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I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for an easy, washable dress that I can dress up or down for summertime. This cotton dress looks like a dress version of your favorite tee, with some nice details like buttons on the sleeve. It’s available in seven colors in regular sizes, petite sizes, woman sizes, and woman petite sizes — and because all dresses (and accessories) are 30% off right now, it’s on sale for $62 (from $89). Talbots Cotton Interlock Shoulder-Button Shift
(L-2)
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?
TK says
We often give them a hard time here, but today: a shout-out to my wonderful husband.
Two weeks ago I mused, “I miss (mutual friend) Jane, I haven’t seen her in months.” Husband:
– Called Jane to find out when she was free,
– Made reservations for Jane and I at a restaurant I’ve wanted to try out,
– Commanded that I go have a fun night out, sans him or little TK,
– Made arrangements for grandparents to pick up little TK from daycare (usually my job) so I could meet Jane right after work,
– Left work early yesterday to help grandparents get little TK bathed and off to bed, and finally
– This morning, brought me coffee, two Tylenol and a glass of water in bed (correctly anticipating that I’d be a little hung over) and let me sleep in a little while he got little TK ready for daycare.
Swoon!
layered bob says
what a guy! sounds fun.
Carrie M says
Amazing!! That sounds like such a fun night, and a truly wonderful husband. I hope you had a great time with your friend!
mascot says
Good job Mr. TK!
mascot says
Also, this inspired me to make reservations for a date with my husband tonight. Yay for karma flowing to internet strangers,
Anon in NYC says
Awesome! Go Mr. TK!
MomAnon4This says
Holy cow. Does he have a twin brother? (sorry, minor marital problems right now, but I’m sure husband does similar things for me… he took older kid to school this morning and let me and sick baby sleep in since I’m working at home watching said sick baby)
EB0220 says
Wow! That is awesome.
anon says
This dress looks great on the model, which makes me jealous – every time I’ve tried on a shift from Talbots, it looked like I was wearing one of those Mennonite cape dresses.
MamaLlama says
It’s school picture day next week at preschool. What’s a cute thing for a 3 year old to wear? All her clothes right now are daycare casual (playclothes) and all her cute stuff is a little too small and wintery, so i’m going to go shopping. I’m thinking just a cute outfit vs fancy dress but need inspiration.
TheElms says
Gap has some cute toddler clothes at the moment. I bought a cute denim one piece romper for a friend’s little girl recently that had embroidery around the neckline (if you like that sort of thing). I also recall a blue dress with a giraffe print that seemed fun.
Gymboree says
This sounds like a job for gymboree. They have some outfits that I would classify as “dressy casual for toddlers”, but I would totally wear them if they came in my size.
http://www.gymboree.com/shop/item/toddler-girls-floral-top-140150225?Port=DataFeed&ad=SLI
^ This plus the matching leggings are what my 2 year old wore for her school pictures this spring.
Carrie M says
+1 for Gymboree or Gap. We did leggings, a cute dress, and matching hair bow for the last set of school pics….which were never actually taken because toddler freaked out and refused to go near the photographer. But the cell phone pic I took of her was pretty cute:)
MomAnon4This says
Focus on the top in case they only do from the waist up.
My boys always wear striped polo shirts – they look like Sesame Street characters from the 1980s, actually. This is my inspiration.
H says
Ugh, why is this a thing??? I totally failed on my son’s first daycare photo session (not realizing until seeing other parents fuss over their babies that he should be wearing something a little cuter than a onesie with mismatched pants, I still think the photo is adorable) so I at least try and put him in a polo style shirt now.
NewMomAnon says
I’m struggling with a communication issue and wondering if you all have some advice/strategies. Ex is usually really good about being on time, consistent, does a great job with kiddo. But lately he has been announcing, “I’ll be gone on [day/time that he would usually take kiddo] so you’ll need to take her.” And then he follows it up with, “Ok?” as though there is room for negotiation (which I fear would lead to drama, but haven’t pushed on it).
I don’t know how to respond. Most of the time, I’m either “free” in the sense that I don’t have a concrete plan for that time but would have used the time for work or relaxation, or I can shuffle my plans/drag kiddo along, so it feels like I can’t say, “No, that’s not OK.” But those times away from being sole caregiver are really important and life-giving to me. Not to mention that I usually have to provide an unplanned meal (or three) plus snacks and entertainment, which costs me money/sanity. But the time is way more important than the money.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Anon says
Can you say, “Sure! I actually happen to be free that day/time [subtext: I would not be agreeing to this if I was otherwise booked]. I’m happy to swap and take her then. So when is a good time for you to watch her for a few of my usual hours [subtext: This isn’t just a freebie – we need to make this a fair deal.]?”
