When daylight savings arrives it reminds me of summer days ahead…warm days, bright sunshine and convening with friends and neighbors in the late afternoon to enjoy a cocktail while the kids play. This year I am in the mood to experiment with new cocktail recipes so I have been doing research on refreshing spring cocktail recipes I wanted to share with you today.

You’re welcome.

1. The Skinny Mojito

I love a mojito on warm days. There’s something about the crisp, sweet mint that instantly reminds me of summer and makes me wish I had a front porch with a swing to sit on and sip…

I found this recipe for a Skinny Mojito with Truvia Natural Sweetener which reduces the calories and has no added sugar, but is still super yummy.

2. Moscow Mule 

I have to  admit I might be a fan of the Moscow Mule Copper Mug (affiliate link) as much as I am of the cocktail.

My girlfriend made this special Moscow mule recipe last summer. Best play date ever.

* Crush mint leaves, ginger root & half a lime (or other citrus fruit) in a shot of citrus infused vodka.

* Pour contents in glass with crushed ice.

* Top with ginger beer or, for less calories, diet ginger ale. Add a mint leaf or wedge of citrus to garish.

3. Pink Greyhound Cocktail 

The pink greyhound is one of the simplest cocktails you can make – essentially 6 oz of grapefruit juice mixed with 1.5 oz of vodka or gin served over ice.

Put salt on the rim, and turn it into a Salty Dog.

Sweet and refreshing.

4. Skinnygirl Margarita 

I could live on chips, guacamole and margaritas in the summer. But with the added sugar, it can be a calorie-loaded cocktail. Especially when combined with the chips and guac cals I can put back!

Bethenny Frankel’s Skinnygirl margarita recipe replaces the sugar with fresh lime juice.

Still refreshing and cuts down the calories.

5. St. Germain Strawberry Lemonade 

I found this recipe for St. Germain Strawberry Lemonade online on a blog called Fashionably Bombed, which might be one of my favorite blog names. Ever.

After reading the comments, I also do think, it would be super yummy with champagne as well.

Cheers! 

Welcome Spring! With Spring Break and summer vacation planning on the horizon I asked my dear friend and luxury travel writer, Jolie Loeb to give me a list of her top 5 travel destinations with kids.  Jolie is a mama of two girls, so she knows all about traveling with children, well. Very well. Here are her top spring getaways with kids…

TOP SPRING GETAWAYS WITH KIDS!

by Jolie Loeb

Alright friends – straight up – none of these are bargains.  Some of them could qualify as How To’s on breaking the bank.  But if you want to travel with the kids, and you want to go big before you go home, here are some high-end recs for local (and/or local adjacent, and/or like all the way across the country) globetrotting with your tots in tow.  Earmark these for summer too, or just bucket list ‘em.  They’ll quench your wanderlust and likely ignite the same in your kin.  Obsessions kick in earlier than they used to.  May as well plant one you can get on board with.

ALISAL GUEST RANCH AND RESORT, SANTA BARBARA

Giddy and up. This place was born to be a tradition, and that’s probably why people make their reservations years in advance.  You know those movies with the wide open sprawl of land, pretty ponies, and trees that look that they’ve been waiting centuries to canopy you?  That’s this place, plus all the archery, hiking, golfing, swimming, ropes coursing, mountain biking, and volleyball you can eat.  Think family BBQ’s and movies beneath the stars, oh, and the morning horseback ride to breakfast is a must – hayrides for the horse weary. You haven’t lived until you’ve heard cowboy poetry over pancakes.  Trust.

www.omotg.com/alisal-guest-ranch-and-resort

BACARA RESORT & SPA

I did not expect this place to speak to my kids, turns out it serenaded them something serious.  They’ve got all kinds of kinder nooks and crannies baked into this place.  Like the sloping lanai right outside of The Bistro, where they can Jack and Jill til their hearts content as you indulge in far too many coffee refills, all overlooking the ocean.  And then there are all these totally doable hiking trails, tres kid friendly, one that leads to the beach, which leads to hours of beachcombing.  Just mind the tar. Poolside cabanas, of course.  Plus the smorgasbord of seaside adventures are at your avail – paddle boarding, kayaking, beach horseback riding?  Oh yes they did.  Must hits on your way out – The Coronado Butterfly Preserve and Goleta Butterfly Grove.  Spoiler alert: THIS is where all the butterflies have been hiding.  Cue your I-Phones.

