Polar Express

Remember the 5 W’s for old school book reports? Here they are for our amazing trip to the Polar Express… Who? The Polar Express is for young kids, but also adults who love the magic of Christmas.

When? Tonight’s fun (Dec. 10th) all began back in September!! Yes, my friends, that’s how early you need to begin thinking about this fun outing.  The “easiest” way to get tickets for when you’d like to attend is to either become a member of the RR Museum, or find a friend who is already a member! Each member can purchase up to 10 tickets. Even WITH a membership early log-on code, it still took my friend and I about an hour to purchase tickets on the same day, same time, same car. We decided to splurge and go First Class. We had heard that it was worth the extra dough. While I have nothing to compare it to, First Class AND the event itself was simply amazing!!

Where? The Polar Express train ride is hosted by the California State Railroad Museum in downtown Sacramento.

Why? Because it is simply magical for any child, especially mine, who is head over heels in love with trains!

What? My friend had the fun idea to print out copies of the Polar Express tickets, found here, and have them mailed by Santa to her kids. Since my son isn’t quite old enough to understand that concept, we printed out a ticket and told him we found it in his copy of the Polar Express. We gave it to him in the car on the way. I printed it out ridiculously large…just for fun. Here he is squealing with excitement: And here he is staring at the ticket for the remainder of the 40 minute drive: Everyone is encouraged to come wearing your pj’s. With first class, we were able to enter the train first, and sat in a semi-private car. Upon entering, our personal “chefs” came to inform us of the evenings festivities. They also said that there were at our beck and call…which proved true! They brought hot cocoa, served in commemorative mugs that we would get to keep, along with a choice of cookies! Along with this, they offered bottled cold water to help cool down the hot chocolate for the kiddos. Fabulous!! AND…the hot chocolate was still in the to go cups inside the mugs so that the kids could drink relatively spill free. =)

Next up, the conductor came around to punch the tickets as well as sign our personal copies of the Polar Express. Here’s Cooper holding up his ticket to be punched (and you can see the mug in my hand): Then, the “chefs” came tap dancing through holding trays of cookies. All the while, the music from the movie The Polar Express, is playing in the background. After a brief stop at the “North Pole” (aka a stage along the river), we actually got to watch the engine back up and reattach to the back of the train. Sounds simple, but to a little boy who loves trains, it was amazing! The engineers stood out back with us, explaining the entire process. Here we are on the rear deck, watching the train magic! Santa came through the train handing out silver bells to all who believe, and finally, the “hobo” came through attempting to listen to the bells…claiming he heard no ringing at all. It was definitely helpful having watched the movie beforehand. Thankfully, we have an unusual 2 year old who LOVES movies and will happily sit through a full length feature.

The entire train ride is about an hour. We ended our evening with some dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack. It was simply amazing. I’m pretty sure all 3 of us were on Cloud9 on the walk back to the car. =)

Folsom Christmas Tree Lighting

I don’t know about you, but events such as these often time comes with mixed emotions. So much fun, but so much stress that can be bundled up with them. Am I right? This was our first year here living in Folsom when Cooper has been old enough to appreciate a Christmas Tree Lighting. So, when I heard about it, I was immediately intrigued. Here was what was included in the advertising:

Christmas Tree Lighting

Folsom Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will take place Friday, December 3 in Histroic Folsom in front of the Chamber of Commerce at 200 Wool Street.  This fun packed holiday event will include a variety of activities for all ages such as horse drawn carriage rides, carolers, and a slight sprinkling of snow will be featured at the event. The ice skating rink will also be open.

Take the Free shuttle from Folsom Wal-Mart parking lot 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm!

- Complimentary horse-drawn wagon rides
- Hundreds of candles illuminating Sutter Street.
- Complimentary face painting
- Meet and greet with Santa Claus in the Sutter Street Theatre, 717 Sutter Street. Bring your camera or purchase pictures at the event.
- Live Entertainment at the Corner of Wool and Sutter streets
- Dusting of real snow on Sutter Street
- Complimentary hot cocoa and cookies compliments of Costco and Mimis Cafe, being served in front of the Folsom Chamber of Commerce
- Christmas shopping with more than 30 stores open late
- Historic Sutter Streets Ice Skating Rink open
- Professional Ice Skating Shows at 6pm and 8 pm.

And…here’s a mom’s interpretation of what i read…

(mom’s thoughts in green)

Take the Free shuttle from Folsom Wal-Mart parking lot 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm! (Do I take the shuttle or attempt parking close?…and is a stroller in order?)

- Complimentary horse-drawn wagon rides (Cooper would love this, but will he wait in line for it?)

