Out of the Mouths of Babes

In an attempt to lure his daughter to the lunch table, the father tempted his daughter with,

"Hey, look at this pickle!"

To which the little girl responded,

"Wow, Daddy, it looks just like you!"

(Spoken by Olivia, age 2 1/2)

Have your kids said something funny? Send it to: dalessandrochristine@gmail.com

Week In Review

The Top 10 Things I Learned This Week: (It was a very educational week!)

10) When changing your husband’s ring tone, avoid choosing “My Humps”, especially when he has an important meeting with his boss.

9) Graffeeti sneakers also make great gifts for husbands who need to be reminded of certain things, like calling when they’re going to be late, commenting on your new, post-stomach virus figure, and the fact that decks are fun (shout out to Precision Exteriors).

8) When you start to hear pregnancy announcements from a lot of different people, stop drinking the water...I’ve heard it’s contagious (I’m all about green tea and bottled water right now)

7) If you are invited to a baby shower, wait until after the event takes place to reveal your fabulous ideas for presents. (I had to resort to Plan B, which I’ll reveal at some point in the future….)

6) If, in the spirit of April Fool’s, you post your husband’s Mike Schmidt autographed baseball bat on Craig’s List, prepare for some pretty tempting offers.

5) Whether your children are 18 months, or 18 years, at some point they’re going to let you get a good night sleep. I hope.

4) If you agree on a push present, get it in writing (and consider having it notarized just to be sure).

3) If you really want to make sure your son is going to endure playground taunts, name him Shaya.

2) Virginia is for lovers (and for rage-filled, depressed “millionairesses” who wear diamonds on their middle fingers).

1) If you endure the pain of a stomach virus make sure you (1) take advantage of your husband’s turn as sole caregiver, (2) catch up on sleep, and (3) spend some quality time with Dora (or any other stuffed, television character that usually sleeps with your child).

Quote of the Weekend

"Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable."
- Plato

Picture of the Weekend

So young, so adorable, and already so aware of all the best places to hide.

Warning to Parents: The Past Can Harm Your Children

As social perspectives evolve, the way in which we choose to raise our children is also always changing. What was once perfectly acceptable, now raises concerns over any number of factors affecting our children. Spanking, playpens, and even tap water were all pretty widely used a few decades ago; now, not as acceptable.

It's kind of like hitchhiking.

These changes are also readily apparent in childrens programming. In case you're interested, Sesame Street has put out a series of DVDs from their first years on television. These DVDs, however, come with an interesting warning: not suitable for children.

Huh?

Well, the times have changed and things like Gordon striking up a conversation with an unknown child and inviting him home for cookies and milk is not a scenario parents might want to encourage when their own children are approached by a strange, albeit nice, man. Other no-nos that appear on the videos include overeating of sweets (shout out to Cookie Monster), riding bikes without helmets, and a wide variety of socially unacceptable behavior of both adults and children.

Which brings me to another great example of, oh, how the times have changed. This comes to me by way of the sensational Stacey (who I probably need to buy something pretty, given all the material she's supplied me with):

Riding the wave of all things Horton, a family friend gave Stacey an old VHS of four Horton "episodes", portraying the popular Horton series. The movie was made circa 1965, but still proved entertaining for their daughter who loved the Dr. Seuss books. The last episode was a retelling of our own family favorite, Horton Hatches an Egg.

The Horton cartoon animated everything you might expect from the book: the bargaining with lazy bird Mayze, Horton's dedication to keeping the egg warm despite the awful weather, and Horton's eventual capture by hunters who thought they could ship him to America and make a lot of money on the odd occurrence of an elephant in a tree.

And that is where the movie really dates itself.

As Horton is put on a ship and sets sail to America (apparently we appreciate peculiar pachyderms more than Europeans), a fish jumps out of the water. The fish, bewildered by the image of a sea sick elephant, perched on a nest, does what any normal fish would do.

He pulls out a gun and puts a bullet in his head.

Hmmm...I don't remember that part in the book.

The result: Stacey and her husband Tony have agreed to pre-screen all movies made before the millennium, and their daughter needs to be constantly reminded that not all marine life bear arms.

Another great way to overspend

One of my all time favorite online shopping sites is bluefly.com. It is all discounted, designer clothes that are still in style. Though still more than you'll pay at Kohls or some of the other low cost stores, they really have some amazing summer dresses...

and, anyway, isn't Mother's Day around the corner???

Check it out (at your own risk):

www.bluefly.com

Mama Fashionista

So after hours of thumbing through fashion magazines, browsing through stores, and actually paying attention to what other women are wearing, I think I am finally prepared to offer some sort of fashion preview of what we should be wearing this spring.

