CorporetteMoms

Updated: Nov 1, 2018 87 Comments · by

Accessory Tuesday: Total Motion Adelyn Ghillie Flat

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A woman wearing a Mary Jane Flat We posted the simple ballet flat version of this over at Corporette last week because readers had been really raving about it, but personally, I always find that something with straps or laces is more comfortable, especially with this shock-absorbing sole and cushioned footbed, so this is the version I’m considering. If you like the Ghillie sandal with the laces and the crisscross details but you want a zipper in the back because you’re a busy mom who doesn’t have a lot of time for laces anymore, this is the shoe for you. It comes in sizes 5-11 and it’s available in medium and wide widths at Nordstrom. Total Motion Adelyn Ghillie Flat (also in black) Psst: Looking for a ballet flat for work or a comfortable heel? Check out our roundups! 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 for 9.10.24

(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)

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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Comments

  1. Paging poster with barking beagle says

    Try the sonic egg. Our barking dog shuts up asap when we turn it on.

  2. Cb says

    Finally chose a pram and car seat yesterday after way too long deliberating. I’m normally so decisive. Does anyone else feel like they’ve spent more time on these baby gear decisions than the decision to actually have a baby?

    • Pogo says

      There is SO much information out there, you need to just draw a line somewhere. I relied on spreadsheets from friends who had researched and worked from that, plus Amazon reviews. I also read the registry series here and the comments from those posts.

      But at a certain point of deliberation I just went with a decision… otherwise you really could spend forever debating the various options. My MD friend pointed out that as long as a product meets EU or US safety regulations, technically that’s all you need to know. That made me feel better.

      • Cb says

        So true! We were at a pram shop yesterday and my husband said, “We don’t have to decide today!” and I declared I was not leaving the shop without a decision being made as I couldn’t waste any more mental energy on it.

        Everything else is easy stuff which I’m delegating to my mom who loves this stuff! I’m planning to spend the next 10 weeks buying cute board books and clothes with animal ears attached to them.

        • Walnut says

          Don’t forget to buy clothes with animal feet attached also! Dinosaur footies melt my heart.

          • Cb says

            Oh my goodness, that’s a whole new world. I’ve been buying mostly bear themed things but I also really love dinosaurs.

    • Anonymous says

      OMG – HELP….
      SO many combos. SO many price points.
      Is being able to have a bassinet option at first (like the first 6 months) actually useful?
      Any tips on baby carriers that are adjustable. I am tall but by hubby is still a foot taller

      • Anon in NYC says

        I used the bassinet that attached to my stroller, but my kiddo is really tall and we only used it for ~2 months. So YMMV. Since I had a late spring/early summer baby, I felt like my daughter would get too hot in an infant car seat while walking around. Once she outgrew the bassinet, I just kept her in the stroller seat on a recline until her neck strength improved.

        As for baby carriers, I liked the Ergo 360. You could consider more of a wrap style, which can take a bit of time to master, but would be completely adjustable for both of you.

      • NewMomAnon says

        For baby carriers – maybe consider a you-sized K’tan for the early months, and an Ergo (Tula or Becco or whatever) that is more adjustable that dad can use with the infant insert now, but both of you can use later. The K’tan is easier to use for a tiny baby than the Moby or a ring sling.

          • NewMomAnon says

            The Moby is a long piece of fabric that you wrap (and wrap and wrap and wrap) and then tie. The K’tan is a couple loops connected with a band, so it’s much less bulky and more idiot-proof. I think the K’tan is also stretchier than the Moby; I hated the Moby because I had to re-tie it every time I took kiddo out.

            They do look the same once baby is inside. But the K’tan is easier to put on.

          • Pigpen's Mama says

            I loved the K’tan — no need to try to figure out how to tie or buckle it. I did have to wash it ever so often so it would bounce back (usually after my H used it). And super light weight.

            That will let you know if you like baby wearing, and then you can move up to a more structured carrier when kiddo is older.

