It's a Circus Over Here

The second shower we had was thrown by my mom.  It was a circus theme.  It was a lot of fun.  We do not have a theme for our baby room, so mom decided to have fun with the theme.

Here we have a comparison of bellies....

There are about 4 pictures of me from this pregnancy.  This is one of them.  I thought it was funny.

As people walked in, they got to take some popcorn.

 Here are what the popcorn containers looked like. (I tried for about 3 min. to turn this booger... no go)

 Here is a picture of the gift table.  We got such great gifts.  We are so lucky to have such support for Baby Mueller.

 Here we have the cake table and some other decorations.

As all the guests came in, there was a big sign and animal display to greet them.
                                                          

                                                     
Of course I was too busy mingling and what not, to get actual pictures of the crowd, but I promise people came. haha  We had a great time catching up, playing games and having a good time.  It was a fun baby shower to say the least!

Whoo Had a Shower?

I am extremely lucky in the fact I am getting THREE baby showers.  I can't believe how nice people are!  The first shower I had was given by my SIL Mariah and my MIL Nancy.  It was of course an owl theme.  Lots of people know, I love me some owls! 

This was a shower for my friends.  Most of them live in or around the Indy area.  It was great to see everyone!  We had a lot of fun.

Look at this cute cake!

 Even the cookies went with the theme!

 We played two games as well.  Mariah knows how much I love playing Scattergories.  She made a baby version for the shower.  It was hilarious to hear all the answers.

The other game we played, was everyone had to guess how many books I was going to receive that day.  The surprising number of 9 was the winning ticket!

 In case people couldn't find the house, there was a cute balloon on the porch.

We had a great day!  It took me about a week and a half to actually get things put away.  We were overwhelmed with love after the shower for sure!

In two short weeks, we had another baby shower with family.  That post to come soon.

Nursery Ideas

Warning.. This blog is about to become an "all about our child" blog.  If at some point it annoys you or you wish I would talk about something else... Sorry... This is our life now!  

Jeff and I have been super busy trying to get things ready for BB (baby boy) to arrive sometime in early January.  Our current success is the baby's room.  Also, you may at some point see me refer to our child as "Bentley."  This is in no way his name.  It is just a joke.  I can explain it if you are really interested. haha  We are not revealing his name until he is born.  For several reasons.  1.  We aren't totally for sure what his name will actually be. 2.  If he comes out looking like something else, we want the option of changing it. and finally, we want to keep some mystery alive!  We already know it is a boy so we want a surprise when we announce his arrival.

The first thing we started in BB's room was his closet.  Before it only had one sad little shelf going across.  Jeff looked at website after website to try and find a style he liked.  Once he decided how to build it, he got the wood and went to work.  This has been a month + long project.  Jeff has spent so many hours in the garage it is unbelievable.  I must say though, I am quite impressed at the skill my husband has at closet making.  See picture below.

 The final touch.... He is currently working on shelves for the middle of the closet.  He made them adjustable so I am not chained to a certain size.  It has 4 different places to hang clothes.  There is also a really tall shelf at the top to store things that we hardly ever use.  you may notice the amount of clothes our son already has. It is safe to say he is and will be spoiled!  He also has several drawers of onsies etc.  Bentley will be one stylin child!

We painted the walls all one color.  It is called "Crushed Ice."  It was more greyish than white, but it worked out well.  On one wall we striped it with a darker grey.

 This wall took us HOURS!  So much work, but I am very pleased how it turned out.  His room doesn't have a theme.  Basically we are doing the grey and accenting it in red.  Eventually we are going to have his name framed in red hanging on this wall.  Also the red truck will soon be replaced with a changing pad.  We just don't own one of those yet =)

Here is another photo of the room.  The cube on the right has all his books.  We already have so many.  That makes me beyond happy!  Aunt Christy hooked us up with some more when we went and visited last weekend.  I can't wait to read them to him.

We also have a crib.  No mattress, so poor Jeff's fake cabbage patch kid (I say fake in a loving way.  I have fun teasing him that it isn't an original.) has to sit his bottom on the hard springs.  He seems to be surviving though.

Grandma Ruthie found that cute stroller at a garage sale for $5!  Such a score.  This will become Sherman's best friend, because that will mean more walks!  We also hope that BB doesn't see this photo and think it is OK for him to lean over the railing like Ducky.  Maybe, for the Duck's safety, we should lower the springs?!?

