The kids will have scabby knees by the end of the summer.

I have a new post up at The Buzz Off about outdoor activities because this summer I am determined to lock all the doors and windows and force the children to play outside and have all kinds of fucking fun OUTSIDE. Writing the post made me evaluate why my kids don't play outside very much. There are a few reasons for this situation: they are huge babies, we have a side yard which is like playing in a fish bowl where everyone can watch you, we have a shed which is difficult to store outside toys in, there are no other kids around to play with and finally and most annoyingly, in spite of myself I am afraid of 'bad things' happening so I'm afraid to really let them play outside they way I always played outside.

The way I played outside was, according to the news and about 50% of the parents I know, the equivalent of me driving Maddie to a registered sex offender's house and telling her to play in his backyard. We rode our bikes to the park at 7, the park was blocks away from my house. I left the house in the morning, stopped in for lunch and for the rest of the day I played in friend's yards at parks and even at the church parking lot around the block in some landscaping we created a 'home' out of.

While out I often fell and came home with bloody knees. I once rode my bike so fast through a vacant church parking lot I failed to notice the chain going across the entrance. I was clotheslined by chain link which cut my neck and sent me hurtling backward onto the asphalt and then I rode my bike home.

This morning I told Madison we had to get her some sandals before our big vacation next week. She said, "I can't wear open toe sandals to school anymore. Someone hurt her toe really bad on the playground while wearing them."

There's already a no flip flop rule at school, which doesn't bother me because my daughter has sensitive feet and an inability to walk in flip flops, but the sandal rule bothers me. The little girl who got hurt was playing tag and ran into a pole of some sort causing her toenail to stick straight up from the nail bed. She had stitches and the toe nail was not removed.

Writing about her injury makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and believe me I am very familiar with the pain and suffering of a toe nail injury but it was an accident, not an epidemic of kids jamming their toenails off their nail beds. If at the end of the month even 4 kids had done the same thing, sure, let's just get rid of the sandals.

This is just one example in my tiny world, everywhere the world seems to be going crazy about kids getting hurt and at the same time the world is wondering why our kids are so fat. Maybe our kids are so fat because they can't just ride a bike anymore they have to strap on a helmet and knee pads and elbow pads and wrist guards and a full body condom just in case.

Growing up I was always tan by the end of the summer because we were outside all day long. I was tan except for my knees which were continually covered with scabs and so ended up with a light white-ish pink spot on them. My kids have had scabbed knees once in their lives thanks to the padded giant hamster ball we let them outside in.

Maddie said, when I scoffed at the new rule (which we will obey of course), "I don't want my toenail to get pulled off so I'm glad we can't wear sandals."

I have a pretty high strung kid, do I really need her afraid to wear sandals? I pointed out how she'd worn sandals all summer for the last 7-8 years and she'd never hurt her toe. I told her how I've worn them for the last 30 something years and I've never hurt my toe. I asked, "Should we remove the drawers in the kitchen because Max hurt his toe with one?"

Should we never eat hot dogs with toothpicks because you fell off the barstool once and jammed it through your lip? Should we never play at the park because our friends were stung by wasps there? Should we stop going outside because you tripped on the steps and scraped your hands?

Her eyes started to get wider and I saw the look pass across her face which said, "OH MY GOD YOU ARE RIGHT!!!!! I CAN NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE AGAIN!!!!!!"

Which wasn't the point I was attempting to make.

I guess I'm having a hard time understanding how we expect our kids to be active when we're afraid they're going to be hurt. It's so much safer for kids to sit in the house and play video games all day long. There are 5 weeks left until school is over and having two kids stuck in the house afraid of bees and sandals is going to kill me.

UPDATE: Principal says, "NO MORE TAG! DO NOT TOUCH EACH OTHER!" Wooooo!

Comments

[SueFromOhio(nowfromSC)]

If you live in SC, like I do now, the kids would be out on the 22nd...which I guess probably isn't something you would envy, hehehe

I totally agree on the changes this weird ass world is making. Sometimes when my daughter (9) comes home with stuff like that, I literally laugh out loud (which is wrong) but things are getting WAY out of hand and ridiculous. I wonder what type of world our grandchildren will have to grow up in....

[Trenches of Mommyhood]

I totally agree. Same thing with kids' sports nowadays. No winners or losers? Everyone makes the team? Kids today know NOTHING about competition. Everything is so politically correct. Ack.

