ONE WEEK!!!

In one week from today my sister will be getting ready to walk down the aisle and become a Mrs.. - I cannot believe it's almost here!  WAHOO!  Wedding week!!!!!

In the meantime...I watched this video a couple times last night and was literally snorting before bed last night I was laughing so hard.  And then when I stopped laughing...I freaking prayed and prayed that my kids would make it down the aisle next week:

(1) with all their clothes on
(2) with minimal screaming (anticipation in some)
(3) and make it down with at least one smile on their face

But seriously - when kids come to the wedding, as long as you have a sense of humor...I do think they make it a little more fun (and humorous)

So then to feed to my ridiculous laughing in bed last night, this was the next video that popped up (from Relationship Facts as well). And for some reason, while I thought the kid video was hilarious...this one just got me.  I mean SERIOUSLY.  Lyndsay----- nothing like this will happen at your wedding.  So let's just enjoy the hilarity of these people (and their misfortune on their own big day)!!!

So cheers to a wonderful week leading up to #foreveraburden

5 years of marriage

Well our actual anniversary (April 10) has come and passed, and here I am blogging late (per usual).  But no way I can let this momentous occasion pass without a post (even though we are really celebrating together at the end of May).

So here we go.  FIVE YEARS.

It seems like forever ago...

...but also like yesterday from when we said "I do" at St. Joseph Catholic church in front of our family, friends and God.  

Forever ago because so much has changed in our lives since that day.  Two kids, a new car, a new house, a handful of new jobs, new day cares, new church, new friends, old friends and growing families.  But at the same time...when it's just Jimmy and me hanging out alone (after the kiddos are in bed at night) and we are talking and laughing - those times it feels like we are still in college or in the early days of our marriage.

I literally couldn't ask for a better partner in life.  Yes, we have our ups and downs and fights and disagreements.  With two kids - life in general is challenging.  But it worth it.  Because he absolutely gets me.  And I get him.  It is a relationship I have never experienced before and I could not love it more the way our relationship and life together is developing and growing.  

So cheers, Jimmy.  Cheers to the last 5 years and cheers to many many more together.  Through good times and bad - I promise to be by your side.  

While we didn't do much to celebrate on Friday (besides dropping off our kiddos at my parents for a quick and delicious sushi train dinner!), we are on the countdown to our first kid free trip since Charlie was born in Mexico.  We are going back to where our honeymoon was and we are so excited.  Days with nothing to do and no one to take care of and just each other to talk to - throw on top of that unlimited food and drinks - yep, count me in!!!

Some selfies from our sushi date.

And in the mean time, our children found a fun activity at my parents house - Charlie pushed Maddie around in a buggy that we used to play with at my grandparents house in Iowa.  Seriously - they did this for a good 30 minutes straight.  Only a few falls from Maddie with some aggressive turns.  Haha.  These kids.  Love them more than anything.

And for some fun - a few throw back pictures of us that Jimmy recently posted.  Oh my!

Seriously, 4 years of married life?!?

It's crazy to me that 4 years ago today Jimmy and I said "I do".  We told each other before our family, friends and God that we'd become partners, stay best friends, become roommates for life, one day become parents and be there fit each other through the good times and the bad.  I mean...really those "I do" words imply a whole lot!

Um...this picture makes me feel old since now we BOTH have a kid that is older than our niece, Norah, was in this picture!!! AHH!!!

And here we are as Mr and Mrs Carter four years later and I can tell you one thing- I literally cannot imagine my life without him.  I can't and I absolutely do not want to; I love having him as my partner day in and day out.  I mean, any married person knows that it's not all fun and games...but the not-so-fun times (the fighting over stupid stuff, the budget talks, when your grandparent dies or parent gets sick) are a lot better with someone you love and care for right beside you.  

