love, us: November 2016

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

The Simpson's Christmas Bucket List 2016 and L.A. Zoo Lights

Merry (almost) Christmas! Oh my gosh you guys, it's my most favorite time of the year and boy oh boy do I have a lot to do! I've had my first peppermint mocha, my first eggnog and rum, the apartment is decorated, and I am ready to start on this year's Christmas Bucket List! I've had a few friends ask me what Christmasy things in LA I plan on doing this year so I thought I'd share the list with them AND y'all!

Due to time/money/kids/etc. it likely won't be possible to do ALL the things. There are a few things I purposely left off of my list like Descanso Gardens' Enchanted Forest (too expensive), Mission Inn's Festival of Lights (too far), Christmas Tree Lighting at the Grove or Americana (too chaotic with small kids) but I think what I do have, is totally possible!

The Simpson's Christmas Bucket List 2016:

1. L.A. Zoo Lights - We already took care of this one! See more below.

2. Griffith Park's Holiday Light Festival Train - The Griffith Park and Southern Railroad decorate one of their tracks with magical lights and holiday scenes each year. We went last year and I said we probably wouldn't do it again (traffic was the worst) but Kenley has been asking so...I will likely cave.

3. Pictures with Santa - I have a four and two year old so...obviously. Anyone want to make a bet on which kid screams this year?

4. Studio City's Winter Family Festival - Who says I need to drive 8 hours to Lake Tahoe or 2 hours to Big Bear to see snow? Beeman Park in Studio City dumps oodles of snow for LA kids to play in! Of course it turns to ice and my kids are freezing 'cause they have no snow clothes but...still so fun.

5. Make A Gingerbread House - Eleanor will likely just eat all the candy decorations.

6. Bake Christmas Cookies for Santa - Does anyone know if Trader Joe's has their Sugar Cookie Mix this year? They didn't last year and I was the saddest. It's SO good!

7. Hot Cocoa Dates with Kenley - Since having two kids it's been hard to have special one-on-one time with my firstborn. I think it's super important so I'm going to make sure it happens this month.

8. Make Homemade Christmas Ornaments - I used to think they were the most tacky but now I think they are the most cute. Kids will do that to you.

9. Grinchmas at Universal Studios - John may not be working at Universal anymore but that's not gonna stop us from joining the the Wholibration! Plus, any excuse to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

10. Kindness Elves - Probably my most favorite tradition, two little elves from the North Pole join us for the month of December encouraging acts of kindness (ie: helping mommy clean, sharing with friends, thanking our mail lady, etc.)! It's an alternative to the Elf on the Shelf which just isn't for us. No mischievous tattle tales here. But to each their own!

11. Burbank Nativity Festival - One of the LDS churches here has a massive display of Nativity scenes from around the world plus a Live Nativity and crafts/games for kids.

12. Ice Skating at The Village - Probably someone will break their leg but in my head it seems amazing and magical.

13. Christmas Tree Lane or Candy Cane Lane - Both are a little far and it takes like two hours just to get off of the freeway but every year they look so beautiful.

14. Malibu Sand Sledding - Sledding at the beach barefoot and in tanktops? Heck ya! But where to find sleds in Los Angeles?

15. Discovery Cube's Winter Wonderfest - We are huge fans (and members) of Discovery Cube and apparently every year they build a winter wonderland with tubing and sledding and shows, oh my!

16. Magic Mountain's Holiday in the Park - We went last year and I was super sad that no Christmas lights were on. John pointed out that it was 11am so obviously, not on. Plan to go after dark this year!

17. The Magical Christmas Caroling Truck - In our neighborhood, a magical 62 foot Christmas truck, filled with 200 singers and dancers serenades the residents. We have pretty much been wanting to see it for a decade so maybe this year. Santa is going to be up way late anyways to fill stockings.

Checking Off Number One - L.A. Zoo Lights!

We knocked the first thing off of our list the night before Thanksgiving! And while Papa was here so it was extra fun. Another thing we've been planning on doing for years and then I forget and ticket prices are raised and I cannot justify the cost (early bird special runs through tomorrow!). While the animals are sleeping, The L.A. Zoo is turned into a fantastical land with lights, water shows, animated animals, etc. It's pretty amazing and zero photos do it justice, but I will try.

Gorgeous display outside.

It was about zero degrees so we had to bundle up! Okay, it was probably only 65 degrees but that is WAY cold for my tiny Anglenos.

Probably my most favorite area!

Adorable zoo cartoon projected on the rocks with water fountains.

Playing with papa in the shadow box area!

