Week 34- Hooray for good news!!

Week 34 

Phew, this was a week...a week full of blessings. We had our sonogram and learned that all is well with Grady. He is growing right on schedule and is weighing in at 4 lbs 11 oz. It was a relief to see him on the screen and to hear that things look good. Oddly, my bump had not grown again this week, but the Dr. is not concerned due to the sono results. This week is my first week off from work, but it was jam packed. Chad and I spent memorial day making what we think will be our last major purchases. Last weeks scare had we really thinking about the fact that I may not have another 6 weeks to prep and I have been really trying to get things done. The hospital bags are packed and the nursery is ready to go. (Pictures soon, I promise). Overall I am still feeling pretty good; just having more contractions and back pain. The biggest frustration is the fatigue, I get about half of my daily to-do list done before I head to the couch to rest and try to hold off the contractions. I am also still having a lot of heartburn...thinking this kid is going to have a lot of hair.

This weekend we head home to help celebrate the marriage of my younger brother (the bro-mate) to his high school sweetheart. A wedding 7 years in the making. It was a beautiful event. I am so happy the couple is residing near us and will be around when our little guy arrives.

 Realized I hadn't taken my weekly pic yet so we found a corner to snap it.

All the little details

Since we were throwing a budget affair, I tried to incorporate as many little details as I could, without losing sight of what "really mattered". We incorporated touches of brown and aqua as well as sand dollars throughout the day. We had two different center pieces...sand trays (which we stained) with pictures, sand dollars and candles on brown runners and aqua candle lanterns with river rocks and a picture on the aqua runners. We made runners out of an aqua and brown print for the head table, cake table and guestbook table. One of my favorite details was our guest book. We used a coffee table book that was full of beautiful beach pictures. I think it is something that we can set out for years to come...and we got lots of compliments.

I wrapped the unity candles in leftover ribbon and ended up attaching a monogram from the invites at the last minute.

Wedding Recap- Ceremony

Just a couple of pics from the ceremony. 

Wedding Recap- First Look

It is hard to believe that the wedding has come and gone...it feels like just yesterday Chad was proposing on the beach in OR. I have had fleeting moments of post-wedding blues...and even more moments of post-honeymoon blues. I am taking on the challenge of deciding on photos...luckily we get the rights to the photos so it isn't as tough as it could be. Today I am going to share with you our first look photos. We took pictures before the ceremony so Chad and I shared our first moment together on our wedding day in the sanctuary....just like the rest of the day it was a blurr! All photos by Kevin L. Brown.

#9

I am really looking forward to seeing my nieces in their flower girl attire. They are going to be so beautiful in their aqua and brown dresses, and I am sure they will be a hoot all day long.

Top Ten

We are officially 10 days out....it is starting to get very real. I can feel the excitement building! For me at least....Chad can't wait for Hawaii. I am going to count down the top ten moments that I am looking forward to on the big day....so with out further ado- 

#10- Last morning Jog as a single women. 

I am hoping for a beautiful day so that I can hit the streets of my childhood neighborhood to focus, reflect and celebrate the big day...I know not a lot of people don't associate celebrating with jogging, but I have never claimed to be normal!

Of course I have no intention of running in my dress....image found here.

Invitations and Centerpieces

With less then 100 days until the wedding it is time to get after it! Last weekend I went home and my sister, mom and friend helped me assemble the invitations. We still have to attach the ribbon/monogram, but it feels good to have a start. We also finalized the table decor- boxes w/ sand & sand dollars and pictures and a lantern w/river rocks and picture. 

We still need to stain the boxes

Champagne taste on a beer budget??

I just did a wedding cost estimate on this website. Based on my location, guest count and various other items here is what I got:

Wedding Cost Estimate
Based on the zip code you entered KS , the number of guests (151-200), and the items selected, the estimated wedding cost is between $9,516 and $15,857.

Um....our budget is 5K...I am not sure what I think about that...we are getting flowers at cost and only doing hors doerves (6.50/person)...so I think that it can be done!!

Marriage Prep

To be completely honest I have been pretty anxious about marriage prep. We live in a different Diocese then where we are getting married, but we have elected to do marriage prep through our current parish. I have worked hard to make sure we are fulfilling all the requirements for my Priest back home. My fiance is not catholic so I was nervous the prep stuff would be to "preachy"....but all my fears were relieved when we had our first session. I really enjoyed it...it was a great opportunity to reflect and discuss about our relationship and future. Some of the issues that we discussed are easy to assume we know or try to avoid. We have 4 more sessions and I can honestly say I am looking forward to them.

We are going to cross another Marriage Prep requirement off the list this weekend and attend an intro class to Natural Family Planning....I am a little freaked out about this. I have to say that I trust that God knows what is best for us, but I don't trust myself to test, interrupt or calculate my fertile days!!! I did download a NFP charting program to my itouch so I can record/chart using my itouch...much better than the little baby stickers that I find a little creepy!!

DIY Invitation Question...

Help!! I had my invites printed/cut at kinkos this weekend. I think that they look great. The big question is what adhesive do I use to assemble them?? I have to attach an ivory cardstock square to a chocolate cardstock square....any suggestions? I have thought about using double sided tape, but I am not sure if there is a glue/glue stick that would work better. We are having an assembly party next weekend so I have got to get on it...

