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When You Lose a Tooth in Disneyland…

/ Disney

Back Story:
When Emi was 5, she had a VERY loose tooth one day when we were at Disneyland. This tooth was literally hanging by a thread and she was very upset about it the entire day. A friend who was with us on that particular visit to the parks, told Emi that she had heard if you lost your tooth inside Disneyland and you buried it somewhere, Tinkerbell would find it, alert The Tooth Fairy about it AND visit your house that night as well! Although that tooth never came out on that visit, Emi never forgot that story.
Fast forward to present day:
Emi has had a loose tooth for some time now and when I picked her up from school the other day, it was so bad that it was literally turned around backwards in her mouth but still attached!

Seriously, what IS this?

Of course she didn’t want me to “help” her and she definitely didn’t want her dad to either. (He DEFINITELY knows how to get the job done!) So, she spent all night very upset and had even gone to her school nurse’s office to get one of those little tooth necklaces to hold the tooth, WHEN it finally came out. Since Emi knew she was off of school for a couple of days because of parent conferences, I think she knew that a trip to Disneyland was inevitable, since it’s our favorite thing to do on days off. She seemed to have the entire thing planned out in her head beforehand because when she woke up, she reminded me of the Tinkerbell tooth story and told me that she was saving her loose tooth for that. She had even planned out the dialogue for her intro video which she had me take, while she stood in front of Pixie Hollow, inside Disneyland.

Here’s her video: 

The funniest part about the day was that we spent so much time focusing on the tooth and trying to get it to fall out and it wasn’t until we stopped trying that it happened! We ate lunch at The Golden Horseshoe, thinking that might do it. We rode The Teacups. We rode King Arthur’s Carrousel. Nothing was working. Nothing!

I must admit that I was very tempted to accidentally bump the tooth out myself. When it was almost time to leave and Emi was growing more upset about the urgency of the situation is when it actually happened! Yep! We stopped by the Snow White Grotto to make a wish and after she bent over to look down into the well and drop a penny….BOOM! She stood back up, had this huge grin on her face, opened her mouth, the tooth rolled out onto her hand and she exclaimed, “Look, I did it!”

At that point we jogged back over to the Pixie Hollow area. That’s when she really stopped to ponder the whole thing. She nervously asked, “Mommy, what if it’s NOT true? What if Tinkerbell doesn’t know? What if she doesn’t tell The Tooth Fairy?” I assured her that Tinkerbell WOULD know and that The Tooth Fairy WOULD come, because of The Tooth Fairy’s “radar”. (referring to the “Rise of the Guardians” movie). She decided she WAS ready to leave her tooth behind…inside of Disneyland…but we weren’t exactly prepared to bury it, for fear of getting into trouble. So…she took the tooth out of her necklace, held it in her hand, closed her eyes, made a wish, and tossed it over her shoulder and into the flowers at Pixie Hollow! I had to choke back my tears!

When Emi woke up this morning, she found pixie dust all over her pillow and her face and money in her tooth fairy pillow! Phew!
I’m pretty sure Emi’s going to start a new trend if she tells all of her friends that the story is actually true….If you lose a tooth inside Disneyland and leave it there, Tinkerbell WILL alert The Tooth Fairy AND she’ll visit your home as well! She now has the “pixie dust” on her pillow to prove it’s true!

Irvine Park Railroad Easter Eggstravaganza 2014 & Giveaway

/ Celebrations, Family Fun, Holiday Fun, Irvine Park Railroad, Lifestyle, Orange County
If you have ever been to Irvine Regional Park, you know how much amazing family fun it has to offer! Among some of the activities you can do are hiking, biking ( they even have bike rentals), rent paddle boats, pony rides, visit the Orange County Zoo, and even have a picnic!  If you’ve never been, you need to take your family there right away! 
One of our favorite things to do in the park is to ride the Irvine Park Railroad. In past years, we’ve gone in December for the Irvine Park Railroad’s Santa Train and festivities! 
This year we’re excited to visit for it’s annual Easter Eggstravaganza, which begins on Saturday, March 29th and runs through Saturday, April 19th! Children and adults can ride the train through beautiful Irvine Regional Park. Children, ages 2 through 12 years old, also have the opportunity to participate in an Easter egg hunt, hunting for eggs that are each filled with either candy or a prize.  
You can purchase tickets for your child(ren) to participate in the Easter egg hunts, which begin at 10:00 AM daily. Tickets will be exchanged for a wristband which will indicate a specific time for the egg hunt they’ll be participating in. Don’t forget to bring an Easter basket for each child who is participating in the Easter egg hunt. Irvine Park Railroad will also offer Easter baskets for purchase. Tickets must be purchased on the day of the event, in order to receive a wristband for the Easter egg hunt. Please visit http://www.irvineparkrailroad.com for complete details on the Easter egg hunts, including times and costs.

