Listen to them and they just might listen to you…
So there is a very funny, incredibly loud, stay-at-home dad at my girls’ pre-school who would not stop talking about this book! One day at morning drop-off he strode in, book in hand, and proclaimed “Got my kid to not fight me to get out of the house in the morning and it only took one conversation.” Granted, this peaked my interest to say the least, but I have found myself struggling lately with the fact that most of my requests fall on deaf ears these days.
Unconditional Parenting
The author believes that “the way kids learn to make good decisions is by making decisions, not by following directions” and that our job as parents is to empower them whenever we can. (more…)
Sand Cookies
I’m not sure where the name ’sand cookies’ comes from, but my mum used to bake these cookies when I was little; I remember sitting on the kitchen counter helping her decorate the cookies with almonds and raisins… and making sure the dough was tasty, of course!
Yesterday I tried making them with my kids and it was a hit. The recipe is quick and simple and the cookies just need 15 minutes in the oven, so you get fast results which is always a good thing when cooking with kids. They’re tasty too and don’t require a lot of sugar.
Here’s the recipe: (more…)
Muji Christmas
I just popped into Muji this week, and I have to say just how great all their Christmas items are! I was so impressed with all the cute little wooden toys, holiday decorations, gift-wrapping items, cards, stamps, etc.
I filled an entire cart full of little gifts (including the items pictured), and I bought one of their wooden christmas tree decoration pieces too!
As it goes with Muji, everything is pretty reasonably priced… perfect for little stocking stuffers or nice gifts for your kids’ friends. I definitely recommend paying a visit.
-Courtney
Les 400 Coups
There has been a revolution in the Parisien café scene! Les 400 Coups, a family café, has recently opened its doors! When I heard about this phenomenon I just had to pack up my kids, jump on the metro and experience this place in person. Here in Paris, cafés with play areas are virtually nonexistent — my kids have gotten used to sitting at a table and amusing themselves with a silver spoon and a sugar packet; though after a while they do get a wee bit bored.
So off we went to Les 400 Coups and it was fantastic. The food might not be haute cuisine but the coffee was great and the moment we got to the café, the kids started playing in the play area and I did not hear from them for a good hour. And for you moms who cannot be separated from your laptop there is even wifi. (more…)
Blossom maternity jeans
Now that I’m ‘officially pregnant’ I can officially start talking about all things maternity. (A prelude to discussing all things baby — even better!) Like maternity jeans…
The one thing I learned from my previous pregnancies is that a good maternity jeans is a necessary investment. Previously I made my own pregnancy jeans (replacing the waistband from a ‘normal’ pair with an elastic band), and they worked quite well for the first few months. But they soon started to hurt at my tummy and I was longing for a well cut, comfy pair of maternity jeans. I guess you just forget how uncomfortable things can get!
These great jeans by Blossom Mother and Child are nice and long (too long for me even), make me look even taller, are a great colour, are just about the right mix between skinny and straight, make my bum look sexy and provide plenty of room for a growing tummy. Just perfect.
The only thing I’m sorry about? That I didn’t get them for my previous pregnancies!
xxx Esther
NOTE: Blossom is now kindly offering a 25% discount on all Blossom jeans (which never go on sale) exclusively to Babyccino readers: just enter promo code EC0068 at check out!
Doll’s wooden bed from Ikea
My daughter is finally interested in the Corolle doll that she received as a gift nearly a year ago. She keeps it undressed (I know it’s common, but why?) and she takes it everywhere . I guess it has joined the blanket in the transitional object set. She calls it ‘baby’, and for an Italian-speaking 2-year-old it’s kind of cute — it’s like if your toddler called her doll “bambina”.
So far she doesn’t do much with it, except to put it to bed, under the blanket! So last week I gave in and bought her the Duktig doll’s bed from Ikea. It was obviously easy to assemble and it came with a linen set. My daughter was so happy she even tried to sleep in it. (So I can confirm it is pretty sturdy and it will stand a 12 kilos weight!)
-Michela
Books without words by Iela and Enzo Mari
The books by Iela and Enzo Mari are so perfect for our little international audience of readers — I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to write about them! Not only are the iconic illustrations so beautiful and the stories so sweet, but they are completely wordless so there’s no language barrier for non-English speaking kids.
The books, including La Mela e la Farfalla
What is also so nice about a story without words is that it allows the reader to interpret the story on a personal level and really soak up the details of the images. Your kids will love them too because they can ‘read’ them on their own!
-Courtney
(Images from Animalarium.)
