made to order shoes
“You need more shoes like a hole in the head. So no, you cannot order them.”
This was in response to Maya’s request that I order the shoes she designed in her weekly computer class. (Yes, I have a variety of questions about this class too, but I’m just too tired to know where to start).
Shortly after my emphatic no, Maya inched her way over to Ali. And as soon as she thought I was no longer in earshot she pounced.
Maya: “I designed shoes in computer class today Dad.”
Ali: “Nice.”
Maya: “Did you know that you can order them online at converse.com? The actual ones I designed?”
Ali: “Nice.”
Maya: “So can you?”
Ali: “Can I what?”
Maya: “Can you order them?”
Ali: “Can I order what? Maya, what are you talking about?’
I know I should judge Maya’s creativity but flowers? Really?
After his initial irritation at Maya cutting into his precious computer time, I could feel Ali waiver. Did I mention he finds it impossible to tell her no?
Ali: “Maya, you don’t need any more shoes.”
Maya: “Well Daddy, according to my calculations I only have 3 pairs of shoes I can wear to school…”
At this point I stopped listening because my mind was occupied with the following thoughts:
- I almost want to give Maya the shoes just for utilizing the phrase “according to my calculations.”
- Using “Daddy” instead of “Dad” was a nice touch. Good job Maya!
- My kid is going to be a litigator.
- If Maya spent half as much time on math as she does honing her persuasion skills she’d have mastered subtraction by now.
- How does Ali have so much patience?
And then, when I couldn’t listen to one more second I yelled from my hiding place: “Mama said no. And no is no. End of conversation.”
And that Ali? That’s how you say no.
While I'm not going to win Mother/Wife of the Year Award anytime soon, I haven't killed anyone yet or shot myself in the head. And that, my friends, is how I calculate success these days. 
FANCY THAT FANCY THIS 
Oh dear, now that you have shared the knowledge that I could design and order my own shoes, I may have to hide my credit card from myself…
Your daughter is quite precocious!
Luckily the designing occurs on converse.com so the damage there is minimal as opposed to louboutin.com…
and the mommy has spoken 😀 haha
She never shuts up actually… 🙂
I’m laughing sooo hard!!!! But mommy- she did DESIGN the shoes herself…for that alone you should say YES 🙂
I loved your ending to this….it would have been my husband and I in reverse- he is always the definitive NO person and I’m the wishy washy one….my kids used to get so mad because, “Dad says no before we even ask” ha ha!
I am exactly like your husband! I have a no all ready to go no matter what the question is…
Ha ha ha, that was funny!! But seriously, if I didn’t do the ‘No’ thing, my son would leave every toy store armed with one or the other of Thomas the Tank Engine’s friends 🙂
I remember the good old Thomas the Tank days…and now it’s shoes. I guess it’s inevitable?
Can we backtrack? Converse let’s you design your own shoes? Fun. And in LA children do this in school? What’s next learning geometry via diamonds? And “according to my calculations” is genius but who did she get that from? Lovely orchid as well.
I am as surprised to hear that my child was designing shoes at school as well! But I have to say, I sort of want to give it a try…
If Maya was my daughter, I would be super proud..heck either way I am proud of the girl! She knows how to get what she wants. The term “daddy” always goes a long way, and I speak from experience :)! On a separate note, I am amazed by Converse- when did they become so snazzy and start offering customised shoes??
Converse is making a comeback! And I just gave them a whole lot more free publicity!
She definitely knows how to work the system. I am terrified as to what her future brings… and also what YOUR future brings… ha ha
Yes, I am quite nervous about what my future holds!
It’s always the resounding no From the other room that echos through the house…it’s a great effect and an end all to whining 😉
And echo it did! Me and my big mouth made sure of that. 🙂
Love her technique. Her only mistake not waiting until you have already left the room – live and lean Maya.
I suppose designing the sneakers was one of those “hooks” that makes children more interested in learning – I usually find those “hooks” don’t work well!
Good point. Maybe the hook was imperative in helping Maya learn something important about the computer/Internet?
OH I Know about these computer classes…
Maya definitely knows how to get what she want… Good Job Maya… I am sure next time mom will not say no…
Of course I’ll say no! I say no every time. That’s just what I do. 🙂
You know what?? I loved the shoes maya has designed. It looks too cute and girly. Loved the way she was persuading Ali. I guess I should take some lessons from her 🙂
I think I need some lessons from her too. I can’t get Ali to do much of anything. 🙂
I wold have said yes. I cannot say no either. I am heading straight for a downfall I know.
I’ll give you lessons! It’s really easy once you get the hang of it.
You and my mom would be best friends! And in a few years, I’m sure I’ll join the club as well. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard “no means no.” 🙂
My line is, “Mama says things once. And she already said no!”
Say it like you Mean It!! Love it! Have a great weekend, Ameena! (I Do think the sneakers are cute, though. 😉 )
Have a great weekend too Fran!
According to MY calculations your daughter is hilarious.
My children think that repeating themselves over and over in a feeble attempt to wear me down will make no mean yes. They are wrong. It really just makes me extra cranky.
Props to Maya for being creative. Gold star for Mama that says no and means it!
The repeated asking makes me unbelievably cranky! And we all know I’m already on a short leash…
I’m so impressed by both Maya and Ali. Maya for being very persistent & never gave up (love those flowery Converse she designed though) and Ali for sticking to you and said no. Good for him! Have a great weekend!
He would have given in if I hadn’t intervened…I speak from experience here!
