Happy New Year from Us!

The boys in their matching pjs 🙂

From our home to yours, wishing you all a great year ahead. Stay fit, be happy, and dream big!

Comfy, Play-Worthy Clothes!

It’s been a while sine my last post, but nugget is sleeping and I’m not feeling too lazy so I figured why not?!

Christmas just passed and I don’t know if I’m just greedy or if other people suffer from the need to spend money after just dropping it like a Vegas sugardaddy on all the christmas gifts for the kids? Either way, I’ve been shopping my little hiney off, searching the planet (as usual) for stylish, and practical, kids clothing. I’ll now be returning one of my christmas gifts 🙂

Since we’ve all been couped up at home for the last two weeks with no school or work (going bat-shit crazy, I might add) I thought it would be fitting to post some things about “leisure wear”. I laugh as I write that because the word leisure to me somehow says that we are somehow wearing plaid shorts and pink Lacoste shirts whilst lounging by the golf caddy or pool…In reality we are dishevelled, covered in drool, and I think I just found a piece of toast in my hair. Although, I would rather you believe the more sophisticated of the two options I just presented 🙂

I do believe that wearing jeans or dressing up every day is overrated, and a bit ridiculous, for anyone, even someone without kids. However, there is no reason why you, or your kids, have to look like you haven’t changed in a week, or that you just don’t give a crap.

I have just purchased a couple outfits from Mini and Maximus and from a Goatmilk NYC. Here they are, I think they are super cute and fashionable, yet practical: These two outfits are from Mini and Maximus. They are available from many online shops, but also from their store directly…and they do ship to Canada 🙂 I bought the Oh Deer shirt and the Pants shown in blue (I bought them in orange).

I also got this outfit. Both are comfy and perfect for little ones to wear while just hanging out at home (I really mean tearing apart the living or play room), and they will look great if you have to run out to the store, or even for nap time.

Don’t get me wrong, I love dressing my sons up in little jeans and blazers, etc. But when the little one is ready to pass out, or get shoved in a car seat, I like him to be in something comfy that won’t be super bulky or uncomfortable. I thought the clothes offered by these brands offered me the durability, comfort, and versatility I was looking for. Check them out!

Things You Shouldn’t Cheap Out On: Safety Gates

My next few posts are going to cover some baby gear items I think you shouldn’t cheap out on for reasons of safety or durability. I have come to these conclusions out of my own experience, and the experience of other mums in my circle of friends and family. I by no means think that everything you buy for your children has to be super expensive and flashy. The bottom line for me comes down to how long I expect to use the product for, practicality, user friendliness, and of course safety.

I am going to start with baby gates this week as a friend of the family had her little one take a 12 step tumble after the gate failed. I did, however, learn that the gate was a pressure mounted gate placed at the top of the stairs. This, many of you will know, is a huge no no! Never place a pressure mounted gate at the top of a staircase, use only  hardware mounted gates! The gate that this family was using was a Safety 1st Gate (I think the model was the Perfect Fit) that retails for about $50. I don’t see a problem with using a gate like this at the bottom of the stairs to stop your little explorer from venturing into restricted territory. Just make sure that you are monitoring your child though as if a baby can push the gate out then I imagine some of those tough little lunkers can also pull it out.

With my first son I got all crazy and purchased the Lascal KiddyGuard Avant Baby Gates for all around the house. I loved how these rolled up into themselves so that there wasn’t always an ugly and annoying gate blocking halls and stairs. With the easy roll up feature I could leave areas open and easy for the rest of the household to access when not it use. The drawback was, however, the price. At $200 a gate I can’t say it was worth it looking back. Also, I had one at the bottom of the stairs that my son was able to get under and climb up the stairs! This was 8 years ago mind you and they have been modified a bit since then. Also, when it comes to attractive retractable gates, these are one of the few models approved for the top of the stairs.

