Celebrity baby names

Nama anak selebriti selalu menjadi pusat perhatian dunia, apalagi yang aneh aneh. Biasanya sih yang bagus bagus langsung jadi trend dan inspirasi buat para ibu yang sedang hamil, cuma kalau yang terlalu heboh..apa ngga kasian sama anaknya ya?
Berikut sebagian list dari the A-list celebrity baby names:

• Brad Pitt and Angie : Zahara, Shiloh Nouvel and Maddox Chivan Thornton
• Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes: Suri Cruise
• Gwyneth Paltrow : Apple and Moses
• Brooke Shields : Grier Hammond, Rowan
• Nicholas Cage : Kal-El Coppola (kok tega ya...)
• Julia Roberts : Phinnaeus, Hazel
• Jamie Oliver : Daisy Boo, Poppy Honey
• Demi Moore : Rumer Glenn, Scout La Rue, Tallulah Belle
• Gillian Anderson : Piper Maru
• Brooke Burke: Heaven Rain

Check out more here

Rasanya selebriti Indonesia juga ngga mau kalah dalam hal kasih nama ini, cuma yang pasti, ya ampun namanya panjang panjang banget...ngetiknya sampai pusing.

Berikut beberapa nama yang belakangan ini muncul...

• Rachel Maryam :Muhammad Kale Mata Angin
• Ratna Listy : Swara Reiki Januari
• Pinkan Mambo : Mohammad Alfareso
• Ari 'padi' : Canie Fedora Arita Dewi
• Edwin 'cokelat' : Aska Devon Marshal
• Arzetti Billbina : Bagas Wicaksono Raharisetiawan
• Novita Angie : Jasmine Rajasa
• Andhara Early : Mangali Inasa Cesar
• Dea Mirela : Melodi Zahira Celada Ritonga
• Della Puspita : Don Aubrey Daisuke
• Monica Oemardi : Nikola Gricela Puti Wijaya

lebih heboh ya dari pada the holywood list :)

Placenta

Masih ingat soal urusan placenta sewaktu melahirkan anak? Mau dibuang? ditanam?

Ini ada posting yang menarik tentang Placenta dari Celebrity Babies blog.

Check it out! here

Di samping ini adalah photo dari David Charvet, suami dari Brooke Burke (the hot girl from Rockstar INXS) yang baru saja melahirkan anak mereka 'Heaven Rain' pada tanggal 8 Jan lalu.

Note that he had a box that labelled Placenta in his car trunk, hmm wonder what he is going to do with it'

Christmas Presents

My little monsters (3,5yrs and 2yrs) had finally understand the meaning of christmas presents. And their anticipation has sent me to a shopping frenzy over a few agonizing weeks.
Finally, I settled for these items with the hope of seeing that priceless look on my children faces when they opened the box.
A cooking set from Plan toys ( about Rp 180.000 from The Children Store), A wooden vegetable set (about Rp 150.000 from the Chidren Store) that can be cut into half, also from Plan Toys, a Thomas train floaties for my son ( about Rp 180.000, from Debenhams) and some other small items.
The result? My daughter got bored of the cooking set on day one, and my son is more interested in the wooden vegetable set than in his floaties. Well, it turns out that I still got a lot to learn to know their real interest.

Baby Loves Disco

This is outrageous fun!

Imagine a hip nightclub, entirely baby-proofed so that you can dance away with your babies, toddlers and kids till you drop ( in the wee afternoon hours of course). And they also provide baby changing room, chill-out tents, healthy snacks and game, mmm..heaven..

Baby loves disco is a monthly event that started in Philladelhia and had spread acroos 16 other cities in the US (yes US, we haven't got that kind of luxury here). This great event has become a much anticipated event in every town, and they are so serious in promoting good music that they assembled their own music and mixes that blended with various disco tunes from the 70s and 80s.'Barney is banned here' they said (phew...)

well, shall we hope that the good people from Dragonfly club would learn about this...

Temple Trees

I stumbled upon this store at the Women International Club bazaar last week in JHCC and they carry some sweet wooden toys and decoration stuff. I have long been infatuated with anything wooden for my kids, as they carry some earthiness aura unlike plastic toys and stuff. I bought a wooden peg, a pair of skipping rope with monkey head as the handle, cute paper clips and some wooden figures that can collapse down when you push the button underneath (a total hysteria for my 17th month nephew).

I have never been to the Temple Trees brick-and-mortar shop before but from their name card I learnt that they focused on the work of original artisans from furniture, jewellery to bags. But I bet the wooden stuff were from china :)

Heidi Klum's new baby

The star of the Project Runway has recently given birth to a healthy boy named Johan on November 22nd.

Here is a pretty picture of them and together with daddy Seal.

