Not Bad For A Thursday.

I woke up this morning SO pumped that it was Friday.

Except, it's not. Shiiiiiite.

So, to perk us all up a bit that it's not Friday, how about we do another giveaway? Yippie!

My dear friends at the CSN Family of stores love them some ABM3. Remember the lamp review I did awhile back? Anyway, they've generously offered to give one lucky reader a $40 gift certificate to use at any of their 200 + websites. With options from toys to bathroom vanities to shoes (I mean really, who doesn't love shoes?!), the winner of this giveaway has some serious online shopping to do!

So, how to enter? Let's keep this one simple: just become (or already be) a public follower of ABM3 and leave a comment on what product you might get if you win. Don't worry, I won't hold you to your selection!

If you want to blog about this giveaway with a link back, I'll give you two extra entries (just leave the link in your comment).

I'll pick a booger winner on Friday, June 4. Good luck!

An Open Letter.

Attention ladies: It is now officially sum-sum-summatime.

This means that the seemingly endless condundrum of 'what is work appropriate summer attire?' is officially on everyone's minds. Well, at least mine. In any event, I'm about to impart some serious knowledge on you. File this one away as top 5 general office etiquette - right behind the NO nail clipping rule.

1. Tank tops are acceptable when you are out to dinner with friends. Or at a club. Or out shopping. However, I do NOT want to look at your poorly shaved pits in the boardroom. It's just not cool. Ann Taylor makes cardigans for a reason.

2. I love strappy sandals as much as the next girl, and as cute and fun and impressive as your Old Navy flip flops in every color of the rainbow might be, they do not scream, "Hey, I take my job seriously!" Put on a professional pair of shoes and respect the office, will ya?

3. This actually pairs with Rule #2: just because the weather says you can wear open-toed shoes doesn't mean that you should. Treat yourself to a nice pedicure before you even dare expose those toes. Nobody wants to see your gangly, disgusting and unpolished feet. It's le gross.

4. Throw this one back to my Catholic school roots: if your skirt/dress doesn't pass your fingertips when you hold your hands at your side, you shouldn't be wearing it. This especially applies to all women over 29 during any season.

5. Kudos to you if you're using your lunchtime to walk around outside and get some exercise. However, if your place of work does not have a shower for you to refresh your hot mess of a self, keep it inside so the sweat stays to a minimum. I don't want to smell your nasty funk in our 2 p.m. meeting, mmkay?

Take those to the summer bank and cash them, y'all. Oh, and the no clipping rule knows no season.

In other news, Glee goes Gaga tonight. AND it's the season finale of The Biggest Loser. Thank the lawd for DVR!

Coupons, Anyone?

'Twas cleaning out my stash today and found the following I'll never use:

• $2 off Similac
• $2 off Pamper's Easy ups (2 of these)
• $1.50 off Huggies Little Swimmers
• $2 off Any Huggies Little Movers or Little Snugglers
• $3 off when you buy any 2 Huggies
• $2 off Huggies Overnites
• $0.50 off Huggies wipes 64 ct. or higher

Email me your mailing address if you want any of them --> kveedub{at}gmail{dot}com

In related news, I really believe that the makers of Huggies products should consider spelling "nights" correctly. They do make childrens' products, after all.

I Smell Of Vomit & Pedialyte.

Here is a list of things that will happen in your life, should your 13 month old child ever become violently ill with the flu:

• Ineveitably, you will wash every single piece of clothing and blanket that he owns because it's all covered in vomit. Like, cups and cups of vomit. Like, how did this much vomit even come out of this little body, vomit. Oh, and you'll also hose down BOTH strollers, because those got vommed in, too.
• You will make midnight runs to Walgreens for copious amounts of grape Pedialyte, which strangely, tastes delicious. The sales associate will also look at you, all rugged and ragged in your sweatpants and sorry excuse for a tee shirt and just say, "I'm sorry."
• You will sleep very little, worried that he might vom in his sleep and choke on it.
• You will neglect your blog, Facebook, Twitter and internet friends - not because you don't love them, but because you have literally no energy left to give to any other cause.
• You will, despite every effort to shower, scrub, disinfect and cleanse everything in your house (including you), still smell vomit everywhere you go because the scent is burned into your nostrils like a hot, schwetty day at a open-air fish market.
• You will ADORE your husband for staying home with the babe, because your job is currently mind-blowingly insane and busy.

