Dirty30 - The Weekend.

My birthday was nothing short of amazing!  I rang 30 in the only way I knew how - FABULOUSLY.

DUH.

The weekend started with a surprise from Hubbs.  Z and I ran some errands and returned home to this cute little setting in the dining room:

While I took it all in, Munchface squinted in the darkness and said, "Mommy, I think Daddy's sitting over there in the corner."

FYI: I'm a chicken when it comes to stuff like that... O and I gave birth to a chicken when it comes to stuff like that.  If ever you decide to hide in the dark and be all weird on account of me, either don't or expect to get beat up like a stranger in the street.  Justsayin'

I turned on the light and to my screaming, jumping, freaking out surprise, there he was.  He responded with a creepy, "hellooo."  That REALLY made us freak out.

We enjoyed the food while he explained this was the beginning to a birthday weekend that won't suck.

He was right.

Munch and I woke early to meet Dani for a girls' day of pampering.  We got our nails done, had lunch, did a little shopping and returned to her place to get ready for my Girls' Night Out. 

This mama still has it!

I met my girlfriends at Eatonville in Washington, D.C.  When I tell you loads of people were in the streets, believe me.  There were about 100 people waiting to be seated at our restaurant but our reservations made me feel like a VIP! 

Good food.

Good conversation.

Great friends.

I tried mussels.  They weren't bad; I just had to chew really fast and not look at it.

It was a great time and I'm thankful for the friends I have in my life.  They all rock my world.

I returned home and, at midnight, rang in my official birthday with Hubbs, Nena and her husband, Chris, and our kiddos.  I stayed up way too late but woke in time for church.

That's right.  I was in church praising God for another year, another milestone, another day, another blessing and, most importantly, another opportunity to be a blessing.

I was also surprised when my mommy presented me with a pretty birthday cake! It was gorgeous!  She had Happy birthday on the purse and the brand tag said Embellished Affairs (the name of my event planning company)...

After cutting and serving my own birthday cake (perks of being the event planner, lol), my family took me for a nice brunch at Bravo!  

It was delish!

Hubbs and I left the brunch with plans to spend the afternoon together but all that partying and food really made himus sleepy.  I opened my fab gifts from Hubbs and then hewe took a nap.  I got some fab gifts - Dre Beats headphones and some awesome gym shoes:

Rested and happy, I spent the rest of my 30th birthday surrounded by family and friends; it was a weekend full of my favorite things :)

Of course, I prepped for the Dirty30 cruise with lots of shopping and pampering because the cruise was my OFFICIAL birthday celebration.  

Stay tuned for all of the deets!

Bundle o' Beauty - My Birthday Gift.

I've completely taken over the blog with baby shower updates from the Made In Paris shower hosted on December 6, 2012.  It was awesome to give great friends such a fabulous event.

Sheena and I met for lunch a few weeks after the event and she gave me beautiful gifts of thanks.  In addition to a sweet card (I told you I love the art of giving and receiving genuine cards), I received a fabulous iPhone case that has replaced my purse, lol:

It's awesome! It holds my phone, my credit cards and I can use my phone while it's in the case.  WHAT?! LOVES it.  I'm adding it to my list of favorite things *like* ever.

I also received a thoughtful and beautiful piece of jewelry, an Origami Owl Necklace.  She filled it with things that were all about me.  How cute, right?!

I also got a cute little cupcake charm (not pictured) :)

Sheena baked her infamous from-scratch strawberry bread too (it's my fave). I mean, what more could a girl ask for?!

I THOUGHT it couldn't get any better until I received a text that baby Olivia Madison Brown was born at 4:35 p.m. on - wait for it - MY BIRTHDAY!

"Happy birthday, auntie!"

That's right. Little Miss Come-when-I-feel-like-it baked 3 days longer than projected just so she could share the amazing birth date of January 20th with her auntie.

Of course, I had to meet her.  I took a card, with gift cards for a movie night, a floral arrangement and a red velvet cupcake with a 0 candle for her first unofficial birthday celebration.

Islanders, allow me to introduce my co-birthday bundle of beauty, Olivia.

What can I say, those chicks born on January 20th are pretty cute.

