Baby Raves

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If you’re like any of the other millions of parents out there, you love to show off pictures of your kids.  Admit it, you just have to show the world how cute your little boy or girl is, and you’ll jump at any opportunity to send snapshots to your friends and family.  But how about for those truely special moments?  You know, the birth announcements and holiday cards.  Are you really going to just send a link to your online photo account or update your Facebook?  Of course not.  You’re going to want to send out something that gets plenty of oooohs and aahhs.  You’re going to want something cool, unique, and beautiful.   And these days, it’s totally easy to create that perfect photo card.  There’s tons of websites out there, but one that I am particularly fond of is Doodlebug Dezigns.  Whether it’s baby announcements, holiday cards, or invitations, they have tons of great designs to pick from.  And it’s pretty simple to place an order: pick a design, send a picture, and they’ll send you the proof.  Piece of cake. Check em’ out, I’m sure you’ll be as pleased as I was.

After my 2 and 3 yr old daughters quit fighting over who was going to open the New Disney Ariel & Friends Doll, my 3 yr old exclaimed “I love my new Ariel doll Mommy!” This didn’t come as a huge surprise as Ariel happens to be her favorite Disney character (she calls her a princess), and she chooses to put on her Ariel dress up clothes and pretend to be Ariel at every opportunity.  Obvious preferences aside, this new doll is bound to catch any little girl’s attention.  From a mom’s point of view, this is a quality toy worth every cent of the $16.50 sticker price.  The doll has a shimmery/shiny mermaid “tail” that makes you want to reach out and touch its fabric.  Ariels’ hair is a bright vibrant red that extends well below the dolls waist.  Her arms move in many more directions than I remember the old school barbie dolls… seems much more durable and inviting to rough little girls play.  From a little girls point of view….did I mention my daughters were fighting over it??!!  Ariel also comes with a jeweled brush and two of her little sea friends - Flounder and Sebastian.  If your little Princess loves Ariel or any of the other Disney princesses as much as mine does, this is a sure winner.  This doll is sold exclusively at select Disney Store locations across the US and Canada.  You can also call 800-757-5933 for a Disney location nearest you.

A mother of 16 month old twins (boy and girl) joined my daughters “mommy and me” spanish class. In the door walked two sweet kids making a “squeak-squeak” sound with every step. My first reaction was - “how cute and adorable” , then it switched to, “OH NO… that is going to be distracting.” But only minutes into the class, I really began to appreciate these shoes and how they must be a lifesaver for not only a mother of a toddler, but a mother of twin toddlers! Her two little ones (new to the class and very excited to explore on day one) were taking off in every direction - but never the same direction!!! I pictured this tired mom at home, at wits end trying to keep track of two kids going in different directions, and then finding these shoes by Wee Squeak. She will always know where her kiddos are by the sound of the “squeak-squeak” being made by the shoes. Oh! - did I mention they had super cute and hip styles as well?

I know, I know, I know… after 2 kids and baby showers of my own, and a gazillion friends’ baby showers, I know you are supposed to order off a registry.  I mean, we moms need so much stuff for a new baby, and another blanket or stuffed animal is definitely going to be returned to the store for the necessities like bottles, diapers, etc.  However (and this is where I break my rule and make a recommendation), I was recently at a baby shower where the mom to be received one of the cutest and most creative baby gift baskets that I have ever seen.  It was a “Rockabye Baby” Rocking Horse with Plush Toy and Layette Set by One Source Gift Baskets. This wasn’t just any baby basket, but a REAL toy rocking horse. It comes with a reusable blue storage caddy sprinkled with brown and white dots and white rocking horses. Inside the caddy is a plush, rocking-horse rattle and an endearing layette in white with blue trim receiving blanket, bodysuit, bib and booties, each featuring adorable, blue, embroidered rocking-horse detail. Who would want to return this gift???!!!

The website has many other cute options too - one of my favorites being the
Bath Time Baby - Satin Edged Duckling Blanket w/ Embroidery & Baby Necessities because my 20 month  old LOVES any and all duckies.  Sorry sweet Daughter, you have enough duckies already!

Last Christmas I was trying to do the “green thing” and buy all my girlfriends cute reusable grocery bags. In my search, I found really stylish ones by Envirosax. I bought a 5 pack with the intention of gifting them all, and ended up keeping 3 because they are so great (really roomy, waterproof, and fold nice and small). Now, Envirosax has produced a “kids” series of bags. The cartoonish characters on the bags are so cute and funky looking (dinosaurs, pigs, and dogs to name a few). Envirosax is doing their part to get kids interested in using reusable bags. The end result in my house - I want to carry around those cute things!  Order them direct from their website for $8.50.

