Ain't No Mom Jeans

Crazy-Gorgeous: Chinny Chin Chin's New Spring Line For Kids

Longtime readers of this blog will know I'm a huge, HUGE fan of Chinny Chin Chin (aka Esther Croak).  I drooled over her 2009 line, we featured her adorable outfit as a mom uniform idea, and now...her newest Spring line debuted last week at the Hopscotch Hustle.

For those of you not familiar with Chinny Chin Chin, she creates stunning, unique designs for kids from vintage fabrics.  Her new line manages to cross 1940's glamour with a little hint of Victorian preciousness, but does it in a fresh, completely kid-friendly and affordable way.  It simply doesn't get any better than Chinny Chin Chin.  I. Want. It. All. 

Independence Building: Self Dressing With Matching Clothing Sets

It’s a sad fact.  From the moment the cord is cut, your child is on a steady march toward independence, and it’s your job (gulp) to help him get there.  As a new mom, I was shocked by how quickly it all started.  I got a little weepy the first time I put away outgrown clothes, packed up disused toys and when I left my small boy wonder in someone else’s arms, even though it was just for the afternoon and even though the arms were my own mom’s.  

Now, two years after my eldest was born, “I DO IT!” is a near-constant battle cry ringing through the halls of our house and I’m always looking for ways to ease the tension as our tiny boy becomes a big boy.  At a parenting workshop I attended recently, educational consultant Laura Barr, of eMergeing, recommended employing independence building techniques to decease friction and build confidence by giving kids more autonomy.  Since employing some of her methods, I’ve seen a budding self-confidence in Huck that truly makes him shine and now, delighted exclamations of “I DID IT!” are quite nearly as common as the more shrill demands of “I DO IT!”  A coups in my book.  

DIY Option for Cool, Winter Hats For Kids

 

For those of you so inclined (and much, much more talented than I am), I found a fantastic DIY option for a cool winter hat with an urban feel.  The Cadet Hat, shown, is a free pattern that you can download from Kathryn Ivy.  It's listed as a project for "all skill levels", which makes me really curious.

I have these urges to create.  To learn how to knit, buy a sewing machine and start making stuff for Raines.  I get it from my mother.  She would, from time-to-time in a fit of motherliness, drag up some old sewing machine from the basement and start sewing pajamas for my sister and I.  Then back down to the basement the ancient sewing machine would go, catching dust until the next pajama fit struck. 

At some point, just like Mom, I regain my sense of reality.  It's good to know your strengths.  We both can cook.

xo,

S

Cool, Urban Winter Hats For Babies and Kids

We don't do cutesy in this family.  We don't do clothing with puppies, kitties, bunnies, or even happy little hammers with slogans like, "Daddy's Little Helper!"  I can't do it.  I.....just....can't....do it.

I'm also not a fan of anything too sporty, too preppy, too scratchy, too stiff. I'm starting to sound like Dr. Seuss.

I do not like them on the street.

I do not like them out to eat!

I do not like that cutesy crap!

I do not like them (gasp) heart-attack!

Anywho. These requirements of mine also extend into hats for the kiddo.  Perhaps it's because the little man has virtually been bald for his entire life (all two years of it) - even now, through his dandelion fluff hair, I can easily see his scalp.  So hats are a way of life.

What I'm looking for are soft, comfy hats with a hip, urban feel. And they are out there - it just takes some looking.  Here are my current favorites for babies & older kiddos (both boys and girls).

Cute Animal Costumes that Won't Overheat Your Baby and Can Be Worn Year Round

Babies don't make very good trick-or-treaters.  They fall asleep just as you'd want to start out, they don't walk by themselves, and unless it's freezing, they have NO interest in wearing the cute hood/footies/mittens that come with their costume...but on the upside, they will most likely be ready to do the circuit at 2AM, should you really hate your neighbors. 

Nonetheless, last year I bought no less than 3 costumes (3!!!) for my little man.  Two of them were Ebay mix-ups (a lion and a chicken  - it's a long story)...but I still went ahead bought the third costume due to the sheer perfectness of concept. 

The lion and chicken costumes were the usual fleecy, hooded, hot style of Halloween costumes.  And they did come in handy for some adorable fall photo shoots on a chilly day (see pic). However, if it hadn't been roughly 40 degrees outside, zipping my son into this costume would've resulted in a stiff leg kicking, back-bending, arm waving screaming fit.  You know - my favorite.    

