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Updated: Nov 1, 2018 46 Comments · by

Finally Friday: Voyageur Double-Zip Wristlet

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A Tumi Voyageur Ankara Wristlet PouchI was just in a Tumi store (at the airport, of all places), and when I checked out the merchandise, this wristlet had some serious appeal. It’s clean. It’s classic. It’s big enough for a phone, cards, and even a lipgloss (or, hey, a snack for your kiddos). It goes from diaper bag to a more stylish bag with ease. It’s $95-$138 at Amazon; it’s also at Zappos for $95. Tumi Voyageur Double-Zip Wristlet (L-3)

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. mascot says

    +1 for Tumi. I have a work tote of theirs and it is just the right size for a laptop and file folder. The interior layout for the pockets is really nicely thought out and it is well constructed. My husband got a garment bag and toiletries bag and has been equally pleased with the features. I didn’t think I could be such a fangirl for a luggage company!

    • JayJay says

      We have SO much from Tumi. My husband’s daily briefcase/messenger bag is from them and he has used it for years. My daily work tote is Tumi and it’s perfectly laid out with really thoughtful interior/exterior pockets (who knew this kind of stuff would get me excited?). Their Q tote is a perfect lightweight tote for traveling, as well.

  2. Legally Brunette says

    Trying again because I didn’t get many responses on the regular s i t e yesterday. Need help on effective organization solution for children’s toys. I have two kids, ages 1 and 3. Of course in an ideal world they would help clean up but let’s be realistic.

    Right now we have an IKEA low lying shelf with large drawers. The issue is that some of these toys have SO many little pieces and things just end up everywhere. I try my best to put little pieces in separate ziplock bags but that only works for so long.

    One solution that helps is basically taking half of the toys and storing them away. But that doesn’t solve all of the little pieces everywhere with the toys that remain.

    Ideas, hive?

    • CPA Lady says

      There is a different between putting away and organizing, IMO.

      True “organization” of toys with a bunch of small parts is a Sisyphean task. Until your kids are old enough and neurotic enough to want to do it themselves, you are going to have to redo it yourself every single day. No organizational structure is going to help when you’re dealing with the chaos of toddlers.

      So I don’t organize, I put away. This may be too simplistic for you, but I put all the toys in one big bin. If my almost 2 year old wants all the pieces, she has to dig for them. The mega blocks go in their original bag, but literally everything else goes in one big bin in her room and one big bin in the living room. There is no order, but at least things are off the floor at the end of the day…. If only we had magical Mary Poppins finger snaps to make everything look perfect.

      • Meg Murry says

        Yes, in addition to what I said below, we also just wind up dumping things into bins in order to be able to vacuum, etc, and then every so often we try to sort the bins into a more general “cars in this bin, trains in that one, alphabet letters in that one”. Our big toybox has a whole lot of random detritus at the bottom of it though.

      • Anons says

        100% agree with this. Bins that can just handle all the stuff are key so that you can just put away all the toys at the end of the day.. The other keys for us are (1) frequent purging and (2) limiting the toys that have small pieces to 2 at a time.

        • J says

          +1 for frequent purging. There’s only so many ways to organize too much stuff, you know?

          I used clear plastic drawers, a few baskets, and gave up on trying to make sure all the pieces stayed together and made sense. If there are too many toys I think kids get overwhelmed, especially when it’s all out and messy. My girls are 10 and 6 and it finally dawned on me that if *I* feel overwhelmed and angry with the toy mess, they are, too. So we had a massive purge–and then a few weeks later I went back when everyone was out and purged some more. Less drama that way.

          BEST IDEA EVER FOR ART SUPPLIES – a tall, plastic organizing tower with lots of shallow drawers. It works perfectly for construction paper, scissors, glue sticks, crayons, coloring books, notebooks, flash cards, etc. We had so many art supplies scattered in weird places, and we could never find the safety scissors for the cut/paste Kindergarten homework. This tower beats messy desk drawers (or shoe boxes full of crayon/markers/pencils/junk like my kids had) and I wish I had thought of it years ago.

