This post is sponsored by Børn.

As much as I would love to go through the entire fall alphabet of letters with individual posts, all but a few of you (knuckles to the few!) would get tired. So I won’t bore you. But I paid a little attention to Apples last month, and now I can’t leave out Boots.

This season calls for boots. Yes, even in Florida. In fact, especially in Florida. I’ve appointed myself the one responsible down here for making sure we uphold seasonal rights of passage, and I start early to cover all the bases. That girl walking the beach in a bathing suit and snow boots? Me.

I was recalling boot trends of the past the other day, and there have been some doozies. My purple moon boots, for one (thank you, 80’s). And those brown leather booties from the 90’s with the sweater cuff built in. I loved my gold construction boots (worn with flannel), the high-heeled slouchy booties, the foldover cuffs, the kitten heels, the combat boots. Short, long, slouchy, straight, flat, kitten-heeled–they’ve all served their time. Basically, if I ever won an Oscar, I’d remember to thank Boots in my acceptance speech. But seriously, there’s something about boots that feels cozy and kick-through-a-pile-of-leaves-ish, a grand statement of every good thing that makes up these next two seasons.

I’ve always love knee-high boots, but with a daily schedule highlighted by such events as preschool drop-off and trips to Michaels for fake pumpkins, I’m looking for something more casual and comfortable.

Ta-da!

As always, Børn delivers. Tall, comfy, cute, versatile–all the things. I love the flattering cut of the top of these Borda boots–a little higher in front. And the heel-height is perfect–a bit of oomph but small enough to stay low-key and comfy. I can slide them over skinny jeans for a more casual look or wear them with dresses and skirts for something more polished. Both proclaim the same message: “I bring you tidings of great joy. ‘Tis the season to sip cider.”

Even more versatile, a shortie boot which extends across all seasons. These Børn McMillan boots are super comfy, and the weathered leather and wraparound buckles give them a little bit of an edge.

I’ve sacrificed comfort for style many times in my life, but Børn doesn’t make you choose. You can wear these boots and your baby, and nobody gets hurt. And now that we’ve covered apples and boots in two consecutive posts, all I want to do is combine the two and stroll through orchard rows, wearing these boots. I may have to settle for a citrus grove. Either way, I’ll be the most comfortable ambassador of fall there is. Fall boots for all.

Addendum:  GIVEAWAY HAS BEEN MET (but you can still donate!)

But wait! One more thing. Our friends at Børn have been great supporters of our efforts in raising awareness and funds for Ruby’s Rainbow, an organization that grants people with Down syndrome scholarships for post secondary education programs. October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and Børn asked “How can we help? Can we give away shoes?” We love help, we love shoes, we love Ruby’s Rainbow. So the first five people who donate $50 to Ruby’s Rainbow (donate button is right on their home page) and send a screen shot of their completed donation to kellehamptonblog@comcast.net will get a free pair of shoes or boots from Born–any pair on their site!

*Thank you for your donations! Giveaway has been met. You can still check out Ruby’s Rainbow, and your support is appreciated.

“There’s a mean kid at recess,” she tells me matter-of-factly on our way home from school. It’s an afterthought really, not as important as the other things she’s already told me about her day, and she doesn’t seem frazzled one bit when this comes out.

“Oh yeah? Who?” She tells me his name, and I vaguely remember his sweet face from a couple years back when they shared the same class.

“He’s mean,” she says again. I wait for her to tell me about who he picked on, what he did, how it happened but wasn’t expecting what followed.

“I told some of my friends that Nella has Down syndrome,” she says–Nella just a car seat rim away from her–“and he heard me. He was laughing at me and telling these kids ‘Her sister has Down syndrome! Her sister has Down syndrome!’ He was making fun of her and laughing.”

Okay, so we’re here. I knew we’d get here eventually. And I know what to say because I’ve written and stashed these little scripts in my brain, waiting to pull them out. But yeah. For a second I feel a flutter in the abyssal zone of my stomach, where it’s dark and the sea creatures you never hear about live.

“How did that make you feel?” I ask.

“Like I wanted to cry. But I didn’t,” she answers.

Jesus. I remind myself that this is life, not near as dramatic as I pictured it would be five years ago. I thought about how this would go down when Nella was born. In my war-torn mind, it would happen all the time, plenty of times before Lainey hit third grade. I visualized what they’d say, how my kids would feel when they said it, and my stomach bottomed out with every imagined “Retard.” The world was a discriminate battlefield, and picturing my little soldiers getting emotionally pummeled out there was perhaps the greatest weight of sadness there was back then.

“We’ll raise them strong,” I told myself. “To withstand.”

We are five plus years in, this is the first time it happened, and it doesn’t hurt as bad as I thought it would. For a second it does, but for a second a lot of other stuff we’ve dealt with the past five years has hurt, and none of it had to do with Nella.

“You know why he laughed?” I explain. “Because he doesn’t know anything about Down syndrome and when you don’t know about something, it’s easy to make fun of it. I bet if he met Nella and knew her like you do, he’d feel really bad that he said that.”

