Sweats-be-gone!

Jessica Denay, author of The Hot Mom’s Handbook: Moms Have More Fun! and co-founder of the Hot Moms Club website, has also written a featured article for PoshCravings. It is appropriately titled, Ditch the Sweats!

The writting inspires moms to take pride in ourselves via our appearance. Jessica's not saying you need to be some sex pot. She's referring to self-confidence and a healthy attitude.

Here is a tid-bit from the beginning of the featured article:

It’s so easy to fall into the comfort rut. It’s what I refer to as your “sweats.” Sweats represent choosing convenience – but as a result, you sacrifice yourself. It’s time to ditch the sweats, and I mean that as figuratively as I do literally. A Hot Mom takes charge of her looks and charge of her life…leaving her comfort zone behind. It’s time to clean out your closet and clean out your life. The two work in tandem.

To read the entire piece, see PoshCravings.

Look for Jessica's next book, The Hot Mom to be Handbook... Womb with a View, coming soon.

PurseSitter

For the moment, forget baby sitters and pet sitters. What about a sitter for my purse? I'm tired of visiting bars, restaurants, bathroom stalls with no hooks, doctor's offices, and where ever else you may be forced to place your purse on the floor. It's incredibly gross. Think of all the bacteria and mold your purse is coming in contact with and then coming home with you. Yikes!

PurseSitters has created some whimsical purse hangers. Hangers you can place on almost any table, and voila you now have a clean place for your handbag. Simple, smart, and clean!

Are you planning a bridal shower for someone? I think these would make a super cute gift. Or better yet, tell your favorite bar or restaurant manager about them - maybe they'll invest in a few for their guests to use!

Sno-Cones From the Past

My super-sonic ears can hear you laughing as you look at the above picture and remember your childhood with the Snoopy Sno-Cone machine! Either you were the envy of your friends or you were begging your parents with the old line, "But Suzie has one. Why can't I?" Oh how I dread hearing those words now as a parent!

The original Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine was introduced in 1979. However, this looks like the same model. Creative Kidstuff is selling it for only $16.00 (though it was probably $9 or less in the 80's). The site even directs you to a Sno-Cone recipe - key!

Summer is almost here and what better treat for the kiddos.

Pregnant, Pretty in Pink, and Pucci

It doesn't matter how pretty you are, at some point during your pregnancy every woman goes through a yuck-stage. Not a technical term, I know, but if you've been pregnant, you know exactly what I mean! The yuck-stage may last a day, it may last nine months. At any rate, buy this gorgeous Pucci maternity dress and when that day arrives, slip it on. Before you know it, you will look and feel incredibly beautiful.

If you love the print and you are feeling a little more sexy and sassy, try the strapless version.

Pregnant, Pretty in Pink, and Pucci - when combined, equals stunning.

Stop, Thief

How funny is this Sleep Thief baby playsuit from No Added Sugar?!? If I still had an infant, I would buy this in an instant! I am one of "those" who desparately needs sleep. I did not do well when baby woke me up multiple times during the night. Who am I kidding? I shouldn't be talking past tense, I still don't do well with night-wakings!

So funny, yet so true!

Sittercity

Everyone needs baby sitters (and pet sitters). There's no way around it. You need to get out - whether it's SPA time, grocery shopping without the kids, the biggest gala of the year, or a nice date-night with the significant other - you need to get out of that house sans kids - no ifs, ands, or dirty butts about it (pun intended)!

Sittercity to the rescue. Sittercity makes finding a sitter in your area very easy. More importantly there is a 4-step screening process you can perform to make sure you feel comfortable with your sitter: Check the sitter's references, Read the sitter's feedback, Interview the sitter, and Request a background check (for a nominal fee).

Take a tour of the site and see how it works. It is quite interesting.
You can post jobs that you know about in advance, like a nanny position, for example. Or you can simply search the site for a sitter for Friday night. Now, here is where the site goes above and beyond expectations. Not only can you find a baby or pet sitter, you can:

• manage your sitters and/or jobs
• read blogs
• read the multitude of babysitting tips and resources (for example, Parent-Babysitter Interview Checklist) for Babysitters, Parents, Health & Food, Cyber Safety, and Working Parents. I'm off to read some right now!
• calculate baby sitting rates in your area
• sitter cheat sheet - important information your sitter could need
• information on their Corporate program - if your company is looking for a child care solution

Sittercity has been in operation since 2001 which has provided ample time to gain momentum, credibility, and win quite a few awards. Today Sittercity serves about 500,000 users in more than 30 locations throughout the U.S. (scroll down to bottom of page) and lists 150,000 babysitters nationwide.

