[Weekending] Hot Wheels, the Christmas Train, and Hanukkah!

What do all of these things have in common? Essentially nothing, except for the fact that they happened to be all the things we did this weekend! Well, I should re-phrase... this LONG weekend!

The weekend started for me on Friday when I took the day off work (have I ever told you how amazing it is to be able to take days off when I want? I have. Oh yeah. Well it's still THAT amazing!) to meet Desiree and Marcus at the Discovery Cube for the Hot Wheels exhibit. They had been once before and told us how awesome it was and they sure were right! We actually ended up buying a membership when we went on Friday (it was Seth's Grandma's gift to Mason for Hanukkah) and I'm so excited to be able to use it more in the coming year. But for this trip, we planned to see the Hot Wheels exhibit.

I didn't know how "into it" Mason would be as museums haven't really been his strong suit in the past. He more prefers to run around rather than actually play with the exhibit. But this? HE LOVED.

regular car tire vs a race car tire

the actual Hot Wheels race car

so many fun tracks set up to play with!

the boys favorite thing! they loved setting up the cars and then letting them race down the track

my favorite thing! you got to be a pit crew member and change the tires

Seriously the boys played for almost TWO hours just in this exhibit alone. We had to convince them to leave when it started to get busy so we could go explore the rest of the museum. We ended up exploring for about an hour more and then we left to come home, have lunch, and take a nap. I LOVE how well the boys get along and how much they love playing with each other. Mason and I seriously had the BEST afternoon with Desiree and Marcus and I'm so glad we were able to meet up with them!

Saturday morning, we dropped Mason off at school and ran a ton of errands. Since we had to work the weekend before we had trips to Costco and Target planned as well as some last minute Christmas shopping. We picked Mason up at 2pm, put him down for a quick nap, and then met Desiree, Scott, Marcus and Julia for dinner at Lazy Dog Cafe. I love that we met through blogging last year and we get along so well, our kids get along, and so do our husbands! The only thing that would be more perfect would be if we lived slightly closer, but hey, I'm not complaining, we got to hang out two times in one weekend!

After dinner, we went to the Christmas train. This is one of my very favorite things about Christmas. We went with the Macke's last year and I'm so glad we got to go again! Also, we picked the perfect day because even though it was SO COLD (for California standards), it rained on Friday night and Sunday night so we were glad it was only cold!

We walked up, checked out some of the lights on the exterior, picked up our train tickets at will call, and got in line for the train. The line was a little longer than last year since we didn't arrive right at our designated time of 6pm, but the boys did really great waiting for the train.

And as you can tell, someone was super excited when it was finally our turn to get on!

We hopped on the train, enjoyed the lights, and were on our way to Santa where Mason... rocked it again! I don't know what happened, but this is the year for Santa!

After meeting Santa, we waited for the train to come back and we headed back to the train depot and the area where the games were. But not before traveling through the tunnel of lights!

After we got dropped off by the train, we entered Santa's Village to play some games and check out the rest of the lights.

ice fishing

picture coloring

Mason thought it was one of those cardboard cut outs to put his head through!

                     

We had the very best night with the Macke's and can't wait to do it again next year!

Sunday morning we slept in, ran some errands, and were lazy around the house until Sunday night when we went over to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's house to celebrate Hanukkah. The food was delicious. The company was great. And the kids were SO spoiled!! There were also some AMAZING dance parties which I was able to capture on video. Let's just say, Mason has some moves!

Thankfully it's already Wednesday of this week and we are halfway to another fun filled weekend! December has been crazy busy, but so, so fun!

[For the Husband] Christmas Wish List + a Giveaway!

I don't know about you, but I find it EXTREMELY hard to shop for my husband. I don't know why... you'd think it would be easy given the fact that we're married and live together. It should be easy, right? No. I feel like when you become an adult, you kind of just buy what you want/need when you want/need it, so when it comes to birthdays and holidays, I am stumped on what to buy him. Along with every other blogger in the universe (I know, I know), I've come up with some pretty good go-to's that I know he will always like.

