Why I’m Never Sleeping In Again

November 16, 2015
Life , Parenthood

Getting to sleep in as a mom is a forever unfulfilled fantasy so when my husband offered this morning to get Juliet ready for school and do the drop off for me so I could (for once) sleep in and hopefully rid this cold, I thanked him as profusely as my fatigued body would allow and felt comforted in knowing I had already done most of the prep work by laying out Juliet’s school outfit the night before. Fridays are easy for us. All J has to do is get dressed and go ‘cuz (hooray!) the school feeds her breakfast.

I slept in like a baby only to greet her back at home at the end of her school day in complete horror.

Apparently, my baby lived everyone’s worst nightmare and spent the whole day WITHOUT PANTS ON!! In a New York minute, she went from an award-winning ‘best-dressed’ baby (thanks for the recognition, Gymboree!) to a ‘what was she thinking?’ fashion DON’T. Totally embarrassed for her at the thought of her walking around all day without freakin’ pants on, I gave my well-meaning hubby a much – needed fashion lecture on the difference between tights and leggings. “Tights are NOT pants… haven’t we had this discussion before?” I asked in disbelief as I recalled another day when he dressed her in tights and a top and then pranced her all around Michigan Ave in Chicago. Below are the frightening pictures my husband happily texted me of J hanging out in the Disney store (notice again, no PANTS on, only TIGHTS). This was the first regretful nap that I took which allowed my very sweet but clueless husband to dress J and take her out.

Realizing that I need to start a new hashtag, #tightsarenotpants similar to the viral #leggingsarenotpants, I stood still, shocked and confused as to how anyone could style such a horrid outfit. Not only did she NOT have any skirt or pants on, she also clashed like chimes on a drum. And wasn’t matching the most basic of styling goals? What was he thinking?? I could understand if Juliet did not have much of a wardrobe to choose from but this is what he had to select from!

He could have chosen a myriad of different options while veto-ing my knee-high sock selection (which he attributes to having sparked his on-the-spot, mini-makeover).

This sparkly blue, pom pom sweater by H&M (that I found on sale for just $7) would have looked designer with the rainbow themed selections that I styled with it on the right. On the left, it ended up looking like some thrift store find crumpled up haphazardly with random layers and colors. Is he blind?!? How did my baby end up looking like such a hot mess when I perfectly laid out an entirely coordinated outfit for her the night before?

Oddly enough, his reaction to my fashion inquisition was pride. He was simply proud to have gotten her out the door on time and still to this day defends his selections. “That outfit was fine,’ he stubbornly replies. This defense and denial is what has left me no other choice but to blog about his ridiculous styling result. Is this a #mommyfail or a #daddyfail?? Readers, please chime in! For now, I’ve determined that I’m NEVER sleeping in AGAIN.

8 Easy Kid’s Halloween Costumes That You Can Make At Home

October 28, 2015
Fab Kids Parties

Halloween for us is a fun-filled whirlwind of non-stop costume changes and back-to-back festivities. It’s a blast cuz we love dressing up and getting creative. Here are some make-at-home kids Halloween costumes that I’ve created from things already in J’s closet costing me $0. These are all easy DIY costumes that you could try at home too.

1). China doll

Accessorize a qipao with a Chinese takeout box and/or matching Chinese fan and layer a matching dress or tutu underneath for extra warmth and flair and voila, you’ve got a costume! I just happened to have these crazy baby wiglets (which are all the rage in Asia) to help complete the costume-y look.

2). 80s Aerobics Instructor

My tiny dancer already has a collection of leotards, tights and leggings so all I had to do was cut up a sweatshirt, make a sweatband (with two old white socks tied together) and have her carry a blow-up boombox (a take-home gift from a friend’s birthday party). Let’s get physical!!

3). Bride

This year we also re-used J’s baptism dress (can’t believe it still fits, only shorter)! I bobby pinned extra tulle that I already had to her hair, topped her off with a tiara, and gave her flowers to carry with something blue and tada, she’s a baby bride!

4). Doll

Her recital costume topped off with a sparkly bow and matching shoes made for a cute doll costume. But you could take any frilly doll-like dress (try vintage styles) and convert it into a dolly outfit.

If I had more time I would have loved to have made her a wind-up attachment like this. But alas, mommy was too worn out from planning and executing the BOO-tiful Halloween Bash from the night before to DIY this.

You could also have used makeup to draw in long dolly lashes and rosy cheeks but again, this mom ran out of energy.

5). Rainbow

I couldn’t keep a straight face when I dropped of J at school like this. She was the fluffiest, frilliest ball of awesomeness. We basically piled on all her tutus and accessorized with matching tights, socks, bow and flag. Tutu Cute!

6). Coco Chanel

If you’re a die-hard Chanel fan like we are, perhaps dressing like Coco Chanel is for you. Think quilting, Chanel-like chains, pearls, white and black and classic silhouettes. We happen to have a Coco doll which we replicated with a quilted white dress.

7). Anna Wintour

For the Haute Halloween party that I hosted for fab kids in NYC, J and I both dressed as Anna Wintour. This was a fairly easy make-at-home costume as well.

For more on how to dress like Karl Lagerfeld, Andre Leon Talley and other fashion icons, see my earlier post about Haute Halloween costumes!

8). Nerd

Think bowties, suspenders, pocket protectors, and black-rimmed glasses plus add some back-t0-school accessories and you’ve got an easy DIY costume. Check out all the nerdy fashions from my back-to-school play dates in NYC here!

And stay tuned to see all the details from this year’s Halloween bash!

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