Help!
Gosh… we are famous already! :-) In Italy, a very GLAMOROUS magazine is going to write an article about us (can you imagine)!?!
The thing is… we might need some help! They not only seem to think that we are glamorous (guess they haven’t seen us in the morning, or even worse– at the kiddies’ dinner time!), they are also convinced that we know how to be cool and hip while keeping our kids entertained at the same time! Truth is- what do WE know? (We thought only our own kids considered us cool)…
So, if you have any suggestions, tips or tricks that you’re willing to share for keeping your kids entertained, we would LOVE to hear from you. With your help, we might actually look like real experts…
Leave us a comment, or send us an e-mail!
Ghost light
Isn’t this little guy cute? And he’s quite handy too! Unfortunately he’s not the marrying kind…
‘Spöka’ lives next to the door in my children’s bedroom. Every evening before calling it a night, I use this little light to check on the well-being of my kids: it spreads a gentle blue light in the room, just allowing me to see if they are covered (and if all dummies are within arm’s reach) – without waking them up.
He makes a good toy too: by pressing his head he lights up! (Without the cord he lasts 4-6 hours on a full battery).
Also available in green and red at Ikea.
xxx Esther
A good investment.
I got an Isabella Oliver wrap dress as a birthday present from my husband during my first pregnancy. And believe me, together with the Bottega Veneta hobo bag from the previous year, it’s probably the best present he’s ever gotten me (without direct suggestion from me, that is). I have it in black, but they now make it in 4 colours. It’s a wrap dress with an empire line, 3/4 length sleeves, and falls just above the knee. The fabric is a stretchy viscose, which does not cling to the wrong places!
It is flattering until the end of the pregnancy and you can wear it even after the birth before your waistline goes back to normal. And the wrap is great for breastfeeding!
Isabella Oliver is a UK company that sells only online, but they do now have an American and a European website. The dress is not cheap, but just don’t think of it as a maternity dress that you will only wear for 9 months. Trust me- it’s a good investment!
-Michela
Bamboo Tableware
With all this talk these days about lead paint and toxic chemicals, it makes you wonder what exactly IS safe? I was just in the states for the holidays and watched an entire show about toxic toys. My head was literally spinning! You wouldn’t believe the amount of toys that are bad for your kids. It makes you wonder how we all survived!?!
Thankfully, most of my kid’s toys are wooden; I must be in the clear, right? WRONG!!! Apparently plastic dishes and cutlery are big no-nos too! (Which means all those cute, plastic dishes I’ve been collecting over the years are not so amusing any more….)
A nice cuppa!
Years ago my sister-in-law gave me this fantastic product: the Eva Solo ‘tea-maker’ (I just call it a tea-pot). It has proven to be one of those ‘where did you get that?’ items. (When it broke, I was broke too, so my friend Kim gave me number two for my birthday)!
It is quite ingenious (it’s not a coincidence that it has won so many design prizes)! (more…)
British vs. American English (the funny differences)
Was just reading one of our favorite blogs, Petite Anglaise, and found this post about the differences between ‘American’ and English. Sort of interesting, and quite funny…
And it’s very true. My 2 1/2-year-old comes home from his British nursery and corrects my (American) English. The other day he said, “No mummy, it’s not a trunk– it’s a boot!” 
Bless him… (as they say here in England).
-Courtney
With a little help from my friend
In the last few weeks I have become a huge fan of a makeup product… and this is quite unusual for me! My new best friend is the Touche Eclat by Yves Saint Laurent.
It is a face illuminator that is applied over make-up or bare skin. It comes in a chic gold and black pen with a soft felt tip at the end to apply the creamy highlighter. It is easy to use and does a great job eliminating the signs of fatigue that are ever present under my eyes since the arrival of offspring number 2.
I apply it after foundation et voila…it really seems to wake me up!
Apparently it is the world’s most popular concealer…. no wonder!
Michela
Slipper/socks
Esther turned me on to Falke back in September when we went on a search for the perfect wool tights and black leggings. We found them at Fenwick on Bond Street, and it was here that my obsession with Falke began. Esther also convinced me to buy a few pairs of Falke socks, and I loved them so much I went back and bought a bunch for my husband as well. (Now we are both huge “Falke followers”)!!
Falke makes socks for kids too! Short and long, solid or stripes, cotton or wool- there are loads of options, and the quality is superb. One of my favorites are the Catspads. They are a slipper/sock with a non-slip sole. They are cute and cozy, and perfect for these cold winter mornings. (And now that my 8-month old is walking, they are great for keeping him from sliding around on the wood floors)!
Make your own caterpillar
A while ago I made this caterpillar with my toddler. She truly considers it to be her own creation, not only because she laid out the circles forming the caterpillar herself (we had been practising before with little balls of play-do), she also decorated it with blue paint.
