Five on Friday.

Happy Friday and Helllllllo long weekend! I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited about my four day weekend that is about to commence. I was really only supposed to have Tuesday off, but Mason's school is taking Monday AND Tuesday off for the holiday, so twist my arm, I'll take an extra day off. We currently have no specific plans for Monday besides enjoying our day together!

But before we start celebrating with red, white, and blue everything, here is a little randomness for your Friday.


ONE.
Letterboard accessories.

I was shopping for actual necessities at Target the other day when I came across these babies. You all know how much I LOVE my Letterfolk board and I literally almost bought one of each of these to spruce up my board. But somehow I managed to use some self control and I walked away... empty handed. Shocking I know. BUT before I walked away, I made sure to take a picture because I want to remember these! I mean, look how cute! I love the pop of color that they would add to the letter board!

TWO.
Scarf hanger.

Did you know that they make ACTUAL scarf hangers?! I had no clue until I stumbled upon this one at Target the other day! I've just been hanging mine on my "over the door hanger", but I may need to invest in one of these!

THREE.
Paw Patrol electric toothbrush.

So, we took Mason to the dentist a couple weeks ago (which was terrible, just like last time) and we found out that he has a cavity (#momfail). We brush his teeth every night BUT we've been using the non-fluoride toothpaste because basically the second that he puts the toothbrush in his mouth, he licks/swallows/eats the toothpaste. Seriously disgusting, but I guess it tastes... good? Kids are weird, so who knows, but anyway, I wanted to try to find a way to brush his teeth better. My friend suggested this toothbrush. I figured, hey, why not? It's Paw Patrol so I knew he'd love it and I know I feel like my teeth feel cleaner when I use my electric toothbrush, so I got one and Mason loves it! He still eats the toothpaste, but hey, I'll take the win where I can. We've also added using toothpaste with fluoride every other day because the dental hygienist said with the pea sized amount that we use anyway, it won't hurt him if he eats it.


FOUR.
A Walk to Remember Reunion?

Did anyone else love this movie as much as I did? Because I loved it. A LOT. Apparently it just hit it's 15 year anniversary and Mandy Moore hinted that there might be a reunion in the works. PLEASE. YES.


FIVE.
Microwave S'mores Cake.

via

I saw this microwave s'mores cake on Weelicious' website the other day and HOLY COW. Sign. Me. Up. I LOVE the Pioneer Woman's chocolate cake in a mug (made in the microwave!) so I totally have to try this! Microwave + s'mores = YES.

And on that note... I'm off to make some dessert! Happy Weekend and Happy 4th of July!

Mother's Day Weekend.

Clearly a little late on recapping Mother's Day since it was just Father's Day a couple weekends ago (maybe expect that recap in July lol!), but I didn't want to skip sharing some photos since it was definitely one of the best Mother's Day's I've had since becoming a mother.

My brother in law actually organized the whole thing and to be honest, at first I didn't want to go. He mentioned to Seth that he was making reservations at a tea house and I kind of blew it off like "I don't want to go sit around and have tea and crumpets for Mother's Day." So Seth told him I didn't want to go. But then my sister in law texted me, surprised I didn't want to go, and asked if I had looked up the menu and... to be honest... I hadn't. So I did and then... I wanted to go. Ha! Thankfully she texted me.

So we added me on the reservation and we were on our way!

But first... I got spoiled a bit from Mason's multiple schools. First up, speech class.

Mason made this super cute puzzle piece picture frame for me in his speech class and I couldn't love it more. Not only are the puzzle pieces perfect (for autism), but that picture is to die for. Look at that sweet smile!

Second up, preschool.

Mason made this "I love you to pieces" picture in preschool and I absolutely love it. I think he's made one similar in the past, but no matter how many I have, I love them all more than the last one.

And finally, his ABA class.

When he got done with ABA class on the day before Mother's Day, he brought me not one, but two cards, AND a pretty flower. He quickly broke the flower, but then I had two, so I wasn't mad ;)

After ABA, we came home and got ready for a night with Bubbe to celebrate Great Grandma's Day. We opted to bring dinner and dessert to her at her place this year and she was just SO happy to have us all over. It was so sweet. We love to shower her with gifts and food and love whenever we can.

thankful for a brother in law with a long arm for selfies ;)

the great grandkids

On Sunday, actual Mother's Day, we took the Amtrak train down to San Juan Capistrano to hang out for a bit with everyone (kids and husbands included) and then the guys took the kids and the girls headed to lunch at The Tea House on Los Rios. They had a special Mother's Day lunch going on when we were there, but the menu was sort of similar to what they show online.

my mother in law and pseudo mother in law (my brother in law's mom)

sister in law and sister in law

The BEST tomato soup I've EVER had.