And then, when everyone is healthy again, you will breathe a sigh of relief and say hello to your internet friends once again. Hello, friends.

McFAIL.

Last night after a scrumptious dinner, Joey, Alex and I decided (as we so often do on summer days) to rock out some ice cream for dessert. We're somewhat lazy, so we went to McDonald's for le cones. $1 + delicious = win.

Nevertheless, upon our arrival to the very high tech order box and menu area, we discovered that much like Dairy Queen's new "snack size" blizzard, McD's is now offering a snack size McFlurry. BRILLS. Also helps the cause of those 4 lbs. I've lost in the last two weeks. Yeah, that's right. Word to yo' Momma. And so, we ordered two (Alex got some bites) and rolled on up to the payment window.

There was no attendant in the window immediately, so we were able to see some things posted on the wall that we normally wouldn't be able to see. Among them was an 8.5"x11" piece of paper with some menu shorthands written on them in big, bold Sharpie as a reminder to some of the employees. You know, like this:

CHZ = CHEESE
PKL = PICKLE
EGG = EGG

I kid you not. Because on what planet does "egg" ≠ "egg"?

Picky Stickys Winner!

Congratulations to... 

BROOKE!

The timing couldn't have been better on this lucky win - rumor has it she just learned she's expecting baby #3! Can't wait to see if you choose the bump or the baby stickers. Maybe you'll share your progress with ABM3 readers? :)

Please email me to claim your prize kveedub{at}gmail{dot}com.

Is There An App For TURN IT OFF?!

In the last month I have done the following:

• Became a Flip Mino pro.
• Updated my Facebook account with all the tricksy links in my "about me" section. You got tricked into that, too? Word.
• Rocked out some PhotoShop courses.
• Joined the birds on Twitt-ah.
• Got an iPod Touch (Mother's Day, whaaaat?) and some supa sweet Apps to go with it. The level is insane. I can't imagine what it's like to play with it whilst intoxicated.

I'm beside myself with technology. HOW did the world exist before any of this? I mean, really. My head is constantly in elevently billion places with all the things I need to upload, text, blog, Tweet, like, record, and soonandsoforth.

I need to turn my brain off. Not joking. I literally need somone with an MD to install a switch that I can flick to say, "Kristi, turn off the telly, your computer, your cell phone, your iTouch, and anything else that requires power to run ('cept the microwave, 'cause that makes me snacks, duh) and just chill. Breathe in. Breathe out. The world will not cease to exist if something isn't connected and linking to the stratosphere of the world wide web.

So, tonight I will ignore all of it. And maybe tomorrow, too. And perhaps on the next day, my stimuli overload will have passed, and I will return. I think I'll tweet about it first, though...

A Playdate With A Loverly Little Lady.

On Saturday Joe and I got an eensy weensy taste of what it might be like to be a family of four...for all of about 5 hours. My friend, Jackie (yes, of bleu soleil design) had her brother's wedding, so Joe and I watched her adorable daughter, Leighton, so she and her hubs could get their groove thang on @ the reception.

It was so. much. fun. Lei Lei is about 6 months older than Alex, so they were close enough in age to interact and play together. I swear, babies have their own language - they "talked" and laughed in a sea of Fisher Price, Leap Frog and Mega Blocks until they both literally passed out from too much fun.

They look like they could be related - those big, sweet eyes!
(We were watching Monsters, Inc.)