- Hundreds of candles illuminating Sutter Street. (Umm, open flames and a 2 year old? Ha!)
- Complimentary face painting (Yeah, can YOU get a 2 year old boy to sit still for this?)
- Meet and greet with Santa Claus in the Sutter Street Theatre, 717 Sutter Street. Bring your camera or purchase pictures at the event. (Because my son would LOVE sitting on some strange man’s lap while waiting patiently to get his picture taken, riiight!)
- Live Entertainment at the Corner of Wool and Sutter streets
- Dusting of real snow on Sutter Street (Okay, Cooper would undoubtedly love this…sold!)
- Complimentary hot cocoa and cookies compliments of Costco and Mimis Cafe, being served in front of the Folsom Chamber of Commerce (For about a half hour, until they run out of hot cocoa and cookies, right?)
- Christmas shopping with more than 30 stores open late
- Historic Sutter Streets Ice Skating Rink open
- Professional Ice Skating Shows at 6pm and 8 pm (Hmm, a possibility)

(Final thought…do I even bother inviting the non-social husband type? Or do I venture out on my own with son in tow?)

And…the experience itself…

Soo much to consider. And THEN…the time frame between nap and said event (i.e. 4-6pm…the arsenic hour) occurs. Perhaps about 10 tantrums ranging from the let down of not being able to hear the Polar Express narrated on CD again (for the 10th time today) to tears resulting from 2 year old child slamming his head on the ground DURING a tantrum. And I’m supposed to get dinner in this boy BEFORE attending said event?      Again, riiight!

A mom has two choices at this point, give up and stay home. Or get creative and make the event fun and memorable. There are many times when my energy level says, give up and stay home.

Tonight however? I chose get creative! We were having winter vegetable pot pie for dinner. So…mom put on an Academy Award winning performance convincing Cooper that he had hungry bugs in his mouth that were dying for bites of carrot, sweet potato, and celery root! He was convinced and happily ate pot pie in hopes that it would satiate the hungry bugs in his mouth. =)

We happily hopped in the car with Christmas music playing in the background. The debate was still on between whether or not to park and take the shuttle or attempt downtown, I attempted downtown and was at first, at risk of entering the grumpy zone. Thankfully, after 5-7 minutes, by the grace of God, we found a fantastic parking spot. No stroller, we’re giving it a go!

Within 50 feet, Cooper spotted a cop riding a horse and shouted out with glee, “HORSEY!!” Sigh of relief from mom, the outing is worth it.

We met up with some friends and our first joy of the evening was the “light dusting of snow”. Cooper literally ran down the street shouting with excitement, arms flailing in the air and all! Here he is taking it all in… Then, we headed down to where the tree lighting was to take place and nabbed some FREE hot cocoa and cookies. Guess what? They still had plenty left. Cooper enjoyed a rather messy green sugar crystal Christmas cookie. I know he looks a bit special here, but couldn’t resist the yumminess of the pic:Next, the countdown to the tree lighting, upon which Cooper burst out with clapping and “Yay!”(s). Seriously, melts a mom’s heart. Here’s the beautiful tree in the background (and the train that Cooper began to throw tantrums about because he could not ride).   Then, we waited in line for the horse drawn carriage ride, which wasn’t too terrible. Cooper was fascinated for the entire 5 minute ride!We were about to head back to the car, but it was now     8 o’clock and the professional ice skating show was just about to start.  And, what do you know? There was a spot for Cooper to squeeze into right at the front! My 2 year old son sat for 45 minutes watching the ice skating show! Which, I must say, wasn’t half bad. A bit long, perhaps, but there were definitely some talented skaters and the presentations were creative. I think Cooper and my favorites were a number done to a Polar Express song:…with all the performers in their pajamas except the conductor in the middle. And, the Grinch performance:  Again, Cooper followed up each act with clapping and enthusiastic shouting. Even the people surrounding us made comments about how adorable he is. Ahh…trip well worth any hassles involved!! So, an encouragement this hectic holiday season, if you can muster the energy and patience, you and your kiddos will most likely have fun. Just do your best to make the most out of the stressful bits in between.                   Merry Christmas!

La Habra Children’s Museum

We went down to LA this year for Thanksgiving and visited the La Habra Children’s Museum for the first time with Cooper. What a hit! I was kind of bummed we didn’t get a year membership even though we don’t live in the area. We would’ve made our money for sure over the course of a year. Oh well.

So…here are the highlights of the children’s museum.

Highlight #1: Dinosaurs What toddler boy doesn’t love dinosaurs? They have fun statues outside the museum, as well as a “digging for bones” exhibit inside. Highlight #2: Gas Pump & Car Educational to boot…each pump explains the different methods of “fueling” a car and how effective they are.

Highlight #3: Mini Carousel They run every half hour. But the kids can sit on them anytime.

Highlight #4: Bus You know, for those of us that don’t live in a place where public transportation is used regularly.

Highlight #5: Shopping Area My poor husband cringes at the thought of Cooper doing anything remotely “emasculating”, but the boy does love a good kitchen area!

Highlight #6: Trains/Caboose Okay, I have to be honest about this one…while trains are some of my son’s favorites right now, the trains on display at this museum can only run for one minute every 10 minutes. Umm..yeah, not so fun for a 2 year old. And you can only enter the full size caboose outside every hour or so when they offer tours. But, still a highlight nonetheless.