Dasher, Dancer, and Comet were there guys!

I SUPER loved this recycled water frog song area. Even if I got mocked for it.

Disco Ball Forest with daddy!

And one with mommy.

This bridge, tunnel, lights area was unreal gorgeous!

Holidays with Papa! Something we don't get often.

#reallife

Thanks L.A. Zoo! See you next year!

Monday, November 28, 2016

My Boob Story

Boobs, am I right? They are pretty much the most magical. Off and on for almost 5 (FIVE) years they have fed, nourished, and comforted two small humans and now...I am done.

After I breastfeed Kenley for almost a year, I told myself (and my husband) that if it was that hard again, I wouldn't breastfeed another child. Kenley's latch was perfect, I made plenty of milk, and I pretty much had zero problems. Except...when she would nurse, should would nurse for an HOUR on average. Aaahhh! Which meant that if we went anywhere, I couldn't just whip it in and out and be on our way. It. Was. Exhausting. So I never nursed in public. There was just no time.

Then Eleanor came along. Again, perfect latch, enough milk, zero problems. Except this kid had allergies, ALL the allergies. She was allergic to all of the 6 main allergens (milk, eggs, fish, nuts, wheat, soy) and then some. And because I was breastfeeding, I too was "allergic" to these things and to go on the craziest (an most expensive) diet. It. Was. Hard. Although I won't lie, it was a super fast way to lose the baby weight. All of which I have since gained back.

After breastfeeding for a year, I decided I would stop so I could eat all the things! I But...she grew out of those allergies (thank goodness!) so I decided I would breastfeed and still eat all the things, 'cause weaning is the worst. So I plowed on, every month saying it was the last. But honestly, I was too tired and lazy to even try. She never took a bottle or pacifier so my boobs served as that for her. It was the ONLY way to get her to sleep. And boy do I need sleep.

Shortly after she turned two, I decided I wanted my boobs back! I'm sick of wearing nursing bras, and nursing tanks, and scheduling everything around my boobs. It took about 3 months but...I HAVE MY BOOBS BACK!

It's pretty exciting. It was hard and emotional and the last thing that physically connected me to my last (likely) kid. I cried, A LOT. Partly because I was losing that bond, partly because my boobs hurt (cabbage people!), partly because you are so extra hormonal when weaning, and partly because I was so damn tired trying to get her to sleep without boobs. Rock, swing, snuggle, repeat for 2+ hours twice a day.

We are still figuring out how to get her to sleep but my boobs, they are officially all mine. And if I want to wear a turtleneck in this super cold Los Angeles weather without having to worry about how to get my boobs out, I can! Welcome back Mandy's boobs! I missed ya!

one of the final days of me breastfeeding.

asleep on mommy, with no boobs!

Monday, November 7, 2016

To The Stay-At-Home-Mom - It's Okay To Stay At Home

Being a mom is hard. Like, really hard. There are a million things to worry about. Is my baby getting enough sleep? What is the best stroller to buy? Is it okay if my four year old only eats mac & cheese for five days straight? Are they getting enough enrichment activities? The list is endless.

For the most part, I feel like I'm doing an okay job with the enrichment activity part. Being a full time stay-at-home mom, with no kids in preschool, and living in Los Angeles, has helped with that. We have the time and the access to go to the zoo on Monday, beach on Tuesday, Science Center on Wednesday, farm on Thursday, and botanical gardens on Friday. It's actually pretty great! We get out of the apartment, we have fun, and we learn something.

But something I have noticed recently, potentially failing as a mother, is my kids are now expecting we do an exceptional activity every week.

Lately, my four year old has been asking every day what the plan is, "What are we doing tomorrow? And the next day? And the day after that?". Even throughout the day she will ask, "What are we doing after breakfast? And what are we doing after nap? And what are we doing when daddy comes home?". At some point, I turned into a cruise director for my four year old! And I have no one to blame but myself. I DO have every day planned, sometimes to the hour. At the beginning of the week I write down all our big outings, and every evening I write down what the plan is for the next day. Ie: wake, blog, children's museum, naptime, craft, etc". I've been doing this since college.

Now don't get me wrong, I believe some structure is super important for kids. But it doesn't mean I need to have every day planned out. Or even that we have to go somewhere every day. Getting out of the apartment and getting some fresh air is important but can't our "outing" for the day be going down to the gazebo to blow some bubbles? We stay inside when it's raining (so 3 days out of the year in L.A.) or when we are sick, but why can't we just stay home when it's a nice day outside too? It's almost always gorgeous weather here so it's not like we are going to be missing out if we stay in and do a craft, build a lego princess castle, or even let them have some screen time while I get a few of my own things done.

