MumsTheWurdUnique finds for hip parents and cool kids

Sugarplum Dreams is a very lovely online boutique offering everything you could think of for your little one. From Lotions and Potions to Baby and Children’s furniture they’re bound to be a boutique that you have bookmarked. At Sugarplum Dreams you’ll be able to outfit and decorate your baby and your nursery. But don’t stop there! Have older children? Sugarplum Dreams hasn’t left them out. There are tons of imagination building, educational and just plain fun toys!

Not only do they have an extremely wide selection of items for your baby, but they are all about building relationships. They Strive for excellent customer service and welcome all inquiries, from questions about your purchase to potty training, they want to be there to support you in your motherhood journey.

Don’t miss out! Right now through December 31st get 15% off all purchases $50 or more using the code: MUMS15.

We are sad to announce that Fooey USA will be closing it’s virtual doors.  However, they are having a closeout sale that you won’t want to miss!  It’s all rad stuff, and it’s super cheap!  My mom got these shorts for Noel & Lennon (they won’t fit Noel next summer) for $8.99!  They are SOOOOO CUTE.  Fooey’s also got the best collection of shirts for kids and infants.  Some are as low as $3.99, people, but they won’t last!  Get over there, and say goodbye to one of the best stores out there.  Fooey, we are sorry to see you go!

On a sunnier note, Ashlee has come up with a new name for her store!  Nonny & Boo, formerly Nest Baby Sling, now offers even more great items, like wraps (that are the coolest EVER), hoodies, and plushies!  As usual, Ashlee’s wares are quite simply the coolest!  Pictured here, are Steph and Ivy in nonny & boo’s bamboo sling.  We have this sling, and Elliott and I share it.  We love it.  The fabric is light, but very strong, and it works well going out in the Texas heat.  We just heart the lady over at nonny & boo, and you will too.

I recently got my hands on a gorgeous little dress from Gimos Kidswear, an online boutique.  You’ll find adorable clothes of excellent quality for girls and boys alike.

Of course, the girl clothes and accessories are to die for but the boy clothes are just as cute.  If I had a boy, I would definitely spend some time at Gimos checking out all of the unique apparel.

They have an exceptional line of clothing and accessories to get you read for Fall.  Like these socks:

Their apparel runs from size 3 mos. to 14 yrs., with a newborn line debuting soon.

Stop by Gimos Kidswear and browse around a bit, I’m willing to be you’ll find something you like!

Need a little something for YOU, mama??  Then pamper yourself with Bella il Fiore.  It’s an awesome, boutique-driven line of cosmetics, bath & body, and boudoir.  Jennifer Maloy is the creator of this lovely little line of products (not to mention, she’s married to a rockstar and songwriter!).  Bella’s got something for everyone, whether you do yourself up every day, or throw on a little mascara and gloss.  Need to chill?  Relax with some yummy bath products, and slip into a pretty nightie.

Bella’s received a TON of attention-people love this stuff-including the Mums!  The Private Eye Mascara & Kiss Me Now Gloss are some of our favorites!  Wanna know what Jennifer’s faves are in her collection?  Listen to our conversation with her on MumsCast!  Jennifer’s super cool-we love her & we love Bella il Fiore!

Want a little Bella for yourself?

WIN IT!

Bella il Fiore Beauty Favorites

Click HERE to enter and tell us what is your “can’t live without it” makeup product. Winner will be chosen randomly and notified via email on October 15th, 2008. Good Luck!!

Don’t forget to listen to our MumsCast & check out our Contests Page for a list of ALL of our contests!

Once again, we’re taking you back in time and re-introducing an old friend of MumsTheWurd!  Handpicked Pumpkin is one of our favorite custom baby clothiers.  Cozy, comfortable, and always fashionable, Allison’s clothes are sure to make your little guy or gal one happy explorer.  

I summed up Handpicked Pumpkin last year, and had this to say:

Fashionable clothes do not always equate to comfortable clothes, especially for the littler guys. They are exploring on the floor, and learning to walk, and while we want them to look cute, they also need to have the ability to move around without limitations that I often find with pants and jeans. That is why I am so glad to have discovered Hand Picked Pumpkin! Allison put together her love for unique style hand in hand with this concept, and this amazing children’s clothing line was born!

