Yesterday, the website MomLogic, which is in the AOL network, sent out an email blast for a post by a guest blogger known only as Childless Bitch – or CB. CB submits rants about parents and kids from time to time, always exemplifying an anti-child, anti-parent stance. But this time, I felt the rant about parents who post photos and status update about their children went way too far. -Sarah

Dear Childless Bitch on MomLogic,

I wanted to pass along a two tips on Facebook for you. See, there are some pretty cool features such as “Friend” and “Unfriend” that allow you to choose who you follow and who you don’t. Furthermore, you can also group your friends into little sections. That way, those mom friends of yours – whom you apparently no longer relate to – can be conveniently compartmentalized away from the scintillating status updates of your childless friends. See how easy it can be?

Of course, if you did take this logical step, it would leave you with less to moan about on your MomLogic column. Wouldn’t that be tragic? Excuse me while I wipe away a tear.

See, your little nasty diatribe on the status updates of moms – particularly stay at home moms – was a little, well bitchy (kudos for staying true to your pen name!). Let me quote:

New moms, especially the stay at home type, have taken to their Facebook status updates as a means of letting the world know every detail of their spawn’s daily developments. Those developments range from the earth shattering napping schedule to the awesomeness of little Jaden’s first poopy in the big boy potty. While these updates might not be news, the reaction to those updates by the non-babied community probably is. For real, ‘[name redacted] is smiling at her baby because she is using a fork’ is driving us bananas.

So there we have it.

Aren’t you precious? Since you don’t have children, you think that we who do should … not talk about them. Wow, thank goodness you don’t have any kids. You might set them down on the trunk of your little sports coupe and forget they are there like a 50 cent gas station coffee. Obviously, children can’t be important enough to their parents for their parents to be proud of them and want to share these tidbits. Right? And obviously, even if they are, they ought to stay mum so as not to bore you, right?

Screw you.

If you don’t like it, don’t read it. If you don’t want to see the adorable faces of my sweet children who I am incredibly proud of, then unfriend me. If you are that kind of “friend,” then I surely don’t want to be yours.

Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to kiss the faces of my smiling children and tell them how happy I am they are mine.

P.S. MomLogic – Thanks for the fodder, but if you ever send me drivel like this again to my kid-happy inbox, I will mark you as spam and unsubscribe.

We tried out the Tear Free 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash, which is mild and hypo-allergenic. So how does it work?

The GOOD: The light scent of lavender is nothing short of delicious – if you normally like the scent of lavender, that is. The formula is indeed tear free and it left both my son and daughter’s hair soft and clean. The bottle was easy to open with just one hand, since it has a handy little button to push to pop the top. Also, this is free from any animal by-products, parabens and petrolatum, which is just better all around.

The BAD: I wish the line included some sort of detangler or conditioner for baby as well.

MONEY MATTERS: Earth’s Best 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash is available at retailers like Target and online at the Jason Naturals site. It retails for about $8 online, but may be less expensive in the store. Be sure to watch for sales.

The MOM VERDICT

Sarah says:  When I choose products to use on my kids bodies, I like them to be free from bad additives and this is. I also like them to smell nice, which this does. And it has to still work well, which this also does. So, for me, this Shampoo & Body Wash from Earth’s Best was an all around home-run. Earth’s Best is a company that I trust and I feel comfortable with their products. We’ll definitely be using this one again.

The Outback Steakhouse is bringing back the affordable family dinner. With a new menu that features 15 items under $15, the restaurant is aiming to make dining out at their restaurant something you can do anytime. They’ve added some delicious new menu items and have even paid more attention to the kids menu, says co-founder and head chef Tim Gannon.

“We never intended to be a special occasion restaurant,” Gannon said.

The lower prices will make going out a lot more budget friendly, that’s for sure.

You know what would be awesome? If they took their prototype Shrimp en Fuego pasta dish and added it to the kids menu … and maybe offered it with a chicken substitution too. My kids would devour that.

Nonetheless, the idea of a family cookbook is one close to my heart, so when I heard about A Plate Full of Memories: A Coaching Guide to Creating a Family Cookbook, I was all over it.

