We all complain that we don’t have enough time to do crafts or make children’s clothing, but Halloween is a great time to try making a costume. They only wear it for a few hours, so our sewing skills won’t really be put to the test… Here are three of our faves:

An owl costume for our little girl
This owl costume is made from an old t-shirt and scraps of fabric. We suggest you keep her warm by pairing it with black tights and boots, and have her wear the mask on her forehead if you are concerned about visibility. Try old towels for the feathers, to give them a bit more texture. Find the instructions on Alpha Mom.

Dress our little boy as Clark Kent
This adorable outfit requires shopping skills over sewing skills, just get your little one a Superman t-shirt, a white shirt and some pants. Layer long johns and a turtleneck underneath the outfit and voila! Your little superhero is ready to go. For directions skip to slide two on Quick & Simple.

Turn our little baby into a goldfish
This costume works best for wee ones who aren’t too mobile, as the tail is enclosed. You’ll need an orange onesie to wear underneath, and perhaps a glass bowl for an adorable photo op. Warning, this one actually requires a few sewing skills. Goldfish outfit from Martha Stewart.
—Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

Safety tip from the editor: Use reflective tape on the back and sleeves of the costume, if you are letting your kids out trick or treating by themselves. And make sure they carry flashlights.

The difference between shoe shopping for ourselves and our little ones is that we are looking for the wow factor for ourselves, but the cute factor for our kids.

Life & Soles, a new-Vancouver based online shoe store has a huge amount of the cute factor, starting with these Native Fitzsimmons baby hiking boots. They are lightweight, waterproof, odor resistant, and absolutely adorable. The site also stocks Converse, Havaianas, and Salt Water, in mini sizes.

Now we can rest assured they are wearing something comfortable and stylish while accompanying us on our marathon shoe shopping trips.
—Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

Native Fitzsimmons hiking boots, $59.99 at www.lifeandsoles.myshopify.com

Don't miss our Editors' Diary for some tips on post-pregnancy dressing

Children might like bright colours and crazy animal shapes, but when it comes to interiors, it’s hard to decorate with garish yellows and reds.

So, we’ve met them halfway with these Jonathan Adler nightlights. Shaped like a lion, giraffe or elephant, but made in white porcelain, these lights are the perfect addition to a room. They look modern but cute, sort of like our kids, right?

Oh yes, and these lights are sure to keep away the monster in the closet. —Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

Jonathan Adler nightlights, $49, at Ella + Elliot, www.ellaandelliot.com

In this modern age we find ourselves spending more time in farmers markets than in actual farms, so it made sense to write a book about them.

To Market, To Market by Nikki McClure is a beautifully illustrated storybook about the food we buy on our Saturday mornings. But this book is far more sophisticated than how an egg is laid or a carrot is grown, this is the story behind kale, goat's cheese, smoked salmon, honey and blueberry turnovers.

Of course, if we raise our kids to have such fancy taste in food, the boxed macaroni and cheese just won’t cut it anymore. —Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

To Market, To Market by Nikki McClure, $15.85, www.amazon.ca

It is way too easy to spend money on your kids clothing, everything looks so much more funwhen it's small. Here are our favourite pieces from the fall/winter collections.

We love this Crewcuts doggie tee because it reminds us of Givenchy’s pitbull collection. But, of course, in this tiny size it's far cuter. Crewcuts Girls' long-sleeve 3-D doggie tee, $44. At J.Crew, www.jcrew.com 

H&M has just launched a collection with All for Children with 25 per cent of all sales going to UNICEF’s work for children in Bangladesh. We love the floral prints in the girls collection, and this little boys cardigan with elbow patches is perfect for the back to school “professor” look. Cardigan ($29.95) at H&M, Toronto Eaton Centre and Pacific Centre in Vancouver from September 22nd.

