Stones in the road? I save every single one, and one day Ill build a castle.

gramma gail & Lukey

I made Alikah's Valentines for preschool. I got the idea from pinterest and they turned out super cute but it took me longer than I planned haha. 

I had my robe on after a bath and she wanted to wear hers...

..then she made Spencer put on his...

crabby babies

snow storm 

Im still siiiick. I have chronic laryngitis.
Can barely talk, it hurts, my throat hurts, my lungs hurt, my life hurts (jk)
Ive been taking mucinex, dayquil, nyquil, throat drops, etc. Blah.

But anyways...
Weve been married for over a year!

In the anniversary card my mama sent she told us she was going to pay for our tattoos that we are getting!! Shes been helping us out so much lately. Love her. Hopefully we can get an appointment this weekend or sometime soon!

I ordered pictures at Walgreens over the weekend and they called to ask if they were taken professionally...I had to go in and sign a paper saying that I took them and that I was a photographer. I honestly cannot see myself doing that as a job (too shy) but maybe someday...

Spencer might be getting a new job. He really wants it and so do I. I will be really happy if he gets it :) Its about an hour away...so we'd be moving again but itd definitely be worth it.

My anxiety, mainly my ocd, has been pretty bad lately. My right arm is shit. I pretty much have to keep my arm and 2 fingers bandaged all day so I dont pick them. Its gross.

We went over to our landlord/friends the other day so we could catch up and she could see the kids. Their house is so beautiful. Her husband builds & restores houses (like ours) and he built their home and its just gorgeous. They live right at the bottom of a ski hill too so its a really cool view from upstairs.

All the kids are good. Besides Alikah being sassy, Harper being a dinosaur, and Bodhi never sleeping....  Other than that they are great. Alikah and Harper are like best buds lately which I absolutely love. They play, talk, laugh, hug, kiss...they dont want to be apart. Its adorable.
And Alikah is done with pullups for good!

I think thats all...will add more if I think of it :]

*Update
I guess Alikah cracked everyone up today when Spencer picked up her up from preschool...she said: "My daddy my daddy! My daddy is never mean to me...but sometimes he yells at my mommy...but they ALWAYS love each other!!"

nudge

  

Wedding -
I couldnt stop smiling at my cousin Stefanies wedding! I love weddings. Everyone is just so happy. Jake had the biggest smile on his face when Stef was walking down the aisle with her dad.
Alikah was so excited to be a flower girl and she did great! I told her daddy would be sitting in back with Harper, Id be up near the front, and suggested to just "smile and wave." And thats exactly what she did! Haha. During the ceremony she stood in the center, right in between Stef and Jake. Im pretty sure that wasnt her designated *spot* but it was still pretty adorable.
After a few formal pictures we stopped at a gas station for a M&M reward. She chowed them and promptly passed out for a half hour.
We met up with my family at the hotel my grandparents were staying at. Ate some snacks, drank some beer and wine, relaxed, and the kids swam. It was the perfect way to pass the time between ceremony + reception.
The reception was gorgeous and the food was amazing. Alikah ate, like, quadruple what she normally would.  
She was excited for dancing the entire week leading up to the wedding....she danced her little heart out during the slideshow and dinner and was completely worn out by the time the dancing actually started.
Spencer took Harper for a stroller walk in an attempt to get him to nap, but it failed. So we ended up leaving at 8:45 with two very sleepy kids.

Court -
Simple answer: It got rescheduled. I go back in October and M will be there on the phone so he can "explain why he objects."

Preschool -
We had a tour of the preschool up the road this morning. Alikah loved it! She did not want to leave.
So now we just have to decide on what days & times she goes.
Im pretty sure we are going to start with 2 half-days a week.
Thats all Im willing to give her up for :)

to learn, to grow, to love

so awkward haha

I have court early Thursday morning. Im not sure what to expect anymore...mediation with M's parents went okay and court was going to just be the judge putting it on paper, but surprise surprise M found out and decided to cause more problems. 

