First Doctor's Appointment

Little Baby, you really are in my belly! The doctor confirmed that this morning. On my way to the appointment, I was terrified. What if if I am not pregnant, it was just a fluke thing? What if it's a tubal pregnancy? What if something is wrong? Did I do it?

I went in- updated my insurance form and told them about my name change. Then, peed in a cup. It was nothing glorious and it was strange that I peed into a Dixie cup?!?!? I sat in the waiting room for quite some time. Several other pregnant women walked in...most with other children. So clearly not their first child on the way. Most looked really cute and happy and had that "I'm going to be a mom" glow. My nerves started kicking in as people who came in after me were getting called back before me. Was something wrong? Did they have bad news? Then they called me. Stepped on the scale to see a glorious 128 #s and went into room #3. The first thing the nurse said was Congratulations! Whew- we made it, you are real, and I am not crazy.

Now I know it's early. We are only 7 weeks along, BUT I can't help but be excited and have a feeling that I am not going to lose you. I don't know a mom who says they're going to lose a pregnancy, but just for the record I feel great. I still have cramping and I have to go get my blood drawn for the first time ever tomorrow. Please pray for me : )

Dear Baby B,

Your ETA is March 15th, 2011. That is also Grandma Pat's birthday. Will you please give Daddy and I a heads up that you're ready to come out when you do? Daddy may not be in town and I really need/want him there for your arrival.

Love you,
Mommy

4 weeks or 6 weeks?

Lil baby growing in my belly...why are you so confusing??

Doctors go by the first day of your last period in order to calculate how far along you are. I know that date. I also know that's not when baby B was conceived. Then I read that it goes off that date because, in most women, ovulation occurs two weeks after. They say you get a "two week head start." It frustrates me because that means that I am not 6 weeks prego. I am only 4 weeks prego. I did ovulate two weeks after the first day of my last period and that just so happens to be the week of our honeymoon.

Anyways...I still feel weird. And EXHAUSTED. I go to bed around 9 pm and the alarm goes off at 7 am. Usually, I am easy to get out of bed. Not hitting snooze once. But lately, I just want to lay there. Hit snooze. Maybe fall back asleep. Or just lay...comfy in my covers. I go workout around 8 or 9 am, come home, shower, and when I pass my bed on the way into the bathroom, it takes all I have to not climb back in! I feel lazy, but know that I have something to blame. Something really small growing in my belly...but it's a big thing to my body.

Boobs hurt. Cramps still come and go...I might have pinpointed it on sugar!! Imagine that. My body/baby not liking the intake of sugar. We will see. It's not a substance I typically put in my body, so I know this is something I can get used to. I'm overly emotional, which is hilarious b/c I am an emotional person anyways...imagine normal me...times 15. Ha ha ha. It's great. These hormones are crazy drugs! I feel huge- and everything I read keeps reminding me that it's not baby...not yet. It's just bloated. ie. FAT. Ugh. It's miserable. But I know it's for a good reason. And who cares what those on the street think of me!

First doctors appointment is Tuesday, July 27th. Hopefully that gives us confirmation and good news- if there is such a thing at this point!

Goodnight : )

'Tis the Season

Two weekends ago, Mike and I were down in Phoenix for his Aunt's surprise 50th birthday party. This was the weekend after we took our home pregnancy tests. I figured I'd have better luck finding the book "What to Expect When You Are Expecting" in Phoenix. I checked two Targets and a grocery store, but had no luck. I asked an employee if he had some in the back and he said they can't seem to keep them in stock and I quote, "It must be that time of the year!" I couldn't help but replay that line over and over in my head. Every time I do, I start to wonder why? Maybe because lots of people get married in the spring/early summer and are now expecting...like we are. Are there really that many people in our shoes? Seems strange. But fun. I hope I meet more women who are pregnant.

We spent this past weekend in California. I was DD every night and enjoyed almost every minute of it. My favorite part was waking up feeling like a million bucks while everyone else struggled (sorry Mike and Lauren!). We spent close to or more than 30 hours in 3 days at The Home Depot Center in Carsen, CA for the Crossfit Games. It was INTENSE, fun, nerve racking, and an all around great time. I loved it.

Mike celebrated his 26th birthday on Sunday. He is not a real big birthday guy, so we did exactly what he wanted. Kept it low key and went to dinner. I think I love his birthday more than he does...it's a day to be over the top about him. I wonder if he will become a birthday guy once we have baby B. Will Mike then see the importance of a celebration on this day every year? I hope so. I am thinking he will have to change into a birthday guy b/c what kid doesn't want a b-day party?? And I am so not planning/putting a party together solo- sorry buddy!

