Coolest (mostly boys') Toddler Undies Roundup

This roundup is for those of us who still love our little angels despite their growing obsession with Cars, Curious George and Jay-Jay the Jet Plane (or Spider-Man, or Barbie, or Tinkerbell, etc.) and have failed miserably in our attempts to protect our children from the indoctrination into Consumer Culture, hypocritically bedecking them in just as Consumery items (Arthur is adorable in his much-abused Paul Frank shirt this afternoon and is très désolait without his Converse sneakers and Target fedora)--for those of us who have realized that our angst about seeing our kids decked out in dorky cartoon characters makes us just a little selfish and absolutely made peace with it, letting Little Man run around at home in his Lightning McQueen slippers but genuinely, desperately guiding him toward more fashionable choices (hopefully with socially conscious companies not cranking out their duds in some horrible Sai Pan textile mill, but we live in the real world, after all, and so we just do the best we can when we can, and if we shop our consciences [and second hand] most of the time, we don't beat ourselves up over it)--for those of us who love WALL-E but cringe at the mere thought of buying him a 3-pack Fruit-of-the-Looms tribute to the little AI ecologist and/or his Disney-Pixar cronies, and only because deep down inside, we're just a wee bit snobby.

First, let's meditate on how much we all loved our WonderWoman and Daisy Duke Underoos back in the late 70s to early 80s (or Ewoks or Ghostbusters, depending on your age).

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We all have to admit, the were the sh-bomb.  

But those were way cooler, right?  I mean, because everything was cooler back in the 70s and 80s, right?

Except...

I vaguely remember the previous generation's retro nostalgia...as much as I might appreciate it now, my mom's insistence that I was super adorable in saddle oxfords made me want to sink into the ground as I longingly fashion-stalked anyone rocking an oversized Guess sharpei sweatshirt over tight leggings with legwarmers and canvas kicks, eventually landing a solid compromise with the inexpensive but ubiquitous jellies (seen below).

Point being, maybe get the kid a couple of Buzz Lightyear Underoos and then we have a compromise suited to all parties.

That said, onto the cuteness.

These are just a touch spendy, but oh-so-cute.  Butterflies for girls, Guitars for rock star boys like the Botster.   By the Dutch Claesen's (I love Holland!), manufactured in India.  More by Claesen's, with the sweet (I mean, cool, Arthur, sorry) matching undershirts :

Claesen also makes very cute everything else, including swimwear

And baby clothes...

 

Many of which are available via Olliebollen, incidentally one of my favorite spots to get fun kiddo freebie printables, and the place to pick up these, some A-bot's favorite snuggly PJ bottoms:

But let's focus.  Back to that other thing we put on the kids' bums, undies.

Swedish boutique Hanna Andersson has always been one of my favorite brands for cool unisex kiddo clothes, and oddly they are one of the few designers that defy the "girls' clothes are cuter than boys' clothes" norm; often, actually, the reverse seems to be true.  I've seen some goofy HA girls' stuff and some super cute boys' threads, causing me to wonder if the designer raised boys and not girls.  I don't know enough about the company to speculate.  Alls I know is that their boy undies definitely pass the cool test.

The company also offers matching training pants for little brothers or in-betweens.

I also love the Canadian typically-outdoorsy Hatley's shorts, and they are less than what we pay for the boy's Daddo, which is pleasing to my dollar-savvy hubs:

Hands down, though, for crafty mamas, Ditto Daddy patterns are the cutest on the web.  If you are a wee bit shaky with a needle and thread, get someone like Michelle from A Lovely Start to do it for you!  Look what she's made!  Go over there and buy some.  She even offers custom orders, and many of her products are repurposed fabric.

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Summer Wish List

After watching the PBS presentation The Buddha last night, I feel okay with the reality that while I strive for voluntary simplicity, I still like to have nice stuff sometimes in moderation.  Asceticism just isn't my thing, but neither is the suburban dream, although both of those things have their merits.  Thank goodness I can Stan Marsh it right here in the middle.  Anyway, here's some stuff I love right this very minute:

Amy Butler towel...matches my chocolate-and-blues bathroom.

Lush Supernova bath bomb full of lovely confetti and fairy jasmine bath bomb loaded with glitter (have to give the bath a good clean after that one or Justin's head will explode.  Or maybe I'll just make my own, like notmartha did.

The Indie Rock Coloring Book.  I am not into some of the bands, but I love the images and I know Arthur and I will have a blast coloring them together.  Plus, the proceeds will go to various charities picked by the artists featured.

