My babies have wrecked my wardrobe!

Everything changes!

Before my babies graced my life with their joyful presence, I had a brilliantly varied wardrobe. My choice of clothing was pretty much endless. Going out was never a stressful concept, as I would never have the struggle to find something to wear. My only dilemma would be about which of my many pairs of shoes would look best with my chosen outfit. 

My wardrobes would be stacked with all sorts! Dresses: some for formal occasions, others more casual, skirts, suits, smart trousers and jackets, and the crop tops I used to have - I had loads! Back in the day when my stomach was toned and my skin was tanned! Back in the day before my babies!

These days, my everyday wardrobe tends to consist of jeans, combat trousers and vest tops! And the thought of going out somewhere special will require several days careful planning, and often a shopping trip when I discover that nothing I have is suitable! I still have all the lovely clothes I wore back in my before babies days, but they tend to be packed away in bags and boxes, ready for the day that I might magically fit back into them again!

What I really need to do is restock and replenish.

I need to get my wardrobe back into a less embarrassing state!

I need to remind myself that being a mum doesn't mean being completely off trend. Sometimes I go shopping for clothes and feel as though designers are only making clothes with tall, slim 19 year olds in mind, but this is not always the case. I can still enjoy high street stores like New Look and find clothes that fit me and look decent. I suppose sometimes, I just need to be a little creative about how I wear them. 

Ok, so right now, cute little crop tops and figure hugging hot pants may have to take a back row pew as even the thought of squeezing myself into these kind of make my eyes water a little, but not everything in today's ranges should be ruled out! 

Although I may not feel totally comfortable wearing dresses that fall too far above the knee, or wearing tight leggings with tops that fall above the waist, knee length dresses and leggings can make a very flattering combination. 

Now I have spent far too long browsing the latest season's collections on New Look's website, and am dangerously close to spending lots of money that I just don't have. This is why I shall fill my online Shopping Basket with all of the goodies I have my eye on and accidentally leave my laptop open in a prominent place where The Man will stumble across my virtual Wish List!

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Treating the family with Jellyegg!

Shopping in a 'Sunny Side Up' fashion ...?

Have you discovered Jellyegg?

We have used the site a number of times here at the Munchkin Patch. We've used it for ourselves and for gift ideas on various occasions. Munchkin and I decided the other day that we would sit down together and construct a kind of 'Wish List' using Jellyegg. I anticipated that this would be interesting, as Munchkin likes a lot of things!! If nothing else, it would give me some birthday present ideas ... and who doesn't like a bit of shopping, even if it is of the window variety?!

If you haven't heard of Jellyegg before, I recommend you take a look. A whole host of big brands all together on one site! 

Firstly, inevitably, we looked at all of Munchkin's favourite things!

Now, as you know, Munchkin is 3, and she is a real girly girl! She loves everything that is pretty and pink, and if it is adorned with flowers, butterflies and fairies, then even better! It's a good job there is plenty of pink prettiness to be found on Jellyegg.com!

That's one seriously pink Wish List!!

Munchkin's list contains goodies from Fatboy, Jibbitz, Kiddimoto, Crocs, Babybanz, Aladdin, Togz, LittleLife and The Sticker Family. All great names that we were already familiar with.

Munchkin then went on to make a list of all the things she decided Beastie Boo would love ...

Yes, Munchkin has decided that Beastie Boo would like products from Totseat, Mum2Mum, Doomoo, Fatboy, KidsKit, Kiddimoto, LittleLife, The Sticker Family, Togz and Rubbabu. I think that Beastie would be quite satisfied with her big sister's choices!!

Then I told Munchkin to find some things for mummy on the site. After directing her away from the Kiddimoto Balance Bikes and the Bumble Bee LittleLife Daysack, we found the sections suitable for me! This is what she came up with (with a little help, of course!) ...

She made some great choices for me. I especially love the range of Keen Footwear that they have available. I really love the boots - they look SO comfortable!

