Tiptoe through the Tulips

Not only is it reminiscent of a song, but also one of the most flourishing flowers in New York City.  As I admired mothers picking their children up from a local playground in the Greenwich Village, I came across a charming park (where Miranda from Sex in the City was married) and saw these lovely tulips. They reminded me of the new le·top ‘Tulip Garden’ collection that just hit stores this spring.  My, wouldn’t my darling niece look cute tiptoeing through these tulips in le·top’s latest garden sundresses!

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A Long Forgotten Library Alive with Clothing and Memories!

source: http://www.waymarking.com

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”              – Jorge Luis Borges

Mikki Griffith’s dreams have always revolved around children.  As an early childhood educator she invested in all of our futures – by guiding young people towards learning.  Mikki designed and made clothing for her own and other children to supplement her creative bent, but maintained the dream of someday opening a children’s clothing store.  Once retired and living in Northern Wisconsin, Mikki’s dream of owning a boutique came true!  On May 1^st of this year she re-opened the doors of the historic Carnegie Library in Hayward, Wisconsin, paying homage to the 100 year old site by naming her store Carnegie Kids.  She repurposed the original book shelves as display cases for her original creations and those of le•top, rabbitmoon and other fabulous collections!

Mikki has a high regard for the historic site of her business, but gives equal respect to the local community. Currently she is planning a city-wide baby shower for a local Women’s & Children’s Shelter, aimed at aiding women that do not have the support system needed for precious new arrivals.  Carnegie Kid’s customers that bring in diapers, formula, baby food, new or like-new baby blankets, or any other baby related products for the shelter receive discounts on purchases at the beautiful store.  Mikki supports the arts by working with a local, non-profit, live theatre.  She gives a discount to ticket holders and donates a portion of the proceeds to the theatre.  Take a bow Mikki!

Inside Carnegie Kids

Mothers and grandmothers who frequent her store laugh and giggle with delight at her carefully chosen selections – something that brings joy to Mikki’s heart.  A favorite part of her day is hearing the footsteps of the UPS man coming up the walk with boxes that conjure up memories of the days when her own children were small enough to wear and play with the cute clothes and toys.

Mikki offers gift wrap in a colorful signature gift bag, and loves taking phone orders from customers.  Stop in and say “hello” and check out Carnegie Kids in The Old Carnegie Library!

Carnegie Kids is located at:
10538 Main Street
Hayward, Wisconsin 54843
715.466.4724 (p)

Store Hours:
Mon-Sat: 10:00 am- 5:00 pm
Sunday: 10:00 am- 3:00 pm

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Secret twitter-Only Contest Winning Moms

Our twitter-only contest for Mother’s Day was so much fun! We asked moms for their favorite mom sayings, and we got a great response, with five super-excited winners! Congratulations to Jessica (Alabama), Gigi (Utah), Kerry (California), Victoria (Virginia), and Lisa (New York)! Each of these lovely moms won an outfit from le•top’s Tiptoe Tulip Duckling (available in sizes 3m – 6x) or Lucky Duck collections (available in sizes 3m-4t). Thank you for making us smile with your favorite sayings! Click on each winner’s state to find an online store in that state, or use our store locator to find a le•top retailer near you, so you can find our sweet ducks to put on your sweet little ones. Pssst! And stay tuned for our Father’s Day contests, coming soon…!

le•top Tiptoe Tulip Duckling for girls and Lucky Duck for boys. Click on the image to see all the offerings for both collections

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Joys of Motherhood (wherein hefty turds lie in wait)

….submitted (last night) by mom and reader: Jess

Poor Sienna (15 months) has had very loose stools all week from taking antibiotics for an ear infection, and along with that pleasure comes the most horrible diaper rash I have ever seen. She was in such excruciating pain that I thought I’d let her roam free for a little before bed, figuring that with 95% tile and wood floors in our house, she shouldn’t be able to do too much damage. Never underestimate toddlers, as some of you probably know much better than I do because…

She found a nice, comfortable spot on the rug to lay a hefty turd! I didn’t see her do the deed, but my nose led me straight to the evidence. It was a clean break, which was definitely a change from her usual this week. I was so relieved and glad that I could just pick it right up with no stain, that I didn’t think to look around for any lingering mess. I thoroughly (and probably too obsessively) cleaned the spot and slapped a diaper on my little angel! A few hours later I remember my side-tracked laundry basket waiting for folding, next to the couch, on our…rug….

Too exhausted and just so ready for bed, I decided that I’d leave the folding for the morning and selectively grabbed our freshly clean (and only set of bedsheets). I scooped them up in my arms and held them to my face to smell the freshly laundered scent, as fresh, clean sheets happen to be one of my favorite things! I couldn’t smell the bounty freshness and figured it meant the poo smell was lingering in the rug and possibly permeating the rest of the house still?? I now see the flaws in my naively wishful thinking, but like I said, I love climbing into a newly made bed of fresh and clean sheets. I mustered the last stretch of energy to make the bed, and at approximately 10:45pm, I got to our bedroom and began neatly tucking the corners of the fitted sheet, when I discovered the rest of Sienna’s  “present”  smeared right in the center of the white valley of freshness!

My motherly intuition tells me that after working hard on her great release,  Sienna took a seat in the nearby laundry basket to rest. I’m writing all of you because something inside me knows this must be absolutely hilarious, and I hope that I’ll read this tomorrow morning and be able to laugh too. But after a crazy week of little sleep and nasty colds, right now I just can’t stop shaking my head and pathetically chuckling, as I sit here waiting for the sheets in the wash cycle. I did mention we don’t have a spare set of sheets, right????

Sienna and her mom, Jess, in earlier and cleaner times!

I do have to say that my one silver lining here is that I think I now have a very convincing argument to make to my dear husband  as to why we really should have a spare set of sheets!…And for little Sienna, who always keeps me smiling even when I’m beyond my point of exhaustion!

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Multi-tasking Moms

I consider myself lucky to have the job I have, where I get to call stores all day. It is absolutely fantastic, especially because I develop friendships with my customers and get to hear about their kids and grandkids and all the wonderful (and sometimes not so wonderful!) things that are going on in their lives. Like Aimee Liani, owner of Hiccups in Rockville, MD. I love this woman! She has two beautiful girls, a super handsome husband and a sweet children’s store (she even started Hiccups’ Website this past year, and is gearing up to sell online very soon). One day we were chatting about her le•top and rabbit moon orders and all of a sudden she screams and says, “I have to go! Eggs just exploded all over my kitchen!“, (yes she even works from home some days). I started laughing and said of course, but quickly added that I wanted to hear the full story later! It turns out she was trying to do too many things at one time and the hard boiled eggs she was cooking exploded all over her kitchen! What a riot! Aimee also has a great sense of humor to share this story and laugh about herself.

Editor’s Note: Hiccups is located at 1616 Rockville Pike, #C, in Rockville, MD 20852. It’s a great boutique to find fabulous le•top and rabbit moon kid’s clothes for yourself and for baby showers and children’s birthday gifts. Phone: (301) 816-0016. Their Website is under construction, but we’ll give you an update as soon as it launches.

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