PS... gross
/Heff sent me this picture when I was gone with the subject "bundled up and headed to mass" and then the following post script:
"PS Maisie learned how to cough up and spit phlegm. Good trick."
Nashville Weekend
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More pictures from my fun-filled weekend in Nashville visiting my baby sister! Thanks for having me Ann and Pat- here's what we did in 72 hours...
Started building her new business... we checked out the space before it got dark
It's in a GREAT location with 10 other adorable little businesses- kind of a cottage shopping center :)
Grabbed dinner to go at a little place called Zoe's
and then organized and online shopped Thursday night until 1am
Friday morning we went shopping for Smart Sprouts stuff at the Nashville hotspots like TJ Maxx Homegoods. We got a ton of great toys, games and decor stuff and then hit Home Depot for all the necessaary tools and cleaning stuff she's going to need. Even found a green ladder and drill!
We stopped and tried on bridesmaids dresses for me to get fitted and pick a style for Jen's wedding in New Orleans in March! Jen picked great styles and I love the one I choose. ABA was not happy with me when I made her try on the dresses for me since I am 7 months pregnant and THEN told her I might as well try them on too :)
and grocery/dinner shopping- they have an awesome Whole Foods right near the new Smart Sprouts.
We had Pat's whole family- The William's, White's and Galassini's and our cousin Mike who is working/living in Nashville over for dinner Friday night. It was great to see everyone after the wedding week- they all live really close by. Ann and Pat have done such a cute job decorating their house!
The newlyweds
and we celebrated Mikey's 25th birthday that was Sunday- Happy Birthday Mike!
After everyone left we unloaded all the loot from our day of shopping
We made sure to have some diversity in our baby doll buying :)
Then Saturday morning we set out bright and early for the closest IKEA- in Atlanta 300 miles away!
We rented a U-Haul trailer in Nashville - it was way cheaper than a one way trailer or a truck so we pretended we knew what we were doing and set out with a 12 foot trailer behind us.
Ready for the 4.5 hour drive
One stop to switch drivers and gas up- arrived at Ikea at 12:30pm ready to hit the store
and that we did:
We got home at 1am Saturday night... slept. Woke up early (feeling like I had run a marathon) to unload the trailer and get it back by 9am. Isn't their house cute!?
Then we got to work...
Before:
and After:
and Sunday night when it got too dark to work (no electricity in the space yet) we went to Ann and Pat's friends house for a Thanksgiving dinner party- it was delicious! The girls went all out cooking every main, side and dessert you could think of.
Girl's cooked and chatted. Boys watched football
amazing spread!
and back up at 5:45am to take me to the airport Monday morning- but had to stop at Smart Sprouts one last time... good luck ABA, can't wait to see it all come together, you are going to do great!!
Atlanta IKEA Trip
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I had SO much fun with my sister for my 72-hour "build a business" vacation. She is doing a great job getting things set up for Smart Sprouts and I know it is going to be super successful in Nashville. She already had moms stopping by wanting to sign up! I have a whole bunch of photos to post and I'm really wondering how we did everything in all my pictures in 3.5 days- I think I wore her out :) Here are some pics from our Atlanta IKEA trip Saturday that I had on my phone... the rest of the trip when I get off this plane (and maybe after I snuggle up my girls and Heff- I'm so excited to see them!)
and we're off- 8am Saturday
Miss You Too Little Ragamuffins!
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I'm almost home to put a bow in your hair France :)
I Love These Girls
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I am getting ready to go visit my sister in Nashvegas for FIVE days! I am so excited to hang out with her and Pat, see their new home and call her Mrs. Williams officially :) I am going to help her set up her own new business- a Brilliant Babies business model she is calling Smart Sprouts! We are going to have a lot of fun but I am going to miss my girls. They will be in very capable hands with their dad, I know, so I can enjoy myself but this is the first time I've left since Maisie was born other than an overnight to be there for Kat to have her baby. It will be strange not to feed anyone, break up fights, struggle with nap/bed time and to have a long cross-country flight to sit on my laptop in peace! But I sure will miss these two...
and their Dad! Thanks Heff- I owe you (wait... I'm counting hunting trips....)
