NYC Moms

Multi-tasking and Exercise

As a mother of three, I am a big fan of multitasking. If I want to watch television, I have to make the bed, fold laundry, answer email. If brownies are needed for the bake sale, I throw in another pan with potatoes, onions and carrots and we have roasted vegetables for another night.

So I was excited by Shatobu “the workout that you wear.” The idea behind this shapewear is that resistance bands tone muscles while you go about your day –you SHApe, TOne and BUrn. If your day consists of sitting on the couch and eating Godiva, you’re not going to look like Iman, but if you move around a moderate amount, in theory you burn 12% more calories.

My Seven-Year Old Does Not Need a Bra, Thank You Very Much

My daughters hate labels.  I don’t mean they hate the “name” brands, I mean they actually hate the fabric labels inside of clothes.  They tend to itch and rub.  They also hate seams, appliqués and embroidery that can be felt on the inside.  In other words, I have to touch everything I buy for them from the inside out.  They inherited this from me no doubt since I have an aversion to all stiff and rough material and have the kind of skin that is easily irritated.  So now that my daughters have gone through yet another growth spurt I found myself heading out to replenish all the basics in their wardrobe with the simple requirement in my mind – no secret agitators allowed.

At first this directive seems simple enough: avoid the graphic laden clothing, stay away from shirring and smocking and hard sewn on images.  But while shopping in Old Navy I encountered something even more insidious, something I never expected in the little girls section – a shelf bra.  I picked up a cute little tank top and there it was, a slab of extra material with a strip of elastic across the ribcage.  All I could think was why?  Why on earth would a seven year old (or 5 or 6 year old since those had them too) need a shelf bra?

 This new inclusion of a shelf bra wasn’t just confined to Old Navy. 

Bathing Suit Season in Winter Just Isn't Fair

Have you ever noticed that the worse your body is, the more you have to spend on a bathing suit? Vacation season means bathing suit season (albeit a short one) for me. And this after the most fattening time of the year.  Oh, goody! I get to wear essentially NOTHING...in public, while infinitely better-bodied women adjust their bikini tops and wipe sand off their six packs.

I'm not much of bathing suit person in the best of circumstances, but between my bout with Swine Flu/Pneumonia, and the holiday cookies I've inhaled over the past few weeks, well, let's just say I needed to bring in the big guns...for my big buns.  No Lands End middle of the road/middle America bathing suits.  No no- that-much-of-a Miracle Suit. I needed more help than that.

So in this desperate time year, I decided to go to a store and try on "designer" bathing suits. Terrifying. Like most women over forty who've borne children, trying on bathing suits is as depressing as it gets. What I didn't realize is how expensive it gets!

The average price of a bathing suit at my local lingerie store (and NY institution), The Town Shop, is $150. Seriously. They have a few bathing suits under $100, but most fall into the $125-$225 range. Shocking. I must be naive, but I had no idea a little piece of Lycra could cost so much.

Shoe Fits

Women and their heels.  It's a famous relationship that's usually cast in the media as an obsessive devotion involving squandered paychecks, overrun closets and bloodied, broken feet.  But for my mother, my daughter and me, the relationship is a bit more complicated.

My mom was a Southern beauty queen who could not walk in high heels.  She maintains that she won her titles with her personality, which, if you've ever met her, you might believe, except that she's also quite beautiful.  (She'll also want me to note here that she did it for the scholarship money.)

She has had a fraught relationship with the raised heel, and I think she's handed it down to me.  From a pretty early age, she counseled me that I should at all times wear shoes that would permit me to sprint from an attacker, should that occasion arise.  There will be precious little time to pull them off, she'd caution, and don't think you will be able to beat them off with a stiletto, she would say, because in the real world that doesn't happen.  So let's just say that she is pretty much totally against shoes with heels of any kind for herself, and, quite possibly, for everyone else on the planet (though I haven't verified this with her). 

Tales of a Silicon Valley Mom in New York, New York for Fashion Week and the Times Square Post Superbowl Party

This is cross-posted from our sister site, Silicon Valley Moms Blog.

Sunday wasn't my usual Sunday.  Some moms watched the Superbowl. Others watched the ads.  I went to Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York. Fashion Week began Friday at 8am Eastern. I didn't know until Saturday at 8am Pacific time that I was even going. I decided on a whim to apply for a press credential and when I was accepted, I took a few stabs at getting into shows.

As of last week, I had done a little planning in terms of lodging and flights, but was on the fence since my daughter was having a difficult week. Then she began feeling better, so I decided to go.  I took my daughter to her first dance class ever (priceless - one of those moments I'll never forget - she loved it so much) then six hours later, I caught what was probably her bug. 12 hours pre-flight I was on the couch with the chills, my daughter yanking my blanket off & fussing because I didnt want to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with her.

The Empress Has No Clothes

I recently received an e-mail asking why I haven't commented about children's clothing stores in my neighborhood.  A good question.  I'll tell you why: it's because I rarely buy anything at any of the lovely local shops.  They are, for the most part, filled with beautiful children's items that are nice-fitting and made of all-natural fabric.  So why don't I patronize these establishments?  It's the same reason I never buy clothes for myself at any boutiques on the UES: they are just too freaking expensive.   I can't justify spending $200 (or more) on a wonderful little sweater for Bunny that she'll wear for one season and then we'll pass along to Room to Grow.  But here's what I have, little though it is.

Baby Gap: 3rd Avenue between 86th and 87th.  Baby Gap is great, especially the sales.  I've gotten some adorable items for $3.99.  Can't beat that with a stick.  Occasionally I find the girls stuff to be a bit too teeny-bopper-y for a 15 month old, but I'm an old fogey that way.And here is a question to the entrepreneurial of spirit out there: can we make any money by opening a children's used clothing store here in Yorkville?  I would love love love to have one!  I hear that Jane's Exchange is terrific, but it is way too far away for us (see If I Can't Walk, I Don't Go).

I recently received an e-mail asking why I haven't commented about children's clothing stores in my neighborhood.  A good question.  I'll tell you why: it's because I rarely buy anything at any of the lovely local shops.  They are, for the most part, filled with beautiful children's items that are nice-fitting and made of all-natural fabric.  So why don't I patronize these establishments?  It's the same reason I never buy clothes for myself at any boutiques on the UES: they are just too freaking expensive.   I can't justify spending $200 (or more) on a wonderful little sweater for Bunny that she'll wear for one season and then we'll pass along to Room to Grow.  But here's what I have, little though it is.

Baby Gap: 3rd Avenue between 86th and 87th.  Baby Gap is great, especially the sales.  I've gotten some adorable items for $3.99.  Can't beat that with a stick.  Occasionally I find the girls stuff to be a bit too teeny-bopper-y for a 15 month old, but I'm an old fogey that way.And here is a question to the entrepreneurial of spirit out there: can we make any money by opening a children's used clothing store here in Yorkville?  I would love love love to have one!  I hear that Jane's Exchange is terrific, but it is way too far away for us (see If I Can't Walk, I Don't Go).