When I found out, it was weird, I felt so incredibly calm. I just have this overwhelming feeling that everything is going to work out. Ive barely thought about it since. 

He has our address now, for the first time in years, which upsets me. But I cant do anything about it now. 

My cousin Stefanie is getting married on Saturday! Alikah is her flower girl. 

So, once court is out of the way the weekend will be filled with wedding happiness!!

I brought Alikah's dress out the other day and now she keeps asking when were going to the wedding and when she can dance. 

Theres a nail on the wall in our living room that isnt holding anything - its just there. The other day when I was in the shower Alikah used her stool and got the dress down from where I had it hanging in the kitchen and hung it on the nail in the living room. Its right above *her* chair. I thought it was really adorable...

I want to get an update in about the kids soon. 

Maybe life in general as well. I have been searching deep to change some things about myself. 

And based on comments I have gotten, some people have already noticed...

Also this pregnancy is so weird. Like, how the fuck am I going to have another baby in a few weeks already? Im still in shock that Im even pregnant. Still. Guess thats not going away. 

Oh, Boden. What are your plans for us? I cannot wait to find out. I love you buddy. 

The Reception

Friday, February 17th:
I knew I should have wrote this sooner. Well, we stayed at my parents. Thursday night I had gone with my mom to OfficeMax to order my "programs." They couldnt open them on their computers because they didnt have the software. So, that night I had to re-do them and email them new copies. Friday morning Spencer & I went to pick them up. There was supposed to be little decorative swirls on the back, but they had a 1 and a 2. I was so stressed out that I was like, "Its fine Ill just put a sticker over them or something.." and we left. I quickly realized how hard that would have been and we turned around and went back. I made Spencer go in, and they did re-do them for free. I guess they even said, "Yeah, I thought the 1-2 looked weird but we thought maybe it was for 2012."Looking back the programs were a big waste of time and money; because I went home with 100+ of them, and they ended up in the trash.We also had to run to David's Bridal for hair accessories and Target for favors.
At 6:00 PM my mom, Heather and I had appointments to get our nails done and waxing. I got a pedicure and fake nails for the first time. They were annoying, but fun to play with.I couldnt do anything - the worst, I found out later, was taking out my contacts.We went to Applebees afterwards for dinner. Once we got back I printed off some signs...[Guestbook, Kids Table, Please take one, Sit wherever you'd like.]
Saturday Morning:
I woke up at 7AM and showered. Then I got to work tracing the signs in glue and adding green glitter and also putting together the favors. I hated them. Not what I wanted at all, we just ended up buying a bunch of Valentines Day candy that was on clearance and tying them in [IMO] ugly tulle baggies. I hate tulle.
Saturday Afternoon:
We had out hair and make-up appointments at 12:15. I loved my hair. It was exactly how I told her I wanted it to look, even if it was falling out before the reception even started.My make-up, on the other hand, I hated. I was already near-tears because of a text I had gotten while I was getting my hair done. Spencer's parents decided they werent going to pay the balance for the food&bar - the ONLY THING we asked them to pay for. I was furious. Seriously. I am guessing my mom paid DOUBLE the "budget" she had given us, BEFORE I had to tell her hours before the reception that now she had to pay an additional ~$5,000. I black out when I am really mad, so I dont really remember waiting to get my makeup done. The lady that did my make-up was extremely fake and annoying. I told her not to make my cheeks stand out. She did anyway. I made her take it off. I still hated it, but it was almost 4 and I still had to finish signs and favors and get the reception site by 5 for pictures.
I ran into my parents, drank a beer, fixed my makeup, worked on signs, sent Heather to Micheal's crafts, my dad and Spencer came back from setting up the lights and Spencer still had to shower and get ready andddd....YA. I was freaking out. We got to the hall at 5:10. I still had to put my dress on and no one was there to help me. Thankfully Spencer actually did really well lacing up the corset back on my dress!! We relaxed and drank some beer because I was kinda freakin. This was also a bad idea because it was freezing out and we had about 20 minutes to take pictures before it got dark.We had fun, but I do not like most the professional pictures that we took outside. While we were taking pictures Heather and her friends were setting up the tables inside. Again - not at all what I had in mind. I really wish we had done everything a few hours earlier. But then again I had no idea wed be at the salon for 4 hours.
Saturday Night - The Reception
Once we got back inside, people were already showing up. The reception didnt start until 7 and thankfully it was just my grandparents and some other close family members so we just continued to take family pictures indoor. I wrote this a few days after the wedding: "I am really excited to see the pictures but I am also pretty upset about how it all went. I wanted more of me and Spencer, pictures with the kids [it was too cold, Alikah wasnt listening.] I wanted single ones of Spencer and I but we didnt do any. I also wanted snow dammit."
Everyone started coming and I walked around and talked to everyone. Joe (Gina's boyfriend) finally got Gina on Skype after searching for a wifi signal for ever. So she was "there" via Skype from the Philippines! After awhile we got sent out into the hall to come in for our "entrance." I was already nervous but when the doors open everyone was standing for a "tunnel of love" and I dont even know. It was really embarrasing for me, but fun.Spencer's mom and Heather made speeches and after that the DJ announced my first dance would be with my dad....but my dad was outside. Ha. Ya. But totally expected. I cried like I knew I would. Mine and Spencer's first dance was to "Unique is my Dove" by Matisyahu, because of course it was.This is also my favorite picture.Of course, the rest of the night was drinking, eating and dancing. We had a great time.
My mom had booked a hotel room for us so when we left we went there. I had stuck to "only beer" most of the night but definitely did some shots near the end.I fell asleep on the ride to the hotel. But wait - it gets classier. We got pulled over. Some of Spencer's friends had a hotel close to us and still wanted to hang out after the reception but we declined. Anyway - I am so glad my mom did that for us - I had no idea until the day of!
We woke up and realized we had missed free breakfast - damn - so we walked to the gas station and got some snacks and beer. After that we went to my parents to pick up the kids and our presents. I didnt write any notes down for Sunday so unfortunately now, over a month later, I have no idea what we did. I think we just came home.
I whined in this entry, but looking back planning and preparing for the wedding wasnt nearly as stressful as I thought it would be. It would have been 1000x worse if we had had a big wedding ceremony. I am really glad we did it how we did it, and even though things went wrong and there wasnt enough time on THE DAY OF, it really did go well and it was a really fun experience and time - just how we wanted it.

