Choosing my battles since 2006

My philosophy: Motherhood is a battlefield, and some skirmishes just aren't worth the loss of resources it would take for me to engage. Well most of them actually.

Having been in this war for just under 4 years, I think that I've gotten really good at choosing when I will need to pull out the big guns, and when it's better to just retreat and live to fight another day.

That is why on an 84° May day, my kids looked like this:

In case you missed my daughter's foot attire:

Yes, that would be one just-a-tad-too-small brown shoe and one pink snow boot.

And I know what you're thinking right now: "Big deal. So you let your kids wear winter clothes in the house on a spring day. So what." And I'd agree with you, if that were the end of it. But it's not. Because you see, these pictures were taken right before we had to leave. I did try to convince them that the hats weren't necessary, but they wouldn't listen. I even offered Amaya a pony, a trip to Disneyland and a purple alligator if she'd just wear a matching pair of shoes--any pair so long as they matched. No dice.

Now I had a choice. I could demand that the little urchins shape up and rid themselves of the offending outerwear. That course of action would undoubtedly lead to screaming, kicking and tantrums that could rock their socks off--literally. Or I could just let them wear their silly little get ups out in public because really--what's the big deal? So into the car we went:

And from the car, into the gym dressed like colorblind snow bunnies they trotted. We did get more inquisitive looks than normal that day. First someone would catch a glimpse of us, then you could see her physically stop and do a double take followed swiftly by a surreptitious glance in my direction to see what a real live, insane mother actually looks like. Next time, I think I'll wear my own toboggan and mittens so that I can really do the image justice. Heck, I'll even throw in a stuffed squirrel on a leash if it means I might be able to get an early discharge for reasons of insanity. War's tough.