It's OK Thursday

 

Hey y'all, it's Thursday, that means a link up with Neely, over at A Complete Waste of Makeup!

 So let's get started ITS OK.....

That I spent $5 on coffee this morning, when I have a perfectly good, new keurig at home

That I practically spent the whole day yesterday reading and learning how to change my blog look, and I still didn't get it how I wanted

That I do not want a dog for at least 5 years, not because I don't love them, but because I don't want to have that responsibility

That I almost bought my first piece of clothing for baby girl two separate times this week and couldn't let myself do it

That I didn't set an alarm this morning, even though I have a LOT to get done today

That I am a terrible speller

That I am eyeing new boots that are $450 knowing that I will never spend that type of money on material things like clothes, shoes, etc.

That we are not deciding on a name until our baby is born

That I am going to try to stay really focused for the next 3 hours so I can lay-out this afternoon..we will see how that goes



xoxo,
Erin

Lindsey's Big Day!

The next weekend after I got home from NYC, one of my childhood friends got married! Lindsey's and I were so close when we were little and she is someone who no matter how long we go between talking, we can always pick right up like it was yesterday! I cherish the memories we have as the "Pingtis" family! The Pingels (and a couple other families) and our family did A LOT growing up. They were the family that we took vacations with, watched the super bowl with, celebrated NYE's, "Family" Christmas dinner and pretty much any other "non-holiday" event, we were with them! I pray Pete and I find other couples that want to raise their children in such a Christ-centered environment; so my kids can have relationships like I did with these families. They are truly "family". On to the wedding!!!!

It all started on Thursday at a pre-wedding workout! I think it'll be easier to just post the pictures and tell what's going on as we go. I just have so many!

Before our workout!

Getting our steps set up!

Lindsey and her awesome vail!

Mrs. Rene (Lindsey's mom) planned out a workout for all us girls, a few moms, grandmas, aunts, etc! She also wanted us to learn the cupid shuffle, the electric slide, and a few other line dances for the reception! It was nothing short of a good time!

After the workout, we all went home to get ready and all meet back at Whitney's house (Lindsey's sister) for her Bachelorette/ Lingerie party!

Dinner at Saffron! YUM!

The group!

Playing one of the games! Whitney went above and beyond planning this party! We played a few games, but I think this is the only one that is "blog appropriate" ;)

Opening all her gifts! We had to write a piece of marriage advice and sex advice on a card and Whitney read them out loud to see who's gift Lindsey opened next, Lindsey had to try to guess who wrote each one! So fun!!

Friday morning we started early with mani's and pedi's! Mrs. Rene was so sweet and treated all of us!

After nails, we all headed downtown to a local bed and breakfast for a bridesmaid luncheon put on by Lindsey's aunt, cousin, and grandma! It was so delicious!!

After lunch we went to check out the reception hall before heading to church for the rehearsal!

Rehearsal! Mrs. Jewel (the church wedding chair person) and the videoographer (that was EVERYWHERE! That will be one good video :))

I didn't get any pictures of the rehearsal dinner, but it was so nice! Curt's parents rented the river view room above Buckner's and it was so pretty!

Saturday!!! The BIG day!!!

Doing our make-up

All of us girls in our robes! This was Lindsey' s gift to all us bridesmaids. It was such a thoughtful gift, and I have worn mine multiple times since the wedding! Love it!

Getting in the dress!

Lindsey and I waiting to go downstairs!!!

Seeing her dad for the first time!

I didn't get any pictures of the actual ceremony, obviously. But here are a few at different locations after! So Fun!

The newly married couple

First dance

Doing our dances!

Sparklers as they exit. It was so pretty :)

That wraps up another wedding weekend! One more to go!!

xoxo,

Erin

26 Weeks!

It seems like the weeks are flying by! We finally have the nursury looking like a baby room and I could not be more excited about it! It is turning out exactly as planned! :) My sister's bff, Kelley, offered to make me the big thing with her name on it, and since Pete and I have decided (as of yesterday) to wait until she is born to choose a name, that will not be here before she is born. Owell, I just need to decide what I want to do on the other walls and focus on that! The room is pretty small, so I do not want it to be too crowded, but I have a few ideas :) I will do a whole post on a nusury update soon!