2.14.2012

MARRIED!!

The day before.

Today was weird. Woke up, went to the laundromat, Spencer took the kids and ran some errands, I cleaned and finished designing our wedding programs. Boxed. Took a nice relaxing bath....
I walked to the laundromat while they were gone to put the clothes in the dryer and on the walk back I was like, "I am getting married tomorrow." Just like, eh, no big deal. It was such a totally normal day for us and it helped me realize we definitely made the right decision by getting married in the courthouse. So stress free. So us. Just...laid back. Nothing is going to change in our lives besides my last name.
It feels good.
Itll take 5 minutes for us to get married tomorrow. Then well be back home with our parents, eating dinner and having some drinks.

Of course the craziness for the reception will start on Thursday. Well be going to Waukesha then, I have to print and get ready 150 programs. Need to finish our card box. I still have no idea what we are doing for wedding favors. We need candle holders and string lights. They are setting up our reception room tomorrow actually, so we can go whenever to decorate and what not.
Friday my mom, Heather and I have nail and waxing appointments.
Then Saturday is the day. Hair and makeup at noon. On location at 5 for pictures.
Show-time at 7.
I know on Saturday Ill be peeing my pants, especially before I give my "speech" but right now, Im just looking forward to tomorrow. To being Mrs. Katt :)

(The Dells was a blast by the way - I will update about that...Wednesday maybe?)

the next week in wedding

Well yesterday we went and got our marriage license! It was such a pain though because we had to go to the Social Security office to get me a new SSC, then to the courthouse in Waukesha because we both needed new birth certificates. But we just went and got our license in Waukesha and Spencers mom is going to pick it up for us when they come up for the wedding.

