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Babiekins Magazine

A Trendsetting Magazine & Online Community For The Trendsetting Child + Parent

Sleepykins // Summer Home Decor Tips

By Sarah Joy Schmidt 1 Comment

With all the extra entertaining I do in the summer, I like to make simple changes to brighten up my home to make it both fun and comfortable. Here are some easy summer updates you can make in your home in preparation for summer.

Babiekins Magazine | Summer Home Decor Tips

Bring the outdoors in simply by decorating with indoor plants. Plants are great as decor because they add height, color and life. Pick up some easy care plants like succulents or snake plants at your local nursery and place in pots in different places around your home.

Babiekins Magazine |Summer Home Decor TipsIf your home has a fireplace, try switching out the fire wood for candles. Enjoy flickering candlelight (instead of heat) all summer long.

Babiekins Magazine | Summer Home Decor

Next time you are at your local farmer’s market grab a bunch of seasonal flowers. Peonies, carnations, or sunflowers will add some of that bright summer color to your home. I like to use a simple vase with fresh flowers all summer long as my dining table centerpiece.

Babiekins Magazine | Summer Home Decor Tips

Get inspired with the colors of summer by changing out your pillows. Put away your spring pastels and go for more color pop like these pillows from Home Thread.  This summer, I love these beautiful blue tones inspired by the ocean.  The fresh patterns and pop of color really bring the summer look to life.

Babiekins Magazine | Summer Home Decor Tips

What are your favorite summer home updates?

Sources // 01. Pillows | 02. Hammock | 03. Macrame Banner

Filed Under: Fun Tagged With: #babiekinsmag, #homedecor, blog, summer Posted By: Sarah Joy Schmidt

Momkins // Motherhood

By Rachel Fox Kipphut, Contributor Leave a Comment

Babiekinsmag | Motherhood

I feel like my life as a mother is like the Alanis Morset’s song, “Ironic.” The words in my head are a little different though. Something more akin to “your kid just pooped, when your already late”, or the “Benny Hill” theme song plays in my head when I’m chasing my girls around the house, car or wherever. Motherhood is ironic at times and it is hard work. In fact, it is the hardest job I have ever had. There are challenges, there are trials to overcome, and sometimes it can be discouraging. Motherhood is also beautiful, fulfilling, rewarding, and brings such joy to my life. It can even be a lot of fun! But motherhood is so much more than those few words. It is an experience beyond incredible. I am so grateful that I have been able to be a mother and I wouldn’t change anything about my experiences. The journey has been exciting, tiring, and full of joy in the few years I have been a mother. It has also been full of surprises. Lots of surprises. Being a mother is life changing, but the surprises that have come with my experiences have changed me far more than I could even imagine.

I am the oldest of three girls and my mom is incredible. The older I get and with the more children I have, the more I ask her, “How did you do it!?” She was hardworking, funny, stylish and she was “the cool mom”. She was a great cook and a pioneer aerobic instructor back in the early 80’s. She also worked as a dental assistant, did PTA, was a girl scout leader, a cheerleading coach, volunteered when needed, and would even work at our favorite clothing store so that we could get discounts. Despite life’s ups, downs, and “surprises”, we truly had a blessed childhood. I can’t even put into words how grateful I am to the two of them and for all that they did. The reality I have come to understand with age, is that my mother worked three jobs to keep up with everything she couldn’t bear to take away from us. It even meant selling things she enjoyed, like a leather coat or jewelry, to help pay for the things we kids enjoyed. The sacrifices that she made brings tears to my eyes. She is a strong woman, and I feel I owe so much more than just love and gratitude to her. Her strength and great example is helping me through my motherhood experiences now. With a soon to be four year old, a just turned two year old, and another on the way, I find myself already involved with PTA, volunteering, dance and gymnastics classes, and more on top of my own life aspirations as an artist, advocate for differently-abled individuals, photographer, business woman,blogger, and pet mom. How can I do this all? Like my mom, I can’t say no to things. I might complain about a full plate, but really, I want to do it all while trying to be the best mom I can in the process. I’d be fine with the “World’s Okay-est Mom” title. Hopefully I will go out in the end knowing that I had always tried my best at being a mother and became a better person from being one.

