How is it 2014?!! Happy New Year!

TWO-thousand-FOURTEEN! Amazing.

Random thought: Why are we not in flying cars by now?? hmmm

Kapri spent the night at Grammy's with her 2 cousins...and my sister Chelsea & her BF Andrew came over to 'cheers' to the New Year, before they went to dinner & to hang with friends in another part of town.

After our sweet photo sesh, we headed out to have fun ringing in the New Year with the hubs & some friends at a club in downtown San Diego:

While being out, I decided it was time to turn over a new leaf...make a new tradition. I realized that I would much rather have gone to a really nice dinner, reflected on the past year's ups & downs together... and rang in the New Year with a glass or two of champagne at home with my loves...and/or maybe with a few friends over ---- in our PJ's, banging on pots & pans like when I was little! 

It's NOT at all that 31 is OLD, but I definitely felt a teensy tiny bit out of place on the dance floor last night...once I looked around & realized that probably most the other people around me were a solid DECADE younger than me...it was in that moment that I did truly feel: Old - weird.

And I'm okay with that...just next year we're sticking with our original plan (as mentioned above).

CHEERS to the NEW YEAR! I can feel there will be lots of transition in store for our little family of 3...

OH - and 'goals of the year' - as I like to call them:

...Our joint New Year's Resolution....is one date night per month (we had hardly any last year). Since we married on "8/22", we decided that every other month James would plan it (on the 8th) and every other month in between, I would plan it (on the 22nd). So, something fun to look forward to...planning on checking for unique 'activity' type deals Groupon & Living Social!

...My individual goal for the year is to run around 2-3 5Ks and maybe 2-3 10Ks (toward the end of the year) - would love to have more bibs & medals to proudly call my own.

...Another personal goal is to read 2 or 3 books, front to back! Last year I got through 2 which was HUGE for me...a person who 'can never find the time to read' and if I do...'I'm constantly thinking about other things I could be getting done', haha.

...Lastly, a new career. Whoa...that sounds crazy to actually write down. But the fact is, my company/position will be relocating soon (to a whole other state!)...so I know that my 7-year gig or 'book' so to speak, will soon come to an end & be closed for good - I'm assuming mid-year. I'd love to find something I have more of a passion for... it'll just take some major digging & soul searching. Fingers crossed!

Merry Ho Ho HO!

Oh my....cannot believe another Christmas has come & gone...crazy how fast it sneaks up on us...seemed even quicker this year with Thanksgiving being so late in November!

Christmas Eve, Kapri & I made JUMBO cookies for Santa as usual...but this time, we also remember to leave out carrots for his reindeer as well, phew! I had to wear this adorable red sweater with a stripped bow on it, that was given to me by Chloe's mom, Rain...she said the color didn't look good on her & would suit me more - so voila, it's mine now and I love it!! Thanks girl!

Christmas morning was early...with an eager 4 year old, ready to see what Santa brought her. As she told him in the letter she mailed him, she was soooo excited when she opened up her very special musical ballerina jewelry box, and her big fluffy unicorn doll (from the Despicable Me movie)! Also popular this year, was all the My Little Pony goodies she scored...she's obsessed this year.

Later, we had my mom, sisters & Chels' BF Andrew over for our annual brunch... I make a pretty spectacular breakfast casserole that gets devoured every time. Chels brought a 'paleo' friendly cinnamon bread/cake that was delish! And KayLee made a HUGE fruit salad to balance it all off...yum yum!

Among some other things I gifted...I found this awesome body scrub trio at Trader Joe's in late November/early December, and luckily scooped up 6 of them as quick as I could (one for myself of course!) - and never saw them re-stocked again after that day (and I go every week!). Thank goodness I did because they were a huge hit with the ladies in my fam:

After brunch, mimosas, and a quick round of my new fav game, Cards Against Humanity, we went out front to the greenbelt & took some fun fam pics:

Later that night, we went to my Mother-In-Laws for dinner & more presents...and to visit with Kapri's cousins who were in town for the holidays - I love how much they adore each other!