www.redtri.com/bacara-getaway-kids

THE REDWOODS IN YOSEMITE

Watching their necks crane all the way until their chin is in the sky – the whole premise of awesome must be carved into the Yosemite Valley Floor, and rises like a Phoenix from the ground up.  Experiencing nature to this scale is an experience built for children, probably because it wasn’t built at all.  Seeing them see those sequoias, search for waterfalls (because they’ll actually find some), and giving them the opt to envelop themselves in completely unmanufactured beauty, it is worth the drive, it is worth the are we there yets, it is Mother Nature’s most potent visual elixir.  The Redwoods makes it family accessible, in an ever so woodsy wonderland kind of way.  The whole renting a house, having a massive space to sprawl, making dinner by the fire, glass of red for us, s’mores, for, fine, them too.  With endless exploration, literally, right outside the door.  Vacation home rentals (that’s what these are) take a bit more planning and prep on the front end, but for family vacating, it’s an exceptionally user friendly way to go.

www.omotg.com/the-redwoods-in-yosemite

RANCHO VALENCIA RESORT & SPA

SoCal residents, this is your Shangri-la.  I was tempted to put Ojai Valley Inn on this list, but Rancho Valencia edges it out in terms of making serenity a far more family friendly phrase.  The rooms, you can’t even call them that, they’re villas, crazy beautiful, but none too precious.  Some come with their own private outdoor spa. This property is divine, overarching trees grandfathering impeccably manicured grounds, but the divinity here is so very much in the details. Fresh OJ delivered to your door each morning, a complimentary snack bar inside (snacks provided – the difference this makes in family vacating is immeasurable), tennis lessons for them, tequila tastings for him, and yoga atop the still waters. Don’t’ even get me stated on the spa.  Do get yourself a reservation.

www.omotg.com/rancho-valencia-resort-and-spa

WEQUASSETT RESORT AND GOLF CLUB

Here it is.  The holy grail of family vacating, a mere 3,000 miles away.  Hard to say who this place caters to more. . kids, parents. . it’s a draw, which is only one fractional element of its lure.  Unless your last name happens to be Trump or Rockefeller, this jaunt will require a bit more than your casual lump of chump change, but once you get there, they are really good at validating why you opted to blow the wad.  A standard setting kids club with daily themes and east coast exploratory activities, a private boat (which if mostly empty, they may let your kid drive, #seriously, #youmayneedacocktailafter) to a private beach (BEYOND), kids buffet on a pirate ship (natch), regular rounds made by the Good Humor truck (ding ding!  Strawberry Shortcake on a sitck, anyone?), splash pad, pirate playground, nightly night caps by the fire, and a dive-in theatre under the stars, replete with a popcorn, snow cone, and gummy bear buffet that will stay in your dreams as long as theirs.   The family vacation mothership landed here.  I have my doubts it’s ever departing.

www.omotg.com/wequassett-resort-and-golf-club

This past weekend, my daughter announced that we needed to start working on our leprechaun trap for Saint Patrick’s Day…and buy a box of Lucky Charms so when we trap him, he’ll feel at home with a nice breakfast treat.

But to begin, I have a confession – I had never really planned to start Saint Patrick’s Day traditions with my kiddos. Although I love the holiday, I usually put up a couple of cute decorations around the house, buy the kids some adorable green T-shirts to wear at school and call it a day.

That is until my oldest was in kindergarten last year.  And was introduced to the concept of leprechaun traps…in fact, it was a school project for all of the kinders.  And that’s when the questions started…

“Mom, why doesn’t a leprechaun visit our house each year?  Why doesn’t he turn our toilet bowl green? (Ummmm, time out.  Excuse me?!)  What kind of treats is he going to leave for us…real gold???”

Whoa there, cowgirl!  Let’s take a breath.  Green potties?  Real gold???

First, I explained that just like our Elf on the Shelf, Jingles, that leprechauns are all different too…and get into different types of mischief at different houses …and may not even visit some houses.  (Unfortunately, my daughter was SO adamant about a leprechaun visit that I wasn’t getting out of this.).  It was time to put together some new Saint Patrick’s Day traditions – stat.

