I’m always scrambling to buy swimsuits on the eve of summer camp, but not this year!
This long-sleeved rashguard is made from over 80% recycled polyester. It’s easy-on, easy-off with a half-zip closure, elasticized leg openings, and stretchy fabric. And, as a rashguard should, it provides excellent sun protection — UPF 50+.
Gap Kids’ Recycled Zipper Rashguard starts at $19–$35 (on sale!). It comes in four colors/prints and sizes XS (4/5) to XXL (14/16). The navy-and-white stripe pattern is also available in girls’ plus sizes L (10) to XXL (14/16).
P.S. Happy Easter and Happy Passover to those who’ll be celebrating this weekend!
This post contains affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!
Sales of Note…
- Nordstrom – 8,600 new markdowns!
- BuyBuyBaby – 2,900 new markdowns!
- Banana Republic Factory – 50-70% off everything
- Old Navy – Entire store on sale; styles from $6
- Carter’s – Tons of great doorbusters, including big savings on shorts and tees.
- Zappos – 37,000 sale items (for women)! Try this link for some of the reader-favorite workwear brands on sale, and this link for some of our favorite kid shoe brands on sale.
- J.Crew Factory – 50% off everything; extra 50% off clearance
- J.Crew – 30% off your purchase; extra 50% off sale styles
- Ann Taylor – 30% off full-price styles; extra 50% off all sale styles
- Talbots – 30% off entire purchase
Anon says
Is there a “golf sandal”?”….comfortable sandal that you wear around before you put your golf shoes on? Something better than a flip flop and more of an athletic type style?
Anonymous says
Probably not what you’re looking for but I just got these and I’m obsessed with them. https://www.walmart.com/ip/No-Boundaries-Women-s-Comfort-Slide-Sandals/698644642
Anonymous says
I wear my plastic Birkenstock Arizonas for this.
AIMS says
My daughter has had some version of this gap swimsuit every summer and they are her absolute favorite.
EDAnon says
My son is 5.5 and skinny. He’s too skinny for a lot of 5T clothes, even though the length is okay. He’s too small for kids XS. What do I put him in? So far, I have been having him wear too short 4T stuff since it fits around his waist.
AIMS says
I would look t different brands. primary and H&M both seem to be cut slimmer than say Old Navy, Gap, and carters.
Boston Legal Eagle says
+1 to primary. My almost 6 year old is also tall and skinny and most pants fall off him. Primary seems to be slim cut enough. He can also still wear 4T shorts in other brands, as the length doesn’t matter much on those.
Anonymous says
Gap kids’ slim sizes.
HSAL says
I’m in the same boat with my nearly 4 year old. Right now we’re doing the same thing we did at this time last year – 3T pants (all adjustable) and long socks until summer, at which point he’ll wear his shorts that are anywhere from 18M to 3T. Then in the fall I’ll start with 4T adjustable pants and hope for the best. The best pants I’ve found for him are the Cat and Jack adjustable waist joggers.
NYCer says
I find that Cat & Jack tends to run slimmer than some other brands (for girls pants at least).
GCA says
This is my kid every year. All pants that fit his waist are high-water on him, and now he only wants joggers rather than structured pants (which I fully understand!). Children’s Place, Cat & Jack and H&M are the slimmest-cut I can find – definitely look for real drawstrings. For jeans and structured pants, just cross the aisle and look at the clothing marketed for girls if you aren’t already. But soon it’ll be summer and the eternal pants search won’t matter because he can run around in shorts.
anonM says
Children’s place uniform pants (specifically Uniform Stretch Chino Pants) fit my skinny son well – and they have the little elastic thing with buttons (apparently called “Inner adjustable waist tabs”) to adjust the tightness. Their jeans have the same adjustable feature, so that might work for you! The problem for us with sizing down due to waist size is he ends up with his crack showing.
jkw305 says
Not sure if you’re still checking for answers b but I found the Old Navy karate fit skinny jeans great for this scenario on my son and they just came out with some great jeans shorts with a real drawstring. Once I find something that works I buy it in all available colors/ washes
Anonymous says
Trying to figure out if my giant box of Kinder eggs from Costco is part of the recall. It looks like no, but then some Italian kinder eggs were recalled which makes me nervous. thoughts?
Anonymous says
I will eat them if you wont
Anonymous says
I don’t know anything about the recall, so take this with a grain of salt, but I recently read that actual Kinder products are still banned in the US, so our “kinder” products are manufactured by a completely separate entity.
