Happy Anniversary!

Best two years of my life.

For Reals?

Update on our fabulous trip to come soon, promise.

In the meantime, I would like to rant about a li'l somethin' somethin'.

I was in a Hallmark store over the weekend and noticed a new line of what appeared to be Vera Bradley knockoffs. (Sidenote: I have a small obsession with Vera. I have nearly the entire line of the Peacock pattern items...which was sadly retired last year.) Anyway, the sales associate said to me, "Have you seen our new line of handbags by Stephanie Dawn? We are so proud to have it here."

I nibbled on her bait. "Really, why?"

"Well, after Vera Bradley sent about 90% of her work overseas, the displaced workers from her factory in Indiana bought out a part of it and began to manufacture their own product."

*gasp!* Could it be?!? I didn't jump on the offense right away because I wanted to do my research to be sure. And after some careful Googling, I do see that 500 employees of VB's suppliers were laid off in May. Some reports say that she then hired 500 of her own employees back. Other sources say those jobs went overseas. I couldn't find anything at her official site to back up the info, but I'm still very curious. I don't want to continue supporting a company that is sending a majority of its jobs overseas.

I visited the Stephanie Dawn website and they seem to really promote the fact that their bags are all exclusively made in the USA...which tends to drive the point home for me, but I still can't be sure. On the "about us," page it almost hints that Stephanie Dawn is the granddaughter of one of the founders of Vera...IDK.

Anyone know the real scoop? Fill me in!

PS - Don't forget to enter bleu soleil design's fabulous giveaway! Click here and be sure to tell Jackie I sent you!

Best. Husband. Ever.

So I'm being whisked away on a surprise anniversary trip today thru Monday. I'm super dee duper excited about it! (I planned the surprise 1st anniversary trip to Traverse City last year...we've decided to switch the planning duties every year.)

Anyway, he's been giving me (ridiculous!) hints all week and finally broke down and told me all the juicy details last night. We're keeping it close to home since it's a quickie trip, but it couldn't be more romantic or exciting. Here's the rundown:

Today: Leaving around 11 to have lunch at The Flytrap in Ferndale. This place was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network (aka porn for fat people) and we've been wanting to go forever! Then we're traveling up to Midland to check in to the very swanky H Hotel. Midland is home to the Great Lakes Loons, so we are meeting my parents and ALEX for a game tonight at 7 pm. How fun is that?! Midland is like 10 minutes from Auburn (where my Mom and Dad live) so we get to meet up and see my little buddy (they're watching him). In related news, having a beer with my Dad at a baseball game is such a rite of passage. It's one of my favorite things.

Tomorrow: I plan to sleep in for an exorbitant amount of time in a deliciously fluffy hotel bed. Then, Joey has arranged for a table to be set up for lunch in the garden area at The Grand, which is where we had our wedding reception! (Wait for it...awwwwwwwww.) After lunch, we'll scoot back to the Hotel for massages...sweet, sweet massages. I get all wiggly just thinking about it! That evening we have reservations at Table restaurant, which boasts a Five-Diamond and Four-Star certified chef! I know, right?!? We're having a 3-course meal with special wine pairings. It's so snobby and fabulous I can hardly stand myself.

Sunday: I have been wanting to return to the church we were married in since Alex was born. I think it would be really special to share Alex with some of our friends there...not to mention showing him off to Fr. Bert! So, we are meeting my parents and Alex at Holy Trinity for church on Sunday. It will be a perfect, blessed ending to an amazing weekend.

Until then, childrens! :-)

Giveaway!

Not mine...sorry. But I do plan on doing one soon.

Jackie of bleu soleil design (this is not the first time you are hearing of her fabulousness from me!) is hosting a GIVEAWAY! I ADORE GIVEAWAYS!! Plus, her stuff is faboo...so it's like a win win...win!


Click the image or here to visit her blog to enter. Let her know I sent you!! :)

PS - I had a bit of trouble with the word verification in the comments part...if you have the same troubles, let me know! (I need to know if I'm a moron or just completely computer illiterate. Yes, they are different.)

4 Month Checkup.

Mr. Alex had his 4 month checkup a few days ago and it went swimmingly! The doctor said he was "such a sweet little thing" and that we "set the bar high." Perhaps he says that to all his parents, but I like to think not. He also said he was super proud of me for being a "good and brave" mommy because I had to yank his circumcision apart. Oh, did I not tell you this? Silly me. Men of the world stop reading now or you will likely pass out.

Last time I was visiting my parents, my mom (a nurse) noticed that his circumcision had sort of "grown back." I will spare you the anatomy lesson, but you can use your imagination and figure it out. She advised that if I kept tugging on it every time I changed his diaper that it would likely break apart and go back to normal.

