Video Q&A with Saladin; Walk a mile in my shoes (a rant from the shallow side)

And now, what you've all been waiting for: video Q&A with Saladin! We recently bought a Flip camcorder and it is awesome! So small and easy to use. We figured that there would be a lot more photos and videos in our lives once the babies arrive so it is a great investment. Let's get up close and personal with our guy, Sal.

(It's probably a good idea to start the video and then pause for a minute to let it buffer so it won't stop in the middle).





The second part of this post is a rant. I know that it is very common for a pregnant woman's feet to swell but who knew it could be so dramatic and costly? I have gone from wearing shoe size 8 medium to 10 wide. I am somewhat comforted by the fact that the new 10 wides I recently bought are some fancy European brand that run small but I had to go bigger because the size 9 medium boots I was forced to buy became too difficult to put on. In the past few months, I have purchased 4 pairs of boots and I am quite resentful about it.

My new boots, which I bought in brown and black from Zappos.com, are ugly:


Well, they're ugly on me. Maybe if I was a 5'10" Swedish woman named Malin who designs websites and jewelry, lives in an airy loft, swears by vegan diet, and wears skinny jeans by Rock & Republic, they would look cool on me. In reality, I'm 5'2, weigh over 180 lbs, and wear full-panel maternity jeans from Target and Old Navy.



I actually own this pair. My jeans don't even have a zipper at the fly. They're like toddler pull-ups.

Anyway, to say the boots are not flattering is an understatement. Can you imagine the jeans and boots together? Beyond dowdy. Yet, the boots are eminently practical. Flat for comfortable trekking and very easy to take on and off.

Now people are telling me that my feet may never return to their original size! This is disturbing, to say the least. What's going to happen with all my old shoes? Let me tell you, I'm a woman who LOVES boots and I have a lot of them. Most of what I have are knee high with some sort of heel and I work them all fall and winter. I've got some red boots with gold buckles on the side and 3-inch heels. I have a pair of suede olive green slouchy boots covered in gold studs with a wedge heel (I had to hold them up with tape for the photo because they slouch so wonderfully).




Fabulousness!! Will I have to give them away? Throw them out?

It hardly seems fair. After all the aches and pains and the emotional ups and downs, the least that nature could do is allow me go back to a size 8 and footwear that is familiar after these kids are born. We'll see. It's not a done deal and maybe I'll get lucky. If not, these babies better be really cute and lovable. At least I'll be distracted from my loss.