My sister-in-law Estelle, an avid recycler who has played a large part in keeping Laurel dressed via hand-me-downs, passed on word about an amazing consignment event in Albany, NY. Yes, this stretches our loose definition of “local,” but readers in Western MA, NY, and even bordering VT and CT could make the trek easily.

Pass It On is a twice-yearly consignment event where you can sell your children's outgrown items and shop for new and gently worn items at bargain prices. The March consignment period has passed, but the event - with over 400 consignors - is open to the public tomorrow through Saturday. And keep you eye on future dates; consignors, volunteers, and first time parents get special shopping windows. Estelle also said that the organizer is thinking about hosting a similarly organized sale in Boston. Keep your eco fingers crossed!

Pass It On Sale at The Albany Academy, 135 Academy Road, Albany, NY

Laurel recently has decided to make her opinion of my periodic “thrill of the bid” shopping habits known; she yells “Ebay!” then laughs hysterically.

The shopping does serve a function, though. I recently picked up a 10-piece set of Russian nesting dolls on Ebay (we discovered while visiting relatives that she loves the nesting and un-nesting) and they have been a huge hit with Laurel and her older toddler friends (i.e., the ones past the stage of mouthing everything).

And in addition to offering impressive practice with shape sorting, matching, and hand/eye coordination, Laurel’s curiosity has resulted in a lot of conversation about artists (“Who made these dolls?”), the Russian Federation (“Where are these dolls from?”), and culturally oriented craftsmanship (“Why do Russian artists make these?”). When we’re not engaged in Q&A, the dolls also have kept Laurel busy independently to give me a little time to prep dinner, pick up around the house, or check my e-mail.

When I was a kid, birthday parties were just immediate family, due in part to the facts that: 1) there were barely enough chairs for our household of 7 kids, parents, and grandparents; 2) activities like sleepovers, field trip chaperoning, and friend birthday parties were off my parents’ cultural radar; and 3) our home was in a fairly steady state of disrepair and disarray.

And while Laurel’s birthday guest list tends to be long due to the many wonderful friends and family we have in the area, part of me is acutely aware that the reason I become, for example, a lunatic baker around her birthday is pure residual overcompensation. I don’t need my therapist to tell me that.
My mama pal Erica recently pointed me to Birthdays Without Pressure, an interesting website charged with launching local and national dialog about why children’s birthday parties have gotten out of control, what the consequences are for kids and parents, and what to do about it. In addition to user interactive elements, they offer a host of ideas for reducing party pressure. I also learned from a friend of Erica’s (thanks Amy from Northampton!) of some terrific pressure-free party ideas, including having joint parties for playgroup pals, and forgoing presents in favor of book swaps, a kids recipe exchange, giving flower seeds for a garden, or – and I love this one – asking each friend to bring a picture to make a buddy collage for the birthday child.

The seasons are, blissfully, officially about to change, and no doubt your child’s wardrobe is due for some spring cleaning. It’s the perfect time to check out the fresh designs of Little Lark.

Based out of Portland, Oregon, Little Lark’s collection includes a variety of designs, most of which show clear inspiration from nature. Designs are letterpressed onto note cards, or are hand silk-screened onto snuggly soft, sweatshop free, 100% cotton shirts, onesies, pants, and hats (for babies and toddlers; big kid and adult sizes are forthcoming). Onesies and shirts also come with a gift-ready, reusable muslin bag that adds to the rich, organic feel.

With plenty of snow and ice still on the ground, the spring promise of the Geese Tee (shown, $24-$26) is especially welcome.

Back in graduate school I had a research assistant who tried to help back up my data while I was away at a conference and ended up deleting one of my dissertation experiments entirely (also known as “data lost due to technical difficulties” in the academic literature).

I’ve been a multiple copy backup hound ever since, and whether you share those habits, or need inspiration to take care of this tedious but critical task, check out the chic, patterned Mixit CD Stickers from See Jane Work ($7.50 for 8). These lovely labels no doubt will inspire your own data protection system, or make for a cool finish for music, photo, or video CD gifts for family and friends.

Classic New England. Lull your residents into submission with a few days of spring weather, then hit them with another dose of winter.

If you’re in need of a fun indoor activity this slushy weekend, check out this week’s On The Farm feature from Kids Craft Weekly. Laurel – who loves singing Mary Had a Little Lamb and Baa Baa Black Sheep – went crazy over the Wild and Woolly Sheep project (shown, from KCW). This project is ultra low maintenance, easy to knock together with little other than basic bathroom supplies. And as if in homage to her urban exposure to animals, Laurel pointed out that we ought to make a fire hydrant to go with the sheep, which we executed by taping construction paper to a toilet paper roll, then rolling and taping a paper cone for the top.

We’ve recently partnered up with some fellow stylish bloggers to bring you a weekly dose of cool web finds for your weekend reading. This week’s treats include:

A very fetching round up of the best-fitting, figure-flattering maternity jeans, from SheFindsMom. Kudos for Babyproofing Your Marriage, from OneChicMama. Tips on how to use color to inspire kids, from Coochicoos. The peaceful deal behind the names of Angelina Jolie’s kids, from CelebrityMoms. And the baby photo of the week, from Babyfaces.

Inquiring minds want to know about the double burner griddle that’s perfectly sized to cook an entire batch of chicken tenders (posted earlier this week).

Ours was purchased at Williams-Sonoma with generous gift credit; you can get a comparable model such as the Lodge griddle at Amazon. Along with our panini press, the double griddle is one of the workhorses of our kitchen. The only time it has moved farther than the stovetop to kitchen sink was when we moved house.

It’s never too late to go to Harvard.

For parents interested in learning more about how babies and kids perceive musical features and other auditory materials, contact the Auditory Cognition and Development Lab at Harvard (director Erin Hannon is a new mama herself and a colleague from my days in the field). This lab conducts short studies for infants, toddlers, and elementary school aged children to learn about how the perception of melody, rhythm and other auditory stimuli develops over time. Parents will receive information about the goals of the study their child is participating in, as well as follow-up newsletters outlining the results. Parents also can request a DVD of their child participating in the study.

UPDATE 8/7/07: Erin Hannon has moved to the University of Nevada.

UPDATE 11/20/07: Rebecca from Medford wrote in regarding Harvard’s Laboratory for Developmental Studies (the arm in which the Hannon lab used to reside). She writes, “My older daughter participated in a couple of studies when she was a baby. They were simple activities where she was held on her dad's lap and shown pictures of adults with different emotional facial expressions. I think it is interesting work and I like being able to help with the research…My new baby is going to help by participating in a study next week. They are looking for infants that are 3-4 months old and they are having trouble finding enough young babies.”

To learn more about participating (infants, toddlers, and kids welcome), click here.