When it comes to shoes…I have a serious weekness.  I LOVE them.  To my husbands dismay, my love for buying shoes has transfered to my two daughters.  I justify buying my older daughter shoes by saying the baby will wear them one day too.  Funny…I can always find a way to justify a new pair of shoes for me or them!

If you haven’t checked out Nordstrom’s kids shoe department, you should.  It is almost as awesome as their women’s shoe department.  They carry a wide variety of styles and price points.  I think they have the best selection of athletic shoes for toddlers in the city. I know you are probably thinking their shoes are too pricey, but they have Converse Chuck Taylors for the same price as the Gap and I got my daughter a pair of adorable brown patent leather Mary Jane shoes for less that a similar pair at Stride Rite. They also have killer sales.  Click here to view huge assortment of kid, toddler and baby shoes currently on sale.

Not to say there aren’t some incredible bargains and CUTE shoes on Nordstrom’s website, but that’s nothing compared to the MOTHER LOAD I found today!  A friend told me that the Nordstrom Rack in Northbrook (199 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook.  It is less than a mile from Northbrook Court Mall) carried kids clothes and shoes.  They do, and they are having a SALE!  It was a regular bonanza of adorable clothes and shoes at ridiculously low prices.  Seriously, you need to check it out.  It is well worth the 20 mile drive from the city.  I got my daughter a pair of Roxy tennis shoes and flip flops for under $15…yes, both pairs.  The flip flops were $3 and the tennis shoes were $10!

There are three Nordstrom Rack locations in Chicago and the burbs: Northbrook (199 Skokie Blvd.), State Street (24 North State, Chicago) and Oak Brook Place (2155 West 22nd Street, Oak Brook). Unfortunately the State Street location does not carry kids clothes or shoes.

Happy shoe shopping!  Pick up a pair for yourself while your at it.  They had a huge selection boots on sale!

Looking for trendy kids clothes, but don’t want to pay boutique prices?  Check out Zara and H&M.  Both have great kids clothes at reasonable prices, but browse their sales for some really great deals!  Even better, you can pick up something new for you too!

I use to travel internationally for business and fell in love with Zara (originated in Spain).  I was thrilled when it finally made its way to the U.S.  They have great trendy clothes for men, women, kids and even maternity at very affordable prices.  I would describe Zara as a more mature and upscale H&M.  Click here to view their current kids catalog.  I just visited their Old Orchard location and got my daughter some SUPER cute clothes for next to nothing.  All of their winter stuff is on sale (shirts 7.99 , sweaters $9.99 and cute pants for $12.99).  They now have three Chicagoland locations, but not all of them carry baby or maternity.

H&M make clothes, shoes and accessories for men, women, kids, babies and even maternity.  Not all Chicago locations carry kids and maternity (see below).  I have found some great clothes for my girls and even a few pairs of shoes.  One of my favorite H&M finds is knee socks.  Whenever my kids sit in their stroller, it seems like their pants shrink!  About three inches of leg tends to show between their socks and pants.  H&M carries knee socks, which alleviates this little winter problem.  Not to mention they look adorable in the Fall and Spring with skirts.

Unfortunately neither H&M nor Zara let you purchase items online, so here is a list of their Chicago area locations.

Zara

• Magnificent Mile (mens, ladies, kids, and baby) – 700 North Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL
• State Street (mens, ladies, maternity, kids and baby) – 1 W. Randolph St., Chicago, IL
• Old Orchard Center (mens, ladies, maternity, & kids) - 66 Old Orchard Center, Skokie, IL

