I used to love shopping for clothes, before I had a baby. Now I find it incredibly frustrating and I try to avoid it. I never find anything that fits properly, and well to be honest, I am too easily distracted by clothing for my son! It's so much more fun buying him cute little pairs of shoes, jeans, polo shirts and t-shirts. The best part is, *I* don't have to try anything on at all.
So my question to you is, what's your favourite thing to shop for for your baby? Are you as obsessed with baby shoes as I am? How about t-shirts? Does your baby have more than he or she would ever wear? How about girly girl stuff- I don't have a girl so I don't know- but tell us about the *just couldn't resist* purchases you've made.
Have you ever brought the clothes home, and put them right in the closet to blend in with the other hand-me-downs or garage sale finds, hoping your husband won't know that you spent another $50 of his hard-earned cash on baby clothes, AGAIN?
Don't forget to enter our contest!
Friday, July 13, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Office retreat
Vicky, Joel, the boys and I are off to the cottage this afternoon until Friday - yay! Relaxing, talking about the business, making bibs, swimming, relaxing, sleeping, eating, oh ya!
Enjoy the rest of your week - and enter our contest!
Enjoy the rest of your week - and enter our contest!
Sunday, July 8, 2007
The end is approaching
A one-year maternity leave is truly a blessing in this country. Lara and I are enjoying every minute of it, but we don't want it to end! Here's a little she said/she said on the matter :)
Vicky says:
It seems like every week someone I know is going back to work after a year of maternity leave. I have to say, I don't like it. I've really been enjoying meeting so many new moms who are also on leave this year. It's been great having other moms to get together with, just to get out of the house or chat about the latest baby-related things that are going on in my life.
My maternity leave technically ends on October 29th, but now that I'm going back to school it will end on September 3rd. To be honest, I haven't been thinking about the end of my leave; I guess partly because I still feel like I have until almost November, and partly because it has hit me that I'm actually going to school in September. But it just hit me recently, I only have 8 weeks left with Joel before I start school! That's not enough time! I don't want to miss out on his daily giggles, and see his smile as I pick him up after his nap. I'm really going to miss the time I get to spend with him.
It's going to be a busy year, balancing school and the business, but I'm really looking forward to both. I'm starting a new chapter in my life that is all about kids, and I couldn't be happier.
Lara says:
The countdown is really on for going back to work; I potentially have only 5 weeks until I go back. I thought it would be easier, but as Kiernan gets older, and he does more and more stuff, I realize all the things that I'm going to be missing. As I've realized increasingly over the last couple of months, what I really wish I could do is work part-time. I need to work and get away from being a mom 24/7, but I don't really want to be away for most of Kiernan's awake hours in a week.
As hectic as going back to work and starting a new business is going to be, I feel more and more confident that this business is the right thing for us. If possible, within a few years I will be able to stay home and become a work at home mom and find a way to split my days between working and some daycare, and being home for my kid(s).
Until then, I'm thrilled that I have a childcare provider that I trust will take great care of my baby, and I try not to think too much about leaving him, cuz it makes me a lot sadder than I want to be.
The plus side to all this is, the sooner I'm back at work, the closer we are to Apples'n'Oranges launching, and I'm REALLY excited about that!
Vicky says:
It seems like every week someone I know is going back to work after a year of maternity leave. I have to say, I don't like it. I've really been enjoying meeting so many new moms who are also on leave this year. It's been great having other moms to get together with, just to get out of the house or chat about the latest baby-related things that are going on in my life.
My maternity leave technically ends on October 29th, but now that I'm going back to school it will end on September 3rd. To be honest, I haven't been thinking about the end of my leave; I guess partly because I still feel like I have until almost November, and partly because it has hit me that I'm actually going to school in September. But it just hit me recently, I only have 8 weeks left with Joel before I start school! That's not enough time! I don't want to miss out on his daily giggles, and see his smile as I pick him up after his nap. I'm really going to miss the time I get to spend with him.
It's going to be a busy year, balancing school and the business, but I'm really looking forward to both. I'm starting a new chapter in my life that is all about kids, and I couldn't be happier.
Lara says:
The countdown is really on for going back to work; I potentially have only 5 weeks until I go back. I thought it would be easier, but as Kiernan gets older, and he does more and more stuff, I realize all the things that I'm going to be missing. As I've realized increasingly over the last couple of months, what I really wish I could do is work part-time. I need to work and get away from being a mom 24/7, but I don't really want to be away for most of Kiernan's awake hours in a week.
As hectic as going back to work and starting a new business is going to be, I feel more and more confident that this business is the right thing for us. If possible, within a few years I will be able to stay home and become a work at home mom and find a way to split my days between working and some daycare, and being home for my kid(s).