Love the original Robeez shoes, but want a more “grown-up” look for your little cutie? You must see the Robeez Mini Shoez (no, I didn’t spell it wrong) collection. They have a flexible sole that is still as soft as you want everything on your baby to be, while also having a water repellent, non slip sole (especially good for beginner walkers). Robeez puts out such cute designs. I got the Dressy Mary Jane in Navy with pink accents for my daughter. Like all Robeez shoes, the construction on it must have gotten a lot of MOM input. The elasticized heel makes sure it doesn’t slip when they crawl or walk, and an ample sized velcro strap fits even my “Flinstone footed” girl.

If you are looking for a First Boot for baby, check out the Robeez Mini Boots - on my wish list for the upcoming colder weather!

After I had my first little girl, I wanted to adorn her with a beautiful bracelet. Not just any bracelet, but one I made myself.  A hundred dollars later, I stumbled through making my first piece of jewelry.  No more than a week later, our little princess has torn off her sparkly bracelet and hid it somewhere never to be found again.  Two attempts later, I gave up.  She is now a very big 3 year old, and I sure wish I would have known about Bumble Bells earlier.  These beautifully made anklets not only “dress up” your little one, but they are functional as well!  What new mom doesn’t start thinking the worst and hovering outside baby’s room when it gets too quiet or they haven’t stirred in awhile?  Better yet, as baby grows, and starts exploring and wandering, what mom wouldn’t want to have a homing device of sorts on their child?  Bumble Bells are silver anklets that grow with your child and jingle every time they move.  Rest easy moms - help is here.

Ever get tired of reading the same old children’s book over and over and over again to your child?  Come on - admit it!!  You can recite the story of “Green Eggs and Ham” in your sleep (actually you do and that is why you are so tired in the morning).  As much as I love reading to my daughters, I was so excited to see this new idea from Eeboo.  Every box is filled with picture cards - without any words - and as you flip through them, your child (with your help sometimes) creates a story to go along with the pictures and actions on the cards.  Ingenious, right?  So every time you take out these cards, a new story gets created.  Love it!  They’re only $10 at www.eeboo.com.  Check them out!

If you’re like me and have accumulated tons of maternity clothes and kids stuff, you most likely have a little circle of friends and family to hand things down to. And on the flip side, there’s a good chance that much of what you have was probably handed down to you from others in your network. But how about those moms out there who don’t have the fancy friends passing along the hip maternity jeans, but can’t stand the thought of paying full price for new ones? Or maybe you have a super cute and barely used diaper bag that cost a bit too much, and you’d like to recoup a few dollars? For everyone looking to reach out to other moms and buy and sell your maternity and kids stuff, here is the answer: LaBump.com.

Now that I’ve seen the site, I can’t believe that something like this didn’t exist before. It’s the perfect solution to finding moms and moms-to-be who want your stuff. You’ve all heard of Craigslist, right?  Of course you have, it’s one of the most popular web sites around.  The concept here is pretty much the same.  It’s free classified ads organized by cities around the country.  The cool thing is that La Bump is completely  dedicated to maternity clothes and kids clothes, gear, furniture, and toys.  No longer do you have to search through the tons of irrelevant stuff on Craigslist to find a cool diaper bag, the latest jogging stroller, or cute baby clothes.  You’ll find all that stuff, plus a lot more, on this site.

Right now, most of the listings come from just a handful of states.  Texas in particular, is well represented.  But I have a feeling that it won’t be too long before word spreads and you’ll find tons of stuff posted from every major city. In fact, if you have some baby stuff that you’ve been looking to sell, why not post it on La Bump right now?  Did I mention it’s free?! 

I’ve come to accept that my kids’ rooms will always be a work in progress.  As they currently exist, their rooms are totally adorable and cute and provide all the functionality that toddlers rooms should.  Nonetheless, I am always looking for the next little bit of decor that’s going to take them to the next level of cute-ness.  Here’s my latest find: Animal Lamps from Uncommon Goods.  Don’t you just love them?

