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You know, one of the things I enjoyed most about being a mother to two daughters is shopping for their clothes when they were little. In fact, I have to admit I loved it so much I would apply for a day off work to rush to the sales first thing in the morning. I would sometimes spend half a day just dallying over all the little girls’ clothes.

I would pick different designs and colors, mostly the ones I would wear myself, hehe! These designs below remind me of similar ones I have bought for my girls back then.

BG Beautiful Girls – Girls Sleeveless Jean Set – Love the one-sided ribbon on the sleeve, sash belt and tattered legs. Very funky lemon top!

Soup – Toddler Girls’ Sleeveless Skirt Set – Love the lacey skirt trimmings and graduated bright pink from top to bottom!

Flowers by Zoe – Girls’ Tiered Skirt – Love the shimmery tiers on this one!

Of course, I loved tying up their hair with matching accessories too. Not to mention that shopping has gotten a lot less brokeback, or is it, back-breaking since then and you can always go dig around Bargainchildrensclothing.com for great prices and nice designs like these.

I’ve always found it easier to shop for boys’ clothing simply because there weren’t that many styles or colors to choose from. But not any more. It seems boys’ clothes have caught up somewhat and are now much more fancy than they used to be.

Extreme Boys’ Winter Jacket – $ 29.90
Retail Price: 60.00 You Save: 30.10

American Widgeon Boys’ Hooded Polar Fleece Lined Anorak Jacket – $ 29.90
Retail Price: 76.00 You Save: 46.10

Private Label Boys’ Hooded Winter Jacket – $ 29.90
Retail Price: 60.00 You Save: 30.10

Bargainchildrensclothing.com has lots of really nice children’s clothing at bargain prices. Just take a look at how much you save off regular prices. These will never go out of fashion so you can always hand them down to the younger ones.

I ran into an ex-co-worker at a wedding over the weekend. I hate to say it but she’s still carrying around that same beaten backpack since the day she adopted her daughter four years ago. That orange backpack has simply GOT to go! I don’t understand why she’d carry such a hideous bag with her dinner dress when there are so many prettier, trendier diaper bags out there.

Oioi Navy Moroccan Sand Hobo

This Moroccan tile print nylon canvas is a timeless classic and can be used as a regular tote or a sports bag even. It’s got lots of pockets for drinks, personal items, wet wipes, a large padded micro fiber change mat, and even an insulated bottle holder that keeps well for 2 hours.

JuJuBe WANNABE in Perky Perennials

For someone like her who likes backpacks, this convertible diaper bag has removable backpack straps that can be easily tucked away, and lots of roomy pockets and dividers to keep everything organized. Wait, there’s even a sand trap where you can simply open the zipper, shake the sand out without unloading the bag and zip it back up again. Easy! So don’t leave for the beach without this and your kids !

Oioi Dark Chocolate/Silver Metallic Eyelet Tote

Just the thing for slightly more formal functions. This poly canvas tote with faux silver leather trim and metal eyelet detail looks very presentable. No one would even notice it’s a diaper bag !

I know of lots of little girls who are just nuts about pink. If you’re a mother who needs to think pink when shopping for back to school stuff for your princess, here are a few pink ideas.

Ceramic Lady Bug Plate

This personalized 9″ ceramic plate is hand painted and then fired so it is food safe. It’s a neat little plate for special occasions, i.e. birthdays, honor roll, just because it’s Wednesday and you are you, etc. You an also hang this on her room wall as a room accent. Birth information can be added in addition to name. It’s dishwasher and microwave safe, and all paint is certified lead-free!!

Little Scholar Set – pink

This school set includes backpack, insulated lunchbox and zippered pencil box constructed of water-resistant vinyl with reinforced stitching and roomy compartments.

All of the kiddy items at My Bambino are very cute and many of them are on sale now. Personalization is free on all items. Yes, personalizing is a must if you don’t want to end up looking for lost items at school .

I look at this and I’m thinking, for those of us with daughters, wouldn’t potty training have been five times easier if we had this ?

Potty Throne

… your favorite movie hero?

The girls and I, we love ye old macho Cap’n Sparrow who sails yonder seas on de Black Pearl.

When my kids were younger, I couldn’t do much serious shopping when I was out with them. I had to watch them like hawks, well, pretty much. I’ve seen first-hand how parents lost their kids in the crowd and that desperate look on their faces is enough to scare the daylights out of anyone.

Sometimes we tend to get carried away with looking at stuff and we leave the kids in their strollers, or the toddlers to wander off on their own. There are a few things you can do though to avoid losing your kids.

(1) Always keep your kids in sight.

(2) Hold your child by the hand to keep them with you all the time.

(3) Have your wandering toddler on a leash.

(4) If you’re out with more than one kid, do a regular headcount to ensure everyone’s accounted for before moving on. Better yet, put an older sibling in charge of headcounts.

(5) Do a show and tell of an agreed location so your kids know where to go in case you get separated.

There are very few types of fish that my 3 picky eaters will eat. This is one of them and this is how I usually cook it – with a blob of butter and crushed garlic. I like the outsides crispy and the insides soft and flaky. I’m a bit of a chopsticks freak and as long as I can get my hands on two sticks, I’ll be using them for everything .

If you’re serving this to kids and toddlers, you can debone the fillet carefully and add to porridge, cereal, noodles or rice. There are some small bones hidden inside so you have to be careful. I usually break off chunks of the meat and press with a fork to feel for bones and sort them out.

If you’re interested, the full recipe for this panfried salmon and all the stuff I cook on a daily basis is on my food blog.