I love Nordstrom Rack, though I rarely have the patience for it. If you’ve shopped there with children, you understand. If you haven’t shopped at Nordstrom Rack with kids, I equate it to shopping at IKEA with only 20 minutes to find the perfect item, write down the sku number, find your way to a check stand and place your order. All while being followed by a bum asking you for spare change every two and a half minutes. And, the bum steps on your foot and knocks something over and you are responsible for picking that something up. Hurry the clock is ticking.
Anyway, C.J. and I were at Nordstrom Rack when he eyed these shoes and said that he HAD to have them.
The internal debate that these shoes caused is ridiculous. They are “girl” shoes, yes. Would anybody at his school tease him? Probably not. Would they make his brother feel uncomfortable? Yes, really uncomfortable because, at age 8, he is more aware of and susceptible to teasing. How would C.J.’s Dad feel about the shoes? How would the grandparents feel? Could I get them and restrict them to only the house? Is that a waste of $20? If my little girl wanted “boys” shoes would I let her get them without as much thought?
C.J. was still looking at me, waiting for my answer.
“I have an idea! Why don’t we make our own sparkle shoes?!“
“Yeah!” C.J. said, much to my relief.
Here’s the finished product. He picked out the plain black Chucks and I got the rhinestones at the craft store. The next day after school we spent some quality time getting crafty and viola!
Crisis averted. C.J. now has his very own sparkle shoes , which are way cooler than Skechers any day. The compliments are never-ending and he is so proud to tell people that he made them himself.
And, a compliment came my way recently. A mom wrote me the following e-mail and it made me proud; proving again that what I’m doing here is worth the trouble. I love my readers. Thanks for being a part of our adventures.
“Hello CJ’s mum
I think you are wonderful.
Because of you l have truly opened my heart up to my four year old boy.
Embraced his love of Barbie dolls & pretty dresses.
And he is so thrilled in his love of all things girl, you can often hear him say. I don’t care. I like dolls. Which swells my heart.
Your blog has changed my (our) life.”
Raising My Rainbow 
You have NO IDEA how much i support getting crafty over purchasing glittery shoes! Not from a it’s-a-better-option-than-buying-outright-girly-shoes, but from a IT’S SO MUCH MORE FUN TO MAKE YOUR OWN SHOES perspective! I’ve covered several articles of clothing in glitter because they’re simply much to expensive to buy them premade, and it brings a sense of bring to the project since I can make them my own.
Here’s a link to a video of some articles of clothing that I’ve “Fabulized” in the past.
I love your shoes. It inspires me to make my own!
Count me as another mom who was able to resist the desire of my ex mom in law and her friends to ” make my son a boy ” and not the wonderful pink, ponytailed, and femme happy child I have now. I was almost ready to give in before I found your blog and a couple others.
There is indeed hope for our wonderful kids thanks to you and a few other brave souls!
That was a wonderful idea and what a result !!! It is much better than the original shoes. CJ is really blessed to have such a creative and thoughtful mother.
Those shoes are WAY cooler than the sketchers!
Dear CJ’s Mom:
You might be surprised — my six-year-old son gets raves everywhere he goes about his meant-for-girls over-the-top sneakers with the sequins, flashing lights, flowers and peace signs. And we live in a small town in the Bible belt! All of the big people — including one macho high school boy — bemoan the fact that the shoes don’t come in their sizes.
Not sure if the locals are ready for the little fella’s twirly skirts, however…
(Thank you for your lovely blog.)
I want CJ to make me some sparkly Chucks 😉 Good job Mom!
I love it! Not only did CJ get the shoes he wanted, you gave him the creative, expressive outlet to “create” his own shoes! I wish my parents had let me do that as a child.
You are truly a saint among mothers and you can tell your husband that if he doesn’t cherish you, then you can come up to West Hollywood and we’ll throw you a parade!
Thanks for sharing your life with us. I look forward to your blog daily. You always make me smile and it reminds me that I’m not the only open-minded and accepting mommy out there.
Hope you and CJ and the rest of your family have a great holiday weekend!
This blog never fails to give me hope for humanity.