Aaaaaaaaand You May Begin!

Urgent news update:

BIRTHDAY BOOTCAMP 2009 BEGINS TOMORROW!

For those just tuning in, BDBC is celebrated the world over the week prior to the birthday of yours truly. International holiday? You bet your sweet ascot it is.

Tomorrow marks the first day of December, thus kicking off the celebrations that will culminate on December 7...my actual day of birth.

Feel free to send flowers, gifts, e-cards, checks made payable to Kristi Van Wormer, etc. etc.

Ready, Set...CELEBRATE!!!

And What A Weekend It Was!

My big sister is MARRIED! It all feels like a dream...but it was an awesome weekend. And despite the fact that it was late November in mid-northernish Michigan, the weather was incredible. I'll be sure to post some of the profesh pics when she gets them, but here are some to tide you over:


The new Mr. & Mrs. Turner! She was a stunning bride.


The whole fam-damily.

With my fab SIL, Jill. Also a good shot of the flowers. They were SO cool!

My boys. Alex's tux was ridiculously adorable. Bowtie and EVERYTHING!

Rockin' out to the Gator (aka "Takin' Care of Business"). It should be noted that there has never been one event (prom, homecoming, weddings...even my OWN) that I did not do the Gator proudly from start to finish. Six-and-a-half minutes of pure, sweaty dancin' goodness.

For now, I must go clean my house tornado-style in preparation for Thanskgiving festivities. Yes, we're hosting. I don't know what I was thinking, either.

Toofers.

As expected, the other bottom/middlish tooth has sprouted. It's probably only a matter of time before he's begging to go to 2-for-1 wing night @ Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. Le sigh.

Amidst all the crazy things/gimmicks that we've purchased for teething (rings, toys, baby tooth brushes, textured binkies, etc.) I think I've found the golden goose: Baby Orajel® Teething Swabs.

A coworker actually tipped me off about these things. They look alarmingly similar to a Q-Tip, but you snap the top off and the medicine oozes into the other tip and then you swab it in baby's mouth. I tried it on my hand...it really works...and quite instantly! (The girl that told me about it says she uses them when she plucks her eyebrows...ha!)

Much like the pre-soaped washcloths that I prefer to use at bath time, these are rather gimmicky. I could probably buy the tube of Orajel and apply it myself to save some money, but there are some things in life that are worth paying for: plumbers, painters and Orajel. :) Plus, I love that I can throw them in the diaper bag and use them whenever and wherever he might get fussy because of teething-related pain.

Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm off to pick up the future Mr. & Mrs. David Turner from the airport...it's WEDDING WEEKEND! :)

CSN Baby Division = Thumbs Up.

In the event that any of my kickass readers were sitting on pins and needles waiting for the product and store review from CSN Baby, your day has arrived!

My apologies to Ashley and the fine people at CSN for the delay in posting, but I wanted to give this review the time and research that it deserved.

So here we go...

The product I received in the mail was the Skip*Hop Mod Dot Nursery Lamp.




Once you finish squealing with delight at how adorable it is, I will give you the low down.

*pause for squeals*

First, a review on the product itself:

Price: The list price of this lamp is $40. CSN has it 33% off at an absolute STEAL for $27. To be honest, I lovelovelove the Skip*Hop brand (you remember our bottle drying rack?) but hate that it's often so expensive. Worth it, but still. I usually can snag items for a deal at Marshalls or T.J. Maxx, but CSN's price beats them ALL. To drive the point home, this exact same lamp is listed for $49.99 at Buy, Buy Baby and is listed for $50 at many other online retailers' sites.

There's also a "seen it for less?" button near the price on CSN's product pages. All you have to do is click the link and fill out a quick form (where you saw the price, what it was, etc.) and they will send you back an offer. As a girl who loves a deal but sometimes gets exhausted on the hunt, I find this to be an absolutely brilliant concept. Customer retention? Ab-so-friggin-lutely.

Shipping: This item shipped to me for $6.21, which isn't bad considering it's a LAMP for crying out loud. Currently, they're offering free shipping on orders of $75 or more.

Function: Ok, why have I not owned a touch-operated lamp before? BRILLS! A light touch to the base or pole of the lamp will turn it on; it has a 3-way bulb, so the low setting is perfect for a night light in Alex's room and the high setting is great for bedtime stories. Plus, I can easily turn it off if he's sleeping without the annoying *CLICK* of a standard lamp. Nobody likes to wake a baby!

Now, for a general review of CSN:

Product Offering: They have a wide range of products from a great selection of brands. From nursery decor to travel gear, there's pretty much nothing you can't find on their site. Plus, with over 200+ CSN sister sites, you're sure to find whatever it is you're looking for...baby-related or otherwise.