Speaking of our date changed. Its not been the 12th anymore for awhile now but we will officially be getting married on February 14th at 4:00 :)

Today I have to call the photographer and reception hall for last minute details. Tonight at 6 I go back to the bridal shop to try on my dress! And hopefully bring it home!

Friday-Sunday we are going to the Dells with the kids, my dad, sister, brother, and my sisters friend. Heather coaches volleyball there and she thought it would be fun for us all to go as a last-minute wedding trip! This is only the 2nd time Spencer has been to the Dells (first was Alikahs 2nd birthday) so hes very excited haha. Alikah is too, of course. We all are.

Then Tuesday we get married!!!
And next Saturday is the reception. I cant believe its time!!

Hi.

Alikah fell down the stairs today. I was at the top of them, she was a couple steps down. Stabler ran past her. It all happened so fast I dont know if he actually tripped her or just startled her, but she fell. To the bottom. I screamed. I think I scared us both more than anything. She has a bump and bruise on her right eye, but she says ice is "too cold" when I try to put it on it. She peed her pants almost immediately after :/ and one more time after that.
Cant get the image of her tumbling down the stairs out of my head. I would have grabbed her, but I had JUST gotten Harper was holding him.
Blah.

So, I said Id write about gifts..
Zebra towels, 7 picture frames, 3 photo boxes, curtain, omelet pan and oven mits, a very awesome personalized picnic bag and blanketa cat apron, cookbook, new silverware!, belgium waffle maker, boxing bag and gloves, a photo serving plate (perfect?!), a bunch of great kitchen utensils and pans, a toaster and a bunch of giftcards! LOVE everything!! So thankful. I wasnt even expecting a bridal shower?!

And so we called the courthouse in Waukesha and now we DO have to go to the one by us. Well probably get married there too? Then just have a lunch or dinner for our parents at our house. I cannot believe how soon our wedding is!!

filler post.

Im late on Harper's 7 month post because we have our doctors appointment on Friday and I want to wait til then to get all his stats.

My dress appointment went fine. They cut out the tulle and cut of the train while I was there. I love it more already! I have the train, hopefully Ill think of something neat to make out of it for memories.

We put up a few decorations in Harper's room, started our picture wall, and will probably do Alikah's tonight. Its going to take a looonngg time for me to get everything how I want it, though. One thing I hate about it is that the walls are not white. They are cream, but all the door and window frames and baseboards are white. Why?? But I know well end up painting most of them anyways.

Spencers been taking Alikah out in the snow and she LOVES it! Its adorable.

We're sleeping over at my parent all this weekend because on Friday I have a floral appointment and were going to the courthouse to get our wedding license. Then Sunday is my bridal shower! Seems pointless to drive back here for just one night.

Speaking of Bridal shower...I CANT BELIEVE HOW CLOSE WE ARE TO THE WEDDING. Omg all my confirmation emails are coming in and its actually really stressing me out because everyone wants me to call them and I hate talking on the phone and ahhh. And I have no fucking meds because my old doctors office is freaken stupid and like I said I dont have an appointment here until Friday. So that makes it even worse...