[Nicole]

When I was a kid in the 80's we spent all summer riding bikes (sans helmet), exploring the forest behind my house, running around the neighborhood, etc without ever checking in with our parents. The only time we HAD to go home (not wanted to) was when it started to get dark, which was around 9pm in the summer. Crazy how times have changed.

[Kate]

I can remember being Kindergarten age and the only summer rule we had was to be home by the time the street lights came on.
We stayed home by ourselves while my Mom went to work, cooked our own lunch, went all over the place. . . .amazingly, we're still alive. That being said, I'd never let my kids do that. Sigh.

[Womanwithkids]

I was with you until the "Should we never eat hot dogs with toothpicks..." That just made me laugh. I'm thinking, nope, I'll pull the toothpick out first, thanks.

Maddie should come play with Boy 1 and 2; a day isn't complete until somebody's accomplished an injury. But I'd still like to be able to cover them in bubble wrap.

[AKA Eleanor]

Longtime lurker, first time commenter.

My mother used to shove us outside and lock the doors. Only allowed us in if we looked like we were really, really going to pee on the front bushes. Now I feel guilty if I don't watch the 12 year old play the whole time she is in our fenced backyard in our lovely little suburban town. Deep sigh.

[mommyinjapan]

I know! My older two (6 & 5) are old enough to play outside but it has to be *right* in front of our house. They're cute and I'm worried about them disappearing. I get a lot of comments about how much whiter my 3rd daughter is than the older two. It's because she doesn't go outside. Ever.

I am not looking forward to summer vacation at all. I barely survived spring vacation and it is much shorter. Sigh!

[AEMom]

I hear you on the sandals. At my son's daycare, the only sandals they can wear are closed-toe sandals with socks.

To which I say, what's the effing point? May as well just stick with the running shoes.

I also used to run around everywhere all the time without a care in the world. And I used to let myself in the house alone after school from the time I was 10.

I think in some ways we do need to be more protective because the world HAS changed, but on the other hand, I think we have gone too far in some ways.

[Lisa V]

Hear, hear.

I am pissed off every time I have to find my 5 year old's bike helmet for him to ride his trike in the driveway. My kids don't have half the freedom I did.

And truly, the world hasn't changed that much. Child abductions and molestation statistics have remained pretty constant. The difference is that we hear more about it because of the media culture we live in. There is a difference between 30 minutes of news a day and 24 hours of available news. These stories weren't as widely reported because of lack of space. Now they are looking for things to fill all the space and they sensationalize and repeat things over and over. It's like a worm in our brains making us fearful of the world.

[jemilymom]

Preach it, sister! It drives me CRAZY the way we try to protect our kids, until we've squeezed all the joy out of life. If we live in fear all the time, then the bad guys have won - whether or not we ever get hurt, kidnapped, etc.

[onbeelay]

Sometimes I think the only way my Mom survived summer vacation with us two rambunctious kids was to push us outside and then have a couple of Momtini's. We were annoying and whiney and loud and she did it for our own self preservation.

We used to go "picnic" in the woods behind our house (two Cokes and a couple of PB&J's)...by the railroad tracks, near the hobo shanty villages. I'd re-enact that scene in Dirty Dancing on the fallen log across the ravine. .... I was 10! 10! my brother was 8 :) this was upstate NY in the mid to late 80's. We'd hide our injuries from our Mom and Dad lest we no longer get to go!

We'd walk 3 miles on the side of the state route (2 lanes!) to the candy store to beg for licorice. Or ride our bikes to the fish hatchery (4 miles) without helmets!

Are you saying that nobody let's their kids out of their sight anymore?

[Melissa Summers]

Maddie likes to eat her hot dogs cut up with a tooth pick instead of a fork as a utensil. She doesn't like to gnaw on toothpicks stuck in her hot dog.

[Jenn]

When I was in elementary school, the science teacher invented a game called "pom pom pullaway" (WTF?) and for this game, there were 2 teams, one on either end of a field. The two teams ran towards each other and each team tried to keep the other one from getting to the opposite end of the field, no matter what they had to do to take them down. I only played a few times and got tired of having the living shit beat out of me. Eventually, parents got tired of having their kids come home with ripped clothes and injuries and called to complain. Can you even imagine kids being allowed to play that today? They'd have to try to knock each other out of bounds in their padded hamster balls!

