You're busy. I'm busy. The Messy Mommies are busy. Everyone is busy. But you should take time, make time to take a trip with your girlfriends. I recently did. I almost didn't and I'm so glad I did! My awesome group of childhood friends and I took a great trip to Florida for our 40th birthdays and several years ago we visited some fun wineries in Michigan and stayed over. Then COVID hit and we, of course, haven't been on a trip together. Over the past year our gang has shared heartache with some parents and family passing, craziness with kids and their school work, activities, and sports, and our jobs and a million other stressful things. Claudette, our fabulous ring leader, had enough of us getting together for sad or stressful reasons and way back in January declared that we all needed to get away for some laughter and fun.

We picked the date and said that the weekend would be great with whomever could really make it when October rolled around. Claudette found this fabulous house that slept 16 in Beachwalk in Michigan City on VRBO. We picked somewhere that we could drive to to make it easier on our pocketbooks and to help make it easier for people to come on the trip. We picked a house so we would have plenty of space to hang out and play games and could make some of our meals and snacks. Before the trip the texts were flying around with who was bringing what snacks and discussions on what cocktails we should make. We were all excited about the trip!

But here is the deal. I almost didn't go and I almost canceled a bunch of time right until I pulled out of my driveway to drive to meet the girls. And, I think a few of my friends were thinking similar things. Things were hectic with my girls, work was crazy, yada, yada, yada. Thankful I decided I really should go. Most of the girls drove over Friday afternoon. Marcy and I drove over super early Saturday morning and arrived as they were digging into the delicious breakfast casseroles. We had the best day!!!! We walked on the beach, had lunch at the Stray Dog and checked out the little shops, and hung out at the house. We had fabulous snacks and fabulous cocktails. We played Empire and games and laughed and laughed and laughed. We told stories, caught up on the little things in our lives, and cheered each other on. As Kimmie tried to get people to have shots, we laughed at old stories and I couldn't help but think how glad I was that I took the trip. The long to do lists at home, the laundry, and other things could all wait. Precious time like this with friends could not. Our short time together re-energized us all and lifted our hearts. 

I recently saw some of our fellow St. Francis classmates, Patti, Kathy and friends also took a girls trip. Despite car troubles, I could tell from their smiles that they too had lifted their hearts and had a great time together. So, call your girlfriends and plan a trip. It can be close or far, simple or elaborate, or anything in between. The time together will make you laugh, will encourage you, and will brighten your days. I'm so glad I made the trip! 

Since we are always about the snacks and cocktails, a few side notes! We had fabulous snacks and are sharing some similar recipes! Michelle made a new Bloody Mary dip, Colleen made a delicious Greek dip, and Treva made one of my favorite Tastefully Simple dips, the Honey Teriyaki Peanut dip! Amy's daughter Audrey made us great pumpkin cookies! Kimmie was pouring shots of Crown Royal Apple and Michelle made fun S'Mores martinis with Baileys S'Mores. Bernadette brought tons of Costco Prosecco which was fabulous! We can't wait to hear about your trip with your girlfriends too! 

The Messy Mommies are putting a spell on you! Join us and watch Hocus Pocus 2 on Friday, September 30 on Disney + with your family and friends! We are so excited that the wickedly glorious Sanderson Sisters are flying back into our lives and are bringing some spooky Halloween fun! We love that the fabulous Sanderson Sisters - Winifred (Bette Midler), Mary (Kathy Najimy), and Sarah (Sarah Jessica Paker) shared their Top 10 Reasons to Watch Hocus Pocus 2! From great musical numbers to dark curses to zombies, we loved all of their reasons to watch Hocus Pocus 2! Our number 1 reason to watch Hocus Pocus 2 is to have a magical evening by spending time with our family and friends! We'll capture some of the magic from when we first watched Hocus Pocus 29 years ago and from watching with our mini witches over the past several years. We'll laugh with our kids as we welcome back our friends, Winifred, Mary, and Sarah and cannot wait to meet the new high school friends! Movies like Hocus Pocus and Hocus Pocus 2 cast a spell that binds generations  together in such a fantastic way. As Messy Moms, we love sharing these spellbinding evenings with our kids. We know that with the flick of a magic wand time will travel fast and our kids will be grown! So we are casting a spell to slow time down, especially on Friday, September 30 so we can all watch Hocus Pocus 2 together! 

