Reston Mom

New hairstyle

I'll get back to blogging some things again here soon.  In the meantime, look what I discovered - BANGS! I didn't cut them in, it is actually just hair growing in again from losing a ton after Ami's birth.  I haven't had bangs since...well, since I was like 3.  Weird that I seem to have lost a ton of hair right up front at my forehead.  In the meantime, I guess I have a new option with how I wear my hair - though I can't say I approve of my hair changing styles without my permission! I can't wait to see what my hair is doing after this next baby is born - it is going to be CRAZY.  Strange layers anyone? 

 Sorry for the terrible quality of this picture - but you get the idea.

 

Mother Child Bags

I always feel like I could use an extra hand...or two...these days.  Especially when crossing a street with the kiddos - I'm always telling them to grab onto the stroller (when we have it) or onto my purse if my hands are full, or even onto one of my pant pockets.  So, I thought this idea was cute.  I can't remember where I first saw it, maybe over at babybunching.com - but whether I'm telling the girls to hang onto me or not, they usually are - so it wouldn't hurt to have a specific little handle just for them!  You can find these bags here. 

 

Halloween wings!

Hope and Maddie put in special requests to dress in costume as a fairy and a butterfly this year.  I'm not a huge fan of spending a ton of money on Halloween, so I figured I could whip together some wings from some materials I already had on hand.  I thought they came out pretty well considering I didn't have any patterns, although I wish I had used stronger wire to support them.  It is difficult to tell how glittery they are in the pictures - they were outlined with glow-in-the-dark glitter and the fairy wings have swirls and the butterfly wings have white sections that are made from this glitter as well.  Plus the sparkly trim and sequins they were a big hit for some pretty girly girls!  The girls just picked some pretty dresses that they already had - and away they flew! 

  

more headbands

I found these great little black, black and white striped, and black with white polka dots headbands in the dollar section at Target!  The girls had been asking me to make some headbands for them, so I quickly whipped up something from what felt scraps I had.  They have been enjoying them and have amusingly also been including their baby sister. 

Fellow Star Wars geeks, I ask you....

How cute is that Princess Leia costume?????

get them here.

gettin' crafty with a bedazzler

We had to miss the fairy tea-party birthday celebration of my best friend's 3 year old daughter - but made up for it when they came into our town and hung out at our house.  We threw our own little tea party and I decided to get a little crafty and make some fun headbands for the girls to wear with some brightly colored bands from goody, felt, and my bedazzler.  Yup - I own a bedazzler! You remember those from the infomercials, right? I had one handed down to me and they actually are quite fun for some things (like adding rhinestones to the center of flowers for little girl headbands, not like adding large rhinestone patterns to the back and front of a denim jacket.)  Anyway, I thought they turned out pretty cute for a quick little craft - and the girls really like them! We sent them all home with Megan, but my girls are asking me to make some more, so I might have to pull out the bedazzler again soon!

design your own purse

I love this! 1154 Lill Studio lets you design your own purse in a myriad of styles - including diaper bags.  If I could afford this right now, I'd totally do it.  I know I'd have a difficult time choosing from all the really cute styles and fabrics - and I'd love to customize my own diaper bag....actually, I think the problem is that once I started, I'd want to design several different bags for myself! Which is why I haven't designed one and put up a picture of it here for you to see what I would do.  Whenever I start, I get new ideas and begin designing another one before I've finished the first! If you book a party now, you can get 2 free hobo bags plus the hostess discount - sounds like fun to me!  This is a ton of fun for any woman with a handbag fetish...

baby bangs - hair + headband

We never had this problem, all of our girls were born with a ton of hair.  Still, I find these baby bangs hilarious.  I guess I'm not supposed to, obviously the inventor means business here and maybe some parents would really be into this - but I think bald babies are cute, even if unobservant people sometimes mistake your little girl for a baby boy.  Is it just me or is it ridiculous for a small child to have an artificial hair piece?  Something akin to those crazy pagent moms or not?  What do you think?  

I have to admit, it really does make me smile and chuckle - the kids are so cute.  I guess it's not much more weird than the ways we dress them up for pictures and holidays and Halloween, now is it?  

(please visit the site for photos, they are strongly copyrighted and I didn't want to infringe, but you must see them!!!!!!)

women will always find excuses to get together

My husband and I were remembering that when we were kids "Tupperware Parties" were really big.  I've also been to my fair share of jewelry parties, Pampered Chef parties, and bookclubs among other gatherings in the past few years.