During the Easter Eggstravaganza, children can meet the Easter Bunny at a cost of $10.00 per family or group. This cost includes a picture that will be taken by Irvine Park Railroad staff and available for pickup shortly after the picture is taken.

There will be other activities to enjoy during the Easter Eggstravaganza including hay rides, a moon bounce, Easter cookie decorating, carnival games, face painting, picture stands and a lot more. Please visit http://www.irvineparkrailroad.com for full details including costs.

Irvine Park Railroad’s other annual events include the Anniversary Celebration, Pumpkin Patch, and Christmas Train.

Become a fan of Irvine Park Railroad on Facebook, follow us onInstagram (Irvine Park Railroad), view pictures on Flickr, and follow our tweets on twitter (@IrvineParkRR).
While at Irvine Regional Park, be sure and visit the parks other activities including Wheel Fun Rentals® at Irvine Park bike and paddle boat rentals, pony rides and the Orange County Zoo.

The park entrance fee – charged by the County of Orange – is $3.00 per vehicle on weekdays and $5.00 per vehicle on weekends.
Irvine Park Railroad opens daily at 10:00 AM. The cost for train tickets is $5.00 per person; children younger than 12 months ride free. Irvine Park Railroad is located at 1 Irvine Park Road, Orange, CA 92869.

We can’t wait to go to the Easter Eggstravaganza 2014! 
Emi already has her outfit and her Easter basket ready to go! 
Now for the giveaway….you can enter to win 6 tickets (which can be used to ride the train OR participate in Easter Eggstravaganza activities) and 1 Wheel Fun Rentals at Irvine Park surrey rental (excludes double surrey)! Enter the giveaway in the Rafflecopter below! 
Good luck to everyone! 
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway open to U.S. Residence. No purchase necessary to enter. All fans have an equal chance to win, however, you must enter to win. A winner will be randomly selected via RaffleCopter and notified via email. No cash value. Winner will have 36 hours to claim their prize or a new winner will be selected the same way. Several different ways to earn entries. Not liable for unclaimed prizes or fulfillment. Sponsor has the right to refuse filling prize for duplicate winners from other blogs. Winner’s tickets will be mailed directly to home (or mailing address) and will not be available for will call at this event. 

photos courtesy of Irvine Park Railroad

Celebrate Barbie’s Birthday at Farrell’s!

/ Food

Did you know that Barbie is going to turn 55 this year? Yep, her birthday is on March 9th and what would be a better way to celebrate than a trip to Farrell’s? 
Last year Emi and I each chose a Barbie to take with us to our local Farrell’s restaurant on Barbie’s birthday. Emi also insisted we bring a table, 2 chairs and some Barbie-sized food for them. We set up their table for 2, right above our own. I fell completely in love with the special Barbie Sundae that we got! Seriously, the pink whipped cream was SO yummy! I cannot wait to go back again this weekend and participate in all of the festivities they’ll have going on! 

This Sunday, March 9th, you too can bring your Barbie into any one of the Farrell’s locations, to celebrate her 55th birthday with free birthday ice cream, presents, and surprises! 
To celebrate America’s favorite doll’s 55th birthday, Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour Restaurants is going to throw a birthday party for Barbie like only Farrell’s can! Kids and kids at heart will join Barbie and Ken look-alikes this Sunday, March 9, from 10 – 11am at all seven California Farrell’s locations. A special Barbie-inspired, 30-scoop – 7 1/2lb., Farrell’s famous ice cream Zoo will include, among other ingredients, a pink strawberry ice cream, rainbow sherbet, sprinkles, whipped cream, strawberry sauce and cherries with the guest of honor herself sitting atop to be run around the entire restaurant. A special Barbie birthday song has been created and will be sung before the kids get to eat the Zoo for free and birthday presents are given out.
Check out some pictures from last year’s celebration!