You know the Messy Mommies love a good theme for our Messy gatherings! So, we are sharing some favorites to help you get ready for your Hocus Pocus 2 watching party! We love how even when things run amuck, the Sanderson Sisters help each other and cheer each other on! Similarly, sisters, you can wave your magic wand and support some fantastic female owned small businesses with your Hocus Pocus 2 gathering! I smell children! Or, I smell amazing Hocus Pocus 2 cookies and devilish treats! Check out these gorgeous treats by Becky from A Jill of all Treats! We ordered the festive "I smell children" cookie cake! We also love Becky's so cute book brownies and spooky cake pops!  

Max, Dani and Allison had apple cider in the beginning of the first Hocus Pocus movie and it would be a great beverage on September 30! You could order some spooky and funny Hocus Pocus cups from Perfectly Imperfect! They love glitter and so do we! And, Perfectly Imperfect is very funny, just like the Sanderson Sisters! 

Our favorite witch, Sadie also has some fabulous Hocus Pocus glasses at her spooktacular Posh West Boutique! These cute cups are flying off the shelves so hop on your broom or hover board and fly off to Posh West! Sadie also has spooky Halloween decorations to help cast your spells! And, check out her inspiring story when on her website! 

We are also all about the snacks! Here is Messy Mommy Holly's favorite popcorn ball recipe! We mentioned how movies like Hocus Pocus bind the generations and so do the snacks. This special recipe is from Holly's dad. 

We know you may be hungry from flying around the skies of Salem so check out this clever Sanderson Sisters cheese box by Russo's Catering! What a fun way to support another small business and provide fun snacks to your little witches and zombies! 

We will also be stirring up our cauldrons to make Hocus Pocus 2 chocolate bark and spooky cookies next week! 

Of course, these Messy Mommy sisters are breaking out our balloon talents for Hocus Pocus 2! And, have you seen the funny bats reels on Instagram? We ordered these fun bats for our Hocus Pocus 2 movie night! We also found festive Sanderson Sisters shirts and some other great Hocus Pocus 2 decorating ideas! Check out our Amazon favorites! Please know that the Messy Mommies witches are Amazon Affiliates and when you shop with us you help support our Messy events and Messy blog. 

Sisters, clear your schedules and don't run amuck! All those errands, dishes, and laundry are all just a bunch of Hocus Pocus! The real magic is found in special evenings together with your family and friends! Start planning! We'll meet you in Salem on Friday, September 30 on Disney+ to watch Hocus Pocus 2! Come, we fly! 
XOXO,
Witches Meg and Holly 

How is your summer bucket list going? We know what you need to add to your list! You need to go glamping at Sankoty Lakes near Starved Rock with your family and friends! The Messy Mommies booked two tents at the last minute for the Saturday of 4th of July weekend and our way to brief visit was so awesome!

 My parents have a beautiful cabin at Lake Wildwood which is near Lacon, IL and for the 4th of July weekend we had lots of family and dogs at the lake! A few days before the 4th weekend Messy Mommy Holly and I were talking about that maybe our two families should try to stay near somewhere near the lake so they rest of the family would have a little more sleeping room at the cabin. We started googling options. Stared Rock was sold out and there are not a lot of hotels or airbnbs in the area. I stumbled upon Sankoty Lakes and the glamping tents and the gorgeous property looked amazing! I sent the link to Holly and shared that it looked like they still had two tents available at this beautiful Midwest wilderness retreat!

We knew the 4th of July weekend was so busy and crossed our fingers that we could still get in! Kim with Sankoty Lakes was so helpful! We were able to book the last two tents that happened to be right next to each other for Saturday night! I explained that we wouldn't be arriving until after the fireworks so probably around 10:30 pm and Kim said security would be able to check us in when we arrived. I have to give a shout out to the security team! They were fantastic with our late arrival and helping us check-in to our tents! 

The girls and our sweet dogs, Ginger and Rocky were as excited as the grown-ups to check out our very cool two bedroom glamping tents! We quickly unpacked and tried to build a fire. We didn't have much luck with our fire but enjoyed sitting out on our deck drinking wine and chatting with the bullfrogs and lake noises in the background.

Now, you may thinking that you are not sure if glamping and tent living is for you! Well, Sankoty Lakes glamping is fabulous! Our glamping tent walls were canvas and then there is a wood floor and wood walls! We had one bedroom with a queen bed and one bedroom with bunk beds. There is a nice kitchenette with a table with chairs and a TV that connect to your streaming platform. The girls had YouTube on in the morning! And, one of the best features - a great full, indoor bathroom! You also have a firepit, picnic table and so nice sitting area outside your tent. Great glamping design!

