So Owen has this pair of shoes that have become famous around our house...and not just because of how cool they are.
He fell in love with them when we were forced to go shoe shopping due to the fact that he had blown through his new school shoes in about 6 weeks. And I mean BLOWN through...they were Vans that turned into flip flops...holes, flapping bottom...totally destroyed. I'm not exactly sure how that happens but we were in serious need of some shoes.
We got to the shoe section and I immediately spotted a pair of Converse. Perfect! Rubber toe, no-tie laces, grey and black so no stains! YES!...AND they had his size. It's perfect! Meant to be! I love Converse! They're super cool! I brought them over to Owen thinking we had just finished the best, fastest shopping session in history!
"Owen! Check out these Converse! These are super cool!"
"Ummm no mommy I don't like those. They aren't cool for me."
Shoot...I forgot that he has an opinion about his clothes and shoes...
"Ok buddy which ones do you like?' *cringe*
"I like these!"
And he held up these enormous shiny, purple, plastic high tops with the longest laces I have ever seen. They are puffy and big and look like thug shoes...and there's no WAY he could tie those by himself.
"Uuuuh wow! Those are pretty fancy! I don't think they have those in your size." I say praying he doesn't go looki....
"Mommy yes they do right here!"
...crap...
"Oh! Great! Look at that...they totally do!"
"And they're on SALE Mommy look!"
...double crap...
"OK Bud let's try them on and see if they're comfortable." Maybe he'll hate how they feel! Maybe they'll be really uncomf...
"Mommy they're SUPER comfortable! And look how fast I can run!!! And the laces are super long so I can tie them myself!"
...crappity crap crap...
"OK let's just buy them then. They sound perfect."
So out we went, proud boy and his new thug shoes.
He wore those shoes excitedly week after week. Hot day after hot day. And then I kinda forgot that I thought the shoes were a little special. I remembered he loved them and they were lasting WAY longer than the Vans that I like the best. So I started liking the shoes...almost liking them...until one day...
I was on my way out to the car to clean out the stuff, or put more stuff in...I don't remember why I went out there. Anyway, I open the slider door of the van and I am almost knocked over by a horrendous smell. "OH MY GAWD what is that!!!!???"
I've had mystery smell in the van before. It's not a new experience for me but...it had been a while and I'm pretty sure that this level of smell would have given me some warning...like a small smell letting me know that a bigger smell was on it's way. Holy cow it was bad. So I started the process of clearing everything out. Clothing, socks, any stray snacks that may have wandered under the seat. Looking for anything wet from the beach or pool that may have been stuffed under a seat. I kind of expected to find a dead animal...the smell was similar...
I had cleared EVERYTHING out...everything except...
The shoes. Lovingly worn for weeks...in the hot hot sun. Plasticky shoes worn skateboarding, running, bike riding...in the hot hot sun. No way. There's no WAY it's them. I took them out and slowly brought them to my nose...held my breath...and then took a sniff....Aaaaaaarrrrgggghhhh! OH MY GAWD that's it! AAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!! UGH! *gag* Shoes? Smelling like a dead animal? No WAY!
Yup...the fabulous shiny, purple,plastic, puffy, thug shoes were now known as the dead rat shoes.
We are now back to buying canvas...breathable shoes...not as cool...not as shiny...not as durable. But we've learned our lesson. After Owen got a whiff of them he laughed like crazy, wore them for another month and now, thankfully, has moved on to a cool pair of grey Converse with no-tie laces :)
He fell in love with them when we were forced to go shoe shopping due to the fact that he had blown through his new school shoes in about 6 weeks. And I mean BLOWN through...they were Vans that turned into flip flops...holes, flapping bottom...totally destroyed. I'm not exactly sure how that happens but we were in serious need of some shoes.
We got to the shoe section and I immediately spotted a pair of Converse. Perfect! Rubber toe, no-tie laces, grey and black so no stains! YES!...AND they had his size. It's perfect! Meant to be! I love Converse! They're super cool! I brought them over to Owen thinking we had just finished the best, fastest shopping session in history!
"Owen! Check out these Converse! These are super cool!"
"Ummm no mommy I don't like those. They aren't cool for me."
Shoot...I forgot that he has an opinion about his clothes and shoes...
"Ok buddy which ones do you like?' *cringe*
"I like these!"
And he held up these enormous shiny, purple, plastic high tops with the longest laces I have ever seen. They are puffy and big and look like thug shoes...and there's no WAY he could tie those by himself.
"Uuuuh wow! Those are pretty fancy! I don't think they have those in your size." I say praying he doesn't go looki....
"Mommy yes they do right here!"
...crap...
"Oh! Great! Look at that...they totally do!"
"And they're on SALE Mommy look!"
...double crap...
"OK Bud let's try them on and see if they're comfortable." Maybe he'll hate how they feel! Maybe they'll be really uncomf...
"Mommy they're SUPER comfortable! And look how fast I can run!!! And the laces are super long so I can tie them myself!"
...crappity crap crap...
"OK let's just buy them then. They sound perfect."
So out we went, proud boy and his new thug shoes.
He wore those shoes excitedly week after week. Hot day after hot day. And then I kinda forgot that I thought the shoes were a little special. I remembered he loved them and they were lasting WAY longer than the Vans that I like the best. So I started liking the shoes...almost liking them...until one day...
I was on my way out to the car to clean out the stuff, or put more stuff in...I don't remember why I went out there. Anyway, I open the slider door of the van and I am almost knocked over by a horrendous smell. "OH MY GAWD what is that!!!!???"
I've had mystery smell in the van before. It's not a new experience for me but...it had been a while and I'm pretty sure that this level of smell would have given me some warning...like a small smell letting me know that a bigger smell was on it's way. Holy cow it was bad. So I started the process of clearing everything out. Clothing, socks, any stray snacks that may have wandered under the seat. Looking for anything wet from the beach or pool that may have been stuffed under a seat. I kind of expected to find a dead animal...the smell was similar...
I had cleared EVERYTHING out...everything except...
The shoes. Lovingly worn for weeks...in the hot hot sun. Plasticky shoes worn skateboarding, running, bike riding...in the hot hot sun. No way. There's no WAY it's them. I took them out and slowly brought them to my nose...held my breath...and then took a sniff....Aaaaaaarrrrgggghhhh! OH MY GAWD that's it! AAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!! UGH! *gag* Shoes? Smelling like a dead animal? No WAY!
Yup...the fabulous shiny, purple,plastic, puffy, thug shoes were now known as the dead rat shoes.
We are now back to buying canvas...breathable shoes...not as cool...not as shiny...not as durable. But we've learned our lesson. After Owen got a whiff of them he laughed like crazy, wore them for another month and now, thankfully, has moved on to a cool pair of grey Converse with no-tie laces :)
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