A Halloween preview.

One of our most fun family traditions is going to the Detroit Zoo Boo. We've gone every year with my parents since Alex was born with the exception of last year--because, you know, I was in the hospital doing some other things--but Alex and Samuel still went with Grammi & Poppi.

This year was another great memory maker. We had fabulous weather and I must say, my ladybug and train engineer were two of the cutest trick-or-treaters around!

Halloween costume cheats 101.

Here's my "Mom of the Year" tips on creating a mediocre and mostly reusable Halloween costume for your 4 year old, knowing 13 days previous to the holiday your other child will be sliced from your womb. AKA, preparedness.

Own this movie and watch it 3 times a week, minimum.

Take him to see this movie so it instantly becomes quotable and his favorite and he begs to be a minion for Halloween.

Buy this hat on etsy for $15.

Buy overalls on ebay for $8. (Unless you already own overalls for your toddler, in which case, I'm sorry for your toddler. Listen, it's not personal. I just have a hate/hate relationship with overalls.)

Buy this pin for $3.50 to put on the overalls. Yes, even though you "could" make it yourself out of felt and super glue for like a penny. But this is easier. And you'll swear less.

Buy this shirt for under the overalls.

Put it all together to make an adorable Minion costume that is 50% post-Halloween reusable.

And that, my friends, is how this internet-loving Momma (see also: lazy and crafting-avert) does an easy-peasy Halloween costume for her Minion-loving boy.

Hump day, bump day!

bV is the size of a banana!
She weighs about 10.2 ounces and measures about 6.5 inches. She's still got a lot of growing to do though.
bV at 20 weeks:
- She's got working taste buds.
- Now, she's gulping down several ounces of amniotic fluid each day -- that's significantly more than before.
via thebump.com

Halfway there, baby! As you can see, Alex is really digging this big brother stuff. He's aware that she's "coming out" right before Halloween, so this morning on the way to Aunt Jane's we were discussing possible Halloween costumes. He told me it had to be "little" to fit her, and asked if his giraffe costume would fit her, since he wore that "when he was only 2." Then I told him when he was a baby, he was Superman for Halloween...so he decided his sister should be Superbaby.

Happy 'stache-o-ween!

Guess which one is mine?

Happy Halloween!

Or as Alex says, "Happy twick-or-tweety day!"

We took Alex to the Zoo Boo at the Detroit Zoo on Friday night with his Grammi and Poppi - what a FUN time! 

Then, on Sunday, we went back to ride the carousel and feed the giraffes--it was the last day of the season to do it and we've been promising him since about 1984. Oh, the irony.

Have a fun and safe night, everyone! And here's a TREAT from me: enter code 'DRUGSTORE40' at Walgreens.com to get 40 FREE 4x6 prints--through tomorrow, only!

Photographic happiness.

Remember what I said about Alex being the best medicine? The proof is in the pudding, mah dear.

 He's had a recent obsession with giraffes.
I don't get it, either.
So guess what is happening for Halloween?

Arts and crafts time with Grammi!

Better Late Than Never.

We interrupt this horribly delayed Germany briefing to bring you copious amounts of cuteness from Halloween 2010. I realize my efforts to be timely blogger in the recent past have been interrupted by a jet lag-induced coma, but try to stick with me, mmmkay?

Our little Mickey was ah-dooooor-able come the eve of October thirty one. See for yourself:

His pre-costume. It glows in the dark!

Talk about freaky when you wake him up from a nap
in his dark room...

 A quick stop at a cider mill.

 "Pun-kin, Momma! Pun-kin!" 

Suit up, Mickey!

Minnie ♥s her Mickey.

Minnie, Mickey and Pluto.
Yes, we're that family.

His first official trick-or-treat at Aunt Jane's house.

"Well, well, well...what do we have here?"
And yes, his pumpkin even had ears.
My mom found it in Connecticut!

"Thanks for the loot, Aunt Jane, but I've got more candy to get!"

He was truly a man on a mission the entire night. He didn't start to get the "concept" of trick or treating until we had about 3 houses to go, then he would charge straight up to the door and scream "tweeeeeeeeet" until the homeowners had no choice but to hand over their sweet "tweets" to my little Mickey.

Sadly, there wasn't a single Butterfinger in his bucket for me to steal. Tragic.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Hi, kids!

I'm hopping on a plane tomorrow for the land of le Germans. For work, not pleasure...but I'm hoping to at least drink a brew (or two) and eat some wiener schnitzel along the way.

I think I'll be able to find a few moments in the quiet of my hotel room in the evenings to post some Halloween pics of Alex. He was basically the cutest Mickey Mouse, ever.

And as a result of this holiday we call Halloween, he now loves Smarties. He will dig through every candy in his pumpkin to find one and and bring it to me and say, "Pweee, Momma" so I will open it for him. As such, he's pretty much running on a constant sugar buzz. What?! I can't resist a good 'pweee'!

See you from the other side of the pond!

'A' For Effort.

I am NOT a crafter. I do not paint. I do not knit. I do not sew. In fact, when the hem on my pants comes loose (as pants from the Limited are oh-so fated to do) I usually staple them and then color the staple with a sharpie so you can't see it. And then my Mommy comes to my rescue and sews it for me.

Aaaaaanyway, I was feeling a bit wild this week and was incredibly inspired by this post from Jessica at 'From Marriage to Motherhood.' I mean, really. All that last craft requires is some crepe paper and a little dexterity. This I can do.

And so, I did.

