26 Really?

I said out loud for the first time today that I am "26"! 26? Really? Where has the time gone? I can't even believe my birthday has come and gone already. So much has changed in such a short amount of time. On my 22ND birthday I was sitting on the beach in Charleston, newly single, with a slew of friends toasting to "fun times". My 23rd birthday wasn't much different. Except a month later I found out I was pregnant. Nuts. I went from living with my parents to buying my first house in June, asking Adam to move in with me, partying in Charleston with friends in August and then getting pregnant in September. Whoa. Looking back my 23rd year was a big one. Aidan was born and 2 months later I was 24. 24 with a baby. This was not my plan. 2 more months later, Adam proposed. I think I saw my life flashing before my eyes. Time was flying by. Another year passed and Aidan was 1. 1? A whole year of being a mom. A whole year. August came and I was 25. I was blown away. 25 with a one year old, engaged to be married. What happened to "I don't even want to get married before I'm 30 and who knows if I'll ever have kids". October came and it was wedding time. I intentionally planned the wedding 14 months out. I wanted to soak everything up. I wanted to make sure I was doing ALL the right things. I knew he was the man of my dreams and when the doors to the church opened and I saw him standing at the alter I knew I had made all the right choices. June came and Aidan turned two. Success! I haven't done any major damage to him yet and from the sounds of all our family and friends, he is turning out to be a great kid. Soooo then we get to last week. I turned 26. 26 years old. I remember being 18 being excited about being 21. Now I am 26 and the only thing I get excited about is trips to Lowe's, family dinners and more baby talk. I'm 26 and man has the time flown by. It wasn't my plan, things haven't always gone the way I would've liked, and it hasn't always felt good. Now, I'm sitting here on my sofa with my two boys cuddled up on the other end and I think to myself "26...26......26.........I'm incredibly blessed , deliriously happy, extremely loved and even though the past 4 years flew by, it finally all just feels right".

Weekend & Biltmore Trip

It's amazing to me as I decided to sit here and write this blog, I can't even remember what I did this weekend. Oh...it's coming back to me now. Friday and Saturday I actually helped Adam do some of his yards. He even let me try out the stand on mower! That thing is crazy fast and I will never be able to use it without supervision! Ha. Dangerous.
Sunday, we spent the majority of the day re arranging furniture. Since most of you aren't "real" friends...you would not know that we have a bit of a furniture addiction around here. Before Sunday we were overloaded with Pottery Barn paraphernalia. Luckily, my parents were nice enough to let us store some things at their house for the time being. Until we decide whether to add on or just move in to a bigger house. Sunday night Bobby (my brother) came over and hung out with Aidan so that Adam and I could have a date night. Adam had been craving a steak so we headed to Sullivan's steakhouse. It was TERRIBLE. We haven't ever had a bad meal there until now. Almost everything we ordered (that the server actually remember to bring to the table) was BURNT. When our bill came, we had been over charged for 2 steaks. It was just a disaster. We were determined not to let the date night go bad because of this. We had planned to go to a 9:25 showing of "The Proposal" but when we got to the movie theatre a bus of teenagers had unloaded right before we got there and at the pace they were moving, we never would have made the movie. Luckily, we were able to catch a 9:50 show at a theatre a little bit down the road. The movie was cute. It annoyed me that it never got dark in Alaska. You will have to see the movie to understand.
Two of my great aunts are in town from California and my mom thought it would be nice to take them to see the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. The Biltmore is the largest private home in the United States. It is absolutely breathtaking. There are around 200 rooms and on the tour you get to see around 65. My mom and I have been to the Biltmore numerous times, but it never gets old and just recently they reopened 4 new rooms we had never seen so that was very exciting! We had a great lunch at the winery bistro and then headed back to Charlotte.
Adam is leaving to go out of town for work until Saturday or Sunday so I am a little depressed about that. I know I shouldn't complain, some people spend a lot more time away from their spouses than that! It is just so hard since we have had so much time together since the recent availability in his work schedule. Ha ha. I went from being used to him being here all the time, to working all the time and never seeing him, then back now to seeing him for extended amounts of time this week and now we won't see him at all until Sunday. Not exciting. Especially for Aidan. You are talking about a kid who comes out of his room every morning calling for his "Dada". It will be a little adjustment but he will be home before we know it. I wish I had some pictures to post but the only one I have is of my mom doing some goofy pose on a tree today and she would kill me.

