countdown number on it. On each slip write a fun activity that your kids can look forward to doing this summer. This way your kids can focus on counting down each day remaining as they daydream about all the fun your family will have this summer.

It’s quite simple. Schedule a regular Daddy date with each of your children. For a few hours each week take just one of the kids out to a movie, to the batting cages, to the park or the zoo. Spending a ton of money isn’t necessary. This time is about talking, catching up on each other’s lives and simply being together. In a family where kids spend the majority of their leisure time with mom, one outing with Dad will feel like a super fun treat and will make each child feel special to have a memory that belongs to just her or him and Dad. Best of all, with each outing Dad will feel be building memories with each child that he will cherish forever.

Our Mommy Hot Spot May Blogger of the Month is (drum roll, please)… Cam with Bibs & Baubles! Even with a fast-paced career in television, Cam manages to chronicle her life for her readers. We here at MHS are inspired by Cam’s voracity and her ability to follow her dreams while teaching her kids to do the same. She says it perfectly on her blog:

“Yes, I’m real big on following your dreams especially after becoming a mama. For me, that’s when my dreams became even more important. I wanted to be an example to my kids to dream big and be fearless enough to follow them!”

40 Before 40

To prove this point, Cam has shared with us her “40 Before 40”—an over-the-hill bucket list, if you will. She even crosses out the items she’s accomplished so we can follow along and see an active update of her progress. So far, she’s completed admirable goals like publishing a book, opening her own business, and launching a second blog. Keep your eyes peeled, though. She still has some lofty goals to accomplish, like being part of a flash mob and learning another language fluently!

Thank you, Cam, for encouraging us to be strong, motivated, and pursue our dreams! We’ll stay tuned on your life journey as you dream big and continue to cross items off your epic list. And as always, thank you for being a Mommy Hot Spot member.

The product is the Maamam Aacua Bath Towel and once you start using them you’re not likely to go back to being without one. It’s a four-in-one garment and bath towel that is brilliant in its simplicity. The Aacua bath towel is made of soft cotton and comes in white or a light tan, unbleached cotton. It also comes with five different color trims to choose from: teal, green, orange, pink or yellow. You can also have it personalized with any name you’d like in one of three different fonts. But it’s not how this towel looks that makes it special, it’s what it does. The towel has snaps along the trim and in addition to being a soft towel for baby, it can be configured to be snapped around your toddler as a bathrobe, it can be wrapped around your baby as a warm soft wrap, or it can be snapped around your own neck to serve as an apron to keep your clothes dry while you bathe your baby. Genius!

If your child is in preschool, it’s a great idea to discuss kindergarten readiness with his preschool teacher. She will likely be able to help you determine how advanced your child is when it comes to factors such as interacting with adults and other children as well as his ability to think logically and speak clearly. Your child’s emotional development is hugely important here. You know your child best and if you and his teacher agree that he would benefit from another year of emotional growth before starting school there is nothing wrong at all with holding him back a year. Doing so may help him succeed in many ways down the road when he is older than his classmates instead of being younger than many of them. Now is the time to make this determination; don’t leave it until late summer when no teachers are available to meet and discuss your child’s situation.

Set up a sturdy card table and cover it with a colorful tablecloth. An old-fashioned, red and white checked cloth would be perfect – the more color in your stand, the better. Forgo the use of an old-timey pitcher, which is way too small and will need to be refilled constantly. Opt instead to make lemonade in a large team cooler with a spout like they use for kids’ sporting events. This will save you from having to make batch after batch of lemonade and will keep the beverage cool and fresh. Also have lots of disposable cups and another cooler filled with ice. Have your kids make a big sign with the lemonade price on it and hang it in front of the table to draw attention. This is a fun activity for any day, but it’s really a great idea if you’re having a garage sale; your kids will have plenty of customers and will make some good spending money.