Price: As previously mentioned, their price points are very competitive. Even if you were to use a coupon at a big-name baby retailer like Buy, Buy Baby, you're still getting a better price even factoring in shipping at CSN.

Customer Service: Now, I suspect that I got great customer service because I was doing a product review for them, but to be extra sneaky I anonymously called their customer service line with a few fake questions just to get a taste of the company and its culture. I'm pleased to report they passed with curteous, flying colors.

In Summary: My final grade for CSN is an A+! I would like to thank them for the opportunity to review their company and its products. You can bet I'll be a repeat customer.

And to my friends at Starbucks, MAC, Target, etc. if you are reading this and would like to follow suit, hit me up at kveedub {at} gmail {dot} com.

BREAKING NEWS!

We interrupt what should have been a product review post (which is obvi delayed until tomorrow) to bring you this very exciting and urgent news:

ALEX HAS A TOOTH!!!

Joe noticed it during dinner last night - it's the bottom leftish one. He's been gnawing on everything but the kitchen sink lately (and he would chew that to pieces too if only he could figure it out) so we knew it was only a matter of time. I'm honestly not sure I'm ready for this. It makes him seem so...so...old.

Since I don't have a time machine, I will relish in the moment and shout from the rooftops about this latest milestone. My mom said I popped my first 3 teeth through in a 2 day period, so if he's like his Momma the others aren't far behind. And if the little wiggle worm will sit still long enough to snap a good picture of his mouth I'll have one to post soon.

And because I was out of town for the 7 month Alex and the WIPpo pics, here they are:

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH.

Based solely on my current stress/anxiety levels, you'd think I was the one getting married this weekend. And if I'm feeling this way, I can only imagine how Kelli is doing...

Anyway, the Post®-its are out of control and I'm beginning to fear they are going to take on a lifelike form and revolt in an uprising against me. I've managed to throw away 5 of them this morning - 2 personal and 3 work-related. Only 432,879,721 more to go!

In other news, Starbucks Christmas Blend came out today. Best. Coffee. Ever.

And, for those that give a rats, the E-Boarding pass worked like a charm. I just pulled up the text message from NWA/Delta that had the barcode on it and scanned it under this little machine thingie and breezed on through. VERY cool. I always stumble and stress like a maniac to find which pocket I put the paper pass in, which results in an instant hot flash of fear that I lost it, dropped it, or was mugged. I knew my phone was in my pocket, so no fear, no sweat. Love it!

And it's LONG overdue, but tomorrow you can expect the post on my lovely surprise from the CSN baby division. It's VERY cool!

Leaving On A Jet Plane.

2 very important things before I depart:

1) Tried the NoseFrida last night. HOLY CRAP IT IS AWESOME. Seriously, it works like a friggin' dream. As previously mentioned, Alex is a booger machine and he always fought and struggled with the bulb sucker...even got a little whimpery when he saw it coming. But this thing is quite possibly more brilliant than sliced bread. I do not tell a lie. When you get yours, be sure to order the extra filters, too, since you have to use a new one every time. But at $2.50 for 20, it's so worth it.


2) When I checked in for my flight last night I opted to receive an E-Boarding Pass. Has anyone else done this? It's very cool - you have to enter your wireless carrier, phone brand and model and then they TEXT you your boarding pass. Apparently I just flash my phone screen and license at the security checkpoint and I'm good as gold. Truth be told I will probably print a boarding pass at the terminal just to be safe, but I'm going to give the E-thing a whirl first. I'm so modern! :)

Peace out, girl scouts!

Honey, I'm Home!

Im back in the Pleasant Peninsula for a hot minute.

Unfortunately, I think that trip is one I'm going to have to repeat more times than I would like. And let's be honest, here...I would like to repeat it exactly zero more times.

Tonight I must launder and pack my stuff for a weekend in Chicago and Alex's stuff for a weekend with Uncle Kyle and Aunt Jill. Joey's having a bachelor weekend @ home. So really, everyone wins.

In other news, I just got a Diet Mt. Dew for the first time in ages. Seriously, this stuff gets me moving faster than a hyperactive 9 year old sans Ritalin in Disney World. I plan on being uber productive tonight.

Bring it on!

The Armpit Of America.

After 5 painful hours in the car, I have arrived at my destination successfully. Note: there are LOTS of toll roads in Ohio. I HATE TOLL ROADS. I also hate Ohio, but that is a post for another day.

There is nothing here. Literally nothing.

Well, except a few gas stations and a Chipotle, which is where I dined for lunch.

