Holidays & Kids

Last week the toy catalogs arrived in the mail and my four year old spotted them right away. I let him look through them and asked him to circle anything he wanted from Santa. I didn't look at his choices until the next morning when he was still asleep.
I absolutely love the results (pictures below). Some of the choices are too young or too old but the effort on the circling is awesome. And I love how he did not circle everything on a page leaving one or two. And he is clearly Super Hero, car and Disney's Planes obsessed.
Do you and your kids go through the toy catalogs?

Halloween

I am not really a big Halloween person but ever since I had my son, I am obsessed. I love hosting all of our friends and trick or treating in the neighborhood. The kids have the best time and the whole evening is fantastic through the eyes of children.
My son, Iron Man,  with Spiderman and Spidey Girl.

 Iron Man and his Princess.

 Group Shot - five Super Heroes and a Princess.

 My favorite angle - door shot.

 In action - mask did not last long.

 And the end shot, stuffing his candy into his mouth.

Hot Spots: The Hollywood Bowl

If you live in LA and you have not gone to the Hollywood Bowl, shame on you. If you are like me and rarely went to the Hollywood Bowl, you need to start NOW. With the heat in the late summer, the bowl is a perfect evening spot. Enjoying a pre-show picnic is the best. We made it to one show this year and it was fabulous. My son experienced his first bowl AND John Williams. But the highlight of the show was the light sabers that lit up the sky when the Star Wars theme was played. What an awe inspiring moment. I actually got choked up as I saw my son's face light up with joy as he put his light saber into the sky with all the other light sabers.

Obsessed: Pinterest

Do you pinterest? I absolutely LOVE it. Not sure why I did not start earlier. Prior to Pinterest I would pull images from magazines for whichever project I was working on (bday party, redecorating, baking, etc) and paste onto a piece of paper making a mood board. Then I discovered pinterest. LOVE. You can follow my boards here:
http://www.pinterest.com/aedepp/
Below are a few pictures of things I have seen on Pinterest and then done on my own. Such an inspiring site. Full addiction.
My only complaint or recommendation is a tool that would allow me to choose a few images (or 10) and add to a mood board and print so I could see everything next to one another. Anyone know if this is possible?

 above: diet coke chocolate cake

above: onsies for each month - gift to my sister

 fort kits: gifts to many boys

 pink spray painted mason jars with succulents - in my nieces room

above: toddler shakers - for my niece - please note, if thrown down stairs by older brother it will break :)

Hot Spots: Underwood Farms

If you have not yet visited Underwood Farms in Moorpark, you must go now. If you have, you completely understand why you must go now. Underwood Farms is the Disneyland of pumpkin patches. Last year was our first visit and it was amazing. This year we coordinated with many other families and made a day out of it. The drive is easy but the distance is far. It is away from the traffic of LA and the openness is inspiring.

The kids started the day off running from the top of the hill to the bottom. One fabulous father even bear hugged the kids as they ran to the bottom which elicited many squeals of delight. More than one tractor ride was had for all and even a semi-kids only ride. My son shared with his bestie and they enjoyed the freedom of no parents. And then it was off to choose pumpkins. And to my surprise they were not as overpriced as I had recalled. The largest one was $12 and for a small sized pumpkin it was between $3-$5. Not bad at the Disneyland of pumpkin patches.

Obsessed: Michael's Craft Store

As any crafter would know, Michaels craft store is amazing. Even non-crafters who venture in know that they have everything. A new Michaels opened around the corner from work and I am obsessed. I want to roam the aisles looking at everything and dreaming up fun projects. Unfortunately reality and life set in and I cannot. So if you are bored or curious drop by a Michaels and check it out.

Pink Pancakes

If you know me you know I love PINK, the color. And if you know my almost 4 year old son, you know he also LOVES pink too. I like to make pancakes on the weekend and one weekend decided to turn them pink. I did not tell him until I was done making them and he was happily surprised. He loved them and now requests them all the time. It was beyond simple. I made the pancake mix and dropped in a few drops of red food coloring. I mixed and the perfect pink was mine. In the pictures below you can see that I also created his name which was very exciting for him. Happy customer in the last photo!