Giveaway: Lily Jade diaper bag of your choice
I have never been a backpack person. Well, not since high school. And even then, it was one strap thrown over one shoulder; not exactly the way backpacks were intended to be worn. Before high school, I used one of those rubber straps that clicked around your books so you could hold them all together as one massive unit, like only the COOLEST elementary kids did. Now, I believe kids take their books to school in rolling bags of luggage. Whoever thought the ability to carry your books without wheels would date a person? But here we are.
I tend to think of backpacks as something kindergarteners carry, so I was a little surprised when Lily Jade, a company I love for their fashion forward diaper bags, suggested I try one.
Lily Jade diaper bags come in leather and solid colors, appealing to a grown woman’s aesthetic as opposed to a five-month-old. That means no large quilted floral patterns or lamb motifs, thank you very much. But the best part is the ‘baby bag organizer insert‘ which comes in every bag. The insert has pockets for every baby need imaginable and is completely removable. This means, you can use your diaper bag on the weekends when you are running around with the kids and then remove the insert when you go to work, creating just a regular bag.
The bag they were attempting to sell me on is their convertible Madeline bag. Which converts from a shoulder strap to a cross body to a backpack.
“I don’t use backpacks, ” I told them. In fact, I have a long standing argument/joke with my husband who I think looks like a total idiot when he walks to work with his Jansport knapsack.
“What are you? FIVE???”
“What’s wrong my knapsack?”
“You are wearing a suit, for one. Get a messenger bag or something. GEEZ.”
I also used to make fun of my old work partner who was stylish in every other way imaginable except when she put her coat and backpack on at the end of the day.
“What is with that thing? It does not go with your five inch heels.”
She said she had back issues and it was her only option. “You should really wear one too, you know. After awhile your shoulders are going to make you pay for what you’ve done to them.”
Yes, I’ve rolled my shoulders and cracked my neck a few times from lugging around a laptop in a tote exclusively on my right shoulder for the past few years, but I try my best to ignore any permanent damage.
Recently, I have noticed backpacks seem to be making a comeback and started to think maybe I’m the old fuddy duddy in all of this. So, I agreed to give the Madeline a try. I figured, since it’s a convertible, if I didn’t like it, I could always convert it back into the regular shoulder bag and still get some good use out of it.
I chose to test out the backpack on our hardest kid shuttling day— which is Wednesday. That’s the day Harlow and Mazzy’s schedules converge in such a way that one person CAN take care of all pick-ups and drop-offs, but ONLY if things run EXACTLY as planned. There is no room for mistakes.
Here’s the rundown.
Harlow must be dropped off at school on the East Side at 2:30pm, leaving her stroller there. Then I have to walk a few blocks to the bus and cross over to the West Side to pick Mazzy up from school between 3-3:15pm. Then we have to catch the 3:30pm crosstown bus back over to the East Side, in order to make it to Mazzy’s 4:15pm ballet class on time. I change Mazzy into her ballet clothes and leave when class starts. Then I have to walk back up to Harlow’s school for pick-up at 4:30pm, put her in the stroller and walk back to Mazzy’s dance class which ends at 5pm. Then I take them both home.
It’s a monster of an afternoon, with no break in transport whatsoever but I’d be lying if I said I do it every Wednesday. Usually, our nanny Ruth does it while I’m at work or we split the kids up between us. On some occasions, when Ruth is sick or off for the day, I handle the whole thing alone. Like this past Wednesday, when Ruth had an afternoon doctor’s appointment.
I came home from work, put on my Madeline backpack and took off for that afternoon’s escapades in my most comfortable shoes at about 2:15pm, walking Harlow to school in her stroller.
Drop-off went smoothly, and I have to say, once I lost the stroller, the backpack made me feel all sorts of FREE. I am so used to having a huge heavy tote bag over one arm and the backpack made me feel like I could run a marathon if necessary. Or flee a mugger. Or whatever. I have never felt so “on-the-go” in my life.
