Arms and guns
My son does not have any toy guns, not even a water gun. I’m also very careful with the television programs he gets to watch — no violent cartoons at all. Even the news is carefully monitored so that he doesn’t hear about the worst events. I also know that his teachers at school are very adamant that no “shooting” is allowed during school time.
So then why is my 4-year-old boy so attracted to guns? At every occasion he will pretend to have one. If he gets his hands on two wooden sticks they will become a gun immediately, and the same thing happens with pens, ice-cream plastic palettes, even straws.
The other day he told me that when he grows up, after he turns 18, he will “make war”!
Why? Is it innate? Male hormones? (And mind you, he is not even an aggressive child, rather totally the opposite.)
Now my question is, should I pretend not to hear? Or should I explain at every occasion that we do not like arms, that guns are dangerous and only the police should carry guns?
Hopefully it’s just a phase and it will be over soon!
-Michela
Mudpuppy magnets
My daughter has gone through all the typically girly phases between 3 and 4 years old– first ballerina, then princess, and now mermaid obsessions. In a quest to come up with something other than more dress-up clothes for her birthday, I came across this: Mudpuppy Magnet Figures. They are truly adorable — great illustrations, tons of magnets (not like some of the skimpy magnet sets I’ve had in the past), all in a great carry case. The website says for ages 6+, but my daughter, who is just 4, has no problem with them. The sets range from ballerina and princess kits to the cheeky “city girls” and on to monsters and robots for the boys. I’m thrilled because they are a creative plaything that is also easily portable — great for upcoming summer vacations, no? They offer international shipping too — just email them for a quote.
xx Rebecca
Carrot Cake
Emilie recently came to London for a short visit and while she was here she asked me if I knew of a good basic recipe for carrot cake.
Now… I’m not normally an expert in cakes, but carrot cake is a different story! Carrot cake has always been my favorite — my mom used to make it for me on my birthday when I was growing up, always using the same great recipe from the Alice Bay Cookbook. The cake is so good, I asked the bakery who made my wedding cake to follow the same recipe. (My wedding cake was such a hit I remember looking over at the end of the night and seeing a bunch of people scraping the last remains off the tray!)
It’s delicious and it’s so simple — I have never known it to disappoint! Just ask Emilie…
Here’s the recipe: (more…)
Millie’s Mayday
Annabel Bennetts & Mellany Robinson met at primary school and stayed in touch over the years that followed. Annabel studied at Oxford, Mellany went to the Royal College of Art, they met their husbands, had some children, and at a certain point decided that they felt inspired to write and illustrate children’s books. So they started their own publishing company (why not?), and a couple of weeks ago their first book, Millie’s Mayday, rolled from the press.
Millie’s Mayday is the first story in a series about four little tugs in Haven Harbour. It’s Millie’s first day in the harbour, and she’s immediately up for a challenge — the big boat Li is in trouble! Can Millie and her friends save the day?
Millie’s Mayday makes a lovely bedtime story. The story is interesting and the pictures are absolutely delightful. A promising start of a series, I must say! (Millie’s Mayday is available from our bookshops!) (more…)
Potato Stamps
It must be my Irish heritage, but I LOVE potatoes, as do my children.
So maybe it is not surprising that in my family potato stamping is one of our favourite craft projects. What is great about it is that you really don’t need to get any supplies. All you need are:
-a few potatoes
-a sharp knife
-a talented carver
-and some paint
My daughter loves the fact that she can ask for any animal and within minutes she has a personalised stamp ready at her disposal.
We used potatoes that fitted easily in the girls hands, cut them in two so that we had a really flat surface to work with. I reckon that you should maybe start with stars or squares or anything really simple to get the hang of carving, and then the sky is the limit. Make sure to wipe the potato stamp well when you have finished carving as all the starch will have oozzed out and it doesn’t mix well with the paint. We squirted undiluted paint into some jam jar tops (I am so glad I keep all of those kind of things, you never know when they are going to come in useful), and then the fun started. (more…)
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• A little lollipop will go a LONG way…• Stickers everywhere
• Motion Sickness
• Traveling with (two) kids
Baby’s footprints
I gave birth to my son in a very posh London hospital and they foot-printed my baby, for security and identification purposes. This might be common in the US but it was definitely not common in London in 2005 and it is still unheard of in Italy in 2009. It is done with an ink-less wipe that will print on special paper, so you do not really stain the baby’s feet–and it’s safe.