Next time your "good" friend will only part with one or two names of baby sitters from her long "contact" list, remember Sittercity, and you'll be set. Now your "contact" list can have dozens of potential sitters just waiting to care for your little angels (or your little devils).

I Can Barely Say the Word...

Death.
I don't find it easy to talk about death. Quite honestly, I can cry at the very thought of it. I have no idea why, but it is what it is.

My Uncle passed away two days ago and although I wasn't very close to him, my eyes swell as I type about it. Any time a family member passes it's difficult. I've known him my whole life. Plus, I keep thinking about my dad (his brother), my uncle's children, my uncle's wife, and his parents - my grandparents. I can't imagine anything worse than outliving your own children.

After my father called me with the news, I hung up the phone and started crying. My boys immediately asked me what was wrong. And I told them Uncle Kirk died. The next question was how. I said he had cancer. Being 6 and 4, they of course don't understand cancer. My youngest said, "Does cancer have guns?" My oldest asked, "Will he be with God in heaven? What is heaven, mom?" The questions kept coming and I had absolutely no idea how to answer them. I had no idea how to explain what cancer is to a young child.

So, I got to thinking. I looked on Amazon.com for some books regarding talking to children about death. Below are some books I found. I hope if you are ever in this position, these will be helpful. My wish is that no one is ever in the position to explain death to young kids, but I know that is unrealistic. After all, death is a part of life. Great... now I'm a sobbing fool!

What's Heaven? by Maria Shriver (Author), Sandra Speidel (Illustrator)

Butterfly Kisses and Wishes on Wings - When someone you love has cancer by Ellen McVicker and illustrated by Nanci Hersh (previously reviewed on Emily Allyn)

I Miss You by Pat Thomas (Author), Leslie Harker (Illustrator)

Water Bugs & Dragonflies: Explaining Death to Young Children by Doris Stickney (Author)

Sad Isn't Bad: A Good-Grief Guidebook for Kids Dealing With Loss by Michaelene Mundy (Author), R. W. Alley (Illustrator)

Lucky Baby

Pinks and Blues chooses the Emily Allyn products as their Lucky Baby pick for this week - Wear Your Heart On Your Tee with Emily Allyn! They declare "Emily Allyn has created a distinctive look with their clothing designs, featuring delightfully original art to express baby and toddler's every mood."

Thank you to Pinks and Blues!

Solving the Squeeze Tease

You would think by now the Juice Box Manufacturing Industry would have come up with an inventive way to make juice boxes that don't spill. No child can hold a juice box and not squeeze it just a little. Once that tiny squeeze takes place, hello, juice is squirted everywhere... usually on Mom's face! Funny? Maybe the first time, but not every time thereafter.

Since the Juice Manufacturers haven't stepped up to the plate, the company Dwink decided to take matters into their own hands. They created the dwink box holder. Get it? Dwink. Sounds like your 2 year old! It comes in four fun, bright colors, is dishwasher safe (always a plus), has a non-skid bottom, and handles. It is designed to hold extra small juice boxes, standard juice boxes and pouches, and even soy milk.

Love the idea! And love the squeeze-free mess! As a mom anything that creates less mess is a great idea.

Do You Hear That Buzzing?

Moms' Buzz is buzzing about the Emily Allyn products. They recently picked our organic bodysuits as an Editor Hot Pick - Ouch, that's hot! They tested our bodysuits and agree how incredibly soft they really are.

Bad Candy - Be Aware

Amazing - only in a bad way. This blog is intended to inform you about amazing products for moms and tots, however I think this is alarming enough it needs to be shared... as if we parents don't have enough to worry about...

Drug dealers are now making a type of crystal meth that looks like strawberry poprocks. It was only a matter of time.

