Milestones...

Today we’re going to take a break and celebrate something other than my wedding. When you’re planning a wedding, it’s SO easy to get all wrapped up in that one event, and it’s nice to take a step back every once in a while and celebrate other things. Because in all honesty, life goes on and your wedding day is just ONE day in the year. There are other important days…

Today is one of my most important days each year. Today is my baby’s birthday. Go ahead and get your tissues out, because I’m already tearing up! That’s fair warning to all of you out there that this one MIGHT tug at your heart strings a little.

My child turns seven today. SEVEN YEARS! Where did the time go? Some days I think back on the time that I’ve been blessed to share with this amazing little person in my life and the days have drug on and on…and other times (like today) looking back on things really shows how time flies. It is true what they say - you can blink and miss things in your life. The really important things, the small things that might not mean much at that point in time, but over the course of seven years really add up.

At this time seven years ago, I was in labor, and just getting ready for my first shot of pain meds. Yeah, I’m not one of those women who wanted to do things all natural. I wanted the drugs…all the way. But little did I know, you have to be so far along before the REALLY good drugs come into play, so about 9ish that morning I took my first shot. And from there on out I was just loopy. It’s not that I don’t remember the event; I didn’t want to be that knocked out. But I would sleep/doze off in between contractions. Friends and family that made it there in time to see this portion of the program got some serious entertainment, let me assure you! Around lunchtime, the doctor decided that I could have my epidural, and from there on out it was pretty easy. Jenna was an easy labor, even if it did last about 14 hours in total. Once I was ready to push, it just took getting me and her in the right position and a couple of good pushes and she was born.

She was so beautiful. A lot of babies that are born not through c-section have mis-shapen heads, as the birthing process is hard on the baby too. Not little CC. Her head was perfectly round, and her coloring was great. She cried out really fast and let her wishes be known immediately. Some things haven’t changed.

But some things have. She no longer crawls into my lap. I can’t hold her in my arms like a baby anymore. And she’s getting to the point where she doesn’t really need me much anymore. She’s always been very decisive about her clothes and what-not, and at 7 years old, I don’t have to help much…maybe just to tie her shoes. Yeah, I’m the mom that buys Velcro because it’s easier on me…so we’ll work on learning to tie our own shoes this year…

She takes her own bath or shower, and really just needs me to check and make sure that she got all the soap out of her hair. She brushes her own teeth, and for the most part, now uses the restroom without my supervision (this is a MILESTONE, let me assure you!). She writes legibly, even if the words are very creatively spelled, and when we drive down the road, she can read the signs that we pass. She reads books to me now, although I still read to her. And she says her own prayers at night, although she likes to have me there with her when she does them. We have a secret huggie and kissie ritual that we do each night at bedtime, and she hardly ever gets in and out bed to resist bedtime like she used to as a toddler.

Looking back on these seven years, there have been so many changes. She is my light, she makes me smile, and almost every decision that I make revolves around her and how that choice might affect her. This is what happens when you have kids, I guess. Your life isn’t your own anymore, and you have someone else that matters more than you do. You buy them clothes before you buy yourself clothes. She gets a toy, even if I can’t justify $6 for a new book to read at the time. I don’t regret that, and I would do it all the same given the same choices. She is everything to me.

A hug from your child can bring a smile to your face and a warm glow in your heart. Hearing “I love you, Mom” from those lips touches you deep inside and you know that at that moment nothing could be more perfect in your life. And I treasure each and every single picture that she draws me, or rocks that she picked up “just for me” on the way home from school…even if I know that my house is over-run with her artwork and school papers and that pile MUST be cleaned out and trimmed down soon.

Having her has been the greatest joy in my life. She gives me purpose, she provides me with direction, and she fills me with tenderness. Yes, there are days that I would pay someone $20 to take her away from just half an hour…but I wouldn’t trade those times either! She is my blessing, my greatest accomplishment, and I am the lucky one to have her in my life.

