Random Monday Night Thoughts….

I miss posting here on Haus of Girls.
However, since I recently fell in love with Instagram I have realized that I don’t take the time to post here as much.
I keep up with all my faves on there and, in all honesty, this mama needs a laptop.  That would solve a lot of problems.  A lot of rich people problems…
But when I flip through my old blog posts, like this one, I remember why it is so important to make the time to post and how special it is to document the fun we are having.

Mommy spy cam report:  my mini me is such a reader these days.
I can always find her hiding out in her horseland bedroom reading away.
I love this.

 

See what I mean.  A relaxing post-school afternoon chill out session with mom…. to my right you have Mia’s nose in a book and to my left you have Sophia applying some of her new favorite make-up.  Haus of Girls to the max.

This crazy critter is getting a wee bit too old for my liking.
Seriously she looks six and a half.  
But  she’s a teeny tiny three year old and against all my will I am forced to look reality in the eye and plan her fourth birthday party soon…..

Beach party, to be exact. Because there are so many beaches her in the Midwest.

 

I’m thankful that this three year old still likes to wear undies on her head.
Who needs a hat when you have clean undies?

Last week we entered  our very first photo contest over here at Haus of Girls.
It’s for the New Face of Purina.  Just a girl and her dog…. do you think this is a winner?

What about this cute shot? Trampoline dogs are pretty fun I think.

 

But this one was my fave.
The original plan was that both Gussy and Strini would be kissing Mia, however Strini was acting as if we were asking her to jump off the top of the arch when we attempted to hoist her up onto the bench and lick peanut butter off Mia’s cheek. 

Hence the one dog kiss. 
Wish us luck!

 

Random note to all moms.  Do not every purchase Moxie Girlz magic glitter snow.
It’s evil I tell ya.  I’m still cleaning this stuff up and it’s been weeks.

And to wrap the inspiring post up I will leave you with a smile and a glimpse at what a cool aunt looks like.
I found these old photos on my sister Maggie’s Facebook page and wanted to see if any Haus of Girls readers could guess what face and emotion they are demonstrating in each one.

But, then I decided I wanted to share now. 
They are so cute!
Mia was five I believe…

annoyed.                                                                    “cheese.”

coughing.                                                                   kiss face.

mad.                                                                                scared.

serious.                                                                         shocked.

smiles.                                                                        what stinks?

 

I mean….. the cutest thing ever. 
My girls are so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful and fun family.

Thanks for stopping in and have a great week!

A 30th Surprise Birthday Party x 2

 

My favorite twin sisters turned 30 on March 8th.
So my parents and I , along with Maggie, the youngest of us four sisters, plotted to surprise them, double time.
It was sooooo tough.  I found myself putting them on all the sneaky mass text messages, remembering, just in the nick of time, to remove them before hitting send.

All the drama and sneaky stress was totally worth it.
We had the best time celebrating the twins with all of our closest family and friends.

We decided to borrow a friend’s karaoke machine and here Gracie is warming up, pre-party.

 

 

Where all the fun will occur.

Pictures strung all over my house along                              The bar.
with chocolate covered pretzel sticks, obvees.

More cute photos.

The cake pops and polka dots.                                              Ready for some fun!

 

I cut out tons of circles and sewed them into garland and obnoxiously hung it all over my house.

See?                                                                                           And thanks to Julie, I mastered this easy, yet adorable,
                                                                                                     fabric bunting.  Steve bought all the fabric one night
                                                                                                     after baseball practice.  Pretty cute, huh?!

 

 

Fabric tablecloths are easy………flowers delivered to my door the day of the party……. and more circles.

yay!                                                                                              Of course my cute Aunt Pat would give them the
                                                                                                      cutest shirts to wear all night.

The cheesecake? Out of control.                                       Initial cups from Kelly.  So fun!
One chocolate covered strawberry and one
cookie dough.  Yes, I said cookie dough.
Run don’t walk to my friend Stephanie’s Facebook
page and order one…. or two or three.
They are that good.

Cute girls.

Mom and her four {old} daughters.

 

Followed by hysterical laughter at my dad’s rendition of a fabulous song….

trying not to pee my pants.

Serious singers.                                                                              “I Got You, Babe.”

