Wedding Central

Oh my gosh I was so tired last night. But I felt so excited at the same time. We got so much wedding stuff done yesterday!

I met Kerr and Braden at 1:30. We picked out a flower girl dress for Braden. She looks so pretty in it. Then we got Kerr's dress fitted and ordered, which was a challenge considering her pregnant tummy! Hard to guess what size she'll be then, but if I know her, she'll be right back at whatever size it is she wants to be within no time.

Then, I met Tony over on the tux side, and he picked out his tuxes. So sweet. I had to deploy my womanly-ways to convince him not to use the Tiffany blue color in the vests or ties. He loves that color. I love it too....but not in a tux. Makes me think of junior prom or something. It was no help that the manager there seemed to like it. He ended up going with something much better.

Then, we left and went to the mall. I was exhausted at that point anyway- it was already 4:30 or so. We went to Firebirds, had a nice but quick dinner and a few drinks, and then, off to REGISTER! We went to Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel, and lastly, Macy's. By the time we got to Macy's, we were so hot and tired that I have no idea what all we picked. I'll probably need to go in and edit that one! :-) It was a lot of fun though. The last time I registered (a loooooooooooonnnnnng time ago) there was no scanner....you had to write it all down on paper! The little scanner thing was fun! Tony controlled it, and I just picked out what I wanted. It was like a shopping spree....but free! And of course, we didn't get to take anything home! But I got my fix of retail therapy.

We came home, and I relaxed in a very full, hot bath. We watched a little tv, and went to sleep pretty early. I was exhausted and grumpy by bed time, but today I feel so good because we got so much done!!!

Progress....

Well it was a very productive weekend. Yesterday, I met Shannon and got myself measured for her wedding. Then, we took Abbie and got her all measured and ordered her dress for her role as flower girl in Shannon's wedding. She looked sooooo beautiful.
Today, I went to David's Bridals with 5 pictures in hand that I had printed off their website. Four of them were very non-traditional bridesmaids dresses, and one was pretty traditional. I ended up going with the one that was pretty traditional, or "classic" may be a better word for it. It's short, right above the knee, satin, boat neckline, and I ordered it in "truffle" a deep, dark brown. I also ordered a "peek a boo" skirt, which is basically a slip with a colored edge that sticks out in "pool", AKA Tiffany Blue. I also added a sash of the same color of Tiffany Blue. I really like it. I feel like it's a traditional dress made a little less traditional with the blue. I'm excited now that we have narrowed down a color and can move on to other things.

We are going this weekend to register. At first, I felt a little funny about it since I've been married before, we live together, and obviously already have a lot of "stuff". BUT, as Tony reminds me, this is his first wedding, and hopefully his only wedding, so he doesn't think he should get cheated on doing this stuff because of me. It would be nice to have some things that are "ours" instead of "mine", so I'm following his lead on this one. Worst case scenario, we do it for nothing and no one buys anything, but it's ok.... we will have fun picking stuff out. Who wouldn't???

In other non-wedding news, my dad is moving to Abu Dhabi in the middle east for 2 months!! CRAZY! His company from which he retired, wants him to go as a consultant! Apparently it's very safe, and he's looking forward to it. I'd be scared to death, but at 72, he's excited!! They leave February 1st.

Off to do some school work for my class tomorrow night.

Weddings and snow

Wedding plans.... everytime someone asks me if we have been working on wedding plans, it stresses me out. We've done the "big stuff"- church, reception site, dj, food, photographer. But NONE of the small stuff. None. We keep saying we are going to do it. But we don't. Between kids, school, work, boy scouts, brownies, homework....you get the picture. My friend Zhan keeps telling me he is going to be my "coordinator" but his schedule is so busy at work that it's frustrating me. I want to be able to say "Hey, let's go Saturday and get this done", but with him, you have to schedule it out like a month or more ahead of time. So, needless to say, nothing has gotten done. I wish I was rich and could hire a coordinator that would just ask me what I want, and then go do it for me.

I've done this before. I know the wedding isn't what makes a marriage. Sure, I want it to be nice. I want it to be fun. But I won't lie.... I want it to be CHEAP. We are paying for this ourselves, and we are selfish...we want to go on a super nice, romantic honeymoon. We don't want to start our marriage in debt because of a party. But, on the flip side, we are blessed to have so many friends that have been so wonderfully supportive of our relationship, and I want them to come and have a great time. I want to thank them for all their love and support and give them a fun night to celebrate with us.

I am reallllllllllllllllllly hoping for a snow day tomorrow so I can spend some substantial time making phone calls and getting some ideas down on paper for this wedding. Note to self: sleep with pajamas inside out and backwards, say prayers for snow... watch the weather before going to bed..... set alarm early so I can lay in bed and listen for snow closings on the radio......

Tuesday

Well after spending over 40 minutes reading the blogs of people I don't even know, I decided to start one myself. Not really start one, but start one here. I have tried over the years to maintain a site at xanga, and I still have it, but it has turned into the place where I go to write when I'm mad at my wonderful fiance. I figured I'd keep that one for that, and start a newer, happier me here.

Well..... let's see. Where to start. I'm a 36 year old mom of two. I have a super smart and funny boy named Mason who is 10, and a brilliant, shiny girl named Abbie who is 7. They are the lights of my life and it scares me how much I love them. I am happily engaged and have been for 3 months now! We are planning an August 1, 2008 wedding, and I realllllly need to get busy planning. My fiance Tony is my rock and the four years (this Thursday) we've been together have changed me in so many ways as we figure out life together with our anything-but-conventional family. Lastly, I'm a teacher by day to 21 wonderful little bright spots. I'm lucky to love what I do (most days) and work 2 minutes from my house. I'm currently in school and maybe I might get out of teaching in a few years.....but who knows. Maybe I'll stay put.

I titled my blog "working on a life less ordinary" because I love that Carbon Leaf song, and I really try to keep my life anything but ordinary. Don't get me wrong- it gets that way from time to time, and then I start to get grumpy. I love to have fun, try to think outside of the box, and keep perspective about what's important. Lately, I'm interested in weddings, my classes I'm taking at night, my son's transition to middle school, Barack Obama, working out and losing weight, and the idea of moving someday. Ask me in a week, and I may tell you something different.