A+ for BB+++
I just love how Kellie from BB+++ keeps coming up with the utmost original ideas for her children’s clothing. There’s always something different, funky or unconventional about her pieces, but yet they are always very easy to wear.
Take the blue Mary Jane dress my daughter was wearing today. The blue knit top part has a semi-tight fit, but is super comfy due to the stretchy nature of the material. The lower skirt part of the dress is made from black cotton, and is detailed exactly like an up-side-down man’s dress shirt, complete with buttons and windsor collar. It is really a super cool dress, and if you fasten the buttons irregularly (or not at all, as my daughter prefers), you get a rather unconventional, sweet look.
A real recommendation if you have daughters (especially now that I noticed they are on sale)!
xxx Esther
“Don’t Like It”
Does this scenario ring any bells with you? You want to treat your kids to a delicious meal and so you slave over the stove to make sure the meal has the right nutritional value and is above all, tasty! Then you hear the famous words: “I don’t like it!!!!” Sometimes followed by the even more inane question: “Can I have a bonbon instead?”
I do sometimes wonder why I bother peeling potatoes and carrots, trimming beans, deciding what shape they should be cut in, asking myself if they would be better steamed or roasted or even just boiled. I think the phrase “Don’t like it” is one of the most disheartening things for a parent to hear.
By the way, the same goes for clothes: you spend hours thinking about what you should buy for you little one, what would suit them and what they would be comfortable in… only to be told: “Don’t like it”!!! (more…)
Who’s Hiding? and Spot It!
Here are two books that my son (aged 3) and I love: Who’s Hiding?
Both books are about finding things in the pictures — ‘Who’s Hiding?’ is a bit like playing that memory game with a tray of objects, but in this book we have a line-up of animals and we have to find which one is hiding or crying or asleep. I was so surprised that my son could do it when we bought the book about a year ago as I found it quite difficult.
‘Spot It!’ is much harder but so beautiful you don’t mind staring hard at the pages to ’spot it’ — creatures hide within graphic patterns and we often have to stare for a few minutes before finding them. I love how we both start to panic when we can’t find them immediately (he obviously takes after me with his impatience)!
Both books are available from the Babyccino Bookshop (both US and UK).
-Mo. x
Something for the mommies….Lollia Bubble Bath
Bubble Baths are considered a real treat at our house. Lately, my girls seem to go suddenly deaf when I call them to come in for an evening bath, but when I mention that bubbles will be present… it’s party time! That being said, I have spent countless dollars trying all sorts of “organic” and “all-natural” products from Whole Foods and the like… but to be honest, I really don’t like any of them. The bubbles are totally lame, they don’t smell all that great and they are expensive to boot! Look, my thought is… if you are going to take a bubble bath then you just have to make the commitment. Mr. Bubble didn’t kill any of us and it’s all going to be ok. I received this Lollia Bubble Bath as a gift and I absolutely love it — I mean, how cool that it’s in a wine bottle! A small quantity makes a ton of bubbles, it smells great without being too overpowering and my girls don’t come out covered in hives. I would give this to a mommy in need in a heartbeat as it is great for the whole family and even better as a housewarming gift for a new mom!
-Dina
Noodoll
I do love new designs/books/characters that appeal to grown-ups and kids alike. My girls are going crazy for the Noodoll characters I brought home recently, and so am I.
Noodoll lives in Noodle town where everyone and everything is made out of noodles. His main arch enemy is Rice Head, who is constantly trying to stop the Noodles. The illustrations are great, very simple and funky.
The world of Noodoll and Ricehead spans from books to accessorizes and toys. And, if you have a spare second do check out the website — the noodle and rice recipes are some of the best I have ever found!
- Emilie
On the move
We’re moving. This weekend. To a tiny little house in the same neighbourhood. We’ve been in an apartment for the last few years, so we’re super excited to have a garden, even though it will be teeny tiny!
Although we’ve moved a couple of times before, from country to country, and even with kids, it seems like we have never had so much STUFF to move as we have now!! When my husband (then boyfriend) and I moved to NYC 9 years ago, (and moved in together for the first time), our ‘things’ consisted of 8 boxes. It seems like we must have around 80 now!
