Mommies With Style

Who needs a boring yellow rain slicker? Kidorable makes awesome rainwear for children — as well as many other children’s accessories like knitwear (inc. winter hats, gloves and scarves), backpacks, and towels. Their products are grouped by use as well as fun themes — choose from such fun styles as Bee, Butterfly, Dinosaur, Fairy, Fireman, Frog, Madonna’s The English Roses, Ladybug, Lotus, Mermaid, Pirate, plus the newest styles: Lucky Cat, and Space Hero.

We saw samples of Kidorable’s Fireman Rain Coat, Fireman umbrella and Ladybug Rain Coat. My four year old son adores anything fireman-related, you can imagine the look of awe on his face when he saw the Fireman Rain Coat and Umbrella. The details on the raincoat were terrific – the hood looks like a fireman’s helmet and close the rain coat by snapping it from the inside and then connecting the black plastic buckles (like a real fireman’s coat). The rain coat has bright yellow reflective detailing on the arms and around the mid-section area. On the back of the rain coat it says “fire rescue”.  Sizes range from 1T to 6x.  Every rain coat comes with a free matching hanger. The umbrella was sturdy, well made and perfect for little hands to maneuver! To check out the rest of the Fireman Collection, click here.

My two year old daughter loved the bright and shiny red Ladybug Rain Coat ($36). Red with black polka dots on the hood and cuffs, the rain coat snaps closed easily. We liked the ladybug applique on the right pocket and the zippers that closed both pockets.

The company sent review samples of their Fireman Rain Coat, Fireman umbrella and Ladybug Rain Coat.

Little’s been wearing this adorable design lately. Upon seeing it, her aunt commented “she should wear it around old ladies who want to touch her face.” Of course, once I reminded her that the purpose of “respect” was to be respectful of the earth, she commented, “wait, aren’t all natural things supposed to be green?” Well, not anymore!

Green Sproutlets’ line is bright, colorful and cheerful. Most of their girls clothing includes the bright pink shown here and the circles pattern. And the boy’s clothing substitutes the pink with blue. I just love the look because its so different from the natural and greens that you see on most organic clothing.

I love organic and bamboo clothing. They’re so soft, thicker and hold up so well, there’s definitely a difference between “natural” clothing and “regular”.

Between now and February 28, 2010, receive a free 3-pack Bamboo terry washcloth in natural color with a minimum purchase of $50 or more. No code required.

My 4 year old son suddenly got very fashion conscious this year — about his winter hat! I had picked up a cute hot pink Kitty Cat Hat from Target for my daughter and my son wanted it for himself. We were lucky enough to test out the funky tide blue fish hat ($7.50) and mittens ($7.50) from The Children’s Place. The quality was good and the whimsical hat made us both laugh!Features include polyester fleece, appliques and embroidery, long side flaps which totally cover little ears.

The Children’s Place offers a bunch of other animal hats and mittens, for sizes 6 months up to 4T: a lion hat and mittens, a pink kitten hat (out of stock), and a Monkey hat (out of stock) and mittens. We also liked the monkey hat and mittens so much that we braved the mall, after Thanksgiving, to buy the monkey hat and mittens (which are now sold out online – call your local store to see if it’s in stock).

For the babies, choose the Furry Friends Hat line ($7.50) for ages newborn to- 12 months.

The Children’s Place provided a sample blue fish hat and mittens for review purposes.

Looking for a few little gifts to fill her stocking?  Need something small for a friend?  Here are a few last minute ideas:

Keep mom on her feet with GRiPPiES products.  These adhesive grips are perfect for pregnant moms to prevent slipping.  I’m not always wearing shoes or slippers when I’m home.  With a house full of hardwood floors and the instability of a 7-month pregnant belly, adding GRiPPiES to a few pairs of my socks has really helped to keep me upright!  They offer two lines of products: iron on adhesives and peel + stick adhesives.  GRiPPiES can also be used for kids’ socks and tights.  Once applied, they are machine washable and dryer safe.  GRiPPiES retail for $5.99 and can be found at Target stores, Buy Buy Baby, or grippiesonline.com.

