Keep an Eye Out: Adventures in Keeping Glasses in One Piece

"DS got glasses at 2 years old. We reinforced that he had to wear them for about a month, then he was fine. We get the cheap ones at Walmart, cuz he is a 5 yo boy and there is nothing on this earth that will keep him from being hard on his glasses. Walmart fixes them for free when he breaks them in less then a year. I would die from a heart attack if they lasted a whole year."

"Oh, I'm sure his glasses are just FINE..."

I wrote this to reassure a fellow mama about her young child getting glasses "already." And it's true, but a very brief look at the situation. The whole situation involves some very delicate maneuvering around family perogatives.

You see, bug does well with his glasses, but he is still a little boy with all the tendencies of a little boy to break EVERYTHING! So we get inexpensive glasses from Walmart where we can get them repaired every time they break.

We still have to buy a pair every year or so. This is where it gets tricky. See, once I picked up a pair of glasses from memory - Bug was not with me for sizing. They fit perfectly.

Enter, the problem. Now, others who contribute to the glasses adventure think that they can do the same. And they FAIL. The glasses were WAAAY too big. However, they were what we had, and not being wealthy, we used them. This means that Bug had glasses that fell down on his nose (until he started to grow into them, at least).

They aren't too big,
his FACE is too SMALL!

So these "others" took Bug to the eye doctor (because of his particular issues, he sees a specialist 4 hours away) and were informed that Bug was looking over his glasses (not often) and he would have to get a patch if he kept it up (YAY for fear-tactics).

So they went and bought a VERY expensive, name-brand pair of wire-rims. These were broken within two months... and not from Walmart, so we weren't even sure they would fix them (at no charge - remember, not wealthy).

Hey, this is what the top of
Bug's dresser looks like...

Long story, short... Walmart has fixed all Bug's glasses, we now have three pair of glasses for him, only MAMA can judge Bug's size, and name-brands don't protect against 5-year-olds/acts of Gods.

The lesson I've taken from this? I may despise Walmart with all my heart (more on that later), but they get my business for glasses. Well, Bug's glasses... only cuz this site doesn't have kid's glasses.
(Update (7/9/12): that site now DOES include children's sizes!)

Spartan Family: Too Much Fun!

This looks uncannily familiar...
Like... Bug's room...

 We live in a small house. It is a 3 BR/1 bath on a large plot (about 3/4 acre). But it is a small house.

There are four of us in this small house. Each of us has a place to sleep and (more or less) a place for our stuff.

Stuff. (Insert sigh here.) Lots of stuff.


We have clothes, books, toys, appliances, work & craft stuff. We have a lot of stuff, and it all needs to go somewhere to avoid the Clutter Monster! (Insert dramatic music here.)

The Clutter Monster Under the Bed...
aka, dust bunnies and toys.

In an ideal world, I would be in a position, both locationally and financially, to hire an organizer. Organizers are those mythical, other-worldly creatures that LIKE to clean other people's houses. They get a thrill from neatly placing toys onto shelves and arranging knickknacks and bric-a-bracks. Weirdos.

See! He wants to eat my COOKIES!!

But I want one, even for a weekend. And she (or he) would do battle with the evil Clutter Monster and tame my household into a nice, neat living space... even for a week... or a day. She would be my super-hero for EVER.

Doing battle with the Clutter Monster
is not for the weak-of-heart.

The biggest problem in my house (and the houses of many a parent) is the grandparents.

No, they don't sneak into the house in the middle of the night and throw keggers, nor do they toss things about with wild abandon. In fact, my parents almost never step into the house these days (perhaps in fear of the Clutter Monster - I'm telling you, it's real!).

My parents instead sabotage my plans for clutter-free existence by... wait for it... BUYING my kids stuff. They love to love my kids as though they were little Madonnas singing "Material Girl" (or boy, as the case may be).

Show thine affection to the almighty child through purchasing power! Shower gifts of cheap plastic and/or sugar upon them at all times! Praise them with thy credit cards!

Ok, that may have been a little over-the-top. Maybe.

But, in a sense, it is very true. My parents show how much they love my kids through tokens of affection. And, particularly at their current ages, price is no matter. Cheap stuff works as well as anything else.

But Kalisara, you say, how does one combat this great evil?
That's easy, I respond, sagely. You wade into battle using threats. And, keep in mind, the small victories are worth it.

My parents bought riding toys when I was living in a 2nd story, 2BR apartment. I told them they would have to keep the riding toys at their house, or I would have to throw them away. They bought Bug another pair of sandals. I told Bug to leave them at Grandma's or he would have to throw his other pair away.

Chi Monsters eat clutter!

I'm evil like that, but it works. Establish the fact that you have no room for stuff, then viciously throw out anything that threatens your sacred space balance.

And remember, chi doesn't like clutter either.