Reviews

7 Fashionista Celebrity Moms

August 28, 2023 By Teresa Te

Being in show business gives celebrities every reason to look good even when they’re not in front of the camera. Although there are some celebrities, notably the females, who love to dress simply while going about their daily lives, there are others who still prefer to dress well even when in public.

When it comes to fashion, celebrities particularly in the U.S. are often the first to wear the latest collections and therefore, set the fashion trend. This then has a ripple effect in other parts of the world. These stylish women never fail to get the attention of various types of people including bloggers. Many aspiring writers looking for fashion blogger jobs would want to write about their favorite celebrities who have a great fashion style.

With young celebrity moms, many have maintained their distinct fashion style amid a busy lifestyle. Most also pass on this fashion sense to their kids even at an early age. Here are some of the admirable fashionista moms in the movie industry who still dress appropriately.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie-Pitt is one sophisticated actress and mother of six. The different roles she play in her personal and professional life don’t seem to affect her aura because she has maintained her sexiness and appeal through the years even with six kids to attend to.

Katie Holmes

Another celebrity mom who never fails to catch the attention of paparrazis is Katie Holmes. The former Mrs. Tom Cruise has her own fashion line called Holmes & Yang and her fashion style also shows on her daughter Suri’s wardrobe.

Sarah Jessica Parker

Known as a style icon, Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker never fails to make a great fashion statement. Even with three kids of her own now, the actress keeps her own fashion style.

Kim Kardashian

It’s no surprise when a stylish mom like Kim Kardashian will also make her child dress in style. Kim definitely wants her daughter North West to follow her fashion sense.

Beyonce

Beyonce also loves to dress up her daughter Blue Ivy in style. Not surprising at all because the singer is a fashionista herself and has her own fashion line called House of Dereon. Like mother, like daughter indeed.

Victoria Beckham

Who could forget Victoria Beckham of the Spice Girls? A mother of four and a fashion designer, Beckham has received raves from the fashion industry. In fact, her own creations are worn regularly by celebrities on the red carpet. Her being a fashionista definitely shows on her kids’ outfits.

Jessica Alba

Jessica Alba always lands in the best-dressed list whether attending important occasions such as the Fashion Week or just strolling the streets. She is often photographed dressed in style while strolling with her daughters Honor and Haven.

Originally posted on August 27, 2015 @ 12:55 pm

Night Terrors and Monster Go Away Spray!

August 27, 2023 By Lor

At least one or twice a week, my husband and I hear little footsteps in the dead of night, traversing from across the hall and into our bedroom, with “Mommy, I had a bad dream”. Usually, we are both too exhausted to take them back, so we end up with one (sometimes two) little bodies squeezed in between us. And putting them to bed is even more of an issue, with claims of “Mommy I’m scared”, “Mom I don’t want to be alone” (even if they aren’t alone, “Mommy I have bad dreams” etc etc., making the bedtime ritual stretch out even longer until bone tired Mom is about to pass out on the bunk with them.

So when I saw this product on My Daily Om, I thought, What a clever idea, I wish I thought of it!….followed by… I have to get one!. Formulated by a Mom, this fabulous spray gets rid of those bedtime monsters both physically and psychologically. Physically, because it uses essential oils and works it’s magic through aromatherapy, and psychologically, well, you know. We Moms are all amateur doctors, right?

Originally posted on February 7, 2009 @ 7:47 am

Green Mommy Loves Green Baby Contest

August 27, 2023 By Lor

I’m a review-nut. Well, I don’t know if that’s the right term, but what I mean to say is that before I go on a trip, buy a product, eat in a restaurant or see a film or show, I almost ALWAYS read the reviews FIRST. That little extra time spent on Trip Advisor for example, has made our recent family trips hugely successful – gone are the days where my husband and I would end up in places which were nothing like the “brochure” promised!

When it comes to things for my family, I tend to be even more careful, especially with the kids and baby Wills. Obviously, I’ve jumped on the “Green Bandwagon” so to speak, and support anything green for the family. So it was great finding a community like the Green Home Huddle, a place where you can read and give reviews for loads of eco-friendly products.

Right now, they have a great contest going, sweetly entitled Green Mommy Loves Green Baby where you can win some fantastic baby and Mommy care products – all of which are natural and organic of course! All you have to do is review products that you already use (or want to use), which I consider the fun part (is it obvious that I like giving my opinion?), and hey presto, you’re in the running.

Good luck!