H&M

• Magnificent Mile (men, ladies, maternity, kids and baby) – 840 North Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL
• State Street (ladies, & men) – 20 North State Street, Chicago, IL
• Oakbrook Center (ladies & men) – 466 Oakbrook Center, Oakbrook, IL
• Orland Square (men, ladies, kids and baby) – 288 Orland Square Park, Orland, IL
• The Promenade (ladies) – 619 East Boughton Rd., Bollingbrook, IL
• Woodfield Shopping Center (men, ladies, maternity,  kids and baby) – 5 Woodfield Shopping Center, Schaumburg, IL
• Fox Valley Center (men, ladies, kids and baby) – 1276 Fox Valley Center, Aurora, IL
• Gurnee Mills Mall (men, ladies,kids and baby) – 6170 Grand Ave., Gurnee, IL
• Geneva Commons (ladies) – 524 Commons Drive, Geneva IL
• Westfield Hawthorn Shopping Center (ladies) – 122 Hawthorn Center, Vernon Hills, IL

Nothing makes me smile like watching my children dance.   Kids have this innate love of music, which has been the source of hours of fun for my family.  From living room dance parties and car ride sing-alongs to enjoying live music together around Chicago and taking Wiggleworm classes, much of our time together as a family includes music.

I was at Old Town School of Folk Music earlier this week and I picked up the Wiggleworms Love You CD! It is a collection of over 40 sing-along songs performed by your favorite Wiggleworms’ artists ($15).  I LOVE it!  We have been playing it in the car ever since we got it.  Not only does it remind us of Mr. Angela and our Wiggleworms class, but many of the songs are also ones I sang at camp as a kid.  According to their website, you can purchase the CD on iTunes too.

This was the first children’s music CD I’ve purchased that I truly liked as much as my kids did, and it inspired me to investigate what’s hot in kids music.  I am no music guru, so I found a cool blog that focuses on kids music, Kids Music That Rocks.  The author of this blog also writes for About.com and recently did an article titled The Best Kids Music of 2009.  My husband also recently found an article in U.S.A Today called These kids’ songs are…awesome.

Both lists included three of the same CDs.  I spent some time on iTunes today sampling each of the CDs from both lists.  Honestly, some I liked and some…not so much.  I tended to enjoy the CDs recommended by Kids Music That Rocks the most.  They tended to be more of the folk music genre.

I ended up purchasing a couple songs from a few of the CDs and creating my own CD.  Don’t you just love the flexibility of buying music online.

Here are the two lists.  I noted the ones I really liked in parenthesis.  Let me know what you think.

The Best Kids Music of 2009 by Warren Truitt (Author of Kids Music That Rocks)

1. Caspar Babypants – “Here I Am!” (Thumbs up!)
2. Ziggy Marley – “Family Time” (Thumbs up.  Classic reggae and found on both lists)
3. Billy Kelly and the Blah Blah Blahs – “Thank You for Joining the Happy Club”
4. Apple Brains – “Get Fruity!!”
5. They Might be Giants – “Here Comes Science” (Thumbs up. Typical They Might Be Giants sound and on both lists.)
6. Kesang Marstrand – “Hello Night” (Thumbs up!)
7. Recess Monkey – “Field Trip” (Thumbs up and on both lists)
8. The Dreyer Family Band – “Family Photograph” (Thumbs up!)
9. Dog on Fleas – “Beautiful World” (Thumbs up!)
10. Lunch Money – “Dizzy” (Thumbs up!)

These Kids’ Songs Are Awesome! by Korina Lopez of USA Today.

• They Might Be Giants – “Here Comes Science” (Thumbs up and on both lists)
• Yo Gabba Gabba Music Is….Awesome
• Peter Himmelman – “My Trampoline” (Thumbs up!)
• Secret Agent  23 Skidoo – “Easy”
• Dan Zanes and Friends – “76 Trambones” (Thumbs Up!)
• Ziggy Marley – “Family Time” (Thumbs up and on both lists)
• Sarah Lee Guthrie & Family – “Go Waggaloo”
• Robbert Bobbert – “Robert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine” (Thumbs up!)
• Bill Jonas – “Happy Accidents” (Thumbs up!)
• Recess Monkey – “Field Trip” (Thumbs up and on both lists)