How the hell are you going to tell me 2 new pairs of snow boots for the kids cost almost $60.00??? For 2 little girls??? WTH????
Unbelievable.
You know what else is unbelievable? The marketing machine that is Disney. My daughters are both fascinated by Hanna Montana (I don't care if I am spelling that right or not). They can't even say her name correctly. Teena is the worst about it. They both have a bunch of little HM craps, but Teena is the one who pushes for it. She has HM folders for school (which her father bought for her as she has no independent income and bloody well I didn't do it), an ugly purse, dolls, and goes on and on about HM. Well guess what. She has never seen an episode of HM. Never saw the movie. Never heard a song. Nothing. Neither one of them could tell you who Smiley Cyrus is. They wouldn't recognize her if she walked into our home and served them soda in sippy cups. She could walk in here and sit down and play with a plastic Barbie replica of herself, and the girls would fight about which one she took. With each other. Because they each have one.
(also not from me thank you very much prewrapped Christmas gifts from out of state)(somewhere down and to the left, but I am not saying where because that could be identifying information)
And yet, they are enchanted.
So, the moral of the story is, if you are trying to be cheap and make your children's boots last 2 years instead of the intended 3 months, you are going to be stuck. Stuck, when one pair of boots splits wide open at the ankle (????) and the other pair allows melted snow water in at the rate of a open faucet. Stuck, paying $25- 30 for new snow boots. EACH.
EACH!!!! PAIR!!!!!
Then, you know that the good boots are all picked over. So I was left with one pair of Hanna Montana boots for Teena. Then for Genea I had a choice of Hanna Montana boots or (*get ready to gag, possibly vomit*) Jonas Brothers boots.
I bought Genea a half size up to avoid those choices. Her feet grow fast. Got the Pay Less House Brand instead. UGH!
Man, that sucks big time! I scored and got all 3 of our boys snow boots AND snow suits on Craigslist for $50! Two of the boots still had tags on them, too! Can you look on Craigslist and return the other ones?
ReplyDeleteDo you have used children's stores in your area? I used to work at one, and they always got snow boots in there. Mostly used, but very barely used because kids outgrow them so fast. Start looking around now for bigger sizes. Odds are one of the girls will fit in them at some point.
ReplyDeleteI score all our snow boots and other winter wear at used clothing stores. Just yesterday I picked up a pair of Kodiak boots (super warm, durable, and no branded characters)at a Salvation Army store. They were marked $3, but the clerk sold them to me for $1 because they had a little dirt mark on them. !
ReplyDeleteDoing the used clothing stores route can be tiresome just because you have to sort of be always on the look-out. But I've gotten into the swing of things with a little list I keep in my wallet. Lists stuff we should always be searching for: snow boots, snow pants, snow hats, windbreakers/fall jackets, winter coats, rain coats. Our kids' wardrobes are almost entirely from used clothing stores, so any time I go in for "new" jeans or shirts, I browse the racks for the key items on this list. If I find one of these items in a size we will use within the next 2-3 years, I buy it and make note that we've got it. Any given item is usually $5 or less. Sometimes you can find things with the tags still on, and other times it'll be very gently/barely used. And the stuff tends to be leading brand names and good quality. For our family, it has proven worth the work.
We had a Boot Emergency yesterday when Genea came home with her boots in a plastic bag, one had split open across the ankle. Bizarre! I had to go buy a new pair last night. We have a few used clothing stores around but they never have stuff like boots and the shoes they get are really crummy. But, I forgot about thrift stores, and they do tend to have more stuff like boots. I also forget about CL!
ReplyDeleteI will make you feel better.
ReplyDeleteI took a trip to FINLAND to buy Lexi's boots because the brand there is a. better and b. cheaper than boots in Russia. (Wouldn't you THINK Russia could make kids snow gear? Um, no. The Russian snowpants we bought b/c our L@and's End ones are too big have NO elastic inside the legs--so she gets wet and cold after taking ONE STEP into snow.)
Okay, back to the point. Not counting the train ticket Lexi's boots cost
$72!
How is THAT possible???
And how is it possible that when I tell this to people here they are non-pulsed?
I am anti-Diz. The evil kingdom, says I. Boo. And yet, people do persist in giving us "princess" stuff. And we give it to the orphanage after writing our thank-you notes. Hmmm...maybe we should re-word our thank-you notes.
Boy, I've gotten wordy on your comments lately. Tomorrow I'll just smile and nod.
I'm hard. Hard. Hard. "You are not a commercial," say I. I don't even allow the kids Happy Meals. Meanie, that's me. Anastasia was thrilled beyond belief when I allowed her to get a shirt with DKNY on it, on sale at TJ Maxx. "I've always, always, always wanted a shirt with stuff written on it," says she. That's as close as she'll come.
ReplyDeleteHOWEVER, that said...... In determination NOT to let her have "stupid" boots, I ended up moving her to the end of the aisle where the boots she got make her look RUSSIAN....as in fur around the top and high heels. Not quite the look I wanted; I think HM would be better.
AND, I confess I took her to the HM movie this summer (with older adopted kids, honestly, at least mine - being "protective" is like closing the barn door when the horse is already out.) The surprise was that I really liked the HM movie; it was surprisingly, amazingly, wonderfully wholesome and sweet - I thought it seemed like the kind of movie my mom would have gone to when she was that age. Nice.
My pocket book is feeling your pain! That stinks!
ReplyDeleteNo HM or JB boots here. S had to settle for plain old black boots, because thankfully, thats what they had left. Must be a couple more HM and JB freaks here than there are there. :)
ReplyDeleteOk girl, I am about to share a BIG SECRET with you. LandsEnd.com
ReplyDeleteI know. You are going to say, DUDE. That sh*t is expensive. Really? Kids snow boots, awesome quality (like more than ONE season), on sale right now for $19.99. No, YOU shut up! I'm serious. And there is no Smiley Myrus on them either.
It is also the only place I buy winter jackets, because the zippers don't break. Again, GOT TO WATCH THE SALES. (Kids like yellow? They have a yellow jacket on sale for $20. GREAT quality.)
Yes, you do love me, I know. xoxo
I always swore no child of mine would walk around advertising someone else's crap on their butts!
ReplyDeleteWell, put it on the list of things I swore I would never do.
I do feel better about my 2 pairs of boots compared to Finnish boots for $72.00 for one child who is going to grow, and probably fast.
I may start stalking sales now, for the next 10 years.
All these comments and there is no discussion on how you can call yourself a northerner yet you call pop "soda". WTF lol
ReplyDeleteCorey SO has the answer! I got Zhenya's boots and coat and Anastasia's coat from Lands End (thought I got ours on sale at Sears, where they co-opt a portion of the store). Yes! Really good prices for stuff that does not self-destruct and is attractive AND your child has not been drafted into an advertising campaign.
ReplyDeleteMy nephew talks about Star Wars and Pokemon like he is has been studying it for years. He has NEVER seen any of the movies or had any of the toys/books/cards etc. I guess this is what he is learning about at school...
ReplyDelete