You know your ex best, but getting in the habit of doing favors FOR EACH OTHER seems like a good plan; getting in the habit of parenting for him and/or getting walked over/expetced to drop your plans seems like a bad one.
Pigpen's Mama says
Ugh, that’s really frustrating. I’m sorry.
Do you know if these are ‘negotiable’ or non-negotiable reasons on his part? e.g., work trip vs. a baseball game with the guys?
How frequently does it happen as compared to how often he does see your kiddo?
Do you have a regular babysitter that you could as that he pay for for at least part of the time so you can have at least a few hours so you can get some time away?
Could you ask him to swap days then, so the net time you have off is the same?
NewMomAnon says
He’s been bailing about once or twice a month. The last time was a full weekend day, which meant I had to feed three meals and struggle through a horrific nap time (he only has her two full weekend days a month, so that was significant). This time it’s just a dinner, but that means I will miss an hour or so of extra time at the office. He does dinner with her a couple times a week.
Dinners are relatively easy to shuffle, but shuffling her back and forth out of turn for a few hours on a weekend, or for a full day, is really disruptive to her and therefore to me. We get a lot of tears and transition issues when dad hands her back to me in an unexpected way or at an unexpected time.
She has a daycare teacher who babysits and kiddo would LOVE to have her come over. The problem with babysitters is they come to my house, which (a) is a total mess and (b) is sometimes where I want to be as well. But maybe I just need to suck it up and do that.
Meg Murry says
On the weekend day, does it make sense to swap the weekend instead of drop it or cut the weekend short? That seems like it might work in both of your favor – that way if you had something come up on one of your weekends, you would also be able to ask him to switch.
Could the daycare teacher babysit at his place, or is it too for her to travel? Because I don’t think it’s unreasonable for you to say “I’ve got plans for that time, why don’t you see if [babysitter] is available, here’s her number. If she’s not available, we can talk about rearranging.” After all, if it’s his weekend, he can arrange for the sitter. Just give the sitter a heads up that he might be calling.
And as far as the disruptive shuffle – she’s still a little young for it, but start telling her what to expect and prepping her for it, and as she gets older it will get easier – especially once “days of the week” start to click. For my son, around age 3 (with daily circle time about the calendar) was when he really started to click on “tomorrow is a school day and then after that is a Mommy day?” So you can tell her about the weekend to prep her: “Tomorrow is Saturday which means you get to go to Daddy’s and you will spend the day with him. Then you’ll come home at dinnertime. The day after that is Sunday and that’s a special Mommy and kiddo day.” My kids both do sooooo much better when they know what to expect and what is coming next.
NewMomAnon says
And I try hard not to push on what is “negotiable” versus not, because I don’t want to invite him to prioritize my activities (was a problem during our marriage). I get so little time to hang out with friends that I don’t think that is negotiable; when I only get two or three workouts a week, those aren’t negotiable either. If I want to the ability to hold fast on those things, then I know from experience I need to not even bring that argument to the table with regard to his activities.
Pigpen's Mama says
Got it — totally makes sense.
Maybe if the pattern continues and he doesn’t want to swap– especially for weekend days — you could suggest planning for the weekend days a month out — e.g., you’d decide now what days he sees her in June — that way he can realize that he’s got a concert with friends on the 18th, so would prefer to do the 19th, or something. Of course, this is dependent on him being at least a semi-planner who would understand that he sometimes can’t do things because he has a child he’s responsible for. And he may not be there, which SUCKS for you.
NewMomAnon says
He is a planner, and this would be a great strategy – he gets a lot of comfort from predictability. I will ask him if this works better for him. Thank you!
mascot says
If he’s not willing to swap days, then he gets the responsibility of arranging a sitter. You shouldn’t have to constantly cancel your plans because his scheduled changed.
TK says
This was suggested above too – I would recommend responding to this as if it’s a swap. “Sure, which of my weekend days did you want to trade for?” It shows you’re flexible / agreeable but not a pushover.
Also see how he responds if you try the same on him – “Hey I need to work late Monday, can you take her that day instead of Thursday?”
I’m sure you’re an excellent parent and this isn’t even an issue – but obviously don’t complain about dad or his bad habits in front of kid … my divorced parents were really good about that almost all of the time, but the few times they did let things slip I remember, and it led to some super confusing emotions for my 5-year old self.
Anonymous says
Almost divorced, mama of a 2-year-old here.
If he pays child support and you have full custody, he may feel that childcare is 100% your responsibility, since you are the custodial parent. You have 3 options. (1) Let him walk all over you forever. (2) Say a firm no, and suggest a name of a babysitter, and remind him that he is the parent and he is responsible for her during those times. (3) follow text above about “sure this time but maybe not next” (which, imo, is completely useless and just invites him to walk all over you forever).
