It's National Stupidity Week. For me, anyway.
Happy birthday to Queen Elizabeth II, my BIL Paul, and my childhood friend, Laurie (whose eldest will turn 20 next week O_o). And send positive thoughts to Paul: he's trying, yet again, to quit smoking.
You may recall that on Easter Sunday, one of the straps on MiniPlu's brand new sandals snapped. She'd worn them all of twice. I bought them off Amazon, and I don't think I still have the receipt, although, I also admit, I haven't had time to look. In the meantime, we've launched a search for replacements. Part of the problem is I would MUCH rather have buckle straps, rather than Velcro; both girls tend to wear out the velcro on their shoes before the shoes themselves give out, so a buckle would circumvent this problem. The trouble is, almost no kiddie-shoe manufacturers make buckle-strap shoes. Everyone wants the ease of Velcro. Grumble. I'm also looking into buying two pairs (perhaps one more casual than the other) to increase the likelihood we can get through the summer without further replacements.
Anyway, we had a free afternoon after MiniPlu finished her (unusually light) homework, so I took the girls shopping. We tried three different stores, with mixed results. At The Children's Place, we found a slightly nicer/leather and more casual/Neoprene sandal she liked, but when she took her socks off, they no longer fit quite as well; despite having wide feet as a toddler, she now seems to have slightly narrow feet - not enough to require official narrow sizing, but enough that if the length fits, the width is a little off, and vice-versa. At Stride Rite we found three winners: one white leather sandal, one adorable pink leather sandal, and a reasonably ok pink Neoprene sandal. The problem: Average price is $35-40, about double the price of other places. Also, I used to be able to count on Stride Rite to have a reasonable selection of buckle shoes - if you're paying more, might as well get better quality. But no more: they're all Velcro now, and the saleswoman said one style used to be buckle and the parents all complained. So, anyway, I hemmed and hawed and decided we could come back if nothing else worked out. Yes, we could afford it, but I really do NOT want to spend a fortune on a kid's shoes if viable alternatives exist, particularly since I suspect Stride Rite Velcro will wear out as fast as on a cheaper shoe. :P Our final stop was at Sears, to look at their Lands' End collection. Found one potential sandal, but that was it; other options had the same width sizing issues.
It was closing on dinnertime by now and Two had been more than patient through all of this, so I didn't pursue things any more tonight; instead, we went to get Two her promised running shirt - she has shorts and pants now, but we hadn't found a proper kid-sized shirt, which she was owed for being able to run a full mile. Got her one, and came home.
Still no sandals, sigh.
In the past two days, I have been involved in two highly embarrassing incidents; I'd like to say they were, in small ways, not my fault but perhaps that's just me trying to get out of full responsibility. :P
Monday: I went to the farm market to get a few things. At the end of my transaction, instead of telling me the total, the woman got involved in a conversation in another language (the market is owned by a Mediterranean-nation family - Armenia? Greece? Macedonia? No idea) with another clerk, clearly about the candy the other clerk was eating. Since it seemed like she was done with me, my brain went on auto-pilot; I grabbed my bags and headed out to the car. I was loading up when the clerk ran out after me, shouting, "Hey, what happened??" It took me a minute to realize I hadn't paid for my groceries! I was extremely apologetic and, of course, went in to pay straightaway. Never done anything so stupid before. But, y'know, this would have gone better if she'd kept her attention on the customer until the end of the transaction. :P
Today: A couple of times during dinner, and for a period after, during which I was sewing and Will was supervising the girls outside, someone's car alarm kept going off, annoying the heck out of us, then going quiet again. Will finally diagnosed the problem: it was OUR car. Our new car. As in, I had the key fob in my back pocket, was sitting on it, and inadvertently triggering the panic-button function.
Here's the thing: we've never owned a car that had any sort of built-in alarm system. Never had a car with key fob that did this. (Our wagon had a key fob that locked and unlocked the doors, but that was all - and even then, it only unlocked the driver's door.) I've seen key fobs that had a dedicated panic button, but didn't know some were made so that if you hold down the "lock" button, you trigger the alarm. No one ever told me. No one explained this when we bought the car. Yes, I'm sure it's a standard feature these days, but when people are trading in an 11-year-old model, you might guess they're not all up on the latest "standards". (Especially since we mentioned that the wagon was our newest car.) Will knew - but then, Will knows everything there is to know about cars. Whereas I am apparently too stupid to own a modern vehicle.
So ... yeah. The week's been off to a generally ordinary start, but there have been some definite low points as well. :P I did, however, finally watch the new (and totally awesome) HBP trailer this afternoon. :)
On a final down note: MiniPlu misplaced her L-bunny after we came home from shopping, and we can't find it. It has to be here SOMEWHERE, but where??
