Good Work, MIL!

Yes, I just typed that, a compliment to the head troll. Why? Well, I might be a bitch and all but I'm not above acknowledging the old gal when she does something right. Right-ish at least.

One day last week when I came home from work, Raelynn ran up to the door to greet me. She is usually (and understandably) super excited to see me. But on this day, she began jumping up and down with glee, shouting merrily, "Shoes! Shoes! Shoes!" And suddenly, I see she's wearing a new pair of shoes. My initial reaction is to scowl at MIL, which I do out of habit but very briefly. My thought process went like this: "Ewwww...oh, uh, hey...wait a second here. That's not half bad actually."

MIL had bought Raelynn a pair of imitation Crocs that look like little bugs. They're orange and it's certainly not what I'd pick but it could be worse. MUCH worse, if you've read any of my other posts about MIL and her highly unfashionable choices (like this, as just one of MANY examples). Check them out:

Again, they're not something I would have selected but they're not completely unfortunate-looking. Raelynn also adores them and can put them on and take them off all by herself so that's something too, I guess. They light up on the heel when she walks in them which Raelynn also seems to like. I guess I should be relieved that they don't make that insufferable squeaking sound like some shoes for toddlers. I would kill kill KILL over that. I mean, who wants their toddlers wearing shoes that make noise with every step? I know that my toddler is quite noisy enough on her own! My brother once joked he was going to get me a pair of squeakers for Raelynn. At least I think it was a joke. Oh GOD. Please be a joke! PLEASE BE A JOKE!!!! Anyway, here's a side angle on these faux Crocs...

Not content with one small victory, a few days after that, MIL bought another pair of shoes for Raelynn. Take a look and we'll discuss...

 I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about these. She bought those horrid boots in red. MIL seems to like red shoes. But Raelynn has very little that works with red. Why does she have to get such a useless color? Sigh. They look okay, I guess, but they are really cheaply made. That bling on the front is just craptastic, and I hope Raelynn rips it off of there just like she did to the nice white sandals she had last summer so MIL will know how I felt. Why couldn't she buy these in black or white? Red. The red makes me a little annoyed but at least this is a major improvement for the troll-in-law, isn't it?

Now if only she could stop washing one pair of Raelynn's socks (instead of just leaving them in the laundry basket) and hanging them, sopping wet, to dry in the most random fucking places. Augh! I know, I know. Baby steps...baby steps.