life as a stay at home wife

The wedding is over, all of our out of town guest have gone home, we're back from our honeymoon and my sweet hubby has been back at work for a little over a week now which means i'm officially a stay at home wife. My days have been filled with lots of cleaning, unpacking, cooking, running errands, lunch with friends, watching Friends, staying in my pj's until lunch, lots of laundry, and working on my visa application. It is nice to have a break from the craziness of the last 2 months but I'm not sure i'm cut out for being a stay at home housewife. I miss working and being in a routine but hopefully it will only be for 4 more weeks and I can get my visa application turned in and be back at work as soon as possible! I do really miss my kiddos and my work buddies as well as being able to see my man during the day at work!

I may not love the stay at home part, but I sure do love being a wife! Happy 3 weeks of being married, my love! Life is better with you by my side :)



 

Mr & Mrs

Yep, thats us...Mr & Mrs Fowler :) I can't believe our wedding day has come and gone! With the whirlwind of planning a wedding in 7 weeks, work, moving and having out of town visitors for over a month and now its all over, just like that.

We could not have asked for a more perfect day! We got married a little over a week ago, July 9th or as Aussies would say 9th July. The weather was beautiful and sunny. It was a little windy, so there was a chill in the air but after all it is winter here. Our ceremony was held at the beautiful Hunter Valley Gardens and our dinner reception was at the Crowne Plaza, both located in the Hunter Valley wine country which is about an hour north of where we live on the Central Coast. Our wedding was small and intimate, exactly how we wanted it. It was such a wonderful weekend for our family and friends to get to spend together and relax. Looking back I'm just amazed that we were able to pull it off in such a short time but also just in awe at how perfectly it all came together! It was truly a perfect day and we have so many memories to look back on and cherish over the next many, many years.

Since the wedding we said goodbye to my family and friends who came out for the wedding. I can't even begin to describe how great it was to have my family here. I can't write too much about it or the tears will start but it was the best thing ever. Now if we could just convince them to move to Australia :) Then Ben and I were off to Tasmania for 5 days for our honeymoon. It was a beautiful, relaxing trip. We came home late Friday night and then were up early on Saturday to get ready for our "post wedding celebration" with all of our family and friends here. That was a wonderful afternoon as well! I can't wait to be able to celebrate again with my family and friends when we come to the states in a few months. We're pretty lucky, getting to celebrate our wedding 3 times. Any excuse to wear my wedding dress for a second time, i'll take :) We are so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing people that love and support us, both in Australia and in the US.

Well my sweet hubby is making us breakfast so I better run :) more photos and updates to come!

 

1 week to go!

I really was hoping to be better about keeping up with my blog during our engagement, so one day I could look back and read all about it. I guess I really thought I would have some "free time" during our short, 7 week engagement. I was wrong. But even with all the craziness of the last 7 weeks I wouldn't trade a minute of it because this time next week I'll be married to my best friend and that will make every second of it completely worth it.

The last hour has been just about the only free time i've had. My family is all out doing other things, Ben is out at his parents house and i'm sitting at my new home (what will be our home soon!) surrounded by boxes and suitcases that still need unpacking but i'm going to just try to enjoy these last few minutes, I feel like this is the calm before the storm because i'm pretty sure this week is going to be a little on the busy side.

Besides the wedding planning its been busy around here with work and visitors! My good friend, Clint from college came to visit with a friend about 3 weeks ago. There is nothing better than have a little piece of home here in Australia. Of course 2 days after they left my mom came then a week later my dad and brother arrived. Then this week one of my girlfriends who is also going to be a bridesmaid in the wedding arrived and then this Friday another girlfriend arrives from the states! I feel so bad for my family and friends, they've all been put to work since the minute they got here whether it be wedding stuff or helping me move they have been amazing! I'm not sure I could have done everything without them and I have a feeling i'm going to miss them terribly when they leave.

I'm not sure what has been more stressful, planning a wedding in 7 weeks or preparing to be gone from work for 6 weeks. We're taking 2 weeks leave for our wedding/honeymoon but shortly after we got engaged we found out that i'll have to take 6 weeks of unpaid leave from work to wait for my new visa to kick in. In some ways I think its a blessing in disguise because it will give me time to get things at home set up and kind of get used to be married and mostly a nice break after the craziness of the last 7 weeks. I'm just worried my soon-to-be hubby will get too used to coming home to a clean house with dinner on the table everyday because i'm pretty sure that will not be the case everyday after I go back to work. In the meantime we both have 2 days left of work and then some much needed time off!

The last 7 weeks have been full of ups and downs. If there is 1 big thing i've learned is that when people find out you are getting married they want to give you all sorts of opinions and advice. Some of it is helpful and some of it not so much and some of it I just have to smile and say thanks for the advice. Then there are others who are selfish and think our day is about them. It hurts my feelings that they act like that and I just hope one day they will realize how their actions affect others. But most importantly i'm thankful for the heaps of people that have been so encouraging and supportive during this time. To all of you, I can't thank you enough and we love you guys so much!

A week from now i'll be married to this handsome man and I can't wait :)