AnonChi says
Happy Friday!
What are your favorite board/cards games for 5-6 year old kids?
AIMS says
My just turned 6 year old has been obsessed with this game all year: https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Orange-Pengoloo-Building-Recognition/dp/B0014BDYDE/ref=asc_df_B0014BDYDE/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312066261512&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13989047615063853089&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9060354&hvtargid=pla-453258022686&psc=1
The key though was we stopped playing in “cooperative” mode, which is kind of like a dull 3D memory game and started playing the version where you get to steal eggs/penguins from other people. This causes all the giggles and she loves it.
She also likes UNO.
octagon says
Oh! We have so many that we like. For card games, Sleeping Queens is a current favorite. Sushi Go involves more strategic thinking but is also really fun, especially with 3+ people.
For board games, Outfoxed and Ticket to Ride junior are very popular. We recently got Gnomes at Night, it’s a two-player cooperative game where the two players each have their own secret board and have to communicate well to solve the mission.
For other types of games, Tsuro is pretty quick and helps teach forward thinking. Rummikub is also popular but takes longer. And consider a basic set of left-right-center dice, that’s always popular in our house after dinner (we play for M&Ms).
Anonymous says
My kid is obsessed with Sushi Go. The normal version, not the party version. Spot It is also a hit.
GCA says
Sleeping Queens is a favorite! Some classics: Battleship and Mastermind. Not specifically kid games, but Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert are cooperative games with similar mechanics. Kingdomino and Dragomino would work for older 5s too. And My Little Scythe takes some patience and explanation but is actually fun for adults as well.
Realist says
Probably more on the 6 year old side, but we really enjoy The Game card game. It works best for kids that enjoy math and can do some basic addition and subtraction with numbers 1-100. I’ll even play it with DH after kid goes to bed.
We also like the board game Azul a lot. I feel silly saying this, but part of the reason I like Azul is the game itself is so pretty. The goal is to collect different colored tiles and I just really like making pretty patterns on my board.
Anon says
Sushi Go is a great one for a variety of age groups. Even my 3 year old has fun playing Sushi Go. My 6 year old is currently obsessed with Dragonwood and wants to play it everyday, so I would recommend that one. Outfoxed is a fun one for that age group. Labyrinth is also fun.
DLC says
We’ve been playing King of Tokyo with our 5 and 10 year old and it’s a lot of fun, though the 5 year old doesn’t quite get it.
+ 1 for Sleeping Queens.
Anonymous says
Anyone have tips for dealing with something like PTSD from a prior birth in the week or two leading up to another birth? I thought I had been working through my feelings and issues, but they are flooding back badly. I am having a hard time doing anything besides cry all day in my office. I am 39 weeks now and had a check for dilation yesterday and it brought back such strong feelings and flashbacks from my birth 3 years ago that I can hardly cope. I have been trying to prepare for this birth with positive thinking, hiring a doula, visualizing things being better this time, etc. Now I am feeling like a fool to think anything would be better and realizing I should have been preparing for the worst case scenario all along.
Anonymous says
Bravo to you for thinking ahead and hiring a doula. Give her a call right away!
Anonymous says
Agree with this!
anonM says
I feel this! First birth was not great for me. I agree with others here, call your dr/doula and make sure have done everything possible to prepare for worst case scenarios. Pack extra clothes in case you’re at the hospital longer than expected, make sure you and your partner have some plans in place (partner can do skin to skin, who is watching big sibling if there’s an extended stay, etc., making sure everyone who needs to know your medical history knows and is prepped with whatever that entails, including a prepped OR if need). Once you do all the preparing you can, shift to prepping as positively as you can for labor. It may sound cheesy, but have your mantra, your visualization, and playlist ready. (I really liked visualizing myself swimming in a pool because the breathing patterns were kind of similar and find it calming, just a suggestion of course – you do you!!). You’re not a fool, you just went through a lot. FWIW, knowing your medical history of first delivery really seems to help the medical staff the second time around.
Anon says
+1 to all of this. My second doctor was different and I read her into everything that happened. She was appropriately appalled at what happened at my first birth and went out of her way to make sure we were totally better off (even though my second birth was technically harder – preemie twins). One thing that helped me was I WAS NOT NICE. Not even a little bit. I demanded what I wanted when I wanted it. It worked.