I hope that one day she and I will have the relationship that my mom and I have. I look forward to being more her friend, and less her mother as she continues to grow older. That doesn’t mean that I look forward to the day when she leaves my house to go out into the world on her own…but with that pain comes a new relationship too. I will always be her mother, but I can also be her friend.

So to all the moms out there, go hug your kids. Or your own mom. Or a niece or nephew as the case may be. Too bad schools are out now, or you could just drive by a random school and stop to hug a few kiddos…of course, if you do that you might get arrested! If you see me, hug me! As happy as I am that this day comes around once a year, I’m still a woman and it doesn’t have to make sense that I cry on her birthday!

I’ll leave you with a picture of little CC with her award for Best Artist that she got during the last few days of school. Isn’t she precious?!?!?

Another Pomander Trial...

Mr. CC ended up having to work for a little while this past Saturday, which hasn’t happened in quite a while. It gave me the opportunity to have the house to myself for a while, so you know what that means, right?

Wedding TV show marathon!

Haha, just kidding. Well, I’m not really kidding, I did watch quite a few wedding TV shows Saturday morning. I mean, heck, no kids, no future spouse…what’s a bride to do if NOT watch wedding TV shows?!?! But I didn’t just sit around and watch TV, no ma’am. I had a to-do list with a few things that I’ve been meaning to work on and I was bound and determined to get them accomplished during this brief window of opportunity. I hear a few of you back there; you’re thinking what a great time to clean the house, right? WRONG! I can clean the house any old day of the week, and without my kiddos around, that just seems mean – they LOVE those swiffer dusters!

So I set to work. One of the items on my to-do list was to work on the pomanders. Several of you had made the suggestion to maybe use artificial flowers on the pomanders instead of the tissue paper. I made a few trips to Hobby Lobby over the course of last week and purchase quite a few options to work with.

I didn’t really like the miniature roses that Hobby Lobby had to offer. They were cheap and really fake looking, in my opinion. But I bought some anyway. I also bought regular sized roses, because I liked those better. My thought process was that I would be able to gently pull the heads of the flowers off of the stem and stick them into the Styrofoam ball without using any hot glue. Therefore, I would be able to easily return what didn’t work out…you following along with me?

Wouldn’t you know it…the ones that I didn’t like best were the ones that actually looked the coolest. The larger roses were WAY too big for the small Styrofoam balls that I had purchased and would be too oversized once completed – kind of like the tissue paper balls. But those fake-looking miniature roses were the coolest looking thing. Only problem that I ran into? I ended up having to use hot glue to get those little rosebuds to attach well. Some of them had enough of a stem once removed to actually stick into the Styrofoam ball, but a lot of them didn’t. Since I’d rather err on the side of caution, I pulled out my trusty mini hot glue gun and put just a dab of hot glue on the end of each stem before sticking it in…worked like a charm!

So here’s the results!

What do you think? I think that they look SO cool. Very textured looking and really neat. The one thing that I didn’t like? Now it seemed too small. These artificial flowers didn’t stand up quite like the tissue paper flowers and I think that the Styrofoam ball underneath needs to be a little bigger. I waited (impatiently) for Mr. CC to make it home from work so that I could show off my work and get his opinion on the matter. He agreed with me that the ball needed to be “just a bit” bigger, and off to Hobby Lobby I went.

I mean, the flowers were on a 50% off sale ending on Saturday…I HAD to buy them then! So I picked up more flowers, returned the ones that I wasn’t going to use and grabbed two different sizes of larger Styrofoam balls to see which one worked. Mr. CC and I were once again in total agreement, and Saturday night while we sat and watched a movie, I worked on pulling off all the little rosebuds on the 18 stems of miniature roses that I had purchased. That way on Sunday, when I was ready to work again, I could easily reach into a bag and pull out what I needed.

Here’s the second trial:

We LOVE this one.

A close up shot so that you can see the detail.

So picture 8 of these lining the walkway, 4 on each side, with a mixture of cream, lavender and eggplant rose petals lining the aisle. I can see it SO clearly in my head and it’s perfect! Of course, I will make a pretty bow on the actual ones when we tie them up for real.

What do you think? Do you like these pomanders better than the tissue paper ones? Do you like the smaller size or the larger one? (I'm sorry - I tried to take the pictures from the same zoom setting so that you could compare apples to apples...doesn't look like I accomplished that. In real life, the smaller one is MUCH smaller than the larger one.)

"Work-out Wagon" Results - Week #2

So…are you ready for the results of week #2 on the work-out wagon? I know that I was excited to get on the scale. I’m starting to notice small changes and differences in the way that I feel about myself and how my clothes fit. So here’s a recap for you:

Last Week’s Stats:
Weight – 151
Tummy – (true waist / “tummy”) 34/37
Thighs – 24

Last Week’s Goals: (I’ve once again put my actual results in BOLD)
Two P90X workouts with Mr. CC – choosing from chest/back, arms/shoulders and kempo (following each workout with the ab ripper x workout too) Chest/back on Tuesday (no abs) and Arms/Shoulders on Thursday with abs
Run 2 times this week on other days – 5 minute warm-up then running sprints lasting 30-60 second a piece for 20 minutes followed by 5 minute cool down Ran THREE times this week following program
Cut back on Soda (one every other day, if possible) Sunday and Monday – one each day
Cut back on Sweets (possibly do a reward at the end of the day if I was “good” during the day) I kept up with rewarding myself, and had a piece of cake one day at work – (Those pesky cake-baking people!)

Current Stats:
Weight – 149
Tummy – 33.75/37 (true waist / “tummy”)
Thighs – 23.75

So…what do you think? I think that I did great! I’ve lost a total of 5 pounds since starting this go round, which just really goes to show how watching what you eat (counting those calories) can really help a girl out. I’m hoping to just need to do this religiously for these first few weeks. Once I’ve built up my running and work-outs, counting those calories won’t be nearly as important as they have been the last two weeks. That’s not to say that at that time that I’ll just eat whatever I want, but I don’t think that I’ll worry as much as I do right now about it all.

I’m thrilled to see some improvement on my actual measurements this week. Weight to me is just a number, it’s really more important to me how I fit into my clothes – and the all important WEDDING DRESS that matters more to me. So, although there wasn’t a LOT of improvement, there was some. I really need to get better with my ab ripper X workout to continue to improve those numbers!

So here are my goals for this week:
Two P90X workouts – chest/back and arms/shoulders along with ab workout
One additional ab workout during the week
Run three times a week – starting the Couch Potato to 5K program (more on this later!)
Continue with no sodas during the week and watching my sweets

I think that these goals are totally doable for me, and I’ve made some small adjustments there to try and keep these results coming in. All in all, I’m thrilled with how the first two weeks have gone, and other than some initial stiffness right after I run (those shins just hurt!) I’ve become accustomed to the physical strain again, without the major aches and pains. I can’t wait to see what my small adjustments to my goals might gain me on my results this week.

How are you doing with your own weight loss goals? Do the results that you see help to motivate you all that much more, like mine do?

Loving These Much?

Look what I found when I was “browsing” for some good silk flowers…

Isn’t that GORGEOUS?!?!?

It combines all of my colors, and I love the whimsical look of the whole bouquet. What’s even better? It’s all silk, which means that it’s something that I could keep forever, if I wanted to. Plus, as a personal side note and nod to myself and MOH, these people in the floral business KNOW what color eggplant is! Unlike those fools that seem to abound in the linen business…

This bouquet is already made up and ready to order, with a kickin’ price tag! I think that I’m going to order one JUST so that I can see it in person. How awesome would it be if this was as gorgeous in person as it is online? I would literally die…in contentment!

And if that wasn’t enough, look what other options they had in their pre-made bouquets section:
Not “quite” right on the purples, but still beautiful!

LOVE this one. It brings in some other colors, that I wasn’t really thinking of using, but gorgeous!

And then low and behold, this online store might have become my new best friend. I found something that I didn’t even know existed. Lavendar. Lilies.

Check it out…

Aren’t they gorgeous?!?! Mr. CC has made ONE tiny request on the flowers – to include his personal favorite flower, which is the lily. He actually like the Stargazer lily the best, and I’m working hard to fit it into our black, cream and eggplant color scheme here, but I wonder if these beauties would do? They fit in a little nicer…

So if I place the order for any (or ALL!) of those bouquets just to check them out, I think that I’ll also order some of these lilies. They’re on close-out, being discontinued, and I could probably return them if I don’t end up liking them. But if I did like them…WOW!

Have you ever been searching for something else and stumbled upon what could be a little goldmine for your wedding? I’m loving them!

(All images courtesy of http://www.afloral.com/)

The "Perfect" Wedding Flower?

MOH, you MIGHT not want to read this post….

It’s not about you…but in the effort for you to keep your sanity…and your possible frustration level with me down…it just might be a good idea to skip reading my blog today…

So, Mr. CC is playing softball. It’s a city league, and his first game was the other night. Being the supportive fiancé that I am, and since I work with everyone that’s on the team, little CC and I packed up a “picnic” from Chick-Fil-A and headed on over to the softball fields. While the game wasn’t the stunning success that the team had hoped for…it was fun for us none-the-less.

I know, I know. Some of you are wondering what exactly this has to do with a wedding blog, right? Here goes. MOH, hold on to your hat…

While driving over to the softball fields, I accidently took a wrong turn. Not an abnormal thing for me, and it got me to where I needed to be eventually, so it wasn’t a big deal. Imagine my surprise when I’m driving down this unfamiliar road, trying to figure out if it’s going to put me in the same place that I meant to be going in the first place when I see something that just takes my breath away.

A field of wild sunflowers.

Standing there, growing alongside the busy road that I was on, and just looking gorgeous! And this thought pops into my brain – “wouldn’t those flowers be gorgeous with a black and cream wedding?”

Yeah, that’s when you know that you’ve got a little too much wedding on the brain!

And here’s where it gets tricky. I have to confess…I can’t get the image out of my head…take a look at something similar…

source

Isn’t that just gorgeous?!?!? Yeah, I’m floored. All these visions of sunflowers are dancing around in my head…sunflowers scattered on the aisle…sunflowers lazily gathered in a vase with some raffia tying them up…just a great “rusticy” outdoor, hardy flower. So simple. So gorgeous. Perfect for a wedding.

I suppose this is forefront on my mind since I’ve had so many thoughts about flowers running through my head…it just almost makes me rethink those pesky eggplant tablecloths.

Relax Mr. CC and MOH…I did say ALMOST. J

I hope that you all have a great weekend. I’ll be busily making up some flower pomanders out of some silk flowers that I picked up yesterday at Hobby Lobby. This was one of the many suggestions that I got from this post, and I’m going to give it a go this weekend. I’ll be sure to post some pics for you next week!

Rehearsal Dinner Dilemma

On a different note all together, let’s talk about the rehearsal dinner and my woes with this time-honored tradition. It’s not that I don’t want to do a rehearsal dinner…it just seems like the cosmos forces are working against my planning this portion of our wedding.
You see, my venue is great. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Texas Old Town – check them out here. But they have a funny policy on the rehearsal portion of your wedding. The good news is that they will include your use of the hall for a rehearsal for FREE. The bad news? It’s their policy that you cannot book your hall for the night before your wedding date to hold the rehearsal until three weeks before the wedding. Yes, you read that right. Three weeks.

I understand why TOT does this. It’s become a semi-popular trend to get married on a day other than a Saturday. Most venues charge less money, so the bride and groom on a budget can take advantage of this and get a smokin’ deal on a place by choosing a day other than Saturday. This also generates some extra $$ for the venue, so everyone wins. Except for the bride that paid extra $$ to have her wedding on Saturday and now can’t guarantee that she’ll be able to rehearse at the venue the night before…

Which means that I won’t know if I can even HAVE a rehearsal the night before until less than a month before it would be happening. And that really puts a crimp on my obsessive nature…yes, Mr. CC I freely admit that I obsess. About all things related to this wedding!

