Keep calm and carry on this holiday, with the Spire anti-stress tracker.
If you're considering a fitness tracker purchase this winter -- especially with the holiday food and party season coming up, yeesh! -- there's a new device on the market you may want to consider. While most fitness trackers will calculate your steps and calories...
Bond creates, sends, and signs gorgeous, holiday photo cards for you. Put away those pens!
Sending holiday photo cards is as much a part of our holiday season as sugar cookies, sparkling lights, hot cocoa, and chestnuts roasting on an open fire -- or at least listening to Nat King Cole croon about it. I always look forward to seeing my friends and their...
Baby’s first retro gaming remote
Since we first featured the wooden iPhone baby teethers at 3Princesses Store on Etsy a few years ago (has it really been that long?), they've added a whole slew of cool geeky baby gifts that just so happen to be super affordable too. As in $12. For a handmade toy?...
Smart luggage from Bluesmart can change the travel game. (Which is different than the game of Are We There Yet.)
We have smart everything these days, from crockpots you can turn on remotely to get dinner started, to thermostats you turn down while you're away on vacation. And now we've come across another incredible smart gadget called Bluesmart luggage that could change the way...
Beau Paris by Lori Henriques: Kids’ music download of the week
We are still reeling over the events that happened in Paris on Friday and struggling with how much to share with our kids of varying ages. We hope our post, How to talk to your kids about the tragedy in Paris, has helped you find resources to help your own family....
How to use tech to help the victims of the Paris terrorist attacks
As we watched the events in Paris unfold on the news last night, we were shocked and horrified, and immediately wondering what we could do. We're feeling especially thankful for technology and social media today, which has made us feel a little less helpless in the...
7 of the best photo storage options for families with tons of pics on different devices: Reader Q + A
Hi Cool Mom Tech, Have you written about a tech solution that gathers photos from all the family computers and phones into one place for backup purposes? - James We've been exactly where you are, James: looking at all the options and scratching our heads, wondering...
The Garmin Vivofit by Jonathan Adler: Ooh, fitness trackers are getting fancy.
A few years ago, you could spot someone wearing a big, black, rubber band-looking fitness tracker a mile away. I'm so happy that fashion has integrated its way very nicely when it comes to wearable tech, and I'm especially thankful for designers who are getting in the...
8 simple, smart tips to help work-at-home parents crush productivity and get more done in less time.
There are two things folks typically say when you tell them that you work from home. The first is: You’re so lucky. You get to be in your pajamas all day and wake up whenever you want! Uh, sure. And the second is something along the lines of, I wouldn’t get anything...
Gratitude by Mista Cookie Jar: Kids’ music download of the week
Before the noise of the holidays gets too loud and distracting, I totally recommend you download this upbeat, Motown-flavored tune that will remind you that this Thanksgiving, the sentiment is all about Gratitude. Sung by funky favorites of mine, Mista Cookie Jar and...
Because nothing says good morning like a sexy man with a French accent. Which is actually bonjour. Whatever.
Is there really anyone who's happy to hear an alarm go off in the morning? Granted, mine is usually a kid yelling for breakfast or siblings fighting, but still. Whether it's a loud beep or a screaming baby, that's just no way to wake up. But a sexy man with the accent...
The new limited-edition CSA images smart phone cases by Speck: Cool art that keeps your phone safe too
It's really no surprise that Speck smart phone cases are so popular with smart phone users, including us. They're thoughtfully designed to keep your phone safe. But their new limited-edition CSA images cases just added a whole new feature to the mix: Style. This...
Tech Tips & Tricks to Make Life (Way) Easier
99 texting acronyms and phrases that every parent should know
By now, texting acronyms like LOL and OMG are pretty pervasive in pop culture; my daughter knew them in preschool, you hear them from the least hip anchors on TV morning shows, and heck, your own parents probably have texted you an LOL at some point. But when you're...
Here’s one safe way to curb a Candy Crush addiction.