Most of our actual Halloween activities with baby include a photo shoot and indoor parties or playdates.  So the hot fleeces, for us, are not practical.  Enter my new favorite Halloween costume for babies:  Noo Australia.  Noo makes soft little pants, shirts, hats and booties out of 100% cotton that look like animals.  Even better, they are lightweight, comfy to wear, and are really just outfits - so Raines wore his Bee suit long after Halloween was over (it makes great pajamas, too).  Check 'em out:

Best Beach Bags - Envirosax Bags

I'm a huge Envirosax bag fan. They are lightweight, durable, and come in the best patterns and colors (my current favorite, pictured left, is from their Planet Green line).  I always keep at least one in my diaper bag, lest I should ever find myself in Whole Foods without an environmentally friendly way to transport my groceries.  The Whole Foods cashiers are usually pretty understanding, but I still can't deal with the guilt.  I can only imagine what they would say after I left:

Checkout Girl1:  "OMG this TOTAL mess of a mom came in this morning!  Her kid was only wearing one shoe, had gross cereal bar smeared in his EYES and HAIR and was eating chocolate chips.  And the worst part.....she actually asked for a paper bag!
Checkout Girl2:  "OMG - NO!  She clearly doesn't love her son enough to want to leave him a cleaner planet."
Checkout Girl1:  "I know, right?  I feel sad for him.  Hey - have you tried the new vegan white chocolate blended latte?  Totally gluten free."

In addition to being a fabulous option when buying groceries, I use my Envirosax bags when shopping in the mall, at the Farmer's market, I use them to transport dirty or wet clothes/shoes/blankets/etc  and I've started using them at the pool or the beach.  As beach bags, they are genius.

Best Summer Sandals for Toddlers: Keens

I'm often asked if I'm my son's nanny.  I've even been stopped on the street so someone could remark, "Wow!  He looks NOTHING like you!".  Ummm....thanks?  I guess this would be good news if I were, say, horribly disfigured.  But I'm not, so WTF?  My son is the spitting image of my blond haired, blue eyed husband who tans easily.  I am a dark haired, hazel eyed girl who spells tan L-O-B-S-T-E-R.  But the one thing my son and I have in common is our obsession with water. 

I grew up on the water, and despite my current landlocked locale, am always seeking out water.  It's possible that my little man senses my happiness around water, and therefore has taken it on as his own happiness, but I suspect it's something more.  I, for example, am not nearly as thrilled as he is to see water pouring out of a facet.  Or going down a drain.  I also will not sit for hours playing with a bowl of plain water.  Ok - hours is an exaggeration.  But in toddler-time, it's practically hours.  His water fascination extends to our city's water fountains, mud puddles, sprinklers, a puddle of dog piss on the sidewalk (LOVELY) as well as every little pond or stream that we find while hiking.  It always starts out so fun:  he'll watch the water for a while, then throw something in it, splash around a bit, etc.  It always ends, however with red-faced screaming because his lame parents have yet again thwarted his attempts to fling himself into said body of water.  As he gets bigger (ie faster), he is getting more and more successful.  Our last trip to Boulder ended up with my husband fishing him - sneakers and all - out of the Boulder Creek.  His sneakers took 3 days to dry.  It was time to find some water friendly shoes.  Enter the Keens Kid's Newport H2s.

 

We bought the little man the navy ones (pictured above), but I would've chosen the orange had they been in stock (his only shoes were soaking wet, so I didn't have the luxury of waiting).  However, my very favorite Keens are the girl's version, in Caribbean Sea.  I love how girly-tomboy the Caribbean Sea shoes are.  Very badass.  All shoes pictured can be purchased at zappos.com for $48.

Why are these the best?  First of all, they look cute (unlike, say, Crocs), they don't fall off and can't be easily pulled off (like Crocs), they are waterproof (unlike leather sandals), they have a cushioned footbed and good traction (unlike cheap sandals at Target), and they cover enough of the toes to keep the little ones from hurting themselves when they trip.  We live in an old neighborhood that is a bit of a 'hood, so our sidewalks are pretty brutal.  In addition to the puddles of dog piss, which, incidentally, I really hope was dog piss.  You never know.