Originally posted on December 3, 2008 @ 9:27 am

All I Want For Christmas Is Teething Bling

August 27, 2023 By Lor

As any Mom (or Grandma, or Aunt) will tell you, babies love jewelry, especially if its hanging from your neck, as they can grab, pull and chomp on it. NOT good if we’re talking about precious gold, bejewelled, fatally-chokeable stuff. GREAT if its bling which the kid can actually chew, tug and and not only will it not break, but it’ll look good on Mom too!

And that’s exactly what the very clever people at Smart Mom made – lovely pendants and bangles which Moms can wear precisely for their babies to chew on. And as a proud owner of an orange pendant and bangle, I can honestly say that baby Wills, LOVES it too. I love love love the idea, especially because of what it’s made of:

“…We use only the highest-quality, phthalate-free, federally approved silicone in our Teething Bling™ line. The material is non-toxic, latex-free, food–safe, even dishwasher-friendly! It is the same silicone used in many other popular teething products and SGS test reports are available upon request. Although we stress that this is adult jewelry not intended for children to wear, all of our pendants come with a breakaway clasp as an added safety feature.”

And best of all, the Moms who made this great product are also giving a part of their proceeds to charity, like Cure Search and Dress for Success.

So if you haven’t thought of a Christmas present for another Mom in your life, or as a treat for yourself, Teething Bling is a fantastic idea.

Originally posted on December 8, 2008 @ 7:49 am

Review: Gymboree Level 2, Play and Learn

August 27, 2023 By Lor

So we arrived at Gymboree, all ready for his trial class in “Level 2: Play and Learn”, which was for babies aged from 6-10 months. We entered the play floor and he looked around curiously at all the bright colors and babies around, the happy “Gymboree” music playing in the background.

For the first few minutes he was shy, not wanting to leave my lap, holding on quite tightly. But as the teacher eased into the 2nd song (they use the old standards – like “itsy bitsy”, “this old man” etc etc and put their own lyrics), he was off my lap, crawling to Gymbo the clown on the teacher’s lap, checking out the other babies and Moms by grabbing their shirt, watch, feet (oh dear).

The 45 minute class flew by – he crawled up a padded incline and was the first baby to grab the ball the the top (beating the 9-month-olds I proudly note), walked on a wooden plank then slid down on a wooly rug, played some singing games on my lap (he preferred crawling though), sang and danced (a good workout for Mum), and watched the bubbles with utter amazement – and it wasn’t until the last minute just as the goodbye song was ending did he start fussing with a few whines which signaled “ok Mummy, I’m tired now”.

The verdict? A good class for crawling babies, can be a bit rushed (as in moving from one activity to the next fairly quickly) for others especially those who aren’t very mobile yet.

Originally posted on September 12, 2008 @ 6:33 am

Is Baby Ready for Gymboree?

August 27, 2023 By Lor

I have a curly-haired, 7-month-old baby boy named William. Wills is one of those “angel” babies, who has been all smiles since day one, only cries when absolutely necessary and reaches all his milestones on time, with no trouble whatsoever. And when he started crawling a couple of weeks ago, it completely took me by surprise because this didn’t happen with my other children until they were 8 or 9 months.

With his new found mobility, Wills seemed to be getting bored with his routine, and I don’t blame him – who would want to go from the foam squares on the floor to the exersaucer to the sofa – so I thought it may be time to try a class at our local Gymboree, which luckily lets you try every class, in every level for free.

My 3-year-old boy already goes once a week for the art class which he enjoys thoroughly. It has to be said though, that with my #2, we tried Gymboree several times, from the time he was about 7 months on, with little success, only signing up when he was around 18 months as he refused to crawl and actually seemed quite annoyed by the whole thing until he was older.

So, as we made our way to the trial class I wondered, was Wills ready?

Originally posted on September 8, 2008 @ 6:29 am

Our Favorite Family Christmas Movies

August 27, 2023 By Lor

Whether it’s on the days leading up to Christmas or on Christmas day itself, after the presents have been open and everyone is stuffed full, happy and needing a good laze on the sofa, one tradition my family loves to do is to watch a Christmas film.

Here are our favourites:

1. It’s a Wonderful Life – No need for introductions here, who doesn’t know the Jimmy Stewart classic that makes me and my husband cry, no fail, every Christmas. Our kids have so far been a little young for this, but this year we’ll be trying it out on Nat (who’s 7 in February).

2. Miracle on 34th Street – This was one of my favourites growing up, and while I think the new version (with the fellow from the Practice) isn’t bad at all, the classic film with Natalie Wood is still the best.

