The Friday Five

Welcome to the 8th installment of The Friday Five (Things I Love This Week)! Today we’re featuring some reader suggestions alongside some of my own favorites from the week. That means that we’re drawing on additional brainpower, which is super useful because I feel like I might be on 1/2 my normal brainpower today. Luckily if you take our joint brainpower I bet we can pass as one functional mom.

Here we go!

1. H&M Baby Pull-On Jeans  (submitted by reader Ashley M.)

Unfortunately we don’t go anywhere that requires anything nicer than sweatpants and unmatched socks, which leads me to the thing I love…H&M baby pull-on jeans! In general, I adore H&M’s line of clothes for baby boys because it is hip and quirky and hasn’t seemed to catch on around us yet so I can play off my son as being fashion forward, which he learned from Project Runway is a very important trait.

Specifically, these jeans are fantastic because they have all the style that you’d want in denim with the convenience of sweatpants…they’re like cooler pajama jeans. Seriously, these jeans are basically patterned off of H&M’s baby sweatpants, which means they are relaxed on the waist and not too tight (important for babies like mine, who just have too many leg rolls to pull off skinny jeans). The elastic/drawstring waist easily slides over a substantial diaper butt and also allows my portly baby boy (no kidding, 21 lbs at 6 months) to let his gut hang free, unlike those crazy baby jeans that have buttons or snaps and require babies to suck it in all day.

H&M has started offering online shopping in the US, but I tend to go to the stores (in the Boston area, the Newbury, South Shore Mall and North Shore Mall H&M’s carry kids clothes) because sizes sell out quickly online and online purchases can only be returned online (which I’m too lazy to do).

2. Iced Grande Blonde Roast at Starbucks

The above photo is nothing short of miraculous. No, it’s not because Nolan has secured work as the world’s youngest barista. It’s because for YEARS I’ve been saying that I hate Starbucks and love Dunkin Donuts and Dunkin Donuts only. Well, while I still love me some Dunks, it appears that I also have a taste for Starbucks! The problem is this: Starbucks is too fancy and I get confused every time I go in. Tall is small, left is right, up is down.

Consider this: to get the coffee that I actually want at Dunkin Donuts I say this: Medium Iced (extra milk 2 Sugars). Now here’s the thing: I know what those words mean. The lady at the drive-thru (not the “barista”) also knows what those words mean. Simple.

To get a similar drink at Starbucks (which until this week I hadn’t figured out how to do), I have to say Iced Grande Blonde Roast (extra milk and 2 sugars). What the hell is a blonde roast? And grande means big! But here it means medium. Tall means small at Starbucks, but as we all know, in real life small things are not described as tall. Ahhhhh! Ok I’ve gotten myself all fired up again. Back to my “favorites.”

Turns out that the “Iced Grande Blonde Roast” is exactly what I want in an iced coffee, even though it’s a mouthful to order. This is great news, because sometimes you just can’t get to a Dunks, and also because I have two gift cards to Starbucks that have been sitting dormant for months. Not for long. (Special thanks to my friend Lauren for finally sorting this all out for me. It took her ordering for me to get me on track. Apparently she speaks Starbucks).

3. Neat Solutions Table Topper (submitted by reader Joanna P.)

These are one of my favorite baby products! They’re awesome disposable placemats. Perfect for restaurants…we just stick it on the table and keep throwing new finger foods on it for our food-driven, cheese-loving baby (Clark) while shoveling fried food and beer in our mouths. Win win.

4. Boogie Gentle Saline Wipes (submitted by reader Courtney B.)

Isabel hates having her face wiped and has since birth, however, her nose runs like a faucet. So we need to wipe it down every so often  in order to avoid judgmental stares, and we need to wipe it fast to avoid a screaming toddler who can now shout “NO NO NO MAMA ” and of course more judgmental stares. The Boogie Gentle Saline Wipes make it easier and break down the snot faster for a quick and effective wipe. (Saline drops are great too when they are younger).