The business of going on dates

We went on a date. A real one without our little one. It was a first. Let me back up. We've made dating/going on dates a priority from the very beginning of our relationship. It was a weekly priority. It was fun. Then along came baby and we struggled on what to do. I wasn't ready to leave Madden, so we got creative. We made our weekly TV shows our date. We went to the drive-in movie theatre. We celebrated our anniversary. We redefined our priority, but kept US a priority. So last week, I decided it was time to leave our son with his Granna and go on a real date. When I mentioned it to Ben, he said - "we've had real dates." And while he is right, this was needed. Today was the day. It was wonderful. And weird...we both felt we had to be brave. I felt like we were missing something. Ben claimed to go to the restroom, only to come back to report the baby was fine. But overall, it was good. So good. To just be...together, knowing our baby was well taken care of...we came back refreshed. Which is not just good for Ben and I as a couple, but good for Madden too.

Our Christmas Decorating Story

The reality of our Christmas Decorating Day turned out far different than what we imagined.

We imagined a pristine day (which it was). We imagined Starbucks coffee (which we had). We imagined a cutie kiddo in his stroller as we strolled through the rows of Christmas trees at the local Christmas tree farm (we did stroll and he is a cute kid). We imagined hot chocolate while we decorated our tree (and the hot chocolate was yummy, check out the recipe!).

However, it is as this point our imaginations never imagined what happened next. It all started when Ben asked me if I thought the tree was leaning. I glanced up for a moment. "No, the tree is not leaning." I went back to what I was doing and he went back to what he was doing. 15 minutes later, "Bethany, the tree is definitely leaning." He examined it at the base and decided the bottom limbs needed a little trimming. He asked me to hold the tree. With a baby in one hand, and a tree in another, I held the tree. 20 minutes after he finished trimming, we sat the tree upright and stood back.

This did not fix the tree. I placed the baby in the mama-roo and proceeded to hold the tree upright for the next hour. By this time it is 1am in morning. I'm tired. Ben is tired. It finally looks like it is fixed. So I go to bed. About 30 minutes later, Ben comes to bed, "I took all the ornaments off the tree. It is still going to fall over."

After examining it, Ben determined that the tree is just crooked - naturally. No amount of trimming or adjusting would fix our tree. So, three days after we decorated the tree, undecorated it, tried trimming it and finally just stared at it hoping it would straighten up....we propped it up against the window, stuck some books under the tree stand and declared, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!".

Date Night: Post Baby

When the third Twilight Movie came out, I really wanted to watch it. Badly. But when the movie came out, I had a two week old baby.

So, Ben and I tried to arrange friends and family to come watch the little one so we could head to the movies. Sickness, holidays and more kept putting a rain-check for that plan.

Until Ben had a brilliant idea. Drive-In Movie Theater. So our first date night took place. We packed up the baby, grabbed some fast food, picked up our favorite movie candy and away we went! It was perfect. We could talk through the movie, take care of the baby AAAANNNDDD we got to watch the movie. Finally.

Throughout the movie, Ben would look at me and say, "Whose idea was this? Who suggested a drive-in movie theater?" 

I am looking forward to our next date night.

Birthday Celebration

Today is my birthday! Wahoo! I have had a great day...actually a GREAT weekend. Ben and I have had so much fun.

Friday Night:
- We had dinner with our good friends, Heather and Cameron.
- Then, we went to the movies. The guys saw "A Night in the Dark" and Heather and I saw "The Help".

Saturday:
- Ben and I spent the day lounging at home...watching the Boot Camp of American Ninja Warrior.
- Saturday night, we spent among Kings and Knights, I mean really! We did! At Medieval Times. It was definitely different from anything we had done before...but it was fun!

Sunday:
- After church, we came home, went swimming and watched Chronicles of Narnia. What a great day.

Overall, my birthday has been so fun. I have completely enjoyed extending the celebration for the entire weekend. :)

Just Ben and I

(It's been a while since I've just talked about Ben and I...so here is an update!)

We started this year out with one thought in mind: simplify. We wanted to simplify our life.

We were busy. Too busy. Four jobs between us, two dogs, opposite schedules, coming and going and passing each other every day of the week. And weekends were a foreign concept because we had never had full and consistent weekends together.

So we simplified. In April, our schedules merged to be more similar. Jobs dwindled down, and instead of passing each other, we actually get to spend quality time together.

The result has been...incredible. Really. We have more time to do fun things together. We aren't rushing. We get to rest and rejuvenate together. The impact on our marriage has been amazing. We don't argue as much...and I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that we aren't competing against life for each other.

