One Year

Can you believe we've been in the house for one year? I'm amazed and blessed everyday.
That also means that we've been engaged for one whole year! We're just 14 months or so away from the wedding now. Wedding planning is terrible and wonderful at the same time. We still need to find a caterer who will in turn help us to rent tents, tables, chairs, linens, etc. I've got my dress and the bridesmaids, JJ, Missa, Cole, Shannon, & Corey, have picked out their dresses - just need to get those ordered. I haven't even touched what the guys, Rey, Stu, Eric, Joshy, & Tony, are wearing, but I'm sure that won't be too difficult. I've got my fabulous photographer - Hexfire Photography - whom I love. I've picked out a great DJ, Scott Sica... and now I'm at a standstill. The caterer has me stuck. Then I have to figure out all the details. So exciting and frustrating at the same time. We'll get there though!:)

In the meantime, Finnegan is doing well. He ate a $10 bill & a nail file when he played Houdini & escaped the other day.
And he loves my old stuffed dog - Fuzzbucket.

Reflecting & 26 on the 26th

It feels as though summer just started. I started back to work yesterday and I just don't feel prepared. The kids come back next week before Labor Day (for the first time ever in Peabody). There is no difference between last summer, when we returned to school on Monday, August 25th, and this summer, when we returned to school on Tuesday, August 25th, but it sure feels different. I don't know if it was the incessant rain and cold weather for the beginning of the summer or the fact that I spent so many of the truly nice days either waitressing or working on the house, but I don't feel like I'm ready to go back to work. I don't really have a choice and I'm going to do it regardless, but for the same token, I don't feel ready.
That being said, today I am 26. According to a friend, it is apparently a big deal when your age matches your day of birth. I guess being 26 on the 26th is a big deal; I didn't know. Regardless, turning 26 is no different to me than 25 or 24 except for that nagging voice in the back of my head reminding me of the life plan I so nicely set for myself. I always thought that everyone made these detailed life plans but as it turns out, they don't. I've spoken to quite a few friends who say they never planned ahead like I did. Who knew?
I think I had just begun high school and was dating my first serious boyfriend when I formulated my first plan. I was sure that said boyfriend was *The One* and so I planned my future according to our lives together. We would graduate from high school, I would go off to college, I would graduate from college and he would propose (probably within minutes from one another), we would buy a house together. I would be married by 23. My career as a second grade teacher would begin. By 26 or so, I would have my first child. By 28, my second. By 30, my kids would be potty-trained and I would be well on my way to living the comfortable, fabulous life I had planned. When said boyfriend broke my heart my sophomore year, I knew I had to change my plans.
I met Serious Boyfriend #2, found that he was actually *The One* and re-formulated my life plan. Not much changed. I decided that we'd probably get engaged while I was still in college (at Salem State), and that we'd be married quicker with kids quicker... maybe even three of them.. as long as I was done by 30 and ready to live my wonderful life. Somewhere along the lines, I realized that *The One* was not even close to what I wanted for the rest of my life. In fact, he was insane and psychotic and he had the makings of the antagonist of a fabulous Lifetime movie.
Senior year, I met *The [Third] One* and I knew that it was time. We planned our future (and he agreed to my crazy plan). His family loved me and accepted me as their own. We were set. My life plans changed and I left for school at Franklin Pierce College. I knew it would work out though. Everything was going according to my new and improved and possibly revised plan. Until *The[Third] One* was having a little too much fun without me.
Well, after that, I had to sort of put a hold on my life plans.... except that I always assumed they'd still work out. I actually thought that maybe things would work out with one of my past boyfriends so that, in the end, we would have the "high school sweethearts" story to tell our children (who, of course, would both be born before I was 30). As the commencement ceremony neared, I knew I was screwed. My life plans were not going to work out... or at least I wouldn't be marrying my high school or college sweethearts (Pfft... sweethearts! Haha). It was then that I decided to uproot my life and join Teach for America. Well, as it turns out, I had no leadership abilities whatsoever (or at least it didn't seem like I did in my application). My second idea was to join AmeriCorps. I applied all over New England and to South Carolina. Obviously South Carolina was meant to be because I got three job offers down there and none in New England. Off to South Carolina I went... sure that I would meet the man of my dreams, a true southern gentleman, probably in the military and wearing some sort of camouflage. We would fall deeply in love, get married, and again, I would be well on my way to children before thirty.
Had it not been for South Carolina, who knows if I ever would have met and fell in love with Matt. Lucky for me, I did choose to go to South Carolina and I did meet Matt and I did fall in love and I am now well on my way. I am 26 today, with a beautiful ring, a wonderfully loving fiance, and a house I love, but I still feel as though I'm behind the eight-ball. Maybe if I had never planned with such detail, I wouldn't feel that way. As make wedding plans for July 2011, I can't help but think that my kids will not be potty-trained by the time I'm 30... that they may not even be born yet... and I'm working to accept that. Luckily, the anxiety I normally feel when my plans don't work out hasn't set in yet (probably because I'm still hoping for twins 9 months after the honeymoon who are amazingly interested at potty-training at a young age!

