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Wait a minute: Ceramic, breakable mugs for little kids? I know, it doesn’t sounds like a great idea, but bear with me! The summer my son turned four, I was getting tired of plastic cups of milk and juice always getting tipped over at dinnertime — they’re unbreakable, which is nice, but not heavy enough to withstand accidental bumps — so I bought eight of these white mugs. They’re sturdy (but not too heavy), reasonably priced, and perfectly kid-sized, and they’re dishwasher-, microwave- and oven-safe. Hooray for no more spilled drinks! Plus, if you’re worried about plastic (no judgment from me if not — we have plenty in our house), they provide a great option. (Because the product description reads, “Clean-lined design in white porcelain is ideal for everyday enjoyment of your favorite hot pick-me-up,” it kind of makes me question whether these are actually meant for kids, but that’s probably just a general description, as they also offer the same mug in a larger size.) The mugs are available at Crate & Barrel for $1.95 each (pictured here with the larger size for comparison); right now you can also buy a cute winter/holiday design ($3.95) Sales of note for 9.10.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 30% off your purchase
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 20% off
- Boden – 15% off new styles
- Eloquii – $29 and up select styles; up to 50% off everything else
- J.Crew – Up to 50% off wear-to-work styles; extra 30% off sale styles
- J.Crew Factory – 40-60% off everything; extra 60% off clearance
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Extra 40% off sale styles
- Talbots – BOGO 50% everything, includes markdowns
- Target – Car-seat trade-in event through 9/28 — bring in an old car seat to get a 20% discount on other baby/toddler stuff.
- Zappos – 26,000+ women’s sale items! (check out these reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and some of our favorite kids’ shoe brands on sale)
Kid/Family Sales
- Carter’s – Birthday sale, 40-50% off & extra 20% off select styles
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off all baby; up to 40% off all Halloween
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Extra 30% off sale styles
- Old Navy – 40% off everything
- Target – BOGO 25% off select haircare, up to 25% off floor care items; up to 30% off indoor furniture up to 20% off TVs
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- The concept of “backup care” is so stupid…
- I need tips on managing employees in BigLaw who have to leave for daycare pickup…
- I’m thinking of leaning out to spend more time with my family – how can I find the perfect job for that?
- I’m now a SAHM and my husband needs to step up…
- How can I change my thinking to better recognize some of my husband’s contributions as important, like organizing the shed?
- What are your tips to having a good weekend with kids, especially with little kids? Do you have a set routine or plan?
Preemie Mom says
Thinking a wagon might be a good gift to suggest that grandma and grandpa get LO (13 months) for Christmas – one that he and another kid his same age could ride in, likely for a short walk this spring to the playground a couple blocks away. Any recommendations? Looks like the two top choices on Amazon are the deluxe Radio Flyer and various Step Two wagons, the high-end versions of which have seat belts, trays, and a canopy. Are those extra features useful?
mascot says
If space is a concern, the folding utility wagons are great. They can hold a couple of kids easily. They aren’t made for kids specifically, but they are good for picnics, the beach, etc. There are pockets on the outside for water bottles and such.
Faye says
We have the deluxe Radio Flyer, with the canopy and cooler/bag, and love it. The cooler is probably my favorite feature – we stuff everything we need in there and can go hands free for the day. As mascot said, my only downside to this is storage space. It’s not small and doesn’t collapse, so it fits in my giant SUV but not many other vehicles.
JJ says
We have this same wagon and love it. It’s huge and barely fits in my crossover’s trunk, and we have to store it outside because it just eats up space in the house, but my kids love it.
The second says
Back at work after maternity leave (first time) today… Happy thoughts?! I handed her off in her little jacket this morning and my heart burst.
anon says
Good luck!!! It really does get easier, a little bit every day.