Well, the magical day that it DID pull apart I about lost my lunch. It didn't even phase Alex...he didn't wince or cry or even act as if anything had happened. Strange. Regardless, the doc was uber proud of me for being brave enough to do it - he'd never had a mom that did before. Yay for me.

In other news, he's growing just as he should and remains in the 50th %ile for pretty much everything. He was a champ for his shots. Me...notsomuch. :)

4 Month Checkup - Weight: 14 lbs. 10 oz. (50th %ile); Length: 25 in. (50th %ile); Head: 42.1 cm. (25/50th %ile)
2 Month Checkup - Weight: 12 lbs. (50/75th %ile); Length: 22.75 in. (25/50th %ile); Head: 39.2 cm. (25/50th %ile)

Growing. And awesome. He's the best.

Devastating.

Exactly one week from today I'm back to work. It's so depressing I can hardly stand myself. I won't get to wake up every morning and play all day with my little man. Peek-a-boo and pattycake will quickly be replaced with pointless meetings and lunch hours that aren't long enough. I cry just thinking about it. But, rest assured that this face will be plastered ALL over my PC desktop:

In related news, Joey is taking me on a surprise trip this weekend for our anniverary...one last hurrah before I'm a slave to the man again. So I have that to look forward to!

Mind Reader?

Even though I was sound asleep when he left for work this morning, I can tell you exactly what kind of socks Joey has on today. Well, let me rephrase that: I know exactly what kind of socks he's not wearing...his "day of the week" Monday ones from H&M.

About a year ago, he needed new black socks. I happened to be at H&M soon after he proclaimed this need, and they had the FUNNEST pack of black socks...one for each day of the week, labeled at the very top in fun colors.

I knew he would love them because they were weird, yet still appealed to his inner organization freak self.

He wore them faithfully, and only ever on the corresponding day to the sock. (Clearly. What other option is there?) I would laugh at him as we got ready for work...pulling out the appropriate pair for the day, always doing a little dance in his boxers when it was finally time to wear the "Friday" pair. Such a silly, silly grown man was he.

So imagine my surprise yesterday as we were going thru and cleaning out our drawers together when he threw them in the Goodwill pile! Gasp! The beloved socks!

"Honey, seriously...those are so fun! Why are you getting rid of them?"

"I get dressed in the dark now and it gives me such anxiety that I'm going to put on the wrong pair. And then they just end up all half-wadded in the drawer and I go to work embarrasses that I'm wearing Tuesday on a Thursday."

Hilarious. Anxiety from socks.

Little Miss Abigail Mae.

Confession: I totally cried BEFORE I even walked into the hospital room. I saw her as we walked in, lying in her little pink outfit in all her glorious cuteness and all the emotions of having Alex came flooding back to me.

And then I held her. And I was in love. She's absolutely precious...and if Keliann and Michael would have let me I would have ran out of the hospital with her and never turned back.

In related news, I now know why people have 2 kids. After Alex I swore I would never put myself through that ever, ever, ever, ever again. I haven't forgotten how much the whole experience sucked royal balls, but at least it might be a possibility someday. Maybe. IDK. Jury's still out.

Anyway, here she is:





And a special message for Aunt Kelli: (Please excuse my motarded Mickey Mouse voice. I was nearly in tears AND was talking to a baby. Don't judge.)

Check Please?

Today, I was a machine.

Kelli's bachelorette party? Planned.

Kelli's bridal shower? Nearly there.

Super surprise dinner for Joey that he's been CRAVING for like 2 weeks? Cooking as I type.

House? Picked up...but not Mr. Clean, clean. Which is fiiiiiiiiine.

Cookies? Baking.

Baby? Sleeping.

Bring it, world.

Morning Announcements.

Kind of like the high school kind, only without the Vice Principal's annoyingly squeaky voice and unnerving penchant for clicking her tounge in the middle of random words.

First up: BABIES! Congrats to Keliann and Michael on the birth of little Miss Abigail Mae. She's basically ADORABLE and I will be able to prove this in person tonight when I GO VISIT HER. :) I'm superdeeduperdeeduper excited. And, I will probably cry when I hold her because it will be too hard to believe Alex was ever that little.

Next: LUNCHTIME! And we're not talking crappy frozen chicken sandwiches, a sorry excuse for french fries and expired chocolate milk that tastes like cardboard. I'm talking super delicious food from Mind Body Spirit in downtown Rochester. But it's not the food I'm excited about...it's the company. My dear friend Karen Marina back in the land of the free and the home of the brave for a hot minute and I get to steal her for lunch!