But here's one that threw me for a loop (although, I must admit that it seems a bit unsurprising given the kind of community we live in here in NoVA)  Botox parties!  Yup, that's right.  Come and get some info and an injection or two on the spot.  Can't say I've ever been to one or plan to, but it's true that I do actually know someone you can call if you want to have one of these parties and I hear they are pretty popular.  What a funny job that would be!  Kind of makes me giggle.  Of course, trying to imagine the laughter of my friends with stiffened faces at a party like that makes me downright chuckle!  

free designer silver jewelry

I heard about this site, sponsored by Peora called Silverjewelryclub.com - where you can get sterling silver jewelry with real gemstones for FREE! (except for shipping charges).  So, I figured it was worth checking out.  Turns out it's legit.  Then, I was curious about the quality of the jewelry, so I ordered a ring and paid just $6.99 to get it to my house.  It arrived quickly and nicely packaged.  I thought it seemed a little lighter in weight than I would have hoped for, but I still liked it and it fits me perfectly and the craftmanship seems good.  The selection changes all the time, but I found that the pieces all have a similar feel to them. I'm not a fan of all the designs, but every once in a while something very attractive pops up. If you are looking to pad your silvery jewelry collection with a few items, this might be a really neat find for you.   

yet another new pregnancy experience

Maybe it's because my first two pregnancies were so very similar that I am so intrigued by how very different it is this time.  Here's a new weird experience for me; I used to think it was so strange when pregnant women wouldn't notice that a little bit of their belly was showing.  First because I wondered why they wouldn't feel some sort of draft and secondly because I wondered why they continued to wear shirts that were obviously a little too short. I guess I just figured they didn't care.

But, okay I give.  The belly I've got going on this time protrudes way more - this baby is all out front of me, way out front.  I've discovered that a good number of my maternity t-shirts now seem to hardly cover over this pointy belly and I'm constantly tugging them down - which is annoying because isn't the point of these maternity shirts to actually fit over my belly? They aren't too small anywhere else, just can't seem to go the distance in the front length for some reason.  Next, I've discovered that oddly I don't actually feel any draft or really notice in any way when that sliver of belly is showing just above my belt, which could end up a little embarrassing I'm afraid.  So, unless I happen to glimpse it in the mirror or feel it with a hand, I could go on totally oblivious to the fact that I'm showing a little skin.  I totally need one of those bella band thingys.

And don't get me started on the whole belly-button showing through my clothes thing...

love/hate secret belly fit

I had heard rave reviews of the "secret belly fit" maternity pant, so I went and tried some on earlier in my pregnancy.  At that time, I couldn't find any that would fit me at all.  But, when I finally got to the stage where it was unbearable to wear any jean other than a full-fledged pull-it-up-over-your-belly, I decided to give them a second chance and did end up buying one pair.

The thing is, I do actually like the jean part...the wash, the fit, the style - good.  But, I really do not favor these overall.  They would be really comfortable, except that they keep falling off my hips.  This means I'm constantly tugging at the belly band, which then stretches out a bit and also begins to slide down or fails to hug me at the top creating that nice tell-tale line of the maternity pant beneath your shirt.  Also, they are too long for my short legs - because while the line includes petites, it does not include short.  Therefore, since I am certainly too tired and otherwise occupied right now to get them hemmed - I either must wear heels or let the hems drag in the mud behind me a bit.  An afternoon of heels leaves me too sore right now to even consider that as a viable option.  

Still, I'm not sure there is anything else out there that is really better than the secret fit either, at least for my budget.  So even though the secret to my secret belly fit jeans might be that even though some people swear by them I kind of hate them, they continue to be the only denim pant that I can bear to wear. 

Anybody have maternity pants that they love? 

help me with her hair

My daughter Hope has lovely hair.  But, it has a few characteristics which make it difficult.  I need some help.  Most of the time she just wants to wear it down - which is fine with me because honestly it is some of the most delicate hair I've ever seen.  I can't put any barrette or ponytail holder in without it somehow managing to shred her hair.  The result is that her "long" hair is actually now a multitude of lengths - it honestly frames her face like I took her and got it layered.  So, when she wears it down, it looks a bit scraggily and gets in her face.  Also, you can see her natural texture from the photos here.  Her hair is thin and a mix of straight and curly.  Some parts of it like to hang straight, while other parts make gorgeous ringlet spirals.  It's mood depends a lot on the weather, but it almost always has multiple-personalities.  The result of this is that it NEVER looks brushed.  Two minutes after a good brushing it looks like it hasn't been touched.  I'm a little tired of my lovely daughter running around looking like an unkempt wild child - but I'm struggling with any good ideas about how to tame and care for her hair - and sometimes, she just HAS to have it out of her face, like when she's eating messy foods. Headbands bother her and neither she nor I really want to cut it short right now either. I tried trimming it to equal length once, but it didn't seem to matter.  Does anyone have any words of advice?  Please help!

