Presenting...The Flamenco Dancing Princess!!!

Two summers ago, Nana and Grampy went to Spain and came back with the most adorable little flamenco dancer dress ever.  Unfortunately, it was far too large for The Princess then.

Now, however...

Perfection.

My little angel, glowing in the sun.

The Princess and her beloved Da, with her first-ever Jack-O-Lantern.

Me and my baby.  Oh, and Jack, of course.

The whole famn damily!

Leaves are fun.

Go figure.  A gigantic texture bin.  :)

This fun little photo shoot was followed by trick-or-treating, and we actually made it all the way around the block this year!  After that, we headed next door to Ms. A's house for the annual party and ate like piggies.

Now, at 8:00, The Princess is attempting to melt into her mattress.  It was a big day, don'tchaknow.

Happy Halloween, y'all!

Happy Halloween

...from The Princess's very first Jack-O-Lantern!

Her class took a field trip last Friday to the pumpkin patch, and she came home with the most adorable little pumpkin we'd ever seen.  Tonight, The Hubbs turned him into what I believe is the cutest Jack-O-Lantern in the history of Jack-O-Lanterns.

Not that I'm biased or anything.

Bliss Revisited

Do you remember when I wrote about bliss?  Pure, untainted bliss?  No???  It's just a few posts ago...go check it out.

I just wanted to take a sec to tell y'all that The Princess has taken to meeting me at the door every time I come home.  School or work, gas station or grocery store, wherever I may be returning from, she's there.  Like clockwork. 

No matter how badly the dogs want to wiggle their way into that prime position, she beats them.  All two hundred pounds of their combined weight.  Every time.  Without fail.

No matter what mood I may have been in before pulling in that garage, I can't help but grin from ear to ear.

No matter what I may be attempting to carry from the car, it simply doesn't matter.

Because I know the moment I open that screen door, that little girl is going to careen into my arms, squealing with bliss.  Pure bliss.

Crazy as it may be sometimes, I love my life.

5:2

Five years ago, at this very time, I stood in the narthex of my church - the church I grew up in - with my daddy.  He looked at me, winked, and asked if I was ready.

We took the first step.

Pop had to rein me in...I'd have run full-tilt down that aisle if he wasn't there to hold me back.  The Hubbs was a mere fifty feet away, smiling and tearing up in his tux, surrounded by our best friends.

Once I got my bearings and realized I couldn't exactly run down there and jump right into his arms, I took a breath.  I looked around me, and I couldn't believe how many people had come.  I was completely surrounded on both sides by family and friends, and I couldn't have been happier.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Pop and I came to a stop next to The Hubbs.  Pop kissed me and shook The Hubbs' hand before handing me over to the man who would very soon become my husband.

Pastor S. - the same pastor who baptized me in this very church - smiled and motioned for The Hubbs and me to step forward.  I handed my bouquet to T, and the rest of the day is a blur.

Vows.

Rings.

Kiss.

Smile for the camera.

Perfect.

Detour to the "Blur" for a round of drinks in our full wedding getup...in the limo, of course!

Outside for some pictures in the unseasonably warm weather.

Party.

T and me watching The Hubbs dance with his momma.

Yep, we roll high class 'round here.

Do a little dance...make a little love...get down tonight!

You can take the girl out of the dive bar...

The newlyweds!

It was a wonderful day, and I've had a great time going through the pictures.  It's funny...people told me to enjoy every minute, and that I wouldn't remember half of it.  I don't think I ate more than about three bites of my salad, but I sure made the most of the party.  It really was a whirlwind day, and there isn't a moment I'd trade for all the tea in England (sorry, China...I'm an Earl Grey gal)...even that moment of panic when we realized the DJs (our friends, who provided the entertainment as a wedding gift) had left the case with all of our wedding music at home.  Thank goodness for Hambone, Blue, and some very quick thinking!

From the reception hall, we headed back to our little yellow house with our posse.  The Hubbs helped me out of my big, heavy wedding dress, and I got myself into some jeans and a sweatshirt.  That jeweled tiara was not coming out of my hair without making a big ol' mess, though...so we all headed down to our neighborhood dive bar to play some pool...tiara and all.  It was quite the conversation piece, let me tell ya!

Today won't be as crazy as that day five years ago, but I'm just as crazy about The Hubbs now as I was then.  After work tonight, we'll be dropping The Princess off at The Grumps' house and heading out for dinner at the restaurant where we held that epic party five years ago.