xo,
S

Chic, Original Clothing for Kids that is Simply Drool-Worthy and Affordable

Some kids have all the luck.  And Esther Croak's kids will, thanks to their very talented mom, always have cool in spades.  Meet Esther Croak, aka Chinny Chin Chin.  Chinny Chin Chin is a clothing line for kids made from re-purposed and vintage fabrics.  Her new Spring 2009 line, Almost Famous, launched at last week's Hopscotch Hustle Benefit (a hip mom and baby fashion show that I had the honor and pleasure to be a part of).  I'll have more coverage on the fashion show in the days to come, but I was so taken with everything Chinny Chin Chin that I simply couldn't wait.  Her line is a little big boho, a little bit rocker, but SO chic and clean.  It's so good, in fact, that it's almost wasted on the kids!  Almost.  What I find so refreshing - besides the use of re-purposed fabric - is the fact that she manages to infuse a children's line with chic, never veering into the realm of cutesy, fussy or trying to hard.  She just offers great design, great lines, and great fabric.  It's a recipe so deceptively simple that you almost miss the genius behind it.  And the fact that this line is also so ridiculously affordable (prices range from $6 - $44) is simply the icing on the cake.  Now if she would just offer these looks in slightly larger sizes....say a kid's size 20? 

All of the items from the Almost Famous line are available in Chinny Chin Chin's recently launched online store!  Lucky, lucky us.  To tempt you even further, I've included more pics from her new line.  Usually, little girls' clothing options far outshine the boys' clothing options, but in this line....hmmmm.  I'm kind of partial to the rockstar vest and pants (below).  I haven't seen anything like it.  It would be SO adorable at a wedding.  And the little girl wearing the dress with the scarf and sunglasses?  I hope to someday look that cool.

.   

    

xo,
S

Best Rain Boots for Kids

I love the rain. Growing up in the overcast Midwest, I suppose it reminds me of my childhood.  Forks (for you Twilight fans) has nothing on the little beach town I grew up in.  Rainy days were not necessarily spent indoors - you'd be indoors half your life.  You simply threw on your boots and went out.  (If you were me at age 4, you would take this instruction literally and leave the house with nothing but rain boots.  They were red.  I loved them.)

So visiting my parents in Victoria, BC (that's Canada, folks) brought me right back to my roots...aka it rained/drizzled most of the time.  Undaunted, the little man and I went out and his shoes were soaked within an hour.  Oh darn.  Time to buy rain boots!  His first pair.  I was SO excited - it seemed like a rite of passage.  I had visions of finding the most perfect boot - did I want the classic yellow?  Something a little punk? Unfortunately, in a city like Victoria where rains for most of the winter, most boots fly off the shelves in November.  I was left with only one choice:  camo.  It physically hurt to hand over my credit card to purchase what I considered to be the red-neck version of a rain boot.  But the boot slowly grew on me.  And you have to admit they look pretty cute in the pic above.  The one thing I did love immediately was the brand:  Splashers.  Splashers rain boots are made in Canada (Yay!  Not China!), have a moisture wicking inner lining, are completely puddle (or ocean) proof and sturdy as hell.  With the exception of the camo print, their other designs are very, very cool.  Exactly what I had been looking for.  My favorites are a shockingly sophisticated plaid, a graphic black and white flower pattern and a pretty bad-ass pirate motif (all pictured below).  You can buy Splashers for about $17 - $26 American dollars from www.theshoecompany.com, a Canadian retailer that ships to the US.  So don't hide out on those rainy days, eh?  

 

xo,

S

'70s Flashback Organic Cotton Footie Pajamas

I have to share with you the most ridiculously adorable (and eco/baby friendly!) footie pajamas.  When you see your precious child in these, you'll immediately flashback to those Saturday morning cartoon marathons spent slurping down Lucky Charms on rust-colored shag carpet, only without the athletes foot-inducing plastic feet or all the pesticides we all rolled around in and ate. 

For your nostalgic parenting pleasure, I submit the organic cotton footie pajama by Pixel Organics, available at my favorite one-stop green baby shop, HappyGreenBaby.com.  These fab, retro-inspired pajamas are soft, freaky cute, functional and they’re easy on the environment and your babe.  

The nearly $50 suggested retail is jaw dropping, but HappyGreenBaby.com is offering these cute snooze togs on final sale at the rock bottom price of $26.99!  The sale price puts them on par with Gap pajamas, which don’t have fire retardants but are made with conventional cotton.  I’m stockin’ up! 

HGB carries the blush pink, sky blue and spring green color options, but you can check out additional color choices (though at the full $47 MSRP) as well as a bevy of other fabulous organic thangs at Pixel Organics.

Pictured here is my dear son, clearly pleased he is lounging sans pesticides and in water-based, low impact dyes.

- M