“Yeah,” she answers right before she finds Nella’s school bag and digs through it to see what her sister brought home today—a picture of a Stegosaurus she colored for Dinosaur Week. We talk about the event more later, but to be honest, it bothers me a lot more than it did her.

The kid at recess? He’s a third grader who has a lot to learn, and it’s our responsibility to teach him and every other kid out there that there’s a whole world of syndromes, but they are overshadowed by the amazing people who house them. There’s a good chance this kid is feeling different himself.

As for my own kids? “We’ll raise them strong,” I used to tell myself, “to withstand.” But that’s not my focus anymore. We don’t raise our kids strong to withstand; we raise them strong so that they will change the world. We think less about the shield they’re walking out there with and more about the sword they’re carrying. How will you show them? What will you teach them? What sort of life are you living? What kind words are you speaking? How do you make people feel? Challenge them. Show them how good life can be when you create beauty. That is your shield.

I heard about her shield when she told me that her little friends ran to tell the recess attendant about the incident today, and how it was appropriately handled with a follow-through note home.

I felt her shield in the sweet words of my family today.

And her sword? Goodness, it’s beautiful.

So it happened, this thing I knew would happen. What I didn’t realize is that it would be wedged so tightly between the other stuff—the UNO game we played on the bed last night and the dance party that erupted at the front door this afternoon—that it would barely have room to breathe.

This is a small incident, and yes there’s a battlefield out there. But this is how we’ll do it: Fill the bookends with beauty so that those deep sea moments in between barely have room to breathe.

And carry a very big sword.

Hear ye, hear ye. It’s September 18th which means we are officially T-minus-five days away from the first day of fall, but everyone knows “officially” means a hill of beans to me when it comes to unfurling seasonal freak flags. That said, if I was one of those cute little old ladies who prided herself on her complete Lillian Vernon lawn flag collection (dream goals), my turkey one would have been displayed, like, yesterday.

Every good language needs a proper alphabet, and since I speak fluent fall…well, here you have it: Apples, Boots, Cable knit, Deer, Elm tree, Firewood, Gourd, Hay bale, Irish cream, Jammies, K–. Sorry, I got stuck at K.

As Julie Andrews, the mother of all things, sang “Let’s Start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.” That brings us to APPLES, today’s Friday Faves.

Did you know there are over 7,500 different varieties of apples in the world? I miss a good Michigan apple, eaten straight from the tree in the fall. We don’t have the greatest selection of apples in our grocery stores here, but I do love the Pink Lady and Honeycrisp ones for eating and Braeburn, Gala and Granny Smith for pies.

Nella’s taking a liking to them lately and doesn’t even mind the peel.

And yes, food and sustenance–all good things. But let’s get to the fun stuff. The application of apples in other important areas.

Some current apple favorites:

 

1. DUNS Sweden is one of my new favorite kid brands. Their quirky prints make such a great statement. I love this long sleeve apple tee. I’m usually turned off by international shipping costs, but DUNS shipping is affordable and arrives quickly. We’ve ordered from them twice (and their products wash and wear beautifully).

2. My heart beats wildly for all things miniature. Check out this adorable softie toy apple pie from Haba–filled with plush apples and layered with a lattice dough top.

3. How cute is this girl’s apple print knit dress from Pumpkin Patch. You can layer it over a long sleeve tee (black and white stripe is never wrong) or throw a cardigan over it for cooler weather. Or we’d bust it out as is down here in Florida and call it a crisp fall day.

4. Sweet Mary Mayberry, these pajamas. Fall heart exploded. Love.

5. Lessons of generosity and a love of nature are paired with beautiful illustrations in this sweet Johnny Appleseed children’s book, a great read to kick off fall.

6. If you don’t know cut-paper artist Nikki McClure, get to know her through this simple word book for kids that follows the life of an apple from seed to fruit.

7. Bring Me Some Apples and I’ll Make You a Pie: Through beautiful watercolor illustrations, this book tells the story of Edna Lewis whose passion for farm-to-table food and pure ingredients set her apart in the world of chefs. Includes folk rhymes, songs and kid-friendly recipes.

8. Give me all the cool prints! This women’s apple skirt from Boden is killing it with that unexpected blue, and it’s ON SALE!

9. This eco-friendly wood apple tree toy looks cute taking up space on a shelf, but it’s also a fun preschool counting game. The little apples are magnets and pull off/stick on the tree.

10. This simple knit baby beanie from Eozy on Amazon is all your baby needs to make a fall statement. Pair with white onesie and cute moccs for oooos and aahhhs.

11. I love this wooden apple lacing toy–great for coordination and fine motor skills (and all those mamas looking for good O.T. toys!)

12. These Target apple rain boots are for the mamas. Wear them to the orchard over skinny jeans, frolic in a puddle after a fall storm–hell, I don’t care what you do in them. But APPLES! ON BOOTS! WINNING!

13. And how fun are these Apple Organic Leggings from Little Bow and Arrow on Etsy? I want them in my size! Can you imagine a big black and white stripe sweater with these and some black pointy-toe flats?

Happy Friday. Pick delicious things this weekend.