For guests that can’t make it to the 10am main birthday event, Farrell’s will be celebrating all day by selling a pink $1.99 birthday-sundae to all guests that bring in their favorite Barbie doll and purchase a kids or adult entrée and drink. The special $1.99 birthday sundae is fashioned from one-scoop of strawberry ice cream, strawberry sauce, pink whipped cream, party sprinkles and a cherry on top.

“Barbie is America’s favorite doll. She’s an original piece of Americana and takes all of us back to the fond memories of our childhood, just like Farrell’s.” says Michael Fleming, CEO, Parlour Enterprises, Inc.  “This was a great opportunity to celebrate an American icon, but even more so, it was just a great excuse to have a lot of fun.”

Celebrations will be happening at all California Farrell’s locations:

 
·      215 S. Brea Blvd., Brea, CA  92821 Brea Downtown
 
·      8650 Beach Blvd., Buena Park, CA 90620

·      779 Shops Blvd. Mission Viejo, CA 9269 in The Shops at Mission Viejo

·      10742 Foothill Blvd., Rancho Cucamonga, CA  91730
 
·      3610 Park Sierra Dr., Riverside, CA  92505
 
·      1625 Watt Ave., Sacramento, CA  95864

·      21516 Golden Triangle Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91350 in the Mountasia Family Fun Center

For complete details, limitations and rules for this event please see FarrellsUSA.com. Barbie is a trademark of Mattel Inc. and is in no way associated with this event.
some photos courtesy of Farrell’s Restaurants 

DIY Festive Masks for Mardi Gras

/ Celebrations, Crafts & DIY

We decided to celebrate “Fat Tuesday”, this last day of Carnival (Mardi Gras), by decorating some festive masks to wear! Emi and I love anything and everything with a little bling, so when we made a stop at Hobby Lobby, we threw a big container of multi-colored rhinestones and some brightly colored feathers into our shopping cart, along with a couple of plain white masks.

 As soon as we got home, our “Battle of the Glue Guns” began!
(note: Emi is almost 9 and now uses the glue gun on her own, but only when I’m supervising her)

I think we each had a different idea in our head of how we wanted to decorate our masks. I tend to gravitate towards the pinks. Emi, on the other hand, was determined to make more of a rainbow arrangement of gems on her mask and started by gluing the larger-sized stones down to the smaller ones. She also included eyelash details on her mask.

Little did I know that when Emi finished her mask, she wouldn’t just stop there, she needed to grab one of her Barbies and get HER ready for Mardi Gras! After Barbie was done receiving a festive makeover, Emi looked at me and said, “Look Mommy, she’s ready for Barbie Gras now!”

Doing something like this is so easy and quite therapeutic. It was nice for me to put aside my cell phone and my long to-do list and for Emi to procrastinate doing her homework (hehe!) so that we could just sit and talk while, we sorted and glued gems and decorated our masks. I think this kind of activity also ties in with what I blogged about in my last post, getting back to what’s really important..these moments. It makes me realize that I should UNPLUG at times like this and enjoy that moment WITH Emi! It isn’t just about letting her be a kid or having time for imaginary play or having time for being creative, but it’s also about me getting down there with her and interacting with her.  I think so often as parents, we just get our kids situated with something, like a toy, a show, or an activity, and then go do what we need to do, whether it be to wash dishes, make dinner, fold laundry or get online. We’re all so busy all of the time, that we’re missing the moments. Of course we also have to be realistic because all of things also DO need to get done, but there has to be a way to find balance and/or let some of it go, so we can focus on our kids more. End of rant.

Our Own Oscar Party at Home

/ Crafts & DIY, Parties

I literally spent the weekend cleaning the house. I actually felt like I’d accomplished something in the way of achieving “clean house status” yesterday, and the way I know I’ve reached that point is because I finally vacuum everything and make vacuum lines to finish off a room. Let me just tell you that cleaning my house always includes a sorting of Legos, Calico Critters, Strawberry Shortcake toys, American Girl accessories and a grip of art supplies. Although I do enlist Emi’s help with this, I also need things to be put back in an orderly fashion, so obviously I’m heavily involved in the organizing.
After I mentioned something to Emi yesterday afternoon about watching “The Red Carpet”, a lightbulb must’ve turned on in her head! It seemed that she immediately started planning her own version of an at-home Oscar celebration. She started pulling out every towel in our linen closet that had red in it, and was taping them down, on the floor together along our kitchen floor, with regular scotch tape. Then I watched her make a minimum of 4 trips up and down the stairs to get bring every trophy she’s ever earned, down from her room, which she let me know were going to be our “Oscars”.  At first I was hesitant and found myself saying “not right now” about what she was trying to do, because I didn’t want the living room to get messed up after I’d JUST cleaned it all up. That’s when I stopped to think about whether that was really so important? She’s 8 and has the most incredible imagination ever and why would I want to put a stop to that? So I could have my clean living room? THAT’S what I had to ask myself and it was at that point I decided to just sit back and let her do whatever it was she intended to do. Emi envisioned our Red Carpet to look a certain way and was planning our entire Oscars event, and that’s just what I allowed her to do.

