Mr and Mrs

Five years ago today, Travis and I were married in the middle of a cornfield in Illinois. It's crazy to realize how much we've done since then. Whenever I get to milestones like this, I look back on that day and think about how I had no idea what life would be like today. Now, when we start something new like when I got pregnant, I wonder what life will be like in one year, two years, 10 years.

Aiden is turning two in less than a month. When I tell people this, they can't believe it's been two years since I was pregnant. Time FLIES when you're having fun. =)

We were hoping to do something extravagant to celebrate our milestone anniversary this year, but we have to postpone our big plans for (hopefully) later this summer. Due to the fact that Travis hasn't had a paycheck in two weeks and we don't expect one for another week. Instead, we're going to drop Aiden off at Auntie Ariel's tomorrow and go out for dinner and a movie. Sometimes simple things can be just as fun. There's a whole lot less planning going into this, which in turn means less stress.

I was a little over a month pregnant in the photo of us above, taken in 2008. We had just found out a few weeks prior and weren't ready to tell anyone yet. We had plans to go to a Halloween party at a friend's house in Houston. I didn't drink any alcohol at the party and blamed it on being the designated driver. People were very concerned about my lack of drinking. "Just one Jello shot," they would say. "No biggie." HA. It all made sense to them when I announced the pregnancy after the New Year.

All in all, it's been a good life thus far.

Lots 'o' dust

This is the best I can do for a before and current-after of our kitchen. I was too busy, then too sick, this weekend to think to take real photos. I took this photo of our cabinets in place to send to my dad and see what he thought about it since he's an architect and good at kitchen layouts in general. But behind the cabinets you can see our open doorway (leads to guest bedroom/office). Then the photo with Aiden in it shows the doorway closed off, taped and floated and the most recent update is the texture on the kitchen side.

Let me tell you right now that texture is not meant to be done in a closed house. Open ALL windows and doors BEFORE you do spray texture. Then a couple fans after it's applied couldn't hurt. Ugh. I was all the way back in our bedroom when the acrid chemical fumes made it's way back to me. I immediately threw all the windows open, including those in Aiden's bedroom (he was asleep). I imagine that's what standing in a bottle of acetone would smell like.

Travis still needs to do the texture on the bedroom side. It's a different type, so I don't know if that's another smelly one. Hopefully not. Then we are going to paint the entire wall on the kitchen side a clay red-orange. The rest of the kitchen is a mustard yellow, so hopefully it will look okay. I didn't want to try to match the existing paint and not get it perfect. That would bother me and I'm sure that's all I would see when I walked into the kitchen thereafter.

Describing those wall colors makes me think about what a hamburger wrapper looks like after scarfing a McDonald's Big Mac, but I promise, it's much nicer than that.

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To celebrate our 11 years, Travis and I left Aiden with Auntie Ariel and Uncle Robert last night and went out for sushi happy hour at a restaurant in downtown Galveston. We used to go there almost every Wednesday when we lived right down the street, for what we dubbed 'Wasabi Wednesdays'. Those were the days...

It was nice to get a break for just Travis and I. Aiden has been so unbelievably cranky lately with what I think is a combination of teething and a verbally-challenged, and therefore frustrated, toddler. Robert is always so great with Aiden, so it sounds like he did a lot better after we left. When we walked out the door, Aiden was crying after us. Ugh.

It was great to get some quality uninterrupted adult conversation in. We didn't have to stand at a stove to make our dinner, clean dishes, or attend to Aiden for the night. Usually, by the end of all that on a normal night, we are just ready to veg out on the couch or in bed for the remaining two hours of wake time. We were able to just talk and it was awesome.

After dinner, we headed across the street to a swanky bar called 21. I enjoyed a glass of wine, and Travis his beer, before we went back to Ariel and Robert's. We sat at their house and chatted for an hour since Ariel has been home in Illinois for several weeks. I didn't collapse into bed until nearly midnight. Needless to say, I'm a wee bit sleepy this morning...

A Decade + 1

11 years ago today, Travis walked me to my Advanced Biology class (like he did everyday) and before he sent me in he asked if I would go out with him. I remember the first time I told my parents that so-and-so had asked me to go out with him, I was in 4th grade. Their response? "To where?!" LOL! I didn't understand what they meant. We weren't going anywhere. That was just how you asked if a girl would "go steady with you." So funny how the wording changed. And it doesn't even make sense, when you really think about it.

I was a senior in high school and Travis was a sophomore. I think his mom was just about as thrilled about her son dating a senior as my parents had been when I did it as a sophomore. But this one stuck.

It is insane to think that we have been together for so long. Or that it's been that long since I was in high school. But really, I can't imagine NOT having Travis in my life. He's been there through the thick and the thin, as they say. I'm so happy to have him.

This photo was taken not long after we started dating. We were at a party at my friend's house. Good times.

Anniversary Celebration & Schlitterbahn

We had a fabulous weekend! Albeit a tiring weekend. Thursday Travis made me dinner on the grill to celebrate our anniversary: pork loins, asparagus and potatoes, then fruit for dessert (he was thinking about my recent obsession with NOT being able to fit all my pre-pregnancy clothes when he picked dessert out).

