One, Two, Three, Four...First Down!

When Natalie and I went back home to Indy for the week, my sweet brother got us tickets to the Purdue game.  He works in the equipment department for the basketball team, but scored us some awesome tickets to the football game and showed us all around the facilities.  It was so cool to get a behind the scenes look.  

As an aside, did you know he has to scan his hand before the door will open to the locker room?  I mean, I pretty much bleed black and gold but seriously Purdue?  This isn't a bank vault.  It's a Big Ten locker room.  Pretty sure that money could be better spent elsewhere.  

Anyway...I was whipping out my camera everywhere and making Matt take pictures of me nonstop.  Matt and my parents were quite annoyed but I couldn't help it!  I mean, I was in the locker room!  And sitting where Matt Painter sits!  Hello, people.  This is a big deal!

 Me and my bro in the football locker room before the game

 This is where the head basketball coach watches film.  Pretty cool huh?  I wonder if Gene sat here or if this is a new purchase since he retired?  Let's just pretend this is the exact same chair Coach Keady sat in, okay?  Living the dream...

 Hummel's locker.  What a mess...

And yes, I am carrying around my breast pump with me.  Life of a nursing mom...

 

 Basketball players' film room.  Those chairs were so comfortable!  I could've stayed right there and taken a nap...

 This is a view from where I was sitting at the film screen, which is really just the entire wall.  Matt was beyond thrilled to be there let alone get his picture taken.  What can I say, I married a Hoosier.

Needless to say I had a blast.  We won...I got to walk around campus and reminisce about dorm rooms, old friends, frat parties, and all night bar hopping...and I got to have my favorite calzone from Love Shack as well as a Den Pop.  Pretty much a fantastic day. 

AND, I left Natalie with my in laws for the whole day and she didn't die.  Can you believe it?  She survived being taken care of by people that love her as much as I do?  I know, right.  And I only called twice.  Pretty impressive, huh?

Playing a Little Catch Up!

Since I've been MIA for some time, I bet y'all are just dying to see some pictures of my sweetie, yes?

I thought so.

Here's a little bit of what we've been up to, brought to you in the form of:  pictures from my phone!  Ta da!

Taking long naps in the car on road trips...

Rooting for our favorite college football team...

Hanging out with Daddy on the weekends...

I love this look she's giving him!

Working on using our sippy cup...

Girl can totally do it herself, but she doesn't understand to lean her head back to get to the water.  And when I try to help her, she just lets go.  Lazy bones.

Growing a serious mop...

 

And generally being the happiest baby on the planet...

We sure hit the jackpot with her.  She's all smiles, even when she's dealing with a case of the sickies, of which we are currently in the midst.  How did she catch this, you ask?  Hm.  I have an idea.  We went to dinner with friends Saturday evening and they brought along their two sick kids.  Nice, right?  Runny noses and coughing at the dinner table.  And now my little one is congested.  

How rude.

Weekend in Pictures

Monday is here...my parents have left...and I had the most amazing weekend I have had in such a long time! I hated to see it end.

Unfortunately, I have not loaded my pictures yet...but here is a little taste of how we spent our weekend...

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Until tomorrow....

Weekend Roudup!

Good morning my friends!

I must admit...I am pooped.

My weekend was jam packed with cleaning. And not just the...oh I'm gonna vacuum and pick up the area cleaning. Oh no. More like I'm gonna scrub all of the cabinets, wash every floor in the house, dust all wooden services, and clean the windows outside kind of clean. Yeah.

Saturday I woke up early-ish and went to the gym. I reappeared at Zumba for the first time in months and it was hard! Fun...but hard! After that, I set out to clean. I got one room done and then passed out :) I know. Sad. But I woke up to watch the final minutes of the Purdue/Michigan game...which I had previously turned off because it was making me throw up. But in stunning fashion, my Boilermakers stepped it up and actually won a game :) Boiler up!

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After my nap, I hit the ground running with some serious cleaning. And I caught Dirty Dancing on TV which actually brought a few tears to my eyes seeing little ole Patrick in his prime. But can I just tell you one thing? Okay, I have been watching Dirty Dancing for a bazillion years. Yes. A bazillion. It is my favorite movie of all time...by far. But when I was watching it on ABC Family...there were parts in there that I had never. seen. before. I am more than upset about this. I think traumatized would be a better word. So is ABC Family showing some director's cut that I do not have? Why does my VHS and DVD not have these scenes?? And it wasn't just one scene. I would say at least 5 scenes in the movie I had never even seen before. My heart hurts at this development because I can no longer legitimately say I know every word to this movie. (insert sad face here)

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Anyways...I spent the remainder of my Saturday night sorting and organizing papers, shredding, and paying bills. Exciting...I know.

As a hilarious side note, I turned off Saturday night football when Matt fell asleep on the couch to the only other watchable program...The Prince & Me II: The Royal Wedding....of course. Matt woke up soon after and we headed to bed. Yes, we have a TV in our room, and yes, we love it. Sue us. So we had the movie on in the bedroom and my dear, sweet, lovable husband watched the entire rest of the movie. I, however, fell asleep in 5.2 seconds. And you want to know the cutest thing? He told me all about the movie in the morning. Ha! Sometimes my heart literally bursts with love for him.

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Sunday was spent doing more cleaning and attempting to assist Matt in crafting our own box spring (minus the springs) for our new mattress. And we'll just leave it at that because it did not go well.