After she was done laying down our beach towel version of the red carpet, she proceeded to make each of us a “VIP Ticket”, which we had to wear around our necks. Every time we entered or exited the kitchen, she had to check it to make sure it was us.

She also had a clipboard with the names of those who were allowed to enter the our Oscar ceremony.  If your name wasn’t on that list, you weren’t getting into OUR Oscars ceremony last night!

Did I mention that the area was roped off, with curling ribbon, and we had to wait until she cut the ribbon to get in?

In the seating area for our Oscars, aka the living room, she had chairs set up with drinks at a little table and a sign on the table that said “Reservation”. (I think she meant “Reserved”)

She tried her hardest to get me to change into a fancy dress, but I was already a lost cause in my pjs, as was her daddy. As we sat on the couch, watching the real Oscars on TV, Emi kept presenting us with “Oscars” for different things, as she stood underneath the TV. I think I won for “Best Female Chef” and another one for something else that’s hilarious but I won’t mention here on my blog! (hehe!) Daddy won the Oscar for “Best Male Chef” and something else too. We were both lucky because each time we won, Emi was the one who stood up and made a speech for us!

Emi never ceases to amaze us with her imagination and creativity and I couldn’t stop giggling when she came over and presented us with our “swag bags”! Each one said “Swag” on it, and contained a snack-sized bag of either Christmas or Valentine’s M&M’s, a JIF peanut butter to-go, and a hot pink paper straw! Seriously, does she know how to hook us up or what?

Did I mention that Emi got our cat to walk our red carpet to accept her Oscar for “Best Kitty”?

It was so much fun watching the Oscars while we had our own celebration at home with Emi. Don’t get me wrong, by the end of the night, my living room looked like someone threw a high school party in it, but I have to ask myself if worrying about having a clean house is worth her NOT getting to have that time to engage in imaginary play? I know many parents would probably not allow this. I’ve even heard people making comments about how when they were little, they could ONLY play like that in their own room, but I think the tradeoff is worth it. My house isn’t on the market and up for sale. I didn’t have guests coming over later. My mother-in-law wasn”t coming over anytime soon to do the white glove test. If there’s no real reason to say no, then why do so? I’m fine with knowing that sometimes I’ve gotta go with the flow and live in the moment! How many more moments like this are going to come along? This is what life is all about for me…living in these moments with Emi!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

/ Celebrations

I have always loved to read.  I even used to carry a book around with me everywhere I went, when I was a kid. I’m fortunate enough to teach 1st grade and have the opportunity to read so many fun books as read alouds, on a daily basis. One of my favorite authors to read is Dr. Seuss! His books are filled with so many fun adventures. His eclectic illustrations also allow your imagination take over. when you’re reading his stories. My 1st grade students love when I read one of his books, like “The Cat in the Hat” or “Green Eggs and Ham” because of the repetition and the rhyming
We are big readers in our home and absolutely LOVE Dr. Seuss books! We also love having an occasion to tie in food with! So, in honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, we decided to make a special snack to munch on while reading some favorite books by Dr. Seuss! Emi isn’t a big fan of scrambled eggs or even of ham, so we put a twist on “Green Eggs and Ham” and made “Green Eggs and Popcorn!” It’s so easy to make and hard to resist grabbing handful after handful! We use this basic recipe and adapt it for any occasion and/or holiday. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
*1 bag of Wilton white candy melts
*2 bags of microwave popcorn
*green sprinkles
*green M&Ms
*vegetable oil
Directions to make “green eggs”
1)Place a piece of parchment paper on the counter
2)Get a small bowl of green M&Ms ready
3)Pour half a bag of white candy melts into a bowl, microwave 30 seconds, remove, stir and place back in for 25 seconds. Remove the bowl from the microwave again, stirring and add a little bit of vegetable oil and stir again. Allow them to sit and cool for about a minute.
4)Using a teaspoon, make piles of the candy melts on the parchment paper and place one green M&M in the center of each one. Allow to dry.
Directions for popcorn
1)Microwave popcorn according to directions on the bag. After bag is popped and cooled, pour popcorn into a big bowl, separating unpopped kernels and throwing them into the trash.
2)Prepare other half of the bag of white candy melts.
3)Pour melted candy melts into bowl of popcorn and mix together with spoons or your hands.
4)Shake in some green sprinkles.
5)Place “green eggs” in bowl with the popcorn and eat!

