Urban Mamas

We are co-hosting a much needed mama's night out of clothes swapping

on Friday, Feb. 22 at 7:30! The super fab folks at gDiapers (2808 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland, OR 97212) are offering up their space for everyone to mingle, swap and sip. We even have a raffle or two (or more...??) up our sleeves! Come hang out with us- reconnect with your friends in the uM/ gDiapers community, check out the adorable gPants and leave with some new threads all at the same time!

-Bring a bottle of vino or a snack to share. If you can't bring a drink or snack, please bring a $5 donation.
- Bring as many clothes, shoes and accessories as you want to off-load. All sizes and maternity are encouraged! The chunk-o-change and the left over clothing will be donated to a local women's charity.
-Leave kiddos at home, unless s/he is a babe in arms (or Mya or Moby or Ergo or just generally part of your outfit). This is a mama's night out event and we want you to take a break!

 

See you all soon!

 

The organizers of Just Between Friends, two N/NE mamas, are passionate about offering Portland's community of parents an opportunity to save not only natural resources, but also financial resources.  Items at JBF are priced at 50-90% off retail, which means you can save major moolah and get everything you need for your kids for the upcoming season under one roof.  Why waste gas and time driving around to a bunch of yard sales?  "I appreciate the great savings that shopping JBF provides,” wrote Fara, a consignor and shopper. “I value knowing that everyone who participates is doing their part to save the environment...recycling gently-used baby and kid wear and decreasing the environmental impact of creating new items.”

JBF embraces many shades of living green through its semi-annual sales events. The next event is right around the corner... April 27-29 at the Portland Expo Center (free admission).  Do even more to save our planet and save gas by taking the Max! 

Just Between Friends Children's & Maternity Resale Event
Portland Expo Center (Free Admission!)
Friday, April 27-Sunday, April 29
www.portland.jbfsale.com

We have some pretty decent suggestions on consignment shops throughout town, but - in my experience - most consignment stores have more robust selections for the under 5 set.  What about for older kids?  Even pre-tweens?

My daughter, now 10.5, is looking for a consignment or resale shop where she can bring in her unused items and exchange them for things she likes.  She explicitly asked me to ask the urbanMamas community for suggestions on where she might find success for the older-kid sizes.  Any tips?

On Tuesday, I picked up two boxes filled with treasures beyond imagining from Portland Green Parenting's Rebecca Andersson: over a dozen pairs of Smartwool socks. It's been since Christmas last year that we've done any significant sock purchases for the kids, and we were majorly overdue; each morning, I'd frantically paw through the laundry basket full of clean socks searching for a not-too-holey match for each of my boys. (Why I haven't gotten to the all-important sock organization project is a story for another day.)

I brought the socks home and passed them out like oranges in the Ingalls' sisters stockings. Everett ran around, giddy, in his Outdoor Light Minis. "They're so cozy!" he shouted. Good thing, as I had six pairs. Truman said they were so wonderful "he couldn't feel the floor" and Monroe, in his Wintersport Stripes, joined the other two for a good game of slide-in-the-kitchen. It's a good thing we had them, as the rainstorm yesterday had us soaked through; one thing that wasn't freezing, however, was our collective toes.

As I thrilled over how cozy we all were, a debate ensued on Facebook: are Smartwool socks worth the price? Even with the 30% group buy discount, I spent over $200 for socks (though over half of that was my own socks; adult versions are at least twice the price of the kid sizes). Are they the best option for keeping little children's toes cozy? Another great (and locally-designed) option is Keen Sox; Truman got some for Christmas last year and they're possibly even more cozy than the Smartwool equivalents (although there are a lot fewer styles).

The biggest complaint among the commenting parents was the unfortunate holes that eventually develop; some reported holes in two years; Monroe has managed to get holey in a short nine months, though he's about the tippy-top of the hardwearing spectrum. We decided, in the end, that the price, comfort, warmth and prettiness of both Smartwool and Keen was worth the much-higher-than-Hanes price (ranging from $7 to $10 per pair for most kid versions).

Do you and your kids wear Smartwool, Keen, or another brand you love? Do you think it's worth the money?

As a reader of this blog you probably know there are lots of running mamas. There are three groups running Hood to Coast this weekend and two FaceBook groups; Run Mama Run (generally faster runners) and urbanMama Runners. The urbanMamas Runners group also has an email list. I (Courtney) moderate the urbanMama Runner FB page and email. I started running again in October 2009 after about 9 years away from it. I trained for the Shamrock 5k in March, and am now training for Run Like Hell 10k on October 24. I could not have done it without the support of my family, the mamas, and some good gear. This is not intended to be a blanket urbanMama endorsement or advertisement – just sharing this mama’s experience. Apologies to the email list readers and FB friends for double posting.

 

Inspired by the Back-to-School swaps last weekend, I started to dig, dig, dig through the kids cooler weather clothes.  Tired of being harassed by the requests: "Can you get me some new jeans???  I absolutely need them." ... only to find about 5 pairs of perfectly fine jeans in the closet.  I decided to take inventory.  I sent the kids into their closets to count the number of items they each had (and, that fit well, not too short or small!) of the following: non-jean pants, jeans, short-sleeve shirts, long-sleeve shirts, pairs of socks, sweaters, jackets. Only after we've taken a tally have I decided to go out to find some other necessary items for their fall wardrobes.

Only...  I'm not sure where to go.  And, I'm not sure how much of each we need.  Tips or suggestions?  How are you going about gearing up for school?

Remember all that talk about finding pants for slim tots? What about for the slim middle-schooler?  Sheryl writes:

I know this question has been asked in some form in the past, but it primarily related to younger kids. 

 

I have a very lean and tall almost middle-schooler (barely little kids size 6 through the hips and waist, and approaching a size 12 inseam).  I am having an awful time buying long pants for her.  Size 10 slims have a lot of extra bulk and fabric in the rear end (although adjustable waist pants save the day through the waist), but are reaching the point of being way too short--thank goodness capri weather is coming soon!

 

However, I know the poor kid is going to want to wear long pants come next fall/winter.  Has anyone had any luck with a particular brand or store that really cuts their pants narrow through the hips/waist; have adjustable waists; and come in slim sizes?

 

I've had the best luck with Osh Kosh size 12Slim, but those are still not great.

 

We've got no luck any longer with Old Navy, Gap, Children's Place or Levi's jeans/pants.  The house brands are Target are no good either. Thumbs down to LimitedToo.  Tried the Juniors stuff at Aeropostale, American Eagle, Abercrombie, Hollister--even the Aeropostale sweats in XXS with a drawstring were HUGE on her. Gap petites are still too big.   I'm at a loss!