Small Things Are Big Things

December 4, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

December is here, yo!

It’s the 4th and I’ve done NOTHING for advent. Eeeek! (Is feeling like a failure daily, a huge part of being a mom, or is that just me?) My friend Carlee told me about the Jesse Tree last year and I REALLY want to try to get it together… but I will have to wait till next year. I still have the Truth is in Tinsel and I’m hoping to do some of that this advent.

The excuse in my head is that my husband’s company Christmas party (which is rad and a super big deal) came quickly so my whole month feels a little off. This year’s theme was Alice in Wonderland and my hubby and I ran with the Mad Hatter theme… (You must check out 2011 2009 2008)

Below are scenes from this year. Be warned. We like to dance… no, we love to dance… no, we were made to dance.

I look forward to dancing with this group of peeps every year. REALLY. If we can only find a place without half naked gogo dancers and where people over 25 aren’t shunned. Or if we could bring our lil’ dance posse with us to every wedding. We would be golden. (There are a few friends missing… who has a wedding on a Friday anyway!?!?)

The next day we had the Family event. I’m not going to say the my husband’s kids company party is better than yours… but I’ll show you pix and let you be the judge… (2009 2011)

We also got to go to a preview of this year’s Christmas at the Zoo this weekend. It was sooooooo fun! Locals, try to go if you can. The animal keepers put special treats in Christmas boxes and it looks like the animals are opening presents. The price is right! (And I’m giving away free tickets below!)

Details:
Date: Saturday, December 8, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Cost: $2 per person (2 and under FREE), Parking $5
Location: OC Zoo (Inside Irvine Regional Park), 1 Irvine Park Road, Orange, CA 92869
Contact: 714-973-6847 www.ocparks.com/oczoo

While we were in the Irvine Park, we met up with Kyla from Funky Polkadot Giraffe for the Christmas Train ride. Our kids are a hoot together!

The Christmas Train has really become a special tradition for our family. It’s refreshing to be outdoors with some cocoa and a cookie instead of bombarded with toys and commercial stuff. (Though the cookie station by Santa needs a better display tray… ask me and I’ll pick something up, on the house.)

The train ride through the park filled with Christmas lights is magical…

And light speed…

Christmas Train
Date: December 7th-9th, 14th-23rd. I think the first train is just after 4ish.
Cost: $10 per person (children under age 2 ride free), Parking $5
Location: Irvine Park Railroad (Inside Irvine Regional Park), 1 Irvine Park Road, Orange, CA 92869
Contact: (714) 973-6835 or (714) 973-3173 Christmas Train site

Don’t cry because you didn’t get to go with us.

Win tickets below! 3 winners.

1st winner: 4 tickets for the train and 16 passes for the OC zoo. (NOT the Christmas Train, the regular train ride at the Irvine Park Railroad. 4 OC Zoo tickets which are good for 4 people each.)

2nd winner: 2 tickets for the train and 8 passes for the OC zoo. (NOT the Christmas Train, the regular train ride at the Irvine Park Railroad. 2 OC Zoo tickets which are good for 4 people each.)

3rd winner: 8 passes for the OC zoo. (2 OC Zoo tickets which are good for 4 people each.)

Good Luck Friends!!

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November 27, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Lovin’ Pony Royale

We were introduced to Pony Royale by my friends Jaime and Kyla over the summer. They were love at first sight for my lil’ sparkle loving girl.

She enjoyed them so much, I contacted the lovely folks at Pony Royale to see if we could have a pony party too.

They said yes!

I invited a bunch of like-minded-sparkle-lovers over for an after school snack and the girls each got to take 2 ponies home!

(If you want to take one home, keep reading!)

The menu: Fruit and chocolate filled Twinkies on fancy dishes.

(Side note: I love the Pony Royale map. I’m in the process of folding a few of the extras into fan circles to hang in Cora Jane’s room…. sooooo cute!)

Each of the 12 princess ponies has a unique character quality and birthstone. These ponies are great for lil’ gals who are a bit too old for the Little Ponies but are still into glitz and glamor. The colorful manes and tails can be swapped with other ponies and each pony comes with an extra set.

A few little brothers were at the party also. They ended up in the back yard playing in the dirt and fighting with sticks.

True story.

Today Cora and I made this Christmas saddle for Harmony (her pony). Check out my post about it over at OC Family.

How awesome is that hectic pony hair!?!?! Cora said Harmony was caught in a windstorm and is currently brushing it out.