Anon in NYC says
Oh, hugs. It’s hard, but my daughter (5.5 months) is learning so much in daycare and is being exposed to so many things that I just wouldn’t think to do with her at her age. For example, they played with bubbles (she loved them), and made artwork (exposing her to new tactile sensations). They are teaching her how to feed herself from the bottle, which I wouldn’t have even thought to do yet. She gets to play with toys that we don’t have at home, and I think (hope) she will become a more adaptable child because we can’t get into a rut.
MDMom says
I could have written this response. It is so hard at first though. For me it got better quickly. The anticipation/dread was the worst part. Hang in there!
mascot says
We moved to actual glasses, silverware, and dishes around age 4. Small juice glasses/jelly jars and salad forks are pretty workable. Things get spilled, but I don’t think we have lost more than one plate or glass. We still have a cabinet shelf at his level that has plastic cups and such so he can get himself some water without help.
Meg Murry says
We have a set of 4 glasses that we got at a beer festival that I wish I could find a source for, because they are just the right size for my kids, and they stack on top of each other so they don’t take up much room in the cupboard. They only hold 5 or 6 oz, so it isn’t a giant serving – basically the size you might be served a flight of beer in. The glass shape is nothing special (it’s basically just a scaled down pint glass with no foot or anything to keep them from stacking), but I haven’t been able to find that combo of small and no foot or weird taper, everything I find is either straight sided or has that pilsner curved shape.
I’ve also been known to let my kids drink out of shot glasses or double shot glasses when at friends houses that don’t have plastic cups (or only have giant plastic cups). A treat for our kids is to go to the “bar” with Daddy (it’s a restaurant that has a bar area, and has the best beer selection in town) and drink apple juice out of a shot glass. Seeing a 2-3 year old sitting up at the bar drinking amber liquid from a shot glass gets some double takes for sure!
NewMomAnon says
I had some wine tumblers from Ikea that sound similar; tapered side but easily stackable. Mine were not durable enough for a kiddo, so I wouldn’t recommend for this, but maybe look for wine tumblers? Or “juice glasses.”
mascot says
Good to know that we aren’t the only family that uses the souvenir beer festival glasses for kids glasses.
Meg Murry says
Oh good, glad there is someone else willing to admit it!
For a fun kid “what did you say?” – we’ve told my youngest more than once that no, he can’t have a sip of mommy or daddy’s drink because it’s beer or because it’s alcohol, and that’s for grownups. But this weekend we were at a party, and brought along some root beer for the kids as a special treat, since all the adults would be having beer. 4 year old has already had one can, and later yells across the room to me: “Mommy, I want some more alcohol!” Lots of heads turning. Me: “Kiddo, you know kids don’t drink alcohol” Kid: “Yes, you gave me one earlier. I want more alcohol!” Me: “Oooh, he wants more root beer. Got it”
Anonymous says
Hahaha. My 2.5 year old has also been told beer is only for grown ups, and has recently started saying (only at home so far) “I’m growing. I’m getting big so I can drink beer!” Same kid also asked his daycare teacher if her water bottle ” has booze in it?”… I swear my husband and I aren’t alcoholics.
shortperson says
our 14 month old drinks from little glasses from this source: http://www.forsmallhands.com/kitchen/snack-time?p=2. really they are just good shot glasses. she is very proud to drink from a glass when she’s sitting with adults drinking from a glass.
Tunnel says
What do you put your kid’s food, etc in for daycare? A lunch box? A book bag? LO is 7 months old and eating some solids now, so the bag I had for his milk bottles is running out of space. I figured an upgrade could be a good Christmas gift for a family member to get him. Any suggestions?
anon says
We were just using a plastic grocery bag until very recently, when we found an old lunchbag that we forgot we have. It just goes in the fridge at daycare so we don’t worry about keeping it cold on the drive over. So we put our 8 month old’s food cubes in a snap-top bowl and stick it in the lunch bag. But we don’t need to keep bottles cold. If we did, I guess just two lunch bags?
anon says
We also have a canvas bag we send with him every day, into which goes his lunchbag, bottles, extra clothes, bibs, etc.