Beer - Pretty self explanatory. At our local Total Wine and More store they have a pretty huge beer section. I've been known to make "beer reindeers" in the past and just make a mix and match 6 pack for several birthdays and Father's Days. But this year I decided to try something new... I made a beer advent calendar! So far Seth is LOVING it. You can find details on how it's made : here.

Baseball - Tickets to an Angels game or a gift card to get new softball stuff (I don't know the proper lingo lol) are always on the list of things that make him happy. Since it's probably better to wait until they release the schedule to buy tickets (always a good idea!), the Angels ticket buying will probably come more around his birthday in March, though the guys always like to go on a guys weekend to Arizona for spring training so some money set aside for that is a good idea too. However, this Christmas he actually asked for a gift card to a local sports store that sells softball stuff in order to get some new cleats and other stuff for his Tuesday night softball league.

Clothes - Seth rarely, if ever, buys clothes for himself. If I drag him to the store for something for me or for Mason, he usually looks around, but other than that, it's up to me. I love to use Christmas as an excuse to replenish and replace his black work undershirts and when I found them on sale after Thanksgiving at Old Navy, I scooped them up. Seth pretty much only wears his work polos to work during the week and just a regular ol t-shirt on the weekends, but I like to get him a new button down shirt every once in a while for holidays/special occasions/dinners out.

Coffee/Coffee Mug - Seth drinks at least one cup of coffee a day, usually more. And in the morning, the very last thing that he does before he leaves for work is fills up his travel mug with coffee. He's pretty easy going on what kind of coffee he has though he is partial to the McCafe one. It comes pre-ground and in a giant bag at Costco and whenever we can find it, we snatch one up. They also have a bag of the Major Dickason's from Pete's Coffee that he's been eyeing and I plan to grab one of those for him for Christmas. He's also been known to leave his coffee mug at work a time or two and then is upset come the morning (though not TOO upset since he then has to go to Starbucks) so I've been on the look out for a good deal on another travel mug for him as well.

Phone Case - We were at Costco the other day when we happened to stop by the phone kiosk. We ALWAYS walk by it without a second thought, but this time we happened to stop since a sign about iPhone 6s's happened to catch my eye. Long story short, they had an amazing deal on a new iPhone 6s for me so we bought it. So for Christmas I'm upgrading my phone (woohoo!) and Seth is getting my old one.... which brings us to a problem of a case. I swear finding a case is one of the hardest things for me. I have no clue why, but I always have a hard time. So, now that Seth is going to have a new (to him) iPhone 6, I was on the hunt for a new case for him. Then, (as if they knew!), the wonderful people at jimmyCASE reached out to me and the problem was solved! Upon glancing at their website, I knew Seth would love a case like this. I actually spoiled the surprise a little and had Seth choose which case he wanted, but it's no surprise to me that he chose this case in the black/blue stripe. Seth likes non flashy and subdued colors so the black/blue stripe is perfect for him. The pocket holds up to 6 cards as well as cash (perfect for your credit or debit card, your license, and a couple other essentials). It comes with full frame protection and a silicone bumper that comes in your color choice of either white or black. It also comes with lay-on-the-table screen protection, which I don't know about you, but is perfect for us with little grabby hands always wanting to play on our phones. And best of all? They are handmade in the USA! This phone is perfect for the man in your life as men put all their essentials in their pockets - phone, wallet, keys, etc - and this case is skinny enough to fit perfectly without being too bulky but still providing great protection. Though we haven't gotten my new phone yet and therefore Seth can't use his new case yet, we tried it on my current phone and it fits perfectly. I love the wooden touches of their signature real genuine mahogany and the pocket has just the right amount of stretch while still being snug enough on the phone case to keep your cards and money from falling out. And I also love the grip on the silicone bumper that helps keep your phone from slipping out of your hand while walking (or running) after your kid trying to take a picture. The people at jimmyCASE have thought of everything!