      • Anonymous says

        I loved the bassinet option (we have a Cruz and bought the Uppa bassinet). So much easier than clipping in and out of a stroller. I also walked a lot around the neighborhood on maternity leave, though. If you would mainly drive to walk, it might not be worth the investment (you could just use the car seat on the stroller). We also used ours as the sleeping situation for our baby, adding to the value.

        • Anon in NYC says

          We did this too. The bassinet was where she slept at night for the first few months. I definitely felt like we got our money’s worth out of it, but I agree that if you’re in/out of cars a lot that it might not be worth the money.

      • shortperson says

        we bought the lotus guava crib with bassinet kit. used the bassinet for the first few months, and it’s been a useful travel bassinet/crib since.

      • Anonymous says

        A lot of this stuff is deeply lifestyle dependent. We never used a bassinet attachment because we used the car seat and adapters, because we didn’t own a car and I had to carry the tiny newborn down three flights of stairs from our rental in a pre-1900 slightly tilted brownstone. I would have gotten a different car seat if we owned a car. I would have gotten a different stroller if we lived in an elevator building. I would have gotten a different stroller if I lived in the suburbs and didn’t rely on a stroller constantly. I would have gotten a different stroller and diaper bag if I didn’t have intense shoulder pain that makes regular baby wearing very painful.

        Believe it or not, you need to ask your neighbors (whose lifestyle will be most like yours) what gear they loved. This is not the time for internet strangers!

  3. Pogo says

    Just got great news this morning… my placenta previa, which had been downgraded to low lying placenta, is officially resolved! Thanks to everyone who told me to be positive about it and told me stories of theirs resolving.

    Of course now at 28w I’m not wild about travelling, but I think domestic would be fine. There is a meeting in Europe that theoretically I should go to at the end of the month (31w), but I don’t think anyone will push me to attend.

    • Cb says

      Oh that’s fantastic news!! I’ve got an unexpected growth scan tomorrow so I’m looking forward to seeing bebe.

      I’m not feeling up to travelling – I was supposed to go to London at 36 weeks (4-5 hour train journey) and said “Nope…!”We had a babymoon this weekend and the three hour drive was about all I could handle.

      • In House Lobbyist says

        I debated going to a conference at almost 37 weeks a two hour plane ride away but decided to skip and was glad I did since I had a baby while the conference still ongoing.

        • EB0220 says

          Haha yep. I was really pushing to finish my dissertation, and fortunately wrapped everything up by 34 weeks just to be safe. Baby came at 36 weeks.

  4. TK says

    I’m coming around to the realization that 3-year-old Little TK is either spoiled (totally possible) or has a learning style that is going to be a challenge for his teachers. Maybe both. He’s a bright, imaginative, outgoing kid – loves pretend play, will sit and read books to himself for 40 minute stretches – but in formal settings where he is being ‘taught’ something (e.g., swim class, practicing letter and number recognition, etc.) he completely tunes out and has no interest in follow a teacher’s instructions or responding to questions. He seems much worse at this than similarly aged peers. Is this a skill I can teach him? We’ve been practicing using our “listening ears” and stopping activities when he isn’t listening (bowling was a disaster, we left 3 frames in and he later acknowledged to grandma, “we left because I wasn’t listening”) but I’m wondering if there’s a more proactive rather than reactive approach to encourage him to pay attention.

    • avocado says

      Does he go to day care or preschool, or is he home with Grandma/daddy/nanny?

      When my kid was that age I noticed huge variation in kids’ ability to pay attention and follow directions. My kid’s 3.5-year-old pre-ballet class would probably have looked to the outside observer like a total disaster. The teacher spent half the time lining the kids up and then putting them back in line. It was a good day if they made it through a 45-minute class without anyone having a meltdown and having to be sent home. I wouldn’t worry much until he is in pre-K. In terms of letter/number recognition, if he is not interested in being “taught” I would look into videos or other more engaging formats. There used to be a series called “meet the sight words” that I think also had letter and number recognition, and my kid learned to read entirely from Hooked on Phonics. If you want him to work on lining up and listening, martial arts or a very traditional pre-ballet class that has a heavy focus on the etiquette of ballet could be helpful.