Friday night, we left Aiden with our friend Sue while we went out for dinner and for a couple drinks. We ate at a restaurant in Galveston that we'd never been to before called Gumbo Bar. Surprise! We had gumbo! And we also got a shrimp kettle. It was all delicious and I'd love to go back. After dinner, we walked down the Strand and enjoyed the evening. We sat on a bench and chatted for a while before heading to a bar on the Seawall. On our way there, we made a short stop at Murdoch's. I hadn't been there since it was rebuilt after the storm, so I wanted to see what it was like. It is 100% made for tourists. The part I liked was the deck the fills the gap between both piers (it is built over the water) complete with lounging chairs. I'll have to remember that place when Travis and I need something cheap, but romantic to do.

For drinks, we headed to a new margarita bar attached to The Spot called Squeeze. Travis has done a lot of work there and he wanted to show off. It was nice to see a couple of the guys he does work with while we were there. Slightly awkward moment when we saw one of the teachers from Aiden's daycare there, but it wasn't as bad as I'd thought that could be.

We picked up Aiden by 10:30pm - he was fast asleep, but we maneuvered him quickly to his car seat so he could fall back to sleep. We love Sue. She always does such a great job with Aiden. This time he seemed to have a little "stranger" anxiety, but he got over that after a few minutes. Sue's solution to this problem was we'd just have to bring him around more often. Yes ma'am!

Saturday we went to Schlitterbahn Waterpark with the Ramby's. It's been open for years, aside from a short stint of recovery after Ike, but we had never been there. Alexa wanted to bring her niece there while she was visiting and I really wanted to see what it was like. While we did have a GREAT time, we decided that while the kiddos are still so little, we'll probably just stick to Palm Beach at Moody Gardens. It is made with young children in mind, which equals less stress for the parents. Plus, it's cheaper.

We left in the late afternoon and once we got home we ALL took a much needed nap. Two hours was not enough, but I knew if we didn't get up, then we'd all have trouble going to sleep that night. Travis and I both should have reapplied sunscreen more often than we did, but we fared pretty well. Aiden was in MUCH better shape than us. Phew!

Sunday was a chore day. We fit in an evening walk, which was nice. It seemed to have cooled down significantly. Maybe it was because there was actually shade during our walk - either way it was great. We finished the evening by fitting in a couple episodes of True Blood (we borrowed Season 1 from David and Stephanie). I'm sad that we only have ONE episode left of this season. I may have to weigh the cost of renting Season 2 vs buying it. I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS.

4 Years of Matrimony

Today marks the 4-year anniversary of my marriage to Travis. Seven years before that, we met in high school.

Our wedding was a stressful one. For me anyways. We had it outdoors at my mom's friend's house in the middle of the country in Illinois. We were smack dab in the middle of the corn fields and we have several photos to prove it. All of our family came to watch us get married in front of an old, battered, red barn. Between my dad and I, we did all the decorating ourselves. The reception was held on the other side of the house by the pool. We rented white tents, in case it rained (which it did, but it stopped for our wedding).

Here were the major stressing events for me:

• When the flowers arrived, they had been PAINTED red (Alice in Wonderland, anyone?). During shipping, they became stuck together and when peeled apart there were pieces of paint missing to expose the white calla lily underneath. Travis spent days trying to get them to send us a different flower as a replacement but was never able to get a hold of anyone. We ended up throwing them all in the trash and Travis' mom went to Walmart to buy out their stock of red and orange flowers. Our credit card was thankfully never charged for this heinous faux pas.


• After the DJ set up, we found out that the breaker was incapable of channeling enough power and was continuously shutting off. Thankfully, I was marrying an electrician who was able to move a few things around to make it work.


• The pastor who married us was so far gone that he ended up being admitted into a home with Alzheimer's not even a month after our wedding. He forgot to come to our wedding rehearsal and we had to prompt him on what to say during the ceremony.


• When the tents were set up, they forgot to put up the sides. I got back from getting my hair done to find this mistake and had to have them rush back to get it up before the guests arrived for appetizers before the ceremony was to begin.


• It rained all through our pre-ceremony photo taking. My curls fell before the photos were even taken. Thankfully it stopped by the time we were walking down the aisle!


• After all that fighting with the flower company, we only had 24 hours to prepare the centerpieces. After the rehearsal dinner, my bridesmaid Chrissie and I stayed up until midnight (while the boys were at the bachelor party - Travis chose the bowling alley so my underage brother could attend - so sweet!) putting together the arrangments.


• I left an entire box of stuff - everything required for making our bouquets and all the candles - in our apartment in Texas. Had to re-buy all of that.


• Because of the rain, our caterer decided that they would not be able to serve each individual their dinner. Instead it was a buffet style, cramped inside a tiny tent.
  

In the end, the only aspects of our wedding that did not go entirely wrong was our cake and our photographer. Both were absolutely fabulous.

After all of that, I can say I would honestly do it all over again even if I knew it would be that hard. Once it all began (aside from our memory deficient pastor), it was great. The memories were worth it and what matters most is that everyone enjoyed themselves and WE ARE MARRIED.