In the last couple of months, we've taken a mini-trip, planted a garden, gone swimming  (a LOT), spent a lot of time with friends, laughed, gone to the movies, tried out fun restaurants...and overall, we have had great conversation.

Being married to Ben makes my life sweeter, fuller and overflowing with laughs.

Memorial Day 2011: Part 1 (Rest)

I've been looking forward to this weekend for so many reasons. For one, I needed a break. A chance to rest - fully - and recover. Pregnancy is not kind to a woman's body. In my case, I've endured aching joints, uncomfortable, restless nights, and the over-all continual exhaustion. My job which averages 45+ hours a week leaves me with little energy to do much less.

So this weekend was welcomed with wide open arms. The chance to rest for 3 days and what's better, a chance to rest with Ben.

It started off with a one-hour massage Ben had arranged for me. It was glorious. For the first time in YEARS, I felt the tension of stress, the discomfort of pregnancy melt away. I slept harder that night then I had in a very long time.

The next day, I actually had a lot of energy to enjoy the day Ben and I had planned out....but that fun event will come in the blog post or two!

Sing To Me

Ben and I are planning and talking about concerts we would like to attend. Much to my surprise, my list has become quite large.

1. Owl City
2. Florence And the Machine
3. Kellie Pickler
4. Lady Antebellum 
5. Hanson
6. Justin Bieber
7. Rosie Thomas
8. Ingrid Michaelson

 That is my list. For now. Who do you want to see?  

Valentine's Day 2011

If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you know that I think Ben is the best...in particular, the BEST at gifts and surprises and all around, making my life lovely. He definitely keeps getting better and better. No doubt about it. You also know - if you follow my blog - I'm kinda a go-big-or-go-home type of girl. I want the extravagant celebration, the incredible surprise, and the drain-your-wallet experience. No doubt about it.

Our anniversary is in December. December. In the midst of holidays, parties, friends, families, traditions, shopping, etc...we have to squeeze in "Don't-forget-to-celebrate-our-anniversary". That is exhausting. So, for our first anniversary, we split it up. We did part 1 (Nutcracker Ballet)...and this past weekend, we mixed in part 2 with Valentine's Day. Part 2 met my expectations, and definitely showed that once again, my man has got some SERIOUS skillz.

Part 2 = BAHAMAS.

We went on a cruise. Just Ben and I. For 3 days. It was fast, but it was needed. We had zero cell phone service (which I love!). A lot of time to talk. A lot of time to sleep. And, our personal favorite, (but you didn't hear it from me) a lot of time to people watch and people mock. It was glorious.

I was the ultimate tourist - I brought two cameras with me. Ben was the ultimate planner - we did a lot of fun things (Bahamas beach, fun restaurants, a little bit of time spent in the casino, hot tub, karaoke, trivia, bingo, fun shows, and good food). We had fun. It was relaxing. We laughed. We reconnected. We enjoyed no responsibilities.

Here are some pictures of our fun times:

(first set of pictures taken with my awesome Polariod Camera - another great gift from Ben!)

The sign that welcomed us.

A window-side view of our surroundings.

My attempt to play a slot machine. (Should brought a book! ha!)

Ben at the casino - he was actually really good. Who knew?!?

Our Cruise Countdown.

The Housewives of Nassau table. They were among our favorites to people-watch.

Old-school myspace mirror/formal picture.

The beautiful beach

The other couples we had dinner with each night - they were so much fun!

Our taxi ride to the beach.

The beach, the clear water - it was incredible.

The food was incredible. But, this is the only picture to show for it.

The end.

To Remember: Snow Day

I don't want to forget this day.

The 2011 snow day. The day we romped in the snow. Early before the neighborhood kids had even gotten up to play. They slept in. But we were too eager. We had to play right away.

Or the coffee we made...that seemed to taste extra good because it was Narnia-like outside.

And, I don't want to forget how we did things we enjoyed separately, but together. We were content to just be. Ben and I. Together. Ben played "Call of Duty" and I sewed - all in the living room. I also don't want to forget how we would take turns pausing to display interest in the other. His game. My project.

I don't want to forget this day because it is days like this that make wonderful memories. Wonderful memories of living together.

Year Old Cake

Part of our Anniversary celebration was tasting our wedding cake.

Yep. That year-old thing.

We had been told that sometimes it isn't good. That after a year, its is freezer burner and just all-around NASTY.

On our wedding day

Not our cake. Thankfully, my mother-in-law kept the cake in her freezer. Thank-goodness SOMEONE thought to take care of the cake. :)

This is how we had in the freezer. (minus the plate)

Do you see the frost?

Right before we took our first bit - a year later! With milk, of course!

