Unconditional Mom

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Christy Johnson Photography http://christyjphotos.blogspot.com

Walk into a local department store to buy an outfit for your child and the odds become great that you’ll eventually see another child wearing the same outfit. That’s why I like original clothes that are not on the main stream market.

You can find that at lakeandlila!

Heather was wrapping up making this particular outfit and we received it about a week ago. I had been anticipating seeing what it would look like as I knew the kind of designs that Heather created. The day it arrived I literally tore into the package - no easy, take your time, opening of this one!

I was not let down - at all. The yellow, blue and green looked amazing together and it was so stylish; well-crafted and cuuuuuuuuute! This is the outfit that represents Spring in all it’s breath-taking splendor.

The bird gives it not only a personal lakenandlila appeal, but again - represents Spring. I must admit it left me wanting Spring to arrive…yesterday! Unfortunately we have a couple more months before that dream comes true.

So I waited for Alexis to come home from school and told her there was a surprise inside while we walked toward the front door. We walked in, she saw shirt and skirt, and those beautiful blue eyes (that match the dress so well) lit up. She didn’t even have her backpack off before she was trying to put the skirt on.

Christy Johnson Photography http://christyjphotos.blogspot.com

Before you know it, she’s literally dancing and singing around the apartment in the tune of something like, “Look at me… I’m so beautiful” as she spun around in circles staring at herself in the mirror. The sound of my own giggles began to drown her out as it was just adorable to see her transform into a, “I went to school in jeans and a sweatshirt and came home to a beautiful outfit” little girl.

She felt pretty and I could see that plain as day. She’s already worn it twice since we received it which was great as it gave me a chance to put it through the wash to see how it would stand up; it was great!

lakenandlila represents a fashionable clothing line for children that is fun; it’s the best way that I can describe them. Healther is good at what she does and you can tell she takes a great deal of time making certain everything is right; no stitch out of place or label on crooked.

So why shop at lakenandlila? I believe Heather describes it best:

There are so many wonderful childrens apparel clothing stores on etsy - why shop lakenand lila?

1. I pride myself on overdelivering to my customers. I love to go above and beyond in customer service. If a problem ever arises (which it has not) you & I work together to come up with a solution.

2. All designs are created to be simple. My designs are my own. From the pattern to the fabrics. I topstitch my waistband to prevent rolling.

3. No raw edges will ever be found on my garmets. I use a professional serger or finish each seam.

4. A boutique label will be found on each of my items on the bottom left corner. It makes each piece look refined, pulled together, and stylish.

5. Each piece is truly made with love - like I am making it for my own child. Most of my customers are repeat clients if that doesn’t speak for itself. Enjoy my shop… I look forward to working with you!

And there you have it - 5 reasons. 5 reasons I can stand behind.

Would you believe that I have never owned, nor wore, an apron outside of a bakery job that I had when I was 16 years old? So when I saw the Princess Apron’s on The Giggle Garden I instantly fell in love with it.

It’s a standard pink apron that Keren, of the Giggle Garden, personalizes for your daughter - and she is so fast at it I almost thought there would be a mistake when we received it in the mail. There wasn’t and it was simply gorgeous!

There is a princess tiara embroidered on, then the capital letter of the name that you choose, along with the full name in lower case letters and it’s topped off with beautiful faux-jewels.

When Alexis 1st saw it, her response was a hardy, “Oh wow, it has my name on it Momma” as she lifted it into the air to stare at it for a full 2 minutes. Within the seconds following she had it on and was asking me to tie it for her… she didn’t take it off.

In fact, my mom came to get her for the weekend and Alexis had to take it with her to her house - she wouldn’t have it any other way!

Evidently she didn’t take it off, for very long, at my Mom’s house either so they made Vegetable soup in the kitchen together.

I’ve found it interesting just how much Alexis has wanted to help in the kitchen, play waitress, etc. since receiving this. It also makes me wish that I hadn’t gotten rid of her play kitchen last month as she probably would have had a blast with it. Imagine giving this apron to a little girl with her very own Easy Bake Oven or play kitchen; she would be in heaven. A little Domesticated Diva if you will.

I know it’s not just the apron… having your name embroidered on anything makes it extra-special. It makes it yours and the odds of anyone else having one like it are slim to none. And I’m confident in the fact that she’s well aware of that as she parades around in her apron on a regular basis playing pretend with her stuffed animals during their tea time.

This officially marks another item that we will no doubt hold on to for her to pass on; personalized or not. Or, if you want to get creative you can always have it trimmed down, after they’ve outgrown it, and placed in a shadow box or frame for a bedroom decoration. The possibilities are endless…

and when they put on this apron - so are their imaginations.