          • CPA Lady says

            I posted a link about the too much stuff thing, but it’s stuck in moderation…

            “Why I Took My Kids’ Toys Away (& Why They Won’t Get Them Back)” on living well spending less dot com is a really interesting article about too much stuff, how it makes kids overwhelmed and discontent. I read it before I even was pregnant, and it really resonated with me. I re-read it periodically.

    • Meg Murry says

      Little plastic containers for the small pieces? We store things like marbles in disposable tupperware (like Gladwear) or other plastic containers like one I think was originally meant to hold CDs that has a hinged lid. I am also a big fan of all the various sizes of Sterile latching containers – we have 2 of the “stack and carry” containers that we use to sort Legos with my older kids, and we’ll probably get more.

      The other option besides storing half away is to store the plastic containers of little pieces up on a higher shelf so they have to ask you to get them down, and you only get down one or two containers at a time for them.

      But otherwise, commiseration, and a big purge every so often of “what the heck is this little plastic thing? I don’t know, lets just pitch it”. We were really good for a couple of years about keeping all the little pieces/parts, but my husband is terrible about letting the kids take toys places and lose track of them, so then we’re missing 2 pieces to the car track and now it can’t complete a full circle, etc.

    • Momata says

      I have one of those six-compartment Threshold credenza things, three compartments wit hbins and three compartments left open. I put things with small pieces in smaller containers, then rotate the type of toy that is in those containers. For example — building sets (tinkertoys, duplos, some other random sets) go in fabric grocery bags inside bins, or in a closet if they are out of rotation. Items that are in rotation — she only gets to play with one building set at a time, and has to (“help”) clean it up before she can get a different one. Sets like matchbox cars and magnatiles go in empty wipes containers with a picture of what’s inside taped to the wipe container. Puzzles get rotated but they live assembled in a puzzle rack (Melissa and Doug, I think) slid inside one of the credenza compartments. Everything gets reset every 2 weeks before the housekeeper comes.

    • JTX says

      We do something similar to Momata. Ikea Expedit with bins. Each bin has a label and a picture on the front. The bins are small enough that you don’t really need to do any internal organization (except we have each puzzle in a ziploc bag). We also have several larger bins where we can put larger toys. Land of nod is a great resource for cute bins and containers. We also usually clean up as we go, so it doesn’t become overwhelming. We also do a sweep of the house, usually once a week, to gather toys that have gotten out of the playroom and put them away.

    • NewMomAnon says

      I have a big 12 compartment bookshelf, and use colorful fabric bins to store like items (i.e., trains and cars go in one, dress up goes in another, singing plastic items go in another, big blocks in another). Any set that has lot of little pieces has a smaller (rubbermaid or similar) container with a lid. I also have a basket for all the standalone small treasures that grandparents give her for holidays or as gifts from vacations – the wind up bird toy, random small balls, rattles, etc. My policy is that only one bin can come out or be open at a time, and that one has to be picked up and put away before the next one can come out.

      With a toddler, that means I’m lucky if she “helps” put the items back in the bin before taking out the next one. But it usually falls on me to make sure the prior bin is picked up and stored while kiddo is tinkering around with the new bin. But it actually keeps things to a dull roar.

      I rotate big items (her tent, her dollhouse, rocking horse, ride on toy).

      I’m struggling with books; kids books are such varying sizes and we have so many paperbacks that it’s hard to put them back on the shelves, so kiddo just dumps them on the floor next to the shelves. I may institute book bins.

    • Anonymous says

      We keep toys with many pieces in plastic pencil boxes or shoeboxes, one set per box. Only one set allowed out at a time, unless she is actively playing with multiple sets (e.g., Star Wars action figures are having a party with Olivia the Pig in a spaceship made of blocks). With kids that young I would keep those toys up high and only get down one set at a time.

    • ChiLaw says

      Maybe because my kid is young enough that there aren’t choking-hazard size pieces around, but we dump everything small into one of two toy boxes (those boxes that are intended to sit on shelves and look attractive? One goes under a coffee table and the other stands alone by the sofa) and then bigger things (sensory bottles, stuffed animals) go on the book shelf. It happens every night after bedtime, and it has worked out pretty well so far. I don’t worry too much about keeping pieces of things together, because everything is in one of three places, so it can’t get all that lost.