...which reminds me. I hate driving. But since Ive been off my meds it is almost unbearable. I gasp or scream or flinch every 30 seconds. (I dont drive, Spencer does) I hold my breathe without realizing it. I feel like Im going to throw up. Ugh. The last time I drove somewhere was when I drove the car and Spencer drove the U-Haul back, and it was seriously the most awful drive of my life. Im not even exaggerating when I saw I was literally screaming probably half the way there. And saying "ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod" and holding my breathe of course. When we finally got to the UHaul place I was shaking soooo badly and told Spencer I was never driving again.
So I guess its good we moved here and I can literally walk everywhere haha.
But it really isnt funny. It sucks being off meds. A lot.

another list

-Spencer has his 2nd interview at a big company this morning! Debbie is somehow related to someone that works there, so it was the first place she suggested to us.
-Yesterday we went and ate at one of the few restaurants around here. It was cool/empty and Alikah got everyones attention of course. She kept talking to our waitress and complimenting her "cool nails!" Oh and they have free ice cream!
-Alikah has been diaper-free except for naps and bed time. Shes actually peeing on the big toilet now! We tried diaper-free sleeping the other day....definitely had to take her stuff to the laundromat. Oh well. Im very proud of her.
-Harper is getting great at sitting! He DIDNT like "Chicken Noodle" baby food. Tried it three days in a row and he was not having it. So Im thinking he doesnt like meats yet. Surprising. Little chunker monker.-Just called a closer bridal shop for my dress alterations because ummmmm were getting married in a MONTH. I go next Tuesday but we'll have to pay extra for a rush order because Im stupid and procrastinate like cahrazy. Actually though, I WAS emailing someone else that said they can still do it but they are taking forever and since we moved now its over an hour away. No thanks. Stil waiting on an email from our floral lady for when to some in to see some samples of centerpieces! :)
-Alikah's going to Nonna's tomorrow. Were meeting them in West Bend. Then she comes home on Sunday and were probably going to my parents. Honestly I am unhappy with this situation. I understand they want to see her. But yeah, Its going to get cut down quite a bit. We arent even sure if we are going to be telling them our new address or not.
-Still snowing like crazy! Love it.

Hummmm

Gym:
Monday 10/17 - Ran 4.67 miles, burned 455 calories.
Wednesday 10/19 - Ran 6.48 miles, burned 621 calories.
Thursday 10/20 - Ran 5.36 miles, burned 508 calories.

I switched shoes now because my EasyTones were too small and hurting my feet and ankles. Ive only used them one day so far but hopefully it will help. Kitty
We got a kitty on last Thursday. A boy named Stabler. Ive always said no to getting one. I dont know why or how my mind changed. I guess I just dont really care anymore haha. My allergies havent been too bad, and I dont think Alikah is allergic like we did before. Alikah loves him but she is a little too much for him sometimes. Wedding
It was Jared & Holly's wedding weekend so we were pretty busy with that. Alikah was the flower girl and she did great. I cried of course. Im hoping Holly posts pictures online or something and then I can grab a few and do another entry about it. The night ended...pretty crazily. I have no idea where my bag is so my camera and wallet are missing. Our house keys are missing. We took a cab home and the property manager didnt answer his door so Spencer ended up breaking our door in. They came and hammered it back together this morning and put a guard and new handle on it for now until they can order a new door. Honesty I wouldnt mind keeping the door how it is now because we dont want to pay $1,000 for a new door.
Anyway...I had to have left my bag on the trolley or at the reception site. Spencer has called both places 3 times with no answer so now he left messages and I guess we just wait. Spencer's mom said someone put all the lost stuff in a box at the end of the reception so they might have it too but we have no idea who has the box and his mom hasnt answered either. Fun stuff!!!
But besides all that crazy shit the wedding was beautiful, Holly looked amazing, and Im so happy for both of them.

Alikahs being a huge brat lately so we started time-outs. She already had 3 today. She is seriously being such a little jerk ugh. Yelling, acting like shes gonna hit me, telling me that Im "so mean." I can tell her "Just leave him (Stabler) alone right now," and she will yell, throw herself on the floor or couch and punch it. Its just absolutely ridiculous and Im hoping it passes soon because I am sick of it.

Were all stressed out. We need a new car, our lease is up in 2 months, our wedding, all this other crap. Always something. But it will pass.

Harper's 4 month appointment is on Wednesday so ill do his monthly update after that.