Such a wonderful Christmas...so many memories that I'm grateful to have made with my family!

Bye Buddy!! {Recap of his 2013 sneaky ways}

Til next Christmas season Buddy...always great having you in the house during the month of December! Here's a recap of all his sneakiness for the last 24 days!

And now...I present to you my personal fav of the year:  Buddy's re-enactment of Miley Cyrus' & the Wrecking Ball...hahahahaha...it's just too much!

Annual Holiday Light Walk

Time for the annual walk to see holiday lights!! This time however, a bunch more friends & I decided to try a new place to view the lights, called "Fairway Village"...UNfortunately, the advertisement we all saw online, posted the wrong date for this big neighborhood block party....soooo, we missed that by a day and there really wasn't much to see at all sadly.

But the kids didn't seem to mind...with all the hot chocolate they had in their bellies:

After the quick walk around the first place...a few of us decided to extended the evening and go check out our normal place, Christmas Card Lane - we've gone here since Kapri was a little baby, 4 years ago. It really is awesome...the kids just LOVE all the character boards set up along people yards. And K is starting to remember certain ones too...god her memory is beyond me sometimes.

We got home about 2 hours PAST her bedtime....but in the end, it was all worth it to make her smile and carry on our special tradition!

Playdate: Nutcracker Ballet

Another first for us.... the Nutcracker Ballet - it's honestly amazing the amount of things I have never done or been to before....until having Kapri!  We went with K's best friend from school, Chloe & her mamma Rain....love these two! When we met up with them the girls exchanged gifts - and great minds obviously think alike because they each got each other different style bracelets!

We stopped for a quick bite to eat before going to the Carlsbad Cultural Arts Center - which we've actually been to once before to see Seussical the Musical (so fun!). We made it there just in time and the girls were in awe the entire performance. I can only imagine what they must've been thinking - it all must seem so magical in the eyes of a 4 year old girl...especially ones that have done ballet themselves and in a way, hold a ballerina high on a pedestal with their beauty & grace.

Towards the end of the show, the girls just could not sit still...so we got out of our seats and took them over to the stairs along the side of the auditorium. There they could watch & mimic the moves they saw on stage, without us worrying if they were blocking someone's view from behind us!

It was so adorable - just to see their eyes - focused intently on all those little dancers. Maybe next year we'll take them to see the Nutcracker again, but on a bigger, more elaborate stage... at the San Diego Civic Theater!

Preschool Holiday Party 2013

Ah sickness. 

It got the best of K again tonight....but luckily it didn't hit her too bad until shortly after her adorable school holiday performance - another 'last' at this school.

I remember her first there, when she was only 2.5 years old...little bitty compared to now!!

2011, 2012 & 2013

Since it was her last Holiday party at this school, we invited my mom, sisters and James' mom & her husband - sadly, because she felt really poorly right after performing, we didn't get any other group/fam pics with her other than these :-(

But we did get some good video of her singing & dancing SO well....beyond proud of her for coming out of her shell and overcoming her shyness little by little!

Holiday Boat Parade

My middle sis, Chelsea...is now officially BACK from her 1yr move to Arkansas - and I honestly could not be happier!!! Since she's back, I wanted to do something with all us girls...and found this San Diego Bay Parade of Lights, down on the bay that looked great!

I'd never really heard of it before (swear, I've lived her my whole life...but still so sheltered from all that SD has to offer!!)...but knew K would love it as well. I read there were a few different places to view the boats from, but heard from many people that Seaport Village was the best spot. So we got there early and nabbed a great seat on the grass.

The sunset was OUT of this world....and I see my fair share living in Encinitas....but this was unbelievable - no filter on this pic:

The show.... which took FOREVER to start. Online said it started at 5:30pm...however I don't think it finally got to where we could see until closer to 7!!! Come to find, that it "proceeds from Shelter Island past Harbor Island, the Embarcadero, Seaport  Village, and Ferry Landing in Coronado." - I had no idea it would take that long to go from place to place...oye.