Fun at the Newest Farrell’s in Buena Park!

/ Food, Let's Eat!

We were so excited to attend a pre-opening VIP event last weekend at the new Farrell’s in Buena Park. It actually didn’t feel like we even went to a restaurant, it was more like this giant party with 200 of our newest friends, that just kept on going!
Upon our arrival in the parking lot, the girls immediately spotted the Medevial Times mobile and insisted on posing for a picture with it! (Little did they know, they’d soon meet the actual knights inside the restaurant!)

I love the location of this newest Farrell’s because it’s very close to so many of the family attractions that the city of Buena Park has to offer, including Knott’s Berry Farm and Medevial Times. After checking in with the Farrell’s hostess, we were greeted by Alesha from Medevial Times. She had a promotional table set up and was handing out Medevial Times swag and coupons for the attraction. Alesha really interacted with my girls and even visited our table a few times, once we were seated.

Two of the Medevial Times’ Knights were walking around inside the restaurant, passing out t-shirts and crowns and helping the Farrell’s crew deliver some of the exciting desserts that require a whole lot of singing and hoopla! The girls REALLY wanted to order The Zoo, which is one of those desserts, JUST so they could have it delivered by the knights, but we also knew there was NO WAY that the four of us could finish a dessert that had like 1000 scoops of ice cream!
The energy of the entire staff at Farrell’s was amazing and it was something you could feel right when you walked in the front door! I think this is why it felt like we were at a party. While you’re at your table, you are constantly being invited to participate in songs and clapping and although it does seem like there’s non-stop drum banging occurring throughout your entire visit (because there is), you’re so busy having fun that you don’t seem to mind it nor the fact that your child or children are NOT sitting quietly at your table and that’s OK under these circumstances!

We started off with Farrell’s Ooey Gooey Cheese Sticks as an appetizer. For lunch, I ordered the Fabulous French Dip sandwich and the girls all ordered the sliders off of the children’s menu. There was even an option to upgrade the regular fries to chili cheese fries, so of course they hopped on that opportunity right away! We were careful NOT to eat too much regular food since we were ultimately trying to save room for some of their infamously crazy-good desserts! 

Farrell’s isn’t just a fun family restaurant, it’s a total entertainment package, something that you don’t get at typical restaurant. This was apparent after just a few of the talented and energetic crew spent some time at our table, amusing the girls. First, “Max” stopped by our table, and the girls immediately spotted one of the buttons he was wearing which had a pickle on it. He then explained to me that the button was actually Mr. Bob Farrell’s original motto. 

I think the girls took that as their cue to not only start asking him for pickles every time he passed by our table, but also to nickname him “Mr. Pickles“! Not long after that, we came to learn that “Mr. Pickles” was actually half of an infamous entertainment duo that you can probably meet at just about any Farrell’s community event, and at a future Farrell’s openings. The other half of the duo was nicknamed “Mr. Jake” by the girls. Jake is best known as “The Purveyor of Good Times” in the Farrell’s world. These 2 guys were so good with my girls, brought them stickers, pickles and took boatloads of pics with them. I think the girls instantly became lifelong fans after spending about 5 minutes with this duo! 

The girls were extremely impressed when they got to witness an epic ice cream eating contest between the Medevial Times knights and the team of “Mr. Pickles” and “Mr. Jake“.  Each team took a very different approach to how they were going to beat out the other one. While the knights continued mowing through their trough, the Farrell’s duo actually utilized glasses of water to wash it down, while stirring the ice cream and making it more liquid. I couldn’t actually watch for very long, but the fact that “Mr. Jake” did it all with a camera headband on is even more hilarious! I’m kinda wondering where THAT video footage is? 