Dear Mr. Meats

After a long and torturous (for me) many months, Jeff has finally purchased a new grill! *holds for applause*  Who knew, when saying "I do" meant also saying I do to his indecisiveness. 

Tonight we were cracking ourselves up with this scenario.  You may not find it has humorous, but I will tell you, I was in tears.

*An Email*

Dear Mr. Moody. Meats,

My name is Jeff and I just bought a new grill.  (Please see picture below)  What meats should I buy that will best fit my grill?  I look forward to hearing your choices.

Yours truly,

Jeff   

Our Second Christmas!

Jeff and I are super lucky to have so many nieces and nephews!  We have several adopted ones as well, and we love them seriously just as much! Next week ends our Birthday extravaganza!!!

We started off at the end of February with our newest addition Campbell.  She lives in Florida, so we will see her soon I am sure!!

Next was Wyatt.  His birthday is at the very end of February.  Craig brought him up here and we saw the MJ tribute tour.  It.was.amazing!  I have to say that was probably the best birthday we had this year. (no offense to the others. haha)

How sad is it that this is the most recent picture I have of my handsome nephew?!?!

Jeff came next with a March 1 birthday.  Of course, as you know, we celebrated in great style this year!

Lily and Sofie soon followed on the 4th and 9th of March.  We actually got to celebrate Lily's actual birthday because the whole family was up here for Jeff's party.  It was so much fun!  AND Lily is now 10.... TEN!  What a great birthday to get to spend with her.

Next comes Jack and Davis.  Yup... born on the same day!!  We missed seeing Jack this year, but made sure to send him a super cool gift! =)  Him and Wyatt are almost the same kid, minus the MJ obsession on Wyatt's end.  If they lived close I KNOW they would be BFF.  Here is the cutest quote from Wyatt.  I said "Wyatt, you need more boys in the family."  Wyatt: "I know!! well, I have Jack, but I just don't get to see him all that much." haha

 This picture was taken LAST Easter.  Jeff and I need to get on this picture taking of our nephews!

We of course had fun watching Davis dig into his first birthday cake and then sneeze all over it. haha  Luckily, someone removed the cake fast enough so he didn't drench the whole cake :)

Finally we end our birthdays next week with our little Ethan turning two.  We won't see him either, but a gift is in the mail.

 Jeff and I promise to not have children born in March.  HAHA  Our families are at the brim of birthday excitement, and overloaded with cake by the end of this month.  I do have one request of all the kiddos who had birthdays this year.... SLOW DOWN!  You are all growing up waaaaay too fast! We are not supposed to have a niece in the double digits.  I signed a contract when she was born... well, maybe not, but I should have.  hahaha

I Have a 30 Year Old Husband!

Just a couple weeks ago we celebrated Jeff's 30th birthday.  We had a beer tasting party.  I planned and planned, and cooked and cooked, and decorated my behind off!  It was all worth it!! We had so much fun.  So much in fact, I took practically zero pictures.

Our family started the "slow clap" a couple of years ago instead of singing "Happy Birthday."  Best slow clap thus far!

Here is one of the FEW pictures I took of the party.  We had a bottle cap guessing game.  There were 677 caps in there is you believe it!

We also had a BEAUTIFUL table with beer tasting ... NO PICTURE.  I made garland out of those beer coasters they put on tables at restaurants.... NO PICTURE!  super disappointed in that.  However, you will be happy again in about 2 seconds when you look at the next picture of my adopted nephews.

Nolan sporting Jeff's hat.  He is so hip!

 After the kiddos got tired, Cooper and Nolan decided to wrestle.

 Here are some of our softball peeps who made it!

 It wouldn't be a party (that Scott attends) without getting everyone around him drinking and having a good 'ol time! (oooh if you look close, you can see the garland under the TV.haha)

We had a great time for sure!  Jeff loved it and it was so awesome to celebrate with so many people we love!

What a Week!