It’s called a “momogram” blooming monogram and it’s easier to make than it looks. Use cardboard, 3D paper mache letters as the base. In this case you need three of them: the letter M, O, M. Cut the tops off of the letters with an exacto knife (a job for mom, NOT the kids) so the letters are hollow. Fill the letters with pieces of green floral foam used for flower arranging. Trim the foam blocks into the shapes they need to be to fill the corners of the letters. Then you and the kids can have a blast pushing silk flowers into the foam until the letters that spell MOM are overflowing with an arrangement of different colorful spring flowers. The finished product of the three letters can be laid on your dining table as a centerpiece or hung on your front door to welcome guests. For images of the project you can search online for blooming monogram.

Make mom a new cell phone case so she can carry her kids’ heartfelt artwork with her wherever she goes. All you need is a clear rubber or plastic cell phone cover and some Mod Podge, which is a miraculous all-in-one glue, sealer and finish. Then, together with the kids, design a collage to glue to the phone case. Cut pictures out of magazines of mom’s favorite things or print small pics of the kids off of the computer on picture paper. Cut the pics out and arrange them in a cool collage before gluing them down with the Mod Podge. Another great gift is a picture frame with some added touches from the kids. Choose a frame with a large mat space around a small picture space. Choose a great small photo of the kids for the middle and surround it with scrapbook letters that the kids can stick to the mat to spell words like “love,” “family” and, of course, “mom.”

Bath & Body Works has put together a basket of bath time goodies that will leave you feeling relaxed and smelling wonderful. They have gathered together some of their best-selling products and placed them in an adorable, colorful plastic bathtub. Simply choose your favorite Bath & Body Works fragrance and you’ll receive a bottle of body lotion, shower gel, fragrance mist and a tube of body cream in that scent. The gift basket also comes with a color-coordinated ultra-soft body puff lathering sponge. Use the contents of this bathtub to treat yourself on Mother’s Day to a long, luxurious bath and then apply the cream or lotion that will make your skin baby soft with a fragrance that will last for hours. The best part is that buying these products individually would add up to $60 but the gift basket is only $32. Enjoy your Mother’s Day!

Mommies, you may be ignoring a whole lot of adorable whispering and plotting that’s going on in your house this week during the lead up to Mother’s Day. And while your little ones conspire themselves and with Daddy you can be confident, as you are every year, that whatever plans they come up with you will absolutely love and cherish on your big day this weekend. So, you’ll probably be walking around the house pretending not to hear and see half of what a mom notices in a normal day. It’s all part of the fun. But, one area where you needn’t ignore Mother’s Day is when it comes to helping your kids honor the other mothers in their lives.

Daddy likely has his hands full with plans for you for the big day, so perhaps you could step in and help the kids find a way to honor their grandmothers, aunts, or stepmom. You needn’t plan anything major since you are the star of the show on Mother’s Day, but it is nice to remind your children about why it’s important to cherish the other mothers they know. It’s a good chance to teach them about family; it’s always a bit mind blowing as a small child when you learn that your mom has a mom of her own. This will let them see their grandmother in a whole new light. Perhaps you can help the kids make cards for their relatives who are mothers and for their stepmom if they have one.

If you’re lucky,  there may still be an operating, old time drive-in near your home;  if you don’t–or even if you do–you can still enjoy the ambiance of this once favorite summer pass time by  organizing and hosting an outdoor movie night under the stars for friends and family.

Whether it’s around the pool or in your backyard, and the audience is your family, friends or both, the warming weather is a great excuse to host a movie night. And even though it might not include the old family station wagon or the colossal drive-in movie screen, you can still bring back the magic of those summer evenings without the long concession lines, tinny speakers that hung on the car door’s window, and long walks to a dirty restroom.

Instead you, your friends and family can enjoy the comforts of  home just steps away from the backyard viewing party. All you need is a big screen TV, a DVD player or Netflix subscription, hot buttered popcorn, candy, hot dogs, nachos, Coca Cola in the old-fashioned green bottles, and an age-appropriate movie lineup that everyone will appreciate.