When it came time for our own desserts, we decided to share an order of the “Ice Cream Nachos” (yep, they exist) and a “Banana Split” and yep…our desserts were accompanied by drumbeats and a song! Both of these desserts were giant and yummy! I jokingly told the girls, who are all competitive cheerleaders, that if this had been one of their cheer competitions, that they would’ve placed first! (I may have helped them a little bit) 

 Everything about Farrell’s is so nostalgic. Their menus are printed on newsprint and you actually can take them home with you. The drinks are served in (plastic) vintage Coca-Cola glasses and there are little American flags stuck into just about every appetizer, burger and dessert. The decor is mostly black and white, with touches of red here and there and each table has an old-fashioned stained glass lamp hanging above it. The servers wear uniforms adorned with armbands and these adorable straw hats that are available for purchase in their shop.

Each Farrell’s location features a shop where you can buy logo merchandise and choose from a HUGE variety of old-fashioned candies. The shop also has a ton of other fun trinkets available, including Farrell’s mustaches. 

My daughter and her entourage just didn’t want to leave the place! I don’t think we were there any less than 3 hours!  After they spent time getting their posters autographed by their staff favorites, and taking MORE pictures with them, it was finally time to say goodbye! 

Whether you remember Farrell’s from its way-back-when original locations, or you are just learning about it now, it’s something you need to experience just once! Emi hasn’t stopped talking about it since the other day and is just begging to go back again. It was THAT much fun! 
                                                Farrell’s in Buena Park is NOW OPEN! 
                                                                               650 Beach Blvd.
                                                                         Buena Park, CA 90620
                                                                       Phone # (714) 484-9700

 

 

It’s Time to Show My #DisneySide…..Again!

/ Disney

If you aren’t familiar with Disney’s most recent campaign, Disney Side, it’s this really fun campaign spotlighting Disney lovers’ own love for Disney, whether it be showing their #DisneySide while in a Disney park or on a Disney vacation or showing it off at home or just in their everyday life, it’s a chance to have some fun and show the rest of the (social media) world at the same time!
One of the latest opportunities to participate in this campaign was the chance to host a #DisneySide @Home Celebration. There were 1000s of applicants who applied to host one of these parties at home, to be held between February 15 and March 1st, integrating a party kit which they chosen hosts would be receiving. I decided to apply for it but felt discouraged at first when January 10th came and went and I didn’t receive an acceptance email. I didn’t talk about it to anyone, but I was disappointed, until I saw some other people mention online that they also had heard nothing nor had they heard of others getting an acceptance email. At that point, a little bit of hope re-ignited inside of me. I still chose not to talk about it to anyone though. I sometimes feel like if you talk about something too much, it won’t happen. 

And then I got this……. I was ecstatic!!! 

My Facebook newsfeed was blowing up with a ton of people who had also received the magical email, as were my Instagram and Twitter timelines. It was such an exciting day for so many of us. I don’t think I slept that night because all of a sudden my brain wouldn’t shut off with ideas for my #DisneySide party! I was literally up for work at 2:30 a.m. that next morning because my wheels wouldn’t stop turning enough for me to sleep. I think this euphoria stayed with me for about 2 days before I could go back to being normal again, whatever that is. 
 Next came more excitement because at this point, the chosen ones were now all waiting for our “magical boxes” to be delivered by UPS! My mind started spinning again because it seemed like every post I’d see was relating to the date of delivery, the weight of the box or boxes, people trying to guess what was going to be in the boxes, people trying to ask others if they knew about the contents of the box, etc. It was nuts! I understand how excited and anxious everyone was, but for me, I just wanted to be completely surprised and I knew my box would come at some point! I tried to stay away from anything posted that might give anything away and I definitely didn’t worry myself about when my box was being delivered. One day I got the email about my delivery and coincidentally, I happened to be home on the day my box was delivered. Not only was I home on that day, but I was home at the moment the UPS guy rang my doorbell, which is rare, since I’m hardly ever home for more than 5 minutes at a time! Boy was he in for a surprise! Just as he was trying to hand me the big box, with the magical blue #DisneySide tape on it, I asked if we could take a selfie? At first he seemed confused, and actually acted as if I were making a joke. It didn’t take him long to learn just how serious I was! Yep, as I started to explain WHAT the importance of the box was, I also stressed that it was vital I make “as big a deal as possible” about the delivery of my party kit! 

