You might need more "me time" IF...

A few days ago I snuck out to the spa for a much needed eyebrow wax. Fortunately, I have some gray blond hairs, so I can go a few months between appointments, but it had definitely been a couple months since I'd been in. You can imagine my surprise as the aesthetician asked if everything was OK and that she was worried about the orangey/red spots around my eyes and whether she could "operate." (She was also trying to do a hard sell for some eyebrow tinting with respect to the above mention blond hair, but I digress). I thought about how my son had inadvertently cut my eye that morning while wielding a miniature school bus and wondered if I developed some type of infection that would put a stop to my 15 minutes of me time. "Here, look," she said as she thrust a mirror in my face. What a saw was even more embarrassing and shocking. The orange spots were surprisingly not my little gash from the run-in with the school bus. There, right above my right eye, on the middle of my nose, AND under my left eye were remnants from my son's lunch side of mashed pumpkin (someone must have been pulling on my sunglasses before the Mommish washed his hands)....

Only in mommyland kids, only in mommyland...

Buy Buy Baby and Beyond...

You may have already heard, but as I am slow on the corporate news now that I am no longer in the corporate world, I just heard about a beautiful merger. No, not the nuptials of Mimi and Nick, but the merger of east coast baby merch mecca Buy Buy Baby and home of the weekly 20% off mailer - Bed, Bath and Beyond. To the Momish, the takeaway is that those 20% off coupons may now be used (double check with your local store) to stock up on all things baby gear - including strollers of the carrycot variety (a secret obsession). I know many of my New York friends had registries at Buy Buy Baby - so hopefully the Midwesterners and west coasters will soon have another registry option... I do know that Bed, Bath and Beyond's website already has a baby section and it features a wide variety of high, middle and low price points (for instance, in strollers they offer Uppa-Baby, Peg Perego, Bugaboo, Combi, Joovy, Maclaren, etc.)

An interesting tidbit for me (in my past-life I liked to pretend to be a corporate attorney and work on mergers and acquisitions - and even had "Family Business" magazine on my routing list at the law firm) from the deal was that Buy Buy Baby was founded by the sons of the founder of Bed, Bath and Beyond. Buy Buy Baby had eight stores and was worth $86 million. It will be interesting to see if the deal means that baby merchandise will be carried at Bed, Bath stores or if more Buy Buy Baby stores will pop up through out the country.

Sound Familiar?

My younger brother, who will become a father this fall, recently sent me the following link to a newstory with the subject heading, "Sound Familiar."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080804/ap_on_re_mi_ea/odd_israel_home_alone;_ylt=ApgS4DeIYIzg8tGAFycdjlIDW7oF

The story is about an Orthodox Jewish family in Israel with five kids who accidentally left their youngest child, a three year old, behind at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, while the rest of the family made their flight to Paris. The little girl was found wandering the duty free shops. Thankfully, the child was reunited with her parents and siblings in Paris via escort on the next direct flight. Just reading the story is enough to give any parent a heart attack - but unlike so many other similar news stories this one has a happy (enough) ending.

My brother questioned my familiarity with the story because, as one of six children in my family, it seems I was the one forever getting lost. I still can remember the exact intonation of the loudspeaker lady at Nordstrom's asking me to "Please meet my party at the Shoe Department," when I was probably around fifteen. But my most vivid memory is when, in an age long before text messaging, e-mail and even cell phones, I was accidentally left behind at my synagogue one Saturday morning after Shabbat services. [Ed. note: Although I am beyond impressed with how quickly the girl was reunited with her family - it begs the question if it was really simply modern ]technology or if Israeli secret airport security is just THAT good...] In my case, mom thought I was driving home with my dad and my dad thought the opposite, that my mom had me... I thought the girls went with my mom and the boys with my dad, but no one (i.e. my older sisters and/or parents) inadvertantly neglected to tell me about the change of plans. Et voila, I spent an afternoon with Rabbi Spector educating him in the ways of Cabbage Patch naming principles (he even brought up Tallulah Aimee during my wedding ceremony - and speaking of - hmmm...maybe one theory behind the crazy celeb baby monikers is that celebs are naming their kids after the cabbage patch dolls they had growing up.... just a thought...) waiting for my parents to finish driving carpools and make it home to get the dreaded phone call...