Yep. This is boring because I dont really feel like updating but I was behind.
All I really want right now is to know that someone has my friken bag. I will feel much better then.

Grief & Engagement Photos

After losing my Grandma to her 10 year battle with cancer on Wednesday, life has been somewhat crazy. Spencer stayed home from work Thursday to watch the kids while I went to the funeral home with my mom, grandpa, brother, sister and aunt. After that we went to visit the cemetery where her parents are buried and also my mom's brother, then went out for lunch at my Grandma's favorite restaurant, Andrea's.

Um. The hardest thing for me, by far, was not seeing her before she died. Its still bothering me. I cant think about it without crying. Anyone that knows me knows how bad I am with phones, I never even think about them. I missed a couple calls from my mom while my grandma was still alive. Once I finally checked our phone and answered, she had died. I didn't get to see her that "one last time."

All us girls took some of her jewelry for remembrance, and Bob wants us to make a day out of to go through her clothes, shoes, etc. I got one cross necklace I love. I haven't taken it off.

Today we met Heather and her boyfriend at the lake front to take some engagement pictures of Spencer and I. Alikah fed ducks, played in the sand and even got her suit on and played in the cold lake. These are my two favorites. You can see the cross necklace in the 2nd one, too. We got home around 4, ate some Great Wraps (which is a new Sunday thing), Spencer and the kids napped while I edited photos.

I dont know. Life definitely got thrown off course the last week. The gym definitely went way on the back burner, but Im hoping that maybe the start of a new week will help things fall back into place. My mom is a wreck too. I have talked to her on the phone more than 2 times daily. Yeah. Its going to take some time, but that is expected.

the dress

rides, bounceys and dresses

Sunday we went to State Fair. We parked by Maddie and Tommy and went straight to the rides for Alikah.
We had some mozzarella sticks and chicken tenders which Im sure was just great for my diet :) Spencer's parents met up with us after awhile and we walked around with them and went through all the animal buildings. Alikah made a button and watched some vegetable races too. We got on one of the rides and then a couple minutes later the same exact guy told us we couldnt go on it...I was like...dude, you JUST let us on. And hes was like, "I had my back turned." It was stupid. It pissed me off haha.
Anyways....
besides that dumb guy we had a really great time. We left and came home and Alikah napped and Spencer took Harper to his grandma's and I just relaxed.

Monday after Spencer got off work we dropped off Alikah by his Mom, he went to cut his grandmas grass and I took Alikah to Monkey Joe's. (Its like 2 blocks from his Grandma's house) It was awesome to have some alone and fun time with just her. I went on all of them with her once and after that she was brave enough to go alone. We stayed til closing at 7 then picked up Spencer and stopped at my parents on the way home. Got home by 9 to watch Intervention and eat some chinese food. Another good night...
This morning Alikah spilled chocolate milk all of her bed and Harper spit up all over ours so I ended up doing 2 loads of laundry along with a bunch more cleaning. Thankfully Harper was great all day - I got the dishes done in one shot while he just laid on the floor looking around, perfectly content. That has never happened before! During Alikah's naptime I should have cleaned the bathrooms but instead I snuggled Harper and watched SVU.
I had an appointment at Savvy Bride at 6 and my mom and Heather met us there. I tried on like 10 dresses and narrowed it down to 3 pretty easily. But I loved the last 3. Eventually we got it to 2 and now that Ive thought about it more Im pretty positive Ive decided on the one I want for sure. I love it and it fits better with the "style" of our wedding. I am still in love with the one I wanted last year, but this one is the same designer, same style, just a bit different. Oh and of course it had to be the most expensive of the three finalists!

Spencer brought this spinning night-light box type thing home the other week from his parents. It was his when he was little and we finally put it on last night and Harper LOVES it. He just stares. He was screaming earlier and Spencer turned it on and set him on our bed and he stopped right away and just stared and stared. I love it already!