Show Us Your Life Friday's

It's that time of the week again. Kelly's Korner is hosting "Show Us Your Life Friday's" and this week we are doing wedding receptions and honeymoons. My reception was beautiful. I wanted to do it in kind of a funky industrial space and then pack the place with flowers and have it only lit by candle. With the exception of some up lighting we did on the back brick walls of the venue, I succeeded. For my favor, I did a candy bar. I am sure some of you have heard of this. It's when you fill jars of candy and place them on a table and your guests can come by and scoop candy in to bags to take home. It was really cute. We also had a monogrammed cookie to take. I had a DJ instead of a live band. Which I am glad I did, because even though I LOVE live music, there just are some things that can't be messed with. I.E. Journey "Don't Stop Believing" and Neil Diamond "Sweet Caroline" a staple at a Red Sox fans wedding.
Since, I decided to go back to school and coincidentally was starting just a week and a half afterwards, Adam and I have yet to take a honeymoon. I am originally from Massachusetts (Boston area) so instead of rushing over to a tropical island for the time being we decided since Adam has never seen where I am from, we would take a "Get to Know Your Wife Trip". A quick trip to Boston then back for school and eventually we would take a real honeymoon. We are presently working on a trip for our two and a half year anniversary. Took us long enough right? We kind of got sentimental about Boston so we are going there for our anniversary trip in October.

We had a signature cocktail at our reception. It was a Pomegranate Martini. Yum! The napkins were chocolate brown and said April & Adam. My colors where moss green, hot pink and chocolate brown. Candace and I after she caught the bouquet.
Tossing the bouquet.
Cutting the cake. It was amazing! It was three tiers and I wanted it to look like someone had taken pearls and thrown them on the cake. Of course being in the south, I had to have my monogram on the middle tier.
I think I have posted this picture before. This my dad and I during our father, daughter dance. Luckily he is a good dancer and leader so we were able to make it kind of fun. It's a well known fact in our family that I am my dad's favorite. First born, only girl. It's a given. Our personalities are very similar and we are extremely close. He's not a real emotional person and I don't think he cried at all during my wedding. He just called me the morning of and said to me "Baby, this is your day, this is the day we've dreamed about for you. I want you to know I love you with all my heart and I have tried my best to make this perfect for you. You couldn't have picked a better guy. I'll see you at the church gorgeous." He's the greatest man I know and I think I have more pictures of he and I around the house than Adam and I. Ha!
* I am surprised I didn't have more reception pics saved on my computer*

"Get to Know Your Wife Trip" Haha

This way towards the end of our trip but the pictures are all out of order. This is the Kennedy compound on Cape Cod. We are Kennedy lovers in my family (being from Mass and all) so I had to show this to Adam.

Just a picture I took of Adam's wedding band. I was excited he was all mine!!!
Me and a friend of ours little girl. We are at an Oyster Festival on the Cape.
Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine. This is where we had our summer cottage when I was young. My dad sold it to one of his uncles when we moved down south, keeping it in the family so we can go back if we want.

This is Natalie and I at an apple orchard we used to frequent when I was younger. She and her husband Pete live in Boston so we stayed with them during our trip and when Pete worked, Nat joined us on our adventures!! Mariann and her boyfriend Mike also live in Salem, MA so they joined us for a leg of our trip as well.