Just this week my 5-year-old son busted me for using my iPhone at the breakfast table. It's a no-no in our house, but I was reading something important. (It was a post ranking the Hot Guys of World Cup. See? Important.) Turns out, this whole incident would have be a...
6 great tips for getting the best Instagram photos of your kids
As a longtime photo enthusiast and avid storyteller, I've been a huge fan of Instagram since it dropped three years ago. Especially as a parent who wants to get the best photos of my kids up there. That said, I take tons of pictures of lots of different things for my...
Even More Coolness. Enjoy!
The new Polaroid CUBE+ is super cool, wifi-ready, and still cute as a button
As you may have guessed, we're officially smitten with the new Polaroid CUBE+. It all started last year, when we first laid eyes on the 1.0 version of this bite-sized, lifestyle action camera. Back then, we were totally impressed with the 6 megapixels pics and 1080 HF...
REMI might be the sleep solution for kids that weary-eyed parents have been waiting for
If there's one thing that's in my never enough category, it's sleep (okay, and Bradley Cooper), and I'm guessing that's the case for most parents. Well, the sleep part; not the Bradley part. But a new device on Indiegogo called REMI may be just what Mr. Sandman...
Sponsored Message: An educational gaming system from VTech that turns screen time into learning time
This is a sponsored message from VTech Today's preschoolers are a far more digitally connected and savvy group than we ever were, and now a new system from VTech is channeling that screen time interest and transforming it into an opportunity for learning....
Curly-haired emojis: Because why should straight-haired girls have all the emoji fun?
It's clearly an emoji world out there, which is why we were so glad when the diverse emoji hit our smart phones. And now, some love for our curly-haired friends from the smart folks at Dove. Available free on iTunes and Google Play, the Dove Love Your Curls...
Sponsored Message: The free Hobnob app makes creating and sending invites as easy as tap-tap-send.
This is a sponsored message from Hobnob With the holidays right around the corner, the free Hobnob app for iOS makes sending invites to your holiday events, and sharing the photos afterwards even easier. Plus, you could win a $200 Target gift card just for...
The gorgeous SoundBlaster Roar 2 speaker proves that bigger isn’t always better
This nice fall weather is making me want to take our entertaining outside, so the kids can run around and play while the parents can sit on the porch with a mug of hot cider (or something stronger) and chat. But since it's kind of sad to have the background music...
SimplyCircle app streamlines parent-school communication. And parent-soccer team, parent-carpool group, even parent-parent living in the same household. Which we often need too.
A large chunk of parenthood is about communication: With your partner, your kids, other parents, teachers, coaches, you name it. And too often, mishaps pop-up and communication goes wonky -- especially this time of year, when it seems like there are more class...
City Don’t Sleep by Frances England: Kids’ music download of the week
It's been more than two years since long-time favorite artist Frances England has released a full-length album, so a new song from one of our very-favorite voices is a cause for celebration. And her new single, City Don't Sleep, does not disappoint. Whether you are a...
3 fun, free toothbrushing apps for kids. Because, Halloween candy.
Yes, we know our kids should (and do) brush their teeth without the help of an app every night. But in the spirit of Halloween fun, and you know, the bags and bags of candy headed our way, I've found three fun, free toothbrushing apps for the kids that are actually...
Last minute Halloween costume ideas: Ada Lovelace and other notable women in STEM
Recently, we were thrilled to find Take Back Halloween, an amazing site for women (and girls) hoping for a few more Halloween costume options besides "sexy nurse." Or sexy anything, really. I loved seeing this Ada Lovelace costume which isn't entirely last-minute,...
Bevy makes it easy to share, store and simplify thousands of family photos
I'm a photo hoarder. I have about 6,000 photos on my iPhone that date back years and years, partly due to nostalgia (tell me you don't tear up when you look at pictures of your kids as newborns?), and partly because I've never found an easy and secure enough solution....
littleBits’ new Gizmos and Gadgets Kit makes inventing cool things even easier
One thing we've always loved about littleBits' magnetic electronic building blocks is that kids can snap them together in any way they want, while learning about circuitry and electronics in an open-ended and fun way. More ambitious kids can even gather outside...