Finally: ARTS AND CRAFTS! It seems I have far too many crafty friends. I've already raved about the brilliance that is Jackie of bleu soleil design, and now I must brag about Jamie from be.love(d). Basically I adore her from head to toe and now she's putting all of that hotness into some amazing pieces of canvas. It's gorgeous stuff. Ch-ch-check her out on Etsy.

And that, childrens, completes your announce(tounge click)ments for today. Enjoy!

My Buddy.

Each month following the WIPpo pictures I take all of the pics of Alex from the month and combine them into one album. Here are some of my faves from July 16-August 15:


Gnawing on his arm, watching the boob tube.



Silly boy after bath time.



Playing with Daddy at Grammi and Poppi's house.

Bath time in Grammi's sink!!

"Oooh, Mommy...watermelon is DELICIOUS! ...and I love your dark nail polish! You are so trendy!"

I can sort of hold my own bottle!

Sleepin' on Daddy's lap at Great Grandpa's 80th birthday party.

Nerd Wedding.

Hilarious.

Still laughing, actually.

So, Joey and I were snuggling in bed this morning with Alex, coffee, Jake (on the floor) and the morning paper. It was basically perfection.

Anyway, I was reading the Life & Style section and it was highlighting a wedding. Ooooh! I love weddings! To make it better, this particular couple won a wedding contest! Ooooh! I love contests!

IT. WAS. A. STAR. TREK. WEDDING. CONTEST.

I am not joking.

The Detroit Science Center has the Star Trek: The Exhibition exhibit (department of redundancy department, anyone?) open through September 7. Apparently the head science honcho decided that attracting the nerds of the world wasn't enough, they had to marry them off. So, they held a contest to win the ultimate Star Trek wedding and reception at the exhibit. I know. This is where the side-splitting laughter started.

After reading more into the article, there were only NINE couples that entered the contest. NINE. For a FREE wedding. And if that wasn't enough, only 35 people voted for them. And they were the winners!

In my fit of laughter, I stopped for a moment to be flabbergasted at the mathematics of it all, and the following conversation ensued:

Me: (Explained scenario to Joey.) Most people would do anything for a free wedding...and the Science Center is actually pretty cool. I just can't figure out how they won with only 35 votes. I mean, if we entered something like that and just emailed the voting instructions to friends and family we would get loads of votes! Not even to mention posting it on Facebook.

Joey: Babe, seriously. They're having a Star Trek wedding. They probably only have 35 friends.

So. Funny. I <3 Joey.

Alex And The WIPpo.

My little guy is already FOUR months old. And as if time doesn't fly fast enough, I go back to work in 2 weeks. Ugh. Look for manic-depressive posts on that particular topic coming soon...

Without futher adieu, here's Mister Alex with his WIPpo @ 4 months:


Happy as a clam. And look how thick his hair is getting!



"Hey, mom...what's up with this giant stuffed head you've got in front of me?"



"I'm not sure what this is, but its ear is quite tasty..."

"Oh, you wanna have a stare off? I'm the master at this! Just ask that lion that hangs from my carseat. It's ON like WIPpo Kong!"

Basically, he's the cutest ever. And on the off chance that I might not have given you enough to saturate your Alex fix for the day, here's a quick video:

Stalker?

I decided about 3 haircuts ago that the 45 minute drive to my former (and very loved) salon just couldn't cut it anymore. Ha! I'm so punny! While the cut and stylist were always perfect, my time with my boys has become far too precious.

My previous salon was a Redken salon, but research and faithful blog following revealed that Kerastase salons were great...if not better. I did some further googling and found a new (Kerastase) salon much closer to home.

The first visit was a smashing success. Loved the cut. Loved the stylist. Then she quit. I love my luck. So I switched it up and went with the owner (you can never go wrong with the owner, right?). She also turned out to be faboo, but it was a rather strange experience...

Maybe someone with more knowledge of the hair industry can 'splain this to me, but it was as if she had an intern/apprentice following her (and me!) everywhere she went. Washing my hair? She watched her like a hawk. Walking back to the station? Followed me step for step. Cutting my hair? Literally stood 6 inches from me and watched her every snip. She finally made herself useful at the end by picking up a blow dryer and drying my hair...but it was so, so, so strange. I felt like she was my stalker...following my every move. And she didn't say a word the entire time. I tried to make small talk to ease my discomfort, but she just stared at me blankly, continuing to hold all the owner's scissors and combs, should she need something.

It was seriously bizarre. Honestly it was so uncomfortable I might start the salon hunt all over again...ack!

Is this a Kerastase salon thing? Or an owner-of-the-salon-has-a-god-complex thing?

I Do. Me Too.

