Over The Top Mommy

Month: September 2013

It’s Time for Apple Picking in Julian!

I absolutely LOVE this time of year! It’s the beginning of fall and, although we have such warm weather in Southern California, the apple orchards are open by the end of September and the apples are ready for picking!

(How adorable is this sign I found at Home Goods?)

This year we decided to visit the adorable town of Julian, since it’s just a hop, skip & a jump away! (Ok maybe it’s actually a couple hours away) The downtown area of Julian is adorable and has many little shops, restaurants and pie shops. You can also ride in a horse-drawn carriage down the main street. The farms and apple orchards are all pretty close to the downtown area, so you can either stop at them on your way into town or as you’re leaving. On this particular trip, we ate lunch at Julian Cafe & Bakery,  before going apple picking. Not only was the food yummy, we also enjoyed drinking out of glass boot mugs! After lunch was when we wandered into the town pie shops and country stores.

Our favorite pie shop was Mom’s! We sat down inside to eat some warm pie a la mode and then we stopped at Mom’s again on the way out of town to take some pie home!
 (They have more than one location!)
This year we visited The Julian Mining Company for apple picking.
We bought a bag to put our freshly picked apples in.
 It was a bit tough to be there with a little perfectionist because Emi ONLY wanted to pick the perfect apples! Her selection process required a lot of patience on our part.
Luckily she was content after filling up one bag.
Little one-day adventures like this are something I hope will stick in Emi’s memories of her childhood.
So you tell me…do YOU think she had a good time?
Happy Fall!

Everyone Loves a Carousel!

My favorite kind of day is one where I can stop and enjoy the moment without being in a hurry.

Emi and I had one last “Mommy & Me day” before she went back to school. She usually has a vision in her head of how most occasions will play out so first off, she needed to get appropriately dressed up.

Our first stop, was the nail salon. With the start of 3rd grade being SUCH a big deal, she wanted to make sure to have just the right design on her nails (and toes).

I LOVE little nails and toes and wish I could get away with having something this adorable on mine!
Our next stop was lunch. Nordstrom Cafe is one of our favs, especially the tomato soup and kids grilled cheese! I can’t say that a cookie wasn’t also snuck onto our tray.
After lunch, we walked around the mall for a long while, getting back to school necessities. Although my little girl is growing up too quickly, I love that she still asks to ride the carousel!
Everyone loves a carousel!

You’re Never Too Old For Rainbow Loom!

I think I’m reliving my childhood…again! Emi has been asking for some friendship bracelet maker, you know, to go with the other 3 that she already has? We just happened to be at Michael’s looking for Halloween stuff (yes in August) and there it was…RAINBOW LOOM! Of course Emi was the one who pointed it out to me and ran right over to grab one. It’s one of those as seen on TV items. Click
here to see it on the Michael’s page. (The suggested age for this kit is 8 & up) So I caved in and bought it, along with 2 extra packs of pink & aqua blue bands/fasteners because 1) we were going home to do crafts together already and 2) it was on sale! It was actually on sale, for about $1 off the regular price, so that counts, right?  The lady working at Michael’s actually gave us a short demo, showing us how it works. Then she suggested that we start with the basic bracelet pattern, which is pictured in the enclosed instructions and then pursue more advanced patterns on You Tube. As soon as we got home, the fun began. I attempted the first one and I swear I was hooked! Emi was waiting patiently for me to finish so she could start one, but I honestly just wanted to hog the darned thing all to myself! If it weren’t 4:00 p.m., I would’ve sent her to bed so I could be alone with it! SO MUCH FUN! I think Emi spent all night until about 9, making bracelets for all of her school friends, her new teacher, and of course both Daddy and I got one as well.

This is what the kit looks like.
From the teacher point of view, I see it would be great for developing fine motor skills.
This is the tool that comes with the kit, that is used to weave the bands.
I think she made about 18 of these in one night.
So how old is TOO old for being “The Queen of the Rainbow Loom”?