Editors wanted!

Untuk lebih meramaikan blog ini, saya ingin mengundang para pembaca untuk berkontribusi untuk menulis artikel artikel yang menarik tentang baby and children lifestyle terutama di Jakarta. Artikel boleh ditulis dalam bahasa Indonesia ataupun Inggris. Kalau ada digital image lebih bagus lagi.
Contact saya di cotonnierkids@yahoo.com ya....
Looking forward to hearing from you soon! Irene.

Eggling

This is a nice way to teach your kids about growth and nature. Eggling is apparently very popular in Japan. It comes with a terracota tray and a seed pack of either herbs or flowers, just crack, plant, water and soon your little plants will grow out of the eggs.

From Modern tots, $8.95

Riposo Cot

No, this is not a stroller. It's a revolutionary-kind-of foldable cot. Just fold it up and store it under your bed if you don't need it. But it looks a bit like those pretend play toys that my daughter has.

from Within 4 Walls

POCOYO!

My kids have experienced several bouts of TV show addictions throughout their stages of life. The first TV shows that they love was Elmo!, then they moved on to Dora etc etc.
And now, the latest craze among them is none other than the cutest little boy ever created on TV, Pocoyo! on Playhouse Disney.
This is the one show that I don't mind watching it for hours with my kids, and Pocoyo's voice can stick at the back of my mind for days.
Pocoyo translates from Spanish as 'little me', and he got this funny dance and I love watching him running.
His website is so wonderful, there are games and pictures that you can download and I learnt that you might even watch some full episodes from the site.
www.pocoyo.com
and the best thing is that the creator has an official Pocoyo blog and if you are a drawing freak like me, you will love to learn all the details about the animation.
http://pocoyo.blogs.com/pocoyo/

Disney art

What a nice sofa!
The art of disney soft toys, by Campana Brothers at Albion gallery, London.
Read more from Dezeen

Pod-for-all-occasion

a nice hide-out by Kasuya Morita. Futuristic yet friendly. I wish I could build one in my backyard (if I have a backyard ;)

Via Pan-dan

Jane Churchill fabric and wallpaper

Bagi para ibu pencinta barang yang cantik cantik untuk kamar anaknya, Jane Churchill menyediakan beragam pilihan fabric dan wallpaper yang unik. Saya menemukan brand ini di Pt Cipta Merkurius (Jl Kemang Timur Raya no.998, ph:7197308) sebuah outlet yang berisi bermacam benda untuk interior. Sayangnya hampir semua barang disini harus di inden, dan sabarlah menunggu selama hampir dua bulan:)

Learn more about Jane Churchill here.

Ipod for kids

Waduh, anak jaman sekarang spoilt sekali ya. Dari handphone sampai Ipod, semua berlomba lomba menargetkan anak anak sebagai market mereka (dan membuat repot orang tuanya :)

Anyway, di atas ini adalah Ipod case yang dirancang khusus untuk anak2 melihat video dan memutar lagu lagu kesayangan mereka.

check out Ifrogz

Kukunest bedding

Lucunyaaaaaa!
Bedding set ini hanya salah satu dari koleksi www.kukunest.com anda bisa memesannya online.

Dream bag

a Dream Bag that will bring a lot of fun imagination. For me it looks like little Budha 'nest', hmm.. might be able to teach my kids to meditate there:)
Unfortunately it is not produced for the masses yet. Learn more about the dream bag here

Counting Poster by Sandra Isaksson

What a lovely way to teach your kids to count!

Cubism chair

Terakhir ini saya sedang tertarik sekali mengamati trend modern kids furniture. Produk di atas ini adalah salah satu contoh yang menarik.
find out more from Monte Design

Watch out for Bugaboo in Jakarta

After storming Hollywood with these cool strollers, watch out for the Bugaboo in Jakarta. They will be available in the Children Store, Senayan City 4th Floor. Call them up for more info at 727 81292.

