Style for Grace

About two months ago Grace dropped her rock-n-roll obsession that spanned two years (seriously, I have video footage of her strumming a guitar singing Foo Fighters) and replaced it with her desire to love everything princess-themed.

I share this because last weekend when the weather wasn't quite summery, I suggested a perfect mother/daughter rainy day experience: baking a cake. For Grace, this experience immediately became an opportunity to bake a princess cake.

Now, all you mothers out there that are clueless in the kitchen (ladies, I count myself in that group!) this is a very simple (an inexpensive) way to create a mother/daughter experience - seriously! Thanks to Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines - or whatever boxed brand you chose - you too, can pretend to be a baker and create a custom cake that will serve as an afternoon of fun with your little girl!

In my hopes to make our mother daughter experiences ones filled with learning, I told Grace that we had important decisions to make before we could begin baking. Side note: this took longer than I ever imagined. In 30 seconds I explained to Grace that we needed to decide three things:

1. Flavor of cake
2. Flavor of frosting
3. Decorations for cake
   
   For the purpose of time, I abbreviated our conversation below. This went on for 15 minutes! Immediately following the abridged conversation are 3 tips you can employ for future "planning" conversations with your preschooler.
   
   So, the conversation went like this:
   
   Mother/Aimee: Grace, what flavor would you like the cake?
   
   Daughter/Grace: Princess.
   
   Mother/Aimee: Yes, we can create a princess theme, but what flavor of cake: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry?
   
   Daughter/Grace: No, mama, I want to bake a Princess Cake.
   
   Mother/Aimee: Yes, Grace, we can talk about decorations last, what flavor of cake?
   
   Daughter/Grace: Ah, I want a princess cake.
   
   Mother/Aimee: Grace, let me show you something (I presented a box with chocolate cake on the cover and a box with yellow cake on the cover.) Which flavor would you like to have for your cake?
   
   Daughter/Grace: I don't want chocolate or yellow, I want to bake a princess cake Mama. Please, pretty please.
   
   (The same question/answer dialogue as above continues for 3-5 minutes.)
   
   Mother/Aimee: Ok, Grace, let's talk about decorations. You seem really interested in princesses.
   
   Daughter/Grace: Yes, Mama, I would like Cinderella, Gus and Jaq, Belle, Mrs. Potts, Snow White, Ariel...
   
   Mother/Aimee: Ok, so we need to gather your Disney Princesses - great! So, now that we have decided on that, what color would you like the frosting?
   
   Daughter/Grace: Blue - yes - blue!
   
   Mother/Aimee: Great, what color would you like the cake?
   
   Daughter/Grace: Pink!
   
   Mother/Aimee: Perfect!
   
   Daughter/Grace: So, Mama, can I have a pink cake, blue frosting Princess Cake?
   
   Mother/Aimee: Absolutely!
   
   Daughter/Grace: Good! (Grace begins clapping.)
   
   3 important tips when planning to bake a cake with a preschooler:
   
   1) Flavor is OUT. Color of cake and frosting are IN! Regardless of taste, preschoolers are concerned with appearance and want to determine the color.
   
   2) Start backwards. In my mind, I thought we would customize the cake starting from the ground up: 1)Determine cake flavor 2) Determine frosting and 3) Finalize decorations. Grace (and probably any preschooler) wanted to customize the cake in the reverse order. So, if after asking the question 3-5 times and you get no where, reverse the order and see if your preschooler's answers change. In my experience, they did and I bet they would for you too!
   
   3) As much as you possibly can, let your child take ownership. For instance, I allowed Grace to mix the cake, pour the liquid contents and she also helped place the cake batter into the baking pan. She was thrilled to have these important responsibilities. Plus it kept her engaged.
   
   Interested to see how the cake came out? Here are some pics:
   
   Grace pouring water into the cake mix.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Grace mixing the cake batter.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   After mixing in food coloring to make a pink cake and pouring batter into the baking pan, Grace hands the pan to me to bake in the oven.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   How Fancy! Blue frosting!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Princess Decorations & Sprinkles: Perfection!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   One proud and happy girl!