I walked to the bus stop, took the bus to Mazzy’s school, picked up Mazzy (who refused to put on her coat), caught the bus going back in the other direction, got off and started the walk to dance class.
On the walk from the bus to ballet, the backpack became a little bit of a problem because Mazzy kept asking me for different snacks, taking a bite and then rejecting them, with just enough time for me to put both backpack straps back on and then have to take the whole thing off again.
This is me trying to sell her on airplane pretzels, after she had already rejected goldfish, a kid’s Clif Bar and a bag of almonds.
Backpacks, I discovered, are not ideal for walking with small children who are constantly demanding things from your bag.
Luckily, the Madeline also has a shoulder handle which I could easily convert back and forth to in these instances.
Changing Mazzy for dance is probably my least favorite part since she acts like a two-year-old and totally forgets how to put on her own clothes.
Meanwhile, I’m in a rush because I know I have to pick up Harlow before she’s left there by herself with a bunch of preschool teachers that feel bad for her after all the other kids have filed out. I walked extra fast and got there exactly at the right time and no one was the wiser.
This is Harlow holding onto her new obsession for dear life— an empty tin of mints.
Then Harlow and I walked to pick up Mazzy from dance and we all headed home together.
The big difference I see between a backpack and a shoulder bag, is it’s really not much effort to carry a backpack, whereas a shoulder bag (while definitely more convenient to get stuff in and out) is always a constant weight and annoyance.
All in all, I would totally carry the backpack again and really liked the sportiness of it. But maybe I would convert the extra strap to a cross body during walks with Hangry Indecisive Mazzy.
Hangry Indecisive Mazzy is the worst Mazzy, by the way.
If you would like to win a Lily Jade Madeline shoulder bag/cross body/backpack for yourself or any other Lily Jade bag of your choice, I’m giving one away in the comment section below!
Giveaway rules:
1) Visit Lily Jade on Facebook (feel free to “follow” while you’re there!) and leave a comment below talking about your busiest child shuttling day.
2) For a second entry, follow Lily Jade on Instagram and leave a second comment saying you did so.
3) For a third entry, follow Lily Jade on Twitter, tweet the following and leave a third comment saying you did so.
I just entered to win a @lilyjadeco diaper bag from @mommyshorts! http://bit.ly/1MKI0EE
Discount Code:
All Lily Jade bags are currently on sale and you can use the code MOMSHORTS for free leather care + free shipping on every purchase (make sure you add leather care to your cart before checkout)! Shop for a bag here.
One winner will be announced on April 17th.
Good luck!
WINNER UPDATE:
And the winner is… Cindy B. whose busiest day consists of school, bringing her little one to see Nana, errands, the school pickup, a trip to the library, a return to the house for a snack, and then baseball practice… Phew!
Congrats! Please contact abby@mommyshorts.com to claim your prize.
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I tweeted!!
My busiest day includes taking two kids to school. One is 3.5 and insists on coming with me to drop off the baby even though it’s so much easier to drop her off first. carrying a 15 lbs baby in a pumpkin seat that weighs a million pounds and is so awkward to carry often times while carrying my 3.5 year old down the longest hallway know to man is not the best start to any day!
Following on Facebook and Instagram 🙂
The busiest days for us have been doctor’s appointments. I drop my 7 month old off at daycare, drive an hour to work, leave, pick him (and all of his stuff) up, drive to doctor’s office 45 min away, schlep up to office, check in, wait, entertain baby, then get called in, collect stuff, meet with doctor, change and/or feed baby, pack up, schlep down to car and drive 45min to 1 hour home in traffic. We currently have a duffle bag and it’s great that it’s so big, but it would be nice to have a back pack style to not feel so lop-sided all the time.
I followed Lily jade on instagram and twitter!
I follow lily jade on instagram
Our busiest days are when I work part of the day and my husband and I meet up before he goes to work to hads off the kids. After I get them we run a few errands before heading home.