I remember playing Operation so many times as a young child that I believe I went through more than one game from putting them through way more than the normal wear & tear. I played it so much one could be easily convinced I had a future dream of becoming a surgeon.

I was so excited that my daughter was getting older that I went out and bought her, her very own Operation… when she was two. A month later all of the pieces had been lost and I had to throw the game out. It pained me to do so…

Hindsight tells me that perhaps that was a little to… young, but I digress. It was Operation. Operation is fun. And I wanted someone to play with! But enough about me.

Hasbro sent along two games for the 2010 Birthday Gift Guide: For Children and we all know and love these classic games: Operation & Connect 4. Now I don’t feel that these particular games truly need any type of introduction, but I do believe that you all should be made aware that they have evolved. I didn’t think you could perfect an already perfect game, but that is clearly the case with the revisions that Hasbro has made.

OPERATION REVIEW:

First & foremost… Cavity Sam hasn’t gone anywhere; whew! I still think he may be a glutton for punishment after 40 years of being operated on and what a good sport he is! What has changed are the new multi-sensory features, such as squishy “Funatomy” parts (which even have their own built in storage drawer) and the silly, quirky sounds that direct the game play adventure; croaking frogs, flushing toilets and a laugh that is clearly contagious. There are 13 sounds AND funatomy parts in all!

Sam has ailments that need to be removed and STAT! It’s your job to make sure you do it without touching the edges using the infamous tweezers. The player with the most ailments extracted - wins. To let the game know that the game is over you simply touch Cavity Sam’s nose which is an experience in itself! I would tell you, but then you wouldn’t find it nearly as fun as when you see it for youself.

I can tell you that a soon to be five-year-old girl, opposed to the previously mentioned two-year-old, loves this game. It really helps her focus and concentrate which I adore. It’s important to me that she learn something from everything she plays with and Operation offers just that. My only complaint? Why did it have to improve so much AFTER I became an adult? No matter… I still have every intention in making it a part of our weekly game night. Now if only I could win!

CONNECT 4 REVIEW:

The year 2009 changed Connect 4… 4 the better!

The first thing that I noticed was that the black checkers have been sent away and the new yellow have stepped up to the…grid. The concept of the game is still the same: 4 checkers in a row, horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

Yet, there are two new games that Connect 4 has brought to life - Pop Out and Pop 10.

Pop Out allows you to get four-in-a-row by literally popping out a checker opposed to the age-old alternative of dropping in a checker from the top of the grid. This gives Connect 4 that extra edge in addition to making you, the player, really pay attention to every move being made; particularly those of your opponent.

Pop 10 is an awesome concept as well. I don’t know how you did it, but when we were done playing we always slid all of the checkers in the grid so they didn’t get lost. This is precisely how you begin Pop 10. Then you can pop out a check for each turn and if it was a a Connect 4 you get to keep ALL four checkers. The first person to collect 10 checkers wins the game.

It’s a whole new playing field in my humble opinion…

Alexis, on the other hand, thinks those games are better than the original game that I was trying to get her to play. I believe it’s the entire popping out concept. Connect 4 is great to help the younger children learn how to count, learn directions and the colors red & yellow. Unfortunately once they learn this you must step-up your Connect 4 skills to compete.

Speaking of games… how would you all like to win one?

Organic and eco-friendly are IN! This is the fad because Mom’s and Dad’s across the world are well aware of the importance that their child(ren) not be exposed to dangerous chemicals.

These dangerous chemicals are every where and in almost every thing imaginable; it’s intimidating to say the least.

We’re finally becoming more aware of things that may potentially cause our families, and ourselves, problems and with that we’ve decided enough was enough.

Introducing all of you to companies and their products is something I always love to do - it just feels good to know that Unconditional Mom may just help someone. And I imagine that companies such as EdenHome.com feel the same way.

Who is EdenHome.com?
The Garden of Eden was created to be lovely and beautiful, perfect and pure. At Eden Home our mission is to offer the purity of organic without losing the beauty, whether you’re looking for organic bedding, clothes for baby, natural bath towels or organic cookware and more.

Just taking a look through their website I “ohhh’d” & “awww’d” their wide variety of selections available. There is something for EVERYONE on their site & I encourage you to take a look around and visit.

In fact, as a special offer to Unconditional Mom readers, EdenHome.com has supplied the Coupon Code, “UMOM15” to take 15% off of your purchase price. Please feel free to utilize this discount as I’m confident that each of you can find something you would truly want once you see what they have to offer. I’m pretty interested in their Cable Throw; it’s GORGEOUS!

REVIEW:

EdenHome.com is partaking in the 2010 Birthday Gift Guide: For Children and submitted their Clean Air Kate doll as pictured above.

