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Sibling’s Weekend ~ Our Family’s Answer to the Holiday Quandry

August 1, 2011 By Maureen Chapdelaine 6 Comments

In two short weeks Matt and Tracy who live in Chicago, Kate and her husband Dan from Boston, and my Bride-To-Be Nicole and her fiancé Nick who live in Providence, will all be arriving home for our annual Sibling’s Weekend.

Joining the gang will be …in order of size…  Murphy, a three year old Greater Swiss… Oliver our eight month old Black Lab…Walle and Ralph, Nicole’s adorable long haired kitties and last and also smallest, Cody, Matt and Tracy’s fun loving Chihuahua.  We are going to have a full house!

Paul and I look forward to this extended weekend all year.  We begin planning activities and preparing menus from the moment the summer furniture is placed on the porch.

Sibling’s Weekend is our family’s answer to sharing our children during the winter holidays.  It is one time each year that we plan on all being together, to relax, to enjoy and to reminisce.

Do you find it difficult sharing your children during the holidays?  Consider making Sibling’s Weekend one of your family’s traditions.

Click on the links above for details on the Chapdelaine family’s Sibling’s Weekend.

 

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Happy Fourth of July!

July 3, 2011 By Maureen Chapdelaine Leave a Comment

 

A safe and relaxing holiday weekend to all the readers of The MOB Blog.

 

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Mother of the Bride AND Groom Dress

June 26, 2011 By Maureen Chapdelaine Leave a Comment

Miracles don’t happen every day. Yet that is what it would take to realize our daughter’s dream wedding without experiencing points of drama or conflict.  Fortunately, the art of negotiation is a tool us Moms have perfected through the years and it is a device we will call upon several times on the way to “I Do.”

Hats off to the MOB who can mix in a little humor and grace while negotiating!

Enjoy…and Happy Planning

HOW TO BE GRACIOUS

Jennifer’s wedding day was fast approaching. Nothing could dampen her excitement – not even her parent’s nasty divorce.

Her mother had found the PERFECT dress to wear, and would be the best-dressed mother-of-the-bride ever!

A week later, Jennifer was horrified to learn that her father’s new, young wife had bought the exact same dress as her mother!

Jennifer asked her father’s new young wife to exchange it, but she refused. “Absolutely not! I look like a million bucks in this dress, and I’m wearing it,” she replied.

Jennifer told her mother who graciously said, ”Never mind sweetheart. I’ll get another dress. After all, it’s your special day.”

A few days later, they went shopping, and did find another gorgeous dress for her mother.

When they stopped for lunch, Jennifer asked her mother, ”Aren’t you going to return the other dress? You really don’t have another occasion where you could wear it.”

Her mother just smiled and replied, ”Of course I do, dear…..I’m wearing it to the rehearsal dinner the night BEFORE the wedding.”

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Contest ~ Vote for Cody

June 22, 2011 By Maureen Chapdelaine 1 Comment

I am stepping a little out of my comfort zone asking this favor as it does not relate to weddings. My son and his dog Cody have entered a contest sponsored by Mighty Dog  and if you had a moment to vote I would appreciate it. Matt was hit by a car last summer as Cody pulled off leash and ran into the road. After complicated leg sugery I am happy to report that Matt just completed a 5 mile road race with my Bride and my Bride-to-Be by his side.

Matt and Cody live in Chicago and are pictured in the second row, 4th picture in.

http://www.mightydog.com/bigguysmalldog/contestants/
Thanks MOB~

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Win a copy of Not My Mother’s Wedding by visiting Fab Over Fifty

June 18, 2011 By Maureen Chapdelaine 3 Comments

 

As I begin wedding planning with Nicole I can’t help but reflect on the months spent planning my first wedding with her sister Kate.  I hold many sweet memories from that experience.  I also remember being amazed at how all consuming the planning of such an important event can be.

To encourage  Mothers of the Bride to take a moment of time for themselves and to thank you for being a reader of The MOB Blog and member of the Mother of the Bride group on Facebook, I would like to introduce you to a website written just for us.  Fab Over Fifty was created for women of a certain age in celebration of who we are, acknowledgement of our efforts to become that person, and advice and information to help maintain our spirit and beauty for adventures yet to be experienced.

 Click on over to Fab Over Fifty to research a book for your summer reading,  ask a question on topics from cooking, entertaining or antiquing or to read about a new study recently released on sun screen and skin cancer prevention.

To encourage you to take this moment for yourself, I am offering a giveaway to three members who leave a comment about their visit to the Fab Over Fifty site either on The MOB Blog or on the Mother of the Bride group on Facebook.  Winners will receive a copy of the entertaining and insightful hardcover gift book Not My Mother’s Wedding along with an embroidered Not My Mother’s Wedding cap.  Winners will be chosen by random on June 30th.

Happy Planning!

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Happy Mother’s Day!

May 7, 2011 By Maureen Chapdelaine Leave a Comment

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The Royal Wedding & The Mother of the Bride Dress

April 28, 2011 By Maureen Chapdelaine 4 Comments

OK…I have had some fun blogging about the Royal Wedding which takes place tomorrow and I was called out by a member from the Mother of the Bride Group on Facebook saying that she knows I will be watching despite what I have written.

