Saturday Morning Scene

We're attempting to link up with Katie and Emeline and an email post in one. So don't be surprised if you look out your window and see pigs flying. It's a banner day.

Daddy decided that this would be a great day to get involved in the community by volunteering SEVEN hours for a rich kids soccer tournament. I'm all for volunteering, but but all day long?  We've got stuff to do and mama needs some me time!  In an effort to make the time pass more quickly, we grabbed some Mickey D's and came out to watch. Monroe thinks it's not as much fun now that the pancakes are gone and they won't share their ball!  Fortunately we just spotted a "dahawk" (dog). Game on!

Is this thing on?

Once upon a time, I was a young newlywed and I actually posted on this blog. Then, I had a big secret to keep.

(if that picture confuses you, google photobombing squirrel. We thought is was cute, but nobody else really understood.)

So I waited to post until it wasn't a secret anymore. Except by the time it wasn't a secret anymore, I couldn't actually blog because my husband prefers that I don't use the computer in the bathroom and that's pretty much where I spent all of my time until April 2nd, 2010. Then I met this guy.





And that's pretty much all she wrote. (literally) [By the way, the picture in that blue nightgown is about the prettiest I've ever felt. In reality, not so much. But, you try pushing a 7 lb 13 oz baby with no drugs, and you'll see that you don't feel so beautiful afterward. So, the first shower after all of that was AMAZING. Also, right after childbirth, you feel like Kate Moss. I was bending over like a mad woman driving my husband crazy saying, "look how skinny I am!" Again, in reality? Not so much.

This is Fred Monroe L*max V. We call him Monroe, but on the streets they call him Money or Cinco. Since he was born, I've been debating starting a family blog because I really prefer to keep this little corner of the internet for myself, but the grannies are all over the little guy and any way shape and form they can feast their eyes on him, they'll take.

I haven't posted in forever, but thanks to my iPhone and lots of time with a baby attached to me trying to figure out the whole nursing gig, I've been keeping up with other blogs. Blogging is weird because you feel like you know someone, but forget that you really don't. I'm trying to be better about commenting, but it still makes me feel a bit like a stalker because if you click my link you find a blog that hasn't been updated in 2 years and you think, "wow, I hope this girl hasn't quit posting because she couldn't bring her laptop to jail."

So, here's an update. It's not a promise that I'll keep going. A certain someone likes to slam the computer shut while I'm typing. But, maybe I'll try. Or maybe I won't. But, I'll keep tweeting and if you want to check me out, you'll at least know that I'm not in jail. That counts for something, right?

Here's the part where I bombard you with photos to bring you up to speed. (The grannies are going to die if they ever find out I'm posting pictures somewhere and not telling them.)


A newborn family shot

We couldn't get our act together enough to get 3 month pictures done. I'm still kicking myself for that, but here's a few from 5-6 months.


Monroe normally doesn't dress so cool, but he got these cool threads on his first trip to NYC because we were afraid he'd get jumped if he showed up in a longall.


Brothers


Our happy family. That's right before Jack ran off and we had to chase him around the park for 15 minutes.

9 Months




Brothers

Hanging out in his room

Look at that cute little tush!

One Year (How is that possible?!)

Sorry to overwhelm you with cuteness. This post probably wouldn't be as overwhelming if I knew how to arrange these pictures in a cute little grid, but I'm pretty technologically inept. It took me an hour to change my template to a free premade one. I don't even love this, but I couldn't make the one I did love actually work...and so it goes.

Stall surprise

I just had an unfortunate mishap in the ladies room. There were no reasonable stall choices so I had to go with the one where the door would shut but wouldn't latch. I assumed my standard hover position and went about my business. The next thing I knew, some girl
was busting in on me. As if that wasn't bad enough, because of my squat position, she smacked
me in the head with the door
and busted my eye with the lock. Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark.

Give and Get

30% off at The Gap, Banana Replublic, Old Navy and any of the outlets. Plus, a portion of the profits go to charity...what's not to love about that?!

Wedding Belle

I've been too lazy to clean and organize my house in time to participate in the "Show Us Where You Live" Kelly is hosting, but I already got all dolled up and have the pictures to prove it, so I'm joining in on Show Us Your Life. Today's Topic is My Wedding Dress.

I can't resist an opportunity to celebrate our special day all over again, so here we go.

I found my dress during a birthday trip to Atlanta for my 27th birthday. No, I didn't go to the famous Kleinfeld's so you won't find me on Say Yes To The Dress reruns. We found it at a store called Bridals by Lori. It was the first dress I tried on. The truth is, I only really got to try on a few dresses...okay, maybe 10 isn't a few, but since it was my first time, I wanted to try on a TON.

I really wanted something that wasn't strapless because that seemed to be what everyone else I knew was wearing. I was hoping for something cap sleeved, but couldn't quite find anything. My last requirement was that the style be pretty timeless. My aunt and step mother were both married in the year of the large, almost cowboy like, bridesmaid hats...and unfortunately that trend also extended to the veil. Oh my beloved 80's, how could you be so good and yet so bad?! I did not want my dress to scream 2007!