KeepCup and save the environment
The only thing marring the great pleasure I get from my take-away morning coffee is guilt… and I don’t mean the guilt I feel when I add my two teaspoons of sugar! Rather the guilt I feel when I toss away my disposable, un-recyclable paper coffee cup. Australians use approximately 500 million disposable cups a year and discard 1.36 million disposable cups a day into landfill! Staggering isn’t it? Indeed, our love of take-away coffee is costing our environment dearly. Now, imagine this on a global scale!
With guilt in my heart and these figures in mind, today I purchased a KeepCup. (more…)
Free Download from Homemade Happiness — for all of you!
You probably recall that for our latest Birthday Week I wrote about Homemade Happiness: great downloadable deco kits for every birthday, holiday or other special occasion. I’m really quite fond of their designs and, in yet another attempt to get organized, have been using their to-do-lists faithfully (and LOVE them)!
Now this week we have a special surprise for all of you: Caroline and Diana from Homemade Happiness have very kindly offered a free download of their beautiful ‘Oh so Sweet’ To Do Lists to ALL Babyccino readers!!! Perfect timing as the holiday season approaches to help organize your preparations!
For the free PDF download just click here, and simply print the lists on your home or office printer, as much as needed.
Enjoy! And thanks again, Homemade Happiness!!
xxx Esther
P.S. If you celebrate St. Nicholas, check out the fantastic Sint downloads in the Homemade Happiness shop! I LOVE that T-shirt print!
Ver de Terre outdoor wear
It’s mid November already! Where did time go? Suddenly the holidays don’t seem very far away, and I’m already thinking about snow… Last year it snowed almost every day of our Christmas holiday in the states, and when we returned to London it snowed some more! This year we’ll be prepared. I’ve discovered the most amazing line of outdoor clothing. Ver de Terre is a Danish brand which makes everything from snow suits to mittens to babywear, all in really nice colors and fabrics.
I have the double face fleece body suit for my baby, and it’s not only cozy, it’s really well designed. With two zippers running down the front, it makes it really easy to get your baby all bundled. And both the legs and the arms can fold back to cuff your baby’s hands and feet to protect them from the cold.
You can find some Ver de Terre pieces from Kidsen here in London, or contact Ver de Terre for retailers near you.
-Courtney
Birthday gifts for a “No Gifts Please” party
When I was a kid, birthday parties were thrown at home and consisted of three elements:
1) Food: Cake (and one that generally looked like this)
2) Décor: party hats, a few stray balloons, a lone streamer taped to a wall somewhere.
3) Entertainment: pin the tail on the donkey, duck-duck-goose and an overall scene that looked a little like this.
Maybe this was just the norm for the ’70s, but I certainly don’t remember going to anything like the ones my kids go to today. For some reason, children’s birthday parties have morphed these full-scale events – one more elaborate or creative then the next! The birthday scene is big business in NYC, and I am simply amazed at the amount of places that have cropped up just to throw “theme” parties. I recently found myself at a birthday party for a one-year-old who not only slept through the whole birthday party but also had a full petting zoo of tiny animals set up in their apartment. A petting zoo. In a New York apartment. Have we really gone that far? (more…)
Chez Bogato, a patisserie just for kids
You would think that in a city like Paris the patisserie market would be saturated. But there was one thing missing — a patisserie specializing in kid’s cakes! Now we have Chez Bogato, a fabulous kids bakery that makes the best birthday cakes ever! Castles, crowns, tigers and shoes…there is nothing they cannot make into a cake.
If your little one is such a cooking enthusiast that only a cake he has made himself will do, you can throw the birthday party at the Bogato atelier where the kids get to decorate their own cakes. Another option is to have the team come to you with all the equipment needed and throw a party in the comfort of your own home. (more…)
A few changes
I’m sure you’ve already noticed… that things are looking slightly different around here. We’ve switched some things around, and we’re in the process of making a few changes to our site. We have swapped the outer colunms around, so everything that was on the right-hand side is now on the left, and vice versa. It’s not an attempt to confuse you, we promise! We’re trying to make the navigation of our site a bit more clear and straight-forward. Please bare with us while we make the changes. Thanks!
Tantrum-free hair products
It’s funny the things your kids notice. I recently tried out the new Tantrum range of hair products, and instantly my boys pointed out the ‘yummy’ smell of the bubbles! (I was more attracted to the ‘paraben and allergen-free’ qualities, but of course kids know nothing about that!)
Tantrum is a children’s hair salon here in London specially designed to make the hair-cutting experience a good one, both for you and for your child. As well as their King’s Road location, they have just set up a boutique in Hamleys, taking hairdressing to a whole new level.
The new range of hair products includes a shampoo, conditioner and a detangle spray which, according to a friend who has a daughter with super curly hair, actually works! (Emilie, you should check this out!)