Dinnerware Decided

It might seem like a small task, but we have finally picked and registered for dinnerware. Whew...it was quite an exhausting search. We have decided against china, because lets face it nothing about china fits us...we are not formal, fancy or really even social. So everyday 'ware is what we went for. We had a difficult time finding a set that met all of Chad's specifications...square, not one solid color, with bowls that were square and deep enough for a heeping bowl of cereal!! I am so glad that we finally found this set at Dillards. This weekend we plan to complete our registry at Dillards and create one at either BB&B or Target. I think the rest of the registry should be easier....

Guest List Concerns

I know that I have been MIA lately...sorry!! I plan to recap our wonderful trip to AZ this weekend...I got some great pictures of the game. I am still in shock that the cardinals are actually going to the superbowl! My fiance is going to make the trip to TB...I am very excited for him! Anyways...

I have been working on the invites. I now have them designed and am going to go have them printed very soon....but before I do that I HAVE to finalize the guest list. This leaves me pondering a few things....

1. I work in an Elementary school...because I am a PE teacher I work and interact with all grade levels. I am unsure how to do the invites. I do not want to offend anyone...but I cannot invite the entire 100 person staff. What is the correct thing to do?? I plan to invite the 10 people/couples that I interact with on a personal level...but I just hate to hurt someones feelings. I thought about putting an invitation in the lounge (it is a 2 hr drive to our ceremony location- so dont really think too many people will come), or is this tacky? Any ideas?

2. Did you ever have people that you didn't plan to invite ask if they can come? What do you do? I have been saying sure and keeping a list...do I go ahead and invite them even if I wasn't going to in the first place? How do you tell someone that they are not invited? I find this too be really akward...it is not like we are throwing a huge-dont-want-to miss-it party??

Any suggestions would be appreciated!!

Groomsmen Attire

I am sure that you just did a double take because I am actually posting about the wedding!!!! I have managed to accomplish a few things this week. I was a little shocked when I found a tie that I think will be perfect for the groomsmen...below is the "look" we have in mind for the groomsmen, the tuxes we plan to rent and the ties that I bought. I only bought ties for the groomsmen I think that Chad will wear ivory to match me and the ushers will wear plain brown...what do you think that the fathers should wear? should my dad match me? 

Ta-Da!!

I have finally done something wedding related...I know it is shocking, it has been months. But in all honestly I didn't do much...I comissioned it to be done, so that counts right?? I had Sarah with Belletristics design on etsy design a monogram for the wedding. I had been trying to do it myself, but I couldn't create anything that looked "professional" enough to me. So here it is...I LOVE it!!! I plan to use it on the invites and the programs, and I am debating on the possibility of using it on the cake. Any other ideas of how I can incorporate it?

The Anticipation is KILLING me!

I feel like I live my life from one major event to another! I try really hard to just be in the moment...but I am always thinking about the next big thing...and what I need to get done, how excited I am....ect.

There are...

10 days until Thanksgiving Break

35 days until my Birthday (Turning 2-5...a whole other post!)

38 days until Christmas

200 days until the Wedding!!

I know my "counting down" is a sickness...I just can't help it!!

The 38 days until Christmas freaks me out....I haven't even begun to shop & I have no ideas!! My fiance did his shopping yesterday, I am jealous! Grrr...but I did get my ornament for the ornament swap in the mail yesterday.

Wedding Bands- check

Last night after dinner my fiance and I stopped at the mall so that I could purchase an ornament for my dad. On a whim I suggested that we stop in and look at wedding bands....I wanted to see what they had that matched my engagement ring. 15 minutes later we were leaving KAY with a wedding ring in hand!! It is not like us to impulse buy, but the ring that was a match for my engagement ring was $200 dollars off the original price. My fiance tried on a Tungsten ring that they had marked at $300...so we went home and bought a similar one off of ebay for $50. I am kinda disappointed that I hadn't put "buy rings" on my to-do list....so I could go and cross it off.

Wedding To-Dos

I haven't accomplished much on the wedding front in months, so I have created a Wedding to-do list for my Christmas break:

1. Find and order paper/envelopes for invitations

2. Purchase fabric to have table cloths made

3. Find pattern and purchase fabric for flower girl dresses

4. Register for gifts

5. Stain sand trays

5. Decide on a veil

6. Place engagement announcement in newspaper

It is not a long list, but I think it will keep me busy over the course of my 2 weeks off...

Engagement Photos

Yippeee!! Here are some of my favorite shots from our engagement photo session. I am really excited about how they turned out!! I really don't feel like I am all that photogenic, but we have a lot to choose from. I am glad that we went with very casual outfits...it just feels like us. Our photographer, Kevin Brown, did a great job and has been very accommodating.

If you like his work you can check him out at: www.kevinlbrown.com. (I am a total blog-idiot, I do not know how to put the links within the text.)

Engagement Photos

They are up...I got word this afternoon that our photographer, Kevin Brown, had posted the pictures from our session a week ago Sunday. I have to admit that I had checked the website what felt like a million times....anxiously awaiting their debut. I was a little nervous...I am that girl that builds everything up in her head...creating ridicoulously high standards...only to be disappointed....but I WAS NOT. I was very pleased...they turned out really well. I can't wait until I can post some for your viewing pleasure!

Bridal Party

The girls will be wearing this dress in expresso, and the men will be wearing this tux, hopefully with a chocolate brown/aqua tie:

We love the casual suit feel of this tux, but I am a little worried because I bought an ivory dress...do you think that ivory shirts would look okay with the taupe? Any ideas? Also any ideas on wear to find ties?

My sister (MOH) would like to be a little different...how have you seen MOH recognized? A sash?

I would love any helpful hints!!!