I follow you and Lily Jade on Facebook. The busiest shuttling day I had was dropping my son off at preschool at 9am, then taking my daughter to her new daycare 20 min away for a short visit, then back to my son’s preschool at 12:00 for pickup, then taking them both home for the Au pair to watch them for the afternoon. I then walked the dogs and worked from home for the afternoon.
I follow Lily Jade on Instagram.
I also followed and tweeted.
I nanny two 3 & 4 year old boys, along with already taking care of my 5 month old daughter… Sometimes I also have her 5 year old brother… It’s always a feat taking the 3 (or 4) of them anywhere but esp on nice weather days where we go to the park! I always have to make sure I’ve got all the baby’s stuff, everyone has a toy with them that ends up hanging out in my bag, cups for everyone, snacks, frisbee for the park, the carrier so I can wear the baby since the boys think they have to take turns riding in the stroller, along with everything that lives in my bag and whatever the kids think must go with us that day.
Looks amazing to have two hands free and easy on your shoulders. Will have to get one before baby #2 comes 🙂
And I already follow Lily Jade Co on Instagram! Love their bags!
Fridays are the busiest, now that hubby has his new job! He leaves for work at 8-ish, then I have to finish getting myself ready, get the kids dressed, brush everyone’s teeth, load up milk and food, and get both 18-month-olds AND the dog out the door ASAP. I have to drop them off at my in-laws’ for the day, before I can go to work myself (preferably arriving around 9). It’s bonkers!
I tweeted (and follow Lily Jade on Twitter)
I only have one child, and he only has one activity each day, so my pickups aren’t crazy yet.
My busiest day is Wednesday’s when we do our weekly play date, followed by story time at the library, and then grocery shopping.
I’m following Lily Jade Co on Instagram! 🙂
My busiest day is when I go grocery shopping and do errands.
I follow on Instagram @green_twiggy
I follow on Twitter @green_twiggy and tweeted.
My busiest mom shuttling days are when we bring one to elementary school, one to preschool, run to get errands done, back to preschool for pickup, then to speech therapy, then swimming lessons, sometimes a Drs spot in there, pickup at elementary, off to after school sports (we like rock climbing lately), then hopefully home!
I follow LJ on Instagram!
I follow LJ on Twitter!
Work a full day, pick up daughter from daycare by 4:30, pick up son from preschool by 5, drive home. Feed them dinner. Tag in husband at 5:40 to watch daughter. Take son to tball at 6. Coach tball (what was I thinking that day!). Take son home at 7:15. Snack, bath, stories, bed by 8. Collapse.
I love the style of that rucksack but it looks a bit too big to keep taking on and off when you have little ones! It’s beautiful though!
http://EN.EMOI-EMOI.COM/
All my days are pretty much the same, since I only have one in daycare & work full time but this bag would be a Godsend for family day trips and Mondays for daycare when all her clean linens are returned for weekly naps.
My busiest days are Mondays when I rush home from work, throw dinner together and rush out the door to get my 4 year old to his sports class sometimes towing my youngest (20 months) along as well. Hands free would be amazing. Right now I have a backpack but don’t typically wear it as a backpack because it’s small and usually packed to the gills with stuff so it sticks out really far and feels like a ball on my back. I love Lily Jade bags but they’re a little out of my price range.
I follow Lily Jade on instagram
And tweeted as well (@evanmassucci)
Instagram is emassucci
What brand is Harlow’s stroller bunting bag/foot muff thingy??
I think Mondays are our busiest day. Pick-up uptown, swim lessons downtown, an appointment in Flatiron and then back home for dinner and homework
Followed on Instagram
Our busiest days are Wednesdays. We wake up, play, and do all “our” household chores. In the afternoon, my 8 month and I head to carpool line to pick up the girl I nanny for. Then we pick up her brother from sports practice at another school. We head home, fix a snack and start homework. My little one goes down for her nap if we don’t have to drop off for afternoon sports. Some days, we get back in the car and drive 30min across town for soccer practice then head back home to finish homework. Finally, we all load back up in the car to meet their parents for dinner.
