Fall Approaching

I don’t know if you noticed, but summer is officially over and fall is creeping in.  (Could someone please tell Mother Nature, she appears to still be having some hot flashes?)  Kids are in school and while they maybe getting away with their summer clothes for now, soon we will need to be adding layers. 

I have lived in the Deep South all my life and there were very rare occasions that required a heavy jacket.  Although that didn’t stop us from wearing them when they were all the rage.  Knowing my kids and the fact that they are still in carseats, I like to layer them.  Remember your carseat buckles will not fit snugly against your child when they are wearing heavy jackets. 

Layering is great, because you go from cold outside to warm inside throughout your day, it allows for you to just peel away what is not needed at the time and then add it back.  If your child is anything like my daughter they will constantly complain that it is too hot with the layers and then complain it is too cold once the layers have been remove.  I simply chock all her clothes into a bag, give it to her and let her worry about her own internal temperature.  That is what comes with age: responsibility of your freaky quirks about temperature.

I made my first purchase with Hanna Andersson this year.  I had flipped through their catalogs many times, but only decided this year that I would actually purchase from them.  I like their look for girls, boys and managed to find something for me.  I am not big on wearing a jacket, either, so I was happy with my purchase of a pullover.  Throw it over a long sleeve t-shirt with jeans and you can run your errands without freezing off a limb or marinating in your own juices.

Reversible pullover.  Two pullovers in one. 

I found some great pieces for the kids, as well.  I bought Amber a pullover, like mine.  Hers is in pink/purple, because I am not by any means Laura Ashley (Hello, the 1980’s are calling), but the pullover is so nice and comfortable I knew Amber would get a lot of use out of it this year.  And maybe next year.  I almost bought one for Sam, but I had to stop myself and found a more appropriate pullover for him. 

 Manly, but sized for the little ones.

I stick with cottons, because they wash well and you don’t have the problem of itching which then leads to lots of complaining about itching.  Yes, when you layer you can avoid the itchiness to some extent, but in my experience I have learned to stick with something that keeps the moaning to a minimum from the starting point.  Besides,  I would rather save the more expensive fabrics for the dream vacation that my husband has promised to take me on to see snow.  Anytime between now and before I die will be good.

I like to see Amber in dresses and skirts, which she seems to be fighting at the moment, so I couldn’t pass up this cute ensemble.

I stick with dark colors for her shirts to keep the mess limited and bright it up with the skirt.  What girl could pass up this pink skirt?  And the twirl factor was more than satisfactory for Amber. It was the first thing she did when she tried it on.  Because I like to see Amber in dresses and skirts and it is winter, soon (okay, maybe 2-3 months for us), I needed to find something to cover her legs.  We tried Babylegs last year, which were fine and cute, but was too much of a distraction for Amber in class.  This year I wanted to tried Hanna Andersson’s tights.  They looked sturdy (not something you really want to hear about in fashion, but we are talking about kids here) and comfortable.  Matter of fact they call them loose tights.  Amber, like most girls I would expect, is rough on stockings so I like to go with tights.  They are warmer and hold up better when running around chasing boys.  Then I came across the footless tights:

I thought this would be a great transition piece.  Again, living in a warmer climate I believe that Amber will still be able to wear these during the coldest of our winter months.  She could either match her socks or go with a completely different complimentary color.  I do understand that I will have to be involved in that process.  However,  I have learned to never doubt my daughter, she has come up with some stuff that looks pretty good on her own.

There were many good ideas in the Hanna Andersson catalog and online store for back to school clothes.  Things that are good for the transition months, but you could still use to keep the little ones warm when the temperature dropped.  Like this outfit:

Amber has many components of this outfit, already, but not the shoes. So instead of killing my husband with a heartattack over prices, I compromised and just got the shoes.  Now, that I have the idea of this outfit we can make it our own when we shop in Amber’s closet.  If you haven’t already stopped by Friday Style, then go read up on how to shop your closet and become make your wardrobe green.  And I am not talking about the color.  I believe that many of the suggestions Susan has, regarding our own closet, can be passed along to our children’s closet.  It may even be more important to watch what and how much we buy for our kids. They do need clothes more than we do and it is easier to over do it.

While shopping for the kids is fun, we must remember that:

1. If you have a child dressing themselves, you don’t want to overwhelm them with choices.

2.  Just like us, kids don’t need tons of clothes to get them through the school year.  Take advantage of their innoence and save your money for when they are teens and want every name brand under the sun.

Now go and look through Hanna Andersson’s online store, get ideas and shop your kids’ closet.  I am sure you can find there are many things that they can still wear and only a few little odds and ends needed to pull it all together.