This past weekend we decided to do the boy’s school shopping. ?It became apparent that shopping was in order the week that the weather got cool and the child had not pants that went past his ankles. ?Lucky for us the need for clothing coincided with back to school sales.
I don’t shop for clothes for the boy as often as I used to. ?Partly because every time I turn around a grandparent is buying him something or he just hasn’t outgrown anything. ?He’s also very light on his clothing so things don’t get worn out.
Last year we spent time and money on buying school clothes only to have the child go through a growth spurt the second month into the school year. ?Everything we bought was two small in a matter of weeks. ?We planned ahead this year. ?All adjustable waist pants and shirts that were a little on the big side. ?We also did the shopping at a few higher end stores rather than Target or the Mega-Lo Mart. ?Not that I shop at the Mega-Lo Mart. ?The clothes were cuter and we had more options besides clothing with Transformers, super heros or Lightening McQueen. ?I’m tired of my child being a walking advertisment for Disney and if he has clothing with characters he won’t wear the really cute stuff.
We picked up 2 pair of jeans, 2 pair of “work” pants (not jeans), 2 long sleeved button downs, 1 short sleeved button down, a bunch of t-shirts, a coat, a corduroy sport coat and a kick ass hat that he swears he will actually wear. ?The only thing missing is shoes.
The last time I purchased shoes for my child was sometime in the spring. ?And that was a pair of Crocs that was probably too small when I bought them. ?But they were red and that month his favorite color was red. ?I have a weakness for shoes. ?You should know this by now.
Again, when the weather turned cooler I told the boy he needed to wear real shoes. ?One day he wanted to go play outside and had put his socks on but brought me his blue Pumas (that his grandparents had purchased for him last August). ?”Mommy, I got my socks on by myself, but I can’t get my shoes on,” he told me.
“That’s because they are 3 sizes too small.”
“But I really want to wear them. ?Will you help me?” he insisted.
“Sure.” ?I squeezed his growing feet into his favorite pair of shoes and sent him off to play. ?That night I stashed the shoes in the closet and vowed that I would get him new shoes. ?That was last week.
The trusty husband and I have been in every damn store trying to find shoes for this child. ?The criteria are 1) must have velcro or be slip ons (his school would like children to be able to put on their own shoes) 2) no flashy lights (he doesn’t need them) 3) no characters (I’m not allowing character clothing anymore) and 4) they must be reasonably priced (I’m not made of money). ?We have searched and searched with no luck.
Now before you go and defame me for my child not having shoes let me assure you he does. ?My child is never without a pair of black high-top Chuck Taylor All Stars. ?He’s had them from the day we took him out of the orphanage. ?He’s currently wearing his size 9s (way too small) and I have a pair of size 10s in the closet. ?Trouble is they lace up. ?He wants the “Chucks with the stripes” (velcro). ?The only place we’ve found them is at Zappos and they are way more expensive than if we bought Chucks in a store. ?Why on earth do children’s shoes need to be so damn expensive?