I’ve been talking with some family and friends about this dilemma that I’m facing and so far we’ve come up with a few suggestions that I’ll share with you. Because maybe you’re a bride that is facing the same situation. Or maybe you’re just smarter than me and have an idea that I haven’t thought of…

One suggestion made was not to stress about it until I know for sure one way or the other. Obviously, this person doesn’t know ME at all! So we’ll just pretend that suggestion wasn’t even made.

Second on the list - a day-of rehearsal. Since our wedding is going to be at a later time during the day (not yet determined, but before sunset) it might be possible to do an early morning rehearsal and follow it with a rehearsal brunch instead of a dinner. I have to admit that I like the oddness of this idea. It’s against the grain, and the norm, so of course I like it! But it poses some problems. For one thing, what do I do about Mr. CC and I seeing each other on our big day? Tradition says that we shouldn’t see each other at all that day…so if I’m following that tradition then how do I do a rehearsal the day of the wedding followed by a rehearsal brunch? I suppose that I COULD do a rehearsal with me, and then another rehearsal with Mr. CC and we would just eat separately from our guests.

But I don’t really like that idea. For one thing, that’s a lot of time on the bridal party. They, along with parents and the minister, would all have to do the rehearsal twice. Not a bad thing to get in extra practice, but still. Plus, doing it that morning also takes away from time that might be needed dong other things. What other things, you might ask? Hair, nails, make-up, decorating the reception hall and the ceremony site, just to name a few. Because if we can’t get into the venue for a rehearsal the day before, we won’t be able to do any of those things the day before either.

The only other suggestion that’s been made has been to hold a rehearsal dinner the night before and rehearse briefly wherever that will be done. Even though it wouldn’t be the exact SAME field, a field is really a field. And couldn’t you practice on one lawn just as easily as you could the other lawn. The only difference would be the steps of the gazebo. But that should only affect Mr. CC, the minister and myself. I’m sure that the three of us can manage to “make believe” that one thing. So rehearse on a lawn somewhere, then go and eat dinner. That might work. It would at least be a little easier to handle logistically speaking.

Do you have another scenario that I might have missed? A way to make this work just in case my venue does end up getting booked for the night before my wedding?

Option #1 for My Hooks...

I posted some inspiration pictures for my shepherd’s hooks the other day. I love them all, but have to be honest and say that I’m drawn to the ones where there is a "kissing ball" or pomander of flowers.
Of course, once again, my problem with that idea is cost. Having someone make the flower balls out of fresh flowers is WAY expensive. And every time that I mention the slightest inclination to make some more tissue paper flowers, Mr. CC starts to growl at me. And Mama CC laughs…

But I see SO many posts where brides do the tissue paper pomanders in smaller sizes for their aisle décor and it looks SO good. Check out these. Could you tell that they were tissue paper?
So despite the laughter and occasional snarls coming from Mr. CC’s recliner, I practiced and made a tissue paper pomander in a smaller size just to see what I thought about it. I figured that the Styrofoam balls that were required were only $5 at my local Michael’s store, and I have an abundance of tissue paper left over, so I might as well try it out.

Here’s what I came up with.
What do you think?
Mr. CC doesn’t like them. He thinks that they look too fake, and since people will be closer to these pomanders than the ones that we’re going to hang (which he thinks look AWESOME!) it’s just not right. It’s too cheapy looking, is what I think that he wants to say, but won’t say for fear of hurting my feelings over something that I made myself. SO sweet…

Truthfully, I’m not sold on them. I think for one thing that the ribbon is too wide. This is the ribbon that I bought to hang the larger pomanders up high with…and it’s too much for these smaller pomanders. And I’m not certain that they don’t look too fake up close too. But what I did notice was that for the size ball that I used to make these here, I only used about 15-20 "flowers" on each ball. Maybe they wouldn't be SO expensive to do out of roses?? Or real carnations??

So what do you think that I should do? I’ve got a few more ideas in store for what I could do with these shepherd’s hooks…I’ll keep you posted on my progress!

Did something that you had stuck in your head as being PERFECT turn out not quite as perfect in real life?