Traveling with a toddler.

Traveling with a toddler isn't the easiest thing I've done before.

All in all Kaili'a did quite well for a 10.5 hour car ride, I was very impressed with how she acted. 

We made sure to take stops often and she was able to get out and walk around and explore the outdoors (or the inside of a store) and I really believe that helped, A LOT! 

We had snacks and milk to keep her tummy happy, plus toys to keep her entertained. 

The roads were clear, weather was great all the way up until the last maybe 20-30 minutes of the drive, then we hit snow. 

I think Joseph was more miserable than Kaili'a, his allergies were just horrible and sitting for 10.5 hours wasn't helping. 

The roughest part of the first night was when we tried putting Kaili'a down for bed. She went down easily but was up crying within 30 minutes and then again and again and again, a total of 6 times. 

I know a few things factored into her rough night; first new place, second overly tired from the drive and thirdly her back teeth are coming in. Talk about a rough life for a toddler lol and her parents. 

It's not easy keeping up with an extremely busy toddler, let alone on limited sleep. 

Hopefully tonight will be better for all of us. 

I'm open for any tips and tricks from parents that have figured it out, so please leave a comment or e-mail. 

Loving being around family and being a parent is totally worth all the challenges that come with it. 

Thanks for Reading and Happy Holidays! 

Tara 

Packing for our Trip

Starting to put together our list of things to pack for our Christmas in Utah trip. We go out to Utah about every 3 months so you would think I would have this down packed, but I don't :) 

I want to take just a moment to think back when it was just me and the hubby traveling to Utah and we would each have our own suitcase and we would completely OVER PACK. Not a worry in the world, it wasn't such a problem if we forgot something. Oh yes what a wonderful memory, back to reality. 

Now that we have added a child, things are completely different when packing. If you don't have any children right now, you might be reading this thinking "How much could you really need for one little child?" and if you are more of a veteran mom you are thinking "Just wait, you think you have a lot to pack now? Try adding a few more kids." 

It wouldn't be so much stuff if our extended family members had children, but they don't. Right now I have 2 sisters with kids that are 5 and older, one sister just had a baby so they don't have anything that we could barrow for our 15 month old if we forgot it. 

Let me give you an example, a pack-n-play and a high chair. I have my sisters pack-n-play, I get to bring it with us this trip and then leave it there so that she can use it for her little one or we can leave it at grandmas for sleep overs. But I still have to pack that along this time, same thing with a high-chair. I have a portable one because no one has a high chair in the family that we can barrow from. 

Now that my sister has a baby and my sister in law is pregnant we will be able to help them out when they come over to visit or whatever the case may be, but for now that means if we don't want to buy anything extra, we pack it. 

Now, when I give you the list that I need for Kaili'a it's stuff that we need or use daily but doesn't mean you have you pack it, your child might now use the same stuff. 

Another thing is that we are packing for winter, here in Southern California it doesn't get below about 50 degrees so that is something we have to really keep in mind... NO SHORTS! 

Kaili'a's list 

1. Pack-N-Play
2. Portable high chair
3. Umbrella stroller
4. 5-10 outfits
5. Socks & Shoes
6. Coat
7. Diapers & Wipes & Diaper cream
8. Bottles & Sippy Cups
9. Bath soap & toys
10. Baby gate (most likely gonna buy one there and leave it with grandma)
11. Night lights
12. Toys

Mama and Daddy's list 

1. 5 or so outfits
2. Hygiene/shower stuff
3. Family presents 
4. Camera bag + tripod
5. Computer bag
6. Blankets
7. Crock Pot
8. Coats
9. Shoes
10. Sunglasses 
11. Phone Chargers
12. Snacks & Drinks for the drive 
13. First aid kit 

It really doesn't look like a lot on paper until I start packing and it takes a full day to do it. Some of this stuff take up a lot of space and there is so much space in the trunk. We really try to fit everything into the trunk so that we can keep the front pack clear. 

I drive mostly because Joseph has to work while we drive but since Kaili'a is in the back and doesnt' like to be back there all by herself all the time, Joseph has to be able to move back there and not be sitting on top of backs. 

I hope that if you are one of the lucky ones that get to travel like us that you pack everything you need and that you travel safe. Just remember you want to get there safely so don't rush, enjoy the road trip with your family. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Tara 

New Holiday family photos.