However, I kinda want a boat now so I can decorate it and have a big party on the bay with my fam/friends! Some of them we're ROCKIN!!

Afterwards, we all craved something sweet....so we cruised around the little shops and found a 'cupcakes & cafe' place that was perfect! Then we ended the night with a quick ride on the famous carousel - such fun memories!

Dear Santa....

Kapri wrote Santa a letter this year, after we got back from the Holiday Train - she was so excited to actually WRITE him a LETTER... cannot believe how great she is with writing her letters these days, both upper & lower case:

She thanked him for coming on the Holiday Train ride, and sitting with her to talk about what she wanted for Christmas - a jewelry box and a unicorn doll. Then we sealed it up, addressed it to the North Pole, and took it to the Post Office so she could buy a stamp & mail it off all by herself.

About a week later, we woke up one morning and Buddy was at the top of our Christmas tree holding a BIG, beautifully decorated envelope, which had a fancy reply letter from Santa himself (with a little help from moi!). She was sooo happy to get such a personalized letter from him!

I definitely plan to make this an annual tradition with K from now on ;-)

Holiday Coaster Express

Today we surprised K with a little outing. I swear, almost everything we do with her is surprise...for 3 reasons - 1. if we tell her in advance, she'll ask every hour when we're going.  2. if we tell her in advance, and plans fall through (which they most definitely do at times), then we feel bad & she's devastated.  3. Who doesn't like to be surprised??? haha

So I had heard of this thing they do on the Coaster every holiday season called "Holiday Coaster Express" - which apparently sells out each year. It's only on one day, and only 2 different times. Luckily I had thought about it ahead of time, and took note when the website said tickets would go on sale. I put a calendar reminder for the day of, to remind me to buy the tickets...which are only $6 a person!

K picked out a new skirt I had bought her, and of course coordinated with a brightly colored necklace (that she'd got during our trip to AR), and her fav silver sparkly crown headband - that girl cannot go ANYwhere without a headband on these days....even better if it's a 'crown' headband!!

When we arrived at the station she was SO excited to be getting on a train again, her 2nd time ever. Then we finally told her what we were there for - to have a special visit from Santa & some of his buddies!! The total time we'd have on the train was about 90 minutes...so I figured Santa would be towards the end, and that they'd have a few different Christmas characters coming around as well. However the information originally provided on their site was a bit misleading - as only the Grinch made a quick appearance in the beginning - then NOTHING until the end when Santa, and later Mrs. Claus, made they're way in. I also read that there would be 'caroling' - but there was none, not even some faint Christmas music playing in the background, so that bummed me out.

In all, we had an okay time - but we were really surprised that this 'sells out' every year... for something that wasn't really well planned. I figured that with a ton of kids on each car of the train, you think they'd have a couple different characters coming by to entertain them - an hour & a half is a long time to have them just sitting there. Literally after we saw the Grinch, it was probably 45 minutes until Santa came. So the entire train ride, Kapri was so anxious, and kept anticipated the next one.... so that was a little disappointing (and the people of the NCTD definitely received a little email from me with my thoughts on the whole thing).

At least Santa was pretty legit...and Mrs. Claus was so adorable - so it ended on a good note:

Holiday Cards - 2013 {via Zazzle}

I am seriously so glad that Groupon & LivingSocial exist....because I honestly don't know how much money those sites have SAVED me!!

For example... a deal for holiday cards from Zazzle (75 with envelopes) and for a photo session at JCP:

Together, those would've cost us around $267 full price - but instead I got both for only $55 total...so we saved over $200!!! People who don't check Groupon/LS sites before doing ANYthing, are nuts.

I decided that I wanted to get our pics done early, so that we'd have time to get them on the CD, then take it home to save to our computer, then use to upload for our holiday cards...then have adequate time for processing & shipping of the cards...then having to label them all & get in the mail by Dec. 1st.....whewww!