Key Lime Pie dessert.

The food was delicious and we left stuffed. We were also gifted a "tea steeper" (the thing you put the loose tea in and then put in your cup to make tea), so of course we had to buy some loose tea to use it for ourselves at home. Overall, it was a wonderful day -- a good combination of spending time with the one that made me a mom as well as spending time with adults and nobody poking me every thirty seconds saying "mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy" ;)

And, one last photo to end Mother's Day. Mother's Day wouldn't be Mother's Day without acknowledging the woman who brought me in to this world -- my mom. Though she was taken from me far too soon and she never got to fully experience being a Grandmother (I say fully because I know she is looking down on us now and enjoying watching Mason), I think of her often and know I am the mother I am today because of her. She is my idle, my hero, and if I am even half the mom to Mason that she was to me, then I am doing something right.

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day!

Four Things that Never Made the Blog.

I saw Sarah do this the other day and thought it was THE perfect way to catch up. So, thank you, Sarah, for letting me steal your idea. ;)

ONE.
Easter.

I shared about our Egg Hunt at California Adventure, but I never actually shared Easter. The day.

I know this was over two months ago, but for my sake, I wanted to make sure I shared. I won't get too detailed, because really everyone knows what happens on Easter, but I will say this. Easter morning, I wanted to make it special for Mason. I filled a basket with some goodies that he opened right in the morning and then I also filled a bunch of eggs for him and did a little egg hunt outside our house after breakfast. It was nothing fancy, but he loved opening all the eggs to find his favorite treats of fruit snacks and gold fish as well as some coins and some toys.

Later that afternoon, we went over to Seth's mom's house for dinner and another egg hunt with all the cousins. Seth's sister and her family were on vacation, but all the other kids were there.

It was a simple, yet wonderful day. Just how I like to spend my holidays :)


TWO.
My niece's birthday.

I actually think I shared a little bit about it here, but I didn't really get to share the pictures of the party like I wanted.

The Nail Truck

My oldest niece turned ten back in the middle of May, but she had a birthday party the weekend that we went to Palm Springs. So we left early that Sunday morning and headed back home to attend the party. It was THE cutest spa themed party where my sister in law had a nail truck come give manicures and pedicures, the girls made their own foot scrub, and Seth's mom's best friend's daughter, who is a hair stylist, came down from Northern California and was giving up-dos to all the girls. It seriously was a dream party for a little girl (and an adult I might add, but sadly I did not get to partake in the activities so I was just insanely jealous of twelve 10 year olds). I wish I was ten and could have participated!


THREE.
We moved!

If you follow me on any sort of social media, you know we moved. I also think I mentioned it on the blog a time or two. Well, it's official. We are officially in our new place. We are settling in well and things are getting better. I do plan to do a more comprehensive moving post at some point, but for now, the long story short on why we moved (more the short, fact only version for the internet) is that when we moved in to our old place, we didn't really check in to the school around there before we moved. Mason was nine months old and kindergarten and elementary school was not at all on our radar. Fast forward to Mason getting older and we found out that the school wasn't the greatest, but we didn't really think anything of it. We figured we would move (hopefully because of buying a house) or we could just put in a transfer and we'd be fine. Fast forward again and it's this year and we haven't moved or bought a house and it's almost time to think about kindergarten registration, so I put in a transfer. And we waited. And we waited. And we waited some more. I got nervous. Everyone told me things would be fine.

And we were denied. Cue me freaking out.

Long story, still cut short, we decided we didn't want to send him to the home school in our area, so we moved to a better area (not that we lived in a bad area before) with a better school. And I enrolled him. And he's all set for elementary school next year!

Moral of the story. Mama gets what mama wants ;)
(even if it means making some sacrifices)


FOUR.
Mason finished speech class.

Well, there's actually not really that much to that statement besides the fact that Mason finished speech for this school year. Since we transitioned him to getting speech services through the school district in December, they follow the regular school year and since the school year is over in some places and almost over in others, Thursday the 8th was his last speech class for this school year. I must admit that I was a little more sad than I thought I would be, mainly because these boys in this picture have been so wonderful the past six months. While we only saw each other every Tuesday and Thursday, Mason would talk about them constantly and was genuinely excited to go to speech class to see his friends. They all got along so well, and I truly wish we all lived in the same area so the kids could all go to kindergarten together next year. These boys will truly be missed, but hopefully we have have some play dates in the future to fill the void.

Speech is not over for this little dude though and he will continue to get speech help in kindergarten in the fall. He won't be going to a separate school for it though, the speech teacher will just take him out of class twice a week for 30 minutes. It will still be in a group setting but smaller (if you can imagine smaller than four kids). I'm excited to see the progress he continues to make next year!

More on moving, Mother's Day, and Father's Day to come soon!