Shoe shopping

Yesterday, B surprised me and took off work for the afternoon to take me and Georgia to lunch- which we figured would be fine since Georgia was such a doll at brunch on Sunday. How much difference 48 hours can make! It was like being seated with a small wild animal. She twisted and turned and stood and sat and slid off the seat and shouted and tried to grab the 'neighbors' coat and bag and threw things and refused food and begged for food and was generally a pain in the tuckus. And then she sat down and leaned against me and started to fall asleep, looking like a sweet little dolly. As if that makes it all OK (well, it kind of does because she just kills us with the cuteness and through some weird biological process, the memory of the previous 45 minutes of Hell is erased. Oh evolution!)

B came to school with me to sit in on my English class with the kids, which he thought was hilarious. It is quite funny as they are all so enthusiastic but even Ella is pretty approximate in her prononciaton while singing. 'Hickory Dickory Dock' becomes 'Icky, Dicky, Dot.' They have their favorite parts in their favorite songs so they sing-shout those parts (they LOVE that the babies on the bus go Wah Wah Wah for example) and then 90% of the kids stare into space for the other verses. Anyways, its only 20 minutes and I like knowing all the kids and seeing how Ella acts when she is at school with her friends. Generally, French schools (in my experience) are so guarded about letting parents in to see what goes on that this is a great way to sneak over the 'gate' and have peek inside. And since I am in tight with all the teachers now, I don't have to worry about getting any flack about pulling Ella out of class whenever the mood strikes. Hope it works next year at her new school...

After we all got back home from school after a brief stop in the park that was just long enough to have us all longing for our winter hats and scarves (seriously, what is going on with the weather?!!), we decided to take Ella shopping for a pair of shoes. I had been trying to hold out for out trip to the States where I knew that I could get some summer sandals for next to nothing but finally I realized that we had quite a bit of warm weather to get through (well, in theory) and all ella had for shoes were knee high boots and an ENORMOUS pair of sneakers that didn't really look that awesome with skirts or when she was dressed up. I just can't believe how fast she outgrows stuff. Atleast I can comfort myself with the thought that all the good-as-new shoes that are too small will be in great shape for Georgia. Anyways, B was up for a trip over to Bon Marche since he had something else to buy and so we all jumped in the car.

I have to admit, that Bon Marche has a great kids shoes section. Its not very big or thorough and its expensive but every single pair of shoes is Adorable with a capital A. OMG. So I went through and picked out 5 pair that I thought were possibilities and asked for Ella's size. I would let Ella choose from those pairs. Well, one pair was sold out in her size. Eliminated. Another pair she didn't like. Eliminated. The other three were all nice and fit well and I walked away to browse while Ella tested them all a second time. When I turned back, B was at the cash register paying- for all three pair. I asked him what was going on and he said that since they all fit, he thought it was fine to pay. I explained that I didn't really think that she need THREE pair of new shoes but he said that he didn't want to be back in the shop in two months to do this all again so it was just easier to do it this way. Meanwhile, Ella was dancing in circles, singing a song about how much she loves her daddy. Did I mention that he cannot say 'no' to either of his daughters? That man is putty in their hands.

Oh, yes I know. There are four pairs of shoes in the photo- I figured that since he was being so generous there was no point in denying myself. I slipped in a pair of pink ballet slippers with a little pom-pom on the toe. So cute and so much cheaper than if I had bought them in the women's department. Word to the wise- if you wear a size smaller than a 38, head down to the kids shoe section. There are some really great summer sandals and flats. I have my eye on a pair of cobalt blue suede flats with a Pocahantas fringe around the ankle.