And yesterday was our one month anniversary of being married. Four whole weeks have flown by...it seems so strange. Honestly, July 19th was unfathomable for me. Where did June go? I want to go back. I want to relive that day, every weekend until it gets old. Ha ha- I doubt it gets old.

Now we sit and wait. Sometime this week, baby B is 4 weeks old. He/She has begun the attachment to my uterus lining and is about 1/5 of the size of this period . Weird. How does that grow into a baby?? Just for the record, Mike keeps saying I have twins growing....and I repeatedly tell him, he does not want my first pregnancy to be twins. Please! We will get what we get and be extremely happy. BUT I am nervous, scared, and flat out terrified at times of ONE...and I don't want to think about TWO. Since we will NOT be finding out the sex of our child, the good news is if it's twins, I get to find out : ) I will most definitely need to better prepare for two and must know what their sex is if this shall come our way! I read you can hear the heartbeat in as few as five weeks, so maybe we get lucky and get to hear what it next week!

Cheers!

Baby B

So, here it is. The next phase of our life. Coming at us like a line drive back to the pitcher.

We let almost everyone know we wanted a honeymoon baby. It just so happens that's what we got! On the evening of July 8th, Mike and I wonder out to our local grocery store and bought a home pregnancy test. We moseyed on over to Chili's to eat salads we were both in the mood for and headed home for a mellow night in. When we got there, I took the first of two pregnancy tests. Peed on the stick then waited for 3 minutes, which felt like 15! Mike had a gut feeling there was going to be one line (meaning I am indeed not pregnant and, therefore, am crazy). I, on the other hand, had a gut feeling that I couldn't possibly be that crazy and there'd be two pink lines. I won. Test #1 was positive at 9:30 pm on Thursday, July 8th.

We freaked. Looked at each other for a good while and said, "Wow. We did it!" Knowing the MANY complications that can happen when trying to get pregnant and within the first trimester, we were slightly worried it would take us awhile to conceive. Yes, we wanted a honeymoon baby, but we weren't going to be all bent out of shape about it. Not trying, but not NOT trying either. In the midst of our celebrations, hugs, kisses, smiles, and, "Wows" we got an email from our wedding photographer announcing our wedding pictures and slideshow posted. Ironic? Meant to be? We think so!

Friday morning I woke up at 7 am and took another test with that first pee of the day, which is supposedly "the best." After another 3 minutes that didn't seem as long, the test again revealed two pink lines! We are pregnant!!

Now it begins- no alcohol (I will miss my wine), no caffeine (therefore, good coffee), no Advil. I am now on Mike's healthcare, so next up is finding a doctor and getting the official stamp of approval from a professional.

Just FYI- decaf coffee tastes like crap. I do have had some pretty scary lower abdomen cramps. They are extremely painful. We are not 100% this baby will make it the 1st trimester...just like with everyone else's first trimester, but we are being positive and hoping for the best. We also know that what is meant to be will be! I will keep everyone posted via this blog on our little baby B : )

Cheers!

Our Wedding Day

Not sure how or where to begin this post. I am speachless...utterly. And that doesn't happen often. Thousands of things running through my mind. It flew by- super fast, too fast. Did I spend time with everyone? Was everyone happy and having fun? What are the bad things that people are saying about our day? Did I mess up? Were there obvious things that went wrong? Did I hurt anyone's feelings?

Once I put all of that aside, I set myself straight- back to reality. I cannot change anything that happened and I don't think I will ever say I want to. Our day was PERFECT. It was us. Our families and closest friends celebrated our love for seven and a half hours. I am not going to lie or pretend- I AM SAD IT'S OVER : )

The one thing that bothers me the most looking back on the event was we didn't give a 'Thank You' speech. Not pointing blame or calling him out, but I told Mike this was extremely important to me and he told me he had it covered. As most of us saw, he got stage fright and I had to step in. At that point, I was livid at him b/c I had NOTHING prepared...b/c he told me he had it taken care of. I rushed through the names and faces of people I saw...probably leaving important people out. I was a mess...from being an hour late to our rehearsal b/c of traffic, then the storm that hit, to traffic to dinner, and thinking I was going to be late again...I was completely 100% unprepared to have Mike throw that on me. Oh well. I told myself I'd make up for it on Saturday and we totally forgot. I had a list of things to say and it sat on the table all night : /

After hours of frustration at the both of us and tears shed b/c I felt I came off as ungrateful, I thought I could use my blog.

I know the wedding was 'destination' for most people. I know it was pricey with flights, hotel rooms, food, and transportation. But I am forever grateful for every single person that attended my special day. I don't even know the exact number in attendance...somewhere around 120. Each and every one of you created our day...your presence was a gift to us in itself. We are beyond extremely lucky.

