snow day

I even bought a pair of half price snow boots
for Curly.  She has a hand me down
pair of Uggs from a friend.  I am not a fan
of Uggs and it took awhile for me to
grasp that they are crazy expensive winter
 boots that aren't meant to be worn in the snow. 
What?!

I almost escaped the mall on Wednesday without spending a dime.  Almost.  

I usually frequent my favorite department store after I drop the girls off at dancing Wednesday nights.  This week I only had a few things to return and something to exchange.  With no upcoming birthday invitations and no one desperate for some wardrobe item, there was nothing else on my shopping agenda.  

Then it hit me.  Boots.  

There was a time when we tucked
all of our patio furniture under a big cover to
 protect it.  Ah, the good ole days
 when we had time to take care of our things.

I used to have a bin full of boots that we would haul out of the basement storage room every year.  Apparently everyone outgrew the boots in the bin, and I stopped purchasing replacements for the 'big kids.'  I blame this in part on the fact that as the teens got older, they stopped running out to play in the snow.  Coach had a pair of construction type boots that one of the older boys might wear if he was commissioned to shovel our driveway.  There was also a lone size pair of nines that a big boy might squish his toes into, if he was desperate.  

Since Tank mows lawns in the summer, he handles snow removal for several houses during the winter months.  If you aren't from Chicago, then you might not know that a huge snowstorm was headed our way starting Thursday night (Feb. 8th . . I know this is old news.  I had to update all of you on our leaking ceiling and Coach's transformation around home improvement projects).

'What is the biggest size men's winter boot you have on sale?' I asked the salesman in the men's shoe department.  Of course they were Uggs.  The price was reasonable, considering the brand: $195 reduced to $90.  Tank wears a size 15 and the largest size they had was a 14.  I took it.  Beggars, and mothers of big footed teens, can't be choosy.  

I called home and tried to get Reg to tell me what size he would need.  I was still in denial that we had no boots stashed in the basement.  He insisted that the only pair he could find (the 9s) were too big for him.  

This kid has some kind of disorder.  He insists that his feet are several sizes larger than they really are, so it was odd for him to admit that he slid back and forth in the 9s.  I equate his issue to his belief that he will be a better basketball player if he has huge feet.  

A few years ago he called a quick good-bye as he left the house for basketball.  Another mom was driving him.  I was busy making dinner and gave him a wave without really looking at him.  When he came home I noticed that we was wearing clown-shoe-sized high tops that he had scored from a bin in the basement.  I recognized that he had a problem.  I also quizzed him about how successful he had been playing basketball in shoes that were easily 3 sizes too big.  I mean, they were cool looking shoes, but seriously?

Tank likes to open brand new bags of
 marshmallows willy nilly.  It's fun to find stale
bags months later.  This
was a great opportunity to use up
 the many open bags.  And use them up they did!

Anyway, in addition to the skis Uggs I bought for Tank, I grabbed boots that I hoped would fit Reg and Eddie.  

Yes, there was a snow day.  On a Friday.  Friday is my day off.  Who needs a day to get things done?  So much more important to make several batches of grilled cheese and roughly a gallon of hot chocolate in several installments.  

Other exciting accomplishments included:  recycling several huge boot boxes from the awesome new boots, calling the store to see if they could hunt down a size 13 or 14 boot like Ed's or Tank's for Coach (who was jealous of his boys' new boots), digging up dry mittens and gloves every few hours for the snow worshiping younger set, and working as Tank's volunteer secretary as additional requests arrived for his shoveling services.  

Got boots?  Check.