Shout out #4

This may come to a surprise to some. I love The Melting Pot. Something about it's dark, sultry decor or the fact that dinner takes you about 3 hours to cook and consume- just makes me melt (no pun intended) inside. We make sure that we only go here to celebrate something super special so that makes me love it THAT much more. I only have happy, good memories of when I think of this place! Melting Pot- you are SO much more than just a fondue restaurant. You my friend, are a f-U-ndue restaurant! I love you.

Shout out #3

By far the best birthday present I have ever been given. It has helped me capture some of the sweetest moments of my life. Way to go Nikon D40X DSL camera making people! I love this gadget.

Shout out #2

Sometimes there are no words. Just Pinkberry.I love this frozen goodness!

It's the final countdown

Happy Love Month!! In honor of Valentines Day I thought I would give a shout out to the 14 things I love to love. Shout out Number 1: My running gear. B.O.A sports bra. Comes in the best colors and fits amazingly well. Even for us "less endowed" girls. Gel Kahana Asics shoes. Not for everyone but they work wonders for my dogs. I haven't had a single blister since slipping into these suckers! And last but not least- my Brooks Epiphany stretch running shorts. Oh how I love these. I have learned to embrace the short shorts and go with it.

You want real?

After going to dinner with some friends last week- I realized what a great friends I have! We sat there at a table for 3 (no high chairs please!) and talked about all the things we go through as women/wives/mothers/sisters/friends etc...

One of things brought up was being "real." The kind of real that stinks after we go to the gym, doesn't always wear make up and doesn't scream from the roof top while in the bedroom with their husband every night. You get the point right? So many things have gone through my head since this night out about being real. Am I real? What does that even mean?

So, here it goes: I'm throwing it out in the universe for all to know. I'm going to be real. Judge me, laugh with me, and then look at your life and find something to be "real" about.

Real Moment Number 1:
When other people are around and my baby drops her pacifier on the ground- I pick it up and pretend that I am not going to give it to her again until it has been totally sterilized. Even though I know full well, as soon as they walk away, I will do 1 of the following 2 things: A) stick it in my mouth to "wash" the dirt off or B) wipe it off on my jeans. Then I give it back to her and pray no one saw me. I know what you're thinking- Mother of the Year Award right here!

Book Review:

Absolutely LOVED this book. In fact, I loved it so much I gave it away to friends as a Christmas gift this year. It tells you exactly how it is, (the good the bad and the ugly) and makes you feel like although we ALL have bad days- we are still good mothers. Something I am in desperate need to hear every now and then.

If you are like me, and HAVE to have the PERFECT cake at a birthday party, or the kids have to have their hair done PERFECTLY on picture day no matter what chaos this may cause the morning of, READ THIS BOOK! I swear it will make you laugh and cry all at the same time. It also has several chapters on mothers who feel like they are so much MORE than "just a stay at home mother" and redefining what that means. It talks about taking care of ourselves FIRST (what??) so that we can be the best mother, wife, sister, friend we can be. How many of us have stood at the kitchen table eating left over scraps for breakfast because we have so many things "to do", we can't sit down for a proper meal? READ THIS BOOK! It won't disappoint you.

Sugar and Spice and everything nice

New Years Resolution #47: Blog more. Keep it short and sweet.

Here we go. I thought I would share a funny story about the shorts and sweets in my life. I'm a FIRM believer that 99% of decisions made from the ages 8-18 are based purely on their level of self esteem. If girls really (REALLY) knew how great they were- they wouldn't settle for anything but the best. Hence, they wouldn't make stupid mistakes and life would be a lot easier and better for everyone involved. This belief I have is the reason I am scared to death to raise a little girl! Lots of praise going on in our house thats for sure! Any ways, while I was spending the past two weeks with my amazing nieces I was blown away by their beauty inside and out. I looked at both of them and asked- "Do you think you are pretty?" Without hesitation, they both said yes. I then asked- "On a scale of 1 to 100 how pretty are you?" Again, with the same lack of hesitation Macey says "1,000" and Cali says "1,000,000." Props to Sharalyn for raising girls who KNOW how gorgeous they are and aren't afraid to let you know it! These girls are going to be just fine!