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!