The school year always brings an end to the hot dry season in Utah. Temperatures cool off, and we finally get some rain. And if there's rain we must play in it.
My favorite place to get children's rain products is Kidorable.com.
They have a fun selection of umbrellas, raincoats,
and even backpacks.
Rain gear can be uncomfortable. Because Kidorable products are so whimsical and fun not only will my girls wear their gear, but they ask too.
Since we'll be walking Kik to the bus stop this year, I thought that Bid needed her very own pair of rain boots. And since every walk we ever take turns into a bug hunt, I thought the
Ladybug Boots would be perfect for her.
When we got them in the mail, she insisted on putting them on and modeling them right away.
She loves them!
They are always quite an attention grabber. Someone almost always stops me to ask where we got the girls such cute rain stuff.
To Buy - Not only are Kidorable Boots adorable, but they are durable as well. Kik has had the same pair of boots for more than a year and they are still in great condition. The boots retail for $29.99, but are on sale right now until Aug. 31st for
20% off. Just enter code
SCHOOL888 at checkout on
Kidorable.com!
I received a product to review from the above company or their PR Agency. Opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own - I was not influenced in any way. I received no monetary compensation for this post.
We just cleaned out our house for a yard sale and I really got into the spirit of things. So much in fact that when I went to get dressed this morning I realized I have almost nothing left.
I love the women's dresses at Shabby Apple and could easily fill my entire wardrobe from their site.
To Buy - One of my favorites is the Spanish Steps Dress that retails for $86. I love the color and the mix of different fabrics. It's just so Audrey Hepburn.
To Win - I'm really jealous because one lucky person is going to win this dress that I love so much.
a Rafflecopter giveawayI received no monetary compensation for this post. By entering this giveaway you agree to my
giveaway/disclosure guidelines
Because of my job I get to travel around to conferences and meetings and talk with librarians all over the place. Wherever I am I spend a lot of time discussing advocacy and the importance of helping members of a community understand the value of teen services. We frequently talk about the image that people have of librarians and how that image is often not based in reality. We also discuss how hard it is to change how people see librarians and libraries.
During these trips and in these conversations, it often feels a bit strange because I’ll be talking to someone about library and librarian image and that person will be wearing a book t-shirt with a cute saying, or book earrings or necklace (or both), or a book themed-watch, or….. you get the idea. I don’t believe I can say during these conversations, “Have you ever thought about the image you portray by wearing book related clothing and accessories?” Even though I really really really want to.
I know it’s fun to have these pieces of clothing and accessories. Sure, it’s entertaining to see them at conferences. But in the outside world when we are working with community members and need to be seen as professionals who are knowledgable about teens, the world they live in, and the way to help connect them to an array of “stuff” (from people to materials to each other to librarians), the book-themed clothing and accessories just has to go. I’d say when at work, whether hanging out with teens or at a meeting with the town council, even wearing just one piece of jewelry that has a book theme is not going to help you gain the respect you deserve.
Think about it: if we want people of all ages in the community to stop thinking of libraries as a place just for physical materials, then we have to stop promoting the library that way. If we want community members to see librarians as well-educated in all things teen and as people who have a strong understanding of education, youth development, and so on, then we have to stop dressing up in book-wear. Cute, book-related attire is not the way to get the message across, to anyone and everyone, that the library is a place that supports teens in their acquisition of skills of all kinds and is a strong and important educational link in the community
For those who know me and are asking, “Would she say the same thing about cute technology-based clothing and jewelry?” the answer is “Yes, I would.” Anything that focuses on one aspect of what a library staff member is passionate about, whether it be a social media t-shirt or a book necklace is a bad idea. Just think about who that clothing or accessory connects to in the community. It likely only connects to one portion of who you serve – teens or adults. If wearing book-themed attire is common in your library, what does that say to teens who are not book focused?
Making sure that community members take libraries and librarians seriously is a key aspect of the job of all library staff members. It requires being able to talk about what teens get out of what we do for and with them. It requires an understanding of youth development, education, literacy, and more. It requires holding back on tendencies to show your passion through clothing and accessories. It requires knowing what not to wear.
Innovation in the clothing of those working with teens doesn’t mean dressing like a teen and it doesn’t mean wearing cute theme-based pieces. Instead, it means getting outside of the library and book box in your dress and thinking about how you present the value of teen services to community members through your wardrobe. It may seem crazy to call this innovative, but if you’ve seen as many library-themed outfits as I have you know that it certainly is. Take the plunge and be professionally innovative in your wardrobe. It will be good for you, and for the teens that you serve.
Aztec mask of Xiuhtecuhtli, c. 1500, of Mixtec-Aztec provenance (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I’m using this poem of mine to lead into my subject of the day.
Window to the Soul
My presence acts as a window
To the human known as me.
Through that window you
Can see masks I wear eternally.
This mask reflects where I’ve been,
Still more show what I do with time.
Another suggests secrets held within;
Each mask a new persona.
Feathers, sequins, jewels, glitter
Before the beholder’s eyes,
Dropping hints about who I am,
Yet leaving me secured, invisible.
Each of us has gone through cycles within our lives. The practice is normal and human. We start as children learning all the lessons that will take us to an age where driving and dances are the norm. Some of us also take a path, somewhere along the way, that forces us to grow up all the sooner.
Once we have the ticket to responsibility called “a license,” we move on to planning the next decade of our lives; college or a job, singlehood or marriage, childless or not. They all make it into the mix of aspirations and goal lists.
Rules guard these bastions of normal living in our world. Each culture has its own signposts and traffic tickets. Once in a while, cultures crossover into each other, and create mutual signposts and tickets. It’s up to the average human to learn all of these and navigate the highways of modern living.
For all of the meandering we do in our lives, how much of ourselves do we really put out there for others to see or know?
“Plenty,” you say. But, do we really? The internet has made a public forum of many of our lives’ aspects. We blog, comment, dole out pieces of ourselves on Facebook on a daily basis and think nothing of it. It seems expected of web users to be “Transparent.”
The question remains. How much of our true selves do we reveal to the public?
Are we not merely shedding our masks, one at a time; those masks that protect us from revealing too much of the one who resides within the core of self?
I am a writer. I write about many things for many types of readers. My public image reveals those aspects of my writer’s mask. I’m female. Enough said on that score. I’m opinionated because I was taught to be so. Education will do that when it isn’t stifled by arbitrary bureaucratic controls.
Yet, within all I’ve revealed about who I am, few really know me, and I prefer it that way. Our deeds reveal more about us than anything we can say about ourselves.
My poem says a bit more in its way. It intimates that masks are all we see of each other. We all do it, and we do it because the world isn’t always the safest place to live.
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by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by Leuyen Pham. 
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Ive always thogught kidorable stuff was truly adorable! I'd love to get some of this stuff for my little niece
My daughter has those ladybug rain boots too. So cute! I love their stuff!
I absolutely love those ladybug rain boots. I had actually gotten the dragon umbrella for a friend's son last Christmas. Thanks for sharing.
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