Teeny Manolo

It seems there is a new children’s retailer on the scene, called Crazy 8, which is owned by the same company that manufactures Gymboree.  I would equate them with The Children’s Place as far as target pricing.  They’ve got a good selection of clothing for newborns up to tweens.  And, for a limited time due to the launch of their new internet site, all shipping is free.  They’ve got a really good sale going on right now as well. The clothes are fairly stylish for the price, so get going!

Here are some of my favorites.

For girls:

 This double-breasted terry jacket is on sale for $16.99.

For boys:

This barn jacket with corduroy collar is on sale for only $23.99

For baby girls:

A smocked terry hoodie on sale for $11.99

For baby boys:

A zip front cardigan on sale for $12.99

Happy shopping! Because I know if there is anything we love more than our kids, it just might be a good sale and free shipping!

Who says Britney Spears is a bad mom? Why, she’s already got the boys’s Halloween costumes sorted! That’s what I call being involved!

LolCats meet LolKids: a memetic union for the ages!

Also, this is probably the best place to note that it was just the repressed Englishmen that insisted on the short pants for their boys. The Scots, presumably, realized they’d all have expired of hypothermia if they’d been jammed into hot pants in that climate.

Who thought this was a good idea?

Because it’s never too early to learn what’s important in life.

Okay, it’s a joke. In fact, the whole atypyk site is full of these arch, hipsterish in-jokes. Check out their shower mic, made of solid sponge! One can only hope they were contacted to do the party favours for the Hollywood Purity Ball (I particularly like their colour-your-own cash, probably when you think about it a blogger’s best shot at making money). Hey, in retrospect, this is an idea whose time may indeed have come.

Because in a world where $1950 diaper bags exist, it’s never too late to start learning the important lessons in life.

via Counterfeit Chic.

As I have stated before, it is difficult to find clothes, especially shirts, for boys that do not fall into the same boring categories of stripes, solids, or bad graphics. You’ve all seen those graphics, of weird wolves baying at the moon or crazy looking spiders that look like they could kick Charlotte’s butt with a flick of a spinneret.  Man, some of them scare me, and they aren’t even for Halloween. I appreciate realism as much as the next gal, but I’d rather not purchase a shirt that looks like the thing on it is gonna leap off and eat my kid. 

I’ve been on the lookout for designers that give me button-downs, but with a twist. If I see yet another shirt with just stripes, I’m going to stage a sit-down protest right there in the store.  Anybody with me?  Fine, if you just get on the floor with me, I’ll be the one to go to jail.  I’ll just say you were trying to talk me down.

Anyhoo, I think I have found a company, although they don’t hit the mark with every shirt, that at least attempts to come up with clothing that is whimsical, but leaves the retreads to others.  Can my sentences have any more commas?

Take a look at some shirts from Wonderboy:

Here’s a close-up of the pattern, called “Snake Eyes”

Finally, something a little different!  Here’s another shirt:

Perhaps a bit busy for some, but fun, no?

What do you think?  Is the line too “funky” or “urban?” Or is it refreshing and fun? 

As a collectivist denizen of darkest Canuckistan myself, I totally heart these. We should make them standard uniform in our military; it would make peacekeeping duties in former Soviet republics just that much more lively, don’t you think? I certainly hope a portion of the proceeds from sales are going to support urban renewal projects in Havana, yet somehow one doubts. They were, after all, hanging up next to the Pink Panther socks, and the Pink Panther is a well-known right-wing Libertarian.

Does his agent know about this?

Stolen from Houseplant Picture Studio, via Nag on the Lake.

And of course, no guerrilla fashion ensemble would be complete without:

Now, how can I call myself part of the Manolo family and not recommend some shoes? And lo, Awesome Mom, I have found some shoes for boys that I like!

It was tough, let me tell you. When Amazon tells you that there are 6,734 items to look through under boys shoes, they ain’t kidding. I laughed, I cried, I threw the keyboard on the floor in frustration, but finally I found things I would buy for my own son.

I tend to prefer a type of shoe that is a bit of a multi-tasker. That way, perhaps I don’t have to buy quite so many, you know? Shoes that fall somewhere in between a sneaker and a loafer work well, and luckily for me, you, us there are tons of them out there.

But first, how could I resist this “Fun Dog” Rain Boot? Does it not have frivolity and cuteness wrapped up in a functional package? Never mind that where I live, we have been in a drought for about four years. I love these boots. I want a pair for myself

Next up, shoes that are admittedly a bit expensive. However, they look as if they can be worn as easily with windpants and a tee, or jeans and a collared shirt.

And lastly, shoes that are on sale! I admit though, five bucks off isn’t whole lot. But, they are eligible to ship for free! Again, the multi-tasking rules apply to this shoe. I could see this on the playground as well as strolling through the mall.

Now, maybe next time I will be brave and do dress shoes! Or maybe shoes that are black, but I have a thing about black shoes that is perhaps a post for another time.

Anyone who’s ever grocery shopped with more than a handful of young ‘uns along for the ride knows what it is to wrangle cats. Cats on crack. They all have ten times more energy than you do, they all know exactly what they want to do and where they want to go, and they all want to go, at top speed, to the parts of the store that are farthest from any of the other youthful sprogs you may have brought along. It’s like someone paid them to demonstrate the laws of thermodynamics.

Naturally, as harnessing the lot to your grocery cart a la stagecoach horses may be frowned on in some communities, we must seek for our readers a better solution.

Although that one is mighty funny.

Instead, we recommend this ingenious grocery game suggested by Lori Dee on the positively delightful Parenting Snark thread on the Perfect World Board.

As I used items up at home I’d save labels of commonly used things such as peanut butter, canned beans, etc. I’d even cut the front off of boxes or save the bag of say, rice or oatmeal. Also, ad circulars.

You keep this stuff in a small canvas bag and you give one to the children as you approach that section and ask them to find it. When they find it, they can help put it in the cart.

This is awesome, although it doesn’t work as well at home. No matter how detailed my sketches of a Martini, all I ever get is Evian with an olive.