Lei Lei fed Alex some chicky nuggs and fries. I about melted.

"Here, baby." She would say.

It's a little dark in the background, but Alex
was still playing after Lei Lei cashed out.
He would crawl up to her, touch her face, and crawl away.
So sweet.

The jury's still out on whether or not we'll ever actually be a family of 4, but it sure was fun to pretend for a night.

Pushed Over A Cliff By A Suicidal Mickey Mouse.

Kudos to you if you get the title. We should karaoke sometime.

Been very busy this week, peeps. I might have been neglecting you a wee bit, but the bf has not. In fact, she sent this linky over to me earlier this morning as possible fodder and content for le blog. And so, here it is: the painted bump contest.

She loves me. She loves you. Aaaaaaaand there you have it. Perhaps she will even guest blog in the coming weeks. You'll love her. She's like me, only taller, wiser and a little more blunt. As if that's even possible!

In other news related to keeping you busy while I earn my paycheck the old fashioned way, have you entered le giveaway yet?

Things I Was Totally Unprepared For.

I think it's safe to say that parenthood by definition involves being totally unprepared for what any given day might bring you. One day, your kid is just lying on the floor like a bump on a log, and the next he's rolling over and goo-goo-gah-gah-ing at his bff the WIPpo. We're clearly well past the rolling milestone around these parts, but it seems as if Alex is learning something new every time I turn around. One of these days he's going to start spouting off long division on the way home from daycare and I'll either a) crap my pants right then and there, or 2) drive into a small bush. Neither are suggested, obvi.

He can feed himself (and loves to!). He can crawl up the stairs (panic ensues!). He no longer needs formula (hello there, wallet that has money in it again!). Basically, he's changing faster than I can keep up. And while it's amazes me to watch him, I often look back on videos and pictures of those first few weeks and wonder where my baby went. Wipe the tear. Continue blogging.

As I said, he's been up to some serious mischief over the last few weeks. But I'll let him tell you all about that...

I can pull myself up on things, which

is very fun. Did you know picture frames

make a loud BOOM when they crash to the ground?

I do now, and so does Mommy.

I got my first big boy haircut!

I love all the fun toys at Aunt Jane's Daycare.

Beep! Beep! Comin' through!

(This was obviously taken before my handsome haircut.)

Daddy put in my big boy carseat on Saturday morning,

which explains why I'm testing it out in my jammie-jams.

I went schwimming in a BIG pool for the first time.

It was so much fun and I loved going underwater.

I like to wear handsome big boy clothes and eat licorice. Yum!

Charming, no? In other news, he had his 12 month checkup a few weeks ago. Still right on target in all areas. I credit the licorice for this, mostly.

12 Month Checkup - Weight: 21 lbs. 7 oz. (25-50%ile); Length: 30 in. (50-75%ile); Head: 46.8 cm. (50-75%ile)
9 Month Checkup - Weight: 19 lbs. 9 oz. (25-50th %ile); Length: 28.5 in. (50-75th %ile); Head: 46 cm. (50/75th %ile)

Picky Stickys Giveaway!

Once upon a time there was a girl. She got pregnant and took "Hump Day! Bump Day!" pictures. When le babe was born, she took "Alex and the WIPpo" pictures. One day, she noticed that a friend was posting similar pictures of her (adorable) daughter on the Book of Face...but with a MUCH cuter twist...and the girl was very, very sad that she did not discover her friend's secret sooner.

Enter Picky Stickys.

Genius product, I tell you. Pure. Genius. In fact, I'm super jealous I didn't think of it first. Basically, they are stickers that you put on a white onesie before you snap the milestone pics. And there's loads of options, designs, colors and themes. You can do the traditional "1 month, 2 month, 3 month" etc. series, special holiday stickers or (my personal fave) the bump stickers! Take note: should there ever be a WIP pt. 2, these will be on my bell-ay! There's also a selection for the "older" kiddos to mark the quarter year milestones. You know Alex is going to hafta have them...

