Weighty issue

For some reason I had the unrealistic expectation that after I had Sloane, I would be right back into my pre-pregnancy jeans, slacks and work clothes. That I would spring back with no problem. That those trips to McDonald's in the morning (ok nearly every morning for the last month of pregnancy) wouldn't count and I would be "back." WRONG!

Yesterday morning I decided to try on my slacks for work. Yeah, that was funny. Couldn't even get them over my thighs! Ugh! Then I tried on the next size up slacks. Got them over my thighs but they are skin tight and I can't button them. So, I'm thinking another, another size up is sufficient. I don't own any. So I'm going to resort to buying new clothes so I can go back to work.

After that stupid decision yesterday morning to try on pre-pregnancy clothes, my mind went into a spin cycle of self hate. Wrong thing to do. This body, that weighs more than I'd like it to, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl who is healthy and thriving. I have somehow shifted my attention temporarily from the well being of my daughter to my selfish desire to be a certain size. Why?

One thing motherhood has taught me this go round, is that I don't have to show off my body to feel good about myself. I feel good about myself because there is a little girl that loves me. I don't have to wear clothes that show off certain features, I have to wear clothes that make me feel good.

All this means I have nothing to wear to work when I return in a few weeks. So I'm going to be hitting ebay hard for clothes that fit. Thought about selling the clothes I have that no longer fit on ebay but seriously... can't get that much for used clothes. Not worth the heartache.

In summary, I love my body, just the way it is right now. I am feeding my body healthy foods, taking a walk with the family just about every night and drinking plenty of water. But I'm also not going to neglect myself if I want a Dove chocolate a brownie or even a glass of wine or Dr. Pepper to seal my day.

So, love your body the way it is! Self hate gets you off track and off focus with anything in life.

Rainy day

It's beautifully rainy outside and I love it. I've lit a wintry candle in the kitchen, plan on making ham and potato soup for supper. The wind is going to blow from the north all day and be a little chilly outside. It's like a preview of Autumn coming in August. Before long it will be 100 degrees again, but for today it's 70 degrees for a high. What could be better?

Sloane has arrived!

That's right! Sloane Cote Moore was born July 16 at 9 a.m. weighing 7lbs 1oz and 20 1/4 inches long and she is lovely!

I had her via c-section and all was well. It took a while to get past the back pain from the epidural, which I did not expect.

Anyhow, Sloane is our darling little bundle of love and we can't get enough of her!

Just sayin' I love me some chick lit!

Alright, so I'm a die hard chick lit fan! I'm posting this on my lunch hour where I just ran to Subway for a sandwich, gonna scarf that down, then make this quick post and then go read my latest read by Jennifer Crusie, titled Crazy For You. Such a cute read so far. The front cover has a dog on it, so I'm hooked!

Now to my plug for another blog, Chick Lit Is Not Dead. Follow them on Facebook and read about all the great things Liz and Lisa do and write about. It will be like reading a memoir. Trust me! I wouldn't steer you wrong!

And believe me, I'm an emotional 9 month pregnant lady, I know these things!

Die hard soda fan

As I sit here drinking my apple juice, I've reached an realization. I haven't had a soda in about three or four days. No reason, just haven't had one. Have had hot tea or coffee in the morning for my daily buzz, then after that I drink water or whatever else is around.

So here's the realization part: sodas make me tired! They make me bloat and swell and Lord knows I don't need help in the swelling department being 9 months pregnant!

All this is fine and good and sounds fantastic... dropping sodas is good for my health. The only reason I started drinking them again was because initially in my pregnancy coffee really turned my stomach, so I switched to soda for my jolt for the day. And it just kept going, I didn't revert back to coffee once I was able to get past the initial uneasy stomach part of my pregnancy.

BUT... But, but... I love soda. It tastes so good. Right now there are three Strawberry Fantas, two Ginger Ales and a 12 pack of Dr. Pepper sitting in my fridge.... very cold and they stare at me every time I open the door. The sound of the top popping, the fizz of the carbonation, the feeling as you take that first drink... there is nothing like it. (ok, except maybe beer) *sigh*

Let's get to the real reason I felt compelled to post this... I feel great! My swelling is not as prevalent and this morning I was able to put on tennis shoes. Tennis shoes, people! I am 9 months pregnant, swell like a walrus, it's the end of June and I was able to put on tennis shoes. Like the ones I wore prior to getting pregnant. This is a significant event! Do I equate all of these great things to not drinking soda? Yes, I do. Absolutely. I'm sure the lack of carbonated beverages in my diet has helped my swelling somewhat and feeling so stinking good... it just has to be.

I will try to banish soda from my diet. I will try to make soda a treat on a very rare occassion and opt for the less carbonate more nutrious beverages. I need to start making those decisions now, so I can breast feed my baby safely and lose this baby weight as soon as she arrives!