Here, Noel is sporting his Grady Overall Shorts. This is a perfect summer outfit! It’s comfortable, lightweight, and absolutely adorable. This is one of Allison’s ready-made creations, but you can also custom design ANYTHING in hershop! Whether you’re looking for a signature outfit, comfy bottoms, a gift set for a friend, you’re bound to find something perfect! There are great patterns and colors to choose from, especially if your heart belongs in the 50s and 60s! Polka dots and stripes are the name of the game at Hand Picked Pumpkin, where you’ll find many satisfied customers!

Allison also proudly donates 5% of her end of year profits to several fine charities-if you have one that’s close to your heart, you can email her to nominate your organization!

First of all, when was Noel ever that small???  You better believe I saved those adorable Grady overalls, and I’m already itching for Lennon to fit into them!  Handpicked Pumpkin has also ventured into the realm of toddler clothing too!  Ahhh…now the toddlers can look adorable and be comfy too! 

Allison joined us last night for our weekly MumsCast, and was informing us that not only has she kept all of her manufacturing in the USA, but she’s also kept it local-all Handpicked Pumpkin items are made right in the Chicago area!  

Allison and Handpicked Pumpkin are both awesome!  Be sure to head over and get some duds!

I know about a little Chicagoland boutique that is highly sought after by the celebrity-type.  Funky Daisy has one-of-a-kind, custom embroidered clothing for babies and toddlers.  Simple and stylish.  Not too flashy.  Perfect in my book.  Miss October thinks so too:

Check out Miss. Fashionista sporting her “Miss. October” tank.  She knows how to rock it, Funky Daisy style.

Of course, if you’re looking for that unique gift for the new parents, don’t even think twice about shopping at this online boutique.  They do some pretty funky and fashionable gift-wrapping:

Head over to Funky Daisy when you get a chance and check out all they have to offer.  You’ll dig it.

Chocolate Cake Club is not a bakery or a club. The online boutique with the evocative name seeks out the very best new items for kids and parents, the ones that make you feel like the girl with the most cake, so to speak. From baby gifts to slumber parties, Chocolate Cake Club has your gift-giving needs covered.

We got to try a couple of Chocolate Cake Club’s back to school essentials from their vast selection. They have backpacks, lunchbags, everything you can imagine to get your school year in gear. They even sent Roo her very first alarm clock! 

Hopefully the sheer sugary sweetness of the Cupcake Talking Alarm Clock will get her up and ready for preschool. Did I mention it talks? Instead of ringing or buzzing, the Cupcake Talking Alarm Clock says “Deeeee-licious!” in a kid’s voice. Roo finds it hilarious. I personally find it gratifying to hear her say “I stayed in my room until the little hand was on the 7!”

I got to try something for back to school, too! I’ve been eyeing MomAgenda’s gorgeous line of planners for a while but haven’t tried them because I always flake out after about a month of using planners. Sad but true. However, the MomAgenda Kitchen Folio is eminently usable, even for a haphazard organizer like myself. It’s basically a bound folio with vinyl sleeves to keep your important information (phone numbers, birthdays, take-out menus) close at hand. I love it. Such a simple concept, but so totally brilliant. And the MomAgenda Kitchen Folio is infinitely customizable, so you can stick whatever works for you right inside. I especially love that it is meant to live in your kitchen and be visible, so you can rest assured that your husband or 

babysitter (or kids, if they are older than mine!) will be able to find pertinent information in case you’re not around. As morbid as this might sound, my 

husband’s recent emergency appendectomy made me question what could happen to our household if something happened to me. Keeping the MomAgenda Kitchen Folio up to date certainly assuages some of my worries.

If you have need of a gift, or feel like getting something nice for yourself, I would heartily recommend Chocolate Cake Club. Bon appetit!

I have decided.  I must declare that of all cloth diapers, I am a big fan of pocket diapers.  The ones I have are well made and I know they are going to last a good, long while.  Before now, my only experiences with pockets had been with some homemade and a Bum Genius, both of which I really like.  Well, add another, because Blueberry and Swaddlebees are here with some amazingly CUTE pocket diapers that you will love as MUCH (if not more…) than your Bum Genius’!

We received a Minky One Size Pocket Diaper (in snaps or velcro) and a Stuffable All In One Front Snap fitted diaper from Blueberry Diapers.  They are both adorable!  I love the bright colors that stay bright.  They’re zany and fun.  These are diapers that you’ll want to show off!

Sadly, The Buddha has already out grown the stuffable.  I know a lot of people find one size diapers bulky in newborns, but since both of my children, as babies, have gotten huge fast, I prefer the one size simply because you can use them for so long.  If you’re not a cloth diapering parent, or have thought about it, but you’re reading this, and have no earthly idea what I’m talking about, you should check out Blueberry’s “Where Do I Begin?” section.  I would have loved to have this resource when I was first considering doing cloth.  For something that seems like it would be intuitive, the cloth diapering world can seem very complex to a new parent!