Love this Loop dog den; while it may not be big enough to prevent the super uncool daily recurrence of "The Incident" (where I get out of bed and step on Maynard, who growls/yelps at me but refuses to move as I trip over his lumpy, furry physique and fall into the wall [it's a small room for a king size bed]), it might actually be a tempting snuggle spot for aging Cosmo and Gita, who I frequently wake up to find nestled cozily (and uncomfortably on my behalf) between my knees.

Charley Harper memory game for Arthurbot.

And night out bingo to play with Mr. Man while we are waiting on dinner at El Guapo's or Joe Momma's.

I pretty much love everything from Fore Axel and Hudson, and it's not really that expensive comparatively for boutique boys' clothing.

Yes, I realize I am dressing Arthur like a little Justin.  I am going to enjoy it before I am begged into decking him in Spider-Mans and Spongebobs (doesn't matter if I like it...the boy gets what the boy wants, within reason.)

Potty Time Roundup!

Arthur is not quite yet getting the hang of the potty situation, but he is starting to get beyond merely flushing and cheerfully exclaiming "Bye Bye Pee Pee!"  We don't force the issue, as we still need plenty of time to work out all our potty training hacks.

I wish I had some cool repurposed undies pics to post, but for now, I am sharing some links to tutorials and other potty training goodness I found online. Between being a word sorceress and the world's hippest wifey/mom, it's hard to find time for crafting, but my brain lives on many borders, much like Texarkana.

Tutorial for pants-to-undies repurpose from Indietutes

Tutorial for onesies-to-undies from Ramona Burke of the Burkeshires: adorable!

Boxers from tees thanks to Ramona Burke

Japanese potty training video from Fyrewolf69  on youtube.  

The sequel.

We use Jaffa training pants right now when Arthur is hanging around the house and has had his morning poo already.  Unfortunately, I believe they are only available via ebay sellers, but we buy them 3/pk new for around ten bucks, a super deal.

More cool training pants:

Super Undies offer both day and night training pants as well as the kind that pull on like regular old panties (I mean undies...sorry, husband!).

EcaWare Baby's ecaPants are supercute training pants with elimination communication parents' needs in mind, but that also work for traditional parents, and come with velcro or snaps.  The best part about their web site is they have a spot for second-hand and trades!  The pants come in all colors, but I especially like the robots, rockets and monsters pictured here.  The little girl choices are so super cute too:

Hanna Andersson also offers these "training unders" identical to their underwear line, so little brothers don't have to feel like little babies.  They are, unfortunately, as insanely spendy as they are cute.

And now onto toilets.

Arthur's Boon potty bench.  The little orange splash guard thingy makes me uneasy but I like the way it doubles as a stepping stool for toothbrush time.  Arthur's orange thingy actually disappeared and later was found in use in his kitchen as some kind of utensil.  

"Tinkles"...we renamed him George Harrison...the least expensive ($9.99) potty doll we found that was anatomically correct for boys and serves the function of potty model.

Potty training tips from Babycenter.

Dr. Phil's guide to potty training in a day.

Throw a potty party, from Nickelodeon Parents Connect.

Prudent Baby's adorable, crafty potty training chart tutorial and download.

We recently picked this book up.

And we plan on getting some of these potty targets from Etsy seller ShoopTiles32 when Arthur gets bigger.

Do you have any potty training or undies links?  Please comment!

Happy pottying!

Our life so far in numbers: a pictorial chronology of love and learning

Number of months apart that Justin and I were born at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa.

I wish I had some scanned baby photos of young Justin. His eyes were as blue on blue as they are today and held a universe of curiosity; his hair was a mess of Tennessee sunset.

Justin was born to wonderful, talented parents and grew up with two of the loveliest brothers anyone will ever had. Each has their own unique style and interests and the three of them grew up to be some of the best catches around.

I grew up across town from him, back when the east side of Tulsa was much more rural. Although our paths never crossed, we both grew up with a passion for music, the arts, knowledge, and adventure.

Number of years ago that Justin and I became a couple. He was the best surprise of my life. We drank in the sky and sounds and earth and love. Every moment was youth and energy and growth. We became the people we are today incrementally, over a moment, an hour, a year, a decade. We didn't know then that we would essentially grow up together. We were so busy embracing the beautiful, drunken present that we never imagined the endless, breathless years to follow. The day he took me to the lake and we crawled out onto the rocks to inhale the stars and the water, the day he told first me he loved me, lives in my soul like a guardian angel.

The house number of our first home, the home we live in now, our perfect little hobbit hole.

The day in May 2001 when we wrapped ourselves up in this beautiful knot.

Number of years we spent together before Arthur came into our lives.

Arthur's birth weight.

Three, oh three, it's a magic number.

Number of years that Arthur's been with us.  We love this little monkey!