Weekend Recap - My Mom's Birthday!

Erin tries to start blogging, take 4.

I've decided that enough is enough when it comes to not writing and documenting my life. A lot has happened, and is going to continue to happen, that I want to remember.  I've slipped out of some of my better habits and have lost a little bit of me along the way. I'm planning on getting into that a little bit more later this week. Yes, I'm planning on blogging more than just once this week, or month even. It's time.

What better way to get back into it than with a good old fashioned weekend recap!

Today is my mom's 50th birthday! The weekend was all about her! Seriously, from Thursday night until yesterday afternoon, my time was almost exclusively dedicated to making sure her day was celebrated. My brother and I threw her a surprise party! Friday after work, I started cooking and didn't really stop until about 12am. The menu for the party consisted of ham sliders (108 of them), the easiest pasta salad ever (4 large bowls), cheese dip, meatballs, fruit & veggie tray, and cake. Plus beer and apple-ritas. I made all of the pasta salad and assembled the sliders Friday night as well as put her actual gift together.

Saturday was spent running around from about 9:30-3. Tuck and I went to pick up the fruit and veggie trays, then delivered sliders to my brother's house for his girlfriend to bake and cheese dip ingredients for them to throw into the crock pot. Danny's mom also baked some sliders for me (bless that woman). We also borrowed some coolers from family members and a friend. After that, it was time to pick up the cake, get the beer, and buy cupcakes because I was too cheap to have the cake baker make cupcakes too. I had a splitting headache that had migraine potential. This was after I had already had 2 cups of coffee that morning. Nothing a little diet Mountain Dew and some Excedrin can't fix!

I beat feet home, decorated, baked my sliders, then got ready. As I had one layer of hair left to curl and about 20 minute left before Danny's mom would be there to help me finish setting up, which was also 10 minutes before we needed to leave to meet my mom at my brothers,  Danny yells, "there is a white Buick in the drive." Grandma. Always, always, always so super early. Got her situated, finished getting ready, then got everything sort of set up. We left to meet my mom at the time we were supposed to meet her. Drew wasn't even back from delivering their food and ice to my house yet! Thankfully, we're all usually late so she suspected nothing.

We get to my brother's and I "realize" I left Tucker's diaper bag at home. This excuse was planned for months. We take the long way back to our house so she doesn't see the signs pointing her friends in the direction of the party. We pull up to our drive and my mom is in shock yelling, "what did you guys do?!" It was so great. She had high school friends(one drove from 4 hours away), new and old work friends (who live an hour away), Drew and I's friends. Everyone was standing in the driveway waiting to greet her.

 

A friend of mine snapped a few pictures of my little stud. Love those baby blues!

After eating, drinking and socializing for about 5 hours, everyone headed home. We were inside and in bed by 11:30. Seriously, this was an ideal party!

Sunday morning, we got to sleep in a bit since Tucker pretty much demanded to go home with Danny's mom. My mom and I ate leftover cake and ham sliders for breakfast and drank coffee while she enjoyed her last gift. Drew and I asked her friends and family to write her letters. Some were from people who came to the party, her CREW girls, others were from old high school friends that she hasn't seen or talked to in a while. And Drew, Megan and I. Danny wrote one but hasn't been able to print it.

We spent the rest of the day walking around a local festival, continuing to eat extremely bad. When we got home we were all exhausted, but Danny, Tucker and I went to the high school to walk(Tuck and me) and run (Danny). Next was dinner (more ham sliders and pasta salad) then bath and bed for the little man. I wasn't too far behind him either.

It was a great weekend and my mom deserved every minute of hard work. Even if I am still exhausted!

Happy birthday, Mom! I love you!

4 years

On this day 4 years ago, I married my best friend and love of my life.

In those 4 years, we've gone through the big things: both of us graduating college, getting through the first year of marriage, buying a house together, experiencing the for richer, for poorer when my family business almost crumbled, having a baby, and doing the in sickness and in health thing when Danny broke his foot.

But what I noticed when I was looking for pictures to make the a collage for the obligatory anniversary post on all forms of social media, the "little" things are where the magic happens. The little moments in between all the big moments.