Netherlands International School

I've never heard of this school before. I came across the NIS when I visited the Mother and Child expo the other day (btw it was a horrible expo, full of kerupuk and ikan asap seller). And I was surprised that it was actually an old establishment (from 1967). Aside from their Dutch classes, they also offer English preschool and they just started an English-language primary school in August 2006. They are situated in Cilandak and they claim that they will be the first school in Jakarta to apply the IPC curriculum (International Primary Curriculum) which will provides a smooth transition to the IB programme. Anyway, the charges are pretty steep, just like any other international school but the school ambience is pretty interesting, full of greenery and sports facilities. Check it out.
Netherlands International School
Jl. Jeruk Purut Rt003/Rw03
Cilandak Timur, Jakarta 12560
Ph: 62-21-7823929
www.nis.or.id

Top Shop maternity

Been to Senayan City lately?

I bet many of you has, the new mall is getting more and more crowded each week.

Anyway, Top Shop London, the famous cheap and chic clothing store, has opened a boutique next to Debenhams in the 2nd floor (?). And I have discovered that they brought the maternity collection along...! The jeans collection is pretty cool, I remember that back in my pregnancy days, it was so hard to find a good pair of maternity jeans. The one that doesnt make you look all fat and flabby.

This pair of jeans cost Rp 739.000 (not cheap but definetely chic)

Orbit stroller

This is the latest addition to the celebrity stroller phenomenon. But this is worth noticing. Aside from the cool modern-industrial design, Orbit stroller created the all-in-one concept in its 3 pieces starter kit, that include an infant car seat, a base and a stroller.

From the demo in their website, it looks pretty easy and cool to install the car seat to the stroller.

They claim that they are the first stroller that is able to rotate the seat 360 degree, which mean that your kids can face sideway sitting in a restaurant table. And you can upgrade it to a toddler stroller later with the same function and mobility (sold separately).

All of this system will send you a whopping $900 bill, but it sure will turn many heads as you push it around.

And no, this stroller is not available in Indonesia just yet.

The trend of Dude Dad and Yummy Mummy

Consider yourself outdated if you haven't heard of that expression before. According to Junior magz (dec edition), the term Yummy Mummy was started way back in 1991 when Demi Moore posed glamorously naked and pregnant on the cover of Vanity Fair. Since then all the mummies in the world had been displaying their motherhood time in full throttle and in style.

I think it goes the same here in Jakarta. The other day, I was attending a fashion show in Plaza Indonesia, which is full of uber cool ladies dressed delicately in the latest global style, and I saw one Yummy Mummy with a Stokke Explory stroller! (pushed by the nanny) and the cutest little girl dressed in a Leopard cardigan and black skinny pants....mmmm Yummy.

The term Dude Dad comes way later, and much defined by Hollywood's celebrity dads such as Jude Law, Johnny Depp and, this is the hottest one, Brad Pitt. "Male celebrities are marching into the limelight with a child firmly planted on their hip, sending out the signal that fatherhood is one of the coolest lifestyle choices to make" quote Junior Magazine.

And fabulous baby gears makers around the world as in cue, had been furiously designing goody stuff targeted to these DUde Dads. Just look at the Daddy diaper bags, modern and clean baby furniture, Daddy blogs etc.

But I don't think the Dude Dad trend has reached here in the far east. Despite some publications of celebrity dads supporting breast feeding, I hardly see any stylish dads 'with a child firmly planted on their hip' around here, what a pity. Hey DUDE DADs in Jakarta, wake up!!!

Oilily at FO

"Factory Outlet?" you said. Yeah yeah.. I admit that I often rely on the comfort of Factory Outlets in Bandung to update my children's wardrobe. Hey, it's cheap and chic and sometimes if you dig deep enough, you might find some interesting brands inside.

My fav is Rumah Mode (Jl. Setiabudi 41 F), in fact I never went anywhere else. Imagine my surprise when I discovered these Oilily pants (pictured here) among the lot, it was priced at around Rp 80.000, and after some browsing in the internet I found out that the pants is from 2006 collection called 'Skipping trousers' and the Children Salon sells it at 37.77 pounds. I bought two with different colors :)

Other brands that I have discovered includes, Baby gap, Abercrombie and Fitch, Baby Phat by Kimora Lee Simmons, etc.

So, Happy hunting!

I have to warn you though, there are alot of fake labels among the lot. My tips, look out for the care labels, most fakes doesn't bother to give one.

Victoria Staten rocks!

Victoria Staten might not be a well known name in fashion industry, but she has clocked some good years behind the Kenneth Cole brand. And now, she is coming to rock the baby gears industry with her ultra cool designs. She created baby carriage, diaper bags and baby furnishing made with maple wood and leather-like fabrics (bye bye plastics!)
Daddy types blog has commented that Victoria Staten's may be the first baby gear that requires you to redesign your house around it. Indeed, the design is so modern and clean and perfect to show off to your friends (ha!). On the other side, I just can't quite picture it to be inside one the the Da Vinci's style houses that seems to be popping around Jakarta recently.