Labels: baking a cake, custom cake, Grace, mother daughter, mother daughter experience, princess cake

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm 7 months pregnant. Its been quite a pregnancy and I'm finding it hard to believe that my due date is less than 2 months away.

This past Monday, I had another ultrasound and everything looks great...except baby girl is breech.

My doctor has assured me that there is still plenty of time for her to turn. But as a precaution, we have scheduled another ultrasound in a month to check her position.

Am I worried?

Yes.

Am I confident baby girl will turn?

Absolutely!

I've chosen to see the positive of this situation which has made me more conscience to talk to my baby girl and foster our mother daughter relationship while she is in utero. In fact, I've done a little research and have learned that talking to babies in utero may help stimulate intellectual growth. Regardless, I think these last 4 days have been enjoyable for me and based on baby girl's kicking, I think she's loving it too!

I've even recruited Grace to help, so in addition to talking to her baby sister, we now pick a story during the bedtime routine to read to the baby. Grace is very sweet and kisses my belly and tells her baby sister, "I love you!"

I've also talked with some friends who had breech babies and have been reassured that their babies turned - some at the very last minute! Plus I've learned a few exercises that can help make the turning process easier for the baby.

So wish us luck, and chant with me: Turn, baby turn!

Labels: breech baby, Grace, mother daughter, talking to baby in utero

Every little girl is curious, right? My three-year old daughter Grace is no different. In fact, Grace's curiosity got the best of her - and my morning - this past Sunday when she conducted the experiment I now refer to as: Olfactory Crasin.

Our morning routine started the same as always: I was enjoying my cup of coffee, Grace was watching cartoons while she ate Cheerios and crasins.

About 5 minutes later Grace calmly walks over to me and says very seriously, "Mama, I put a crasin up my nose and its stuck."

Perhaps it was that I only had a sip of coffee, so I gave her a puzzled look and asked that she repeat herself.

With more emphasis, including hand gestures, Grace said, "I stuck a crasin up my nose and it won't come out."

Normally, this would be the moment I hit the proverbial panic button, but instead I calmly ask Grace, "Why would you do that?"

Grace says, "I don't know Mama."

To my response, "Ok, let's get a flashlight."

I instruct Grace how to hold her head so I could get a look up her nose. Surprisingly she does exactly what I tell her and I managed to catch a glimpse of the crasin which is comfortably positioned in Grace's right nostril.

Still remaining calm, I decided tweezers would be the best instrument to extract the crasin. I ask Grace to relax her nose as I try to remove the crasin.

Olfactory Crasin Removal Attempt 1: No dice.

Grace says, "Mama, can you get it out?"

My response, "Sure, it might take a minute."

At this point, I felt I needed to call someone with a little expertise, so I dial my mother-in-law, a retired nurse. She instructs me to wet a Qtip and gently try to work the crasin out.

Olfactory Crasin Removal Attempt 2: I got nothing.

I come up with the idea of a administering a saline rinse. I prepare the rinse and about 1 ounce later, Grace is screaming, clearly upset that I'm pushing water up her nose.

Olfactory Crasin Removal Attempt 3: Nada! Added Bonus: Grace is furious!

After 3 failed attempts, I call Grace's doctor. Thankfully they were opened for emergency visits, so when the operator asked if I could be there in 30 minutes, I quickly said yes and began preparing for our departure.

As I ran around the house, closing the windows, locking the doors, I sadly turned off the coffee pot and frowned at my full cup of coffee that would become cold and gross by the time I arrive home from mine and Grace's latest mother daughter adventure.

Meanwhile, Grace has turned her sadness into excitement as recalls all the wonderful things about the doctor's office. She says, "Mama, will I see the fishes at the doctor's office?"

"Yes, Grace, they will be there," I said.

"Oh, yeah!" exclaims Grace, "Mama, I have a little cough, I should tell the doctor."

"Grace, you can tell the doctor whatever you want, let's just hope he can get the crasin out of your nose," I quickly respond.