1. Top Left: Indianapolis Indians game. I vividly remember Danny telling me the first summer we started dating that he would rather watch paint dry than watch a baseball game. A trip to St. Louis and me begging to go to a Cardinals game changed his mind. We haven't been to a baseball game in 2 years, but for Danny Summers to enjoy baseball says a lot!

2. Top Right: Mother's Day 2013. We were at Hooter's with my mom and brother. Dinner at Hooters was Danny's idea. Even though I wasn't officially a mother yet, Danny acknowledged the day with a  card. He usually did with Diesel anyways, but he made sure this day was recognized. It was also that in between time when you find out your pregnant but you can't tell anyone yet. My mom and brother knew, but the news hadn't been made public yet.

3. Bottom Left: Tiger Trot 5K in 2014.  I used to despise running. I never understood why people ran for fun. Growing up as an athlete, running was usually a form of punishment. Missed free throws? Run suicides. Other team serves an ace against you: run stairs. Strike out looking: run around the field outsid the fence. But after watching Danny complete the Tiger Trot in 2013 and seeing how great he felt about himself, I had to give it a try.

4. Bottom Right: Our camper. Danny and I don't share many hobbies. He likes to shoot guns and fish while I like to shop and drink wine. But this year we made a purchase that allows us to do something together as a family. Danny can fish during the day and I can drink wine (or rum or beer) during the day AND night. Ha!

There is no one I'd rather share the big and little moments with.

Weekend Recap

Hey, look who is blogging on a Monday and not just on the last Wednesday of the month for What's Up Wednesday?! It's time for a weekend recap!

Friday evening Tucker and I had plans to go eat with my mom, her brother, Drew and his girlfriend. My uncle is in town for his annual visit and we like to get together with him a few times while he's here. After stuffing ourselves with some Mexican food, we headed out to Drew's for a bit. Once it was past Tuck's bedtime, we headed home. Danny was working Friday, so after Tucker went to sleep I finished watching Season 5 of Pretty Little Liars on Netflix while I ate some popsicles. I felt like a 13 year old.

Saturday was spent mostly running around. Danny needed a haircut and I needed a few things from Target and before we knew it we were all hungry for lunch. After we ate lunch, we went to visit Danny's dad then headed to a birthday party for Danny's brother and nephew. I cannot believe our nephew is 15 and is now starting high school today! We left the party to get ready for our date! Our 4th wedding anniversary is on Wednesday, so we wanted to go out to celebrate over the weekend.  My mom got us a gift certificate to The Journey for Christmas, so we used that. It was SOOOO good! this is Danny's first plate.

It was nice to go out and enjoy dinner just the two of us. We went to bed shortly after we got home. We were beat from running around all day!

Sunday was just as busy for Tuck and me. Danny didn't have to work, but after church he had shooting plans with some friends. While he did that, Tucker and I went to Target again and to the grocery store. After a quick lunch, we went to get ice cream with my mom and her brother, sister and great-niece. Then I made my easy BBQ ribs since they were on sale last week along with some twice baked potato casserole. Danny said I cheated and its really "once microwaved and once baked potato casserole" but whatever. Who has time to bake potatoes for an hour THEN assemble. No. Just microwave them and go about your business. We went on our nightly walk and then I fell asleep putting Tucker to bed. I then proceeded to get up and eat a ton of ice cream since apparently one sundae (okay, I ate most of Tucker's too) wasn't enough.

It was a busy weekend, Not quite like the past 3 months have been, but still busy!

What's Up Wednesday

I'm not sure where July went. Or if I even remember how to write a blog post. But! I'm going to make my best effort to get back into it. After we got back from vacation, we had something going on. Every. Single. Weekend! It was usually something both days. Or a something that lasted both days. Like a bachelorette party(I survived) or a wedding. While it was nice taking a break from writing about all of that stuff, I didn't document any of it. Heck, I still haven't documented our vacation! July is a busy time for me work wise. I had multiple meetings every week that required me to leave first thing in the morning and then the following day was spent playing catch up, both types of days left no time for blogging. But, here I am, for What's Up Wednesday!