So, to those 120 folks at The Sears Tower on 6/19/10:

Thank you, thank you, thank you for attending our wedding. I wish I had more time and more fun on the dance floor, but all good events come to an end. It meant more than you will ever know to have your face present. I hope each of you had fun, enjoyed a couple cocktails or wine, and had a full belly. I hope you saw the sunset and caught up/met with other people there. I hope you got the chance to look out the window and see the beautiful city of Chicago. I hope you got to spend at least a couple minutes with me and maybe got a picture too. If you didn't, I am sorry. Terribly sorry. Time seemed to fly by and before I knew it people were leaving and we did our paper airplane exit. I also hope to see all of you within the next year!

Love,
Heather

Is It Really Over?

This might be my longest post yet...but I will try to break it up the best I can.

The week before the wedding FLEW by! I woke up every morning promptly at 6:30- without an alarm. There was so much on my mind, there was no way I could sleep in. Mike was typically up with me or shortly after...helping me out. We went to CrossFit Tri Cities on Monday and had every intention of going a couple more times that week, but we failed on that mission. I did run every day- not just to keep my shape for the dress, but as an amazing stress reliever! It was intense with the humidity- we were drenched with sweat : ) We attended the Cubs game on that Tuesday...yes, the night game that was delayed for 2 hours or something because of the rain...KILL ME. A literally soaking wet Bride-to-be is not a happy thing. We were in the empty bleachers with ponchos. Ugh. After the game, the Chicago Blackhawks brought out the Stanley Cup...that was really cool. However, I was on Mike's shoulders and dropped my camera...nice.

Wednesday we, or I should say Mike, Doug, and Matt, picked Caitlin up from the airport while I organized everything to be brought to The Met Club. She got to eat a Chicago style, Portillo's hotdog- YUMMY! And we were off to the city for the day. First stop, the W for a spa appointment. Then to Doug's hotel to drop off his backpack. Third stop was The Sears Tower, to The Met Club to drop off our not so small load of wedding crap. Fourth and final stop was my Dad's hotel to get ready for dinner out with him and Jenny. We arrived on time to Trattoria No. 11 (I believe that was the name) for a FABULOUS, relaxing, fun dinner. Caitlin and Matt got to hang out and chat it up with us.



Thursday was nothing short of a BLAST!! We had our family, our whole wedding party and their significant others/family attend a Cubs game at Wrigley. It was outstanding to have everyone there altogether and the Cubs owon on a walk off!! I made Mike and I Cubs Bride and Groom t-shirts. Mike's mom sewed a veil onto my favorite Cubs hat...it was a hit! We also made signs for just about everyone in attendance with the role in the wedding. ie. Mother of the Bride, Father of the Groom, Bridesmaid, Maid of Honor, Best Man, Groomsman, and Ring Bearer! It was awesome. However, I do not believe we made it on tv. Oh well...stupid announcers/tv crew.



Friday was an event all in itself. The day started off with my dog-in-law Koty almost dying. He inhaled the bag of dog food too quickly, as he was not supposed to have gotten into it in the first place, and started throwing it back up. And in the process chocked, rolled onto his side, legs stiff, eyes rolling back in his head, and had to be resuscitated by my brother-in-law, Ron. I witnessed the whole thing, ran into the garage telling my sister-in-law, Kim, what happened shaking uncontrollably. It was really intense and scary. Thus, we were late for our nail appointment and because of traffic, I was an hour late to our rehearsal : ) Typical if I do say so myself! as the rehearsal is wrapping up a HUGE storm rolls in. We are on the 66th floor of The Sears Tower, so we have a great view of this monster. However, once it hit we no longer wanted the good view...the building was swaying TERRIBLY...it was extremely noticeable when people couldn't walk straight. We all made it safely down to the bottom floor- whew! (Turns out they later shut down the elevators and people had to walk down from the 105th floor- ugh!) Upon our arrival at the bottom there were several fire trucks and firemen not allowing us to exit. We were then informed that windows were bursting upstairs, therefore making it unsafe for us to leave the building. There was glass everywhere!! After a short while, we were released and then battled the terrible traffic again to our dinner. We were actually on time for that- Thank you, Mag for driving. Mike was late as there were road closures for fires and flooding. It turned out to be a fabulous dinner- everyone a little shaken by the whole ordeal and starving from waiting in traffic for hours : )



Friday night, most of my girls stayed with me at Kim's house. We had French Kiss martinis and dessert- yummmm! I couldn't sit still for too long remembering all that I had to do, but got to relax with some of my closest friends and new family! I got a good nights rest and woke up ready for the big day : )

I get the shakes just thinking about it, but will save that post for later. It's 4th of July weekend and we are headed to the pool.

Cheers! And Happy 4th of July to everyone!!

