I know the soggy weather is getting everyone down. Myself included. Maybe that’s why I haven’t been blogging lately. Or maybe it’s because I have been going flat out with work and kids and running and everything else. I know, poor me blah blah. Promise to do better in the coming days.

In the meantime, i the comments please share your ideas for keeping kids occupied in soggy weather.

I received some samples in the mail from a company called Home Free. Mom Jill Robbins created the line of organic cookies and cakes for kids (and adults!) with food allergies. The products are peanut free, tree nut free, egg free and dairy free. Now, my kids don’t have food allergies but I know that parents with kids who DO have allergies have a tough time finding treats for them to eat. It’s no fun eating carrot sticks if your pals are chowing down on chocolate chip cookies. And it’s no fun eating most of the allergy-free treats out there because they often taste and look about as appetizing as cardboard.

When I got the samples in I decided to do a little taste test. I divided up the mini chocolate chip cookies and gave some to my girls and the rest to our neighbors who have one child with severe food allergies - the kind where they keep epi-pens handy at all times. My finicky girls actually gave the cookies two thumbs up and I have to say I was amazed. It’s not like I feed them double-stuff Oreos, but I honestly thought they would turn up their nose at these cookies - I mean if you take away the eggs and the dairy what’s left? Clearly, something is left because even the boys down the street liked them. More importantly, their mom did as well because she didn’t have to worry about what they were eating. The packaging is clearly labeled with all of the ingredients or lack thereof which I can only imagine is a huge relief to most moms with allergy-prone kids. And they’re made right here in New England which, as you all know, is very important to us here at New England Moms.

In any event, Home Free Treats are worth checking out.

The Globe today has a list of all the fireworks displays in Boston and beyond. Check it out here.

The rules have changed for car seats. Recommendations now state that children should be in rear-facing seats until they reach 35 pounds - not 20 as previously recommended. Here’s a sobering quote from a doctor at Boston Children’s Hospital:  ”Children who are sitting forward-facing have a 75 percent increased risk of serious injury or death compared to sitting rear-facing,” said Dr. Lois Lee, of Boston Children’s Hospital. “In a front-end crash, the head and the neck really go forward quite a bit, and you can image how they can get head and spinal cord injuries. If you’re sitting rear-facing and you’re in a crash, the car seat really protects the head and the spinal cord.”

Read the full story here.

I watched the press conference with Governor Sanford yesterday where he confessed to an affair that will likely end his career. The only thing I have to say is sort of an open statement to men everywhere. If you are confessing to a transgression please do not try to make us feel one iota of sympathy for you by stating that “you are trying to work on your marriage.” Because when men say this, it is often right after they have been caught in a hotel room/vacation home/spa resort with someone who is not their wife. I am no therapist but I can pretty much confirm that working on your marriage does not entail heading down to Argentina to be with your lover for a 5-day tryst which is what happened in Sanford’s case. Just be honest and say you thought you could probably get away with it, so you went awol and you got caught and you’re sorry. I will not feel any sympathy for you but at least it will be honest.  

Here’s more on the story.

Sandra Tsing Loh had an affair. And now she’s getting divorced. I guess the only thing refreshing about this is that the woman actually had the affair and not the guy. But the problem with her whole sordid story in The Atlantic this month is how she uses her transgression as a jumping off point to slam marriage.

Of course, Loh says she has a higher purpose and writes blah blah blah about how marriage was really good in agrarian times but not so much any more and she knows this because several - yes several - of her friends are unhappy in their marriages too. I couldn’t remember where I had heard this before and then I did - High School. I distinctly remember that when you were dating back in Grade 12 your friends tended to be girls who were also dating boys. And when you broke up with your boyfriend you definitely sought out the bitter girl who also just broke up with her boyfriend because then you could spend every afternoon after school commiserating about what dogs guys were. You know when this kind of behavior ended? When you started dating a new guy. So here’s the whole story and in a couple of years we can expect to post another long story about how Loh now believes in marriage again.

The Boston Globe’s Joanna Weiss has a meditation today on the “imperfect parent.”

The premise is that many parents are “confessing” that they “love their kids but also find them annoying, petulant, and stinky.” This cynical approach to parenthood is typified by Neal Pollack, author of “Alterna-Dad” who is quoted this way “Basically, what you’ve got is parents trying to come to terms with their identity as adults.” I guess I’ve always wondered if parents in their 30’s don’t think it’s just a little funny when they talk about finding their identity as adults. 18? Ok. 30? Not so much. I think it’s much easier to dissect. These folks are just approaching parenting with the same ironic detachment and self-involvement that they approach everything else. 

On another note, Ms Weiss must have had one long conversation with Lenore Skenazy because this is the second time in a week she has used her in a story. I suspect Ms. Weiss is a wee bit enamored of the “free range” kid idea.

I know I get a little crazy about this stuff but honestly a purse for baby - complete with lipstick and a mirror? Yes it exists. Click here for the details and then tell me if you think it’s cute or horrifying.

It’s strawberry picking season and tomorrow, is pretty much the only day since the beginning of June that looks like it might be an ok day to go. Here is a list of PYO farms in Massachusetts.

And if you’re in the Metrowest area, check out Sunshine Farm in Sherborn, MA. That’s where we’re going tomorrow!

Regal Cinemas is offering free movies throughout the summer. They offer two choices - G and PG - every Tuesday and Wednesday at 10am. We went to March of the Penguins this morning (first movie for the girls). Here is a site that lists all the times and places. Enjoy!