Anon in NYC says
Does he ask to take her on a different day or is he just relinquishing the time? If I only had my daughter on 2 full weekend days per month, I’d probably ask if I could have her on a different weekend.
Maybe you can start from the premise that he wants to see your LO for the amount of time you have agreed upon, so if he bails on a Saturday, you can say, “Susie is going to be sad. She was really looking forward to spending time with you this weekend. I can rearrange my schedule for this Saturday, but when do you want to reschedule your day with her?” Or if he cancels for a Thursday pickup/dinner, say, “I can cover for you this Thursday, but I’ll need you to take her on Monday.”
This, of course, assumes that you don’t want to take a hard line with him. Also, don’t feel like you need to justify to him why you would want him to reschedule the time because, like you said above, he doesn’t get a say in the relative value of your time.
Lurker says
Not yet a parent but I practice family law. What I frequently hear here is we can’t make you be a parent but we can make you pay child support. I really don’t think that is fair though because what if neither parent wants to be the sole caregiver 100% of the time. I would really like to see courts enforce parenting time for non-custodial parents. Though at the same time, I can see it is concerning to force an adult to spend time with a small child when said adult doesn’t want to. Seems like a recipe for abuse and neglect. I know this isn’t your situation but your question got me thinking about the bigger picture.
profesora says
My extended family, who live several states away, will be having a late shower for us (baby will be 5 months) when we visit the area this summer. Any must-have gift ideas (they’ve asked)? We have tons of books, clothes, and the major toys such as learning walker, activity table, bouncer, playmat, bath toys…this is my first and I’m having trouble coming up with a good list since we either got everything we wanted for the baby at our local shower or have bought it ourselves. Thanks for any ideas!
Anonymous says
Do you anticipate travelling a lot with baby? If so, some travel-themed items we have thathave been helpful are a travel crib, travel highchair. We have the Phil and Teds travel crib and it is amazing because it is only about 7lb and fits in a suitcase (great for air travel). There are other travel cribs (ie Baby Bjorn) but they have to be checked as a separate piece of luggage. We were given a hand me down Inglasina “fast table chair” which is similar to the Phil and Teds Lobster chair. Handy but doesnt work on all tables (they can’t have a lip). I just bought the Ciao Baby Portable High Chair new- I anticipate using it a lot this summer when we are at friends/families’ places for BBQs outside.
Otherwise, suggest stuff for starting solids- do you have a regular high chair? We mainly did baby lead weaning so didn’t need a whole lot, but the big apron bibs from Ikea are still a lifesaver at 11 months.
Also, given that you are going out of state for the shower, you need to think about bringing all of this back with you…
BKDC says
Love the Ciao Baby high chair. It came in handy with our son.
NewMomAnon says
Do you plan to buy a high chair? Do you have a convertible car seat already? Other smaller things that you’ll probably want between now and first birthday: sneakers, swim suit, toddler-size plates and silverware, sippy cups, those Zoli teething sticks (they were a lifesaver for the 1 year molars).
Betty says
I would echo the car seat. What about experiential gifts (tickets to a children’s museum, aquarium, etc.)? My favorite way to request gifts is to ask for something small but practical that we will need in the next six months (pricey sunscreen, new swimsuit, sneakers, PJs, winter jacket, snowsuit) and then say that if they would like to do more, we would love a contribution to the kid’s college fund.
Anonymous says
Do you have babywearing gear yet? I loved the Moby, my husband preferred the Bjorn.
H says
Clothes in a bigger size for when baby grows? Also, at some point you’ll need a convertible car seat (unless you are already using one rather than an infant car seat), so they could go in together to get that. Do ya’ll hike? You could ask for a kid carrier. Do you have feeding things like spoons, bowls, bibs, and sippy cups?
Extended leave or alternative arrangements? says
I know that I don’t want to be a SAHM, but I can’t help feeling like I am missing out on raising my baby. Baby is 8 months old, and I’ve been back at work since he was 18 weeks. I think part of the issue is that I don’t particularly enjoy my job, and perhaps I would feel differently if I had a job I really liked. I daydream about working part-time for a bit, or taking some additional leave. Both of these options would be a hit to our family income, which already feels stressed (though a lot of that is the nanny cost).
I know people say stick it out for a bit and see how it goes, but I don’t want to just “stick it out” and miss out on my baby’s life in the meantime. I’m in biglaw, and part-time may be an option, but I know there’s also the advice that you shouldn’t volunteer to go part-time unless someone makes you. . . Which I agree with wholeheartedly in theory. . . but it is much harder in practice to not feel “obligated” to take on more work. I don’t know what I’m really looking for here. I’m sure there have been a lot of threads previously about going part-time at law firms that I could probably look up. In any event, interested to hear if others have struggled with similar thoughts and how they resolved it.
