Mommies With Style

Even though I’m only 16 weeks pregnant right now with my third child, I’m drooling over Oilo Studio’s fantastic crib bedding. We’re going to have to redo our nursery bedding again, when our third child arrives this summer.  We had boring white bedding for our first child (used on my son’s toddler bed now) and our second child, a daughter, is still in a crib, using beautiful pink organic bedding, from Until Kara. #3 will be a boy and we’re going to have to start from scratch.

Oilo’s Modern Berries Crib Set ($399) would be perfect for my upcoming arrival’s crib bedding. White with sage green, it’s patterned after the red currant berries that grow in Norway and can work for a boy or a girl. Included in the set is a 100% woven cotton bumper and bed skirt, a zippered slip cover bumper, fitted cotton percale crib sheet. It’s machine washable and made in the USA.  While we didn’t use bumpers until both our children approached a year old, I like to have them included in a set.

Exclusive for MWS Readers: Purchase at  www.oilostudio.com — use code: mws2010 to receive a 15% discount on any order.

Before my family left for Disney World earlier this month, I had a small pile of products to sample on my office desk.  It was my “test in Disney” pile.  A journal from Rag & Bone Bindery sat at the top of the pile.  I didn’t bring it.

Why?  I couldn’t bring myself to use it in Disney.  And I didn’t reject this product from my trip because it wasn’t useful – I didn’t pack it because it was just too beautiful.  There was no way I was putting this gorgeous handmade bound book anywhere near my two dirty kids.

This book is all mine.  In fact, last night my husband asked, “is that your new day planner?”  He thought I had started using it as a new day planner (not knowing it was a blank journal) because I had been carrying it around so much.  It’s that nice.

Looking for something unique, handmade and gorgeous for your child’s baby book, a journal or wedding album?  Look no further than Rag & Bone Bindery.  My review can’t do the quality of this book justice – visit the site and check it out for yourself.

Use coupon code MWS for 15% off all regularly priced items at Rag & Bone Bindery.

For him: My husband tells me a good pen not only looks the part, but feels the part. And he’ll look like a stud in the boardroom wtih a Faber-Castell Mondoro Pen. With a barrel made of polished precious resin and the cap and ends created of polished and chrome-plated metal, this masculine pen is a gift to write home about (and he will. With a pen.)

For the techie: The ridiculous amount of wires gathering around our charging station was overwhelming my kitchen, so it was a huge relief to get to test the Powermat, a mat that allows many electronics to charge wirelessly. The pad comes with attachements for cell phones (check yours on the list before buying), ipods, Nintendo DS’ and more. But if you want to lay your electronic device flat on the pad, you’ll need to buy additional attachments that will allow them to charge without a wire. Its a bit of an investment, but so worth it if the wires are making you batty. And for the traveling techie, Powermat released a travel item that folds up and takes up much less space. (By-the-way, you’ll still need to plug the mats in to an outlet.)

For your tween: If she has a DS, then run, run, run to the store and grab her one of the Style Lab games by Ubisoft. It is just so fun to apply and reapply make up with Makeover and to create jewelry in their Jewelry Design game. If she’d prefer a game a little less Diva, try out Ubisoft’s Imagine series which includes games like Zookeeper and Soccer Captain.

For your 5ish-year-old: While my 6-year-old still hasn’t lost a tooth, he’ll be prepared to lose one because he’s getting a pillow from The Wiggly Tooth Factory. Its an adorable mini-pillow-sized tooth with a pocket, available in fun fabrics with a so cute face. Someday (and likely, his dentist predicts, close to his 7th birthday) he’ll hide his tooth in the pocket to be replaced by a magical toothfairy (who already has a stack of golden dollars, hidden away.) Anyway, I know its a little close to Valentine’s Day, but this one is so cute that I had to mention it. So order now. Because even if you don’t gift on Valentine’s Day, you just never know when you’re going to need a Tooth Fairy Pillow, and you don’t want to be without!

