News from BelleRinger PR

HELP BUSY MOMS STAY ORGANIZED Lately I've seen a lot of organizational tools and products for moms and families. What a great idea. I have trouble organizing my own rather quiet, child-free life. But what use is a tool if it doesn't meet all of your needs? The Mom's Plan-It Family Calendar covers all the bases. It has calendar pages and grids and the all-important contacts section for names and numbers of babysitters, favorite restaurants and more. Best of all, it comes with 442 (yes, exactly 442) colorful stickers to use as reminders. A great gift for only $14.00. Available at The Chocolate Cake Club .

FRANKIE GOES ORGANIC The recent discovery of toxic substances in some pet foods, followed by the recalls, sent shivers down my spine. Like most pet owners I quickly became paranoid that my little friend, Frankie, might be effected by it. My reaction was to start preparing Frankie's dinner myself, in my own kitchen. My husband fell out of his shoes when I started doing this. He had to help me find the map to the kitchen. Then he quickly became envious of Frankie's healthy home-cooked meals. I decided that if I was going to cook for Frankie I would prepare the safest and best food possible for him. After consulting with his vet I started feeding him a combination of brown rice, organic green peas, fresh baby carrots, and organic ground round. I add a sirloin-flavored multi-vitamin goop (it's impossible to get a pill down this boy's throat). Originally this was going to be a short-term project (I use the word project because that's how I describe any food prep that ha...

AUNTIE NEFIE Wonderful news everyone! I'm going to be an aunt again! I have two beautiful sisters, one of whom is the proud mom of three girls and another who is expecting her first baby in July. She’s bringing another little girl into our family. One of my favorite parts of being an aunt is being called “Nefie”. When my first three nieces were learning to talk none of them could pronounce "Stefanie" and each of them wound up with variations resembling "Nefie." I'm still not sure if they know my name but I like the moniker better. I sort of hope the newest member of our ever-growing family follows the trend. While scoping out baby gifts on classymommy.com I came across the coolest announcement idea! My sister will love sending "It's A Girl!" cards with a miniature picture of her baby on the postage stamp . It's adorable; I just have to patiently wait another two months before for her first baby picture. The site also has other amazing and ...

HANGIN' TEN WITH MOM Mother's Day is quickly approaching and I’ve been pondering what sort of cheesy gift I could create to impress my amazing mom. I'm a fan of homemade goods - sewn, baked, painted or whatever, but this year, with a bit of help, I discovered what could potentially be one of the coolest gifts under the sun. Wet Women® is a bright and upbeat website where you can learn about all kinds of water sports (including surfing) and find links for more information. While browsing the links at the speed of Google, I came across a handful of websites of places in Costa Rica that offer mother-daughter surf packages! Is this not the perfect gift? Some of the sites linked me to surf schools for women (way cool) and others had surf/yoga packages to check out. As a surfer babe I’m convinced this is the ultimate Mother's Day gift. I imagine this is the conversation that would precede opening the package. "Mom, I love you; you've brought me up through thick and ...

FALLING GRACEFULLY, WOMBAT STYLE I just finished reading about John Edwards' decision to continue his presidential campaign despite the recurrence of Elizabeth Edwards' cancer. For those of you who can't keep track of all of the Democratic candidates out there, John Edwards is the young cutie who is earnestly vowing to wipe out poverty in the US. My first reaction was to shriek 'You loser!' at the charming photo of him. Admittedly, it was the knee-jerk reaction of a married woman. The old, "I would kill my husband if . . ." But then I took a breath and thought about it. It's doubtful the majority of voters will listen to anything John says that doesn't pertain to his wife's illness and his reaction to it. If he stays in the race he's a dog, if he drops out he's a quitter, if he spends too much time thinking about it he's ambivalent . . . And what about Elizabeth? Shoulder on and shake hands with voters? Stay home and cherish every m...

A BOOK FOR EVERY PARENT'S SHELF I just have to share this book with you - and hope you tell a friend about it. As a child-free woman I've always wondered how parents explain tattoos to their children. It can't be too difficult if Mom has one on her ankle or Dad's is on his arm. But if, like James in Mommy Has A Tattoo , a child only sees them on strangers it must be more difficult. Author Phil Pawde saw the need and wrote this darling book. He and his friends believe in teaching children to respect individuality in others and sum up their mission by "Teaching Tattoo Tolerance". Visit their site and read the story behind the book - it may sound familiar to some of you. (And make sure to look at the photo of Phil and his tattoos.)

WHEN YOU NEED A SASSY 'DO I love this picture of Breanna with her horse. I also like Breanna's hair. That pretty cascade of feathers and ribbons she's wearing is a Sassy Tail . They're all the rage with girls, tweens and teens. Even Cheetah Girl Sabrina wore one on her latest concert tour (you guessed it - she wore the Cheetah Grrl design!). Sassy Tails was founded by Kim Madden and her daughter, Heather, a budding fashionista. Heather was tired of pedestrian bows and worked with her mom to create these fun hair accessories. There's a great variety of styles - some with feathers, others beads - to choose from. My favorite is the hip Classic Camo- too bad I don't have enough hair to wear one . . .

TRUE KEEPSAKE JEWELRY I have wonderful memories of my great-grandmother and the afternoons we spent playing dominos. The heat and humidity made us retreat to her 1930s-era kitchen where we sat at the table sipping icy soda while contemplating the tiles in front of us. Her old fan was so loud that we sometimes had trouble hearing the baseball game; the radio was always tuned to a baseball game. This domino charm from Chocosho may seem kitschy but sometimes it's the odd or quirky that reveals a precious memory.