Popsicles
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The warm weather returned and yesterday we had popsicles in the front yard- On a cardboard box of course. They have been filling up our entry way lately for my new business venture and I told Heff all I wanted for Christmas was a husband who continued to take my cardboard boxes to the recycling bin at work without complaining. This morning he loaded up the back of his truck- and as he was leaving UPS pulled up with four more giant boxes. Sorry Heff!
Off the shoulder look is working France- and Maisie. I'm not sure why they were in rag-a-muffin outfits yesterday- just one of those days!
Wedding Date
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Last night Heff and I went to a wedding in San Francisco to see one of my good friends from high school get married. Dawn was a beautiful bride and married another Brian :) Heff and I agreed it was one of the nicest, most fun weddings we've been to. It was at The Bohemian Club in SF and down to every detail a really special night to celebrate Dawn and Brian!
Dawn and her Dad walking down the isle
The ceremony was so nice- the priest did a great job making it really personal (Jewish traditions for Brian but Catholic rites for Dawn) and reading letters they had written to each other during marriage preparation.
Then the musician performed a GREAT song at the end and they hugged their family members while everyone clapped along before they headed back down the isle (CLICK to hear it)
back down the isle- I love her dress!
The reception- first cocktails, hors d'vours and sushi upstairs
Dawn and Brian were both basketball stars in High School- just at different schools and Brian was a year older. But Dawn found an old article in the paper from 1995 that, in the same paragraph, listed Dawn Desautels and Brian Miller as the rising stars to watch on the court! They had a few references to their old pastime in the wedding
Then upstairs again for a beautiful sit down dinner
Dawn changed her sash to hot pink for dancing- it looked so cute! (the colors were navy and pink- i don't think i got a good picture of bridesmaid dresses but they were really pretty navy blue with a ruffly collar)
(CLICK to play this one too:)
Dawn and her mom listening to Brian give his really sweet groom's toast
Dawn and her Dad dancing to a special song the guitarist wrote and performed - he flew out from Colorado for the wedding and he was SO good
Chairs in the air for Hava Nagila!
(another video)
Dessert
Dawn's mom made just about everything down to the table linens and centerpieces
Their favorite things... butterflies (a wedding theme), Dawn's family dog Tess and basketball!
Congrats Dawn and Miller!! Happy Honeymoon!
Oregon BIL Hunt
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Heff went up on an Elk Hunt for a tag he drew last weekend (Thursday to Monday night) and invited his Brother-in-Law (my brother) Jerry to go with him. Jerry has been hunting with his friend Gary lately and has been collecting all the necessary gear. He only had to borrow my camo hunting pants- maybe the reason he's not wearing them in the picture above is that Heff told him they were mine BEFORE they left :) The tag was for land two hours north of Burns Oregon where Donald (also Brian's brother-in-law) is from and since he and Kat were up there Donald met them out on Saturday night and camped in the "guest room" of the tent- a 3 foot by 6 foot little covered area to take your shoes off in. Good thing Heff likes his BIL's enough to get cozy and get huntin!
My very own Huntin' Fool- and no I'm not calling him a real fool- it's the name of his favorite magazine :)
The first day they hiked 15 miles in 40 degree pouring down RAIN
Setting up camp
How cute matching sleeping bags :) Heff got Jerry one like his own for Christmas last year
Uncle Donald joined them out at their camp
Mapping the terrain
Deer sausage on a big fire- they built such a huge fire Heff fell asleep in his camp chair and Jerry had to wake him up to tell him calmly that his shoe was on fire. Melting New Balances don't look good the next day!
Drinking beers around the fire- not a bad way to spend a Saturday night (if it weren't FREEZING I would have agreed :)
They claim this was an "epic" meal of camping beans and rice, leftover lamb from ABA's wedding, tortillas and ranch dressing. And probably a whole lot of Tabasco.
After a full day and night of rain- welcome snow!
It was 26 degrees- in the middle of the day. Brrr...
Fresh snow in the middle of nowhere
My favorite truck :)
There is a lot going on here- I'm just happy my husband and my brother can spend 4 days together and live to talk about how much fun it was! Heff said Jerry was great and never once complained about the rain, cold or miles and miles of trekking after him. I'm sure this won't be their last trip together!