Also, you did a great thing and hired a doula! This is proof you are not a fool. You hired a trained advocate whose only job is to help you. That’s amazing! You’re amazing!
You can do this. Good luck!
Anony says
You may be too close for this to be actionable right now, but I found EMDR super super helpful for working through PTSD-like symptoms from birth and another traumatic medical event. I was surprised, because the mechanism doesn’t really make sense to me logically and I’m a natural skeptic, but it truly helped. If this is still something you’re experiencing after your baby is born and you have some time, I would really recommend it.
Anonymous says
Vent ahead. My bachelor’s degree is in music performance. I “retired” from music at graduation because I needed a steady income with health insurance and couldn’t move back in with my parents like all my classmates who pursued performance careers. I did not do anything musical for years and years and years. I have recently started doing a tiny bit of volunteer music and I am totally obsessed. I performed last night and now I can’t get myself back into real work mode. I just want to quit my job, start practicing again, and make music all the time even though I know that ship has sailed and it was never a viable career anyway. I am so sick of managing people and clients and projects. I just want to do what I’m really good at. Getting a little taste of it is almost worse than having given it up entirely.
No Face says
Can you change day jobs to something simpler with lower stress, so you can focus more on music? My artist friends with day jobs intentionally chose jobs with less responsibility.
Go for it says
This is me and every artist/musician I know. Less stress job= more emotional availability for art
Anon says
I’m not an artist, but +1 to the low stress, low hours job that lets you make time for other passions (for me it’s a freelance writing job and volunteer work).
Anonymous says
Is there really such a thing as a low-stress, low-hours job? I used to daydream about becoming a teacher, but teachers are more stressed out than anyone these days. My nonprofit job was supposed to be the low-stress, low-hours alternative to law practice, but it’s still pretty darn stressful.
Anon says
Mine is low stress and low hours – 40 hours per week pre-Covid and even less now because I work from home, so if I get my work done efficiently I can give myself back hours I’d otherwise be at an office. I’m not a lawyer though, so maybe not a thing for lawyers.
Anonymous says
Yes – are you married? If you have wiggle room in your budget or could make some sacrifices, could you go down to a 20hr/week job and do music the other 10-20hrs?
anonM says
That sounds hard. I hope you’ll keep this at least as a side-project for now, you sound very passionate and it is good to tap into our other skills/passions! I know some here do not like FIRE (or chubby FIRE or fat FIRE), but maybe it’d be the right fit for you. “Retire” early from your day job so you can dedicate more time to music. I think having a clearly defined goal and plan will make it easier to keep in your current day job without feeling miserable. I also recommend Your Money or Your Life — it might help you get some clarity on this. Life is short and even if you decide to stay in your current position, if you feel confident in your long-term plan it may minimize the resentment. Good luck, and enjoy your music making this weekend! Signed, I Should Dig Out My Old Instrument Becuase It Is Fun Even Though I Stink At It And Its Not A “Cool” Instrument
Anonymous says
I am not at all musical so please don’t laugh if this is a dumb suggestion. Could you teach lessons on the side? Possibly grow it into a business? There is a woman in my town who owns a very large music lesson company.
I doubt you’ll make millions but also, a very decent income from a small business is possible. If it’s what you want.
Or maybe join an orchestra on the side?
Spirograph says
Teaching and performing are VERY different things, but OP, you can definitely find a music community! I’m not sure what your instrument is, but if you’re near a major metal o area, check out music schools… Even if you don’t want to take lessons, they can point you to performing opportunities or connect you with people for ensembles. If that doesn’t scratch the itch, yes to a lower-stakes job to give you more time and mental space to pursue music. If you’re in the DC area, I have more specific suggestions.
Spirograph says
Pssh autocorrect. *Major metro
Realist says
I have a SAHM friend that performs biweekly on Tuesday nights at a local restaurant. Her elderly neighbor plays the guitar and she sings. An attorney friend does occasional concerts for a band she plays guitar in, I think they all have full time jobs. Another friend invites her favorite bands (not super super famous, but real bands) to play concerts in her basement, which she spent a lot of money modifying so 50-60 people can be down there safely. She hosts concerts all summer and just loves music and chose to make it part of her life this way.
There is a lot of room between quit-my-job-and-perform-full-time and having performance not be a part of your life ever.