Ask guests to arrive in their PJ’s and bring a blanket and pillow. There are plenty of kid-friendly movies that adults can enjoy too; “The Wizard of Oz”, “The Lion King” and “Beauty and the Beast”, to name a few. After the younger set goes to sleep, older audience members can enjoy  a few classic horror flicks like“Bride of Frankenstein” or “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, or plug into some Golden Age of Hollywood favorites like “The Maltese Falcon” and “Casablanca.” Whether you have the movie lineup established in advance, or as guests for suggestions, it’s hard to believe that everyone wouldn’t enjoy a night of movies under the stars.

Now, sure, you can go out to any number of toy stores and buy an awesome, battery-operated light saber that actually lights up and might even make the whooshing noise when you swing it. But if you’d rather keep things simple and you’re looking for a fun project to do at home with your little Padawans, you can help them make their very own light sabers out of long cardboard tubes and some duct tape. You can find duct tape now in all kinds of bright neon colors. Buy a roll of blue and a roll of green along with some grey electrical tape. Tape the majority of the cardboard tube with the brightly-colored tape, leaving about 6 to 8 inches at the end of the tube to wrap in the grey electrical tape as a handle. It might be a little basic, but your child can take pride in having made it himself. Yes, the force is strong with this one.

Flyebaby has come to your rescue, traveling moms, with the Flyebaby Airplane Baby Seat. This hammock-type seat attaches to the clip of the tray table in front of you and suspends baby’s head and shoulders in the air as if he were sitting in a bouncy seat while the rest of him sits safely in your lap. It’s a comfortable and familiar position for baby and best of all he can look up into your face without your arms going numb from holding him for hours on end. The seat is made a sturdy nylon that cleans up easily and it has a five-point harness to keep baby safe inside the seat. And Flyebaby doesn’t just work on airplanes. You can also attach it to most dining room chairs to make an instant high chair seat.

Experts claim that maternity leave is a crucial bonding time for mommy and baby. Shouldn’t dad have that same bonding time if he chooses? Well, it turns out you certainly can have that time, by law in fact you are entitled to 12 weeks of that time. The huge downside, though, is that as of now that time is unpaid. The Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, states that employers must provide fathers with up to 12 weeks of unpaid paternity leave when a baby is born with no risk whatsoever of losing their jobs. There is a growing rise in fathers who take this option; a study by Monster showed that in the last five years 58% of working fathers opted to take some form of paternity leave. And private firms are even starting to offer their employees a shorter amount of paid time off. Accounting firm Ernst & Young began offering father two weeks of paid leave and recently upped it to six paid weeks of paternity time. Dads to be – check with your workplace about this option.

Obviously, if you have a toddler at home and you want to enroll him in a basic day camp with activities for little ones, that’s fine. But if your kids are at the age where they are developing any kinds of discernible interests then there’s a good chance, if you ask them, that they may well have an opinion on which activities they would like to be a part of this summer. If you ask, you may be surprised to learn that you daughter who was obsessed with tennis last summer wants to go to gymnastics camps this year. Your son who has always loved baseball may want to attend a science camp. Summer camps are so expensive; don’t waste your money on activities your kids aren’t passionate about.

Starting a garden club with your neighbors can accomplish a lot. You can not only work together in a group to beautify each other’s backyards, working much faster, but if you have some common land in your yards, or one neighbor wants to volunteer her backyard, you can start a neighborhood garden. Raise vegetables together that will benefit everyone in the club. Once the garden is dug and planted by the group you can create a schedule to share the workload for watering, weeding and other maintenance among the group members. A neighborhood garden group can also choose flowers you all love and place some plots in your front yards for a uniform look of beautiful flowers running all along the street. A garden group is a great way to enjoy fun and fresh air with your friends and neighbors and a great way for the kids to all make friends.