    • EB0220 says

      I try to limit the annoying tiny toys as much as possible, because they drive me crazy. We have generic bins that mostly encompass what we have – blocks, dolls, balls, dress-up stuff. We have a few low shelves to put larger toys on, montessori style. We have a play kitchen, and the all the play food, utensils, plates go in a bin by it. Putting a picture label on the bins like a daycare can help. Our daycare has a ton of small plastic bins with picture labels for the small animals, bugs, dinosaur toys, etc. My kids actually like sorting them. “NO, , that’s a DINOSAUR, not a PERSON!”. A friend of mine has this shelving system with a bunch of bins with labels (little people, etc.) that seems to work well. They have a TON of those smaller toys.

    • but what about legos?? says

      We do bins, also. Lots and lots of bins. Q: what about legos?? My older son just got into them, but they’re a choking hazard for the mobile baby. I saved all the boxes the sets came in and tried putting a ziploc plastic bag in each box with all of its contents, but this is not sustainable. Small plastic containers (the shoe box size is too big for just one set). Maybe it’s the OCD in me, but I hate to combine them. I assume I need to just let go, lol.

      • Anonymous says

        Combine them. Consider saving the instruction booklets, and organizing them by color, if you’re super OCD (3 bins: warm colors, cool colors, and black/grey/wheels/etc.).

      • NewMomAnon says

        I know, free range lego-ing is scary. But imagine all the creative things you kid could do if the sets were combined and he wasn’t burdened by following instructions!

        • but what about legos?? says

          so true–they never stay in their set after we put them together. kottke.org just wrote about how his kids are not burdened by the sets the way he would have imagined they’d be. will surrender to the leg-sanity!

      • Meg Murry says

        Eventually you have to combine the Legos to a certain extent, they won’t stay by set forever. As I mentioned above, the sterilite latching containers are good for sorting while you are building or for storing specialized parts (we have one that is all yellow blocks from one set, another that is roof tiles, another that is wheels and gears, etc), and then we use the green sorter in the top box to hold what we call hte “itty-bitties” – all those things that are tiny and fall to the bottom of any other bin. For the handful of sets we still want to keep together for a little while, we pour those into Ziplocs, and then put all the Ziplocs in to a bigger latching container.

        This is the bin I’m referring to, we have 2 now and will probably buy more, plus we have a couple of big “just dump all Legos here and sort them later” bins
        http://www.target.com/p/sterilite-stack-carry-tray-organizer-storage-tote-3-pc-clear-with-green-latch/-/A-14779289

        As for the choking hazard aspect – how big is your age gap? We have a grandma nearby who had all my Legos from when I was a kid already, so we were able to institute a “little Legos live at grandma’s house in this room behind a closed door, we only have Duplos at home until the baby is beyond trying to eat them” policy.

        Actually, the biggest problem we have with Legos is probably that I love them as much or more than my kids, so I have a few sets that are “mine” that I want to keep organized – but I know I can’t tell the 9 year old he has to share with his 4 year old brother but Mommy doesn’t have to share hers :-)

    • Anonymama says

      Try to keep the things with the most annoying small parts (puzzles, card games, etc) up higher in containers they can’t open themselves. A few categories of oft-used things in big labeled bins (Legos, playmobil, blocks) that they can put things in themselves without getting overwhelmed (let’s race to see who can put the most Legos back in the bin!). And then one big bin for all the random bits you don’t have time to sort out, to deal with every few weeks.

      And it’s really slow and annoying for a long time, but making them at least contribute to picking up will pay off in the long run. (At least that is what I tell myself, so far seems moderately successful)

  3. Anons says

    TUMI was just acquired by Samsonite. I’m worried the quality is about to nosedive and am hoping another company steps into the niche of making fab, well thought-out travel gear. I love all our TUMI stuff.

    • MomAnon4This says

      Agreed re: poor quality of Samsonite. They have semi-good customer service but why bother after 2 repairs on the same new-ish piece?