The parents in the Israeli story are going to be questioned for negligence. Thankfully, my parents were never questioned. But in today's age of toddler-tethers and mommy arrests for leaving a baby in the car while walking 10 feet away and making a donation with two other kids, it does make you wonder where the line should be drawn.... The Babish is also called "The Wandering Jew" by some of his distant relatives because he never stays still and is always on the go (hmmm...after revisiting the past, maybe his personality is more like mine than I care to admit). But, I am still amazed at how my mom and dad were able to, well sort of, most of the time keep track of where we all were. Perhaps as a result of my past - losing the Babish is one of my biggest fears. I can't bring myself to tether him - so I'm just trying to teach him to hold my hand in a busy place, or I strap him in the stroller or sling him when I need to really keep an eye on him and just deal with the protesting. When we are in a safe area, like a large playground, and I have the energy to follow him - I let him wander, hoping he can get his wandering fix during those times...

Kids say the Darndest Things...

I was thinking about posting a shameless plug for my sister, Jenny Meyerhoff, whose first children's book, Third Grade Baby, comes out in just one short month.... But, I happened to check out her highlarious blog today, and so I just had to provide a link to a very cute story about my three year old nephew's commentary about a birthday gift.

http://www.thepurpledesk.blogspot.com/

My nephew Noah is one funny kid. He recently offered to be the Babish's jumping coach, since everyone else seemed to some sort of coach and he wanted in on the action.

The Babish still has a limited vocabulary - so I'm still waiting for some funny-isms. I've only had one. While I was trying to prompt the little guy to say "whee" or "slide" while looking at a picture of a boy going down a slide, the Z-man was not having any of it. But he kept saying Tuzzy, Tuzzy every time I said "slide." Thinking my kid was really confused, I just politely kept saying, yes that is a slide. Finally he looked at me point blank and almost yelled the word, "Tuzzy." Duh - it clicked for dumb Momish- he was trying to tell me that the boy was going down on his Tushy...[and it served as a wake-up call that he does understand a lot more that I think, including when I caution him to go on his tushy every time he's about to go down his slide head first...]

Save the Stroller Drama for Your Mama!

I've often hesitated to post about strollers for fear that I would offend someone. You see, I've often thought of strollers like cars - they depreciate so quickly, so it's not worth the big splurge. All you need to do is ask any of my friends and they can cite my diatribe against the Bugaboo verbatim. [A) Way overpriced - save $300-$500 bucks and put the money in a 529 savings account; B) if your kid has a trust fund and you want to drop a grand on a stroller, at least get something more unique (heck, I'll even tell you which strollers to import from Europe if you let me); and C) no matter what you say - you will end up getting at least two strollers anyway (so don't tell me it will be your only stroller). Now, to cut some slack, just a few years ago, there weren't many other options (so I won't look down on the Bug drivers whose kids will turn at least 2 in 2008 :). However, it seems like there is a new model out every month and many offer great features. My biggest advice is to shop around and test drive. Lift those strollers up, check out how tall/long the seat is and how wide the base is. And if you really want my admiration - buy your stroller on sale! If you want a jazzy stroller (with bassinet, etc.) - look for floor model sales from local boutiques (even some websites offer floor model sales). If you are more of a basics, with no shock absorption kind of mama, then remember, like cars, traditional stroller manufacturers offer new models every year - so don't turn your nose up at last year's model. Many go on sale from late fall through early winter.

OK, OK - but there is finally a new stroller that has really piqued my interest, so I must give a shout out. Before we go any further, in the interest of disclosure I will divulge my wheels. We currently drive an Infinity Rock Star Baby Stroller. Yes, the Tico Torres and Jon Bon Jovi "inspired" stroller. I also keep the Maclaren Volo in my car (purchased for us as a gift - but at $89 instead of $109 because I registered for the older model). I found the RSB stroller at a Warehouse Sale of a high-end children's boutique in the area. At the time it retailed for $499 - however, we got it for $325 in cash - it was a floor model, but it was still in the box wrapped in plastic. I wanted a stroller that had a bassinet, car seat adapter and rode front and rear facing. I got all of that in the base price, plus some nice extras, like a rain cover, adjustible handle and large and plush bassinet that my 95% son was able to use for almost 4 months! (I'd imagine an avergae baby might fit in the bassinet for 6 months). My one complaint is that on a recent trip, American Airlines managed to rip the foam handle cover and my seat canopy corners. [Note to readers: buy the stroller carrying case- universal ones are far cheaper than the ones that match your stroller and they can spare you from my mistakes.]