We Arrived Safe n' Sound

We had an eventful day Saturday! We woke up to a wonderful breakfast display: fresh fruit, bacon, sausage, english muffins, and a scrambled egg casserole. Mike, Doug, and I brought down champagne we had left over in our frig and drank that with some OJ to get started on the right foot : ) It was a fabulous treat- Thanks so much to Mike's mom, Pat, for preparing, cooking, and cleaning up after us. We were a little behind schedule post breakfast and had to rush to the airport. Upon our arrival, we checked the gate and it was empty, so we figured they hadn't started boarding. Little did we know, they had already boarded and our names were being called over the intercom. Oops! There's a first for everything and we are just thankful we didn't miss our flight.

I wore my "Bride-to-be" sash for one last hurrah. That turned out to be a great match with Mike's tux t-shirt and several people congratulated us throughout the airport. Once we got seated, the flight attendant, Rob, made an announcement over the intercom about us, "the about to be married couple sitting in or near the exit rows." Another round of congratulatory cheers. We weren't sitting together (remember we were the last people on the plane on Southwest), so Rob said if anyone would switch us seats in order for us to be together, they'd get free drinks. About mid flight a kind lady switched for us (and she never got her drink!!). The lady flight attendant whose name I did not get, asked us for our first names. This seemed extremely out of her character, as she was the one glaring at us when we got on the plane. Shortly after, she got on the intercom, asked everyone to close their windows and turn on their call buttons. They turned off the cabin lights and played "Going to the Chapel" over the intercom. They called us up to the front and crowned us with peanut pack and stir stick crowns. It was great. Again, everyone cheered and said Congratulations. They really made that flight special for us!



Doug was counting how many people congratulated us in any way, shape, or form and quickly lost track.

We landed safe, got our rental car, grabbed lunch and headed home to see the family. The weather has been rainy and cloudy thus far, but we are happy with that now (rather than later in the week or on the big day). Off to start my last Monday as a fiance!!

Cheers

Chi Town- we are so ready for you!

Not quite yet, however, since we leave for Chicago this Saturday I feel as if that's D Day! I honestly did not realize how much crap I have accumulated over the past year+. We are going to end up paying a large shipping fee, but whatever. At this rate, this is what I chose to do months ago, so I gotta suck it up.

It's not that I feel unprepared for the wedding. I feel unprepared to travel to Chicago in a day and a half! Once I get there, I know I will take a couple deep breaths and let my mind be at peace. A "whatever is left behind is stuck in Prescott now" mentality. We have to get our marriage license, attend 2 baseball games, a dinner with my dad, a dinner with his grandparents, hang out with family, bring all our shipped boxes downtown, and attend the rehearsal & dinner. Then it's THE BIG DAY. I don't think I could have prepped myself better and I don't have many 'regrets,' I'm not even sure that's what you would call the things I do have : )

I am still anxiety stricken about leaving Gracie. Although, I know she will be just fine, I hope she doesn't think we've left her. We have done this before...I think. Maybe over Christmas or even a trip to Chicago?? Either way, she was perfectly fine and was so happy to us upon our return. I just wonder what's going through her lil' noggin.

I am also still slightly sad this is all winding down. I cannot wait to be officially married to Michael, but I don't know if I want this phase to end. I know we will just move onto the next thing in life...whatever that may be. Being married, moving to a different state, buying a home, and starting a family...just to name a few we'd like to do. But being a female, I've dreamed of this time in my life for YEARS...all 26 of them, I'm sure. Ok, maybe not 26, but 21? As soon as a girl knows about Princesses and her daddy tells her she is one and she will find her Prince Charming one day...that's when a girl's mind starts going. I drew an image of my wedding dress when I was in 5th grade. I still have that today. Now, my wedding isn't going to be red, white, and blue, on the Fourth of July, and we are not skydiving down to our ceremony like I had once planned/imagined/dreamed. But it's still happening in NINE days.

It all seems so surreal (still). For the most part, my feelings haven't changed. Sure there have been some bumps in wedding planning, I've shed tears and Mike has wiped them from my cheeks. But it was fun. I'd love to be a wedding planning...I think I have a drive for excitement, adrenaline rushing planning. To get to see and feel that, then have everything pan out perfectly and see your Bride & Groom as happy as ever...what a rewarding job. Now, I know not all brides are cool...thanks for the show on TLC (is it?) 'Bridezillas.' So, scratch that...I'd rather work with kids!

I loved planning this day, this whole experience, I love Mike and I's love story- how we met, how things played out for us, how we've lived together w/roughly no issues too big to tackle, I love that he loves my family, they love him, and I love his family, I love that he is going to be my Husband...he is going to take my hand and hold it for life...LOVE is in the air...and I get teary eyed just thinking about him standing down at the alter by the Pastor. Ah!