I thought it was a great idea — that piece of paper with those sweet tiny feet on it was one of my most treasured possessions. After a couple of months I cut out the footprints and framed it in a very simple Ram frame from Ikea. I thought it was sweet, without being too cheesy.
So when my daughter’s birth was imminent I searched the web for an ink-less wipe that would allow me to footprint her too. They can be found, together with more sophisticated (sometimes over the top) kits on many websites (like this and this) but I bought just the wipes and the magic paper on ebay, saving some money and keeping the freedom of choosing the frame.
-Michela
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Magic (mess-free) markers• Restaurant bag
• Vive le café
• Bring a carrier
Saltwater sandals
Growing up in Seattle, we spent every summer on the salty, rocky beaches of the Puget Sound… running around in our Saltwater sandals! Every summer we got a new pair — I can still remember choosing the color. Saltwater sandals are made to stand up even in salt water (hence the name) — you can get them wet, and they’ll still survive. They’re made with a flexible, high grade sole, and durable leather straps. (Apparently, according to Wikipedia, they were first produced in the 1940s as an alternative to traditional children’s leather sandals as a way to cope with leather shortages in World War II. The sandals were made from scrap leather left over from making men’s shoes.)
They are so simple, yet so cute! Nothing makes me think ’summer’ more than a pair of Saltwater sandals…
The infant sandals are on sale at online children’s boutique, Sweet William. And did you know they also come in grown-up sizes? I’m thinking about getting myself a pair! (Grown-up version available here.)
-Courtney
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Magic (mess-free) markers• Restaurant bag
• Vive le café
• Bring a carrier
The sweetest stationery
I have to be the number one fan of Nathalie from Imprintables. She is such a clever cookie. Not only did she custom-design the most beautiful announcement card for me when Little C was born but when I saw her new stamps for children, I thought, “Oh, this would be the perfect thing to create my own customised stationery so that I can write a letter to him each year, like what Esther wrote about a little while back.”
I have to share what a great job she did for me on that project soon, but for now, I thought you might like to see the ones she has created for children.
-Natalie
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Make it fun… and educational!• Familiar melodies
• Travel books for children
• Traveling in France
• Cleaning them
The Tiger Who Came for Tea
The Tiger Who Came for Tea is an old classic — I am sure I read it when I was a child — and my kids love it. It must have something to do with a nonsensical story being told as if it made complete sense.
Little Sophie and her mother are sitting down for tea and buns (makes me feel nostalgic for four o’clock tea at my grandparent’s house) when a tiger knocks on the door and invites himself over for tea as he is really, really hungry. He proceeds to eat all the food in the house. The book is really sweet and charmingly old-fashioned. I am really enjoying the retro revival at the moment and this book fits right in.
- Emilie
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Make it fun… and educational!• Familiar melodies
• Travel books for children
• Traveling in France
• Cleaning them
Bonnets for babies — vintage handkerchiefs for brides!
Having a baby girl opens up a whole new world of products and concepts… like these beautiful vintage baby bonnets by kh:W Heirloom which has created such a unique and lovely concept — a baby bonnet made from a vintage handkerchief, which will be saved for many years until her wedding day! Read below…
“I’m a little hanky as square as square can be–
but with a stitch or two they made a bonnet out of me.
I’ll be atop your baby’s head on that first spring day–
Then nicely pressed and gently packed away.
Every lucky bride, so we’ve been told–
Must add to their finery something old.
So what could be better than to find little me–
With a few stitches snipped, a wedding hanky I will be.”
Check out the website — it’s really so beautiful, all the photos and delicate details…
-Courtney
Wonderous Wovenplay
What kid doesn’t like dressing up? Which little girl doesn’t want to be a princess, or a fairy? My daughter certainly does…
This wonderful outfit by Wovenplay makes her happy, very happy. She dances around the house looking as if she’s a fairy flying straight out of Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’!
Wovenplay doesn’t make your everyday kind of dress-up clothes. Don’t think Disney; think art here. Beautiful natural fabrics, printed by hand with natural dyes, and finished in the Manhattan studio with the utmost care for every beautiful detail.