Last week, in a faint attempt to get organized, I decided to go through all of the old baby and kids clothes that I’d gathered in big garbage bags in our basement… Ouch. Who knew that two children (admittedly of different sex) could have gone through so many clothes?
Now that I know I’m having a girl, I could at least give away most of the baby boy clothes. But of course we have kept the girly things, the baby bath, the tummy tub, the bath seat, the Bumbo seat, the activity mat, the moving music mobile, the play pen, the toddler bed… I think we’ll need a moving van by itself just for the kids stuff!
Did you move house with children before? Any tips?? Tell me, is there any secret that I should know about that will make the transition as easy as possible? (And please don’t tell me I should have been preparing for weeks already!)
xxx Esther
This is Australia…
It is the 17th book in the ‘This is…’ series and Sasek is visiting down under! This is Australia is a wonderful book to add to the classic travel series, first published in the ’70s, which Courtney posted about here!
In line with the later books in the series, the colours are slightly vintage and the images are retro and whimsical. And Sasek’s mode of travel to the land down under? Not in chains like the first British colonists, but on a Qantas big bird!! (which incidentally, ‘flies very well’, unlike the Australian penguin and emu!) I absolutely love these books — they introduce children to the people, customs and places of interest in cities around the world, captivating young readers with gorgeous illustrations and a witty narrative. I also think it’s fascinating to see each city from a 1960’s perspective. And…needless to say, in my family we just love the Aussie edition!
Available for worldwide delivery at Amazon
ps. Courtney, this is the perfect souvenir for your children and will remind them for years to come of their great Aussie adventure!!
- Sara
My Quotable Kids — a safe place for kid’s quotes
I know it, you know it, kids can be hysterical. Sometimes they say things that make us laugh out loud, roll over the floor, wipe away our tears and then frantically reach for a pen and paper (or an Iphone, or computer, or whatever we have handy to make a note), as to not lose the thought and to make sure the quote will be treasured forever and ever and ever.
Well, as for me, I keep losing the strips of paper, and my email drafts and my Iphone are so overloaded with notes (and quotes) that I’d rather never look at it again. And, well, I’m just not so very organized I suppose.
Until I found out about My Quotable Kid — A Parents’ Journal of Unforgettable Quotes. It has very easy-to-use, cute pages where you can fill in the who/where/when and what, as to never forget the quote, and more importantly, to keep them all safely together in one place. I started my book this week and I’m very excited about it.
A great gift for girlfriends with children I think! Available through Amazon (UK
xxx Esther
Doodle Doo’s
This adorable little West Village shop is a perfect place to go for kid’s haircuts – especially the very first one when most kids have the potential to totally flip out. Courtney wrote a post some time ago about a place called Tantrum which we visited during our stay in London and absolutely loved! Doodle Doo’s is its New York equivalent. The staff is beyond nice and when we went last week my daughters left not only with adorable new chic hairdos but also with a barrette, some sparkle hairspray and a lollipop. The premise is simple… place kid in car or boat seat… insert princess video… bribe with future delivery of treat… snip away. It just makes the whole experience a win win. They also have a wonderful selection of toys and children’s clothing for parents to browse while you wait and if you are up for it, it’s a block away from New York’s famed Magnolia Bakery.
-Dina
Touring Australia in a campervan
Before we embarked on our 30-day camping trip, my husband and I agreed it was either going to be the best idea we’ve ever had… or the worst. So far it’s been a bit of both! I think it takes some getting used to, and a bit of extra patience. But admittedly it seems to be getting better. We’re quickly getting used to this camping lifestyle and things like: wearing the same dirty outfit twice, using communal showers, sleeping like sardines in a tiny tin, cooking for five in a tiny kitchen, eating peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for lunch every day, cleaning out baby bottles with a hose, the scorching heat, the nasty insects, driving in unfamiliar territory with crying babies in the back… etc, etc.