Not to mention, we have another on the way in November!!
Mondays are definitely our craziest day! My husband and I work and extra hour earlier that day so getting our daughter up and ready and out the door is always a struggle.
followed on twitter and tweeted!
followed on Instagram!
Tuesday and Thursday I take one boy to day care, the other to school and then head to the library for research. Around lunch time I head to day care to pick one up and take him to swim lessons. I take him back after we eat a great “car lunch” and then head to preschool to the the same with the other (minus the sad picnic). After swim lesson #2 we run errands, pick little brother up from day care and head home to do the dinner, playtime, bath bedtime song and dance.
I follow Lily Jade on Instagram! 🙂
Hmm, I am pretty lucky my busiest shuttling days are preschool days where I usually am trying to get 2 kids to 2 different schools, fitting in a gym visit and/or a grocery store visit, then getting both girls picked up by 11:30am.
Following on instagram!
Following on twiiter and did a tweet!
Busiest day is Saturday when my husband is home. We try to spend as much time as a family which usually means going to breakfast, heading to the zoo, and meeting up with friends. Weekends require me to carry around bottles, snacks, baby food to say the least.
Also following Lily Jade on Instagram!
AND, just tweeted!!
Busiest day is grocery shopping day, go to two stores then have to pick up my oldest from one school & drop off at an activity & pick up again all while trying to fit making dinner into the day.
Tweeted!
Following Lily Jade on Instagram
Liked Lily Jade on FB
I am not too busy with shuttling my kids around yet. They are almost 3 and 1 so my busiest times are when they have doctors appointments. I do not like to bring them both at the save time because that is asking for trouble. So I usually drop one of at my mom’s and then go to the doctor, pharmacy and then pick up the one from my mom and then home:)
I already follow on Instagram:)
Tweeted!
We just moved across the country and are still working out our schedule, but Wednesday’s and Friday’s were my busiest days. Up, dressed and ready to head to the bus by 8:40 for my kindergartener to go to school and my toddler and i would head to MOPS or bible study. Run toddler to classroom, drop off my stuff, grab coffee, etc and settle in. In just 2.5 short hours, I’d be running to pick up toddler from his class, racing out to the car to drive home and make it to the bus stop with seconds to spare!
Now I found out I’m expecting #3. I think it’s going to be a lot busier in about 7 months
I follow LIly JaDe on Instagram (Mandyw526)
Follow on Twitter and tweeted!
Mondays! Work always starts early and runs long, so we are rushed trying to get everyone organized, dropped off, and picked up.
Following on instagram
My busiest shuttle day is every weekday! Being a full-time working mom and the family bus driver is exhausting! I call myself a bag lady between my purse, diaper bag, laptop, and pump supplies a backpack diaper bag would be a godsend!
I follow LilyJade on Instagram!
I followed LilyJade on twitter & tweeted about the giveaway!
I follow Lily Jade on Instagram!
Wednesday is my busiest kid day!! The day starts before 7am and ends after 9pm. It is a looooong one!
our days are not really because we drop our son to his grandparents in the morning and pick him up after work.
I visited on facebook and follow on instagram
Tuesdays are the most hectic because I am back in school taking prerequisites for Grad school and I have labs most of the day. LA traffic makes it even harder to get around town when there’s mommy and me class in the morning then gotta rush rush to get to my school on the other side of town after dropping LO with my mom who watches her.
Following Lily Jade on Instagram
Following Lily Jade on Twitter
I follow both you and lily Jade on Twitter and tweeted about the giveaway.
Weekday mornings are the toughest – my hands are overloaded with things to carry out of the house because my 5 year old insists everything is too heavy to carry himself. Everyday we play the game of Mom did you bring my blanket? How about my stuffed animals for nap time? did you pack me muffins? is my kindle in my backpack? do you have the case for my glasses? Fun times!
I follow LJ on Twitter too!
Oops, don’t count this entry. I didn’t realize I already commented. 🙂