For your Mother-in-Law: We gave my MIL a Reisenthel Shopper e2 bag for Christmas this year (and kept another for us.) She just melted over this bag. Its perfect for the weekend traveler, the shopper and, well, the bag lady. This bag expands, bottoms up, allowing for you to fill your bag more than you planned. Which you know your Mother-in-Law is likely to do.

For your Preschooler: My 4-year-old grabbed the Yubo lunchbox as soon as he saw it. He loves pretend-play and the box looks like a little piece of fancy luggage. So when he opened it and realized he could fit a sandwich and two snacks inside, he was in heaven. (It comes with containers). Plus, it comes with a freezer pack made to fit inside perfectly. All the pieces fit perfectly inside and the lid slides right on. The bonus feature: you can change the look with interchangable faceplates.

For baby: California Baby’s I Love You! Collection offers massage oil, spritzer and bubble bath made with all-natural, organic aromatherapeutic products specially blended to encourage relaxation and relieve tension. Baby will love the attention. And afterhours you and hubby may want to borrow it.

 We wish you all special time with your loved ones this Valentine’s Day!

Thanks to California Baby, Yubo, Reisenthel, Wiggly Tooth Factory, Ubisoft, Faber-Castell, Powermat and their agents for providing samples for Mommies with Style.

Have a used car seat/stroller/bassinet, etc. lying around? I have a few old car seats that are from my daughter and I don’t think they are safe to use for my 2-year old son. So when I heard about the “Great Trade-In” event, I was thrilled!

Through Saturday, February 20th, Babies “R” Us and Toys “R” Us stores are holding the “Great Trade-In” event providing their customers with the opportunity to trade-in any used car seats, strollers, cribs, bassinets, travel systems, play yards, toddler beds or high chairs in exchange for a 25% off savings on the purchase of a new baby item, in any of the product categories from select manufacturers. Participating brands are: Britax, Babi Italia, Baby Cache, Baby Trend, Bergamo, Bertini, Carter’s, Chicco, Contours by Kolcraft, Cosco, Delta, Eddie Bauer, Evenflo, Graco, Jeep, Little Tikes, Safety 1st, Sorelle and Step2.

The “Great Trade-In” event places an emphasis on specific baby products, that due to safety concerns, may not be the best candidates to be handed down or resold. Beyond recalls, certain older and used baby items can be potentially unsafe for a variety of reasons, including damage or lack of compliance with recent advances in product safety standards.

You don’t need to have purchased the item you want to “trade-in” from TRU or BRU. You can bring in multiple items and you will be given one 25% off discount for each item traded in. The discount must be used that day on another item from the participating categories and manufacturers. Trade-In items and purchased items can be from different categories.

Jolee Klugherz and I have been friends since I was younger than Little. I am, and have always been, in awe of her talent.

1o years ago I received the most beautiful engagement gift: artwork by Jolee. Since they day we received it, my husband and I have hung the art in a prominent place in our home. Our Let’s Toast picture  includes terms of love, endearment, trust and excitment. 

This fall, in honor of Little’s birth, we were gifted a baby design in the flower style, also by Jolee Klugherz. What makes this so special is that its completely personalized. More than just Little’s name and birthdate, the picture includes her brothers’ names, the huz’ and my names, height, weight and more.

What I love about the artwork at JRK Designs is the way personalized words so easily mesh into the art. Every time we look at the pictures we notice new words and terms. From afar, it looks to be a funky design around a focus point, but as one walks closer to inspect, she realizes the detail in the art.

JRK Designs can be gifted for weddings, babies, children, house warmings and other celebrations. In addition to the word designs series, you’ll find paintings in a similar style as well as one-of-a-kind beaded pens (great teacher and family gifts.)

Both pictures were gifted to me during milestones in my life.