Another rolling gate I found this time around at less than half the price is the Bily Retractable Safety Gate which retails for about $70. This gate is not as durable as the Lascal but it would be a good gate to put in an area like a hallway, or the bottom of the stairs as long as you can ensure there is no room for baby to stretch gate up and get under it. I mounted mine in front of the stairs with the gate covering the whole bottom step to make it impossible for little bodies to squeeze through. These gates are not approved for the top of the stairs.

My new favourite gate is the Munchkin Loft Safety Gate. This gate retails for about $150. We placed ours at the top of the stairs leading down to the basement and laundry room. It is so easy for me to open and close with one hand full of either laundry or baby. It also is pretty okay to look at and I really don’t mind that it faces the living room and can be seen all day everyday. If they weren’t so expensive I would have bought all three of my gates in this model.

Another style of gate I wanted to cover was the wooden expandable gates. These make me nervous, although, I have to admit I have never owned and tested one. I would love to hear people’s experiences with them. They are very cost effective, although, super ugly. The concern I would have is with larger babies with some “back” to them. They are so lightweight they seem to almost be made of balsam wood. These types of gates would be suitable to block off areas such as hallways, not at the top of stairs though (even though some are hardware mounted, they are too flimsy in my opinion). An ideal location would be to block off the kitchen so you can cook dinner without worrying about a hot accident. This way you are always around the gate while it is in use to make sure baby is safe and gate doesn’t break or collapse.

Since i think baby gates are something you shouldn’t cheap out on, if you can afford to save money on other things I would spend the extra cash here. Your baby’s safety comes first so get something that will support the weight of a large child (since you never know if your baby will have a growth spurt) pushing and pulling on the gate. Keep in mind too that babies can wreak havoc when giving a gate their full force. They may be small but popping out a gate that’s not properly secured or one that is not durable enough is possible. After looking around at everything available I would expect to spend between $70 and $150. There is no need to buy a $200 baby gate but I would also spend the extra $20 to get a gate a bit more durable than the ones available in the $50 price range. But that’s just my opinion 🙂

Also, if you have doubts about what gate to put where buy your gate in a baby store where a staff person can help explain how each gate works. Don’t forget to never put a pressure mounted gate at the top of a staircase!! Hardware mounted only.

Fall Boots for Cozy Toes

I had so much fun dressing my bundle of joy this morning for our trip out I thought I would share with you my favorite picks for fall booties. For me boots still have to look good but they also have to be practical. Practical has many meanings though depending on the age and mobility of your baby. My first pick for smaller babies who are either not mobile or are crawling are the UGG Infants Bixbee boots. These are very soft, easy to put on, and nice and toasty. I wouldn’t necessarily use them for babies who are running around though because they don’t offer a lot of grip on the bottom or a lot of support in the ankle. I don’t think they come in sizes large enough for babies upwards of 8 or 9 months, depending on the size of your baby’s feet of course. They also come in a great variety of colours like grey (I purchased these for my son), pink (dark and light), blue (navy and light), and cream.

My next pick for babies a little more mobile is the Padraig Cottage bootie. These also come in sizes to fit newborns and although they may be a little more difficult to put on tiny feet they would be great for keeping the teeniest of toes warm. They also come in adult sizes, so if you want to dork out and have the whole family match you can! These have a bottom that is suede on the outside and sheepskin on the inside to make for a comfy cushion. Keep in mind though that these are not so good for little walkers outside in wet weather. I would recommend these for a good all round bootie that will see your babe through from lying there tooting to running around the house at mach speed. They also come in a variety of colours.

My last pick is the UGG infant Boo boot. I prefer these over the baby boot they make without the rubber sole so that they can be worn outside. Since you pay a little more for anything made by UGG you might as well get some good use out of it. I like these because you can roll the top up for more coverage, or to fit under pant hems, or you can roll them down to show off the sheepskin. These are a great boot for little ones who are just starting to walk all the way up to about 18 months. At around 18 months to age two I would switch to the classic UGG boot for a little more support and durability.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and keep warm in the months to come!!

Organic Baby Food!