In the morning Rocky, Ginger and the girls loved walking down the road to check out Sankoty Lakes and I was impressed with the great attention to detail in the design of each glamping tent site and the beautiful grounds. As we walked you could tell families were well prepared for their glamping adventure as bikes were near tents, coolers, and outdoor lawn games dotted the area. The RV path seemed packed with happy visitors as well!

Our Messy crew was way less prepared! Holly and I had been planning with my mom for our fun 4th of July at the cabin and we didn't spend much time prepping for our glamping adventure! I had packed muffins and cereal for breakfast but had forgot the milk! Tony ran to a near by gas station and picked up coffee, milk, eggs, bacon and rolls for more provisions! Tony and Matt had a great time in the morning building a roaring fire and they cooked breakfast over the fire which was great fun! 

Matt, Holly and Eleanora had to get back to Chicago for other 4th of July fun and we had to get back to Lake Wildwood so unfortunately we did not have time to explore and experience more of the fabulous features of Sankoty Lakes on this trip. We did swing by to check out the pretty clubhouse that overlooks the lakes and check out the lovely Woolly Bugger restaurant. You could sit outside and have drinks while overlooking the lakes while the kids play yard games. There is a great place for swimming with cabanas and of course there is incredible trout fly fishing and other areas to fish at Sankoty Lakes! You can also rent kayaks and bike around the beautiful lakes!

Thanks to everyone that entered our July Messy Mommies Gas Cards Giveaway! Congratulations to Angela from Texas for winning two $25.00 gas cards! We hope the gas cards put some sparkle into your July! We thought this was a great way to kick off the 4th of July with a bang! We love to celebrate America with family and friends at the lake! We knew driving plans might be fizzling with the crazy gas prices and we wanted to help! We loved seeing all of our Messy friends' comments about their 4th of July plans and what they were making for the festivities! From backyard cookouts with BBQ and potato salad to pool parties with pasta salad, patriotic fruit trays, and red, white, and blue drinks, to fire pits with s'mores and so many other great celebrations - we loved hearing about how you all planned to celebrate! We hope your 4th of July celebrations were filled with great fireworks and great fun with your family and friends! We'll see you soon again on Instagram with another fun giveaway! Thanks Messy crew for joining in the 4th of July Gas Cards Giveaway fun! 

​April is still roaring like a lion and we are hoping May will come in like a sunny, cheery lamb! The Chicagoland sunny then stormy and freezing weather is giving us whiplash! Stella and Sophia wanted to celebrate Earth month with planting a blueberry bush and a raspberry bush which we did in pots last week. They loved picking out and planting the berry bushes and it was great fun. Then, April whooshed in more freezing weather and the pots are in our hallway!

​While these chilly April days have flown by, we are still cheering on people who care about our planet and are celebrating businesses who are being good stewards. The Messy Mommies love a good cocktail and we love even more spirits brands that are innovative and focused on sustainability! We toasted three amazing companies last year!

​Today, we are sharing why we love how Maker’s Mark is making a wonderful mark in supporting our planet! A little back story first! The iconic Maker’s Mark bottle has been a part of our cocktails story for years. My husband, Tony’s grandfather, Anthony was a spirits salesman. Some of Anthony’s old cocktail glasses have found a new life in our home. Tony and my siblings love to make Manhattans and Old Fashions in those glasses and we toast to family, friends, old stories, and being together. I gave Tony a bar cart for Christmas which he loved. When I pass by the cart with the cocktail glasses and Maker’s Mark it makes my smile and think of special toasts together.
 
During the pandemic some of my family mastered fun cocktails. While there is an abundance of spirits choices for mixing the perfect cocktail, we love to support brands that also care about our planet. The iconic Maker’s Mark takes their responsibility of not only crafting exceptional whiskey but also executing exceptional sustainability practices.

​My daughter, Sophia did a school project on Kentucky so we love that the Maker’s Mark Distillery is located in Loretto, Kentucky! We love the innovation of the Maker’s Mark team and how they created a zero-landfill initiative that will re-purpose or recycle all waste from the Distillery by this summer! That is so amazing and it is so cool how employees and community neighbors can bring their recycled materials to the distillery. You might wonder how do you get to zero-landfill?! We sure did! Maker’s Mark has embraced onsite composting, recycling, and waste-to-energy processes. Collaboration and being a good neighbor are core to Maker’s Mark as you can see by how for decades they have provided spent distilling grains to local farmers as feed for animals. This also helps reduce the carbon footprint and impact on landfills.
 