So, the childrens got themselves good and married on Friday and are currently off somewhere warm and fabulous eating and drinking themselves into oblivion. I am jealous beyond words.

However, there day was super fabulous and fun. I laughed, I cried...and made damn sure mom and dad got a decent ROI on the bar bill.

Meet the new Mr. & Mrs. Talicska, courtesy of le cell phone. (Profesh pics to come soon...their photographer was super!)




Today I was also going to write about the FUNNIEST story of all, but it's already been drafted and published by mi hermana. Click here for a good laugh about how and why my future brother in law drank an ENTIRE glass of fish water at the reception. Yes. Fish water.

Avon Review.

Remember the Avon giveaway I won? Well, here's a little review of the products I picked. For $30, I got some GREAT stuff!

1. ADVANCE TECHNIQUES Dry Ends Serum - I've been using Redken Smooth Down Heat Glide for what seems like an eternity. And even though I'm a product whore and love to switch things up, I've never strayed from my Heat Glide because I love it so. But, this was an opportunity to try something new for free, so I went for it. I'm not disappointed in the slightest - it makes my hair soft and silky and smells DELICIOUS!

2. NAILWEAR PRO Nail Enamel in Midnight Plum - Kelli has spent the entire summer trying to convince me that dark is the new red when it comes to nail color, so I thought (again) for free I'd give it a whirl. Not only am I crazy obsessed with the color, it's also a pretty good polish. Quick to dry and slow to peel. My kinda girl.

3. mark That's Deep Purifying Gel Cleanser - The ingredients sounded hokey pokey to me, but I currently have no less than 6 facewashs in my shower, so I thought I'd throw another in the mix just for fun. The only thing I wish is that it had a bit more of an exfoliating punch, otherwise I'm a big fan. My face feels nice and fresh...plus the packaging is cute. :)

4. NAIL EXPERTS Liquid Freeze Quick Dry Spray - A day or two before I placed my order from Avon I ran out of a similar product from Creative called Solar Spray. This stuff is mucho cheaper and works just as well! It even has the nice moisturizing after effect that the Creative stuff has. It doesn't smell as yummy, but I can get over that for the $14 in savings.

5. ASTONISHING LENGTHS Mascara in Black - Eh. Not a fan. It just goes to show that I will never quit quitting Maybelline's Volume Express. Once you go 7x you'll never go back.

6. mark Angled Contour Face Brush - I actually needed a new face/blush brush and was just getting up the courage to drop the $50 for the MAC one I wanted like this. MAC brushes are the only currently making an appearance in my repertoire, but this brush from Avon did not disappoint. And you really can't beat the price.

So there you have it! Thanks again to Mrs. Newlywed and Avon Lady from SC for the great stuff!

Call Me Queen.

Latifah, that is.

It should be no secret that Joey's "freebie" is Queen Latifah. (You know...like the one woman he could have a passionate one-night stand with in room 402 of a Holiday Inn Express with no questions asked. FTR, mine is John Stamos.) I love the fact that he loves himself some curves. Makes me feel slightly less self-conscious about the last handful of baby chubs I have yet to lose.

Back to my point: call me Queen Latifah. I say this not only because of my luscious curves and Cover Girl countenance, but for my new and fabulous TAN!

Since this article came to light, I've been scared to death (no pun intended) to return to le tanner. I've been using some form of tanning beds/hexagon booths since I was probably 15. Not regularly, mind you, but at least a handful of times every year before vacations, proms, and other major life events that required me to have that sun-kissed look. There's just something about a good manicure, a fabulous hair day and a bronze glow that makes me feel like I could take over the world. But, since it's now been proven to send me to an early grave, I'm beginning to slowly come to terms with the fact that my love of the UV has GOT to stop.

So, to prepare for the nuptials of the baby bro (update on that soon) I obvi wanted to look my best without dying. So, I called my local hothouse and inquired into the Mystic...aka the "spray tan." After being pleasantly reassured that I would not look like a zebra or other spotted creature following the spray, I made myself an appointment. $9.99 and 14 seconds later I looked FAB-U-LOUS.

Moral of the story: women of the world, fear not the spray tan. It's awesome. It lasted almost a week and didn't look streaky or weird as it faded.

All in all, I'm a big fan. Highly recommended.

Crazy, Party Of One?

I'm not dead. I swear. It's just been loco around la casa de VeeDub.

Baby bro is getting married on Friday AND Joe and I decided this week would be a stellar time to start renovating the basement into a livable space. Perfect planning. We are like that.

So, tomorrow we head to the great north that is Auburn for le festivities. It's going to be the best Talicska wedding since August 31, 2007. :) Word.