Mommy Mondays: Cold Weather Gear

Today was another quiet day at baby group. The biggest development we've had lately is that E has suddenly decided that he will actually eat the fruit that gets brought out for snack time. I guess this just proves that patience and persistence really are where it's at. Of course, I'm sure it helped today that the kids were all allowed to play in a giant pile of Rice Krispies. For E, this meant taking large handfuls out of the tray and alternately dumping them on the floor and shoving them into his mouth with gluttonous abandon. For his little friend, Elliot, this meant sitting smack in the middle of the tray of cereal and kicking it all over the room.

I, on the other hand, am nursing a hot drink and making my way through a box of tissues. All of this nasty damp weather, combined with the cold, has brought on either a cold or my allergies, so I'm a bit sniffly and gross at the moment. Luckily, the cold weather means that I get to break out my cold weather accessories, so that always makes me happy.

I grabbed that hat from White Stuff when we went back to Winchester with Victoria. The two of us wandered in, just for a look around as we waited to meet up with the Husband and E again after coming out of the Cathedral. Just by means of sharing what I'd seen, I mentioned to the Husband that I'd found a nice cute winter hat, and he told me to go back and buy it! No, I don't need his permission to go buy things, and I wasn't even asking for it, but as a courtesy to the man with whom I keep house, we do tend to run prospective purchases past each other...except for birthday and Christmas presents. Those are gathered in the utmost secrecy.

The Next jumper was in a post-Christmas sale last year up in Didcot when we were staying with the in-laws. Technically, it's meant to fit differently as it's about 3 or 4 sizes too big (and was even too big when I was 2 months postpartum), but I do tend to prefer my jumpers a bit on the roomy side. I am occasionally a fan of the close and tailored look, but there's just something so snuggly and cosy about massively oversized jumpers and cardigans...I really can't help myself.

Ethan decided to show off his outfit as well. The jacket was a present when he was born and came from Sainsbury's. (At this point, my mother is rolling her eyes, convinced that everything comes from Sainsbury's.) The jeans are from Next, the top is a hand-me-down from friends at church (cheers, Adele!), and the shoes are Pre-Shoes: a lovely gift from his Mimi.

I do have to say, Pre-Shoes are brilliant. They're made of leather so A) they give him great grip on otherwise slippery wood floors and B) in warmer weather, they don't really require socks. Plus, they're really adorable. E has the Space Hopper pattern. These things have worked brilliantly for him as a practical first pair of shoes. He has two other pairs from Next, but they're mostly decorative. With the fabric bottoms, they slip and slide on the floors, so they're really only good for walking on carpet or on the laminate floor of the kitchen. Hence the reason he wears his Pre-Shoes about 99% of the time.

So that's the look for this week. I'm now off to refill my Nutella hot chocolate, settle on the couch with my sandwich and some crisps and catch up on yesterday's Downton Abbey. Maybe later, if the rain abates, we'll go for a walk and see about collecting some tree branches. I have plans to work some in to the decorations for E's birthday party in a few weeks.