New Holiday family photos! Coming from the beaches of Southern California, Happy Holidays from The Cancilla Family! 

We hope you all have a great Christmas and New Years, travel safe! 

Thanks for Reading, 

Tara 

Take the pledge.

I am taking the pledge to stay relaxed this holiday season, are you? Nothing makes the holiday season worse than people in a bad mood because they are so stressed out. I seen a little bit of that in me already and I said "Not happening!" 

The holiday season is about joy, spending time with family and friends. Let's make that effort to take a moment, breathe and know that everything will turn out okay. 

A little stress can be good, but once it makes you moody, you need to take a break. 

So, who's with me!?! 

Thanks for Reading, 

Tara 

Turkey BURN!

You might be wondering, what in the world does she mean by Turkey Burn. Take a breather I am not talking about burning your turkey or anything like that.

What I am talking about is doing a work-out either the day before or the morning of Thanksgiving.

Just because it is a holiday, doesn't mean that it is a free pass to just eat whatever we want and to just sit around and be lazy all day. If we stay active, our bodies will be able to burn off those extra calories we intake on the wonderful holiday.

This year my family is coming to my home for Thanksgiving, and luckily we live in California for the time being and it's BEAUTIFUL weather outside, so we are going to be doing our "Turkey BURN" outdoors.

If you have been following my blog, you already know that I have a pretty big goal to hit before my family moves in a few months. My family knows that if they tell me they want a work-out, they will get a work-out. My family is pretty active in general so I really have to find something that will push them, and I believe I have found my route!

When I told my mom that I had the perfect route for us she got a little nervous. I told her there were 3 steep hills, which we will be jogging up 1 if not all 3 of them plus other spurts of jogging. I also told her that she would hate me, but love it. Who doesn't love a challenge, right? My mom doesn't get her work out from walking or running, she's a dancer so she loves her Zumba and Hot Hula classes. I think this Turkey burn will be a great way to mix up her routine :)

Here is a little sneak peek of one of the hills we will be walking up. It's such a killer, and I do it with a stroller. Kicks my BUTT hardcore, but once you get up the hill, you feel AMAZING!

Stay tuned for pictures and videos of our Turkey Burn, and let us know what you and your family are going to do to stay active this Thanksgiving. 

Thanks for Reading, 

Tara 

New Goal

New Goal 

Instead of waiting a couple of months to start a new years resolution I decided to set one RIGHT NOW! Okay not right this second but I made it a couple of days ago. 

I just recently hit my goal to walk 100 miles in 7 months. It was a goal to help me get out and walk with Kaili'a, enjoy beautiful sunny California and get back into shape after having the baby. 

I will admit that the 100 miles wasn't the biggest push in the world. At the time it sure did seem like a very big goal, until I made my new one. 

We are moving in about 7-8 months and so I thought, what a perfect time to set a new goal. This new goal is pretty big and it's definitely going to push me to get out and walk/jog every single day. I did the math and asked my husband if I was insane or if I should bring it down a notch. My husband said, no go for it! 

So my new goal is to walk 420 MILES by May 18th 2014!! We are moving between April and June so I just picked a date that was in the middle and will shoot for that. I think that this will push me to stay healthy throughout the end of the year holidays and get in better shape for the new year! 

I am pretty excited about it and pretty nervous about it :) 

Wish me and Kaili'a luck and stay tuned for updates! 

I want to hear how you and your family plan on staying healthy and fit throughout the end of the year holidays! 

Thanks for Reading, 

Tara

The app I use for my goal setting and tracking is RunKeeper along with my UP band from Jawbone. 

Kaili'as Halloween Costume!

Kaili'as Halloween Costume! 

I am so excited that K is old enough to actually celebrate Halloween. Yes last year she was dressed up but she was only like a month old, so we didn't go anywhere and she slept most the day. 

Luckily my sister had this costume that her son wore like 3 years ago and sent to us to see if it fit Kaili'a. When we first pulled it out of the box my husband and I said, "no way that will fit her." Obviously we were wrong. 

But anyways this year we will be going trunk or treating. I love holidays so I am pretty excited :)  

This costume fits Kaili'a to a T. We always call her our little monkey. 

Thanks for Reading, 

Tara