This was at 25 weeks and 5 days! :)

How far along? 26 weeks!!

Size of the baby?

Food Cravings? Anything and everything! Ha, I honestly have been trying to eat better the past few weeks so everything "bad" that I don't want to eat sounds delcious. Go figure.

What I miss: I am honestly not missing too much these days. I am really enjoying being pregnant and all that goes with it! I have felt so blessed lately that God gave me the opportunity to have children. It is such an amazing thing and I don't want to complain or miss too much, because some people never get this feeling and that makes me really, really sad.

 Stretch marks? I have a few on my boobs (TMI) but nothing major, yet.

Maternity Clothes? My sister gave me a bunch more dresses (shirts for me ;)) that I have been wearing with the 3 pairs of shorts that I have. I have also been wearing the same 3 maxi dresses like crazy (SO unlike me). Old Navy was also running a sale and I got those red jeans in the picture above, which I love! I love that they are coming out with stylish maternity clothes, it honestly is a great confidence booster. I also bought a pair of maternity leggings (in order to get free shipping) and I am sure I will get plenty of use out of those in the coming months.

Gender? GIRL! Like I mentioned above, Pete and I were talking about different things yesterday and I made him have the name conversation. He finally expressed that he wants to wait until she is born to pick between Eleanor or Zetta. He said either one will be perfect, so why rush it. ;) Such a man, but I do not mind to wait either, it is such a hard decision for me and honestly probably won't even know when she comes out. Even though everyone says we will just know when we see her. That comment is so weird to me and I guess it's one of those things you can't picture saying/doing until you are actually experiencing it. Reguardless, it's still weird.

Weight Gain? Yikes. We are gonna leave this one blank until I go to the doctor Friday. :)

Sleep? I have been sleeping great!! I am becoming pretty tired throughout the day again though, so that is not too much fun. I have been going to bed pretty early, but I have also been waking up around 7:30-8 every morning without an alarm. Well, a noise alarm, I do have a different kind of alarm in my belly, that's for sure!!! :)

Best moment of the week? I didn't post last week, so my best moment's of the past few weeks would be that my mom and MIL got to feel her kick and Pete and pretty much feel it anytime he puts his hand on my belly! When we were at our check up, she was listening to the heartbeat and baby girl was moving so much she could barely get a read on the heartrate! She is very active! I also love that my MIL brought over the dresser she finished and it looks SO AMAZING and my parents brought over the crib so the room is no longer empty. Also, Pete and I were at Lowe's walking through all the lights and I pointed to the chandilier that I wanted and he said that he wants something that sits closer to the ceiling and didn't think we needed a chandalier. I said whatever and dropped it. Well, I came home the other night and there was a big box is the room...it was the chandalier :) I was super excited! He is going to have no shot when she is born. She is going to get anything she wants because she will figure out real quick that daddy cannot say no to his sweet girl! :) At least he admits it. hehe.

Symptoms? Not too much. Tired and hungry, but I feel like that is normal when I am not pregnant. haha.

Movement? I think I already answered this in all my super wordy responses above!

xoxo,

Erin



Ashley's Wedding!!