St. Patrick’s Day Traditions for Kids 

1. Don’t Get Pinched!

First and foremost, I make sure each kiddo has a new green-themed T-shirt or outfit to wear to school.  I usually raid Target, Walmart or The Children’s Place, and find pretty cute stuff.  It’s always fun to get something new as a kid, and it helps them get into the spirit of the holiday.

2. Leprechaun Traps

Yep, we are now a family that has a leprechaun trap each year (because apparently, it really is a thing nowadays!). Actually, it’s a pretty fun project to do, especially if you like crafting with your kids.  I kind of fudged it, and started with a Saint Patty’s Day felt hat I found at Michael’s craft store…and just cut a small piece of the top off.  Then I let my daughter figure out a way to “trap” the leprechaun – you can use small toys around the hours, stickers, pipe cleaners, etc..  There’s really not a right or wrong way to make a trap – and if you Google it, there are hundreds of ideas!  Jen actually wrote a great blog all about easy-to-build leprechaun traps!

Here’s a picture of our trap last year…

We left our “trap” on the kitchen table the night before Saint Patrick’s Day.  And wouldn’t you know…a leprechaun actually found his way to our house, walked all over the table, leaving tiny green footprints (I used a super small green frosting tube from the cake decorating section, dabbed some on each of my pinkie fingers, and made “footprints” all over the table.

Unfortunately, our trap didn’t quite work, because the leprechaun was gone before the kids woke up.  But, he did leave them one chocolate gold coin each.

And no, he did NOT turn our toilet bowl green.  I had to draw the line somewhere…and that was it!

3. Make Gold Coins

I get out lots of yellow contraction paper and have the kids draw all sizes of circles (to represent gold coins).  Then, I have them cut all of the “coins” out.  We left these around the trap as bait.

This is also a stealthy way to practice fine motor skills!

4. Special Breakfast

Speaking of Lucky Charms, yes, I totally let my kids enjoy a nice big bowl of sugary, marshmallow goodness for breakfast on Saint Patrick’s Day.  Teachers = you’re welcome (cringe).  I swear, every other day out of the year I make them eat something healthy before school (okay….most days).

5. Cutsie Crafts

Now that my kids have moved onto leprechaun traps, that tends to take up most of our crafting time.  But, there are SO many adorable craft ideas out there for Saint Patrick’s Day, especially for littles.  Here are a few super cute ones I found on Pinterest.

End of the Rainbow Twirlers
From www.craftymorning.com  – End of the Rainbow Paper Plate Twirler

Alphabet and Number Saint Patrick’s Day Matching
From www.iheartcraftythings.com – Alphabet and Number Saint Patrick’s Day Matching

“Fruit Loops” Rainbow & Marshmallows
From sortingsprinkles.blogspot.com – Saint Patrick’s Day for Preschoolers – Part 1

Do you have any fun Saint Patrick’s Day traditions to share?  Do you do anything special for this holiday?  If so, please share below!

Top photo credit: Flickr,
 All rights reserved by jciv

We were VERY fortunate to be able to attend the unveiling of the latest addition to the LEGO® Star Wars™ Miniland at LEGOLAND this past week.  Having two boys…ages 2 1/2 and 5 1/2, Star Wars™ is a BIG DEAL around here.

They are mesmerized by the movies and pretty much all things Luke, Vader and Yoda. We even donned the costumes this year for Halloween.  Who wouldn’t pass up a chance to be Princess Leia?! I think that having a husband (like so many of us!) that grew up in the original Star Wars™ era, dads really feel connected to their kids with the shared love of these films.

We’ve been to LEGOLAND several times before with our oldest but this was the first trip that the little one could actually enjoy it.  I just love everything about the park.

It has nice, wide open walkway spaces, tons of areas for little ones to explore and play and a really wide variety of rides.

There are also fantastic and HEALTHY food options, which at theme parks is sometimes hard to find.  We highly suggest the Pizza & Pasta Buffet for your trip.  They serve amazing salads, pasta and pizza (buffet-style, aka FAST) in a sit-down restaurant.  It’s super easy and quick if you are juggling strollers and multiple tired and hungry kids.

We usually spend the first half of the day exploring the rides and attractions, then a fair amount of time in Miniland in the center of the park.

It’a s great area to rest a little (that’s when you put the littles in a stroller) with a lot of benches for seating and to just marvel at the amazing LEGO® models of cities all over the United States.

