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We’ve featured Ming Wang’s lovely washable workwear before, and this pull-on pencil skirt is not only washable, but wrinkle-resistant — and on sale! Booyah. I like the jolt of green at the hem, in part because I find that shade of green such a tough color to wear otherwise for work. Plus, I always like to wear at least two colors. Try pairing this with almost any solid color top (black, white, gray, sure — but try it with a purple, light blue, cobalt, or even a red or pink top) and nude flats, and the outfit practically puts itself together. The skirt was $179 but is currently marked to $116 at Nordstrom. Ming Wang Knit Pencil Skirt
Here’s a lower-priced option (in misses, petite, women’s, and tall) and a plus-size alternative.
(L-4)
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
- 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?
anon says
It’s so quiet today! I have a question on toddler bedtimes. I don’t think regression is necessarily the right word because kiddo has always been good at going to sleep and still is staying asleep. But she is fightign bedtime now. I know it’s asserting her independence and testing our limits, but she so rarely cries that I hate it when she wails when we put her in her crib. And throws herself around and stands up and is having none of it. Suggestions on how to deal with this particular phase? We have a steady bedtime routine, and one of us generally keeps her company as she goes down.
LegalMomma says
No suggestions, but complete commiseration – also following in the hope of suggestions. My 13 month old has been doing the same thing. She has had a fairly strict (in terms of routine) bed time routine that hasn’t changed lately. For the last week or so however, she has decided that the point where we normally cuddle and nurse and then put her down to sleep (drowsy but awake) is the time to get down and play, pull all her books on the shelf and bring them over one at a time to be read, etc. If I don’t let her down, she screams and flails. These are complete crocodile tears – as soon as she is put down she runs around the room giggling. We’ve tried cuddling/reading instead of nursing, but there is no difference. We have yet to find a solution other than putting her in the crib (without actually nursing) tell her its bedtime and then let her cry it out for 10 or so minutes until she falls asleep (also with the flinging her self around, standing, trying to climb out).
I’m wondering if this is somehow related to the change of seasons (it is so much lighter at her bedtime now), but I also think it is her testing some of her boundaries. We are going to put up blackout curtains this weekend, I am crossing my fingers that works because I absolutely hate hearing her cry, but don’t have another solution right now.
anon says
OP here. This is EXACTLY us. The bringing books one at a time to be read especially. And running around the room giggling.
I suggested we duct tape up curtains to my husband! It is definitely light out late, I hope you figure out a solution.
AEK says
I read this quickly and pictured you actually duct -taping curtains to your husband, which made me laugh out loud.
NewMomAnon says
So much commiseration. My 2.5 year old spent a year sleeping so well; I would put her in her crib, walk away, and she would be out. Now I consider any bedtime that takes less than 45 minutes a “great night.”
On the other hand – she tells me all about her day while she is stalling on bedtime, which is useful. And I figure, she’ll be a teenager soon and won’t want me anywhere within a 3-mile radius of her bedroom at night (because, like, eww). Much as it is sometimes inconvenient, I think I’m going to let this run its course.
And yeah, I’ve moved bedtime earlier, later, darker, lighter, louder, quieter, different beds, changed the routine…nothing makes a difference. It’s a phase.
J says
Firmness and walking away from the wailing. If she’s fed, dry, and you’ve done the tuck-in ritual then it’s time to go to sleep. Popping into the room to lay her back down and sooth her is only going to encourage her that hey, this gets results! and you’ll be popping back in for the next few hours for the next few years.
We had a calming instrumental CD that we started every night, but I actually had the best luck with a fan running in the hallway outside the door. Loud, white noise. It muffled the wails and also helped mask the sounds of dishes or whatever else we had to get done in the house.
I think every mom just has to figure out where they stand with this issue. My H and I would get really angry in the face of the wailing and it was actually better for us to walk away than stay in the room and get nasty. Other people may stay calm and have other ways (rocking, sitting beside the bed holding hands) but at 9 pm after a long work day, I could never do it unless the kids were sick. I knew the screaming was all temper and power struggle. Good luck!
EB0220 says
How old is your kiddo? Mine started doing this around 18 mo and switching her to a toddler bed helped some. If you don’t like letting her cry, I really like the Sleep Lady Shuffle to ease out of a high touch bedtime. The executive summary is to do each of the following steps for three nights each: 1) Sit next to bed and soothe/pat intermittently 2) Move across the room 3) Move to door 4) Move right outside door. Then leave. In practice, I don’t find that it usually takes this long. But every time my kiddos start having trouble with bedtime I repeat some version of this process. Makes me feel less bad than CIO and seems to work for the kids.
anon says
OP here – thanks for this and all other helpful comments! Kiddo is 16 months and getting a new sibling soon so I am reluctant to move her to a new bed. I feel like she is about to have a lot of upheaval, so I’d like to minimize big changes. and I don’t think the bedtime thing is a reaction to the sibling coming (anticipating that thought) – she’s pretty blissfully unaware right now!
