cupcakes!

Christina's bridal shower is this Sunday and I am going to bring cupcakes. So, I decided to break into Ryan's dowry a little early so I could use the wonderful cupcake carrier that Joyce gave to us!

So Chrissy wanted champagne cake and Andrew gave me a bunch of awesome chocolate frosting that Kim had left over (hope that was ok with Kim!). Sadly, I only have enough chocolate frosting for 12 cupcakes so the others got white and blue frosting and had to go in the round cake carrier.

Joyce has the same carrier and so does Kim, so to avoid confusion, I decided to write my name on it. I was about to put "K. Balch" when it occured to me that in 3.5 months, that will no longer be my name! So I wrote "K. Babbitt" instead!

It's a wedding present, after all...that's kosher, isn't it?

make me babies

At Kim's baby shower, I overheard Kim and Allie discussing a website called Make Me Babies.com. You can upload photos of you and your lover and see what your children will look like. So, naturally, I wanted to see if Ryan and I would have cute little ones.

The photos I used of our faces might have had something to do with the creepiness of the babies that the computer decided to make. I think it's the full set of teeth on an infant that does it for Margaret. Donald actually doesn't look too bad, even though his little face is a bit pudgy. I knew we'd have red-heads! I specified "caucasian" for Margaret but didn't specify for Donald or the last baby! The last one I made (which happens to be the cutest) definitely got the race wrong so I named it "milkman's baby."

Little Margaret Babbitt

Little Donald Babbitt

Milkman's Baby

ryan's dowry

I love Joyce Babbitt! She is an amazing mom, a loving wife, a faithful Catholic, and an excellent role model. I hope to be like her someday because she is very thoughtful and puts others before herself.

Here's a great example...

At Christmastime Mike told me that if I ever needed Christmas lights, all I had to do was go in their basement and take some of the boxes that had been purchased over the years in after Christmas sales. Then he said something about "all of the wedding presents."

Joyce started to blush a bit as she told me this story: As a homeschooling mom, she noticed that many of the homeschoolers got married when they were 18, 19, 20 years old. So, once her boys had graduated high school, she figured they would be getting married soon too and began to buy them wedding presents when she found good deals.

Once Ryan and I got engaged, she began looking through the presents, which she affectionately referred to as "Ryan's Dowry" and said "What was I thinking?!" (I on the other hand, was pretty excited to get 10 years worth of presents in one day).

So the dowry got sent down to my apartment in 4 big boxes and Ryan and I spent a good 1-2 hours going through all of its delights! Lots of great stuff! Thanks Mike and Joyce! :)

My favorite gifts were (of course) the box full of baking goodies, the tools (I had asked my dad for tools for Christmas but he never got them), and a tupperwear with some NFP things in it including a due date predictor wheel and a little note that said "May you be blessed with many loaves in the oven!"

Again, I love Joyce Babbitt! I'm so excited for her to be my mom! (And that's not just because she gives me presents.)

wedding ideas

I have been making wedding plans lately: looking at cakes, dresses, shoes, and tuxedos trying to pick styles that would suit my wedding. Here is what I've come up with so far.

Wedding Dresses

I appreciate this dress because I come from a Navy family. It would be a good way to honor their influence in my life. I also think modesty is an important virtue. I don't want to have a dress that would show off what my husband alone is supposed to see. Therefore, my dress shouldn't show off anything above the elbows or below the neckline.



This dress is an amazing combination of modern and modest. I like the mermaid style of dresses, but worried about how it would show off my butt. Now I don't have to worry about it! I'm thinking about getting this dress but I'll probably put a dickie under it to hide my cleavage.

Bridesmaid Dresses

As I'm sure everyone knows, I love things that are pink and foo-foo. This dress is both! Look at the lovely details in the bows and frills! And the sleeves are so poofy and wonderful! The girls will love it!





Motherhood is a beautiful thing. With three of my bridesmaids having just had babies (and who knows, maybe others will be pregnant at that point!), I think my wedding should honor their choice to bring life into the world. This dress would definitely do the trick!



Have you ever seen any old musicals? When I was little I really loved the movie "The King and I." I was thinking of having the groomsmen escort the bridesmaids up the isle to the song "Shall We Dance?" or "Hello, Young Lovers." The beautiful thing about this dress is that it has the ability to hide whatever sort of junk you've packed in your trunk!