Here are the 3 photos that we selected from our session...next year I'll definitely find a photography deal for an OUTDOORS photo sesh...I feel like it's always more 'natural' that way.

From those I made a little FB profile pic for December (edits via PicMonkey):

And here's the card ordered from Zazzle:

The quality of these cards was SO great....the selection was amazing (they had a page for Groupon purchasers only), they were delivered very quickly and were a nice, thick card-stock...I just loved how they turned out! I had never heard of Zazzle prior to seeing/buying that Groupon deal, but I'm now officially a huge fan and hope to order from them again in the future.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Beyond Thankful {Happy Thanksgiving!}

I. Love. Thanksgiving.

Sureeee the FOOD is spectacular...all my fav things on one table (or more in our case, with different families to visit, sometimes on different days too!). But I just love how one whole day is dedicated to remember how THANKFUL we should be for soooo many things. Just take a look at our annual "Thankful Board":

This year Kapri could contribute to the board, by writing what she's thankful for all by herself! Note the few scribbles along the bottom: "Thanksgiving, Friends, Cookies, Trees, Mom & Dad" - adorable.

We started the day off super early....and not to get up & put a turkey in the oven....but instead, Nic, Amanda, Trav & I (oh and Nic's two kids, one of whom was pushed in the jogger by Trav, bless his heart and strong legs!!) all decided to do the Oceanside Turkey Trot 5K - that was a first for us! We were all so excited to run and burn some calories before we went to our separate places to fill our bellies.

It was SUCH a beautiful morning...and to top it off, we ended the last leg of our run on the boardwalk, right along the beach - seriously perfect.

I was SO proud of Nic & Amanda - for both running (or at least slow jogging at times) the ENTIRE 3 miles. I had taken up running again here & there, finally being able to run 2-3 miles without rest/walking (thanks to all my strength training and HIIT classes!!!)...but neither of them had really prepped in terms of running prior. But they powered through and we all finished together. SUCCESS!!

Way to go ladies!!!

After the race, I headed home to get ready for dinner at my aunts....which I sadly only took TWO flipping pictures...um whattttt?! Who am I??

Oh and this ahhhdorable one of K waiting ever so patiently on my bed, waiting for me to get ready....while reading a book to her babies! Melt. 

Then the next day we had another Thanksgiving Dinner with James' mom, her hubby, Steve & Amanda - I made sure to get a least more than two pics this time!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!! Gobble Gobble!

Preschool Thanksgiving Breakfast

Time for the Annual Thanksgiving Breakfast & mini performance at K's preschool!! Cannot believe this will be her LAST here, with Kindergarten just around the corner.

James & I were soooo super proud of her for overcoming the little 'stage fright' she'd had during most prior performances. In the days leading up to this one, she was so excited and ready to sing. We just kept telling her to do her best, and that though it'll seem like EVERYone is staring at her, really those other parents are watching THEIR kids...and that we were the only ones watching her, haha.

Great job toots, I could listen to you sing every day the rest of my life!

BOO! Happy Halloween

K's outfit selection this year....I mean, could she BE any cuter as Alice in Wonderland?!! I think not.

It's freakin adorable....and see those cute black & white checkered leggings that it came with - super stylish.

She'd tried on a few butterfly outfits at Party City... then kept pointing to this dress. As soon as she tried it on I was so happy - it was perfect! I was thinking it'd be funny for me to dress up as the white rabbit (almost did, bought the ears and tail!) and have James be the Mad Hatter - but that didn't happen (she carried a brown rabbit instead, ha!)... maybe next year we'll plan better and find coordinating costumes!

Halloween morning we took K to school, where we got to see all the other adorableness of kids dressed up. That night we went to downtown Encinitas and had a super early dinner...and after we cruised along Hwy 101 - where a ton of the businesses were open and handing out candy. LOT of adults dressed up too...which was a nice change of pace form our standard trick-or-treating around our pretty quiet community. Definitely a better vibe!