Until then, I'm thrilled that I have a childcare provider that I trust will take great care of my baby, and I try not to think too much about leaving him, cuz it makes me a lot sadder than I want to be.
The plus side to all this is, the sooner I'm back at work, the closer we are to Apples'n'Oranges launching, and I'm REALLY excited about that!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Clothing for kids
So we've hmmed, and hawwed, and tried different combinations, and tested our ideas with others, and in the end, none of the tag lines we tried were quite right.
Since we went through a fairly similar process with our name (remember kidwit? ;) we aren't too discouraged. For now, 'clothing for kids' describes what we do, and since Apples'n'Oranges doesn't describe itself all on it's own, we'll use that as our descriptor.
So for now, nobody wins the contest (I guess we'll have to come up with another contest to get rid of our prizes ;) but if anyone comes up with more ideas for a tag line, keep sending them our way. And don't be surprised if you see some of the ideas we had as sound bites on the site in the future - they won't all go to waste!
Since we went through a fairly similar process with our name (remember kidwit? ;) we aren't too discouraged. For now, 'clothing for kids' describes what we do, and since Apples'n'Oranges doesn't describe itself all on it's own, we'll use that as our descriptor.
So for now, nobody wins the contest (I guess we'll have to come up with another contest to get rid of our prizes ;) but if anyone comes up with more ideas for a tag line, keep sending them our way. And don't be surprised if you see some of the ideas we had as sound bites on the site in the future - they won't all go to waste!
Friday, June 22, 2007
Who are the people in your neighbourhood?
Good ol' Sesame Street. I've been enjoying watching the same old stuff that they've remastered to make a little more modern, or used as a background for Grover flailing around. And I enjoy that I now have an excuse to watch it again. hehe.
But really, that doesn't have much to do with this post other than making friends with your "neighbours" is a good thing. And in this case, I'm referring to other similar small businesses run in Ottawa by women. We're making friends with them, and trying to learn from them, and they're fabulous!!
Karen, who started Sugardaddy spent a great part of yesterday afternoon telling us about starting an online business in Ottawa, and helping us know what to do, and what to stay away from. She had great advice, and she has FABULOUS stuff. I have an ESPE wallet and change purse from her, and I'm already thinking about what I want to buy for when I go back to work! :)
Christina and Bridget from Workshop Boutique have also been fabulous. They answer questions whenever we have any, and send us names of people to work with. They just expanded their store in the Market and it is ALSO fabulous. I am currently sporting the headband and belt that is not a belt but a guitar strap, but who needs to stick to rules about what things are, that I bought at their re-launch party the other night.
While I'm on a kick of great small businesses in Ottawa, have you ever checked out Milkface? I bought my meit tai, my ring sling, and all the nursing bras that were ever worth wearing from her. She's online too, and definitely worth your time.
Vicky bought her baby hawk from the Extraordinary Baby Shoppe, so they too are worth your time.
These are some of the friends in my 'neighbourhood'. We'd love to keep talking to more!
But really, that doesn't have much to do with this post other than making friends with your "neighbours" is a good thing. And in this case, I'm referring to other similar small businesses run in Ottawa by women. We're making friends with them, and trying to learn from them, and they're fabulous!!
Karen, who started Sugardaddy spent a great part of yesterday afternoon telling us about starting an online business in Ottawa, and helping us know what to do, and what to stay away from. She had great advice, and she has FABULOUS stuff. I have an ESPE wallet and change purse from her, and I'm already thinking about what I want to buy for when I go back to work! :)
Christina and Bridget from Workshop Boutique have also been fabulous. They answer questions whenever we have any, and send us names of people to work with. They just expanded their store in the Market and it is ALSO fabulous. I am currently sporting the headband and belt that is not a belt but a guitar strap, but who needs to stick to rules about what things are, that I bought at their re-launch party the other night.
While I'm on a kick of great small businesses in Ottawa, have you ever checked out Milkface? I bought my meit tai, my ring sling, and all the nursing bras that were ever worth wearing from her. She's online too, and definitely worth your time.
Vicky bought her baby hawk from the Extraordinary Baby Shoppe, so they too are worth your time.
These are some of the friends in my 'neighbourhood'. We'd love to keep talking to more!
A potential tag line
We got some really great suggestions to our request for tag lines! Thank you to everyone who submitted ideas. We are considering using this tag line, but we really want your feedback. Do you like it? Does it inspire you to want to shop at our store? Do you not like it at all? Why? Let us know!
Apples'n'Oranges kids clothing: Common fruit, uncommon style!
Apples'n'Oranges kids clothing: Common fruit, uncommon style!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Apples'n'Oranges Survey #2
We'd really appreciate your feedback by completing this short survey: Click Here to take survey. If you have already received this message in an email, you do not need to complete the survey twice.
Thanks!
Thanks!
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