Faye says
For my first, we just used a cheap diaper bag from Target. For the second and third, we upgraded to this. The bonus is that we can use it in the car for road trips, for packing snacks during weddings/funerals/events, etc. Made for flight crews, it stands up to kid-abuse really well.
http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/crew-cooler-ii/204851
Anonymous says
We use a toddler backpack and put it in a tote we send with baby every day. Tote has a variety of clothing changes, bibs, diaper bag, extra bottle and sippy cup and the other stuff we send depending on the day- crib sheet, blanket, wipes, diapers etc.
Anonymous says
I’ve got an LL bean tote bag (medium sized) and a freeze-able lunch bag now that she’s out of the bottle stage.
Two Cents says
We use stainless steel cups from Kleen Kanteen for my 2.5 year old. They are great — no breaks and they are sturdy.
MomAnon4This says
Ups and Downs… yesterday I bragged about my cooking marathon.
Today my son told me that he’d told me yesterday evening that he’d lost a tooth. I don’t remember hearing it, it never got repeated, no Tooth Fairy went out and I have to stop and get golden dollars today. And the tooth is lost because he put it in his mesh pocket on his backpack.
Not going to count this as a #mommyfail, just a #mommyfunny and a #lifehappens.
Famouscait says
I actually really enjoyed your post yesterday bragging about your cooking marathon. This strikes me as one of the few (only?) places where you can hear echoes of other women going “Yay for you!!!” Which also inspires me to post that at the grocery store yesterday, I found luxe chocolate bars on sale for $1.29! I snapped up a dozen of them to give with daycare teacher gifts. Go me!!
(And my #mommyfail was feeding my son too hot gnocchi last night, which obviously burned his mouth and led to a 20 minute scream-fest. Super fail. =(
MomAnon4This says
Daycare teacher gifts a week before Thanksgiving?! Go you! Focus on the positive!
In House Counsel says
Fellow C Moms, a friend just shared this story on facebook about how to help syrian refugee parents by donating any extra baby carriers or donating to shipping costs to get the carriers being collected across the pond http://www.today.com/kindness/simple-way-one-american-mom-helped-thousands-refugee-children-t55701
i just donated $$ to the shipping costs but also wanted to help spread the word since many of you may have extra baby carriers lying around or know folks who have baby carriers no longer being used.
https://www.facebook.com/carrythefuture/posts/545474968936278:0
Carriers says
Love this. Thanks.
Butter says
In the third trimester and I’ve got all the feelings, but the video of the little French boy and his father talking about bad guys and the role of flowers and candles has slayed me today. If you haven’t seen it yet I recommend it, but be warned you might need a tissue or ten.
Anonymous says
I feel like a swore I would never have a “secondary” kind of job and I was the primary income earner in our household up until baby was born. And now I feel like my career has taken a complete back seat. A lot of it is little stuff- like if baby gets up at 1AM I get up, I pack the daycare bag every day, if baby is sick I take the day off and I do all the baby laundry etc. it’s a million little things that if I didn’t do I would have more time and energy for work. I find myself looking for less demanding jobs and not taking on as much responsibility while I see my husband taking on new challenges and more responsibility. Is this something that happens to all moms? Thoughts?
NewMomAnon says
I struggled with the same thing, and then finally realized that I tend to do that because I *enjoy* being with my kid and because the caretaking is somehow more important to me than my job. At least that helped me stop feeling guilty about it.
The couples I know who have split responsibilities more evenly have to work really, really hard at it, and the woman (or default caregiver, who is usually the woman) has to be really up front about communicating both with the other spouse and with everyone else who comes in contact with the kids (daycare, pediatrician, grandparents, etc).
I think this Youtube video would be a great one to share with your significant other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLCDgQNnTB0
It’s a dad who realized after his son was born that he was a “sh*tty feminist” because of how he treated his parenting role versus his wife’s parenting role. It’s funny, but also so true.
MomAnon4This says
It’s ok to delegate at home, and to focus on work, if you want to.