In 2011, I married my best friend, Scott. Truly friends before we were romantic, we dated for 4 (or more?) years before we were married. I think we both feel like it was just meant to be. A month after we were married, we learned we were expecting our first child. SURPRISE! I remember thinking that I wasn’t ready for motherhood in the least, but ultimately, we were thrilled. We were even more thrilled to find out that we were having a little girl. I had a wonderful, healthy pregnancy! After two days of false labor and 16 hours of active labor, we were surprised with an unplanned C-section. The whole experience was a bit of a blur. But eventually, Eva was here! She was just so beautiful. We thought she was perfect and we instantly fell in love. Looking at our first born, we knew that Eva was going to be special. Little did we know how special she really was.
Babiekinsmag | Motherhood
On the second of being in the hospital, we learned that there was a possibility that Eva could have a genetic disorder known as Trisomy 21, or Down Syndrome (DS). We had normal ultrasounds and negative pre-natal screenings for DS; we just couldn’t believe the news. Eva later was transferred to the NICU to be treated for some complications, which as new parents, we didn’t think much of. The night we found out in the hospital that Eva could have DS, we had mixed feelings, mostly of sadness and doubt. Those feelings were quickly replaced with, “how are we so blessed?” and “how did we get so lucky?”. Now don’t get me wrong, every child is a special blessing, but we both kind of felt that we would actually be disappointed to be told she did not have DS, because we might not get to enjoy the experiences that come with a special needs child. Feeling at peace with knowing our Eva could possibly have DS, it was finally confirmed when she was 4 weeks old. We were surprised again to find out that Eva had a congenital heart defect and would need open heart surgery at six months old. The whole time was difficult, exhausting, and was probably the hardest experience for Scott and I. Because of our unique circumstances, none of our friends or family had gone through anything like this, so we were going into this on our own. This experience was so different than what either of our parents had, even though they were incredibly supportive, how could they truly understand what we were going through? After her surgery there were complications that kept us at the hospital longer than anticipated, but on Thanksgiving 2012, we went home with a healthy, happy baby girl. She has brought such joy and happiness to our lives and she continues to surprise us with such great and amazing things. We are just so grateful to be her parents and I am so grateful that I was chosen to be her mother.
Babiekinsmag | Motherhood
Around Eva’s first birthday, we found out we were expecting again. Although we weren’t completely shocked, we weren’t exactly planning on our little girl, Elsie. Much like Eva, we felt Elsie was meant to be with us, despite the surprise. We are convinced Elsie was born to be Eva’s best friend and support. They are two peas in a pod. Two crazy peas in a pod, sometimes. Elsie is overly curious, quirky, quick to learn, funny and is a giant ball of energy. It is that energy, though, that usually gives our, sometimes, shy Eva a little more confidence every day. Together they get into a lot of trouble, but we wouldn’t trade it for anything. I have just recently felt like I was finally finding balance in my life with two. This past January, I found out that we were expecting again. Surprise again! Without getting into detail, let’s just say that I was beyond shocked. To be honest, I wasn’t thrilled that I was pregnant, and that I was going to be a mother to another little human. I digested the news and to our excitement, we found out we were having a little boy. I don’t know what it will be like with three, I don’t know what is to come, and I don’t know how I will do everything. Like everyone else, I don’t have it figured out. I do expect there to be great joy, tears, dirty dishes, less showering than I would like, laundry piled high and drive-through dinners. I will have another beautiful face to look at though, and with that there will be more happiness, more sacrifice and more stories to tell. I love being a mother and I will do my best, no matter what challenges or surprises I may face. The greatest joys in my life have ended up being the best surprises in my life, my children.
Babiekinsmag | Motherhood

Maternity Photo by Elizabeth Graham |Boho Headband | Mother-Daughter Dresses | Salmon Dress by Old Navy

Filed Under: Family Tagged With: #babiekinsmag, Babiekins, Baby, blog, Boho style, children, Down Syndrome, kids fashion, kids style, lifestyle, Living with Children, Maternity, mom fashion, mom style, momkins, motherhood, Mothers, Mothers Day, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Style, Special Needs Families, toddler fashion, toddler style Posted By: Rachel Fox Kipphut, Contributor

neutral holiday gift guide

By Neutral Hue Leave a Comment

hi! it’s christina (c:) + ashley (:a) from the side-by-side blog neutral hue. we are so thrilled to be the newest contributors here at babiekins and sharing our love for neutrals with you. christina is mom to 9-month old little mila, is from the city, modern and sleek. ashley is mom to 1-year-old little wyatt, loves the country, rustic and classic stylings.

today we’re sharing our neutral holiday gift guide picks for your own little ladies and little men in their first year! what tiny neutral products do you love most? we’d love to hear more! give us a tweet at @neutralhue and let us know, and check out our pinterest boards to see more of our neutral baby picks here (:a) and here (c:).

happy holidays!
xo
ashley + christina

 

:a for your little man ….

1. cameo by rux silhouette rattle / 2. oeuf paw mittens at j.crew / 3. paper mache ram at anthropologie / 4. rustic wooden “w” from restoration hardware baby&child / 5. le petit tom driving mocs / 6. zara kids trousers + suspenders / 7. baby gap flap hat / 8. earthblocks at jayson home

c: for your little lady ….

1. wooden heart teether at etsy / 2. oeuf little star hat / 3. little giraffe leggies / 4. swedish glockenspiel at canoe  / 5. zara home golden glider pillow / 6. le train fantome first best friend / 7. blankie sweat shirt dress at smallable / 8. personalized baby ring by mark and graham

Filed Under: Fun Tagged With: anthropologie, ashley, baby gap, blog, christina, j.crew, jayson home, le petit toms, little giraffee, mark and graham, neutral holiday gift guide, neutral hue, oeuf, restoration hardware baby&child, zara home, zara kids Posted By: Neutral Hue


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Copyright © 2023 · Babiekins Magazine | A Trendsetting Kids' Fashion Magazine and Online Community for Parents and Children Alike · Since the Southern California birth of Babiekins in 2010, the magazine has grown from into an internationally-recognized print publication with a global circulation and now a thriving online community. We are more than a kids’ fashion magazine. We search everywhere for inspiration, and go beyond trends to bring you fashion, style, decor, design, books, DIY, parties, and playthings. Our readers look to us to keep up with the best and most up-to-date concepts in the children’s market worldwide. We have an eye for quirk. We’re high-fashion, but we value whimsy over tradition. Playful childhood is more important to us than making kids into copycat adults. We believe life is beautiful, life is valuable, and life changes when you see it through the eyes of a child. We seek to transcend skin color, language and zip codes and bring out the real, wild, magical creativity inherent in every child. And behind Babiekins is an optimistic team of mothers-turned-editors, working from home, often with our own little babiekins climbing on, under and around the desks. We want to encourage you, and challenge you to see something different — something special — in yourself and in this world we all share. Welcome to Babiekins!

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