Pictured here is the baby seat that cost $325 (!) with removable and washable cover
Be dazzled by her baby carrier, playyard, high chair, and diaper bags here at www.victoriastaten.com

Let's just hope that some stylish ladies from the mega retail baby industry in Jakarta notice her, and bring the goody stuff home.....

Mall Playground

This is actually a sad thing. Lately I am too lazy to find quality weekend entertainment for my children and often rellied on playgrounds in the malls to babysit my kids (while I go shopping:)
Here are two Playground that I have visited for the last weeks:

1. Circus
Pondok Indah mall 2 Lt2, Ph: 75920540
Charge: Rp 40.000 / 2hrs
This is my fav! the playground consist of fun, intertwined levels that kids can climb, slide, jump, crawl etc. The staff there are great, they seemed attentive enough to guard the kids from getting hurt.
Kids as young as 1 1/2 yrs can play there, but watch out for the big children groups as they tend to push around in rough play.
Beware though, accompanying adults must be small or thin enough to follow the kids around as most of the spaces are narrow and small :)
2. Playmall
Senayan City level 4, Ph: 72781501
Charge: Rp 50.000 /hr during weekend, and Rp 10.000 for member card
First of all, I hate the member card, I see no point of getting a member card for a weekend visit, and please... two kids, two plastic cards, one bulging wallet!
And the charge is quite steep. I have to extend the play for another hour and ended up paying another hundred Rp.
The playground is quite big, it consist of a pool full of balls, a play-kitchen, a toddler slide set, some toy cars and bycicles, and a big kids castle.

At the end of the day, I still wish there are parks and other outdoor entertainment (within reach) to go with my kids during weekend.

Titi Dj another divorce

Following my previous post about divorces, this is the one that I did not quite expect. Titi Dj is one of my fav Indonesian celebrity who simply has good humour and kind soul. She will be getting the custody of her four children. Read more from Kompas cyber media.

Cita by Bin house for maternity fashion

One of the well known secrets among pregnant women is Cita by Bin House. A fashion collection created from delicate batik fabrics, and moulded into ultra modern apparel pieces with a touch of ethnic. Sometimes you can even recognize a trace of japanese design influence on the collection.

Actually there is no special maternity collection by Cita, but their pieces are sometimes so loose (but still stylish enough) and made with comfortable cotton fabric that are great for those pregnancy days, and the good news is, you can even wear them after giving birth without looking...pregnant.

Visit their cozy stores at:

1. Bin House, jl. Teluk Betung, no. 10. Jakarta. Ph: 31935941,31934948

2. Incubare shop, Saberro house, Jl Kemang Raya.

Check out the official Bin House website here

Cotonnier Catalogue 2007

Cotonnier Nursery and Kids' room has recently released their 2007 catalogue. All new mommies are recommended to pick up their copy at the Plaza Indonesia store (ph: 021-3150280), or by ordering them from the official Cotonnier website here. The catalogue is full of goodies to decorate your baby's nursery room, and there is a new furniture collection that is dedicated for the "threenagers", the active toddlers who never seem to run out of energy.

The Divorce Week

This week seems to be the Divorce Week for the A list celebrities.

After just two years of a very colorful marriage, Britney Spears has filed for a divorce from the would-be-rap-singer Kevin Federline (Finally!). And she has also filed for the legal custody of the two boys, Sean (1 yr) And Jayden (2 months). Kevin is reported to fight for the custody too, as well as requesting for a "spousal support" despite the rumored iron-clad-prenup that the two has signed before their wedding in 2004.

Read more about the news in TMZ.com here

Just before the Brit-Kev break up, Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe, a sweet couple who has been marrried for 7 years has also announced a divorce due to "irreconcilable differences". Reese will be filing for the custody of her two children Ava Elizabeth and Deacon Phillipe.

More from TMZ.com

Binus school Serpong

Binus, a well known establishment that emphasizes in "vibrant, innovative and caring community" is opening a huge new school (4 hectares) in Bumi Serpong Damai. From the look from their website, the school looks great. They will be opening classes for Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle School dan High school. Check out their open house this Saturday on 11th November 2006.
And here is their contact no:

Marketing Address Komplek Ruko Golden Boulevard Blok Q/2 - BSD City

Email: serpong-admission@binus-school.net

ph:021 5380400

Kate Spade baby

Kate Spade has recently created a full baby product range, not just diaper bags but also strollers (in affiliation with Maclaren stroller), baby clothings, baby accessories and even ultra cute baby stationary! Chek out Kate Spade baby site here. Pictured here is the latest baby diaper bag called, Classic Noel Baby bag. I have called Kate Spade store in Plaza Indonesia (021-39838239) but unfortunately they did not carry that particular collection. What a pity, it is a gorgeous bag!

