I had to try these cute little clogs from Fit Flop and they were on sale at Bliss.  Everyone I encountered seems to like them. My friend was even going to purchase them too.  Bliss calls them their trendy clog with muscle- toning.  With the studs and shiny patent leather I was sold!

Each season we see Halloween costumes tied to a theme, movie or reality show.  Halloween 2011 is all about zombies and advertising men, Harry Potter, Angry Birds, Green Lantern, Captain America and of course vampires still rule for adults and kids.

Or if it’s something in the news this past year you can bet you’ll see a costume. For adults this Halloween 2011 season we will see a lot of Charlie Sheen, Arnold and Anthony Wiener costumes as well as Lady Gaga and Katie Perry still and I’m sure we will see many black swan costumes as well. Jersey Shore will still be popular for the adults. Last year my friends and I went as the cast of jersey shore. How fun!

Here are some great web sites to find Halloween costumes for 2011.

Chasing-Fireflies has the most adorable costumes like the Baby Bat and the colorful Peacock costume. This online retailer of fun children’s products has a very whimsical selection of costumes and also has great clothing and special occasion themed gifts. They also have costumes for the whole family and great mommy and me matching costumes.

For older kids, whatever movie is popular makes the cut.

Costume Express has the most variety of kids’ costumes online.  Little kids always like Disney princess each year and witches are always popular. This season for kids the zombies, Captain Americas,  Green Lantern, the Bumblebee character from Transformers, Bey Blades and star wars are a hit but we are still seeing Harry Potter for both boys and girls.

Old School Costumes are coming back like the Smurfs, Strawberry Shortcake, Raggedy Ann and Andy, Super Mario Bros. and Ghostbusters are among the more popular old-school costumes this year.

Tween girls will be dressing up as if they were attending Monster High – Frankie Stein is one of the characters. Then you also have the cheerleader zombies.

Happy Halloween costume shopping!

Halloween

As for the trends – Stores have lots of sparkle in their backpacks this season for the girls and of course the skull print is still around and lots of polka dots, quilted and guitar themed backpacks are in stores.  The big retailers have great backpacks – LL Bean and Lands End but don’t forget about Gap Kids and Hanna Anderson as they have fun colors.

LL Bean does have the various sizes so you can buy for your pre-school student to you college student.  Messenger Bags are pretty popular but be careful as they tend to be slung over one shoulder.  I let my kids carry them on half-days when the book load is light. In fact every year we usually snag a messenger bag on sale at Old Navy, if not for school for other trips.

But don’t let fashion take a priority over function and safety.  The Massachusetts Chiropractic Society Inc. offers these backpack safety tips:

·        Make sure the child’s backpack weights no more than 5 to 10 percent of their body weight. A heavier backpack will cause the child to bend forward in an attempt to support the weight on his or her back. For example a 50-pound child should not carry more than 5 pounds.

·        Where it sits makes a big difference.  A backpack should never land more than four inches below the waistline. A backpack that hangs too low increases the weight on the shoulders, causing the child to lean forward when walking and distort their posture.

·        Urge a child to wear both shoulder straps. Lugging the backpack around by one strap can cause the disproportionate shift of weight to one side, leading to neck and muscle spasms, as well as low-back pain.

·        The shoulder straps should be adjustable so the backpack can be fitted to your child’s body. Straps that are too loose can cause the backpack to dangle uncomfortably and cause spinal misalignment and pain.

·        Wide, padded straps are very important. Non-padded straps are uncomfortable and can dig into the child’s shoulders.

·        Use rollerpacks or backpacks on wheels with caution. Children tend to overload these packs because they are on wheels and then need to haul them up bus and school stairs resulting in injury.  Many school districts have banned rollerpacks because they clutter hallways resulting in dangerous trips and falls.

·        A backpack with individualized compartments helps in positioning the contents most effectively. Make sure that pointy or bulky objects are packed away from the area that will rest on your child’s back.

·        Just because a backpack is bigger does not mean it’s better. The more room there is in a backpack, the more your child will carry and the heavier the backpack will be.

·        Investigate some ergonomically correct backpacks

Back to school bags

MommaJam Interview

Usually I just head to TJ Maxx and Marshalls to check out what colorful, wymsical and fun ones they have on sale. However when I head to a business meeting I prefer and all black or this grey at a glance notebook.   It’s great for project management.