    • Blueberry says

      He sounds like a 3-year-old to me. Is he in preschool? If so, I’d ask the teachers for their perspective and for their assessment of whether he really is in a different place from his peers, but this seems pretty developmentally normal to me.

      • Blueberry says

        A lot of change happens between being 3 and when kids need to really sit still and focus. We tried enrolling my son in mini-soccer when he was 3 and it was an unmitigated disaster that we quit. He’s doing it now at 4 and is totally into it — tunes into what the coaches tell him, wants to practice all the time, etc.

    • Anon says

      at 3 — you have a totally normally, 100% on track kiddo. I say this so very gently, but 3 is far too young for formal “sit down” instruction on letters and numbers. WAY too young for sitting down and focusing on letters and number recognition. There are lots of ways to “teach” letters and numbers without sitting them down, if that is important to you.

      I actually pulled my son out of a preschool program when he came home every day with a report of “not listening” and saying “tomorrow I will do better.” I *hated* hearing him say that, and at a new child-led program, he’s excelling. Turns out, he was not ready at 3 and 4 to do the lessons when they wanted him to do the lessons. He wanted to run, play pretend, and can sit down and memorize and entire zoo of animals when he’s into it. Study after study shows that kids do so much better in child led activities. I seriously can’t imagine thinking he is going to be a challenge in school already. Now at 5, he is (more) ready to sit down and absorb lessons, but still on a very limited basis.

      Don’t compare him to other kids who are just different!! Celebrate that when he’s focused on something he loves, he absorbs it!! You are setting yourselves up to fail at this young age if your expectations are beyond this. Labeling him as “spoiled” or a “challenge” will just make it harder for both of you down the road. My sister in law labeled her sweet, outgoing child a “challenge” at 2 or 3 yrs old because she is stubborn, and that child has worn the mantle of that label her whole life. She is a GREAT kid, and it’s so sad to hear her self-talk about how “bad” she is (the label stubborn shifted to “not doing what’s she’s told” = bad). I mean, their older child is super compliant compared to their younger child, but this girl is great, just different than her brother.

      • avocado says

        +1 on 3 being too young for formal instruction on letters and numbers. In the 3-year-old room, my kid’s preschool had a “letter of the week” that they focused on in all kinds of activities–they decorated the letter in art, molded it out of play-dough, etc. I don’t think kids need to learn academics in preschool anyway. Reading is so much easier to teach one-on-one with the kid in your lap.

        • CPA Lady says

          Yep. Way too young for formal instruction. Random anecdote time– my niece learned her letters with Trader Joe’s alphabet cookies. OP, maybe look into that if you think he needs to learn his letters. Makes learning fun and delicious.

          • anon says

            I remember working on letters with my kid with whatever happened to be on the table- which sometimes included a beer bottle. I’ll pick up my parent of the year award on my way out.

          • Anon says

            HA! Yes to both — my dear friend who is a K teacher advised doing a lot of descriptive narratives at this age — “Okay, Mommy is going to hand you the RED for your cereal! Yum! We love cereal!” Or, “look at the big, BLUE W on this yummy bottle right here. That’s my favorite letter! Which letter do you like the best?”

            She said that they’ll end up learning by accident, which is great. She said it can backfire if you are doing a lot of quizzing (so, avoid the “what letter is this?” game over and over – they pick up on what you are doing).

      • TK says

        Thank you, I appreciate this. I personally think he’s fine, my husband is more worried than I am. The kid is a lot like me – independent, prefers setting his own agenda, doesn’t care too much about what other people find interesting. He’s a rock star at memorizing the names of trucks and dinosaurs, and after hearing us read a book to him once he can usually “read” it back to us from memory.

