Croc of Shoes

When I was working full-time I really thought - on some level - that being at-home would mean I would go shopping more often. I had visions of walking the mall with the children, buying items at mid-week sales, and generally being a very smug shopper.

HA!

The reality goes something more like this --
1) Wake up before the crack of dawn.
2) Wait around for civilization to wake up, too.
3) Cajole little children into putting on their jackets to go out, away from toys.
4) Get awesome parking space because everybody else is at work!!!! (life is not all bad)
5) Chase after little children who want to wander all over the store while I make decisions.
6) Grab whatever I came to the store to buy and pay whatever the store wants me to pay.
7) Spend double what I would have paid buying little children new things that are:
a) shiny b) noisy c) expensive.

And, this my friends, is the story of how Griffin and Bela got new crocs today.

We had gone to the outdoor mall to buy shoes for daddy at DSW Shoe Warehouse. From across the parking lot, Griffin saw the sign for Dick's Sporting Goods (which has a soccer ball, basketball, and baseball as part of its logo) and wanted to go there. He was actually somewhat disappointed once we got into the store because it was a store and not a place to play soccer and basketball.

Until we saw the crocs. He has been *obsessed* with crocs since he met a new friend with crocs this summer. In fact, for a few days after playing with Drake, Griffin would refer to his shoes as his "crocs." Obsessed, I should note, is Griffin's new word for today.

Lo and behold, we found Batman crocs (and Dora crocs for Bela). Both kids are thrilled! Visa is choking. I'm neutral. The shoes will be great for not getting athlete's foot in the shower at the pool and/or sore arches from rocks on the bottom of Lake Michigan but I do hate to make Visa unhappy.

It is also worth noting that in this single purchase I have spent more on footwear for Bela than I have on all the other pairs of shoes I have bought her in her 17 months, combined. Yes, I'm rather frugal. Or was until today, however, the licensed character shoes were $5.00 off.

Cute, totally unrelated Bela story. Recently Bela discovered that she can open the door to the screen porch. So now she likes to do this when Rodan is outside. Yesterday, she opened the door, patted her little behind, and managed to get the #*@! dog to come indoors, a victory Brett and I rarely manage to achieve.