So here's the thing: Because I am a crazy person, I emailed Tish (creator and genius behind Picky Sticky) how much her product RULES and how I wish I would have known about it sooner and she was all like, "Thanks! Wanna do a giveaway?" To which I was all like, "Ab-so-freaking-loote-ly!"

Aaaaand, here we are. It's giveaway day. And it's AWESOME. One lucky ABM3 reader is going to win a set of Picky Stickys - any variety, any theme. Keep them for yourself or give them as a gift to a recently knocked up friend. Either way, I'm about to make 1 reader really, really happy.

Here's how to enter:

Mandatory Entry: Be a public follower of this blog and also follow Picky Sticky on Facebook.

Fake legal jargon: You must complete the mandatory entry before the bonus entries will be counted. My bf can validate this. She's almost a lawyer.

BONUS entries: (Leave one comment for your mandatory entry and a separate comment for each bonus entry.)

- 2 entries: blog about this giveaway with a link back to ABM3 and Picky Sticky's etsy site.

- 1 entry: follow Picky Sticky on twitt-ah.

- 1 entry: follow me on twitt-ah. (OMG. Did I really just say that? Me. On Twitter. Such a joke!)

- 2 entries: tweet about this contest using this tweedley-dee: New moms and moms-to-be: check out the giveaway over at '...and baby makes 3!' courtesy of @PickySticky & @kveedub http://bit.ly/b3kHsY

I'll draw a winner using random.org on Friday, May 14. Because really, there's not better way to end the week than by giving away awesome, free stuff.

Good luck! And I'm already jealous of the winner, whoever you are!

Costco Etiquette.

Oh, sweet, sweet people of the internets: I realize that most of you are nice, normal people that really don't need to heed the warnings I'm about to give in this post. But for the 7% or so that I'm sure are offenders, take note.

Joe and I took our bi-monthly pilgrimage to Costco on Saturday. As usual, Alex was in tow and loving the front-row view from the cart. We had our coupons in hand and tennis shoes on foot (well, feet) and were ready to s-h-o-p. (Note: Costco trips are an event of the finest variety for the VeeDubs. We do every aisle. Every time.)

So I suppose that based on the blog title alone, you can guess that there were some real pains-in-the-asses that were in overabundance at our local Sterling Heights facility. Like, I'm talking douches of the greatest variety. Parking on the wrong side of the gas pumps. Pushing and shoving to the front of the free sample lines as if you've never eaten a day in your life. Ramming carts into small children and slow shoppers because you simply don't give a damn about other people. Dropping your empty free sample cups on the floor instead of in the trash can that is three steps away. Cutting in the checkout line when the very fine Costco employees are working so hard to maintain order. And my personal favorite, discarding your frozen pizzas somewhere in the granola aisle because you decided you simply didn't want it anymore.

It was the most frustrating 1.5 hours of my life. It was also a fantastic social experiment and a true test of my general tolerance for humankind.

Aaaaaaand, as long as we're at it, let me try to halt some of the impending comments I'm sure your fingers are ready to type. One: I know that Costco on a Saturday all but means seventy thousand locals, their children, moms, dads, uncles and Canadian relatives will also be shopping. Normally, this is fine. Two: I know that Costco's gas hoses are long FOR A REASON. I just happen to disagree with this reasoning. Three: I am a firm believer that a free sample is just that: a free sample. It is not a one-stop solution for a cost-effective Saturday luncheon for your family of seven. Four: I also know that the carts are roughly the size of a 2010 Toyota Prius. But for the love of cheese, practice a little bit of common courtesy! Pausing an extra two seconds as you turn the corner by the quesadilla sample might just save the leg of a 4-year old.

That's all for today. Tomorrow we'll have some uplifiting content around these parts. What was that? A giveaway you say? A really awesome GIVEAWAY! Sa-wheet!