Ah, the tea party. It seems every girl is born with a teapot in hand, and as soon as our daughter was old enough to hold a cup she made the tea party part of her daily ritual--sandwiched between fairy frolicking and baby rocking. And tea parties aren't just for girls. In fact, our 8 year-old son proudly proclaims that he has participated in tea parties since he was 2 years old. And he still joins in on the occasional party. Tea parties are so much more than fancy hats, stuffed animals and drinking "tea."

Tea parties actually teach some really basic, yet important skills.

Moving to Northern California means enjoying a fall season. Something we've never really experienced being native Southern Californians. Our kids are obsessed with the vibrant autumn colors emerging all around us. Evening walks, collecting leaves to press have become a favorite activity for our family.

I came up with a quick and easy leaf origami mobile made from recycled materials. We think it gives a rather bare corner of our living room a nice pop of much needed color.

To make the fall leaf mobile you'll need:

Old magazines
An interesting looking stick from outside

This Old House's tutorial for making a play fort is beyond awesome and so doable (even for us hammer & nail challenged). A few measurements, a couple simple cuts and a screw here and there and you got yourself a fort built for (mini) royalty. The darn fort even has a seat AND a peep hole that latches! Um, yeah that's cool!

This Old House:

It's almost time for E3, the annual media extravaganza that heralds upcoming lineups for the video game industry. I've been attending E3 off and on since 2000 and I've seen the rise, fall and recent re-rise of the event's prominence with exhibitors and gamers alike. Mobile phones and the age of social media now gives non-attendees an unprecedented look into the industry-only, three-day spectacle that is the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

We recently planted a vegetable garden leading to the construction of a bin for vermicomposting this next weekend which has inspired all sorts of worm/nature's recyclers type projects with my kids. We're doing them partly in preparation for our newest squirmy family members, partly because they extend the learning and mostly because they are just fun.

That's right. Free Comic Book Day. And what could be better than a free comic? How about all those OTHER comics you'll invariably walk out with, the ones that your friendly neighborhood retailer certainly hopes you'll load up with in addition to the free titles... After all, the retailers don't actually get them for free -- they end up paying 12-50 cents for the privilege of giving them away. So spend a few bucks while you're in there!

We had a basic, basic plastic container worm bin about four years ago, which didn't yield a substantial amount of rich humus. However, maintaining the box proved to be fruitful in an entirely different way. Our young son (4 at the time) was totally mesmerized by the bin and its squirmy occupants which opened up several discussions on worms, recycling and taking care of living things. Who knew a silly little bin would hold so many teachable moments? I was crushed when we no longer were able to maintain it due to a home remodel (RIP worms).

Easter is over and Earth Day is almost here. Why not impress the kids and get a jump start on the greening with this clever idea from Chronicle Books for turning your empty egg shells into seedling containers?

Chronicle Books:

As rainy days begin to give way to warmer weather one can't help but feel that Spring is finally here to stay. And since the seasons are changing so must the decor. Out with the frosted glass votives, in with the daffodils in milk glass.

Yeah, Easter is great and all but what gets me is when all the hunting/egg-dying/basket-giving is over what do I do with all the egg-shaped goodies (both candy and plastic)? Sure it's fun to relive the magic by staging mock egg hunts but after the 100th time you've run out of places to hide the eggs and your still left w/dozens of egg-shaped plastic. I'm always on a look out for fun ways to reuse those plastic eggs so they don't end up as carpet bombs in my kids' rooms.