Little Letters || April

I'm excited to link up again this month with Kristin from Taz and Belly for her Little Letters series and bring you a few little letters...

Dear random guy at Starbucks,
No, I do not want to "watch your stuff for a couple minutes" so you can "run to Walmart". But how do I say no? You asked if I was going to be around for a little while and I said yes. Though you said 10 minutes and you were gone for more like... I don't even know minutes because you were gone so long that I had to leave to go pick up my kid and abandon your stuff. I felt HORRIBLE (and told the baristas that I was leaving), but your stuff is NOT more important than me picking up my child on time. Next time you want to run to Walmart, pack up your stuff and take it with you.

Dear lady on the radio who said that her happy news was that she was getting Chick-fil-a for breakfast, 
I love you. I get you. Let's be friends.

Dear people who follow and unfollow and follow and unfollow on Instagram,
That doesn't make me want to follow you any more.

Speaking of Instagram...
Dear Instagram,
Why do you sometimes say "couldn't post, tap to retry" when I try to comment on someone's picture, but you NEVER work when I tap to retry. Seriously SO FRUSTRATING.

Dear people waiting outside Costco (or any store really), waiting for it to open,
Why? If you're early, wait in your car. There's no need to literally wait outside the front door.

Dear people who park in the "no parking" areas,
What makes you so special? Why can you park wherever you want? The rest of us park in real spots and you can too. (This ESPECIALLY annoys me at the post office in the morning when ALL the spots (except mine obviously lol) are empty!)

Can you relate to any of my letters?

[California Adventure] Easter Egg Hunt + Wall Crawl

This past weekend, we went to California Adventure and did one of their Easter Egg-stravaganza egg hunts. I had previously heard about the egg hunts at Disneyland, CA Adventure, and downtown Disney, but we had never actually done one. The downtown Disney one you don't need a ticket or a pass to do, so I don't know why we'd never done one, but this was the first year that I thought about actually doing it since we currently have Disneyland passes.

I chose California Adventure for the egg hunt because I thought it would be less crowded on a Sunday morning than Disneyland. It opened one hour later than Disneyland and I thought being Sunday morning, despite being one of the spring break weeks this month, might be best. I was somewhat right in the fact that the park wasn't too crowded from about 9am-11am, but when we left around 12pm-1pm-ish, it was starting to get pretty crowded.

To do the egg hunt, you need to purchase a egg hunt map from one of the stores in the park that you're hunting in. We went to Elias and Co. and purchased the map for $5.99 (minus a pass holder discount). Normally I think you are supposed to hunt for all the eggs and then return the map back to the store to get your prize (an egg of your choosing), but the lady was nice and asked if we wanted our prize early, so Mason picked out his egg right then (Nemo - you may see it in some of the pictures). We got our map and we were on our way!



I should have taken a better "before" picture, but the map had all the locations of the eggs that you were looking for. Not specific locations, so you still had to look, but general areas. Like one was by Carthay Circle, one was on the boardwalk, one was at the Corn Dog Castle, etc. If they didn't give you some sort of hint, you would literally be searching FOR.EV.ER. The eggs were actually a lot smaller than I thought they would be so we missed the first couple at first since I was expecting huge eggs and we thought they were playing a trick and didn't actually put them out. Then I found the first one and saw how small they were and realized we must just not have been looking hard enough. Ha! We were also given a sticker sheet with 12 character eggs on them which you were supposed to put on the map in the corresponding area that you found your egg. For example, you put the Lightning McQueen sticker egg on the Carsland egg on the map to show you found Lightning in Carsland.

As we hunted for eggs, we stopped to go on a couple rides and take some pictures. Disneyland has AMAZING walls so of course we had to stop for some photo opportunities along the way.