I will start off by saying I have no first hand knowledge of this being true, but I did check it out and found some very recent credible sources on cbsnews.com, usatoday.com, msnbc.com (scroll down), snopes.com, and more. If you google "strawberry meth candy" you will find a ton of reports. Below is only a small part of the snope.com report. Click the above link for the full report.

From Snopes.com:

"According to the intelligence gathered by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
agents from informants, users, local police, and drug counselors, flavored meth
is available in California, Nevada, Washington, Idaho, Texas, New Mexico,
Missouri, and Minnesota. Says DEA spokesman, Steve Robertson, 'Drug
traffickers are trying to lure in new customers, no matter what their age, by
making the meth seem less dangerous.' In addition to the strawberry,
crystal meth also comes in chocolate, peanut butter, cola, cherry, and orange
versions."

As always, remind your children never to accept candy or "candy" from someone they don't know. Please spread the word.

Nappi Sak

Imagine you need to make a quick Target-run. Well, ok, there's no such thing. So, imagine you need to run to the nearest grocery store - only to grab tonight's dinner. You won't be gone all afternoon, in fact you won't be gone for an hour. You are standing in your mud room staring at your large diaper bag thinking, "I don't want to haul that big 'ole thing to the grocery store in the event little Lily might need a diaper change."

The Suzibella Nappi Sak has got your back with it's super cute, modish, purse-like changing pad. No need to tote that shoulder-wrenching bag with you for a quick trip. When you are at the grocery store and you run into Caroline, she is sure to comment on your fab clutch - heck she doesn't need to know it's holding a diaper.

Girlshop

It's a sad day in the land of shopping. I recently found out Girlshop (including totshop and guyshop) is closing their online doors as well as their brick and mortar store. They were definitely a pioneer when it came to finding unique brands and placing them in their online boutique.

FabSugar reported, "What set girlshop.com apart from other online retailers was it's magazine-like look. Laura Eismen explains, 'When we launched, the reason we were successful was, we offered unique products and started this trend for emerging fashion. Now that it's everywhere, it makes us less unique.'"

I've heard conflicting reports about being able to still order on their website. It looks as though you can, but I didn't complete an order to find out if you go through the entire checkout process. But if you can, that might be the only bright side to this closing - blowout sales. Check it out, you just might receive some amazing products at unbelievable prices.

Girlshop will be sorely missed.

Hooter Hiders

If you are a veteran mom, you've probably heard of these. If you are a new mom, you need to hear about these. This creative invention, the Hooter Hiders, does exactly what it says - it hides your hooters while nursing!

To put it nicely, I am a modest person. I will admit having a baby throws out all hints of modesty in the hospital, however when you start feeling yourself again, the modestly comes right back. For those of you who breastfeed or want to breastfeed, let me assure you that not everyone is comfortable with you whipping out your breast in public! You may view it as a beautiful, natural moment, but not everyone is on the same page.

So, for those of you who are modest or want to spare others, the Hooter Hider is the perfect solution. It is pretty and practical. And they offer prints for any taste of style from floral to dots to eyelets. The covers are roomy and adjustable. You can say goodbye to the days of juggling a blanket, a shirt, a baby, and a boob - all while trying to stay discrete.

I think I just like saying the name - it brings me back to 5th grade when people would say the word hooter just to say it... and chuckle of course!

The Hostess With the Mostest

For the perfect hostess! (Hint: it would make a great Mother's Day gift as well.) Jessie Steel makes some classic vintage inspired aprons that are fun to wear at your own party. I mean let's face it - these days who spends their whole day in the kitchen cooking? No one, that's who. (Unless of course you are a professional chef, but then you have your own uniform duds.) Just because you're not a slave in the kitchen doesn't mean you can't sport a clean, stylish, somewhat flirty apron. Some are full aprons like the one pictured above and some are half aprons (like a mini skirt).

You can add matching hot pads to make the look "oh so 50's" and put together. And if you are feeling all "Hanna Andersson" or "Laura Ashley" you can buy a matching apron for your daughter as well!

The aprons are not sold directly on the website. However, here are a couple stores that do sell them.
Layla Grace

Vintage June

And don't forget to search on ebay. I know they usually have them.