You can make a tambourine by stapling or gluing two paper plates together and tying jingle bells with yarn through holes you make with a hole punch. Make a simple drum out of an old oatmeal box and a cover. Run yarn through a hole you make in the cover and the bottom of the oatmeal box so your child can carry the drum over their shoulder. A paper towel roll can become a horn by placing wax paper over one end and securing it with a rubber band. Poke finger holes along the paper towel roll with a pen. Sing or hum into the open end of the paper towel roll and you’ve got a horn. Other materials you don’t have to make can also be used as instruments. Use your pot lids as cymbals and your empty mason jars filled with different levels of water as a xylophone. Decorate your instruments with markers, construction paper and glitter. Rock on!

When that time comes, you really should take a long look at the Dream Baby Extra Wide Hallway Auto Close Gate.  While the name might be quite a mouthful, you’ll certainly be glad that it has each of those features when it comes time to install and use it. For all of the advances made in all sorts of baby items, the world of baby gates has remained horribly archaic. They are hugely important to keep baby safe, and they do so wonderfully, but they sure can be inconvenient for the rest of the family who are constantly climbing over them. The Dream Baby gate is different. It’s extra width allows you to attach the pressure-mounted ends of it to your walls and leave it there because of two wonderful features – its extra width for wide doorways and a child-safe door in the middle of the gate, allowing you to walk through the mounted gate. This means you can even install a baby gate in precarious or extra-wide openings with not worries.

So, where is the truth in all this controversy? If you’ve ever allowed your child to be entertained during a long car trip by the hundreds of educational and entertaining apps on a tablet that are intended specifically for kids, you get the benefit of letting your child play with the device. Also, isn’t it prudent in today’s world to teach our children to be tech savvy as early as possible? Perhaps, but many experts say that these devices, just like television or a laptop, should be used by your child in moderation. You may feel that your child’s iPad addiction is no more harmful than her addiction to her teddy bear, but teddy doesn’t keep her sitting and inactive for hours at a time, staring at a blinking screen. Let your children play with your tablet, sure. But, limit that time the same way you limit TV time. Be sure your kids make time for other things throughout the day.

Crayola has a new line of super vibrant sidewalk chalk with colors so bright you’ll swear you’re working with crayons instead of chalk. These boldly-colored chalk sticks are even shaped like crayons at the tips where they taper to a rounded point. The rest of the chalk is squared instead of round so you can hold them firmly and they won’t roll. But the best part about this chalk is definitely the colors. This chalk washes away as easily as ever but is so much brighter that you’ll be able to see every nuance of a drawing. You and your children can each take a section of the sidewalk and become outdoor Picassos as you create your works of art. And your driveway hopscotch design or four square board will be more clearly visible than ever before. Get outside and have some fun with chalk!

It couldn’t be easier to do this great thing for the earth. Simply head to a garden center and pick out a young tree. Dig a hole in your yard or in any spot where you have permission. Some great spots might be the grounds of your church, school or a park (plant in these spots with permission, of course). Make sure there is adequate space for the tree’s roots to spread out. The staff at your local garden center will help you with instructions for the root ball or for staking the tree. You and the kids can even make a colorful sign with markers announcing that this tree has been planted in honor of Earth Day 2013. That may inspire others to do the same. Attach the sign to a tree stake and place it in the ground next to the tree.

The Boon Flair Pedestal Highchair is not only sturdy, safe for baby, comfy and a snap to clean, but its sleek design is incredibly nice to look at. This is one highchair that will actually raise the cool factor of your kitchen. The chair is one curved piece of sturdy plastic with no cracks or crevices at all to trap spilled food. The inner seat has a 5-point harness to hold baby safely and the food tray is much smaller and more manageable than the trays on other highchairs. The chair also comes with two detachable tray liners that fit easily into your dishwasher to be cleaned. This innovative highchair sits upon a pedestal that widens at the bottom and its coolest feature is a button on the base that can be controlled by your foot to raise and lower the chair like a barber’s chair so it can be the perfect height to fit your table. And the whole chair and base sit upon six casters that allow the chair to be moved easily around your home.

