barefoot

Friday was a big day.

We headed to Sea World with some awesome friends of ours. We haven't had passes for a few years so we were all rearing to go in the morning.

I was super mama last night and prepped ahead of time. So instead of our usual early morning mad dash routine, the kids were dressed, fed, and actually waiting for our friends to arrive so we could pile into our minivan.

Imagine:

2 Mamas

6 Boys (ages 3-9)

1 Minivan

Enough said.

Crazy? Yes, but I do it anyway because I am soaking up these years when my kids are little and I don't want to miss a beat.

All was smooth sailing, until I put on Jack's tennis shoes.



Oddly enough, they fit him perfectly a week ago. Somehow over spring break, my youngest son's feet grew like Pinocchio's nose.

So I ran to my "mall," which is in my garage. I store all my older kids clothes and a select few pairs of well kept shoes in there. You would not believe how much money I have saved.

I whipped out a pair of checkered lace up Vans and put them on his feet.



He had plenty of toe space, but cried and complained about them hurting his feet for the 1st half of the drive. I took them off in frustration and tried to have him walk in them once we got there. I somehow thought the excitement of dolphins and sharks would distract him from his pain.

I was wrong.

Plan B: I Ran into the kid shop by the play area and bought a pair of flip-flops.

However it was not a simple solution for 3 reasons:

1. His feet just barely fit.
2. They didn't carry any bigger sizes.
3. They looked like this.



Not to diss character shoes, but I have to admit they are not my fave.

It is not beyond me to say, "They don't have your size" each time we pass Spiderman tennis shoes. It's just not my gig. So you can imagine me as I am saying to him, "are you sure you want these? Are they hurting your feet at all? Are you sure?"

The kid was certain that he'd wear them so I begrudgingly tore the tag and made the dreaded purchase.

And 15 minutes later with tears streaming down his face, he declared the shoes a no-go. The back straps were squeezing his heels just as I had predicted.

I shoved the Elmo flip flops in the backpack and told him he could be shoeless for the day.



Would I have done this with my 1st kid? No way! I would have paid some other kid for his shoes just so that my kid would not have to go without.

Here my little guy cruised all day long on who knows what on the ground. Talk about me getting over my germ "issues" quickly. I did carry him into the bathroom each time though. I couldn't let go that much.


(Do you see all that who knows what?)

Bottom line: We had a blast. We created memories. We survived.



Shoes or no shoes.

Much love,
Katie

I'm linking up at Heather's Life Made Monday. Come on over and visit.
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