I was ahead of the game this year. No really, it’s true!
When the first mittens started appearing in stores this year, unceremoniously elbowing the beach towels and sand toys off store shelves (probably back in July or something ridiculous like that) I started buying them and ferreting them away.
Before I even knew what colour the boys’ coats would be, I was buying mittens. Fleecey mittens, woolen mittens, waterproof thinsulated mittens. Whenever I was out and came across a stash of mittens, I bought a pair. Or two.
Just before the first snowfall, I even cleaned out the top of the front hall closet and sorted out all the mittens left over from last year. I had the boys try them on, washed them, and tucked them back into the basket so we’d have an accessible and reliable place to go for back-up mittens.
And last night, as we stood in the front hallway with our boots and our skipants and our coats and our hats on, ready to go out for a little after-dinner fun shovelling the driveway and playing in the newly fallen snow, I searched high and low and was completely flummoxed.
It’s not even the first of December, and we are mittenless.
How could this happen? Where did they all go? More than a dozen mittens sucked into some giant mitten black hole.
In the end, Tristan wore two left-handed gloves and Simon struggled with a too-small pair of overstuffed mittens that fell off every time he moved his arms and prevented him from using his hands to pick things up.
And you can take my word for it that it takes a really. long. time. to shovel the driveway when you have to stop every second minute to replace a three-year-old’s ill-fitting mittens, especially when you have to stop on the alternate minute to reach under your own coat and hike your ill-fitting maternity pants back up over your ass to prevent frostbite on your exposed tailbone.
Is it springtime yet?
I’m mittenless too, so you’re not alone. But I have the added guilt of sticking my nanny with this problem. She is left to improvise, and every night for the past week, she politely reminds me that Anabel has socks on her hands–this after, she so thoughtfully bought Anabel mittens and booties for her birthday. Double guilt! I’m sure they are around, I just have to find the time to find them!
Snug as a Bug (http://www.snugasabug.com/) makes some good, sturdy mitten clips that you can get online or at that store in the Byward Market that sells costumes, Robbies slippers, etc. I think they cost about $4.95 but they’re worth it. If you have to replace your mitt collection, you might consider buying a bunch that are all the same and so are interchangeable. I got Reid some nice ones at a good price from Loblaws last year. The only things that I seem to keep track of are mittens (they go in the basket on the coat stand once they’re done drying on the vent) and we’re still using last years. But don’t ask me about the so-called coat closet.
hahaha too cute!!
don’t they have things like “idiot strings”?
Sorry for the term, i’m not implying anything, it’s just, er, that’s what my dad called them…
😀
jack just lost his first pair yesterday. and there will be many such losses before march. sigh.
Last year I went into every Sally Ann’s in a three county radius and bought every pair of woolen mittens I could find.
This year, first snowfall?
Cass borrowed mine, because NOONE could find ANY of them.
I think something alive is feeding on them in the coat closet.
Were you at my house this morning? Seriously? I bought 4 pairs of mittens this fall to supplement the mittens left over from last year — 1 pair of fleece mittens and 1 pair of waterproof, insulated ones for each of the girls. Here we are on the last day of November, and of the 4 original pairs, only one pair is complete. Leah went to school today wearing one fleece mitten and one waterproof mitten. I couldn’t find a complete pair that fit her. I want GPS tracking devices for mittens and a GPS tracking unit for Christmas.
My child is much younger than your two boys, so I don’t know if this suggestion will work for you, but it’s worth a try. Hubby was at West End Kids recently and bought a pair of waterproof gloves for our 18-month-old that have the string keeping them attached within her coat. So far, so good! (They were $10, which I know is a lot, but it will hopefully be worth it if we don’t have to keep buying additional pairs of mittens). Again, I don’t know if what is suitable handwear for a toddler would suffice for your boys. This is a cute story, though, I can relate. It doesn’t seem to matter how often I clean up/organize our mud room and adjoining closests…every few months, it needs to be done again! By the way, it’s so nice to find and intelligent and well written local blog…you are a great writer!
the only pair we haven’t lost is the pair with no thumbs. who makes mittens for two year olds with no thumbs?
So, like, one pair isn’t gonna do it?
So… Do you think the mittens are with the cell phone?
Ahem.
My sister-in-law bought my daughter a coat that has the mitten sewn onto the ends of the sleeves. It is FANTASTIC.
It’s only December 2nd and we are already hemmorhaging mittens at Casa Earth.
Mysterious missing mittens. My, my, my.