I don’t like tutus.

There, I said it.

I’m waiting for an entire contingent of well-heeled moms to come after me.

I don’t know about your area, but in my neck of the woods, tutu-mania is in full force.

The thing is, I don’t know why.

If you are enrolled in a ballet class, then sure, wear a tutu.  But am I wrong in thinking that even in ballet classes, they don’t really wear tutus until they actually perform in front of an audience? Right? I’ve actually never taken a ballet class, so maybe someone can enlighten me there.  With the current tutu craze, that could be changing, though.  Instead of being the provenance of dancers, they are now being co-opted by the toddler and even the not-yet-even-walking set.  All around me there are young girls in tutus, and they are miles away from being in any ballet-related activities. I see them at the doctor’s office, the grocery store, waiting to pick up their siblings at school, and all other manner of places where the last thing one would think of putting on was a frilly skirt with tights.

I have so far firmly resisted buying my daughter a tutu.

She isn’t in a dance class, so I see absolutely no need for one. 

However, I seem to be in the minority as tutus are becoming regular day attire instead of something you had to work hard to earn the right to wear.  Tutus are so hyper-feminine, and while I have no issue with femininity or looking feminine, for some reason they make me a little uncomfortable.  I suppose I think a tutu should be something worn for dress-up, and not out on errands.  And yes, I am one of those stick-in-the-mud moms who think that dress-up stays at home. 

My sister has threatened to buy my daughter one, as she thinks the Munchkinette would get a kick out of twirling around in it.

Call me an anti-tutu-ite, but I’m hoping the current tutu phase will blow over by the time my daughter can ask me for one.

A super-hero cape, though? I’m all for it.

Our new house has a playroom for my son and his 1,345,098 Legos. You think I’m exaggerating. I’m not.

In order to liven it up a bit, yet keep it flexible for his rapidly changing tastes,I ordered some of these. Because mom, pirates are totally out now and knights and dragons are in! Du-uh!

So instead of bankrupting myself trying to keep the decor in tune with his interests, I figured he can draw and write all over these and then erase them when they fail to please him any longer.  They leave absolutely no residue and you can move them around at will without losing any of the “stickiness.”

Win for him.

Win for me.

Although I do have to recommend that washable paint go under these if possible!  Because seven year olds aren’t exactly known for their precision.

As I’ve mentioned before, my daughter has a lot of hair. So much hair that even at the tender age of six months, her hair must be contained at all times by a headband, else it falls in her eyes and hilarity definitely does not ensue. I don’t know if it is because I am used to taking care of longer hair, but I seem to be pretty good at wrangling my daughter’s unruly locks. When I am done with her, she looks somewhat like this:

Well, she doesn’t look exactly like Rachel McAdams, but her headband is appropriately placed, her hair is smooth, and she is happy.

My poor husband has yet to master the intricacies of the wh0le headband thing, and the other day when I came home from the grocery store, my poor daughter no longer looked like Ms. McAdams, but instead…

(more…)

A distant acquaintance of mine was recently waxing rhapsodic about a baby item she felt she could not do without. She was talking about her baby wipe warmer.

Say what?

I cannot think of a piece of baby gear that is more superfluous, and yes, wasteful, than the electric baby wipe warmer. I think it is a common misconception for new mothers to want “the best” for their babies, and by god, no nasty room temperature wipe is going to touch their precious kids’ bottoms! Not if they have anything to say about it!  And boy, has the Baby Industrial Complex stepped up to deliver anything and everything a mom might want, regardless of whether she actually needs it.

I often wonder how the pioneers crossing the continent would have felt about this particular motherly concern. Oh yeah, right, they didn’t even HAVE anything like baby wipes for their children, and I think they would have probably smacked us modern mothers upside the head at some of the things we worry about. I can see it now, “Tobias, we absolutely cannot cross over those mountains unless you can guarantee me I’ve got a way to warm up little Mildred’s burlap squares*!”  Not to say there aren’t some very nifty things, but a wipe warmer isn’t one of them. 

People say, but oh, my baby screams like a banshee when I wipe her bottom with a cold wipe! Newsflash! Many newborns scream like a banshee at many, many things, and being naked and exposed will do that to a person, especially one who just spent the last nine months all cozy-like curled up in the womb. Chances are it has little to do with the wipe.  The time frame for this type of response is actually very short, and not worth spending the money on a wipe warmer.  And if you have an older child that still does that, just tell them they need to suck it up.

HOWEVER, because I am nothing if not compassionate,  if you are worried that your little snookum’s poopy bum will be unable to cope with a wipe that doesn’t feel like an electric blanket, I have an eco-conscious and energy saving tip.

Use your hands to hold the wipe and/or wipes as you undress your child.  By the time you are ready to get down to business, voila!  You have gotten the wipes to a nice non booty-offending temperature.  And best of all, it cost you absolutely nothing!

*Not that I have any knowledge of what they used for wipes in the pioneer days.  It could have been old pieces of clothing, or leaves for all I know.

Out of gum wrappers!

I applaud the creativity of both her dress and her boyfriend’s vest, but his hat will hopefully disappear before the actual prom.

Seriously, I adore the coats that David and Mercy are wearing.

Here is the Jimmy Choo Zap sandal, in which the five inch heel lights up when it touches the ground.

Just think, you and your preschooler can finally match!

Except these will cost you approximately $2445.00 more than those Skechers they’ve been clamoring for.

(I apologize for all the music references that seem to be popping up on the blog lately, but come on, I had to do this one!)

This actually came out a while ago (in time for Christmas, natch) and I meant to write about it, but somehow never got the chance.

Christian Louboutin, in collaboration with Mattel, came up with “Cat Burglar” Barbie.  Now, I know that most of the people who collect the more expensive dolls are not children, but still.   Cat Burglar?  I thought Barbie was supposed to be anything from a vet to an astronaut, but I never would have expected thief in a skin-tight leather bodysuit and Loubs.

And seriously, I don’t care if she has a better shoe collection than I do, this doll is ugly as hell.