Happy Monday - Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! It's one of my favorite holidays, being a good Irish girl.

I hope everyone had some fun :) It always makes me think of my family, corned beef and cabbage, four leaf clovers, leprechauns and the color green.

My parents got the little guy a "Mr. Lucky" t-shirt and made a clover "hat" with him. We went for a very green hike - for SoCal anyway! A was a wee bit afraid of the lizards, but enjoyed himself anyway. We enjoyed the great outdoors - did some gardening, ate some pizza and enjoyed each other's company. What could be better - it made me so happy!

In case you were wondering, I always dress the little guy in green for St. Patrick's day. Here is his first St. Patrick's day! So much has changed...

Oh, and I, of course, wore my Family Reunion t-shirt from 1990. I was totally embarrassed to wear it back then...but now, I'm happy I kept it for 23 years (eek!). Hopefully I'll never wear it out. What family traditions do you have? Am I crazy to love St. Patrick's day so much? Hope you had a wonderful one!

Link up any post that makes you happy - the sky's the limit (or just comment if you don't blog)! Grab the button, link up and check out the other posts. If you like some blogs, please take the time to follow them. Thanks for stopping by for week 10 of Happy Monday!

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Make sure to join us next week for Happy Monday! I'll be writing about Spring - a season that always makes me happy :) 

The Best Gift

I was so lucky this Christmas - my family and friends were so very generous!

But at risk of embarrassing my wonderful husband, I have to tell you about the best gift ever - the one that had me so touched that I was crying on Christmas morning.

It's a book :) A photo book my husband made of A's first year. It was so thoughtful and perfect. Not only did he make a beautiful book, but he took quotes from some of my favorite blog posts. It was so thoughtful and creative. (Please ignore my not so beautiful photo editing!)

I still can't look at it without tearing up. Thank you, my dear, it means the world to me!

Merry Christmas!

Thank you to everyone for making this an amazing year! I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

May your life be filled with Peace, Love and Joy.

Christmas Cards 2012

I love getting mail. I especially love Christmas time when I get tons of smiling faces and good cheer in my mailbox. This year I need those smiling faces more than ever! I love getting cards every day...the happy thoughts and well wishes make me smile. Thank you to everyone who sent cards!

Last year, I managed to fit them on the mantle and fridge - this year I am trying a new system this year...what do you think?

Getting Ready for the Holidays!

One thing that I'm really excited about this year is showing A our holiday traditions. I think he'll really be excited about the holidays this year!

From hanging Christmas lights, candles in the windows, baking cookies, sharing Christmas Eve with friends, special ornaments, Christmas songs, giving and receiving gifts to Trains :)

One of my favorite traditions is setting up Christmas Trains. This is a new tradition for me - but not for my husband, it's been part of his Christmas his whole life. We didn't set up the trains last year as A was just learning to walk and it seemed like a dangerous proposition. This year, my husband set them up (new and improved) in a separate room...so they are easily rendered inaccessible if need be!

I love how they turned out! A was so excited to see the trains go all by themselves - and the real choo choo noise...such excitement!

Now it's time to work on trimming the tree :) I'll share some of our decorations next week. If you need ideas for decorations...check out some here!

Any old or new holiday traditions that you especially love?

Knott's Berry Farm #MerryFarm

This past weekend we had the opportunity to visit "Knott's Merry Farm!"  It was a rare rainy day in Southern California - which meant a perfect time to beat the crowds and have an incredibly enjoyable day at an amusement park!

A had been to Knott's Berry Farm with the grandparents once before, but this was the first time that we got to take him to an amusement park. I was not disappointed. Not only is Knott's perfect for an almost 2 year old, it was lots of fun to go while it was all decked out for the holidays!

First of all, Camp Snoopy is just right for little guys like A. He was in heaven. Everything is perfectly sized for a little guy. He also went on his first Log Ride - Elf Mountain! The Timber Mountain Log Ride was transformed for the holidays with many elves! I think A waved at every one :)

We also had the opportunity to see the "It's Christmas Snoopy" ice show. A was totally mesmerized. He kept checking the snoopy in his hand and comparing it to the one on stage to make sure he wasn't seeing things - truly the cutest thing ever. I was impressed with the skaters - especially the pairs skating!

I think the ice show solidified Snoopy as A's new favorite :) He wouldn't let go of the Snoopy ornament for anything. He stayed safely in his pocket during the rides. We were lucky to be visiting for Knott's Merry Farm. We got photos with Santa Snoopy, were able to explore Knott's Christmas Crafts Village and even see Santa Claus! A got his first Candy Cane from Santa! Yummy but messy...

We were excited to see "A Peanuts Holiday Parade," but it started to rain a little harder in the late afternoon, so unfortunately the parade was canceled. That didn't stop A from absolutely enjoying himself. He was thrilled (I was a little scared) to ride the red baron all by himself. 

We also took off a little early due to the rain so missed the lighting of the Christmas tree and Snoopy's Magical Night of Lights. We'll just have to come back! All in all it was one of the best amusement park trips I've ever experienced. If we lived a little closer I'd take advantage of a season pass - only $66.99! Don't miss out on the fun :)

Disclosure: I was provided with media tickets to enjoy a day at Knott's Merry Farm. All our photos, thoughts and opinions are of my own.

Celebrating Birthdays as Parents

When you are a little kid, birthday parties are pretty standard. Lots of kids, cake, presents. My mom always threw the best parties, great games and even prizes :) When you get a bit older, maybe you go to an amusement park, the beach...or maybe you took your significant other out for dinner or drinks. We still usually work in a nice breakfast!

Celebrating Before Becoming a Parent!

Now, as a parent, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to celebrate birthdays. Mine is just a few weeks after A's - so it ends of being an after thought. I also want to do something to celebrate my husband's, but all of the sudden a dinner and a movie becomes very expensive once you include the babysitter :)

Occasionally I can ask the grandparents to stay with the little guy...so maybe a weekend away might be good too. On the one hand, I like to celebrate important occasions with the whole family, on the other hand, adult time is important too. At this age, it's not like A will remember that we ditched him, right?

So for planning for my husband's birthday (dear husband, stop reading now!), what should I do? Take him to a sporting event? A nice dinner out? Go away for the weekend? Wine country, the beach, the city?

Taking any and all suggestions!

Fourth of July?

Two years in a row now, I have forgotten to actually take any photos on the fourth of July.  Granted, my town celebrates on the 3rd...so the 4th is somewhat of a letdown. Luckily my husband took a few - and I realized how insanely silly I must look following A around ALL the time.

One of the best things about living in my neighborhood is the block party on the 3rd. The street shuts down, the kids have fun, our neighbor offers sex-on-the-beach (this is a drink!) to all :) There is always a great band. This year all A wanted to do was be in the band. He was enthralled by the drummer.

At one point the singer picked him up and let him shake the maracas. He was in heaven! Maybe we have a musician on our hands?

A ready to be part of the band

Awesome block party!