We are actually continuing to work on our marriage and ensure we both are putting the work and effort that it needs to continue to be wonderful.  Everyone with a kid (or multiple) knows that can make life and a marriage a little more stressful.  But also pretty freaking amazing (I mean seriously, looking at your kid thinking hey are 1/2 you an 1/2 your spouse is frightening and amazing all at the same time).  We are not perfect and could both be better partners in some way shape or form.  The great part is that we are both open and willing to figure out where we can improve and just how we can continue to make one another happy.  And that makes me happy!  Very happy!!

We are currently 2 weeks into a 6 week marriage alpha class at church and we are loving it- even the homework part!  It's every Friday night and is so great because we get to take Charlie to the nursery at church (eat some pizza they provide with him before) then go up and eat a candlelit dinner together just the two of us.  I mean seriously-  that's worth it's money in gold right there.  But spending 2 hours with Jimmy one on one each week (ALONE!) is often the highlight of the week.  We have been talking about when we first met, telling funny stories, talking about how to better communicate with each other and learning just how important it is to make sure no matter how hectic life can get (and will be with 2 kids) that its so important to carve out time for each other and our marriage.  It's such a good reminder for us and makes me just love him more that he's willing and committed to doing things like this together!

With that said, I have to highlight really quick some of the top moments from the past year:

- Buying our first car (aka minivan) together 

- Selling our first house that we put so much of ourselves into

- Buying our second house that is our dream!

- Seeing our little baby turn one and into a toddler 

- Finally finishing grad school after so much support from him!

- Subsequently also finding out we were expecting baby #2!!!

- And then soon to follow that I got a new job....

- Then most recently that Jimmy got a new job

Whew.  I'm tired from just writing about the "highlights" of our third year of marriage!! But you know what?! It was a great one.  A year that we will never forget and really thankful we'll never have to relive because to be quite honest- we are both tired!!  Tired and in love- so I guess that's all you can ask for!

I'm excited to kick off year number four of marriage with his crazy guy with him turning the big 3-0 next week and then welcoming our sweet baby girl just a few months later!!  

Happy anniversary, Jimmy!!!  While I might never be this skinny again (thank you non-stop pregnancy), I will let you kiss me like this any day of the week!!

Or this - as long as it's nice outside and all my best friends are in black dresses randomly throwing up flowers being excited for us.  I think we can get them to oblige, no?!

Personalized Gift Idea!

THIS article from USA Today sums up why I think this post is so relevant! Customized gifts seem to be the popular trend this holiday season-- so if you are looking for a good idea to personalize and give to family and friends- keep reading!

In addition to that, I realized last week there was something from my wedding I never shared on my blog. After the wedding, the thank you notes, getting the pictures and wedding DVD back....the next step is the albums/keepsakes for the pictures. We decided not to go through our photographer to get an album since we had all the rights to the images ourselves, so it was off to find my final DIY item for our big day. I researched and researched photo websites trying to find the one I liked best and landed on Picaboo. It is easy to use, gives you some great tips and examples and is a great price- and best yet they always have a discount/deal going on.

So right after our wedding, I let my mother in law and mom pick out their favorite pictures from our wedding and made them into a book for each of them. It was really because I knew they both wanted to go to work and show them all the pictures of their son/daughter's wedding and that just made it easy and quick and it was a good quality book. It was also kind of as a "thank you" to both of them for all the time, effort, and money they put into making our wedding day truly perfect!! I quickly got myself up to speed, loaded in their favorite pictures (very fast) and assembled them into a personal book. The deal that was going on when I ordered my mom's (which is below) was buy on get one free of the same book- so I got a copy too. And since 8 months later (AH- 8 months today, happy 8 month Jimmy!)...I still haven't finished the fancy wedding book, this is the best I have so far.

There was a deal going on in November to get 40% off a Classic book (which is the style I have pictures of below), so I made and ordered one documenting our honeymoon adventures. I love it too! It is just such a fun and personal way to get the photos that live in the digital world on your computer to be something tangible for people visiting your house to pick up off of the coffee table and look through. AND you can keep these books forever and I'm guessing some day our future kids will look through them and think "wow! what happened to our parents that made them turn so un-cool" haha.