Highlight #7: Exploration Encouraged!

They obviously have far more than what I have listed, but this last one lumps some of the last few pictures I have together. The first few pictures are in the “theater” room where there is a stage, a sound booth, and dress up clothes to fulfill your heart’s desires! Cooper LOVED the sound booth and couldn’t resist a *ahem* special helmet? hehe The last pictures are just other fun areas Cooper enjoyed himself. Milking his first cow…I’m sorry, does it get much funnier than this? Hilarious!! Over all, I would recommend a visit. Cooper had a blast!

Thanksgiving Recipe Blog Hop

Welcome to my first Blog Hop! If you’d like to start at the beginning of the “hop”, jump on over to Creative 2x Mom, otherwise, welcome and read on! As per the description of my blog, I didn’t really get into cooking until shortly after I got married, about 7 years ago. I’ve come a LONG way since then. (Have I mentioned that I didn’t even know what a clove of garlic looked like? Yikes!)

Anyhow, I’ve got two of our family’s regular recipes we have at Thanksgiving. I’ve cooked for about 2-3 Thanksgivings since getting married, and enjoy making nearly everything from scratch except for two things: GRAVY and PUMPKIN PIE. Gravy…just too much work it seems, and pumpkin pie, sooo cheap and still delish from Costco, am I right? So, here are the two “must-haves” that our family enjoys:

 Smooth Cranberry Sauce

1 package (12 ounces) fresh cranberries

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Directions: Rinse berries under cold water. Mix sugar and water in a saucepan and stir, put on high heat until it comes to a boil. Add berries, stir, then bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the berries start to pop. You can actually hear them pop!

Here comes the absolutely necessary part in my book! To get it to taste like my Grandma Betty’s cranberry sauce.

Pour the cooked berries into a colander or strainer. Make sure you scrape EVERYTHING out of the saucepan. Press all the berries through the colander. Start with a spatula, but don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty in the end, and DON’T forget to scrape the ooey gooey goodness from the bottom of the colander or strainer!! Let it chill in the fridge for an hour or more so it will set. The consistency is delicious! Sorry I don’t have a picture, perhaps I’ll add one after Thanksgiving. But, here’s a similar looking picture and a Thanksgiving picture of my family and I 2 Thanksgivings ago (see the red stuff on our plates?).

Broccoli Salad

1 large head of broccoli

1/2 red onion

1 lb. bacon

Dressing:

1 1/2 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons vinegar

3/4 cup sugar

Direction: Wash and cut broccoli into bite-sized florets (I just buy the broccoli pieces from Costco, you still have to cut them smaller, but it saves time). Cut stems into bite-sized pieces (or discard). Dice red onion. Fry and drain bacon, chop into small pieces (You can also save time on this step by buying the bacon crumbles that come in the bag. No frying necessary!). Combine all ingredients with dressing. Marinate in refrigerator several hours before serving. Toss occasionally and before serving.

Hope you enjoy these recipes and have a fabulous Thanksgiving! Hop on over to Juella Designs for 2 more side dishes!

Turkey Finger Puppets

I found this adorable idea on Frog Prince Paperie. The picture above is the finger puppet I actually made myself. Remember, I want all things I post to be tried and tested. All the instructions are detailed here: Thanksgiving Turkey Finger Puppets, so I won’t bore you with the specifics. All I will say is…I am NOT a seamstress, and these were very simple. And my son adores it! He carried it around with him everywhere for the first few days. It’s all hand stitched and really, honestly, did not take a lot of time. The only thing detailed in the linked blog that I couldn’t quite pull off (remember, I’m NOT a seamstress), was an “invisible stitch” when attaching the yellow to the orange. So, you can see some of the stitches from behind. But, it didn’t bother me in the least, and certainly didn’t bother little Cooper! =) This was the only picture I could get with him holding it…the boy doesn’t stay still, particularly when playing with a new, fun play thing! Happy Thanksgiving! Have fun celebrating.

Halloween!

We carved pumpkins for the first time this year with Cooper. He was excited about pumpkins especially after reading the adorable book Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White. It’s about a little old lady who despises pumpkins, and ends up with an entire field of them growing in her yard. She turns them into all sorts of pumpkin culinary treats, then carves the rest to attract people to her home. When everyone arrives to check out the jack-o-lanterns, she serves the treats and has so much fun she changes her mind about her dislike for pumpkins.

When we go down to it, however, he had a different tune. He was VERY interested….in watching. When we asked him if he wanted to help clean out the pumpkin? This was his facial expression, gotta love it! We bought a pumpkin carving kit that had templates in it this year, so I decided to give one a go (plus, Cooper LOVES owls, how could I not try it?) Here we are marking the template. And here was the final outcome, not bad for my first time venturing out of the old original jack-o-lantern face. Of course, we did a normal jack-o-lantern, too! We met up with some friends and neighbors to go door to door. Boy..did they have a blast!! And…the loot!Double fisting…=)  Happy Halloween! =P