Answers

...if you haven't read what I posted yesterday, this will make little to no sense....but that's how I roll.

Kisha...Oh, how I wish I was exaggerating on the job market here. Unfortunately, that one was true. Even worse, my pay rate is exactly 1/2 of what I was making in Houston. I'm just thankful I got this job!

Sophia...you're a straight hater. It is soooooooo not the working out one. I loves me some gym now! If you weren't my sister I'd probably dis-own you for that comment...I kid :) Oh, and write a new blog please!

Lyndsay....now, I see where you're coming from. I did kind of contradict myself there, but I have a REALLY hard time sleeping, so I do many many things whilst trying to catch my Z's...including, but not limited to: writing blogs in my head, fake conversations with people of all sort, ideas for a novel I can write that would inspire Ellen to have me on her show, inventions, what I would do with 20 million dollars, what I would look like with blond or red hair, what clothes I would buy if I miraculously woke up 20 lbs lighter....etc

Sadly, the only lie on that list was about ...my other pretend friend, (also named Lyndsay...what's up with that?) the amazing photographer coming to Montana. But I'm thinking that maybe I inspired a vacation she'd never thought of :)

Here is a link to some Missoula vacation info...personally, I think yall should all come see me this summer. The weather is amazing. The Farmers Market is probably the coolest thing ever. There's a river to float (Kish...I know I got you with this one), lakes, mountains, all sorts of awesomeness...and good shopping too.

Alright, that sounded a little needy and pathetic didn't it? I'm going to go drown my sorrows in flavored creamer with a shot of coffee!

Why, yes...it IS a new post

A while ago, my favorite pretend friend posted a list of "nine truths and one lie" on her blog...last night when I could sleep I needed to do one of my own. So here goes:

1. As we speak, Big Girl just ran over to me in her ginormously amazing burgundy Christmas dress complete with velvet, tulle, and rhinestones (it lives in the dress up box for those exact reasons) and demanded that I take it off RIGHT NOW because it was messing up the tattoos on her arm...huge sparkely dresses and arm tattoos go hand in hand around these parts.

2. This afternoon will be my first day at work here in God's Country...in order to land my position as a part-time receptionist I had to beat out 100 other applicants. The job market in Montana is AMAZING yall!

3. My brother was just picked as Cy-Fair's Dispatcher of the YEAR...he gets an all expense paid trip to Vegas for the Dispatcher's conference complete with spending money. This was his first year as a dispatcher! I cried.

4. My favorite photographer is taking a trip to Montana this summer and has agreed to take pics of my family. I'm so excited I can't stand it!

5. I have a heart shaped freckle on my arm.

6. For the first time in my 28 years, I can HONESTLY include working out in my list of things I enjoy doing.

7. My Baby Girl has a future as a super model...she's in the 90% for height and 25% for weight....AND she eats all day. Is it wrong to be jealous of your nine month old?

8. I CAN NOT STAND the Tigger and Pooh cartoons, they also happen to be Big Girl's favorite...I'm planning the unthinkable...I'm going to do laundry just to get away from it.

9. Whenever I can't sleep at night I have pretend conversations in my head...like I'll pretend to be Elisabeth Hasslebeck and I'll let all the crazies on The View know what I really think about them and all their hypocrisies. Especially Whoppi and Joy...shudder

10. We're going to a Super Bowl party on Sunday (go Arizona!) and I'm most excited about the food I'll be bringing. Party food makes me eternally happy :)

Aright...now yall have to tell me which one is a lie. This is not in the least bit difficult...but I have a baby rubbing her snotty nose on my shirt and screaming at me, so I'm rushing. Hate me :)

Nine Months!

Hello again...from the slackiest of all blog slackers.

Today, my baby is nine months old!

Right now, as we speak...or, type/read...she's sitting in her high chair watching Little Einsteins with her big sister, eating a banana and some Crunch Berries...and banging the back of the chair that's with-in her reach against her tray. That about sums my girl up. She's down for any kind of table food 24-7 and she NEVER sits still. Ever.