Last Sunday night Jeff and I were looking forward to enjoying a simple Valentines Day together. I was just excited to get to wear red and pink to work! haha We were the most excited about our second baby Dr. appointment on Monday.
Jeff works really close to our OBGYN. Last time we were there we had to wait a little longer because our Dr. had to go and deliver a baby. I told Jeff he didn't need to go, but he decided he wanted to. I was supposed to text him when I got to the office to let him know if there was a wait and then he would pop on over.

I got to the Dr. office and noticed I forgot my cell. No biggie... I was just going to call him after everything was over and I was home.

The Dr. and I talked for awhile about all of the things I can do/not do during pregnancy. I had some questions for her. We talked about how this upcoming month was going to be a "quiet" month because the baby isn't kicking hard enough and there is no more morning sickness!

After our discussion she got out her little machine to hear the heartbeat. Before she even laid me down, she promised she probably wasn't going to hear anything because of how my uterus was sitting.

Nothing. No worries, we moved to the ultrasound room. She was still having a hard time hearing anything, but decided it was probably fine she just wanted to check for sure. I was moved to the room with the ultra sound machine we used the first time.

I was starting to get a little nervous, but kept a positive attitude about it. The Technician was measuring everything. I remember asking, "Have you found it?" She replied, "yes, but the baby is measuring at 7 weeks. I am going to show this to the Dr." (I am supposed to be 11 weeks at this point) After she left, I knew what was next. I talked myself out of crying or even feeling anything. I KNEW I was going to be fine. It wasn't meant to be, it will be OKAY!

The Dr. came back in to officially let me know what was going on. As soon as she said the one single word "Sorry." I forgot everything I had just said to myself. I completely broke down. All I wanted was Jeff. I had so many feelings going through my mind. I was mostly just embarrassed. Embarrassed that I came to the office, having morning sickness just the day before, in maternity pants without a child.

I was filed to another room to talk about setting up a surgery for the next morning. After what felt like 2 hours, I was finally out of there and was able to drive to Jeff.

It has almost been an entire week since this horrible day. Jeff and I have felt SO MANY different things.

Sadness
Relief (dealing with the morning sickness)
Helpless
Nervous about surgery
Wondering what could have gone wrong
Grown up having to make so many decisions that what we thought only "grown ups" had to make
Depressed
Angry
The list goes on and on.

The thing that we felt the most through the entire weekend was Love. Love from my parents for driving all the way up here for 24 hours. Love from the flowers sent from Jeff's work. Love from the cards, gifts and text messages from everyone giving their support.

This unfortunate situation has definitely caused Jeff and I to step back and realize how much of a support system we have. The two of us have also found such comfort in each other. It is so re-assuring to know I am 120% sure I married the right person for me.

Sure, it is going to take a long time to get over the events of last Monday. The first time someone asks how the baby is doing that doesn't know what happened. Accidentally coming across my pregnancy book I was reading. Our due date. etc. We are certain that we will get through it all because we have each other and our HUGE support system behind us.

I understand this is the saddest (I know, I know, but I love that word) post I have written, but this is one of the few ways I am trying to deal with everything. The next post will be more upbeat. That's a promise!

What I like to eat...

Yes, yes... it has been another couple of months since I posted my thoughts.  This is for a couple of reasons.  We have had some "complaints" saying that this blog is only about Sherman (who is the cutest thing on this planet, so not sure why that's a complaint. haha)  Well I am going to be honest... Sherman is a big part of our lives, and the one who likes his photo taken the most!  I have decided I will blog what I want, and if people think I am talking about one subject too much, they can visit other interesting blogs!  I know at least my mom will always read my blog :)

Ok, now that I have explained myself...

Jeff and I recently (In December) found out we will be (in his words) adding a "house guest" at the end of August.  His brother thought that meant we were getting an exchange student which made my day. HAHAHA  No, to be clear, we are having a child.  Yeah, a human!  We still haven't really grasped that entire concept but with time, we will be ready!

Since a child wasn't in our immediate plans, I didn't have my last hurrah of eating, drinking and doing the things I won't be doing over the next 7 months.  Below I will list some of the foods/things you CAN'T do while pregnant.