We did tons of things I didn't take pics of. Red Sox game, we visited my child hood home, my grandparents home, the cemetery where they are buried (Adam finally got to meet them Ha) we saw the beach cottage and I got to show Adam where I had carved my name in a wooden raft when I was younger. I took him to the North End in Boston so he could have a famous canoli at Mike's Pastry too! Adam and Natalie were shocked at the fact that I was able to get them to all of these places without any directions. I could remember where everything was from my childhood. It even kind of surprised me! It was a wonderful trip and we are making it a yearly ritual.

I just need to vent sometimes

I think I am having a bad day. It's nothing that I am showing on the outside but the is a war of emotions raging on the inside today. Adam lost his job on my birthday. Now, as some of you know, we own our own landscaping business (The Queens Greens) here in Charlotte but to be completely honest, it had taken the back burner so that Adam could help his "friends" open this restaurant. These guys are chefs from all over the city that have worked together and apart from Adam (also a former chef) in some of the most well known establishments in Charlotte. They basically all decided they were going to open up a new restaurant in a neighboring town and had asked Adam to take a job as the kitchen manager. The money really was just too good to say no. In the beginning they realized there were too many "chiefs and not enough Indians" (everyone thought they were the boss) and some people left or were demoted. Adam was the exception and was given a raise and commended for his hard work there. For those of you that don't know my husband, he is one of the most hard working people I have ever known and cannot fail at anything he does. When he commits to something, he is committed 100%. People constantly commend him on his outstanding work ethic.

I know I have blogged about the little amount of time we have been able to see Adam over the past months because of the extremely long hours he was putting in there in addition to his landscaping business. We are talking about someone who got up before 7 every morning and got home around 11pm. Long story short, I decided that he was in need of a vacation and planned a trip to Charleston for 4 days. Essentially, while we were out of town there was some revaluation of the money that was coming in through the restaurant and that they could do without one more person. Adam having been on such a high salary, he was the perfect candidate and so when he arrived back to work on Monday, they allowed him to work and then let him go when he showed back up on Tuesday. Unfortunately it was very unprofessional the way it all way handled and more than anything friendships were damaged.

Besides feeling terrible for my sweet husband, I have this anger built up against these people because they have now attributed to the pushing back (once again) of baby plans in the near future. Not to mention we were getting ready to start an addition on the back of the house. Lately, it seems like just when everything starts going GREAT for us, there is something to tear us back down. It's very hard to wrap my head around right now. I don't know what we are going to have to do to get back on top. We are now back without health insurance and without a significant sum of money we had come accustomed to having. I guess it just goes to show that in the economy nothing can be promised. I just would love to see my husband come out on top for once. For all his incredible hard work to finally pay off somewhere. He deserves it so badly.

Anyways, I had to get that off my chest. I'll try to not do that again anytime soon. Pray for us.

WWYCSW

I have been struggling to find a funny story to tell for WWYCSW but I have been at a loss until today!! So don't worry, I will not let my friends at Family American Style down! Yesterday was my birthday (woo hoo) and my wonderful husband (he really is WONDERFUL) bought me a gorgeous David Yurman Ring and one of those singing cards from Hallmark. This is the card in the ecard form. http://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ecard%7C10001%7C10051%7C690862%7C147551;-102001;11443;-102034;179558%7Cecard%7CP1R3S%7Cecards?cardType=premium&template=n&categoryId=179558

The front of the card says "I'm just gonna give it to you straight on your birthday" and when

you open the card it says, "mmm mmmm you are looking fine, in one word YUM, Happy Birthday you good looking hunk of person you, I just wanna eat you up"...so Aidan is there when I open the card and my present and the second he hears "YUM" he points to me and says "Mama YUUUUMMMMM" and every five minutes ever since, he has repeated it. It is quite funny!!! He even has got the tone in the voice down. You have to listen to the card on the link above and it might be more amusing for you. I hope! Maybe next week I'll have a better story, but I didn't want to miss out! Thanks for stopping by!

