Shopping with Mom became a tradition with her and I a long time ago. My earliest memories are when we went to Maxine's. Maxine's was a woman's clothing shop in Union, NJ. I was usually the only little girl in the place which made me feel very grown up. Maxine's had a talking bird that was very large and black. He frightened and intrigued me at the same time. I loved to hear him talk. My Mom warned me about the big sign on the front of the cage that said to leave the bird alone. I could not help myself--I just had to hear
him talk. I touched the cage; he shrieked and threw himself towards my small hand. Feathers and birdseed flew up and out of the cage. The metal cage shook and made the bird's water spill. Just as he was about to peck my finger off I whisked it away. I looked around and the entire store was looking at me. I'm not sure where my Mom was--I think she was hiding.
One thing about Long Island: we're not hurting for stores. But, having an addiction to buying your kid's clothes and not being independently wealthy can land you in some trouble. Long Island is also known for a couple other things: fantastic summers (except for this year so far) and lots of traffic. Now, I don't know about you, but I'd rather be on a beach or by the pool than battling traffic to go shopping.
Here are some great sites for kids clothes:
The Baby Outlet
DisneyStore.com
Lands' End Kids Apparel
Gap.com
Designer Outdoor Clothing for Infants, Toddlers & Children!
For some local shops:
Velvet to Denim
(a bit pricey but if you're looking for shnazzy stuff.. this is your place)
TJ Maxx
(this is great for being deal concsicous.. they also have great boy stuff.. which if you're a parent of a boy you know how hard it is to find clothes for them.
Daffy's
(They have awesome kids clothes. Lots of Italian stuff. The baby-boy collection is good.. I'm finding they're a little lacking in the toddler-boys area. Still worth a peruse every time I stop at Starbucks in Smithtown)
Online Kids Photo Contest!
For lots more on general parenting information go to
Long Island Baby Stuff.com
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