November 30, 2009

Not Me! Monday... it's a good one.

Oh, do I have a doozy for you all...

Remember when MckMama posted recently about authenticity and blogging?

Well, I try to be an authentic blogger. I try to tell it like it is and not sugar-coat things. But, I must admit... my brain went through the thought process of how I could avoid posting this little gem on my blog. That's how bad it is. That's how embarrassed I am over the whole thing.

So without further adieu...

Tyler and I did not have two out-of-town weddings to attend in the span of 8 days. In between these two weddings, we did not have a major holiday to deal with, nor did our youngest daughter have (completely and utterly minor) surgery. My plate was not full.

We did not originally have all of our ducks in a row by reserving a hotel room for two nights for the KC wedding- the night prior and the night of. I did not decide that it would be a brilliant idea to cancel the first night's reservation in order to save a little money, considering we only had a 3 hour drive in order to get there.

After making this decision, Tyler and I did not decide that it was a great idea to go out with friends Friday night to a late-ish movie. We did not get home past midnight, all the while knowing we still had to pack and iron clothes and all that fun stuff. We did not get to bed very, very late.

You may think you see where this is heading, but just hang on...

Saturday morning, we did not get up bright and early to ensure that we had plenty of time to get everything done that we needed to. I did not wake up an extra 45 minutes early to allow myself time for a Diet Coke and a quick blog post.

I did not ask Tyler to locate the wedding invitation and ask him to make sure we had all the pertinent information in hand.

I did not take my time showering, blow drying and straightening my hair, getting dressed, and applying my make-up. We did not spend 30 minutes giving each of the girls one million kisses each before we left them in the hands of my capable parents.

I did not even steal off to my computer for a quick facebook update- We're off to KC for the wedding!

I did not feel cool, calm, and collected as we got into the car and I glanced at the clock... it was barely 11:30- we would get there by 2:30, latest... with an hour to spare...

I did not fish the invitation out of my camera bag to start punching addresses into the GPS. I did not begin to skim the invitation for addresses, only to have my heart LITERALLY skip a beat...

OK, I enough with the did not's...

As I skim the invitation, I read Cocktails served at 3 o'clock...

Wait a minute.

I frantically plow forward to the larger invitation, where I read something along the lines of Ceremony will commence at one o'clock in the afternoon at...

Vomit.

Um, this CANNOT Be happening. The wedding is supposed to be at 3:30 pm. I know it is. We are facing a 3 hour drive, and the wedding starts in one.point.five hours. What?

Oh, wait... the wedding we went to last weekend in Dallas began at 3:30 pm. This wedding begins at 1:00 pm. Right. Check.

NOT.

Of course, Tyler and I have no one to blame but ourselves. We are the ones who deemed it unnecessary to... oh, I don't know, CHECK THE INVITATION the day prior. When I asked Tyler why he didn't notice this earlier in the morning when he located the invitation, he just started laughing.

His response- it had too many words.

I kid you not.

He was too lazy to read the written-out words, so he threw it in the bag so that I could read it later.

Of course, I assured him that the wedding was at 3:30 pm. What can I say?

Needless to say, I am quite mortified at the entire turn of events. At this point, I am questioning whether we should even go. (Isn't it, like, super tacky to show up to a reception after skipping out on the ceremony??) Tyler assured me that we should still go, so we had a painful, rather quiet 3-hour drive.

I insisted on driving by the church, even though I knew we would be too late. As we pulled up, we saw the last member of the wedding party loading up onto the party bus. Literally.

So, we turned around in the direction of the hotel. We checked in, watched a bit of football in our room, and headed down to the cocktail party. I'm trying to convince myself that maybe Cory & Jami hadn't noticed. It's a busy day for them, after all. There were about 150 people at the wedding...

After we took our seats, Cory, Jami, and the entire wedding party make their grand entrance. They do their dances and all of that fun stuff. Before long, Cory comes sauntering over to our table.

"What time did you get here," he asks.

Gulp. "I don't want to talk about it," I reply.

He gives me a sideways glance. "Because, I know I didn't see you earlier at the church."

Are you freaking kidding me right now? "Yeah, I don't really want to talk about it right now," I say.

"Fair enough," says Cory, giving me a little wink.

Fast forward a couple of hours into open bar time...

Tyler and I are standing outside the banquet room in the bar area. I see a giant figure approaching me. It's Cory, and I have to spill the beans...

"So, I can't wait to see the pictures from the ceremony," I say (HAHA, tongue-in-cheek)...

I tell him everything that happened, and he just smiles and shakes his head. He assures us that he is not angry, but I feel SOOOO badly!

We really enjoyed the time that we were at the wedding. I left my camera up in the room for a long time, but towards the end of the evening, I just couldn't resist grabbing it to capture a few memories. It's like a sickness, I tell you...

The atmosphere:





Self portrait:



My bud and I- he even stooped down to my level:



The newlyweds. Jami was gorgeous:



Dancin', dancin', DANCIN'!