But fret not, the parent company - Hauck - has already shipped me a new foam wrapper and seat cover (because that also ripped) at no charge. My stroller is already past the one year warranty and they are still sending me all of this. Which leads me to the new stroller that I am so coveting, from the same parent company, so not only does it look great, but trust me, you know you'll have great customer service too.

Introducing, the I'coo Targo stroller. Weighing in at only 22 pounds, there are many similarities between this stroller and my beloved Rock Star. Basically, it looks like they took the Infinity base (which sold in Europe and was marketed here as the Rock Star and occasionally found without a bassinet as Infinity at BRU) and added a few new features. The coolest one is the ability to raise the seat along the frame - in a Stokke Explory kind of way (good for baby's view and Stokke's claim was also air quality). Another feature is the ability to fold the stroller with the seat on. I can fold my RSB with the seat when it is rear facing, but apparently this stroller folds both ways...

It was originally priced at $699, but now I've seen it for $599 (remember this price includes the car seat adaptor and rain/UV cover which those two things alone could cost you a hundo for some other brands)...And maybe you'll get lucky and find a floor model somewhere...

Apologies, Apologies

As you can tell, it's been a little while. Well, in the past six months, we moved to the burbs and I quit my job. So I've had a few other things on my mind (like getting my first semi-darker shade of pale skin tan in about 10 years! I will try to post more often, but please forgive me if I instead choose to spend my son's naptime vegging on the couch with Oprah.

Baby Cooks?

So if you have read what the Mommish says, you know how passionate I am about homecooked (or as close of an approximation to it as possible) baby food. So you can imagine my intrigue when I came across a new product in the Williams Sonoma catalog that not only purees, but also steams, blends and warms fruits and veggies into delicious concoctions for the wee ones. It's called the Beaba Babycook and it looks pretty cool. That being said, the $139 price tag is a little steep for the Mommish, and if you already are the proud owner of a veggie steamer (or microwave or even a good old fashion oven for that matter) and either a blender or a food processor - then you already have all the tools you need. But if you are looking for easier clean-up and keeping everything in one place, it does look like a pretty sweet contraption.

Since it is sold through Williams Sonoma - maybe it would be best on a wedding registry - instead of a steamer and blender - just get the Babycook!

It happened...

Wham... Thud.... Waaaahaaaahaaaah.... Every mother's nightmare. It all started innocently enough. A little game of peekabo. Only the Mommish did not realize that this week that the Babish decided running was a contact sport and his only mode of transportation. So you can imagine the guilt I am feeling from his head on corner collision as he was running to surprise me. The bruise is so linear - that even my brother-in-law immediately looked at the Babish and commented, "someone hit a corner." Well, now the bruise is linear... we started out with the classic progression from a Klingon (bruise with egg lump underneath in the center of his forehead), to Harry Potter (zigzag line in his forehead, black eyes instead of trademark glasses) to now what resembles a Bindi. [ed. note. the Hubbish's characterization of this progression was more of a unicorn into someone who celebrated Ash Wednesday, but I digress.]

A wise pediatrician [sorry, drawing a blank on whether it was Sears, Spock or Brazelton - hey, maybe I'll suggest Leach too and it has to be one of them...] once wrote that if your toddler does NOT have any bumps and bruises, then you are hovering too closely. It's a fine line to draw, because what parent wants to see their child get hurt. And as if there aren't enough things to feel guilty over as a mother. And of course there is the worry about taking him out in public (will other mothers judge me and think I can't watch my kid - or worse - will they think I hurt him...). Thankfully on day 2 of the horrible, terrible, no good black lump of coal on my son's forehead an older woman commented what a beautiful baby I had upon seeing the Babish in his shopping cart. Now, I'm assuming her eyesight wasn't perfect - but still, it made me feel much better!

I guess all we can do is stock up on arnica gel (you may want to double check with your own pediatrician on its safety - but everything I've read indicates that it's fine for toddlers) and hope that the bruises fade quickly. Everything is a learning experience for the Mommish and the Babish! (and as you will see above, the bruise is finally fading... but sunglasses were needed to protect the innocent :)

To Flip or Not to Flip?

I've been getting some flack lately from the mommy brigade. You see, (GASP) even though the Toddlish is a) now a toddler (duh) and b) fit the forward facing weight requirements when he was a wee five months old, we still have not flipped his car seat around so that he is forward facing. Why you ask? Believe me, I ask myself the same question. Part of it is laziness, part of it is fear that he will no longer easily fall asleep in the car if we need him to. But, truth be told, the biggest reason is safety. So go ahead and tattoo DORK on my forehead.

