Marry Christmas from the VeeDubs!

From our home to yours:

A Lease Mommy Nah.

Here's another spontaneously awesome parenting moment, courtesy of "all Christmas, all the time radio" and a little boy who loves to sing and hears things in his own, special way.

It was night time, so it's dark. But all that matters is the audio, I promise.

As you can hear, I had a hard time breathing through it because I was laughing so hard. Being a Mom is so awesome. Especially to such an awesome, creative and happy kid.

A Lease Mommy Nah, everyone!

My mother's daughter.

People who knew my Mom "back in the day" always tell me that I look just like her. Our family genes do run rather strong (hello? have you seen my son that looks just like my brother?) so when I saw these pictures my Uncle posted on Facebook, I just had to share them here for posterity.

Mom's on Santa's lap. FRISKY!

Alex and the Fat Man.

Before I get into the ridiculousness that is Alex and the Fat Man: 2012 Edition, let's review years 1-3, shall we?

2009

2010

2011

2012 was a magical year for Santa. Alex was SO excited to see him and couldn't wait to tell him what a great boy he's been (true) and that he wanted a combine tractor (also true). I dressed him in what can only be described as the World's Cutest Sweater, and off we went to Bass Pro Shops--the best (free!) Santa gig in town.

You can see in the picture how he's pointing to the spot on his sweater that has Santa knitted into it. He was telling him, "Look Santa! See? You're on my sweater!" It was so, so sweet.

Here's the official shot:

Bass Pro Shops really does it up right. It's totally free and they have all sorts of activities like games and crafts for the kids to do while you wait in line. This year, they added a (free!) carousel to the lineup, which was a big hit with one little lad in particular.

And with that, I'm off. I have a conference call with Santa and his elves to see if they can put a combine tractor toy at the top of their list. 

I'm 30. Now what?

I took the week of my birthday off, which legitimately might be a new tradition. I spent the week with friends, shopping, sleeping in, eating at fun places and most importantly, spending lots of time with Joey. He pampered me all week and quite frankly, it was bliss.

So, were did we leave off with BDBC? I believe it was Day 5.

Day 5
I got a sheet of mustache stickers because Joey is "stuck on me."

Day 6
A one hour massage. Bliss.

The actual day. Day 7.
Joey and I spent the day adventuring around town and I took this with me everywhere we went and filled it with deliciousness.

I'm pretty sure there's no real way to ease into or introduce the awesomeness that was my actual present. Therefore, I give you:

Yeap. That's what a girl gets for asking for "nothing big...let's keep it low key this year." I literally squealed like Justin Beiber when I opened them. Joey was very clever in his wrapping...it was a box in a box in a box and he weighted it down so I would be totally clueless. So tricksy, that Joey.

29 was not the greatest year for me if I'm honest. We had a lot to celebrate and were blessed in many, many wonderful ways that I will not overlook. But we also experienced our fair share of heartache and loss...so it's rather easy to click my heels and jump into 30 with a heart full of joy and excitement.

Thank you to everyone who made my day week so special. And especially to my very best, Joey, who always makes me feel special and loved...but especially in the last week of my 20s.

Here's to 30!

BDBC update.

This is going to be, like, the fastest post ever - and not because I don't care (which I do) but because dinner (that I did not cook) is coming out of the oven and my son (who I did, technically, cook) wants to play some monster trucks. So, you know, priorities.

Anyway, this has been theeee best BDBC yet. Joe and I have the week off, so I've been decorating, shopping, sleeping and eating like it's my job. And, coincidentally, if it were, I'd be awesome at it.

So the recap of the last few days of BDBC:

Day 1
The flowers, duh.

Day 2
A giant bag of baked Cheetos, aka my most favoritest snack on all the earth.

Day 3
Slime (and if you watch The Mindy Project, you will get it) because I'm "slime cool".

Also, I took an unexpected trip to Grand Rapids to see my favorite Sarah and Jason who brought me chocolate covered strawberries and a mimosa in bed. Yeah, I have the best friends, ever.

Day 4
The style issue of People magazine. He gets me. He so gets me.