This happens a lot in my house because I have *RIDICULOUSLY* high standards for kid things…
Keyword: “ridiculous”
It’s OK if the bag’s not packed right, if the laundry’s late (60F this morning, my son had no clean pants so he wore shorts to school), if husband takes the kid to the pediatrician and you get the update from him instead of directly from the nurse (one time, I admit, I called the doctor’s office later for the update). Kid will learn that different parents do things different ways – hey, when I was a kid and it was PTA night, Dad “cooked” Tombstone pizza and ChefBoyRDee from a can, and boiled hot dogs – and that’s OK. It doesn’t always have to be YOUR way.
Is that the issue? Or is it something else?
What I’m saying is… it’s ok to delegate at home, and to focus on work, if you want to.
mascot says
Careers go in waves. With two working spouses, it’s hard for both of you to be going for that next advancement at the same time. So one person’s career may be able to take a slower pace for a short time. This isn’t always brought to light until you have other responsibilities like kids.
Have you talked to your husband about the division of labor? Not in a score-keeping way -that never works. Sit down and make a list of all the added tasks that come with a baby. Then discuss how you want to split them up. It takes some time to get into a rhythm and just when you do, the child’s needs change a little. Also, identify the resources that you have for back-up child care and how to access them. Unless one spouse has a job where they cannot take a day off on short notice (like a surgeon), both of you need to have options for that juggle.
Finally, all of this looks so much worse when you are working on fragmented sleep. This gets better once the child is night-weaned/sleeping consistently through the night and you are only dealing with infrequent illness.
JJ says
I’ll second all of this. Think of it as “seasons” in your career. Just make sure you’re openly communicating with your husband about it and don’t let any resentment build.
Navy lawyer says
I bet DH has no idea how many additional tasks you have. I recently showed DH how to take apart the pump so he doesn’t wash all of the dishes and leave the pump parts sitting in the sink. And I had to accept that bottles that go through the dishwasher and thus still have that thin film on the inside are okay for one or two uses – that film is sterilized! You may have to let some things go – he can help you identify that. I had to lower standards of kitchen cleanliness.
As for taking days off, we do keep score by alternating turns. You don’t have much leave since you took some sort of maternity leave, so you can’t blow it all on baby and risk taking unpaid time off. And if you’re run down from not getting a lot of sleep, you will need sick days for yourself.
I also was not in high gear after my first, but kicked it into high gear after my second. Things can change.
Anonymous says
Yep. DH and I make the exact same income but it’s always me doign those things. Part of it is that my job is more flexible and part of it is that I just *want* to. If I ask DH to pack the lunch or get up and take care of the nightmares, he will. He is just (rightfully) used to deferring to me.
I can take the day off more easily than DH when kiddo is sick, because I work remotely and can work late to make up for daytime hours and am the head of my department. DH works in an office that is pretty 9-5. I am also far, far better at multitasking (watching a sick kiddo and still getting some work done) both by skill and nature of my work. He is in a client facing role so he can’t have those calls with a kiddo in the background.
Anon says
The hive had a good discussion related to this a while back:
http://corporettemoms.com/share-parenting-duties-spouse/#comments
I don’t know that I “wanted” to do all of the night time care, the dr appts, the sick days, etc. but since I have paid sick time and my husband does not, it fell to me. And I can’t sleep through a crying baby. And if the pump parts didn’t get washed at night, then I couldn’t pump at work the next day. Definitely built some resentment towards my spouse, and my career has took somewhat of a backseat for a while. But once baby stopped nursing, it got better – now that there are literally no tasks that my husband and I are not equally capable of, division of labor is better. Also I started being more direct with him: “I need to work on the Ninja brief tonight, so will you please take care of dinner?” Etc.