Now I know how excited every parent gets when they can flip their child around. We all saw the Britney Spears and Sean Preston 'razzi shots of him forward facing too early. I was even in a Mommy and Me class last week where the mother of a 10 month old gleefully announced that the pediatrician said "flip her," because her child was 22 lbs. [She also mentioned that this pediatrician was her pediatrician when she was a kid, so let's hope he's more up-to-date on medical advancements in the last 20 years than he is on the laws of our country]. I was the only room with a kid over 12 months, so everyone immediately looked at me to see how my son enjoys being forward facing and how much it has changed my life. Well... by the time I had explained that the Internet research I did on the subject revealed that size and age really don't matter - but a baby's bones haven't ossified enough to withstand a rear car accident (yes, I know, I was talking ossification) and might not until age 3 or 4... all the mommies were giving me the death stare and had changed the subject.

So today, when I happened to come across an article on car seat safety in "The Costco Connection," (yes, in addition to Kosher hot dogs, cruises, contact lenses and bulk groceries, you can get safety tips from Costco), I just had to share the info with all 10 of my devoted readers. The article mentions that children one year of age and at least 20 pounds CAN ride forward facing. It goes on to say that it is BEST to ride rear facing for as long as possible. What is as long as possible? Well, most experts (i.e. the American Association of Pediatrics) point to the height and weight requirements for an individual convertible seat. In our Britax Decathlon (have I mentioned how much we love our Britax?), this means the Babish can ride backwards until he reaches 35 pounds! and until his head is one inch below the top. Most convertible seats have a rear-facing limit of around 30 pounds (even if the forward facing limit is, say, 45 pounds).

Now I don't know if we'll keep him backwards that long... even now, with shoes on he does kick my nice leather. But - studies by the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration have shown that rear facing seats are four times safer than forward facing seats. And that while there have been numerous cases where a spinal or head injury could have been prevented by a child facing rear, there have been no documented cases of children with broken legs from a crash where they were rear-facing (see the cite below).

For more research (if you care to read about absorbing the force of a crash or find links to crash videos...), here is a great resource: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx The pictures showing the force of crash are credited to the University of Michigan Child Passenger Protection - so I gotta trust the old alma mater here...

So, if you see me pulled over on the side of the road because, unlike the other mommies, I can't just had the Babish his sippy cup through the seats, now you'll know why. Hopefully you'll at least wave when you give me the evil look...

If only this blog had GPS...

I don't know where I'd be without GPS (or google maps on the Iphone for that matter). I do know what I'd be though. I'd be lost (and it's just not as cool without Matthew Fox).

So to spare you the same trouble, I wanted to point out a few features on this little Bloggish here. First, I'd like you to meet my friend "Labels." So when you are awake at 5 am because your dear sweet babish decided to implement his own daylight savings time, all you have to do is veer over to Labels, then click on the Label that reads, "Sleep" or "Sleep-training." [If you are really paying attention, you may even notice I have two tags to Britney Spears and now a third one.] You may also care to check out my friend "Blog Archive," if you are of the chronologic type.

To my friends and family, don't worry, I'll still answer your questions on the phone or in e-mail - I'll just answer them with a - "have you checked the blog yet?"

Picture Perfect

Something happens when a baby is born (well...of course... a lot happens... but one thing in particular that I feel like blogging about), seemingly normal people become photo obsessed. And so, I too must admit, "Hi, I'm Mommish, and I am a photoholic." My phone, computer, family room, facebook profile and dear family and friends' e-mails have been littered with photos of the Babish ("look he's walking," "look he's eating," "look, he can stare"). And of course it's only now that I'm realizing we'll have no wall/disk/album space left for #2 or #3 should they ever be. But yet they change so quickly during the first year that I do think it's pretty important to document these changes every few months or so... and while I'm semi- obsessed with photos, I know that some jobs are better left to the professionals.

But for those of you who know me, you know I also go by the name fru-gal, so I love to find a way to save the dough. And I wanted nice professional shots at least every few months of the first year of life. So, my plan was to do cheesy cheapy shots from a mall-front store at least a couple times during the year (we chose month four and month seven) and then once a year SPLURGE on the BEST professional I could find [read: do some google searching but realize there was no one out there better than the recommendation of my friend S, who must get some credit.]