We go in for her check up in a few hours so I don't have height/weight stats but I can tell you that she's a pretty lean baby...and not for lack of eating! Just an example of a typical daily intake: a banana and about 2 eggs scrambled (that she has to eat standing up next to my chair and off my fork, not sure why, but that's how sister prefers her eggs), 2-3 Mum Mums, a Bitter Biscuit, 1/4 a canister of Puffs, 2 hot dogs, a small can of peas & carrots, a couple crackers and maybe some noodles of whatever variety I have on hand. Home girl can EAT. They always laugh at the gym because the entire time I'm working out, they have her in a walker eating crackers or gold fish and she's as happy a can be! Oh, and she still has 4-5 bottles of formula a day too!

If she ever had "down time" I'm sure she'd have those chubby baby thighs and a cute belly...but she NEVER stops moving. Just last night her Daddy commented on how hyper she was. She is literally all over the place all day long. Her morning nap lasts a whopping 45 min...in the afternoon I'm lucky if I get an hour and fifteen min. The rest of the day she's either dancing with her big sister to Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus CDs (she gets up on her knees and bounces around capping), pushing her baby stroller all over the house, or banging on her Leap Frog Activity Table.

She's a very happy baby, but pretty stubborn too...and she HATES the word "no" (which she hears often)...she definitely knows what it means too, because as soon as you tell her no she starts throwing a little fit...or if she's feeling especially bold, she'll just smile at you like, "woman, I know what you're tellin' me but I really feel like pulling up on the trash can to get this empty apple juice box, ok?"

As my Grammie would say, "Oofta"

I am very happy to report that she's still a Momma's girl though! Something about me still carrying baby weight around makes me feel like she should at least be a Momma's girl, right? Well, she's a Momma's girl when Daddy doesn't have ice-cream...when Daddy has sweets, all bets are off...she puts her head down and does the super charged crawl right over to where he's sitting, stands up and drops her mouth open. She definitely has her Daddy's sweet tooth.

Some of her favorite things are her stacking rings she got from Grandma & Grandpa for Christmas, her baby she sleeps with, HER PACI (good Lord help me when I have to break her of that), empty water bottles and keys/cell phones/remote controls...but not the kid ones, my girl turns her nose up at those, she wants the real thing.

Some of her nine month milestones:
-she's standing independently and is literally days away from taking her first steps
-she claps when she's happy or excited about something
-she said her first word on Christmas Day, "Bu-Bu" to her big brother, he was SOOOOO excited. She also asks for her Ba-Ba (her bottle) and says Da-Da too.
-she'll also talk on the phone...it's just jibber jabber but when my Mom talks to her, she talks right back...it's so cute.
-if you stick your tongue out at her, I mean I don't....why would I do that? ummm, but IF you did....she's do it right back. She mimics most anything you do.
-she sticks her finger up her nose too, I don't think it's for picking purposes yet, she just figured out it fits up there about a month ago...and it's now her finger's favorite place to be...lovely

Some non-milestones:
-sister refuses to hold her own bottle...I mean why hold it yourself when your Mom's right there to do it for you? right?
-she won't drink out of a straw or sippy cup...although she thinks the tips make excellent chewing devices
-she still only has her two bottom teeth, clearly that doesn't stop her from eating everything in sight though
-I don't think my baby will ever sleep through the night, not while her push-over Mommy is there. She has me all figured out...she knows I'll cave eventually, honestly it doesn't ever bother me anymore.

I can't believe she'll be one in three short months! It feels like I was just pregnant...I can't believe how much she's grown and changed in nine months. I just want to keep her like this forever...especially when I think about how big her brother and sister are getting! She has the sweetest smile that lights up her whole face, and those tiny fingers, soft baby hair. I just love her so much! Happy nine months Ry!!!!!!!!!!!!!

some teaching, and a little clarification

We once again interupt this IBH to bring you a post courtesy of One Minute Writer

Truth be told, I miss blogging...since I've been staying home, it's my version of office chatter...and I guess a little insight into the IBH wouldn't hurt.

