Lighten up...or else!

My 3 yo son is obsessed with light up shoes. You know, the sneakers that light up when the kid is walking (or stomping, as my kid often does).

Before my son really came into his toddler years I always thought they were somewhat frivolous. I mean you can get a rawkin' pair of Vans at Famous Footwear much cheaper than purchasing say...light up Iron Man shoes or Wall E shoes from Payless Shoesource. And you all know how I feel about Wall E (if you don't read back a few posts).

In June we bought a pair of Spiderman light up shoes for the little man at Ross. They were $15 I think, so it was somewhat a non-issue. Now the shoes are beat. And by beat I mean there isn't an area around the perimeter of the sole that isn't scuffed and "burned" away. They have holes on both sides of the foot towards the toes from a summer full of skateboarding and learning to ride a bike and using his feet as a set of brakes. They need to go.

We tried getting rid of them last month, only to engage in daily morning battles about which shoes he would wear. Correction: would *not* wear. He desperately wanted only to wear his light up shoes.

So now I am embarrassed to write that not only do I continue letting him wear the shabby shoes, but I have yet to find an adequate replacement pair. One night I showed him a pair of Diego light up shoes from the Payless website. I finally got the green light for a purchase, which was tough. You see, they had to light up in front and back and have two straps, not laces. So I put the shoes in the virtual cart and got distracted for a day or two. I went back to the Payless site only to find that the Diego shoes were no longer even available.

I had committed a cardinal sin with the kid...told him he was getting the shoes - and let him see them - before actually purchasing. Now it's been ~two weeks of him asking when his Diego light up shoes will be here. Boooo....bad mom!

"Ummm...Mommy is still looking. I'm not sure, little man. Soon though.." Crap, I did it again.

And back to eBay, Craig's List and the like....

What is it about toddlers and the obsession with light up shoes!?

UPDATE Praise ebay! I scoured high and low until I found the Diego light up shoes and they'll be arriving to our house early next week!