        He’s in full time daycare, and his teachers have recommended that we incorporate letter and number recognition into his playtime because he is super not interested in it at school, even less than his friends at similar / younger ages. I kind of think he does know of numbers and letters, he just doesn’t get why it’s fun or interesting to talk about it.

        I appreciate the opportunity to write this off as, “not a problem, he’ll figure it out.” Thanks as always, hive –

        • Blueberry says

          Also, FWIW my son was never interested in letters or numbers until somewhere after turning 4. Now he’s all about it, and I am constantly fielding questions about addition and subtraction, as well as such gems as “how many miles are in a year?”

    • Anonymous says

      At age 3 it’s totally normal that he doesn’t want to sit still for seat work. Even my 5 year old can’t tolerate bowling very well. Try something like just kicking the ball around in the park.

      The most successful school systems (Finland) teach kids to read at age 7. My DH has a PhD, went to elementary school in Europe (not Finland) where he didn’t learn letters/numbers until he was 6. Even here, it used to be that kids didn’t really start learning to read and write until first grade.

      • Lorelai Gilmore says

        My daughter is very bright/articulate/smart. She didn’t become a reader until she turned 7 – but it was just like a light switch went off. She just clicked into it. Those Finns know what they’re doing.

    • TN says

      My 3-year-old twin boys outright refuse to even try to write letters. Their pediatrician suggested tracing to build fine-motor skills. Nope. Now I know why most of the grown men I work with seem to have such god awful handwriting. My twins LOVE our alphabet magnets on the fridge. So much for fine motor skills. I figure it will come when it comes.

      • anon says

        My almost 5 year old is really lagging in fine motor skills too. Thank goodness he has developed a passion for tiny legos.

      • Meg Murry says

        If they don’t want to trace letters, what about shapes? Or things like trucks and trains airplanes made out of basic shapes like circles and triangles? There are lots of downloadable pages you can print.

        Or if you don’t want to do worksheets, let them trace shapes in sand with sticks, or in shaving cream, or draw with sidewalk chalk. Or just about any other fine motor activity (putting big beads on a string, picking up small-ish blocks, etc). The letters part will come eventually – don’t stress about it at age 3.

        In fact, one theory is NOT to push them to learn to write letters yet, until they get the hang of more basic shapes (circle, X, cross, triangle) – because at this age they often form the letters in a very odd way, and then they have to un-learn that in K, or else they wind up with very slow & awkward handwriting because they will start letters on the right instead of left, make Ss in 3 parts instead of a smooth curve etc.

    • Artemis says

      I think people are right when they say that 3 is too young to be worried about this on a day-to-day basis. HOWEVER, my oldest son is now 7. He was like this when he was 3, and he’s still like this now (although he’s maturing and improving all the time). These parts really hit home for me:

      “He’s a bright, imaginative, outgoing kid . . . has no interest in follow a teacher’s instructions or responding to questions. He seems much worse at this than similarly aged peers . . . we left because I wasn’t listening.

      My son has been in full-time daycare, preschool, pre-K, Kindergarten, and now 1st grade. He is not spoiled. It is a personality type and also has to do, in our case, with intelligence far outstripping general maturity. This issue has been our single biggest behavior struggle with him, although he’s a wonderful kid in so many ways. We have been blessed that his teachers have always been willing to work with us on various strategies and we try very hard to be a “team” with his teachers–figuring out things that work both at school and at home for some consistency. His teachers view him as a bright, good kid with a listening/authority problem. He knows it’s his problem, he’s old enough to realize that now. Sometimes he works hard to overcome it. Sometimes he doesn’t. I try to remind myself, when I’m most frustrated, that if this is the worst we have to deal with, it’s ok. And he’s only 7. A really smart, sassy, funny, caring, sensitive, immature 7.

