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Children

Family Life Fashion Little

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring… 16 Kids’ Essentials To Keep Them Dry This Season

It looks like we’re in for a rainy few weeks! Summer quickly turned in autumn, didn’t it? Keep your kids dry this season with some of these rainy day essentials. If they’ve outgrown their wellies since the last downpour, now’s the time to click express delivery on some of these brilliant boots. I’ve picked out some reliable macs, umbrellas and waterproof trousers too, so the kids can splash about as much as they like without getting soaked through!

Jump to…

Raincoats

I like Hatley raincoats because they’re well-lined, so they keep your kids cosy as well as dry.

Pretty Alpacas Raincoat, Hatley

£36

Yellow is the classic rain coat colour, so I had to include this one from Hatley too!

Yellow Splash Jacket, Hatley

£45

For something simple — waterproof and windproof — H&M can always be relied upon. This one comes with a practical detachable hood too.

Lined Hooded Rain Jacket, H&M

£18

Frugi always has the most fun and vibrant designs! Plus, their raincoats are made from recycled plastic bottles, ideal for us being more environment conscious.

Puddle Buster Coat, Frugi

From £39

Knights & Dragons is just one of the gorgeous rain coat designs from Powell Craft. I also love the unicorn and robot prints.

Knights & Dragons Raincoat, Powell Craft

£39

I wanted to include a coat with a thicker lining too and I think this White Stuff one is perfect for keeping them toasty and dry.

Rainy Day Mac, White Stuff

£33

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Umbrellas

3D umbrellas with wings, eyes, ears, (whatever they think of next!) are always lots of fun. Brollies Galore has a huge selection of characters to choose from.

Kids Umbrella, Sunnylife

£13

3D Monster Umbrella, Brollies Galore

£14

rain day essentials

I must admit I wouldn’t mind this Hunter one for myself! It’s nice to know that simple, monochrome umbrellas for kids exist. This is a good one for occasions too.

Kids Moustache Bubble Umbrella, Hunter

£28

rain day essentials

We all know it’s never going to look as neat as the one in the product shot but letting the kids decorate their own umbrellas is a nice way to add a personal touch to their rainy day outfits.

Paint Your Own Umbrella, KidMaker

£15

rain day essentials

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Wellies

You can guarantee that Muck Boot Company boots will be super comfortable as well as practical.

Kids Half Pull-On Wellington Boots, Muck Boot Company

£55

These wellies look pretty easy to slip-on and ankle height might be more comfortable for your little one to walk in.

Kids Ankle Wellies, JoJo Maman

£17

I love that these are fleece-lined and elasticated at the top — perfect for keeping toes cosy.

Red Slip-On Waterproof Boots, StartRite

£29

rain day essentials

These stylish wellies from Polarn O Pyret look super-durable.

Stripe Kids Wellies, Polarn O Pyret

£28

Other Essentials

A rain mac by itself doesn’t cut it on those autumn country walks. Pack some Puddle Buster trousers to keep them dry and your car seats mud-free  when you whip them off post walk!

Puddle Buster Trousers, Frugi

From £28

rain day essentials

Don’t give them chance to complain about cold (or wet!) fingers with these rain-proof mittens.

Fleece Lined Rain Mittens, H&M

£9

rain day essentials

Something for you too…

Navy Poncho 3.0, thepeoples.co

Reversible leopard print jacket, TLM Edit

£60


Looking for something else? Take a peek at my ultimate directory for the best parent, baby and business recommendations.

Fashion Little

Holiday Style : Let’s Kit The Boys Out

Thank goodness the selection of boys clothes in the shops has grown over the last few years. It used to be pretty basic but now if you know where to look the boys can give the girls a run for their money in the cuteness and originality stakes. There also more individual and dedicated websites just for the boys (more on that soon!)

However, I am pretty trad in how I dress the boys so high street shopping works for me.  There is a lot of blue. A lot of stripes. Nothing too way out. So if this is a little safe for you, I won’t be offended if you quietly move on. If you are in the running for some timeless basics, stick with me and let’s head to trusty M and S.

Younger boys : 0-5

Riptape Trainers from £16

Seeing as below the age of 10 they race through their shoes at  very high speed, best to go cheap and cheerful. These are very sweet too.

Riptape Young Boys Trainers

Dino Top from £5 

Love the two tone endnote too overtly appliqué.