  4. fight with husband says

    Wondering if you wise ladies could give your take on this. I’m Muslim – my husband’s not. There’s been, obviously, a lot of anti-Muslim discussion during this election season. I haven’t discussed it too much with him, because he just seems to check out or will say he doesn’t understand why I read about it. He and I used to be very politically engaged, but in the last couple of elections, though he votes, he won’t read too much about the campaigning because it gets him riled up and he feels like he can’t do anything about it.
    So at any rate, I hardly bring up Donald Trump now. Maybe a couple times a month. But this morning this happened:
    Me-
    “So yesterday a Trump supporter asked if we could get rid of TSA agents wearing ‘heebeejeebies’ (hijabs, presumably) and replace them with military retirees. Trump said, “we’re going to be looking at a lot of things.”
    Husband-
    “Hmph.”
    Me-
    “This one’s making me so angry, and maybe it’s dumb, because he continually says awful things about so many groups, and tons of stuff about Muslims. But he’s basically openly mocking Muslim women’s attire.”
    Husband, rolling his eyes-
    “That’s probably the least offensive thing they’re saying about them.” (Not sure why he said “them,” given I’m in that group – you’d think he’d have said at least “You guys.” )
    Me, maybe clipped sounding-
    “Well it’s not least offensive to me! My mom wears a hijab!”
    Husband, voice slightly rising –
    “What do you expect? They’re Trump supporters, they’re racist!”
    Me –
    “Well it hurts! A presidential candidate is openly mocking me, the people I care about—“
    Husband, interrupting –
    “Then DON’T read it!”
    Me –absorbing that he’s actually impatient, and reading it as lack of sympathy:
    “Eff you.”

    I’m trying to figure out how unreasonable it was of him to give me that response. Obviously I shouldn’t have sworn at him, and I’ll have to apologize for it. But it blows my mind that he can allow himself to get impatient with me about this. He’s basically saying that if I react to the pretty vile things Trump is doing and saying, that I’m bringing it on myself by reading the news. Of course I’m going to keep reading the news – hell, I should! It’s a civic freaking duty – but he thinks I should just scroll past the Trump stuff…he’s indicated as much before.
    It’s crazy to me that he can be this lacking in compassion, sympathy – forget empathy. If anything, he’s irritated. I guess it would make sense (possibly) if I brought up this topic constantly. But it’s maybe a couple times a month.
    What do you guys think? Am I being unreasonable to expect a kinder response from him? I know what I said was disproportionate, but it reflected how I actually felt. And I’m wondering if my internal reaction was disproportionate, to be so hurt.

    • MomAnon4This says

      I think Trump does this to people — and his supporters.
      Like, to you, Trump’s positions (and those of his supporters) are explicit threats to your existence here in America and even elsewhere. (I’m Jewish, I’ve dealt with anti-Semitic comments, I get this). But to your husband, Trump and his supporters are full of almost nonsense talk of a bizarre tribe. My non-Jewish husband once told me that my family thinks about anti-Semitism too much because he and his friends and family never talk about it when there’s NOT Jewish people around, so how is it a thing that exists that we spend so much time and mental energy on?
      I think you both have to be clear on what you’re feeling — you’re feeling threatened and looking for allies and support and empathy, and he is feeling…? What? Probably more annoyed with Trump than with you, tbh, but since he can’t punch T in the face, he says something thoughtless to you, his wife, whom you know he loves dearly, but cannot comprehend 100% just because you’re two different people, much less from 2 different religious/cultural backgrounds.

      • JayJay says

        I think this is right. My husband will vote, but is relatively apolitical and mentally checks out as soon as I start talking politics. He’s told me before that he figures all politicians are terrible, politics are terrible, and he can’t really change any of it on a macro level, so why let yourself get worked up by it. Obviously, this is easier to think when you don’t have a presidential candidate specifically threatening your way of life.

        Is your husband a super-practical guy? Mine is and I can absolutely see him saying something like this. He’s trying to help solve the problem he can (he can’t make Trump and his supporters go away, but you can control what you’re exposed to) as opposed to simply lending a sympathetic ear.

