Fire party!

Our friend Hugo turned 4 in April and his Mom and Dad planned a fabulous fire station party yesterday.

Seriously, this might be the best birthday party idea EVER.

We got to ride on a real fire truck - around the block. Sirens and all!

These boys almost peed themselves, they were so excited.

Clair wasn't exactly thrilled about the riding on a fire truck part. She clung to me like this the entire ride.

The kids got to spray the fire hose! ZOMG!

Dean was serious about putting out the house fire.

Cary was even more serious about it.

Clair was seriously mad that Matty was with us all weekend, horning in on everything in the world that OBVIOUSLY belongs to her and only her!

We got to hear all about how the firemen put on their gear, and how much all the gear weighs and how fast they can put on all 70-pounds of gear and on and on. And we even watched a fireman slide down a pole! (I won't tell you how many stripper jokes we heard at this party. It's embarrassing how a firepole turns every adult in a 5-mile radius into a 13-year-old. Including me.)

There's the birthday boy up front in the center. You throw the coolest parties, Hugo!

We also just got to be super stylish in a fire house. Who's on fire? Clair, of course! 

 

C&D in front of a huge fire engine tire at the party. And this is the two of them at Hugo's party last year - at the streetcar museum. Look how babyfaced they look there!

Of course, there was also cake and pizza and fruit and juiceboxes and just all in all a seriously fun time!  These kids sure are lucky to have friends who throw super-cool parties. Because this Momma is Duncan Hines cupcakes and Party City balloons all the way. They'll see this weekend when Cary and Dean turn FOUR!

OMG. Where does the time go?

And did I mention there was ice cream -- from the ICE CREAM TRUCK -- on Saturday? 

Three things

Three things happened this weekend that made me stop and take note.

The first one is that we decided to keep Clair home from church on Sunday because she has a troublesome cough and a runny nose. The weather was super crappy -- cold, sideways rain, ridiculous winds. It seemed better to keep her home in her jammies. But I really wanted to go to church, so Lester agreed to stay home with Clair, and the boys and I braved the wind and rain and went.
When I got to the screen where you sign up the kids for Children's Church, I noticed that in parentheses next to our kids' names, it says "expected." Some of the other names say "guest" and others don't have a label. So I took from that that the church expects us to be there on Sundays.
This made me feel really good, for some reason. We're expected to be there. We'd be missed if we weren't. This is how I know this is the right church for us. At other points in my life, that one word, expected, might have made me feel pressure. But the church is so welcoming and warm, instead I felt good -- like a part of the family.

It's a really nice feeling.

Secondly, at tumbling class on Saturday, Clair didn't screech like a dying cat when another child entered into her play space. And at a birthday party for a friend's 1-year-old, she actually TALKED to a 3-year-old girl who was near her. She spoke to her, people. Willingly! The girl had a magenta party hat, and Clair's hat had rainbow stripes. Clair looked at the girl and said, "Das yours? Das your hat?" The little girl, Gabriella, said, yes. And then Clair said, "What color yours?"

Hellooooo, do you see what just happened there? She expressed interest in another human being, and initiated -- INITIATED -- a conversation!

I almost fell over. My child might not be a total misanthrope her whole life.

This face fools people all the time. She is really not that friendly.

Lastly, Dean seems to have grown 100 inches over the last few months. And his bossy (yes, I said "bossy!") caretaker, I-can-do-it personality has only intensified.

Birth order notwithstanding, it is so clear who the Big Brother is in our family. 

Tanika's Diamonique Jubilee (the recap in photos)

I capped off a month-long celebration of my 40th birthday this weekend at a local bar/restaurant.
I called it my "Diamonique Jubilee." (Kinda like the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, but without the flotilla.)

I'm going to share a gazillion photos of the night (which was SOOO much fun), but really, there's only one photo you really need to see to know what kind of shindig this was.

And here it is:

Holla!

Yes, future teenaged Davis children who will likely be embarrassed by my every move, no matter how mundane: That is your mother at 40 years old, in a bar with her shades on, holding a bottle of premium tequila - LIKE A BOSS!

(I can't be sure if this was before or after the shots that your grandmother made me do. But who cares? Right? )

Now those of you who were unable to make it, seeing that photo right there, aren't you sad you missed my Jubilee?It's OK. I'll do it again in 10 years.

For posterity's sake, here's a photo album of my Diamonique Jubilee - at Wit & Wisdom, a bar at The Four Seasons.

