Er, I don't know why there's an octopus in our bed, honey

A few weeks ago something very cool happened. Tea Collection, which features a line of clothing available in Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and selected boutiques, contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in reviewing a few items from their Summer Collection inspired by Catalonia Spain.

Of course I agreed. Their clothing looked fabulous. After poking around on their web site, I chose the Tiburon Tee from the Boy's Clothes for Junior (he liked it because of the "spooky" shark), the matching romper for Diddlydoo from the Baby Clothing and Solid Palace Tee for myself (a woman needs a long-sleeved v-neck for those chilly summer nights, right?).

When the package from Tea Collection arrived I happened to be leafing through a parenting magazine and looking at this picture:



I was struck with an idea: stage a beach scene with the shark clothing and frame it for Chuck for Father's Day.

Brilliant? Maybe. Stupidly ambitious? Hell yes.

The magazine claimed that making my photos fun was super-simple. All I had to do was wait for my children to fall asleep, then I could create the scene around them. According to Adele Enersen, author and blogger, I should use stuff that was hanging around the house because it was "fun and ecological" to discover these items all over again.

Fun and ecological? Yes, please.

I ran into the bathroom and got these



then grabbed a beach towel and a blue throw that looked textured, like waves. I waited until just before nap time, threw it all together, got the kids dressed, grabbed the camera, stood over them and, with some gentle prodding, waited for them to fall asleep.

"Go to sleep, guys, okay? Never mind the fact that you're lying on my bed on a beach towel. Just close your eyes and—"

"—But he's drooling on my arm," Junior moaned.

"Use the beach towel to dry it."

"But he's pulling on my hair. When are we going to read stories?"

"Shut it and go to sleep so I can take these damn pictures for your father."

I guess I don't need to tell you that we never achieved nap time. Before the kids unraveled too much I was, however, able to snap some pictures. I call this one "I don't want to lie down!"



This: "I want to hold the shark, Mommy."



And this: "He's pulling on my shirt!"



I wouldn't call the pictures super-simple. I'd call them better-with-Benadryl.

As for the clothing itself, I was really pleased. The cotton is wonderfully soft, as are the colors. Junior's "shark shirt" is a soft gray-green. Diddlydoo's romper is a deep inky blue. The mix and match sets are a great idea as they coordinate really nicely.

Junior loves his shark shirt, and I love my shirt. It's longer than it looks, so I belted it and wore it with a skirt. A week later I threw it on over a tank top and wore it with jeans. It's also bust-enhancing which was an unexpected bonus:



Now if you'll excuse me, I need a nap. You know, the kind where you really close your eyes.