Of course my go to store  – Target –  has a bunch of useful ones like this writers-readers notebook. Maybe it can help with writers block?

These artsy ones are pretty cute too.

I am going to have to buy this one from Cath Kidston at Target – just love her items. Now don’t the colorful ones evoke more inspiration?

For the finer tastes Moelskines has nice quality notebooks.  Target sells this season trendy color Moelskines – pink!

If you have any ideas on where to purchase cool notebooks send them my way!

The Paci Pixie is the first book written by Amy Perrault & Cheryl Hajjar as part of a company called Indigo Magic to help fill a critical gap in the children’s book market and overcome a deeply personal and shared parenting struggle. The Indigo Pixies are a family of magical multicultural fairies that help children build the confidence they need to overcome developmental milestones.  We asked Cheryl Hajjar, founder of Indigo Pixies a few questions about her business:

Q: When did you first come up with your business idea?

A:  We came up with our business idea sort of by accident. My son Dylan was struggling to give up his pacifier when he was a toddler. I tried everything. Hiding it, cutting pieces off of it but to no avail he was addicted. Since I was a songwriter (spent some time in Nashville writing ) I decided to try and write a nursery rhyme. I created a character “The Paci Pixie” who came to the child’s home while they were sleeping, took their pacifiers and gave them to the new babies in the hospital. I explained to Dylan that he needed to help the new babies. So when “The Paci Pixie” came, she left a toy for him and when he woke up her never asked for the pacifier again. The nursery rhyme came first. When I played the song to my cousin Amy Hajjar Perreault, a Day care provider, she suggested we write a book. Her husband Steve, a graphic artist designed the first character. It was then that the Indigo Pixies were born…..

 Q:  What does the future hold for your idea?

 A:  Early in our career, we were advised to obtain all of the intellectual property rights of The Indigo Pixies brand. We decided after developing The Paci Pixie that children also have other developmental milestones to reach such as potty training and bedtime issues. We created a series of multi-cultural characters with their own individual personalities that help children. Our other Pixies are: The Potty Pixie, The Bedtime Pixie, The Bubba Pixie, The Blanket Pixie…..Our goal is to not only publish our books but to license out the characters individually in the form of toys, dolls, games and the like. We are an exhibitor at this year’s LIMA (licensing international merchandiser’s association) Expo in Las Vegas in June 2011 to make this dream a reality. Our mission is to make the Indigo Pixies a household name.

 Q:  Any advice for other mom owned businesses?

 A:  Find a reputable law firm that specializes in intellectual property. Your idea or business is only as good as the protection that you have on it. Any idea can be recreated so you must make sure to properly protect your interest.  Develop an idea that poses a solution for your particular audience. Something that after a consumer tries your product, becomes a necessity. If your idea helps a parent or a child, that is key.

The ChicoBag blossom collection  for the spring is like a breath of fresh air! I like the shoulder length straps and how it fits into a small pouch.

Ecobags has a great organic cotton reusable shopping bag. I like that it’s cotton and can fold easily.

Reuseit also has just about everything on their site.  Love the name of the reuseit workhorse shopping bag set. This set of 4 bags is the most compact and holds 120 plus pounds!

How many of you have received the lice letter?  – The one that comes home in your child’s backpack saying someone in their class has lice?  Each year I worry about lice and have heard the tips and suggestions on what to do to prevent it – keeping hair dirty, using tea tree oil shampoo, etc. etc.  I am trying to use more natural and organic hair care and body washes for my children so I was so excited to hear about Babo Botanicals.

Babo Botanicals mission is to provide the highest quality, purest hair, scalp and skincare products for babies and kids. Babo botanicals products are free from sulfates, parabens, phthalates, and other yucky ingredients.

Our friends at Babo Botanicals sent us some Rosemary Tea Tree Shampoo and Rosemary Tea Tree Lice Repel Conditioning Spray to test out. My kids and I loved them!  They smell very nice and what I like about the whole line is that moms can use the products too as they are safe for color treated hair.

The lice repel shampoo and conditioner contain repellant oils of Rosemary, Tea Tree and Mint. So they smell great and Clinically Proven 95% Effective to Repel Lice when used in combination!   What a great company and gentle products.  They’ve done their research and created fine products that us trendymommies highly recommend!  http://babobotanicals.com

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.