Just sayin' Friday...

There are so many things I think about during the course of a day, week, month and year that I feel I should share them. Most of the time by the end of the week I have lots of opinions floating, so I'm starting a series of posts called "Just sayin' Friday" It will be an avenue for me to express my opinions about things from family life to politics or current events. If the topics get heavy, hold on, because there are many times in which I will return to complete triteness. It's the virgo in me!  So, here we go!

Many of you may not know, I am a news junkie or savvy. I read the news non-stop. In fact, I do that for a living. I skim the newspapers in my area for articles related to my industry: energy. But I can't help but read other headlines and subscribe to RSS feeds like a fiend. There is not much that happens without me knowing about it.

So, this morning as I was reading the news I came across this article. Recently, during the Congressional hearings about the BP spill in the Gulf Coast Texas representative Joe Barton issued an apology to BP for the American government running a shakedown of BP and basically stated he wasn't proud to serve or live in a country in that would do that to a company or individual. Shortly after, from immense pressure from Barton's colleagues, he retracted his apology to BP with threat to remove his political power without an apology.

My problem is this... whatever happened to convictions and sticking with them despite the social, political or economic backlash? This is easier said that done, granted, but I was proud of Mr. Barton's conviction during his apology to BP, albeit I don't necessarily agree with him, but he was convinced this is what he should do. Instead, he turned on his convictions threatened with the removal of his political power. Why? I should hope most people would stick with what they believed in despite threats, despite the political garbage that happens in D.C., but I was wrong. I was disappointed and still am. I don't live in Texas, had never heard of Representative Barton before the hearings, but certainly have heard of a coward before and Mr. Barton did not disappointment.

Erin's moral of the story: If you say it and mean it, stick with it.

The countdown begins!

Three weeks from tomorrow I will have my daughter! I'm nervous, excited and anxious all wrapped up in one emotion. Since I am a scheduled c-section, we got to pick our daughter's birthday, which is kind of neat, but also takes some of the fun out of the mystery of having a baby as well. I don't really have a choice about the c-section, since my son was delivered via emergency c-section, I'm probably going to always be a repeat c-section. Good point about having surgery... no labor! yay!

Her nursery isn't quite ready for her to be here, however. Hubby painted her room a pretty shade of pink, but it turned out more purplish because the family that owned this house before painted the room a dark purple. So the walls clash with her bedding and all the decorations I have for her room. Don't think the hubby will repaint for me. Might have to deal with it and paint it one day during maternity leave.

This is the bedding I picked out for her. Baby bedding apparently is the industry to be in, because this stuff is expensive, let me tell you! I was shocked, absolutely shocked when finding a beautiful set at Babies R Us that I could spend $150 and just get three pieces for the bed! OMG! I just couldn't part with that much money for something she will sleep in for about a year. So I settled on the below and let me tell ya, ebay is the way to go!

Manners, people, manners!

I think I've mentioned that I'm 8 1/2 months pregnant and it's the start of summer, which makes me (at times) a very irritable lady. Understandably, right? I'm in the process of moving and I'm pregnant, totally sucks.

Lately, it has come to my attention the complete lack of patience and manners on behalf of those non-pregnant individuals in the world around me. At first, when being run over by a young kid in Walmart was no big deal, I just thought nothing of it. BUT, as I am bombarded constantly by people walking in front of me, cutting me off in line at Walmart and being just down right disrespectful to me, I have to call foul! FOUL!

I'm not asking for everyone to move out of my way because I'm pregnant and give me the red carpet treatment, but I am asking for common courtesy. I have a heavy load. Don't cut in front of me walking down the aisle at the store, don't try to race me to the checks out or to get out of the store and for God's sake, say "excuse me" if you happen to do any of the above.

And this shouldn't apply to just pregnant people, this should apply all the time. Always say thank you, always excuse yourself, always let the other person go first... it works a lot better that way! In fact, it makes you feel better about yourself. Manners shouldn't be used when a pregnant or elderly person appears, it should be for all people. Seriously, let's get some manner people!

House progress...

The process of moving to a new house, while 8.5 months pregnant is so difficult, let me tell you. Hubby works an awful lot and many times is not home until 7 p.m. plus in the evenings. My kiddo is visiting his father in Minnesota and so I have lost my right hand man. (He's invaluable for moving things, taking things to the trash and just being my muscles while I can't comfortably bend over or stand for any period of time!)

Today, I have zero energy. When my feet hit the floor this morning, they started tingling. That's never a sign of a good day ahead. I tried to be positive thinking I could get some slip-on shoes on. Nope. Not happening. Really wanted to wear slip-ons since my heels are cracking. Yes, my heels are cracking. It hurts like no one's business. The only remedy is a weekly pedicure and super glueing the heel together and that doesn't feel so great initially. I have three cracks in my left foot and one in my right. But all I can wear is flip flops which makes the cracks worse because of the pressure and weight on my feet!