I liked my dress the best of the bunch and it was a sample, so it was a do or die kind of moment. I was really feeling a lot of pressure. The dress was a little more than we budgeted, but it was half the normal price (because it was a sample). It felt kind of meant to be because it almost fit me perfectly. So, I got wrapped up in the moment and bought it. I did kind of wish I'd been able to try on some other dresses at some other places, but I resisted because I was afraid I'd want another one.

In the end, I'm really happy with my choice. I felt like a princess, a little embarrassing fact about me is that I've always secretly hoped I would one day discover that I actually AM a princess-Thank you, Anne Hathaway for your captivating performance in The Princess Diaries.

These first few shots are courtesy of my photographer, Elissa Queen in Charlotte, NC. They're from my bridal portraits at my Alma Mater, Salem College in Winston-Salem. I'm house sitting, so I don't have many shots with me. I borrowed these from my facebook profile




The only shot that's actually from the wedding is this one with my mom half way through buttoning the many many many buttons. We even had to get a special tool to get them all done.

I wore a long veil and a blusher. I love the classic look of the blusher and my mom and I had a special moment at the end of the aisle when she flipped it for me. The headpiece came from a great store in Charlotte called Brideshead, they do custom veils and headpieces; they also made pins for my hair. At the reception, I removed the long veil and wore the blusher flipped back. One of the many bridal ladies I worked with convinced me that I should get the most out of it and that it would really make me feel like a bride and make it easier for folks to spot me in a crowd...just in case you missed that big white dress!



I'll leave you with a shot of my Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue. My mom, grandmother, and aunts presented them to me at my Bridesmaid Luncheon. The cameo belonged to my great great grandmother. My mom monogrammed the blue panties as a surprise (I'm sure Freddie appreciated that she chose such a modest pair!). The earrings were my new (don't tell her, but I actually wanted to wear another pair), and my borrowed was a handkerchief that belonged to my grandmother.

unbelievable

Susan was frustrated about her customer service at the bank today and I'm irritated about Target. Yes, you read that correctly, Target.

I was trying to take advantage of the crazy deal on Starbucks coffee (7 dollar coffee and when you buy 3 you get a 5 dollar gift card). But, the cashier couldn't get the card to come up until I bought 4. Hubs probably would have left it alone, but I am a miser frugal. I bought the fourth bag, but went immediately to check out the flier. It said 3 bags, so I proceeded to customer service. The girl had a difficult time returning my 4th bag for the full price, so she called the manager. He worked it all out, but what I couldn't believe was that he was popping his gum the whole time. I stood not 2 feet from his face and he continued to blow bubble after bubble. Sometimes he even did that annoying thing where you fold your gum so that it does a thousand ear piercing pops in a row. I thought about complaining, but who would I complain to? HE WAS THE MANAGER.

For the record, I'm actually a pretty cowardly complainer. I usually call in my complaints and I keep them few and far between, but what you don't know about me is that I cannot stand gum! Seriously, people pop it, pull it, smack it, and stick it everywhere. It is my number one pet peeve and so I've eliminated it from my life. My aversion certainly didn't help the matter, but is it just me, or is that absolutely ridiculous?!

gone, gone, gone, really gone

So, this is my return to blogging, for now. I just haven't been feeling it lately. So, like Kate says, You get what you get and you don't get upset! Apparently she's getting a fortune, a ton of publicity, an old body guard and he's getting two hot earrings, and a young girl who removed his wife's jowls of a dog, but couldn't do a thing about Winnie The Pooh. There you go.

I still haven't done the list of things I'm proud of doing before my thirtieth birthday. maybe I will maybe I won't, but I probably will. maybe.

What inspired me to write today. I just got the best message from my Grandma. My cousin and his wife found out they are expecting in January. They lost a baby back around Christmas. Then, they thought she might have actually had a molar pregnancy, which means it wasn't a baby she was carrying, but cancer. Then they found out that she did actually lose a baby, so it was just grief, panic, grief. They waited a while to try after having their first. They are very, how should I say it, particular. She really threw them for a loop. I actually think some competition might calm our little missy down. I guess we'll soon find out because it turns out that they're not having one, but TWO babies! So exciting!

This marks the 19th pregnancy. Two girls had babies last week, which brought my pregnancy total down, but new baby total for the last 30 days up to 7. That's a lot of booties.

Meanwhile, I'm still barren. But, I'm hopeful. Last night, mister OPK (ovulation prediction kit for those of you not in the know) gave me a smiley face on the first try. Here's hoping that's a good sign.

So, that's all I got. I had to get it out there. I've been feeling pretty overwhelmed by all of these things and I can't really wrap my brain around much of anything else. Maybe now that I've spilled the beans, I can move onto something else.

In the mean time, I leave you with sweet little Taylor.