And I'm excited to announce that I get to giveaway one of these fabulous cases to one of you! Choose one to give to your husband for Christmas or even choose one for yourself! The color options are limitless and there's sure to be one to make everyone happy.

The giveaway runs from Tuesday, December 15, 2015 at midnight PST to Thursday, December 24, 2015 at midnight PST. Giveaway is open to US residents and Canada residents only. Winner will be verified and will be notified by me.

I was given a free cell phone case from Jimmy Case in exchange for this review and giveaway; however, all opinions expressed are strictly my own.

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The Versatile Blogger Award.

The rules of accepting this award are as follows:
Thank the person who nominated you.
Link back to their blog.
Share 7 facts about yourself.
Nominate up to 15 other bloggers.

So, here we go!

A huge thank you to Crystal from Hall Around Texas, Whitney from Work It Mommy, and Becky from bybmg for nominating me for this award! When I first started blogging a little over there years ago, I never imagined meeting such amazing people. I never thought anyone would read my blog. I'm so thankful to have found, connected with, and made relationships with such wonderful ladies!

Seven Facts :

1 // I've become a much more aggressive driver now that I live in Southern California. I don't know if people drive worse here or if I'm just more critical, but I get so annoyed so easily at people. People who drive too slow. People who drive too fast. People who don't use their turn signal to change lanes or turn. People who cut you off without saying thank you. People who you wave to let go in front of you and don't say thank you. And the list goes on.

2 // I am a self diagnosed chocoholic (and Oreo-aholic). Like no joke, I pretty much crave at least one piece of chocolate a day. And if there's a big basket of my favorites (like there is at work right now), I'm pretty much in trouble. I've had at least three per day for the past week or so.

3 // Christmas lights make me SO happy. I love them on the tree but I also love hanging them inside my house. We aren't big outside decorators (however, I do LOVE when people decorate outside for me to see!), but I love to hang the lights inside around our windows. It just makes me so happy! 

4 // I LOVE when the sunrise or sunset lights up the sky. It's SO beautiful and I so rarely catch it, that I always feel so lucky to see it when I do. The other day at work, I happened to be awake and outside during the sunrise and if I wasn't so busy... I would have taken a picture. But the other night, I happened to step outside at the right time to throw away some trash and was greeted with the most beautiful sunset!

5 // I love the wrapping paper that has the grid lines on it. It seriously makes it SO much easier to at least attempt to cut in a straight line. Bonus points if I can start cutting and then hold the scissors and it cuts perfectly all the way down the line versus having to cut cut cut my way down. Anyone else know what I mean???

6 // I am so far behind on blogging our Christmas festivities that I hope you all don't mind still reading about it in January! Ha. #onlyhalfkidding

7 // Ever since I did the whole 30 back in January, I haven't been able to drink regular coffee. I cut it out for the month since I couldn't have creamer and when I started drinking it again, the caffeine made me SO jittery. I now order decaf and drink it because I like the taste, not to keep myself awake.

8 // I don't really understand how listing seven things about myself makes me "versatile" but I thought this would be fun so I wanted to play along anyway :)

I nominate...

Laureen at Chateau Deveau
Beth at Our Pretty Little Girls
Sarah at Seeing All Sides
Evelina at Fortunate House
Erin at Hello Erin
Courtney at Sweet Turtle Soup
Jenny at The Chronicles of We
Aubrey from Aubrey Zaruba
Jamie from Cocktails and Carseats
Sara from Running from the Law
Erinn from Strawberry Swing and other things
Laura from tiny toes, little nose
Amanda from Tickled Pink
Jessica from The Newly
Desiree from Macke Monologues

Visits with Santa 2015

Happy Santa Photo link up day! I originally thought that I wasn't going to be able to participate today since we had no plans to see Santa before this coming weekend since Seth and I had to work all weekend last weekend but this was actually the second Santa meeting of the season (first meeting coming soon)!