Only children don’t have to learn to share their toys at home, nor do they need to learn to compromise their desires in order to fit the group dynamic. If you think about it, sharing and compromise are crucial skills that we use a lot later in life. The world already has enough of a “me, me, me” attitude; in teaching our kids how to empathize and recognize the needs of other kids to be as important as their own we’re helping them learn to be better people. If you feel your child needs some help socializing, get involved in a Mommy and Me group for play dates and classes such as music and art. Working or playing in a group with other children will teach your child about socialization more quickly than you ever could.

Once you get a group of volunteers together to help, break them up into smaller groups and assign different cleanup activities so people know what tools they should bring, if any. Activities that can be organized to take place during the cleanup include trash pickup, weed pulling, planting or maintaining flower beds and landscaping the area with mulch. If your town has a Parks and Recreation department it’s a great idea to contact them for ideas and for certain parks in town that may need more help and maintenance. Sometimes parks departments will even provide your group with supplies such as trash bags. A cleanup day in your local park is a fantastic way to celebrate Earth Day and to teach your children the importance of respecting their town and their planet.

Now is the ideal time of year for you and the kids to make some kites. You could always go and buy colorful, professionally-made kites, sure. But then your kids would miss out of the fun and sense of accomplishment in making their very own kite. If you’re confident in your craft abilities, you can find a wide variety of templates online so you can make your own kites with a few simple and inexpensive materials. Many online sources give step-by-step instructions and you supply the stuff to make the kites. Or, if you’d like a little more help, you can order kite kits online or buy them at hobby stores. These kits include material that is usually stronger than what you’ll have lying around the house, such as sturdy nylon. And from beginner to more advanced kites, these kits come with everything you’ll need to make kites with the kids so you can head out to the park and get flying.

The Mommy Hot Spot April Mommy Blogger of the Month is TJ, who writes Measuring Flower. Measuring Flower is a well-rounded blog that most any mommy can enjoy. TJ lets us into her busy life as an ex-chef with a writing degree turned full-time stay at home mom. TJ shares reviews, giveaways, gift guides, recipes, homeschooling tips, and even blogging advice! She’s a mom on a mission and she’s more than happy to share it with the rest of us.

Crafting Tutorials

TJ offers a wide range of tutorials from hands crafts like DIY journals to homemade “Mimic Wraps” to even making your own homemade, natural laundry soap. She has some serious crafting skills and now we can too. We here at Mommy Hot Spot think that finding a creative outlet is an essential way to keep your sanity during the day-to-day grind.

Blogging Tips

As mommy bloggers, blogging tips are something we can’t get enough of. As a professional blogger, TJ has loads of insight into building, maintaining, and promoting blogs. She gives us tips like the ins and outs of participating in a Twitter party.

Recipes

As an ex-career chef, you know that TJ has some good stuff in the recipe portion of her blog. I’m not sure about you, but my mouth is watering at the thought of stuffed green peppers. She covers the full recipe spectrum, offering tantalizing appetizers, desserts, main dishes, soups, and sandwiches. One of my personal favorites is homemade honey poppy seed dressing.

To be honest, I feel like Measuring Flower is a mini Pinterest created by TJ! Thank you, TJ, for sharing your fantastic tips and tricks with us. And of course, thank you for being a Mommy Hot Spot member.

The ingenious folks at a company called Kiwi Crate have come to the rescue. Kiwi Crate is a monthly craft box subscription service. For a monthly charge of $19.95 you receive a crate each month that contains materials and instruction for three separate craft projects plus all kinds of additional online content such as other project idea, books, apps and more. Each crate is dedicated to a specific theme such as dinosaurs, gardening, colors and so on. Each project has been created by a team of parent and educational experts and tested by kids. The instructions are clear and easy to follow and the materials are well laid out. Each crate can also include a “sibling add-on” for an extra charge of $7.95 a month so that there will be enough materials for more than one child get in on the fun. These crates are life savers for busy parents who need ideas for educational and entertaining activities for their kids.

