Our Favorite Source for Baby Holiday Clothes
This post is sponsored by Carter's; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
I don't know about you, but I love the holidays!
Spending time with family is probably my very favorite thing to do. I am so blessed to have parents, siblings, and in-laws all living fairly close. But even so, we never seem to get together as often as we'd like. So when there is a holiday and all the men-folk are off work, we snatch up the opportunity to spend some time together.
My parents or in-laws' house is filled with food, laughter, games, and grandkids galore!
Oh yes, make no mistake, it is the babies who are the stars of the show. Not only do my parents and in-laws eat up their baby time, but my husband's and my siblings have a tendency to be quite the doting aunts and uncles too!
It just so happens that this year, we have the youngest baby in the family, so she's going to be getting a lot of attention. (Not that the other little ones don't, but you know how fast they grow! Everybody's got to get their fill of chubby baby cheeks while they can!)
I like to make sure she has clothing that will keep her super comfortable while being passed around from aunt to uncle to cousin to grandparent. But of course I want her to look cute too!
I was super excited to partner with Carter's to feature some of their winter selections, and my oldest daughter and I had a good time shopping together to pick out some cute outfits and PJ's for baby sister.
We had a great time exploring all the options – from frilly holiday dresses to cozy PJ's, and everything in between, there were plenty of choices for everyone.
I forgot to get any pictures while we were in the store – probably because my daughter was distracting me with repeated requests to try on the glittery gold shoes she found. But these are a couple of the holiday outfits that caught my eye. Aren't they cute?
They have tons more holiday selections too. Take a look at all of their baby holiday clothes here!
What I love about Carter's is that they have some of the cutest and best quality baby clothes available, but the prices are always affordable, especially when you shop their sales.
Oh! And if you're planning to do Black Friday shopping, you will definitely want to put Carters on your list! In addition to some fantastic deals, they'll also be having a “Dash In to Win” sweepstakes that will award promo cards to the first 100 people to arrive at their local Carters or OshKosh store! (Find your local store here to find out whether the sweepstakes will be held on Thanksgiving day or on Black Friday. Whether or not stores are open on Thanksgiving varies by location.)
Plus, you can print this 20% off coupon to use as well: (Just click on the image.)
And PJ's! Don't forget the PJ's! They have some adorable boy pajamas and girl pajamas. They have a large section of holiday pajamas as well as lots of non-holiday winter pajamas. My oldest daughter fell in love with these and picked them out for her little sister:
We'll definitely be packing them in her diaper bag so that when the nights over spent at grandma and grandpa's house start getting long, we can get her ready for bed before we head home.
(Is she not the sweetest girl ever?)
Speaking of sweetest girl ever, I think this outfit is adorable! It's going to serve her well at our holiday get-togethers. I was so happy to find outfits that had both a long sleeve shirt and a short sleeve shirt because even though it's winter it doesn't always get super cold here in North Carolina. And when there are lots of people all crowded into one room, it can get a little toasty inside. This is going to be the perfect outfit for her to get passed around in.
I'm eagerly anticipating spending some quality time with family, and I'm so thankful for the comfortable, yet adorable clothes our littlest has while she is being adored by everyone.
One Essential Aspect of Child Safety You May be Overlooking
This post was sponsored by the Window Covering Safety Council as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. All opinions expressed in my post are my own.
Before our first child was born, my husband and I were like any first-time parents. We read and researched and made sure we had all of our ducks in a row to keep our little one safe. I know that safety is of the Lord, and ultimately we depend on Him to protect our children.
But of course, we are to be responsible parents since He has placed those children in our care.
One of our first child safety updates around the house was to replace all the window blinds with cordless shades. I wanted to make sure that was taken care of before he got old enough to start toddling around. It was an extra expense that we really didn't have the money for at the time, but it was one that we found the money for because it was a priority for us.
You might not imagine that window blinds would be such a big deal. I mean, we all think about plugging the outlets, but replacing the blinds? I know I wouldn't have really even thought about it, except for the fact that I knew family whose toddler son suffered irreparable brain damage when his neck got caught in a window cord.
They loved him well. Oh, how they loved him! But his family went through a lifetime of trials from that accident. God used their son's life for His glory, for sure. But there was still grief and heartache intertwined. I know they would go through it all again if it meant that God would be glorified through his life and theirs. But that didn't mean it was easy. I'm sure I don't even know the half of all they suffered. And I'm sure they wouldn't desire other families to endure what they and their son went through.
The Window Covering Safety Council urges parents to install only cordless window coverings or ones with inaccessible cords if you have young children in the home.
I want to help get that message out. I happened to know this precious family's story, which helped me to be aware of what could happen, but not all parents are aware of just how dangerous a window cord can be.
October is National Window Covering Safety Month, so this is a great time to help spread the message.
Exposed and dangling cords pose a strangulation hazard to infants and young children. Please do not keep these types of window coverings in your home!
When shopping for suitable replacements, you can look for the “Best for Kids” label to help you easily identify cordless options. “Best for Kids” products are currently available at major retails across the country.
You can find out more about safe window coverings for kids at the Window Covering Safety Council Website.
The following infographic contains more ideas for keeping your children safe around window coverings:
Did you realize that window coverings could be such a danger to your children?
The Unforeseen Reason Your Child is Rebellious
THE STORY
“What are you doing?” I asked my son.
I saw the door of my husband's shed hanging open and smelled spray paint fumes, so I was little nervous to find out what was going on.
“Were you using Daddy's spray paint?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“Are you allowed in Daddy's shed?”
“No,” he answered as he lowered his eyes.
“Do you think you should be using spray paint without permission?”
“No.”
“Well, you need to go sit on the porch. You may not play right now if you're going to be using Daddy's things without permission.”
We both sat on the porch, just talking about whatever happened to strike my son's fancy at the moment. After I while I told him he could go back and play, reminding him to stay out of daddy's shed.
He enjoyed the rest of the afternoon playing and he stayed out of daddy's shed.
No drama. Just a mom remembering that her kid is…well…a curious kid and a son listening to his mother's reminder that he needs to follow instructions.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY
BUT. Let me be totally honest here, even though it's going to make me look really bad.
There was a time when my children were younger that I would have handled that situation MUCH differently.
Here's how it could have gone:
“What do you think you are doing, young man?” I asked with my hands on my hips and my eyes glaring a hole straight through my son's body. “Were you messing with spray paint? You were! Son, you know better than that! You know good and well you are not allowed in daddy's shed. And furthermore, if you WERE allowed in Daddy's shed, you certainly wouldn't be allowed to be using spray paint. Why are you messing with stuff you know good and well you shouldn't be touching? You are done. D-O-N-E, done! Get in the house. If you can't play out here the way you're supposed to you're not going to play out here at all.”
After I caught my breath after that tirade, I would have seen him into the house, a few more words of rebuke leaving my mouth as we went.
And here's the sad thing. I would have thought I was doing what I needed to do to help my son turn out right.
“He's so rebellious!” I would have thought to myself. “He KNOWS not to go in the shed and he did it anyway! He's GOT to learn to do right! I hate having to be so strict with him, but he's got to learn!”
Now, don't get me wrong. Sometimes we do have to lay down the law and not budge in our stance. I'm not saying that we should let our kids get away with disobedience and there not be any consequences.
But I don't think that being so hard nosed about every little incident is the right way to lead our children.
CREATING REBELLION
I think we can actually create rebellion in our children that wasn't there to begin with. We tell them by our reactions to their childishness that they are rebellious. If we make everything into head-butting battle, they're going to butt heads back!
I wrote about this concept in What I'm Learning about Child Training from an Olive Tree.
Here's what I wrote:
“Extensive pruning…can actually do more harm than good to a young olive tree. One olive gardening manual warns that “A determination to form the perfect shape by excessive pruning will weaken the young tree and stunt its growth for a number of years.” For this reason, olive growers do not do much pruning at all for the first 4 or 5 years of a tree's life. The only shoots that should be eliminated are those that compromise the definitive shape of the plant.
Olive tree lesson: Nitpicking at my children is only going to discourage them and make them feel like it's pointless to even try. The only thing I should be removing from my children's lives are those things that are actually going to point them in the wrong direction.
Do you discipline harshly for childish things like forgetting to put clothes in the hamper or make their bed? Yes, they need to do those things out of obedience, but sometimes children genuinely forget these things and aren't being purposely rebellious. Gentle reminders will do more good than giving them the 3rd degree for every minor offense.”
I understand why a parent will bring the hand of judgment down swiftly. We want our kids to turn out right, so we make sure nothing slips by! We see so many parents looking the other way when their children disobey and we don't want to be like that, so we are dead-set to lay down the law every single time they commit an offense.
But that mentality leaves absolutely no room for grace. They are imperfect human beings (just like their parents, by the way.) They forget things they've been told. Their childish curiosity overrides their sense of good judgment. And yes, sometimes they even consciously choose to sin. But I'm not so sure that a conscious choice to sin is the same as rebellion. How do your children respond to a gentle correction? If they put their hands on their hips, look you straight in the eye, and defiantly say, “No. I'm not doing it,” then yes, that is rebellion. But if they realize the error of their ways and are repentant about whatever it is they did, then committing the offense doesn't actually mean they're rebellious. It just means they're a sinner.
THE GOAL
Don't set up your parenting goal to be perfect behavior out of your child. Perfection is impossible, and trying to attain it will only frustrate both you and your child.
