Shower Central

Yesterday was the big shower day for our house. In the morning, I helped host (along with my mom and my sister-in-law) a baby shower for two of my cousins, Christa and Corina. They are both due to have babies on the same day. Crazy, eh? All of the ladies from my Dad's side of the family were there along with a few other assorted guests.

We cleaned up that shower, I sat down for about 20 minutes, and then I got ready for the next shower of the day, a personal shower for Kara. We had about 20 college-age girls over for that, and I definitely felt a little old :) We had fun making "lingerie" for Kara and watching a video of Brett answering questions about the two of them.

It was a busy day, and I was exhausted by the end, but it was a lot of fun and really a privilege to be able to host both. A big thanks to both sets of grandparents - Dylan was at Matt's parents' most of the day, and Ella was at my parents'.

Now onto packing for Florida...4 days to go!

Me too.

Ella cracks us up because she thinks she's entitled to the same stuff as Dylan (or really any other regular-sized human being for that matter). This week, she's taken to eating meals at the counter with her big brother. It's funny to see her sitting there and it makes her quite happy. She hasn't figured out how to get down yet either which is a nice bonus.

This Week's Exciting Household Happenings

• New bathroom countertops, backsplashes and faucets are being installed by Grandpa T.
• Hosting cousins' baby shower Saturday AM
• Hosting Kara's personal shower Saturday PM
• Michigan State, Sweet Sixteen!
• 10 days until Floriday!!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

We celebrated Mom T.'s 50th birthday with a "surprise" dinner at our house Saturday night (we're pretty sure she wasn't all that surprised :)) In our seven years of marraige, it was our first sit down dinner we've ever hosted -- we are usually the buffet/order pizza type party throwers. That meant I got to buy tableclothes, 12 wine glasses, and use every last place setting I have (10 seemed like a lot when we registered!) We grilled chicken and made dessert and everyone else provided the rest. It's always worth noting when I'm domestic, so here are some pictures...

If only it were the right child...

Indy

We spent a long weekend in Indianapolis last weekend with my family. We went so the guys could watch the Big Ten Tournament, but we also found lots of other fun along the way. Nice city, good company, great memories.

weekend plans

We are getting ready for a long weekend in Indianapolis. The guys will be cheering on Michigan State in the Big Ten men's basketball tournament, the ladies will be shopping, the kids will be bouncing back and forth between the two (we also have a trip to the Children's Museum planned). We are excited for the basketball and the shopping, but not so excited about the 5 hour road trip with the kiddies. The snacks are packed, the Benadryl is packed, and we will hope for the best!

If any of you are Big Ten fans, you can go to my brother's blog, make your picks for the upcoming weekend, and have a chance at winning a free t-shirt.

Eeek! A teenager!

Cara is staying with us right now while Matt's parents are in California visiting Brett, so we are currently the proud "parents" of a teenager. She stays with us every now and then when Mom and Dad T. go out of town and she's always fun to have around (she is one of those pleasant, friendly teenagers, not one of those hostile ones). It's just funny how different it is to have a teenager when I am used to the two little ones. Matt gets to pull himself out of bed at 7:15 and take her to school (life in our household doesn't usually start before 8:00...quote from Matt, "There's a whole world out there at 7:00...") and then I have to remember she'll be coming home at 3:00 and then figure out where she needs to be and when. Between school, cheerleading, youth group, and her friends she has quite the schedule. The kids love her, of course, so it's nice for me to have someone else around while Matt's at work.

Banksy

A UK graffiti artist named Banksy was used as a sermon illustration yesterday at church (to hear how it all relates, listen here). I went home and checked out his website and Wikipedia entry. There are a couple of very interesting points about this guy...1) his work is very good, 2) no one knows how he pulls off some of this stuff, and 3) no one knows for sure who he even is. Most of his work is satirical in nature and deals with politics, culture, and ethics.

caught up!

This is how I spent my weekend...catching up on my scrapbooking. I had gotten myself caught up right before Christmas, but I had a huge pile of pictures from the holidays and from our January Bahamas vacation that had accumulated since then. I wanted to stay on top of it because in the next month and a half, we have some prime picture-taking opportunities coming up - a weekend trip to Indy for the Big Ten tournament, a spring break trip to Daytona Beach, and Kara and Brett's wedding. Now I can say I'm caught up...at least for the next week or so :)

G-Rap

My brother has a link on his Spartans Weblog site for this t-shirt site, richrobots. I was looking through the shirts and this one made me laugh out loud. Get it?