Browsing all posts in September, 2009.

Cone of Silence

The Hoover Library has installed a “Cone of Silence” for cell phone uses to have a brief telephone discussion without disturbing patrons. It’s about time we started using an invention like this for something besides beauty pageants during the final question to determine the winner and the runner-up.
Many of us will remember the days of [...]

Holiday and Seasonal Outfits for Young Children

If you want to be in good shape for the upcoming holiday season, pick up outfits for Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas now while the selection is best.  If you’re shooting for matching or coordinating outfits for Christmas card photos, you’ll need to get moving.
Seasonal kids’ clothing features an ever-expanding variety of themes and colors, so you don’t have to settle for holly green or bright Halloween orange. There are [...]

Easy Decorating Idea for Next to Nothing

The Pottery Barn Kids’ catalog seems to specialize in making art out of the simplest everyday items. I’m amazed every time I flip the pages and see yet another construction paper masterpiece merchandised like fine art. 

I must have been in a Pottery Barn frame of mind lately because I was struck with an idea when I saw this postcard from McWane Science Center. It’s simply [...]

Mamma Mia! It’s the Greek Festival

This weekend’s Greek Festival at the Holy Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church downtown is one of Birmingham’s best culinary traditions. From Sept. 24 to 26th, cars will line up around the 19th street block as bankers in suits and nurses in scrubs wait for a taste of Greek food heaven.
It’s no secret that some of the best resturants in Birmingham have Greek decendants behind them. What is [...]

Moms are Great Vacationers

I just returned from a “girls’ trip” in which nine moms slipped away from their daily routines and left the kids and spouses behind to fend for themselves.
We all checked in dutifully with home each day, giving shelf-by-shelf directions on where to find clean uniforms and frozen casseroles.  We were also giddy at the prospect of being untethered to all our usual responsibilities, including those that [...]

Find: Bold Print Notes for $1

Take a look at these irresistible foldover notes in sophisticated, bold color. With fabulous look-at-me patterns like these, there’s certainly nothing shy about them. This is the kind of note that will stand out in any desktop stack.
While they are saucy enough on their own, a bright monogram label would just pop on the front. With football [...]

Unthink Honey

This summer I hastily opened a packet of honey to put on a biscuit, took one bite and realized something was amiss. It wasn’t just the heavenly scent of honey or the mesmerizing drizzly texture. No, the problem was that I wasn’t even eating honey in the first place. I was eating something called “honey sauce.”

I’d requested honey to go with the [...]

Helicopter Toilet Training

I recently learned that Cottonelle makes a kids’ toilet paper that is supposed to help potty training youngsters learn how much T.P. is “just enough.” The sheets are printed with a puppy paw print on a run of four squares followed by the Cottonelle puppy on the fifth square, signaling that it’s time to tear the paper and use the five-sheet [...]

Tuition Ahead: Birmingham National College Fair

Since education and personal responsibilty are on topic these days, it only seems appropriate to mention the Birmingham National College Fair scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 20, from 1 – 4 p.m. at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.
With tuition costs rising, schools are eager to attract students and set their parents’ minds at ease. While highly selective colleges [...]

Cold or H1N1 (“Swine”) Flu?

It’s true that moms worry, and the H1N1 flu virus has got us more worried than usual. Let’s agree to stay helpfully alert, not helplessly worried, with information on how to recognize symptoms of a common cold vs. symptoms of the flu. This following information is provided by WebMD; or print swinefluorcold.pdf for quick reference. Check out the [...]