Yes, Cynthia, I will be watching, albeit, through taped re-runs.  Why? I want to see Kate walk down the aisle in what is sure to be a killer wedding gown.  What I am most interested in, however, is the ensemble chosen by Kate’s mum.

I am already feeling anxious about what I will wear to my daughter’s wedding… not to mention my hair. My bride’s wedding is over a year away.  Can you imagine the pressure Mrs. Middleton is under?  She, after all, is the Mother-of-the-Royal-Bride!  And from what is being written her outfit may still be uncertain.

“According to London’s Daily Mail, Mother-of-the-Royal-Bride, Carole Middleton, has had a head-to-toe change of heart over her outfit, just days before the wedding.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1377712/Carole-Middleton-refuses-wear-Lindka-Cierachs-royal-wedding-outfit.html

 http://www.nbcnewyork.com/blogs/threadny/THREAD-Rumors-Surround-Mother-of-the-Royal-Bride-Carole-Middleton-120615589.html

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To Drink…Or Not To Drink ~ But No Beer?

April 27, 2011 By Maureen Chapdelaine 3 Comments

To drink…or not to drink.  Serving alcohol at your daughter’s wedding is a decision you may or may not be facing and the outcome is often based on where you live.  Attending an alcohol free wedding in New England would be a rare event, while it is quite acceptable in the more southern states.

Then there is the question of a full bar….or limiting what alcoholic beverages are served.

But no beer?  Isn’t that a little discriminating?   

Prince William and Kate Middleton have reportedly banned the consumption of beer at their wedding reception.

Guests will be served champagne and wine after beer was deemed to be unsuitable for such a prestigious occasion,The Mirror reports.

http://www.brides.com/blogs/aisle-say/2011/04/beer-banned-for-the-royal-wedding.html

I am a diehard New Englander and second generation Irish. I am saddened and hurt that the Royal family has snubbed their nose at our national beverage, and worse, is referring to beer as a second cousin.

 Besides, isn’t it a wedding tradition for all the groomsmen to be photographed holding a bottle?

The royal couple has made Friday weddings fashionable.  Beer?  Not so much.

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The Royal Wedding ~ Not My Cup of Tea

April 19, 2011 By Maureen Chapdelaine 1 Comment

Prince William and Kate Middleton are getting married.

And I thought we had a challenge facing us working on our guest list…

“With its gold lettering and gilded edge, this stiff white card has been arriving in the mailboxes of some of the best-connected people around the world.

“It’s the invitation heralding the wedding of William” and Kate Middleton, and it’s gone out to 1,900 people, from kings to charity leaders, to close family and university friends, old schoolmates and prime ministers around the world”

In a previous blog about Prince William and Kate Middleton I wrote:

“I remember so clearly the engagement of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer in the winter of 1981.  Although older than Diana and the mother of two children, I could not help but feel that it should have been me!

I had six great aunts living in Ireland at the time.  My great aunt Maureen, (I was her namesake) was educated in London receiving a nursing degree and she went on to become mid-wife to Queen Elizabeth for the birth of both Prince Charles and Princess Anne. 

Maureen proudly showed me Christmas cards and photos she received from the Queen during one of my summer visits to Ireland.  While the mid-wives received a diamond broach at the birth of Prince Charles, Maureen received a broach with a beautiful emerald symbolizing her Irish heritage.

All of this is to say, I had an in with Queen Elizabeth and I was much closer in age to Prince Charles than Diana.  I had a Dorothy Hamil haircut, albeit brunette, and I knew to wear a slip under my skirt, especially when the sun was shining.

It should have been me.”

This wedding, however, is not my cup of tea.  Could it be I am simply older and wiser?  Is it that no famous wedding ever seems to meet with love ever after?  Could it be that the media is already placing bets on how long this marriage will last? 

Probably all of the above… but mostly because I am happily planning my daughter’s marriage to her prince that I am certain will last a life time.

 ?

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R & R of Wedding Planning

April 18, 2011 By Maureen Chapdelaine 5 Comments

Wedding planning does not begin and end with a wedding.  If it could only be that easy!

It is all coming back to me with the recent engagement of my youngest daughter.  Wedding planning has tentacles that touch every part of my life.  I realize I have been given a set number of months to address my skin quality and the dark circles under my eyes, adjust my hair color and settle on a style to determine whether I will cut or grow my locks, access my wardrobe and perhaps pick it up a notch, and oh dear heavens, stop eating ice cream every night! 

Sadly, the R & R of wedding planning is not Rest and Relaxation. 

The R & R of wedding planning is Restore and Repair. 

Despite the less than spring like weather this weekend, Paul and I began sprucing up the yard in preparation for our Easter weekend guests.  Wedding planning has a way of making you look at things with different eyes.  While planting my pansies, I realized we were talking about hosting an engagement party this fall….perhaps a bridal shower…a visit from the in-laws?  I removed my gardening gloves, went inside for paper and pen, found Paul and we began our list of wedding related home improvement projects.

“You know how we talked about extending the porch with access to the back yard?” I asked. “Do you think we can have it finished for the Engagement Party this fall?”

The list was not short…and the outside of the house was just the beginning.

Sitting by the fire later that afternoon (yes…a fire in April…we were that cold), still with paper and pen, I continued my wish list of all the areas inside the house that I felt needed updating. 

“Maybe this is why it takes so long to plan a wedding.” Paul says.   I think he might be right.

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