Wanna be like Gwyneth Paltrow?

One of my fav baby blog, Celebrities-baby, recently ran this post that list out all the things that Gwyneth Paltrow has for her two babies, and boy it was a long list (and some awfully lots of strollers for just two babies). check out the list.
In this picture taken on Oct 06, Gwyneth is taking Apple for a stroll in a Combi ultra savvy in silver pearl.

Shopping Combi

Welcome to Combi's world.
Combi is a well known Japanese brand that specialize in light weight, easy to fold strollers in sleek designs, as well as car seats and modern toys.
Their website is pretty ugly, but I had fun checking out the virtual demo, in which you can drag and turn the stroller 360 degree to see from side to side.
The Japanese website is better, beautifully modern, but of course you would not understand a thing :)
You can now get your cool combi's stroller at the Children's store, a heavenly store full of cool strollers and imported toys. They are located at Senayan City level 4 #95-97, ph: 72781292.

Cordlife Indonesia

This is a new trend.
A few friends that I know has taken the trouble of storing their baby's cord blood stem cell in Cordlife Singapore, as a future health insurance. And now the 'leading cord blood bank in the region' together with Indonesia's Pt Kalbe Farma has set up Pt Cordlife Indonesia, as announced last Saturday (14/10). The cord bank is expected to be fully operated by January 2007.
Call 021-5208122 or check out www.cordlife.com
Quoted from Kompas (16/10), the cost for the initial collection of the cell is about SGD$ 1.400, and the yearly storage fee is about SGD$ 250.

Use Bob for TV and Media Control

This is cool stuff! My son is not even two but he loves to watch TV extensively, and I dare not wonder how he would react to video games when he grow up. Here is a gadget that let you control the amount of time that your children spend in front of TV and computer. Simply hook it up, lock it (yes, your kids cannot simply remove it. haha) and give each of your kids their password. The screen will automatically turned off when the time is up.
Check out http://www.usebob.com/

Junior in Aksara

Finally, after a tip from our reader, I found that Junior magazine, as well as Junior pregnancy and baby, are available in Aksara bookstore (Kemang, Cilandak Town Square and Plaza Indonesia).
I bought my copy for Rp 93.000

In Search Of Mary Poppin

This is a book that contains essays from mothers that highlights the love-hate-relationship with their nannies. Sound like an every day theme in our home isn't it? Especially here in Jakarta where the population of nannies nearly outnumbering the babies (I've heard of mommies who assigned two nannies for each of her two children). And anyone knows that a good nannies will be kept like a guarded secret to prevent nanny-highjacking. I guess this is a book that gain an insight of the real feelings and attachment formed between nannies and mothers, a very complicated affair. I'm looking forward to read it.
Priced at $16 in Amazon.com

Car seat entertainment

Getting your kids to stay in their car seat is almost an impossible task. I stumbled upon this toys that will give the impression that the kids are riding on a horse back, or in a merry go round. Looks cute, but I wasn't sure it will be much of an entertainment when you are stuck in a nasty traffic in the toll road for hours.
It is priced at $35 at Casey and friends

Zap and football

A reader send us this picture of an English footballer, Frank Lampard, strolling gorgeously with his child using Quinny Zap. Hmmm, wonder which one caught the most of my attention, the hot guy or the hot stroller.

Tefal baby

There is a new product at Debenhams kids in Plaza Indonesia, Tefal Baby.
For years now, I thought that Tefal is only a household brand for kitchen stuff, apparently they had expanded their product lines to baby care products. The product range include sterilizers, bottle warmers, and blenders, but there are a few other interesting products.
I like this humidifier as it doesnt look too bulky and they claim that it operates silently so that it doesnt interfere with baby's sleep.
Well, with air conditioner in the room almost around the clock, I figure it will make my kids breathing a lot easier, without all the dryness-in-the-throat in the morning. The price is around Rp 1.200.000,-
Check out their site Tefal
There's another product that caught my attention at their website, A Baby Dryer that dry Baby in complete safety immediately on getting out of the bath. HUH? haven't they heard of cotton towels?

Sex Education

This is a weird german book published in 1973 by Per Holm Knudsen, it's called "The true story of how babies are made". Hmmmm.... wonder if my kids are ready to see the "truth" from this book.
Link from the book

Suri Cruise Pictures

After months hiding in her nest (creating high-profiled gossip speculations all around the world), we can finally see her beautiful pictures on Vanity Fair October edition (it will hit the stands around mid Sept). The pictures were taken by high-fashion photographer, Annie Leibovits.