I was looking for something for the girls to wear to camp the other day and realized that everything in their dresser looks like it has been used to wipe down the floors. There are permanent dirt stains inside every crease and fold. All the pinks and blues and whites have dulled to variations of beige. I can’t even see the bright colors underneath all the dirt caked on to their sneakers.

This is one of the reasons I love back-to-school shopping. Summer clothes have been through the wringer and it’s time to make my kids look like clean well put together human beings again!

For the past two years, I’ve partnered with Mini Boden to show-off their back-to-school collection and I could not be happier that I am partnering with them again. With their bold colors, fun patterns and adorably quirky styles, Mini Boden is by far and away my favorite place to shop for my kids online. Not to mention, they’ve got some pretty great styles for adults too.

This year, instead of picking out the clothes myself, I let Mazzy and Harlow pick their own stuff. I’ve learned that I no longer know what they want and if I buy something I think looks cute, it might sit in their closet untouched all year.

Mazzy totally surprised me right off the bat by picking out a pair of overalls. I have a hard time getting her to wear pants so I never in a million years would have imagined she would want pants with a bib!

I also thought for sure that once she got them, they would be too big or not fit right and get relegated to the back of her closet, but they fit perfectly and she was thrilled. She actually asked me if she could wear them every day to school. We settled on once a week.

She selected a shirt with rainbow sleeves for underneath. I’m calling the whole look “Mazzy Brewster” and I’m pretty sure this will be her uniform all year.

One thing Mazzy has been really into lately is wearing her hair down. She’s got a lot of hair and it falls in her face, so I am constantly trying to convince her to put it up or least pin it back. During the shoot, I successfully pinned it back while she wasn’t paying attention.

Here’s her reaction once she noticed:

Suffice to say, I let her keep it down the rest of the shoot!

True to form, the first things Harlow gravitated towards was a flower felt necklace and a rainbow hedgehog purse with a gold strap.

Then I had to find a dress that brought her accessories together. Once she had it all on, she exclaimed, “I look like Mommy!!!”

I’m pretty sure she meant that in a good way.

Harlow also fell in love with a pair of multi-color sparkly Mary Janes. Judging by how much she wore her gold Mini Boden t-straps last year, I see many mornings when I will be arguing with her to keep these in the closet. “They are not good for the playground, Harlow!” “But I love them!!!”

Last year, Harlow decided that her gold shoes were her “shabbat shoes” which meant there was no way I could argue with her about wearing them on Fridays. I think we have found Harlow’s new “shabbat shoes.”

Keeping with the rainbow theme, Mazzy also picked out a gray sweater dress with velvet ruffles in multiple colors. She paired that with a pair of high suede brown boots which truly tells me that my little girl’s style is growing up.

Remember when she would wear nothing but pink?

Harlow selected a bold polka dot dress with a flower applique on the front. As soon as she put it on, she informed me that would be wearing it to her birthday party this year.

FYI, Harlow has been planning her birthday party since last winter. Originally, it was going to be a Frozen party but then she changed gears and decided on a butterfly theme. This dress is perfect for the party because “Butterflies love flowers.”

Next up, matching denim twirling skirts.

If you follow me on Snapchat, I’m sure you saw that this portion of shoot turned into a big dance party.

I should mention that the day of the shoot was ridiculously hot and I was asking the girls to wear fall clothing. At one point, Harlow decided that she was just DONE.

Here Mazzy and I are trying to hold up her head after Harlow did her signature “GO LIMP” move.

I let Harlow take a break while Mazzy tried on her last outfit.

This one was actually my favorite and Mazzy made it even cuter by pairing it with red rain boots, a floral umbrella and two different backpacks.

I mean, seriously. Mini Boden— can you PLEASE make this entire outfit in my size?

Today, to celebrate the back-to-school season, I’m giving away a $500 Mini Boden gift card! You must be a Mommy Shorts subscriber to enter. If you are not already a subscriber, you can subscribe here.

Then go to the Mini Boden site, check out their new collection, and tell me which item you want most for your kids in the comments below!

Winner will be selected on September 5th. You can read the full rules here.

Congrats to Addie, who thinks the Ombre shirt for boys is adorable! Please contact annie@mommyshorts.com to claim your prize.

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All photos were taken by Sasithon Pooviriyakul.

This post was sponsored by Mini Boden, but we would be buying and loving their clothing regardless!