Five.

Today is a great day of celebration: the VeeDubs are celebrating 5 crazy years of wedded bliss!

And while normally I am very tongue-in-cheek, not-so-seriously-sarcastic and adorably humorous about expressing the love I have in my heart and girlybits for my husband, I'm finding that today I just want to have a rare moment of genuine sincerity and hard core truths.

There is a love capable by humans that, quite frankly, I didn't know/believe existed until I met Joe. It's so deep and rare that it's almost unexplainable and unfathomable. And I'm not super sure that over the course of the last year(ish) that I've been all that great about truly expressing that. Because if I'm totally honest with myself and also the Internet at-large, this last year has contained far more than its fair share of suckage. It has been largely shitty, and he has carried me through all of it. All of it.

But then I slap myself right smack in the face and am reminded of all the good and all the love and all the memories and all the the moments. We laughed and traveled to new places. We held hands as our healthy, hilarious son blew the candles out on his 3rd birthday cake. We worked hard and built a home. We watched friends and family celebrate joyous occasions in their own lives. We lived.

And that's really what love is about, isn't it? It's about buckling in, holding on for dear life and riding the highs and surviving the lows--and coming out the other end stronger and better for having done it together.

There is no one else I would rather do this life with. My God, I am lucky.

My grandmother's nook.

And no, not a tablet PC. A literal nook in our house. Specifically, this one:

It's the corner of our master bedroom and I LOVE it. (Aside from the curtains that need to be hemmed and steamed.) The table is perhaps the most special part, because it belonged to my Great Grandma.

It used to look like this:

But with a touch of love and a little bit of Martha Stewart's Hosta paint, it's the perfect piece. I had so much fun painting it--locked myself in the basement, turned on Francesca Battistelli on Pandora and went to town. I actually don't have any memories of my Great Grandma, so it was really my Grandma that I was sharing a moment with. The hardware for the table was stored in a baggie in the drawer with her handwriting on it, and I got teary eyed as I tightened them back in when the paint was dry...imagining her taking them out in the same way, putting them in the bag and labeling it so carefully with her shaky hands, "hardware for dresser. 6 pcs. from mother."

And now the table has a special spot in my home. Atop it sits a photo from my wedding day--a day she wasn't there for in person, but I carried a piece of her on my bouquet. Next to it, a little red bottle from which Joe and I took communion from on the day before our wedding--a special gift from my Mom, but the holder actually belonged to the same Grandma. And in the vase are the rose petals from my actual bouquet.

On the wall is a cool vintage frame I found on one of my many treasure hunts with Sarah. And inside that is my housewarming gift to Joe - a framed piece with all sorts of words about love, life and our relationship.

So there's a peek into one of my favorite little spaces in the house. As soon as I finish Alex's room, that'll be next!

A proper yard.

As we turned the corner onto our street yesterday, we were greeted by a lovely green surprise.

Sod. AKA how the VeeDubs grow a yard. And Alex, the smartest kid ever, said, "Look, Mom! Somebody made our grass!"

Doc McStuffins.

A new favorite in our house, and quite possibly too cute for words. Behold:

Big boy room.

Up until the new house, Alex was still in his crib. Boy loves his sleep like his Momma (read: very much) and never tried to climb out, so we didn't mess with a good thing. However, we thought the new house was as good a time as any to transition him into his big boy room.

I asked him what he wanted his room to look like, and to no one's surprise, he asked for race cars. I totally delivered on that promise.

Uncle Kyle helped me get the bed into the room...

And by the time he got home from daycare, it was ready for him to see:


And with the exception of a few random fears (all solved with the purchase of a Dreamlight...and if your kids watch the Sprout channel, I'm SO sorry that the DreamlightDreamlightStarryNightWithDreamlight commercial will now be playing in our head all day long), the transition to the big boy bed has been a successful one!

Why anyone would choose to do this more than once in a lifetime, I will never know.

I promise that I was genuinely planning on blogging daily updates of the move. But then we were actually in the process of moving and I realized how much it totally sucks and didn't even have the energy to brush my hair let alone type words and string them into coherent and entertaining sentences.

But here we are, almost a week later. My quads and calves are embarrassingly sore. This two-story house thing is going to be GREAT for the figure, though. My Dad says were about 1 month ahead of "normal" people in terms of how "moved in" we are, but I can only attribute that success to the help of my Mom, Dad, Kyle, Jill, Sarah, Susan and John. It's true what they say about many hands making light work!

Anyway, it was the end of one era...

And the beginning of another...

And if you thought I was kidding about wearing a tiara and wielding a wand...(thanks, Mom!)