The second weekend in July one of my best friends, Ashley, got married! She currently lives in New York and her husband is located on a military base about 6 hours north of her. They planned the wedding in Ocean City, Maryland, about 4 hours away from the city. I met one of my other best friends, Emily (who lives in Columbia) in St.Louis Wednesday night and we stayed with my sister and flew out Thursday morning. We landed and just went to Ashley and Lauren (another one of our best friends) apartment and hung out until they got off work. Ashley had a few last minute errands to run before we got on the road early Friday morning.Because Ashley and I have are bad influences for each other, we decided to get eyelash extensions on Thursday night when we were running errands. I have been wanting to try them out, but didn't want to spend the money. Plus, not to brag, but I have pretty thick and long eyelashes to begin with, so I am not sure what look I was expecting. Let me tell you, I hated them!!! I think the mistake was that I didn't really want them for the extension part. I was more interested in the thickness, not length and the lady misunderstood. Therefore, they were super long, and when I looked in the mirror I just wanted to rip them all out! Besides that, they were heavy, itchy, and you could see them all the time! Here is a few pictures of what they looked like. To give you an idea how long they were, when I got home, my brother asked if they hit the windshield when I was driving! Seriously, if my brother noticed, they had to have been bad! Needless to say, I went and got them removed the next day and 10 more dollars later.

Seriously, terrible picture, but I wanted to show my sister how long they really were!

We spent the rest of the time in Ocean City, enjoying the beach and catching up!!

Dinner on Friday night!

Bachelorette Party-with our non-alcoholic beer ;)

The best friends a girl could ask for! xoxo

One of Ashley's friends had this drive by the beach Saturday afternoon, it was so fun!!!!

          The flowers, before I wrapped them :)                                  The "cake" 

                            The wedding spot, so beautiful!!!!

                                                    

                                                           The Bride and I before the wedding!!!

The boys

The girls, in our unplanned, matching attire :)

The ceremony

 A few pictures after the wedding! One of Ashley's friends had an awesome camera and she was our personal photographer the whole weekend! She took over 800 pictures and uploaded them all on shutterfly for us to share, so sweet! I couldn't narrow it down anymore than these! Everything was SO beautiful!!

I was going to try to do all 3 weddings in one post, but I think that will be the world's longest blog post! Therefore, I will post Lindsey's wedding festivities tomorrow!

xoxo,

Erin

Sunday Social: Fall Favorite's

1. What is your favorite fall activity?
Gosh, there are so many good ones! Decorating my house, drinking pumpkin spice lattes, bonfires, s'mores, football games, and so much more!

2. Do you follow a football team? If so, which one and why?
 MIZZOU! My husband went to Mizzou and his group of friends are obsessed! It is going to be fun dressing baby girl up in all Mizzou this season!! :)

                                                

3. What is something fun about fall in your area?

The Pioneer Market in our little town always has fun mazes, hayrides, pumpkin picking, petting zoo, etc. Also, the town shuts down on Friday nights to go watch the high school football team. Even though I don't have anyone close to me playing anymore (I'm too old!) it is still fun to see the team have the whole town's support!

4. Fav Fall outfit staples?

Fall is my favorite season to dress for! Seriously-scarves, boots, leggings, cardigans are my everyday attire!
                              
                                 

Can you tell that I like stripes? Ha!  I think my attire will be a little different this fall though! Being due November 13 is going to throw a wrench in my cute fall outfits!

5. Thing you are looking forward to the most about this coming Fall season?
Besides having our precious little girl, my mom's side of the family takes a trip to Sam A. Baker State Park every year. They have been doing this since my mom and her siblings were kids and they have carried on the tradition with my cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. We rent out the cabins and just spend the weekend sitting by the fire, taking a hike, and eating as much puppy chow that we possibly can.
I can easily say, this is the weekend I look forward to the most the entire year. It is so nice to just know we are going to go there and hang out with family and relax with no interruptions! I will be 36 weeks pregnant this year, and I am praying all will still be going good so that I do not have to skip!

