Solving the Shoe Dilemma

This post could also be entitled "Sometimes a Little Humiliation Can Go a Long Way"...

We have lots of shoes in our house. Each child usually has a pair of sandals as well as a pair of sneakers. However, when it is time to leave the house, for some odd reason... not a single pair can be found. It defies mathematical odds, really.

Let me just say, I make it reallllllyyyy easy for shoes to be found. I keep a large basket by the door, ready and waiting for its specific purpose in life of being filled with shoes. Right by the front door, you'd think this would be so, so simple. Come in, take off shoes. Get ready to go, get shoes on by door. Keeps floors clean, speeds up leaving time, keeps mama happy.

Except it just hasn't been working!! Why? Why is this SO hard? I feel like banging my head against something solid when its time to walk out the door and everyone is searching frantically for shoes, and finding them in random places that they should not be, such as one in the bathroom and one under the kitchen table. Really?! Do you REALLY walk around the house with one shoe on and one shoe off? I 've never actually seen it happen, but by the way shoes get spread everywhere, you'd think it was a common enough occurance.

Anyway, in a plea for advice from some friends of mine, a dear mama actually went back to her ever-so-creative dear husband for his thoughts on the situation. And let me just say... his idea is going to revolutionize our house! I ran it by my dear husband, who wholeheartedly agreed we should give it a try, and then ran to the store. Oh, I also gave the kids a head's up about the plan, which was met with near-tears and exclamations of shock and horror.

The brilliant solution for this houseful of boys who can never put their shoes where they belong? No more ranting and raving mama, that's for sure. Enter....

The Pink Flip-Flops of Terror!!!

Yes, that's right. If a boy, or several boys, cannot find their shoes when it is time to go, no worries, mama has some extras on hand! Here, honey, just wear these pink flip-flops to homeschool co-op. Or the doctor's office. Or church. Or the park to play football with daddy. Oh, what, you don't like pink flip-flops, sweetie? You think they're girlie and people might make fun of you? Yeah, you're probably right. So maybe next time you'll put your shoes where they belong, huh?

Am I finding too much pleasure in the idea of my children being humiliated and scarred for life? Nah... because ever since I mentioned it, they've amazingly found the skills needed to actually keep their shoes in the basket.

It's a miracle! A skill they couldn't grasp for several years has suddenly been mastered overnight. Weird! But in case there's a slight lapse in skills... the flip-flops are ready and waiting!