Actually, I like the flowers. And the negotiating skills – you go Maya.
The flowers are cute…in shoe form though? I’m not so sure…
Smart girl! But then she has a smart mama to emulate 🙂
How nice are you? Thank you!!
As an attorney, I commend Maya for her negotiation and persuasion skills. As a mom, I’m going to start practicing my “no means no” skills.
So in your expert opinion, do you think she’s well on her way to a successful career in your field? 🙂
Absolutely. 🙂
Actually, with her skills, I know she will be successful in whatever field she decides. 🙂
Very cool that you can design your own shoes, but I’m with you, wondering why the kids doing this at school…
My kids try to do the same thing when I say no and follow up with “Daddy.” Luckily, my husband and I both usually are on the same “no means no” page.
You are lucky to be on the same page as your husband. This happens VERY rarely with Ali. In any capacity!
hahaha her word choices were very smart! Maybe you should give her the shoes after all 😛
For a minute I wanted to!! But then I came to my senses…
haha… ur daughter is well on her way to becoming the next big thing in law 😀
Thanks Deeps…so glad you think so too. 🙂
Way to set boundaries! I never even had a computer class as a kid…and I definitely never designed a pair of converses.
You could have said: we can order them, but we’ll need to donate them to a kid in a third world country who has no shoes.
Next time.
I love that idea! I’m impressed with your quick thinking Andrea…
This was hilarious. She speaks really well for a 7 year old, I agree, just for using “according to my calculations,” I’d buy her the shoes. She’s so cute! Your husband is so funny.. he just had no clue what she was talking about. 🙂 I’ts good though 1 of you puts their foot down, I think my kid would walk all over me.
I doubt you’d let anyone walk all over you, especially your kid! I can tell..
Haha “according to my calculations” – she’s such a well spoken cutie, love it! In all seriousness I admire the fact that you try to impose moderation on Maya even though you could very easily spoil her as an only child – not sure I’d be able to exercise the same self-control. 🙂
I bet you could easily impose the same moderation…I feel almost like it’s impossible not to. At least some of the time!
i love that she said “according to my calculations”, too! how cute is she.
Thanks Daisy!
You made me laugh, that is how daddy says no in our house too 😉
So you’re the easy-going parent then?
Well, at least they appear to be tasteful flowers, not a garish Marimekko-style monstrosity. Once, when I was about Maya’s age, I saw a commercial for Depends and decided that we NEEDED SOME OF THOSE in the house and tried really hard to get my mom to buy them. She literally cracked up in my face. It was just demoralizing enough for me to reconsider asking my parents to order things for me after that.
So curious…what did you want the Depends for? How funny!
I need you to come to my house and deal with my 8 year-old’s constant begging for paid memberships to online gaming sites. I’m one tantrum away from throwing out the computer and teaching him how to play Yahtzee.
Online gaming sites? That’s an interesting one. I wonder if that’s next on Maya’s list?
Too funny! She’s a smart little girl and very persistent. I mean they were custom designed by her 🙂
Katie
She is definitely persistent. It kind of annoys me. 🙂
I pray to god my nieces don’t read your blog because they will be right up there with maya trying to get their own custom designed converses. These shoes are huge here and are a must have according to every kid around.
I always say no, I’m such a toughie 😉 and I’ve got so much practice now to say no to any kids I may have 😉
Maya is a very smart girl!!
Converse made a sudden comeback, didn’t they? I remember them being big when I was a kid and then suddenly they were gone? And now they’re back again…
So funny how she tried to work Ali!And so it begins- wait till she hits the tweens!
I am VERY nervous for the tweens. Or even 16…I can’t imagine what she’ll be expecting as her first car…
–I So Love the stories and tribuations of your AWESOME family.
Even Ali sort of rocks . Haaa.
He sort of does rock. Sometimes. 🙂
She is definitely going to be a lawyer! I like her style!!!
At least her talents will be put to good use then, right?
Ha! Good for you! And, it doesn’t sound like patience but more like distracted from computer time.
Good point! Suddenly I feel better about my lack of patience…
Haha her negotiation skills are truly Indian! And ‘according to my calculations…’ i burst out laughing. That girl is going to make big changes in the world 🙂
Her 1/4 Indian comes out loud and clear. 🙂
“according to my calculations” – such a proud moment! She will be one finely dresses litigator. 🙂
Savy. I love kids who are excellent arguers. Especially because they aren’t mine.
🙂
She definitely gave it her all. I’m still wondering how Converse wielded their way into the public school system! Happy Mother’s day to you Ameena! Ali better be buying YOU a pair of shoes today. 🙂
“According to my calculations…” Smooooth!
When I was a pup, the only computer science we did was keyboarding. How shoe design fits into any curriculum is beyond me. I suppose we should just be giving thanks that Maya went with flowers and not something involving heavy doses of hearts or rainbows. Small mercies. Small mercies.
I think Ali would have ordered her the shoes, not because he is patient but because he didn’t want her trying to talk him into it all day, and possibly all week.
My kids pull this all the time and I have to look them in the eye and tell them they are bullying me and being manipulative. Like you said, No means No. They forget this a lot.
LOL!!! “According to my calculations….” Love that. Such a precocious child.
haha you have a smart kid there. No wonder Ali has a hard time telling her no.
“According to my calculations.” Perfect. Just perfect. 😉 Good for you for holding your ground.
Hilarious! Maya is going to become the best lawyer America has seen. Just you wait!
I can hope so. 🙂