For where you are in your life right now, is there a way to add some performance to your life that would make you happy? What is realistically possible right now? Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
It seems that right now there is a part of you saying “I need more of the volunteer music work, it makes me so happy!” You can listen to that voice and hear it and consider it without giving it total control over the other voices like “I need to earn some money so my kids and I can eat every day.”
DLC says
Oh this resonates with me so much! I am a music major with a classical music adjacent job. I was never a great performer, though, so it would never had been a good choice for me. I see young artists come through all the time, and it is such a privileged career choice.
Have you considered going to a summer music camp? I have friends who do week long music camps. Also not sure what instrument you play, but my good friend has a pretty lucrative side gig playing in a wedding quartet on weekends. Actually for that friend, since it’s work, she feels less like she’s missing out on something, if that makes sense.
OP says
Ooh, please tell me more about these music camps! The only ones I know of for adults are the chamber music festivals my college friend goes to where amateur me would not belong, and which sound just awful socially (hookups, etc.).
My degree is in an extremely competitive instrument. I have made a number of attempts to start practicing again over the past two years but haven’t been able to get into a good groove yet. If I committed to 1-2 hours of daily practice I could get back enough chops to get some little local gigs, but not to play in a community orchestra (on my instruments those spots are all taken by actual professionals). I don’t really have any connections in the local musical world to learn about opportunities and grow a network. My “just for fun” music thing is singing–I’ve never had voice lessons, but like any trained musician I can sight-sing and understand phrasing, even if I don’t have the most correct vocal technique. I currently sing in a volunteer choir and am considering auditioning for a bigger one.
I have zero desire to teach private lessons ever. I have pipe dreams about chucking it all and getting a master’s in choral conducting, but that is laughably far from realistic for many reasons.
Spirograph says
There’s one for amateur pianists in Vermont that I’ve been hoping to go to for years (thanks, pandemic) and have heard great things about from my teacher and a fellow adult student.
I think you’re not a pianist, but the org is piano works in progress, just in case.
DLC says
Do you have a local opera company? Our opera company’s chorus is made up of people who have regular day jobs and come sing with us evenings and weekends. It actually pays pretty well. My friend’s quartet gig is sometimes lot of sight reading quartet arrangements of pop tunes… it isn’t terribly highbrow stuff most days.
My friends have been to Apple Hill’s summer festival. I think there’s another one too that’s popular… i’ll weite back and post if I find out.
DLC says
This is the other music festival:
http://cmceast.org/
Both offer a wide range of skills to collaborate with.
OP says
Thank you! This looks fantastic!
Anonymous says
It is really hard to find a “day job” that is not so stressful as to be all-consuming, but not so boring/mindless to be soul-destroying, and that pays a decent wage. My background is in visual arts but I fell into fundraising for nonprofit arts organizations and when I found the right job, it became a pretty fulfilling career. (so much so that I stopped making work and really don’t miss it, although having a kid also contributed). I really like working in the arts and like that what I do all day makes it possible for artists to make their work and for kids to have art experiences. It probably helps that I work for a performing arts organization, in a discipline I don’t know that much about, so I don’t have strong opinions about the quality of the work itself. And my coworkers are generally all former artists or at least art lovers. Plus when I have to work late, it is to go to a fabulous performance. Anyway, if you want to work for a nonprofit, fundraising jobs tend to pay better than most, and are always in demand.
anon says
Does this exist? I need to get a medical alert bracelet (for myself, not kid). Any recs for something that will clearly signal what it is but that isn’t cheap/terrible looking? Something I won’t hate seeing whenever I look down? My searches are admittedly short since I am exhausted and medicated and overwhelmed (three ER trips in three days) but everything that pops up is not sparking joy.
anonM says
Etsy! https://www.etsy.com/listing/601785560/dainty-medical-alert-bracelet-medic?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=medical+alert+bracelet&ref=sc_gallery-1-4&pro=1&frs=1&plkey=5575d381632760b325c3baf5f6ef83fcd2772924%3A601785560
Best wishes as you navigate this.
AnonATL says
Check out road ID. It can go on your smartwatch. They have a kids one too.
I wear mine for running safety.
You can print whatever you want on there.
Anon says
I wore one for many years and loved the ones I had from Laurens Hope (if you google will easily find!). Great quality, lots of design options that look stylish/professional and the ID can be changed between different bands so you have options to change it up.