You may recall that on Easter Sunday, one of the straps on MiniPlu's brand new sandals snapped. She'd worn them all of twice. I bought them off Amazon, and I don't think I still have the receipt, although, I also admit, I haven't had time to look. In the meantime, we've launched a search for replacements. Part of the problem is I would MUCH rather have buckle straps, rather than Velcro; both girls tend to wear out the velcro on their shoes before the shoes themselves give out, so a buckle would circumvent this problem. The trouble is, almost no kiddie-shoe manufacturers make buckle-strap shoes. Everyone wants the ease of Velcro. Grumble. I'm also looking into buying two pairs (perhaps one more casual than the other) to increase the likelihood we can get through the summer without further replacements.
Anyway, we had a free afternoon after MiniPlu finished her (unusually light) homework, so I took the girls shopping. We tried three different stores, with mixed results. At The Children's Place, we found a slightly nicer/leather and more casual/Neoprene sandal she liked, but when she took her socks off, they no longer fit quite as well; despite having wide feet as a toddler, she now seems to have slightly narrow feet - not enough to require official narrow sizing, but enough that if the length fits, the width is a little off, and vice-versa. At Stride Rite we found three winners: one white leather sandal, one adorable pink leather sandal, and a reasonably ok pink Neoprene sandal. The problem: Average price is $35-40, about double the price of other places. Also, I used to be able to count on Stride Rite to have a reasonable selection of buckle shoes - if you're paying more, might as well get better quality. But no more: they're all Velcro now, and the saleswoman said one style used to be buckle and the parents all complained. So, anyway, I hemmed and hawed and decided we could come back if nothing else worked out. Yes, we could afford it, but I really do NOT want to spend a fortune on a kid's shoes if viable alternatives exist, particularly since I suspect Stride Rite Velcro will wear out as fast as on a cheaper shoe. :P Our final stop was at Sears, to look at their Lands' End collection. Found one potential sandal, but that was it; other options had the same width sizing issues.
It was closing on dinnertime by now and Two had been more than patient through all of this, so I didn't pursue things any more tonight; instead, we went to get Two her promised running shirt - she has shorts and pants now, but we hadn't found a proper kid-sized shirt, which she was owed for being able to run a full mile. Got her one, and came home.
Still no sandals, sigh.
In the past two days, I have been involved in two highly embarrassing incidents; I'd like to say they were, in small ways, not my fault but perhaps that's just me trying to get out of full responsibility. :P
Monday: I went to the farm market to get a few things. At the end of my transaction, instead of telling me the total, the woman got involved in a conversation in another language (the market is owned by a Mediterranean-nation family - Armenia? Greece? Macedonia? No idea) with another clerk, clearly about the candy the other clerk was eating. Since it seemed like she was done with me, my brain went on auto-pilot; I grabbed my bags and headed out to the car. I was loading up when the clerk ran out after me, shouting, "Hey, what happened??" It took me a minute to realize I hadn't paid for my groceries! I was extremely apologetic and, of course, went in to pay straightaway. Never done anything so stupid before. But, y'know, this would have gone better if she'd kept her attention on the customer until the end of the transaction. :P
Today: A couple of times during dinner, and for a period after, during which I was sewing and Will was supervising the girls outside, someone's car alarm kept going off, annoying the heck out of us, then going quiet again. Will finally diagnosed the problem: it was OUR car. Our new car. As in, I had the key fob in my back pocket, was sitting on it, and inadvertently triggering the panic-button function.
Here's the thing: we've never owned a car that had any sort of built-in alarm system. Never had a car with key fob that did this. (Our wagon had a key fob that locked and unlocked the doors, but that was all - and even then, it only unlocked the driver's door.) I've seen key fobs that had a dedicated panic button, but didn't know some were made so that if you hold down the "lock" button, you trigger the alarm. No one ever told me. No one explained this when we bought the car. Yes, I'm sure it's a standard feature these days, but when people are trading in an 11-year-old model, you might guess they're not all up on the latest "standards". (Especially since we mentioned that the wagon was our newest car.) Will knew - but then, Will knows everything there is to know about cars. Whereas I am apparently too stupid to own a modern vehicle.
So ... yeah. The week's been off to a generally ordinary start, but there have been some definite low points as well. :P I did, however, finally watch the new (and totally awesome) HBP trailer this afternoon. :)
On a final down note: MiniPlu misplaced her L-bunny after we came home from shopping, and we can't find it. It has to be here SOMEWHERE, but where??