This past weekend when Seth and I were working all weekend, we had scheduled cousin Santa pictures. It's become a yearly thing and the kids all wear pajamas and we head to the mall to get their picture taken with Santa. This year, since Seth and I couldn't go, I asked Seth's mom, who was watching Mason all weekend, to take him for us and she gladly said yes. I won't lie, I was a little worried and felt bad about what I was sending her to do as last year... didn't go so well.

But this year? She must have the magic touch because look at this gem that we got!

Smiles. SMILES!!!

How is this possible?! When they sent me a copy of this picture I nearly fell out of my chair and wondered whose child they found to take a picture of because last year he cried his eyes out on more than one occasion. It was a holiday miracle!

And the cousin picture. SO SO cute! And of course, one of them has to be crying :) Mason graduated from the crier and now the torch has been passed on to Lilah (who actually liked Santa last year). Mason looks a little uneasy (given his hand gestures), however, he is still smiling and no tears and standing on his own, next to Santa!

I consider this a total win!

And just for fun... here's a look back at last year. When we visited Santa four times... yes, FOUR times, and Mason hated... them all!

Have you and your kids visited Santa yet? If so, link up your photos with us below! I love a good (or bad!) Santa picture :) And if not, no worries! The link up will stay open until New Year's Eve so there's still plenty of time to visit the Jolly Old Man!

An InLinkz Link-up

[Secret Santa Mommy and Me Book Exchange] Goodies Revealed!

I have a secret. I made the matches for our Secret Santa Mommy and Me Book Exchange so the secret... wasn't so secret to me. Though, I will tell you, I was super excited when I saw that I would be receiving a package from Desiree, Marcus, and Julia. However, even though I knew the surprise, Desiree was still able to throw me off and surprise me anyway!

One afternoon, I returned home from work to a package on my door step. I was pretty sure that, based on the size of the box, that it was our Secret Santa presents. BUT then I looked at the return address label and noticed that it was from Kansas. And a bunch of thoughts went through my head - did I read the matches wrong? Maybe Desiree wasn't really my partner? I was confused! So I opened the package and was hoping to read the card to find out who it really was from when it had a note to me on it - "open me last". Oh no!!! The suspense. So, I waited until Mason got home from school and we Mason opened our presents.

Mason was SO excited to get the package in the mail! Seriously, the kid could not start ripping the paper off fast enough. These are the only good pictures I got because all of the other ones are blurry since he was moving so fast.

His first present was a Paw Patrol sticker book and a Paw Patrol Magic Ink picture book. Desiree, Marcus and Julia hit the nail on the head with this one! Paw Patrol + stickers = Mason is in heaven! And even better Paw Patrol + coloring with no mess = mom's in heaven too! Though he was so excited about the Paw Patrol present, he quickly moved on and opened the next gift, the Little Blue Truck Sticker Farm Book! This book has been on my list for a while, since we LOVE all the other Little Blue Truck books, so I, for sure, was super excited to see this!

The next book was Pete the Cat : I Love my White Shoes and this was an instant hit! We have one other Pete the Cat book and Mason LOVES it and wants me to read it over and over so I'm excited to add another Pete the Cat book to the rotation. As soon as Mason saw what book it was, he immediately opened the book and started flipping the pages. This book has been a winner since we got it and he's asked to read it almost every night since.

And just when I thought that they didn't spoil us enough, the Muddle and Match book arrived on our door step a few days later with a note saying that it arrived too late to ship with the others. Seriously, Mason was so spoiled!

And the spoiling didn't stop there! We still had my presents to open (which Mason had no problem being in charge of! ha!). I got the Melanie Shankle book that I was hoping for, The Antelope in the Living Room, and Desiree even included some of my very favorite chocolates... Ghirardelli! YUM.