      So don’t worry about it too much now, but watch him, pay attention to anything that works, get to know his teachers as well as you can, and be aware it might be something that continues.

    • Anonymous says

      Unfortunately, LittleTK sounds normal and you’re right that there is an expectation that a 3 year old can follow directions. These two things can seriously be in conflict. Also, for under 5s, showing attention to ANYTHING for long periods of time (40 minutes of “reading”) is a GOOD SIGN.

      Most kids don’t develop the ability to control their impulses until 3-5 years of age. That doesn’t mean you should ignore this until he reaches that age, just you shouldn’t expect “compliance.”

      Try listening activities at different times of day (is he best first thing in the morning? after nap? after a physically exhausting playtime?) and see if you get different results.

      Model listening and following directions yourself. Honestly, this is where I think church attendance is a good thing for little kids. Seeing a bunch of grown-ups sit in rows and listening has got to make the transition to school easier. We don’t attend church and I’m trying to figure out what would be equivalent and welcome children.

      For directions, try following a cooking video on YouTube. Play and pause each step as you follow the directions. I would pick a video over a recipe so he can hear and follow along.

      Another thing to consider about toddler/pre-school classes is if he is just very social. Some kids do better in a one-on-one environment where there are fewer social distractions.

      You could also move to Finland and let your kid attend a reasonable school instead of the utter nonsense that is American education.

    • Meg Murry says

      This is totally normal at age 3. However, not to beat the same drum I always am banging on, but in addition to “listening ears” I’d also suggest you make a point of getting him to look at you when you are giving him directions, and try having him repeat them back. For a lot of kids, not following directions is often related to not being able to clearly hear the directions – especially if they have a history of fluid in the ears. I would get so frustrated with having to repeat myself 3+ times, until I realized that my kids weren’t paying attention or couldn’t hear me the first 2 times if I was shouting directions at the back of their heads from across the room.

      Giving praise for following directions also goes a long way. “Put on your listening ears. Ok Little TK, it’s time to go put on your shoes and coat.” “Good job following directions and getting your shoes and coat!” “Wow, you were really trying hard to pay attention to your teacher today during swimming lessons and following directions, weren’t you. Good job!”

  5. Em says

    My son is 15 months and we wake him up at 5:45 am to go to daycare during the week. He usually wakes up at 6:15 on the weekends. When I was nursing (weaned after one year), I could nurse him when he woke up at 6:15 and he would go to sleep for another 60-90 minutes. Is there a non-nursing hack that might buy us more sleep on the weekends without sacrificing his sleep? He currently goes to bed between 6:30-7 pm and naps for 60-90 minutes at daycare.

    • mascot says

      Will he drink a cup of milk in his crib and go back to sleep? Unfortunately, little people are known to be early risers and generally wake up ready to PAR-TAY after sleeping for 12 hours. You may be at that stage.

      • Em says

        One, daycare dropped him down to one nap when they moved him to the toddler room.

    • Anonymous says

      After I weaned, I couldn’t get LO to go back to sleep in the mornings. If I desparately need sleep I’ll let her watch Mother Goose Club on my phone while I dooze a bit. She does nap longer on the weekends (2.5. hours instead of 1 hour at daycare) so I try to nap then.

    • P says

      I think your best hack might involve the two of you (parents) going to sleep earlier on the weekends! It sounds better than trying to change your little one’s sleep schedule every weekend.

      • Meg Murry says

        Or agreeing to alternate – one of you gets up with kiddo on Saturdays, and then the other gets up at the crack of dawn on Sunday. Sometimes you can convince kids to come snuggle in bed with you, but that can turn into kid wanting to come sleep in your bed all the time, so you may not want to go there.

    • Anonymous says

      I hate to say it, but in a word: no. We go with P’s suggestion of alternating weekend sleep-in (til 8 or 9, ha!) days.