I always hated playing in the front yard too, it made me feel like I was on display at the zoo. I still am not comfortable in our own backyard. If I ever win the lottery, I'm putting up a 10 foot high privacy fence.

[slouching mom]

Yes to all of it. There are lessons to be learned from exploring the outdoors with other kids without parents breathing down necks.

Oh, and that sandals rule is ridiculous. Freak accident! That's all!

[OMSH]

AMEN!

GAH! I lived the same way you did. I'm trying to do that for my kids without being foolish and it is hard.

I sit in the backyard and watch my 10 and 7 year old double bounce my 4 year old into the trees or off onto the grass and I crinch inwardly and clap and tell him what a strong boy he is, "Get up and see if you can do it again!"

We probably take training wheels off too early, take too many chances, put them to bed dirty, and let them eat cookie dough even ... GAH! We're killin' them surely.

I want my kids to grow up in the world I grew up in. Playing in ditches and shooting each other in the butt with bb guns.

That sandal rule is stupid. Plain stupid.

[NoPasaNada]

They really didn't say 'No more tag' right???

Please tell me that's fun Melissa sarcasm there.

[Melissa Summers]

NO I'm SERIOUS! I picked Maddie up for lunch and I guess someone fell down yesterday so they called for NO MORE TAG!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH the world has gone insane.

[Gullebarn]

I was just talking to my mom today about how I was allowed to ride my bike all over the neighborhood and play in vacant lots and culverts and ditches when I was 7 years old. By 9 we had moved and I had my own pony and I used to ride that sucker all over the place and get bucked off on a daily basis. My 9-year-old kids have ponies and I would never let them ride everywhere on their own like I did. I guess I am all too aware of what *could* happen, and the movie in my head of them with broken necks or some such thing just keeps playing over and over. I do let them play outside all they like -- but we live on 10 acres that is fenced with BIG German Shepherd dogs in the yard that bark like crazy if someone even slows down by our driveway. I do have to worry about rattlesnakes and mountain lions (seriously) but the irony is that these things don't bother me as much as creepy people snatching them. Strange.

On the school note, I teach part-time at my kid's school and won't believe the crap that parents will call to complain about. I am sure the school is doing CYA on the sandals thing, but yes it is sad that it has come to this.

[kaleigh]

Maybe I'm a bad mom, but I let my kids play out of my sight outside. We've got tons of kids in the neighborhood, and I can see almost all the neighborhood from my house (just would have to change rooms a lot to get all the angles). But I don't change rooms to watch because I have better things to do, and the kids are FINE outside. They've been playing outside without my constant supervision since they were quite small, because I trusted the large band of kids, ranging in age from two to twelve, to keep an eye on the little ones. And it worked. We don't have woods down the street from our house like I had as a kid in the 'burbs, because we live in downtown Memphis. But we do have a park that's just the right size for kickball, and great for riding bikes around. Kids need to be outside. Period.

[Kyran]

Your writing smokes today.

That is all.

xo

[Angel]

Oh the irony...I'm reading this, and my son ran in the room asking if he could wear his sandals (he was getting ready to go with my husband to pick up my daughter from school).

I sortof agree with the closed-toe shoe policy, but I've had it with the limitations on PE/recess.

I think I'd like that hamster ball though. Just an eensy bit OCD here. lol

[Heather]

I wish that kids today could experience the freedom of being gone all day, checking in at lunch time, and then returning when the streetlights came on for the evening. I loved that time in my life.

I feel your pain with the house. My husband is a real estate agent. Right now he is selling a lot of foreclosures. While I feel sorry for those who are losing their homes, I thank God that he is selling something. The Michigan market is painful to say the least. I will keep sending out the positive selling prayers to you. Best of luck!

[Michelle]

I'm in California and kids are not allowed to have fun here. Period.

My son's school actually has a policy that says, "No running in the sandbox".

WTF?

[Peeved Michelle]

Maybe I will feel differently once I actually birth this baby I am carrying, but my husband and I don't think that we will be the overprotective parents who will keep kids indoors for fear of them getting hurt. We have a neatly-contained neighborhood with a park a block away and I see no reason why our kids shouldn't roam freely over their entire domain. The one concession we are making to safety once the baby starts walking is to pull out the picket fence around the rose garden in the backyard. It is falling apart and full of rusty nails. However, we have no concerns about the thorns on the roses.

