Our Vegas Wedding - Part 2

Friday dawned bright and early despite all the partying from the night before.  Hubs and I lazed around the room with coffee and breakfast sandwiches until I met my mom and sister downstairs for some shopping.  Then we left for the courthouse in yet another limo!  By that point I felt ridiculously spoiled transportation-wise, since until Vegas I'd never been in a limousine in my life.

After we sped through the courthouse we ended up back at the MGM for a quick happy hour at Emeril's New Orleans Fish House.  A must try if you are ever at the MGM,  we loved every thing we ate there.
We lucked out with our bartender and ended up getting some amazing free appetizers, and then kept ordering drinks and food as various family members stopped in to join us.  We ended happy hour(s) with a champagne toast with both our families, a moment I really enjoyed.

That night was dinner and show - we had tickets for a group of us to all see LOVE by Cirque de Soilel.  Before the show my mom, sister, two of my friends and their guys headed with us to Samba, which featured an all you can eat Brazilian BBQ.  The meats were all good, and next time Hubs has vowed to go back with an empty stomach so can eat twice as much.   Between the food, the great drinks, and the even better company, it was a nice relaxing Wedding Eve dinner.

Being cuddly before Cirque began...

The show was breathtaking - the music, the acrobats, the dancing... I loved every minute of it!!  Poor Hubs was so tired from the time change that he might have dozed in a couple spots (it was a 9:30 show)... but he liked all the parts he was awake for (sorry hun!).   After the show almost all of us were ready to crash and call it a night, but one of my best friends had been recruited into steaming my wedding dress with me back at my hotel, and she (and her husband) generously gave up more sleep in order to make sure my dress was pressed and ready for the next day.  Lifesaver.  [K- You know I never would have gotten it done.]

And so Friday went off without a hitch.  Next would come the best part - wedding day!

Our Vegas Wedding!! - Part 1

Today I am finally well enough to start writing the posts that at least three people have been waiting for! ;)   Hope it was worth the wait...


So Thursday morning started late, of course.  We had to get the pets to the kennel, the Little Man needed to be washed and packed up for a week at Ex's, the bags needed last minute everything - our plan was to leave at 9:30 and we definitely left the house closer to 10:30.   By the time we dropped off Little Man, we ended up doing the Home Alone dash through the airport, racing to our gate just as the last two people were boarding the flight.  Of course that means on Southwest that we didn't get to sit together -ugh- but I made friends with a nice couple and we watched movies together the whole flight.  I assume Hubs had fun, he sent a beer my way with apologies as a celebration, and we were on our way!

When we finally navigated our way to the MGM and talked to the wedding guests (most of them had arrived on an early morning flight), we made plans for that night's bachelor/bachelorette party.  After a quick dinner in the food court everyone went back to their room for naps/drinks before the night began... and it was an absolute blast.  Nothing went according to plan of course, because that's how I roll... the guys and girls decided to stay together instead of splitting up, we left an hour late because of excessive picture taking (and because girls take forever to get ready), everyone was exhausted, there were no cabs to be found - but somehow it all managed to work out amazingly.  We got the guys in free everywhere because there were plenty of girls with them, because there were so many of us we got pulled out of the long cab line to a limo service that was even cheaper than two cabs would have been... Everything just worked out great!

I had so much fun that night, and I couldn't have asked for better support from my friends.  They took care of all the hassle of collecting money and calling the limo driver for return trips, getting us into a club without waiting in line, making sure I didn't get kicked out of a club due to a drunk girl stealing my tiara - it was fantastic.  It really hit me that night that everyone had gone out of their way to make my wedding an amazing event that I would never forget.  I knew right then that a destination wedding was a perfect choice for us.

Because my best friends have not given me permission to make them famous, I leave you with pictures of me and Hubs enjoying our night in style.

He cleans up nice doesn't he?  

I hated my shoes, but they were oh so cute. 

Limo kisses for the future Hubs.

The One With Germs

Still here, still sick.

This is fairly typical.  Usually if I get sick I am A) An absolute trainwreck and B) can't shake it for days.  Little Man is the total opposite, he'll be running around the house giggling and swiping at his running nose, stop to puke, and keep on laughing.  If he stops moving you know he feels terrible.

Me?  I spent all of Friday and Saturday sleeping.  I would wake up only to cough and text Hubs to bring up more tea and medicine.  I got up to go to the opening weekend of Sound of Music, and then came home to dive under the covers and sleep more.  I managed to make dinner Sunday night and then collapsed in a heap on the couch.

This morning the Little Man and I are both still sick, but somehow he's running laps around the house and I am camping on the sofa with my tea and tissues.

I'll have what he's having next time.

The One Where We're Alllllll Sick Now

Yep.  Of course now that Little Man has come down with a case of the Runny Sneezys, we're all up to our elbows in snotty tissues and wet pillows.  Too much info?  Yeah, maybe.

He wipes his face on the pillows if I don't wipe his face fast enough when he drips.
Even more info, you're welcome.