 

What we're eating...

Still Whole30'ing the best we can. And it's still as exhausting as I remember it. I'm packing breakfast and lunch for Danny still, but I told him no way Jose on bringing him dinner to work. We eat Whole30 dinners for the most part as well. I also eat grains and SOME dairy in moderation though. I guess you could call it Paleo-ish? We're eating really well though!

 

What I'm reminiscing about...

Still reminiscing about our wedding, but not because its wedding season like last month. It's because our anniversary is next Wednesday. We look like babies! I can't believe next week I'll be married to this hunk for 4 years!

 

What I'm loving...

We've been taking family walks after dinner around our neighborhood. We've lived in our house for almost 3 years and have walked around the neighborhood more in the last 2 weeks than we have in the 3 years. I've always been hesitant because there are dogs that we don't know and that scares me a little. We've walked more than a few times and are still alive, so I guess I'll keep walking.

 

What we've been up to...

Oh gosh. Let's see... we were in a wedding on the 11th which was loads of fun! I paid for it dearly the next TWO days. Fair week was last week, so we were out there a little bit. Then we went camping last weekend, just the 4 of us (Danny, Tuck, Diesel and me) so that was a lot of fun. It was a nice way to end the summer madness, which is the best way to describe May, June and July.

 

What I'm dreading...

Still haven't gotten our kitchen repainted. I'm thinking about bribing my brother-in-law with some money and Budweiser. Or his friend that accepts payment in the same form. I think that's the only way its going to get done. Also, potty training. It's upon us and he's just about ready to really get after it.

 

What I'm working on...

getting my house back in order from vacation, construction, busy time at work and having a toddler.

 

What I'm excited about...

My birthday. If you've been around for a while, you know I love birthdays. If you're new, I LOVE BIRTHDAYS! Mine, yours, my child's, my husband's, my mom's... Love them. Everyone deserves a day for themselves. I plan to not work on my birthday and have a "Me" day.

 

What I'm watching/reading...

Pretty Little Liars. Since we cut cable and our entertainment lives are living off of Netflix and Hulu, I've missed PLL. While working on program fans for the wedding we were in, I discovered that whole season 5 of PLL was on Netflix. I had to stop in the middle of season 5 due to the cutting of cable (worth it though!) so this has been exciting!

 

What I'm listening too...

NOTHING! Other than my fingers hitting the keyboard, there is no sound in my office.

 

What I'm wearing...

Some Sperry's flip flops that my mom gave me. It's no secret that I love Sperry's footwear. Here is the story about how I got my moms. For the wedding we were in, the girls wore cowboy boots. After the reception festivities were over, we all wanted to change into flip flops. One of the irresponsible bridesmaids left hers in her car, so I offered my Sperry flip flops to her so she could go get hers out of her car, which was quite a ways away from the bride's brother's house where the reception was. I went outside to party and just assumed she would put them back on my bag that she watched me pull them out of. About an hour and a half later, after my mom had driven off in my car, she informs me that she set them ON my car. One shoe survived the drive, the other did not. I still haven't pitched the remaining shoe in hopes that the other one will magically turn up. My mom knows my love for these flip flops and gave me a pair that she had that she doesn't wear. Bless her.

 

What I'm doing this weekend...

Saturday morning I'm hoping to get a long walk in at the park with Tucker so I can exercise and he can nap. Then we have a birthday party for my brother-in-law and nephew. Sunday I really hope we can go swimming.

 

What I'm looking forward to next month...

My birthday is on the 21st, so obviously that. Other than a wedding and my niece's birthday, we don't have anything going on. We'll hopefully go camping the weekend of my birthday since I share a birthday weekend with a fellow camping friend. Just have to find somewhere for all of us to go since our usual spot is flooded and closed until who knows when. They don't even know when!

 

What else is new...

Not much really.

 

What I'm going to miss about summer...

swimming. We actually had time and were able to swim some this summer. My mom's apartment complex has a pool that I've taken advantage of this year. Even though we've only gone 3 times, that's 3 more times than I went the last 2 year combined. It's sad really.

 

What's Up Wednesday!