For the mall-front shots I chose Portrait Innovations, which is a national chain. They offer a $9.95 special - where literally you pay only $9.95 and get tons of copies of one shot. For around $15 bucks more, you can also get plenty of copies of a second shot too. Being the type of place where props and wall drops are sort of pushed upon you, if you go in strong, you can end up with some simple pictures. We asked for a white background and had them shoot our family playing with the baby. You can never go wrong with naked shots too. And of course, anything can be turned into black and white. But yes, much to my disbelief, I do have some shots of my son, with a bucket of apples behind fake fall foliage that I think are just to die for....

For our once a year splurge, we chose photographer Audrey Woulard. Literally my jaw drops when I look at how she captured my son's bright blue eyes. Her shots are perfect compositions of light and color. Audrey does the Pottery Barn Kids catalogs and other commercial shots too. Now, she is hard to schedule (she books 6 to 8 weeks out on average) and she does not come cheap, but when we saw the pictures we knew that it was worth it. She shoots only in natural light which makes such a difference. She'll work on location, or, like us, you can chose to have her take photos in her loft in downtown Chicago. The loft is filled with modern furniture and toys and captures light beautifully. You can check out her out at www.alwphotography.com, or read her blog at www.audreywoulardblog.com. If you are exploring on her blog, check out Small Ones and you'll see some cute pics of the Babish (or should he now be the Toddlish?).

Say cheese! (or chsss if you are the Babish)

Don't be a Boob!

We've all heard the admonitions - Breast is best - for babies AND mommies. And then of course, every lactation consultant worth her weight in gold will tell you how both breasts are equally important. The Mommish knows firsthand about this second piece of advice, as I had to endure not one, but two painful bouts of mastitis in my "milk dud" (you know you have one too) within the first month of the Babish's precious life (at least I finally got to use that Lamaze breathing that never came into play during my labor...). And the Grammish, who is a nurse, mother of six and la leche peer counselor, loves to recant the anecdotal evidence of Hong Kong fishing women who only nurse on one side as custom. Among such women, there was found to be an increase in breast cancer on the side that was never used...Actually - just googled it - there was an actual study (And - the study indicates "that in postmenopausal women who have breast-fed unilaterally, the risk of cancer is significantly higher in the unsuckled breast, and that breast-feeding may help to protect the suckled breast against cancer.").

As if a new insecure mommy didn't have enough to worry about (and c'mon - at least it's more fun to talk about poop color)! So how, pray tell, you ask, are the sleep deprived mommies supposed to keep track of which side was fed off of last? [believe me, those first few weeks, I had enough trouble trying to remember if it had been 3 or 4 days since I had last showered and brushed my teeth...] Well, aside from relying solely on your NSP (nursing sensory perception, n., when a mommy has the innate knowledge of how much or how little her baby has nursed, which side was nursed off of last, or whether or not she really needs to pump and dump after half a glass of chardonnay. Note, NSP doesn't usually kick in until at least the 6th week post-partum), there are several gadgets on the market to help you keep track. I kept diligent notes the first few days - but this went by the wayside as soon as my son had surpassed his birthweight at his one week check-up. And I never really got into the pins or bracelets, as they were too bulky, bulging and just not my style.

Finally, (figures - just as I am about to begin planning my exit strategy - just don't mention it to the Babish yet) a new solution has hit the market. Enter the Booby Button - the cute, discreet and comfortable way to take the guess work out of keeping track of where your babe got their last meal. The diminutive clip can attach to a bra strap, tank top or sports bra - and you won't see or feel a thing. Insta-reminder for the sleep-deprived mommy in a fun and cheeky package. It makes a great gift for the nursing-mom-to-be. It comes in several adorable designs, including a personalized version. My personal fave design is the gas-pump... so fill'erup!


Check out http://www.boobybutton.com/


Note - to my wonderful mommy readers/friends who couldn't breastfeed or who chose not to breastfeed - don't beat yourself up. The most important part is doing what's right for your family, your sanity and your stress level... i.e. going with your gut and focusing on learning about and knowing your baby.

Can You Come Out and Play?

These days, I've come to the sad realization that my son has co-opted my Ipod. So if you are like me and are looking for some new selections besides the ubiquitous Baby Beluga when crusing in the car (hybrid natch, to minimize fuel costs and emissions when the babish will only nap in the car), your ears perk up whenever you hear some catchy new kids tunes.