Mason and I can't thank Desiree, Marcus, and Julia enough... THANK YOU!!! We LOVE it all! And Desiree also pulled off an amazing surprise! Even though I knew who my partner was, she totally surprised me when the box came from Kansas. I mean, how sweet was it for her to go on vacation, bring her box, and remember to send it from there just to surprise me?! She's the best!

Mason and I were partnered with Michelle and her child. Unfortunately she doesn't have a blog and her Instagram is private, so I can't link you to her, (which in turn also meant that I didn't know her kid's name - eek! sorry!) but I will tell you that we sent her some books that we love ourselves! For the mama, I sent The Husband's Secret. I saw this book originally when I still worked at the bookstore and actually have a copy myself. I rarely have time to read, but one day I hope to be able to read this book. It sounds so interesting! And then for the kiddo, Mason and I chose Olive, the other Reindeer. It's one of our favorite Christmas books and we knew they would love it too!

Now, link up with us below and show us the goodies that you got! I'm always looking for new books (at least for Mason's library and for my... collection? haha).

An InLinkz Link-up

The Picture Perfect Project [a Photo Challenge]

Today's post has been many months in the making. The girls and I have been talking about this link up for 2016 for a few months now. I'm so excited to finally announce it today and am honored to be a co-host on a photo project with these amazing photographers!

The Picture Perfect Project.

The concept is simple but the impact it will make it priceless. 

The only photos you regret are the ones you don't take.

In 2016, we want you to create your own photo challenge. Once a month, every week or every day? How many pictures do you want to take? What do you want to take pictures of? The choice is yours. 

This challenge is so customizable to fit your lifestyle. If you think taking one picture a week is doable, do it! If you think that is too much pressure, go for once a month! Or if you're feeling up to the challenge, go for one a day. When you look back on that year of photos, you will be so happy you challenged yourself and you followed through. 

Me, personally, I'm going to shoot for one photo a day with one photo per week being of Mason. Just knowing how busy we are during the week days and how sometimes I can go days without taking pictures of ANYTHING, I don't want to overwhelm myself but I do want to challenge myself. I love filling in my month of photos on my Collect app on my phone, so I'd really like to challenge myself to make sure I take at least one picture a day to be able to fill in the month accurately (real life : even though I'm using the app now and filling it in fully, the days are not truly representative of what we did/what happened on that day - like I said, sometimes I forget to take ANY pictures and so I'll use what I have and mix and match to fill in the month). 

I want this to be fun, not a burden, so I know a photo of Mason once a week and taking a photo of something once a day is an attainable goal. And I must admit, I am the most excited about this challenge because I want to get better at photography. Even though I love the saying "comparison is the thief of joy" and try to remember it when I see all those AMAZING pictures on Instagram popping up, I must admit, the comparison creeps in... I try my hardest to create beautiful photos, but I always feel like I fail in comparison. But not next year! Next year I want to learn how to edit better and how to angle and take better photos. I'm so excited to be paired up with these amazing ladies and know I can learn a thing or two (or twelve) from them on how to take better pictures.

Whitney from Work It Mommy

Stephanie from Wife Mommy Me

Beth from Our Pretty Little Girls

Courtney from Sweet Turtle Soup

Desiree from Macke Monologues

Elizabeth from Chasin' Mason

So, regardless of what you choose to take photos of or how often you choose to take them, the point of this project is to set a goal for yourself and use your camera!

And then, on the 2nd Thursday of each month, we invite you to link up with us!

You can share your photos and post about your photo challenge progress (or failures) from that month. You can also check out what other bloggers are taking pictures of and maybe get some inspiration or photo tips. Challenges are always more fun when we do them together!

Think about your 'Picture Perfect Project' for 2016 and make a plan. Then set a date to start, grab our button, and mark your calendars to join us for our first link up on January 14th!

We can't wait to see your photos!

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