The Brain behind these super diapers knew she wanted to do the best for her baby and the best for the environment.  Swaddlebees and Blueberry’s are indeed the CLEANEST diaper on the planet!  Sweet, Margarita McClure!

I’ve added some info about cloth diapers, in case you’re interested!

Ecological Facts:

· 27.4 billion disposable diapers make up the 3^rd largest source of solid waste in landfills.

· 90% of them take 250-500 years to decompose.

· Each baby produces 1 ton of solid waste from disposables from birth to potty training.

· Parents spend $2,000-2,500 on 6,000-8,000 diapers through diapering years.

· It takes one cup of crude oil to manufacture one disposable diaper.

Dangers to your baby:

· Disposable diapers contain sodium polyacrylate, the same substance removed from tampons in 1985. That’s 24/7 on the babies’ skin.

· Fragrances in disposable diapers can cause headaches, dizziness and rashes.

· Babies can pull disposable diapers apart, putting pieces of plastic in their noses and mouths.

Why Swaddlebees and Blueberry Diapers:

· Our Diapers contain no bleach, no chlorine and no pesticides on the cotton fibers.

· We use only organic cotton to insure 100% good health and safety for America’s babies.

· Our prints use water-based ink, instead of oil-based. The water used is recycled, treated and cleaned before pumping it back into the sewer system.

· Our lamination is a non-solvent based laminate, which does not produce toxic fumes instead of solvent-based urethane laminate, which is what 95% of what most cloth diaper manufacturers use.

· All our fabrics (except for the minky diaper’s outer shell), is made in the US.  This ensures us that the fabric meets minimum standards for safety and is free from contaminants.

· We are the only company that integrates hemp & organic cotton in the absorbent pads for our diapers, which makes them one of the most absorbent diapers in our industry.

· We use all biodegradable packaging on our products.

• Blueberry diapers are  fashion conscious too with  32 designer fabrics coming in a wide range of exciting upbeat colors, stripes and dots like seaspray,  tanzanite and blue latte; chic animal prints like zebra, cheetah and pink Dalmatian.

For more information on Swaddlebees and Blueberry diapers and accessories, visit www.swaddlebees.com andwww.blueberrydiapers.com or call 877-846-6848.

Bitsy Bear is a cool little on-line boutique that offers up several fun goodies for your pleasure.  Chelise, the creator of Bitsy Bear, and mom of baby girl Drew, came up with the idea for Bitsy Bear when she noticed that everything she found for her baby was pink.  There’s nothing wrong with a little pink, but like all of us, babies need a little variety in their wardrobe!

Bitsy Bear offers these great Rockin’ Onesies, with nursery rhymes, printed on the most colorful and soft organic onesies I’ve ever seen!  Lennon looks great in his Itsy Bitsy.

Chelise also makes the adorable Bitsy Bears, which have been a huge hit with The Boy That Puts Anything In His Mouth.  Anything with tags like this are so great for babies.  They will suck on them ALL DAY!

The most unique item Bitsy Bear offers is the Swaddle Wrap.  Chelise says that this is the only swaddle that her little gal could not tear herself out of…and the fabric rocks.   This wrap is in the awesome Alexander Henry Blue Zoo print.  My Miracle Blankets have been great, but they sure aren’t as cool as these.  How cute would your baby look in this?  If you have a newborn, make them look fancy fresh while they sleep!

Bitsy Bear also has it’s very own little Book Shop!  Perhaps you have a little one with a love of reading?  Chelise has many wonderful selections to choose from.  It’s great to see an on-line boutique promote reading with your child.  Go Bitsy Bear!

If you don’t see anything for your baby that tickles your fancy, perhaps you need something for yourself…like one of these super rad APRONS!?!  Chelise handcrafts these herself, and they are lovely!  Just seeing mine, makes me want to step into the kitchen and make meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  Do you want one?

WIN IT!

An apron of your choice!  FYI, Chelise has not yet added her newest apron in brown zebra print!  Doesn’t that sound fab???

Email us to enter: mumsthewurd[at]gmail[dot]com and tell us which apron you’d want!  Contest will end September 2, 2008, at 10 PM CST.  Winner will be chosen randomly.  Good Luck!

Chelise is also generously offering Mums readers 10% off with the coupon code ‘mumsreader’.  Go pick up something great at Bitsy Bear!