Hello from us.

I never go around to sharing the photos we had taken around Christmastime. I think I was busy? Or drunk? Or something.

Anyway, the story of picture day is sort of hilarious. We had the photographer scheduled to come to our home at 10 am. I was so excited--our first photo shoot as a family of 4!

That morning, we all sat down to breakfast (mmmmm...Cinnamon buns) around 8:30 am. Harper was nommin' on her bottle and we were all in our unshowered, early morning glory.

Imagine my surprise when the doorbell rang at 8:45. It was our photographer. For our NINE am photography appointment. Come again?

After I picked my unbrushed teeth up off the floor, I had to haul it. She had other appointments lined up that day, so it was use my 9 am slot or lose it. Story of my life.

Long story short, I was showered, dressed, makeup-ed and ready to rock in 13 minutes. A RECORD. Since boys are lucky and don't have to worry about blowdryers, Spanx and makeup, Joey got Alex and Harper dressed and we were smiling for the camera in no time flat.

I always get anxious on photo days--I don't know why. Maybe it's the pressure to look just right, smile just so, and ensure everything is picture perfect. C'mon, though...that's not real life. Something hit me as I was sweating profusely that morning, running around like a madwoman to prepare for pictures in record time. I started laughing and thought to myself, "Well, these are pictures I will NEVER forget."

And I won't. I checked myself at the bottom of the stairs and reminded myself that that's what pictures are for. They are to preserve a moment in time. A precious snapshot of a time, a year, a moment that I will never, ever get back. So what if Alex's socks don't match and Harper needs a diaper change and Joey's glasses meed to be cleaned and I may or may not have deodorant on? That's what it's all about--capturing REAL life. And that morning, we captured our reality:

More progress. And crafting.

I spent most of yesterday crafting a ridiculous spreadsheet of all the things that must be done before we move. It's a very organized hot mess, which is just how I like it. I have us packing or doing at least 1 "thing" (closet, room, space, area) every night until the Big Day to avoid a frantic frenzy the morning the movers arrive. Hopefully, this works out in my favor and I can be sipping Diet Coke on my porch wearing a tiara and wielding a wand instructing the big, strong boys on where to place all of my shit. Here's hoping, anyway.

Meanwhile, everything at Alex's "different house" is coming along swimmingly. The tile is complete, doors were delivered, and the siding has started. Note in this first picture that the walls are also primed. I sort of love the primer color. I'm tempted to just leave it. And somewhere, the salesman at Sherwin Williams bangs his head against a wall.



In related news, I popped over to Grand Rapids this weekend for the Grand Opening of a store called Hammer & Thread. It's a shop that has a compilation of handmade artisan goods, and my dear friend Sarah of so sarah designs is one of the vendors! More on that tomorrow...

Sarah and I spent some of our time hunting around all of Grand Rapid's best little hidden treasures, and even spent some time CRAFTING. And by crafting I mean I opened a can of spray paint and read a magazine while she did most of the work. But I digress.

I will share all of our crafting goodness later this week, but meanwhile, please enjoy this gem: a painted (love the color) coffee table with a chalkboard top for Alex's playroom/the den. It was s STEAL for $130 and I might have peed a little when I texted a photo to Joey and he immediately responed with, "buy it." You're welcome, America.

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!

Lost & Found.

I've lost my mind. If you happen to find it, please return to sender ASAP.

This Saturday is Kelli's bridal shower and bachelorette party. Yeah, you read that one right...both. It has to be a 2-4-1 kinda day because her time here in the Pleasant Peninsula is limited.

So this means as MOH Extraordinaire I must cram all the energies typically used to throw 2 kick ass parties into one 24-hour period. As such, I have twice as much to do and half the time to do it in. Add to that the fact that I have a life, an almost 6-month old, a husband that requires nearly as much attention (love you, baby) and a job that is salsa dancing on the single last nerve I have left and you can see how I'm a little overloaded.

You might think that I'm complaining, but I assure you I'm not. I thrive in freak-out-stress mode. It's actually when I do some of my best work. And, there's not a thing in the world I wouldn't do for my sister (or brother). If she wanted her shower to be a tea party theme on the Great Wall of China I would use every trick in the book to make it happen.

However, please don't expect much blogertainment this week from me. I'll try to garner at least one laugh a day, but cannot guarantee it.

Oh, and lest I forget...vote for Alex!