PregLawyer says
Grandmother gift question: do you think buying my mom a zoo membership so she can take my son to the zoo is an okay christmas gift? She can easily afford zoo tickets, so it’s not really helping her out financially. She is obsessed with her grandson [rightly so :)] so I want to get her something she can use as a grandmother. I just don’t know if this is more a gift for my son (who’s too young to understand presents) or a gift for me than it is a gift for her.
JJ says
My parents bought a zoo membership so they could take my sons every few months and they (my parents and my kids) have LOVED it. I think it’s a great idea.
LSC says
I was thinking of a similar gift for my mother, who also doubles as our nanny. On the one hand, it does feel silly since it benefits all of us, but on the other I know she would enjoy the venue I am thinking of with my daughter and on her own…So why not?
OP says
If it helps- to clarify I feel like we were working toward common goals prior to baby – developing our practices, expanded skills, taking on more challenging and harder work, mentoring juniors, being leaders in pro bono work and both contributing to a great lifestyle and now it’s just him on that side. And I’m just being mediocre at everything.
I don’t feel great about not contributing as much financially as my husband does. I do feel like I am letting my family down.
I do more of the house things but I don’t do them all that well – I have stay at home friends who are accomplishing all kinds of things at home while my house at best clean . There is always more to do. We have a maid once or twice a month but there are definitely larger projects in the house we need to tackle that aren’t happening. The husband does a fair share of house things and a lot of the program things like baby swim etc. I don’t think he isn’t pulling his weight or anything (even though I might do just a bit more).
I don’t feel equal in the relationship. A lot of luxuries are gone and it may be petty but it sucks and I know that it’s mostly because I contributed half of what I did to our relationship in comparison to last year. And my husband is being decent about it but I know he’s not thrilled that we have less money. And I feel very guilty and ashamed for not contributing.
I don’t know any working moms in private practice. I don’t know what the rest of you are doing but I feel like it must be possible to be more successful than I am right now and I feel like I am letting everyone down.
mascot says
Hugs. This is hard. It’s all hard and new and a little scary and overwhelming. I’m in private practice and I remember these days. You aren’t letting anyone down. Everyone is warm and dry and fed. A spotless house isn’t necessary to survival.
If I may, have you spoken to your doctor about PPD? Because mine looked like this. I was anxious and exhausted and overwhelmed and pretty sure I was failing at work and marriage. My relationship with my child was solid. Some therapy sessions and some medication made a whole world of difference. I didn’t get diagnosed until 8 months pp.
Anonymous says
I’m on anti-depressants, no diagnosis yet. We started on them about 10 months PPD. I should have gone sooner but honestly the whole thing made me feel like more of a failure. It’s been a rough year.
Meg Murry says
I feel like one of the biggest half-truths out there is that as girls we were told “you can have it all, family and career, your generation is so lucky!” But no one mentinoed that the actual truth of that statement is:
-You can have both a career and a family, but you will always feel like you are neglecting one or the other.
-You will have times when you feel like you are mediocre (or worse) at everything
-You will have times when resent your job for keeping you from your family, and times when you feel like your family is keeping you from your career aspirations (or even from just doing a halfway decent job)
You are so very much not the only one. I think almost everyone feels like they are just barely keeping their heads above water often.
The good news is that as your kids get older, it gets better, by some combinations of learning to juggle better, learning to give up what you don’t care about (is baby swim class more important than laundry? maybe. Maybe not), figuring out what things you can half-a$$ and what things you actually care about, and just acknowledging that this is what life is now and accepting it.
Keep posting here. You are very much not the only one. And talk to your husband about it. Not in an accusatory manner, just in an honest “I feel like I’m doing everything and I know you are contributing too but I’m just plain exhausted”. Don’t hold it in, or it will lead to a 2 am argument about “why aren’t there any f*ing clean baby pajamas? Why am I the only person in this house who knows how to wash baby clothes?!” – which is no fun and totally counterproductive (been there, done that)
Never compare yourself to a stay at home mom – you are playing in two different leagues. You might as well compare your race times to an Olympian’s. Just be happy with your own personal best, and move on from there.
