family

Area 51 Halloween costume idea

 in General Fashion  tagged costume ideas / fall 2019 / family / halloween / outfit ideas by

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On me: Area 51 Guard costume: hoop earrings / sunglasses / lipstick / camo tee / camo pants / Buzz Lightyear toy gun (old, this one is perfect) (great for shooting at escaping aliens!) / black boots (old, this pair would be great) /

On my husband: Area 51 Raider: tin foil hat-feel free to make your own, I am sure it will turn out better than his! haha / sign-cardboard and sharpie! Easy peasy

On my son: Alien rescued from Area 51: Green Alien bodysuit costume /

“They can’t stop all of us!” That was the battle cry of the Area 51 raid in September. While the raid didn’t really happen the way the joke meant it to, it did happen just a teeny, tiny, little bit. This makes it a fun family Halloween costume!

As you can see, my two teenage girls were too cool to participate in the family costume this year. Thankfully my son still think his parents are cool, and he suggested we dress as the Area 51 Raid for Halloween. I am so glad he did, this is really fun! He even taught my husband how to Naruto Run. Did I spell that right??? He did a pretty good job, haha 😉

area 51 costume ideas

So to make this costume happen, all you need is an Area 51 Guard, an alien, and an Area 51 Raider. My husband is the raider, and he didn’t want to carry the sign around when we take our son trick-or-treating, so he tied a string on the sign so he can be hands-free on Halloween. To be authentic, you can forego the string, and carry the sign.

He also attempted to make a tin foil hat. This one flies off his head. I recommend using bobby pins to tack it to your head. The tin foil hat is key for the Area 51 Raider costume. You must protect your brain from the government, who is trying to read your thoughts. haha

The Area 51 Guard costume is easy. All you need is camo and voila! You are an Area 51 Guard. I borrowed my son’s Buzz Lightyear gun to complete the look. This Buzz Lightyear toy gun is old, but there is a new one on the market which would be perfect. You can find it online here.

Shop Area 51 Halloween Costume ideas:

This is a really fun costume the family, or a group of friends, can put together for Halloween. I hope you have fun putting together your Area 51 Halloween Costume!

What are you planning for Halloween this year?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy

area 51 costume ideas

Winchester Mystery House with the kids

 in Travel  tagged family / staycation by

Raise your hand if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and have never visited the Winchester Mystery House. OK, I see your hand there! As residents of the Bay Area, especially those of us who grew up here, we tend to avoid anything deemed “touristy.” The Winchester Mystery House has that reputation-and it shouldn’t! This is a local landmark all of use need to see at least once in our lives!

The first time I visited the Winchester Mystery was back in the 1990s. My friend, who was from out of state, wanted to see all the attractions the Bay Area had to offer. We visited every site in the Bay Area people travel hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles to see. It was really eye opening to go to all the places people rave about, but those of us from here never see. When she took me to the Winchester Mystery House, I fell in love with it instantly.

It’s a beautiful home with an interesting story; and an even more interesting one-time owner. Sarah Winchester was a wealthy woman who inherited a portion of the Winchester fortune through her late husband. She moved out west on the suggestion of a medium and found this home in the Santa Clara valley. Legend has it the medium told her to continually work on the home in order to confuse spirits who were after her; or at least following her.

As you can see in the placard above, she ensured work was continually done on the home throughout the time she lived there. She had remodeled the original, 8-room farmhouse, into a seven story mansion which sustained some damage in the 1906 earthquake. You can view the damage, and learn how the building was stabilized, during the mansion tour. It’s very interesting! The mansion you see now does not go up seven stories, it is shorter, and more earthquake friendly. Of course, some of the features are a bit odd, such as the “door to nowhere,” and interior staircases which lead to a wall or ceiling. See below-

These are the features which make this house so interesting! You can see a lot more strange features such as these on the standard mansion tour. This is the tour I took my family on over the weekend, including my Mom. The reason we went on the tour was because my Mom informed me she had never been to the Winchester Mystery House! What was it that I said about Bay Area natives not seeing all the cool places we have around the area? Yup, my Mom was born and raised in San Francisco, she has lived in the Bay Area her whole life, and this was the first time she saw the Winchester Mystery House! Whhhhh-aaaaaaattt?????

It was so much fun taking her to see the mansion. Just like me, my husband, and my kids, she really enjoyed the ornate interior fixtures, the beautiful windows, the incredible light fixtures, and of course-the history! Seriously, the tour guides are a plethora of knowledge; both of the house and Santa Clara valley. You can learn so much from them. We really enjoyed our tour guide, and learned so much about Sarah Winchester and the home.

Despite the fact that both my husband and I have visited the home before, and taken the same tour, we learned new things! I feel like this is a tour you have to take multiple times in order to remember everything. There is a new tour on the schedule, which takes you to an additional 60 rooms in the mansion which have never been open before. We definitely want to take that tour next time we visit. Our kids had so much fun, and they want to go again! They also want to attend one of the special events the Winchester Mystery House holds. They have a Halloween event, and various holiday themed events throughout the year. Definitely check out their website to plan your visit! Keep reading-

Although I have droned on about the history and interior features, there is much more to visiting the Winchester Mystery House! The outside areas are absolutely beautiful. You can see the beautiful exterior features on the home as well as the manicured gardens. There are also several buildings on the grounds which were used to help run the estate.