Part-time Big Law says
So I went part-time as a big law associate. I went back from leave part time and then further reduced my schedule after ~ 6 months back. I’m very glad I did, but there are a few reasons I think it worked out well for me.
1) I’m in a niche practice area that’s piecemeal and somewhat predictable (i.e., not litigation)
2) I was fairly senior, which means I do most of my work without supervision and directly with the clients, so I keep my own schedule.
3) I don’t care that much about making partner — this is the critical bit, I think. I’m profitable for our group/firm because of the above two points, so they’re happy to have me stay on for now. Not sure how long this will last, but it’s working for the near future.
The downside is I still work most weekdays AND right now I’m ‘over’ my reduced schedule, BUT, I don’t usually have to work in the evenings or on weekends unless there’s a rush project and if things are quiet I don’t have to scramble for work, but can duck out early.
I did find that I had to push back about work load — which is part of the reason I dropped even more. At the higher percentage I had the same amount of work, just less time.
Also, I remember feeling like I was missing out a lot more at ~ 8 months than I am now that my LO is a toddler. Now that she’s more interactive, the time I do spend with her is much more meaningful.
Spirograph says
I felt like this for a while, and for me, a *lot* of the issue was that I didn’t like my job. It wasn’t that I hated being away from my baby, it’s that I hated being away to do something so unenjoyable that felt so pointless. Now that I’m in a job that I like more on a day-to-day basis (and my kids are a little older), I don’t feel like I’m missing out. I enjoy an hour or two with them in the morning and again in the evening before bedtime, and I enjoy the 9 hours in the middle of the day where I get to do “constructive” things, sit quietly in my office, and talk to adults.
I guess I’m saying that, if I were you, I would consider just finding a new job (with non-biglaw hours) that you’d find more enjoyable rather than cutting back to part-time or taking leave at your current one.
Lkl says
8 months was a particularly trying time for me in terms of feeling like I was missing out on everything by working full time. I desperately wanted to work part time and was extremely unhappy. For various reasons, I could not and still can’t cut back on work. At 14 months, it is not all the way better but is a little bit easier — as people have said above, because the baby/toddler is more interactive, there is more meaning in the time we do have and I can’t imagine he would enjoy being stuck in the house with me all time. Still hard, though.
CPA Lady says
I had such a hard time around the time my daughter was 8 months old. I felt so terribly alone and sad. I don’t think I ever had PPD, but if I did, it was a month or two around the 7-8 month age range. Its the only time I regularly cried about all the changes that had happened in my life, how overwhelmed I was, and how hard it was to work and have a baby and have very little time to myself, etc. I ended up getting a job with less pressure and way fewer hours, though still full time. It helped a lot.
TK says
Big law “part time” often ends up being more than what “full time” means for people in other industries. I returned to private practice when little TK was 11 weeks old and worked “part-time” around 55 hours a week. When he was 7 months old I found a job in government within my field, and work “full time” 38-40 hours per week, better paid leave benefits, cheap / good family insurance, and no expectations that I will immediately respond to e-mails sent at 11 p.m. I make far more (if you calculate it on a per-hour basis) than I did at the firm, with far less stress, so that when I do get to spend time with little TK it’s qualify time and I’m not worried that I’m “missing” work opportunities.
tl/dr: try a different job before deciding on being an SAHM
Betty says
I’m going to echo the sentiments of those above: I felt like the 8 month mark was tough with both of my kiddos. At that age, you are seeing personality, getting something back and they are changing so much but unable to tell you about their day. I found that it did get better with both as they got older, but hands-down the thing that made the biggest difference was that I left a job that made me miserable when my oldest was 15 months old. I was in biglaw and my hours weren’t “horrible” but I felt like I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop (“you’re being staffed on an expedited case in federal court that is going to trial in 4 months”). I was part time at 45 hours and then found a government job and am now in house. I am full time at 38-40 hours a week and look forward to my adult time where I get to solve problems that do not involve mediating sibling disputes/negotiating appropriate snacks/any Disney/Nick/PBS characters.
NewMomAnon says
Have you tried staying home with your little one for even a couple days at a time, alone, with no nanny? That was what killed my SAHM fantasy. I tried to take Fridays off with no daycare and found that I did not enjoy it. I can’t imagine what I would be like alone all day, every day with a very young child.
BTW, now that my kiddo is a toddler, I think I would like being a SAHM even less – she is nonstop energy while awake and preventing her from killing herself/destroying the house is exhausting. It’s also helpful that she tells me all about her day at school. I now understand that she gets a lot out of school, and that I’m not just parking her there against her will while I selfishly do other things.
Anonymous says
Sometimes I hate being the only parent on my team. “It’s 5:00 — let’s all go get drinks!” Uh, I have to go get my kids. If you’d given me notice, maybe husband could’ve gotten them. But y’all have fun.