Here’s the truth when it comes to parenting. You can constantly criticize your partner’s parenting skills and be absolutely miserable (and exhausted), or you can give in a bit and learn to keep your mouth shut and let your partner do things with the kids in his or her own way. Unless the child’s safety is at stake, does it really matter how your partner combs your child’s hair or gives him five more minutes before bed? Your marriage, your child and your entire family vibe will be much happier if the parents aren’t criticizing each other. Obviously you and your partner should agree upon things like discipline so you can present a united front and not confuse your children. But when it comes to the small stuff, everyone will be happier and much better rested if you allow one another to do things in your own way.

If you want to get super-extra credit creative points you can make your own puppets using socks, buttons for eyes, yarn for hair and pieces of leftover fabric as clothing. But if you don’t have time for a project like that, you can just as easily let the kids use their favorite stuffed animals and even their action figures in the show. As far as a stage goes, simply crouch or kneel behind the couch and place your audience in front of the couch. Hold the puppets up above the back of the sofa and act out your brilliant story. Help your kids shape the story as best you can, but try not to micromanage too much. You want this to be fun for them; you don’t want them to feel as though they’re spending a day memorizing boring lines to say. Once dad gets home or grandma stops by you and the kids can put on a show that will be sure to get a standing ovation.

You will need some art software on your computer and some iron-on transfer paper. The good news is, if you have neither of these things, you can often get them together. Most art software, which can be found at any hobby store, comes with transfer paper. Then you and your child simply scan a picture they drew, and once it’s on your computer you can use the art software to sharpen the colors or enhance the picture in many different ways. Print out a test print on regular printer paper to be sure you like the picture. Next, print out the picture on the iron-transfer paper. Set your iron to the cotton setting and iron the picture onto a t-shirt, pressing down hard and moving in circles for about 5 minutes. With this method you can make as many t-shirts as you’d like, bringing your children’s artwork to life again and again.

The Joiful Maternity collection consists of tops, pants and dresses that are appropriate for nearly any occasion. Most of the pieces in the line are made of either charmeuse and modal fabrics that are cut to flatter nearly every pregnant woman at every stage of pregnancy. The dresses range from knee length to maxi length and come in complementary solid tones such as black, grey, blue or purple. The selection of dresses and tops in the collection cover everything from casual t-shirt type tops that are extra-long and hug you perfectly, to dressier, one-shoulder tops that are super stylish. Burress has also created loungewear like leggings and sweat suits that stretch with you and baby as you grow.

First, you must establish a routine and stick to it each day. It’s necessary for your schedule to revolve around baby’s needs in those first few months. Even though he may sleep up to 16 hours a day, due to his feeding schedule, that sleep is usually in spans of just a few hours at a time. As he grows older, though, and can go longer between feedings, use that to your advantage in setting a routine. Once he can go five or more hours between feedings, begin to put him down to bed at a set time each night. Put him in his crib when he’s tired, but not yet asleep. This will teach him to fall asleep in his crib, which will prove hugely beneficial in getting him to go to sleep on his own as he grows older. If he does wake in the night, interact with him in whispered tones and keep his lights low. This will help him learn that nighttime is for sleep and he won’t become confused and think it’s time to get up and play. Finally, keep him very active and as awake as possible during the day to promote more sound sleep at night.

We know that looking for a baby shower gift can be a lot tougher than it looks. That’s why we recommend personalized baby blankets for boys and girls. Baby blankets are a universal necessity—you’ll find more than one in every home with a newborn. So why not give them that added touch of love? A personalized baby blanket is more than just a blanket, it’s a keepsake. It’s something that sets a baby blanket apart from the rest.

BabyBlankets.com can help you take your baby shower gift to the next level. With a broad range of items, you’ll find something that suits everyone. And with the ability to add cute customized embroidery, you have the perfect final touch. So when you’re shopping for your friend’s baby shower, show her you care with a priceless gift like a personalized baby blanket!

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This sponsorship is brought to you by BabyBlankets.com, whom we have partnered with for this promotion.