[Matthew M. F. Miller]

Upon chasing my sister around the house with some cat poop on the end of a twig, my pant leg got caught on a nail protruding from an old chair, and I ended up slicing my entire cheek open and getting 20 stitches.

Kids will run, and kids will maim themselves and others. Nature will run its course.

[a happier girl]

My daughter's preschool has the no sandals rule. I pretend I didn't get the no sandals memo. That no tag rule is pretty wild though. They should just issue a memo about approved recess activities to make it easier. You know, easier to be insanely paranoid and anal.

[Lisa]

Sing it Sista! I came from the free running 70s childhood.

I guess I'm part of the bad mom's club too. I let my 10 year old roam freely around our subdivision to visit friends or just ride her bike and my 6 year old can go to his friend's house around the corner and about 6 houses down unsupervised.

With the unseasonably warm weather we've been experiencing the last couple of weeks I've found myself saying a few too many times "Where's _____ ?" (pick a kid) to be answered with an I'm not sure, he/she might be at __________'s house (enter friend's name here). Amazingly they always show back up when their supposed to, sometimes even a little earlier.

We also are on a corner lot and our main part of our back yard is actually the side yard. I find we tend to get overrun with kids sometimes because it's big and it's not privacy fenced so parents can either see their kids from home or walk by and know their kids are still around. Which is good for them, but honestly sometimes a little too noisy for me.

[Susan]

I have a friend who will say, "Can the kids play inside today? Because I really don't think they should be out in the pollen. I don't want their allergies to act up."

I don't once remember my mother ever saying, "Oh, poor little things with allergies!" She just gave us some Benadryl (not even pediatric Benadryl! real adult Benadryl! in smaller quantities!) and tossed us outside.

Guess what I'll be doing this summer.

[maiareads]

My daughters' school has a 'no touch' rule so I guess that pretty much kills tag too.

As a kid me and my 5 siblings had free roam of the CITY. Maybe check in at lunch time but for sure supper (we got hungry by then). I remember riding my bike all over the small city, walking 5 miles to the lake, selling cool-aide downtown (to a few pedophiles I am sure, no really!) Going swimming at the pool in grade 4 with friends (a 4 mile walk), walking home from well, any thing and everything. Hanging out at latch key kids houses after school (sometimes when their drug smoking/beer drinking dad's were home flipping through Playboys) and basically doing whatever we pleased.

I remember visiting the church to have cookies with the "Cookie Man" (who would have nowadays been busted as a perv), visiting an elderly woman to take things from her 'tickle drawer' (ditto) and falling off a 3 story hedge and getting a concussion when my head hit a big rock on the way down.

I recall riding my bike down a steep hill, realizing my breaks were gone and deciding to crash into a fence rather than take the turn and go down the rest of the steep hill.
(Of course pre-helmet days).

Watching slides of a neighbors parents trip and seeing the mother spread eagle naked. (Lovely)... Being in a car with my little brother (about 3) and the neighbors whose parents were deaf. Having his door swing open, my older sister grabbing him and basically saving his life, absolutely no one the wiser. (Pre seat belt days).

Childhood has changed for sure. My kids have none of the experiences I did as a kid with freedom. But holy shit are they not a whole lot safer than we were!

[Leigh]

At my girls' school in Southern California, the kids are not allowed to run on the playground. That boggles my mind. Also no shoes of any sort other than athletic or sneaker type shoes, no playing catch on the grass lawn after school and on and on....thankfully we live close to the beach where I encourage no shoes (gasp) and as much running as possible as well as actually swimming in the fish and other living thing infested ocean.

[janey83]

I'm a teacher and I agree with many of the comments above, but when I'm watching 22 kids who are going to go home at the end of the day to a variety of parents with different styles, all I'm thinking is, "Please don't get hurt on my watch." I haven't had to call an ambulance for a kid yet, and I hope I never have to! A lot of the rules are out of respect to all families, and being that inclusive can mean being more restrictive than ever. That doesn't mean my kids don't get hurt! Busted lips, scabbed knees and constant requests for band-aids are just part of the job, but a little prevention can go a long way. Kids still have fun, but not to the point where they can get hurt or hurt each other. We want to let the parents enjoy that part ;-)

[hulahulagirl]

Actually, I've heard several times (I'm just too lazy to look it up, even on The Internets) that sexual abuse of children is far far more likely to perpetrated my someone you know--family, friend, family friend. Not to be a downer or anything. But it's probably not too unsafe to play outside if you tell your kids what not to do...
Anyway, first time here and I leave a contradictory comment. Oops. I promise, I'm not argumentative all of the time. I'll keep reading.
Oh---directed from MightyGirl's flickr photos of Mamacon. Nice.