...And they lived happily ever after...



Oh, and I really am quite excited to see pictures from the ceremony!

So, what about you? What did you not do this week? Hop on over to MckMama's blog carnival and see what everyone else has not been up to!

November 28, 2009

More Thanksgiving, Movie Madness, Black Friday, and Wedded Bliss...

I have SO much to get done this morning. So, in true Heather style, I will procrastinate a bit further and blog!

Tuesday evening, a few friends and I got together and went to see New Moon. I really enjoyed the book series, and I did see the first movie, but was rather disappointed with it. For the record, I thought New Moon was a much better movie. Especially considering that the second book was probably my least favorite.

Oh, and I'm sorry, but I think Taylor Lautner is attractive (so long as he is sporting the short hair). I know, I know. He's 17. But, he'll turn 18 in, like, three months. I'd appreciate it if you'd cut me some slack.


Back to Thanksgiving. We had a wonderfully relaxing day at home! The girls dressed up in some cute fall dresses, and we went outside to take pictures- it was such a beautiful day!

Sassy has become quite the little poser:



In fact, she's quite the little ham:



I thought this picture was so funny- she was jumping right out of the frame, with her crazy tights and all:



My beautiful Thanksgiving girls... I can't believe I captured this many pictures where they were both looking at the camera!







Little A, my little beauty:



Daddy and Sassy:



Mommy had to get in on the picture action:



And, this is after Little A ripped the sunglasses off of my face:



Mommy and Sassy took a turn for the camera:



We made our best attempt at a silly self-group shot:



Then, it was time to go inside for appetizers. We had shrimp cocktail on cream cheese, savory blue cheese pecan tarts, and cheese and crackers:



Oh, this is my favorite cheese spread in.the.world. Apricot cheddar:



Little A was pleased with the selection:



After snacks, we worked on finishing up dinner, and we did some dancing to the I-Pod tunes.

Oh, and we enjoyed some of these. Yum:



Our spread was delish...



...and we have leftovers for miles!

Little A destroyed her first real Thanksgiving plate!



We really had a great day together!


I didn't really hit the Black Friday shopping scene hard this year. Lynzee and I ventured out Friday afternoon to Toys 'R' Us, TJ Maxx, Target, World Market, and Bath & Body Works. Scored some good deals, crossed a few people off my shopping list...

Last night, Tom, Lynzee, Tyler, and I went to see 2012. I liked it. It was a bit insanely far-fetched, but enjoyable. Two movies in one week for me- WOW!


Now I must go wrap wedding gifts, hop in the shower, and somehow make it out the door in 71 minutes to head to Overland Park!

Congrats to Cory & Jami... can't wait to see you guys this evening!

November 26, 2009

For Which I Am Thankful...





We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~Thornton Wilder

November 25, 2009

Dallas, Part III

Sunday morning, after the wedding, we all met down in the lobby to start saying our good-byes. John was the first to leave for the airport.

We took a quick trip to McDonald's for breakfast. Did you know that some McDonald's have a breakfast buffet? I'd never seen one before. We skipped the buffet and had some parfait instead!

Then, we all gathered outside of McDonald's for a group shot. Like I said, we are classy like that.



Little A and Sassy enjoyed having kid company with John & Alyssa's little one, R. He's only 8 months old, and he is taller than Little A by a long shot! What can I say... genetics, rearing their ugly head. We had a few laughs throughout the weekend because Little A consistently spooked baby R. For whatever reason, his poor little soul couldn't handle all she had to offer.


Back at the lobby, we congregated in the spot that we officially deemed ours for the weekend. We chatted, played with the girls, and vowed to make better efforts to stay close.

Little A got her chance at some cuddle time with Brandon:



I think she formed a baby crush...




We had a bit of time to kill before meeting up with the rest of the group for one last lunch prior to departure. We located a local park, and Sassy burned some steam...



Peek-A-Boo...


We met up at Joe's Crab Shack, by request of the bride. Tyler and Sassy took in the scenery:



And, of course I could NOT let go of the fact that the following Tuesday was Ashley's 25th birthday and we were at... Joe's Crab Shack...

They gave her a ride-on shark on a stick to gallop around the restaurant with while we all shouted a happy birthday tune...



Good times.


On the way home, we could have filled an entire installment of Sassy Says with the things she was coming up with. Here are a couple of my favorites.

♥ When I asked her what her favorite part of the wedding was, she very seriously replied eating the M&M's.
♥ She kept asking me why the princess took her slippers off. I couldn't figure out quite what she meant, and finally she elaborated with the one in the white dwess. I said, "Oh, do you mean Nicole"? And, Sassy said, "Yes. She was a pwincess, but she didn't have a crown, though." How cute is that??

By the way...



Have I told you all how much I ♥ my peeps?

Thanks to everyone for a WONDERFUL weekend!

The Myringotomy Chronicles, Part III

...and, we're home! Little A did fabulously and the surgery went great!