Most cities with baseball teams are celebrating Opening Day around this time, so why not throw a little shindig with a baseball theme to welcome the return of this classic American sport. Have a party with family, friends or neighbors on a day when your local team is playing a televised game. Serve baseball themed food such as hot dogs, soft pretzels, nachos, ice cream and, of course, cupcakes with baseball frosting, which is white with red stitching, Before the game airs on TV, head outside as a group and play a friendly game of softball in the yard or a nearby park. Let the kids of all ages play right alongside the adults and help one another out so everyone can participate and have fun. Then head back home as a group and watch one of the first games of the season on television.

It’s quite simple to create a starter garden for a child to manage. One great way to start is to make an herb garden with herbs growing in different small containers. Herbs are hearty and pretty fool-proof to grow. Herbs can also be grown in many different places including in indoor containers, which makes them a good choice for people who live in apartments. Another great way to go is to let your child oversee a square section of your backyard garden or oversee just one plant in a separate container that is all theirs. If you plant a hearty fruit or vegetable in a pot that is just for your child to oversee, they won’t have to deal with many of the weed issues that pop up in gardens. And who knows? Your children might just finally learn to love veggies if they grow them on their own.

And that encouragement can be found in the form of a fantastic tool that brings potty training into the 21^st century. The “I Love Potty Training” app for boys and girls was created by Joy Berry and is scoring big points with frustrated parents. The app is available for iPhone and iPad and comes with everything you and your child will need to make potty training fun and easy. The app includes a potty training e-book as well as a game that will keep your child entertained and excited about using the potty. A progress tracking section and a “Great Job” reward button will provide your child with the encouragement to keep going. The app also has tips and advice for parents.

There is no set law in most states about children staying home alone, but you should employ both common sense and your knowledge of your children when you make this decision. Most experts say that kids younger than 10 years old are too young and immature to stay alone without being scared or unable to handle an emergency. Beyond that, base your decision on your individual child and ask yourself he or she is nervous or calm in unexpected situations. Does your child follow rules well? Is he normally level-headed or is he more of a risk taker? Does she know first aid and what to do if someone comes to the door? Also, take your neighborhood into consideration. Do you generally live in a safe neighborhood? Do you know a neighbor nearby that your child could call if he needed help? All of these factors will help you decide when the time is right to first leave your child alone. Make sure the first time is only for a few hours during the day, you’re likely to both be more comfortable.

Congratulations to our mommy blogger Kat at No Holding Back! She won our first ever Mommy Reviews raffle, and a $50 Amazon gift card to boast for her efforts. Her winning entry was a lovely and detailed review on the Lollacup. You can read it here. Kat has recently changed her domain name, so please make sure to give her some extra MHS love and vote for her in our voting contest (and other voting contests too, of course)!

We’d like to give a special thank you to our other Mommy Hot Spot Mommy Review entrants and their great reviews! You can find them in our “Product Reviews” section on the website.

As always, we’re constantly coming up with new ways to encourage mommy participation and award you with great contests and promotions. So keep your eyes peeled for our next opportunities!

I was loading the dishwasher when my older sister yelled “Alexa, you’ve got to come see this!” She was visiting for the weekend, and we were watching one of my favorite shows “Shark Tank.” I came out to the living room and she re-wound (what did we do before digital TV?) and I watched this couple talk about their new sippy cup, the Lollacup. Immediately I was intrigued. As I watched their demonstration, I knew I had to have one.

The next day I googled Lollacup, and sure enough, they were in business and going strong. I went to their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/lollacup) and ordered one. Everything about this cup is quality! It’s made in the USA, BPA free, top rack dishwasher safe and so very easy to assemble and disassemble for washing. It comes in the cutest little package! Best of all, the design is so innovative!

As soon as my sister saw them describe the weighted straw, she knew it was perfect for us. We were transitioning my daughter to straw sippy cups (since they are supposedly better for oral development) but little ones often tip the cups here there and everywhere. This straw goes with the motion of the cup, so they can still get their water, milk, or juice even if the child is holding the cup crazy. It is easy for them to hold with handles. I LOVE this cup. It is pricey for a sippy cup, but it is well worth the money!