Made In Paris - The Games.

I LOVE the challenge of coed events.  I feel like no man WANTS to attend a baby shower so I take it as an opportunity to prove all men wrong.  I want to show them what they've been missing at events of this nature (*squints eyes in a manly way* if a baby shower is this fun, imagine what we do at bridal showers).  I've told you about my recipe for events before:

Shake

Make

Take

Cake

O BOY!  You better believe the Made In Paris shower had a double dose of Shake (a moving activity)! Wait until you see the foolery that transpired.

Ice Breaker - The Waddle.

Sheena has a successful blog all about SHOES!  She has a shoe collection that makes me drool and she had the nerve to wear heels her entire pregnancy... Some women waddle but not my boo, Sheena!  In honor of typical pregnancy symptoms, I split the crowd into teams and asked them to come up with a new line dance, The Waddle.  Hubbs was the DJ and played the popular new line dance song, "The Wobble."  Check out the pics:

The winners were announced and the parents-to-be joined in the fun... Wanna learn?

Note: each step is 4 counts... It goes perfectly WITH the song, lol.

1.  Jump forward and rub the belly

2.  Jump back and rub the butt

3. Rattle shake to the left

4.  Rattle shake to the right

5. Right foot forward then cha-cha-cha

6. Left foot forward then cha-cha-cha

7.  Turn to the right like you've got a hurt back

8.  Lean (and walk) back like you got a hurt back

HILARIOUS, right?!

Game 2 - The Hot Seat.

We worked up a sweat dancing and laughing... To cool down, I asked questions about Sheena's pregnancy and Dom's answers made the game hilarious!  He responded with *clears throat* ... *insert awkward pause and side eye*... "quality time" for everything!  It went like this:

Me: Question #1 - what does Sheena love most about pregnancy?

Crowd: The healthy hair!... The belly!... The glow!

 *clears throat* ... *insert awkward pause and side eye*...

Dom: That loooooooooooooong....

Crowd: CRACKS up laughing.

Sheena: I love feeling the baby move.

Dom: Yea, I mean... I'm sure she loves that too *shrugs*

Insert 8 other questions with the same response from Dom...

Me: Question #10 - what does Dom love most about the pregnancy...

CROWD (in unison):  "that loooooooooooooooong"

Sheena: that Loooooooong!!!!

Dom: No, I love feeling the baby move.

Game 3: Daddy Olympics

The 2012 Olympic games took place in Europe and, as a nod to the couple's love of sports, I came up with a Daddy Olympic Event.

The first event required two guys.

Step 1: Get suited (with bibs)

Step 2: The crowd counts down...

Step 3: Eat applesauce off of the plate!

Step 4:  Drink from bottle (without hands)

Step 5: Run to the stroller and push it to the finish line!

Well, we had a clear victor!  However, when you become a dad, no other man can come to YOUR house, race and HAVE THE NERVE TO WIN the title to the DADDY OLYMPICS... Well, not without you defending your honor as Daddy-to-be. 

DISCLAIMER:  Somehow, I feel responsible for what transpired next.  Maybe my build-up for Dom with the whole "defending honor of the Brown family name" led to the tragic (but hilarious) brawl.

We repeated the steps...

Mid-bottle, however, it got real...

Like, really real...

That fence didn't know what hit it!

Wanna see the footage?  Check out Sheena's post for more!

Guests returned inside for more refreshments, the cake cutting and GIFTS! Lots and lots of GIFTS!

I am certain, however, the guys never expected to have this much fun at a BABY shower!  I ditched the purse and word searches for get-up-and-move-something games.  While I was pleased with the decor and food, I know the guys had a good time when they gave compliments like:

"Amazing event!"

"You did a good job!"

"This didn't suck."

"To think, I almost didn't wanna come!"

Man Translation: The games were lots of fun!!!!!

That, folks, concludes the longest series *like* ever!  I leave you with some photos from the photo-ops of guests (further evidence that this was an AWESOME time)!

I just like Hubbs' hoodie.

My little helper who "donated" her strollers to the event.

Thanks for stopping by! Here's a favor to take home with you... Hope you like chocolate truffles :)