-Drink lots of caffeine
-Eat lunch meat
- Eat things with raw eggs (ie: Caesar salad)
-Eat a big amount of Tuna or any fish for that matter
-Eat sprouts
-Drink Alcohol
-Jump on Trampolines
-Sit in hot tubs
- Play Softball, or many other sports
-Eat that liquid cheese at Mexican Restaurants

Below are the things I LOVE to eat/do
-Drink caffeine
-Eat lots of lunch meat
-Eat JJ (which is lunch meat, but also sprouts)
- Eat crazy amounts of Tuna
-Sitting in our hot tub
-Eat Cesar salad
-Jumping on Stephanie and Matthew's trampoline
-Playing softball with my husband
-Eating that liquid cheese at Mexican Restaurants

Needless to say, Jeff hears complaints from me daily about how I JUST.WANT.JJ'S! 

It has just been a rough start with the realization of missing out on all these things as well as my "morning sickness" that lasts all day and into the night and adjusting to the fact that I need 12 hours of sleep every day.  Not to mention, I have dealt with a double ear infection which lead into what feels like another round of a cold.  I just am ready to feel "normal." Come on 2nd trimester!

I will be back soon with another post!  Once I can figure out how to load videos, I will have to post about how Sherman only walks backwards in our kitchen.  It's hilarious!

A Few Letters

Below are a few letters I have been meaning to send out, but because of lack of address and or stamps I haven't...

Dear Costco,
Today I went in to get Paper Towels and a ready made lasagna and left with $79 less in my checking account.  How do I ALWAYS find things I need to buy there?

Until next paycheck,
Janelle

Dear Christmas Haters club,
  After being a member for 27 years, I am sorry to say, I have officially jumped on the Christmas Ban wagon.  I will be fa-la-laing and Rocking around the tree a lot this year!

Your trader,
Janelle

Dear Husband,
  There isn't much that you won't do for me.  I know that sometimes may think I don't notice or appreciate but I am taking notes.  You're awesome and I am pretty pumped you picked me as your wife.

Your biggest fan,
Janelle

Dear Society,

I apologize for carrying my weight in the stomach region. If you ask me one more time if I am pregnant, I am going to punch you in the face. Keep to yourselves or maybe just ask me about the weather instead.

Love, not so much,
Janelle



Dear People with chicken feathers in their hair,
  Why on earth is that popular? You are not cool, nor will I be doing that.  I will save my money thanks.

Sincerely,
Janelle

Dear Sherman,
  Every day you crack me up with your personality.  I am glad you ran away from your first home and found us.  Thank you for showing Jeff and I how to not take life so seriously.

Your adopted mother,
Janelle

Dear December,
  You are full to the brim with parties, cookie baking, present wrapping etc.  Don't go by too fast ok? 
Thanks!
Janelle

Dear Wedding Photographers,
  The proofs are amazing.  Now, I just need to figure out how to stick all 500 pictures in one album!  I am not sure how I will EVER choose, but I am so glad I have a ton to choose from.

Thanks for making my week,
Janelle

Two Month Stats

So we have a lot of friends who have babies... by a lot, I mean a TON!  We always get to read their baby's stats month to month.  Since we don't have babies, unless you count Sherman, I thought I would provide you with our 2 month married stats. hahaha

How long have you been married: 2 months today.  Almost as long as most celebrities!

Best part: Not having to plan a wedding and getting to just be a family in the evenings

Most Challenging part: Getting Jeff to keep his ring on his finger!!

Looking forward to: Getting our wedding photos someday.  All we have seen are the few on the blog. 

Marriage Advice to single people: No matter how many times you have the "splitting money" talk with your future spouse, you will most likely have problems at the beginning.

A Woman of Leisure

Two months... Two months!!!  Where did the time go?  I went from waiting around for what seemed like a lifetime for our wedding to being married TWO MONTHS!!! 

I apologize for the lack of posts since we have been hitched.  I have had two people in the past 48 hours ask about our blog.  Glad to know we have fans. haha  Honestly, I am struggling with what to blog.  Let's face it, the wedding is over, you have seen 1,000 pictures of Sherman and we have no cute kid to show off.  I have been thinking to myself "what do people even have to read?!"  I will find something, and I am sure it will be super entertaining. hahaha

Currently I am just working 2 days a week.  It is just a temp. situation until I find something I want to do.  I like to tell people I am a woman of leisure.  It sounds cool and ritzy if you ask me! haha

Being off three days a week has keep me busy though... Wednesday's I pick up Cooper (Jodi's son) from Day care and we have a couple hour play date!  I am teaching confirmation at our church, cleaning the house, doing the laundry etc.  also to say I am addicted to "pinterest" is an understatement. This website is great!  It has been giving me some great ideas for presents, DIY etc. 