How is it the last Wednesday of June already? Oh I know, its because I was gone for nearly half of it.

What's Up Wednesday with Mix and Match Mama is the perfect way for me to attempt to hop back into blogging and play catch up with where we're at. I'll be answering the questions below and you should do the same. I love this link up!

What we're eating.... Not everything under the sun like we did the last 2 weeks that's for sure. After much begging, I gave into Mr. Summers request to eat Whole30 style after the cruise. We are Whole30'ing long term, but will take breaks for events such as weddings, parties, camping, etc. So far, I've been completely compliant and the only non-compliant thing Danny has had is a little bit of sour cream. I feel better already.

What I'm reminiscing about... Wedding season is in full swing around here, so it's got me thinking about our big day. You can read about that HERE.

 

What I'm loving... being home. While it was nice to be away from work, cleaning, cooking, laundry and my cell phone(at least for half of the trip) for 12 days, I sure missed  my routine. And my bed. I took a nap in my bed at lunch yesterday that's how much I've missed it.

 

What we've been up too... visiting Alaska. Danny is trying to figure out how to get me to move there, but it ain't happenin. I'll hopefully recap the trip next week! Now we are just playing catch up and figuring out how to get all the crap done that needs done. More on that.

What I'm dreading... while I love the fact that our mudroom/laundry room addition is moving right along, I'm not looking forward to having to repaint the kitchen because of it. We took a window in the kitchen out and plastered over it (our whole house, except our room is plaster for some reason). Painting kitchens kind of sucks, but there is a very large and very noticeable white area in my blue kitchen that is driving me nuts and I've only been looking at it for 3 days.

What I'm working on... what am I not working on? Finding time for the above, laundry, getting back into running, not losing my mind.

What I'm excited about... this weekend! Its one of my best friends' bachelorette party weekend! After 12 days of being with a teething toddler, whiny 5 year old girl (what little girls aren't whiny though) and an 8 year old who thinks she's 14, two whole days of adult time sounds GREAT!

What I'm watching/reading... Not watching much TV these days, even before the trip! I did read a whole book though. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty. So good! I bought it, along with Big Little Lies, before the trip with hopes of reading both. I started Big Little Lies on the flight home and can't wait to pick it back up. They are easy reads. And I like easy!

What I'm listening too... Tucker talking up a storm! Being around his cousins for almost 2 weeks made his vocabulary take off. Well, he's saying like 4 more words but still. The cutest is "Okay." I know there will be one day that his talking will drive me nuts, but I couldn't be more excited about the game of "guess why the toddler is mad/crying/asking" being almost over. Grunts and yells aren't very informative.

What I'm wearing... I'm actually wearing the shirt I wore for most of my bump pictures. I love that it fit me during pregnancy and now. The picture below is from when I was pregnant.

What I'm doing this weekend... Bachelorette Party! I have no idea how I'm going to survive. Dinner at 7 on Friday followed by a chill night at the hotel. Saturday is boating, a concert and THEN going out. Its going to take me at least 3 days to recover. Because this accurately describes my life.

 



What I'm looking forward to next month... We have 2 weddings to attend, one of which we are in. I'm looking forward to seeing some of our friends that we haven't seen in a while. We are also hoping to go camping at the end of July. And the 3rd week of July is the beloved 4H fair. July is always busy!

What else is new?  Besides my love for beer cocktails that I drank daily on the cruise, not much. Oh! I did challenge myself to something before we left! With the exception of a couple pairs of work pants and a few more pair of underwear, I am going to attempt to not buy ANY clothes for the rest of the year! This will be interesting. And challenging. I should probably just avoid Target too.

Bonus questions: What are you doing for 4th of July? I'm hoping the same thing I do every year. Go to fireworks in the small neighboring town. I've missed one year out of like the last 20. Danny used to volunteer at the fire department there, which is who puts them on, so that makes it even more special. Danny works this year so he won't be joining us, that's not a huge surprise though. 

Alright.. that's what we've been up too! I'm hoping next week I can recap then trip before I lose all of my memories of it, share our room addition progress and basically just start blogging again!