All that aside, we are actually having a really wonderful time as a family, and we’ve seen some incredible sites already. Here are the highlights of the past 5 days… (more…)
Call mum
I took the kids the other night to a fun park filled to the brim with people, and it occured to me how easy it would be to lose them in the crowd. Especially the eldest, whose birthday we were celebrating, and who was running around like an excited little puppy with her friend. That is when the friend’s dad had a stroke of genius: he simply wrote our mobile numbers on their arms with a pen and instructed the kids that, if they ever got lost, they should go up to one of the booths to a person in a uniform and ask them to call the number on their arm. The kids completely got it, and would have known what to do in the case of getting lost! So simple, why had I never thought of that?! (I am sure most of you had, I just wanted to write a post about it, in case you were a bit clueless, like me.) (more…)
Hope & Greenwood
I used to keep a picture in the front of my diary of an old-fashioned sweet shop. You know the kind: shelves stacked with glass jars brimming with brightly-coloured sweets. The Juliette Binoche in me always quite fancied being a ‘purveyor of splendid confectionery’. However these days there would be little point in me following this dream as Hope & Greenwood do it so perfectly.
They have stores in Dulwich & Covent Garden (which would be perfect if you happen to be taking a trip to Benjamin Pollocks as per my last post), but they are also sold in some pretty lovely other places: Liberty, Selfridges, Fortum & Mason (to name but a few) and of course you can buy them online from their site. I find the Miss Hope’s Jolly Mixture a very exciting treat and the Sugar free Gummy Bears a good one to ensure the children don’t bounce off the ceiling with too much sugar!
-Mo. x
Tess, a tasteful stool
Like many households with children, we are the proud owner of an Ikea Bekvam step stool, which lives in our kitchen and is used all the time. It helps the kids reach the counter, it helps our Peruvian sitter to reach the upper cabinets (mounted extra high to accommodate tall Dutch genes), and it helps me to reach the upper, upper cabinets that even tall Dutch girls can’t reach!
A handy gadget, this Bekvam. It’s not, however, the most original piece of interior (hear the architect speaking?), and to be honest, mine is so much in need of a layer of paint that I hardly dare to display it in my kitchen!
Thankfully we now have the beautiful, modern, fresh, and well-designed Tess stool in the house. A lovely addition to our household! It’s being used in the bathroom to brush teeth, dragged to the kitchen when there’s a threat of a fight over the Bekvam, and used as a side table or stool where and whenever needed. (more…)
So Chic Kidz
My children hit the Parisian nightclub scene for the first time yesterday — and had a blast. I took them to a kids party at a nightclub, organised by the Kids event organisers So Chic Kidz. It was called “Every Child is a Superhero”.
About 100 Superheros all got together to party the afternoon away, have their face painted, eat loads of bonbons and play games. It looked a little bit like a small people’s comic book convention considering 80% of the children were dressed up as Spiderman (or Speederman as he is known as over here) but it was a lot of fun, and there are many worse things to do on a rainy Saturday afternoon than teach my kids some moves on the dance floor…
Check out the website for updates on upcoming events!
- Emilie
The only show I will watch with my kids
Whoever is behind this show is a complete and total genius (and clearly on major drugs!) Yo Gabba Gabba is the most bizarre and entertaining thing that I have seen on TV in a long long time. I am hooked! I know most have you have probably seen the show at some point but have you ever sat down to really watch it??? It’s bananas!!! I love the songs — all of which sound like they are made up as they go along, the strange characters, and the total weirdness of it. The show also has great guest appearances –- like Jack Black, MGMT, and Biz Markie and they have a recurring segment that features excellent dance moves (which by the way serve as my cardio routine). Oh yeah, my kids really like it too. Guess that’s important to note.
-Dina
Benjamin Pollocks
I grew up in a little farming village about 100 miles north of London and only made very rare trips to the ‘big smoke’ as a child. I remember one very special trip when my Godmother (literally one of the coolest people on the planet) brought me down for a WHOLE weekend in London for my 9th birthday. We saw a show and explored the city and I vividly remember stumbling across the most magical old-fashioned toyshop, which specialised in Toy Theatres.
Recently I had a reason to re-find that store, and the magic hasn’t left the place! Benjamin Pollocks is a delightfully old fashioned place (originally established in the 1880s) in the Covent Garden Piazza. I must warn you — it isn’t buggy friendly as you have to climb a narrow staircase to reach it and the shop is small and crammed to the rafters with toys, but worth the trip indeed. (more…)
What’s the story with Oilily?