Young Boys Dino Long Sleeve T Shirt

Blue Cotton Star Print Top from £5

Same look as above but it wouldn’t be a TLM post without a star or two in it!

Boys Long Sleeve Star Top

Dude Long Sleeve Top from £5 

I don’t love the motif on this but I do love the slightly different green if you are eating something a bit different to ‘safe’ blue.

Dude Long Sleeve Top

Textured Jumper from £12 

I love how M and S have focussed on this subtle texture. It keeps the clothes simple enough but adds little bit of much needed detail on kids clothes.

Textured Boys Jumper

Pure Cotton Striped Jumper £12 

This only goes up to 1 yr. Wish it went older.

Baby Blue & White Stripe Jumper

 

Older boys : 3-16

Driving Shoes : Grey from £26 

Alot of the more popular coloured boys driving shoes have sold out but this practical grey which would go with everything is still in every size.

Boys Grey Suede Driving Shoes

‘Clogs’ from £9 

Who would know these weren’t.. umm.. cough.. the original ones. I wouldn’t.

Boys Beach Shoes

Printed Swim Shorts from £10 

These are really fun and I am a massive fan of slightly longer looking board shorts than shorter trunks that can look a bit ‘Copacabana beach’ in them if you get what I mean.

Electric Blue Boys Swimming Trunks

Dark Blue Swimmers from £10 

These are really smart and would love them in a mens sizes.

Dark Blue Boys Swimmers

Striped Rash Vest from £8 

Fresh and easily spotted from the other side of the swimming pool.

Striped Rash Vest

Footy PJs from £19 

There is no avoiding the football obsession (lucky if you are) and a good way to avoid them wanting team pjs is to put these across their path.

Football PJ's

Checked Shirt from £12 

Roll the sleeves up, unbutton a couple of the top buttons, which on some shorts and a great al fresco look.

Boys Check Shirt

Cotton Trunks from £8 

Why are these called trunks? Anyway, there comes a time in every boys life when the briefs have to go and these have to enter. I would say from age 4 at the LATEST.

Cotton Pants

Green Colour Block Sunglasses £6 

A bit of fun. Until they lose them!

Green Sunglasses

Hope this has helped and will emerald you to fill in any holiday clothing gaps for your little chap.

This post was written in collaboration with Marks and Spencer however all products chosen are handpicked by me. This post also contains affiliate links!

TLM Monthly Edit

TLM Monthly Edit : June 2016

I love compiling my monthly Edit’s and hope you enjoy reading them.  Lots are recommendations from friends or people who have emailed to tell me about their new business. That’s what this blog is about! The June Edit has a multitude of random goodies ranging from events to taste sensations with some adorable new brands in between. Dive in!

Willa & The Bear

If you expecting, heading to a baby shower or just want to kit out your own tribe’s nursery, you have to check out Willa & The Bear. From large muslins (with neon satin trim!) to darling nightwear, they even sell sweet garlands to prettify any room. Reader off In July – 25% off. Use code TLM25

satin trimmed muslin blankets

Coco-Belle Clothing

Beautiful hand smocked children’s clothes at afforadable prices from Paris. I haven’t found such sweet and reasonable dresses in a while. Email Sophie for more information cocobelleclothing@gmail.com

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T20 Cricket at The Oval

Kids go for £1 to the Natwest T20 Games at The Oval this summer. There is a new family zone that including facepainting, autograph signing and there is even a visit from Caesar The Lion. This shortened cricket game is perfect to take any budding cricketers.

Caesar-Bowl

Sugarella Cakes

Not only does Ella cater for parties such as children’s birthdays and afternoon tea, she has now taken London by storm with her famous brownie’s.  The honeycombe brownies are particularly oooh la la.  Not only do they put any other brownie you have ever tasted (strong call but I am confident) they are also beautifully beautifully. Order online or pop into Fortnum & Masons lower ground floor…

IMG_9059

Mymia – Childrens Beachwear

I love this brand! (Going to stock a few key peices on www.tlmedit.com in the near future *happy face) They have totally nailed beach chic for the little ones. My daughter actually pulls this top out of her drawer ever since it arrived (not that I let her choose her clothes…) It is very comfortable and fits beautifully. See her in action over on Instagram.

Mia Strappy Top

Kids Week

Did you know that kids go free to hundreds of theatre shows in London this August? No, I didn’t either. Check it out pronto as tickets are selling fast.