Instead your goal should be to see a tender heart in your child, willing to listen to correction and right themselves when they've gone astray. You want your child to be able to sit down with you and make a plan to overcome their character flaws. Do you think they will be likely to have a tender heart and be willing to work with you when you always seem to be working against them?
Imagine you've made an honest mistake at work. If the boss confronts you about it with his hands on his hips, glaring a hole through you, does it really make you want to listen to correction with a tender heart? No, it makes you want to do the exact opposite of what he says. But if he comes to you and calmly says, “Hey, I noticed you forgot to ____. Do you think we could talk about figuring out a better system so you don't forget in the future?” then you are much more likely not to get defensive and butt heads with his correction.
Swift, harsh judgment created an attitude of rebellion, while gentleness and understanding produced the desired result.
Likewise with our children, swift and harsh judgment will create an attitude of rebellion, while gentleness and understanding will produce the desired result (a tender heart, willing to heed correction.)
Again, I want to be careful here not to seem like I'm advocating NO discipline. There surely is a time and a place for it. But let's be careful not to create rebellious children by expecting perfection.
In closing, these are the two ideas I hope you'll take away from this article:
1. Change your goal from perfect behavior out of your children to instead an attitude of willingness to heed instruction and correction.
2. Don't be so swift to bring down harsh judgment for their mistakes. Your demeanor can make the difference between their willingness to work with you or to butt heads against you.
This post is part of the Parenting with Gentleness series.
3 Resources to Help You Simplify and Organize Your Life
As we have worked our way through the Parenting with Gentleness series, I've asked what some of your hindrances to parenting with gentleness are. One common problem I've seen is that you feel irritable because you're constantly running late or you're overwhelmed with all that you have to do.
I can definitely relate!
There was a period of time where I hated it when we had to go somewhere because I felt so stressed with trying to get everyone ready on time. I was barking orders at my kids and huffing impatiently at them.
We would finally all get into the car and I would feel like the world's worst parent because I had been…well…not very gentle as I helped them get ready to go.
I knew we needed a change, and it didn't take much to make it. I just needed to SIMPLIFY and ORGANIZE our life.
We really didn't have all that much in our schedule, so I didn't have to worry about cutting out a ton of stuff, but our routines were not very organized.
I was not allotting enough time for the various activities in our day, and it made me feel rushed – which translated into stress – which translated into gruffness with my kids.
Simplifying required cutting out some things from our schedule.
I had to come to terms with the fact that I am not supermom. Actually I had to realize that I am not even remotely close to being able to pretend to be supermom.
I'm not talking about reducing from 3 extracurricular activities to 1. I'm talking about making my daily schedule something like:
1. Feed family breakfast.
2. Feed family lunch.
3. Feed family supper.
4. Possibly do laundry.
That might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but not much. I had to cut things down to the bare minimum because stuff just takes me forever. Dealing with chronic illness that makes just getting dressed and brushing my hair a chore sometimes. Having a baby that I have to stop to feed and change, homeschooling which we can't exactly skip, and trying to keep the house decently tidy, are just about all that I can handle.
I don't like it, and there is so much more I'd like to fit into my day, but I had to be honest with myself and admit that I just can't do it.
(Which is why I've been MIA for several days out of this 31 day series, by the way. 🙂 ) Plans don't always go as I'd hoped, and I'm learning not to cram stuff into my day just because I want to. It makes me grouchy, and that's not what my family needs! )
Along with SIMPLIFYING, I needed to be better ORGANIZED.
Trying to get somewhere on time was stressful partially because I was not prepared.
Instead of waiting until the last minute to get everyone dressed and ready, I needed to have clothing laid out, diaper bag packed, etc. well in advance. The more that I have prepared ahead, the more my stress level goes down. With a lowered stress level it's much easier to be the type of parent I ought to be, smiling and gladly helping a child buckle their seat belt instead of grumping at them (I think I just made that phrase up) for not getting buckled faster.
There are a few different tools that have helped me over the years to be better organized, and I highly recommend them to any parent who is constantly stressed out from feeling like life is chaotic.
(Disclosure: affiliate links are included.)
Flylady is fantastic! You will hear her ask often “Are you grouchy at your babies?”
She knows all too well that chaos makes you a not-so-gentle mama.
And she will help you step-by-step to make your way out of that chaos. (Read more about that book in this post.)
2. Tell Your Time
This book is short and sweet, but it packs a punch in terms of helping disorganized moms get their act together! It really helped me think through what all I could reasonably expect to include in a day. You can read more about it in this post.)
3. Make Over Your Morning
This is a fantastic course that will teach you how to start your days smoothly – which will make the entire rest of your day go better!
It's quick and easy (because you're already overwhelmed!) but yet the help it will give you will make a huge impact on your days!
Read more about it in this post.
Friend, if you're struggling with being too gruff with your kids simply because you feel behind all the time, you can remedy that!
