Monday, January 28, 2013

The Honest Company - Family Essentials Box Review

I ordered a free trial from The Honest Company, just because I was curious to see what Jessica Alba's company was all about. The website tells their story well- the company was founded by parents who wanted eco-friendly, safe, and affordable products for their family. The products are non-toxic and beautifully packaged.

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Thursday, January 24, 2013

A Long, Wonderful, Family-Filled Weekend

This past weekend was a great one. We got to spend a lot of quality time together as a family, and we did some really fun activities! I personally had a 4 day weekend, which was sooooo needed. Here's a run down of the weekend's main events.

SaturdayHow to Train Your Dragon, Live Spectacular. My MIL took us to Anaheim to see this amazing show. It was truly astounding what they were able to do! The dragons breathed real fire, flew, and interacted with the actors. It's a cute story to begin with, and if you have not seen the movie I highly recommend it. Of course, we had to bring home a dragon toy to commemorate the occasion. Little J LOVED it! I think we all enjoyed it a lot more than we originally imagined. It was a 2 hour show, so I wouldn't recommend bringing really little ones.

[caption id="attachment_1110" align="aligncenter" width="384"]dragon J had so much fun![/caption]

Sunday: We got up early and headed to Disneyland. We were unaware of the Tinkerbell Half Marathon that was going on in the morning, and it took us half an hour to get from the freeway exit to the parking lot. But, when we finally got into CA Adventure- we secured FastPass tickets to the World of Color show at 8 pm. Then we went on a few rides, and checked into our hotel. Disney's Grand Californian has bunk beds in the rooms, and the boys LOVED them! It's also just a gorgeous hotel, and you get into the Disney parks an hour early when you stay there.

[caption id="attachment_1108" align="aligncenter" width="384"]z disney Mayhem is hard to catch SITTING STILL ... this was the best I could do![/caption]

We went to dinner for my cousin's birthday, then we went to see the World of Color. My husband had been pressing to see this for a long time- I wasn't really that interested. But this too exceeded my expectations! It was water special effects, Disney music, scenes from Disney movies projected on the water... hard to explain. I'll just say that I was skeptical, but I very much enjoyed the experience. It was crowded, but we left the boys with my parents so we got to enjoy a little 'adult' time.


Monday: We got up at 6 am and headed to CA Adventure at 7 am. We did this so we could get on Radiator Springs Racers before the line got too long. I thought this ride was really well done, and exciting. J told me, "I will NEVER go on that again. It was TOO FAST!" Oh well, at least we didn't wait 2 hours for him to tell me that. We spent the rest of the morning at the park, then headed back to the hotel for brunch with the characters. I was so happy that the boys weren't too afraid! When we see them in the park, neither of them wants to get too close. But J gave Pluto a big hug, which was so adorable.




[caption id="attachment_1112" align="aligncenter" width="384"]pluto I can NEVER get him to approach the characters! I was so happy that he gave Pluto a hug :)[/caption]

Monday afternoon, we drove home and the boys were exhausted. They both took naps, and I cleaned out the car and got ready for the week. All in all, a very fun weekend! Hopefully this coming weekend will be a bit more relaxing- but I can't complain. I think the girls (Mollie and Kallie, the dogs) will be happy if we stay home ALL WEEKEND.

[caption id="attachment_1111" align="aligncenter" width="384"]zachmollie Everyone was tired. Great time to snuggle.[/caption]

What did you do this weekend?

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

5 DIY Valentine’s Day Treats for Kids

baking with kids valentine's day treat ideas recipes


This Valentine's Day since Little J is in school, I wanted to put together some treats for the kids. I wanted SIMPLE, and something that we could make together. Below are some DIY Valentine treats for those important people in your life — from your sweetheart, neighbor or co-workers, even your child’s teacher. There are so many great DIY Valentine ideas this year, here are a few of my favorites:




[caption id="attachment_1084" align="aligncenter" width="240"]HeartRiceKrispiePops9 Image Source[/caption]

Rice Krispie Treats - Use a heart shaped cookie cutter to make this delicious treat into a Valentine’s Day treat.

Chocolate covered pretzels - Can you tell that my kids are into sprinkles? This is another treat that you can decorate with Valentine’s Day sprinkles.

Marshmallow pops - Instead of cake pops, try marshmallow pops! You can use white chocolate, and decorate with festive pink/red/hearts sprinkles.

[caption id="attachment_1087" align="aligncenter" width="320"]sugar+cookies Gluten Free! Image source[/caption]

Heart Shaped Sugar Cookies - Super easy, and fun for the kids to decorate.

Goody bags for any of the items above - Jaime and Jacinda from Prudent Baby have some adorable free printables up on their site. 


Get the kids involved, and enjoy this Valentine's Day!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

2013 New Year's Resolutions

2013
Image source: www.bostinno.com



Each year in January, we 'reset'. We try to realign our ideals with our reality. I normally don't truly set resolutions for myself. But this year, I've decided to give it a try. You can keep me honest, and call me out. Here goes!