study : kids who spend time with dad are happier...

a recent new york times article excerpt:

"Dads may not have as many meaningful conversations with their kids, but they tend to roughhouse with them more than moms do, and research indicates that's important for kids’ development, too.

Mothers help children feel connected, anticipated and wanted.  Fathers teach them how to interact with others and how to control themselves when they feel their needs aren’t being met.”

the newest in brag books--memolio

do you have a bunch of wrinkled up little photos of your kids mashed into your wallet?  you have to check out memolio!  just upload your 24 photos---then zoom, rotate, and rearrange to your heart's desire---and voila!  you have a mini photo album.

perhaps your valentine needs 24 photos of your sweet face?

something to make your life a little easier as a new mom...

sorry, no, it's not a home-delivered male masseuse or a personal chef for a year. but it is kind of cool...it's a clock that projects the time up onto your bedroom ceiling. if you do bed-sharing, these are particularly fantastic, because you can easily see the time without getting a crick in your neck uncomfortably twisting your head around to see your bedside clock. constantly checking the time becomes somewhat of a pattern if you are still feeding/breastfeeding at night in order to keep tabs on how often baby is eating.

these are atomic clocks which means they synchronize the time with a base station twice a day. plus, many of them come with features like indoor or outdoor temperature (projected) and humidity levels. they project in large red or blue 6" numbers. love, love, love it....

best pregnancy books

gosh, there are so many books on pregnancy out there, it can be hard to know where to start.  here are some goodies:

birthing from within--my and my husband's personal fave (though i opted out of the pregnancy art chapters).  if you're aiming for a natural birth, this is a must-read...thoughtful and empowering.

the thinking woman's giude to a better birth--with a slant toward natural, this book really covers all bases in regards to statistics, etc.---though not too heavy....informative and thorough.

the complete book of pregnancy and childbirth--great for when you first find out you're pregnant.  photos of births and the changes your body will go through....oh and some writing too--for the masses, but smart.

this tiny digital video cam rules!

in an attempt to actually view and share your family memories, instead of building a library of mini video tapes, you have to get this little camcorder.  it's smaller than an iphone and can hold 120 minutes of raw unadulterated baby action.

the best part is that even the wifey (me) can figure it out.

hit red button to turn on.
hit red button to turn off.
zoom in.
zoom out.
hit play to watch.
laugh.

last, you click the button on top of it and, a usb arm pops out that goes right into the usb port on your computer.  next thing you know, your kid is the most downloaded star on youtube (btw, we found that 2 min max videos upload quickest)!

most of the best kid moments happen when you least expect it.  have this little cam in your back pocket to capture all the goodness.....