Dressing a 4 Year Old Boy to Stay Warm and Dry

I was very tardy with getting boy's Winter clothes for Aaron, this year, namely because September was like an Indian Summer (way better than August) driest on record in fact. Some of October was nearly just as good. 

But then some rain came, and then some more, but lucky I was ready with Dickies Water Proofs that I'd had sent for review. We love them, and more importantly they keep Aaron dry! We'd learned the hard way that a normal shower jacket, doesn't have elasticated cuffs, or a drawstring hood, which meant he was miserable when wet. All sorted now though. Since that review we have now tried the hi vis waistcoat which is perfect for our daily #SchoolPedal:

That pic above was taken on the last day of term (I say TERM as there are now six school terms a year, so as much as we call this current very welcome week off "half term" this is technically no longer true). So yes, on Friday 24th October it rained from the HEAVENS, so I even needed to put the water proof trousers on, as you see above. They are a necessity when cycling. You get wet incredibly quickly when the rain is heavy.

So now that he has the right clothes for rain, I needed to deal with warmth. You can see two hoods in the pic above, as the Dickies water proof is a shell, (on a mild day sufficient on its own) so on a cold day I layer. The jacket below is one I picked up for 12 pounds in Primark. I hate to see children in grey, black, navy or brown Winter jackets and have always dressed Aaron colourfully since he was born, hence I was delighted with the tartan detail on the shoulders AND the fact that Aaron's school has no rules regarding outdoor coats, so I can actually be as colourful as I like. The jacket below is aged 7-8 and is not at all big on him. I have a very tall 4 year old (and he only turned 4 in June). Being that he is now fitting into that aged group I have to go to an older boy section of Primark, and the colours are naturally all darker than for the younger ones. Luckily I love the jacket and it is warm. I went there to scoop a bargain, but ended up spending over 50 pounds, as it is HARD to go into PRIMARK for one thing. What I saved on the jacket I ended up spending on a body warmer, as I couldn't resist the large A on it, which I could pretend was for Aaron.

12 pounds in the older boy section of Primark

So Daddy took us to Primark the other day so I could get the Winter jacket above (amongst other things ooops). BUT the other day when we were out shopping as a family once again, I made my "boys" accompany me to TK Maxx where I got the below (top left). (1) The knitwear (I want something like it myself) (2) The Donald Duck long sleeved tee (purely because Aaron says the word CRAZY a LOT and (3) the other long sleeved tee you see there, because it is dead COOOOOOL! Being that it was TK Maxx all of the prices were very reasonable. Shopping as a 3 is great, as when Aaron gets distracted, I can still concentrate with Daddy there as an extra pair of hands. While I picked those 3 TK Maxx bits, Daddy and Aaron were in the toy section.

You can see the body warmer that I mentioned above, in the pics below. You wouldn't know it from the photos, but under the bottom warmer, he is wearing the seasonal cardigan AND the long sleeved tee with the winged "flying" boots. I love layering for staying warm. All of the below were taken on a lovely family day out with Daddy. Luckily he's had some time off in half term which has been GREAT!

Love my gorgeous boy. His Winter wardrobe is building up nicely.

Oh and I bought those blue shoes in H and M over the Summer. For some reason they were only 4.99 GBP and I love them! They're my favourite shops all in one post actually. H and M, Primark and TK Maxx. The places where I get all my favourite bits for Aaron.

Liska xxx

P.S. Here are some individual pics of those three TK Maxx pieces so you can see the detail and the pricing

Whatever happens, my boy, my son, is always dressed better than me:

Introducing Me, Introducing My Sponsor - BritMums Live 2013

This is my "getting to know you" 

I'M GOING TO BRITMUMS LIVE 

introduction post for the BritMums linky.

However I ALSO have exciting news! 

This girl's gone and got herself a sponsor.  

One I can be proud of too!

You only have to look at their children's clothes, 

or boys t-shirts in particular (you can see Aaron in one of those right?), 

to understand why I am proud 

to call them my Sponsor.

If you are a regular reader of this blog you will know that 

Aaron's looked good since the day he was born.  

I am crap at dressing myself, but I seem to be able to perform magic 

when it comes to him.  

When getting things out of the wardrobe I am not always fully paying attention, 

yet when I get to dress him, I'll see that the colours all coordinate.  

It's like magic. 

Now that he is getting bigger, 

I need to start to develop his own little style, 

and alexandalexa is the perfect place to do just that.  

It's the sort of website you'll want to spend a lot of time on, 

especially given that they have  

UP TO 50% OFF AT THE MOMENT!

And now, over to the introductions.

Name: You may call me Liska

Blog: errrr this one! +New Mum Online  but you can also find me at +Conscious Mum 

Twitter ID: @NewMumOnline and @ConsciousMum

Height: 5ft 7inch

Hair: Long brown straight unless I wear a turban

Eyes: sometimes green sometimes hazel, usually both at the same time!