So like I said, it's been the best. There is so much tinsel in my house it should be illegal, and also I should hit the last 5 food trucks in my 30 b4 30 quest tomorrow night.

And with that, I'm off to spread more holiday cheer. Smooches!

Two-fer!

Today is your lucky day! You get a two-fer post...because Birthday Bootcamp came a day early this year! (I told you 30 is going to be the bomb!)

I came into work this morning to find this:

Red Velvet cupcakes, a pink sparkly dancing moustache card (!!!), and two empty vases.

All day, and one-by-one, the vases have been filled with friends from work visiting, wishing me a happy birthday and each delivering one of 30 gerber daisies (my fave!). My Mom and Dad even showed up!!

And if you look closely, you can see I also had sushi for lunch. Like I said, best day (and best hubby) ever. Here's to the last week of my 20s!

Fun with silhouettes.

I've been wanting a black and white silhouette print of Alex pretty much since the first time I kissed his perfect wittle cheeks. My obsession was renewed the other day when my home feed on etsy was filled with all sorts of silhouette goodness. It's like the internet reads my mind, I swear it.

Anyway, I had a pic from Thanksgiving that I was able to easily remove the background on and actually ended up having a little fun trying to do something different. Maybe I don't want a traditional one, after all--because these options would be way more eye catching on my walls, methinks. Yay? Nay?

Meh.

It seems that all over the blogosphere (at least the circles I run in), people are having a severe and spreading case of the writer's block blues. Someone must have sneezed in my general direction, 'cause I'm feeling it too. And not that there's a lack of things to write about--Alex is 3. He's practically a running monologue of hilariousness. I just log into blogger and I'm all "eh..." and proceed to do more reading than writing.

But here's the good news: Birthday bootcamp starts in TWO days. Well, one if you don't count today since it's technically half over. So I will soon have riveting and celebratory posts for you on the regular. (And secretly? Between you and me? Joey is "working from home" today, which I think is loosely translated into "shopping like a mad man for BDBC 2012.") Because, people? THIS IS A BIG ONE. Momma's turnin' the dirty thirty and I am wicked pumped about it.

I know some girls get all down in the dumps and mopey-dopey depressed about turning 30. Me? I say, "Bring it on!" because I'm pretty sure I'm pink puffy heart glitter sprinkle going to rock the shizz out of 30. Thirty and I are going to be good, good friends.

Meanwhile, while I work on getting my writing mojo back, I give you two of the cutest boys in the world:

Oh wait. I mean this. Yes, this:

The most wonderful time of the year...

Made official at the lighting of the Christmas Tree in Detroit. It's so magical...

That will be all.

Because this is all you need to be happy in life today.

I came, I saw, I crafted.

I'm generally not a crafty person and 9 times out of 10 would rather pay someone to craft on my behalf and then subsequently display it in my home as if I'd done it myself.

But as every good fake crafter knows, it just takes one trip to Hobby Lobby, a cheap bottle of wine and an afternoon with nothing on the schedule to let the beast out. And that's exactly what happened to me yesterday.

Tools: empty bottles, yarn, scissors, a glue gun & some flower accessories.

Thank you, Jill, for teaching me the difference between a high and low temp hot glue gun. Also, my fingers thank you.

About 45 minutes later:

Mantle decor!

And onto my favorite project of the weekend...the wall hooks! I've been looking for a really unique set of hooks for our entryway pretty much since we moved. After hunting down all my favorite retailers, etailers and antique shops, I couldn't find one I loved that was worth its price tag. So what's a girl to do with an old piece of scrap wood and a few knobs from Hobby Lobby? Make one!

 

I painted the circular ones red, because they were originally white and got lost on the board behind it. Knobs & pulls are almost always 50% off at Hobby Lobby, so with a little over a $10 investment, some epoxy and a little manpower from Joey and his drill, we have one of the coolest (and most unique!) coat racks in town.

In unrelated news, I have a LOT of yarn lying around that needs a purpose. I can't promise I won't start wrapping kitchen chairs and toilets with the stuff. 

And the winner is...