Just like so many elements add up to make the perfect bottle of Maker’s Mark whiskey, so many eco-friendly actions add up to make a big impact for the distillery and our planet. From creating a 33-acre Natural Water Sanctuary of its grounds to preserve the watershed that feeds Bourbon Lake to pulverizing empty glass bottles into sand that can be reused for other projects to converting waste into reusable compost, helping our Earth is a way of life at Maker’s Mark.

​You know the Messy Mommies love deep traditions, family stories, and how to preserve things for our Messy kids and future generations. Well, we think the bourbon barrels are such a cool part of the bourbon story and are impressed with how Marker’s Mark is caring for the American White Oak trees which are used for the bourbon barrels. Maker’s Mark created the world’s largest research repository for American White Oak trees which acts as a living laboratory for more than 300 families of white oak trees. We love how they have collaborated with the University of Kentucky’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources to study the sustainability of the trees. This important work will help preserve the trees for many years to come!

While Earth Month is wrapping up, we know the amazing work to care for our planet will keep growing at Maker's Mark! We love how the Samuels family is carrying on the deep traditions at the Maker's Mark Distillery at Star Hills Farm! Rob, the Messy Mommies and our Messy crew would love to visit you all this summer! We can toast our families and friends and how you all are leading the way in sustainability and being wonderful stewards of our planet! In the meantime, Messy friends check out these great Maker's Mark cocktail recipes and how you could visit the Maker's Mark Distillery too!  

1. Noble Oak and Noble Hearts
If a bottle of Noble Oak Whiskey falls in a forest and no one is around, does it make a sound? We don't know the answer but you just might find a bottle of Noble Oak Whiskey in a forest since Noble Oak is planting an enormous amount of trees! For every Noble Oak bottle purchased, Noble Oak is planting a tree with the One Tree Planted organization! Noble Oak has already planted more than 203,496 trees! That is an amazing amount of trees and an amazing impact! We love Noble Oak's noble heart. Noble Oak is "on a mission to revitalize the earth by planting trees, building communities, and of course, enjoying great whiskey." We love this mission and the Noble Oak Double Oak Bourbon! You can also enjoy Noble Oak Double Oak Rye. 

Huge thanks to Tom from Noble Oak for sending us the great video message and toast from Noble Oak for our April Girls Night In! We talked about the impressive work of Noble Oak with planting so many trees and our Messy Girlfriends shared how they make great bourbon cocktails, put bourbon in hot tea, on a baby's gums when we were little, and even in sugar cookies! The Messy Mommies also love how Noble Oak is part of the Edrington brands. Edrington's sustainability strategy includes great people, giving more, cutting their carbon footprint, protecting water resources and more. Pick up a bottle of Noble Oak Whiskey today and they will plant a tree for you! What a fun way to celebrate Earth Month! Outstanding work Noble Oak and Edrington! ​

3. Ketel One 
Drawing on 300 years of distilling expertise, we love how the Nolet family and Ketel One are a driving force in promoting sustainability in cocktails and in inspiring bartenders to be innovative while thinking about their communities and the planet. Ketel One is helping the cocktail industry think differently about sustainability, is highlighting the positive impact of working with local growers, and is sharing how to create delicious zero-waste cocktails. Think about the lemon peel garnish in your favorite Ketel One Vodka Martini. What happens to the rest of the lemon? What happens to so many garnishes and other elements of cocktails? Instead of tossing so much waste into the trash, Ketel One is helping bartenders and bars around the world re-imagine cocktails and how to provide an even better drinking experience that will also care for our planet! Ketel One created the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Awards to highlight innovations such as climate-positive cocktails, sourcing raw materials with local farmers, and thinking about the use of straws and coasters. Even during the pandemic Ketel One Sustainable Award winners are adapting and innovating!  Cheers to your innovative work Nolet family and Ketel One!

We are also big fans of the garden inspired Ketel One Botanicals and love of the refreshing drinks are infused with natural essence of fresh, crisp and fragrant botanicals! The Messy Mommies are toasting the Nolet family and Ketel One with the Peach and Orange Blossom Ketel One Botanicals! Cheers! ​

Huge thanks to Noble Oak, Sunny with a Chance of Flowers, and Ketel One for caring about our planet, for driving innovation, and inspiring people make positive changes that will help the Earth for decades to come. Cheers to all of you from the Messy Mommies! ​

Baseball is back and the Messy Mommies are making a "Walk Son Song" playlist to share with you!