Our New Toys

All my life, I've wanted a pool. I'm not much of a swimmer, but there is nothing I like more in the summer time than relaxing in a pool with a good book. I convinced Matt I deserved one. We wanted to get one of the cheaper ones, like the Intex Easy Set pools, because in two summers, when we get married in the backyard, I want to be able to take it down and have space for the wedding to be back there. We ended up getting this great metal frame 15'x42" above ground at WalMart. Matt put it up for me on Friday night and I love it. I've been in it everyday since at least once if not a few times. I can't wait for one day this week when I don't have to be somewhere so that I can relax and float around in the pool with a good book. It's fabulous!At our housewarming & engagement party, quite a few of our friends pitched in and gave us money to get our new patio set. We went out looking on Saturday morning and found a set at Namco marked down ridiculously. We really liked it, and at the price it was marked down to, we couldn't say no. Thank you to Jen for putting together the collection and to Rita, Jeanne O, Barb Ash, Emily S, Stephanie C, Sue Leck, Auntie Donna, Uncle Duane, Kerri, Bobbi, Sherman, Mary W, Amanda, Ashley, Betty, Spikey Jon, Sue H., Marissa, Josh, Joshy, Nancy, Susan T., Kathy M, Laura W., Steve the Butcher, Mariel, Rachel, & Langley for our new set, which we absolutely love!:) You guys are the greatest!To top off our backyard toys (for the time being)... we had registered for this conversation set from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. My mom's neighbors, Fred, Jean, & Samantha, were wonderful enough to buy it for us the day before the party so that we could use it for the party. I love it. It's comfortable & you can attach the seats to make loveseats, sofas, or whatever.
I thought it was really neat, and perfect for under our sunroom. It's comfortable, easily moved, and pretty. Well, Matt and I also got two really great gift cards to Bed, Bath, and Beyond from Steve & from Kathy & Tim, so we went back to BB&B and bought a second set. Now we can latch them together to make loveseats and sofas and we can all relax in the shade under the sunroom. I love the set!
Thank you to everyone who has helped us out and been so generous with us. We really are blessed to have family and friends like all of you!

Housewarming & Engagement Party

Our housewarming & engagement party was on the 18th. We lucked out with a nice day... a little stickier than I would have liked, but it was still nice and there was no rain - for this summer, no rain was all I was asking for! I think the party went really well. It was really important to me that all of our family and friends be there. I think a few peoples' invitations slipped through the cracks. Some people I think never checked their email invitations. Others I didn't have their addresses. But all in all, the people who we really wanted there, were there (minus a few who were missed). With over 130 people there on Saturday, I felt like I was going crazy trying to see everyone, give tours, be a hostess, and try to enjoy myself as well. By the time I was ready to sit down and relax with a drink, it seemed all of my friends were gone for the night! My cousin Michele and her two boys made the trip from New York out here, as did my friend Spikey Jon. I also had my friend Kelly come up from Connecticut which was really awesome to me. It was really important to me that we have all of our friends and family there with us to celebrate the beginning of our life together in our new home. It wasn't just a housewarming party or just an engagement party to me but a day to have all of our closest friends there to be with us. We had a really wonderful time and it seemed like most other people did as well. We can't thank everyone enough for being there for us, helping out with all of the hard work, and celebrating with us. I know it was especially hard for a few people to put their differences aside and be in the presence of other people where it might not have been very comfortable -- and that means the world to me! I hope everyone had as good of a time as we did. We love you all.

The beautiful and huge cake my parents got us

The 129 Jello shots I made to start us off right..
Our basement - finally (just about) finished!
The bar area of the basement!
Our moonbounce to entertain the kids! (Thanks, Chad!)
Some family & friends..
My friend Spikey Jon from NY was kind enough to remove our swing set for us. (Yes, we really wanted it removed.)
Some of the best friends a girl could ask for.

