Single and Fabulous

Sometimes I think back on the time when I was "single and fabulous," living it up in the city. And I breathe a sigh of relief that those days are long gone. Don't get me wrong... I lived it up to the best of my ability and some of the most fun, silly, ridiculous memories of my life come from that period of time. But I don't wish that I could do it all over again. I'm pretty darn happy to be settled down, living in the suburbs with my amazing husband and perfect child.

That being said, it doesn't mean that I'm not thrilled to help my still single and fabulous friends celebrate their final days before succumbing to marriage and suburbia themselves.

Unfortunately, Baby Ryder's arrival and subsequent dependence on me for survival prevented me from attending Haley's bachelorette party weekend last month. But it's still worth mentioning here, because Brett and Haley are two of our best friends and I was completely bummed that I couldn't make the trip. It was a weekend of fun and sun in Chelan (someplace I have still never been!) The goal was to "tank her before she drops anchor" -- how cute is that theme?!

Go ahead and just photoshop me in below... 

Photos stolen shamelessly from Facebook... thanks ladies!

Haley and Brett's wedding is coming up in just a few short weeks, and we are SO excited! Stew is the best man and we'll be spending the entire weekend with them in Kingston as they tie the knot. 

Actually, Baby Ryder got me out of a little conundrum, because that same weekend one of my oldest friends, Jillian, was also having her bachelorette party -- a stressful double booking for me! However, since I couldn't leave Ryder for more than a few hours at that point, and Jill's party was local, I was able to head out for my first night on the town as a new mommy. 

A Bright Night Out For Jillian!

I had a great time out at Teatro ZinZanni for the evening while Stew stayed home and watched Ryder by himself for the first time. It definitely took a lot of preparation to get out the door! Selecting a dress that adequately hid my postpartum tummy pooch, covering up my hormonal skin breakouts and attempting to do something with my dry, lifeless hair, feeding the baby, breast pumping, inserting pads so I wouldn't leak milk everywhere two hours later... quite the ordeal! And I then proceeded to text Stew throughout the evening for updates. He assured me that everything was fine and that I should enjoy my evening. Which I did, with a total of two cocktails, my first since giving birth... woohoo! It wasn't until I called on the ride home that he admitted Ryder had been crying pretty much since I left the house. My poor baby! 

I definitely paid for my night out with Jillian, but it was worth it to celebrate this special time with her. She is one of the sweetest, most entertaining people I know and I'm so happy that soon she will be marrying the love of her life. 

And since we're talking about it, I also want to mention Brett's bachelor party weekend. Stew planned the whole thing -- a weekend in Chelan with the guys. They rented a house and he planned everything including golfing and a night out on the town for the boys. Of course men are terrible about photographing any significant events (and maybe in this case it was intentional), but needless to say there are no photos from the weekend. 

It probably went a little something like this...

Since this was Stew's first time away from me and Baby Ryder overnight, my mom came up to stay with us for the weekend. And we had a great time hanging out while the boys were living it up in Chelan.

Stew and I have been happily married for a couple years now, but it still sure is fun to help our friends celebrate as they complete similar milestones in their lives. And we can't wait for the epic weddings that are coming up this summer...

You won't be single for much longer, my friends!