My dog on the other hand is totally stressed out that I’m pregnant again!
anon says
I vaguely recall 15 months as being a rough time for sleep, btwn transition to one nap and bedtime drama and early waking. I think developmentally there is a lot happening – walking, language explosion, etc. So it may be temporary. We definitely had some phases where the only thing that worked for us was gritting our teeth for 10 minutes if wailing.
LegalMomma says
Clearly we are living parallel lives here. Your reply made me think maybe our kids can sense something – I am also expecting a sibling for my 13 month old this fall and my dog is also extremely stressed about it!
anon says
haha, and I am a lawyer too!
EB0220 says
I swear kids can sense the pending new sibling even if they don’t really *know*. My 2 year old didn’t really get it but she knew something was up. The minute baby sister was born, she went from no sleep crazypants to sleeping beautifully. It was very interesting (and much appreciated).
Anonymous says
I’m shocked your kiddo is still in a crib! Mine climbed out around 14 months (I think…) so she’s in a toddler bed. I’ve had to give her a time out in the middle of the night before she will go back to bed. So, it’s a phase. Gird your loins! You got this mama. So much commiseration.
anon says
My son never tried to climb out, and when we finally switched him to a toddler bed, he would still wail for us to come get him out of bed when he woke up in the morning for months! It’s bizarre. I’m worried he will be that kid who never leaves home due to lack of independence.
Beans says
My son did the same thing. All of a sudden, around age 4, he finally realized he could get out of bed by himself to go to the bathroom, find us, etc.
anon says
If you normally stay with her while she falls asleep, I would use that as a bribe – like I can sit here with you if you are quiet and still, but if you are walking around and crying/trying to talk to me I am going to leave you alone so I am not distracting you.
NewMomAnon says
Yes, this has helped me too – we went through a phase of constant requests/demands, and now I do only one more “tuck in” after the initial tuck in, and I don’t hand back any items that are thrown out of the bed. I will also leave (and let her cry for 10-20 minutes) if she doesn’t quiet down after a warning.
I’ve also found that kiddo often needs to use the potty after calming down in bed because apparently being calm makes her poo? I dunno. But I’ve adjusted bedtime accordingly so that we have time to accommodate that urge.
Anonanon says
Often if my kid was really restless and resisting bedtime or nap it was because they had to poo and didn’t necessarily realize it, and then after they pooed they would feel much better and calm down, so maybe it’s the other way around?
Faye says
It’s up to you and your goals, but we don’t force sleep. We force quiet time in bed. 3yo can pick out two quiet toys/ books/ whatever, take them into bed, and do whatever she wants for as long as she wants, as long as she stays in bed and is quiet. We give a warning, then take away one, then take away the second, if she gets up or gets loud. It took about a month to work through the crying and change in routine, but now she is great and will be asleep within 30-45 min of bedtime (so we set “bedtime” accordingly). I figure this isn’t that different from me needing to read for 30 min every night, so not worth a fight.
Momata says
This is what we do, too. She has to stay in bed, but she can play with her stuffies or read some books. If we find her out of bed, we give a warning; if we find her out a second time, we take a book away. I figure it’s the toddler version of learning to self-soothe.
Carine says
This might be a stupid question but what do you do about the light? I like this idea but when I tried it not too long ago my daughter complained that she couldn’t see the books well enough, even with nightlights and the light from the hall. I didn’t want her to strain to see, but I didn’t think I should turn the light on because that seemed totally counterproductive for bedtime purposes.
Anonymous says
I like this idea, and I wouldn’t worry about being able to see, because my kiddo can’t actually read. I use a red night light, so it’s fairly bright but still conducive to sleep.
Momata says
She can’t read yet, and hasn’t complained about not being able to see her books. So I haven’t had to tackle that one yet.
Faye says
People read by candlelight for hundreds of years. I got a nightlight for her bed that was roughly candle-bright and taught her how to turn it on and off. She usually leaves it on all night, but I don’t mind that part.
