A Christmas to Rememberrrr!!

                                   Friday evening an hour and a half after the first snow fell

Yowzaa! We are out in the East Coast spending our holiday season with Mr. Fliz's family and an unexpected visitor came to join us. We had a snow storm come in on Friday evening--just a day after we had arrived. It was the big news on Thursday night. At first they expected 6-10 inches of snow, then 10-15 inches (yikes!), and then it got up to two feet of snow expected to fall between Friday evening (the 18th) to Sunday morning. We got close to that--almost 20 inches!

It was Micro's first snowfall. To say the least, he was surprised and a bit intrigued. However, he was not a fan of the cold and snow. I'm sure this will take a bit getting used to. The snow was beautiful and memorable. We certainly enjoyed putting on our layers, snow boots, and thick jackets. Yes,we were unprepared for this snow and last minute tried to get him some proper attire, but most stores were cleaned out. Thankfully, his cousin let him borrow some of her snow gear. And yeah, so what of the pink boots-he looks good and matches :)

Mr. Fliz and I even managed to make it into D.C. during the storm (are we crazy?--you bet!) to do an overnight and enjoy an evening of "Chocolate Decadence" at the Ritz (for more info-click here) despite warnings of several road closures and metro stops (yes, we took the Metro and hoofed the rest of the short way).

Though temperatures were below freezing, that didn't stop us from getting outside and doing what we had to do for family Christmas parties and such. The snow will be sticking around for Christmas, where they expect a "wintery mix" to happen. Oh joy. Let's see what happens.





coming back from the Ritz with freshmade donuts to go

Sunday morning, a thick blanket of powder

Holiday Traditions

My favorite new show this season has been "Modern Family." It's a funny family sitcom that at the end of each episode (thus far) leaves you feeling good. That's been hard to find as of late. Last week's episode got me thinking about how fun it's been to create new family traditions and preserving old ones. Now that I have my own little family, I look forward to Micro growing older and appreciating these traditions. My husband feels the same way.

Creating lasting memories season after season is what it's all about. Though the holidays don't always leave everyone feeling warm inside, it's still a time to celebrate and look back on the past year. We have to be grateful for all the little blessings we have. So here's to creating many more family traditions with your loved ones...no matter how big, small, crazy, or boring.

16 more days left til Christmas

This week is proving to be a very cold Decemberrrrrrr! Parts of Northern California are in the twenties. What's going on? In fact, Walnut Creek and Coco County got a light dusting of snow on Monday. I'm jealous. But that's ok, because they're only 20 minutes away, so I can get that Tahoe-like feel too :)

So to keep things warm, I thought I'd share this recipe for Alfajores (the cookie is usually thinner--so you can roll your dough out a bit flatter if you like) from Chez Pim. If you haven't tried these cookies yet--omg--you are totally missing out. A bit messy to eat, as they crumble apart from your first bite, but it's oh so good! I'm too lazy to make them myself so I buy them fresh at local bakeries.

For gift ideas for your girlfriends, that don't include candles, lotions, or what rookie moms, Heather and Whitney, say are "clutter-free"gift ideas--could always use a little of these now and then. For the little ones that are artists-in-training, this from Cool Mom Picks is a cute little idea to bring their artistry to life.

Stay warm everybody and tis the season to be Merry!

Disney Magic

Ok, here it is! A helpful guide to exploring Disneyland with your little ones safely and soundly. I've published two articles to help those who are going to visit where Mickey and Minnie reside with their babies and toddlers for the first time. I've enlisted the help of very trustworthy and resourceful friends of mine who are avid Disneyland visitors. If you would like to share any additional tips or advice with regards to "surviving Disneyland", please leave comments below.

**Watch for Toy Story 3 to come out next year! The pictures are courtesy of Arnold Suliguin and Marvin Louie. Emily Suliguin with Sleeping Beauty and Noah Louie with Buzz Lightyear

I can't wait to go to "The Happiest Place on Earth" with Micro and watch him soak it all in. Just today we went to San Francisco Centre and Downtown SF for some Christmas shopping magic and stayed until it was dark for Micro to view the tree. He certainly enjoyed watching all the lights and seeing 'The Grinch' hangin' out in Union Square. I've been wanting to take him to see the tree at downtown since he was first born. Last year, we didn't stay too long because Micro was a "micron" at the time. He loved looking at all the lights and seeing him smile brought me lots of Christmas joy :)