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This may be my perfect flat: There’s an ankle strap, but also a hidden zipper in the back. See, my problem is that I’ve yet to find a comfortable pair of flats that stays on without a strap — but I have no time to fiddle with a strap when we’re running into/out of the house. I like this as a solution (available in tan leather and leopard suede), as well as the sale — it was $78 but is now $47. The black, which is pictured on the product page but not shown as an option, is sold out but available at 6PM (lucky sizes only) for $55. Lucky Brand ‘Gyllian’ Ankle Strap Flat (L-3)Sales of note for 4.18.24
(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)
- Ann Taylor – 50% off full-price dresses, jackets & shoes; $30 off pants & skirts; extra 50% off sale styles
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything; extra 20% off purchase
- Eloquii – 50% off select styles; 60% off swim; up to 40% off everything else
- J.Crew – Mid-Season Sale: Extra 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off spring-to-summer styles
- Lands’ End – 30% off full-price styles
- Loft – Spring Mid-Season Sale: Up to 50% off 100s of styles
- Nordstrom: Free 2-day shipping for a limited time (eligible items)
- Talbots – Spring Sale: 40% off + extra 15% off all markdowns; 30% off new T by Talbots
- Zappos – 29,000+ 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 – Up to 70% off baby items; 50% off toddler & kid deals & 40% off everything else
- Hanna Andersson – Up to 50% off spring faves; 25% off new arrivals; up to 30% off spring
- J.Crew Crewcuts – Up to 60% off sale styles; up to 50% off kids’ spring-to-summer styles
- Old Navy – 30% off your purchase; up to 75% off clearance
- Target – Car Seat Trade-In Event (ends 4/27); BOGO 25% off select skincare products; up to 40% off indoor furniture; up to 20% off laptops & printers
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- If you’re a working parent of an infant with low sleep needs, how do you function at work when you’re in the throes of baby’s sleep regression?
- Should I cut my childcare down to 12 hours a month if I work from home?
- Will my baby have speech delays if we raise her bilingual?
- Has anyone given birth in a teaching hospital?
- My child eats everything, and my friends’ kids do not – how should I handle? In general, what is the best way to handle when your child has some skill/ability and your friend’s child doesn’t have that skill/ability?
- ADHD moms, give me your tips to help with things like behavior in the classroom, attention to detail, etc?
- I think I suffer from mom rage…
- My husband and kids are gone this weekend – how should I enjoy my free time?
- I’m struggling to be compassionate with a SAHM friend who complains she doesn’t have enough hours of childcare.
- If you exclusively formula fed, what tips do you have for in the hospital and coming home?
- Could I take my 4-yo and 8-yo on a 7-8 day trip to Paris, Lyon, and Madrid?
HSAL says
Recommendation for labeling bottles/sippy cups/etc: I checked out some of the sites online after the discussion about labels and they all seemed expensive for what we needed. So I found some self-laminating labels at Target (up & up brand) in the sippy cup section. You just lift up the top layer, write on the label, and then peel off the protector and press down over the name, then put on the item. They’ve held up to frequent dishwasher use, though I know the box said there was an “up to” on dishwasher cleaning. Cheap, fast, easy to use, and easy to replace when we need to.
Anon in NYC says
Good to know! I also wanted to put in a plug for Orbit labels by Inchbug. They are basically like wide rubberbands with your child’s name engraved on it and fit around a variety of bottles/sippy cups. We’ve used them for months now and they have held up great. (Minus points for the fact that the font is comic sans.)
Tunnel says
Comic Sans! Blegh!
mascot says
I’ll keep these in mind. We’ve used and loved NameBubbles for years. They really stay on clothes and cups and such. But sometimes I want a plain label instead of dinos/planes/etc
Anon says
I second NameBubbles. They’re awesome!
JTX says
Mabel’s Labels. I’ve ordered from there multiple times and have always been pleased. I also had an issue once where the order didn’t arrive and their customer service was great.
Anonymous says
I’ve had a good experience with Mabel’s Labels too.
Momata says
I use an Epson labelmaker and they’ve stayed on for years.
AIMS says
I have a similar pair of shoes from Brooks Brothers and a similar in concept from gentle soles (the ‘bay unique’). They’re both great, although only the bay unique is truly comfortable enough to walk long distances in.
