I have been waiting years to take my girls on the Polar Express. As soon as I learned about it, before I even had kids, I decided this was something I wanted to take my future children on. When my oldest was born, I thought just about 2 more years and we will go. Then when my youngest was born, I figured OK, just two more years so that they both can enjoy it. My oldest is 3.5 and my youngest will be 2 in January. These were the perfect ages to go for the first time! I even wore my jammies with the girls (although hubby opted out).

  

When we got there, we picked up our golden Polar Express tickets. My 3 year old thought this was really cool! They shimmered in the light and I wish I was able to capture her face forever – it was so amazing. The train station was set up with a coloring and letters to Santa station, cookie bean bag toss, and there were even Santa’s elves milling about! My youngest LOVES to dance, so when the Christmas carols came on, she started dancing up a storm! All of the elves thought this was super cute (it was!) and formed a circle around her dancing. She loved it!

After all the dancing it was time to get on the train. I had come prepared with snacks and the LeapPad because I was told it migh be a little boring for kids. My youngest loved staring out the window and watching the scenery and snow as we went by. After about 40 minutes we arrived at the North Pole! Out the window we could see Santa and Mrs. Claus! Santa boarded the train and we were the first to talk to him. He handed out Christmas bells, just like in The Polar Express movie and book! My 3 year old was very shy and did not talk to him much but my (almost) 2 year old loved him! They both spent the train ride back just talking about Santa. The elves even came in our train car to play some elf games!

If you have not yet made it on a Polar Express ride, I highly suggest you try to! Ticketsgo on sale in April and they sell out quickly. Crazy, I know, but there is a reason why! We are hoping to make this a yearly tradition with our girls – at least for a few years.

I love me some Taylor Swift. Even met her once way back when and got this awesome kissy face picture. One of the best days of my life, ha. Anyways, her new song Blank Check has been stuck in my head for a month. At least. I came across this version from Scary Mommy today and I must say…this is my life right now. I have at least 3 cups of coffee a day and I always need to refuel to be able to get stuff done during the day. This video made me laugh out loud. Check it out.

Just felt I needed to share this with you guys today.

Fun Fact: I used to work for a few radio stations and have met lots of singers/bands. Hmmm… maybe I will do some posts about that and share photos in the near future.

Love you guys,
Mama Smith

Not Just a Toy, a Friend

  

My Little Pony: Pinkie Pie’s Sweet Shoppe

My two little girls are obsessed with My Little Pony – and that is an understatement. We currently have 3 My Little Ponies from Build-A-Bear (we would have them all if I allowed it). I am constantly doing laundry because my daughter refuses to wear any of her undies besides her My Little Pony ones. I know all of the words to the theme song and all of their names and I can tell you their personality traits. Rainbow Dash is my favorite, my oldest’s favorite is Pinkie Pie, and my youngest’s favorite is Princess Twilight Sparkle. On more than one occasion, my husband and I have continued to watch the show after the girls have gone to bed, or the bathroom, or wherever. So you can imagine the excitement in the house when the My Little Pony Pop Playset: Pinkie Pie’s Sweet Shoppe showed up at our door.

As soon as I pulled the box out and showed my girls I thought they were going to faint. They both started grabbing at the box and trying to open it. My oldest immediately recognized it from all of the commercials she had seen for it and was thrilled. When we opened it up, I must say, I was very impressed with everything that it included. I noticed right away all the stickers it had for decorating and knew that would be a big hit with the girls. My husband pulled out the directions and got to work with my oldest. I started separating the pieces out and my youngest helped me a bit with that (or tried anyways).

 

The Sweet Shoppe itself was very simple to put together – the directions are clear and the diagrams are easy to understand. Sometimes things like this are impossible but that was not the case. The pieces are plastic, but they seem pretty tough! They are definitely not a cheap, flimsy plastic in my opinion. We had so much fun putting it together and then it was time to decorate!

  

The Shoppe has two different sets of doors and windows. I think it is great that you can customize them and change them out – even mix and match! Pinkie Pie was easy to put together too! She came in two pieces and had a mane and tail that you just fit in. There are other POP pony sets, like Rainbow Dash and Rarity, that you can purchase so you can customize your ponies – I would so make “Pinkie Dash”, but that is just me! There are stickers for you to decorate the inside of the Shoppe for a party as well as decorate your pony!

  

My girls had a blast with this set and have used it every single day since we received it. This would make a perfect gift for any My Little Pony obsessed kid! I know a couple little girls that will be getting more POP figures under the tree, that is for sure!

  

Check Pinkie Pie’s Sweet Shoppe out on the Hasbro website for more information and to find out where to buy one near you. Priced at just $19.99, there is no reason for you to not get one!

#TwoBlogsHolidayGiftGuide

#MyLittlePony  #MLP

I received this free in exchange for my unbiased and honest review. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.