Anonymous says
Posted late yesterday; trying again. Looking for recommendations for:
1. Financial advisor in San Francisco/Bay Area;
2. Maternity swimwear that will accommodate a disproportionately large bosom;
3. Maternity beach/pool coverup
Later two are for a bachelorette party for a future sister-in-law. TIA!
Anon says
Can you provide more details on the financial advisor request?
Anonymous says
Sure. We’re looking to get things in order before a second kid (how much to save for college for each kid) and generally get some advice on spending priorities/handling “extra” cash. We anticipate this being a one-off check in but would like someone we can come back to in a few years if life circumstances change again.
Anon says
I used Matt Faubion for a check-in like that – I think it’s called Wealth Engineer on the website: https://faubionwm.com/. I thought the one-time fee was worth it but didn’t continue paying the monthly fee because once he went over the portfolio, I didn’t have many follow up questions. I did appreciate that it was fee based (he does asset management as well).
anon says
I swam a ton while pregnant and loved a sporty bikini–no dealing with getting a swimsuit to fit around the bump and I could continue using it after pregnancy as well. If you search for “bikini for swimming laps” you should find something suitable.
Family celebration says
Researching going to St John USVI next April vacation for my in laws 50th wedding anniversary. Our kids will be 6 and 1.5 years old then looking at renting a house. There will be 6 of us total. Has anyone gone there with kiddos and do you have any recommendations? Thanks In advance!!
Anon says
Nope, but if you can steal away for a sail with your partner, I would try to! My mom still talks about their sail there 20 years ago and how beautiful it was. And the Baths- I think British VI.
Anon says
St John is great for kids! Lots of beaches, not too crowded because the island is too small for an airport or cruise ships. It’s small, easy to navigate, with great restaurants and hikes. We’ve stayed at a rental called Serenity that’s gorgeous, can easily accommodate a family, has a pool, gorgeous sunset views. I’ll look up the property management company and post the link in a sec.
Anon says
https://www.vacationvistas.com/villas/serenity-villa/#amenities
Anon says
I was just there, but on a sailboat for most of the time. St John is beyond gorgeous and there are definitely a lot of villas. My sense is that a lot of villas aren’t beachfront though and are up in the hills (with pretty views) which might make it inconvenient with kids to have to drive every time you want a beach. Multi-gen villa rentals can also be kind of tricky if you don’t have an understanding ahead of time about how you’re going to divide cooking and housekeeping responsibilities. We steered my in-laws towards an all inclusive resort for their 50th anniversary this summer for that reason, even though I don’t generally love all-inclusives. It just seemed a lot easier with a big group.
Distressed (in more ways than one) says
We just got new dining room furniture, which we really needed, and I’m struggling with buyer’s remorse. The new set has lots more seating room, which is great. But I let myself get talked into a “distressed” wood table and chairs. I thought it made sense because we have small kids who may occasionally scuff up the table anyway. But now it’s arrived, and I basically hate the way it looks. There are huge dents all along the edges (but only there), and then random tiny holes in various places. It’s not like the imperfections of real wood; it just looks more like we had what was a perfectly nice table and then just deliberately beat it up for some reason. And none of our other furniture is the distressed kind, so I don’t think it fits the rest of the house. I’m just really struggling with having paid so much for something I find viscerally ugly, and now I’m stuck with looking at it and eating off it every day for years. What would you do? How do I get over this? It’s not something we can easily return or exchange because it was “custom,” and supply chain issues meant it took forever to arrive in the first place. But ugh, it’s really bothering me.
furniture says
I would list it for sale (Facebook marketplace, local buy/sell groups, Craigslist, and any other community resources you have) asking for 75-100% of what you paid. The resale furniture market is hot because it enables buyers to avoid the supply chain delays and having to buy sight unseen. Include pictures of the actual pieces and the stock photos, provide the measurements upfront, and be patient (it only takes one buyer, but that buyer might not be in the market for a few weeks). If you sell it, you can use that money to buy what you want.
You also could have it changed it into something that suits your style. Real wood furniture can be sanded down, the dents/holes smoothed with wood filler, and re-finished. It probably doesn’t make financial sense to choose this option–you typically come out ahead by “rehabilitating” furniture only if it has sentimental value or it’s an off-trend piece that is basically worthless as-is. But this is an option, especially if you otherwise love the furniture.
In the meantime, put a table cloth on it. That will prevent spills from reducing its resale value and spare you the annoyance of seeing something you find ugly.