Tuesday 2 October 2012

On your marks, get set - winter!

Every day something new is requested by my kids. If it aint Sproglet telling me "I have two left feet, no really I have - I don't have my right plimsole any more... I don't know why, it was there yesterday..." or him leaving yet another jumper somewhere never to be found,  it's the nursery requesting that my daughter wear wellies for an outdoor jaunt in this seasonal weather. For seasonal - read 'autumn.' Meaning it is mainly overcast, rainy, drizzly, pouring, windy or freezing. Take your pick.

So autumn is here and where are all the sunny crisp days? They appear to have vanished - like my son's P.E. kit. Suddenly we don't need to worry about back to school clothes - it is simply keeping them dry of a weekend. Because kids are like dogs aren't they? You need to get them out and let them run around a bit, until they tire themselves out... so then we can all just uncork a bottle of red and lie on the sofa watching X factor while they sleep. Bliss. That's all I aspire to on a Saturday night - and now that work are running a sweepstake on X Factor and strictly - I have a bonafide excuse for such sloth.

Anyhow, I've been checking out places where to get some decent outdoor gear for my kids. I don't want to spend a fortune as we are still not back in comfortable land after Husband's redundancy earlier this year - and anyway I kind of resent spending heaps of cash on clothes that kids will grow out of by next season. BUT I don't want something chip as chips that lasts only one good downpour and then shrivels to dust.

That is where these folk come in: Muddy Puddles. Now, I know, I know, I was asked to talk about products and stuff - but I swear hands down that I impressed with this brand. Not just because These wellies are only a tenner! Not just because they are a one stop shop for all things ski- tastic for kids (as frankly I can hardly afford a flight to Belfast let alone some luxury weekend skiing in the alps) but because of gloves. Yes gloves. When Sproglet was at nursery and I was heavily pregnant with Sproglette - we had a massive snow storm. The place was eerie and quiet and white. Sproglet went to school/nursery whereupon I was greeted by Mrs Huggett - a lovely if slightly scary woman who ran his little class. She informed me that my simple woollen gloves were not cutting the mustard - I needed padded waterproof gloves to keep Sproglet's hands warm in such biting weather. The woollen ones were wet and soggy and just prolonged the torture of having cold hands.

I felt like the worst mother alive.

I duly sent Husband out on a mission as I scoured all the local shops, posh kids boutiques, ebay and sports shops trying to find waterproof padded mitten things that would keep his hands warm. In the end Husband (who worked in Knightsbridge at the time - a tourist expensive mecca) went to Harrods and bought Sproglet these expensive Ted Baker gloves that I spent an entire winter fretting that he would lose as they cost the earth. Had I known about these beauties life would have been a whole lot easier!

So if you need macs, waterproofs, gloves, snow boots, wellies, all in ones, hats, jackets, tops, leggings or anything really to keep your kids warm all winter - I say pop on over here. Especially if like me, you need good affordable options - rather than guilty buying at the most expensive shop in London because you were made to feel like a failure parent...

 

No comments: