Call me Mrs....

So I’ve been trying to figure out what I wanted to say in my first real update since being married. I know… we haven’t been married a month and I’m already over thinking my writing like my HUSBAND. (j/k baby!)

HUSBAND…. What a crazy, fun new thing to say. Its still unbelievable to me that I can say Steve is my husband, that he doesn’t have to go to his own home at the end of the night, and how natural all the transitions have felt. The morning after the wedding it already felt normal to wake up next to him. There are some moments I catch myself wondering if we’re missing something, or if we missed a step somewhere that would things feel abnormal! But then I thin about when Ted told us in pre-marital hang-out that we were doing all the work of being married with none of the rewards and I think I finally believe him! (I mean… I always believe you Ted!) Its truly been amazing to come home to Steve or have him come home to me to cook us dinner to decorate our apartment, to call everything “ours.”

Now while I saw everything has felt natural, it hasn’t come without a few surprises about this boy I live with! I won’t share about his dirty laundry (figuratively and literally) but there are some funny annoyances that I’ve realized come with getting married and moving in. And I’m sure Steve would say that his annoyances about me come from a) noticing his funny “boy traits” and 2) the amount of stuff I have (which is more compared to him, but not a lot compared to other people I know). One of the funniest moments of unpacking was finding a half empty box of Steve’s who’s contents included a watering can, a can of gravy, a slinky and one other ridiculous item. Ask Steve about it, he’ll tell you how it made sense in his brain. There are a few other things that Steve does that are out of my realm and so they make me crack up when they happen. For instance, when setting up the bathroom, I walked in to put something in the medicine cabinet and noticed a “pope on a rope” and “wash away your sins” bath kit had appeared as decorations. Whaaaat??!?!

And then there are the sweet things he does like rubbing my shoulders when I’ve been working on my computer for a bit, or jumping out of bed to turn the fan on when I’m already warm and snuggle, or buying me pepper spray to keep me safe when walking to and from out apartment by myself at night.

Whether we’re laughing at the “i love geeks” book, or crying because we’re laughing so hard at something stupid, or trying to hide from each other in our super tiny apartment when we’re having a stupid fight… I wouldn’t change it for the world. (And I hope Steve feels the same!)

We have loved and laughed more in the last 3.5 weeks than in maybe the last 3.5 years. I love being the Mrs. to Steve’s Mr.

Also… our wedding rocked ☺

So this was posted on Facebook... and probably anyone who reads this saw it on Facebook anyhow but I thought I'd throw it on here with everyone's comments included!

Because we just had an amazing wedding with our best friends and family, and then the most ridiculous, hilarious honeymoon ever.... we decided to do this note as a tribute to that rather than just ourselves. Love you all - Ashley McLaughlin :)

1. Groom and Best man showing up 1/2 hour late to the Rehearsal :)
2. Super chill rehearsal dinner consisting of Pizza, Pop and Beer in the hotel meeting room
3. My dad telling me to "Keep your nose down the barrel" when he gave me away during the ceremony. In our family, this is normal :)
4. "The Sinatra" - our classy shuttle/limo which took us to the church and then to the reception and held the whole wedding party.
4a. Our awesome friend Beau did a miniature "show" during the reception. It was supposed to be in a corner for the kids... instead it was on the dance floor for everyone!
4b. Christy Mitchell dancing the entire "Single Ladies" dance and captivating the dance floor!
5. Circle of the remaining 50 or so people at the end of the reception in a large circle swaying to "Piano Man", last song of the night
6. And then consistently started every morning after that a few hours later than expected.
7. Jeff Schuerman calling and texting us after we had gone to the hotel for the wedding night because he couldn't find a place to sleep.
8. Starting our honeymoon drive a few hours late because we hung out with some friends for a bit.
9. Stopping quickly to grab a few necessities and dinner, and ending up spending over 2 hours at an exit on the way to Tennessee
10. Somehow losing an hour between leaving OH and arriving at our cabin.
11. Steve thinking he was going to need to fight a guy at the Kentucky gas station we stopped at when he stood outside of our car. Then realizing that we were actually at a "full-service" gas station.
12. Garmin Nuvi freaking out near the end of Kentucky and then settling down once Steve held it. Apparently technology needs love too!
13. Our key code not working when we appeared at our cabin at 1:30am after not being able to find the dang rental office for a half hour.
14. Jeff Schuerman calling and texting while we were on our honeymoon to see if we know anything about his missing jacket, which was almost as cool as his jeans.
15. Kitschville, USA... Also known as Pigeon Forge, Tennessee: home of the world's largest "As Seen On TV" store, Dollywood and Giant Sharks which decorate the entrances to beach stores... You must walk through the mouth to enter.
16. "Chillin' Turtles" store in the Mountain Mall in Gatlinburg. Yep, its devoted to turtle lovers!
17. Randy, our air tram operator who refused to use "s's" in his 'peech!
18. Watching trials for the Special Olumpics in the Ober Gatlinburg Ski Area lodge. By this point, it didn't strike us as abnormal to do this.
19. Stopping at the embassy a few times to stay "grounded". Any by embassy, we of course mean Starbucks where they welcomed us with open arms. I think they could tell we were scared of Pigeon Forge.
20. Steve's consistency in pulling his clothes out of a laundry pile and leaving mine to find their own way to the suitcase.
21. The High Winds which kept us up half of our last night wondering if they were going to blow our cabin off the mountain. Also... we're from Ohio and know how to prepare for high winds... so we brought the patio furniture in from outside.
23. Having to stay in Florence, Kentucky on the way home because the roads were so bad... as my husband would say, "it was like driving through Planet Hoth."
24. Belting out "I love you, always forever, near and far, we'll stay together..." and "Killing me Softly" on the drive home.
25. Lowering sandwich and air drum sticks when passing a cop as if either of these is illegal when driving.

All in all... we rocked, and we want to do it all again. What are you all doing next January 24th? Wanna party?!

Stacy Pietrocini at 9:04pm January 31

You two are ridiculous!!!!!!!!

Stacy Pietrocini at 9:05pm January 31

Oh you forgot, the groom and best man, being an hour late to the rehearsal dinner, after being late to the rehearsal at the church... all because "the iPhone told them the wrong directions".... no one believes this. the iPhone is God's own best friend... we all know that.

Stacy Pietrocini at 9:06pm January 31

What about the groom not having shoes to wear the day before the wedding :0) That was classic. he wanted to wear his dirty black boots that get dripped on by white mocah sauce and steamed milk at starbucks daily...

Ashley McLaughlin at 9:07pm January 31

YES!!! Addendum, addendum! Those all rock!

Stacy Pietrocini at 9:08pm January 31

Chubakka dying in the bathroom sink...

Katie McNamara at 9:36pm January 31

i cant get over the text on your wedding night!! #7 from jeff... hahahaha!!!

Alissa Turner-Kruse at 10:19pm January 31

Sounds like you two are in love...that good cuz it was your honeymoon! Can't wait to see you both!

Steve Mclaughlin at 10:42pm January 31

1) we didn't get lost, the iPhone directed us towards a church that had the verse I used to propose, hence it is God's best friend
2) I never get white mocha sauce on those boots, and I was planning on cleaning them
3)The best man going into the bathroom Saturday morning and shouting "what the hell, did a wookie die in here last night?" after I shaved my beard was quite amazing.

Johnny Driver at 2:22am February 1

haha! such great stuff

Jamie Mowery Davis at 9:09am February 1

A text/phone call from a friend is a right of passage on a wedding night! ;) Glad you made it home safe- it sounds like the trip was hilarious!

Jeff Scheuermann at 4:26pm February 3

--Ok, so I did call on the wedding night. Here's the thing....I don't remember calling (go figure that, vodka/grapefruit all night) yay, my phone history show's no call being made, and it's Verizon, come on, all my people around me, they don't lie!!!
--Well Steve's Hollies of Holy iPhnoe told the truth.......I herd the msg of myself......OMG your all right, train-reck.
--So what did I learn? That on my wedding night i'll be getting phone calls and txt's from Steve and Ashley. I deserve it.....Hey, you guys find the sweet Jacket & scarf yet, and no it's not next to my cool jeans :)

Christy Mitchell at 6:38pm February 3

sweet, I made the the list.

Kait Swanson Tisler at 9:12am February 4

I would like to add the beer wall that is STILL in my apartment. I'm just saying that someone MIGHT have had some vodka with their Sprite during 24 on Monday.

I would also, in rememberance of Meggie and I's sore calves, like to add "dancing" with the 5-year-old...seriously...2 days...

I would ALSO like to add the delivering of your wedding gifts in 1.3 feet of snow. Yeah, we chose that day.

Cindy DeGroff at 8:36pm February 6

Beer wall? Beer wall? Is this Cuyahoga Falls, no it's Heaven. Can someone explain why there is a beer wall and we haven't been invited to partake in an adult beverage of our choice? Dad and Mom D.