    • AnonMom says

      Wow I wasn’t able to do the “back to bed” morning after about 5 months. Can’t believe you got a 6-12 monther to do this. No, I don’t think there’s a good hack for this.

  6. Patty Mayonnaise says

    Does anyone have experience with diastasis recti? I’m about 7 weeks out and have about a 2 finger separation, but I’m anxious to get back into working out. I’ve been told to avoid crunches and planks (which kind of eliminates a lot of the group classes I typically like). Wondering if anyone has recs for exercises that are safe and would help me work towards closing the gap. Thanks so much!!

    • Blueberry says

      Get your OB to write you a prescription for a PT. I really wish this were done as a matter of course. My PT knew exactly what she was doing and taught me this exercise where you wrap a sheet or towel around your abdomen while crunching up. You can probably figure this out from instructions online, but I highly recommend a PT to make sure you’re doing everything right. My separation was pretty mild, but it was still amazing how quickly it closed up doing the right exercises. It’s like the body wants to close it back up but just needs a little nudge to do it. My PT was also a pelvic floor specialist and made sure everything was working out all right in that department, which was a nice bonus.

    • K. says

      The advice to see a PT that specializes in pelvic floor issues or post-natal care is exactly right. The other thing I recommend is a program called Restore Your Core by Lauren Ohayon. It is pricey, but includes several full-length yoga routines that are helpful for DR along with tons of other material and workout routines. I found it really helpful for healing my DR. She also has a facebook group and actively posts free material and answers questions. I don’t have any connections with her at all; I just really like the program.

      • ANon says

        Did you see a PT first and then moved on to the Restore Your Core program? Or did you do them simultaneously?

        • K. says

          PT first, but I’ve had pelvic issues before pregnancy and DR, so I had seen a PT prior to all that and had also read a lot of on the connected problems. Honestly, I think for a 2 finger separation 7 weeks post-partum, Restore Your Core could probably be helpful on its own. But, a PT can be really helpful too. It might also depend on your time issues (I live an hour from a PT, so to do that with a baby is really challenging!) and also learning styles (would you prefer to work together with an expert or do you like self-directed learning?).

          Also, you should know if you are BFing, as long as you are doing that, you have hormones that can keep the connective tissues from coming together completely with DR, so that last bit of separation will take time. And you don’t “officially” have DR until you have a measured separation 12 weeks post-partum. But, I also understand wanting to start exercising sooner than later too.

    • Frozen Peach says

      Thirding the PT rec. If you have DT, you probably have pelvic floor stuff too. Very helpful to work on both at once!

    • Anonymous says

      Sounds like everything went okay with your ECV then?? (I think that was you who had it!)

      • Patty Mayonnaise says

        Ha yes that was me! The ECV was successful! And the advice I got here was very helpful and reassuring!!

    • Sarabeth says

      Look into the Momma Strong program – there are online workouts specifically aimed at DR. And it’s super cheap. Once you get the hang of it, you can probably figure out how to modify your standard exercise classes (although there will be no crunches for awhile, certainly).

    • avocado says

      This is HUGE. Finally, the ACOG is actually looking at the evidence.

      This is my favorite part: “Some nonpharmacologic methods seem to help women cope with labor pain rather than directly mitigating the pain. Conversely, pharmacologic methods mitigate pain, but they may not relieve anxiety or suffering. Data about the relative effectiveness of nonpharmacologic techniques are limited because, until recently, evaluation of labor pain has relied on the use of the numeric pain scale of 1–10, which some have argued is insufficient to assess the complex and multifactorial experience of labor (32). As an alternative, a coping scale has been developed and approved by the Joint Commission. The coping scale asks, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how well are you coping with labor right now” (33)? … The importance of avoiding pharmacologic analgesia or epidural anesthesia will vary with individual patient values and medical circumstances.”