Faye says
Sorry the first part of my reply meant to say “Mine doesn’t read yet, but maybe tell yours a story about Abraham Lincoln? People read by candlelight for hundreds of years…”
(I miss the edit function!)
anon says
Depending on the age of your child, you might want to consider shortening or eliminating the nap.
anon says
Yes, my first thought was how many hours are there between naptime and bedtime? Our 15 month old is still on 2 naps; when he learned to walk the afternoon nap got longer, and he now wakes between 4 and 4:30. This means that bedtime got moved about 20 minutes later, to 7:40ish, and he goes to sleep much more quickly than going to bed at 7:20. We really need at least 3 hours between nap and bedtime. (Napping 9:30-10:30 in the am., about 2-4 or 2:30-4:30 in the pm.)
Ms B says
This. 15 months is when The Kid’s school decided he needed to go down to one nap. Over about two weeks they converted him to one nap from 12:30 until about 3:30. It was a drag on weekends when we wanted to go out to lunch (I learned every place in town that opened for lunch at 11 a.m.), but it helped a ton on the bedtime routine.
PSA – Over time the nap start moved back to the more civilized time of 1:30 pm, but it took about a year to get there. Stick it out and enjoy having a chunk of time to get things done — The Kid only sleeps about 60 minutes at nap time these days (if he does nap).
Anon says
So speaking of bedtime, I”m on month 4 of a 5:30AM wakeup call by my 20 month old. We’ve tried everything – early bedtime (7PM sound asleep, and late bedtme – 8 or later) and nothing works. I’m really struggling with this. Currently, we go in his room when he waks up, and stay in the rocking chair until 6, when we do a “big wae-up” and gget him /take him downstairsout of the crib. But if we let him cry, he wakes up our older child, which is a disaster for all involve. Advice? Thoughts? Comissioneration?
EB0220 says
Would he look at a book or something? My 22 month old is in a toddler bed. When she wakes up early, she’ll look at books, play with her stuffed animals, etc. She waits very patiently in bed until we come to get her. I leave a cup of water right by her bed in case she’s thirsty. It’s been working nicely and she’s a champ in the morning. At night, on the other hand….
CHL says
Do you have an okay to wake clock? That was about when we introduced it with my son. took a little bit to catch on but now he does not dare get out of bed until that clock is yellow!
Maddie Ross says
Bigger, denser dinner? Seriously, my daughter wakes up earlier when she’s only grazed at dinner and she wakes up starving. If I make sure she’s really full, even if that means extra milk or giving a treat like ice cream or something (assuming she’s eaten enough good food), she sleeps until 6:15/6:30.
Meg Murry says
Do you actually gain anything from that extra 1/2 hour (does he calm down and lay down or snuggle with you while you can close your eyes for another 30 minutes)? Or is it just a power struggle where he fusses and you shush him and he’s quiet for a few minutes and then he whines to get up again?
If it works to get you a little more rest, do what you have to do. But if he’s whining and nagging for the whole time, it might just be teaching the “if I nag enough, Mom and Dad will eventually give in, apparently it takes 30 minutes” lesson.
Any chance there is some kind of noise waking him at 5:30 like a garbage truck or upstairs neighbor, and would white noise help drown that out? Alternately, would white noise in the older kid’s room help keep him from waking to his sibling’s crying, or do they share a room?
Total commiseration here, BTW. My husband and I used to trade off who was on morning duty for what day, and the name of the game was “let the other person and older kid sleep, do whatever it takes”.
MDMom says
Ugh, commiseration. My 13 month old has started waking up earlier and earlier. As early as 530. 6 when I’m lucky. I miss the days of 7 am wakeups. And the month where he woke up at 5 but snuggled in bed and slept with me until 7. Now if I try to put him in bed with me, he just tries to stick his fingers in my eyes/nose/mouth. Sigh. This better be a short phase because I’m not a morning person and this is hell. I have been a zombie all week. Im pretty sure he’s too young for an ok to wake clock. Moving bedtime back up or back doesn’t seem to help.
NewMomAnon says
My kiddo got into a bad rut of doing this, then crashing well before lunch. I got her a clock (the OK to Wake clock, but we haven’t used that function yet). If it’s before 6 am, I say, “It’s not morning yet,” and get her to lay back down, cover her up, and maybe rub her back a little bit. I am shocked, but she always goes back to sleep for at least an hour. I usually have to lay on the sofa in her bedroom to keep her from crying, but at least then I can get another hour of sleep too.
We had some tears the first few days, and sometimes there is a brief protest still (seriously brief, just a quick “wah” and then she lays back down). It’s worth it. She is a happier kid too.
anne-on says
For those of you who haven’t seen it – the Democrats, led by CT Senator Chris Murphy have started a filibuster to try to get some resolution on gun reform. I’d encourage those who support the measure to use social media (or call/emai!) to let your representatives know you support them
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/15/politics/gun-filibuster-senate-democrat/index.html