Crazy Eights

I love the card game, Crazy Eights. I used to be able to play that for hours as a child and always begged someone to play with me. I should teach Mini #1 to play this game, I bet he could do it. We are trying to work on Tic Tac Toe, Old Maid (only we have some Disney version), and Go Fish at the moment.

Such a simple game...match the number/face or the suit and then get CRAZY when an eight is played. It really is about the simple things in life.

I digress.

The lovely Belle on Heels tagged me in this the game of Eights! Thanks Belle...I loved your answers and am ready to play along.



8 TV Shows I Like to Watch

1. Desperate Housewives
2. Brothers & Sisters
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. Dancing With the Stars
5. Modern Family
6. Friends
7. House Hunters/House Hunters International
8. Parenthood


8 Favorite Places to Eat and Drink
1. Moe's
2. Bistro 81
3. Panera
4. Brick's
5. McAlister's
6. Soby's
7. Chipotle
8. California Dreaming



8 Things I Look Forward To
1. Getting fancy with my new camera
2. Getting in to better shape and losing weight
3. A trip with Mr. sans children (hopefully this fall)
4. Family vacation
5. Adding another mini to our family (No, I am not pregnant)
6. Summer afternoons swimming with the minis
7. Meeting some blog friends
8. Seeing my grandmother again



8 Things I am Passionate About
1. My children and husband
2. My family
3. My friends
4. Working to be a better child of God
5. Coffee
6. Molly Lou Gifts
7. Reading
8. Manners



8 Words or Phrases I Use Often
1. Make good choices (always reminding the minis)
2. Seriously
3. Y'all
4. Get down from there.
5. I love you
6. Are you kidding me?
7. Please
8. Thank you


8 Things I Have Learned From the Past
1. The money might run out, but there is always more love.
2. Children really are the greatest gift and you will never know that level of love until you have them.
3. Be a good friend and surround yourself with those friends.
4. Cherish the relationship with your family.
5. Spend wisely.
6. Use your words wisely.
7. Don't be in such a rush to move on, take some time to enjoy things.
8. Everything happens for a reason.



8 Places I Would Like to Visit/See
1. South Africa
2. Spain
3. Brazil
4. Greece
5. Vancouver
6. Peru
7. Ireland
8. Norway



8 Things I Currently Want/Need
1. new clothes
2. clear my reading list
3. a gardener and pool boy
4. a vacation
5. a pedicure
6. a tan
7. more time in the day
8. more money (especially to get numbers 1, 3, 4)



8 Bloggers I Tag
1. Whitney at Just Whitney (so glad she returned to Blogland)
2. Bevy at It's a Golden Day
3. Name Twin at Living in the Moment
4. Trish at Pink Preppy Lilly Lover
5. Katherine at The Katherine Wheel
6. Katie at The Perks
7. E at Ink Obsession
8. Emily at Emily's Going Nuts

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! What a special day this is!

I received a card from my best friend, who is also my minis "Aunt Kristy", Mini #2's godmother, and is expecting her first child this fall which I am THRILLED about.

The message in the card was just beautiful, so I thought I would share:

Motherhood is watching a sleeping child

and not remembering

how you were before this tiny miracle came in to your life.

It's kissing away sleepy teardrops and singing precious lullabies.

It's being able to fix a broken toy and gently bandage a knee.

It's having a childlike imagination that plans backyard treasure hunts and

telling the most wonderful bedtime stories.

Motherhood is the perfect blend of being strong-willed and gentle hearted,

of wisdom, innocence, and love.

I am so thankful to have such a wonderful mother, but also a woman that is an even better grandmother! My children adore her and it is so exciting to watch the mother that loved me, took care of me, supported me, and guided me now love and adore these two children!

My children are also so incredibly blessed to have such amazing women in their lives!

Happy Mother's Day to aunts, godmothers, friends, sisters, grandmothers, and more! Mother's day is also for celebrating those that aren't yet mothers. What a special blessing these future children will have to be born to you.

Enjoy today!

{image via here}

These are the Faces...

that make me smile.

These are the faces that make me happy.

These are the messy faces that I get to see the future in.

These are the faces that sometimes make me feel like I am going crazy (or crazier depending on who you ask.)
These are the faces that light up when I first lay eyes on them in the morning.

These are the faces that I am so thankful for. These are the faces that are an answer to prayers and stole my heart even before I got to meet them.

These are the faces that I love so much it hurts.

These are the faces that call me MOM!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you.

Even if you aren't a mom, you are a daughter, sister, aunt, godmother, and friend!

Have a great weekend!

Pink and Green Thursday~Tiptoe in the Grass

Happy Thursday! "Being Happy does't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections and take a walk in the grass." ~Unknown
The littlest mini sure does like to take a walk in the grass. She sheds the shoes as soon as she gets the opportunity. Perhaps she really does have happiness figured out!

Have a great day!

Wordless Wednesday~Laundress for Hire

Need help with your laundry?

Master Laundress for hire. She is perfect for the job!

She is a great folding partner and always has a smile on her face. Her favorite part is when the laundry piles are being put away to grab another pile and bury herself in it and then giggle profusely.

At least she is a cute laundry monster. Happy Wednesday.

Tuesday's Tidbits

Happy Tuesday! I love Real Simple magazine. I am always pulling little tidbits out of it and things that I tell my friends, try myself at home, or save for another day. I decided to start a Tuesday's Tidbits post each week. This can be a recipe, good deal, random idea, funny story, quote, DIY project, or philosophical world idea that I want to tackle.

Feel free to play along and share any tidbit you have, old or new.

"I really love to clean. It's not anything compulsive, it's just that you can see a difference when you 're through. Not like raising kids or something that you're not sure how it's going to turn out for a couple of decades." ~Julie Churchwill, Farewell to Yarns

(This is me, except I may have a tiny but of compulsion.)

I found this recipe in this month's magazine and tried it. Let me just say Easy Peasy and YUMMY!!!

5 minute Hummus

1 15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons fres hlemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika

1. Puree the chickpeas and garlic with the olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, and 3/4 teaspoon salt until smooth and creamy. (Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water as necessary to achieve desired consistency.)

2. Transfer to serving dish. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with the paprika before serving.

You can even refrigerate in an airtight container for 4 days.

Have a great day!

Change Someone's World

I am a member of MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). I get a bimonthly magazine from the international organization. This issue is all "Making a Better World Now."


There was a brief article that really touched me about making someone in our world's day a little better by simple acts of kindness.

Too often, we don't let the people that we love most how much we appreciate them. It's easy to write a note, send a little surprise, bring it up in conversation, send a text, comment on a blog post, write it on the bathroom mirror or even write on someone's Facebook wall how much we do appreciate them and point out little things that we like and/or admire about them.

Katherine wrote a perfect post a few weeks ago about how we should support each other more as parents. It's a tough job and instead of being judgmental or critical, we should embrace each other.



The same goes for us as women. We should love and support each other and realize how important it is and little effort it truly takes to let someone know how much we really do like them.

Start simply by saying "I appreciate you because of..." or "I just love your..."

creativity, character, friendship, sense of humor, the effective and loving ways you parent, cooking, sense of style and fashion, intelligence, and positive attitude.

The list could go on and on.

I am going to make a conscious effort to let each and every one of you know how much I adore you, appreciate your, and truly admire all of you. I need to let my husband, minis, and family know more too.

Happy Monday!

PS-Giveaway coming tomorrow...check back then. Have a great day!

{Image via here}