I sometimes cry in the fitting rooms

I'll start by saying that I generally love being pregnant.  I love feeling the baby move and kick.  I love the ever-growing belly that holds her.  I especially love my husband's undivided attention.

But one thing that I do not love is maternity clothes.  Primarily of the pant variety.

The first time, around 17-18 weeks, that Jon and I ventured into a maternity clothing store (Motherhood), I cried.  I walked in the store, looked at the clothes, and started crying.  I loved my jeans.  I loved their fit, their look.  I loved the way they made me feel.  I hated maternity jeans.  They were loose in all the wrong places.  They made my bottom look droopy.  I tried on 3 pairs, then sat in the fitting room and had myself a pity party.  I grabbed the pair that looks the least terrible and ran out of the store, vouching never to come back again.  On the way home I called my best friend who just had a baby and whined about my hatred for maternity jeans.  She wholeheartedly agreed and told me that I just needed to get through it.  She gave me all the clothes she was able to find and I did my best not to weep some more.

That weekend I packed away my adorable jeans, tight-fitting pencil skirts, and cute little tops in the bin and parked it under my bed, promising to see them again soon.  Then I sat on my bed and cried some more.

But this story has a happy ending.  This weekend Jon and I went out to do a little bit of shopping for some odds and ends we needed and I decided to stop by H&M.  My mom had mentioned to me that she saw some maternity clothes that weren't too ugly there, so I decided to check it out.

Boy am I glad I did!

H&M Maternity Jeans

Check these puppies out!  They're amazing.  They fit - LIKE A GLOVE.  They hug where they need to hug.  They're tight and therefore do not need to be pulled up every 15-20 seconds.

H&M Maternity Jeans

The band is smaller, which is rather nice when you don't like pulling it up to your neckline.  It even has a button in the front!

H&M Maternity Jeans

They have super skinny fit in the knee and straight leg all the way down (if you're into that sort of thing. Which I am).  

H&M Maternity Jeans

But the best part is the bottom-hugging backside.  It's marvelous.

H&M Maternity Jeans

I'm genuinely excited to wear them.  They feel like my old jeans and I feel like my old self.

I wanted to share the secret with you in case you're having issues with maternity jeans as well.  Don't give up  They're out there.

A girl's gotta have choices

I am trying to pack for vacation and am running into some problems.  I'm not even just talking about packing in general, although that's always a challenge.  What I'm talking about is shoes.  Isn't it really always about shoes?  Ladies - are you with me?  As for you, men, well, maybe you want to take a night of.  Or perhaps you can sit and grumble about how women have too many shoes.

My point is that I have no problem packing.  My problem is choosing a limited number of shoes to go with all my various outfits.  Technically, for 6 days of vacation I would have approximately 15 outfits.  Now don't go thinking I'm crazy!  There is a logic to my madness.  You see, you need a "day" outfit.  The things you might wear to breakfast or lunch.  Something you might wear if you decide to check out the surrounding areas.  This is usually some sort of loose skirt, shorts and maybe a t-shirt.  This usually calls for a pair of cute shoes or some flip-flops.  And then there is an "evening" outfit.  For dinner I dress up in a nice dress, a pair of white pants and a nice top, or some nice skirt.  And then there are just extra outfits when you have to change for some dancing or some casino play.  Anyways, you have about 15 outfits.  Which, if you're packing, is not really that big of a deal.  The big deal, my friends, is the choice of shoes.  Shoes take up a lot of space.  They're not a small t-shirt you can fold up.  They tend to be bulky.  And if you're into high heels like I am, then they're really bulky.  So for 15 outfits, I need to find 15 shoes.  Or fewer shoes that fit all outfits.  How do you do that?  And what if they look good in my room while I'm packing, but then I pull them out on the sunny beach and realize it's not what really works with my outfit? What do I do?!

So far, I've narrowed it down to these.  Now I can't decide how to trim "the fat."

These here shoes go really well with...

...this here dress.  The simple black and white dress is amazing on its own.  But when you add a pair of bright green heels?  Well, that's just plain perfect.

And look at these!  They're super cute. They go really well....

...with this cute dress.  Trust me, it looks WAY better on than it does on a hanger.

Oh! And these!

Look at the detail!  Aren't they just delicious!

Won't they look super sexy with this here dress?

No one can say no to these.  They're not just super cute, they're also insanely comfortable and can be worn for hours of dancing without any consequences.

Sometimes I wear them with shorts, and other times with this skirt.  This skirt also looks amazing with just plain black heels or my maroon pumps.  Shoot, I have to add a pair back in!

And then I have to pack my running shoes.

So how do you decide what to take?