The Star Wars™  area is quite impressive, depicting tons of characters and also mini models of full scenes from the movies.

We were lucky enough to get a sneak peek of the latest MASSIVE addition on March 4th…The Death Star.

Photo credit: LEGOLAND

It is HUGE…8-feet wide, 13-feet high, weighing more than 1,900 pounds and made out of more than 500,000 bricks.  It is incredible to see the features of the film scenes made out of the bricks.  Especially the famous trench run scene where Luke Skywalker maneuvers his X-Wing fighter through the combat zone to destroy the Death Star.  If you have boys, you KNOW what I’m talking about!

And the best part, is that adjacent to the model, guests are invited to construct their OWN starship at building stations with special LEGO® bricks.  My boys LOVED this part and I love how Legoland is so interactive and encourages creativity in our children.

I loved this picture with Darth Vader and the Stormtroopers.  Mind you, my oldest wouldn’t even LOOK at a costumed character one year ago so his silly nervous grin just makes me laugh!  And the little one was SO brave until the Stormtrooper talked to him.  This is the best group shot you can get with kids these ages, I guess!

So if you have the chance to hit up LEGOLAND soon…do NOT miss this new attraction.  It’s sure to be fun for kids…and Dads too.  🙂

www.california.legoland.com/miniland_usa/STAR-WARS-Miniland

The Pregnancy Diaries…

My newest reality check – “pregnancy brain” is no joke!  Who’s with me, mamas??

Whether it’s been awhile since you’ve been pregnant, or are currently pregnant, I think that every mom can relate to that crazy pregnancy brain phenomenon.

Like, my husband is now reminding me about things I didn’t even realize I’d forgotten.  And just pats me on the back and sympathetically smiles each morning when I ask him for the fourth time in 10 minutes what he has planned for the day and if he fed the dog.

As you probably know by now, I am a Type-A, very organized, and (usually) very efficient mama.  Well, I was…until I took a positive pregnancy test…and within three weeks…pregnancy brain set in. (Insert heavy sigh.)

A note to my third child – I love you more than my own life…but for mama’s sanity and for the sake of your daddy and big brother and sister, can you please stop sucking up my brain cells???

I knew it was going downhill fast when I stopped and started this blog about six times.  And I had to call my husband and ask him to remind me about one of my funniest pregnancy brain moments for the blog…to which he replied, “Oh honey.  This is one of them.”  (Thanks, love.)

To moms’ credits everywhere, pregnancy brain is actually a thing.  Yes, I’ve researched this.  Take a look:

 From What To Expect When You’re Expecting – Forgetfulness During Pregnancy or Pregnancy Brain

 From WebMD – Pregnancy Brain: Myth or Reality

From parents.com – Dealing with Pregnancy Brain

 From todaysparent.com – Pregnancy Brain – It’s Not All in Your Head

Okay, this makes me feel a little bit better.  At least we can all rest easy knowing that this is perfectly normal…and we’re not alone.

So for now, I’ve decided to embrace it, accept it, and do the following to help me stay sane…and I bet all of you pregnant mamas out there can relate!

– I write everything down.  Sticky notes, taped notes to the fridge, notes left in my car…can’t have too many reminders laying around.  If I’m out and about without anything to write with, I text myself.

– I set my phone alarm multiple times a day.  Especially when it comes to kid pick-ups, or appointments that I have to be at.

– As soon as I receive information that requires a “to-do,” I try to get it done asap.  No time like the present.  If I let it sit too long, it will most likely float off to pregnancy Never Neverland.

– I’ve asked for a lot more help this pregnancy.  From my husband.  From my two older kids. From my mom and mother-in-law. From my friends. Between the exhaustion and fatigue, the all day sickness (yep, this little precious munchkin is keeping me on my toes – all.day.long)… and then add in this lovely pregnancy brain…I’ve recognized that I just need more help.  And thanks to my amazing family and friends, they are giving that much needed support.

I’m still holding out hope that the second half of my pregnancy will be a little easier than the first.  Meanwhile, I am so grateful and excited to share that my beautiful little babykins is growing, healthy and right on track!  Thank you for reading along and sharing this pregnancy journey with me!

Anyone else out there in pregnancy-land dealing with pregnancy brain?  Any tips or funny stories to share?  Comment below and we can giggle together!