So off we go to the doctor's office. Now, I should explain that we are experiencing our very first heat wave and to boot I'm 7 months pregnant. My skin feels sticky and I feel uncomfortable. Grace and I arrive and wait in line to check-in.

Grace and I are standing in line for a few minutes when a woman that was sitting in the waiting area taps me on my shoulder. I turn to her and smile. She whispers, "Excuse me miss, I just thought you would like to know that your dress is stuck in your underwear."

"Fantastic!" is all I say as I smile and nod in gratitude while maneuvering my dress from my underwear. (Side note: While under normal circumstances this would be totally embarrassing, I'm so focused on the panic and mayhem that will ensue once the doctor attempts to remove the crasin from Grace's nose, that it doesn't enter my mind until much later that in all likelihood, a number of complete strangers saw my butt, underwear and disheveled dress. Yikes!)

So after we check in, Grace skips over to visit with the fishes. At this point, I'm hoping that our wait will not be long and begin to fight off worries that we may end up at a hospital if the doctor cannot remove the crasin in the office.

Grace makes her way to other toys and begins to play with a little boy. The little boy's father and I nod our heads to one another and say hello.

About 5 minutes pass and Grace begins to muster a sneeze. As I begin to open my mouth to say "cover your mouth" Grace turns and sneezes and suddenly a red object (one crasin that looked like a blood clot) flies out of her nose and lands on the carpet. The horror on the face of the little boy's father was priceless as he had no idea what flew out of Grace's nose.

I exclaim, "Grace, you're cured!"

Grace jumps, claps her hands and says "Yeah!"

I quickly pick the crasin off the floor with a tissue and explain to horrified father and another set of parents that were watching the situation unfold that my dear little Grace stuck a crasin up her nose and thanks to her hefty sneeze the crasin was freed from the Olfactory Prison.

Everyone laughed. I wished them luck with their appointments and Grace and I started to head out the door.

As we walked out to the car I said, "Grace, what did you learn from this experience?"

With a smile, Grace said, "Mama, I learned that if I stick a crasin up my nose, all I have to do is sneeze and it will come out."

Right Grace. Right.

The mother daughter adventure continues.

Labels: crasin, curiousity, doctor, Grace, mother daughter, nose

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Aimee LaLiberte
Phone: (518) 429-1828
E-mail: aimee@styleforgrace.com

TROY, NY – MAY 5, 2009 – Style for Grace announced today that it has been recognized as one of the top 200 mom-owned businesses in StartupNation’s 2009 Leading Moms In Business Competition (http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-2009). The competition, sponsored by VerticalResponse, recognizes the achievements of mothers across the country who run outstanding businesses.

Style for Grace (www.styleforgrace.com) is an online boutique featuring a customized dress design experience for girls. Moms and daughters can visit the easy-to-use site to design their own creation - choosing the fabric, color, style and size. The designs are sewn by a talented, U.S.A. based seamstress and delivered right to your doorstep. Style for Grace creates the perfect blend of shopping and bonding between mothers and daughters as they spend quality time choosing a custom creation to reflect both of their styles.

"Moms across America were honored in this year’s ranking, showing that they’re capable of starting and running successful businesses while managing to balance family, career, home and self," said Rich Sloan, co-founder of StartupNation."Well over 600,000 votes were cast in support of several thousand contestants. What an incredible achievement to be named a winner, and what an inspiration for anyone looking to start their own business.”

"It’s challenging for anyone to start and run a successful business – particularly in this economy. These women are setting the standard for innovation and creativity," said Janine Popick, founder and CEO of VerticalResponse.

StartupNation (www.startupnation.com) launched the first annual Leading Moms in Business Competition in January with the support of VerticalResponse (www.verticalresponse.com) to recognize the achievements of mom entrepreneurs across the US. Winners were selected and ranked according to public votes accumulated from January through March, 2009. The elite 200 win bragging rights, promotional support, and digital winner’s emblems recognizing their achievements as the Leading Moms in Business.

