Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Trying to be practical

Now that we know the new baby is a boy, when shopping for Hazel, I've started thinking more in terms of "When she needs something new, can we find something that will work for both Hazel and baby boy?" Not that we're going to start dressing her in gender-neutral clothing 24/7.

But for instance, shoes. We've already decided we're going to aim for keeping her footwear wardrobe at a minimum for a number of reasons, but mainly I guess it's because it's just not that necessary for a 21-month old to have several pairs of shoes. (That being said, she right now fits into a pair of tennis shoes, rain boots, winter boots, and mary janes.) Maybe this is because I basically wear 3 pairs of shoes out out of about 20 pairs in my closet. I really should get rid of the rest of my shoes since I never wear them. Anyway, this summer, Hazel is going to have tennis shoes, sandals, and maybe church shoes if the sandals we get are too casual. In the winter, we'll add boots to the list.

Also, we want to try to buy higher quality shoes for the kids, so that they'll last through several children and if they can work for both boys and girls, so much the better!

I love Saltwater Sandals, so I think that's what we're going to get for Hazel for this summer. And getting a pair in brown will mean that they go with everything. I'd love to get them for her in navy (which would also work for a boy) or red, but then some of the fabric I have picked out for her summer dresses definitely wouldn't go with those colors. And the red ones are too cute - but then I can't justify buying her two pairs of relatively expensive shoes, just so she has "fun shoes." Maybe I'll throw my attempt to be a minimalist out the window and get her a pair of colorful Wal-Mart crocs for $10.
For some reason, I find shopping for kids somewhat stressful. Do they need this? How many shirts/pants/skirts/shorts does she need? When will she be in this size? What if I buy this now and then she doesn't fit into it when the new season comes? Trying to be frugal and practical, yet finding cute clothes that fit/work for the season is so much harder than shopping for myself or Jason.

And we're starting to do some cleaning out of closets and organizing before the new little Shoe arrives. Jason still has a ton of dress clothes leftover from his days at NSA which we need to go through. I've noticed that his wardrobe is larger than some other guys, but I think that's due to the fact that he has "work" clothes that are grungy and gross, regular clothes, and then dressy outfits. We have already gone through a bunch of things, but we desperately need to organize Hazel's closet so that all the tubs of smaller/larger clothes for both her and the baby can fit easily and be easily accessed. So that's what's up in our apartment as far as clothes and organization goes!

Random story, about 3 years ago I somehow lost one sandal of a pair I got in Guatemala (my favorites). I have held onto the other shoe through 3 moves, hoping it would turn up. It hasn't and I think I'm just going to have to toss it. But in the back of my head, I know that as soon as I do, the other shoe will find its way home. Sigh.

4 comments:

Amber said...

We're in the same boat. Though Mercy's shoes are girly, she never has more than two pairs that fit. Currently it's a pair of tennis shoes and a pair of sandals that work for both play and church. Stride Rite's, which are pricey but last forever. And yes, managing all those tubs of outgrown/to be grown into clothing in a small apartment is a challenge!

Ben and Sarah said...

We LOVE Saltwater sandals! :-) I want to tell you, too, that we have some good friends that have 4 kids. They bought a brown pair of Saltwaters when their first child was a toddler, a boy, and now his two sisters and little brother have all worn the same pair! I have always thought that was smart thinking and great planning on their side. So you have the right idea! :-)

paula said...

Wow, I am so impressed by your minimalism even if Hazel ends up with FOUR whole pairs of shoes. :) Thanks to my thrifting habit, Camilla has tons of shoes but in strange styles or colors (like the super cute pale aqua furry boots she only wore twice...). Sometimes I think it would be better to just buy new and get something that goes with everything. Like you.

Liz said...

I so wish we had good thrifting around here! It's really hard to find cute things at the Goodwill/Salvation Army here, at least that's my experience. We're definitely gearing up for garage sale season - hopefully we'll find some great things for Hazel and the baby. Last week we got some little boys jackets, tennis shoes, and a food mill for $3 - woo hoo!