This Mommy Review was brought to you by Alexa at No Holding Back!

Create some categories and have the kids write down some things they’d like to do during break. These categories can be anything you’d like, but some suggestions include “activities around the house,” “places close to home I’d like to visit” and “activities outside the house.” At-home activities might include art projects, movie nights, or sleepovers with a friend. Places to visit could be museums, zoos, parks or favorite restaurants. And activities away from home may be roller skating, going to a movie, playing miniature golf; the list is endless. Once your kids write each item down on a separate small slip of paper, put each idea in a paper bag for that category. Throughout the week pull different suggestions from the bags and do that thing. You may want to place a colored dot coordinating to each child on the back of their slips so you can alternate who chooses the activity.

Why not take some time this weekend to do a fun and easy project with your children and help them make some bunny ears so they can look just like their pal the Easter Bunny. All you need to create the ears are some pink and white sheets of construction paper and some popsicle sticks. Cut the pink paper into large bunny ears and the white paper into a smaller version of the ears. Use a glue stick and let your child glue the white paper to the pink. Glue a popsicle stick to the back of the pink paper to make the ears sturdy and able to stand up and not flop over. Once you’ve made the ears glue them to a white plastic headband so your kids can wear them all around on Easter Sunday and have a hoppy good time.

Dr. Brown’s bottles feature a patented vent system on the inside that eliminates the vacuum and air bubbles that are caused when baby sucks on a normal bottle. Doing away with the vacuum and bubbles means less gas, colic, burping and spitting up for baby. The milk flows from these bottles without any air getting inside the milk so it’s the most like breastfeeding for your baby. Many breastfeeding mothers use Dr. Brown’s bottles because they say the milk flow is slow, which their baby likes, and that the bottle’s nipples won’t collapse like many other bottles. The Dr. Brown Newborn Feeding Set comes with 3 8oz bottles, 2 4oz bottles, 2 level one nipples, 2 level 2 nipples, 2 travel caps and 2 brushes. If you have a hard time getting your baby to take a bottle and you want her to have a bottle feeding experience that is most similar to breastfeeding, Dr. Brown’s bottles might be your answer.

If your kids are part of a blended family with both you and your spouse and your ex and their spouse, the children might get awfully confused sometimes from all of the different rules and regulations coming at them. As the adults in the situation it’s your responsibility to put the kids first. You’ve got to get past any awkwardness or old hurt feelings and come up with a game plan for raising your kids. The adage that it takes a village is certainly true and kids can definitely benefit from having a group of positive, loving parents and role models. But, they can also be damaged by a group of adults who cannot work together to raise them. Think of your kids and make sure you and anyone else parenting your child are working together.

Ask your kids where they think the Easter Bunny came from. The answer is sure to be creative, hilarious and adorable. Write it all down to create your own Easter Bunny story. Once you’ve got the story finished, separate it into short sequences and write each sequence on a big page where you can also draw some illustrations with crayons or markers. Put all the pages together and you and your children have written your very own storybook of where the Easter Bunny came from. You can read the story every year leading up to Easter and create a new tradition in the family. Who knows, maybe your kids will even read it with their children.

While there are some dads who enjoy bonding with their kids over fishing trips, sporting events and other areas where there may be a common interest, many parents like to use leisure time flying solo.

In the case of the father that lives away from the child, spending quality time is crucial because some children tend to feel they’re the reason that the father doesn’t reside with them.

Mothers need to take initiative and create a schedule that allows almost even time with both parents. While there are some unusual circumstances, such as the father who lives in another state, here’s some simple tips for both parents.

* Ensure that the child can always contact the father – even if it’s by way of the paternal grandparent’s home, this is better than losing communication entirely.

* Reserve time in advance to spend with the child. While this may be a court order, it shouldn’t feel like a chore for the father or the child.

* Get to know the child on their terms. When emotional or physical distance is ongoing, the communication process may be difficult. Sometimes, this starts with minimal or difficult conversation but it’s up to both parents to see that it progresses over time.