Gotta Go Back . . . Whoa, Whoa

. . . back to schoooool. (You sing it Michelle Pfiefer and Grease 2 gang!)

We are back from vacation, back from blogger hiatus, and working our way back into our school routine. I will write all about our summer doings, as I have already downloaded the 600 pictures from my camera, but another time. Today, we went to get new tennis shoes for the start of school. Matthew didn't really own a pair before today, but has been wearing his big brother's hand-me-down-Keds, that don't really count as "real" tennis shoes. So, he was most excited.

We spent the better part of the afternoon, about an hour and a half, inside a little, teeny, tiny store trying on and searching for shoes--not to mention, making our presence there very well known. First, we had to get everyone's feet measured while I took notes. (I only log in my brain what needs to stay there for more than 6 months.) The store clerk looked thrilled to be helping us out. Then, the real fun began.

Picking out shoes is not really a problem. Selecting shoes that will go everywhere, with everything, for the right price, and fit, without any help from those actually wearing the shoes is the problem. I know better than to really expect help in a store, but come on!!!

As soon as Matthew had shoes on his feet, he began to run the isle to show us how fast they were. That was only cute for the first couple of minutes. Andrew went to the one little toy they had in the store, where the other eight kids in the store were jockeying for position. And Margo decided to be sweet and help the family we went to the store with by playing with their little girl, who is Matthew's age. (I guess my pitted-out shirt, curled-up hair, and frazzled-looking face wasn't the smoke signal Margo was looking for.) At one point, a grandmother there started laughing at us. I told her it was only funny when it was not your kids!!

Whew! New sneaks for everyone! At the end of the whole thing, you just start grabbing shoes and saying, "They'll fit soon enough! Get 'em. Let's go!" I think everyone wore their shoes out the door. Matthew came home and took a nap in his. He put them on for bedtime, but got back up out of bed because they were getting tangled in his blankets. When left with the choice of blankets or shoes . . . he choose the blankets, but it was a hard choice. I could tell.

Whoa, whoa . . . I gotta go . . . back to school.