Saturday, August 23, 2014

Farmers Market

Farmer's Market at Tivoli Village in Las Vegas. It sounds super posh-upscale and yes it is, but every Saturday morning between 8am-1pm they host a farmers market. Part of the venders have their booths along the paths between the shops. The herbs and additional items are inside for an indoor market.

I don't recommend buying the produce though. A few things but most the items are cheaper at the Whole Foods store across the street. Not sure many people know this. I have the store on speed dial due to my child and his extreme allergies we call them a lot. 

I walk to market with the kids, check out the prices and just call to get a price check. One day the prices were half as much for organic items at Whole Foods. Just to show you should do your research. Not sure if they increase the cost because this is a nice facility and the mentality is that people have more money to spend or not, but if you know better you will save a lot of money.


Posh park visiting stay at home moms annoy me. I am being judgmental My goal in life is to not protect my judgments of other people onto my children, but sometimes it happens. That or my children are just exceptionally brilliant. Yes, my daughter might be but my son doesn't speak.

A boy about my daughters size maybe 3-4 years old saw Jace who is not even 2 yet and walks over to him and pushes him. The mother was on the phone twirling around her beaded necklace not paying attention to her child. My daughter runs to my son's defense, but we moved to avoid the playground bully.

Honestly not sure how to approach the situation. I told the boy to mind his manners and it is rude to push other people. He looked surprised like he was offended. Maybe he will think twice before pushing another kid. Had I not been there my daughter might've handled it in her own way.



This park is in the center of a high end outdoor mall. I love it because there is no sand, no dirt, no grass and it is gated. I know that sounds crazy and total city but for a special child allergic to everything it is a blessing. The gate has three exits which are latched and require a bit of force to push open the gate leaving my two year old trapped in a large square space unable to run off or into traffic if there was any.


The park does have a section of grass which my son loves to run across. The best part it is fake grass. If it was real I can only imagine the allergy problems that would manifest if allowed him to play in it.


Of course I can't stop him from being a boy. He wants to climb on everything including me. Anything that sister does he also wants to do. He doesn't quite understand that he is too small but he is learning fast how to follow and copy her even when we don't want him to.


I am impressed at how well his face looks. One day he looks amazing and the next he is covered in hives. Praying there are answers soon in our quest to an easier life style.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Sneaky Child


Jace woke early. I couldn't find him after I got dressed, but I heard this adorable giggling only to find him on the couch. Headphones on like dad and controller in hand ready to game.

He is just like his dad.

Leaving Disneyland

We had planned to stay at Disneyland from morning to night. My children however had other plans. We arrived as the park opened. A friend let us borrow a two child stroller. It was insanely large but I am so glad I insisted that we bring it. My husband thought it was crazy.


We made it to about 7pm. I really wanted to stay for the fireworks and parade but the kids were wiped out. We were going to return for another day but my daughter wanted to go back to the beach instead. Saved us a ton of money. Although I had a feeling the second day at Disneyland we would've been better prepared.


She was out before we found the freeway. He was wide eyed and cheerful.

Disney Family Photo

At least we got ONE family photo.




My daughter is such a girly girl. I adore her to pieces. She is in this "pretty phase" where everything needs to be proper, clean, and shiny. This includes her clothes, hair and poses if you cannot tell by the photo at the bottom.


Disneyland Photos


You can see his belly is still swollen. It means he is still eating foods he is allergic to, but at least they aren't the extreme allergies. Hopefully we will get to the bottom of those, but in the mean time I hope he can experience itch free for a bit.


Madison wanted brother to stay with her and pose for a photo and he wanted no part of any of it. I was extremely impressed with his skin. The California air maybe, but he didn't have a single outbreak. I was so surprised. I thought for sure he would've been covered in hives being in a new environment. 



This was one of many attempts to get Jace to remain still for a photo. He was so excited to be free from the stroller he didn't want any part of standing still. This was during the parade so it was less crowded although it also meant the professional photographers were also gone.


Brother in Stroller

He wasn't too unhappy staying in his stroller.

Town Town Fun

Road trip to Disneyland

On our way to Disneyland!

Ready for Vacation

Sister at Beach

Brother and sister playing in the ocean.

Mother's Beach, Long Beach CA


Long Beach, CA at Mother's Beach on our vacation August - 2014

I was surprised to find a beach that is called Mother's Beach in California close to where we were staying. I read the reviews for quite a few places and with the little one we decided more of a bay would be better for him. I love Mission beach and the bay down deep in San Diego, but since we were up north by Disneyland we decided the drive into San Diego was a bit much.

Had I known that this was also a stopping ground for large boats we might've chosen another location. The mass amount of boats probably emit a ton of toxins into the water that get swept onto the shore.

That being said my son is the most sensitive person I've ever encountered. Since he didn't breakout or react to the water maybe it wasn't as bad as I am making it out to be. The distance between the swimmers and the boats is pretty far. The lifeguards watch the swimmers to make sure they don't go too close to the marked off sections. There is no surfing at this location so if anyone was interested in a surf or high wave this wouldn't be the best location for you.

This was perfect for us being a family with two small children who cannot swim. The water was mild. The waves were subtle but enough that my son had a blast sitting in them. This was during the week and it was very crowded with mother's and small children. I believe schools in California started two weeks before we did so this was the first week of school. Most of the kids were pretty small which was fun for my kids. 

It wouldn't be a good place if you don't like small kids.





Jace loved the water more than I thought he would. It was adorable. He discovered saltwater and his mouth puckered. Then his tongue went nuts and all he wanted to do was eat the water. The mud was something else. He had a blast just throwing mud everywhere.

For the most part we do cloth diapers. I didn't think about getting a swimmers diaper. I suppose I didn't expect him to enjoy the water so much either. Next time we will know better... or let's hope by next summer he is potty trained.