Since my son started to eat solids I have been on a hunt to find good organic baby food that doesn’t taste like a**. Not that I’ve tasted a** but I do taste everything before I give it to him and some of the jarred food i have tried tastes how I imagine a** would. I started off by making some of my own food until I found a great brand available in Canada that has simple ingredients free of fillers and words I can’t pronouce. I would love to tell you I make all of his food but that would be a big fat lie. I also would tell you I felt guilty about that until I found these great products I’m about to share with you. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes when I have had nothing but a pooping, drooling, but very cute silent type small male to hang with all day for weeks on end getting out into the adult world to shop for strange vegetables to blend into a sloppy goup sounds fun. But I’d have to say online shopping for them and unwrapping the large present that shows up at my door a few days later is much more fun.

I’ll start with the brand I found in stores here in Vancouver called Baby Gourmet. This stuff is amazing! Keep in mind the price differs from store to store as I found it at Whole Foods for $1.77 and at Superstore for $1.47. not a huge price difference but every cent counts when you have a little person considering you have to pay for it on the way out too. I found every flavour was delicious and the textures were great. Although, after getting through the first simple single flavours (most of which I homemade as things like sweet potatoes and carrots were only available from those nasty jarred brands) going by the age levels didn’t really matter. For example, my son was eating packs from levels 1 through 3 right from the word go. The packages are easy for on the go as they are like little tetra juice packs with screw on lids that can be squeezed right onto a spoon. This way if babe doesn’t finish the whole thing and you want to use it later you don’t have to worry about germs making babies in there. The only thing I didn’t like about this brand was that it only had a limited number of flavours (15 in total) and after a few months I felt like this could get boring really fast.

 

So my search ventured online for other brands that offered similar ingredients that tasted good….not like a**. I found three other brands that looked worthy of a taste but trying to find companies that would ship to Canada took a few days. Eventually I stumbled upon EcoMom (www.ecomom.com). Here I was able to find what I needed and have it shipped right to my front door. I understand this may not have been the cheaper route to take (I haven’t really added it up and figured out if it was cost effective or not) but in my opinion feeding my children right is super important. You only get one body and what you put in it matters a lot.

My second favorite brand is Happy Baby. These flavours has some amazing savoury options, with Chick Chick being my son’s favourite. They contain great things like quinoa and salboa alongside veggies, meats, and fruits. The training meals offered a great next step into thicker foods and their fruit options had some great additions hidden inside like beets. I was also able to find organic puffs made with kale and spinach

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My third favourite brand was Plum Organics. This company makes fruit blends with the same neat things like beets hidden inside. They also add great grains like quinoa into their fruit blends like Happy Baby. My son’s favourites were Apple Raisin Quinoa and Fruit and Grain Mish Mash (tastes exactly like homemade apple crumble). The only thing I didn’t like was that I found that some of the savoury flavours has a very fine grainy texture to them. I think this may be the rice flour? My son didn’t seem to complain though. They make some great vegetarian training meals as well. Puffs are also available in flavours like Strawberry Beet.

Last is Ella’s Kitchen. This brand has some great options but I have yet to be super impressed with the flavours. My son seems to like the Raisin Prune Baby Brekkie and since he eats so much I like to throw prunes in there every couple days so we don’t end up with an “issue”. I tried the Blueberry Pear Baby Brekkie and almost puked but my nanny said today that she thought it was good so who knows. The packaging is fun and I wish I loved it more but it’s not a brand I will likely purchase a lot of again, at least not the fruits (I found the savoury flavours to not be too bad).

All in all, I am happy I found what I did because I don’t feel like I have to spend the baby’s nap times by chopping up a bunch of boring stuff and blending it into mush. Baby Gourmet and Happy Baby are a huge success with Plum Organics coming in right behind. I would buy the Ella’s Kitchen savoury flavours but not too many of the fruit blends. Happy shopping! Put down the blender and go get a mani pedi or take a nap because the world has finally progressed from the little jars of a** that were available to our mums into a wonderful new age of organic baby foods!