I just realized those who don't follow me on Facebook don't know who won the big election at Mrs. Davis' Daycare. Watch to learn!

America!

While many of us have been preoccupied by the national election, the REALLY IMPORTANT election will be held at Alex's Daycare today! Who will be their official daycare mascot? I invite you to meet the candidates...

 

The Dog Party: Meet Clifford, the Big Red Dog. According to Aunt Jane, those who have chosen the Dog Party Candidate like his cute tail, his nose, paws, big eyes and red floppy ears. They also say he is a really nice dog.

The Dinosaur Party: Meet Barney, the Dinosaur. I'm told that those who have made Barney their candidate like that he is big and purple, a nice green belly, and a friendly smile. He likes kids too.

Additionally, their respective poll workers will be passing out treats in an attempt to sway last minute voters.

And as each child practices his or her right to a Daycare vote, the official Mrs. Davis' Daycare mascot will be chosen. Viva la democracy!

In related news, I'm told that Alex is a fervent supporter of Clifford. And as such, he's taken on the role of campaign manager. Joey's never been prouder.

Happy 'stache-o-ween!

Guess which one is mine?

Nerd alert.

Warning: this is a political post that has nothing to do with politics, I promise. Mostly because political rants and right/left soapboxes on the Internets make me want to punch a kitten in the face, but I digress.

But related to politics, Joe has commandeered a nerd fest amongst his group of homies called the "2012 Yard Sign Election." Basically, whenever anyone sees a sign, sticker or public display for (or against) any candidate, they email or text Joe. He keeps track of it in what I'm pretty certain is the nerdiest spreadsheet ever to exist.

Pie charts. Bar charts. Line graphs. Pivot tables. This thing has it all. It's nerddom at its finest. I get a wedgie and a swirly just looking at the thing. But the cool thing is, it's not really political at all--but it is cool to see which candidate has the most visible support on our local streets and roads.

This is real. And it hurts my brain.

Brave little boy.

You know how some little boys are "all boy"? Like, they run into walls full steam ahead and jump off the backs of couches onto stacks of pillows? Yeah. My kid's not like that.

I've referenced it before--he's very careful with his movements and isn't a fan of heights at all. He won't even walk down a flight of stairs if it's the grated metal kind where you can see right through them.

We're starting to see him becoming braver as he creeps closer to 4. In fact, at the park yesterday he went down the slides all by himself! Even headfirst! He told me he "went the fastest, Mom!" and "It was so amazing!" (Everything is "amazing" these days. I love life through a 4 year-old's eyes.)

Meanwhile, at Disney...

The Greg and the Joette recently took a 'lil pilgrimage to Orlando, where they've been basking in the glory of Disney World WITHOUT THEIR CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN. Rude.

Over the course of their little vacay, I got no less than 948 pictures and videos from my Mom, in what she believed to be "sharing the experience" with us, and what I actually just discerned as rubbing it in. Kidding, Mom, kidding.

Anyway, here is the funniest sequence of photos from the week, with captions direct from my Mom.

"See the big monkey with his leaf?"

 "This is how he looked after he finished it!"

Go Tigers!

The Detroit Tigers are going to the World Series, baby! And the kiddos at Daycare are just as excited as the grown ups. Look what they did today - a parade!

Our Angel Tree.

Joe and I kind of always knew we wanted to get something rather special and permanent to remember our sweet tWIPs and precious bdub. Tattoos are extraordinarily painful and since I am the largest wussie on planet earth, also completely out of the question.

We had a lot of ideas, but ultimately the idea of something living--that we could see every day--was a requirement. And, as luck would have it, we've got a big ol' lot of sod just waiting for some life and landscaping.

And so, a few weeks ago, we drove on over to a nursery (ironic, no?) and got us a tree. Alex calls it our "angel tree" and I think that's rather appropriate. Here it is:

It's a sugar maple, so it will turn really beautiful vibrant shades of red every fall. I love it for all that it is and all that it stands for. It really is a tree of life.

And so this post isn't all sappy-wappy, here are some obligatory adorable photos from the weekend: a tractor ride at Franklin Cider Mill and trying on Daddy's new glasses.