I've realized it doesn't make much sense to have a blog that would lead yall to believe it's all about my kids, when all I really do is talk about myself...and since I'm truly a work in progress, I decided to change the title to Erin Under Construction.

I also never took the time to as my partner if it would be ok with him if I started a blog and shared our family's details with the world wide web...turns out not all of us are the sharing type. So I've had trouble writing a post since I've decided to take my kids out of the posting equation (not that they won't get mentioned, I'm human...but no more pictures and specific details)...until I read today's prompt on One Minute Writer:

What information or skill would you like to teach to others?

As a parent, this one really intrigued me...I mean doesn't that question pretty much guide our every waking moment? When you hear your three year old scold her babies it's like looking into a mirror, is that really the kind of maternal influence you want to be? Or what about when your six year old calls someone a "hater"...or even when they repeat song lyrics and can recite commercials. When the elections were in full swing, my big girl would say, "I approve this message"...I mean, it was hysterical, but just wrong, ya know?

There are so many things I want for my kids. I want them to be honest and funny and loyal. I want them to have a strong sense of right and wrong. I want them to have conviction in their decisions. I want them to be strong within themselves and not easily influenced. I want my daughters to know they're beautiful and I want my son to be a gentleman. But above all, I want my kids to be respectful.

I never really understood the true meaning of respect until a person from my past pointed out jut how disrespectful I could be. We were in a relationship and I wasn't a very nice person. I didn't respect his feeling towards me, I didn't respect his ambitions in life, I pretty much acted like a brat for eight months. I thought I was respectful to him because I used words like please and thank you...I confused respect with politeness.

I think being truly respectful is about putting yourself in other people's shoes. Imagine yourself being the checker at a busy Wal Mart, dealing with hurried people all day who don't take the time to smile at you. I get so frustrated when I see people being rude to teenage kids working retail...what if that was your kid?

I think about the number of relationships what could be salvaged if people treated each other with more respect. Sure your day is hard going into the office to deal with angry or demanding customers, but at least you can go to the bathroom without an audience...or at least your day ends at 5:00. On the same token, being a stay at home Mom is NOT, N.O.T. an easy gig, but neither is carrying around the burden of being your family's sole provider.

What about the boss/employee dynamic? I mean, we've all had our fair share of rude boss moments, but how many times have we stopped to think about their savings they invested in starting a company...a company that they're trusting us to help make successful?

I know I sound waaaaay preachy right now, and Lord knows I've fall VERY short of being the perfect girlfriend/customer/employee...but the difference is, I'm now aware of it. I'm working very hard on making my decisions in a respectful manner...and I've found that I feel a LOT less regrets living this way.

Alright...no real way to end this. I guess the IBH is over...I'll just be posting a little differently now. And if yall every feel a little writers block, head on over to One Minute Writer...it's kind of like the beginning of English class in high school, but you can't get in trouble :)

oh...and thanks Kisha, for introducing me to the site!

...this doesn't count

I interrupt this Intentional Blog Hiatus (now known as the IBH and it's capitalized for a reason...you're gonna have to wait for that though...)

ahem, as I was:

I interrupt this IBH to make a confession.

I'm up at 11:25 watching Wizards of Waverly Place, and not because my kids are making me. I just so happen to LOVE this show...and Selena Gomez...and the new generation of Disney Channel kids in general...I'm also crazy about Selena's real life bff Demi Lovato. Did yall know they met on the set of Barney when they were six? Yall didn't? Weird. Anyways, Selena's character, Alex Russo, she's all witty and doesn't care what people think...and she wears funky mis-matched clothes, plus she's a WIZARD...I mean, granted, she uses her magic when she's not supposed to, but she always learns her lesson. It's still the Disney Channel.

I also watch The Bachelor just so I can read the recaps.

Feels good to get that all off my chest! Back to my hiatus now :)