[pixie sticks]

what an amazingly great point.

[heather2]

All of these restrictions and policies? Totally a CYA response. I don't believe that kids are in any more danger than they were 20 years ago, it's just that we have more law suits! These days, people seem to believe the constitution protects them from bad luck, inconvenience, and hurt feelings.

ps.
I've tried three recipes from Did They Eat It? (and yes, they did!)I swear my daughter and yours are twins separated at birth.

[sassykat1213]

Hi, I'm another lurker and I wanted to comment--I taught for 7 years and saw this happen over and over! :( One thing to note: parents can't sue the school over accidents (at least here in Texas). And, the school NEVER pays for ER visits or Dr. visits for injuries that occur while on campus (can you imagine--if they pay for one, they'd have to pay for all!).

So, my opinion is this: the school is trying to please the loud parents by making all of these restrictions. The "good" will be punished with the "bad", just like when the entire class is punished when only three misbehaved.

Why can't the school make sensible rules...bring tennis shoes for recess? Parents who don't want their children playing tag, TELL their children they are not allowed to play tag.
:)

[sleepingKelly]

Did you ever read "Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim" by David Sedaris? There is one section where he tells of the summer his mom locked him and his sisters outside. Apparently the kids were driving her crazy. You're definitely not the first person that has thought of it!

[superblondgirl]

The whole world is getting crazier and crazier. Sometimes I feel awful because I send my son out to play and watch him through the window because I'm busy doing dishes, drinking, that sort of thing - but didn't my mom do the same thing? And I have an imagination, and I was healthy and never was abducted by child molesters. I'm so freaking tired of people overreacting to everything.

[Sumo]

We were watching some neighbor kids running through their lawn sprinkler. My wife said that one of them was going to slip and hurt himself. I said they'd be fine. Later, she pointed out when one of them slipped and hurt himself. I said he'd still be fine.

Kids get hurt, you know? It's all part of the big game. They need a parent to give them a band aid and a kiss after they've scraped their knee. They don't need to be insulated from the world to protect them from ever getting a boo boo.

[HeatherZG]

Where *is* the happy medium? There has got to be one! We have had the no sandal rule for awhile at school, preschool and there are some pretty good closed toe/open side alternatives out there but that doesn't solve making your kids afraid of themselves.

Part of it is the world has gotten wackier and scarier and part of it is the expectations we have of ourselves--what *would* someone think if they saw our kids, outside, by themselves for more than 30 seconds?!

[silvermine]

I cringe every time the kids run or do anything... but that's because I'm crazy. I don't keep them from running just because they might get hurt.

The stupid daycare made a rule that the kids (We're talking TWELVE MONTH OLDS) had to wear shoes all day long. Their insane excuse was that "there might be a fire". Because, you know, if there's a fire, you won't let the kids run out, just in case there's a something laying around that they step on (what's going ot be laying around on the playground? Rusty nails?).

Hello!? Rusty nail is better than burning in a fire (Trust me, I've stepped on one before. And on a cultivator. Never been burned all over in a fire, but I have a good imagination.) Also.... if they have rusty nails laying around on the playground, maybe they should consider cleaning them up. :D

I'm already looking forward to lots of arguments. Hell, I don't put sunscreen on them unless they'll be outside for a while. But they've already started slathering him in it every day, whether I signed the permission form or not. (And they even had him ask me if he can bring some to school. ARHG!)

Sun is not just bad. It's also good. Your body needs sunlight to feel happy and make vitamin D. Just in small amounts. Moderation. WHEE.

[Ani]

Have you seen what they do in PE these days? We used to play dodgeball or kickball or basketball or...

My son...they "run, skip, gallop, and walk".

For a freaking hour.

No wonder he thinks it's boring!

