Where did August go?!

It's September already? Are you kidding?

Where did August go? No, seriously. It's like we woke up one day on an episode of "Lost" and warped straight from July to September. Maybe our space-time continuum is way off just like it is on that crazy island.

More likely, I think, we just had a really busy month. Insanely busy. Doing what, you might ask? I answer.

Showers…and shopping for said showers. Oh, and there have been many!

Some context. One of my long-time best guy friends (and consequently one of my husband's best friends), Danny, and his fabulous fiancé, Melanie, to whom I've become incredibly close since they started getting really serious a few years ago, are getting married this October. (So exciting!) Jeff is a groomsman; I am a bridesmaid; and we are honored to be a part of their wedding party.

Anyway, a friend of theirs threw Mel a cupcake-themed kitchen gadgets shower a few weeks ago, and it was tons of fun. Everyone shared a favorite recipe and a useful "household hint," and Melanie got some amazing kitchen toys. I admit, I am incredibly jealous! I also got the chance to meet Melanie's mom, who lives in New Mexico and whom I'd not yet had the pleasure of meeting, and I must say, if Melanie wants to know what she will look like in 25-sum years, she needn't look any further. They are like clones. Gorgeous, government clones. Too funny.

Mel had another shower the following weekend that I had every intention of attending, but as many of you know—and as I am finding out the hard way on a near daily basis—"Pregnant Brain" does not go away once you give birth; it merely morphs into "New Mommy Brain." I'm not sure there's any real difference between the two.

I was under the impression that Mel's second shower was that Sunday. Not so much. I found this out as my husband called Danny to see what he and Melanie were doing later that night. I was sitting on the couch in my pajamas. The conversation went something like this:

JEFF: "Hey Danny, it's Jeff. Wanted to see if maybe you guys wanna go have dinner or something tonight. What are y'all up to this evening?"

DANNY: "Uh…well, I don't know. I mean, Melanie's at the shower, so I don't really know what she wants to do."

JEFF: "What shower?"

DANNY: "Her bridal shower."

JEFF: "The shower was today?"

ME, upon hearing this: "The shower is tomorrow!"

DANNY: "Yeah, it was at 11:00."

JEFF: "I think Taylor thought it was tomorrow."
ME, as Jeff is speaking: "NO WAY! It's TODAY?! Are you sure?!"

DANNY: "Well, that's where Mel said she was going, so I am pretty sure it was today."

Nice. Here I had Mel's presents all wrapped and ready to go; Jeff was set to babysit the next afternoon; and I'd already RSVPed to the hostess that I would be there. Damn you, New Mommy Brain!

The next weekend was Carrie's Baby Shower, which I co-hosted along with Carrie's sister and two of her friends in Austin. (Carrie was my roommate at Hardin House during my freshman year at UT, and she has been one of my best friends ever since.) Baby Joshua Walker Kitchen—"Josh"—is due on November 2^nd, so Carrie is already 30 weeks along, and I am extremely jealous because SHE HAS GAINED ONLY TWELVE POUNDS THUS FAR! By the time I was 30 weeks, I was 40 pounds heavier than normal. I'd gained a total of 53 pounds in my pregnancy by the time I delivered two weeks later. Twelve pounds vs. 53 pounds. Sooo not fair.

Anyway, I got up bright and early on Sunday to drive to Austin for Carrie's shower. I thought about bringing Harper but decided against it at the last minute, as she had been acting rather atrocious in the days before the shower, so she stayed here and spent some quality time with her daddy. The shower was darling and so much fun. We played some very cute shower games, and Carrie got so many fabulous gifts, including her Boppy pillow and monogrammed Boppy cover from Harper & me! Here are some pictures:

I also had to research/organize/schedule a venue for Danny & Melanie's upcoming Couples Shower, which really isn't a shower so much as a pre-wedding overnight getaway among friends. Jeff & I had originally intended to return to the Gruene Homestead Inn in Gruene, Texas, where we stayed with friends the week before our own wedding, but apparently the owners now impose a two-night minimum during the "peak" season, and September happens to fall in that time period. So I thought about it, and then I remembered how much fun Jeff & I had had when we drove up to Fredericksburg for my 27^th birthday. We rented a darling little guesthouse and spent the weekend there—Friday, just the two of us, and Saturday, with Carrie and her husband, Kris. We had an absolute blast checking out all of the nearby Texas wineries, sampling many different wines, walking around Main Street, and window-shopping. Remembering that, Fredericksburg seemed like it could be the perfect place for Danny & Mel's pre-wedding event!

