Disco Mom Takes on the Sand

You may have seen me mention a few times here about the sand on the playground at Hazel's school. Kids love to play in sand, so I know it's fun for them. But true to the other moms' warnings it does stain socks, and in Hazel's case, the entire front of pants and coat, orange. After a few sandy mishaps at home I have learned to sit Hazel down outside, remove her shoes and socks, shake them out, and pat her feet down in baby powder, every time we come home.

So when I realized she was outgrowing her sneakers, I hopped on ebay, hoping to find some nice quality used shoes for a good price, that I wouldn't mind getting sandy every single day. I found a couple good ones and put them in my watch list. I usually search for Stride Rite first because they make great shoes that are way too expensive retail, but great second-hand, and I know they'll fit because I use the fit-finder on their website to size the girls' feet.

A few days later, when it was time to start bidding, I did another search to see what had been posted lately.
When I saw these brand new Stride Rite ankle boots, my mind started clicking.

Ankle boots - higher ridge to keep the sand out!

Toffee tan - nearly the exact color of the sand!

They retail for $48 on Zappos - just posted so they have 6 days to go with a starting bid of $19.95 but a Buy It Now price of $24.95. I wasn't planning on spending so much but the auction price is sure to go above $25, and these have certain...promise that make them especially appealing for us.

So I gave in to ebay temptation and bought them now, a few weeks ago. The story has a happy and sad ending. Sadly, the ankle boot does nothing to keep the sand out. Maybe a tiny bit less sand gets in, but she still collects a pile that needs to be dumped out each time. Observe:I think she would have to wear full length boots to avoid this, and the ones we have are too nice to send out there. The silver lining is that we nailed the color. Any other shoes would look a year old after one day in the sand, but these look just about the same as when we got them. So I'm resigned for the moment to the way things are, but still hoping for some kind of permanent solution, just waiting for the million dollar idea to hit, so that the sand and I can reconcile and I can move on with my life.