They’re pretty versatile and will pretty much go with any decorating style.  Even if you’re the ultra-modern minimalist parent with a nursery that reflects your tastes, these lamps are clean and simple and will fit right in.  At the same time, they’ll add some warmth and whimsy.  And of course, if you have a more typical kids room with lots of over-sized toys and decorations in bright primary colors, these lamps will work for you too.

At $20 each, they’re actually pretty reasonable.  Check them out at Uncommon Goods.

I have to admit that I didn’t give Halloween much thought as a child-less adult. Just another day on the calendar as far as I was concerned. But now that we have two little girls, my interest has definitely been rekindled. Our oldest is almost three years old and has already been doing the dress up thing for a while. She loves it! So, Halloween is really just the absolute best day for her. Our 18 month old is pretty much oblivious, but as parents, there is no way we can pass up the opportunity to dress her up in something cute.

So, with October just a month away, it’s not too early to start thinking about halloween costumes. We’ve had a few conversations with the girls. Well, the 18 month doesn’t talk yet, so there’s not much conversation going on; but the older one definitely has some opinions. She already fancies herself a princess, so we’ll probably go with something along those lines. But even after deciding on the princess theme, there are a million variations out there. The best thing you can do is get online and browse the costume stores with your kid. Let them pick it out, so they can get exactly what they want.

After looking at pretty much every costume store on the web, I’ve come to the conclusion that buycostumes.com has to be the best one out there. They have soooooo many options to choose from. I searched for “princess” under the kids category and I got 70 results! I searched for “baby costumes” and I got more results than I could count. Lots of cute stuff. Seriously, whatever you are looking for, I’m sure they have it. And if you don’t know exactly what you want, just browse for a few minutes and you’ll definitely find something that will catch your eye.

How have I not stumbled upon these workbooks earlier?  I have felt like the slacker mom on many occasions when I hear of mom-friends doing lots of arts and crafts with their kids – even using scissors!  I will admit it publicly – I avoided crafts because it sounded like a lot of time and effort on my part.  Lucky for me, these Kumon workbooks were recommended to me (by a very studious and attentive mom-friend of a very intelligent little boy).  I was instantly drawn to them!  The colors, layout, and simplicity of the workbooks make me want to sit down with my almost 3 year old, and PLAY!  Of course, this gave me my excuse to go out and buy her some kid-friendly scissors (aka: don’t cut very well) and some glue sticks – and here we go, some quality mom and daughter time, AND she’s practicing necessary skills she needs for kindergarten (2 yrs away) – and no, I am not obsessing about what she needs to know before going into kindergarten…
My daughter’s favorite workbook is “Let’s Cut Paper” where she practices cutting in a straight line, a curvy line, through a maze, etc.  My recommendation: start the scissor practice sooner rather than later… it’s not as easy as we adults make it look.  Other books we are having fun with are “Let’s Color“, which helps with color recognition and staying in the lines, “Let’s Sticker and Paste“, and “Let’s Fold“.

OH, did I forget to mention that these are THE BEST distractions to bring to a restaurant or on a long plane flight?   Hours of entertainment – trust me!

If you have toddlers, then you know the Robeez brand. I honestly don’t know any moms who don’t have at least one pair for each of their kids. Their soft sole shoes are the perfect medium between baby booties and big kid shoes. And they have so many different options that you are bound to find something that fits your taste.

For a while I thought that as my kids got older and started walking I’d have to ditch the Robeez and move on to regular old shoes.  But then I discovered their Tredz line.  Yeah, I guess many of you knew already that Robeez had a stiff sole line of shoes.  But I didn’t.  What a great surprise to find out that my toddlers can still get in to the great style and quality that Robeez is famous.  And now with their new Fall collection, they have soooo many super cute shoes to choose from. I just picked up a pair of the Tredz Sporty Z-strap for my daughter and she loves them!  Soft and comfy and super adorable.

Check them out at finer department stores or go directly to the Robeez site to see their entire collection.

Here’s a pretty hip solution to finding work space for junior without cluttering up your living space.  Pulled apart, you have a stylish desk and chair combo.  Nice modern lines!  But when company is on their way over and you need to clean things up, just push the pieces together and they become a perfectly nested cube.  You could even use it as an extra end table and nobody would suspect a thing.  Sneaky.

It’s called the Klick Desk from a company called P’kolino. If you’re a fan of modern design, then you should check out their website. They have a full range of products and they do a great job of balancing between keeping things fun for the kids and aesthetically pleasing for the adults.  You can order the Klick Desk directly from them for $198.85.