Wunderlife – The Brug

Get picnic ready with this ingenius picnic blanket that doubles up as a bag and toy carrier. It is multi-use, doesn’t show the dirt, wipes clean and it can even be personalised. Voila. Ready for summer.

 

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Family Life People

Pros & Cons Of Three Children

It happened again this weekend. ‘So, what’s it like having three children?’ It is usually asked by people who have already decided they are going for the hat trick.  I am not going to advise you on whether to have 3 or not, but I do have a few thoughts about the spacing between them. We have 3 (4, 2 and 1 years old) with less than 2 years between each. Now number 3 is on the move, I am getting a true taste of what friends further down the line said to me about the 3rd ‘oh the first year is easy, wait till they start moving’. Yes. Thanks for that.

We decided before we married that three was our magic number. Whatever combination we had, we would still go for number 3. We both come from a ‘Jack and Jill’ pair – hubby is the oldest to a sister and I am a younger sister to a brother so we thought let’s mix it up, break with family tradition and get the hard work out the way. Ha. More fool us! Whatever number and age gap you have it is always going to be hard work!

Ranulph Sports day 173

 Let’s start with cons

Time off. There is none. Especially at the moment. The little one wants me and that’s fine. It’s just a stage! Lunch time sleep you ask? Yes – if they slept at the same time I would. But they don’t. At least by now, I know everything is a stage and ‘this too shall pass’. I have mastered the art of cooking/wrapping/typing etc with a bent elbow to jab them away when they come too close.

1 on 1 time. Number 3 gets plenty of 1 on 1 as number 2 is at nursery 3 mornings but the oldest two don’t get as much as I would like to give them.

Outnumbered. Having two close in age is like having twins – 2 in nappies/can’t feed themselves/both need a buggy but one is slightly more advanced (i.e not on exactly same routine/into the same things but still both drunk sailors). Fine if you don’t have an oldest one being set aside whilst you deal with the aforementioned twins.

A Car Journey. My Achilles heel. Prone to impatience, shouting and losing it. All of us. A particular low point recently was when number 2 was sick on number 1 who shrieked slightly too dramatically and woke up number 3.  All crying. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

Car seats. 3 car seats along the back. Good luck with that. Won’t go into logistics but email me if you want some pointers. It is possible!

Social life. This will suffer. A wise friend who now has 4 once said, if you suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out) or are a ‘people pleaser’ don’t have a 3rd, as you will miss out and are likely to offend people with your inability to be the friend you once were.  I remind myself it is just a stage.

Weekends away.  We started to reduce our weekends away when we had two very ‘active’ boys and it was more relaxing for them to jump on our sofas/throw our food – delete as appropriate and since number 3 came along we have bedded down even more so. That’s fine anyway, as to get to away – we would have to drive. (Already mentioned).

Paraphernalia. Too much with 3 little ones.  Our house has looked like a playgroup for a long time with no respite.

Play dates. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting a gaggle of little ones together at home. I probably prefer home matches to away matches as then I don’t have to take half of the contents of my house too but I can no longer feed a street as I once did. I have enough of my own who need feeding (literally).

Sleep. More specifically not waking up naturally for a good chunk of your life. I can’t remember the last time I was woken up by anything other than a wail/cry/shout.

Childcare. Particularly applies to weekends or school holidays. No one can look after 3 under 4 unless you were trained at Norland, so even the most dutiful and kind Granny needs another set of hands.  This is an extra expense so a wedding for example ends up being a massive hit.

Marta photos 001

Now for the pros

Interests. Ok, so number 1 doesn’t like opening and shutting doors like number 3. But you get me. They are still all happy in the small playground rather splitting into the small and large playground for example, as they are all in the same age range.

Baby gear. It didn’t go out of date nor did we lose it to lending. There was no debate where to store it in between babies. We kept it at home knowing that the time would hopefully quickly come round to get it all out again. Currently in the chucking out stage which is uber satisfying. (If you want a 50 ft wide baby bouncer it is looking for a good home as you read).

Toys. We haven’t had to pack up toys when one stage ends as before we know it the next one is at that stage.

Activities. No holding number 1 back whilst you wait till number 3 is ready (hoping to apply this to skiing next year when number 1 is only 5. I will be able to join in too as I won’t be pregnant!)

TV. Number 3 is quite happy to watch Spider-man and Power Rangers. She knows nothing else (and won’t ever be allowed to by the looks of it).