Highchair Conquest
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I was pretty proud of myself last week. I was headed home with both girls for naps when I decided to make a quick stop at Ikea to look for some stuff for work. I found the amazing $25 high chair we LOVE at Brilliant Babies (easy in/out, all one surface to clean, looks decent!) that has been out of stock for almost a year- we've been watching and even found some on eBay for twice the price!
So I had to stock up for the new business I'm working on (haven't blogged about this yet- I will!) and we needed a couple extra at BB so I bought TEN high chairs by myself with both girls and my belly in tow and even stopped for a messy, dripping, Ikea ice cream cone at the registers. I seriously must have looked like I was running an orphanage. We made it to the car with only one tip of the stack of chairs :)
phew- that wore me out too France. Just meant longer nap times though!
More Fun at Art Class
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We've been having fun at our art class- the girls love it although Maisie insists on washing her hands everytime she gets even a little paint/glitter/glue on them :) They make LOTS of creations to bring home for our bulletin board!
Halloween Night
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Sunday night we had a rocking Halloween - Pat's family all came back with my parents for dinner, to watch the World Series and take the kids trick-or-treating. We didn't know our street is apparently the place to be on Halloween Night- It was INSANE!! I thought we'd have enough candy to give out, but asked Margy and John to pick some extra up since they were going to the drug store- then my dad heard we might need candy and offered to run by Costco (any excuse- my dad loves costco!) so we had tons. And it was wiped out by 7pm. Donald ran to Safeway and cleared them out and we still went through it all. Our front lawn looks like a marathon path went right through it- but it was a whole lot of fun. Now I'm thinking out 12 large plastic bins of "Halloween Decorations" storage isn't enough, I'll have to keep adding to the collection for next year, sorry Heff!
Setting up for the big night
Donald and Baby Doverspike in his festive blanket Jannie made
Mia and Francie "ready for customers!" they manned the door for most of the night with Pat's Cousin Beth- thanks guys!
Fog machine was a hit
Best buds- both Minnie's
AnneMarie in a great costume
We thought this would be enough candy (this and 4 more jumbo bags inside). HA!
They just started streaming in
The Dad's and the babies
Love Emma's handmade iPhone costume!
Waiting for the "surprise" guest
It's FRANKENSTEIN!
Heading out for some trick-or-treating of our own
Proud parents with their first trick-or-treater
The first house Maisie went up to by herself...
The lady put a "Dot's" chewy/gummy candy in her basket (yes she is trick-or-treating with an easter basket- oops) and Francie goes "No! She can't have that! It's a choking hazard!" The lady thought Francie was nuts but switched it out per Francie's demands :)
Little Triceratops making her way up the stairs on her own. And these moms have the right idea- wine on the porch.
Jannie HAD to go to up to this neighbor's house since I told her the daughter who lives there want's to go to Vandy :)
Scary scenes from our street
Game Four of the World Series was on Halloween Night- thanks to this friendly neighbor the dad's didn't have to keep checking their phones for the score... :)
Kinda like this New Yorker cover from last year :) poor kids- damn smart phones!
It was also kind of comical this was the only house that wasn't totally decorated- and the girls were the most scared to go up to this front door! Real people scarier than target decorations I guess.
But Maisie was thrilled with the Organic Annie's Cheddar Bunnies :)
Jannie and AnneMarie being SCARY :)
at least Triceratops still has her easter basket and her binky
We got home to find the candy on the second round! And this was after they cleared out our freezer, the kids earlier collections AND my jars of It's A Boy/Girl Bubble Gum cigars!
Oliver the little Pumpkin! (and thanks for saving the day with the Safeway run for candy Donald)
Francie changed out of costume #2 into her sister's pants and set down for her favorite part- "organizing her candy" (hummmm, wonder where she learned this behavior?:)
Maisie was more interested in sticking glow sticks in her ear
Bedtime for the little goblins! (Francie held Oliver here for 2.5 seconds then looks at Kat and says "I'm good. You can have him back now."
Happy Halloweeeeeen!