Finally, I am going to start sewing!  YUP, sewing!  I need a hobby to fill my wedding planning.  Once I actually get my machine, I will be sewing like mad!  haha  If you have a request, let me know.. =)  I will make sure to post pictures of my finished products.

And no post is complete without a picture.  Recently I went to watch my oldest niece Lily run a cross country meet here in Indy.  Here we are at the end of the race.  I must say, these are two of the 4 most beautiful girls ever :)

So here is the beginning of me starting to blog again.  Sorry again for being MIA for the past two months.

Wedding Week: Day 3

Today we celebrated Sherman's birthday. 

We don't really know when Sherm's birthday is because he was a run away.  So we decided his birthday would be the day we adopted him.  This day would be a day we won't be with him, as we are getting married. hahaha  We decided to celebrate this evening.

First, we met up with a new doggie friend.  Our friend Alli has a goldendoodle.  We took Sherman over to her house and the dogs played, and played and played.  In fact, the played so much our puppy is snoozing on the couch right now =)

After that we brought Sherman home.  Jeff was getting out the 24lb bag of dog food I purchased today.  (we don't normally buy that big of a bag, but I had a coupon and got free treats!)  I had opened the bag earlier but kept it in the car.  Jeff didn't realize this.

Enter the next photo...

 What else was there to do than bring out the Birthday Dog to help clean up the mess!

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY SHERMAN!  We are so glad we adopted you.  I can't believe it has been a year!

Wedding Week: Day 2

Wedding prep!

Every bride goes through some preparations before the big day!  I have been doing my fair share of these myself. 2 certain things come to mind. 

First of all.  In order for Jeff and I to go on our honeymoon we have to kennel this cutie here.

I took Sherman to the Vet the other day to get his  appropriate shots.  If there is something you should know about Sherm is that he loves him some vet action.  He barks, howls, sings etc the whole time he is there.  It is not a one person job.  I had the day off, so sadly I had to do this myself.  I was a tad frazzled by the time we got back to the vet.  The helper came in and looked at Sherman.  She reached out her right hand.  I thought she wanted to shake hands, but she actually wanted the leash.  I put my hand in her hand.  Her hand went limp and we held hands for about 5 seconds until I realized what she really intended.  hahahaha

The other day I decided to go get a final massage before walking down the aisle.  About 10 min. before leaving, I realized that I hadn't put on nail polish.  I put on my fastest drying polish and headed out the door.  When I get a massage I have to start out on my belly.  30 min later, I turn to my back.  By the time I lay down, I forget about my earlier painted nails.  30 min. into the massage I am asked to turn over.  My left foot is entirely stuck to the sheet.  It makes a HUGE ripping noise as I free my locked foot.  I was just completely embarrassed.

I think it is great to have these stress relievers while I am planning my wedding.

Wedding Week: Episode 1

I realized I missed Wedding Wednesday last week, but I have decided to try and blog everyday this week!  You heard it... Wedding Wednesday ALL WEEK! You're welcome. haha

For the first entry I think I will go with a very important lesson that was learned last night.  There are a lot of 'lessons' we are going to learn I am sure with marriage, but one of them happened last night.

Last week I finished everything wedding related so Jeff and I can just chill and have a fun week together this week.  Last night was game night... 

I think the slogan for the game Monopoly should be as follows: "Monopoly, making families fight and cry since 1935."  I must make a confession too.  I have never played the real game before.  I had Jr. Monopoly growing up but in our house, (and I am sure most houses) Monopoly is a very very sore subject.  Since I have never played with my parents, this is what I hear happens.  Dad runs out of money, mom feels bad for him and loans him some money.  The tables turn and dad refuses to loan mom money.  I guess mom ends up getting mad because dad's heart isn't the size of hers.  etc. etc. 

Going in last night, I knew of this story.  I made SURE not to 'loan' Jeff any money.  I had houses, money, more money, all the railroads and the houses with the highest rent.  I was living the high life.  There was a moment that Jeff said "well, you look like you are winning, want to call it a night?"  Determined to finish a game, I declined... BIG MISTAKE.  Two wrong dice trows.  I am paying Jeff $1,000 then 3,000, then I land on a hotel with only $50 left and no money to pay him.  The second I land there, I stand up and firmly say "I'm tired!" and storm off to bed.

