It’s that time of the year.

Mother’s Day is looming and Cribsheet’s inbox is overflowing with pitches. I know, I know, marketing is a hard job and somebody’s gotta do it.

But really, some of these are a stretch.

Friends of the Earth ($15) is offering half-price memberships for mothers ($15). “Show all the mothers in your life that you care by giving them a gift membership today.” (But does it show you care about the earth or about your mother? I’m not sure…anyway, I’m all for anything that helps Mother Nature.)

“National Survey Shows Adult Children Choose Mom over Dad” came the e-mail blast from Senior Helpers, an inhome provider.

“Just in time for Mother’s Day, the national poll found 70% (7 out of 10) adult children would overwhelmingly choose their mom over their dad to move in with them if their elderly parents could not take care of themselves.”

(Argh, do we have to make dad feel bad in order to make mom feel good?)

And the “best” one: “Moms-to-be Need NOT be Nauseated on Mother’s Day” from Psi Bands, the company that makes those wristbands with acupuncture points to overcome nausea. (Anybody tried them? Do they work?)

Then there’s this vaguely annoying pitch from momAgenda, a company that makes organizers for moms. 

“This year cook mom a celebratory meal.  Store her favorite recipes in the momAgenda Kitchen Folio for a quick reference. This powerhouse system is ideal for keeping track of sports team’s practices, camp schedules, family vacation dates and even storing take-out menus for those late nights.  Another use of this product is to centrally store all your kids’ forms including birth certificates and other documents required to jump their sports activities. Help mom stay on track and never forget another game, recital or practice with momAgenda desktop or Mini-Daily.”

(Do I really need more guilt on not having all Vital Documents at my fingertips? And for parity, is there a dadAgenda?)

Now this one I really liked - make a slideshow of mom’s favorite pics on Animoto. Click here for sample video.

“Just upload your photos, pick a song, and Animoto will take care of the rest, creating a one-of-a-kind video with the visual energy of a music video and the emotional impact of a movie trailer.  Now, you can even add personal messages in text (captions, messages, dates, etc.) or give your video a professional-quality effect with stock images.”

(And it’s free! Though I’d skip the stock images if you’re trying to personalize…)

And here’s Kay’s favorite: super cool personalized greeting cards from Snapily. Upload your fave pic of Mom and you can turn it 3D, or Flip or Morph more than one image. Greeting cards start at $3.50.

Of course, you’ve got to check out Cool Mom Picks Mother’s Day ideas

Plus a recent article from Real Simple on Memorable Gifts for Mom

Any other ideas for Mother’s Day gifts Cribsheeters?

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(Reminder - we’ll be @ Salon Aura near 50th & France this Evening for Mom’s Time Out - make an appt to get pampered, or swing by and chat if you can join us for some wine & cheese. If you can’t make it this evening - they are still taking appointments today and tomorrow for 2 treatments for $50 - a seriously great deal!)

click on image below for more information

Two schools have been closed for the day in Cold Spring, about 80 miles north of the Twin Cities, because of a suspected case of swine flu.

It’s Minnesota’s first suspected case. As parents, we’re all understandably worried. 

Cribsheet sat down with Twin Cities pediatrician Dr. Peter Dehnel to talk about what to look out for with the swine flu outbreak.

Dr. Dehnel explains what we know so far about this very new virus - including symptoms to look out for - and what we don’t know yet.

Click here to watch the interview.

I’ll confess I don’t read a lot of poetry. So when a co-worker asked if I wanted to join her new poetry club, I dithered.

I’ve never even been in a book club. I don’t like being told what to read.

But at least poetry is short.

It turned out to be an evening of pure pleasure- five women, a plate of bruschetta, a bottle of prosecco and a shared love of words.

We each brought some poetry to read. Some had written their own. One woman was a real, live, published poet.

What did I bring? Just about the only poetry I had at hand - my kids’. Hurray for Shel Silverstein!

And guess what? I found a Silverstein poem in one that is now my Manifesto for Life. 

How many, how much

How many slams in an old screen door?
Depends how loud you shut it.
How many slices in a bread?
Depends how thin you cut it.
How much good inside a day?
Depends how good you live ‘em.
How much love inside a friend?
Depends how much you give ‘em.

From A light in the Attic (Poems and drawings by Shel Silverstein, published 1981

Like flour, this poem is all-purpose.  It applies to life with two preschoolers. It applies to the twilight zone of coming in to work everyday at a company in bankruptcy. And last weekend, I even sent it to a cousin who got married in Melbourne, Aust. (Substitute “husband” or “wife” for friend and voila! it’s a Manifesto for Marriage too).

For anything more, I have to turn to more literary minds. Apparently, it’s national poetry month and here’s a fabulous link to videos of readings I stole off Sherry’s Facebook page. (Thanks, Sherry!)

Who’s your fave poet for kids? For yourself?

I was going to say Happy E.D!
but, er well… never mind.

Anyway - hope you are enjoying the lovely weather this Earth Day here in the Twin Cities.

Here are some Earth Day related links for you

I should shine the spotlight on the new StarTriibune.com/greenliving page here.
You’ll find tips on saving green by going green, howto videos, eco-friendly articles, the new blog Footprint by Kim Carlson, and more.

Celebrating Earth Day 2009 on momtalk.com

And a variety of Earth Day articles and kid-friendly activities here at Kaboose.com

I recently went to a baby shower where the game was to take a box of tiny baby socks and sort and match them up as fast as you can.
This activity caused me much angst and anxiety.
This is not fun, this is my reality. I thought.
(And besides that I was jealous that there were actual mates for each sock to match up.)

I know the old “what happens to the missing socks?” dilemma often used by stand up comedians is not a new one.

But - I declared war with Vivian’s sock drawer this past rainy Sunday afternoon and it was truly pathetic.

I dumped out her drawer on the bed and spread in front of me was a vast array of cute little girl socks.
Alll of the darling socks came in just about every color.
But it was truly just one sock in every color.

Seriously. Where did they go? I’m not finding them in sleeves or pantcuffs or sheets that they were washed with - what the heck?

I was at the Container Store and saw a little product - sock clips - to attach to the pair go keep them together in the wash. Genius! I thought. Perhaps they would be the answer to my problem.

I told my uber-organized friend Sara about that new invention over coffee.
“Sure,” she said, “but what a hassle to sit there and clip each pair together before they go in to the wash - do you honestly think you’re going to do that?”
Uh, no.
“Better yet why not just throw all of the socks into a lingerie bag then they will all stay together.”
(genius!)
“OR why not just buy a few jumbo bags of the same white socks - then you have no problem with mismatches.”
(more genius!)

So I’ll keep some of the single socks to wipe glasses (great Cribsheeter tip from Tobi on this past post)
and clean out the drawer and start anew.

I figure if I can achieve just one organized drawer, maybe then I will have a little bit of compartmentalized order in an otherwise chaotic household with two under four.

I know I’m not alone in the missing my mates dilemma - what do you do to keep your socks together?