Wes and his beautiful lady friend, Danielle. I met Wes when I was working at the KC Star. He came to visit a fellow Star reporter. We very much disliked one another at first. But I won him over with my charm and awesomeness. Although we talk infrequently these days (thank God for gchat!), he is still one of my very best friends.

Andre, me and Jill! How stylish and gorgeous are my former Sun friends? Andre is a photographer who took my favorite photo at my wedding of me and Lester jumping the broom and whooping for joy! And Jill is basically the love of my life.

Me and my Mom, selfie. Who looks like twins? Us? Nooo.

David and his wife Stephanie. I met David when at the KC Star, too. He was working at Hallmark at the time and we went to church together. He also threw the best house parties! We became instant friends and he remains my boy even today. Trivia point: I had just come back from David's wedding in Aruba (to Stephanie) the day (or two) before my first date with Lester!

Mari, Rashod and Stacey. (Mari is married to Antwyne, Lester's good college buddy, and she is now in my bookclub and my Unbalanced Mommies group and has become a very good friend. Rashod is "Uncle Dusty" to my boys and is also a very, very good friend. And everybody knows who Stacey is. She's my boo. And Hugo's mom!)

We had just been with Antwyne and Mari earlier that day at a toddler festival, with our kids. It was all turtles and pony rides and humidity, but somehow they still looked equally as stylish and cool as they do in this picture. I hate them! I love them!

My two best guys ever, Lester and Dad. Dad's drinking Coca-Cola. He is such a lightweight.

Juanita and her husband Ron. I've known Juanita since middle school. She's wonderful and hysterical and the organized person I turn to when I need to find out someone's contact information, or figure out the tip on a restaurant bill.

Liz Bowie and her husband Dan Fesperman. Liz still works at The Sun, but Dan left to write super-successful spy novels. Liz is my inspiration. Great writer, great mom, looks way younger than she is! I need her secrets. As one of the best education writers in the country, she also is the person who I can most honestly talk to about all my "how-will-I-properly-educate-my-kids" woes.

Callie and Stephanie. Callie is the woman who I met when the boys were babies at Mother Goose on the Loose at our local library. Then we met again at a festival in our neighborhood. Her daughter, Spirit, and the boys love each other, so Callie and I knew we just had to be friends!

Zac and Andrea. Andrea still works at The Sun, where we met. She's one of my most loyal and dependable friends. Also, she has great clothes. And we share a love of food (especially chocolate).

Callie and her husband Gary. At the boys' birthday party last month, Stephanie and Callie got to talking. Turns out they're in the same sorority. Also turns out that Gary and David are in the same fraternity! And that Callie's brother went to the same small HBCU that David did. Now Gary, David, Stephanie and Callie are becoming friends. I feel like a matchmaker!

Jill, Laurie and John-John. Jill and Laurie are two of my very closest friends and both used to work at The Sun. John-John is the fashion writer at The Sun, following in my footsteps. Except he's waaay more fashionable. Check out the brooch!

At one point during my time at The Sun, I sat in a "pod" with these two amazing people, Rashod and Stephanie. Rashod "Uncle Dusty" Ollison is now an award-winning pop music critic at the Virginian Pilot. Stephanie is someone I admire greatly. She's a writer, an artist, a loyal and wonderful friend and is going to India on a Fulbright this fall! She's also one of the reasons I'm at The Hatcher Group. She's married to my boss, Tom, and recommended me to him. Now Tom's my friend, too!

David, Ron and Gary - three cool-looking black dudes. And, as proof that I have the most "equity among friends" of anyone you know, see the next photo...

Alec, Dan and Tom (my boss and friend) -- three cool-looking white dudes.

Mom and Dad, the greatest parents ever. How many people wanna party with their parents? Seriously. I am blessed!

Lester, Zac and Antwyne. Hotness!

Brent and Monique. Brent used to be a sports writer at The Sun. Then he left to get a degree in psychology, got married to Monique who was working at the Boston Globe at the time, and moved her to Baltimore, where she is now a top sports editor at The Sun. Full circle! Also, Brent and Monique's wedding is where Lester and I got our groove back two Memorial Days ago -- causing us to make Clair a week later. (Is that TMI?) Whatever...Brent and I also are very good friends. For a dude, he gives surprisingly good advice.

Renee and her boo Jordan. I met Renee because she was the one who started our bookclub (of which I'm hosting this weekend!) She now, coincidentally, works at City Hall, in the Mayor's office, and keeps tabs on Lester for me. (Just kidding. Sorta.) She is an amazing seamstress (she made that dress!!!) and a very good friend. She hung window coverings in my house when I first moved in. Came with her own drill and everything. I hate her! I love her!

