Keep Life Simple - Wear Pants

6 months of the exact same wardrobe gets a little... well, boring. Remember how I recently found all the maternity clothes my sister gave me and I was so excited because I was getting tired of wearing the SAME THING day after day? Well, often in the morning, while I'm eating breakfast or showering, I think about what I might want to wear that day. Yesterday I wore a sun dress that I bought for our trip to Florida and found another little gem hiding in my closet. It was roomy enough around the waist that it just might fit around by baby bump... well, more like baby beach ball. I was excited to try it because, hey, something new I could wear! I was thinking about it fitting about my belly and forgot that before I was pregnant, it usually hit just below the knees. So when I put it on, it was about an inch or slightly so above my knees... at least from my high-above-my-belly perspective. No big deal, right? Well, not when you're pregnant and Mormon. Most girls (LDS or not) would just say, oh well, and go on with life. Some might try to make a too-short dress modest by adding a pair of leggings underneath. Like so:

Well, after criticizing the act so much, and being so excited about the possibility of wearing something new (ish), I caved. I tried it. I pulled out a pair of leggings I had (I wore them under skirts for dance classes... you never know what will happen) and put them on. They hit just below the knee, so you only got a few inches of legging. And I though to myself, "this just might work!" (Keep in mind, I don't have a full-length mirror... and there's a reason for that.) Then, Cory and I walked outside to the car to go to work. My dress was already riding, and I already regretted the decision. But it was too late. If I turned back now to change, we would be late, and I would be an indecisive mess. I decided I would just suck it up, and since I sit behind a desk at work, no one would know, or see. I felt terrible the entire (7 minute) drive to work. Then we had to get out of the car. The wind was a little blustery... but not Marilyn Monroe blustery. Even still, my dress continued to ride. I told Cory that I just didn't know how girls (LDS girls specifically) felt good trying to justify immodesty. I also told him that I would just end up being his inappropriately-dressed, pregnant, trophy wife for the next 5 minutes as we walked to our offices. I was not comfortable, and I just wanted to go back to the car, drive home, change, and come back later (...still do). The whole time, I judged myself negatively and joked that Cory needed to stop. He told me before the leggings went on that the dress might be to short, which I knew (he was really sweet about it). He was trying really hard to be supportive and just didn't mutter a negative word to me. So I appreciate that. I think he knew that this would be a learning opportunity for me and let me have it. And it really didn't take long for me to tell him exactly that. So that's where I am now. Uncomfortable, even behind a desk. I feel pretty bad about a decision I made just to try something new, and too lazy to turn back. And it's only 10am. What did I learn from this? 1. It just feels better to wear real pants - or clothes you don't have to worry about. (And no, that doesn't mean ugly or frumpy. Who wants to feel ugly and frumpy?) 2. I now have a recent experience to use to teach my daughters about the importance of modesty. (And how it feels when you're not.)Immodesty, even innocent immodesty, is just not worth it. 3. I can now say from experience that LEGGINGS ARE NOT PANTS! And yes, when I finish with work in 3 more hours, I am promptly going home and putting on some real pants.

What's Goin' On?