She even found something for the pooch ...!

There really is something for everyone at Jellyegg. And with some great, unique gift ideas too, you shouldn't be stuck for inspiration again! 

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Shoes ... shoes ... shoes ...!

Living with girls ...!

Photo - Malin Jo Photography

The Munchkin Patch - home to The Man, Mummy, Munchkin and Beastie Boo. Yep, that's The Man and THREE of us girls! And if there is one thing we hear him say, over and over again, it's:

"You 3 women have too many blinkin' shoes!!!"

Well, what's a girl without her shoes ...? Lots of shoes ...?!

First of all, we have Beastie's shoes. Ok, so she's not walking yet, but that's not the point. Baby shoes are just too irresistible! We have managed to acquire a number of pairs of perfect, soft soled baby shoes since Beastie arrived 10 months ago. Then you have to take into account the numerous pretty pairs that once decorated Munchkin's little feet which were lovingly stored away for three years and brought back into the light of day as soon as the time was right! Yes, they are tiny, but in their numbers, they occupy quite a lot of space!

Next we have Munchkin. Now, Munchkin has lots of shoes, and she doesn't need mummy to obsess over the hundreds of gorgeous designs we see when we are out shopping. Nope, Munchkin is 100% her mummy's daughter, and she has a full established appreciation of pretty shoes herself already! For her, every shoe seems to have a name and a purpose! She has shoes for dancing, shoes for running ... she has shoes for riding her bike and she has shoes for jumping in puddles! She adores shoes, and she gets very upset when she grows out of a pair. It's a good job she is so little and that her feet grow at a very very slow rate! She is still wearing shoes this Spring that she had over a year ago! Munchkin's shoes drive The Man crazy, as he always seems to be tripping over a little pair of sandals or pink wellingtons!

Finally, there's me. I have always had a huge love for shoes. And being a short 4' 10", most of my shoes come equipped with a killer heel! Whether that heel is a stiletto, a full platform or a wedge, my shoes have a purpose, and that purpose is to add height! Therefore, I have to take extra care not to leave any of my collection lying around our home. The Man says they are a hazard! Either he is close to breaking his neck by tripping over them, or we are catching Munchkin just as she is slipping the highest pair she can find onto her feet, all ready to claim them as her own! So to prevent this from happening, I need to make sure they are put away safely!

We don't have very much free space at home, and are therefore always looking for space saving ideas. I think we may need to look into investing in some shoe racks or shoe bags! It would certainly not only save space and potential accidents, but it would also save me so much time! If I was to add up all the minutes spent searching for a certain pair of shoes for one or other of us girls each week, goodness knows what else I could squeeze into our daily routine!! Maybe Munchkin and I should shop for them together ... I wonder if we could get storage to match their pretty shoes?

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Family Fun at Lollibop - The BIG Bash for Little People!

It's that time of year again. The annual Lollibop Festival is getting ready to come to London!

This will be the third Lollibop Festival that has been held since the fun began in August 2011. Munchkin and I have been lucky enough to have attended the Lollibop Festival for both 2011 and 2012 and are looking forward to joining in the fun and games for 2013 too! And this year, the festival for families is returning to a new venue. In both 2011 and 2012, this hugely popular event has been held at Regents Park in London. This year, however, although remaining in London, the festival will visit The Olympic Park for its 3 day extravaganza, for the 16th, 17th and 18th August, 2013. If you ask Munchkin about Lollibops, she will recall all sorts! She would tell you all about the face painting, the main stage action, The Zingzillas, Tiny Pop, and the yummy ice-cream! And there is so much more to see too!

LolliBop, The Big Bash for Little People, is returning for 2013 to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London – and will take place on August 16-18.

