Given that kids dig shapes and animals, and modern parents are hungry for stylish simplicity, the designs at Colette Kids give new meaning to the term “family friendly.” With an understated yet playful less is more approach, this unisex collection of modern, geometric critters is individually hand silk screened onto richly colored 100% cotton tees or 100% organic cotton onesies. Laurel’s favorite is Charlotte; sweet, definitively piggy, yet ultra cool because she’s not trying too hard.
Exclusive deal: Use code boston10 for a 10% discount at Colette Kids (expires 7/31/08).

Today, Sharon offers a lead for a local bereavement support organization for children, teens, and their families:

“During the past couple of months, I’ve been reminded repeatedly about how kids grow and learn about the world around them. And in particular, how challenging it can be to figure out how to communicate with kids about difficult situations, such as the loss of a loved one.

Adults have many ways - both healthy and unhealthy - of coping with loss. Without help processing their feelings, children may express grief through behaviors such as acting out, anger, isolation, or aggression. Through a co-worker, I recently learned about The Children’s Room, a local center that offers bereavement support for children, teens, and their families. I was struck by my co-worker’s description of helping kids express their feelings through art, music, and sports, as well as the fact that The Children’s Room fosters support and solidarity through group settings, allowing kids to interact around these issues with kids their own age.

Admittedly, when I first heard that one of my nieces (who lives in another state) was attending a similar bereavement program to cope with the losses of her twin sister and grandfather, I initially cringed at the idea. But I quickly realized that this reaction was rooted in the taboo associated with being open about discussing difficult, painful issues with children. But these discussions – and finding ways to work through grief – are particularly important, given how emotionally confusing times like these can be for children.

The Children's Room operates out of Arlington and Framingham and serves kids between the ages of 3 to 18. The service is free, and relies on donations from families and foundations.”

In these sticky, sweaty days of summer, you can never have enough tees for your tot. And for those who dig a dose of cheeky on baby’s tee, check out Zoe & Sprout. Today, Zoe & Sprout contributes to our online birthday party with a $45 gift certificate to their online shop. Among their collection of onesies and tees for babies and toddlers, we recommend opting for their new organics line, which includes eco-oriented designs (such as “My Tricycle is a Hybrid”) on 100% organic cotton. Simply check out the rules after the jump and leave a comment on this product line to enter to win.

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THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED
Congrats to winner Reiza!
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Rules:

Include your name and email in the appropriate fields so we can contact you if you win (your name but NOT your email will be published with your comment. Including just first name or first name + last initial is OK.)

One comment permitted per person; worldwide entrants welcome.

Anonymous or SPAM-like comments will be discarded.

Entry period closes tonight at midnight EST, Monday, July 14, 2008.

And now for our weekly dose of web highlights from some of our stylish blog partners:

Coochicoos features the unusual charm and beauty of a room created from a drainpipe. Car & Caboodle presents part 3 of their series on the love/hate relationship moms have with the minivan. Moms’ Buzz offers tips on the proper fit for flats vs. heels. Classy Mommy documents her adventure to meet Kyra Sedgwick of The Closer. And you could win a Dante Beatrix DB Haul Tote at MomFinds, and a Nine-Month pregnancy keepsake necklace at One Chic Mama.

Today I'm working from home, doing my thang, now that my computer is blissfully fixed (oh thank you Brian with desktop support, thank you, thank you, thank you).  I was so intent on making up lost time that I immersed myself deeply in spreadsheets all morning, bringing you the editorial, help-related goodness that is my product or will be my product come next year.  I was SO busy that I did not even notice the lack of a certain, smelly, needs-a-bath-and-butt-shave, long-haired cat named Bella, who usually attacks me the minute she realizes I'm staying home and snores next to me on the couch for hours. (Fringe benefit - she is so cute, my baby, yes she IS!)

