Mom in a Million - Rebekah

I am on a Virgin America flight right now. I have internet.

It feels really weird.

But exciting at the same time.

However, moron that I can be, I left my battery charger at the office so guess who has five more minutes to use that wireless internet before my computer goes kaput.

Uh oh. Blinking red lights. Not five minutes.

Oops.

This is my friend Rebekah from Mom in a Million. May you love her as much as I do.

Peace out homies. I am going dark now. (No double entendre intended. Cuz, you know, I'm tan.)

XOXO,

Kiran

When Kiran said I could guest post for her I was very, very excited because her blog is so awesome and I hoped some of the awesome would rub off on me. Then I was afraid she would somehow notice the deep, dark pocket of envy that I slip into when I read her blog. No, not envy of her phenomenally gorgeous wedding photos in which she resembles a supermodel. No, not envy of her job that takes her to fabulous places even though she swears it’s not as glamorous as she says. No, not even envy of her blog design. I’m jealous of…her daughter. Or more specifically, that she has a daughter to buy clothes for.

I have a two-year-old son and he is as cute as a button. Cute, cute cute. You know how cute he is? He looks at me with a big grin and says “Gimme sugar!” when he wants kisses. Are you dying from the cute? Yeah. It’s lethal.

But take a walk through the kids section at Target and look closely at the toddler boys clothes. Stripes, sports, trucks. Stripes, sports, trucks. Stripes, sports trucks, over and over and over again. If you want to get cutsey, you can sometimes find a puppy plastered across the chest. For dress up, you get strange little stuff like madras shirts and sweater vests. Really? Sweater vests? I love my child. I don’t want the other kids to kick him and call him Poindexter because I dressed him in a sweater vest. So, my kid is stuck in golf shirts and khakis if we ever go anywhere dressier than the playground, which leaves him looking like a very short frat boy and leaves a fashion yearning in my heart unfulfilled.

But the little girls clothes! Oh! My head very nearly exploded at a birthday party recently when I saw one of my son’s classmates dressed in black leggings, black Ugg-style boots, and a flowy multi-colored tunic top. She looked like her next stop was going to be an acoustic indie-rock show at a coffee house somewhere. Well, at least until she put a fire fighter’s hat and pirate vest on over her cute outfit.

Girls have all the fun.

Now it’s spring and the style disparity in children’s clothing is so abundantly clear. Boys summer shoes are so ho-hum. Yeah, the Crocs have a nice color palate but everything else is more of the same: sports, cartoon characters, blah, blah, blah. But little girls are getting dainty white sandals with bright flowers adorning the toes. Girls Crocs are in multiple styles – mary janes! ballet flats! – in a rainbow of sherbet tones. And Target now sells kids Converse for girls in PINK GINGHAM!!!!! For boys? Red. Black. Brown. Bleah. Oh wait. I forgot navy. Whatev.

The most heartbreaking toddler clothing subset is bathing suits. I cannot begin to explain how I feel when I see a navy-and white striped toddler bikini with red lining and STRAWBERRIES appliqued on the top piece. Or a pink and white polka-dotted ruffled tankini with a matching hat. Do you know how cute that will look with sherbet pink Crocs ballet flats? Swoon!

I just checked Old Navy for boys swimwear. This summer, the shark trunks are in green. Last year they were blue. Wow. Fashion innovation at work.

I know that a time will come when I will be grateful that boys clothes trend toward baggy and covered up while girls clothes start veering into territory that makes them look like Miley Cyrus wannabes (I mean the newer, sluttier Miley, not Hannah Montana). And if I had a little girl, I sure wouldn’t want her emulating the average pop star who seems to feel that less is more when it comes to clothes and under-garments are meant to be revealed to all and sundry. But right now I am facing a summer season shopping trip that will involve stripes, sports, and trucks and no flowered sandals or ruffled bathing suits at all. All the cute I’ll have to sustain me through the summer is my apple-cheeked boy running up to me in his green shark trunks, giggling out “Gimme sugar!” when he wants a hug.

Which really is pretty darn cute.

Rebekah. Don't be sad. You can "borrow" Shaila anytime you want. She is really easy to handle. (Snort.)

But that's ok - because pink flowers makes it all worth it!

Have a great weekend all!

Go on and follow if you like what you read ;-)
Mom-in-a-Million