a happy pregnancy "find"

During the in-between of not fitting regular clothes and not quite ready for full-fledged maternity items, moms sometimes have to get pretty creative - things like rubber bands take on new uses.  I have a petite frame, which normally is nothing to complain about, but has always thrown me for a loop during pregnancy. Finding maternity clothes which fit me is difficult, much less in-between apparel.  As soon as I couldn't fit my regular jeans, I went on a hunt for something I could wear out and about...but was disappointed again and again.  It doesn't help that I hate shopping in general.
Then, I happened to be grouchily leaving the mall through Macy's when I spotted something on the end of a junior's sale rack.  "What are these?" I asked wide-eyed. Turns out Jolt has a line of "lounge" pants with a knit band around the waist.  They aren't maternity pants at all, (as they are trendy soft wide-legged junior's jeans)...but, well, yes that's exactly what they are.  Except, they fit me! A regular jean that allows tons of roomy comfort for my expanding waist line, now that's a huge find for me! Did I mention that for that day only they happened to be on sale for $17?
And they were just waiting there (misplaced by someone right in plain view) for me to happen upon.  It was like a gift just for me.  And, they had brown and black pants in the same style.  I breathed a truly heartfelt "thankyou," bought them with the same excitement as a kid in a candy store, and then immediately took them to get hemmed (because I am also short). 
Maybe I'll get through this fashion-challenged stage of pregnancy after all!

hooter hiders

We were at a large park the other day and in one little playground area, a couple of moms were sitting on the wooden edge nursing their babies.  (I'd like to interject here and say that l am all for a woman's comfort and right to nurse in public)  However, neither of them were wearing any kind of cover, not that they were really exposed or anything.  Still, as my girls wanted to play there, I accompanied them while my husband sort of looked on from the neighboring other play area.  I can't blame him....both clearly uncomfortable and a very respectful person, he simply chose to keep a little distance.  And I agreed with him that in a populated public area, nursing moms at least should use a blanket or something.  Anyway...all this to say two things - I might have recommended this nursing cover simply because I love the name Hooter Hider (hee hee).  And, I remember that a friend gave me a simple pashmina when Maddie was born, and I declared it the best thing ever!  It was large enough to wrap clear around me so that Maddie could neither pull nor kick it off, but it was light-weight so it didn't smother either of us.  Plus, it came in handy as a cover over the stroller when it was sunny or when Maddie was napping or as a blanket when it was a little chilly or something for the shopping cart seat.  It was cotton and washable and I took it everywhere!

Tees for Change

Here's a great company - Tees for Change; sustainable tees on a mission.  I adore the baby line, but I'm sure you'll love the women's and men's tees too.  The company was started by a mom during her first pregnancy.  She was bombarded by negative and fearful responses from others when she desired to have a home birth, so she made herself a tee with the words "be courageous" and wore it during her successful delivery.  From that was also birthed this company whose mission is to inspire people to live with passion, purpose, and positivity.  The shirts are fair-trade, organic, and made under sweatshop-free conditions...plus, for every shirt you buy, they will plant a tree through American Forests' Global Relief. 

From now through August 31st, YOU CAN RECEIVE 15% OFF of your purchase just by using the coupon code "RESTON".

TOMS shoes for tomorrow

I think that the buffalo print and picnic canvas print in these tiny TOMS shoes are adorable, but I must say that the pink camo is probably my favorite (as are all things pink).  The thing I love the most about these shoes?  That for every pair you buy, they will give a free pair to a child in need.  They come in pre-walker and toddler sizes...and because we like to wear cute things too - adult sizes. 

great buy at H&M

My friend Amy directed me to this deal:  If you have little girls, H&M has cute and simple sleeveless cotton summer dresses in colorful prints for $4.90 right now.  My girls want to wear dresses every day and only dresses, so you can imagine what a hot deal this is for us.  These are great and will make wonderful day-to-day dresses, swim cover-ups and more....I'm sure my girls will even find a way to wear them to bed!

