It’s Saturday afternoon. You’ve already took the kids to the park, played hide and seek, read an abundance of stories, colored your umpteenth page out of a Dora coloring book and served high tea to 12 stuffed animals. When you sit down for a minute to collect your thoughts, your preschooler taps your shoulder and asks, “What’s next?” You’re drawing a blank (and mentally counting down the hours until bedtime). What to do?

Fear not. Idea queens Heather and Whitney have a new book they’ve created especially for YOU! The industrious duo behind the website Rookie Moms has launched a new endeavor - The Rookie Mom’s Handbook: 250 Activities to do with (and without!) your baby. The book lists 250 (Yes, 250!) activities that are organized by age. While some of the activities listed are favorites of web site readers, there are many new ideas written just for this book.

Looking for a great shower gift? Or how about a big list of ideas for yourself? This book, (designed to be diaper-bag friendly) is a unique gift a mom of any lifestyle, background, and “expert level” can appreciate.

To find out more about the book, why not check out what these bloggers had to say? And look below for the Blog Blast info - held this Friday, May 9 through Sunday, May 11 (Mother’s Day!). Also, make sure to catch the Rookie Moms on the Motherhood Uncensored podcast, Wednesday, May 7 from 9-9:30pm LIVE!.

Mon 5/5 - Chicky Chicky Baby, One Chic Mama
Tues 5/6 - Mommy Needs Coffee, Mommy’s Must Haves
Wed 5/7 - Her Bad Mother, Mothergoosemouse
Thurs 5/8 - Island Review
Fri 5/9 - Boston Mamas, Motherhood Uncensored (FINAL ROUNDUP)

BLOG BLAST ALERT!

Whether you’re home all day with your baby, or you’re together before and after work and on weekends, sometimes it’s hard to know what to do with this little person who doesn’t talk or walk. Your baby’s not going to say “Hey Mom, let’s go to the coffee shop and get you a treat!” The key to survival is getting out of the house.

So, we’re asking you to tell us what baby-friendly outings worked for you during your rookie year as a mom? Did you take your baby to a pub so often that you considered changing his name to Norm? Did your little one learn to snooze under the stars while you and your husband maintained a date night at the drive-in? Share your “[insert word]” outing - best, silliest, bravest (you get the idea…) - from that first year.

This week we’re collaborating with Heather Gibbs Flett and Whitney Moss, authors of The Rookie Mom’s Handbook and fellow PBN bloggers, to inspire new moms to have more fun during their first year of motherhood.

After the births of their first babies and finding that their days were embarrassingly boring, Heather and Whitney challenged each other to post their favorite activities on a shared blog (www.rookiemoms.com) until they reached one activity for each day of the baby’s first year. Now, the best of these ideas and loads of new ones are combined in an adorable handbook with whimsical illustrations.

Here’s how to participate:

Tell us about your “[insert word]” outings from your rookie mom year. Post anytime this weekend - Friday, May 9 through Sunday, May 11. Make sure to link http://www.rookiemoms.com and http://blog.parentbloggers.com somewhere in your post. Then email us the link to your post at parentbloggers@gmail.com.

We’ll be linking them up on our blog all weekend long, so be creative with your title!

What can you win?

One of two fantastic gift bags filled with more than $250 worth of goodies for moms, including the brand new BABYBJÖRN® Baby Carrier Synergy, a child’s gardening kit from Smith & Hawken, a baby tshirt from Scout Organic Baby, and of course, a copy of The Rookie Mom’s Handbook. Two winners will be drawn at random.

Plus, Heather and Whitney will choose their three favorite posts and feature them on their website!