If I had the time to actually write every blog post I think of then my life would be very dull indeed and I probably wouldn't have so many things to write about! The idea for this post, however has now passed through my thoughts multiple times and is begging to be released to the world (or at least to the two of you who actually read this blog).
What is it that has been in my head long enough to warrant a blog post?
Shoes.
Yes, shoes.
They are awesome! They are fun! They keep our cute little footies safe! Well, they keep the kids' cute little footies safe and the big people's big fat hobbit feet covered, hidden, and (with any luck) they also keep the stench contained. Yes, shoes are wonderful things. Shoes are expensive things. Expensive things that we could not afford for a very long time although we had a very many children.
I went through the shoe stash yesterday. This usually takes much longer than it should since I find lots of girl shoes, beat up shoes, small shoes, a few really ugly shoes, and some favorite shoes. Savannah reminds me which ones she loved and wishes still fit and I wonder why we received so many super cute and free girl shoes when we really need boy shoes.
I tried to find a pair that would be acceptable for church and that would also fit my little baby's squishy, chubby feet. We have many shoes in the closet that have never been worn by my little ones because these shoes are still much too long and yet chubby toes can not be squished into the width. Not all babies have feet shaped like skis. Mine certainly don't and I don't think my kids have abnormally fat feet. I settled on a pair that I could barely squish his toes into especially with his scrunching-up assistance. They were cute. We will need to find something else for next week because those footies were squished.
Okay, so fast-forward a few years to kids' shoes...well, Sid's shoes, actually. Sid had a very wet and slushy day at school a while back. The school called while I was in the shower saying that Sid had completely soaked himself at recess and was so drenched in frozen slush water that I needed to bring him a new change of clothes, a new coat, new socks and new shoes. Huh. Even if I had gotten this message within a reasonable amount of time, I could not have provided him with sparkling clean new shoes nor a new coat since we do not have any! I certainly wasn't going to rush to the store and buy him new stuff just because he decided to get wet at recess. I guess I am just mean. Or practical. One or the other. Maybe both at the same time.
I picked up the phone and returned the school's call. They said that since it had been an hour and a half since the puddle incident he would either be dry or they would have figured out something else to do to help him out. Of course they couldn't have considered that before they called me and they had to give me a you-are-a-horrible-parent-for-letting-your-kid-marinate attitude along with it. I really wanted to let them in on a little secret I learned long ago, that is apparently not obvious to the whole world--it turns out that people are waterproof. A few puddles will not kill my little boy (and the kid never gets sick, so don't even get me started on a germ-o-phobe tirade).
I blew the whole conversation off and asked Sid about it when he got home from school. After telling me his day at school was "good" I asked if he did anything fun at recess.
"Yeah," he replied. Awesome.
"Were there puddles at recess?!?" I asked.
"Yeah, they were cool." Okay. Cool as in bitter, freezing cold?!?
"Did you get wet?"
"A little bit."
So much for me being a bad mom. I asked him if he was soaked all the way to his nose and if he got his coat wet and he told me the bottom of his pants were a bit wet, "but they got dry in class." I love it. It turns out that my little boy can handle a bit of water. I will admit that he was probably more wet than he thinks he was, but he was obviously okay with it. I took a look at his shoes and they really were soaked and practically dripping off the edges. Sid's stinky feet are not so pleasant when combined with wet socks, so I asked him to let his shoes dry and get some clean socks. Maybe this helped him realize that he really was wet because he took his shoes off, placed them in front of the fireplace and started up the fire. Cute.
So the big question...when do you decide your kids need new shoes?
A few years ago my sister came to visit and decided her son needed new shoes. She got some new ones for him while she was visiting and threw the "old" ones in the trash. The seams were a bit ripped, so they didn't look brand-new. I was about to throw some garbage right on top of them when I looked down and saw these perfectly usable shoes sitting in my trash can! I yanked them out and Sid used them for many more months afterward. My standards must be lower than hers. Here is what some of my kids' shoes currently look like.
Savannah's are still good. Sid's toe was actually showing through the hole in his sock and his shoe, so it was time for new ones. This must be why all of his socks are getting holes in the exact same location.
What is it that has been in my head long enough to warrant a blog post?
Shoes.
Yes, shoes.
They are awesome! They are fun! They keep our cute little footies safe! Well, they keep the kids' cute little footies safe and the big people's big fat hobbit feet covered, hidden, and (with any luck) they also keep the stench contained. Yes, shoes are wonderful things. Shoes are expensive things. Expensive things that we could not afford for a very long time although we had a very many children.
