Dress for Success - part III

I can't believe I didn't figure this out sooner. Hmmm... I can't think of anything to write about. What should I do? Let the kids attempt to dress themselves. Instantly I have new material with which to work.

Not to spoil the surprise but...

Monday morning I committed the ultimate Mommy no-no. I picked an outfit for AJ to wear that... (gasp of horror)... he had just worn last week. Noooooooo!!! I am such a failure!

When AJ pointed this out to me in a rather accusatory voice, I couldn't help but wonder could this possibly be the same child whose wardrobe seemed to rotate between three Minnesota Wild hockey jerseys most of last winter. Suddenly he cares about what he wears.

We had plenty of time until the bus was schedule to arrive, so I told AJ he could choose a new outfi. He happily disappeared into his room.

A minute or so later I heard him call from his room, "Mom, is it going to be nice today?"

"Yes," I answered back. "You'll need a jacket this morning, but it's supposed to warm up." I was beyond impressed that he would think to take that into consideration.

Several more minutes passed, so I called out, "How are you doing in there? Do you need any help?"

"I'm just getting my shirt on," he called back.

A few more minutes passed and then he excitedly called out, "I did it."

He certainly did. Take a moment to page back up and review the photo. Shorts askew. Way-too-big navy blue t-shirt over way-too-small royal blue sweatshirt. He was pretty darn proud of himself and his ensemble.

I was pretty darn sure there was no chance I was letting him out of the house looking like this.

It was one of those moments that reminded me of how blogging has made me a better parent. Rather than immediately suggesting he change into something that matched, which would have no doubt hurt his feelings, I recognized the blog potential of the moment. I took a deep breath and grabbed the camera.

I congratulated AJ on a job well done, then suggested he needed to change one of the shirts because otherwise he'd get too hot. He decided he liked the t-shirt better than the sweatshirt, so we peeled it off and found a long sleeve t-shirt that matched the shorts, and then layered the short sleeve shirt over that. AJ was happy. Mom was happy. Everybody wins.

And now I'm shaking my head all over again. As I was writing this, Jeff walked by and glanced over my shoulder at the photo. "So what's wrong with what he's wearing?"