I think a little girl in your life needs a Pony Royale pony for Christmas, don’t you?

1 winner + 1 pony = 1 happy Christmas morning. (Don’t forget about my KitchenAid stand mixer and Keurig Coffee Brewer giveaway either!)

To enter, leave a comment on this post with the most requested Christmas toy in your family this year. Then click the “I commented” button in the box below. Then all sorts of other entry options will pop up in the box…

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November 26, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Win your holiday gifts!

This is our first holiday season in our first home. And we’ve discovered our neighborhood doesn’t mess around when it comes to outdoor decorating. The weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving, die hard decorators were on their roofs hanging lights.

So we hung ours too.

Peer pressure.

We have slowly been buying outdoor Christmas lights at Sam’s Club (of course) so we were ready anyway. Now I just have to do the indoor décor. Doesn’t it feel like the fall stuff is hardly up at all? It’s like we are changing the decorations like crazy for 3 months then – Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, BAM – then it’s just our usual stuff for the other 9 months.

The holidays are a whirlwind.

Again, my mantra is to be present.

Halloween and Thanksgiving are over and Christmas is in full swing.

Anyway, it basically Christmas tomorrow so I hope you have all those gifts worked out. And if you need a little help… I’m running a giveaway with some of my bloggy friends and it’s pretty rad. In fact, I wish I could win. The kitchen aid mixer would look great on my counter really help me prepare healthy meals for my family. (though I’m not sure how I could decide on a color…bayleaf, pistachio, majestic yellow, aqua sky and green apple… oh my!). And the Keurig premium brewer… yes please!!

There are two winners. One for the mixer and one for the brewer.

Good Luck friends!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Two winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter (powered by Random.org). The first prize winner will have the option of choosing between a KitchenAid Artisan Mixer – winner’s choice of color – (MSRP $429.95) or a Keurig Platinum Single-Cup Brewer (MSRP $179.95). The second prize winner will be awarded the item that was not chosen by the first prize winner. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to the owner of this Facebook page and not to Facebook. This promotion is powered by Rafflecopter. Metric Feat LLC (“Rafflecopter”) does not sponsor, administer, or endorse this promotion. Participants must read and agree to Rafflecopter’s Privacy Policy before entering and participating in this promotion. This is a non-sponsored post.

And I’ll leave you with this ecard that cracked me up…

I can’t stand Elf on the Shelf… I know I’m the only one on the planet. Sorry. Don’t hate me for it.

November 25, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Slick Sale

We are having a sale.

Our store is moving over to the new site! (Squeeee!!)

It’s slick.

A Holiday Slick Sale…

Christmas card photos need a Fedorable. Get them here.

Stuff those stocking with a Snowboarder L! Get it here.

Switch it up! Interchangables here.

Happy Shopping Friends!

November 22, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Indescribable Gift

Sums it up for us…

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! ~ 1 Corinthians 9:15

November 19, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

My dayz

Recently and somewhat randomly, I have been hanging out with bloggy folks. Since I don’t really feel part of the the blog world, I’m mostly awkward and a total dork in these social situations. It’s pathetic. Anyway, I’ve met the sassy Hollywood Housewife and she did a thing where you record the events in your day in pictures. I joined in! I tried my best, but I have to be honest, the idea of taking pix of every moment kinda stressed me out. I’m always on the move and I don’t really keep my phone or a camera on me during the day. Quite a few times I would have loved to grab a picture but in leaving to get a camera the moment would have been over and me leaving the room could have caused a meltdown. (I’m also linking up to Life Rearranged’s InstaFriday.)

Here’s what I do in a day… try not to fall asleep…

Everyday before 7am I get the oldest three littles settled in front of Sesame Street with bananas. We go through about 2 bunches a week. That’s a hellofalot of bananas.

7:30am: I nurse this lil’ lady. She’s kinda a B until she has her milk. I’m hoping she’ll want to wean soon. (Please tell me I’m not the only one who hates nursing but does it for the ‘greater good’.)

8ish am: Morning playtime. Making paper airplanes and launching them. Paper airplanes are a mommy playtime goldmine. Guaranteed to occupy kiddos for at least an hour.

9am: I start getting the ball rolling for school. I always wear my PJs while driving to school (unless I’m doing errands afterward). I’m super trendy like that. I often walk but today I didn’t.

After drop off I usually do my morning chores, aka unloading the dishwasher and tidying the kitchen.