Anyhow, enough whining. I have four weeks left til my baby girl is here. I am getting nervous! Strange, but I really am nervous about it. We are getting closer to being ready for her. We have purchased the baby bed, but have not put it together, again with the whole hubby rarely home thing. Four weeks isn't that far away!

Shopping... all by myself!

So very excited! Came to OKC for a meeting which is fun, but one of the things I am looking forward to the most is shopping by myself tomorrow morning!

I had a to-do list in my head already prepared. 1. Target 2. Starbucks... preferrably located in a Target and maybe, just maybe Chick-fil-A.

Well, I already hit one of those items on my list, there is a Chick-fil-A near the Target I usually go to while in town and am thinking they might also have a Starbucks at that Target! So I had a late lunch at Chick-fil-A and a yummy sweet tea to accompany it. It was wonderful.

Tomorrow morning, I am hoping for a nice Target and Starbucks trip and then scooting back to my corner of the state where hopefully we'll be moving this weekend!

5 weeks to go...

I haven't blogged in... well a very long time. I have plenty of excuses: work, school, family, being pregnant, buying a house. What's the big deal, right?

Since my last post this is what's been up with me:

• Bought a house and dealt with all the stress that goes along with it (but haven't moved, yet)
• Started my last math class to finish my associates
• Have gotten hugely pregnant in which I swell to the size of a walrus, daily
• Taken my co-worker's job on while she's on maternity leave (I love being this busy!)

I have about five weeks to go before our little girl is here and we are anxiously buying all the stuff that goes along with having a little one. They are expensive! Seriously, you could spend mega bucks on a baby bed, but for what? The hubby and I finally landed on a nice bed that converts to a toddler bed and then to a full size headboard. Granted, we may only use it until she's in the toddler bed and may never use the full size bed option, but it's there and it makes spending a lot of money on a bed worth it, to me at least.

Need to be better about blogging more seriously, I have been very neglectful!

How you like 'dem apples??

I am fifteen weeks pregnant today, and my baby is the size of an apple, or about four inches long and 2.5 ounces. Which really doesn't explain why I've gained ten pounds, but nonetheless I digress.

Hubby and I are having a difficult time coming up with names we actually agree on for this baby. Everytime we are asked that question by friends or family, hubby reverts to stand-by security reply of "she likes weird names" and to my defense I indicate Caleb and Audrey are not weird names. Problem with my husband is he is a huge movie buff, whether it be in the theatre or at home, he loves him some movies. So naturally he can relate just about any name I come up with to a movie. This is extremely frustrating, beyond what you can imagine frustrating. The only thing I relate names back to are people I have known, worked with or gone to school with. Other than that, I can know two different people named Michael who are completely different and never really realize they have the same name.

Once we land on a name, it will be a miracle!

Hubba Hubba Momma

Ok, seriously what is with men anymore? I'm sitting at my 13 year old son's basketball game, I get there early due to a miscommunication and have to watch another game before his starts. Which is good, I get a good seat way at the top. So I'm sitting nicely by myself, texting and Facebooking and carrying on about my business for most of the first game. During that game a gentleman and his young son decide to sit by me. Nice, there are tons of other places to park it but next to me is where you pick. Ok, I can deal with it.

I'm not sure if it's the pregnancy hormones that are oozing off me or what but the guy is literally starting to hit on me. At first, he asked me simple questions about who my kid is, where's the restroom, etc. Stuff I can handle. Then his wife shows up, who is hot, by the way. She is smoking hot and sitting on the other side of him. So he has me, the getting fatter by the day 3 months pregnant lady and his hot Latino wife and he starts hitting on me! Wow, it must be the preggo hormones or something.

The flirting didn't make me feel good about myself, because I don't have esteem issues as it is. I'm okay with who I am and how I look. And I was totally thwarting the guy off, by flashing my wedding ring, not really responding to him and just plain ignoring him.

Craziness, but good to know I "did it" for some guy at my son's basketball game.

Math challenged

For months I have known I would have to take algebra I and algebra II in order to complete my associates degree, but I wanted to think maybe it was a joke or something. That they should know better than ask Erin to do math. But they didn't think it was a joke and low and behold, my algebra class started Monday.

My first clue that this was going to kick my butt was the first chapter containing 80 pages. 80 pages! WHAT? I did super fantastic and got through about ten pages and was very proud of myself, BUT there was a test on Friday for the material covered in that long first ridiculous chapter.