The GOOD: This CD-ROM uses PDFs and Word 97 documents, which can be used on even older computers. Since everything is contained on the one CD-ROM, no internet connection is necessary to get started. The documents on the CD-ROM offer clear directions on how to create a family cookbook including checklists and templates for collecting recipes.

The BAD: This CD-ROM contains only documents to read, not a program to help you create the cookbook. So if you are looking for a program to simplify the process, this is definitely not it. And although it has sample templates for collecting recipes, stories and more, you will still have to do the legwork of writing and soliciting. It also doesn’t contain cute, designed templates to input your recipes and stories onto.

MONEY MATTERS: This retails for $14.95 and is available online.

The MOM VERDICT

Sarah says: When I popped this disk into my computer, I was beyond shocked. I was expecting a program to help organize and pull together a family cookbook. Instead I received documents on a CD-ROM designed to instruct you on how to create a family cookbook as a family project. Cute idea. As I poked through the documents, looking for the gem that would make this whole thing shine, I was surprised to find that this is mostly text. Honestly, this coaching guide would be easier to use if it were a book instead of a CD-ROM. The small benefits from the copy and paste forms for submitting recipes and stories are greatly outweighed by the clunkiness of a CD-ROM that contains a lot of reading material in a lot of different folders and files. I am sure that this guide is useful to some people, and I think the path laid out could be a very fun family project. But the low-tech, non-book product is so very 1996 and just doesn’t do it for me.

After a whirlwind Christmas season, Cate and I are ready for some much-needed R&R, along with some holiday merriment with our families. So we are closing up shop from now until January 5, 2009, when we will return with great new content, reviews, and so much more.

Want a sneak preview of what’s in store?

• January is resolution-keeper time, so we will be reviewing all sorts of items designed to help you keep your resolutions this year. We’ve got weight lifting gloves, books to help you and your family achieve your goals, tools to help you sort through the mountains of paperwork, and an all-in-one printer that can help you eliminate clutter.
• Do something with those holiday photos! We’ve got several software programs that we are testing now. In January, we will be back with the low-down on what photo editing software is worth the buy.
• Did you know that Cuisinart has released a stand mixer? They did! How does it compare to the tried and true KitchenAid Stand Mixer? Check for the review in early January.

Be sure to check out our editorial calendar to see what else is coming up.

Also, in 2009, Cate and I will be attending the BlogHer Chicago conference. We are accepting sponsorship proposals now and would love to talk with you about it. Just shoot us a line at info@thevoiceofmom.com.

If you have a product you’d like us to review, don’t hesitate to email us.

From all of us here at The Voice of Mom to all of you, have a joyous holiday season and a very happy New Year. We’ll meet you back here on January 5!

Until then, thanks again.

Let’s face it: first time parents need all the help they can get! I certainly did. Everything worried me — from whether my son was developing at the right rate to how having a child would impact my relationships. But many books are geared and written towards either both parents or moms. How about a book just for dad?

Enter Fathering Your Toddler, stage right. The book by Armin A. Brott was published in 2005 and is in its second edition. It tackles a variety of topics with the dad in mind. How does it hold up?

The GOOD: Fathering Your Toddler doesn’t just focus on potty training, sharing and the sniffles. It also talks about some real-life issues that face parents and indirectly impact the child such as intimacy, creating a will and a living trust and setting up a college fund. It gives a lot of examples broken down into what the dad is thinking and what the mate or child is thinking and/or hearing.

The BAD: This book is really for the first-time dad. Second-time dads just won’t get a lot of out of this, since they’ve already learned several of the lessons through experience. Also, since this is so man-geared, this just isn’t a book for parents to read together.

MONEY MATTERS: Fathering Your Toddler retails for $12.95. It’s available in bookstores and online at site like Amazon (where it is $11.01!).

The MOM VERDICT

Sarah says: This is a book that could really help a father start off on the right foot. With spot-on advice for dads on both parenting topics and life after having a baby topics, it’s got a little something for any new dad. It would make a fantastic gift.

