So, I won’t be getting this Design Within Reach Teak swing for my little one any time soon. But I can let my cluttered mind loose for a second, dreaming of the cool breeze as I carelessly float back and forth in my mind.

Oh, wait, I thought the swing was for the kids…my bad.

On a recent looky-lou open house tour (it’s a favorite past time of my husband’s and mine, much to the dismay of the realtors we meed), we found our dream house. Everything was as if it was made for us – like having a sleek loft shoehorned into a regular house. Lots of clean, modern lines. Lots of windows.

And – you’ll love this – in the kids’s room, the owners cut out a portion of the dividing wall and created a super long area for the kids to play. What, pray tell, did they have where the wall once stood? A swing. That’s right. A real swing, hung from the ceiling so the lucky kids could swing back and forth, from one room to the next.

I wish we could live in that house!

You know, those stylists who make the rooms look so usable AND adorable in the catalogs? Well, they are the teachers for the decorating classes. Pretty cool, huh? I think so. I mean, I love looking at the Pottery Barn Kids catalogs even if I would personally choose about less than a third of the things they fill a room with. The photos give me ideas – good ideas – on how I can arrange my kids’ rooms.

I think we’ll head to the one near us. How bout you? If you do go and learn anything cool, I’d be all ears!

photo credit: Pottery Barn

So much mess, so little time to clean. A nursery can get pretty gross what with all that pee and poop and spit up. And, when you’re pressed for time, cleaning it properly can easily be put on the back burner…trust me, I know.

I once grew black mold in my baby’s laundry hamper because, in a frenzy, I tossed the burp cloth soaked with spit up in the hamper then promptly forgot about it. For a LONG time. EEWWW. I feel slightly embarrassed admitting to that, but hey, I’m a frazzled, busy mom who gets little sleep so stuff happens.

So, I’m here to share with you a few cleaning tips from one mom to another. And, Dr. Benjamin Tanner has a few ideas, too…he’s a microbiologist who specializes in testing and development of disinfectants and other antimicrobial technologies who sent me a few cleaning tips that I incorporated here.

Here’s the skinny – get a good cleaner you trust and get jiggy with it. I, personally, like the all natural cleaners like Seventh Generation or Mrs. Meyers. In fact, you’d be surprised at how much hot water and plain old soap can actually clean. I know – radical idea…soap and water!

I don’t like chemicals around the babies because I just don’t know what will or won’t happen with exposure. A lot of people like to keep anti-bacterial hand sanitizer or wipes in a baby’s room, for those really messy moments when the room somehow takes a poop bath before your very eyes.

I, personally, don’t keep these things next to the changing table because I don’t like them. I use baby wipes for my hands (and the changing pad and the wall and the floor) if things get really gross. Dr. Tanner recommends a good disinfectant spray. And, did you know that you should wipe the area that you disinfected after the spray dries? I didn’t. Makes sense, though, no?

The key is to pay attention to “hot spots” like the changing table, laundry hamper, floor and toy chest. Wipe these down early and often and that should about cover things. I realize that I’m not offering anything ground breaking here…maybe just a gentle reminder of things you already know.

There is no real silver bullet to cleaning…unfortunately. Now, if someone could just tell me how to wiggle my nose like Bewitched and then presto, everything would be clean…

photo credit: fdecomite

Wallpaper usually means “stuffy” to me, or at the very least it looks like the wall is trying too hard. But I saw these wallpaper selections at Trove and it sparked the photographer in me. These almost look like wall murals or large pieces of art on the wall. So mysterious.

My favorite is the flock of flying birds (yes, that’s wallpaper you’re looking at up there). I think I tried to take a photo like that way back when and failed miserably. Birds aren’t that easy to photograph, I’ll have you know. Luckily you don’t have to know – you can simply get something cool from Trove. I’m drawn to the wonder in this wallpaper.

They have this window film product that I’m interested in, too, only I don’t know how or if I would ever use it. I guess I just like the idea of it – making your windows into little art light boxes. Again, I’m drawn to the birds…must be something in the air (heh). Trove does recommend their window film for shower glass and that is a pretty nifty idea. Certainly a lot more clean lined than a shower curtain, don’t you think?

Anyway, for a different take on wall coverings, check out Trove. And, if you do actually buy something from them I’d be really interested in what you picked and where you used it…to live vicarious through you!

I know I’m behind the times, but I just realized that Dwell Studio has an exclusive line of goodies at Target. (I think they started offering their product line over Valentines Day). Dwell Studio. At Target. Yippee…nothing like great design at reasonable prices.

Dwell Studio always has good finds. I really like this modern crib plus the dot blanket and crib bedding that is pictured with it. To me it looks adorably baby without looking “baby-ish”.

You can check out all the specs at the Target website, but for $299 it seems like a really good deal. When we were looking to deck out our nursery, we couldn’t find anything like this that was this reasonably priced. Oh, yes, there is good design out there and many companies now make modern nursery furniture, but it comes at a cost. It always does, doesn’t it?