Ben's first bite in action!

My pre-first bite!

Oh my goodness. I cannot even believe it. That cake is so good. It is not dried out, or freezer burnt. It was DELICIOUS! Has anyone else had any good one-year-old wedding cake stories?

Our Christmas Decorations.

Finally! I get to share with you our Christmas decorations. We had so much fun. Some of the projects were harder than I originally anticipated...(it's amazing how difficult a project is without a hot glue gun!) But, overall, we are so pleased with the end result. In case you are curious, we made the tree garland, tree topper, tree skirt.

I love our Tree Skirt. We cut a shag rug in half that we had in storage!

Last year, Ben made our Tree Topper. This is the one for 2010.

We lack a fireplace. So we improvised. And, don't you love the tacky  stocking lights? It was a White Christmas Party gift...AND I LOVE IT!

Even Milo got into the Christmas celebration.. (Ok. He actually HATES the reindeer antlers. But, I think it is SOOO funny.)

Not a decoration, but I had to share! My sweet little sister-in-law, Macie brought me a fun collection of cookies from her school Christmas party.

And, Macie made me a bookmark..that I will be making into an ornament because it so precious. This is the front.

This is the back of the bookmark. Ironically, my kitchen usually looks like this after I finish baking.

Christmas Edition.

Ben is known for being a great gift-giver. I mean, really, REALLY great. He plans the best surprises. I mean, the best of the BEST. As quick review, my first Valentine date and my first pedicure, will remind you of how GREAT a gift-giver Ben is.

But this Christmas will be different. This Christmas, I will beat Ben. I know, I know. He doesn't give me gifts or surprises to beat me. But, this year. I want to give him the best gift. I want to surprise him.

Of course, I can't POSSIBLY tell you what that gift will be. HELLO! He reads my blogs! However, in 9 days, I will provide a full report. An absolute marvelous report.

I CANNOT WAIT.

Disconnected.

Yesterday, Ben and I disconnected...from the world. Yesterday, we spent the day apart....from our Blackberrys, our Facebook, our Twitter, text messages, emails, and phone calls.

We wanted to cherish our first married Christmas tree experience without distraction. I can honestly say I do not even remember the last time I was without my phone or internet. But I can tell you, I loved every moment away from it all.

We created a sanctuary of Ben and I for the afternoon. No one else existed. We had no idea what was taking place in the world. We just spent time with each other. It was amazing. We had more conversation. We did more silly things...not for Twitter or Facebook, but for each other. We were more engaged in what the other person was saying...we listened with both ears and eyes. The world did not have access to our special day in play-by-play action. In fact, we didn't reconnect until about 7pm at night. And throughout the course of the day, we became more attached to detaching.

I am looking forward to our next disconnected day. It was the best thing we've done in a long time.

The Adventure of Our 1st Tree

Ben and I traipsed out to get our Christmas Tree today. We had a lot of fun debating over which was the perfect tree to get. It didn't take long to make a decision.

We then wandered over to Target to get some Christmas necessities. Toting around Starbuck's - has anyone tried the Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate? DELICIOUS! I don't even like chocolate and I am loving the salty-caramel concoction! Anyway...after a brief stop to get stamps for our Christmas cards, we began to trek home.

Until I noticed that our tree was SLIPPING off the roof of our car. We pulled over. Ben jumped out, did some adjustments, then we continued. About a quarter of a mile down the road, Ben became frantic.

"Uhhh....where are the stamps?" He asked as he checked his pockets, his seat. No stamps.

I looked at him.

"Maybe I left them on top of the car." He said, panicking. I pulled over. He checked the tree (again), found the Christmas treats (i.e. candy bars) he had left ON THE TOP OF THE TRUNK...but no stamps.

We discussed the probability of actually finding the stamps. It seemed so absurd.  But, we decided to give it a try anyway. We turned around. Ben continued to panic. I did what any loving and adoring wife would do: I burst out laughing. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I considered the fact that we were on the hunt to recover our stamps....FROM THE SIDE OF THE ROAD!

Upon our return to the scene of the crime - where the stamps disappeared originally - Ben began to comb the ditch, the side of the road, trying to find the stamps.

Incredibly, Ben found BOTH books of stamps...which is great for our Christmas Cards! :) How we ever recovered those books of stamps, so quickly, I will never know. But, I do know that we will be talking about this story for a very long time.

We Celebrated 10 Months

On Sunday night, Ben and I snuggled close together. Then, we realized that Monday would be our 10 month anniversary. We shook our heads at the craziness of that fact and then drifted off to sleep.

On Monday, I looked at my calendar at work and realized that Monday was the 18th. Our anniversary was on the 19th. We both had gotten it wrong.

