Frosting is the perfect, sweet mix of butter, sugar, and milk. A white butter cream slopped in gobs on top of a deep chocolate cupcake is enough to send any toddler screaming with delight, and her mother too for that matter.

The process of creating frosting is pure fun.

On one particular day, my little one became the frosting.

She unwrapped the butter quarters, plopped them into the mixer, and watched as the wire whip cut and creamed the hard butter into yellow fluff. She helped measure the sugar- well, she poured it into a measuring cup and purposefully made it overflow onto the counter. Her eyes increased in size as she stuck her finger deep in the middle.

“Yum! Can I do that again, Mommy?” She grinned.

“We need to make sure we have enough for the frosting,” I said.

“Oh, okay.” She momentarily understood. Though, the overflowing sugar part of the process was especially wonderful, the final product would be ecstasy- if she could wait that long.

The butter, sugar, dash of vanilla, and milk spun in a dizzy dance. She leaned over the mixer and reported several times, “I think it’s done.”

Each time I checked, her level of anticipation increased; she leaned into the mixer more, her knees dug into the counter, and her feet tapped the stool.

At last, the creamy treat was ready.

“MOMMY, MOMMY, MOMMY!” She was frenetic. Heaven was within her grasp- inside a shiny, aluminum bowl. “Can I please lick the bowl?”

“Of course!” While I spread the frosting on top of the warm cupcakes, she sat on the stool with the bowl between her legs. Frosting covered her hair, her cheeks, her shirt, both legs, and some became toenail polish.

She officially became my cupcake.

To save this event for posterity I created the Simply Chickie t-shirt design “I am the frosting.”

She is the frosting on my life.

Newport, RI (August 19, 2009)  Simply Chickie (www.SimplyChickieClothing.com), a line of 100% organic baby clothes and accessories has received The Baby Planners Picks Seal of Approval – an accolade program designed to help expectant parents prepare for their baby’s arrival with an exclusive list of products and services chosen based on quality, reliability, value and style.

We are so excited in having earned The Baby Planners Seal of Approval, said Gwen Gardner, CEO & Founder of Simply Chickie.This award is a testament to the quality of our product line and reaffirms our commitment in offering organic baby selections!”

Free of dyes and using only certified cotton grown in fields that are free of pesticides, Simply Chickie’s line of products are made in the U.S. and feature whimsical designs created by the CEO and Founder, Gwendolyn Gardner – who strives to capture the wonder of childhood by printing whimsical sayings and graphics on clothing that do not contribute to the pollution of our environment.

The line includes onesies, t-shirts, and hats in some of the following designs and motifs:

• I Toot Toot
• I Am The Frosting
• May Contain Peanut
• I’m Well Bred
• Inside Me

The eco-friendly line is offered for both girls and boys, with sizes ranging from 3 months to 6T.Retail prices range from $14 – $24.

About The Baby Planners?

The Baby Planners Picks / Seal of Approval Program is an exclusive list of products and services that The Baby Planners endorse based on quality, reliability, value and style!

The Baby Planners showcase hundreds of product picks on their frequent television appearances, magazine features and online. They highlight everything from the tried and true, to the fabulously new and unique on such shows as Rachael Ray, Access Hollywood, KTLA’s Morning Show, iVillage and most recently on DisneyFamily.com. Some of their top picks are also featured in Pregnancy Magazine, The Cradle, Tibesti, The Bump, and the Hot Moms Club where they are featured columnists and experts.

For more information on The Baby Planners and the Seal of Approval Program, visit www.TheBabyPlanners.com.

About Simply Chickie

Simply Chickie Clothing is a line of 100% organic baby clothes and accessories made in the U.S., and free of dyes and pesticides.

The line was founded by Gwen Gardner, whose creative background and living in Japan, served as inspiration for the company. Gardner comes from a long line of artists and writers and is in fact, a direct descendent of Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of the 1850 novel, The Scarlet Letter.

Visit www.SimplyChickieClothing.com for more product information and selections.

As Gloucester native Ann Andrew recalls, it didn’t take much for her to dream up Mommies Who Shop, the series of suburban shopping events and “play dates” for mothers that she launched two years ago. A former director of merchandising at the now-defunct Sigrid Olsen who’d left her job in 2004 to become a stay-at-home mom, Andrew – creative, affable, and with a finely honed sense of fashion – tapped into two of her big loves, socializing and shopping.

“I think of it as an upscale girl nights out,” says Andrew, 40, the mother of three boys. “I wanted it to feel intimate, to be something that women could dress up and head out with their girlfriends to, and maybe go out to dinner afterward. It’s like a happy hour with shopping.”

Some of the best-known shopping events for women are aimed primarily at the young and single. Shecky’s Girls’ Night Out parties and StyleFixx events, often held in Boston’s South End, gather local vendors and national labels, selling everything from Spanx to handbags to hair products in one traveling bazaar. Mommies Who Shop nights aren’t much different – except they’re held in the suburbs and most of the vendors sell hip goods for kids. Also available: a little grown-up time.