My dad and all his “sons.”                                                     Um, Mariah called and wants her waving fingers back.

Elvis?                                                                                              My dad and his brothers, rocking it out.

The final shot of the night.
Says it all.
Grown women performing a choreographed dance to LMFAO.

One of the best nights ever.

Wedding Recap

I’m baaaaack! Sort of.

What a whirlwind the past few months have been for us!
Between our beloved St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series and my hubby going to almost every home game throughout the series, to planning my sister’s couples costume wedding shower, to spreading joy with the Happy Day project and then finally living it up during my sister Maggie’s actual wedding weekend, it’s been a complete circus. Here, there and everywhere. And I have loved every minute.
And now, it’s almost THANKSGIVING? Seriously?

I want to catch up on some photos from the past few weeks so here we go…

 

The Day the Cards Became World Champs…. Again:

For game seven of the World Series, my whole family headed downtown to celebrate if they won.
Some of us were actually in the stadium and a few of us were outside pretending to be in.
They won and we had so much fun partying like rock stars (middle-aged ones) with the entire city of St. Louis.

         

The Day of the Couples Shower:

 

Maggie and Austin kindly took my girls to a park for a few hours so Steve and I could set up for the shower.

And set up we did. Haley made all the desserts like pumpkin shaped peanut butter cookies and mini vanilla wafer sandwiches with peanut butter and banana centers surrounded by sprinkles.
She also made those fabulous candy apples with real sticks from the back yard.
She’s amazing.

 

Steve and I were Little Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf.

 

Maggie and Austin were Snooki and the Situation.

Adie was a paper doll and Haley was the Toy Story Barbie.
Such a fun night!

 

The Happy Day Project:

The girls loved participating in The Happy Day Project.
I mean, really, really loved.
Every morning they would run downstairs to read what our task was for the day.
Since it was the week before Maggie’s wedding, we didn’t quite succeed on all of them, but we did pretty good making so many people smile and feel special.

   

Monday:
Fresh baked cookies delivered to some of our favorite neighbors by these three crazy girls.

  

Tuesday:
Handwritten notes to all my faves.

On top of the happy day fun, I helped make some programs, a CARDS holder and some fun hair bling for some super cute flower girls.

We read this book 500 times and broke out the cookie cutters…. and Christmas music.
I love this time of year!

The Rehearsal Dinner:

 

The rehearsal begins.                                                                     My dad, mom, Maggie and Austin listening to this…

 

This is one of Maggie’s students.
He’s amazing.

 

Dinner time! 
Maggie and Austin loved the little scrapbook the girls and I made for them.

   Me and my momma.

 

The Wedding Day:

   

Salon fun.

I loved my hair so much.
Thank you Elli!

And Gracie loved hers too, all thanks to Aunt Haley’s mad skills.

The flower girls all ready to go.

The beautiful couple after their I Do’s.

Family photo, thanks to Hales, after the ceremony.

Taking over Maggie and Austin’s favorite little bar, Chick ‘N Elly’s, after the party bus fun.      
Yes, they have fried Twinkies.                    

         

Family wedding photos in an old window on the table next to the entrance to the reception hall.

 

Their guestbook.
Thumbprints along with guest’s signatures on this cute tree Adie drew.  

Wheat centerpieces from Austin’s father’s farm. 

Father daughter dance. Love.
Also notice the cute wheat boutonniere all the men wore.

Four sisters.
Four married sisters.

 

Girls rule.
As do the wedding party’s personalized mason jar mugs!

Gracie and her new boyfriend, Bryce.                                    The Michigan groom’s cake made by our friend Erin.

       

Rock concert or wedding reception?

A family tradition.
The “Alligator Dance” to Proud Mary.
Yes, we are rolling on the floor.

Steve and I slow dancing like pros.

My parents leading the train throughout the hotel.

Maggie’s cute cowgirl boots sparkling like crazy as Austin went in for the garter.

Late night dance with daddy in their jammies.

And the perfect ending to a perfect day?
A white castle wedding cake hand crafted by Haley’s hubby, Jimmy.

Claaaaaasic Jimmy.

The happy couple reenacting the white castle cake topper.

Claaaaaasic Viefhaus family evening full of LAUGHTER, LOVE and MEMORIES.

11.12.11