What Is In:

Bold colors: Specifically bright yellows, blues, red-orange, and fuchsia

Urban Safari: Tailored shirts, rompers, and dresses with front pockets and belts

Dresses: Specifically white ones. The little white dress is all the rage right now and so, get your fake tans and stain sticks ready.

Nautical: In keeping with the white and blue, boatneck shirts with thin, horizontal stripes are the casual tops you should be wearing, matched with wide leg, white trousers or flat fronted white shorts

Natural materials: Whether it is wooden heeled wedges, or canvas bags, the trend is noticeable and often paired with the urban safari shirts and dresses.

Oversized Accessories: Large bags (or small clutches), big, bug-eyed sunglasses, and chunky jewelry remain fashionable requirements

Full, A line skirts - with fitted tops

What Is Out:

Never one to judge another’s personal style, these instructions come straight from the experts. If you own the following, please give them away, throw them away, or add them to your child’s dress up pile:

Crocs
Clothes advertising the brand name
Clothes that are too well matched; play around with colors and designs
Sequined dresses (oh what will I do with all of mine?)
Peasant tops (and anything bohemian)Pencil skirts (go for A line)
Capris
Leggings
Overtly sexy clothes (think more elegant, feminine pieces)
Black or gray from head to toe
Baby doll dresses


What I’ll Be Avoiding:

In addition to the wedge sandals, gladiator sandals are very in right now, and I will definitely not be wearing them. As a short girl, I need all the height I can get and these ugly, overly busy sandals do nothing to compliment the shape of your leg; however, if you are tall and a slave to fashion…know that these are the fashion must-have shoes of the summer.

Also very trendy and something I’m going to have to pass on are the Maxi Tube dresses. These strapless, floor length beach dresses have nice flow and flatter almost every figure…except mine. Nothing makes me look shorter than this style dress; as for everyone else, there are a lot of cute ones out there.

Where to Shop: Dresses

I realize many of us find it hard to invest in sun dresses when scrubs are more ideal for child rearing, but this year’s trend of simple, comfortable shift dresses (often in very comfortable jersey material) makes the possibility a little more manageable. So, I hit the mall (you know, just for research), and came up with the following summer dresses. Please keep in mind that I do not mistake myself for some kind of fashion expert, I'm just throwing some popular pieces at you, ranging in style and price.
The ones I like, which reflect the white trend, as well as the bold colors, are:

Everything at www.anthropologie.com

And….

http://beauty.ivillage.com/trends/fashion/0,,8xlm4v40,00.html

http://www.ae.com/web/browse/product.jsp?catId=cat1320034&productId=prod2340004

http://www.ae.com/web/browse/product.jsp?catId=cat1320034&productId=0393_9003

http://www2.victoriassecret.com/commerce/application/prodDisplay/?namespace=productDisplay&origin=onlineProductDisplay.jsp&event=display&prnbr=8M-221959&page=1&cgname=OSCLODRSDAY&rfnbr=3205

http://www4.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?DeptID=50434&CatID=51366&GrpTyp=PRD&ItemID=13d6a8f&attrtype=&attrvalue=&CmCatId=EXTERNAL5044451366

http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2969650/0~2378467~2378483~2377032~6008190?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6008190&P=1

http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/product.do?cid=15292&pid=565283

http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/product.do?cid=15292&pid=562678&vid=1

http://www.target.com/Isaac-Mizrahi-Target-Eyelet-Halter/dp/B0010ZZHJI/qid=1207332848/ref=br_1_12/601-3723839-3920944?ie=UTF8&node=391687011&frombrowse=1&rh=&page=1



http://www.jcrew.com/catalog/product.jhtml?id=prod91140181&catId=cat301188

http://www.jcrew.com/catalog/product.jhtml?id=prod91716181&catId=cat301188

http://www.jcrew.com/catalog/product.jhtml?id=prod92287181&catId=cat301189

http://www.bananarepublic.com/browse/product.do?cid=39292&pid=564218&scid=564218032

http://www.bananarepublic.com/browse/product.do?cid=39292&pid=564225

http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2965253/0~2376776~2374327~2374331~6014132?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6014132&P=1

http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2965127/0~2376776~2374327~2374331~6014132?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6014132&P=1

http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2969276/0~2376776~2374327~2374331~6014132?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6014132&P=1

http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2968152/0~2376776~2374327~2374331~6014132?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6014132&P=2

http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2962500/0~2376776~2374327~2374331~6014132?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6014132&P=2


http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=296440&CategoryID=26861