4 weeks - An introduction and all that jazz

I'm Erin, and I'm blogging about my pregnancy.

Sounds simple enough, but I'm sure it won't be.

I guess I should tell you about myself.  I'll try to make this as entertaining as possible - mostly because I'm bored and I don't feel well enough to get up and knit something, but also because I want to see if I can.

The tall, dark, muscular man walked over to me, stared deep into my eyes, and spoke with a voice that rumbled, "So I guess you're training me?"

Sorry, I can't really church this up.  We really did meet while working at McDonald's together.  Trust me, we've heard probably every joke EVER about "love in the drive thru" and "I'll take fries with that sweet ass." I met Mr. Berry when I was 15 and he was 18. We were both working at McDonalds during winter break - he was going to college and was home for break, so he took a job for some extra money.  I was just a dumb kid who thought having a job would be cool.  WTF.

We started "dating" on January 1, 2000 - I had thrown a New Years party and he was the one I kissed at midnight.  The entire time we were dating, he was nothing but a gentleman - my parents were pissed that I was dating a guy "so much older" than I was, but he never pressured me for sex or made me feel uncomfortable, unlike some of the other guys I'd dated that were closer to my age.  We carried on a long distance relationship for 2 1/2 years while I finished high school (and Cincinnati Bell probably put 93 kids through college with the phone bills my parents were paying). 

We got engaged on May 5, 2001, in what would probably win world records for "Corniest Proposal EVER."  I wish I could find a picture.  As soon as I do, I'm posting that shit.  At the time, it was romantic - then I progressed from "Aw, that was cute," to "WTF was he thinking?" to "I'm never telling ANYONE about this" back to "I love the little geek, he's so sweet!:
Mr. Berry and me at the zoo a few years back.  You can tell we're both total dorks.

We got married Dec. 14, 2002 in the train-wreckiest, drunken fraternity brothers and drunk German Catholic way possible.  I have exactly 2 wedding pictures in focus because my uncle said he's be the photog, and he got blitzed before he even arrived - and those two pictures didn't even come from him.

Hell, one is of me smoking a cigar.  THAT'S how classy it was.

My bouquet didn't match my headpiece because someone SURPRISE! did the headpieces that I never said I wanted and forgot to check with me what the colors were. The church had a giant foil Christmas tree in the corner, right under the 8 foot wooden cross suspended from the ceiling.  The lighting was PINK.  I think I can stop now, the picture is vivid enough - I know it is in my mind (*quietly sobs to self for not hiring a planner*)

Our oldest daughter, Katrina, followed in October of 2003 - we only tried for about 2 months after we were married.  Never have I ever been so amazed, shocked, proud of, annoyed, and overall in love with someone as I am of this kid.

Katrina's the one in the too-small jammies and glasses.  This really is the best pic I can find of her right now, she really does NOT like having her picture taken. Nor does she like throwing away things she likes, even if they're 4 sizes too small.


Almost exactly a year after she was born, I found out that we were expecting again - which was a HUGE shock, as we weren't trying (nor were we preventing, really) and we were going through some problems with Mr. Berry's job at the time.  Everything turned out well in the end though, and Alexandra came along in July of 2005.

 This kid is the most hyper ball of fun in the tri-state area.  For shizz.


After a long break including Mr. Berry getting his Masters degree in Special Ed, me attempting to get my undergrad and failing because I'm a lazy bint who couldn't stand the thought of spending an extra 2 years on top of 4 to get a BA in Art, a career change for Mr. Berry, near-divorce, bankruptcy, and other drama-type shit, we're back.  We're stronger, and we're ready to take on another kid.


We're really excited to be expecting another baby - we've always loved kids and talked about having enough to possibly give the Bengals a chance at winning the season, but needed to take a break after Alex was born.  We're getting a lot of crap from my family about having another baby since Trina has high-functioning autism and Alex has ADHD and anxiety issues, and also because Mr. Berry's job situation is, shall we say, not secure at the moment.. 

I'm trying not to let them bring me down (as Mr. T would say - "let the naysayers nay, it's all jibber-jabber anyway"), but it's really hard.  I've had to stop visiting with most of my family due to the general "disapproval" of us having another baby due to all the crap listed above.  But in reality, that's all it is - it's temporary crap.  So was the other crap we went through.  And in 5 more years, I'm sure there will be a ton more crap to shovel through. That's life.  That's everyone life.  Stagnancy is the bane of humanity. 

I have faith that everything will turn to crap again.  And I have faith that we'll get through it again, and come out stronger - just like every other time.

Meanwhile it's OK within my family for my 16 year old cousin to get pregnant with a baby by a guy who had just knocked up another girl two weeks before.  I got invited to the baby's Catholic baptism.  Remember, I told you that my family is KLASSY.