Event Manager, Jenny Kane said: 

“We are really excited to be taking LolliBop to the iconic Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. This is the first children’s event to take place in what looks set to become one of the premier event locations in the UK.  It has so many benefits for our visitors, including great transport links and family friendly tube stations. LolliBop has gone from strength to strength since our first event in 2011 and Queen  Elizabeth Olympic Park gives us the opportunity to create an even more exciting and dynamic family day out. It’s an amazing opportunity for LolliBop to be part of such an important legacy ”

Dennis Hone, Chief Executive, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park said: 

“This summer at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park there will be something for everyone. We are delighted to be welcoming LolliBop to join this year’s line-up. LolliBop encompasses some of the best loved names in children’s entertainment, as well as quality theatre, crafts and activities. Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park begins to open from July 2013 and will be fully open from spring 2014. We are on track to deliver a fantastic summer events series and a great legacy for east London.”

Returning LolliBoppers will see old favourites mixed with new attractions for 2013, including:

LolliBop Live – playing host to some of the biggest names in kids entertainment, with live music and performances from stars of stage and screen.  Headliners coming soon…

Lollipalladiam - is a live theatre tent showcasing performances from pioneering and internationally renowned companies and artists. 

The LolliBop Kitchen where creative little cooks will have the chance to learn new skills from live demonstrations and interactive workshops.

Tween Town will host a number of activities including street dance, hula-hoop, and beat-box workshops.

Imagination Stations - A hub of creativity with lots of mess and mayhem thrown in! From clay modeling, puppet making, customised fashion workshops, balloon modeling, graffiti painting, face painting and much more

Science Zone - Make a rocket, hold a dry ice cube, or get messy with gooey slime in the LolliBop lab - brimming with exploding experiments for pint sized guests to try!

Run wild and have fun in the LolliSports area.  With activities including retro favorites like swingball, hula-hoop and frisbee to football tournaments and sports day style races. 

The pre-school 3ft & Under area is also returning, along with the Enchanted Forest and The Village Green with live music, craft stalls and street theatre, making it an ideal spot for a picnic.

Extensive covered buggy parks, baby changing and breast-feeding areas will be available.

As you can see, there is fun to be had by all! The Lollibop Festival has loads of enjoyment for the whole family! For me, seeing the smile on Munchkin's face for the whole day is all the enjoyment I need! And this year, she will be sharing her special day with Beastie as she insists that she is now old enough to join us! Let's just keep our fingers crossed for fair weather!

Keep up to date with all the latest news from Lollibop HQ by following their FACEBOOK PAGE and checking them out on TWITTER. You can also visit the Festival WEBSITE to purchase your tickets for the 2013 fun! If you're quick, you may even get your tickets at a discounted Earlybird rate!

Maybe we'll see you there!

Our Graco Evo Mini: To sum it up ...

Looking back ...

This weekend, our testing period with Graco draws to a close. As you know, we have been testing the Graco Evo Mini for the past few weeks, and have used it in a number of situations ...

We have 'played' with it indoors, getting acquainted with the various and numerous features. From the very start, we recognised all of the great qualities that would make this testing programme such a pleasure! The sturdy frame, the robust wheels, the big, spacious shopping basket, the comfortable, padded reclining seat, the large hood, the comfy grip on the handlebar, the smooth handling and the fact that both Beastie (8 months) and Munchkin (3 and a half years) both fit nicely into the seat with plenty of space to move, made us very excited about being testers for Graco!

We have visited a theme park for the day with our Graco Evo Mini. We have seen how it helps to shield Beastie from the Wintery elements and provides a comfortable place for her nap. We have thoroughly tested the ease of the Graco Evo Mini's manageability and have felt the benefits of the large shopping basket for holding packed lunches and essentials for the family.

We have taken our Graco Evo Mini shopping with us. Navigating through busy shops, getting in and out of lifts and taking on the challenges presented by crowds and the need to re-energise mid shop with a cup of coffee on the go! We have taken the bus, the train and put or Evo Mini into the boot of the car. 