Happy anniversary, Swa.  I love you with every little piece of my heart.  You are the world's best hubby and daddy, and I thank God every day that we found each other.  Watching you with our daughter makes my heart swell, and I still get those butterflies in my tummy when I see you...you know, the ones that made me hide in the bathroom the day we met?  Yep.  It was lub at first sight, and I wouldn't trade one single solitary moment of it.

5:1

At this time, on this day, five years ago, I was on the patio of the restaurant where The Hubbs and I met.  I was surrounded by family, old and new, and our wedding rehearsal dinner was winding down. 

My grandmother - Dorothy from Kansas - stood in the light from the tiki torches with tears in her eyes.  She looked up at me and grinned.

My maid of honor nudged me and winked as she commented on the fact that it was my last night as a single girl.  We toasted this fact and cackled.

My future grandmother-in-law made me tear up as she told me how proud she was of her grandson and how excited she was that he had found me.

As my future hubby and I prepared to part for the night, I could hardly believe the day was finally here.  He headed out for a night with friends, goofing off at a local hotel, and I headed home alone to get my beauty sleep.

I sat on the couch with my puppy, going over and over every little detail in my head.  I had a moment of gut-wrenching sorrow when it hit me that my own maternal grandparents would not be there to see me marry the man of my dreams. 

That night, alone in my new house that I never would have been able to buy without her help, I realized that I needed to have my grandmother with me.  I sobbed.

I called my mommy.

She came running.

We sat together, winding Grandma's St. Christopher medal - which was blue, by the way - into my bouquet.  Momma even brought Grandma's blue and white handkerchief for me to hang onto.  We laughed, we cried, and we talked.  We remembered wonderful things about Grandma and Grandpa, some things that we hadn't talked about in years...some things that neither of us thought the other would ever have remembered.

Five years ago tonight, the night before my wedding, my mommy tucked me into my bed and stayed with me until I fell asleep.

That, my dear friends, is a night I will never forget.

Girls' Night Out in the Big Bad City

Yes, I know I've been neglecting my blog.  I can't help it.  School and work leave very little time for luxuries like blogging, especially given the fact that I am often faced with this choice: blog or see my daughter.  Guess who wins?  You got it.  Every time.

Nonetheless, I need a goof-off day every once in a while.  This past weekend I visited my bestie, T, in the Big Bad City, and we had a great time with her little sister.

 Gee, can you tell which Big Bad City is close to me?  It's the bean, people, the BEAN!

 This is the stage in Millennium Park, all lit up for the free country music festival.

 That itsy-bitsy little person waaaaaaaayyy down there on the stage is Jewel. 

While we were on the outskirts of the festival watching Jewel play, Where's Waldo made a cameo in the crowd.  I kid you not, people.  Some dude was weaving his way through the crowd decked out in full Where's Waldo attire.  Too bad it was too dark to get a proper picture!

 Yes, they actually have signs for that.  The city cracks me the hell up sometimes!

 This is the bar we headed to after the festival to see one of our coworkers' bands play.  Kind of a fun little place, complete with hammered 21-year-olds running around, dancing like Elaine from Seinfeld, and singing at us.  Yes.  At us.  With gusto.

Aaaannnd....I feel I must add a small section here to talk about Teen Wolf.  Yep, we saw him, too.  He plays a guitar.  Badly.  He also has this goofy habit of jerking his head around while he's playing that is really kind of uber-distracting.  It would tick me off if his band didn't suck.  Which they did.  In fact, I'd have to say that the only thing they excelled at was sucking.  Oh, and making us giggle with their arm-hair halos and weird movements.  Not a total loss, I guess!

 DL, one of the bigwigs at our company, showing a different side of himself.  The man has an incredible gift, and I really enjoyed getting to see his band play.  I always think it's kind of cool to see people from work in their real-life element, too.  I feel as though it gives me a better idea of who they really are.

 Goofy girls' night shot of our hand stamps.  No reason, really, but I thought it looked kinda cool.  :)

I had a fabulous time (again!!) with T and C, and I'm coming to cherish our girls' nights.  Whether it's camping at the state park and getting reprimanded by the ranger (ahem), sinking into the couch in our jammies to watch guilty pleasure wedding shows on TV (T, you'll be interested to know I watched Bridezillas and Amazing Wedding Cakes at home since you dropped me off -- you've made an addict out of me!), or zoomin' around the city, it's always a good time.  My face still hurts from laughing so hard...and sometimes, well, sometimes I just plain need that.

So Much

There's so much happening, but I feel like I'm barely able to hang on for the ride...looks like time for another break.  One day...someday...I'll get used to my new normal.