The concept of the clothes may be simple, but the outcome is fabulous. Because ‘the collection obscures the line between clothing and costume’, I find the clothes leave much more room for the child’s own creativity and imagination than the standard dress-up costumes. I also find that these sorts of dress-up clothes are true investments, to be played with over and over and over again…
Wovenplay is available through The Emperor’s New Clothes.
xxx Esther
The science of shopping
I’m usually a fashion magazine reader, but lately I’ve been tempted (while stuck in line at the checkout) to grab the mags that promise easy weeknight dinners or dresses that make you look thinner, like plenty of hurried moms out there. My latest purchase was the July issue of O Magazine, in which I’ve discovered a very interesting article on shopping. I consider myself a bit of a shopping expert, or shopaholic at the least, and I’ve even managed to make a career out of it with my shopping tours in Paris. (When I was 2, someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I answered, “A shopper like my Mommy!”)
And this article, entitled 6 Common Shopping Traps, proves what I’ve known all along– shopping does something to the brain to make you feel better! That is, in some individuals, anyway — it seems that “feel good” parts of the brain are activated when they shop, and others have strong reactions in the pain centers in the brain. Think I can convince my husband that shopping is actually making me healthy? Check out the article for more info and other tips on how not to overspend. Thanks, Oprah!
xx Rebecca
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Kids and Jet Lag• The perfect travel outfit
• Cash in the car
• Traveling in Italy
• Traveling with kids!
Little Wings
Little Wings is a young Dutch company that makes some of the cutest baby’s clothes I have ever seen. They have a permanent collection of Unisex essentials and then a small quarterly seasonal collection for boys and girls.
They use certified organic cotton and either natural dyes or eco-friendly chemical dye, to minimize the impact on the planet and maximize the health of the baby.
The clothes are simple and stylish, in very soft colours.
Everything comes in an elegant cream coloured box and each single item is packaged in a lovely organdi cotton bag that makes every piece look so special and unique.
The clothes look lovely on their website but I must admit I could not appreciate them fully until I was holding them. The people at Little Wings are perfectly aware of this, and for this reason they would like to develop their own “Tupperware” sales scheme, so that people can see the clothes before they buy them. If you feel like getting involved and earning a bit of extra money on the side, contact them!
In the meantime I will keep looking at my daughter wearing her Sirla dress…. simply adorable!
-Michela
ONE YEAR AGO WE WROTE ABOUT:
• Kids and Jet Lag• The perfect travel outfit
• Cash in the car
• Traveling in Italy
• Traveling with kids!
Chouquette
Since we have been living in Paris I have discovered a new addiction to baked goods. Obviously I the love croissants, the tarts and the bread, but my ultimate favourite are these little puff balls called choquettes. They are light and fluffy as they are filled with pure, sugar scented air and they are so completely moreish that it is easy to devour a whole bag of them in a couple of minutes. You find them in most bakeries but real chouquette connaisseurs will each have a favourite bakery that they will swear makes the best chouquettes. It’s interesting that these little puff balls have not reached the international recognition of their fellow baked goods, but if I had anything to do with it they would become a staple snack in every country.
As you might not be able to find chouqettes at your local bakery, here is a recipe for them. It is from one of my favourite food blogs: Chocolate and Zucchini.
There should be a warning on this recipe: Seriously Addictive.
- Emilie
Custard
I love discovering new online children’s boutiques, especially ones that offer something a little bit different, something a bit special. Custard is a sweet little webshop that offers a good mix of handmade pieces, vintage fabrics, and one-off designs, along with a few modern brands. Think darling 2-piece outfits made from liberty cotton (pictured), cute cashmere booties, leopard print tights, Esthex toys, etc.
Custard was created by two mums who were driven by their own desire to dress their kids as individuals. Their biggest intention is to break away from the obvious but remain true to classic, timeless style.
You really get a sense from their site that you’re discovering an unknown gem… and who can resist those leopard tights?! (I want some of my own!)
-Courtney
Bambu Give-away!
An important factor in raising children is, as we are all well aware, teaching them to eat healthy and responsibly. Offering your kids a varied diet with fresh, organic ingredients (and trying to make them eat it too) is one of the big challenges of parenthood! These days however, we have discovered that ’eating healthy’ isn’t just limited to the food ingredients we use. No, the tableware we all serve it on is absolutely of equal importance!