No slippy hair clippy

I ran into a friend at the grocery store who was so excited about these No Slippy Hair Clippy barettes that she just had to tell me! Apparently they really do work great!  I wish I had known about them when my girls were born with heads totally full of fine baby hair - even now, I continue to search for really great barettes.  I have to say that these are so super cute too that it's really hard to choose! Here are a few of my faves - but there are a ton of styles to choose freom. My girls would go crazy over these and I'd go crazy over finally being able to keep their hair out of their faces!

flip n' flop

Here's a novel idea for the coming warmer months.....flip n' flop flip-flops for ages 4 - 8 feature a book hidden inside the secret compartment of each sole.  The books are designed to teach compassion and empathy "put yourself in my shoes."  The books are tear resistant and water resistant and kids will love keeping the books or other small treasures tucked away in their secret compartments.  You can also buy pairs of stories separately to keep the fun coming. The flip-flops come in four kid-friendly colors.  I'm a sucker for creative ideas like this!

Blush topless undershirts

These topless undershirts have been gaining popularity and I can see why. They seem so comfortable, helpful, and convenient.  Plus, I think they'd be helpful for nursing too - which I was doing alot in the winter when inevitably you have several layers of clothes to get through...try doing that discreetly in public! Anyway, if we were to have another baby - I'd want a couple of these in my collection, absolutely!

Daddy-to-be T's

I have a few friends who are currently first-time pregnant and it is fun to see them exploring the maternity-wear world - which pants are better, the ones with the stretchy band or the big cloth belly? And most importantly, wearing cool T's that hug their growing belly to show the world that there is definitely something wonderful happening in there (it's not just belly-fat people!).  While it may be annoying, these women are being patted, congratulated, engaged in conversation all the time...while their also excitedly expecting hubbies are, what? Sort of sitting on the sidelines, waiting.  Well, they'll get their chance when they finally get to parade around with a cute little bundle in their arms - there's nothing like a proud daddy showing off his new little bundle of joy.  Still, I was glad to see this company making fun T's for the fathers as well - they aren't displaying a huge, traffic-stopping belly - but why shouldn't they get to display some pride too? Try this on for size: "the man behind the belly," "he shoots, he scores," "bullseye," my personal favorite, "look what I did," and more....

Silver mom pendants from Citrus

I've always liked the idea of "mother's jewelry" but I haven't found many pieces that I really liked. Here is one that I do.  It is a simple and elegant way by Citrus Silver to display the names of your little gems without charms that clink like coins or get in the way or just look plain tacky.  Plus, it's a little unusual...a diversion from the usual picture lockets, charm bracelets, or birthstone accessories.  There are a variety of pendants in different shapes and options.  I'd wear any of these and I'd give them as a gift too - the stamping is whatever you want, so these might be suitable for occasions other than just motherhood as well.

Crazy 8 clothes

We don't have one of these yet, but I hope that we will soon.  In August, Gymboree opened it's first of a new chain of concept stores which offer those cool styles that have made Gymboree really popular, but at 30% of the price.  For example, long sleeve T's start at 2 for $6. Crazy 8 outfits newborns to child size 14, both boys and girls. While they hope to have plenty of stores up and running soon, you'll have to shop online until then.

My sister goes on Donny Deutsch show!

I recently posted about the launch of my sister's new business, Mamaisms, and I've been proudly sporting the tees she sent to me.  Her fame continues to grow as she will appear on Donny Deutsch's show "The Big Idea" on CNBC, Jan 16th (that's Wednesday) 7pm pacific and 10pm eastern times. The business will be featured in a "what's new" short along with a panel of successful entrepreneurs who will review the product and idea and give opinions and advice.  I'm so excited for her! (and my other sister, Kathleen, who is a partner too!) If you are interested in starting your own business, then perhaps the show will offer some good advice to keep in mind, and if you want to know which one is my sister - she's the really pretty blonde named Jane Chaucer.

maternity fashion for the non-pregnant

          Recently upon visiting my 20 week pregnant sister-in-law, she was wearing a cute sweater so I asked her where she bought it.  She named a department store, and I said - oh, I didn't know that they had maternity wear there! and....well, they don't, it wasn't.  But, have you noticed that some of the trends in fashion have blurred the lines a bit? Smocks, baby dolls, and flowy fashion have decidedly made it easier for those who are expecting to be in style....causing Mothers Work, Inc. (parent company of Pea in the Pod, Mimi, and Motherhood Maternity) losses of more than $20 in sales. But does it work the other way too?  If you wear these styles, do people suddenly start to wonder if you are keeping something secret? I haven't decided yet what I think about this trend in apparel.  While definitely more flattering on some figures and temptingly comfortable, at a petite 5'3", I always feel like I'm swimming in an overwhelming amount of fabric when I try these styles on, it is difficult to find just the right fit, and I feel like I look pregnant - so I think it probably just isn't for me.