We arrived at the surgery center at 6:30 this morning. Little A was a trooper, hungry tummy and all. We checked in and had a brief wait in the lobby. Little A was tired and enjoying her favorite comfort object... her fingers.



After a short time, we were brought back to the pre-op area. They checked Little A's temperature and O2 sat. and the anesthesiologist came in to speak with us. He explained that he would be able to put her under using the mask and administer a narcotic through her nostril, which would aid in a smoother recovery period. I was happy to learn that there would not be any pokes or IVs.

She was super excited to put her gown pretty dress on.

Then, we enjoyed some mommy/baby cuddle time.



We spent some time counting, singing our ABC's, and learning about animal sounds. We sang many rounds of Row, Row, Row Your Boat, If You're Happy and You Know It, and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

Little A spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to remove her hospital bracelet.



Then, she decided to give Daddy a lesson on what's what in the pre-op cubicle.



Finally, it was time for her to go back. Dr. K made a quick visit and explained that this was the worlds easiest, quickest surgery. Oh, and not to pour water in her ears on purpose. And, that's it.

I sat in the lobby chair at 7:25. Dr. K came out at 7:35 to let us know that all went well. He got a lot of gunk out of her right ear, especially.

We were taken back to the recovery room. Little A was being held by one of the nurses. I sat in the big recliner and she was handed to me, still limp. After a few minutes, she started to regain awareness and screamed a little bit. She calmed down as soon as she saw that I was holding her, she closed her eyes again, and we rocked for a while.

The nurse suggested that I try to give her a bottle the next time she stirred, so I did. She drank it in its entirety, and then really began to perk up. After a few minutes, the nurse brought Little A a package of graham crackers, and became her BFF instantly.





Once the confirmed that she was healthy enough to go home, they released us. We were out of the doors by 8:10.

Right now, Little A is resting peacefully. We are so glad that everything went well!

The Myringotomy Chronicles, Part II

We are minutes away from heading in. Little A has been npo since midnight, and not thrilled about it. I will post an update when we return home. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

November 24, 2009

Dallas, Part II

Finally, it was wedding time. I was incredibly rushed to get ready, and Tyler had to make a quick stop at the store after he realized he forgot his pants for the wedding. Men.



Brandon insisted I take a picture of the photo M&M's- they were pretty neat. They also had ones that said Our Wedding... in English and German.



Alyssa, Ashley, and I were smokin', of course!



And, then Bastian decided to spring the news on me. Nicole had her best friend Jamie there as her maid of honor, and Bastian asked if I would be his best man for the American wedding. I felt honored. So, here's a pic from afar of the four of us up with the officiant:



And, the newlyweds...





Ashley and Sassy celebrated the union... doesn't Sassy look slightly possessed?



John looked quite sinister as he helped pop the corks on several champagne bottles...



The cake was beautiful... and delicious! In fact, I sit here and eat a wonderful, white chocolaty, mousse-y, strawberry-y piece as we speak I write.



Sassy watched with curiosity as Tyler helped pour the champagne.



I got about 3 words into my impromptu, not rehearsed, not planned, not expected wedding toast before I was a crying mess. I'll spare you the pictures.

Here's one of my Mom and Dad with the newlyweds:



And... the boys. Isn't my hubby short? HA- that's what you get for befriending football players.



Bastian and Nicole even had a (tongue in cheek) wedding pinata! Sassy thought this was the greatest.idea.EVER!



She looked cute with her assault weapon...



She ended up with all kinds of loot...



...for which she needed to spend extensive amounts of time sorting. She has a thing with that, remember?




After the champagne and cake reception, we headed out as one large group for dinner.

Oh.

My.

God.

It was, perhaps, the best dinner I have ever had in my entire life.

We went to Rafain Brazilian Steakhouse. For whatever reason, I have lived 27.5 years of sheltered existence and never knew the concept behind Brazilian steakhouses. In case you are in the same boat, let me take a moment to explain...

You start out at a limitless salad bar. There were salads, cous cous, tabouli, gourmet cheeses, olives, smoked salmon, fresh asparagus the diameter of a garden hose, marinated portabellas... you name it.

We'd barely begun devouring our salad plates when our waiters began to haul out huge skewers of meat. Lots of meat. Sixteen varieties of meat. They kept coming and coming and coming. Every bite was better than the last. I tried four of the varieties, and I was BEYOND stuffed. Delicious.

Pair this with an expansive dessert bar and several delicious caipirinhas... it was truly a religious experience.

I SO regret not taking any beautiful pictures. There were so many opportunities. But, to be quite frank, I was too busy eating.


I wish I could say that we all returned to the hotel and partied until the sun came up. But, that would be a lie. We were all so exhausted and so full that we decided to make the night short and get some rest. I was in bed in time to catch DMB on SNL.

I'll have just a few more photos and stories to share from Dallas, but I think I will leave that for tomorrow.