Beastie's Graco Evo Mini has been hijacked by Munchkin whilst on her way to a Bedtime Stories session at nursery one evening. We found how suitable it is for her too, even at over 13kg. She told us her 'favourite bits' of the Graco Evo Mini and takes Pinkie Pie along for the ride!

Finally, we have used the Graco Evo Mini day-to-day, in the rain, the wind and the sun. With and without Munchkin, to the shops, the park and on Sunday walks.

In conclusion, in case you haven't realised, we love our Graco Evo Mini! There is nothing we have found that doesn't work for us. Most importantly of all, Beastie absolutely loves her new pushchair!

Thank you, Graco Baby for inviting us to test your Evo Mini!

We have had loads of fun!

Take a look at our other posts for the Graco Evo Mini HERE, and also visit our YouTube channel HERE to see our video collection showing our Evo Mini in action! Yo can also see our Graco Evo Mini Pinterest board as well as our photo gallery on Instagram.

Thanks for following us on our Graco Evo Mini Adventure!

We have been sent the Graco Evo Mini for the purpose of an ongoing review and are competing for the title of 'Graco Ambassadors'

More of the Graco Evo Mini - Munchkin hijacks Beastie's ride!

Pushchairs are for big girls too, mummy ...!

Since our Graco testing began a few weeks ago, all of or focus at the Munchkin Patch has been on how much Beastie is loving it and how perfect it is for her. I think someone has been feeling a little left out! Munchkin has asked on a number of occasions if she can "have a ride in the orange buggy". As a rule, Munchkin doesn't use a pushchair any more. She walks everywhere. However, she does get very tired when she does a lot of walking, and therefore, we were delighted that the Evo Mini was a pushchair that could comfortably accommodate them both. Therefore, I couldn't let our testing period end without Munchkin taking it for a proper test drive. After all, the Graco Evo Mini is suitable up to 15kg, so plenty big enough for my 13kg bundle of fun!

This week, Munchkin's nursery held a 'Bedtime Stories' session from 5-6pm. This was held on a non-nursery day for her, so she was very excited at the thought of going into school on her day off (crazy child!!) The idea was she would go to nursery at 5pm dressed in her pyjamas and slippers, accompanied by a favourite cuddly toy and they would enjoy an hour of bedtime stories whilst sharing milk and cookies. I suggested she could walk to nursery in her shoes and change into her slippers at nursery ...

No way! Slippers would be worn both to and from nursery! And a dressing gown would replace a coat too ...!

Her solution was that she would ride in the orange buggy to save her slippers from getting dirty. I didn't argue with her idea. It made sense. She had insisted on taking her new friend, Pinkie Pie, along to Bedtime Stories with her, who is almost as big as she is. Therefore it would save any encounters with muddy puddles and prevent me from being lumbered with a huge cuddly pink bundle in my arms for 85% of the walk!

As you can see, our Evo Mini is plenty big enough for both Munchkin and Pinkie Pie!

It was also a very windy evening which bothers Munchkin immensely! She does not deal with the windy weather well at all. As soon as we stepped outside and she jumped into the seat of the pushchair, she said, 

"Oooh, mummy, my orange buggy shuts all of the wind out!!"

Of course, the Graco Evo Mini's hood does not act as a complete wind shield, but she clearly felt the benefit of being in there straight away. She claims that the wind couldn't get to her because ...

"... my orange buggy has the biggest hood in the world!!"

As you can see, there is no discomfort here at all. She fits perfectly well into the seat without feeling cramped. On the way home, she even asked me to put the seat into the reclined position so she could test that out, and then announced that she was planning on having a little sleep!! That told me she must have been comfortable!! When I asked her what her favourite bits about the Graco Evo Mini were, the first thing she pointed to was the foot rest! I asked her why that was the best part and she replied, 

"It just feels nice on my feet, mummy. That's all!"