I went through the shoe stash yesterday. This usually takes much longer than it should since I find lots of girl shoes, beat up shoes, small shoes, a few really ugly shoes, and some favorite shoes. Savannah reminds me which ones she loved and wishes still fit and I wonder why we received so many super cute and free girl shoes when we really need boy shoes.I tried to find a pair that would be acceptable for church and that would also fit my little baby's squishy, chubby feet. We have many shoes in the closet that have never been worn by my little ones because these shoes are still much too long and yet chubby toes can not be squished into the width. Not all babies have feet shaped like skis. Mine certainly don't and I don't think my kids have abnormally fat feet. I settled on a pair that I could barely squish his toes into especially with his scrunching-up assistance. They were cute. We will need to find something else for next week because those footies were squished.
Okay, so fast-forward a few years to kids' shoes...well, Sid's shoes, actually. Sid had a very wet and slushy day at school a while back. The school called while I was in the shower saying that Sid had completely soaked himself at recess and was so drenched in frozen slush water that I needed to bring him a new change of clothes, a new coat, new socks and new shoes. Huh. Even if I had gotten this message within a reasonable amount of time, I could not have provided him with sparkling clean new shoes nor a new coat since we do not have any! I certainly wasn't going to rush to the store and buy him new stuff just because he decided to get wet at recess. I guess I am just mean. Or practical. One or the other. Maybe both at the same time.I picked up the phone and returned the school's call. They said that since it had been an hour and a half since the puddle incident he would either be dry or they would have figured out something else to do to help him out. Of course they couldn't have considered that before they called me and they had to give me a you-are-a-horrible-parent-for-letting-your-kid-marinate attitude along with it. I really wanted to let them in on a little secret I learned long ago, that is apparently not obvious to the whole world--it turns out that people are waterproof. A few puddles will not kill my little boy (and the kid never gets sick, so don't even get me started on a germ-o-phobe tirade).
I blew the whole conversation off and asked Sid about it when he got home from school. After telling me his day at school was "good" I asked if he did anything fun at recess.
"Yeah," he replied. Awesome.
"Were there puddles at recess?!?" I asked.
"Yeah, they were cool." Okay. Cool as in bitter, freezing cold?!?
"Did you get wet?"
"A little bit."
So much for me being a bad mom. I asked him if he was soaked all the way to his nose and if he got his coat wet and he told me the bottom of his pants were a bit wet, "but they got dry in class." I love it. It turns out that my little boy can handle a bit of water. I will admit that he was probably more wet than he thinks he was, but he was obviously okay with it. I took a look at his shoes and they really were soaked and practically dripping off the edges. Sid's stinky feet are not so pleasant when combined with wet socks, so I asked him to let his shoes dry and get some clean socks. Maybe this helped him realize that he really was wet because he took his shoes off, placed them in front of the fireplace and started up the fire. Cute.
So the big question...when do you decide your kids need new shoes?A few years ago my sister came to visit and decided her son needed new shoes. She got some new ones for him while she was visiting and threw the "old" ones in the trash. The seams were a bit ripped, so they didn't look brand-new. I was about to throw some garbage right on top of them when I looked down and saw these perfectly usable shoes sitting in my trash can! I yanked them out and Sid used them for many more months afterward. My standards must be lower than hers. Here is what some of my kids' shoes currently look like.
Savannah's are still good. Sid's toe was actually showing through the hole in his sock and his shoe, so it was time for new ones. This must be why all of his socks are getting holes in the exact same location. Shoes. Expensive. Blah!
Good thing we love them so much!
1 comment:
Eli actually has several pairs of shoes right now. Not because he needs them, but because I keep finding good deals on them and I can't pass up a good deal (by a good deal I mean less than $5). I even saw a good deal a couple of days ago and almost bought them and then had to stop myself and say, "Melody, Eli already has 4 pairs of shoes. He doesn't need another pair right now."
Most of them have just been lightly used from garage sales, but there was one at Target just a couple of weeks ago. The shoes were normally $27.50. They were on clearance for 75% off making them $6.87. And there was a coupon on the Target website for $5 off making them $1.87. I didn't end up getting them because they didn't have his size, or the size he would be in next and I didn't want to buy shoes that he wouldn't be wearing for at least 2 years. Oh well.
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