We're Baaaaaaaack!

Well we are back from Folly Beach. I always seem to get depressed on the 3 hour trip home. Since my parents bought the house down there, we have really grown to love it there and after this trip we are pretty sure we will make this our family vacation spot. The little town of Folly Beach is very laid back and the marsh and beach are beautiful. We spent so little time down there last year (because we were all preparing for my youngest brother's departure to college) my dad decided to rent the cottage for the year until we could all squeeze vacation time back in to our schedules. So, this time around, we rented a condo right across the street from the house. It was a little different going down there and not being in our own space, but the condo was VERY nice. We were right on the salt water river and Aidan got to see all the boats drive past every morning. You would never have known Aidan hasn't been to the beach more than a couple times in his life (none of which he would remember) because the second we put his little feet in the sand he was off! He played in the sand and ocean for hours on end. Luckily, he was able to just nap on the beach. My mom joined us and was sweet enough to keep Aidan at night so Adam and I could have some date nights. Our first night out, I was so exhausted I fell asleep in the car before we could get anywhere! Typical. The second "date" night we had a great dinner out and then met some friends of ours that were in town as well for drinks on the beach and some late night fishing. We actually caught a shark! It was nice to just spend time together and have some adult conversation. We really can't help how much we always talk about Aidan. He is our life. We are lucky enough to have friends that even though they don't have children yet, take a great interest in our lives with him. So we don't have to do to much pretending he doesn't exist when we are with our friends. We got home late and we were up today and it was time to go. I think Adam was more upset than I. After all, he is the one that has to go back to work tomorrow. I hate to even think that we don't get to spend time together again until next Sunday. My birthday is on Tuesday and I can't believe I won't be spending it with my hubby. I really try hard to do it up for every one's birthday around here. I mean it is the only day out of the year that is all about YOU. Some of my wonderful girlfriends and I are going to dinner. It will be a great time. (Back to the subject at hand)...so it's bittersweet that we are home. I love the beach and love being with my hubby 24/7 but I also really missed my bed!!! My dad just couldn't stand being away from Hap (short for Happy, which is the nickname my dad gave him) so he and my mom stopped by to kid nap Aidan for a couple hours while we enjoyed our dinner tonight. He's lucky enough to have such great grandparents. Thanks to my fabulous, hardworking, handsome hubby who made our trip possible. I loved sitting in beach chairs where the waves broke, I loved sleeping in late and waking up with you still there, I loved holding hands, I loved watching Aidan play and daydreaming about our future with you, I loved laughing with you over good food, I loved just being with you for an extended amount of time and I love you more for getting to spend the time with you. Can't wait for next years beach trip!
I hope everyone had a marvelous weekend, I have been trying to look at as many of the Wedding Party links as possible on Kelly's blog. Someone could get some really good ideas from there. I have to finish this up because Aidan is at the door crying because our Uncle Bentley (our cat) won't come inside to play. Thanks for reading!
P.S. A few pics!!!

Aidan eating a "POP"
Snoozing in his stroller on the beach

Sitting in his beach chair
Daddy and Aidan sitting in the ocean

Best buds hanging out

Scooping sand in to his wagon

Very hard at work here

His dune buggy

Too focused to smile at the camera

Walking up from the ocean

Cutest bum on planet earth

The boys headed in for a swim

Show Us Your Life Fridays

This is a few days late...we just got home from the beach and I opted to leave the laptop at home*

It's that time of the week again when Kelly's Korner hosts "Show Us Your Life Fridays". Last week was wedding dresses and this week is wedding party and flowers. We had a small wedding party of just 3 bridesmaids and 3 groomsmen. They were a wonderful wedding party! I spent a lot of time ( too much ) on our flowers. The arrangements were a culmination of my ideas and Pam's from Flowers From the Cellar on South Blvd. here in Charlotte. I hope you enjoy and I can't wait to see every ones wedding parties and flowers! ( Excuse all the pictures...I got a little crazy)