I swear our UPS guy was cut out for this stuff! After we took the first shot with my iphone, I realized that it didn’t get the wording on the box in, plus it was actually my bad side, so we switched spots! 

Then he kept offering to switch poses and spots and try different angles! He was HILARIOUS and the best sport about it! He told me that he often chats with my husband when he delivers to our house, so he was no stranger to convo on my porch! I’m seriously considering inviting him to my #DisneySide party! I mean, he WAS one of the first highlights of this process. People who saw the pic, LOVED how fun our UPS guy is!
Next came the box opening. Unfortunately my box was delivered around 2pm and my daughter was still in school which meant that I HAD to wait until I picked her up from school to tell her about it and actually open it. 

Emi was so excited about all of the goodies that were inside of our box, but her biggest “WOW!!!” came right when she opened the box and saw there was an American Tourister suitcase!!! And it was purple!

 I think the suitcase may have been the coolest part for Emi! 
 

We were both overwhelmed by all of the goodies inside of the suitcase though! There was a whole bunch of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse plates, cups, cupcake liners and a matching tablecloth with some coordinating hanging decorations! There was a hostess planning kit with suggestions for games and even a face painting guide. There were Craisins, like they serve in the parks, and these adorable rubber bracelets and stickers and some adorable Minnie and Mickey prints, all to give out to our guests. There was also a huge box of printer photo paper from HP! I know there were other things too. The list just goes on.  It was all so Magical! I mean seriously, how amazing to have been chosen for this opportunity and now this generous pile of things to help us with our party? Wow! 
I guess it’s  time to get to planning! Stay tuned for more details and a post about our #DisneySide Party!  http://disneyside.disneyparks.disney.go.com

Sofia the First: Songs from Enchancia CD & Giveaway!

/ Disney, Entertainment, Music
I will fully admit that I actually enjoy watching many of my daughter’s Disney Channel and Disney Junior shows and movies with her. Although”Sofia the First” is aimed at the younger, preschool audience, it is one of those feel-good shows that seems to enamor her whenever it comes on. The storyline is about a young girl, “Sofia”, who transforms from a “regular girl” into a princess, and becomes part of a blended family, overnight, after her mother marries a king. The episodes are lighthearted and often include a positive, empowering message in them, that they are convey to the  young audience.
 I recently had the opportunity to preview the new CD, “Sofia the First: Songs from Enchancia” on Walt Disney Records. The day that the CD arrived was what we like to call “A Happy Mail Day” at our house! You can see my daughter doing one of her “signature incognito poses” with the envelope!
After listening to the CD just once, Emily and I had already fallen in love with so many of the songs! Now we can’t stop singing them on a daily basis! This CD is what’s currently playing in my car!
 Sofia the First, Songs from Enchancia includes 15 tracks, a bonus track & 4 karaoke instrumentals!
 Here’s a list of the songs on the CD:
1. Sisters and Brothers-Sofia
2. Merraway Cove-Sven, Oona and Sofia
3. The Love We Share-Ariel and Sofia
4. Bigger is Better-Amber
5. (You Can Always) Count on Bailywick-Cast
6. Make It Right-Belle and Sofia
7. Good Little Witch (Ballad)-Sofia
8. Good Little Witch-Lucinda and Sofia
 9. The Ride of Your Lives-Jasmine, Sofia and Amber
10.A Recipe for Adventure-Aunt Tilly and Sofia
11.Bring My Best Friend Back-Clover and Sofia
12.The Simple Life-Cast
13.Make Way for Miss Nettle-Miss Nettle
14.Enchancia-Ruby, Jade and Sofia
BONUS TRACK 
15.Be Who You Wanna Be-Jake and Sofia
BONUS KARAOKE INSTRUMENTALS
16.Merraway Cove
17.Bigger is Better
 18.Good Little Witch
19.A Recipe for Adventure”Sofia the First: Songs from Enchancia” is available now for purchase on Amazon or for immediate download on iTunes !

 Here comes the magical part….Disney Music is offering three (3) lucky readers of Over the Top Mommy, the chance to win a  copy of “Sofia the First: Songs from Enchancia” of their very own! This giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18+ years of age and ends 2/26. Enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance(s) to win! Good luck everyone! a Rafflecopter giveawayI am a participating Influencer at The Entertainment New Media Network. I have received free product for review and to give to my readers. I was not compensated for this review and all expressed opinions are strictly my own.