Hollywood Land

Hollywood Land

Hollywood Land

Hollywood Land

big doors between A Bug's Land and Carsland

outside Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters ride in Carsland

across from Flo's V8 Cafe - between the Cozy Cone Motel and Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters

across from Flo's V8 Cafe and Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters

Carsland - Radiator Springs Racers in the background

Carsland - Radiator Springs Racers in the background

walking out of Carsland to the Pacific Wharf

big doors between Carsland and the Pacific Wharf

Minnie egg on the Pacific Wharf

riding the carousel on the Paradise Pier

Paradise Pier

Redwood Creek Challenge Trail

Annnnnnd our egg hunt is complete!!!! We were actually going to skip these last two (Chip and Dale - one not pictured, not sure who is who lol!) because they were inside the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail, but we decided to head over anyway and give it a shot. If we didn't see them, we'd add the stickers and call it a day. THANKFULLY some amazing employees stopped us on the way in and said that the eggs were right up front and we could almost see both from right where we were standing. I guess the trail closes before the park and people do the egg hunt all day long, so they made sure the eggs were easily accessible all hours during the day. SCORE! We found both super easily and added both stickers to our chart and we were done!!

Redwood Creek Challenge Trail

Honestly, the egg hunt was a little harder than I thought it would be (it challenged Seth and I! We really had to look for some of them!) but it was also so much fun!! I'd totally do the Disneyland one next year if we still have passes! Mason had a BLAST and LOVED finding the eggs himself. Sometimes Seth and I would find them first and we'd kind of show him where they were and he'd yell "PLUTO!!!!! Mommy! The Pluto egg is right there!" or we'd go into a store (they hid some in stores - genius Disney move) and he'd even find it before Seth and I would. Seriously it was fun for all ages. 

If you live near Disneyland or DisneyWorld or happen to be in the area during an egg hunt time, I would definitely recommend it. 

Happy Almost Easter!

[Mailman Mason Monday] #postofficeadventuresofmasonb #part10

When we stopped doing the Picture Perfect Project last year, I stopped sharing Mason's post office pictures on the blog. I had deemed it my "photo project of the year" through the PPP and when it ended, I didn't stop taking pictures of him at the post office, but I forgot to share them here too. I was thinking about it the other day and I want to continue to share them here even though I don't technically "have a reason" to each month. So instead of sharing per month, I'm going to share per event cycle (for my work - essentially why we go to the post office so often). We have seven events per year and as the events approach, we go to the post office more often and as they pass, we go less often.

Almost done with catch up! When I last left you, we had gotten through January 13, 2017.

Here are the pictures that I've shared on Instagram as well as the captions (minus the emojis) that I've shared from January 30, 2017 to March 3, 2017.

1.30.17 // 

"Mason, where are we going?"

"To the post office! Turn left Mommy!"

2.3.17 // Pit stop to do a little work (mail a letter) and now we're off for a fun day with @desireemacke and the kids! Happy Friday!

2.8.17 // "Mommy, what's in here?"

2.13.17 // Don't worry, Mom. I got this.

2.13.17 // And then he ASKED to take a picture with the mail truck AND insisted on holding the letters (For real! I had nothing to do with it! I was trying to leave) and my heart exploded.

2.15.17 // "Mason, you can't stick all of those in there at once. It's too thick. Just a few." "Ok, mom. Just a FLEW." I corrected him multiple times "few" "flew" "few" "flew" and I think he thought he was saying it right each time. But then it was too cute to keep correcting.

2.17.17 // I had to stop by the post office on the way home and since it's during business hours, the main lobby was open (and super empty... because it's pouring and nobody is dumb enough to go out in the rain like I am). Of course Mason was intrigued (he NEVER gets to go in there!) so after we mailed our letters, I let him walk around. They have a whole different set of self service machines and of course he went straight to them. I was so busy taking a picture that I didn't notice that he changed all the settings to Spanish. Luckily it was an easy fix... but then we were outta there!

2.20.17 // Since today is a holiday and Mason is home with Seth, I had to go to the post office by myself. So! Here's a little Throwback Monday to a week or so ago when we went to the post office twice in one day. One thing is for sure... life is never boring with this silly, chocolate covered face kid!

2.22.17 // Mid-afternoon hump day mail run.

2.27.17 // You know it's been one of THOSE Mondays when you finally have a free second to post a picture from 7:45am at 6:00pm. Monday, I can't say that I'm sad to see you go.