Is this your first blogging conference?
No, it will be my 6th.

1. Blog Camp 2011
2. CyberMummy 2011
3. BritMums Live 2012
4. Mumsnet Blogfest 2012
5. Cybher 2013
6. BRITMUMS LIVE 2013 - hooo hah! 

After every event I always do a thorough blog post where I practically type up my notes of what I have learned at the event. They're always worth a read or so I am told.

Are you attending both days?
Of course!

What are you most looking forward to at BritMums Live 2013?
The fact that we get a 2 day break from being at home.  Mingling with like minded people.  Smiling/laughing/drinking/eating/socialising/learning.... it really is formidable! Plus I love the swag bags and the fact that there is always something there we are not expecting, whether it be handwriting analysis, breadmakers, naked waiters, TK Maxx makeovers, etc...  The list goes on of pleasant surprises we've all enjoyed in the past.

What are you wearing?
3 different dresses.  If it wasn't for the muffin top that jeans give me it would be jeans!

What do you hope to gain from BritMums Live 2013?
To get through "speaking" without pooing my pants!
To make sense in my 5 minutes without being incoherent.
As you can see on the BritMums Live Agenda I am speaking as part of a panel at 14:10 on Saturday, talking about Blogging with Heart for Support.
At the event I want to meet all the bloggers I hold dear, and of course new ones I am yet to meet.
To learn something from the sessions that I pick - if I pick right - so that I can type up my notes in the type of after-conference blog post I am infamous for :-)  That is a hangover from my days as an Office Manager / HR Manager, where documenting accurately and often verbatim, what was said, was imperative!

Tell us one thing about you that not everyone knows
Despite being a Londoner I have always considered myself Irish. I had my 21st over there AND my wedding.  I've always been told I am NOT Irish (mainly by my Mum) as I was born here, but I very recently found out I was conceived in Ireland (not from my Mum - I mean I was! Obviously! but that's not where the news sprang from), so now, if I was an ornament, it would say on my the bottom MADE IN IRELAND :-)

Disclosure:
alexandalexa being my sponsor means that they have covered the cost of the expenses I will incur in order to attend BritMums Live (travel etc...). 

Rain Jacket for a Toddler Boy

I bought Aaron a gorgeous puffy jacket, Thomas The Tank Engine, from Asda last year (I featured it on here at the time). Anyway I bought it in September and it saw him right through the Winter and still fits now.

But the other day I fancied the idea of getting him a rain mac for those days when rain is threatening but it is not cold.

I got this K Way one from TK Maxx, and it even came with dungarees (which he hasn't worn yet) for keeping his legs dry when he wants to jump in puddles.

Anyway for the jacket AND dungarees I paid £14 which I thought was fab and I love Aaron in it.  I dared to get age 3-4 even though he is only 2 and it fits.  Look:

So where do you buys your boy's clothes and does your wee lad have a rain jacket?

These photos were taken yesterday when we were on the way to nursery - that's Mater from Cars that he is holding :-)

Liska xx

We Love You George

Hi George.........

We went to your shop the other day (Friday 11/11/11) and we bought £60 worth of clothes for Aaron.

The highlights were:

This jacket:

As Aaron is a large boy at nearly 17 months, we had to buy it in age 2 -3 years and it fits just right.

Neither the photo above nor the one on the Asda website do it justice.  The RED and the NAVY are very vibrant in real life AND it is Thomas The Tank Engine.  It is a snip at £14 and this is NOT a sponsored post.  The minute I saw it on Friday I knew I had to have it.  The jacket Aaron's worn the last few weeks was given to us by Siobhan, and Aaron loved it, but I knew he needed another jacket, a shiny one for rainy days (as the other is brown chord).

We also got Pudsey Children In Need PJs which Aaron wore last night and they are gorgeous - they are a real snip at £8.  All three of the things I mention here, we got in age 2-3 years, even though Aaron is nearly 17 months, as he is a BIG BOY.  Do not buy the right size for a relative, if you know that they are large for their age.  Good tip: Aaron was 9 pounds 10 oz at birth and his percentile has stayed consistent ever since, with him growing all the while.

We also got this gorgeous top - it is slightly fleecy and has a pretend t-shirt underneath - it is very warm:

Again these photos and the website don't do it justice.  It has a wool (or brushed cotton) feel to it, which the website doesn't tell you.  THAT is what I love about it - as well as how very smart it looks on.  It looks expensive but is a very reasonable £6. I wish Aaron would stay still long enough for me to take a better photo of it.

Anyway we are VERY happy with the look, feel and price of our Asda buys.

Thanks George.

And again, this is not a sponsored post - wish it was.  George, if you want to send us some of your beautiful clothes we won't say no.

We've been a fan of Asda's clothes since Aaron was born, but I don't normally think to blog about it.

Bye for now.

Much love,
Liska and Aaron xxx