Lunchtime rolled around.  I went for a jog in the sweltering hot sun (yes, I am one of those people that you see jogging on a really humid day and want to pull over and yell ARE YOU TRYING TO GIVE YOURSELF A HEART ATTACK?), then I came back and made a quick run to Blockbuster to return videos.  All this activity must have shaken me out of my stupor.

When I got back home, I finally realized Bella was just...not around.  I shook her treat bag. I called her name.  I checked her favorite spot in the basement.

Then, I remembered.

Last night the little angel opened the door to the guest room for five minutes.  I wasn't watching the door the entire time, but most of the time.  That does not matter. Bella can turn herself invisible when she's interested in locking herself in a room for hours. She is a Super Friend.

That was, oh, 8 p.m.

Last night.

So I started shouting her name and bolting for the stairs. As I hit them, I heard her calling back to me, "Mommy! SAVE ME FROM THE WHEAT ROOM!"  I opened the door, and Bella came shooting out like a rocket, delerious with joy.  And yes, there was a large, round urine stain in the very center of the bedspread.  Cat urine soaks through, oh, yes it does!  Thank you, sweet Jesus, for not letting it hit the mattress. 

Years ago, with Sybil, I used to freak out when she peed on a bed.  Today, I resignedly stripped off the sheets and comforter, thought briefly about just throwing the comforter away (wasteful, not environmental, not cheap, but much, much easier) and threw the sheets on SANITARY in the washing machine, knowing full well that even if I kill the smell, the actual cat urine particle cells will still be there, lurking, just like nuclear waste.  The Styrofoam of the urine world. And even if you or I can't smell them, Bella can. And she might think since she peed there before, what the hell?  Doesn't add to her numbers.

So, my friends, if you notice that your beloved cat is just not around, heed your instincts!  Investigate immediately. With Lysol.

And hope you don't have a vengeful cat.

I totally understand the need to be fully aware of what you're taking when you start taking new medication.  However, do we really need all the possible side effects read in the same friendly-announcer voice?  I saw one commercial last night listing possible side effects of a medication that included tuberculosis and leukemia.

Seriously.

That seems like a big gamble to me.  I don't know, maybe I'm crazy.  I mean, I take a few prescription drugs.  For each of them, I made the mistake of Googling possible side effects before I went on them.  And I've Googled the possible side effects of weaning off of them.  I'm afraid to go on, and once they are helping me, I'm afraid to go off.

And all this talk about side effects is part of the problem.

Not talking about them?  Not exactly the solution.

Generally speaking, we hope that doctors know enough about our health history to protect us from ourselves and not even offer us drugs that might trigger, oh, leukemia, but realistically speaking the minute our health insurance changes, then suddenly our old doctor isn't covered anymore, and we go to a new doctor.  And then that new doctor doesn't know anything at all about us, and really, don't we only spend about ten minutes with this person?

My OB-GYN is my favorite doctor in the whole world.  I've been seeing him since I was pregnant with the little angel. I'd say sum total we've spent about two hours together, including childbirth. He showed up for the final twenty minutes of actual pushing.  The last time I saw him, he repeated three times that I should take calcium because I'm "fair and slender."  It was almost as though he forgot he already told me that, or he was reciting the script the way I used to recite it when I worked as a telemarketer.

I'm not bagging on my doc -- I adore this man. He's the first doctor I've had that I felt really did listen to my concerns, and he does, but how well does he really know me?  Does he know my cheeks get really red after I exercise?  Does he know about my gastointestinal upset every time I eat Italian seasoning?  Does any of that matter to the prescription he is writing?  Who knows?

Who knows?

But is it really safer to stay completely drug-free?  What if something is wrong?

But the side effects. THE SIDE EFFECTS.  And really, the treatment is just another side effect.  We just don't think of it that way.

It's scary to realize how much of a gamble health really is. 

For example, the possible side effects of Viagra include:

Body as a whole: face edema, photosensitivity reaction, shock, asthenia, pain, chills, accidental fall, abdominal pain, allergic reaction, chest pain, accidental injury.