Andre and Kelly. (Andre is married to Kat, not pictured, and Kelly is married to Mark, home with their pre-schooler and infant.) Can you believe that hot girl had a baby like 10 seconds ago? I hate her! No, I love her! She's one of my very, very best friends. She also has the best hair! Check out that Dominican blowout. I hate her!

My mother forced me to do tequila shots out of wine glasses. No kidding. This is why I couldn't drive myself home (thanks Monique and Brent for saving me!) I was fine until my MOTHER peer-pressured me into doing shots. Only in my life does this happen.

Group shot! Skinny-arm pose!

Monique, Laurie (who drove from North Carolina to come to the Jubilee) and me and my thigh.

The Four Seasons (where the restaurant/bar was) sent me this cake! I took two bites and my Dad came and commandeered the plate and scarfed the rest. Like he always does.

Just for laughs -- and to mortify my future teenaged children even more -- here is what happens after many drinks and two shots of tequila: Yes, Cary, Dean and Clair -- that is your Nana, your Auntie Kelly and your mother doing a drunk version of the Instagram bathroom selfie!

You can be appalled if you want to, kids. This night was FUN!

LOL! ROFL. LMAO. Etc...

Platinum Jubilee in 10 years, y'all! Be there or be square!

My version of Heaven (in pictures)

Lester's 40 for 40 gift this weekend was a surprise trip to my Mom's house. On our way there, he made a quick stop along I-95 at a new place he discovered that is now my favorite place on Earth. And then we continued on to my Mom's for a little party Lester planned, with my two sisters and their kids, my Mom and Dad and us. I was totally, totally surprised, and totally, totally thrilled!!

Instead of gushing about it in all caps and a million exclamation points, I will just show you what Heaven looks like in my dreams.

Well, hello lovers.

"Mommy! They are moving!!"

Not anymore, they're not. (Five little loverboys. 12 pounds of amazingness.)

He bought a bushel of crabs. They are all gone.

More sea-dwelling protein.

And still more, doused in white wine, onions and garlic.

A couple sides (and my Mom's famous potato salad: not pictured.)

Mom went out and bought these adorable crab-and-lobster cracking accessories. This double-sided paper towel holder is genius!

Drunk off lobster, lemon and butter, I had no problems wearing this stupid lobster hat.

Aaaaaaaand -- there was chocolate cake for dessert. BOO-YA!

I wish I was turning 40 EVERY YEAR!!

Happy birthday, boys!

Saturday, Cary and Dean turned 3!

We had a big cookout for them on Sunday, so most of their actual birthday was spent running errands with us to prepare for the party. But they didn't notice, thank goodness!

We spent way too much money, and made waaaaaay too much food. The wind whipped a little too much in the beginning of the party, causing important things to go flying and 3-year-olds to start whining.

But all in all, it was a really, really great day. So many  friends and family came out to celebrate with us, it was amazing! And because my cousin Keilan graduated from Howard University the day before, a huge cohort of Boston-family was in town and came to the party too. With all those people there, I still don't know how we managed to have too much food -- but guess what we didn't have too much of? Margaritas!

Because Sunday was also Mother's Day, I made Mommy Margaritas for the mothers. Those drinks were sooo delicious and a big, big hit!  I will have to make those again -- possibly at every function. Or just because it's Tuesday or something.

The kids enjoyed playing outside and eating 2,000 lbs. of sugar and I so much enjoyed seeing friends and family in one place, laughing and eating and enjoying life. It's truly one of my favorite things. As I turn 40, I know that one of the things I want to do more is get together with the special people in my life. Friends old and new, family near or far -- I don't want to miss an opportunity to hug you, and find out how your life is going. So be prepared for seeing more of me! (Or at least talking to me more!)

The boys got a thousand and one fabulous presents, but this one from my Mom and Dad really stole the show:

10, 9, 8, 7...

Even the two balance bikes we got them couldn't compare to those suits. (Pray for us as we try to teach the boys to "ride" a bike with no pedals.)

Lester and I are both exhausted from all the party preparation and partying and party clean-up! And I've got a ton of work to do to because Michelle has been sick, so Lester and I have had to alternate  days staying home to care for the kids.

So even though I had planned to do a big round-up of the boys' third year, I will have to leave this post short and sweet. Just like them.