Then I have some playtime with the littles so I can ignore them later without feeling guilty. Today was all about my future groupie…

11ish am: I wash 2 lbs of strawberries and put on a long movie for the 3 littlest littles. We go through 2lbs of strawberries a day. That’s a hellofalot of strawberries.

That whole ignoring thing mentioned above is necessary for me to be able to run on the treadmill. But I don’t actually get to ignore my kiddos. Although I put on a long show and make sure they have plenty of snacks, I’m inevitably interrupted at least a dozen times – someone hit someone, someone has a stinky diaper, someone needs to be wiped, something spilled… Usually they end up in the garage, talking with me while I run. They especially like to make fun of me huffing and puffing or imitate my running in place. It’s humbling to say the least. Today my water bottle was knocked over by a little person and spilled all over the conveyer belt and I almost killed myself tripping over the empty bottle.

True story.

Are you jealous of my life yet?

After I’m showered, I clean more. It’s shocking how much I clean because my house is always pretty messy. I dusted. love this year’s minimalist mantel.

1pm: Pick up from school and parent/teacher conference. Eeeek. Eli is loved by his teacher and I love that. She sees his sweet gentle spirit and that makes my heart smile.

2:15pm: Drs Appointment for Cy’s strange non healing boo boo. Which I was completely sure was some sort of tumor inside his head that was so large it was popping out. I’m not joking. I was convinced. Anyway, it turns out it is a scab that he just keeps scraping off and it’s not healing because it’s a bit infected. Oral medicine, topical medicine and pancakes at Jack in the Box. (Note for my mom: It looks better already!) I may still be a little convinced it’s some sort of strange thing.

Being a mom brings out all those over the top cray cray paranoid thoughts. (Tell me I’m not the only one!?!?)

4pm: I decided to paint the top of our wooden side table orange. It looks horrible. You know when you are doing a project and even while you are working on it, you know it’s going to turn out like crap. Yep. That’s this table. I have no idea what to with it now. Eli was not impressed that I used his school work to tape off the bottom of the table. But we are super green like that.

4:30pm: I was invited to OC Metro’s Hot 25 party. Which called for the super hot right now duck face. Which is the polar opposite of hot.

And then I had to decide what to wear. This totally sucks, because nothing fits. I am getting smaller but my closet is all over the place.

6pm ish: The event was neat! Delicious food (at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach) and I absolutely loved to hear about each of the honorees. I know Orange County has an interesting reputation in this great country of ours, but I truly love it here. From farmers to inventors to bloggers, you should check out the Hot List. (Proud to support the lovely Kristen Howerton as one of the honorees aka mom of some of our lovely Eli’s Lids models!)

9pm: My day came to a close with some snuggling on the couch with my sweetie. We watched a podcast about how to BBQ and the Soup.

So there’s my dayz in a nutshell. A little me time, a little work and a lot of family. And I’m just about to start it all again.

Have a great week friends!

November 15, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Clean Slate

I’m in a mood. A bit melancholy, a bit unmotivated and in need of a change. Under it all is the desire for a clean slate. A Fresh start. I’m looking forward to making the final separation between personal blog and business blog (I sure do love you guys!). I want to get rid of all my clothes and start from scratch. Redefine my style and only own clothes that fit. I want the rooms in my home to be organized and void of useless clutter. But still homey. I would LOVE to chuck all my kiddos’ toys and just save the few most played with items. Which is a total sham, because Christmas is almost here and our children will be spoiled with countless more gifts. This bothers me as well. We have too much.

I want to simplify.

There is a book out right now called 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess. The book reviews are off the charts, and maybe one day I’ll read it’s pages. I can guess the conclusion. The author’s family dramatically simplified, had a rough time, but it was a mostly good wake up call, and they are changed. I think we already know we don’t need everything we have. And things we think we need, we would be fine without.

As I enter this season of excess. My focus is to be present, to simplify and to give.

What’s yours?

November 11, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Halloween rant and giveaway at the end

This year we made a new Halloween tradition. As traditions go, this one was born from necessity and not forced. Every night we have raw spinach salad, usually rice or potatoes and some sort of meat… we were out of everything. So I made breakfast for dinner. And it was yummy and fun and different (for us). And that’s all it takes to make kiddos happy. Tess kept putting bacon on her head. She is a ham… pun intended.

Then we be bopped on over to the Pumpkin City pumpkin patch with Push Cakes in hand. YUM!!! We got our pumpkins for a deal. YAY!