Brothers
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Sunday Post-Wedding Brunch
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Sunday morning Heff and I hosted Brunch at our house to recap all the wedding day festivities! (We hosted our own wedding day Sunday brunch. I remember being at Starbuck's together at 8:am getting coffee to-go's for everyone :) Ann asked me if we'd host it... THEN a few weeks later told me she and Pat wouldn't even be there! They left at 8:50am for their honeymoon, the little stinkers :) But we enjoyed the morning even without the new Mr. and Mrs. and felt lucky to spend some more one-on-one time with Pat's great family. It was my FAVORITE kind of day- never leave the house and people come over to party all day and night. The kids all raided the dress up chest- after all, it's HALLOWEEN!!
relatives piling in to recharge and recap
Love the matching t-shirts Joe and Mary! So festive!
Ann and Jan
Everybody piled in the living room watching slideshows of the wedding pictures
Aunt Nettie, Cousin Evan (my first cousin on Dad's side) with new baby cousins Juliet and Ryland
Laughing at the funny photo booth pics- check out the last picture on the fourth one from the left :) Mooned Ya!
The kids took over the playroom and dress up chest
Evan's wife Nikki with Moo-Moo Juliet
Margy, Mary Eva, Jan and Maisie
Love "The Hangover" costume!
Uncle Dad (my dad's brother) with cute little Cow Jules and her sister Lucia playing in the bassinet
Parents invade the playroom!
This look is kind of how I felt too Francie "Did we really just have SIX parties for ABA in FOUR days?!" but loved every minute of it!
Then a few hours for naps and decorating the front yard for a big Halloween Night Party!
Sisters
/October 30, 2010
July 22, 2006
July 22, 2006
Rehearsal Dinner
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The Williams hosted a beautiful Rehearsal Dinner Friday night at La Honda Winery. It is tradition in the south to have all the speeches/toasts at the Rehearsal Dinner so I got off the hook and only had to give mine in front of 75 people instead of 250 :) Pat's Dad was the Best Man (also a big southern tradition) and I went first- then most of the siblings and close friends got up to say a few words too. There were some pretty funny stories! I didn't take too many pictures since the photographer was there, I can't wait to see hers when we get them back.
Bridesmaids- Christine, Ann, Kelsey and Emily
Clark, Jerry, Mikey and Johners
Jill, Jason and Jannie
Mimi, Emmy and Claire
Pretty La Honda Winery all set up for dinner
Neils and Kelsey
Claire, Francie and Emmers
La Honda Wine
Brothers Bill and John in the middle with sons Mike and James
The Groom with the Skidmore Clan! Clark, Jen and Zach (their wedding is NEXT!!!)
Jen and I - looking flashy ;)
Brian and France with the Skids
Johners Belding- took over the duties of doing a blessing at the Rehearsal Dinner, his mom Kaky did for mine :) We love you John and Miss you Kaky
Dinner is served
Bride-To-Be and Matron-of-Honor before my big speech!
Watching a cute video montage
The Bride and Groom say a few words after lots of toasts and roasts!
pretty flowers
Maisie high fivin' through the crowd
The twins entertaining France and Moo Doo Don (can't you see her right next to Francie?)
Kelsey and ABA
Rehearsal
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Friday at 4:00 we all met at Nativity Church (not long after the bridesmaid luncheon ended!) for a run through of the wedding mass. We made it out in record time according to the wedding planner! Everyone is excited for the big day tomorrow and ready to enjoy an evening of speech's and getting to know both sides of the new family better at the Rehearsal Dinner... (and I was laughing at the photo above- Brian and I with our little full of personality girls- Francie making funny faces and Maisie scowling at the whoever is trying to talk to her!)
Baby Ann and her Dad :)
The flower girls and their "Here Comes The Bride" signs
me taking semi-blurry photos as I walk down the isle :)
Ann and Pat ready for their special ceremony
new brother-in-laws (almost!)
Cute girls- all best friends :) And I love that the big sisters are "holding" their little sisters
Mary, Ann, Pat and Joe
Heff and the Moo
Lou, Pat and Jason - groomsmen
Cute pic of Emmy and her Uncle John
Margy and baby Mary Eva
The Galassini's!
Then we went back by the Johnet's before dinner started and found a blue jay in the back porch- Heff saved the day :)
Maisie thought it was a new pet
Francie touched it- then went inside and scrubbed her arms up to her elbows and said "I touched a BIRD!"
off to the winery for Rehearsal Dinner!