        • MDMom says

          I agree that this is it. And I also sympathize with your husband because I am similarly uninterested in talking politics and am happy to get all my news from the daily show or similar. Its all so hypocritical and insincere that I can’t even engage in sincere consideration of it most of the time. I try to treat everyone I encounter respectfully and I don’t let such comments made in my presence go by without challenge, but I consider that the one and only thing I can do to address this kind of intolerance. My husband is not Muslim but is south Asian. Happily for us, he has a similar disdain for politics. We do talk about these things sometimes but in more of a passing “that’s f-cking ridiculous” kind of way. We roll eyes and move on.

          I don’t get the impression that you think your husband disrespects you or your culture in any other way, so I would chalk this up to a different tolerance for politics and maybe a more solutions-focused nature. Practically, I think you should just make a habit of hashing these things out with a friend who has a similar interest in doing so. At least talk to that person first, so your initial outrage has tempered before you bring it up with husband. Your reaction to Trumps comments isn’t wrong and you have every right to want to vent about it, but you and husband are just not compatible in this regard, so you will be more satisfied getting that need fulfilled elsewhere.

    • Anon says

      It is completely valid that this is upsetting you. Does your husband dislike talking about politics? Because I really dislike discussing politics and can sort of commiserate with him, except that I think the dynamic is changed because you are Muslim and the stuff Trump says about Muslims is REALLY disturbing, so he should probably be more understanding that you may need to use him as an outlet for your feelings on this issue. Have you tried telling him directly that it is important to you to be able to discuss this with him?

      • ChiLaw says

        I have mostly stopped talking to my husband about politics, for similar reasons. It’s not that he disagrees with me, it’s that he is able to disengage, talk about things as “hilariously awful” and “well of course, they’re racist/sexist/homophobic/xenophobic/whatever” in this detached way that I can’t stand. It’s not abstract for me! It’s not a thought experiment! This is my life, the life of my closest friends that we’re talking about!

    • NewMomAnon says

      Is it possible your husband was trying to be empathetic and failed? I mean, he obviously isn’t a Trump supporter and showed disgust. His suggestion was very concrete (the campaign isn’t meant for you, why follow it?) but that is a classic husband/wife issue; husband thinks he is being empathetic by offering a concrete “to do” list to address a problem, when wife just wanted to be heard and comforted by being heard. Instead, you felt dismissed by his “to do” list.

      Also, I’m so, so sorry about the rhetoric coming out of this campaign season. I know I find the messages upsetting, but I can’t imagine how scary it would be to hear some of this as a Muslim in America. Hugs.

    • CPA Lady says

      I think there are two issues here. The first issue is that you don’t feel supported by your husband in terms of how personally scared you feel in the current climate of Islamophobia. In that issue, I agree with you completely. He needs to be more supportive and you need to be able to talk to him about it without him ignoring or minimizing your concerns. Sometimes I have luck when telling my husband what I need ahead of time specifically. “I have something bothering me that I am going to tell you about. I don’t want you to give me a solution, I want you to give me a hug and tell me it’s going to be okay”, for example.

      The second issue is that you are repeatedly choosing to consume media about Donald Trump and his racist supporters that you know will be upsetting. How much more informed about Trump do you need to be? What if you did stop reading articles about him for a while? My husband went through this phase where he read the news every day. He became incredibly angry, depressed, negative, etc and expected me to listen to his (what felt like) constant political ranting. I was pretty rude to him about it too. Like, IDGAF, you chose to read something you knew would upset you and now it’s my problem? No thanks. He’s been in a much better place since he only reads the news from time to time.

      • Meg Murry says

        Yes, the second issue is where I am now. I read the headline and see that it says Trump or one of his supporters has said something racist or ignorant again. Well, that doesn’t tell me anything new and the article is just going to make me mad, so I’m not going to read it today. I’ve already made up my mind that there is no way in the world I will be voting for Trump, so I don’t need to read more to education myself on that.

        Is it a bit of putting my head in the sand? Maybe. But seriously, the election isn’t for 4 more months, and I was already burned out on it months ago.

        I also feel like for every article or attack ad that says “Look at how racist Donald Trump is!” there is some bigot out there saying “yup! He’s saying what I feel!” and it’s not actually helping – because anyone that’s going to be outraged by him already is, based on what he’s said so far, and anyone that isn’t outraged yet, or will vote for him anyway – well, short of irrefutable proof that he’s actually been murdering people in his basement, I don’t know that anything will outrage sway them at this point.