We have a few more things to put together (IKEA challenge post coming soon...) and some final touches to make on certain rooms so I will do a home tour later. In the meantime, here's a sneak peek at one of my favorite arrangements in the house:

Tomorrow!

P.S. - PLEASE don't rain.

P.P.S. - Send wine.

Fiiiiiiiiive.

No time for shenanigans today. We have carpet! Appliances come tomorrow! Inspection Monday! Moving Tuesday! My life is in boxes! My head is spinning! I love exclamations! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

In case I don't resurface for awhile, here's something to keep you busy. My dear friend Natalie is in the running to win $250 from a local Auto Dealership and needs a few more comments on her photo to win. Click here (it's a Facebook album) and comment "Summer Fun" on the 4th photo (the one of the boy and his gpa on the dock...also pictured below) to help her seal the deal! Only one comment per person, so you just have to do it once. Gracias, amigas.

1 week! 1 week!

We take a small break from my regular enthusiasm regarding the move to address 4 things that suck.

1. I have been pregnant for roughly 6 of the last 12 months with nothing to show for it but a tired body and 3 pairs of kickass maternity jeans from Gap that I got on clearance that have yet to see the light of day.

2. Hospitals should not be allowed to send bills for visits that sucked. See also: miscarriage, death, cancer, loss of limbs. Only people whose lives they actually save or make better should have to pay bills. Obviously I'm being melodramatic but you get my point. I don't need ANOTHER reminder, thankyouveryuch.

3. People should not be allowed to send meeting notices from the 11:30 am hour into the 1 pm hour, most specifically from 12-1. As such. I've been declining all meetings during this time because, hello? I'm eating. Back off.

4. I have packed at least 1 box a day (probably an average of 3) since July 16. I made detailed spreadsheets and alphabetized lists of all the things that needed to get done up to the minute of the move, and despite the rooms full of packed boxes and bubble wrap, I still feel like I've accomplished next to nothing. I'm an anxious, hot mess and I just want to be in my house already.

In totally related news, this time next week I will be wearing a tiara and wielding a wand instructing all the big, strong men where to put my things. Eeeee!

Eight is great.

The list of things that needs to be completed on the house is so small I can rattle it off: shutters, appliance delivery, porch railings, towel bars, carpet & paint touch ups. AND HERE'S WHERE I PANIC.

Not really, I've totally got my shit together. *tosses hair over shoulders* Our house is a minefield of boxes, but that means they are packed. I submitted our change of address to the ol' P.O. today, and my Mom is coming on Wednesday to drink with me help pack whatever is left. In other words? It's on like donkey kong. I'm getting a gold medal in moving. BOOM.

Lights and fans!

...and they work!

More work in the kitchen.

Just needs shutters and porch rails.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go make more lists. Toodles!

ELEVEN.

Last night we took a break from packing (woooooooo!) and went to Nana and Papa John's for dinner. Which was perfect timing, because the PB&Js I've been rocking all week are rather pathetic. And one can only eat so much pizza. (Words I never thought I'd mutter, but are sadly truth.)

Anyway, the below is a result of a later-than-normal bedtime and lots of sugary treats from Nana. Also? Kid loves him some Olympics. As you will hear, he's "totally an Olympic diver." I can't even.

Tomorrow is TEN days. TEN. Like, one away from single digits. There are literally birds chirping and swirling around my noggin.

TWELVE.

Things are chugging right along. I'll let the pictures do the talking today. I'm all out of words. And also lazy.

The toilet photo is arguably the best picture I've ever taken. He was so confused, like "Yo, Mom. Where's the water? How do I use it?" And also, regarding the 3rd photo, I have no idea when he grew to be 11 ft. tall. I do not support it.

And also regarding the wonky pinky spreadage in his handprint....he comes by it naturally.

TWELVE. DAYS.

Thirteen.

We're down to 13 days. In related news, my house is a minefield of boxes and bubble wrap. Please do not come over. Or, actually, please do. I will put you to work.

The Mindful Grey paint is done and I love it MORE than the khaki. I'm so pleased with my paint choices that I actually pinched my own cheeks and then  high fived myself. Below is a crappy picture, but whatevs. It's fabulous.

And because his ridiculous face hasn't been on this blog nearly enough lately, here's my sweet Alex doing what he does best...lazily playing on the floor with his 32,189,032,189,032,189,012 Cars characters. No surprise, we were having movie night and watching Cars 2 at the time.

And, technically, since that's not his face, here's one hiding in his closet at "the different house." THIRTEEN DAYS, PEOPLE.