Anyway, for what it’s worth, if you like fun, modern design check out Dwell Studio at Target. Oh, and don’t forget the clothing line, too. Precious!

Now that it’s back yard BBQ time – the 4th of July IS right around the corner – I was thinking about lounging in the back yard, soaking in the sun and relaxing. There is nothing quite like sitting back listening to the leaves rustle. And, I figure, if I would like to do that, maybe my little one would learn a thing or two about relaxing out there too.

I found this Adirondack chair for kids from Land of Nod that I’m coveting for just this purpose. And woo hoo, it’s on sale!

I never used to understand the allure of child-sized furniture. Probably because, until now, I haven’t had children. Now, I totally get it – for us as parents AND for the wee ones. Can’t you just taste the lemonade? And look at those bubbles!

Sadly we don’t have a back yard that is good for lounging (it’s tiny and shared, boo hoo) but if we did, I’d sit out there as much as possible. Right now we just go out and pick the lemons and leave the lounging for inside. Not nearly as fun, but it gets the job done.

By now you might have noticed I’m a Wall Candy Arts fan. How could I not be? Their stuff is good. It’s cute. The decals actually stick to the wall and then can be moved and will stick again. For real. That’s why I jumped at the chance to test out their new design: Sweet Dream Fairies.

The pack of decals comes with three fairies (the heads and bodies are separate, so you can choose which fairy gets what body). Then, they have lollipops, cupcakes and jelly beans all in different sizes and colors. I use the lollipops as wands and then have the cupcakes spilling out. The fairies, I put on the doors of my little one’s room (to save the wall space for all the treats).

The fairies channel Japanese anime – they have big dark eyes and look a little strange to me. I hate to say this, but they give me the heebie-jeebies a little. Of course, they aren’t designed for me. They are designed for little ones who need to have some reassurance that nightmares won’t skulk in at night. My girl really likes the one with the birthday cake hat.

As for the candies and treats, they definitely sweeten the room but I’ve noticed that my daughter has been asking for sweet treats more often now. I don’t know if there is any correlation but it started happening after I put the stickers up. Of course, we talk a lot about the fairies and the lollipops and the cupcakes before bed time, so it’s no wonder the idea is in her little brain.

As much as I love WallCandyArts, I’m not entirely sold on the fairies. Maybe it’s my snobbish design aesthetic coming out – I’d prefer something a little less “cutesy” and a little more simple. I mean, it’s a LOT of color to add to one’s walls. That said, I’m certain my daughter is not at all scared at night when she wakes up and sees her little sweets on the wall next to her, so there’s that.

If you’re having an issue with nightmares or even if your little one just needs someone lovely to be in the room with her, then you might want to give these stickers a try. But maybe talk about the “pretend” cupcakes a little more than I did so you won’t get caught up in the whole, “I want a cupcake” every time you serve some food. Just a word to the wise.

The Sweet Dreams Fairies decals cost $32 and can be purchased directly from Wall Candy Arts.

How many times when you were growing up did you yearn for a stage – a real stage – on which to perform your daring interpretation of Grease, Spider Man, or insert favorite kid’s TV show here? My sister and I had this whole routine down: she was Olivia Newton-John (of course she was, she was the older sister with flowing blond hair) and I was John Travolta (I, the easily bossed around little sister who would play any role as long as big sis would pay attention to me…sad, isn’t it?!?).

But now, as a parent myself, I seldom think of the need for an actual stage. Why would I? I am old and decrepit, sleep-deprived and no fun! And yet, that was the first thing I was drawn to when I saw this brilliant re-design of a tired old room into a kid’s paradise at a decorator show house.

Real quick – what is a decorator show house? Well, it’s a house (usually a big mansion) that the owners “give over” to local interior designers for one month. The designers choose a room and then decorate their little hearts out, hoping to showcase their talents. “Lookie-loos” (aka the public) pay good money to then walk around this open house, gawking at how luscious everything is. My husband and I love to do this if for no other reason than to see how the other half lives.

This past weekend we saw the most recent show house in northern California and fell in love with the kid’s playroom. The design team created, out of a plain rectangular room with too many doors, a play space worthy of envy. They installed an undulating stage that was 3 steps high, complete with a back stage area and a chalkboard back wall for drawing the scenery. It wasn’t big so much as it was functional. I think the stage was close to 4′ x 10′ or with curves. Not hard to do – just hard to think of doing.

Then – and this was the best part – they turned a large closet into a secret room by making the door into a swinging bookcase. When the bookcase was closed it was a plain jane bookcase. But, when you swung it open it became the entrance to this hideaway that had a nook configured like a ramp to curl up and read on (or, if you’re a teenager, text and surf) next to a slightly less curvey and more slanted spot. Each ramp was covered in a thick shag rug, as were the walls – kinda like a padded cell. I wonder if these guys actually appreciated the visual pun of that? In any case, the designers created the ultimate kid’s hideaway out of a simple closet – a brilliantly simple idea executed to perfection.

