Modern Parents Messy Kids

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5 Days Until Launch

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Welcome back guys, how was your holiday?  I hope it was wonderful - we had a lovely couple of days munching on good food (we brought back our annual gourmet grilled cheese bar for Christmas Eve) and enjoying time with family. Now that things have calmed down a bit, I have some very exciting news to share. "Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life : The Quick Start Guide" is finally ready to launch! I know many of you have been waiting quite a while for the eBook and I think January 1st is the perfect … [Read more...]

The Artful Winter

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Need some quality art projects to set the kids loose with this winter break?  You're in luck! My friend Jean - art aficionado and founder of The Artful Parent - has a new eBook out filled with great ideas. The Artful Winter: Celebrating the Season & Holidays with Family Arts and Crafts is full of creative ideas to keep your family crafting and celebrating together winter after winter, holiday after holiday. With 111 pages of crafts, decorations, recipes, and activities there's enough to … [Read more...]

Reader’s Top Picks from All 7 MPMK Gift Guides

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I'm sure that all of you are very together this year and completed your Christmas shopping weeks ago... but just in case, I thought I'd throw out a friendly reminder that today's the last full day to take advantage of Amazon's free two day shipping (with your free 30 day trial of Amazon Prime) and get your gifts shipped to you by the big day. And just in case you still have a few holes in your list, I also thought I'd take advantage of some handy dandy data compiled by MPMK since Black Friday … [Read more...]

Getting Our Christmas Craft On

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I always try to make an extra effort to do some special activities with the littles this time of year. Lately, I find sitting around the art table with the kids is just about all I want to do. So here's a glimpse of a few simple crafts the kiddos and I have made together this past week.  I hope you can find the time to share one or two of them with your little ones. … [Read more...]

Gift Guide: Little Explorers

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Today's the last of MPMK's 2012 Christmas Gift Guides, and it's a good one - designed to nurture the explorer within.  After all, if your kiddo has an adventurous spirit, I say run with it!  Whether their fascination lies in the stars above or their own backyard, our finds will help you milk their curiosity for all it's worth. Don't forget you can see all of our 2012 Christmas Gift Guides here.  As with our other 2012 Christmas Gift Guides, here's a sneak peak of my top 3 picks: IKEA Kids … [Read more...]

Gift Guide: Artists & Creators

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Yay! I'm so excited it's time to talk about our Artists & Creators Christmas Gift Guide.  This one is second only to our Builders & Innovators Gift Guide on my list of favorites.  But that probably doesn't surprise you, huh?  You all know how much I love anything that promotes open-ended creativity. Don't forget you can see all seven of our guides here. And, as we're doing this year, here's a glimpse at my top 3 picks for this guide: Set of 11 Simply Washable 16 oz. Tempera Paints … [Read more...]

Classic Christmas Craft: Falling Snowflakes

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Allison's here today helping us check off #14 on our family activity Advent list: easy and lovely paper snowflakes that everyone in the family will have fun making. There seems to be a never ending itch to craft this time of year. Whether it's at home or at school my boys seem to be crafting away! One of their favorite simple crafts is paper snowflakes. No snowflake comes out the same and they love seeing how their creations turn out. For them the projects that bring instant satisfaction are … [Read more...]

Gift Guide: The Vehicle Lover

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Gift guide #5 is all about things that go Vroom!  If I let C see it, I'm sure he'd want every single item on this list (which is exactly why I'm not showing it to him). Don't forget you can see all of MPMK's 2012 Christmas Gift Guides here.  As with all the guides this year, we're starting with our top 3 for those of you who don't have time to peruse the whole thing: KidKraft Limited Edition Waterfall Mountain Train Table $141.95 Battat Take Apart Sets $ 18.15 and up Bruder … [Read more...]

Gift Guide: Doll Lovers

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I have so many friends with little girls that are absolutely obsessed with dolls right now that I just had to include this guide (they're just too good of a resource not to take advantage of).  Plus doll play is wonderful for dramatic play, teaching emotions, and fostering nurturing and empathetic qualities in children. As with all of 2012's Gift Guides, here's our cheat sheet to this list's top 3: Melissa & Dough Brianna Doll $15.68 Chico Doll Stroller $39.99 Corolle Mon … [Read more...]