the big 5-0

well guess what. jimbo is "fifty yeahs old!" today.

clearly there aren't words to describe my dad and who he is to me,

so instead, i've decided to post a couple of pictures i found the other day.

reading "frosty the snowman" to josh and i.

really excited to be hugging.

i made parenting super easy for my parents and

never gave them any reason to want to twist my neck in two.

(p.s. there was a family discount if you bought multiple pairs of glasses

in the same size.)

happy birthday, dad! here's to fifty more...

i love you so much,

sem

merry christmas (said in a whisper)

what do you think it says about me that wham's classic holiday hit "last christmas" is my favorite song during the month of december?

regardless, it just occurred to me as i was driving around with it on repeat this morning that i have never seen the music video for this song. this is a shocking revelation because i get quite a thrill from music videos and pride myself on knowing what's going on in the world of video countdowns. (aka: my little ked-wearing feet couldn't run fast enough to my bff's house every day after school in 5th grade to watch "informer" get #1 video on mtv for six straight weeks and i still watch vh1 and cmt top 20 every weekend. how else are we supposed to stay informed, i ask you? my hobby did take a brief hiatus, however, during my high school years. my dad saw a snippet of some "inappropriate" snoop dogg drug-pumping, gang-busting something or other and put a parental block on mtv for four years. so naturally, one awesome, God-shining-down-on-me night when i was a freshman, my MASSIVE SENIOR CRUSH came over to, um, study and he immediately turned on the television to mtv and saw that you had to put in a code to watch it and his hysterical laughter still gives me nightmares to this day. thanks, dad.)

well. aren't i feeling chatty. without further ado, here is the official music video for "last christmas" released in 1984. pure genius. consider it my christmas gift to you and yours.

santa baby

or should i say... 'lil kim baby?

one never knows what aunt lauren is going to pull out of her bag of tricks when maddie pie comes over!!!

moms

they are so much, aren't they? i don't know one single woman who hasn't had a moment when they stop dead in their tracks and think...

oh my gosh. i am my mother.

like when i'm trying something on in a dressing room and absent-mindedly put my right foot out with pointed toe to get the "full effect"... or when i take on the accent of the person i'm talking to on the other end of the telephone... or everytime i fold and re-fold and re-fold until i get an extra straight hospital corner with my sheets while making my bed...

oh my gosh. i am my mother.

mother/daughter relationships are so complex, so fierce, so irrrational at times. it's like you're so intimately linked, sometimes you don't know what else to do but push each others buttons. the one word that comes to mind when i think about moms is unconditional. it doesn't matter what it is or who you're up against-- no one comes to bat for you like your mom. no one.

i think i've taken that fact for granted my whole life. it's one of those things where you don't know anything different, so you live in complete ignorance of the fact that not everyone has a built in cheering section for a mom. not everyone has a number they can call night or day, rain or shine, to laugh or cry, for any reason whatsoever and hear a voice on the other end that will go to any length possible to make things right; not expecting anything in return, just wanting to be whatever you need.

today's my mom's birthday. and it was a big one. it's one of those birthdays that you probably (whether you want to or not) will take a moment to think back over the years you've lived and take stock. i hope that as my mom looked back, she was filled with joy and happiness and such a sense of accomplishment... because the life she's lived so far has been one that has given her family a safe haven to love and laugh and grow and acheive and become anything they wanted to be because we knew she had our backs.

i love you, mom. happy, happy, happy birthday.

HUUUUUGH JACK.MAAAAAAANNNNN

this video post is in honor of harper and mo-gan. but i'm most confident all will appreciate.

as always, thanks and happy BIRTHDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY (in oprah voice) to k-rog, who is always on top of all things oprah and thinks to send me these priceless jewels.