fashion statement

My mom let me dress myself when I was little.
When I was 5 my favorite summer outfit
was a red, white and blue halter top
paired with pink and green flowered shorts.
Favorite top...favorite shorts...voila! Favorite outfit.
I think that all of "hands off" by my mom led to my own fashion sense.
So I'm going the same route with my boys.
One less thing for me to worry about.
Jack prefers to wear his t-shirts backwards. Sometimes his pants.
I let it go. As a tribute to Criss Cross back in the day.
Will wants to wear shorts everyday. Everyday.
Lucky for him we live in California.
Addie has now started weighing in on his fashion preferences.
Changing his clothes has become a wrestling match.
He would rather drink gallons of cough syrup
than have me change his shirt.
(This could have to do with the fact that all of my children
have abnormally large noggins and the changing of a t-shirt
is reminiscent of the birthing process.)
And when he does allow me to change his clothes,
he only wants to wear shirts with characters on them
like Lightning McQueen or Buzz Lightyear.
This causes some difficulty since he only has 2 shirts with characters on
them - Lightning McQueen and Yoda - and Buzz Lightyear pajamas.
Addison almost passed out this morning when I traded out his
Buzz Lightyear pj shirt for a cute orange and white striped rugby shirt.
He has no concept of nightwear and day wear. Go figure.
The other day when we went to store to get him shoes,
he lost his mind when he spotted a pair of Lightning McQueen tennis shoes.
He began panting heavily, saying,
"Keen! Keen!" (interpretation = McQueen)
And while I would have rather gone with some other type of shoe
that didn't have eyeballs on the velcro straps,
he was almost hysterical with joy.
Clutching at them. Pointing to his own feet.
I could not get them on him fast enough.
Then he proceeded to do a happy dance with a little giddy-up thrown in.
I don't know how many of you have tried to lasso a 22 month old
and get shoes on them, but if you perchance have the opportunity arise
where the child sits down voluntarily, remaining still and subservient,
even shooting you looks of love and thanks as you put their shoes on,
and proceeds to do a little jig afterwards,
for the love of mike, GET THOSE SHOES.
You should maybe even kiss those little shoes
or nuzzle them with affection.
They have just made your life a whole lot easier.
As for me and my lack of love for character ridden clothing,
I say, "God bless Lightning McQueen."