I'd like to write on here the night before the wedding, but I doubt that happens. Maybe I will journal and retype what was written. Either way, I probably won't be back till after the Honeymoon : ) Whoop, Whoop!

Cheers!

We Survived : )

Ha ha ha- that's an understatement! Surprisingly Mike survived much better than I. However, we both had the time of our lives and could not have asked for a better weekend. I only have a picture of the ladies to post...not sure if Mike even got a group pic!

So, now it sets in...we will be HUSBAND and WIFE THREE WEEKS from today. Oh my heavens! I cannot believe it. Where did the last 15 months go?? Everything is in place. I have a few things to complete this weekend and the week ahead, then I plan on doing nothing but relaxing. We leave June 12th for Chicago. A week together smoothing everything out. Problem with a 'destination' wedding is that I cannot get anything ready right now. I can't go drop off our favors, decorations, guest book, pictures, etc b/c I don't live there! That's what is stressing me out.

Hopefully, I get some 'me' time this week. Working out has been beneficial and helping with those positive endorphins. Also, not thinking about the big day for an hour plus is fabulous : )

Not too much to report. Mike is flying a Riddle airplane home from Denver with his mom as I type. We are going to grill steak and veggies with her. You will find me poolside today. Working on that tan for my WHITE DRESS. Eeeeekkkk! Shrilling with excitement.

Happy Memorial Day weekend- cheers!

ONE Month (and ONE day) To Go!

As you can see by my lack of posts, May has been nothing short of busy!

My Land Cruiser that my boss gave me to drive got traded in. Mike and I had a minor heart attack phase when we realized we'd have a large car payment coming up. Not two months before the wedding- yuck! Not only that, but we 'splurged' and bought a king size bed b/c I was not sleeping in the queen. If you are unaware, Gracie sleeps with us. She's really not that big...about 45 pounds. And you will usually find her snuggled up in a little ball when she's anywhere else in the house. In bed, she sprawls out and becomes as big as she possibly can. The king was much needed for my sanity and has turned out to be a wonderful idea on our behalf. I can now sleep with Gracie at my feet and still have room to roll over to give us both space : ) And with the wedding a month out, I am actually sleep much better than I did last month! Who would have thought??

Thankfully, Dad decided that since he had wanted a new car for awhile, he'd graciously give us his. His Acura had over 100,000 miles so, he wouldn't get much for it in a trade in anyways. We lucked out- BIG time! Mike flew out on Friday and drove the car back on Saturday. He made the trip in one full day, but was safe and still had energy to unpack the car when he got home at 2 am. Crazy kid. My mom also had several boxes of my "keep stuff." I have notes from every year of middle school through senior year of high school. I have notebook after notebook of college classwork and kept most of my education books (I thought I had all those with me, but I was wrong). Those we fun to go through. I got my baby book and all my childhood things as well. It's great to have them with me now.

It was a stressful situation. Mike and I knew I wouldn't have the L.C. forever, but thought we'd have more notice.

Then, we took a 7 hour road trip with my boss, Lauren, and her 4 kidos. Plus, another three kids from a friend. All the way to Huntington Beach, CA. We rented an 8 bedroom house for a long weekend and had the privilege of watching the Southwest Regional Qualifier for CrossFit. It's hard to explain, but it's an awe inspiring weekend of the most elite athletes in the Southwest. Out of 100+ females and 100+ males only the top 4 got to continue on to the CrossFit Games, which are the Olympics of our world. They strive to be "The Fittest Human Being in The World" with athletes and spectators worldwide attending. This year the winners will receive $25,000 each (one male and one female). We also took the kids to Disneyland and hung by the pool awhile. It was a great trip and all seven kids were great. Can't ask for much more!

Last weekend was a whirl wind. Gracie has been sick from what we think was eating chicken grease off the grill (sick- I know). She was waking us up several times a night with the runs and had a couple of nasty accidents in the house- miserable! I felt so bad for her. She had her tail between her legs and ears back as if she was in huge trouble. I let her know she was a "good girl" and she couldn't help pooing in the house. I just hope she doesn't eat more chicken grease. I had my FINAL dress fitting...eeeeekkkkkk! I love it. Now they will pack it up so I can carry it on the plane with me! Exciting! It seemed so weird. Watching other girls select several dresses to try on for the first time. I felt like that trip for me was just yesterday. But bada-boom bada-bing it's done. We also said our 'good-byes' to a good friend who is going into the Peace Cor in Kenya for two and a half years.