And check out the celebrity list who owns Bugaboo for their kids at celebrity baby blog

New Age Soft Toys

This is called Felt Rocks, made from 100% pure wool felt. A great fun to stack, touch, mould and practically anything a kid would imagine them to be. And also it's super stylish for your home.
Check out Molo design here

Green Chicken

Too fragile for my house (and kids), but I bet it will look amazing on a modern minimalist room

Check out more artsy stuff at www.hayonstudio.com

Hot Wheels Cars

My boy (26 months) has a peculiar attachment to cars. He got hooked by it by chance, the first Hot Wheels car that he own was from his christmas present, from his uncle. And now, he could not sleep unless he is holding that car in his hand. Don't even ask if he loses it, he will do that piercing, hysterical fit that noone can stand. I had to keep an extra one at home just in case.

The Hot Wheels cars bussiness is actually a pretty interesting. Dubbed the fastest metal cars, Hot wheels had become one of the key product from Mattel company. It had become a collectable items that are so hot that they even made exhibition shows for them. And the car's designer is so famous that people line up to get their autograph.

Learn more from www.hotwheels.com or www.hotwheelscollectors.com

Banjir and parenting

Banjir sekarang ini membuat saya sadar, betapa selama ini saya bergantung terlalu banyak pada television dan air conditioning to entertain my kids.
My electricity has been on and off, and tonight will be the first night for the kids to go to sleep without lights, AC and (horor!) Dora show.
May God be with me tonight.

Bandung dan Parijs Van Java

Sudah lama Bandung menjadi salah satu destination favorit untuk keluar sejenak dari segala kesumpekan di Jakarta. Baru kemarin ini saya ada kesempatan untuk membawa one of my little monster to Bandung, dan seperti biasa tujuan pertama adalah ke Rumah Mode (Jl Setiabudi 41F). My monster boy was ecstatic playing at the playground there, sudah udaranya super enak, banyak kolam ikan dengan ikannya yang besar besar, dan satu playground canggih dimana dia bisa naik naik seperti di Circus (PI Mall 2), pokoknya heboh dia.

Setelah dari situ kami memutuskan untuk ke Parijs Van Java, dan kami agak terkejut melihat tempatnya yang ternyata lebih bagus dari pada yang kami bayangkan. Dengan satu stretch alley, seperti di Bugis Junction Singapore, dimana toko toko di kiri kanannya bernafaskan kota kolonial tua dan langit biru (tanpa penutup) di atasnya. Didukung dengan udara yang memang sedang dingin dan penataan toko toko yang cantik (Mango, Starbucks, J.Co is opening soon), rasanya tempat ini bisa jadi salah satu tujuan unik untuk membawa keluarga ke sana.

My monster boy loveesss the place, especially the toilet area with a small pond and big fishes. (Bandung seems to have a thing about big fishes huh?)

Kidzania Indonesia

Kidzania is coming to Jakarta!... Pasti pada banyak yang bilang "huh?"....

Oh well, nama Kidzania sendiri memang masih rada asing di kuping kita. Cuma di Mexico, Monterrey dan Jepang, Kidzania playground sedang menjadi the new 'disneyland' with a twist.

Conceptnya sendiri adalah membuat sebuah kota mini, dimana anak anak dapat bermain selama berjam jam, menjadi para penduduk kota tersebut lengkap dengan pekerjaan pekerjaan mereka masing masing. Jadi si anak bisa memilih menjadi (misalnya) fashion designer, kasir di supermarket dll, lalu mereka sendiri juga akan mendapatkan 'gaji' dimana mereka dapat menggunakan 'gaji' tersebut untuk makan, main, ke salon dll.... cute ya!

check out the Kidzania website, websitenya sendiri juga seru banget.

Anyway, Kidzania akan hadir di Jakarta tepatnya di Pacific Place Mall,..yes another new mall coming up in BEJ sudirman area.

We will update you later when we hear about their opening schedule (probably during mid 2007). Can't wait!

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.