      This gets at a fundamental truth about labor pain that has heretofore gone largely unacknowledged by the medical profession–it is fundamentally different from other types of pain because it is inextricably bound up with the process of getting a baby out of one’s body. It is not like the pain of a broken arm, or surgery, or menstrual cramps. It has physical and psychological connections that are not involved in other types of pain. And pain and suffering are not the same thing. The idea of enabling coping (or reducing suffering) rather than simply mitigating pain is a game-changer.

      • layered bob says

        completely agree. Labor pain means things are going RIGHT, when normally pain means things are going wrong.

        Slowly, slowly the ACOG is moving towards evidence-based birth.

        • anon says

          Labor pain really is just completely different than other types of pain. I was so amazed after my first was born how labor pains just instantly stopped! It makes sense, but for some reason it also seemed very odd at the time that it all could just… go away once the baby was born. (I had an unmedicated labor and delivery.)

        • RDC says

          +1 and labor is as much (more?) a mental game than just a physical experience. Good to see them recognizing the importance of emotional support.

          • Anonymous says

            More! In my experience at least. I went into my first labor prepared and expecting to deal with it without medication. And I did just fine (the pain vs suffering point was something I read and that really resonated with me and helped a lot). Second one I did not mentally prepare. There were other complicating factors – mentally buy not physically – and I was miserable. Third I went in thinking I was going to ask for an epidural and OMG I needed it in a way I hadn’t for either of the first two. It’s not all in your head, but it is a LOT in your head.

            So glad the medical community is beginning to acknowledge. The difference between how my OBs talked about L&D and how the doulas, prenatal yoga instructor, and birth prep instructors talked about it were night and day, and the non medical approach was much more valuable to me.

    • AnonMom says

      Let’s keep in mind midwives and doulas want our money too. I was very happy to deliver without them just fine and not spend a few extra thousand.

    • Blueberry says

      Haha, I just returned a similar pair of shoes because I realized I do not know what they would go with. Like, they would look weird with both skirts and pants, right?

    • Anonymous says

      anything you would have worn a nude for you shoe with last season. They are just more interesting than the almond toe pumps that have been around for a while.

  9. Paging Grump says

    I finally broke through yesterday’s fog of busy– a few recs if you’re still taking ’em!

    The Ink & Volt planner has been huge for me in terms of actually changing the things that I need to reprioritize or focus more on– gratitude, personal time, creative projects. I don’t use it for anything but huge work tasks and otherwise focus on “everything else” there.

    I also really like Say Goodbye To Survival Mode and Hands Free Mama. Both have a decidedly religious bent, but lots of helpful info and practical ideas anyway.

  10. Frozen Peach says

    Augh, today did NOT start as planned. Slept in a bit and went to take a late shower to discover no hot water —> our gas meter was leaking badly. Got halfway to work when DH calls to say yep, emergency, come rescue me. DH met gas company cavalry while I finished getting kiddo ready for preschool at the bottom of the driveway in the backseat of the car (far away from the house!) based on the various stray items of clothing/shoes and the comb (found it under the seat, score!!) in our car. I made it to work by 10:30 and I already feel like I’ve run a marathon only without my daily shower.

  11. Anon says

    Hi all, any recommendations for beachwear for a 7-10 month old baby? She is ghostly pale and will likely burn very easily, so I’m looking for something that is long sleeves and long pants. Has anyone gotten anything from UVSkinz, or solartex? Thanks!

    • Newbie Momma says

      I just ordered from UVSkinz and Iplay (off Amazon) per recommendations on here. The UVSkinz hasn’t arrived yet, but the one-piece zip-up and hat from Iplay worked great and kept my babe protected over our beach weekend. Looked cute too :)

      • Momata says

        I also liked iPlay. It held up well over a full summer of regular swimming.

    • mascot says

      We had some adorable matching hat/rashguard/swim trunk sets from UVSkinz when my kid was a toddler. My biggest complaint was that the rashguards were high necks with a really small head opening. It did not work on my kid with a gigantic head. Gap/LE rashguards fit better for big heads.

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