With all the stuff that travels with mom and baby, it’s difficult to stay organized and quickly find what you need.  The last thing you want to do is crawl around the backseat looking for a missing binky.  Bella Tunno’s best-selling Bella Binker keeps binkies close and clean and is simply designed to take up minimal space – no more life-size giraffe and teddy bear clips!  Bella Binkers are made from grosgrain ribbon with a simple silver clasp and velcro loop.  There are almost 100 stylish designs to choose from to make a child’s outfit funkier and a mom’s life easier.  They retail for $8 and can be found in more than 4,000 boutiques nationwide as well as online at bellatunno.com.

Help mom pamper herself for a good cause with Perfect As Is Lip Balm.  This ultra-moisturizing tinted lip balm is 75% organic, and all profits, after taxes, go to support women’s health advocacy and human rights issues.  The .25 oz tube has a fatter than normal packaging making it easy to find in a messy purse/diaper bag and simple to apply.  It smells and tastes delicious thanks to the rosebud oil and stevia it’s infused with.  It feels smooth and silky for hours after application and has a sheer pink tint to add a bit of color.  Perfect As Is Lip Balm retails for $7 and can be purchased at iamapeacekeeper.com or at select Parfumerie Douglas.

Give a naturally sweet mom some naturally sweet snacks.  Peeled Snacks are individually wrapped servings of dried fruit.  The snacks have no added sugar, oils, preservatives or other fillers and provide a full serving of fruit.  These organic snacks are a natural source of vitamins, minerals and fiber.  The small packages are quick and easy to throw into a diaper bag for a quick, healthy snack.  They’re not too sweet like many of the other dried fruits available today. You can buy them individually or in gift packs with cute gift boxes or, my favorite, the Cute-2-the-Core Gift Box which includes one of each flavor as well as an adorable onesie. Available flavors include apple, pineapple, apriocot, mango, banana, and cherry. Peeled Snacks can be purchased at Whole Foods, Amazon.com, Nordstrom, or at peeledsnacks.com.

Mom doesn’t have to change her shirt after a deodorant mishap. With just one wipe of a Skid Out sponge, deodorant, drips and drool simply disappear. This specially-textured sponge has no need for moisture and is not treated with any chemicals. It’s safe to use on almost all fabrics. Use it to remove toothpaste stains, baby drool, pet hair, deodorant skids, and makeup smudges. Best of all – it really works! This small round sponge is perfect to throw in your purse and keep in the bathroom where most of these mistakes happen. The sponges come in packages of two and retail for $4.95. They can be bought at Nordstrom stores or online at drugstore.com and garmentguard.com.

Samples of these products were provided for review on Mommies with Style.

There are items appearing under the tree this year for my 3 year old daughter from a company I didn’t expect. Avon. When I hear Avon, I usually think make-up. But they offer so much more. One item that I know will be a huge hit is Natalie, a Madame Alexander doll. Made by the world-famous doll maker, the three dolls offered are Avon exclusives. Each doll is 18″ tall and is poseable. For the collector, the dolls come with certificates of authenticity. Madame Alexander dolls are known for their quality and these dolls are no exception. Avon is offering them for $49 each, which is less than other dolls in this category. You can even purchase an outfit for your daughter to match your doll’s. So cute and so much fun.

Avonalso recently introduced their first-ever kid’s collection, featuring both cozy knits and dressy ensembles. Avon’s 2009 Fairytales Collection has items for both boys and girls and best of all nothing is over $49. Avon is giving away one clothing item or set from this collection to one lucky Mommies With Style reader. Enter to win by subscribing to our newsletter. If you are already subscribed, you are already entered! This giveaway runs through December 28nd. One winner will be announced on or after December 29rd.

Avon provided samples for review.

I love giving original, thoughtful gifts to a friend when they have a new baby and I have a few mainstays on my list.

However, my latest find will be added to the top of my list from now on! Mitetees carries a line of awesome tees that will have your friends oohing and ahhing over them! Mitetees sent me their Production tee that I thought was so adorable and unique that it went straight to the top of my list for new baby gifts to give!

 The tee I love has my husband’s last name and my maiden name on it with a 2nd edition phrase, for our 2nd child. For example if my maiden name was Smith and my husband’s last name was Jones, the tee would read “a Smith & Jones production”, 2nd edition. I have several girlfriends that are always calling me to see what unique baby gifts I can recommend. I sent a bunch of them to the Mitetees site and they couldn’t wait to start ordering gifts! The tees come in 4 different colors and sizes 3-6 months-6T. They are available in a onesie and short or long sleeve tees. Use code MWS09 to save $4 off your order through December 31, 2009.

