Shoes and YOU

I knew Blog Stalking would eventually pay off! One of my Mommy Bloggers is having an awesome give-away. OhMommy over at Classy Chaos is having a contest for these sweet kicks and I need them BAD. If I win them I may have to make a special place in the closet so my other shoes don't get jealous. And the kicker? They are made by Crocs! YOU by crocs! Check it out. Who knew?

Now, what do I do to invest in myself? Okay, I'm not just saying this because you are reading it right now but this blog is the biggest thing I do to invest in myself. I mean sure I get my hair done, watch trashy tv, buy loads of clothes and accessories and luxuriate in the tub every now and again, but this blog is my big investment. Writing has always been my passion, my outlet, my thing. Before now I have never written anything that was so public. I don't know if you noticed but I really like it. And as I have said before it has changed my life and my perspective. Also, if you notice the blog labels count, the only things I like talking about more than me are Patrick and Keith. Keep an eye on "Food" creeping up in third place! But that's just me.

Into each life a little rain must fall

Longfellow, right? Ours wasn't a dreary day. Patrick and Keith have been waiting for a reason to wear their rain boots for weeks. Patrick has been praying for rain. There wasn't enough rain to create any significant puddles, but Patrick found a small one at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

A not so clear choice

This week I embarked on my long awaited, much anticipated shopping excursion to San Francisco. I had a relatively successful experience on Market Street, I got just about everything on my list (and then some). I was laden down with shopping bags (my favorite workout) and ready to head to my hotel.

The next day I had a training on Strategic Planning (don't ask) and as anticipated they gave us almost an hour for lunch. For me, having 25 minutes to eat lunch standing up in the kitchen with Kevin on a weekday is a luxury... a whole hour, to eat? My hour went something like this: I spent the first 24 minutes messing around on the computer, emailing my staff and updating Facebook. 12 minutes locating the closest DSW (shoe warehouse) which was unbelievably close. 3 minutes to decide whether I should eat or shop. Shoes or food, Shoes or food. Mind you I hadn't had anything more than coffee that morning. And I was in one of my favorite eating cities.

21 minutes do you choose shoes or food? The insanity of the question was not lost on me.

The catch. As successful as my previous SF shopping day had been, I was still short a critical wardrobe item. I needed an oxford bootie (good name for a rock band) or at least a black bootie. Several days earlier I had literally kissed several faithful pairs of shoes goodbye. Actually a couple of them I just put away in boxes because I couldn't part with them. My New Orleans shoes in particular. Kevin and I bought them in New Orleans (before kids) and I have worn the heck out of them. Not to mention the roads they traveled nightly in New Orleans. The point is this, I had painstakingly made room for new shoes and two pairs of Bandolinos didn't quite do it for me. I needed booties and perhaps a new pair of flats. And I have one opening on my impratical but righteous shelf.

So I did what any self-respecting shopaholic would do... I booked it over to DSW on Powell Street. In the end, I didn't buy anything. Not because I didn't find anything I wanted but because I had run out of time to choose between the 4 pairs I found in 12 minutes flat.

I am honing my power shopping skills. My friend Jennifer and I once shopped for a cocktail dress, a blazer, mary janes and age appropriate clothes in Folsom at Off Saks in under 30 minutes. We're moms who travel a lot, we have no choice.

So shoeless and hungry I grabbed a sandwich and headed back. I was much more comfortable shoveling a roast beef on wheat into my mouth in less than 6 minutes. My digestive system wouldn't know what to do if I actually chewed and swallowed.

I'm still in the market for booties (among other things) but I have fed the beast for now.

Mr. Keith Fox

We are all about the measurements this week. Keith is 16 months old and has acquired more shoes than his mother. My child has the widest feet in the world AND they seem to grow overnight. We finally relented and made a trip to Stride Rite with both boys. Patrick wanted new shoes for school next week and Keith had one pair of what I thought were size 5 Nikes but were actually size 6. Now I know why those shoes were the only shoes that fit (kind of).

Patrick got measured first. 11.5 WIDE. His Adidas were size 11 so not too bad. Keith was measured next... 6.5 almost a 7 EXTRA WIDE. Stride Rite should just call it freakishly wide or as wide as they are long.... The kid has good balance though. So we spent all of our money on shoes and headed home happy and poor.

Yesterday was Dr. Checkup day for Keith (may your well-baby check-ups out number the sick baby). We have two issues: the wait and Keith is deathly afraid of his doctor. We were escorted into the room uncharacteristically fast but waited forever to see the doctor and forever and a day to get shots. All told we were there for an hour and 40 minutes with about 25 minutes of actual care.

The minute the doctor came in Keith started screaming. That just set the stage for the screams after the shots. He was pretty miserable all day. Kevin (God Bless Him) did his Daddy Deal and took care of Keith the rest of the day while I went to the Bay Area.

Anyway, the measurements. The first round on the height was 31 1/4 inches, but we remeasured for 31 1/2 inches (we need every quarter inch) and 25 lbs. Both are right around the 50th percentile. And that head! Let's just say his head is way overachieving at the 90th percentile.

My baby is growing into a boy! Just look at him sitting up so big with Daddy and Patrick.