3.1.17 // On the way to school, after stopping by the post office, I said "Where are we going?". "To school!" Then a school bus drove by and Mason pointed it out. I said "Yeah, that bus is taking kids to school. But you don't take the bus, I drive you. Mommy's taxi." And Mason said "No! Mommy's Jeep!" (Touché kid, you're right.) I told him he was right and I drive him everywhere in my Jeep and then he said thank you, completely unprompted. Talk about heartwarming. This Wednesday is off to a great start!

3.3.17 // Annnnnd I'm officially out of a job. Mason can reach the mail in the PO Box without me. Guess I'm back to just being the taxi.

You can find more of our post office adventures on Instagram here.

[Giveaway] Shop Credit to The Blue Envelope

Some of you may have already heard about this last night, but I'm hosting a giveaway on my Instagram page with The Blue Envelope for a $50 credit to her shop. I am seriously SO excited about this partnership and hope you are too!

I started following her on Instagram a few months ago when Jess tagged me in a picture of these blue autism shirts. I fell in love. They were perfect. I knew I needed one. And sure enough, in person, they ARE perfection. Desiree ever so kindly took these photos for me when we did our Venice wall crawl and when I changed Mason into the shirt, he pretty much refused to take it off. He LOVED it. They are seriously so soft, so comfortable, and fit perfectly. I actually had to bribe him to take it off (since we still had more walls to hit and I didn't want to ruin the surprise of the shirt) with the promise that he could put it on at the end of the wall crawl and wear it the rest of the day. No joke, he LOVES it.

I also wanted to note... I did pay for these shirts on my own and would again in a heart beat. In fact, I may have some shirts in my cart on her site that I want to purchase as well!

So, now that I've talked these shirts up enough... these are not the only things that her shop has! She has tons of "clothes for a cause", kids birthday shirts, brother/sister shirts, mama shirts, mugs, and SO MUCH MORE! Seriously, go check her shop out and then head over to my Instagram page and enter to win a $50 credit to her shop! Hurry... the giveaway ends Thursday night!

***

All photos by Desiree.
Autism Awareness shirts from The Blue Envelope // adult + kids
I am wearing a large but I think a medium would have fit too. Mason is wearing a 6T.

CURRENTLY + a $50 PayPal Cash Giveaway!

I seriously haven't done one of these posts in FOREVER (well May 2016 to be exact... almost a full year! yikes!) and thought it would be a fun way to share some things that I'm loving right now.

Contemplating // Mac + Mia. Anyone tried it? From what I understand it's kind of like Stitch Fix for kids! Fun but... expensive for something that Mason will just outgrow in a year max or destroy before then. I like the idea, but I'm kind of cheap (i.e. I shop the sales at Old Navy 98% of the time) so I'm not sure I'll ever actually do it.

Drinking... out of // my new Hydroflask water bottle. I bought this 24 oz mint green Hydroflask and this straw topper. I'm obsessed. I love that I can drink out of a straw (my favorite!), that it keeps my water cold for HOURS, and that it has a big enough mouth that I can fit ice cubes in it!

Eating // Skinny Pop. We literally bought a giant bag at Costco. It's bad, but oh so good.



Excited about // April and Autism Awareness Month. I have some fun posts planned for this month, some collaborations with people, some just by myself, but I'm excited to share more about our autism journey. I know that might not appeal to everyone, so feel free to skip if you're not interested, but I have been wanting to share a little more of our story, some resources I found helpful, and some "week in the life" type stuff with you all and thought this would be the perfect time to do so. I've always said, if my story can help even one person, than it was worth sharing and I've actually had a couple people email me in the past which just makes my heart so happy. Even if they aren't in the same situation as me, I love being able to share our story, how far we've come, and hopefully give them some comfort because I know how scary and overwhelming it can be on Day 1.

Favorite Appliance // Ninja coffee maker. We got a new coffee maker recently (replaced our Keurig) and it's amazing! I was in love with our Keurig, but really, this coffee maker is so much better.

Learning // that you can turn off the bloglovin reader function on bloglovin. I think it was Jess who told me this and I was so excited! I always hated the bloglovin reader function and prefer to go straight to their page, so this was awesome news!

Obsessed with // my Letterfolk board. If you follow me on Instagram, you know this. I even started my own hashtag for my boards. Ha! But really, I love them! Do yourself a favor and follow Letterfolk on Instagram too. They post the BEST boards! I even got Seth to start following so you know it's good!