That leads us to this week...Bachelor/Bachelorette Party Weekends! Thank goodness these are happening on the same weekend. I plan on leaving my phone in the hotel and having much needed/deserved girl time : ) I wish all my friends far away were with me...however, I know all you ladies are with me in spirit, which is sometimes just as great!

The weekend after this is the last weekend in May, which brings another heart attack my way clearly! We are celebrating a Belated Mother's Day with Mike's mom and working on reception decor. It should be fun and low key. Oh, and I think we will get my wedding band. It takes a few days, as they create the bands in the store, which is nice! We received Mike's band in the mail a couple weeks ago...it's absolutely beautiful. I love it.

Next up will be printing Menus, Favor Tags, and Programs. Then scheduling hair and makeup appointments for my ladies and I. I am creating t-shirts for Mike and I to wear on Thursday for the Cubs game. I've ordered half the favors and need a better idea of our final head count for the most important favor. I need to go check out the boarding resort for Gracie this week. She's only going to be there three days, but it's KILLING me. On top of all that, I work every day from 1-7 pm and workout every morning for at least an hour. Ugh! There really isn't time...ever...ha ha.

I cannot wait for Chicago, June 12th and every day for two weeks after that. We were golfing with Mike's Uncle last weekend and Mike sat down in the golf cart with me, looked over, and said, "So do you wanna get married or something?" I think it's finally setting in. We are going to be Husband and Wife. We are going to start a family together. We are going to be by each other's side from here on out...for the rest of our lives. So empowering, mind boggling, and content. I love my life.

Cheers until post Bachelorette Party : )

Trying to Upload Videos

This is my first time uploading videos....we'll see if it works! Obviously, my pictures are having issues since they only line up on one side of the blog. Annoying!

Here's Hunter talking...they're now 11 months and I think he's either 9 or 10 months here. Too stinkin cute:

Happy Two Months!

We are actually within two months- breathe in, breathe out, inhale, exhale. Everything will be alright.

No, life is going rather smoothly. We have all things planned, just finishing up details. ie. Making a list of songs we'd like to hear and ones that we will not allow to be played. Giving the schedule of wedding particulars to everyone who needs it. Trying to remember everyone who needs it. Scheduling events for the week before the wedding (massage, wax, Cubs games, meeting with The Met Club folks, hair run through, make up run through, getting my nails done, pedicure, rehearsal, and the rehearsal dinner). Then making sure I've got everything downtown that needs to be, by Saturday. I am also making sure all the stuff needed for the honeymoon magically appears in our wedding night suite...hummm. Thanking my Dad that we get a rental car : ) This will allow us to be in two places at the same time- whew!

Through all of this I've learned that allotting tasks to others is OK. In fact, it's encouraged. Even though I may not like doing so. It makes my 'to-do' list shorter and lots of people are beyond happy to help. It's nice knowing others will add to their 'to-do' list to make my life easier : )

I JUST finalized my reception decor...and I am SO SO SO SO SO excited. Now, this is wayyyyy behind my comfort zone for my timeline. But I literally could find NOTHING I loved. I will show pics for sureeee once I get 'em.

Doug moved in with us (again). We are excited b/c it saves some good money for us. And it gives Mike, G, and I an additional friend close. Work is great, the kids are getting SO big...I decided I'd share their sweet faces on my blog. With that...I'm going to say goodnight.









Cheers!

April Showers Bring June Weddings?

Oh, Hello April...how nice of you to arrive so soon and leave so quickly. Can I please slow time down now? LOL.

Yes, April you are flying by...too quickly for me to enjoy each of your days : ) 2 months and 3 days to go...or my official countdown: 64 days! Eeeeeekkkkkk!

I will feel MUCH better when everyone gets the RSVP's returned. I can then order favors and plan my tables accordingly. Until then, I still feel like I am walking in circles...aimlessly with a 'to-do' list miles long.

I am bummed to report my shower in Texas has been canceled due to the rationalities of me not being able to spend too much time with those attending. NBD. With every setback there is a positive outcome and adventure to experience. The cons just out weighed the pros, however, it is less time spent with my family during the last few months of the wedding planning process.

Is it strange that I get sad (for a moment) when I see people just getting engaged? I am obviously happy for them, but I wish I could go back. It has been such a wonderful year (Yes, it has been a full 365 days now!) and it's honestly been the best one yet. I know married life with Mike will be just as amazing. Nothing will ever replace the year we were engaged. Ya know? Being the shining bride-to-be, catching a glimpse of the new ring on your finger, everyone congratulating and asking questions, the chaos of planning, the nerves, dreams...even the nightmares are all such an experience. I love it.

I'm lucky. WE are lucky. I think it's funny that we still can't believe we met each other and here we are- planning a wedding that is just moments away. I can't wait. WE can't wait.