Old World Sandals

One of my favourite stores (which does ship to Canada) for old world classic style is Seattle’s “Flora and Henri” (www.florahenri.com). This store makes me drool and shake like an alcoholic in withdrawal just thinking about it! Although it’s not necessarily in my price range for regular purchases it does have some great stuff for the odd splurge, much like my post the other day about “Advice from a Caterpillar”. Their clothes remind me of children’s clothing in Europe in the 1940’s, complete with beautiful layette for babies, beautiful classic knits, and european leather shoes. Here are a few of my favourite sandals, many are on sale now:

 

Another great shoe company is Pom D’Api. This is a French shoemaker with factories located right next to the world renowned Hermes factory. Why do you care about this little tidbit? Well, although most of us may not be able to afford one of the ridiculously priced Birkin handbags, we may be able to afford teeny shoes for our little ones made out of the scrap leather. Yes, that’s right, Pom D’Api often purchases left over leather from Hermes to make into itty bitty shoes!!! Here are a couple of my favourite styles:

 

 

 

 

Link

Advice from a Caterpillar

So I was just in Toronto for a few days with my hubby and we had a chance to do a little shopping!!! I didn’t have time to check out too many stores but I did find a few great things for my little one. I found a great store at 8 Price Street called “Advice from a Caterpillar”. I love this store! It’s like crack for a shopping addict like myself! Although it is on the pricier side I grabbed a few “treats”. In my suitcase home was a Bon Ton undershirt and pant set, a shirt and hoodie by Petit Bateau, a shirt by L’Esprit de Luna, and a sweater by Album di Famiglia.

This store was full of amazing finds that, although were expensive, were too good to leave. The great thing about Advice from a Caterpillar is that they are just about to launch an online store! This means all their amazing threads will be available Canada-wide for all our little munchkins 🙂 They also carry one of my favourite brands that I haven’t been able to find in Canada since my first son was born 8 years ago, Finger in the Nose.

Finger in the Nose, Bon Ton, and Petit Bateau all hail from France. Album di Famiglia is Italian. Check out my finds below:

Bon Ton undershirt/pant set and Album di Famiglia sweater.

L’Esprit de Luna shirt (brown) and Petit Bateau shirt and hoodie.

Loafers Galore!

Today I am on a loafer kick! Here’s a few of my favorites from Venettini (available in Canada from Saks) and Minnetonka (available at http://www.piperlime.com):

Venettini is a little more pricey but not ridiculous for a nicer pair of well made shoes. They run about $65. Minnetonka is very affordable at $30. I am a big believer in having good shoes as they bear all the weight of the body. I’d rather spend money on a few good pairs of shoes that will last a while than on chiropractors and back specialists later! I will definitely be ordering me a few pairs!

Today’s Outfit

Here’s an axample of how to use shoes to make a simple outfit ooze with cuteness. Today my wee one was wearing Tip Toey Joey “Mocky” shoes in navy leather, a Kik Kid “Romper Shorty Ribbed Jersey” in white, and a navy Gap cardigan. The outfit is still cute without the shoes, but hands down the shoes were what we got all the “oohs and ahhs” over.

Comfy Classics

http://www.toms.ca/chambray-bimini-tiny-toms-classics

Of course we all know about Converse shoes for kids and how cute and versatile they are. My son would wear his black high tops to run around in on the weekend with whatever. He also would wear them out in the evening or to other more formal occasions with a blazer, dress shirt, and skinny jeans. Since they have been around forever I am going to focus on Toms for this post.

I know you probably all know about Toms as well but humour me okay? Here is a pair I found today:

They are a great basic and I love the resemblance to classic boat loafers. Don’t get me started on a good pair of loafers for the little men. Tom’s has some great fabric and colour options, something I don’t see with Converse. With Converse I see options but they are always in dorky cartoon patterns. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing more horrible, in my opinion, than having everything for the kids in my house looking like The Cat in the Hat and Winnie the Pooh puked all over it.

Toms also has a great humanitarian movement attached to the sale of their shoes. For every pair bought, another will be given to a child in need living in a developing country. We may not have a lot of time to give back to others when caring for wee ones so this is a great way to contribute something during the time you are spending anyways outfitting yours truly with shoes.

Toms, and the shoes above, can be found at the link above.

They do ship to Canada!