Even the place I work out daily on my lunch breaks got into it.... Totally Rad 80's Fitness! The owner, Danny, I had told he should come dressed up as Richard Simmons....he totally did and rocked those mini shorts & wig, hahaha!

I scored the hot pink shorts ($6) and shoes ($20) at ROSS, and the teal leg warmers ($10) at Target....the grey shirt I had made months ago, from a men's XL and created a sort-of 'dolman' style tee from it. It was the most comfortable costume EVER!

Annual Pumpkin Patch Visit 2013

I love the Pumpkin Patch we go to...it's in Del Mar called the Pumpkin Station. We go every year, with the exception of 4 years ago when K was just 5 months old, and we went to Bates - which was hell. Parking was hell. It was packed as hell. And it was HOT as hell.  So we kinda decided right then & there that we'd find something else, closer to home.

And we did!

Each year there's a Groupon deal they offer as well for rides. And now that K & the other kiddos we typically go with are bigger and love to go on more rides - it's a great deal!




Of course what Pumpkin Patch visit would be complete without first stopping at Starbucks for some hot chocolate & Pumpkin Spice Lattes?? mmmmmm

And seriously...the grey chevron infinity scarf of mine that she has on....too damn cute!



And here's are finished carved/decorated pumpkins! Can't go wrong with glitter & glue in the eyes of a 4yr old!

Happy Birthday America!

Happy 237th Birthday America!!!

This year Kapri has been singing this song for the past few days....and it's just the cutest:

She's also been SUPER obsessed with American flags this year....after learning about them in school, she'll spot them everywhere around town!

The day was pretty chill & relaxing...went to the pool for a bit, then home to make sure K took a decent nap - since I knew she'd be up til 10ish with fireworks later. It was actually really nice since we didn't have to hustle & bustle for a super busy day.

We are honestly SO lucky to have found this insanely great fireworks spot, thanks to our friends, The Weller's.... this was our 2nd year going and it will definitely NOT be our last....it's just perfect!!! Last year we were blown away....hopefully next year we can get a large group of families & kids to come with us to enjoy the fun!

Mother's Day{s} 2013

I love when ONE special day get's split between a few days...like birthdays for example - they're more often than not, divided into a few different dinners/lunches, with varying family/friends...and this Mother's Day was similar.

It started on Wed. May 8th with a "Mother's Day Breakfast" at K's school... just me & munchkin... she was SO excited in the days leading up to it...I know she cherishes the time just her & I spend together...total mother/daughter bonding - as I do too of course!

She made me a 'picture frame' with her cute face in it, and a cut out of me with a bejeweled pink dress, and awesome 'flower hands'!




Along with the sweetest card...these things I will seriously treasure FOREVER:



And a pretty awesome bouquet of  'paper' flowers:



Then Sunday morning we met up with 2 other fams & their kids for brunch at Cody's La Jolla - seriously LOVED everything about this cute little place! It had pretty great reviews on Yelp, and was able to accommodate 6 adults and 5 kids...so it was a win/win!

I wore this dress that I made for myself the night before...using an old yellow tank top and 2 yards of grey stretch jersey cotton that I scored on sale...and made the belt from an old body-pillow case, love it!

Then we walked down along the coast to check out the seals, as we do each Mother's Day... it was nice to let the kids run around & get out some energy...before heading back for naptime!

As K napped, James & I laid out in our patio with a little Prosecco...

Later that day I made 3 tubs of homemade playdough for K to play with {so cool!}, while I began to make this seriously BOMB banana coconut bread - from here.

Then Kapri & I let dad hang out at home, while we picked up some dinner to take over to my mom's and spend some time together...she loves GramMo's house!

All in all - quite a productive day...surrounded by tons of people that I love!

I heart bein a mamma! It's tough work sometimes... but sooo many rewarding times as well that tend to stomp on the crappy ones. We definitely do a LOT as mothers/parents...so it's nice to have a day dedicated solely to us. I may not have put my feet up ALL day, nor did I get to sleep in... but the things I did do, were part of who I am, and what makes me happy....what makes me 'mom'.