(I love everything about this picture. Everything. Ev-ery-thing.)

We all dress up for Halloween, and I love putting together a family costume theme. Unfortunately, the big kids get to pick their own thing (darn free choice) and my plan of Fred and Wilma and Pebbles and Bam Bam for the littlest was just too pricey. I don’t mind spending a little bit of money for the big kids (ninja and Cinderella) because they use their costumes all year long for dress-up, but the littles grow out of theirs in what feels like just a few weeks.

Days before Halloween I was browsing Party City for ideas and came across a baby Darth Vader costume for $10. Tess. Done. The I came across some adorable skull and crossbones suspenders. Cy = punk rock greaser. Done. Then a skin colored tee that makes the wearer look like they are covered in tattoos. Hubby as a bad boy? Yes, please. But I couldn’t find anything I liked for me that was cheapie cheap cheap cheap. When I got home I took a quick assessment of what we had around the house and I had had the best idea. Where’s Waldo!! We have loads of big black glasses from our Fedorable shoot and I just added a bit of flare to a white beanie and spray painted stripes onto an old shirt. Done. And for free!

So our family couldn’t have been more random. Tattooed man ($15). Where’s Waldo (free). Ninja ($20). Cinderella ($15). Punk rock greaser ($7). Darth Vader ($10) and I love it!

To make Where’s Waldo. Dig an old white shirt out of your closet (you know the one with the deodorant stains…) tape stripes with painter’s tape then spray the heck out of it! Cut strips of red felt then safety pin around a white beanie and bunch up thin red strips and safety pin to the top of the beanie (or make a yarn pom pom or use a pre made craft pom pom).

I really enjoy Halloween. I think it’s a lot of fun to come up with clever costume ideas and I love getting creative to bring ideas to life. I know people can get a little touchy (understatement) about the holiday. But I think Christians have failed their communities by not celebrating or by doing “safe alternatives.” It’s no surprise to me that Halloween has become so evil as Christians have completely removed their presence in their own communities. Halloween is the ONLY holiday that requires you to visit your neighbors. You know, those people who live 30 feet from you, who you’ve only waved at once. Hell-o outreach!! What if Christians gave out the best candy? Maybe with a lil’ invite you your Sunday service attached. What if Christians opened up their garages and served warm chili to trick-or-treating parents? Hot apple cider for Jesus, yo! I’ve had awesome Christian friends tell me they just go out to a movie or growing up they would shut off all the lights and hide from trick-or-treaters. I believe that’s what the enemy wants you to do. A major victory for Satan. Stop stepping back and start stepping in. Into the battle. Turn on your lights, literally and figuratively for the LORD. Be present in the home God has placed you. Be present for that one person who might need your encouragement that night. Be present to ~~strangers~~ your neighbors. Halloween would be different. Could be different.

(side note: Halloween is also a great time to teach your children the truth about death, demons and ghosts.)

Other great costumes of the evening…. (yep, we’ve got some crazy-awesome aunties around here!!!)

And I have another lil’ guest post over at According to Kelly. I’ll post it here soon too! And below is how to enter her great giveaway!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

November 4, 2012 by: Kara Noel Lawson

It’s Time for the Holiday Bake Craft Sew Along

I am over at According to Kelly guest posting today for the Holiday-Inspired Bake Craft Sew Along.

But, I get to help start the holiday season off with a bang, & treat you to an absolutely amazing giveaway as part of our crafty series.

We are giving away a fabulous Prize Package worth more than $700!

One lucky winner will receive…

Silhouette Portrait: this is Silhouette’s newest electronic cutting tool for personal use. Like a home printer, it plugs into your PC or Mac® with a simple USB cable. However, instead of printing it uses a small blade to cut paper, cardstock, vinyl, fabric and more up to 8″ wide and 10 feet long. The machine also has the ability to register and cut printed materials.
DecoArt Glass Paints & Stencils: non-toxic and enviromently-friendly, DecoArt has one of the widest selection of paints and finishes for arts, crafts, and home decorating, which includes over 25 brands of paint and finishes.
$100 Michael’s Gift Card

Simply wait for RaffleCopter to load and enter there!

Be sure to check out all the fabulous craft projects shared this month for this Holiday-Inspired Bake Craft Sew series going on all month long. & Don’t forget head on over to Skip to my Lou & A Southern Fairytale for more chances to win!

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