The line was born when owner/artist Britt Menzies painted a ballerina for her very young daughter.  One thing led to another, and before she knew it a children’s clothing line was born and there were ten Stinky Kids in the line, each one a “leader of good,” with their own story and named after Britt’s family members and friends.

The GOOD: The t-shirts are made from 100% Baby Rib cotton and are very soft, exactly what you want on your child’s skin.  There is a wide variety of items available, including long-sleeve, short-sleeve, onesies and more.  The items are made in the USA, and we love that.

The BAD: They’re not cheap, and the sizes run a bit small and are form fitting, so I would suggest buying one size bigger than what you need.

DOING GOOD: A portion of the proceeds are donated to Books, Bears and Bonnets, Inc., to fight cancer.

MONEY MATTERS: The long-sleeved girls’ t-shirt that we reviewed sells for $40.00.  The short-sleeved varieties are $28.00.  They can be purchased online on the Stinky Kids website, or at these fine retail locations.

The MOM VERDICT

Cate says:  I love brands that have a story behind their inception, and real people, so being introduced to the Stinky Kids line and creator was a nice treat.  The t-shirts, although a bit on the higher end price-wise, are quality products, and I love that a portion of the proceeds goes to support cancer research.  With the ten Stinky Kids in the line-up, you’re sure to find a character that matches your own kid’s fun and unique personality.

Still, even if it’s just for biting, I like Paige to have books that are geared toward her. That’s why I was excited to review eebee’s Have a Ball! Adventures. The soft book is filled with a simple adventure of a ball, and it includes a little ball that is tethered to the book. You can shoot the ball through hoops and use it in other ways to interact with the book in an ultra-low tech way. I love low-tech.

The GOOD: eebee’s Have a Ball! Adventures is an very soft, ultra-plush book for the youngest future readers in your family. No need to worry about pages tearing, the cloth will take care of that. Plus, if it gets dirty, you just toss it in the wash. Also, the interactivity of this book with the tethered ball is a great way to get little kids interested.

The BAD: None to speak of.

MONEY MATTERS: eebee’s Have a Ball! Adventures retails for $14.99 and is available in stores and online at retailers like Amazon.

The MOM VERDICT

Sarah says: I couldn’t wait to turn this book over to my daughter when it arrived. It’s so soft and actually cuddly. And the ball? So much fun. As for my daughter? She is a tough sell on books, but I did catch her playing with this and checking out the bright pictures. Good sign! I am so loving this eeBee book. It would make a great gift for a young child in your life.

Cate says: My 10-month-old daughter loves storytime.  She usually squishes herself between me and my six-year-old son and grabs at the book frequently while I’m trying to read.  Some nights it’s a story for her, some nights it’s a story for him.  But they’ve all been paperback or board books so far, until eeBee’s came along.  I actually hadn’t heard of eeBee’s until recently when my mom bought my niece an eeBee doll.  We love the squishable softness of the book and it’s a total bonus that we can just throw it into the wash for a quick clean-up.  Cute and playful colors, we’re new fans here…

… and now you can have your very own eeBee’s book. They have generously sent us a few extra that we’d like to give away to The Voice of Mom readers.  Today we have Laundry Time Adventures up for grabs.  Perfect for kids age 9-36 months, it can be yours.  To enter, leave a comment and let us know your favorite book for tots.  Twitter this post (and let us know) and get an extra entry.  Contest deadline is 5 pm EST and winner will be chosen by random generator and announced here.  Good luck!

Although there will be a new giveaway every day, the time of the daily announcement and drawings will vary by day, so you’ll just have to keep checking back to see what’s coming up next.

All the way in the corner of our office, I can just about make out our treasure chest and it’s brimming.  Coming up soon will be an eeBee’s giveaway … or two … or three, a copy of a brand spankin’ new cookbook (or two or three) from a popular Food Network chef, a gorgeous diaper bag (valued at a whopping $100) and much much more.

Stay tuned … and good luck!

*Photo courtesy of Morgue File.