Anniversary review

I like my hubby.

A lot.

People always comment on how happy we are.

Probably because we make-out in public

Really.

Our marriage is a huge priority.

Someday our kiddos will be grown up and we'll just have each other... gasp!

We gotta stay connected now so we won't be in therapy later.

Really!

On our actual anniversary we went to:

Sushi Box is a TINY hole-in-the-wall place in Costa Mesa. A friend recommended it as a "cheap good sushi place." We got all this food for under $20...

It's about 10 square feet and the decor was... unique. But the place was hoppin'.

Then we headed on over to the Orange County Performing Arts Center to see the Bolshoi Ballet in Don Quixote. We (yep, we) love the Performing Arts Center! There is just something so fun about getting dressed up for a live performance... no matter what it is! (FYI Hairspray will be there April 6th-11th & The Lion King, May 26th- June 13th!)
After the show we cruised to The Melting Pot for dessert!

$15 gets you a small fondue pot and loads of goodies to dip into it. Yum!!

The highlight of our anniversary was taking a weekend away in Palm Springs.

Sans kiddos.

As in lay out by the pool all day with a book.

It was awesome... REALLY!

We stayed at the Andreas Hotel and Spa.

It's beautiful (think old Hollywood meets Mediterranean) and downtown so we were able to walk everywhere we wanted to go... unless we were at the in-house pool or spa of course!

Read all about it in my whrrl story... Warning: a giant bathtub is involved!

Powered by Whrrl

Eli's Lids - How to shape the brim

The shipping and the wash can flatten or curve the brim on our Snowboarder Lid. Here's how to get your brim looking perfect! 

The more your lil' guy (or gal) wears the Lid the better shape it will have!

Eli's Lids - Shaping the Brim from Kara Noel Lawson on Vimeo.
(Did you notice Eli's shadow on the left??? He is picking his nose at the end!!! How can I not be inspired by that little guy?)

Shop Lids here!

Bosh Images Workshop Giveaway!

Remember Bosh Images? (If you don't get updated here.)

I'm beyond excited  for this giveaway!

REALLY!!

Do you want to learn how to take pictures like this:

or this?

After a hands-on-all-day-workshop from Noel and Mali at Bosh Images you will be able to!

Or at least be closer than you were before!

Win this workshop right now!! (you don't need a blog to enter just leave a comment)

Here are the workshop details...
When: Saturday, April 24th
Location: Orange County exact place TBA
Time: 10-2pm
Includes: Hand-on Class, Delicious Lunch, Practice Photo shoot, and endless encouragement from Mali and Noel.
$175.00 value!!!
Go here and click on "the class" at the bottom for some Q & A about the workshop!


Here's How You Win...
*****MUST be a Southern California Resident or willing to travel to Orange County, CA for the workshop!!!*****
Main entry (mandatory): Click on over to Bosh Images blog OR Bosh website OR the Anytime Art site, OR Mali's site (whew!) then come back here and let me know one of your favorite shots in a comment! (note: you just need to go to one site... just giving loads of options to see their AMAZING work!!)
In addition to the main entry you can get loads of extra entries if you...
~Subscribe to the Bosh Images blog RSS Feed in the navigation bar. (3 entries)
~Follow Bosh Images on twitter HERE! Leave your Twitter ID in the comment or let me know you already follow (2 entries)
~Tweet about the giveaway, can be done daily. Copy and paste this for the tweet: "So Cal residents!! Learn how to use that camera with this free photo workshop w/ @boshimages here http://bit.ly/dcjk8J $175 value!" (3 entries per day)
~Facebook about the giveaway with a link to this post! (3 entries per day)
~Follow the Eli's Lids blog (2 entries)
~Follow Eli's Lids on Twitter, leave your Twitter ID in the comment or let me know you already do (1 entry)
For every extra entry, be sure to leave a separate comment on this post! i.e. If you tweet about the giveaway leave 3 separate comments.
***Giveaway open one week! Ends Thursday April 1st 9:00pm PST. Which leaves plenty of time to buy the workshop if
Whether you win or buy the workshop, it won't be long till you are doing this...

We Are Everywhere!

My picture graced the pages of OC Family last month.
When I showed my mom, her exact words were,
"Is that it?"
The picture is the size of a postage stamp...
but it's still there!!
Here is the cover with my lovely friend Suz on the cover and my cute lil' postage stamp...

This month I was also in the magazine. This time my pic was more of small label size.
I'm moving up!!
Maybe if I get any professional shots I'll get to be centerfold!
(Any photographers want to shoot me for free?)
Ha!
Cover and me with my blogger friends...

Pick up a FREE copy of OC Family almost anywhere. I get mine at Juice it Up. They are a great resource for OC moms!!
Click on the She's Crafty button in my sidebar to see all my posts!!

I've just started writing for the new Orange County Moms Blog.
Check out my first post. It's a tongue and cheek Guide to NOT Parenting.
I'll be posting there a few times a month. Click on this button in my sidebar for a direct link to all my posts.