I am very used to pushing Beastie around in the Evo Mini and was wondering how much heavier the pushchair would feel with Munchkin in the seat. To be honest, I hardly noticed a difference! The Evo Mini still felt really lightweight and easy to move around. It felt just as smooth as it moved along the pavement and Munchkin and Pinkie Pie were very comfortable! The harness was not a problem and adjusted easily to fit around her, and I was pleased to see how much head room she had.

We have been sent the Graco Evo Mini for the purpose of an ongoing review and are competing for the title of 'Graco Ambassadors'

Retail therapy for our Graco Evo Mini!

Evo Mini goes shopping!

Since we started our Evo Mini testing with Graco, we have written about our first impressions of the pushchair, and about how it managed a family day out to Peppa Pig World. Another place we have visited a number of times is our local shopping centre. The girls really enjoy going there, and a relaxed stroll around the shops can often calm the most challenging of days for Beastie. The lights, the buzz of the other shoppers, and the comfortable ride working together can ease the frustration of the most fractious moods in her. We were hoping that the Evo Mini would provide the same relief!

The smiles here show how happy she is to be sat in her Evo Mini. This is the reaction we get every single time!

On this particular occasion, we were out shopping for clothes. The perfect opportunity to see how well the Evo Mini copes in busy shops with limited space for manoeuvrability! Not to mention taking the chance to see if the seat is really as comfortable as it looks! 

Well, we had been out for about an hour when Beastie decided that she was hungry. This was the only time during this outing that Beastie was taken out of the Evo Mini. However, she was not out for long! We could see that she was very tired too, so prepared the Evo Mini for our sleepy Beast before putting her back in by reclining the back of the seat about half way. Beastie is a fighter when it comes to her sleep. She is so concerned that she will miss out on something, she will force her eyes to stay open, no matter how grumpy it makes her! However, we laid her in her pushchair, and after just 3 minutes of walking, this is what we were presented with ...

Navigating around the shopping centre was so easy. The perfectly smooth, flat floor surface is one both girls have been fans of whilst in the buggy. However, it seems particularly smooth and flat when pushing the Evo Mini! To Beastie, it must feel as though she is almost floating on air!! The wheels move effortlessly and only when necessary and the large hood means that she is shielded from the bright fluorescent lighting whilst she tries to sleep. I did notice something else whilst we were on our shopping trip too. Something that will (and has) made The Man an instant fan of the Evo Mini ...

Whilst I was off doing 'girly stuff' with Munchkin, (ie, finding and trying on clothes!), he was on pushchair duty. However, the moment he discovered he could push the buggy AND comfortably hold and enjoy his Caramel Latte at the same time, he was a fan of the Evo Mini! One handed navigation is really easy. This also comes in handy when I am out on my own with the girls as it means I can keep one hand free to hold Munchkin's hand when necessary. 

A few days ago, we also used the rain cover for the first time in the rain! The rain was quite heavy and we needed to make a quick trip to the local shop. The rain cover attaches to the pushchair really easily, meaning that I would be able to secure it quickly if I got caught in a sudden downpour (<-- it has been known!) It fits comfortably over the hood, and is held in place using velcro strips that wrap around the back of the hood and through the frame, and the opposite end of the cover is held together with a popper button that wraps around the front wheel axle. Beastie is perfectly happy sitting in the Evo Mini with the rain cover attached, and it does not restrict her movement or reduce her space at all!

In conclusion, the Evo Mini is a great pushchair for shopping. It is easy to move around the shop, weaving amongst the shop furniture without difficulty. The large shopping basket also means I can fit plenty of bits under the pushchair which creates an even distribution of weight and makes the Evo Mini  light and easy to push, even when the basket is full! I am also confident now that the rain will never be a problem either as I now know that the rain cover is substantial and well designed for its purpose!

Here are some other photos of our Evo Mini during our recent shopping trips ...

We have been sent the Graco Evo Mini for the purpose of an ongoing review and are competing for the title of 'Graco Ambassadors'