I do have a pair of sandals that I ironically got at Wal-Mart that I can wear around the house but not without discomfort. How would you like to know that you have to wear closed toe, leather shoes all year round?!?!?! I also have a size 2.5 children’s size foot so the support in the shoes I have to choose from are nil.

Now I have a dilemma. I have the opportunity to save and have shoes made specifically for my feet. There is a cobbler (shoe maker) in the area that also works at my prosthetics place where I get my orthotics. He can make me shoes to fit my problems from scratch. He can build orthotics into the shoe itself. I’m not talking ugly shoes either. I bring in a picture of a shoe, sandal, boot, etc that I like and he can reproduce it only with the specifications I need to be able to walk with and not have any pain.

Sound too good to be true? It’s not. It just costs $400 per pair of shoes. Now you see my dilemma? You can pick any shoe out of the store and walk out in them with no pain. I look at shoes and rate them as to the level of pain they would cause me and how quickly they would cause it. So I am thinking of saving my money and having him make me a pair of sandals for summer so that I could actually go around and not have such sweaty feet this year. Ever try to wear tennis shoes every day, all day?

What do you think? Is it worth the money? I am not objective since I just want a pair of shoes that aren’t painful. So I value your comments. Let me know if you would save the money and get them or not.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Stride Rite has it’s final clearance going on in the local stores until July 11th. So if you like their shoes, get out and shop now. Otherwise you will have to pay full price again and I would never recommend that. HAHA!

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Later, Friday evening:

We only had about 20 minutes to shop at Sears tonight, but I got 6 pairs of shoes for $25.  Yay!!!!  Here’s a picture of some really cute shoes I got my daughter.  These were $9.99.  I got 2 pairs of these, 1 for my little girl and 1 for my friend’s daughter.  So, I guess you could consider these $5 per pair.

I didn’t have time to shop for women’s shoes, so we’ll probably have to go back tomorrow.  While walking past the women’s shoes I spotted $70 boots marked down to $9.99.  That means you can get 2 pairs for $9.99.  Awesome!

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Stride Rite is having their annual Spring Pre-Season Event in their local stores. I wish they would do it on the internet though. The sale is a buy one get the second pair 50% off. Not a bad deal if you like their shoes. Have a good time shopping! The sale runs through March 18^th.

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Here’s what I got:

2 pairs of women’s sandals (1 pair was by Bare Traps)
2 pairs of girl’s sandals
4 pairs of boy’s shorts (1 pair was swim trunks)
1 boy’s Izod t-shirt
2 girl’s hats
1 girl’s 2 piece outfit

And I got all this for only $27!  Isn’t that amazing?  Be sure and drop by your local Hamrick’s.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

1.  Heelys – These shoes have removable wheels and turn children’s shoes into inline skates.  Potential for blunt impact, spinal and neck injuries.

2.  Z launcher:  turbo water balloon launcher - Can turbo launch water balloons 100 feet with direct hit accuracy.  Potential for facial and choking injuries.

3.  Pram decoration-blossoms – This toy has a cord that is about 23 inches long and it has attached beads and other small cloth and wooden play items.  Its targeted audience is babies!  What are they thinking?!??!

4.  Pyramid stacker – This stacking toy is manufactured by The Pottery Barn Kids.  It contains multi-colored tiers, includes wooden parts, intended to be stacked upon a solid-wood dowel. A child who falls on the wooden dowel could be seriously injured.  The toy is marketed for children as young as 12 months.

5.  Bow & arrow set – Includes rubber-tipped “arrows” made of solid wood. The tips, however, are removable, and the rigid, wooden shafts can be propelled with sufficient velocity to potentially cause severe injuries.

6.  Zip-Ity Do Dolly – This doll is sold at Toys R Us. One of the dolls has a red plastic button on the doll’s clothing, attached with thread, which could be ingested by oral-age children. Once detached, the button fails even the toy industry’s inadequate small parts “choke tube” standard. Another doll has a soft, plush ball attached to the zipper, which also presents a potential choking hazard.

7.  Lil Snoopy – This pull toy has a 27 inch pull cord which could cause strangulation. It is marketed to children as young as 12 months old.  My son got one for his first birthday and I immediately took it back to the store.

8.  Superman Lamp – This lamp is sold in the toy department, rather than with the other lamps or electronics.  Families are further instructed to “[un]plug the product when leaving the house, when retiring for the night, or if left unattended.”

9.  Sky Blaster – This toy is sold as an “All In One Rocket & Launcher!” Potential for eye injuries.

10.  Fear Factor Candy Challenge - These candy pouches contain ”spine-chilling spiders”, “mystery meat”, and a “buzzard buffet”.  The candy is sold in the toy aisle, is based upon the television series which sometimes features contestants competing to eat as much as possible in the shortest time. Toy aisles should not be used to encourage food-eating competitions, which invite potential choking and ingestion injuries, particularly for young children.

There are plenty of other unsafe toys out there, which is one of the reasons that there are recalls.  When shopping for toys, watch for items that have loose small parts, pieces that are easily detached, long cords, and places where a child could get stuck.  Are there any particular unsafe toys that you have seen?  Comment about them below.

For more information on toy safety, visit the W.A.T.C.H. website.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

And then there are the stars that endorse a particular shoe that costs $100 or more. I won’t mention anybody by name :cough: Jordan… So when I heard that an NBA star of caliber, Stephon Marbury of the New York Knicks, was finally giving his endorsement to a shoe that was only $14.98. You read it right. $14.98. And the kicker is that some of his shoes in the Starbury One line are cheaper than that! Finally, a mainstream NBA basketball player lends his name to a regular guy’s shoe. Anybody can wear them and feel like they are wearing something special. The shoes look like an expensive basketball shoe without the price tag. The coolest thing is that the shoe isn’t a beasty shoe made cheap. Stephon will be wearing the shoes on the court. You can’t get a better endorsement than Stephon Marbury wearing the shoe on an NBA court.

So where can you get them? Try Steve and Barry’s University Sportswear. They have stores everywhere. Don’t live near one? That’s ok because Steve and Barry’s is online as well. Imagine that. Finally a sports shoe that anyone could wear! As a mom trying to make ends meet, I can’t understand spending tons of money on shoes. It’s just not in me to pay $100 for a pair of tennis shoes. So thank you, Stephon Marbury, for realizing that there are people out there with common sense who refuse to pay ridiculous prices for shoes. Now anybody can wear a well built shoe for a not so well built price.

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

Post from: Thrifty Mommy

And if you do, let me know without rubbing it in that you get to wear “big girl’ sandals.  HAHA!

Post from: Thrifty Mommy