The bowls and utensils from Bambu are completely toxic-free, extremely beautiful AND non breakable, which makes them very suitable for use with children. All the products are made from 100% organically-grown bamboo, and the bowls have a natural, matte lacquer in wonderful bright colours, derived from, who could have thought, the cashew nut tree. A safe bet, and cool looking too!
The very stylish Joslyn from the hip eco-boutique Shakshuka has kindly offered a complete Bambu set to one lucky Babyccino reader. The set will contain (as pictured): a mini-me bowl of your colour choice, a spork (we love it), one set of infant utensils and one set of kid’s utensils.
Just leave a comment below by Sunday, July 26th in which you give us your best tip for eating healthily (weather it’s a recipe, a trick or simply a product). The best tip will win, AND will be published on Babyccino!
Good luck!
xxx Esther
THIS GIVE-AWAY IS NOW CLOSED!
Noomray, personalised books
You should have seen my son’s face the other day when we received the book that was custom-written for him!
Noomray, a little Italian company, came up with a great idea– they write and illustrate books where the main character is the person who will receive the book.
It is geared to children, but they do cater to adults too. You just give them the details and in about a month they will ship this very special book. You can pick a genre (typically it will depend on the receiver) among teen books, historical books, fantasy or adventures. You then fill out a form with some of the information you deem essential to build the story: habits, important persons, favourite places, favourite food, preferred activities and also a description of the physical appearance. You can also pick some of the material features of the book: type of paper, type of cover, colour or black&white, etc.
Our story is a nice adventure, in 4 chapters, with elements of Toy Story and Cars in it (my son’s favourite movies) and with an appearance from mom and dad, little sister, both sets of grandparents and the beloved toys: mini-micro scooter and stuffed rabbit. (more…)
Shop til you drop
This morning I went to Magnolia Square’s first shopping event in Sydney. The market has been running since 2005 in Melbourne with such great success that the founder, Nic MacIsaac, has branched out and taken the “pop-up-shop concept” north. While some of the brands were familiar to me from attending trade fairs, it’s such a great event for members of the general public as you can get access to gorgeous up-and-coming brands, often founded by “mumtrepeneurs”. Media were invited to a preview this morning and I ended up buying several things, which has never happened to me before at these events. I bought a cute blue and white striped handmade and screen printed t-shirt from Hamb, a vegetable wax candle from Space Candles and an incredibly soft goat’s hair duster from Heaven In Earth.
And if you missed it this time, don’t worry, the event runs five times a year in Melbourne and no doubt, after walking past long queues in Sydney, it will be here again soon.
-Natalie
Bonz!
I recently started using a star chart to encourage good behavior from my boys. I think star charts are great because they remind you to reward your kids for good behavior, rather than simply punishing them for being bad. (More about my star chart later!)
Anyway, my boys finally reached the first goal and so it was time to do some rewarding. I knew the first gift had to be good — something to really drive home the message (not every gift will be this big). So I bought them each a set of Bonz, and it is the coolest gift ever!
The Bonz construction kits from Curious Toys include loads of different parts and pieces, all connectible and interchangeable to allow your kids to create their own funny-looking creatures. There’s a Sea Bonz kit (sea creatures), a Dragon Bonz
All the sets interconnect with each other, so you can create a world of crazy creatures. You’ll want to collect them all!
Available from Elias & Grace here in London, or from our bookstore (US and UK).
-Courtney
Phil and Ted’s MeToo
Esther wrote about the Phil and Ted MeToo portable chair ages and ages ago. It is a little chair you can clamp onto a table, so that you can easily have your child sitting at the table with you wherever you are.
I inherited one yesterday and within 24 hours I have already used it 3 times. Of all the children’s gadgets I have, this is, without a doubt, the best. Especially here in Paris where it is almost impossible to find highchairs in restaurants! It is incredibly light and compact (I just keep it at the bottom of my stroller) and whenever I need it, we just clamp it onto any table. Our little one is so much happier that she hasn’t been left in the buggy and is sitting high up as part of the gang.
This is going to be my number one present for new parents from now on! Available through Amazon (UK or US).
- Emilie