On Tuesday, we celebrated Ben's birthday with his family and completely forgot about our anniversary.

On Wednesday, I told Ben I was sorry for snapping at lunch. He said (via text): "NBD. It's kinda what I do. NBD: No Big Deal." I marveled at his understanding.

On Thursday. Today, I reflect on our anniversary. Finally. I remember the excitement, the calmness, the anticipation, the change-of-plans-honeymoon chaos of our wedding day. I whirl through the past 10 months and stand amazed.

There is nothing better than marriage with Ben. The more time goes by, the more thankful I am.

A Year Later

Isn't amazing how much can happen in a year?

A year ago, I was planning my wedding, going to pre-marital counseling, and living with my boss's family. A year later, I'm cherishing the moments Ben doesn't have to work, enjoying my puppy, and establishing bold plans for the future. Life is good. I thought it would be fun to take a stroll down memory lane, all pictures thanks to Tupelo Photography. Sam is one girl who knows how to use a camera!

Introducing: Milo.

It was Saturday. And, the woman looked at me across the cluttered table. "You saved his life, you know." She said it nonchalantly, as if I save lives everyday. "He was found on the side of the road, " she paused. "And, he has been here for several months, we couldn't keep him much longer." Tears welled up in my eyes. I've never saved a life before.

Ben and I have been talking for several months about getting a dog. We've gone back and forth on the pros and cons. But last week, we decided it was time. Ben's schedule requires him to be gone a lot of evenings leaving me by myself. I needed a companion. So, we went to a pet event in our local town. We got up early Saturday morning to scope out our dog, our pet. We wandered around; questioned ourselves as to why we wore flip flops when we noticed our grass-caked feet thanks to the early morning dew. We passed the cages of dogs, all different sizes, breeds and ages. Then we stopped. Staring at us was a  little black dog who just sat there. He wasn't barking like the rest of his peers, or attacking his cage desperate to get our attention. No, he just sat there.

So, we brought him home. And, according to the lady at the Animal Shelter booth, we saved his life.

After much discussion of names - Ben wanted to name him after a Falcons' Football Player, we chose Milo.

Milo has proven to be quite the little cuddlier. He wants nothing better to do than curl up on the couch right beside me, or in my lap, or where-ever. He just wants to be with me. All the time. If I move, he is at my heels. Its almost as if he is afraid I'll leave him. He clearly loves me the most. But, don't think for one moment, he doesn't love Ben! On Ben's short runs, he takes Milo. Milo comes back so tired he can barely keep his eyes open. But he loves it, still...so they run together.

It has definitely been a lot of fun having Milo. Definitely expect stories of him to pop up every now and again!

I (heart) boy roommates.

(copying Today's Letters)

Why boy roommates are awesome: Ben just walked into house playing music from his MP3 player while saying, " The lawn mower is outside"

Easy A Movie Clip

Reality TV As It Relates To My Life

Some people HATE reality TV. And, quite frankly, I have no idea why. It is hilarious. It is weird. It is addicting.

This summer, Ben and I took on a huge commitment of two reality TV shows. Bachelor Pad (yes, I watched that show...don't hate!) and Big Brother: season 12.

The Bachelor Pad was not that big of a commitment, it was two hours every Monday. And, it was two hours that I spent every Monday debating WHY IN THE WORLD do I watch that show? Only to pick up again the following Monday. (I know, I know. I have a problem) In addition (and most importantly!), Tenley was back. And, I LOVE Tenley. So I had no choice, as a fan, I HAD to watch it.

Big Brother was a completely and totally different story. LET.ME.TELL.YOU. That show required 3 nights a week, 1 hour a week. ARGH. It was so demanding. And, it made me feel claustrophobic. And, Ben begged to go on the show. (but that is a different story)

So, this week. Everything ended. Bachelor Pad - finale is over (Tenley did not win, so I am still recovering from rooting for her TWICE and she didn't win.). And, Big Brother concluded as well. Again, my "person" did not win. Which means - Ben and I did the math - that since JANUARY, I have watch diligently devoted myself to 5 Reality TV shows and my "person" NEVER WINS. Argh. It is so frustrating! 

On another note, I'm left in a huge dilemma: WHAT DO I WATCH NOW? What shows are you totally into? And recommendations?

Today.

Dear Ben, 
Today, I found this note from you. Guess what? These months with you, as your wife, have been nothing short of AWESOME! I'm excited that we have the rest of our lives with each other. For celebration, I thought we would enjoy the best ice cream ever - birthday cake ice cream! Thanks for being the best husband. Ever. 
Love, 
Bethany