Red Shoes

When I was pregnant with Zoodle, an online children's shoe store was liquidating its inventory. I got lots and lots of shoes for $1 and $2 a pair. Yesterday I checked the box on a pair of red dress shoes I'd bought for Chickie and realized they were her size.

She saw them...and fell in love.

The beauty of dress shoes that cost a buck or two is that when Chickie asked to wear them today, I didn't mind that she was wearing jeans, not a fancy red dress. I'm guessing today was the first day of many that her feet will be dressed in red faux patent leather, no matter what color her outfit is.

They are fun to wear when sitting...



...but especially delightful when running on tile. What a great clip-clop noise they make!



And I betcha didn't know...red shoes are all the rage with PJs these days.

DOWner

I'm so sick of hearing about the Dow (emphasis on "OW.")

A few months back I signed up to receive News Alert e-mails from the New York Times. Sometimes it's great; I like feeling like I'm "in the know" when a big news item shows up in my e-mail box.

Lately, though, a disproportionate number of these news alerts are related to the nauseating roller coaster that is our current stock market. Today at 3:30 p.m. I checked my e-mail and was greeted with the disheartening subject line, "News Alert: Dow Plunges 680 Points as Recession Is Declared."

Now, I agree. This is big news. Maybe I should be thinking more about the recession than I am. But it's easier not to dwell on it. I'm very thankful that while our wallets feel the stretch, The Engineer still has a job. What a disaster it would be if he lost his job--I'd have to come up with a new "blog name" for him!

And even that little joke is a great example of my desire not to think too hard about this awful recession we are in and how difficult it would be if my husband was numbered among the unemployed.

I'm blessed; our personal finances have plenty of time to recover, since The Engineer and I are in our 30s. I made the mistake the other day of opening his 401(k) statement. UGH. We have the strategy of just sitting and riding out the craziness for now, since (if God continues to bless us with job stability) most of the money we have in the market won't be needed for decades. Sometimes I'd prefer not to even open the statements, so that I don't see those dreadful minus signs showing our losses.

I don't know if ignoring it is the right thing to do, but for now I'm going to keep deleting those icky, DOWner e-mails, and hoping we're doing the right thing by staying the course. And then I'll get on with my day and try not to think too much about it.

How are you handling the economic mess?

Heartfelt apology

I am truly sorry. I looked back at my most recent posts, and there are no new pictures of Chickie and Zoodle. Sometimes I forget that having the two cutest kids in the world is a privilege but also comes with responsibility--I must share their beauty with the world, regularly. Forgive my oversight--it must have been my motherly humility (cough, cough.) I am ready to make up for my error by providing several ridiculously cute photos in today's post. Ready?

The kiddos really enjoyed having Mamma and Papa here. Mamma brought Chickie her very own apron and chef cap.



We tried to get a good photo of Zoodle with Papa, but Zoodle was very grumpy. (On a positive note, he's completely adorable when he's grumpy.)



The next morning he was in high spirits, ready to smile for Papa and Mamma.





Chickie enjoyed cuddle time with Papa, too.



Zoodle's most recent mischievous achievement is learning to climb onto small things like the lid of our storage ottoman.



And...after the poop stress yesterday morning, Chickie (drumroll please) ended up with a fourth sticker on her potty chart before she went to bed. I'm sure it would go without saying--Mama was very happy. Next time--WALL-E DVD!



I just caught up on the comments from yesterday's post. I'll post a response as a comment there. Thanks!