Boots

I had all these great plans for the week-end. First I was going to paint the Family Room. It is way overdue, but then I decided that my kids needed a little help from their Mama if they were going to have any semblance of clean rooms by the time Santa comes, but finally I made the decision to take everyone boot shopping. The reason being--The forecast for the weekend was snow. After the first BIG snow of the season boots are generally difficult to come by and 3 of my 5 kids have no boots, so I gathered all my coupons and kiddies and took them shopping. We first went to Kohl's because I had a $20 coupon there. We found boots for Nathan and Ryan there. Tessa also found some adorable pink boots that she HAD to have, but she already had boots, so I told her she had to use her own money to buy them if she really wanted them. She LOVED that idea even though Nathan was trying to talk her out of it saying it was a waste of her money to spend it on footwear instead of toys. Her response? "I don't need more toys junking up my room!" AMEN SISTER! (Can you tell that Mommy has been drilling that thought into her head for the last several months? I ought to post a picture of the mess she and Ada call a room before I roll my sleeves up and go help them find them room again.)

When I got to the Cashier, she informed me that my $20 coupon expired LAST WEEK! NOOOOOOOOOO! I was so visibly downtrodden that she told me she'd give me the discount anyway if I filled out a comment card for her. I gave her the most gushing glowing review I could possibly think of because that $20 off was a huge factor in my decision to go to Kohl's. (Not that the prices weren't fabulous without the discount mind you.)

We still needed to get boots for Kielle and while we were at it we decided to buy Ada some shoes because the ones we bought her at the start of the school year have big holes in them. She is officially no longer allowed to own Skechers. Two years in a row within 2-3 months she has killed her Skechers. Tessa always keeps hers in tact, but not Ada. We found Kielle and Ada's shoes at Famous footwear, but we had stopped at 3 other stores before getting there and by the time we reached FF I was one of those moms you shake your head at--whether feeling sorry for them that they have so many children, or thinking they are crazy because they CHOSE to bring SO many children with them or "I wouldn't lose my cool and discipline MY children in a public place like that." They were just getting bored, I get it. But did they really have to chase eachother up and down the aisles. Did #1 have to threaten #4 to the point where he cowered in front of him? NO. Now that I look back it was the BOYS who had such a hard time! Tessa happily tried on more shoes "for fun" while I helped Kielle and Ada find the appropriate footwear, the boys were the ones I wished I could duct tape in place.

As we were standing in the longest line EVER! (It was really only long because certain children couldn't stand still) I suppose the manager sensed my complete sense of "losing it" and handed me (and only me) a coupon for 10% off my order. So then Kielle and I talked about the bright side of waiting in line so long. At least we get a discount on our purchase! Woo Hoo.

And yes it did snow, in fact it started while we were shopping and the kids broke in their boots immediately! I was more than happy to allow them to go out and play in the snow.

So no rooms got painted or cleaned, but we did get warmth for their feet-- and just in the nick of time.