So today I would love to spend lounging....but I am at work. And I have another freaking Junior League event tonight. And I have to squeeze a trip to the gym in there somewhere as well. Ah, my glamorous life. Good thing I wouldn't have it any other way :) I guess God really does give you all you need :)

And speaking of God...I finished the Old Testament today! I cannot wait to start reading about Jesus! Eek! I can't believe I made it through!

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! What did you do????

Wedding + Cake=Good Time!

The weekend is over. And I'm actually kind of excited! I know. What the heck am I talking about, right? Well, the stress of the wedding is behind me and a cake that I have had hanging over my head for 9 months is finished!

Matt and I headed out Saturday morning for Michigan City at 7 a.m. We loaded up the Taurus with all of the cake (thank goodness it all fit!) and we were off! We made it to the reception hall in one piece and began assembling the cake. Two hours later, with several mini cake disasters averted, I give you my 2nd wedding cake ever!



Here's a view of the whole cake table they decorated:


They also requested a Groom's cake in the shape of Chewbacca. Apparently I was dealing with a seriously Star Wars obsessed groom. Please don't make me mention the bridal party introductions involving light sabers. No, I think I will just forget those....


This cake was my favorite part by far. I think it turned out awesome and the chocolate buttercream was to die for.


After we set up the cake, Matt and I headed out to get some lunch. We stopped by a pub to watch some of the Purdue/Ohio State game...and I can't believe I can actually say this...but we beat those stinkin' Buckeyes!! You have no idea how great today is at work. As a minority Ohio State hater in Cleveland...this day is one in a million.

GO BOILERS!!!

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The ceremony was held at 2 p.m. so we scooted over to the church to see little Dara get married. It was a very emotional ceremony for her. Dara's dad died when we were in college so her uncle walked her down the aisle.



But everything went smoothly and here is the happy couple after becoming a Mr. and Mrs.!



Even Matt got into it! Rare shot my friends...



We had a few hours to kill before the reception began (?..not cool) so we hit up the outlet malls and then headed over to the reception. I got to see some old friends from college and it was just wonderful catching up with them. It made me miss Purdue and my group of friends so much. College is such a unique experience and I am forever thankful for my time there. Some of my favorite memories I will ever have are there and with those people and it was just fabulous to see them again.


Matt and I ended up making the drive home that evening since we wanted to get a few things done on Sunday. We pulled in the driveway at 1 a.m. Crazy long day...but it was really fun. We spent Sunday grocery shopping, napping, and relaxing. I do wish we had one more day to decompress after our busy weekend...but I have so many things going on next month to look forward to...I simply cannot wait for them to get here!


Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Happy Birthday Mama!

Today is my mama's 53 birthday! (Confession: I didn't know the exact age until I spoke with her this morning and she said that my dad gave her $53 worth of lottery tickets...and I put two and two together!) She lives in Indianapolis so I won't be seeing her on her special day, but I sent her a card and her gift which she has received. I got her a new set of pots and pans...apparently she has recently broken some of her lids...so it was time!

I feel bad for her though because my dad left today for Bristol. He goes every year with two of his guy friends from work to the Nascar race. This year, it happened to fall on her birthday weekend though, so she will be all alone :( She didn't sound too upset about it though. She's pretty good about keeping herself occupied when Papa is away.

Here she is with my gorgeous sister on her wedding day back in January:


I think I've mentioned this before, but my poor mama has Bells Palsy. For a long time, the whole left side of her face was motionless. She couldn't even blink her eye let alone smile. She even had to wear an eye patch! She wasn't able to wear her contacts because her eyes would dry out from the lack of blinking. It was just awful for her.

Bells Palsy comes and goes for reasons unknown to the medical profession, but I am CONVINCED her dentist did this to her. She was there the day before getting work done, and then this happened! Of course, he says it wasn't possible....and I say he's a liar.

Anyway, the longevity of the condition varies from person to person and a lot of people regain their motion. This has not happened for my mom. She has had this for years. She is much better than she used to be, but you can really notice it when she smiles. Poor Mama...I do keep hoping that one day she will wake up and be able to smile her true smile for us again.

So say a happy birthday to my mom!!


I also want to give a shout out to my Boilermakers. They pulled it off yesterday against Northern Iowa and are onto the second round. They made it a lot more exciting than it had to be though! I looked like a complete fool on the treadmill watching them yesterday. I talk to the TV and I get so into it! If someone was just standing their watching me...they would've had a good show. Close games make me so nervous!

Happy weekend!!! Baking is in my plans as well as decorating the pink polka dot cake tomorrow! Stay tuned!

Boiler Up!

March Madness anyone??

My Boilermakers are playing Northern Iowa today at 2:30 p.m. and I am stoked! They are ranked 5th and are Big Ten Champions! AND they beat Ohio State to get there...which I love! I have a weird obsession with my faves beating Ohio teams. It's fun for me and I love being in the minority...victory is so much sweeter!

I usually enter a pool at work with my bracket. The first year I won...yep...won...and the 2nd year I came in 3rd which got me my money back. This year I have eliminated my work pool (I'm trying to be financially fickle!) and have only entered my papa's work pool. Why you ask?? I can win a ton more money!

Anyways...just wanted to give a little shout out to Purdue! Boiler Up!

Who are you cheering for?? Do you even care??

As a side note: I feeling a little boyish with my Dumb and Dumber post and now this one...so I promise that my next one will be super girly!! :)