3. The Grinch – My kids like the Jim Carey film and actually watch it all year round, but I prefer the old cartoon – obviously because it’s what I grew up with, and also because the cartoon Grinch is much more charmingly evil than Jim Carey with all that weird makeup.

4. Scrooge – We love musicals, and so this rendition of “A Christmas Carol” is something the kids enjoy too. Lovely old-fashioned songs, the classic Dickens tale, a film we can’t miss watching every year.

5. The Santa Clause (1, 2,3) – Tim Allen makes us all laugh in this household, and the festive effects in all 3 films are pretty wonderful. The modern twist is also fun to watch – and makes my kids wish it would happen to their Dad!

6. A Christmas Story – I love coming-of-age films, and this one is a firm favorite – just the thought of the “leg” lamp in the “fragile” package makes me laugh out loud! Letting the kids see the “olden”, simpler days of the 50’s is also good.

7. A Charlie Brown Christmas – Ok, so my husband who’s not so big on cartoons won’t join us for this one (also because he’s English, so Charlie Brown isn’t really something he grew up with), but I love watching this with the kids for its quiet, jazzy music, old-style humour (you blockhead!) and nostalgic feel. Perfect!

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!!

Originally posted on December 24, 2008 @ 2:43 pm

Emailing Santa!

August 26, 2023 By Lor

Today my daughter and I emailed Santa and he emailed back in seconds!! We printed his letter out and now it hangs on the fridge, so you can imagine how thrilled my 4-year old was.

I urge all parents of young kids to go visit the site – Email Santa – and will definitely telling all my friends to go there with their kids asap. The site opens up to an up-to-the-second “Countdown” to when Santa will be coming to your home, which immediately got my daughter wide-eyed and smiling excitedly. The message below it read:

The elves & reindeer have been busy making fun things to do… just look to the right , there’s something for you !! There’s games and great letters and pet emails too! But shining through, Santa wishes your Christmas dreams come true ! Merry Christmas!!

Just below that, you can help your child fill in the blanks like her name, where you live, whether she’s been good this year and what she wants for Christmas as well as a ps. bit on any extra things she may want to tell Santa. She also gets to choose a stamp and a little present for Santa or the reindeer!

You hit the button, and hey Presto! You hear this voice of a man who sounds like he’s on a radio, saying that an email is now being delivered from the North Pole, with some familiar “ho ho ho’s” in the background, and there is your child’s letter from Santa, all personalized and adorable, ready to be printed out, totally free! (well, you can give a donation to the lovely soul who created this).

The site also has a bunch of other fun Christmassy things for your child to do, like sending an email to Rudolph from your pet, cool games, colouring pages and best of all, the letters to Santa from the children are posted on a page for all to see. I’ll be sharing some of my favourites in the next post, which shouldnt be missed. Some will really make you cry!

[tags]Christmas, Holidays, Emailing Santa, Santa Clause[/tags]

Originally posted on December 21, 2006 @ 4:38 pm

Gymboree Trial and Error

August 26, 2023 By Lor

Today my son had his first day of “school” at Gymboree. At 20 months, he joined the “Level 4” class for twice a week sessions, one of which is “play“, the other being “music”. Before anything though, I’d like to advice new Moms from getting over-excited and enrolling their babies until they’ve tried out the classes several times.

All babies are different, and no matter how adorable (and baby brain-enhancing) Gymbo’s classes look, it doesn’t make sense to do it unless your child is ready and happy doing it.

Anyway, this wasn’t really his first day. His first try at Gymboree was at the tender age of about 9 months. He refused to crawl (which continued until he just got up and walked at nearly 1), and looked pretty stressed out when the very perky teacher cajoled him into going through a tunnel.

We tried again at about a year, this time for the music class, but still he looked a bit weirded out by the whole thing. Fast forward to about 5 months later, and this time I thought we’d give it a go again, but just for “free play” with his big sister. Well, he finally seemed to be enjoying it. And when we did another trial class last week, lo and behold – he LOVED it.

He must have been the most giggly, excited and pro-active kid there. He had the time of his life!! So now, I’ve finally signed him up for the next 2 months (in case you were wondering, it cost me about $200 for 16 sessions – but this includes unlimited play for as long as the enrollment is), and I’ll be letting you know how we get along. Fingers crossed, I hope it’ll last!

[tags]Gymboree,Play,Music,Babies,toddlers[/tags]

Originally posted on October 17, 2006 @ 9:15 am