Jdubs says
How do you get over the working mom guilt of not being able to attend every school function that occurs during the middle of the day? My daughter has a class party tomorrow… It was my husband’s turn to attend the event (I went last time, we try to alternate, but I definitely make more of them) and he says he absolutely can’t go. I was going to, but something came up at work which is making it impossible. I realize in the grand scheme, its not a big deal, but I am sitting at my desk sort of sad that she won’t have a parent there.
anon says
By remembering that my parents never came to this kind of thing. And I don’t even think I noticed. They would come to a performance, if it was at at a time they could make it, but never anything like a party or field trip. We also never celebrated our birthdays at school, even though some other kids did, and it was just really never a problem and I never felt left out.
Pogo says
Same. I don’t think I recall a single elementary school event where my parents came. Definitely other moms did, but I don’t remember caring at all that mine didn’t.
As I got older I cared more that my mom couldn’t be involved or drive me to things (think sports, clubs, after school meetups) and I lived too far to walk or bike, so was limited by the school bus. I was a teenager and thus prone to being angry and dramatic regardless, but I remember being most pissed about that. “why can’t you pick me up after art club on Thursday, Lindsay’s mom can! I have to wait two hours for the stupid bus!”
I honestly thought a lot about this and we live in a spot where our kids can walk on a sidewalk all the way to middle school AND high school. That’s how I’ll get past that guilt when the time comes.
And in the end my mom got very involved in my sport, because it met from 5-7pm and had races only on weekends. I carpooled with other kids with working moms so that our moms only had to leave work early one day a week. She never coached but she organized the parent’s association and came to all my races, ran the food tent, did fundraising, etc.
So I guess the point is both (1) it’s probably way less important to kiddo than it feels to you and (2) there is a way for working moms to be involved, just not in the middle of the freaking day!
NewMomAnon says
Yeah, I second anon’s sentiments – my parents worked, and once in a while would make a big deal out of chaperoning a field trip or volunteering at a class event (I think they each tried to do one event a year for each of my brother and I). I knew they worked, I knew working was important to them, I knew their jobs were cool and interesting, and I knew that it was exciting to have them deviate from their cool jobs to come to my classroom – it was not something I expected or felt left out about if they didn’t come.
But my school was also predominantly kids with two working parents, so it was set up to accommodate the parents; parents were sometimes invited to events, with the expectation that only a few would attend, and otherwise parental involvement was on the basis of “chaperoning” or “volunteering” on an occasional basis.
mascot says
For some of the picture worthy moments like the Halloween parade, the school does it at 8:30 am so more working parents can attend. They also are happy to let parents be mystery readers or come for show and tell at more convenient hours (beginning of the school day, lunchtime, etc). Its not perfect. but it’s helpful. As long as I can make a few of those moments, we are cool.
Class parties are always at 2 pm and the SAH/flexible jobs parents cover those and any field trips.
Lurker says
If it is an event where every kid will have an adult there, could you send someone other than a parent? Grandparent, good friend, baby sitter? You could also ask the teacher ahead of time what the RSVP list is looking like. You might find there aren’t that many parents going. If it seems like a lot are going, could you reach out to another parent to include your kid with their kid? Offer to do it in return on another occasion.
Clementine says
Yes! I got to go to one of my godson’s class events when his parents were both unable to go. It was awesome and shifted it from ‘mom can’t go because her plane is stuck in Minneapolis and dad is booked’ to ‘yay! One on one time with an adult who isn’t my parents.’
I am on the ‘okay to pick up’ list and we had a great time.
Edna Mazur says
Wait, what? Other than chaperoning field trips, I don’t think parents were ever even invited to class parties and concert type things for parents were held after working hours. I’m going to be expected to miss work to go to my kiddos’ class parties!?!?
I think people above are giving good advice, I’m just in disbelief that this is a thing now, when more families have two working parents, than when I was a kid.
Anonymous says
when i was growing up (born in 84) “room parents” were a thing, and room parents helped with class parties. None of the working moms were every room parents. Mine was, all the time, for both myself and my 2 siblings, and it was super annoying to have her all up in my business, even at age 8. And now that we are grown she always complains about “spending her 30s doing nothing but sacrificing myself for the kids”
I am SO JEALOUS of my former boss/life mentor’s kids’ elementary school. They are in a suburb that is mainly working parents and it’s just so friendly to that setup. the fundraisers are ONE evening cocktail party a year that you buy a ticket to and bring a basket of goodies to raffle off. $200 and you are done for the year. Or, you can do things like volunteer at the event (they get a lot of corporate sponsors) to skip the paying piece. The school (or one very dedicated mom, not sure which) coordinates rides to/from various events for which the district does not provide busing, including sports.