Meg Murry says
And give yourself and your friends the gift of a messy house, it helps:
http://www.mommyish.com/2011/05/25/pay-it-forward-i-give-my-friends-the-gift-of-a-messy-house/
JJ says
Oh, hugs. This is such a hard time in your career, relationship, and life. It feels like an identity crisis because we’re so programmed to be good at everything. And sometimes? You just can’t do everything up to your expectations.
It gets better! I promise. The biggest advice I can give you is to only run your race. Don’t compare yourself to other families (which is so hard, I know), because you never know what unseen battles they’re fighting.
A few years ago, I was the one that was always able to stay at home for sick kids, to go to doctor’s appointments, etc. And I felt incredibly guilty because I wasn’t at work all the time. My work never suffered, in fact, I kept getting promoted, but I still felt like I was failing at my job because I couldn’t devote as much time and effort as I wanted. Now, I’m in a new job and building my reputation, so my husband is the one that stays home with the sick kids – he’s currently home with my sick youngest today. And I feel like a failure as a mother and a wife because I can’t stay home and help out. So, it’s literally a no-win situation unless you accept those feelings and do what you can to deal with them.
Meg Murry says
This goes along with what was said about thinking about seasons in your career. Yes, this. Life is long, careers are long, babyhood is short. So you maybe you didn’t do as much pro bono work this year? You kept a tiny human alive for the past 10 months!
So your husband is contributing more financially this year? You physically grew a baby inside your body for the two of you last year, while working! So who made the bigger contribution, huh? :-)
It ebbs and flows. But if you start to get resentful of your partner, you need to say something. For instance, when is daycare closed this year for Thanksgiving and Christmas? Any random extra days that one of you will have to take off? Tell him to do it. As in, say to him “Hey, daycare is closed on November 25th, 26th and 27th. I really can’t afford to take any more time off work, I need you to take the 25th, and I need to work at least a half day on the 27th.”
If you are BF, I understand that sometimes it’s easier to be the one to stay home with a sick baby. But otherwise, don’t accept that it always has to be you. Trade off. Or look at the calendar now and agree that you’ll take the bulk of the sick days at home, but he needs to take the random days that daycare is closed but your offices are open like MLK Jr Day or the random days for center cleaning or staff development.
But for today, just breathe. You got this. You are not alone. Order takeout for dinner and go straight to bed when you get home. Take a random day off just to sleep in. Sign up for a class at the gym at 7 am and leave your husband to pack the daycare bag (and feel free to spend that hour in a long hot uninterrupted shower at the gym instead of actually exercising). You got this.
NewMomAnon says
Such honesty. Hugs to you. It sounds like you have a relatively young kiddo; it will get better. It will. My first year postpartum was my worst year professionally, and I took a big financial hit that will take a while to recover from. I am almost two years out now, and the last few months I have gotten my work mojo back. In the bigger scheme of my life, these two years will be a blip on the radar.
Be gentle with yourself. There are only so many hours in the day, and at least 8-9 of those hours need to be spent sleeping and taking care of yourself. AT LEAST. I promise, your husband is spending at least that amount of time sleeping and taking care of himself. And if kiddo is waking up a bunch at night, then parenting/sleeping may combine to take most (if not all) of your evening and night hours if spouse isn’t helping.
Then back into what you can do with the remaining 14-16 (or fewer) hours. Hint: if you are working 10 hours a day with a half hour commute each way, that only leaves 3-5 hours for food prep and consumption, bathroom breaks/grooming, parenting, talking with your spouse, managing your money, doing your laundry, cleaning your house, doing house projects, replacing outgrown baby clothes/toys, and putting in extra time on work stuff. So….some of that isn’t going to happen. Just be intentional about which ones aren’t going to happen, and which ones you need to farm out.
LSC says
I loved this article. Totally validated my feelings about working, parenting, and keeping up a marriage and a household at the same time. It’s a long read but a worthwhile one.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women-still-cant-have-it-all/309020/