We know that Burberry is a little bit expensive, but who can resist this adorable quilted coat? Justify its purchase by promising you’ll hand it down, plus it works for a boy or a girl. Ocean Quilted Coat with check lining $335, from Lola Home & Apparel, 510 Beatty St., 604-633-5017, Vancouver, www.lolahomeandapparel.com

The only problem with Vancouver-based Red Fish’s party dresses is that they don’t make them in adult sizes. Let’s hope our girls get invited to a lot of parties so they have an excuse to wear this! Party dress, $75 at Wear Else, www.wearelse.com or Red Fish Kids Clothing, www.redfishkidsclothing.com

Checks were a runway trend, and since our little boys are too cool for school, we are going to put them in little check shirts with matching shoes. Running shoes ($19) and shirt ($12) at Joe Fresh, www.joefresh.com  —Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

It’s time for the little ones to head back to school (secret sigh of relief). Let’s send them off in style!

We may have learned a thing or two from Halle Berry, like how to make a memorable beach entrance. But we also learned how to sport your kid’s lunch box with the same sass as your Gucci bag. That’s because said lunch box is by Beatrix NY, the cutest accessory line for kids. Featuring an array of adorable creatures like Dieter the Monkey, Esther the Bunny, Juju the Lady Bug and Alister the Dino, these little boxes will make their school lunch a stylin’ one.

Now about that Gucci bag…. —Anya Georgijevic

$38.99 at Hip Baby, 2110 W. 4th Ave., Vancouver, 604-736-8020, www.hipbaby.com and www.raspberrykids.com

It’s time to play the music! It’s time to light the lights!

As we anxiously await the first Muppet Movie in over ten years to be released on November 22, we
can get our Animal on with the inspirational, celebrational, muppetational Green Album, featuring covers of popular Muppet music by contemporary artists.  Sing along to old favourites like "The Muppet Show Theme Song", performed with a rock edge by OK Go, a quirkily wistful rendering of "Rainbow Connection" by Weezer (featuring Hayley Williams), and a stunning "Halfway Down the Stairs" by soprano Amy Lee of Evanescence.

Even Statler and Waldorf couldn’t give a negative review. —Jennifer Nachshen

Available on iTunes.

Avoiding stretch marks requires attention during your pregnancy, not after. Once baby is born, you'll barely find the time to brush your teeth let alone care for your expanded waistline. Here are three of our favourite belly beauty products:

Mama Mio Tummy Rub Stretch Mark Oil is made from sweet almond oil, wheatgerm and rosehip oil, which includes anti-oxidants and EFAs.
$37.00 from www.beautymark.ca

Weleda’s Pregnancy Body Oil is great all over the body and is the least greasy oil we’ve tried so far, so your clothes won’t get stained.
$29.99 from Whole Foods, www.wholefoodsmarket.com

Bug & Pickle is a Vancouver-based brand that offers pre and post belly solutions. Use their Belly Cream during your pregnancy, and then switch to the Belly Firm for nourishing the skin while you shrink back to your old waist size. We hope.
Both $20.00 from Saf and Benjamin, www.safandbenjamin.com

Editor’s tip: Buy a few nude cotton tank tops and wear them under your normal clothes while pregnant, to avoid getting oil stains all over your dry-clean only pieces. —Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

London has always had its own particular sense of style, one that has everyone (man, woman and child) always looking effortlessly cool.

On our last trip there, we paid particular attention to the very well-dressed men (wink, wink) and wished that guys this side of the pond would take a fashion tip or two from the British blokes. The good news is our boys can now adopt London's edgy style with GapKids’ new Brick Lane collection.  The twill pea coat ($49.95) and Straight Dog Town Denim ($39.95), both shown on the left, will certainly have the boys outdressing their fathers.

And they’ll look really cool when they run to the shop to get us a pint of milk for our tea. —Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

GapKids’ Brick Lane collection (for girls and boys) is in stores now and online at Gap Canada, www.gapcanada.ca

We take the words “non-toxic” for granted, and we assume it means safe. But does anyone ever question what non-toxic means?

Diana, an art teacher, did. She decided that there was no point having any unnecessary ingredients in children’s art supplies, so she went about making her own from natural ingredients. Clementine Art makes crayons, markers, paint, glue and modeling dough that are safe, natural and washable with water and soap (except the markers). We love that they explain the purpose of each and every ingredient on the Nitty Gritty page of their site.

How about using the markers to make fun paper glasses or the glue for some cute rock animals? And when they eat the glue, no need to panic. —Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

At ByNature.ca and local kids stores.