The girls and I in the limo on the way to the ceremony

Mariann is the first in the picture, she and I have been best friends for years. We met through our ex boyfriends. We lost them and kept the friendship! I think we both got the better end of the deal. Haha! Mariann lives in Boston with her boyfriend Mike and we love them both dearly. Candace is next. She is my best friend and was my maid of honor. We have been best friends since Sophomore year of high school. We have been through more together than I can remember. She is engaged to be married in just 6 weeks!!! Amanda is next, she and I also met through ex boyfriends and have been best friends for years now. Life just wouldn't be the same without my Amanda. She's the friend I HAVE to talk to everyday. They were PERFECT bridesmaids!

One of my best friends Natalie, she was not in the wedding because she got married two weeks before me. She was an "honorary" bridesmaid! Natalie and I also met through the same ex boyfriends. So, moral of the story the exes were dud's but we made great friendships out of them! Haha! Natalie is now married to a wonderful man Pete and they are great friends to us!

A shot of us in the church. It was a little hard to stay focused because guests were arriving outside and we wanted to check everyone out.


This is after the ceremony, before the reception. I was actually more nervous about the reception for some reason so on our way there, we stopped off for a drink at our favorite local bar Tyber Creek. A little wedding party secret. The photographer was upset that we did not inform them so they could capture that. Classy huh?

The Wedding Party joined us during half way through our first dance Sade "By Your Side" .

As you can see, Amanda and my brother Bobby are cracking up. Never a dull moment with our friends.

My parents. My dad says he looks old in this picture but I love it anyways. Thanks Mom and Dad for the best wedding EVER!

The boys. Michael, was our best man. He is 4 yrs younger than Adam and Adam can remember when he was born. He has great stories to tell about when Michael used to ride his bike in diapers and cow boy boots. He is a wonderful friend of ours. George and Adam met in elementary school. They have also been friends ever since. George and his wife Angela are expecting their first baby in just a few weeks and we could not be more excited for them. I think George and Adam are blown away by the fact that they have known eachother long enough to see eachother get married and have children. Bobby is my brother. He is the middle child in our family. He has actually been hanging out with these guys for about ten years and they had a friendship long before I even knew Adam exsited. They are even closer now that they are family. Then of course my cutie hubs. My pew markers. Arrangements in brown shimmery paper cones. For some reason I like that you can see Adam and I at the alter in the background.


Alter arrangement.
What happened here, I am not quite sure. I don't even remember seeing this but to me it looks like my florist took all of the leftover flowers and threw them in a vase. Up close, my mom says it was gorgeous. Uhh?? The vase has a story though...my dad sent my mom flowers in it on their 30th wedding anniversary. It a beautiful crystal vase and I thought it was perfect for the alter.

Candace and Aidan. This is headed in to the church I believe. We hadn't really even planned on Aidan participating in the wedding until about 2 weeks before.

George & Mariann being announced. You can kind of see the floating candles on the ledge behind them.

My brother Bobby & Amanda being announced

Candace and Aidan walking down the aisle. I love to look at people's faces in this picture! Adam said he was so nervous until he saw Aidan coming down the aisle. I think he set the mood for the whole day.

The boys outside of the reception. Why Adam and Mike are doing a thumbs up, I don't know.

We had 100 of these cylinders with Hydrangeas and floating candles on a ledge that was on one entire side of the room! I LOVED them!

Half of the tables had this arrangement on it and the other half had a taller arrangement. I made the table number cards myself. I free handed the numbers and bought scrapbook stickers with different love quotes and put them at the bottom of the card.


Our head table arrangement. It was amazing! Since we were married in the fall I wanted to use a lot of warm fall colors. We used coffee beans and fruit in a lot of the arrangements.


Our bouquets.


My favorite shot of the wedding party.
My bouquet

My Bouquet again

*All photos courtesy of Indigo Photography Charlotte*