I realized it's been a couple weeks since I've posted anything. Well, my family has pretty well stayed updated since I talk to them a lot, but for anyone who isn't related, here's the update. First: Tomorrow is my BIRTHDAY! Yep. I'm excited to share it with my husband. And do you know what I decided I wanted to do? We're going to the temple. I think that's a great way to spend a birthday. Besides, this little girl comes in just over a month and I might not be able to make it as often as I'd like. Plus, of the names I have to work on currently, I have one left before we can finish off these ordinances for the family we've been working on for almost a year. The reason I love my birthday is because everyone seems to want to talk to me. :) I like when people go out of their way to talk to me or visit me. Who doesn't? And it seems to happen most on my birthday. So I'll take it! Second: I had some kind of terrible stomach bug last week. I ended up calling an on-call doctor twice in the past week because of how miserable I was. Fortunately I wasn't throwing up, but at the same time, I wish I could have just to get rid of whatever ick I was feeling. It felt like I needed to throw up. Food no longer sounded/looked/smelled appetizing. I even called off work one day, which really doesn't happen unless I'm on my death bed. I didn't feel bad this time because Cory and I are working 60 hours a week now... so we won't be completely broke if I miss 4 hours. As a result of my 4-day ick, I ended up losing about 3 lbs and after my stomach started to feel better, my digestive system went all out of whack...for 3 days. Super. And, ouch. I called my doctor again last night because it was TERRIBLE (I will spare you the details) and he told me what I could pick up OTC to relieve some of the discomfort and symptoms. Yes, we went to the store on a Sunday. It was an ox in the mire moment. And it was SO worth it. I'm back at work today and feel great! I ate food, food stayed in my body and digested properly, and I was satisfied. Happy day. And now we CAN go to the temple tomorrow without fear of... issues. Thank goodness for on-call doctors. Thank goodness for OTC medicines that don't cost an arm and a leg. Thank goodness for reasonable/compassionate husbands. Third: Baby Girl is huge. And I am huge. But that's okay. I love her and I love that I get to be her mommy. The fun part about Baby Girl getting bigger (besides her being healthy) is now I can feel her wiggle on two sides of my body at the same time. It's pretty fun. I'll feel her little hands moving around my hip while her toes are playing in my ribs on the opposite side of my body. I also love that Cory can distinctly see her movements and point to her. She's good entertainment during church. She also started getting hiccups at night. It kind of freaked me out the first time. I wasn't worried since she was moving so much. I thought it was bizarre that her movements were so rhythmic. That was on the 8th. She had hiccups again last night. It cracks me up. I just know this little girl is going to have a dynamic personality. She's so funny. I just have a feeling. Fourth: Mother's Day was the BEST! My cousin's wife had their baby the Saturday before, and she's a cutie. I think it's great timing. It's my aunt and uncle's first granddaughter, so they're thrilled. I loved Sunday because I got to enjoy Mother's Day as a mother. The youth in our ward passed out planter pansies to the women in the ward. At first I kind of wondered what I was going to do with pansies in dirt. I live in an apartment. I don't have a garden. And then, I noticed the youth had stuffed chocolate into the dirt. SCORE! When we got home I found a pot and potted them with some potting soil I happened to have from previous potting efforts. Cory also made me breakfast for Mother's Day. He made me really yummy French toast stuffed with cheese, spinach, egg, and a bunch of other goodness. Unfortunately, because of my ick, I couldn't enjoy it as much as I really wanted to. So I felt really, really bad. But I know he understands that it was good, I was just sick all week. I'm very grateful for my wonderful husband. Fifth: Cory gave me the option of going to see a children's play on Saturday, or going to see the new Avenger's movie. Considering one was 2+ hours long and the other was an hour tops, one was here for the weekend and the other will be around for a while, and I was still sickly, I picked the children's play. There weren't too many seats sold in the balcony, so we picked seats up there to stay away from everyone. Yep, two adults with no extra-utero children went and saw a children's play. Fancy Nancy and Other Story Books. It was awesome. Cory and I ended up laughing quite a bit. They turned 5 children's books into short musicals. It was so fun! And less expensive than the movie anyway. It was a great, inexpensive way to get out of the house. Sixth: I organized! I got rid of a bunch of stuff, made a nice DI bag, and de-cluttered. It felt SO good. Until my body reminded me that I wasn't feeling super great. Cory rolled his eyes at me. But, I was in the mood, which rarely happens. And I accomplished a lot. I even found where I stored all the maternity clothes my sister gave me when we first found out I was pregnant. Double score! New wardrobe, for free!!! I had already been wearing some of the things she had given me, but some of them were more summery and I couldn't wear them while it was cold, so I put them away. Perfect time to find them! It's past 80 degrees today! My next organization goal is to rearrange the pictures on our walls. Just because. And can I tell you how nice our apartment feels now that it's less cluttered? I feel like we might actually be able to fit a baby in there! Lastly: I love our neighbors. We invited them over last night to play a game and just had a blast. We get along so well. They are also expecting a baby girl, but not until Sept/Oct. We could have easily scared them off... and by we, I mean I could have easily scared them off. Many times. But they haven't run. I take that as a good sign. It's so nice to have neighbors that will talk to you and do things with you. I'm glad they're planning on sticking around for a while. We will miss them a lot when one of us eventually moves. *sigh* I think that's all for now. Coming up in just under two weeks is my baby shower. I am thrilled!!! So I'm sure I'll be posting about that in the next few weeks. Maybe I'll get a chance to throw something in before then. I make no promises.