Another childhood memory was playing with my Barbie dolls. I loved the pink, frilly outfits that I used to put them in. I loved the giant butt bows and the laciness and the matching gloves. The beading was awesome and the tiaras were so fun! I was thinking I could dress each bridesmaid in a different childhood Barbie dress! (Only bigger.)

Shoes

These shoes are both comfortable and economical. Everyone has some old maxi pads lying around, right? This would be a good way to save some money after my recent purchases. Of course I would put something like sparkles or silk flowers on the top of the shoes...I wouldn't want to look tacky.

I really hope these shoes come in pink! A dream of mine as a middle schooler was to be over 6' tall and now that dream can be fulfilled! This would also be a kind choice for my shorter bridesmaids to wear (i.e. Emily and Kim Taylor).

Tuxedos

Remember the 1970s and early 1980s? It was the time when most of our parents were married, so you probably don't. I think if my parents hadn't gotten married in their living room, they might have had a nice wedding and my dad might have worn something like this. I wonder if it comes in a pink to match the Barbie dresses...


Ryan and I saw this tuxedo style at the shop where we went for tux rentals. I have never been hunting, but this inspires me to go! The only thing that would make it better is having bright orange plastic flowers to go with it. That would be necessary. Ryan and the guys are going to look so good!

Mothers' Dresses

I don't want to forget my mom and Joyce on this special day! They have put a lot of hard work into raising Ryan and I and the wedding should be a day that they can sit back, relax, and look spectacular! Moms are so flexible and they bend over backwards for their children. Kind of like a Slinky...


Another thing I love about moms is that they are multi-taskers. I think this dress really emphasizes that quality. What's a better way to say "Thanks for all of your help with the wedding?" than buying them a dress that shows the many ways they've been there for you?

Cakes

Making my own cake will be really fun. I think I'm going to be pretty proud of myself in the end. I just hope it doesn't look homemade. Perhaps I should model it after this cake. Clearly someone with great talent put this thing together!



If making the cake turns out to be a bad idea and I get too far behind or too stressed, this is a wonderful alternative! Everyone loves Twinkies, right? Plus they will last for a long time. I won't even have to cover them up from the time we decorate the hall until the reception! Super convenient!

Photo Credits

www.uglydress.com
Ugly Dress is a bit crude but had me laughing at full capacity for a good two hours.
http://uglyweddingdress.wordpress.com/
Ugly Wedding Dress of the Day is also a good place to get some good laughs.
www.jimsformalwear.com
Jim's Formal Wear actually, seriously sells camo tuxes in case you're interested.

my "seacret"

Anyone who has been shopping with me (or around chocolate, ice cream, waffles, or anything else I like, for that matter) will testify that I have no self control. I used to have Dana with me anytime I went to the mall to tell me that I didn't need something (what a friend)! It was always a big argument, and she usually only succeed in getting me to buy fewer of the $2 off item...but it was a big help.

Now that I'm a grown up, I think it's safe to go to the mall by myself. Wrong.

I decided to get Ryan a new shirt to wear since Vow of Silence got chosen to play at VIESHEA with Trapt and RED. (Congrats boys! You rock!) So of course I end up buying two shirts and a hat. But it was worth it because it's for my lover.

Then I am leaving the store and the Seacret nail kiosk lady, who is conveniently situated outside of Heritage, asks me if I want to try some hand lotion. "No thanks!" Nice job, Kathleen! That was a close call!

"Are you a nurse?"

I stopped...oh no! "Yes..."

The saleswoman grabs my hand and starts polishing my left thumbnail...oh no! "I am in the medical field too! I'm in med school. We have to keep our fingernails so short and cannot wear any nailpolish..."

Don't buy anything, Kathleen! Don't buy anything!

So... of course 10 minutes and two shiny nails later I leave the kiosk with not one, but TWO nail polishing kits. Awesome. So much for the hopeful, naive, positive self talk! Dana! Where were you?!

And the worst part is I paid $60 for it all! She told me that they had been $80 for one box, so $20 off was a great deal! I had to do it! Then at work someone said that they charge whatever someone will pay for it. Their friend had gotten two boxes for $30. And the website charges only $50.

Hmmm...

She told me it would make my nails stronger, but then I realized that I was just sraping off the top layer of nails....so how does that make them stronger?

So, ladies and gentlemen...learn from my mistakes! Just say no! You can do it!