Musings About Life... After Birth

Robeez, the makers of those little shoes you know you all put on your babies, recently launched its fourth annual Season of Giving campaign, a charitable initiative to donate shoes to infants in need during the holiday season. Here’s how it works: For every Happy Holidays e-card sent from the Season of Giving website, Robeez will make a $5 product donation via its charitable partner, Kids in Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.). It’s easy: one card = $5 worth of Robeez footwear; 10 cards = $50 worth of Robeez footwear, and on and on!

A little bonus: For taking the time to send an e-card, Robeez is offering senders a chance to win one of seven new Shoes and Socks Gift Sets. The initiative ends December 20. It only takes a few minutes, so visit seasonofgiving.robeez.com and help others keep their feet warm this winter.

Need to drop a few pounds? I do - like, a “few” times seven or so. In the meantime, it’s all about Spanx, the miraculous shapewear from Atlanta girl (woo hoo!) Sara Blakely. I hate to admit that all of those “Have you lost weight?” comments I’ve been getting recently can’t honestly be answered with “Why yes, and thank you, you wonderfully observant person!”. My seemingly svelte figure is completely the result of my wearing Spanx’s Hide & Sleek Girl Shorts and Slim Cognito Body Shaping Cami. Sara, you deserve a Nobel Prize.

This afternoon (Tuesday) at 1:00 PM EST, I’ll be joining Broads Molly and Christine of XM Radio’s “Broadminded” (tune in on XM Channel 155!) to discuss the newest offerings from Spanx: the Bra-llelujah! Full Coverage Front Closure Bra and the latest additions to Spanx’s hosiery line, the Patterned Tight-End Tights and Under the Heel Tight-End Tights.

Want to win a new bra or some hosiery from Spanx and Assets, Spanx’s lower-priced sister line? I’ve got 10 bras to give away and 10 hosiery sets including one pair of Spanx and one pair of Assets patterned tights each to give away. To be eligible to win, you must be registered for The Momtourage’s mailing list, so if you’re not, click on the green “Join Our Mailing List” box at the top, right-hand corner of this page to register. If you’re already registered, you’re already eligible to win!

From today’s Wall Street Journal (no I don’t read it regularly, but my business-y best friend Jessica does!):

Buying overpriced indulgences may feel good in the short term, but you pay the price later. Or at least that’s the conventional wisdom.

Luxury-goods makers, of course, will eat this up. I can see the slogan now: “Luxury: It’s Good for Life.” Or “Cartier: You’ll be sorry you didn’t.” Whether luxury is good for your finances is another matter. (Nobody goes bankrupt saying “I wish I’d spent more on Gucci bags).

Currently, I am working on a personalized stationery story for The Family Groove’s October issue, and having a blast coming up with recommendations for the best, coolest and most adorable paper goods and websites that sell them. Personalized stationery, it just so happens, is one of my all-time favorite things. Perhaps it is the southern gal in me, but I just adore a nice little monogrammed thank-you note card.

I’ve discovered some great new sites and products that you’ll be able to check out in September, but I have to give you a sneak preview of one of my favorites, Sara and Abraham, a retailer I discovered courtesy of Atlanta (my hometown) Momtourage member Sloane, who sent me a set of their cards when baby #2 was born. Designed by owner Sara Tams, Sara and Abraham notecards and products are breathtakingly sweet and beautiful, not to mention exceptionally well-priced. Most of her designs feature silhouettes, which you can customize to best represent your kids by choosing from a large selection of “children”. Additionally, with most products you can select from a variety of color options:

Here’s a sampling of some of the products I find especially gorgeous:

Sara and Abraham also offers 8X0 silhouette prints, perfect for framing and putting in your kids’ rooms. You can get them in the above designs, but my favorite is the “Kids at Play” print.

Aren’t they adorable? I knew you’d love ‘em. To purchase some for yourself or for a gift, click here. When you checkout, enter code MOMT4, and you’ll get four free cards with every order!

Thank you to everyone who has been sending me emails telling my how much they’re loving their Handy Sacks. Don’t they totally rule? I’m telling you, the seriously eliminate that annoying diaper bag/purse chaos. If you haven’t purchased one, you can still get them at Divas and Drooligans  - and if you use code MAYGROOVE15SAVE, they’ll knock 15% off the price!

