In My Shoes

I'm one of those rare women who only has around 6 pairs of shoes, and I only wear 3 pair with any regularity. Shoes are not my thing and they never have been. I blame my large size 10 feet. When I was younger, finding shoes in my size was a challenge so I grew a distaste for shoe shopping.

I started to appreciate shoes more when I worked in retail at Macy's; however, I developed drop foot in my right foot and that ended any love for shoes I might have developed. If I don't wear a shoe with a strap or laces, the shoe will fall off. Heels? Forget it. My foot can't point like it used to after I was forced to have a corrective surgery because my right foot was in a permanent Barbie™ doll position. So, shoes are not my thing.

Already my two-year-old, Ginny, has fallen in love with shoes. She is obsessed with shoes. She has been obsessed with them since she was 20 months old. How is this possible? How can such a small child be so enamored with shoes already. I don't understand.

I kept a box of her old shoes on the floor of her closet, saving them so her baby sister can wear them some day. Ginny found the shoes during nap time once. When I went to get her from her nap, she was surrounded by shoes. I thought it was a fluke and put them away. The next day, I found her sleeping with her shoes.

While I am one who loves to go barefoot at all times, my daughter will come to me and say, "Shoes?" She wants to wear the shoes. If she gets a new pair of shoes, her face lights up.

Not only does she love her shoes, she loves my shoes. Ginny loves to put them on and walk in them. She will even go into my bedroom and remove all my shoes to the living room so she can play in them.

It is quite cute and adorable when she walks around in my shoes. I am concerned, though, that her shoe obsession will spell trouble for me as she gets older.

Weather Widow

My husband is a meteorologist for the National Weather Service (NWS), a federal agency under NOAA. Before you ask, because I know many of you will, he is NOT on T.V. He is NOT a T.V. meteorologist. He works for the government. The meteorologists for the NWS are the ones that many T.V. meteorologists go to for their forecasts.  The NWS puts out all the weather watches and warnings too. There are many NWS offices across the country. These offices operate 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. They never close.

Before my DH and I got married, I learned that his job as a meteorologist meant that he worked strange hours. In his current position, he works one of three different shifts on a rotating basis: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 8 to 4:30 p.m., or 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.  He does not work your typical Monday through Friday shift. Sometimes he may have to work seven shifts in a row, other times only three before having a day off. I knew what I was getting into when we got married, and I was prepared for it. When we were first married, it was not a big deal. It has become more of a challenge since having two children. There have been days where I have felt like a single parent, but I make do, and my DH is fabulous about helping out when he does have time off. 

Soon after we married, I was friended by another wife of a meteorologist at my husband's office. She welcomed me to the club of the Weather Widows. We are a special "club" of spouses who know that our lives revolve around the weather. If there is severe weather, it is likely that my husband will get called into work or have to put in overtime. Severe weather includes blizzards as well as thunderstorms.

My baby girl in the middle of her crying fit.

Over the last couple of days, we have had a lot of severe storms coming through. My DH, and those he with whom he works, have been quite busy at their office. They have been putting out watches and warnings, as well as working on forecasts and processing observations. Yesterday was a particularly busy day. My husband had taken the morning off to go to our daughter's two-year doctor appointment. He headed to the office right after, reporting for work around noon. He didn't get home until 12:45 a.m.  A long day. 

Not only was it a long day for him, it was a long day for me. Our toddler behaved great, although she did have a temper tantrum while I was trying to feed the baby. The biggest challenge came when the baby, Grace, wouldn't settle to sleep.  Instead, she screamed and cried for 25 minutes straight, waking her sister, until she wore herself out. It is times like that when I miss my husband the most when there is severe weather.  However, it is part of his job and part of mine as a Weather Widow that I have come to accept. Besides, I know that the work my DH does helps the general public. He takes that of his job most seriously. And, honestly, in the grand scheme it is a minor sacrifice I make in comparison to the spouses of military serving overseas.  

Wordless Wednesday: Terrible Two Tantrum

Last night, my newly two year old toddler noticed a couple of pacifiers on the kitchen cabinet. They were there so they could get washed. She wanted one. We said no because she only gets the paci at nap or bed time. She was not happy with our answer. Dinner started soon after and here are some pictures to show the tantrum that lasted a good 20 minutes.

A pause in tears because I pulled out the camera to document the tantrum.

Working herself up again.

Fully blown tears and fit.

She is too upset to eat.

Well, she was too upset until she realized it was one of her faves, ravioli,
and stopped crying in order to eat.

Dinner done and paci forgotten, she wanted Mommy to take a picture of her. :)