About Style for Grace.com
Style for Grace is a design-your-own dress center for little girls’ sizes 2T to 14. That’s right, YOU become the designer! The Style for Grace virtual design center allows you to customize dresses sizes 2T to 14 in just three easy steps! Once created, your custom dress is individually sewn then shipped in 3-4 weeks! At Style for Grace, we believe individuality should be celebrated, so why not give the gift of expression through dress design.

Labels: custom design, custom dress, dress center, one-of-a-kind dress, startup nation, styleforgrace

I stumbled across Dabney Lee while trying to get my magazine addiction under control. After the cancellation of Cottage Living :( I was quickly given a subscription to Coastal Living and that is how I discovered Dabney Lee.

Dabney Lee first started as a stationary company and has since created an "At home" line which is fantastic. Here you can purchase monogrammed calendars, mouse pads, clipboards, recipe cards and more. My favorite thing you can personalized is the monogrammed playing cards.

For $55 you get two decks of monogrammed playing cards packaged in a Lucite container. Plus, there are six design sets you can choose from. My personal fav is set 3 (batik and petals) with the metropolitan monogram name plate in tangerine.

I promise that you will certainly have a conversational piece with these cards. If you have a monthly card night (I'm thinking of starting one, just so I can use these cards,) this might be the perfect deck for a fun evening with the ladies.

If you're not a card player, most certainly these cards could be used for a calm game of Go Fish at your afternoon tea party with your little girl.

Now, I know what you may be thinking - $55 is a lot of money for two decks of cards - however, let's put this into perspective if you consider a monthly card night or weekly game of Go Fish with your little one.

Weekly tea party for a year: $1.06/game.
Monthly card night with the ladies: $4.58/month

Either way you look at it, its cheaper to purchase these cards than it is to see a movie at you local theater ($9/person).

Enjoy!

Labels: custom design, dabney lee, deck of cards, monogram

Hi everyone!

It's been nearly two months since my last blog post. My life has been on a fast track and after not posting, I am finally at the computer, eager to write so all our readers can get their "Style for Grace" blog fix.

In February, I attended Blissdom 09 in Nashville, TN. It was a wonderful event. I met many amazing, smart and fun women. The conference spanned an entire weekend and discussed blogging and other social media platforms such as Twitter. I also should mention that we had wonderful entertainment from Yanni Voices and Chris Mann as well as the hilarious and charming, Jen Lancaster, author of Bitter is the New Black, Bright Lights, Big Ass, Such a Pretty Fat and soon to be released, Pretty in Plaid.

I went to Blissdom hoping to uncover the secrets on how to be a successful blogger. I left Blissdom with: new ideas for retooling the Style for Grace blog; I learned there really there isn't a standard number of blog entries per week one must achieve (although 3 times per week was average); and most importantly, I learned that when blogging, one should be authentic and true to their voice.

Learning all of this gave me enormous relief. Here's why:

I have struggled with maintaining the Style for Grace blog. I thought I needed to blog daily, comment on other blogs, build readership, etc. However, when confronting all of life's demands - blogging always fell to the bottom of the priority list. Once I skipped a day, it became days, then weeks and now months. Breaking my silence is incredibly important so I can share with you the new direction of the Style for Grace blog.

The concept of Style for Grace is built on designing/customizing clothing for girls. I've blogged about Grace, my vision for the business and the inspiration for the dress designs. While I've tried to remain consistent, I realized that I wasn't sharing other designing/customizing options for other facets of life. The design-your-own concept didn't start with Style for Grace, so why not showcase other cool design/customize products too?

I also want to share tips that only seem appropriate to communicate through video, so I hope in the coming months, Style for Grace will do a little vlogging!

Lastly, the Style for Grace blog will be a weekly dose instead of daily or monthly. With all that there is to juggle in life, especially day-to-day, I can commit to at least one weekly entry. I promise each post will be filled with fun and insightful ideas to help you design/customize your life.

In the meantime, check in and watch out for new product releases that are coming soon!

Cheers!

Labels: blissdom, Chris Mann, custom design, design your own, Jen Lancaster, styleforgrace, Yanni Voices

Labels: coffee filters, multi-purpose