Of course, even though Hubs has been doing 90% of the nose-wiping, I caught the crud first.  So I've been a sweaty feverish mess since this morning, with all the goodness that goes with it.  Hubs has been great with the watching/feeding of the whole family though.  He made pancakes.  And heated up nuggets.  And ordered Chinese.

I didn't say he was gourmet, I said he was feeding us.  Still great though.

I'm just hoping I feel better for tomorrow - I have lots of food to eat.  Happy Thanksgiving!

We're baaaaack!

Dun dun dun dunnnnnn we're married!  I am so excited that Hubs and I are officially Hubs and Wife, it's still so unreal.  It feels a little like nothing has changed, and then of course, I remind myself that everything is going to be changing for the better.

I will have to post a long-winded update about the wedding soon, but I'm not in the mood today.   Nothing personal, blog-reading pals!  We landed at the airport at 9:15 last night, and picked up Little Man from Ex's house at 10 PM.   Got home just before midnight, and I decided it was very important to unpack everything right then so I didn't have to this morning.  Then someone posted pictures of the wedding online and I had to view those... and we didn't turn the lights out until 2 or so...

And then of course, when we picked up Little Man something seemed a little "off".  Ex assured us nothing was wrong and that the long weekend had been amazing/perfect/too good to be true.   Hubs and I were not really convinced, Little Man was too quiet and his voice a little raspy.

We got him home and ready for bed, and he just curled up in a ball and fell right asleep.  A bad sign.

At 3:30 in the morning we hear him wake up screaming and coughing.  Which usually means vomiting is going to follow.   We calmed him down and got him set up with a movie so he finally exhausted himself into a fitful night of sleeping and waking around 4:30 or so.  He's very sick today, and I keep checking his shunt site worried that it is shunt related since he never did end up vomiting.

I'm trying really hard not to blame Ex for this sickness.  Kids get sick all the time, I know this logically.  But every.single.time. that Little Man comes back from a weekend with Ex, he is sick.  Without fail.  And if it is a long weekend, like when we went to Florida or this last time - he is always very sick.

I don't know if it is the fact that Ex and his mother smoke, or that the house is old and moldy, or some other kind of trigger.  I don't know if it is pure coincidence.  I just know that I am less and less interested in letting him stay there overnight.  Hubs and I both were saying last night we just want to be a fly on the wall to see what happens when he stays there.  Something is going on, I just don't know what it is.

Right now Little Man is sobbing, stuffy, and feeling awful.   And all my mother hen instincts are telling me this isn't okay.

The One Where I Get Married For The First Time All Over Again

Tomorrow morning we leave to get married.  HOLY SMOKES BATMAN.

We are heading out to Vegas with 28 of our closest friends and family, and it is going to be an amazing, epic, fantastic, legendary weekend of fun.

I just finished packing, got my very first spray tan, my nails done, and my eyebrows all cleaned up.  I feel ready, but also not ready.  Makes no sense I know, but that's what it is.

I feel like this is my first wedding, even though it is not.  I suppose it is because I feel like this is the first day of the rest of my life, the day we will begin our family, the day we commit to making a home for all of us. 

I am in a completely different place than I was when I got married to Ex. I would never say I regret that marriage or the short time we had as a family, I feel like he supported me through one of the more difficult periods of my life.  But we were not compatible in the long run, and so I am also forever grateful he had the foresight to realize that I was much better off without him we didn't make a great team.  My "failed marriage" makes me cherish every single moment I have with Hubs, and it will make me value our marriage all the more. 

I am in love with Hubs, and we are an amazing team.  I am finally at peace with who I am and who I will become.  I am no longer lost in my own skin.  I don't have doubts.  I don't have fears.  I have confidence that this is the person I am meant to be with.  We've seen the worst and the best in each other and dealt with it together.  He loves all of me just as I love all of him.

And so I prepare for tomorrow like I have never done this before, because I haven't.  I haven't walked down the aisle as this person, this happy, well-adjusted, healthy person that I am now.   This relationship that we have is a special and wonderful new chapter in my life, and I am ridiculously excited to start it.

It is going to be a beautiful wedding.

The One with the Tiny Dress

One week til the wedding of the year!  If the year we are counting from started from September 23rd, because there was a pretty epic wedding the day before I really can't compete with (nor do I want to, it was awesome)...

It has been a busy couple days, with the elections wrapping up and finding out on Monday night that my wedding dress needed alterations.  YIKES!

When I bought the dress several months ago I got an amazing deal.  There was only one problem... that day when I tried it on, the bridal store employee stood behind me fussing with the zipper/corset combo swearing that it was "only a little too small" and if I lost maybe 5 pounds it would EASILY zip.  So I took the plunge and bought the dress of my dreams at the price of my dreams, and kept on chugging at my weight loss goal.  I ended up surprising myself with my dedication to weight loss, and was relieved to realize I had lost 15 lbs since the day I purchased the dress.  I went to try it on on Monday night and was actually worried it might be a little loose!!  But as my mom tried zipping the dress we realized that it was not going to fit unless I removed a rib.  

