Beautiful URLs: Some Favorite Links, October 28

While Jim is out buying an eyebrow pencil (for Ranger's school Halloween parade tomorrow) and the kids are asleep, so I'm going to seize the opportunity to post a few good links.

• There's no better Halloween idea emporium in my feedreader than Dabbled.org. Dot assembled some great costume ideas (we're using one for Ranger- can you guess which?), party drinks & eats, and dazzling decorations. Abandon hope- or at least a chunk of time- all ye who click through here.
  

• Maggie from Magpie Art converted Bumgenius diapers to snap diapers after the hook and loop fasteners wore out. This smart conversion also helps when kids get old enough to open their Velcro diaper closures.
  

• This giant dollhouse pillow/bed has me dreaming up other things that would be great as large and fluffy.

• And while the sewing machine is out, why not whip up a few little fabric mailboxes? I think these would be great Christmas gifts.

• Want to creep yourself out with a scary fairy tale for parents? Check out Keith Donohue's changeling tale The Stolen Child. It taps into some pretty primal parenting emotions.
  

• For real world horror, if you're using an Infantino sling, please read Consumer Report's safety concerns regarding this style. Slings are on Consumer Reports' short list of products not to buy for your baby. While Jim used a sling with Ranger, I always use structured carriers (like the Bjorn Active and our framed Kelty backpacks). It's probably something about my anatomy and pathetic core strength, but I never felt comfortable with a sling.

• Pasta Queen introduced me to a lower-carb (or we're totally out of bread) peanut butter banana sandwich. It's like gluten-free Elvis without the jumpsuit or sideburns.
  

• This link reminds me of the time when birds attacked my friend and her family and made them very sick. Birds nested in the family's furnace exhaust pipe, so when the heat was turned on CO2 didn't vent from the house. My friends were pretty sick before they figured it out. If you're using gas appliances, please consider installing a CO2 detector in the next 2 weeks. It could save your life.

• Goodyblog (by Parents Magazine) has a preschool toys contest offering thirteen of their favorite toys.
  

Jim is home, and I guess fat eyebrow pencils are a thing of the past. Ranger may be going bedecked in washable marker tomorrow (Parent Hacks recommends colored pencil as a face paint substitute, but that would take as long as eyeliner). Does that make me a bad mom?

Now for some zombies dancing:

Beautiful URLs: Some Favorite Links, August 1

We were off enjoying some sun, sand, and 60 degree temperatures in Michigan. Friends and family kept us too occupied to really mind that didn't have Internet access.

In the meantime, my feed reader filled with bloggy goodness.

Here are some recent favorites:

• Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule (by Paul Graham) explains a lot about how my life works (or doesn't work). Babies and kids don't really understand either kind of schedule, but the Raptor definitely wants a manager momma which makes blogging (and many other activities) complicated. (thanks, Z Recs)

• Craftster superstar Vegbee and family are moving into an RV and hitting the road. Her post about letting go of accumulated stuff inspires me to address my own troubled relationship with disused objects (particularly gifts).

• Speaking of stuff, Z Recommends adopts and explains a new Keep No Stuff review policy. Jim and I have been discussing our own review policy. We currently disclose any free review samples and vested interest in companies (it's pretty simple, we're far too lazy to invest). When I get a little maker time, we'll discuss our own review, advertising, and privacy policies.

• Ranger, the Raptor, and I have been frequenting the local spray parks, but I think we may have to build our own mist sprayer/bike wash from this great instructables tutorial.

• I've always wondered how people could maturely combat real life trolls like hatemonger Fred Phelps, and this solution seems divinely inspired. Thank you, Bill Childs.

• By the way, if you're not listening to Bill, Ella, and Liam Childs on their excellent kids' radio show Spare the Rock, you are most certainly missing out. [podcast feed]

• Another hankie doll you can make in a pinch with only a handkerchief and a ring or a piece of string. [earlier]

• Best birth location story.

• Anyone going to the GenCon Indy in a couple weeks? It's a great gaming convention in the heart of Indianapolis. Check out their family day and its great price then make plans to meet us there!

What posts have drawn your attention lately?

Beautiful URLs: Some Favorite Links, May 30

Bewitching perspectives from around the web:

• Apgar is more than just a score. A brief look at the incredible woman behind the idea. (Wall Street Journal, via Goodyblog)

• With summer, I'm spending more time thinking about spending less time on tasks. In this New York Times article, Mark Bittman offers tips for freezing food.

• Handkerchiefs are pretty handy with kids, so I usually carry one or two in my bag. This easily folded doll (The Common Room) turns out to be their killer app for the Raptor. She loves to pull and chew on these little gals. I'm having trouble figuring out the guy instructions, so if anyone figures it out, please send me a picture.

• Thrifty Fun offers up a sewing tutorial for an adorable bandana bonnet. Beginners, this project is a perfect starter.

• Don't miss the opportunity to send your handmade doll to Casa Bernabe Orphanage in Nicaragua in Craft Hope's second project. There's still enough time to meet the June 13th arrival date, but the dolls will need to be in the mail soon.
  