You know I love the gals at Blessed Nest!

I've just started sharing tips there about living debt free. Getting into debt doesn't happen overnight... it's all those "Little Things" that add up. Visit Blessed Nest often by clicking on the button (pictured below) in my sidebar for quick tips you can use to get out of the red and into the black!

My first post is about the awesomeness of buying used on the Net.

Eli's Lids was featured on Scout - A Mom's Guide to Stylish Living.
Who can blame them?
Our Lids ROCK!!
See the post here with our Lids included in a list of Cool things for little boys.

Whew... we really are everywhere!!

From my lil’ Leprechauns

If leprechauns come to you house on St. Patty’s Day they may…
… Flip things in the house upsidedown
…Make all the potty water green (thanks for that tip Andrea!)
…Cause the morning eggs to turn green
See:

Will you be wearing green or orange today?
We’ll be in green because of the American tradition with sprigs of orange because of our religious views!
Have no clue what I’m talking about? Read this and this.

Happy Birthday Katie B!!

Get some Green in your house... quick!

In case you didn't get the memo, tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day.

If you haven't adorned you home is shamrocks there is still time :)

Make this adorable shamrock garland in minutes:

She's Crafty - Shamrock Garland from Kara Noel Lawson on Vimeo.

(you can see my belly getting bigger!! I'm 24 weeks preggers!)

I'll be making the traditional corn beef for dinner and I'll do a drop of green food coloring in our Martinelli’s. Dessert = green cupcakes.

One of my friend's family traditions is to have green pancakes!

Any other fun family traditions?

Please share!

Pretend City - Wordless Wednesday

(Enter to with the Family 4 pack of Pretend City tickets here!)
The contents of my purse emptied onto the passenger seat to clear room before going into Pretend City. (no wonder it weighs 30 pounds!)

Eli in the midst of play inside Pretend City...
Because we all know Firemen buy eggs at the grocery store in full fire gear then sit in the middle of the park to count them!

2-for-1 admission to Pretend City on Way to Play days:
March 12th (this Friday), April 9th, May 14th, June 11th, July 9th, August 13th, September 10th, October 8th, November 12th & December 10th!
(Click coupon below to print and redeem to get the 2-for-1 deal)

For more Wordless Wednesdays visit Angry Julie Monday and here.
Don't forget to enter the Pretend City giveaway for a Family 4 Pack of tickets!

Pretend City - Good To Go!!

(awesome giveaway at the end of post!!)

Where is this?

Nope, not my kitchen!

It's one tiny section in the amazing expanse of warehouse known in these parts as

Pretend City.

If you've never been, I'll walk you through a day there and tell you about their awesome Good To Go From Head To Toe, Family Fun & Wellness Fair happening this Saturday March 13th!!

You gotta go!!

REALLY!

(aside from all the awesome stuff they'll have at the Fair, kiddos get in for free!)

Start your day with a healthy breakfast...

Get into the "City" and claim your vehicleof choice. Eli loves the police car and Cora Jane seems to always gravitate to the mini Mercedes Benz... of course!

One of our favorite places is the Marina.

I let them get soaked.

And they do!

Through the Good To Go program you'll learn all about child development through play. Cora Jane just loved the folks from My Gym in Yorba Linda! Check out their March Calender for all the info!

Pretend City has a little eating area for you to have lunch. Complete with microwaves for Easy Mac!

(not that I ever eat that stuff... he he he!)

Of course I was running late and didn't pack a lunch. Thankfully LuLu's Creperie Cafe was there to save the day! I got a sandwich and it was delicious (healthy to boot)!!

Some things mommies should know... 

~Guests aren't allowed in without a kiddo, but there is no parent/child matching system. I was assured that the "typical" child abductor usually doesn't have children with them. 

~There is no definite child barrier (i.e. stanchions, child gate...) on the front door but someone is supposed to be watching the front door. 

~There are lockers to stow away diaperbags, lunches and purses so parents' hands are free to play play play!!

~On a busy day it can be hard to keep track of more than one child at a time. 

~They have family bathrooms with a little table to put all your gear. One of my personal pet peeves is when a bathroom doesn't have a place to put my 30 pounds of... whatever it is I carry around everyday!

Another REALLY cool thing about the Good To Go deal-e-o is the free screenings! My kiddos got to see Tina Azin DDS a specialist in Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics to make sure they have no cavities and all their teeth.

She was great with the kiddos and they are healthy as can be.  

Why am I so happy in this picture? 

We were at Pretend City from 9am-1pm and the kiddos are guaranteed to have a LONG nap.

P.S. Pretend City is ideal for a one-on-one Daddy Date Day. I got this picture while Hot Hubby and Eli were there. Eli still can't stop talking about how much fun he had at the "fancy place" with Daddy!!

Don't you want to go!! 

Ticket Prices: Infant-12 months is $2

Children and Adults are $10

Military and Family Members are $8

OR

You can win 4 FREE tickets to Pretend City right here!!