The newest kindermusik sensation comes straight from our lovely windy (read: icy, snowy, sleety and windy) city - Miss Aimee Leigh Cousino. My son and I have been devotees of her Mommy and Me class since he was 9 weeks old, and truth be told, I think I'm more excited about listening to her catchy tunes than he is (although he loves to chime in on her "ahas" :). With her debut CD, "Can You Come Out and Play," now available, we can get our Aimee fix more than once a week.

Her voice is smooth, her sound is a bluesy mix of original tunes and old standbys and her lyrics are just downright clever. And the too-cute kids' voices on the recording add such a fun element. My personal fave is the almost Celtic feeling "My Brother the Pirate," for its great chorus. My son goes crazy for "If All of the Raindrops," especially the new verses written by Aimee.

And the best part - we've booked her for junior's first birthday party - so we can all request our favorite tunes in person.

Hear more at her website: http://www.missaimeeligh.com/ and tell her I sent you!

Nuts over Allergies!

I know some of my friends would disagree, but I really don't think I'm an anal person... I just have to be careful when it comes to certain things. And one of them is baby bath and skin products. Now, the hubbish is even more anal than I am when it comes to baby hair and skin products! And why may you ask? No, he's not a metrosexual, even though he takes twice as long as me to get ready in the morning (those of you who know him can confirm this). You see, my husband has a nut allergy. That, coupled with the fact that the babish inherited my fair, sensitive skin has us checking ingredients on skincare lines more closely than an Olsen twin reading a tic-tac label (sorry - maybe I've been reading too much Perez lately).

You can imagine how excited I was when I came across the California Baby line of products. Highly rated on Skin Deep, the line touts itself as being free of many allergens, including tree nuts. I was such a fan I even started using the products on myself. Well you can imagine how freaked we were the other day when my son's skin got all blotchy and red. The grammish was in town visiting and she had just tried a new California Baby lotion. When we scrutinized the ingredients - we noticed that it contained coconut. While there is debate over whether coconut is a nut, seed, fruit or drupe (and Wikipedia is really little help here), my husband is still allergic to it, as are many others with tree nut allergies. So... after a quick dosing of Benadryl (ummm... can we try this more often, I just got my two best naps ever) my son's skin is back to its usual peaches and cream complexion. And the California Baby stuff is in the trash (the Hubbish even threw my secret stash in the trash because I'm still nursing and he doesn't want it on my skin or absorbed in my body - talk about anal!)

Back to the drawing board. Almost every natural and organic product uses some sort of coco derivative because it mimics the chemical emulsifiers... But on the other hand, we have wonderful sulfates, pthalates and parabens in our traditional lines... So if you see my son and he's a little stinky, don't blame us for our water-only bath and skincare regiman.

Fru-gal

I love to shop. What gal doesn't. But those who know me well know that the one thing I love more than shopping (in addition to the babish and the hubish, natch) is bargain shopping.

And what stores are the bargain bins for bargain shoppers? The sisters in saving - TJMaxx and Marshalls. Now don't get me wrong, I love me some Tar-zhay too, but my motto has always been to never sacrifice quality for a deal - and if you really scout and scour, at these stores you can always find diamonds in the rough for the price of coal.

But because I have some friends and one brother who seem to think that these stores are a waste of time, I decided to post a little blog about some of the fabulous baby finds there. So if you are of the mindset that you'd rather not sift through racks and racks to maybe find that one designer cast-off, I would encourage you to take another look at the baby section. Most TJs and Marshalls have a wide selection of toys, books and baby gear that is easy to find and look through.

Here are some of my recent finds: 1) JJ Cole Bundle Me Urban - retails for $39.99 found on clearance for $22.00; 2) Peg Perego high chair - retails for $169.99 on sale for $129.99; 3) Maclaren Triumph stroller - retails for $179.99 on sale for $119.00; 4) Halo Sleepsack (various colors, styles and sizes, including organic cotton) - retails for $19.99 - marked at 12.99. My son's entire library of Eric Carle and Karen Katz books are from these stores too!

Of course, the find that really got me excited was an all wood kitchen set - on clearance for $40 bucks. But alas, even though it was in blue - the Hubbish vetoed it for the Babish... so if anyone is near the TJMaxx/Homegoods in Bloomingdale Illinois - you have yourself a great find.

Happy shopping.