Playing // Zingo. Times two. I asked for Zingo Sight Words for Christmas/Hanukkah for Mason and he got it and LOVES it. In fact we played it approximately 2836253 times in a row, so I had to get the regular version to add a little variety so I didn't go crazy. But seriously, it's super fun!

Thankful for // this online community. Words can't even begin to describe how lucky I feel to have connected with such amazing people through blogging and Instagram. So thankful and so lucky.

Using // Our new Dyson. We got a Dyson (I feel so gown up!) at Costco when it was on sale a month or so ago and I'm loving it! They are pretty pricey but they work so well and this one is amazing because it's battery powered and we can use it to clean our cars too!

Wearing // Lucky Brand Flats. I'm obsessed! You might have noticed that I wear them in like every picture I post, but seriously, they are so comfortable and cute! Thank you, Becky, for introducing me to them! (see above Letterfolk photo!)

Watching // Trolls. On repeat. I love that Justin Timberlake song "Can't Stop the Feeling"! Oh and Mason likes the movie too. Haha!

***

And now time for the giveaway! I've teamed up with a bunch of other bloggers to bring you a $50 PayPal Cash Giveaway! Enter on the rafflecopter below. Good luck!

Giveaway starts on Monday, April 3, 2017 at midnight and runs for a week.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

[The Guys Behind the Blog] March.

Welcome to March's Guys Behind the Blog link up!

As most of you might know, Betsy from Heavens to Betsy and Laura from According to Laura Jean hosted a series on their blogs called The Guys Behind the Blog. I used to link up as often as possible ever since I found out about the series - I think I only missed one month in the past year and a half since I found out about it. I recently went back to Betsy and Laura's blogs to find out what the questions were for August only to find out that they weren't hosting anymore - July was their last month. I was SO bummed! I truly loved interviewing Seth each month and seeing what questions they came up with. So, I decided to email Betsy and Laura and see if they would mind if I continued on their series. Thankfully they said they wouldn't mind and would be happy to see the series continue on. Crystal from Hall Around Texas, Evelina from Fortunate House, Jamie from Cocktails and Carseats, Jessica from Secrets of a Stay at Home Mom, and I are excited to continue the series on! 

 For March's link up, we decided to do something different and decided to do some "would you rather" questions.

1 // Would you rather have your dream job and make less money or have a job you hate but make tons of money?

Dream job, less money. I'd rather have a job that I love and not a job that I dread going to everyday, even if I make a little less money.

2 // Would you rather play a hero or a villain in a movie?

Both would be so much fun! Hmm. I still think I'd rather be the hero, but seriously, both would be so much fun!

3 // Would you rather always have to say everything on your mind or never be able to speak again? 

I talk way too much to not be able to ever speak again. So, definitely speak my mind.

4 // Would you rather go back in time and meet your ancestors or go into the future to meet your great grandchildren?

Ohh. That's a good one. I think I'd rather go back in time. Plus, maybe I could tell them to invest in something really good and they could become rich and then pass it on to me and then I could have a job that I love and not have to worry about money.

5 // Would you rather swim in the Arctic Ocean with nothing but a swim suit (no wet suit) or walk through the desert in the middle of the summer having to wear sweat pants and a sweat shirt?

Desert with sweat pants and sweat shirt for sure. You can always take layers off.

Bonus Question:

6 // Would you rather live like a king but have no friends and family or be homeless with your friends and family?

Well, that's a terrible choice. But I'd definitely rather have friends and family.


***

You're probably wondering where April's questions are, right? Well, I regret to inform you that this is my last month hosting this link up. I've LOVED interviewing Seth over the past few months, but I just feel like my focus is not on my blog anymore and I'm trying to back away from any specific "required" blog days. So with that, I so appreciate everyone that has linked up with us in the past! I think a few of the girls are going to keep it going though, so pop around and see if next month's questions are posted yet!

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A HUGE thank you to Betsy and Laura for letting Crystal, Evelina, Jamie, Jessica, and I continue on their series. It's been an honor to be able to continue on what they created.

You can find the original series on Betsy's blog here and Laura's blog here.

Thanks for playing along again, Seth!

An InLinkz Link-up