Just cut 10 circles (the size of a small hand) from 2 shades of green paper (if you pile them up before cutting them you’ll save some time 
). Let your child arrange the ’segments’ into a caterpillar shape. Glue circles together. Glue on legs (as a caterpillar is an insect, it has six little legs!) and let your child decorate the caterpillar with blue paint. Glue on eyes, nose and antennae last.
I like ours so much that it has been decorating the house for months now, and I am thinking about having it framed!
xxx Esther
Elephant-astic!
The other night we were at a friend’s place and my son discovered a new toy.
Elefun, a game from Hasbro, is a motorised plastic elephant that has a fan in its body to blow fabric butterflies out of its 1 meter high trunk and into the air. Each player, equipped with his or her own butterfly net, has to catch as many butterflies as possible. The lightweight fabric used for the butterflies allows them to pop out of the trunk and seemingly flutter about. Kids will have a blast trying to catch butterflies in their nets or scoop them off the ground when they land.
My son had a great time, although his ability to catch butterflies was somehow limited. My impression is that kids of different ages can play together and really enjoy it!
Michela
Simply the best
I love pyjamas for my children (ahum -sometimes I like them so much that they are wearing them all day long! For this reason I especially like the Petit Bateau stripy outfits Michela wrote about earlier this week).
But there is just something about a baby dressed in white! These Mothercare sleepsuits I have in all the sizes (newborn up to 24 months), and they are just adorable. They come three-in-a-pack, wash 60 degrees and keep well.
Mothercare ships internationally, but for a steep delivery charge!
xxx Esther
Suppositories
There is something I would like to ask you girls. Are doctors and pharmacists in your countries as obsessed with suppositories as the ones in France?
For whatever is wrong (or even right) with your child, there seems to be something that you can stick up their bum. I have been prescribed cold medicine and even homeopathic teething remedies as a suppository. As for measuring temperature, forget about the notion of measuring it through the ears or the forehead — a little bit of Vaseline and off you go!
To my sensibilities it is a tad invasive, but to be fair, it always seems to work well…
-Emilie
Tantalizing Tarts
I have two favorite dinners: pizza night (no cooking or clean-up), and Popina’s Savoury Tarts (also easy and sooo de-lish)!
We have become hooked. We have them almost once a week!! (Honestly, after cooking for the baby AND the toddler, it’s such a relief when our dinner is easy)! They’re small (perfect for one person), so I always buy two. They require only 10 minutes in the oven for reheating, and then voila- dinner is ready! Our favorites are the Wild Mushroom Tart, and the Butternut Squash and Granna Padano Tart- you should really try them- they’re unbeatably tasty.
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Pen obsessed…
I have a very strange addiction: pens.
I must have over a hundred pens, and every time I enter a stationer shop I can’t help myself: I have to buy another one.
Of course I have my profession to blame (I am an ARCHITECT! I have to have MORE PENS!!), but secretly I totally admit that it must be some sort of mental problem.
They do take up quite a lot of space by now (not to mention the hassle of moving them over and over again), and I do confess that I don’t really use them on a daily basis.
Thus, my husband wants me to throw them away (what a silly idea!) or store them in the basement (what use would they have there??). But, sorry to say, I can’t part from them.
The crown on my extensive pen collection is a present that my husband gave me about 4 years ago: a beautiful Mont Blanc fountain pen, made of black resin and with platinum-plated details.
Mom Friends
I have just realised how important one group of my peers is to me at the moment: my mom friends. I have always had great female friends, who are always up for going out for a cocktail or two and spending endless hours gossiping about boyfriends, other friends, work and other such things.
But I have never relied on them so heavily than I do on my mom friends. Who do I call when I am alone at home with a toddler with diarrhoea and no wet wipes? A mom friend. Who will be able to explain to me in intrinsic detail how the French pre-school system works? A mom friend. Who do I call when I need a new car seat and want to find out which is the safest on the market? In this case, Courtney. The list is endless.
Especially if you live in a city where you don’t have any family, mom friends become some of the most important people in your life.
The great thing is, now some of my cocktail drinking friends are slowly having kids too and thus turning into mom friends, and some of the mom friends I have made here in Paris are turning into cocktail friends….
-Emilie
Must love those stripes!
Every year they are slightly different, but always so cute. They have become a classic staple in my children’s wardrobe!
I’m talking about the mariniere stripe reversible coverall from Petit Bateau. I know the other girls love them too, and for good reason! They are so versatile.They can be used during the day and also at night for pajamas. I always carry them in my nappy bag as emergency clothes. They are not cheap, but the quality is good and you can buy them in advance at each season’s sales.
Just got two of them, in girlie fabrics, reduced by 40%!
-Michela