Walk on songs got a start in 1972 when Yankees reliever, Sparky Lyle, walked onto the mound with "Pomp and Circumstance!" Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" was a tune for one of our favs, @arizz_44. Join in on the fun and become part of our spring playlist! Share your Walk On song in the comments below!

One of my all time favorite Grammy Award winners is Sheryl Crow, winner of nine Grammy Awards! Several of her songs appear on my current workout playlists, but If I had to pick my ‘walk-on song’ for this spring season, Soak Up the Sun tops my list! Best line….”For every time I feel lame, I’m looking up!”
Meg’s ‘walk-on song’ would be Firework by Katy Perry and loves the lines, “If you only knew what the future holds, After a hurricane comes a rainbow, Maybe a reason why all the doors are closed, So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road.”

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Join us this weekend and be like Betty!
1. Donate to an animal shelter
2. Eat a hot dog
3. Eat red licorice
4. Drink vodka
5. Watch the Golden Girls marathon on the Hallmark Channel
6. Follow your passion
7. Make people laugh
8. Be kind
Thank you for being a friend Betty! You have inspired us with your kindness, wit, and passion. Cheers to all of us being more like Betty! 
#bettywhite #bettywhite100 #goldengirls #honoringbettywhite #thelostvalentine #animalshelters #hotdogs #vodka #laughter #kindness ​

Looks like this is another year of small gatherings with family and friends for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day celebrations. While we can't wait to kick 2021 to the curb, we do want to find some more laughter and joy. The super easy game, Empire is the perfect way to lighten this New Year's Eve weekend!

We played Empire this Christmas with our family and had so much fun! We started playing Empire a few years ago with the Tortorello crew and then started playing with the Murer team. We love this game because all ages can play together and people are so clever with their name picks! We promise your New Year's Eve celebration crew will laugh tons and will have fun playing Empire. Here is how the game is played! 

Empire!
One person is the organizer of the game. Each person is given a piece of paper and pen. Write down a name of a person you want to be - it can be a famous actor, a singer, a politician, a family member, a cartoon character, a superhero or any name. Fold up the paper and the organizer collects all the names in a bowl. The organizer mixes ups the names and then reads the list twice. The youngest person goes first. When we played Stella was first! The first person tries to guess a person and the name they wrote. For example, Stella guessed that her dad, Tony was Justin Fields. He was not Justin Fields. If the guess is wrong, the guessed person goes next. If the guess is right that person joins the guessers team and starts an Empire. People move seats to sit with their Empire. The game becomes really funny as people guess wrong and try to remember all of the names. The teams can whisper amongst each other to try to figure out the other names. The game ends when the last Empire guesses the final person. The head of the winning Empire starts the next round. Stella was so clever by being Betty White! She looked up famous people on my phone. Sophia cracked us up by being my cousin's cat, Angel and Eleanora stumped many of us by being the famous soccer player Rose LaVelle. Molly had a great trick of thinking about the name in categories when you get towards the end and can't remember someone. For example, what actors, what singers, what superheros were named.

Games like Empire are a great way to bring some much needed laughter into the holidays! Shout out to Mackenize for teaching us this game years ago! We hope your New Year's Eve celebrations are filled with deep laughter, great guessing, and cheers to a brighter 2022!
xoxo,
Thelma and Louise 

Tony and I are late to watching the funny and inspiring Ted Lasso Apple TV+ series and it is fantastic. We are now on to season 2 and just watched the 4th episode, Carol of the Bells which has a great Love Actually vibe. For months people have been telling us that we need to watch this clever, witty show. Ted Lasso had an impressive 13 Emmy nominations and won 7 Emmys including Outstanding Comedy Series. I can see why. This is a show all about kindness and we can all use more kindness these days! So, in honor of Ted Lasso, we hope you will join the Messy Mommies in celebrating World Kindness Day on Saturday, November 13! 
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You could give toys to a holiday toy drive or donate to a local food pantry. You could call to check in on family and friends or send cards to a nursing home. You could make thank you notes for health-care workers or buy coffee for the person behind you in line. You could post a “believe” message on social media or say hello to people while going for a walk. You could smile at people at the pub or give someone spare change. You could give someone a favorite book or bake biscuits for others. Every kind action, big or small, helps spread kindness and makes our world a better place! You can find more information on the Inspire Kindness website! Thanks for joining us for World Kindness Day! 

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