-Courtney
Aunty Ollie trench coat and hat
It is starting to get cold, grey and wet over here in otherwise gay Paris and it makes me yearn for all things warm, colourful and above all weatherproof! Especially for my kids!
The ironic thing is that Aunty Ollie’s designer, Australian Jodie Hampshire, is based in Dubai, so she must be having a hard time trying to imagine what is needed here in our cold winter climate. But she manages, and her designs are spot on. The trench is a winner!
Until the 10th of December Aunty Ollie is offering free shipping for orders over $100 if you use the discount code: NOEL
- Emilie
Stripes save the day
It may have taken me a few months to twig on, but I have learned a valuable lesson. Stripes hide a multitude of sins. I’m a busy working mum and I don’t have time to change my baby boy a hundred times a day (he is a very, very, very messy eater). And he’s still crawling along the floor and getting dirt all over everything he wears. So if I put him in a solid colour, it shows up dirt instantly. And, I have to confess, that I have a bit of a thing for stripes. And dots, but that’s more for me. Anyway, when I was checking out the colourful and fun designs of Polka Kids I noticed that they not only have some great striped tops and jumpers but also other multihued designs which will be perfect for my little one.
-Natalie
Is three the new two?
I’m pregnant with number three. Wow!! Call me crazy, but we’ve always wanted three children; this is 100% planned and not at all unexpected. To have a tiny new baby in my arms again — such joy! (Although sometimes I wonder what the heck I am thinking — another pregnancy, another birth, more nappies!) Our children are about as excited as we are; you should have seen our 4-year-old’s face when I broke the news. Loads of our friends have had a new (third) baby recently, so she has seen her little friends with their baby siblings, and the anticipation of having her own baby brother or sister made her beam with joy!
Lately I keep hearing the phrase ‘Three is the new two’. Must be the proof I’m a trend-follower instead of a trend-setter! The stats are proving it: since the late nineties more and more parents decide to go for a number three, or even a number four. (more…)
His first Campers
I love Camper shoes. I bought my first pair 10 years ago and have added regularly to my collection since. I know they are not the most elegant shoes (I do own one or two pairs of those) but they are cool, funky and so comfortable. Somehow I’ve never bought a pair for my son, until yesterday!
The pair we chose has all the characteristics we needed — comfortable, nice looking and easy to put on. They have this elasticated string at the front and a zip on the side, so my son should be able to put them on by himself… and the school teachers won’t complain.
He picked the navy blue and green himself, but I also loved the brown suede ones that have and electric blue sole. I’m glad he had no hesitation, I would have been so undecided.
Camper for kids start at size 23, but on their website I spotted some baby ones I was not aware of.
So the good news is … you’re never too young for your first Campers!
-Michela
Preserving the fall
Please tell me if my craft ideas are getting ridiculously simple/boring, and I will try to become a bit more inspiring. It’s just that the simple projects are actually sometimes the most fun, both for you and for the kids. And this one has got to be the most simple one yet. Plus, it’s a lovely way to capture the beauty of the season.
Just head out for a walk in the park and try to collect as many different leaves as possible, opting for the fresher ones, not the crinkly ones. Give your children the task of finding a red one, an orange one, a yellow one, a green one, etc. Try to also find really big ones and really small ones. (We spent a whole two hours searching for the perfect leaves.)
When you get home, spread all the leaves on the table. Mix some paint together to replicate the fall colors. Try to paint the leaves the same color as they are. Press the leaves onto the paper. Try to mix up the different shapes and colors. Then hang your painting in your kitchen and enjoy!
-Courtney
Lovely lamps from Hartendief
Look how lovely this pendant lampshade is… I just love having some typical ‘Amsterdam’ toys and decorations in my house now that we live in this special city! Have you ever been to Amsterdam?? It’s very typical with its canals and canal houses; I don’t think there’s another city quite like it in the world! The scene you see on this lamp is called ‘Jordaan’, named after the picturesque neighbourhood in the centre of Amsterdam with its narrow streets, small houses and cute bridges.
Hylkia, the creative brain behind ‘Hartendief‘, originally studied fashion design but after the birth of her daughter started creating accessories for children’s rooms, eventually resulting in a series of these wonderful silhouette lamps. They are very stylish in their simplicity — plain when switched off, but when switched on the silver (or gold) silhouette on the inside of the shade creates a magical shadow world on the outside…
If you’re not so much into the Amsterdam theme like I am, there are three more sweet designs to choose from, and in a large selection of colours. You can order these lamps through the Hartendief store, but if your Dutch is not so polished these days you can just email Hylkia with your questions and wishes in English.
xxx Esther
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