Here’s another recommendation and chance to win something else I love from Divas and Drooligans. First, however, a little background:

I have a minor obsession with bibs and burp cloths. I can’t get enough of them. Especially when you’re outside the house,  there’s just something nice about throwing a cute little cloth (as opposed to a schmutzy rag) over your shoulder - even if its purpose is to protect your clothes from you baby’s puke. Likewise, to me, fastening a cute little bib on my baby just feels far more civilized than a stained, crappy one. Don’t get me wrong - I understand that baby gear is not always gonna look pristine, but you can at least try to avoid falling into the ratty bib trap. Basically, I see bibs and burp cloths as the baby gear equivalent to an adult’s sweatpants; you can go old and comfy, and that’s totally fine, but with just a little extra effort, you can avoid schlumpiness.

When it comes to the kinds of bibs and burp cloths I like, I have two favorite styles: monogrammed/personalized ones (that’s the Southern in me), and groovy, whimsical ones (That’s the former NYC gal in me). There are all sorts of places to get great-looking monogrammed/personalized bibs and burp cloths (my personal favorites are The Cutest Things and Moonbeam Baby). For whimsically cute ones, however, I love these the chenille-backed sets from Divas and Drooligans:

Check out these deals from one of my favorite blogs, Jamie’s Foods and Finds:

MAY 4-11: LET’S DISH! OFFERS FREE MEAL TO NEW MOMS

In honor of Mother’s Day, DC-area Let’s Dish! locations are offering a FREE meal to any of you who have given birth in 2008. During Mother’s Day week, May 4 to May 11, just stop by one of the participating locations and pick up your free, ready-made dish, which serves 4-6 people. One less dinner entrée you have to worry about! And yes, moms of twins get TWO free meals. They promise no obligation of any kind – You just have to provide your email address and proof of birth or adoption when you stop by (aka birth announcement, hospital bracelet, birth certificate, or similar). Valid at the following Let’s Dish locations: Rockville, Gaithersburg, Columbia, Timonium, Alexandria, Ashburn, and Fairfax.


Britax Roundabout $150 at babyage.com

The Britax Roundabout car seat retails for $220 and rarely goes on sale for less than $190. Here is one for $149.99. These are the collegiate version, so they have a college logo embroidered on the cover. There are currently 11 colleges to choose from (including Maryland and Virginia, DC Momtourage ladies). Get free shipping with the code APRILBABY even though it is May. The code may have expired at the end of April, but give it a try. Otherwise shipping is $8 for any size order.

I’ve lamented many times about how I long to cease carrying a diaper bag and resume ownership of a cool purse. Alas, it’s not gonna happen anytime soon - especially now that I have two children, both of whom require totally different “stuff”.

In the abyss that is my diaper bag, I have all sorts of crap - diapering essentials, a bib, a burp cloth, toys, bottles, sippy cups, snacks, a little bag for myself (with Advil, lip balm, MAC Blot Powder, Kleenex, etc.), my cell phone, my wallet, pacifiers…see why I still have to carry one? As the snacks crumble and the cups spill, things get all schmutzy and/or wet, and often, the big stuff pushes the little stuff to the bottom, making it all hard to dig out. Annoying.

One solution I’ve found to help keep my diaper bag organized (and its contents protected) is The Handy Sack. These functional and fashionable pouches are made of commercially coated cotton (they come in all sorts of cute patterns) that is stain and water repellent, so they - and their contents - won’t get ruined by an exploding bottle or smashed pack of Saltines. The front is clear, so you can see exactly what’s inside - spoons, toys, passies - whatever - and you’ll always know when you need to restock it. They’re great for travel too - just stash all of your child’s toiletries in it and you’re good to go.

To purchase your very own Handy Sack, visit divasanddrooligans.com. They retail for $22.95 each, but if you use promotion code April15FamilyFUN, you can get 15% off! Want to win one? Send your name, address and kids’ ages to me at chelsea@themomtourage.com.

To see the entire collection, click here. It’s gorgeous - and so reasonably-priced.

Seen in this month’s Domino Magazine (one of my favorite obsessions - seriously, get a subscription NOW, y’all - you will LOVE it): Dwell Studio, maker of seriously cool, mod textiles -the most popular of which are their crib bedding sets - will this February debut a line created especially for Target. Included in Dwell’s 12-pattern Target collection will be table linens, bedding (for adults and baby) and, for the first time, furniture.

For those of you unfamiliar with DwellStudio’s products, here are a few images:

Though the February issue of Domino features a few images from the collection, this is the only one available online thus far:

I love the website Trendy Tadpole. They have really cool, hip t-shirts for kids, my favorite of which is this one:

Hilarious. And true for my kid, I am sure.