Once you have kids, there are a handful of retail stores you can add to your "danger" list (meaning highly tempting and potentially damaging to your wallet.)

Ella + Elliot is one of those stores which used to be primarily an online temptation (with a store in Toronto), but they’ve just opened shop in Vancouver. Don't be fooled though, the prices are sometimes deceiving. What looks like an expensive $2,400 crib converts into a bassinet, toddler bed, junior bed, AND sofa, which adds a great deal of value. And that $19 sippy cup is actually the most genius invention we've seen to date, with a weighted straw that means your little one can get to the liquid even if the cup is tilted.

So the prices aren’t as bad as you think. Unless you calculate the number of shoes you could have bought, instead of that crib. Then you’ll be the one crying hysterically.

Seimi Sleep System bed, $2400 and Lollacup, $19.
Ella + Elliot, 126 W. Hastings St., Vancouver, www.ellaandelliot.com

DIY Mother’s Day gifts are always the sweetest, but it’s been a long time since we made a candy dish out of clay.

So this year we’re getting a little (ok, a lot) of help from Vancouver's poetry website www.bentlily.com. Use the free InstaPoem feature to create a bespoke verse about you and mom; simply follow the steps to plug in details about your relationship and personality traits and voila — an instant tearjerker.

Here’s an excerpt from our little ditty:
you let me live
the cliff edge of mistakes
the big perm
the older boyfriend
the time I smoked cigarettes

Yes, that sounds about right.

Happy Mother’s Day from VitaminDaily.com

Create your InstaPoem here.

The women on aspirational mommy blog, The Glow make it look sickeningly easy, but in reality, balancing babies and business can make you sweat.

In their new book Mom Inc., Meg Mateo Ilasco and Cat Seto offer sound advice to enterprising moms on everything from writing a business plan, to launching a website to staying sane and focused at home.

The writers are serial entrepreneurs–Seto juggles motherhood and a successful custom stationary line while fellow mom, Mateo Ilasco is an artist, crafter and DIY-er par excellence – so the advice comes first hand.

Mom Inc. isn’t the most original title, (it’s one of many) but this is a smart little book, regardless. —Athena Tsavliris

From $15.16 at Chapters Indigo.

We may all be looking forward to the hot weather, but we are also dreading the task of finding entertainment for our kids (do they really need two whole months off?)

StageCoach is a musical theatre company founded in England that runs week-long summer camps for kids in BC, Ontario, and soon Quebec. Each camp is based around a theme: Musicals Unlimited features songs from Glee and High School Musical, while Waifs and Strays includes Les Miserables, Annie, and Oliver. Depending on your kids’ ages, the camps run a half or full day, and feature an end-of-week show.

Book before June for the early bird discount, and ensure that the Little Shop of Horrors, Stomp, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels will be in their house, not yours. —Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

From $150, www.stagecoachschools.ca

April showers
Bring May flowers
Or so they have us believe
But when the raindrops are falling
We know who we’re calling
To get a little reprieve
Canada’s Cheeky umbrellas
Come in full and pint sizes
And brighten the dullest of hours
So we’ll sing in the rain
And dance in the drizzle
And pretend we have magical powers
—Sarah Bancroft

$22 at www.cheekyumbrella.com

You and your kids share everything: meals, laughs, beds, and even that little dimple on your left cheek.

But bath products? Well, why not?

Maple Organics, founded by Vancouver's Rosy Atwal, is based on ancient-Indian health secrets passed down from her grandmother. The first Canadian USDA Organic Certified baby and body product line, it uses Kokum, an Indian nut oil known for its healing properties, and for being one of nature's gentlest and most effective moisturizers for sensitive skin.  

With lotion, shampoo and baby wash in the line, all lightly scented with lavender and packaged with pretty botanical prints, we found them effective for both mother and child.

And now we've learned how to share, right?—Sarah Bancroft    

For retailers, visit www.mapleorganics.com

What we’ve learned from parenting books so far this year: French kids don’t throw food, and French kids eat everything (presumably because it’s still on their plate).

While American Pamela Druckerman has tackled the contretemps (or lack thereof) of French child rearing in her book Bringing up Bébé, Canadian mom Karen Le Billon concentrates on food-related norms in her helpful treatment of the subject, French Kids Eat Everything, out this week.

“If Pamela explains the why, I explain the how” says Le Billon from her Vancouver home, stressing that she is not a fan of French parenting per se, but has been converted to their rules around food.

Part “momoir” of their family’s year in France, part recipe book, and part self-help book for parents, she distills from her experiences a set of 10 rules, including: try everything, no snacking, have dinner together, eating is joyful….

Sounds simple until you remember your last meal was a salad eaten over the sink.

But working mother Le Billon (a UBC prof) finds a golden mean back home that includes treats (like sushi night) and adapts her kids to the Canadian regime of 15-minute school lunch breaks (versus the two hours allotted in France).

But will the kids get Easter Baskets filled with chocolate or fois gras this year? We suspect the former.
—Sarah Bancroft

French Kids Eat Everything (And Yours Can Too), from $16.60 at www.amazon.ca

No, this isn’t about nightmares or airplanes, this is about sleeping gear made by a Canadian mom who understands babies, sleep, and convenience.

1. The stretchy fabric used to make their sleep sacs means baby can kick all she likes while she sleeps (plus it’s also breathable and fire proof.)

2. The zipper system at the bottom means you can easily open up for a diaper change.

3. Openings in between the legs means baby can be transferred from crib to car seat without undressing, the straps can just pass right through the sac.

4. The sac snaps up to a dress-like shape if your toddler wants a bit of playtime before bed.

5. They look good. Yes, this counts for a lot, too.

—Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

Sleep sacs, $79.99, from Sweet Dreams and Flying Machines, www.sweetdreamsandflyingmachines.com

Easter is around the corner, and we are all trying to figure out ways to prevent our kids from gorging on chocolate for an entire weekend. (Sugar crashes aren’t fun business.)

So let’s distract them with real eggs, the healthy, protein-rich ones , and let’s make the them a bit more egg-citing (sorry, I had to) with the Eco Eggs Natural Easter Egg Colouring Kit. It comes with three dyes and a chart for creating six different colours, which will help to develop their artistic skills. The dyes are natural, non-toxic, and each pack comes with enough dye to colour 100 eggs. That should keep them busy.

Next up, recipes for Easter Sunday omelettes. —Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

Eco Eggs Natural Easter Egg Colouring Kit, $19.50 from Lavish & Lime, www.lavishandlime.com

“Brush your teeth, brush your hair, wash your face, wash your hands.” The hygiene instructions for kids are neverending.

That’s why we need great props, or in this case, the right products to make these activities exciting. Sukin’s kids handwash is just the thing to get them scrubbing their grubby paws before meals. This amazing Australian beauty brand is free of nasties (parabens, artificial colours, etc.) and their packaging might just help us to convince our kids that clean hands are a good idea. We also love their Soothing Spray, which works painless wonders on sunburns and wounds. We hope they launch a miracle toothpaste next. —Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

Sukin Handwash, $14.99, www.sukinorganics.com

Editor’s Tip: While you are shopping at Sukin, pick something up for yourself. Their Organic Rosehip Oil is amazing on dry skin, and you can share it with baby, as it works wonders on cradle cap too.