Fast forward to this morning.  The game is still on the table and I agree to finish.  I mortgage some houses to pay my debt.  Owe him $3,000 again.  He goes three rounds and doesn't hit ANY of my blue properties.  I land on another hotel with only $6. To that I begin to flick all the houses off the board.  Jeff says "So are we finished?" HAHAHA

Being the youngest, him and I, we have to learn how to play games.  After the wounds heal, it is always funny to look back at how tense our games night are.  It is NEVER a relaxing event.  We are both very poor losers so it is a guarantee that someone will be grumpy. We got through and I am sure we will play Monopoly again.  Just not anytime too soon.

Wedding Wednesday

Our wedding is almost in the 14 day forecast!!!!!!!!!! 17 days away and Jeff and I are in agreement that it can't come soon enough =) I don't usually wish days away because I love to be in the moment, but if these next 17 days could fly by I wouldn't be sad! 

I have also started dreaming nightly about our wedding.  Last night I dreamt that no one was ready and it was a couple of minutes before I walked down the aisle and I hadn't even taken a shower yet.  I woke up in a sweat! haha

Monday I had my first group helping me get things ready for my wedding.  Now, don't think for one second I haven't had help along the way.  Jodi and I have worked VERY hard on something, but I don't want to spoil EVERYTHING about the wedding.  I shipped my invites to Amanda and she is probably going to send me a bill for her carpal tunnel surgery, hehe and Caroline made the boutonnieres and the girls' necklaces.  So many people have helped, but this is the first group gathering I have had.

I summoned my good handwriting friends to my house for pizza and name writing!  We are having assigned seats and going with my polka dot theme, we have written everyone's name on a polka dot!

Here are the girls hard at work!

After we (and by we I mean them.. I just really watched and made jokes) finished writing all the names we made a game out of double checking to see if everyone was there.  We set them up alphabetically and I read the names as the girls turned them over.  Here we are half way through.  We had so much fun!

Everyone is accounted and has a seat!!

It was super fun to have them over.  I had a horrible day and this turned it around for sure!  Jeff even mentioned later how he could tell I was having fun.

As a side note, the reason I was in a horrible mood was I found out that day I have a stress fracture on my foot and I am currently in a walking boot.  Don't worry though, I have been walking on this foot for months not realizing what it was, so no matter what the doctors say.. I am NOT wearing this thing during our wedding!!

Wedding Wednesday, seating chart edition

I am currently losing steam on this whole wedding planning business.   Don't get me wrong, I have had more fun than I am sure anyone has planning our wedding.  I am just ready to not have a daily plan to make bags, design table numbers or figure out what songs will be at the reception.  I am also really excited to convert our "wedding room" back to our spare bedroom.

This week Jeff and I sat down and did something that I have been avoiding since the beginning of planning... THE SEATING CHART!  I was told I had to do this as to not create so much mayhem at the reception with people trying to find their seats.  People really get their feelings hurt if they are not sitting by the people we chose for them.  It is stressful for the bride and groom when in reality it should be THEIR DAY! 

First thing I learned about our wedding... It isn't our day... No matter how much people say "don't worry about what people think, it's YOUR day."  Yeah, well that one day comes and goes and then people hold grudges forever.  Sorry, but I would rather make sure everyone is happy and not make people mad! I get that honestly from a mother who will not be named ;)  It may come off as a bad trait, but actually I am kind of glad I inherited it!  Every trait has it's downfalls, but I genuinely enjoy making people happy and comfortable.  OK enough of that... on to the seating chart...

Below is our seating chart!

Doesn't everyone look like they are having so much fun?!?! 

Originally blue meant it was a child, but I ran out of pink so the colors now don't mean anything!

Do you see your name? hehe 

Surprisingly, this was extremely easy.  Everything just kind of fell in place and our tables have been filled.  We are still waiting on a couple of people to see if they can come, but other than that, we are finished!  I can't believe we are at 25 days till the wedding... I wonder when it will sink in that I am actually getting married!?!  Right now I still feel like I am playing dress up =)