Thank you to Crocs for sponsoring this blog post. Please click here to learn more about Crocs’ new Back to School line. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own.
While I’ve enjoyed the summer months of trips to the community pool and daily ice cream cones (I’m not kidding…I now have very spoiled – and chubby – children), it’s definitely time for everyone to get back to some structure. We need other grownups with degrees in education to get involved here.
So in case you were wondering – no, I don’t home school. I don’t have the talent for keeping small children organized. Most of our summer activities have involved me running up and down the stairs yelling at people to put on their pants because, “we’re late!” This is the house of chaos and not conducive to learning anything beyond the skill of baking the best chocolate chip cookies.
And I’m very lucky in that my preschoolers and soon-to-be first grader love school. Not sure how long that will last, but I’m enjoying it for now. Seeing them light up at the mention of beloved teachers, buying $1,000 in school supplies (KIDDING! sort of), and trying to convince them that “no, it’s not autumn yet and coats will be uncomfortable in the 90 degree heat“… It’s been fun getting ready for next week.
And what could be more fun than shoe shopping?! I mean, unless you’re that guy I married or something…
I, personally have fond memories of buying new school shoes. Primarily because I always had to wear a uniform and shoes were the one area where you could be different. So of course we all bought the same popular pair of shoes each year. But the point is that we CHOSE the same pair of popular shoes. Ah, freedom.
Since my children are enrolled in preschool and the the public elementary school, pretty much anything goes for shoes. And since they’re little, they can get away with wearing purple go go boots and people would still say, “CUTE!” So as far as I’m concerned, there are few restrictions on back to school shoe shopping.
It’s a little early to start stocking up on corduroy and plaid in the DC area, so I feel no rush to buy complete fall wardrobes just yet. But children who live in flip flops all summer definitely need more appropriate footwear for the first day of school. And yesterday, with that in mind, I dragged them all to the mall.
Here is the level of enthusiasm I was working with:
Eleanor wore sensible play clothes (because a trip to the the mall ALWAYS includes time at the germ encrusted children’s play area) and a couple of head bands. Then she pulled the outfit together with a pink and green giraffe print purse. Never one to bother with superfluous accessories, she put the bag to good use by stuffing it full of other headband options. One can never be too prepared…
George wore a red polo shirt with red athletic shorts (monochromatic is very hot right now). He also wanted a bag to carry to the mall, but I convinced Eleanor that her generous offer to loan him her pink and white seersucker purse with the bamboo handles would be wasted, as he doesn’t even wear headbands.
Oliver wore the shirt and shorts that I handed him and could have cared less about handbags or headbands. Thank god for Oliver.
And we were off for a fun afternoon of shoe shopping!
Our first and last stop was a popular chain of children’s stores that may have even been around when I was a kid. And the selection was varied as opposed to vast – which is a huge plus when your children have the attention span of…um, children.
The sales associate was very helpful and immediately offered to measure everyone’s feet.
Then I had a fight with George about how he already had sneakers and we were buying “school shoes.” Which makes no sense since he wears sneakers to school…but I was thinking more along the lines of leather and suede. Either way, we were at an impasse, so I decided to move on to Eleanor.
My daughter was mesmerized by the wall of “girly shoes.”
So I was all ready to have FUN with her selections.
Then we systematically disagreed on every pair of shoes on the wall.
She relented a bit and agreed to look at my preferences. One of which I thought would be right up her alley with its bling sequins and leopard print.
She tried them on…
…but wasn’t quite as amped about them as I had expected.
I told her to keep looking and moved on to Oliver, but after seeing this…
…I decided that the boys were a lost cause and they could just wear their sneakers to school.
In the meantime, Eleanor decided to consider boots, and everything fell into place.
The only problem is that she now wants to wear those boots with shorts, dresses, pajamas… She’s taking the sales girl’s comment that “they go with everything” VERY literally.
But that’s fine. I’m thrilled that she loves her new school shoes. Even if she technically shouldn’t be wearing them until people start frequenting pumpkin patches…
I still love the idea of back to school shoe shopping. And maybe it will get easier as the kids get older and don’t lie down on the floor when they get bored. Or maybe I’ll be arguing with Eleanor over why I think stilettos aren’t appropriate footwear for the fourth grade… Only time will tell. In the meantime, I’ll just chalk it all up to creative expression and hope that no one ever asks me to buy them purple go go boots.
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By the way – how cute are THESE!?
And her birthday IS in October…
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Also – check out this Crocs video. Click on your favorite shoes to link to details and look for Easter Eggs hidden within the video.
Find them for a surprise with your next purchase!
I'm very dissapointed to report that they do not offer those in women's sizes.
Love this post! I love back to school shopping although I haven't done it yet. This is the first time Annie wants to, so we're making a very girlie day of it on Saturday.
Tell Eleanor those boots are fab! And your boys? That's exactly how Ben would be/is. He loathes shopping, so my gift to him will be not to take him on Sat and leave him with his dad who also hates shopping. It's win-win for everyone.
Hey, your summer activities sound JUST LIKE MINE! Although I'm usually the reason we're always running late… ;)
I LOVE CROCS! For my children. They live in Crocs all summer long! And I don't mind shoe shopping for them, at all… until they start running around like little monkeys in the store! :)
I'd totally go for the sequined leopard ballerina flats.
And it gets worse. I took my 5th grader shopping for new soccer cleats – and entire freaking display and only ONE pair he was even willing to try on!
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Just got back from the barber shop where I googled your blog. discovered I have not received an update in over a month! Frantically catching up… and off to discover why blogger hates me. sorry i've been out of touch!
Cute boots! Shoe shopping with my son is a snap. We walk in. We pick up the next larger size of the same shoes he's worn for 3 years. We buy them. We walk out.
He has some issues with textures and change. I have GOT to remember to just go there and buy the same shoes for the next 3 or 4 sizes, lest they discontinue his preferred shoe… Oh, I worry about that day!
I love those navy shoes. Adorable!
My girls always want cowboy boots and rainboots to go with everything too. I've explained that blue and pink polkadot rainboots don't match everything in their closet but it doesn't seem to register. Oh well.