Hello, Blog World

Well now that I am the proud mother of this little guy,

I decided to join the masses & start a blog to keep family & friends updated.  Deciding to start a blog was easy.  Thinking of a blog name & domain name was the hard part!!  I had no idea where to start, so I asked my mom, my sister & some friends to brainstorm.  My mom suggested something to do with shoes & I knew she was on the right track for several reasons.

1)  I love shoes.  I usually pick my shoes before picking my outfit.  I like to start with the shoes & work my way up.  Do other people do this?

2)  I'm lucky I had a pretty easy pregnancy (and I am very thankful for this) but my feet got bigger toward the end & I developed cankles.  It was a traumatic experience for me!  I read that sometimes your feet will change in size & not go back to their original size after pregnancy.  Oh, the horror!  I was very worried about this but I'm glad to report my shoes still fit.  I think God was hoping to convince me to have another baby in the future - ha!

3)  My first post-baby purchase for myself was a pair of Nine West brown boots.  Love them!  I didn't buy a lot of shoes during the pregnancy (other than a boring pair of black wedge shoes for work) & it sure felt good to break that streak.  One good thing about having a baby in December - lots of online sales to shop during those sleepless nights...

4)  Speaking of online shopping, I came across a pair of fabulous high heels a few weeks ago.  I emailed the link to my friend Ashley (we support each others' shoe addictions, right or wrong) & I jokingly commented on how perfect they would be for taking Alex to the playground.  But I pointed out that I could wear them to work - I'd just have to have Michael pick Alex up from daycare since I'm not sure it would be safe to tote him around in these babies.  She responded that she'd love to hear the conversation between Michael & I where I explain to him that he has daycare duty due to the height of my shoes - ha!  Here's a picture, so you can get the idea.

5)  We decided to buy a breast pump since nursing was going well (I had originally rented one from the hospital).  I went online to find the best deal & was ready to checkout but I just didn't want to push the "purchase" button.  I said out loud, "Man, I just hate to spend so much money..."  Michael made a comment back, "You wouldn't be saying that if it was a pair of shoes."  He sure called me out on that one!  I couldn't help but laugh - he knows me too well.

6)  Shortly after adopting our Australian Cattle Dog, Sadie, about five years ago, we had an incident with one of my flip flops.  Sadie liked to chew on things for the first year we had her & she just happened to destroy my perfectly worn in flip flop.  They were only $3 flip flops from Old Navy but like I already said - they were perfectly worn in.  There was no yelling or screaming.  I simply sat her down & had a frank conversation with her.  I explained that I would overlook this behavior once, but if she ever touched another of my shoes, she would find herself without a home very quickly.  Once Alex gets old enough, I will have the same conversation with him.  :)  Sadie took the message to heart & has left my shoes alone since that day.

After much consideration, I came up with the title "If the Shoe Fits?"  The design is still a work in progress - I have a friend working on some better graphics, so stay tuned.  This blog will chronicle my journey as I learn how to find balance between my old self (shoe loving, wine drinking, slightly self absorbed girl) & my new self (shoe loving, wine drinking, slightly less self absorbed mom).  I sure love my little man but I'm glad I haven't morphed into a Stepford Wife.

I'll leave you with a few of my favorite pictures of Alex.

I love this outfit!  The shirt says "I'm new here".  Thanks, Aunt Amanda!

He's not that big on pacifiers right now, but he loves his hand!

Little Red Sox fan!

This picture cracks me up!  I must have caught him in between expressions because this doesn't even look like him.  It's the goofiest picture.  My mom & I just about cry from laughing so hard every time we look at it.

Oh & by the way...  I bought the black heels pictured above.  Yay!  Can't wait to wear them on a date night once all the snow melts!  :)