It’s fair to say that diaper changing is not the most celebrated responsibility of mommyhood.  And while I’m waiting for my little one to arrive, I’m certainly keeping my eyes peeled for anything that could make the job a little less messy.  Bottom’s Up Baby Gear’s changing pad cover helps minimize the mess while also cutting back on laundry.  Solving one problem while alleviating another?  I’m sold!

With their patented design, Bottom’s Up Baby Gear has created a changing pad cover that provides a plush upper half for baby’s comfort and a wipeable bottom half for mommy’s easy cleaning.  A typical changing pad cover needs to be tossed in the wash after every messy diaper change.  With this cover, clean-up is as simple as a quick wipe. 

The high-quality, vinyl bottom is both non-absorbent and extermely durable.  By using baby wipes or disinfectant wipes, an accident during a diaper change can be resolved in seconds.  Plus there’s peace of mind knowing that your baby’s skin is always touching a clean surface.  The top portion is created with ultra-snuggly minky dot fabric offering a more soothing experience for your baby.  Each cover also comes with a matching pillow contoured to support a baby’s head and neck.

When needed, the sections can be detached by a zipper allowing for separate laundering or swapping out colors for a new look.  You can change the look of your cover to match a nursery by mixing and matching bottoms and tops.  Choose from nine color options for the minky dot (white, light blue, light yellow, light pink, dark pink, sage, dark blue, latte, and chocolate) and two vinyl selections (white and chocolate).  The cost savings of not needing multiple changing pad covers practically pays for itself.

For a cleaner way to solve a messy problem, Bottom’s Up Baby Gear’s changing pad cover can be purchased for $39.98 online.  Use coupon code baby and receive free shipping until 1/31/10.

You know, not all baby gifts are sunshine, roses, butterflies and balloons. Or even teddy bears. In fact, cableorganizer.com sent me a sample of their Child Safety kit and, upon really looking at it, I’m thinking it may be one of the greatest holiday or baby gifts one can receive. Because, really, with the holidays rolling around I can tell you we don’t need another teddy bear, baby blanket or burp cloth or bottle. But what we do need is to make our home safe for our oh-so-curious (and very rapidly growing) 4 month old.

The kit, which retails for less than $60, includes over 100 safety items. Items that keep your child safe from electrical and common household danger. In just the one kit you’ll receive outlet covers, cable tubes (which keep the wires inside and hidden away), drawer locks, corner cushions (for tables and, in the the case of my home, hearths), and much more. There are so many safety things to think about, this set makes the thinking a little easier, because so much is provided for you.

So, while the parents still have to do the work of making the house safe, what a big help a safety gift really is. (Come to think of it, it’s probably a pretty good idea to send this set to the grandparent’s houses, too. Just a sly little reminder that everyone needs to safety proof!)

Blue Aster Designs creates amazing multi media collage art that is simply beautiful! They specialize in magnetic memo boards, magnetic photo frames, memory books, framed invitations and customized photography art.

Last year when I was searching for the perfect memo board for my kids’ rooms, I was amazed at how expensive the boards can be. So when I happened to attend a show and spotted a gorgeous Magnetic Memo Board from Blue Aster Designs that was more in my price range, I was so excited! These unique boards are completely magnetic and can incorporate your choice of specialty papers, wall papers, scanned fabric images, chalkboard or photography. The board can be specified to whatever color, theme, or photo you would like. I did a sports theme for my son’s and a pink with purple theme for my daughter’s. The memo boards are finished with color coordinated ribbons or brads. Included with the boards are fabulous magnets that are handmade out of polymer clay. They are really neat and I haven’t seen anything like them! The inside dimensions are 16”x 20” with a 2″ wide frame, which is available in many colors. In addition, they can also be made with a clipless frame, to appear frameless. A smaller version of the magnetic memo board is available in an 11”x 14” size, which is great for smaller spaces. These smaller boards are frameless, can stand-up with an easel back, or hang from a ribbon. Similar to the larger boards, these can be customized to your color or theme and all come with 5 clay magnets. Both boards would look great in your kitchen, office, bedroom, play room or just about anywhere in your house. They are truly distinctive works of art!