Take a look at the 2 books I have made below and be thinking if there is anyone out there you'd like to give a personalized photo book (or calendar) too for the holidays! They have a great special going on right now-- save 30% on all Classic Book or Calendar Orders through 12/30, use code HOLIDAY30 when checking out.

Here is a summary of the 2 books I have....one of some wedding pictures and another of our honeymoon. The front covers:

First page...you can pick any background you want that they have, but as you can see from my honeymoon album, I took full advantage of all my "scenery" shots and made those the background!

Wedding: getting ready; Honeymoon: our arrival

Wedding: Before and the ceremony; Honeymoon: our jungle adventure

Wedding: Group pics/individuals; Honeymooon: our random photo shoot and circus show

Wedding: Portraits; Honeymoon: Mexican food night

Wedding: Trolley and reception; Honeymoon: arrival back to KC

Back of the books!

So there you have it. Hopefully you can see the quality of the pictures and the book. I am more than satisfied and for a great price :) Maybe there are some personalized books you will be giving this holiday!!

Shawnee, Kansas Wedding by Brittany

Ok, I promise that this will most likely be the LAST wedding post :) But, I have been sifting through LOTS of wedding pictures and along with my obsession with Style Me Pretty- which yes, I still admit to looking at every once and a while even though I no longer have a wedding to plan. It's just too fun to see everyone else's great ideas for their weddings!!

So since I will never been on a wedding blog or in a magazine like my famous friends Vanessa and Emily :) I figured---I'll make my own post. So here you have it (and don't make fun of me, I tried to make this "authentic" as possible, but there is no way I could ever replicate the wonderful work...or words...they do on that website)!!

My version of Style Me Pretty: Brittany & Jimmy's Wedding 4.10.10

Brittany, the bride from Lenexa, KS, had quite the vision in mind when she began planning this wonderful day that she and Jimmy will remember forever. Her most important goal: the whole day is a true reflection of she and Jimmy and the relationship they have built over the last 7 years. Because there was so much history between them....Jimmy saw her for the first time 6 years and 364 days prior in the same location as their reception...Brittany wanted to make sure that every person had a chance to hear/see their story in writing. She did that by making each table name a point on a timeline in their relationship from the beginning to their wedding day and then placed them all from start to finish on a big "C" that was on display, signifying their last name.

The bride worked with several wonderful vendors, including Marilyn Tinker, who was truly the magic behind much of the day. She was in charge of the venue, the tables, centerpieces, draping, set up of the room, and overall organization. Along with the day of wedding coordinators from Something New, they were able to give the couple a fabulous, worry-free day that included all the details that really made the day unique to them- including their 3 dogs, Milly, Willy and Toby as greeters outside the wedding dressed in their own wedding attire. For the brides attire, she wore the designer Pronovias called Sandra by Manuel The bridesmaids wore black V-neck dresses by Max and Cleo from Dillards.

An interesting personal touch also included straying from the traditional cake and adding their own ice cream sundae bar! With vanilla ice cream and all the fixings- including a few that were the bride and grooms favorite, guests were able to put together their own ice cream sundae and grab a piece of cake to go along with it! Favors were little bags of puppy chow with a picture of one of their 3 dogs and note thanking the guest for coming to their "mom and dad's" wedding. That was an idea that the bride found on SMP and stuck with! They also added their own faux-to-booth in the corner, complete with props and a tripod, which many guests enjoyed as well.

From the wonderful and personal ceremony at St. Joe Catholic Church on the Saturday with lots of sunshine in Kansas City, to their trolley ride around KC (including a stop at their house!), and finally to St. Thomas Aquinas back to where their relationship first sparked in Jimmy's eye with a look across the gym at Brittany...they were nothing but smiles and laughter all day. They had lots of help from their wonderful families and friends to ensure that everything went just perfect and so many wonderful details didn't go unnoticed.

They now are living their life together, with their dogs, in PV, KS!

All photos courtesy of Henderson Photography.