SANTA Arrived @ Irvine Park Railroad!

SANTA arrived today at the Irvine Park Railroad!

Santa's Wonderland Now in SoCal! Save $10!

 Santa's Wonderland has arrived in SoCal!

Here's a coupon code for $10 OFF if purchased by Nov 30th December 9th (they just extended this offer).  
Tickets are good thru December 31st!

House Party's Looking for Hosts for Hasbro's NYE Game Night

Hey remember when I wrote about my Fisher-Price House Party Playdate? They're now looking for hosts for:

 Hasbro’s Happier New Year’s Game Night

 Apply to host here:  http://houseparty.com/event/hasbronewyears

 Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post.

FUN Holiday Drop and Shop Day via Autism Tree (Fundraiser)

You know how hard it is to shop with little ones in tow during the holidays. Now imagine doing it with a special needs child with Autism. 

Autism Tree Project Foundation (ATPF) is hosting a fun Holiday Drop and Shop Day in December for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) along with their siblings.

Animals @ Aquarium of the Pacific Get HOLIDAY TREATS! (Plus a COUPON)

Otter & Snowman

Photo Credit: Hugh Ryono/Aquarium of the Pacific

How fun is this?!

Santa Diver and the Aquarium animal husbandry staff will be delivering treats to the Aquarium of the Pacific's penguins, sea otters, seals, sea lions, birds, fish, and other animals during Holiday Treats for the Animals weekend on Saturday and Sunday, December 1-2, 2012.

The KIDS' FUN ZONE @ LA Auto Show!

Did you know they have a Kids' Fun Zone at the LA Auto Show?! You know we're going to be there!

My boys love anything cars right now so they'll be in for a real treat. The  LA Auto Show is an annual tradition for us. My husband will most likely want to check the Porsches first, I'll make sure my dream car is still there, and since my youngest is obsessed with Cameros (because of Transformer's Bumble Bee), we'll have to see them too. This year we are also in the market for something Green.

Play Dates @ BounceU in SoCal (Orange and Huntington Beach)

I used to be the Queen of Playdates. I joined multiple Mom Groups to keep my kids socializing. Indoor inflatable bounce houses are always on the top our list (next to free parks). What's not to love? The kids are getting their exercise within the 2 hours, and they usually take a nap after lunch.

Yes, that is a staff member helping the kids in the left picture!

Fisher-Price® House Party Play Date with Imaginext and Rev 'n Go Toys!! #Review

We were one of the select few out of thousands of applications to Host a Fisher-Price^® Joy of Learning Playdate from House Party.  What an AMAZING experience!

House Party sent us all this stuff based on our application. The toys were gender and age specific. We have boys so they sent us all “boy” toys.

My MNO: Shopping, Happy Hour, and a Movie!

This month's Mom's Night Out for me was a shopping day, happy hour, and a movie with my girlfriends.

Shopping

I chose The Outlets at Orange (formally The Block of Orange) because they had 3 major department stores: Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH, Last Call Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom Rack.  Last Call Neiman Marcus had 40% off everything! You can find a directory of their stores here.

Lisa Ramelow's La Strada Restaurant Does a Toy Drive!

The fabulous owner of La Strada Italian Restaurant in Long Beach celebrates her birthday with a toy drive! 

I don't know too many people that would do that, do you? What a fabulous lady, Lisa Ramelow is. She was out there mingling with her guests and seen hugging many of them. I know I felt special when she came over to hug me.

We Spent the Day Out with Thomas™ (and Aunt Leyna) @OrangEmpireRail

Thomas & Friends™ was the first party-theme I planned for my child's birthday. My son was one and he doesn’t remember it, but I scrap booked everything to show him one day. I’ll have to tell you more about that later. But first, let me tell you about our Day Out with Thomas™!

When I heard that Thomas was coming to SoCal, I could hardly wait! Playing with Thomas is one thing but seeing him in person brings it to life!


My boys are obsessed with cars right now so I wanted to shake things up a bit. When we were invited to spend a Day Out with Thomas™, I could hardly contain my excitement. When your husband gets sick on you for a special day like this, do you cancel? HECK NO - I called up Aunt Leyna to come play with us. She had no idea where we were going. (FYI - Aunt Leyna does not have kids yet). She was in for a treat. =)

Family Fun Day @ Boomers! (Giveaway ended)

Hey remember what it was like when you were a young teenager in love or just a teenager? Before the time when it wasn't just about video games and when your parents had to drop you off/pick you up, because you had no car? I hope I’m not revealing my age here by telling you that I remember watching the original Karate Kid Movie with my older siblings, and they used to take us with them to play miniature golf, arcades, and sometimes I got to go on their date nights too. LOL

My Playdate @ Scooter’s Jungle (Plus a Giveaway) - Ended 12/1/12

I met up with my friend Jill for Scooter's Jungle's Toddler Time Open Play last week.

Photo by LetsPlayOC.com

It’s Not Just for Kids

What I liked about Scooter’s Jungle is that they had something for everyone – it wasn’t just for kids.

When You Want the Dads to Bond, Throw a Football Social

I think you all know that I love my Autism support group. I look forward to seeing my very special moms every month. We talk about our challenges, we share our successes, sometimes we cry together, but most of the time, we just laugh a lot. After three years of getting to know one another, I think we just “get” each other. We try to meet every month, sometimes twice a month – one is a Family Social and the other is Moms’ Day Out. Dads need support too and we love it when they come out with us to help us with the kids, but the funny thing is - the Dads don’t really talk to each other. I can’t speak for all of us, but we joke about us Moms being the social butterflies in our families and the Men just need some nudging.

The Ladies and I have been trying to find something common for the Dads to bond over – we talked about playing poker or watching football. After a year of still talking about it, we finally put it on the calendar.