Kids and Style

Summer is in full effect, kids are outside playing in the hose, the air conditioner is running full blast, and the freezer is stocked up with ice cream. Summer is also the time of year that I start school shopping for my two kids. When my kids were toddlers buying clothes for them was not a big deal. Now that they are school aged they seem to have way too many opinions about what I should buy and what they want to wear. My son Riley is starting kindergarten this year and I kid you not, he has already told me that he wants a bunch of “cool shirts” when he starts up. Sounds easy enough, but what Riley considers cool is not so easy to come by. Granted he is still only 5 years old, this kid has some very specific ideas of style. I see influences from myself and his father in what he considers to be his style. Riley seems to be gearing towards a sort of casual punk rock type of look lately. I bought him a pair of skinny Levi’s a few weeks ago and now he tells me that he only wants skinny jeans from now on. So, skinny jeans it is. I just can’t bring myself to cramp this kids style! He also has taken a liking to smaller fitting t-shirts. Why a boy would like smaller shirts is beyond me, but he insists. I was shopping at JC Penney last week and ran across a great clearance sale on boys shirts. Luckily Riley was with me and helped me choose which ones were the “coolest”. He seems to be a strictly jeans and t-shirt type of kid. From time to time he will wear cargo shorts and wife beater type shirts. What really gets me is that he has become a sneaker king in a matter of months. When I started to talk about buying shoes for back to school he told me that he just HAD to have a pair of Vans shoes. And he was even a little more specific than that because he demanded that the Vans be checkered. I was able to find a pair at a decent price!

        I also have a 3 year old daughter and she is super fun to shop with. Her style is very simple and straightforward. On most days she just wears a simple dress with sandals. She also looks very good in long tops paired with leggings. I think that look is very suiting for her and it allows me to do a little more mixing and matching than with other outfits.

        Both kids are young, but they do have their own little sense of style and I like that! I think it says a lot about how they feel about themselves and their own sense of self. Not many children this age would even care about what they wear, but my two are always down to look fresh!

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and jcpenney blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

My First Pinkberry Experience!

A couple weeks back I applied to host a special party at my local Pinkberry. I discovered the opportunity on one of my recent favorite websites: Crowdtap. (Check them out if you get the chance as I have earned a lot of Amazon codes and have also been chosen to host some really cool parties.) I was sent a nice little booklet that outlined the party concept and included a $25 gift card to Pinkberry. The concept of the party was to make a Pinkberry yogurt and topping combination that complimented our favorite summer outfits. Sounded easy enough until we couldn't make up our minds on which flavor to try. My group of friends happen to all be moms so we decided to take out little ones along as well. It is summer after all and the thought of not taking the kids for a cold treat is ridiculous. Prior to the party my friends and I sat down and decided that since it was hot that we would most likely opt for some fruity flavors. So we dressed in bright, fruity colors as did our children. We loaded them all up in a couple mini-vans and trekked up to Pinkberry in Rancho Cucamonga, California (super nice staff at this store!). We were not entirely sure where the Pinkberry was, but as we cruised near the building the kids spotted the store first and pointed excitedly. As we entered the store we were all impressed with the cool decor. One wall had Pinkberry to-go containers lining the wall and the tables and chairs were very pleasing to the eye. As we walked up to the counter we were kindly greeted by a couple of smiling young ladies who offered us samples. The kids chose watermelon to sample and instantly all of them decided that watermelon was going to be their choice. One kid decided on fresh strawberries as a topping and the other 3 followed along. My friends and I (who had all planned on fruity flavors) sampled the pomegranate and the salted caramel.

 All plans of fruity creations were thrown out the window when we sampled the salted caramel. I do believe that one friend did get a mix/combo/swirl with pomegranate. I have to say that the salted caramel was wonderful, but it only got better when the girl behind the counter added a small sprinkle of sea salt. I have never tasted such a delicious flavor combination. My friends and I were all in agreement that Pinkberry was "freakin' awesome"! Since the party last weekend I have been to Pinkberry two other times! It's like an addiction for me now and the perfect compliment to my low calorie diet. I became a fan from the minute I tasted that first creamy sample.