I need to stop feeling guilty on the days I don't take my kids anywhere. And I hope you other moms do to. I can only speak from the stay-at-home mom point of view, but sometimes I feel guilty if I don't take my kids to do something. They aren't in school yet, we have the time, we need to take advantage of it and get out and do something.

But I'm done feeling guilty! It's okay to stay at home when you're a stay-at-home mom right? I mean, it's in our freaking job title. So tomorrow, we're staying home (actually maybe Wednesday, we have fairytale dance camp tomorrow). Maybe we'll bake, maybe we'll do a craft, or maybe we will just play Peppa Pig for hours and watch a movie.

On the day we stayed home and turned a box into a car and watched Barbie Rock N Royals

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Halloween-y Things

Happy November! Oh my goodness, I'm so excited for the holidays. But before I start drinking all the peppermint mochas (confession, I had one today) and plan out my holiday movie watching marathon list, I thought I'd do a quick recap of all the other Halloween-y things we did leading up to trick-or-treating. I'd do them all separately, but ain't no mama got time for that.

So here you go!

Boney Island - Quickly becoming one of my favorite traditions, Boney Island once again did not disappoint. Boney Island is an incredible display of animatronic skeletons with a glowing water light show in someone's front yard. It is put on by a former producer of the Simpsons (oh hey same last name!) and is quite the sight. We love it so much we went twice.

Don't be fooled by this spooky photo, it's super kid friendly.

Two little Halloween lovers waiting for the gates to open.

Brought one of her skeletons to see some skeletons. She's obsessed.

E's face. LOL.

"Mommy, this one is REAL! He knows my name!"

Sneaky voice of the "real" skeleton.

You know me, I love a good photo op.

And this one too! We'll work on it for next year.

Family selfie waiting for the water show.

Almost!

This photo does zero justice. See for yourself next year!

Goodnight Boney Island!

Peanuts - The Great Pumpkin Patch Express - I wish I could say that this was the most fun ever, but it was kind of the least fun ever. As many of you know, my family (especially my children) are HUGE (like really huge) Peanuts fans. It was unfortunately very disorganized with lots of crying children and angry parents. I'd elaborate more but I am just now getting over it.

Three of the world's biggest Peanuts fans!

Train to the pumpkin patch!

Family selfie on the way to the patch!

She's been obsessed with Charlie Brown since daddy played Charlie Brown. Also, notice her shirt! Thanks Hanna Anderson!

On our way...so we thought. The train just goes forward and back. Boo.

At least we got this cute certificate!

Love this Charlie Brown!

When the train ride is kind of a bust, you just start taking photos.

Oh Linus.

Waiting to meet the characters. Fortunately this kid can easily entertain herself with scarecrows, pumpkins, and...

...DIRT! You'd think she's never seen dirt before.

Lucy is her fave.

Charlie is HER fave.

Hours later.

I raised hell to get this photo. You have no idea.

"Mommy. El-nor match!"

Bye Felicia!

Exceleration Mini's Costume Dance Class - Kenley's ballet/tap combo class got to wear costumes and it was basically the cutest. They also did a ballet routine to "Thriller" and a tap routine to the theme from "Ghostbusters". I mean...

Cat and Mouse for dance class!

Sweetest little Minis class!

They even let Eleanor photo bomb it.

Pumpkins - This year was extra special because Kenley was old enough to carve herself (sorta, dad helped)! We went with some classic faces and a skeleton for Eleanor. Have I mentioned that she LOVES skeletons. She is super bummed they aren't in the stores anymore.

Super disgusted by pumpkin guts.

Carving 101 with Daddy!

She stabbed the pumpkin twice and was done.

From where I stand.

We took about a thousand photos and THIS was the best one. #reallife

This years pumpkins in birth order! Eleanor may have had a little help.

Sweets and Crafts - We made some of the sweetest Halloween cookies, ate some of the sweetest vampire donuts, and made as many crafts as we could before Halloween hit. Eleanor is making me keep the skeleton crafts up.

It's cookie time!

She took this super seriously.

Fancy eh?

Vampire donuts!

Quick! It's almost Halloween, do all the crafts!

Boo at the Zoo - The Los Angeles Zoo puts on a big trick-or-treating event with crafts, and dance parties, and character meet and greets, and spooky bugs galore! Despite raining (heavily) we had tons of fun. We also were able to view Dinosaurs: Unextinct before it left!