Considering that I spend much of my youth either in New England (cold) or the greater Chicago area (colder), you’d think I wouldn’t be such a wimp when it comes to the cold and the winter.  Alas, I’m a total wuss and can’t stand the cold.  As hubby says, I’m destined for early retirement and 5 pm dinners in Florida. 

I’ve been living in Philadelphia for 10 years now – which is considerably warmer than anywhere I lived growing up, yet I still groan and moan when the frost comes out.

I’m sure it’s no surprise that I bundle myself and my kids up more than the normal Mom.  I am telling you guys this  because I really want to communicate how much it takes to impress me with a jacket or any kind of outerwear during the winter months. 

This year, Lands’ End provided my oldest son with a sample jacket of the Boys’ Sport Squall Parka.  It is by far one of the most warm kids’ jackets we’ve ever owned.  In fact, I’ve used it as a blanket for my legs in the car on long road trips (when I’m usually freezing while the rest of the fam is comfy as clams) – and let me tell you guys, this thing keeps the wearer toasty warm.

And it’s vital that my son be in decent outerwear this year – he’s now in Kindergarten and when he gets off the bus at school each morning, they line up outside for up to 15 minutes at a time.  He’s complained many times of cold ears or cold hands but when I’ve pressed him he’s told me, “the only thing that isn’t cold is where my jacket covers me, Mom.”  Seriously. 

Other items of interest about the Boys’ Sports Squall:
- it’s thin – no puffy Pillsbury dough kids here, it’s made of PolarThin, a material that insulates up to -10 degrees Fahrenheit.
-it has a reflective trim for outside, evening wear

It’s currently on sale – in fact the entire website of Lands End is 25% off until end of day, Monday December 14th.  Use coupon code FREEDEC14 with pin 3521 to receive your 25% off if it doesn’t come off automatically.

My daughter lives in leggings! I guess it’s something about how comfortable they are and how easy they can be to get on and off! She has lots of plain leggings in many solid colors. So when my daughter was sent a sample of the Butter Cream Lace Icing with Sprinkles by designer Angela Frost, I literally couldn’t get them off of her. They are the most gorgeous leggings this mom has ever seen! They are super sweet and adorable and have a beautiful whimsical print with sparkly rhinestones adorned on the leggings. My daughter loves how comfortable they are thanks to the sag, snag performance Lycra they are made from. They are made in the US from the same nylon used in swimwear which gives high wear, brilliant color and comfort. Lace Icing with Sprinkles come in 8 different colors and in sizes 2-6x. They come in a Capri length which is great to wear with ballet flats in warmer weather or with boots for cooler days! They are fabulous for gift giving as well, since they come perfectly packaged in their beautiful gift box with silver grey ribbon and a pretty pink and silver foil butterfly gift card. Flutter by Leggings confections can be purchased in many boutiques nationwide.

I love to play around with all types of clothing styles on my boys. I find they look super-cute in traditional clothing, especially around holiday time. Olive Juice, a website filled with adorable yet classic, traditional, high-quality clothing styles for boys and girls, has some great options for my kids.

From outerwear, to loungewear, to tops, pants, dresses, and skirts, Olive Juice has a ton of great styles in lots of colors and sizes. They have a nice holiday selection, as well as shoes, and classic toys and books, too.

Olive Juice is definitely a nice site to check out if you like traditional styles but want something beyond your everyday mall type clothing… something that not everyone has. Their clothing sort of reminds me of clothes that kids would have worn long ago when attention to detail was much finer and time was much slower. Their pieces have a great attention to detail and many special elements.

Now through the end of November, make any purchase on Olive Juice and save 10%. Use code MWSNOV. (Good on everything except gift cards.) And make sure you sign up for their catalog (which is great, I have to say) on their site to stay on top of their lines.

Use coupon code Style35 to receive 35% off your order

You guys may remember Rothschild Kids from when you were a kid yourself – they’ve been around for 125 years and they’re still going strong.  They make quality outerwear – winter coats and more – for kids ages newborn up through a big kids size 20

Rothschild sent us a Color-Block Snowboard Jacket for my 5 1/2 year old.  This will be his second season skiing so we need a jacket that means business and will keep him warm as he’s safely zooming down the mountain.

Use coupon code Style35 to receive 35% off your entire order at Rothschild Kids.  Be sure to check out the snow bibs and ski pants as well.