I love it when I talk about the wedding, our plans after the big day, our life after all this hype and people ask, "Does HE know about this?"(in reference to Mike) or "Does Mike agree?" And my face lights up, I show off a huge, cheesy grin and say, "Yes, he is beside me in all this...we are getting married and this is 'our' life together, I'm not making stuff up." Duh. I mean, why do you ask? To be funny I presume...thinking that every guy dreads getting married. As if finding the woman of your dreams isn't "cool." I guess for some guys it's not a priority or an importance. We sure didn't plan our life to pan out like this...ha ha ha. If things went as I planned in middle school, I'd be married with 2 kids by now. Funny how life works.

On that note, I'm off to scrapbook, walk the dog, go for a run, and head to work! Happy Friday : )

CHEERS!

Chicago Late March

Location: Chi Town

Purpose: Visiting family and mending loose ends for the wedding.

It was a long 6 day weekend...but 2 were travel days. Time always flies in Chicago, which freaks me out because the next time we are there is for the wedding. Thank goodness we will be out a whole week early. However, I think it's safe to assume that week will fly by just as fast as every Chicago trip for us. Can't there be a 'pause button' for life....maybe one that you get you use sparingly?

Met our young officiant and made sure he's what we wanted- check!

We met the florist for our last appointment- check!

Picked up my reset ring- check!

Check out the limo to make sure it met our standards- check!

Took surprise engagement pictures- check!

And on top of that we had several dinners and hang time with the family. Ryane, Kyle, and Nathan are all getting so big. It is always nice to sit around and catch up with those loved ones who live far away. We are lucky. We have great family members supporting us from both sides of the family and really couldn't be more blessed.

80 days away...and HOLY COW! We are almost there folks : )

Lingerie Bridal Shower in AZ!

Just a few pics from my FABULOUS day! Thanks to everyone who made it and even those who couldn't! Nichole and Caitlin did a great job planning and decorating : ) I had a blast. We were poolside most of the day as we had a cabana from 9 am to 7 pm. We made spa appointments for every girl. A choice of a pedi, facial, or massage. Did the shower thing and ate dinner at Modern Steak. The weather was PERFECT- we could not have asked for a better day. Honestly, it was cloudy the whole week before and it has rained and been crappy every day since. My cake was very fitting- the lingerie theme!! And those chocolate covered strawberries were to die for. Nichole used gerber daisies to decorate, which is the main flower in our bouquets. It all went SO well together.

We are now at 100 days until the wedding : )

My shower was the first time that it all sank in...again. Even Mike agreed. He was SO sweet. We had an engagement dinner awhile back with friends and family in Phoenix. So, that was the last time we celebrated us getting married. Well, Mike and I celebrate and talk about it often, but we don't have a 'party' for it, ya know?

Get your R.S.V.P.'s sent off so we can get this show on the road!!

Thanks again to everyone who sent me texts, emails, gifts and those who attended the shower. You all made my day very special!! It was a memorable day- one more step closer to the wedding, one more event in our journey to becoming husband and wife.

Cheers!

Revamp Was Needed

Yayyy for a GREEN page : ) It's my favorite color, our wedding color, and, personally, the BEST color out there! I've spent some time looking at other people's blogs. Most of the ones I read are about my friends and their kids/families. We aren't quite there yet. But I figured blogging about our journey to the wedding would be a good start for me. I've gone back and forth with whether or not I should continue this blog. Hopefully, by the time a little one comes along, I will be a better blogger.

Good-bye February, Hello March : )

Mike and I spent 6 hours on Saturday pasting the parts of our invitations together. It's no secret, for the most part, our invitations were handmade. I think they look great, but I have a biased opinion! We did not print them at home and we did not create the 'pocket' backing. Our wedding theme is partly polka dots and I found a whopping ZERO invites I loved with polka dots. After searching high and low for a reasonable price for 'pocket fold invitations', I decided we'd need to crate our own. We saved around $1,000 on our invites. The money we saved made it easier to purchase our bridal party gifts and a rad limo post ceremony!! Yay for saving some dough.

*sigh* of relief...the invites will be in the mail tomorrow...that's a huge bear off my back!

I am sad, however, this weekend was Megan's baby shower and Angie was in Phoenix visiting friends both of which I had to miss. I am sorry girls, I hope you understand that I HAD to get our invites finished.

March First: rent is due, spring will arrive shortly, and 111 days till we are married.

Cheers!

Oh Sweet Feburary

Shortly after Valentine's Day, which is this Sunday, will be FOUR months!! I'm pretty much already there. I'm actually ready for February to be over. Solely because March starts the showers, spring training games, warmer weather, and more sunshine (tanning and poolside in Phoenix!). I am SO over winter, the snow that falls from the sky but doesn't stick, and the cold. I bought new leggings at V.S. in white and bright pink- and I CANNOT wait to wear them along with the new tank tops I got. Just exciting thinking of being tan- it does so much for mental health : )

Invitations will be sent out behind schedule (go figure) even though they are ready to go. I need 'parts' that are still being processed online- ugh! The waiting game is the most lame!