Anon says
It’s such a thing, and such a heartbreaker. I know, in the scheme of things, that kids will learn to roll with it…but some kids do take it harder than others. I’m not trying to pile on the guilt, just emphasizing–we go through this struggle all the time (multiple kids, different schools, all have events in the middle of the day, especially at the start and end of the year). I don’t have a great memory of my own youth, but I know my mom was involved in things at my school (class parent, PTA volunteer) even though she worked PT during my elementary years.
There are times when we just can’t make the event, and when I know that’s coming up, I try to discuss it with the child, explain why (dad is out of town for work and mom needs to take everyone else to school), and “make up” for it in some way–I know that’s probably more assuaging my guilt, but I try to plan something special in lieu of the missed event. I’ve taken one kid to a painting pottery afternoon, for instance, or planned special ice cream sundae desserts for the night of the missed event.
I think it gets easier as they get older; my oldest can now take it better, even though she’s a bit more sensitive in general. I will note that preschool/early elementary seems to be an especially tough time if your child is the type to be sensitive to an absent parent. In elementary it seems like there’s more of a mix of parents who can attend and those who can’t, but for some reason everyone has someone available at preschool. Total crusher for the parents.
Jdubs says
Thanks! I think it is probably a bigger deal to me than to her. She is in a pre-k program this year that I don’t love (long story…) but they are totally disorganized, and only about 4 parents usually show up to the events anyway, so its not like I would be the only one not there. Our nanny would love to go and take our younger one, but it is smack in the middle of nap time so that seems like a recipe for meltdown. If it had been a bigger deal, I would have gotten Grandparents involved, but it really isn’t a big deal – Grandparent attendance requires many logistics. I’m just having a crappy week in general (yay flooded basement!) and it is making me sad thinking about not being there for her.
anne-on says
Ha, if it helps at all, I am flat out going to be gone for my son’s actual birthday. At his age (4) we’re hoping it doesn’t matter, and we talked a lot about what other fun things he gets to look forward to (grandparents! party at school! handing out his own small treat bags because he’s such a big boy!). My mom was a teacher, which meant she really could not be at our school things. It was so not a big deal at the time, and now I appreciate that she had her own work, and I had a model of working motherhood.
Betty says
For all those events that are held in the middle of the day that could actually be held at a more convenient time (concerts could be held in the evenings or parades at the beginning of the day), please please say something to your school administrator about the timing of events. My husband is a school administrator and pushes to have events held when more working parents can attend and it most definitely helps if parents have spoken up about it!
EB0220 says
Random question:my child’s birthday party is 9 – 11 am. (This was the only time slot available at the party location.) If your child were attending a party at this time, what kind of food would you want/expect? I’m thinking snacks and a cupcake to send home? Seems too early for lunch and cake. Most of the attendees are 4.
Jdubs says
We did 9:30-12 last year for my 4 year old and I put out bagels & toppings for the adults – Kids still had pizza since it came with the party location.
EB0220 says
Great idea on the bagels for parents. I’ll definitely do that (in addition to coffee, which I was already planning on). For the kids – I’d definitely do pizza and cake if the party ran until 12. But I’m undecided since we have the room from 10:15-11.
Anonymous says
We did that slot. We had bagels and toppings, fresh fruit, lots of coffee, and water bottles for kids out during the event. Around 10:30, we served cake. Everyone ate it.
shortperson says
i think four year olds will eat cake at any hour.
EB0220 says
As will 35 year olds.
But will the parents of said 4 year olds hate me for giving their minions sugar at such an early hour (right before lunch)? Will the parents forgive me if I get much coffee for them (the adults, not the 4 year olds)?
mascot says
When I go to a birthday party, I fully expect that my child is going to get more sugar than I’d prefer. He’s probably also running around like a crazed animal anyways so… It’s one day and I’ll get over it. If you are really worried about too much sugar, maybe a cookie cake would have less (less icing) and serve water/roaring water capri sun instead of full on juice boxes?
Jdubs says
I would totally expect there to be cake even that early.
Spirograph says
+1 I think kids like cupcakes at any time of day, and I always expect cake at birthday parties. 11 is actually a prefect time for a sugar rush. Get home, try to make kiddo eat something sort of healthy, and hopefully the post-sugar crash induces naptime (if your kids still nap, of course. I sure hope my kids still take a short nap when they’re 4).
The bagel idea is a great one. Maybe put out some fruit and graham crackers for the kids?
Lurker says
There really isn’t much of a difference between cupcakes/cake and muffins/donuts.