[minda25]

I just read all the previous comments, and you all have some very good points. I hear about these ridiculous rules all the time (I think it was Boston that first banned tag in school), and I always hear a chorus of people around me agreeing that it's very stupid. It gives me hope that we're getting tired of forcing our kids (or having our kids forced) into exile and wussy-ness because we're afraid that they'll get a skinned knee or will have their feelings hurt. I know that when Abigail reaches school age, I will fight against these arbitrary and ridiculous rules with everything I have.

Also, no sandals?! When I read the original post, I was shocked to hear that the school banned sandals, but on reading the comments, I see that sandal-banning is common. I have to laugh, because at Abigail's (small, family-run, very much trusted) daycare, there's a wee doggie that likes to snatch the socks right off the babies (baby's? babies's?) feet, and she's yet to be banned from the house when the babies are there (but she does get put outside when she starts in with that or other bad behaviors). It doesn't concern me in the slightest - she's a good dog, and I know my daycare provider won't let her harm the kids. I'd hate to see what some of these other daycare providers would do, though!

[minda25]

Er, after some thought, I think I need to clarify: the dog is not bad, the dog does not bite the babies, and knows not to bother them. She get excited sometimes, as dogs do, and runs around the babies, and is immediately put outside. When she snatches the socks, (and I am not kidding here) her teeth don't ever touch the baby's foot. It's some sort of magic. Still, she gets called on her behavior - she's certainly not *allowed* to do that.

p.s.(new to Suburban Bliss - found your link at Maggie's place. Sorry for my sloppy introduction!).

[LoopyKnits]

OMG - my younger daughter's school is the worst about overprotectiveness. No flipflops, of course. And this year, the centerpiece of their outdoor safety plan was: "No running on the playground."

WTF?

I believe my note to the teacher asked, "What idiot thought this up, and what's next? Are we going to start cutting their fingers off too so they don't accidentally poke themselves in the eye?" (She so seldom writes back. *sigh*)

[MommasWorld]

There seems to be a country wide school rule of no sandals. I laughed when I saw the notice in Snow White’s back pack. Snow White has no problem playing outside with just and our Pup. The dog is always ready to come in before she does. Yesterday she played in the yard as soon as we were home until it was dark. Unfortunately her only current pair of sneakers were soaked from the wet grass. She went to school with white slip on sandals. I tried to disguise them a bit by having her wear white socks with them. If you cross your eyes a bit and lean over this way or that they almost look like sneakers. Ha!

[Kelly]

I've always been a bit of a Maddie, so afraid of all the bad things that can happen that I've become more and more constricted, into an orbit that includes home, office, and the occasional dog park.

Well, yesterday I was sitting at my desk at work and a car crashed through the wall and sideswiped my desk.

After my initial reaction of "I am not leaving the house for a month!" I came to realize that I can only protect myself so much, and I can avoid all I like, but sooner or later a metaphorical car will take down the wall.

Would have been nice if it had stayed metaphorical, though.

[MommasWorld]

I wrote up my post on the sandles and Sunscreen at school issues. I also put a link to your post here. Have a great day!

[bethany]

When I worked at an elementary after-school program a few years ago, a third-grader was going across the monkey bars when she fell a foot or so to the mulch-covered ground. She'd probably done it a hundred times before, and this time she was just thrown off-balance for some reason and landed wrong, and she broke her arm. Freak accident, right? Well, for the remaining two weeks of the school year, the head teacher of the after-school program decreed that the monkey bars were off-limits because she just didn't want anyone else to break an arm.

?!?

She was a sweet lady and I sympathized with her desire, but I thought this was the worst thing we could have done. It probably scared some kids off the monkey bars for life. At least they were still allowed on the slides and swings, though of course they weren't allowed to slide any way but facing forward on their bottoms, and they weren't allowed to twist on the swings or swing on their stomachs...when I was in grade school we used to do FLIPS off the swings, for pete's sake!

It's almost enough to make me want to home-school my daughter. We'll see if I am still singing that tune when she's kindergarten age in a couple of years.

[Jamie]

I don't know if you saw this Newsweek article (my sister actually clipped it out of her mag and snail mailed it to me...how novel!), but your post instantly reminded me of it...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17770831/site/newsweek/

I can understand no flip flops, but no open toe sandals? Puh-leez.

And good luck with your house...the no closet people are weirdos.

[Jamie]

p.s. your new blog header is freaking hilarious