We are getting screwed by the airlines and their ridiculously high priced tickets!! I am pretty much only talking about our honeymoon flights. Since we are flying out of Chicago O'Hare and will fly back to Phoenix (or Prescott depending), we have to purchase one way flights. They weren't that bad when we looked into doing it this way back when we booked our honeymoon. But now it's like they know we have to have these flights...and are laughing at how much we have to pay for them- evil people. Mike and I decided we might walk from Cancun or take a boat.

Speaking of the honeymoon, I am still stressing about leaving Gracie for 2 weeks! She is going to think we just up and left her. Plus, we have to put her in a 'doggie resort' in town b/c everyone we know is going to the wedding. Blah. She has never been in a place like that...she's always had friends or family taking care of her. We might have to give the doggie resort a trial run one weekend. If it is only to clear my head and let me sleep at night, then so be it : ) She's our baby...you wouldn't leave your kids with a complete stranger!?!?!?

My next BIG thing to tackle will be the centerpieces. Not sure what I want to do yet, but have several cool ideas. I just have to start creating the images in my head, so I can see what I like when it's concrete!

Other than the nightmares that the wedding is this weekend and the constant checklist running through my head, life is the same. The weekends on our "next 5 months" calendar are beginning to look full. We workout and try to stick to our healthy eating habbits...and work, work, work! We have a trip out to Chicago at the end of March to tie up loose ends and see the family. Should be a fun trip...I can't believe that's next month. Ah!

Thanks for reading....CHEERS!

An Amazing Day

Today was nothing out of the ordinary. Woke up- had my coffee and zone bar, went to work out (great release), came home- got ready for work and left the house. Gracie was unbelievably sweet, which is sometimes a rarity. The twin boys at work were in THE best mood...all day- smiling, laughing at everything, and playing by themselves, crawling. They don't have to do to much to put a smile on my face and melt my heart, but some days are fussier than others. The girls at work were good too...not "the best" day since one didn't nap, but definitely one of the better days we have had.

Checked my email on the way home from work (in the car, I know it's bad). Saw an email from 'Joanna' in the inbox and tears filled my eyes. She got the most wonderful news today from her husband's doctor. And since I've read that email, I can't stop thinking about them. It kind of puts your life into perspective when someone else finds out they, in fact, do NOT have a life threatening disease. Not only that, but imagining being the only parent to your children and having to face the questions they will one day ask is sickening. Ugh. Thankfully, she no longer has to think about those terrible things. The news was positive and Joanna and her family can rest at ease.

Guess it just put my life into check once again...I am very blessed and thankful for what I have been given. The wedding planning makes me 'put my life into check' as well. Not everyone finds the right person to spend the rest of their life with. It's SO weird that Mike and I found each other. Our lives have forever changed since our spring break cruise. So random and so amazing. Well...off to do more planning I go.

Cheers!

Staying on Top of Things

...Or trying...

I feel like I am not doing all that great of a job at making sure everyone knows what's going on for our wedding. So, I hope to get better at that this week. I'd like to fill out all the info on our knot website. I guess most of it is out of my hands...and it's not all that hard for people to figure out : ) I'm just stressing about the issue a little.

Bridal showers are being planned and they are more difficult than I thought they would be! But we are smart ladies and are figuring it out. I hope those far away can attend a shower or the bachelorette party...I know it's hard b/c of money being short, poor economy, taking off work, paying for flights, and maybe a hotel. I couldn't partake in Maggie's events b/c I couldn't afford it either. It's just the way things are sometimes! I never thought I'd miss a best friend's bridal shower and most certainly never thought I'd miss a bachelorette party. Ah...it stinks!

Well, I'm exhausted...we were up till 4 am chatting with Nichole last night. That's REAL late for this old lady!!

Cheers!

Hotel Arragements for 6/19/2010

So, I have talked to a few people who have said they've contacted a couple of hotels (that are not in my room block) and they've been completely booked. Chicago is a HUGE city (I know you all know this, but I tend to easily forget) and, unfortunately, there are other things going on besides our wedding. Ha ha ha. Only kidding. I know there are a couple conventions. SO, if you and your family would like to stay at a hotel in the city and not at the hotel with my room block, then I'd begin the search now : )

Just wanted to let everyone know that. Check the knot website that I put on the Save-the-Dates...I will get the room block info up before the middle of the week.

Hope 2010 is treating everyone well! Cheers!