About 40 years ago, a young Dutch couple, Willem and Marieke Olsthoorn, started a children’s label called Oilily. Marieke had a unique talent for design, and Willem had an independent feel for business.
They gathered an unconventional bunch of people around them to help grow their brand, all driven by the same mentality as Marieke and Willem: to make exciting and surprising children’s clothing without following trends or expectations.
Oilily was the first children’s brand that used bright, happy colours, a mix of patterns and plenty of special details. They were also easy to wear and care for, so children could really play in the clothes and move around freely. The clothes were truly very different than anything that ever existed before.
Every child growing up in the Netherlands in the seventies and eighties knew Oilily, and possibly had one or more Oilily outfits. It became a true fashion I remember — Oilily was super hot!! I begged my mum for an Oilily coat, and the boys at school proudly wore their stonewashed jeans with colourful Oilily sweat shirts.
Before long, Oilily was picked up by the international stars. Jerry Hall and Michael Jackson dressed their children in Oilily, and remember Rudy Huxtable, the youngest daughter in the Cosby show? She wore Oilily almost exclusively. Oilily became big, a worldwide hype — I remember the adult fashion, the bags, the perfumes…
Both Marieke and Willem stapped out of the company at the end of the nineties, and the decline of the company slowly started. It lost the quality, the special touch. And in 2009 the credit crisis put an end to the fairy tale… Oilily went bankrupt.
I saw the empty Oilily shop, here on the corner of the PC Hooftstraat in Amsterdam, it looked so desolate, so sad…
Imagine my surprise when I visited the Kleine Fabriek recently (the trade fair for children’s labels here in Amsterdam) and I saw Oilily amongst the many stands! (more…)
TomTect contruction set
One of the best presents my son received this Christmas is a box of TomTect, a contruction game I had never heard of before.
The box contains small pine boards (from renewable resources) and plastic crowbars which join the boards together– and that’s it! It’s so simple, so ingenious and so stylish!
My son jumped to it and started building immediately — a chair, an airplane… mostly simple things, but I just discovered that from the website you can download pdf instructions on how to build more complicated objects.
This game was invented by Tom van der Bruggen, a Dutch architect who moved to France and built a castle over a ruined farm. He is also the inventor of another contruction game called Kapla, which has been hugely successful in France.
My first impression of this toy could not be more favourable; it’s one of those toys that will last for ages and the perfect thing to get the dads involved too!
-Michela
Haiti
I am sure everyone has heard about the horrible, horrible situation in Haiti brought along by the earthquake.
We asked our friend Fionnuala, a Paris mum who adopted two kids from Haiti 2.5 years ago, to write about Haiti and the small charities that are currently doing their best to help alongside the big, international organizations.
Here’s her story:
When I told my kids I was going to send money to Haiti, their faces fell. “But Mama, “ my son said, “will we have enough left for us?”
Before you leap to conclusions about the little monsters I’m raising, let me add one thing. My six and seven year olds know what life is like in Haiti, and have some awareness of how much it will take to bring standards there anywhere near normal. Two and a half years ago, they lived in an orphanage in Port au Prince. Before that, they slept on the streets in one of the city’s worst slums.
(more…)
Infertile Thoughts: Part 1
I have wanted to write a post on this for a while now as it is a topic that I unfortunately hear about way too often. Infertility is an issue that I have dealt with personally and continue to think about every single day of my life. To be honest, I don’t even know where to begin as there is just so much to talk about and I am sure you will hear a lot more from me on this. I thought I would just start with talking about some of the things that helped me get through the endurance contest of it all.
I kind of relate the whole experience to having, say, a panic attack or getting hit by a car… unless you have been there, it is hard to really tap into the emotional and physical toil of it all. Statistics say that 10% of the population is affected but to me, and it’s perhaps just the age demographic that I am in, the numbers seem even higher. Without going into too much of the background detail “infertility” is diagnosed as a “failure to conceive naturally within a year.” Some of the main reasons as to why so many women are affected are attributed to factors such as 1) age – women are putting off childbearing until later in life resulting in poorer egg quality, 2) a medical problem such as endometriosis or a male factor problem) or 3) it is simply “unexplained”. (more…)