Speaking of...to the girl that took my order, I am NOT your "sweetie." And to add "pie" to it when you took my money was just ridic. You are a CHILD. I HAVE a child. Thus, I am not your "sweetie" or "sweetie pie."

Some people's kids...

Looking For Me?

Currently, I can be found behind the wall of Post-it® notes covering my desk, steering wheel and wallet.

There is nothing in my line of sight right now that doesn't have a sticky on it. True story.

I'm leaving for a work trip tomorrow at the ass crack of dawn, followed by a whirlwind 12 hours at home, and then I'm off on a weekend trip to Chicago to see some of my girls. Can't wait for that part!!!

Thus, the only shred of sanity I have left is being balanced by a sea of 3x3 yellow pieces of moderately sticky paper acting as chicken-scratch reminders of all the tasks I have to complete before midnight tonight. Presentations to print. Things to pack. People to email. Hotels to schedule. Flights to confirm. Calm to maintain.

Utter chaos. And secretly, I love it.

In other news, my Glee CD came in the mail on Friday. It's been on repeat since then. No joke. The fact that Joe was buzzing around the house this morning singing "Defying Gravity" proves it. It looks like there's another one coming out soon...

New sticky --> Research Glee CD part 2.

Hit Or Miss.

There are many stores with which I have a love/hate relationship. To name a few: Limited, Express, Macy's, H&M, Old Navy & Gap. When you hit them just right, you can find a sea of absolutely fabulous things. But when the selection or season is wrong, it is oh-so veryvery wrong.

Right now Old Navy is a total hit for me. I bought this hoodie recently and simply adore it. It has that "I'm totally thrown together but still trendy" look about it.




And I'm pretty sure I'm headed out this weekend at lunchtime to get this coat:



In related news, in a half-assed attempt to be current, I recently purchased this:



I know, I know. It's really cute. And to be totally vain, it looks great on me most likely because of the contrast with my dark hair. I've put it in three times to wear to work but have never actually made it out the door with it on. I just feel ridiculous with this giant sparkle on my head. Maybe I'll rock it this weekend when snoopy office mates and bosses aren't around to judge me.

See you Monday!

Starbucks FAIL.

Holiday drinks are officially back at Starbucks. Woot!



Guess what's noticeably absent from the list?

My beloved Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate.

After whining inappropriately to my barista this morning, she assured me they could still make the "Caramel Hot Chocolate" part, just not the "Salted" part. Um...moron much? That's what makes it so deliciously delicious!

So, in an attempt to survive the season, I plan to head to Kroger tonight to pick up my own personal jar of sea salt, which will be kept innocuously in my purse so I can salt my own beverage. So much for the customer is always right.

Put A Ring On It.

Alex and Abigail had a little playdate on Sunday during Kelli's birthday party.

Alex was totally enamored with her...and in my mind they are pretty much as good as married. Invitations will be sent out in May 2033. Monogram "A" theme. Colors are black, white and green - an homage to both of their parents' weddings.

Considering that Keliann met Michael on my first date with Joe (long, hilarious story for another post), I think it's totally appropriate.

Winter Is Coming!

These slippers are on sale this week @ Target for $6 (from $9.99). And since I can't resist a good sale and/or things that keep my freakishly small feet warm, I very obviously bought these:



Aren't they the cutest? I thought I would feel silly in them, like I should be on a boat dock or something. But they are SO warm and snuggly!!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is so much better with kids. I mean, really...frat parties and slutty costumes can only get you so far in life.

We had a great weekend, as captured by these pics:


Alex as "Superbaby!" Complete with cape, natch.



It's a bird...it's a plane...it's ALEX!!!!!!



Alex as a peapod!



All snuggled in and ready to go Trick-or-Treating.



Family shot! Pardon the seasonally inappropriate and slightly oversized Red Sox hoodie. When Superbaby was flying over my head the kryptonite must have gotten the best of him because he for sure barfed all over my super cute black and orange outfit. We were @ my brother's house, so his Boston hoodie had to work as a replacement.



Grammi bought him an Alex-sized pumpkin that he carried all day (and tried to eat).

The hat was $1.00 @ Target. I simply couldn't resist.

The weekend was such fun. Kyle and Jill had a party in their new house, so we all gathered there to pass out candy to the little ones and Jello shots to the big ones. Yes, we were the coolest house on the block. The newlyweds had an amazing spread of food...and let's be honest, I could be found grazing at it pretty much all night. Chex Mix? Spicy taco dip? Brownies? <--These are all things I cannot resist!

Sunday was Kelli's birthday (30, flirty and thriving!), so Mom and Dad had a little shindig at their place. There's no better ending to a divine weekend of gorging on copious amounts of food than ice cream and cake.

...back on the wagon today. It's Monday!