I'm quite proud of myself. And for a moment, let's be thankful that Alex goes to a home daycare so I only have to make five. The day he starts kindergarten and I have to do 30 of these, I'm done.

Lunch Schmunch.

I'm a sucker for coupons. (Duh.) And as luck might have it, I had a few burning holes in my pockets....so I strolled out at lunch today for some retail therapy.

The ruffles! I live and DIE for ruffles.

Just imagine the matching scarf/hat/gloves I can get!

Old Navy.

Again with the ruffs. Ah-dooor-able.

Old Navy.

Looks boring in the image, but the sides are ruched.
Super flattering.

The Limited.

Oh, and Cait? I would like to turn the clock back to Oct. 31, 1995. Because we would TOTALLY be rocking these:

Well, minus the leggings. Because you know I don't do leggings.

Trick Or Treat!

October is just around the corner. Seriously, how did that happen? Anyway, I should probably just come out right now and admit that I'm not all that big into Halloween. Costumes creep me out and I find nothing entertaining about adolescent girls finding any lamesauce excuse to skank out a simple cat costume. Or a nurse. Or a referee. Or a clown. Yes, a clown. I've seen it.

But I digress...and realize that my attitude about Halloween has to change now that I have spawn. Since Alex is still too young to pick out a costume for himself, I've been racking my brain for the last few weeks to find something suitable/hilarious/fun/adorable. I've once again exceeded my own expectations.

Alex loves, loves, loves, loves 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse' on the Disney Channel. He's now even to the point where he'll start the 'Hot Dog Dance' if he hears the tune playing in the other room. It's ah-DOOR-able. I, on the other hand, am not a huge Disney person. In fact, there's probably not one piece of Disney paraphernalia in our entire home.

Oh...but the things you do for your kids...

Yeah. I found that little gem on Craigslist for a mere $15. It's a Disney brand costume in perfect condition. He adores himself in it. I find it to be absolutely hysterical. Win, win.

There is nothing (and I mean nothing) funnier than a baby in a costume.

Oh, and as for Joe and me? We'll be unapologetically sporting these come the eve of October 31.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is so much better with kids. I mean, really...frat parties and slutty costumes can only get you so far in life.

We had a great weekend, as captured by these pics:


Alex as "Superbaby!" Complete with cape, natch.



It's a bird...it's a plane...it's ALEX!!!!!!



Alex as a peapod!



All snuggled in and ready to go Trick-or-Treating.



Family shot! Pardon the seasonally inappropriate and slightly oversized Red Sox hoodie. When Superbaby was flying over my head the kryptonite must have gotten the best of him because he for sure barfed all over my super cute black and orange outfit. We were @ my brother's house, so his Boston hoodie had to work as a replacement.



Grammi bought him an Alex-sized pumpkin that he carried all day (and tried to eat).

The hat was $1.00 @ Target. I simply couldn't resist.

The weekend was such fun. Kyle and Jill had a party in their new house, so we all gathered there to pass out candy to the little ones and Jello shots to the big ones. Yes, we were the coolest house on the block. The newlyweds had an amazing spread of food...and let's be honest, I could be found grazing at it pretty much all night. Chex Mix? Spicy taco dip? Brownies? <--These are all things I cannot resist!

Sunday was Kelli's birthday (30, flirty and thriving!), so Mom and Dad had a little shindig at their place. There's no better ending to a divine weekend of gorging on copious amounts of food than ice cream and cake.

...back on the wagon today. It's Monday!

Friday Fun.

Literally chasing my own tail this morning, which would be great if I was in a Jake-ish Halloween costume, but I'm not. I'm in my "working mommy" costume, which consists of a great deal of stress and anxiety on this particular Friday. I could tell you why, but you'd be bored with the details.

As such, today's post is short and sweet.

• SAVINGS: Text 242424 with "Oprahshow" as the subject and get a text code back for 50% off all day today ONLY at Payless. I'm planning to get these and probably these, too. And if I could come up with an event (real or otherwise) to wear these to, you bet your sweet ascot I'd be buying them.
• SWEETS: Happy almost Halloween! The kids @ Alex's daycare are taking a group pic in their costumes today. I can't wait to see it. Also, click here for some waist-saving tips on candy consumption. Really, who am I kidding? I'm going to King Size it this weekend.
• SHENANIGANS: I'm wearing orange Crocs today. Festive? Yes. Ridiculous? Also yes.

Check 1, 2, 3.

Alex had his 6 month checkup on Monday. He's still as awesome as ever and growing like a weed.

6 Month Checkup - Weight: 17 lbs. 5.5 oz (50th %ile); Length: 27 in. (75th %ile); Head: 44 cm. (50th %ile)
4 Month Checkup - Weight: 14 lbs. 10 oz. (50th %ile); Length: 25 in. (50th %ile); Head: 42.1 cm. (25/50th %ile)

My little porker is officially in all his 6-9 month clothes and some of the 6-12 ones from Old Navy are just starting to fit. Most of his pants make him look like he's waiting for the Great Flood of 2009 because his legs are so long.

This weekend's "to do" list includes boxing up all his 3-6 mo. clothes. But since summer was so mild, he probably has ~20 uber cute short-sleeved outfits with the tags still on. I feel so wasteful...but I'll keep them around in case we decide to produce more spawn, otherwise I plan to make a killing at a future Mom2Mom sale.

He has 2 Halloween costumes (you remember the peapod one?). The other is a surprise...but I pinky promise I'll be posting pics. And before you even ask, hells yes he is going trick or treating! I can pour some Pixy Stix in his bottle and Joe and I can fight over the rest.