Here's How You Win...
*****MUST be a Southern California Resident or willing to travel to Orange County, CA to use the tickets!!!*****

You don't have to have a blog to win! Just be sure to include your email address when you comment!

 Main Entry (Mandatory)- Visit the Pretend City site here and leave a comment with one thing you learned or like about the Good To Go From Head To Toe Programs!

For loads of extra entries:

~Follow Pretend City on twitter here. (1 entry)

~Become a Fan of Pretend City Children's Museum here. (1 entry)

~Follow Eli's Lids on Twitter here. (1 entry)

~Tweet about the giveaway. Copy and paste: "Visit @ElisLids to win 4 free tickets to @PretendCity Details: http://bit.ly/9ABkzk" (1 entry can be done once a day)

~FB about the giveaway. Copy and paste: "Sol Cal Familys!! Eli's Lids to win 4 free tickets to Pretend City Children's Museum Details: http://bit.ly/9ABkzk" (1 entry)

For every extra entry, be sure to leave a separate comment on this post! 

i.e. If you follow Pretend City on twitter and FB about the giveaway, leave 2 separate comments.

***Giveaway open one week! Ends Tuesday March 16th 9:00pm PST***

And don't forget to visit Pretend City on March 13th for the Good To Go From Head To Toe Family Fun & Wellness Fair!!

Kiddos involved in the Wellness Fair get in for free that day!!

Oh, and Wild Wing will be there!

Building Tents - Wordless Wednesday

"From there to here,

from here to there,

funny things are everywhere."

~Dr. Seuss
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
More Wordless Wednesday check out Angry Julie Monday & here.

Dr. Seuss

Happy Birthday Dr Seuss!
My all time favorite quote is From One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.
"From there to here,
from here to there,
funny things are everywhere."

I really do think about this quote when we are having one of those days. Like this morning when I dropped the glass jar of jam on the tile and jam and glass flew everywhere.
It stunk... but was kinda funny at the same time!

Dr Seuss is great for car trips.
See:

The TV show (aka - the kiddos' Valentines Day gifties)... not one of his greatest accomplishments.
Eli insists that a song in Pontoffel Pock & His Magic Piano goes something like this, 

"Blow-up Boobie Bag! Blow-up Boobie Bag!"

As much as we love the books, those DVDs will disappear in a couple of weeks!
Here is a clip of good old Pontoffel Pock. If you can stomach all 10 minutes, let me know if you can figure out where the "Boobie Bag" song comes from. 
We're stumped!

Wish it was a Taga ride...

Confession: I'm kinda a lazy gal. If I can get more than one thing done at the same time, I'll do it!!
We had a wagon walk with 3 objectives:
#1 Get the kiddos out. (Cabin fever from the two days of rain... we are so weather spoiled in the OC!)
#2 Errands at the grocery store.
#3 Exercise for mommy.


 Objective #1 Get kiddos out - COMPLETE!
Kiddos were out and running. We climbed and played and got sufficiently worn out for naps. (Also, a little too worn out for a "pleasant" shopping experience... more below.)
Eli always picks me flowers. I can't wait to give him to his lovely bride someday. If he is anything like his daddy (and he will be) he's gonna be the best hubby ever!

Objective #2 Errands - Complete. But with casualties...
We did make it to the store. But I kept knocking down displays with my hard-to-maneuver wagon and the kiddos kept hopping out to climb on the patio furniture. At one point, unbeknownst to me, Cora Jane was standing in the wagon and I gave it a firm tug.
She ate it! 
Then screamed the whole rest of the shopping trip. Not fun.

Objective #3 Exercise- INCOMPLETE! Arrgggg!
Since we played and walked at about .3 MPH there was no exercise for mommy. I probably did burn calories in the store trying to get everything as fast as possible with Cora Jane screaming. BUT that was counterproductive because the stress/embarrassment probably took a couple of years off my life expectancy!

The whole ordeal trip took over an hour.
I'm sure it didn't help much that I had seen this little ditty at the Silicon Valley Moms Group event a week ago...

This sucker (aka Taga bike) converts from a bike (double seat is optional!!) to a stroller in seconds. 

REALLY! 

I did it.

Here is a picture of the lovely Carla Duharte Razura of Baby JJ Design riding on one and the pic she took of me while riding... 

Can you imagine?

I'm riding my Taga.

The kiddos would have had the wind in their hair.

We could stop off now and then for some nature fun.

I could convert that thing to a stroller when we got into the store. 
(STRAPPED IN!!!)

Quick in and out. (FYI - there is ample room for shopping goodies in the bottom of that thing!)

Then maybe off to the lake for a few calorie burning laps before heading home.

I could even use this for the too-far-to-walk-but-still-super-close-to-home trips.

You know the kind... It takes longer to load/unload/load/unload the kiddos than it takes to drive there!!

Sigh...

Too bad I was just imagining.

I want one!

Don't you??

Follow them on Facebook here to get all the details.