That said... if we ever renew our vows - we're going to Vegas.

A Decade

Who would have thought that 10 years after my first date with Travis, I would be taking our son to his first day of daycare? Landmark date all around.

Travis and I went on our first official date October 12, 1999. I was a senior and Travis was a sophomore. Teehee. It's crazy to hear the number 10, but at the same time I feel like I've been with Travis all of my life. When you think about it, we've actually been together for almost half our lives. Woh. We usually go out to dinner at Olive Garden to commemorate our favorite restaurant when we were in high school. We can't go tonight, but hopefully we'll find time this weekend or maybe even later this week.

I also mentioned up there that today is Aiden's first day at daycare. I am so much more nervous about this "first" day than I was when I brought him to the sitter's house six weeks after Aiden was born. I sort of feel bad, like I'm starting him off in his school career already. He will spend the next 18 years of his life in a place like this daycare; and hopefully for another four years after that!

I was sad to pick up Aiden for the last time at his sitter's last week. It was such a homey atmosphere. But, things were still not the way I wanted them to be there. When I told the daycare teacher that we don't rock Aiden to sleep, she sort of freaked out a little. In turn, that freaked me out. The normal teacher, the one that I talked to before we made the official decision to switch to them, has today off. She didn't seem fazed in the least when I told her that we don't rock Aiden to sleep. Needless to say, I will be calling to check in at lunch to see how the first nap time went. Oh man the anxiety.

Aiden had a rough weekend. I dropped a cell phone on the side of his head while I was breastfeeding him first thing in the morning. I held my breath while I waited for the scream that never came. I think that scared me more than a cry would. Later that day I scratched his face with my thumb nail when I was picking him up. It only had a small welt for a little while, but I felt horrible nonetheless. Then, this morning when Travis was getting Aiden ready for school, he dropped a soft toy on his belly. Again, he didn't cry, but we can't help but feel bad when we do these stupid things. I'm proud to say we have not dropped the kid yet and I hope to never do so!!

3-Year Comparison

Good god! What has happened to me?! These photos were taken a span of three years apart. It's amazing how much a person can change in that amount of time. Even Travis' baby face appears to be going away. So maybe that's why he doesn't get carded all the time anymore??

June 10, 2009

June 10, 2006

3 Years

It's officially been three years since Travis and I tied the knot at my mom's friend's house in the middle of a corn field in Illinois. It's so crazy to think how much our lives will change by our next anniversary. It's amazing enough to think about how much it's changed in the past three years.

Wowzer. All I can say about that photo is CHECK OUT THOSE TREE STUMPS. Those sandals barely fit my feet anymore. I DON'T FIT FRICKIN SANDALS. How is that possible? Even my face is swollen. I can't wait to be not swollen anymore. No more than 3 weeks for that to get into motion!

Travis came home from work with lilies. He was going for our wedding colors, but that was the closest they could get to red flowers. Beautiful! I can't wait for the rest of the flowers to open.

Last night, Travis and I went to Cheddar's for dinner. I ordered tilapia and ate EVERYTHING on my plate. And then? Then we ordered a Cookie Monster and I ate three quarters of it. Holy cow it was awesome. Having fish for the main course made me feel slightly better about eating way too much chocolaty goodness. YUM. Travis and I had a great evening with just the two of us. It may be our last outing together as a family of two. Eek.

9 Years of Dating

Travis and I have this thing where we still celebrate our "dating" anniversary. I didn't realize we would still be celebrating it after we set a new milestone with our marriage June 10, 2006. That seemed like the new logical celebration date. Travis surprised me on October 12th of that year when we met for dinner after work at Ocean Grill (what later became Hooter's in Galveston and is now no longer standing thanks to Ike). I didn't realize what day it was so I was utterly confused as to why we would be going out for dinner on a week night. That is, up until we clinked our beers together and Travis said "Happy Anniversary".

I was mortified that I had forgotten the date that we had celebrated for 6 years prior. Isn't that the sort of thing the wife is supposed to remember? Well, I guess some things are reversed in our relationship. Mostly because my memory is horrible. I always joke that Travis IS my memory. If I ever need to recall something, I just go to him for a reminder. I don't know why my memory is so bad. I tried Ginko Biloba, but that didn't help. I wonder if it's genes or possibly the fact that I have hypoglycemia which can cause memory loss. Not sure, but it is definitely irritating. Travis can never leave me based on this fact alone. I wouldn't even know who I am if we separated!

My whole point here is that we celebrated our 9th Dating Anniversary this past Sunday. It was perfect because that is Travis' only day off during the week right now. Nine years ago, on Sunday, Travis was asking me out in front of my Advanced Biology class when I was a senior in high school. He was a Sophomore, so yes, I robbed the cradle. It didn't seem like that big of a deal at the time though. Funny.

To celebrate the occasion, we went out to Olive Garden. That is where we always used to go for our anniversary when we lived in Illinois. It's strange to think how far we've come since then. We have a move across country, college and marriage all under our belt. I look forward to whatever the next step in life brings us.