Cardiovascular: angina pectoris, AV block, migraine, syncope, tachycardia, palpitation, hypotension, postural hypotension, myocardial ischemia, cerebral thrombosis, cardiac arrest, heart failure, abnormal electrocardiogram, cardiomyopathy.

Digestive: vomiting, glossitis, colitis, dysphagia, gastritis, gastroenteritis, esophagitis, stomatitis, dry mouth, liver function tests abnormal, rectal hemorrhage, gingivitis.

Hemic and Lymphatic: anemia and leukopenia.

Metabolic and Nutritional: thirst, edema, gout, unstable diabetes, hyperglycemia, peripheral edema, hyperuricemia, hypoglycemic reaction, hypernatremia.

Musculoskeletal: arthritis, arthrosis, myalgia, tendon rupture, tenosynovitis, bone pain, myasthenia, synovitis.

Nervous: ataxia, hypertonia, neuralgia, neuropathy, paresthesia, tremor, vertigo, depression, insomnia, somnolence, abnormal dreams, reflexes decreased, hypesthesia.

Respiratory: asthma, dyspnea, laryngitis, pharyngitis, sinusitis, bronchitis, sputum increased, cough increased.

Skin and Appendages: urticaria, herpes simplex, pruritus, sweating, skin ulcer, contact dermatitis, exfoliative dermatitis.

Special Senses: sudden decrease or loss of hearing, mydriasis, conjunctivitis, photophobia, tinnitus, eye pain, ear pain, eye hemorrhage, cataract, dry eyes.

Urogenital: cystitis, nocturia, urinary frequency, breast enlargement, urinary incontinence, abnormal ejaculation, genital edema and anorgasmia.

Think about the pills you do need?  And some pills, like those that control hypertension or blood pressure or migraines, we really DO NEED.

God, it's scary.

Thinking about finances can be intimidating, but having tips and information laid out in simple, tangible terms can help enormously. Today, the producers of My Money Matters contribute to our online birthday party by providing 5 winners with a copy of the My Money Matters kit. Written by financial advisor Galia Gichon, this stylish kit offers constructive tips to help you get financially organized, get out of debt, and save for retirement. Simply check out the rules after the jump and leave a comment on this product to enter to win.

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THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED
Congrats to winners Trisha, Charline, Jenny, Aimee, & Connie!
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Rules:

Include your name and email in the appropriate fields so we can contact you if you win (your name but NOT your email will be published with your comment. Including just first name or first name + last initial is OK.)

One comment permitted per person; US entrants welcome.

Anonymous or SPAM-like comments will be discarded.

Entry period closes tonight at midnight EST, Friday, July 11, 2008.

Today must be up with technology day.  I explained Twitter to one of my co-workers today (after explaining it to Steph and her husband last weekend).  My analysis:  Twitter is the virtual equivalent of passing notes in study hall. Except with adults.  And some news and commentary thrown in that I would've never wanted in study hall but that I want now. I also like vegetables now. Go figure.

Anyway, that's not what I want to talk about.  What I want to talk about is Lisa Stone, Elisa Camahort Page and Jory Des Jardins being the #1 most influential women in blogging, according to NorthxEast.  Who is NorthxEast?  I'm not exactly sure (I'm never afraid to admit my naivete, power user though I am), but the effort put into this list is pretty impressive. 

Regardless. I'm very proud to know these women, who inspire me in business and in life.  Congratulations, ladies!

You may now return to wondering how to use feedblitz.

And my work computer is still not fixed.  But they are reimaging it.

Earlier this year, lice ran rampant through Laurel’s preschool class, and while we were spared, some of our good friends were not. As first timers, they faced stress, disgust, copious loads of laundry, and just not really knowing what to look for on their kids’ heads. If you find yourself in a similar situation, check out NitWits. This Cambridge based nitpicking service uses only organic and all natural products during lice checks and nit removal. They also provide advice for at-home treatment and prevention.

Got nits? The folks at NitWits kindly are offering a 10% discount off your visit when you mention Boston Mamas on booking.

Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net