Registration

My friends with husbands and children have told me how great it is to register. They tell me about how wonderful it is to walk around the store with a little scanner and just scan to your hearts content! As much as I didn't know I was supposed to and didn't really want to register and seem like I'm looking for gifts, I did. To be honest, it's simply because I don't want more bottles of wine and picture frames and pointless knick-knack stuff that I now have to remember to dust. Matt and I have lived together before, and I was only my own for quite a few years, so we have most of the stuff that we need. Apparently, registering is for the stuff that you want but would probably never splurge on or that you need and haven't gotten around to yet. I figured, hey, what the heck. What's the worst that could happen? So what if I get nothing on my list. It's just a wish list!
Well, I decided to register in two places... not because I want a million things, but because I want so few things, that I need to try to broaden my list. I chose Target - because they have just about everything... and Bed, Bath, and Beyond - because they have everything else. I contemplated WalMart, because it's practically my favorite store in the world... but I couldn't imagine walking through there with a scanner. I talked to Matt about it and we made a sort of wish list quickly and I went to the store alone. I started at Target. I entered some stuff on a computer and the lady in red hands me a scanner and says go to it! I spent about an hour in Target today and I scanned ten things. Ten. That is all. I printed out my list and figured I might add a few things when I got home.
I headed over to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, confident in my new ability to carry around a scanner and find items that I would like. Sadly, Bed, Bath, and Beyond is nothing like Target. First I had to meet with a woman named Jen who asked all about my reason for registering and when we'll be married and when we moved into our home... and then I get Matt. Matt is about 19 years old and he becomes my personal consultant. I didn't know I needed a consultant. I'll be honest - I got most of my stuff at Target, but I knew about three or four things that I really liked at BB&B, so I figured I could register there as well. Well, my consultant Matt walks around with me and scans things for me. I have never felt so ridiculous in my life! He wants me to scan everything -- and I? I want to scan nothing. It isn't that I can't find things I like -- it's that I don't want a bunch of crap in my house. I want what I need and then I want breathing space. After telling Matt about how many people are invited to my housewarming and when it is and what kinds of things I need, I end up re-registering for just about everything I've registered for at Target just to give Matt something to do. In the end, I have 13 items (a small step up from 10) and Matt says I need to step it up. Apparently when you invite between 75 and 100 people to a party, you need to have a larger list than 13. I didn't tell him I registered at Target as well, but I did promise him I would go home and add to my registry with the help of my fiance.
As soon as I got home, I immediately went on BB&B.com and deleted all of the things I already picked out at Target. I spent some time going through my drawers and picked out a few things that I needed for the kitchen and talked to Matt about a few more things that I added online. I'll be honest though -- I dread the day I have to register for my wedding at BB&B with my own personal consultant to walk me through the aisles. So awkward!

To Register or Not to Register? That is the Question..

As most of you know, Matt and I have booked our housewarming/engagement party for July 18th. Matt isn't big on hosting parties, but I really enjoy it so I think he's letting me go with this one. He probably figures how many housewarming or engagement parties can one couple really have? Haha. Just the other day, I was asked where we were registered. Registered? Was I supposed to register? It never occurred to me that I should do such a thing. For one thing, I don't expect people to bring us gifts of any kind. That's not why we're having a get-together. We figure it's a great way for everyone to see the new house, to join us in celebrating the house, and to enjoy the summer. I never even considered the gift aspect. Secondly, what the heck do I register for? Realistically, Matt and I don't need much. Maybe some steak knives... a new welcome mat... a tea kettle.. but I just assumed I'd get that stuff all in good time. I came home and did a Google search. Man, thank God for Google. It has helped me out of quite a few sticky etiquette situations recently. I never know what to do. I looked it up and apparently I am supposed to register for a housewarming or an engagement, but not tell anyone unless they ask. I sort of feel really rude at the idea, but in the past few days - 3 more people have asked me where we're registered. I guess I should throw something together quickly, like a wish list on a couple of websites and try to accommodate those that keep asking? Is that the right thing to do? I don't want to insult anyone.. but God knows we don't need any more picture frames or bottles of wine. I'm packing up picture frames to be put in the attic until who knows when... and neither Matt nor I drink wine. It's too bad we couldn't just post our credit card sites and ask people to pay them off! Haha! Regardless, maybe I'll take a quick trip to Target or Bed, Bath, and Beyond tomorrow and scan some stuff with a gun. I guess it can't be all that bad.

Closing Day & The Proposal!

Well, the big day has finally arrived. Matt and I were scheduled for a 9am closing in Salem. I believe we were a full hour early, even after going to breakfast at Red's. It went very smoothly and there was not nearly as many papers to sign as I had imagined. Our closing attorney was a sweetheart and we were done by 9:30. We had packed up our cars on Sunday, so we stopped by my Mother's to grab my truck and then we headed to the new house. It was the most exhilarating feeling to unlock the new house and walk in and have it all be ours. So fantastic!

So we came into the house and went into the kitchen. We were looking at the papers that they former homeowners had left for us and Matt said, are you happy now? I was like, eh, I guess so. So he said, "Well then, I guess it's a good thing I brought this" and out pops a beautiful diamond ring and down on one knee he goes. Of course, I said yes and the ring fit and it was so perfect (just like Emily said). Matt did a great job with my great-grandmother's diamond (the center); it's a beautiful setting and I love it. I also love the design along the sides. My Aunt Denise took some great pictures of it so hopefully she'll send them to me and I can post some up here. Just remember, it's much more beautiful in person!