Problem was, we have a lot of people in our group (like 14 of us), and almost all of the guesthouses in Fredericksburg that will house so many people require a two-night minimum. Staying two nights wasn't an option, so I contacted a reservation service in Fredericksburg hoping for some help… Didn't receive much, but was given the names of a few guesthouses to look over.

One of which was just the right size for our not-so-little group. It's called the River Road Ranch, and it looks absolutely perfect for us…which is why I was so disappointed to read that the owners require a two-night minimum for all weekend stays. Then it occurred to me that maybe I could convince them otherwise. We are, after all, in a recession; the tourism industry, even in tiny Fredericksburg, has no doubt taken a huge hit. So I e-mailed the reservation service that I had previously contacted and asked whether the owners were at all flexible with the two-night minimum stipulation. Someone replied back saying that basically the rates and policies are set and most owners will not budge. However, this is one of those situations in which being ridiculously headstrong actually comes in quite handy.

I e-mailed the owners of River Road Ranch directly, and they were more than happy to let us stay for one night only. Woo-hoo! Our group has rented out both of the guesthouses on the property—ten of us will stay in "The Bunkhouse" and four of us will be next door in "The Feed Mill." I am so excited that our venue is FINALLY all squared away! It should be a blast! Here are some pictures of where we are going to stay:

What else? Wrote two letters that I really wanted/needed to write. Consequently, repaired one of my greatest regrets by reconnecting with an old friend whom I mistreated years ago during a really bad time in my life. A la Forrest Gump, that's all I'm going to say about that.

Jeff had to take a business trip to Jacksonville, Florida for a few days. He wasn't gone long, but even so, it's never easy without him. I'm always acutely reminded of how much I depend on him for different things whenever he's not here, especially now that we have Harper. Needless to say, I was glad to see him return!

Oh, and here's something to file under other, AWESOME news: We got a new dining room table and corner china cabinet for our formal dining room! Actually, we bought them back in July, but they were finally delivered the first week in August. They are so beautiful and exactly what I'd had in mind. I am totally in love with them:

Yet another reason August flew by: My mom went back to school—er, back to teaching school, that is—so I tried to spend as much time as I could with her before she returned to her sixth graders. School started last week, but she had to go back a week before that for inservice. Blah. It's good for her to have something to do now that Carson & I are "grown up," I know, but selfishly I wish she wasn't teaching.

What else? Took Harper to lunch with a few friends from high school with whom I'd gotten back in touch thanks to Facebook. Jen, Renee, and I all went to middle and high school together; we were all pregnant at the same time; and we all had our babies in the winter/spring of 2009. In fact, Jen's adorable baby boy, Aiden, was a preemie just like Harper. Aiden was born first, in mid-February; Harper came at the end of March; and Alexa, Renee's daughter, was born in the beginning of May.

The three of us kept up with each other on Facebook throughout our pregnancies and decided to have lunch while Jen was in town from California. I hadn't seen Renee since we graduated high school (perhaps we bumped into each other during a return to San Antonio from college, but not that I can remember!), and I hadn't seen Jennifer in about four years (she and her husband happened to be in the same pre-marital counseling class at church as Jeff and me). The babies were all adorable and so darling together! Here are some pictures:

We left La Hacienda saying that the three of us would definitely get together again when Jen is in town for Christmas, and Renee & I promised that we'd get our girls together again before that since we both live here in San Antonio. I hope so, because I had too much fun!

I haven't mentioned much of you-know-who in this entry, and that's because I'm saving all of my Harper-related talk for the next update. This one is too long already! I promise I will update again before the end of the week. This once-a-month stuff is ridiculous. Until then…