About

I’m Erica.  I have been a loyal subscriber to Denver Metro Moms almost since the beginning. When Danielle posted that she was planning to leave Denver I contacted her to try to fill the void when she left.  She really has helped my family with her strategies and  advice and hopefully I can achieve even a portion of what she did.  I am a mom of a ‘tween and a toddler so I think I know some of the issues that our readers struggle with.  My family relocated to the Denver area in 2008 in an attempt to get our family into a more wholesome environment  and I have been so impressed with the people I have met here.   My husband and I are both in Real Estate Development and when the downturn came it was a very challenging time.  I had never considered the idea of staying home and raising babies.  It didn’t seem possible and I worried that I could handle being around kids all day, every day.  By the time our son was on the way my husband and I were able to come to an understanding that I just had to be mom and that everything else came after. Letting go of a career you have grown up in is hard to do but not nearly as hard as saying goodbye to your kids every morning. So I am a reforming “Undomestic Goddess” and am totally in love with doing all this mom stuff-most days. Using coupons and learning to be smart with my money has been so empowering and has transformed my life.  Hopefully I can be a guide and share my tips to help you do the same.

My husband and I have had some challenging times over the last few years but I have to be grateful for the experience and having married such a strong man to lead (sometimes drag) me through it.  And I have this incredible daughter who is growing into an amazing young woman.  I couldn’t be more proud of her even if I’m not always able to completely figure her out!  For example, no garment may have any sort of flower or butterfly on it, even on the inside, or it must be promptly returned or spend its life banished to the back of the closet.  But I have learned that IPOD gift cards are a surefire way to get her to do something.  I think she would probably clean the gutters if it meant a few Taylor Swift downloads.  My boy is nearly two and is the cutest, cuddliest, orneriest thing you have ever seen.  He keeps me running.  Even if I had the time to journal about him non-stop, I don’t think I could ever really capture it all.  I wonder why there are so many first year journals for babies but not many for the second year.  That’s when all the crazy stuff happens.  His idols right now are Elmo and his big sister.  In fact, he was saying “Elma” (Elmo) for months before I got my first “Ma-Ma” so I know where I stand with him.

While on this journey from career woman to homemaker there have been some complete disasters and a few successes.  My mother and her mother were both career women (out of necessity) and both look at me like I am crazy when I optimistically announce I am going to bake a cake. You know that look-the can’t-you-buy-those-at-the-store look?  I can now proudly say I can make four dishes which is four more than I could make last year.  We pretty much have to rotate them twice a week but it is getting better.  I am in the process of getting organized-I just recently did some soul searching and have admitted that I am an amateur hoarder.  Not the kind that doesn’t throw away pizza boxes or soda cans, the kind that delights in having 29 tubes of toothpaste stored in my basement. I am just waiting for some kind of disaster when everyone on my block admits that I was right all this time and we all have minty fresh breath.  And we all live happily ever after….

Erica

I would love to hear any questions, suggestions, or great deals you are finding!  Email me at Erica@DenverMetroMoms.com.