        So while I 100% agree with you that it is terrible that Trump and his supporters are saying these things, I do see where your husband is coming from with just not wanting to talk about him anymore.

    • MomAnon4This says

      One suggestion that I’ve done is to find a group where you go without your husband to be active about these issues, if you don’t choose to ignore them. Your local mosque or Islamic Center or an interfaith group — there’s a ton on Facebook and you can keep up with their postings and be as active as you want, without your husband, and that can be your pro-active political space.

      • Anonymous says

        This is such great advice! I recently realized that I needed to stop preaching/venting/raging about the news to my family, and instead just get off my butt and do something about it. It’s a lot harder, but also more satisfying.

    • fight with husband says

      Thank you all, so very much, for your extraordinarily kind responses. Your advice and sympathy – both for my perspective and my husband’s – has helped me immensely. You didn’t need to take this time out to help an internet stranger, and you did. Thank you again.

    • Anon says

      It’s interesting how some people will marry someone from a different background and not realize that it has far-reaching implications.

      It is common for men of my ethnic group to marry outside the group, but when they want to vent about bias, they talk to women of the group for emotional support. Why is it the responsibility of someone else to provide emotional support over a spouse? It seems like it’s a way of OP’s husband to enjoy the benefits of marrying OP without having to handle the unpleasant parts such as anti-Muslim bias.

  5. Best backpack for young children? says

    To bring to school/daycare. Any recommendations would be appreciated!

  6. ECV experience? says

    I had a successful ECV on Monday at 37 weeks. So far so good, I know his head hasn’t moved back to lodge itself under my rib, so I think he’s still totally flipped. It sounds like the chance of flipping back is low (4% seems to be what I’m finding), but anecdotally, the only person I know who has had one also had the baby flip back. Will I know if that happens? For now, I’m just feeling my side every so often in a paranoid fashion thinking, “That’s a foot, right??” Would love anecdata on success stories or someone telling me, “Yes, you will definitely know if your baby flips back.”

    • Anon says

      When my baby was breech I 100% knew by 34 weeks when he tried to go transverse once (it hurt). How was the ECV for you? If you could feel it, then that should give you an idea of how it would feel to have baby turn back, I think you would know. But I 100% understand the parinoia. As I laid upside from the couch I was like, did he flip? Should I start squating? It was such a mental game.

      Unfortunately other than that, I can be of no help. I had an ECV at 39 weeks followed by an immediate induction.

      • ECV experience? says

        That is helpful, thank you! I mean, I figured I would be able to feel it, since the ECV was so….not painful, but really, really uncomfortable. Everything feels so different with him turned, so it’s hard for me to determine what is normal with his head in the right place and what is not. I guess the bright side is that if he DOES turn back, I can do another ECV later, too. I had gotten really used to his movements in the old position so now everything just feels so bizarre!

  7. Grumpy Daycare says

    Would you be concerned if two people at your smallish daycare were regularly grumpy? One of them is a teacher for the class my kid just got out of, but who she regularly interacts with since there is group playground time for the 1-2 year olds. The other is the assistant director of the daycare. They are both in their 20s/30s and pregnant. I would not want to work at a daycare while pregnant either, but they are both generally dour and unpleasant. I was glad when my kid moved out of her last classroom because I never liked the grumpy teacher. The other teacher in that class was fantastic though. Everyone else is great and has a good attitude.

    I just need to chill about this and keep my mouth shut, right?

    • Anon says

      If it’s directly affecting your kid I would say something (my son’s daycare had a new pregnant worker who was not giving him enough time to eat when he was under a year, she just didn’t have the patience, so I said something and the director did meals for the kids after that until she went out on maternity leave. She was awesome when she came back, so I definitely think it was end of pregnancy and out of patience related). If it doesn’t, I would let it go for now. I am a grumpy pregnant person towards to end of pregnancy, but I never let it affect my work with counterparties and customers, I was maybe just a little less pleasant for my co-workers to deal with. So i try to give others a little grace on this too.

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