Listen, let’s face it… our children are going to pay a price for all of us not taking better care of the Earth that we live on. We’ve done irreversible damage that will no doubt impact generations to come. It’s not entirely our fault… we weren’t as educated then as we are today. Now we know the importance of doing what we can to preserve it.

The Clean Air Doll’s present just that - an educational resource to teach our children the same things we didn’t learn until it was too late. The line of dolls consists of Pani Rani Doll, Pink Coral Doll, Recycle Kyle Doll, Carbon Offset Chef and more). Each doll represents an important factor in teaching our children those fundamental values.

Clean Air Kate was an obvious selection for us. A plant wreaked havoc in a nearby community, for years, as it was releasing dangerous levels of lead into the air. This became such a problem that everyone who lived within a 2 miles radius of the plant was evacuated, their homes that they lived in all of their lives bought by the plant (per court order) and health problems that will never go away. This was a long time ago and a majority of that town remains empty; an eerie reminder of what once was.

Clean Air Kate will allow me to educate my daughter about…clean air; and it’s importance. I will now be able to do so on a level in which she can understand as I use Clean Air Kate to represent it what it is I want her to learn. I like the concept that the more she bounds with Clean Air Kate as a doll the more she will learn to care about clean air, as well. In return, she can educate others and maybe, just maybe, our children can slow down the damage that ours has caused.

Not to mention…she’s pretty darn cute!

It’s a fact of life, that if you have a little girl, she will want to play dress-up. My daughter has over 15 dress-up costumes and a make-up table that she is frequently stares at herself in the light-up mirror as she applies her ‘fake’ make-up. Somwhere, in her imagination, it is real.

I find her making the same faces that I make when applying the plastic lipstick on. Then she immediately follows-up with those infamous ‘kissy-faces’. It never ceases to make me giggle and smile so bright on the inside. Because I remember when I used to do the same thing and the feeling that comes with it.

Beings she’s a mere four-years-old (we’re almost to 5!) I don’t like her having childrens make-up as I’m not familiar with what is in them; it’s a scary world out there. And there is nothing more precious to all of us parents than our babies.

So when I came across Luna Organics, on Etsy.com, I was thrilled to see that there were natural make-up products that Alexis could use to enhance her dress-up experiences.

Allison, the owner of Luna Organics, sent us the Fancy Fairy Kit to review. Yes… us. Mommy likes to play dress-up too. I just happen to come out looking a little funny once Alexis had applied it to my face, but I digress.

To give you a little information into what the Fancy Fairy Kit from Luna Organics is about I’m including some information directly from her shop profile:

Description

The Fancy Fairy kit is an all natural kids’ makeup kit made of organic, hypoallergenic materials. This makeup is easy to apply and most important, easy to remove! My daughters love to build fairy houses and dress up in their fancy fairy costumes.

The kit contains Fairy Dust, a stackable set of 5 sparkly eyeshadows, and glittery lip balm with cinnamon scent. The powders in this kit come off with a moist tissue and water, baby oil, or petroleum jelly.

The kit comes in a reusable purple or pink zipper case and contains:

- 20g Fairy Dust (sparkly silver and purple)
- 5g Pink eyeshadow
- 5g Gold eyeshadow
- 5g Green eyeshadow
- 5g Blue eyeshadow
- 5g Purple eyeshadow
- 5g Purple Glitter lip balm
- NEW - now with a dual-tipped eyeshadow/lip applicator and a puff blush applicator

The kit contains enough powder for multiple applications.

REVIEW:

My daughter was intrigued from the moment she opened the package. I decided it was best to explain to her what each thing was before she went off to take her place at the make-up table. I noticed how ‘dainty’ she was with it - almost as if she was afraid she would hurt it somehow and wanted to take extra care of it. Upon first application I heard her giggle so I inquired as to what she was giggling for. Her response was, “It’s real make-up. I have pretty colors on my face! Can you see it?” Of course I could and it was adorable.

I truly appreciate the fact that it’s not a dark make-up; no bright red’s or otherwise; the hue was perfect for a small child her age.

It was when we took the fairy dust out that she became mesmerized. This triggered her into going straight for her Tinkerbell costume to complete the look and it was something only dreams were made of. The evening commenced in Alexis taking flight across our apartment and I could see the beam in her eyes the entire time. To me, it was magical just watching her.

Upon bedtime I had to convince her that we had to take it off - this wasn’t easy and took a little coaxing on my side. After a few times of explaining to her that she could wear it again, soon, she finally allowed me to wipe it off… all it took was a slightly soapy washcloth. It came off with absolute ease.

Alexis has since worn it three more times and each time she become a bit more creative with the looks. I truly can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

Would you like to see your daughter enhance her dress-up time and increase her imagination potential? Here’s your chance!