I shall not tell a lie, i'm flummoxed by Thing One and school shoes.  This pair have been worn for six weeks.  On the left the inner has worn away and you can see the hard structure of the shoe through the white and on the right, there is a hole through the heel that only just stops short of coming through the outer sole.  These are shoes from George at Asda.  Last year exactly the same thing happened to several pairs of Clarks shoes too.

Bare in mind he doesn't store a mouse in them nor does he possess a tool kit.  This is just from sheer old bog standard....walking.

After just six weeks.

I'm coming to the conclusion that nothing is made to last anymore, we're such a disposable race.  Brands simply assume we're fickle enough to not want to outwear anything anymore and that it's financially feasible to replace whenever the fancy takes us.  Oh if only.

Mobile phones back in the 90's would outlive the majority of your family.  Even if you through it in a fit, it survived most of the time.  These days you pay ten times more, sneeze at it and the screens crack and should you dare to be unfashionable enough to still want it after a year, well good luck with that.  The batteries appear programmed to self destruct.

Generations before us would use the same pram or pushchair yet more often than not (yes, I'm aware this doesn't always happen) these days fabric tears, bits snap off, holes appear, mechanisms break down, wheels fall off as if they're merely designed to be used once a week around a supermarket and then live in the boot.  Not all of us drive, some of us walk...everywhere.  Buggies and prams get used a lot, just for walking.  We're not talking cross country treks or stunts, we're talking miles on pavement.  They shouldn't need replacing.

Yet back to shoes.  I fear I know not where to go from here.  This is the first time we've ever bought none fitted school shoes seeing as they were half the price of Clarks and previous lining of Clarks pockets with what little brass we possess had the same result....holes in the heels (Don't even get me started on how Childrens shoes can possibly cost nearly as much as adults yet use a fraction of the leather...)  I don't relish the thought of having to buy a new pair of school shoes every six weeks, it's simply not acceptable.

Perhaps i'll turn full hippy and send him bare footed.....good for the soul if not the soles and all that.

Shoe Day

Yesterday I ventured into town for the first time in far too long.  Bus prices are simply too high to justify a mooch into ton too often.  I did start walking there and back which is a 5mile round trip before you factor in the shopping, it was strangely enjoyable however that is off the cards for a few weeks due to the ankle issues.

Do you recall midst one of my rambles that I said I believe things happen for a reason?  Around a month or so ago we went to get The Toddlers feet measured.  he'd finally grown another half size yet unfortunately they didn't have the shoes we wanted in stock.  I'm somewhat of a shoe snob with the kids insofar as to say whilst young I will only buy them professionally fitted shoes and due to issues with the local Clarks stores and an incident many moons ago with another independent shoe shop there is only one place we trust to go now.  They promised they'd call us when their stock was replenished.  My rationale is that they only have one pair of feet to get them through life and should they have pesky issues with them later I will know that it would be down to their choice in shoes and not mine.

Then came the ankle incident and around 3 weeks of staying indoors.  Imagine our surprise when upon taking him yesterday, he'd now grown to a 6.5 e/f on the one foot and a 7e/f on the other!  To say we were pleased we didn't buy shoes last time is an understatement.  I'm also refusing to buy what one would refer to as real shoes this time as the weather will be improving and I simply refuse to spend  the extortionate cost of decent shoes when doodles will quite suffice when fitted correctly and bridge the gap between shoes which may be too hot for better weather and sandals which will probably get no use at all due to awful weather.  Not to mention he spends most of his outdoor time in the sling.  The Toddler is awfully charming in shoe shops, he sits and offers his feet one by one.

Thankfully Thing One was remeasured last week and mercy of mercies hadn't grown, that's two down one to go.  If Thing Two has grown I may indeed cry and if she hasn't we may get to eat next week.

It really is the small things in life that can be the most poignant.  Our garden at present is an overgrown jungle with muddy bold patches inhabited by the corpses of winter slaughtered toys in various stages of degeneration.  However, upon having a small time out whilst cooking tea last night, I randomly poked about under the seven year old toddler trampoline and found, bluebells! In our garden!

Am now going to overdose on chocolate whilst trying not to cry as The Toddler just launched himself from a height, onto my bad ankle, something that made me scream in pain and him scream with laughter.  Sod. My patience is diminishing by the second as he is now shrieking at me in some vicious physical and auditory attack for my boobs.