Taking An Abby Day

I took the day off today and did nothing and it was absolutely wonderful.  No obligations, no email, and I only did whatever I wanted to do.  If you are able to take a day like this for yourself, I highly recommend it.  And do yourself a favor and set no expectations on the day.  I spent the morning sleeping in, enjoying coffee, and catching up on some reading.  I didn't get out of my pajamas until 1 PM.  It was awesome.

We have been busy lately.  Daulton turned 8 last month and I still haven't gotten around to taking the pictures off my camera.  We had a great time celebrating with family and friends and I can't believe he is 8 now.  He's not the little chubby 3 year old I fell in love with 5 years ago.  A smart, funny, and kind young man is in his place.

We went to an Indians game a few weeks ago and had a fantastic time.  Daulton's mom got us the tickets and we sat right behind the visitors dugout.  The starting pitcher gave Daulton a ball and then later, another player gave him a second ball.  Without hesitating, Daulton gave the second ball to the family sitting across the row who didn't have a ball.  It was very generous and Matt and I were both so proud of him.

We also got some bad news that my mom has Hodgkins lymphoma.  It is 100% treatable with chemotherapy so we are lucky that we can cure it, but it sucks to have to go through it.  If you want to follow her journey, I setup a blog at martharardin.com to keep family and friends informed while she goes through this journey.  She has already been through one round of chemo and it feels good to have the first one done and we know what to expect for the next round.  Daulton took the news very well and has been asking questions.  We've talked about what chemo is, that she will lose her hair, and that we have to be extra careful of washing hands and keeping germs away from her.

Baseball has also started for Matt and Daulton.  Its quite a shock going from the warmth and temperature controlled climate of basketball to the unpredictable spring weather.  I spent the first game with my hat on, snuggled in my fleece, sitting on a blanket, and keeping score with one glove on and one glove off (the glove was too big and I couldn't hold the pencil).  I only keep score and not stats and Matt can thank my dad for making me keep score for my siblings games for so many years.

Matt and I celebrated our wedding anniversary last week.  Some days it feels like we have been married for forever and then other days it feels like just yesterday.  This is not a marriage post but I will say that I feel that being married is a choice and it takes work.  Some days are easier than others and I couldn't ask for a better husband.

This is only a small fraction of what we've been up to.  Quite frankly, I don't want to write it all out as it exhausts me just thinking about it and I'm sure you don't want to read it.  I'm also still writing at Beyond The Defaults so you can also find me over there (and sign up for email alerts) or like us on Facebook if you want to be notified when a new post is up.

This post was Daulton approved.  If you don't know what that means then you should read this:  My Son Grounded Me From Facebook.

A Year Ago Today

A year ago today, Matt and I were married.

A year ago today, I officially became a step-mom.

A year ago today, I got ready for my wedding day with these lovely ladies. 

A year ago today, I remember being excited and anxious to see Matt.

A year ago today, I remembered it rained on our wedding day and I could have cared less.

A year ago today, I remember thinking "a girl could get used to this".

A year ago today my parents threw Matt and I a fun and wonderful wedding.  My mom is smiling because the wedding day was beautiful and all of her hard work paid off.  My dad is smiling because he doesn't have to write anymore checks.

A year ago today, everyone at our reception was on the dance floor for the YMCA.

A year ago today, there was some serious booty shaking going on.

A year ago today, we were surrounded by our family and friends as Matt and I got married.  It was a wonderful day and the perfect way to start off our marriage. 

Laura & Mike's Wedding - Reception

Here are the reception pictures.  Congratulations to Laura & Mike!!

My mom and dad, a.k.a. "we paid for this party"

getting ready to leave Sunday morning

Laura & Mike's Wedding - Getting Ready

If you have ever been a bride or a bridesmaid you know it takes a lot of time to get ready for a wedding.  For my sister, it took 3 hair stylists, breakfast, 5 Starbucks coffees, mimosas, one US Weekly, one Cosmopolitan (magazine, not the drink), 5 bridesmaid dresses, and 1 wedding dress.

I do not have any ceremony pictures since I was the matron of honor but up next are the reception pictures!

Laura & Mike's Wedding - Rehearsal Day

As many of you know, my sister was married this past Saturday in Lexington, Kentucky.  We had a great weekend and I wanted to share some of the pictures.

On Friday, also known as Rehearsal Day, typically the bride and bridal party get together to get our nails done.  Not wanting to break tradition, we went out for manicures and pedicures.

my mom, looking like she is about to start playing the piano

I don't have any good pictures of the rehearsal, because I was rehearsing.  But I do have plenty from the rehearsal dinner.  The dinner was at the Monarch Pavilion at Talon Winery.  It was a beautiful evening and it was a great way to start the weekend!

Laura and her bridesmaids

Mom and Laura at the bar

Me and my Grandma

Me and my Grandpa

Up next, getting ready for the wedding day and reception pictures!

Our Wedding Pictures Are Here!!

Finally our wedding pictures are in!!  I think they turned out great and now comes the hard part of figuring out where to display them all.  All the links are included below!

Wedding Picture Slideshow (there is music included)

Wedding Pictures on Pictage (you can order prints from this site)

Wedding Pictures on the Kevin Monahan Photography blog

Enjoy!!