You don't have to keep trying harder to be calm with your kids; you can remove the source of the stress that's making it so difficult in the first place!
This post is part of the Parenting with Gentleness series.
When Homemaking Is Not Your Strong Point
If you're like me, you have to shake your head sometimes at the women who seem to be so natural at all things domestic. I sure love being a homemaker, but I don't really feel like I'm good at certain parts of it.
Do you ever feel that way?
Maybe you look at that person who always has a clean house even if you drop in unannouced and wonder how in the world they do it?
Or you see the lady who is so incredibly organized and wish you could even spend one day that organized?
Maybe you have a running list in your head of stuff you wish you were better at: cooking, cleaning, mothering, or even spending more time in God's Word and prayer.
I know that when I start thinking about all of the areas I frankly stink at, it can be discouraging.
I'm determined not to beat myself up over areas where I'm not perfect, but yet I'm detrmined not to just settle in where I'm at either.
I want to watch others who have mastered a certain aspect of homemaking and learn from their strenghths. What can I glean from how they are doing things that will help me improve in that area?
I hope that if you're discouraged about not being very good at certain aspects of homemaking that you will determine the same thing. Don't beat yourself up! Even those who we look up to as being “model homemakers” have their own struggles that we can't see from the outside.
Don't be discouraged, homemaker! You are doing a great job because you are improving!
My Secret Weapon for a Cozy Fall
With shorter days and the kids being inside all the time, the house is bound to get dirty! Although I’d rather curl up in my bed with a book than spend hours scrubbing, I still want my house to be a clean, inviting space to spend time in.
Enter Grove Collaborative: my secret weapon for making my house feel warm and welcoming.
With Grove Collaborative, I can stay at home instead of dragging my kids around the store.
Grove delivers the best natural products right to my doorstep, on my schedule. They remember my favorites, and remind me when I’m about to run out of hand soap or shampoo. (Exactly what this scatterbrained girl needs!)
Plus, Grove introduces me to great new products that I never would’ve found at my local grocery store.
Two of my fall favorites: Mrs. Meyer’s seasonal scents in Apple Cider and Mum. (My kids have voted the Apple Cider scent as their favorite.)
With Grove's exclusive offer for my readers, you can experience Mrs. Meyer’s seasonal scents for FREE!
The matching hand soap and dish soap in this free set are such a fun way to treat yourself as well as any guests that you might have.
The soaps are hard-working, but still gentle and non-toxic. I love that they come in festive bottles to make my kitchen instantly feel like autumn.
Isn’t this kitchen towel wonderful, too? It looks beautiful in my kitchen and is super absorbent for drying dishes. I've had several of these for a while and they are my favorite kitchen towel ever.
You can get this set for free, in your choice of Apple Cider or Mum scent, when you sign up for Grove Collaborative using my link:
- Free Mrs. Meyer’s fall seasonal hand soap
- Free Mrs. Meyer’s fall seasonal dish soap
- Free Mrs. Meyer’s fall seasonal multi-surface spray
- Free Grove Collaborative Kitchen Towel
- Free 60 Day VIP trial
To take advantage of the offer, your order needs to total $20. You can put whatever products you want into your basket, but this is just an idea:
Grove Collaborative 70+ hour all natural soy candle $12.95
Grove Collaborative walnut scrubber sponges $3.95
Yes To Coconut protecting hand and cuticle cream $5.99
Once the free Mrs. Meyer's set is added on, you'll end up with around $80 worth of stuff for a little over $20!
If you’re already a Grove Collaborative customer, you can get the Mrs. Meyer's set at 50% off when you use my link. Don’t forget to take advantage of the free 60 day VIP trial! My VIP membership has paid for itself with free shipping alone, but I also get perks like price matching, exclusive sales, personal service, and free gifts!
You don’t even have to leave your couch to sign up — but you do need to hurry.
There are only a limited number of sets available and they always go quickly! Here’s how to get yours:
1. Sign up for Grove Collaborative here. You will receive the Mrs. Meyer’s offer for free when you sign up!
2. Answer 4 quick questions about your home that Grove Collaborative will then use to customize your first basket.
3. Once you’ve answered the questions, you can add or remove items from your basket. Grove will put suggested items in your basket, but you are not obligated to purchase them specifically.
4. Once your order totals $20 or more, the free Mrs. Meyers set will automatically be added on to your order. Choose the combination of products and scents you love and receive in your first box.
5. You made it! Click Finish & Pay and place your order.
Tip to save: Once you’ve submitted your Grove order, be sure to sign up for the free 60 day VIP trial. You’ll get free shipping, free gifts, price matching, exclusive sales, and personal service.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post by Grove Collaborative and includes affiliate links. All opinions are my own & I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe my readers will enjoy.
If you have any questions at all, feel free to email me or chat with the customer service at Grove Collaborative. They are super helpful!