Normally if I heard a story about a girl buying a dress too small and then being offended that come wedding time it didn't fit, I'd probably laugh. I think it is ridiculous that some women place so much stock in what size their dress is instead of worrying if it fits them properly and makes their body type look great.  But I didn't buy my dress because I was positive that one day I'd be small enough to fit into it.  I bought it because it was ridiculously cheaper to buy the dress off the rack in the sample size (8) than it would have been to buy it in the size the store said I would need (the next size up, 10).  Like over half price cheaper.  I was between sizes then as well and they said it probably wasn't worth it to get the ten if I was going to keep working out and losing weight.  Oh - and I am all about a good deal.  So when the bridal shop also told me that if I lost five pounds it would probably not even need alterations, I was totally sold.  Besides, five pounds is a bad stomach flu.  I had 5 months to lose weight.   Easy as pie, no problem, fork over that dress please thanks.

Anyways, long story short, dress didn't fit even with all the weight loss.  Shame on me for waiting that long to try it on and being so sure it would fit.  But with the help of my besties (they are amazing) I calmed the eff down, emailed a couple seamstresses, and found one that would rush the job and get alterations done by tomorrow night.  For sixty bucks.  Total, including the rush fee.  Today, I feel like a champ.  Monday, not so much. I drank a lot of wine.

And when I look at the pictures of myself from the first time I tried on the dress at the shop versus trying it on for the seamstress/mom this week... I am reminded that just because my dress didn't fit does not mean that losing the fifteen pounds doesn't make a difference.  I felt great about my body this week and am so pumped about showing it off a bit in Vegas!

This week coming up should be insanity... I have orchestra rehearsals several days, driving up north to pick up my dress Friday, finishing up the shopping and packing for the trip, all in addition to the usual household stuff I take care of during the week.  But I've gotten a sudden burst of energy and excitement and I am so ready for this wedding!!!   I can't wait!

The One Where I Do My Civic Duty

During lunchtime my senior year of high school there was a table set up outside our cafeteria by the state government.  It was a friendly reminder for the brand new eighteen year olds to register for the draft and to vote.  Pretty smart idea, because I doubt I would have registered to vote anywhere else at that point in my life. 

I filled out the form and absentmindedly checked the box that said "Would you consider being an election judge?"  I didn't even know what it meant at the time.

I became an assistant judge for the 2004 primary elections, and at eighteen years old was the youngest judge in the room by forty years.  The job was simple, I had a giant paper book filled with names and had to check off people as they went to vote.  The other retirees I worked with didn't seem to take me seriously, and I didn't care - it was just an easy paycheck.  But then the new touchscreen voting machines needed to be fixed and I was able to help.  By the general elections all the little old ladies were telling me next year I needed to apply to be a Chief Judge.   Seemed easy enough, same work I'd been roped into that year but with a better paycheck and fancier title.

So from '06-'12, I have been a Chief Election Judge.  And I am still the youngest in the room, albeit by a tiny bit less now.  Tomorrow marks my tenth election day and I'm looking forward to seeing my usual team at our prep meeting tonight.   I'm preparing for a fairly horrific election day, reminiscent of the 2008 election dramatics - but I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

That was a fairly long-winded introduction to what I really wanted to say which is - Get involved!  It is easy to distance yourself from the way your government works, or complain when it doesn't.  If you are truly interested in seeing how the election works and how your community feels, then become an election judge.  It is absolutely worth it. 

The First One In November

Halloween at our house was pretty quiet.  I was in a funk all day yesterday, so when Hubs got home from work he ended up being the one dressed up and handing out candy while I made baked mac and cheese (whoops wedding diet, but so worth it).  I'd gotten all the Halloween out of my system earlier this month with a couple Halloween parties anyways.

 Me and Hubs as Sally and Jack from "The Nightmare Before Christmas"

 

I went to another party that weekend and did full face makeup for Sally.  Credit to one of my bests for helping me get it all just right :)

 

 

 

See, I didn't skip Halloween!   Although my mother called that night and insisted that Little Man should trick or treat.   He didn't seem too interested in the idea...

 

Managed to sleep through all the doorbell ringing and dog barking that accompanies Halloween Night!

Little Man passed out at exactly 6 pm, thereby missing all the designated tricking and treating time.  Obviously I was heartbroken.  As I ate my mac and cheese in my pajamas and watched Survivor.  Yep, totally heartbroken.

This was actually the first Halloween in three years where Little Man hasn't been sick and cranky, and where I even managed to get him in a picture where he was remotely interested in keeping his costume on...

For some reason I keep trying to put him in costumes with a hood or headpiece, and he just hates those.  It isn't my fault, he got one picture as a baby in this Winnie the Pooh outfit where he is so freaking cute that I want him to take another just like it... and instead of getting cute, I get miserable shark/dog/frog/whatever it is that year. 

So Happy Halloween from our house to yours!  I'm going to get back to eating leftover candy and pretending like I'm getting housework done today.