What do you think? Seen any great posts lately?

Beautiful URLs: Some Favorite Links, May 24

Look what followed me home from the Interwebs:

• Princess pedestal: How many girls are on one? (AP) dicusses how some families have growing concerns about princess thinking in a turbulent economy. Though the Raptor is only 6 months, we make conscious effort not to call her angel or princess. Jim keeps talking to her about cryptography. Princess play will be fine here when she chooses it, but then she'll meet the real (hard-working, socially conscious) princesses (and queens) from The Daring Book for Girls rather than the Disney variety.

• kidsbowlfree.com is a group of US bowling alleys offering kids 2 free games of bowling DAILY during the summer. This is the best deal for kids with bowling shoes (shoe rental is $3.75 here), it's a good deal even for a casual bowler (it's $4/game at our favorite alley). Register your kids online to participate. Want to bowl along with your kids? For $24 you can get a family bowling pass that allows two games daily (all summer) for an adult (additional packages available for 2, 3, and 4 adults). Thanks to Cara at Working Moms Against Guilt for sharing this program!

• Want to watch an interesting nest from your living room? Jonah Lisa at the Toby Show is offering daily Nest Cam photos of a robins' nest on her beautiful Utah porch (I can see why the robins chose to build there). If you're feeling more like drinking from the visual information firehose, the Indianapolis Star has a live feed from a falcon's nest high above Monument Circle. This grittier feed (the birds brush against the lens) currently offers fluffy fledglings looking to leave the nest. If you want to know what's happening in the nest, just check out the falcons' blog. (via Indy citizen, weight loss blogger, and world traveler: Pasta Queen).

• Looking into the future with marshmallows? Can't hardly wait: A self-control experiment for 4-year-olds (Tranquil Parent by ZRecommends) is an interesting summary of parents home testing their 4-year-olds' self control after reading research on self-control and academic success featured in the New York Times. There's now a wave of home marshmallow experiments being posted online. While conducting the experiment at home is tempting, I would caution any parent from reading too much into the child's response. You and your child already have established patterns about food, so those patterns may be entirely different than those achieved by a less familiar research administrator in a controlled environment.

• Musical foreshadowing? What was the #1 hit on the day of your birth? (Thanks, Kim!)

• I dread the day naptimes end here. Muses of Megret brilliantly suggests making quiet time CDs to keep the natives peacable so caregivers can get a much-needed midday break.
  

What do you think? What posts have caught your imagination this week?

Beautiful URLs: Some Favorite Links

A few favorite links from this week:

• Why I Feed Formula at adjunctmom reminds me why judging other moms, especially strangers, is bad business. This article resonates with me because I was hospitalized during Ranger's first year. While I had to completely curtail breastfeeding for my own survival, Jim and Ranger struggled with cold turkey weaning. Those were dark, sad, trying days for our family, yet they are nothing compared to adjunctmom's experience. (related: The Boob Wars)

• A case of mistaken identity at the grocery store turns into a great new cookie recipe at Crumbs on My Kitchen Floor. Not only are they tasty, they're also a great substitute for those with peanut allergies! Aimee's blog is a great source of ideas and culinary inspiration.

• Hands Up! It's a fun and simple gift for moms, dads, grandparents, and godparents. I'll post more about this project before Father's Day (as Jim wants one), but for now stop by Mimi-n-Moe's Mom for some handprints you won't mind seeing on your walls. Karen has a fearlessness when it comes to kids & art supplies that I truly envy.
  

• Young Americans Losing Their Religion (ABC News): Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone, presents his new research regarding a distinctive move away from faith communities in America starting with Gen X. The reasons for the change are interesting, though probably not startling to those in and after Gen X. Are we on the cusp of "religious innovation" as Putnam suggests? Either way, his observations seem like a roadmap for someone wanting to grow a younger faith community.
  

• Dot @ Dabbled.org is a great blog about drawing, art, and kids. Dabbled is a wealth of great ideas and generousity. Last year we used her wonderful copyleft robot invitations and art for Ranger's 3rd birthday and adapted her sweet bots to fondant for Ranger's cake. She's running an awesome contest to win 500 postcards of your own design from UPrinting.com. All you have to do is comment with a creative use for self-printed postcards. Enter now, the contest ends very soon (Monday)! If you win, send us a postcard!
  

• To gift, re-gift, or not gift at all? Join the birthday present debate at Thingamababy. If the weekend goes smoothly, we'll be posting our approach quite soon.

• If I haven't accosted you in person already, every parent should read Malcolm Gladwell's newest book Outliers. I read it during those first early AM feedings with the Raptor. Even if you haven't read it, you should check out Gladwell's recent New Yorker article on How David Beats Goliath. Jim and I classify it among parenting must-reads like Po Bronson's How Not to Talk to Your Kids.
  

• Offline, if you have the June issue of Parents Magazine, please turn to page 76 and see Jeremiah and Zella of Z Recommends. As a friend observed, it's pretty cool to see a blogging dad mentioned with the likes of Brad Pitt and Jack Black.

What do you think? What posts have caught your eye and imagination this week?