I also adore their unique Photo Frames. These frames are created from your favorite photos and make up a collage matte that surround a magnetic board or framed mementos. The sample I was sent has pictures of my kids from the past few years surrounding a magnetic piece. It is so precious and stands proudly in my kitchen to keep notes and such out in plain view for me to see. The notes are held up by these adorable clay letter magnets that spell family. I always receive complements on how neat it is when someone comes over. The Photo Frames are offered in sizes 11”x 14” and 16”x 20”. Personalized letter magnets are available as well.

Fabulous for gift-giving, Blue Aster Designs creates works of art for all occasions! Their art is perfect for the person that has everything, the person you really want to get something unique for or if you just like to do something a little different with your photos! Prices range from $22.50 to $150.00 plus tax & shipping depending on size and product.  Give them a call (609-320-8039) or e-mail to discuss your order. They have a website and are on Facebook which is their online catalogue. They are currently offering a 10% discount on purchases of $50.00 or more to anyone who become a Facebook fan.

This Good Nite Lite behavioral modification nightlight is all about me. Sure it keeps my kids from feeling insecure in the middle of the night, but lets look at what that means for ME, shall we? A secure kid falls back asleep. Kids asleep = mom asleep. Well rested mom = happy mom.

Where this nightlight succeeds and other frequently fail, is in the wee small hours of the morning when kids are not asleep, and mommy still is, and thus the kids think mommy should not be asleep, mommy should be playing with and feeding them and reading them a story, and going for a walk around the block. It’s not entirely their fault. It’s hard to know when it’s officially time to get up when you cannot read a clock. Furthermore it can be tricky deciding when bedtime is. These days it’s dark at dinnertime. So how is a toddler to know the gravy train has ended and it’s time to hit the hay? Simple, with the Good Nite Lite.

The Good Nite Lite has two modes, night and day, and changes color to indicate which one we’re currently enjoying (enjoying, as in sleeping!). You set the times, so you can customize the official start of sleepytime and beginning of wakeytime to your own schedule. The nightlight brightens, turns yellow and switches to day mode when it’s time to get up and go!

Studies have shown that the use of a bright night light in your child’s room can actually disturb natural sleep cycles and set up bad habits for life. This sort of night light (not so bright) is much healthier and better for them. Yeah yea yeah. That’s a definitely a great argument for purchasing this product. You should share it with your inlaws and fellow parents. Tell everyone that you’re getting it for your child’s health and well being. But between us? Get it for your own sanity!

The squirmy wiggliness of babies is one of their most endearing qualities.  When it’s time for a diaper change though, the constant movement can prove to be more than a little challenging and messy.  With its circular design and 30″ diameter, the Patemm Pad offers a practical and stylish solution to diaper changing drama. 

Grace Welch, founder of Patemm Pads, struggled to keep her wiggling child on a rectangular changing pad.  When baby #2 came along, the effort of keeping an infant still while changing became overwhelming, especially while on the go.  She knew there had to be a better way, but couldn’t find one.  So she did the next best thing and designed one of her own.  And to honor her inspiration, she named her creation after her first two children – Patrick and Emma.

The Patemm Pad’s large circular design is surrounded by pockets perfect for storing diapers, wipes and even a change of clothes.  And because it’s designed to hold so much, it serves as a sleek alternative to a bulky, everyday diaper bag.  The best feature is the ease of which you can fold the Patemm Pad all up with only one hand.  I know that this alone will save me many headaches once my little one comes along!

Crafted in San Francisco, the Patemm Pad is made with eco-friendly, PVC-free, stylish prints in CPSIA certified laminated cotton.  They truly do have some beautiful prints to choose from, several in organic cotton.  The Patemm Pads are offered in a range of prices starting at $55.  But, you can receive 10% off any order until 12/31/09 by entering coupon code MWS.

A sample of the Patemm Pad was provided for this review by the company.