It had been a while since I had been to one of my favorite shopping malls, and I happened to finally stop by a couple of weeks ago.  They have done some remodeling and taken out some kid-friendly features in order to appear more “upscale” so I hadn’t been in a really big hurry to go back.

But, a new store that I’d never heard about had popped up in my absence, and I have to say I was really, really impressed with the quality and design of the clothing. I know y’all like to see the goods before buying, but there aren’t a whole lot of these stores in brick-and-mortar form, so online is the way most of you will be able to access their stuff. 

And what wonderful stuff it was!  I liked many, many things, but here are a few of my favorites:

Little Peanut Dress

The fabric is soft and lovely, the garment itself well-constructed.  I adored all of their “little peanut” line.

Stinson Polo

The ultimate in surfer cool, I liked a lot of their shirts for boys.

Frida Skirt

The picture does not do this skirt any justice.  The embroidery is absolutely beautiful, and again, the skirt is well-made.

Junglie Elephant

Their whole line of Junglie and Bunglie animals were some of the softest, cuddliest I’ve ever felt.

Oh, and I always award bonus points to stores who emphasize books, and they had a large and impressive book display in the very front of the store.

*I am not affiliated with Peek…, nor am I receiving any sort of compensation for this review.  Good clothes are hard to find, and I wanted to pass the info along.

My five-month old daughter is one of the few.

One of the proud.

One of the infants born with a full head of hair.

I’m not talking about some sort of wimpy fuzz.  No, this chick had hair.  The nurses actually couldn’t get over the fact that it even had golden highlights in it from day one and joked that they themselves paid serious money for those kinds of highlights.

It’s pretty much the first thing people remark upon when seeing her for the first time.  Not her beautiful blue eyes, or long eyelashes, or her lovely smile which radiates joy.

Yet all around me, I see discrimination against her.

If you look at ads for baby items, from diapers to soap, pretty much all of the babies are bald. Oh, maybe one or two have a patch of wannabe hair on the tippy-top, but for the most part display lots of pink skin.

So is my daughter is going to grow up with a complex about her abundant locks ? Will she look at all of her baby friends and realize she is the only one able to utilize a headband for the actual purpose for which it was made, not just to match her outfit?  Will the toddlers down the block snicker behind their hands and say, “Looks like somebody could use a visit to the salon!” Or parents who see her full mane and whisper, “Shouldn’t that kid be walking yet?” not realizing she’s only six months old.

Do follicularly blessed babies not cry when pricked, or laugh when tickled?

They may resemble all the rest in that, they just do it with better hair.

And all he got was some sore boobs.

Yeah, been there, done that, dude.

It seems Ragnar Bengtsson flew completely beneath my radar when it was announced that the 26 year old student was attempting to produce enough milk to breastfeed his child.  He was pumping at 3-hour intervals every day, hoping  to stimulate lactation.

I had no idea that it was even possible for men to lactate, although it is normally something that occurs when undergoing specific types of hormone therapy.  And even then, at most they produce only a drop or two, not nearly enough to feed a hungry infant.

Mr. Bengtsson began his quest for milk in order to promote a better “bonding” experience with his child and future children.  I sort of applaud his intent, if not perhaps agreeing with his method. He is quoted as saying, “Anything that doesn’t do any harm is worth trying out.”

We won’t count the sore boobs as harm, right Mr. Bengtsson?

Posting a teensy bit about the newest addition to our family.

The Munchinette was born at the very civilized hour of 9:33am on November 5. She came in at a healthy but petite 7lbs, 6oz. She currently has curly brown hair and blue eyes. Both of those could change, I’m guessing.

I had a repeat C-section, and according to the anesthesiologist, I set some sort of World Record in Vomiting During the Giving of Life. I guess my body does not react well to anesthesia, and I even told the doctor prior to the surgery that I had some similar issues with the Munchkin, although not nearly as bad. Even the anti-nausea medication he put into my drug cocktail didn’t work. Boo.

So, I’m slightly sleep deprived, even though I am lucky enough to have a wonderful husband who is taking two months off work to help out with my recovery and just generally making sure that the Munchkin gets to school on time and wearing appropriate clothing.

Here’s to the many sleepless nights to come!

It seems that I went much too easy on you with the last game, and dr. nic was able to instantly guess that our infamous blonde was none other than Paris Hilton. Congratulations! You’ve won a collection of crazy headbands and tiaras just like Paris loves to sport. Wear them with, uh, pride…

Today’s young boy hit his peak a while back, but you DO know who he is…

This article in USA Today states that researchers have found that parents respond quickly to baby names that are on the rise in popularity, versus names that are waning in popularity.

Now, as someone who is still currently wrestling with a name for her impending baby girl, I find that odd. It is a sort of lemming-like mentality that I find actually somewhat disturbing.  Where is the ability to think for oneself?  Just because everyone is naming their kid Brittany, why would someone feel that they have to as well?

You see, I don’t want my daughter to have a name that everyone else has.   It’s not that I must have some quirky, arty name that sets her far apart from the mundane masses.  I actually quite like some of the really popular names. It’s just that I don’t wish for her to be Samantha J. along with Samantha G. and Samantha W. in her classroom.

I’ve spoken to many people who said that was their biggest peeve about their name, that they had to share it with someone all through school.  I didn’t have that problem, but I could see how it would be annoying to always have your last initial tacked on to your identity.

So to latch on to a name that everyone else is using is counter-intuitive to my way of thinking.

But then again, no one has accused me lately of thinking in a particularly straight manner.

Last week I wanted to know if you would ever consider foreign adoption, and a whopping 73% of you responded with a “yes.” Only 15% would limit their adoption to within the US, and a tiny percentage said that adoption was not in the cards for them.

Today, with the story of this woman rattling around in my brain, I’m wondering what you think of the largely self-regulated fertility industry.