The rest of the room was then completed with a large cork board on which to hang artwork (much better than the fridge) and a corner with an indestructible table. They used flying bird lamps above the table – very cute! What about storage, you ask? The toys all had homes on the floor (yes, the floor, but it looked perfect). Yet, you could tell that whoever used that room wouldn’t NEED toys – just their imagination.

The thing that resonated with me the most was that the room made one feel special, like anyone could be young in that space, that your imagination was the vehicle to great heights and all one need do is unleash it. I hope I can create a playroom like that for my girls!

I think I’m careful, I really do. We keep all sorts of things little hands shouldn’t be able to touch out of reach. But I read this story in the New York Times about a baby who swallowed a lithium cell battery and now I’m beginning to wonder how safe our house really is.

Apparently, a 15-month-old boy swallowed a lithium cell battery and got sick. The parents brought him to the doctor and when they couldn’t figure out what was wrong they X-rayed him. There was the battery. They operated as soon as they could but the battery had already done its damage. The boy died of complications from a chemical reaction in his esophagus. Turns out, batteries (especially lithium cell batteries) can begin to do serious damage within two hours of being swallowed. Two hours!

Now I’m not usually scared by stories like this but it got me thinking…how long has it been since we baby-proofed the house? I usually keep a watchful eye on my tots, but then again, I do, at times, take my eyes off of them. Seriously – who doesn’t? It’s is down right impossible to keep all things out of babies’ mouths.

Bet you don’t have random batteries lying around your house, either. However, most batteries that kids get a hold of don’t come from lying around on the floor – they come out of electronics laying about. Think about it – almost everything has a battery these days, even some books! Most kids toys that are battery operated have screw closures, but what about your remote control? That’s got an easy to remove plastic cover and how often do kids get ahold of those?

For me, the take away lesson here isn’t to become scared of my shadow but to take yet another hazard sweep through the house. And to plan on doing that repeatedly – maybe even once a month, just to stay on top of things.

On my list of things to watch out for:

• batteries (duh!)
• pills (cuz some look like candy)
• strings and ribbons (choking hazards)
• chemicals (not just cleaners, but hair & shave products)
• electrical outlets (are they all covered?)

What about you – do you have any hazards that pop up in your house? How do you handle the baby proofing thing (because I know some people don’t believe in it)?

photo credit: scalespeeder

I’ve been looking at these Smarts Wall Decals for some time now and after talking with the lovely people over at Wall Candy Arts about their new product, the Sweet Dream Fairies, they sent me these as a little lagniappe (that means a small gift for all you non-New Orleanians).

As soon as I got the decals, I placed an arrangement above our changing table. Wouldn’t you know it, the baby immediately turned to look at them and reached out! She actually reached out!

Maybe it’s because they are so graphic or maybe it’s because they are new to her, but either way my littlest girl who is five months old had an instant reaction to the Smart Wall Decals. I think she may have even giggled.

Then she did the cutest thing. Of course she’s a baby and all babies do the cutest things, especially when they are your own. When I held her up a little closer so she could get a better look, she opened her mouth and lunged at the wall. She’s at that stage now where it doesn’t exist unless she can put her mouth on it, so she was trying to eat the wall stickers.

Only, she’s got this big forehead and she kept banging it against the wall before her mouth could even get close to the stickers. I don’t know if you’ve tried to put your mouth on the wall lately (or ever?!?) but it actually takes a little brain power to know to tilt your head back and stick your chin out. Go ahead, try it.

My wee one hasn’t quite learned it yet. Sadly, she is still a bit frustrated that she can’t get her mouth on the wall decals but at least she’s determined. Each time I put her on the changing table now she wants another go at it. Ahh, where stubborn meets determination, that’s my little darlin’.

Anyway, I thought you’d enjoy seeing a picture of her pursuit. Isn’t she just a little nugget baby? (Again, she IS my child so of course I’d think she’s the cutest thing…as my momma always said, even mother Orangutans think their babies are adorable. To this day I’m not certain how to take that, but you get the gist.)

I’m not usually one for large plastic play toys, but this Li’l Squirt Baby Pool from One Step Ahead looks like the perfect summer activity, especially for those really hot days. It’s a baby pool, which in and of itself is great for just plain sitting in, but, it’s got little water spouts that shoot water straight up in the air.
Depending on how high you turn the water pressure from your hose, that’s how high the water goes. Perfect for babies who need a gentle stream and yet also perfect for older tots who will want to run and jump over and in the water. Now, all I need is a backyard with a hose…

The Li’l Squirt Baby Pool costs $22.95 and can only be purchased from One Step Ahead.