You can find the gas lighting shop used before electricity was installed on the estate, and you can also find the carriage house, tank house, foreman’s house, stables, and more! They also have activities which are fun for both kids and adults. There is a museum, a cafe, and a large gift shop which my kids discovered instantly! haha

The Winchester Mystery House is located across the street from Santana Row, and walking distance to Valley Fair, so you can easily make a day of it! I highly recommend making reservations and buying your tickets online. This will ensure you get the tour time you want. You can also leisurely review all the different tours and activities they have available when you want to visit.

This is a staycation activity all Bay Area residents need to see! Also, if you are from out of town, I highly recommend putting the Winchester Mystery House on your travel itinerary.

You can learn all about the home and what is has to offer at WinchesterMysteryHouse.com.

I hope you have as much fun as my family and I had when we visited!

XOXO
Cathy

Juggling back to school with multiple children

 in Fitness / General Fashion  tagged adidas / back to school / fall 2019 / family / teens by

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On my kids: middle school boys outfit: green top / black shorts / high school girls outfit: athelisure dress / sneakers / middle school girls outfit: blue tee / black running shorts / sneakers /

I have three kids, who attend three different schools. This means multiple start times, multiple end times, and driving all over town! I am definitely a “Mom Taxi!” Ha ha! In order to ensure I can get all the kids to school on time, I need to plan ahead.

The first thing we did to prepare for back to school was to get the kids’ wardrobes in order. I don’t like to buy too much before the first day of school, because when the kids go back, they always realize they need specific items for their closets. I try to stick to buying the basics they need, and then purchase the ultimate IT items that are popular among the kids after they ask for these items. Here in our school district, adidas is the ultimate destination for IT items my kids need in their back to school wardrobes.

All of the girls in middle school and high school wear adidas superstar sneakers. They are the ultimate IT shoes for teen girls! The favorite color combo is black stripes, on a white shoe. You really cannot go back to school without those sneakers!

Another IT item for teenage girls is the adidas trefoil hoodie sweatshirt. Every teen girl needs this sweatshirt in her closet!  Knowing these two items are must-have’s for teen girls, I ensured both of my teenage daughters have them clean and ready for the first day of school. Even if it’s 80 degrees outside on the first day of school, those sweatshirts will be worn-at least around the waist! Ha ha!  A girl has to show she has the ultimate IT item on day one!

When it comes to boys, adidas is also a go-to brand! Boys are not as specific when it comes to clothing. They are more brand driven. My son is starting middle school this fall, so I made sure he was fully stocked with adidas shorts and tee’s. They are the ultimate sporty pieces a boy needs for middle school. My son is all set!

Once they have their wardrobes settled, I purchase the boring stuff such as binders, binder paper, pens, pencils, folders, etc. Then, I need to make sure I plan ahead for dropping my kids off all over town!

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How to organize multiple drop-offs

The first thing I do to prepare my kids for school the next day is make their lunch. Then, I always make sure my kids have their backpacks packed before bedtime. This way they aren’t scrambling in the morning before school. In addition to packing their backpacks the night before, I make my kids pick out their outfit the night before too. This way the morning is spent washing up, getting dressed, and eating breakfast. I have a schedule to keep!

It’s important to pay attention to when the drop-off line at school gets busy in the morning. I always get to my children’s schools before the drop-off line gets long. This way I can quickly get through the line, and get over to the next school for drop-off without any delays. Once the drop-off line gets busy, anything could happen, and my schedule is bound to get thrown off!

I would say the rule of thumb is to drop off your child twenty minutes before the first bell. Most parents arrive roughly ten minutes before the first bell. That’s when the drop-off circle becomes a madhouse.

I drop off my kids in order of when the first bell rings. This means my high schooler is dropped off first, then my youngest, and lastly my middle child.

When it comes to pick-up after school, I use the opposite reasoning to pick-up my children. Parents start filling up the pick-up circle twenty-minutes before the bell. No way am I sitting in a long line, in a hot car, with my engine idling. I live five minutes from the high school, which is the first bell to ring. I leave the house five minutes after it rings, enabling me to arrive at the school with the line moving quickly. My car doesn’t idle, and I am able swiftly pick up my daughter. Love that!

This leaves ample time to swing over to my middle child’s school to pick her up, then drive quickly through the circle to pick up my son. Once you know the traffic patterns, you can figure out a system for picking up multiple kids, at multiple schools, without being late or leaving your engine idling in the hot sun.

It can be overwhelming to have multiple kids, in multiple schools. Don’t let it overwhelm you! Once you know the traffic patterns, you can easily beat the system, and make the pick-up/drop-off routine smooth and simple.

What are some of your tips for juggling multiple kids in multiple schools? Feel free to share in the comments below!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

*thank you to adidas for sponsoring this post, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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