Sport. Similar age so similar stage. Less one sided. Number 3 won’t always be the fielder as she will be in the mix (and assertive enough) to play alongside.

Clothes. They can almost sort of nearly sometimes wear one another’s clothes. That’s if you number won’t mind frayed cords. And number 2 and 3 are same nappy size!

Parties. Can do joint. Just think of those teenage years!

Friends. They all get on with each other’s friends. Number 1’s friends love playing with number 2’s and 3’s (even though the latter’s are in short supply) and vice versa. And if there are no friends about, they have each other.

You. You can get your work/social life/body back without knowing a self imposed relapse is on the cards.  That’s if you have any energy left!

Family. We are a much tighter unit as we stick together as no one (yet) needs to be taken off to do other things.  We are also even closer to our wider family as we see them more – they aren’t intimidated by the circus coming to stay.

Our theory was that if you know you are going to do it, let’s just crack on with it before the proverbial ship sails.  I can see that the bigger the age the easier it is – but who said easy was as much fun!

Want more?

 

Fashion Little Products Spotlight

Interview with Pepa & Co : Spanish Children’s Clothes

Whenever I ask a mother what their child is wearing, more often than not, it is from Spain.  Spanish clothes are becoming more and more popular in the UK as some people veer towards a more traditional way of dressing their sprogs.  The Royals have strongly influenced this trend and Pepa & Co is now one of Kate Middleton’s trusted boutique for her children.

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Gorgeous Page Boys & Bridesmaids for Pippa Middletons glamorous country wedding.

Wedding

See Prince George and Princess Charlotte on their recent tour to Canada.

Image result for princess charlotte canada

After 5 years living in London,  working closely with lovely mums and their children, Pepa Gonzalez decided to start up Pepa & Company. Her aim was to bring back smart and quality clothes to a new generation of children.
pepagonzalez

TLM Edit

www.tlmedit.com

The inspiration for Pepa & Company comes from her large Spanish family. Her mother (a mother of 5) used to be told

 

Your boys look like little princes.

 

The sentiment stuck with her. She liked to see children dress as children. The range are handpicked, quality and smart Spanish clothing, in both classic and contemporary styles. There’s a high attention to detail at affordable prices.

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Body Suit with Ruffle Collar

Annafie Smock Dress

Annafie Smock Dress

 

 

Pepa’s Favourites

Shop: Summerbox

Website: www.notonthehighstreet.com

Restaurant: Megan’s in Chelsea, London

Hotel: HILTON in Mayfair, London

Place: Serpentine in Hyde Park, London

Discover their latest collections.

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www.pepaandcompany.com

 

Events Fashion Places

Summer Box: Pop Up Shop

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Summer Box is a collaboration of cool companies showcasing a range of swimwear, home wear, accessories, women’s and children’s clothing all under one roof. It is set to be an Aladdin’s cave of treasures.

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Here’s a sneak preview to what will be there –

Ethical Beachware: www.beach-candy.com/shop

High Quality Eyewear: www.taylormorriseyewear.com/shop

Glamorous Swimwear: www.tooshie.com

Spanish Children’s Clothes: www.pepaandcompany.com

Fashion From Mexico: www.santalupita.com

Fine Jewellery: www.byjada.com

Women’s Fashion: www.bgoandme.com

African Enterprise: www.lalibella.co.uk/about

Homewear: www.feudebeaumont.com/

It’s a perfect one stop to shop to inspire and get you ready for the Summer.  Put it in your diary!

Summer Box

27th April till 24th May

308 Kings Road, London, SW3 5UH

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Events Fashion Places

Four Fairies And A Prince: Pop Up Shop

Four Fairies and a Prince invites you to it’s pop-up shop at 330 Kings Road, London from the 20th of April to the 5 May, 2015.

Invitation - All Welcome

Something for everyone

They will showcase its Scandinavian-Dutch quality clothing, accessories and toys for children aged between one and ten years old. I absolutely love their website – there something for your handsome Prince and little fairy, from clothes, to wands to party accessories.  It’s in collaboration with Cecilia of Scandinavian Fashion and Andraya from MeMe London, so there will be something for adults and children alike.

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Scandinavian Fashion

Stackable Bracelets

Stackable Bracelets

Look forward to seeing you there!

www.fourfairiesandaprince.com

www.scandinavianfashion.co.uk

www.meme.london

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