                               


                               


                               


6. Favorite Fall Holiday? Traditions?
Thanksgiving, obviously! I love all the food :) I know Sam A. Baker weekend isn't a holiday, but it is my favorite tradition. I also love carving pumpkins with my siblings and having my mom cook all of the seeds!! There are so many things I love about Fall. I am sure my sister could come up with a lot more traditions than me! :)

xoxo,
Erin

Today's Thoughts(aka rambling)

**Waring, this post is a lot of rambling, and doesn't really have a point to anyone besides myself. :)

So the past few weeks my mind has been consumed with questions of what I am going to do with my life. I feel like most people that are 6 months pregnant are looking for ways to quit their jobs and be able to raise their kids. For me, it is the opposite (and please hear me out before you judge. Or judge, it doesn't matter because it won't change my feelings). I am young. My husband in turning 29 in a week and a half and I just turned 23. I flew through college (3 1/2 years) and was in my last semester when we got married. He had a terrific job which allowed me to stay part-time at Healthpoint and then I quit there about 6 months ago to work with my mom at Cape Starter (our family business). Recently, which most of you know if you have read my blog at all, that Pete quit his job at AT&T and is doing his dream job of full-time house flipping and running our rental property. I love that we are in a place in our lives that he can do that. I probably say at least 3 times a week how grateful I am that he doesn't work at AT&T anymore. It was fine for a few years, but our life is so much easier and enjoyable without that job (new budget or not, ha!). But because he quit, I am looking for some type of work with benefits. At first I thought it would be no big deal, I would find something part-time where I can still work with my mom and pick up a few weddings each year. That would be the perfect dream for me-I still get to work with family and pursue my passion of wedding coordinating. But, the more and more that I have looked for part-time jobs around this area it just stresses me out. I want to like what I do and like the people I work with. I want it to be a positive environment that I look forward to going to everyday( or every other). Let me tell you, there just isn't much out there. Which has made me think a lot if I want to go find a full time job in event planning or something along those lines, that way I know that I will enjoy what I do. I am not saying it will not be stressful at times, and hard to leave my baby girl, the flexibility and personal enjoyment of working with my mom everyday, but I would like what I do. I have said since the beginning that I do not want to be a full-time SAHM, but I never thought I would work full-time either. I guess all that to say that parts of me wish I had a little more time to work in a busy, full-time environment before we had kids. Or, that I would have done it while Pete was working at AT&T and I was fresh out of college. But as I type it I know parts of me don't mean it. Kids are my passion, and I have longed for a child and a large family for as long as I can remember. I just want to raise and love on as many kids as I possibly can. I want that. Pete wants that. So, I know I would be discouraged working full-time.
Do you think I am crazy yet?!
I am sure some of this rambling is my prego brain, but most of it is real, but tomorrow I could read this and think that I am a moron for ever thinking about giving up the opportunities I have now. I just want to do something I enjoy and love, and I am nervous that I am going to let myself just take whatever job I get offered first because it has benefits. Is it bad to say one of my part-time "dream jobs" is a barista at Starbucks? I just hate how people judge your lifestyle by where you work. I am not usually one to care about what others think of me as long as I am happy. I don't know why I let this one affect me so much? I need to let it go because, if I could work part-time at Starbucks, work with my mom, and pick up a few weddings a year, I would seriously be over the moon happy. I guess I just rambled my way into making a decision. I knew I just needed to write it out, and know that this is what makes me happy and is what is best for my family, so other peoples opinions do not matter. Whew.

If you made it to the end of this, congrats! I promise I will get around to posting about NYC and the wedding I was in this past weekend. I just haven't had the energy.

xoxo,
Erin

It's OK Thursday

Hello! I am linking up with Neely for "It's OK Thursday!!"

  It's OK..... -That I am wishing away summer because I love fall so much! -That I wanted to write my post about NYC today, but I am too lazy -That I ate pizza rolls for lunch and they were delicious -That I am over the moon excited that we are having a little girl in November. I can barely contain myself sometimes!! -That I could listen to country music from the second I wake up until I go to bed and it will never get old to me. -That I really am starting to miss diet coke, like bad y'all. -That I just started getting the motivation to workout, mainly because I am starting to really freak about giving birth and know it will be easier on me if I am in shape.   That is all I can think of now!! I have a full weekend again this weekend!! One of my very best childhood friends is getting married!!! It all starts this afternoon with a pre-wedding workout and the lingerie shower/party tonight!  

xoxo,

Erin