So, I'm sitting at my computer last night having started the quiz at work on my lunch break on Friday thinking I had really done well. I answered the first 11 out of 49 correctly and I was a math genius! My husband gets home and is in one of those clingy moods and sits right next to me at the computer (God, I love him) and watches me as I make a fool of myself with math. Because you see, I am inclined more to write or read, correct grammar or dig for information to write about. I'm not a person that wants to find out what the value of x is. No interest. Don't care. Think it's pretty dumb, in fact.

Needless to say, at first I was totally getting pissed that my husband was sitting right next to me figuring out the problems I was working on IN HIS HEAD which is cheating because I have write it all down, step -by-step in order to somewhat has a grasp of the problem. Anyhow, it took me an hour and forty-five minutes and a lot of coaching from my dear husband to help me understand these stupid alegbra problems.

The irritation flowed to relief that he was so math inclined and could teach me. He's not the best teacher in the world, lacks some patience and thinks repeating the same thing over and over to me will help me get it. I had to inform him that I'm a words person. Write it down and let me read it and I'll probably get it. It was interesting. There were some moments that could have seriously damaged our relationship, but instead it was strengthened.

He just needs to be around for the next five months to help me get through this thing they call math.

What about America's needy?

The earthquake in Haiti has brought about a strong passion out the depths of my soul. I am in no way discounting the suffering and despair being felt in Haiti due to the tremendous loss they are suffering due to the earthquake, let me be clear. I do want to make a point that has been boiling around in my head for days since the tragedy: what about those in America who are suffering just as greatly at those in Haiti?

There are people in my town that are hungry tonight, while I munch on frozen pizza and complain about my entree of choice. There is an overload of coverage regarding the Haitian earthquake on every single news source: online content, morning shows, political shows, even on Facebook! Yet, those that are within our own borders receive very little attention, media or press time. That makes me sad and wonder what's wrong with our system and our attitudes towards those less fortunate. It sickens me when a celebrity endorses a charity outside of the United States as their passion, but every once in a while I am pleased to hear of a celebrity that endorses America interests rather than foreign.

I'm not just a talker... I'm also a walker. I support Feeding America on a national basis which is a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating hunger in America. Further, I support the Meals on Wheels program in my community. I support a DHS child and a needy patient within the area nursing home. Giving back to my community first is something I boldly believe in.

Getting these words out has been therapeutic in a sense. Each time I turn on the television or pull up news on the internet I have been bombarded with the news in Haiti, not the poor starving and needy children in Oklahoma, which saddens me.

Seafood Lover!

Today, I am 13 weeks pregnant. The baby is the size of a medium shrimp, or about three inches and weighs almost one ounce! This is the last week of my first trimester. And if I remember correctly when pregnant with my son, I will start to feel really fantastic during the next three months. Which is great, because I really want to feel good! My body is changing so much it's almost daily. My belly is rounding and I'm really not fitting into my regular clothes anymore. Thank goodness for Belly bands. They have saved me from investing in maternity clothes sooner than I wanted!

Many women are pregnant in my life. My co-worker is due in April, I'm due in July. I have another friend due in August, she just found out on New Years Day and my hairdresser is pregnant. It's funny how that happens around you all at once. It's kind of fun really. Someone to share these experiences with.

In other life news, I have started Alegbra in my college courses and I'm filled with fear and trepidation! This class will last until mid-March, and then if I pass this class, I'll move to Algebra II which will last through mid-May. So from here until May, I will become something I don't like: a person understanding math. I hate math, I don't like to do math, I see no point in determining what x is in a problem... it's just not that important to me. But alas, I must have math to graduate, so here I go! Wish me luck!

B-lime-y!

I'm about 12 weeks pregnant and have been following the baby's progress on babycenter.com, pretty neat site. Anyhow, each week they tell you the size of the baby in relation to a piece of fruit or vegetable. this week, it's the size of a lime. Just a little over two inches long. Heard the heartbeat last week, just one heartbeat, not two... and no there aren't two with the heartbeats in sync! Why does everyone want to wish twins and triplets on pregnant women??  I have done that to friends and family that were pregnant and now realize how annoying that is. Promise to not do that to anyone again. swear.

Anyhow, the queen size bed hubby and I have is getting smaller. Granted I started gaining a lot of weight before getting pregnant, so I'm beyond my comfortable size already and am getting bigger. I will probably be near 200 lbs by the time I give birth to this current lime. Ugh. So, I'm already looking forward to wearing my cuter clothes once the baby is here. Which is in July.

Otherwise, I feel great, no morning sickness. almost to my second trimester. Been getting really hot at night lately. Typically I sleep in the winter with an extra blanket or two on the bed, last two nights... they've been kicked off. AND last night I had to take off my sleeping pants. holy smokes was I boiling! I'm sure its all the extra blood running through me body!