DIY: Christmas wreath 2015

I know I have already done a Christmas wreath but I saw this and I had to make one of my own.
I love how this is a twist on the traditional ornament wreath.
There are no step by step pictures to this one. Its way easy so you can just add whatever you want and assemble it. I had to have a lot of patience with this one.

What you'll need:

• branch wreath
• ornaments
• decor
• letter
• glue gun

What to do:

Place the letter on the wreath first and work your way around it. Add ornaments and branches if you like. The blue and green flowers I got from wal mart. I cut some of them up and added the ones that are sticking out. 

Not much to it huh.. it took me a while to assemble it and figure out what I liked.

Enjoy!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Troubles with milestones

Every baby and toddlers are different. This includes personality, how they are raised and of course their milestones....

My son was very behind on his milestones. It wasn't my fault nor his fault; it was actually no ones fault he was just a baby who took his time. 

As being his mother I didn't mind him being behind because he did have a helmet when he was about 5 months old. There was nothing wrong with him; he just had a very hard time getting into this world. 

This is my son in his helmet.
He was 6 months in this pic.

Now other people including my doctor thought it was odd that he was so far behind. They would say "its not because of the helmet", well when he got his helmet the therapist said that he was going to be behind on his milestones. I was fine with that as long as his the helmet would help him. 

Nash had a hard time rolling over and tummy time and even sitting up by himself. He had some extra weight on him that made it difficult to learn certain milestones. At a certain point in this time I blamed myself for his lack in his milestones. I thought I wasn't teaching him well enough and that I wasn't being a very good mother to him. He didn't roll over till he was about 6 months he was rolling over and sitting up by himself. Instead of crawling he was rolling everywhere. He went everywhere rolling; he would just pivot himself and go the direction he wanted to go. At 13 months he started crawling and he didn't start fully walking till he was at least 19 almost 20 months. They say that they need to start walking by 18 months. His doctor said she was concerned and wanted to send him to therapy. I didn't want to believe it, we have been through enough therapy I did not want to put him back in therapy because he wasn't walking. I told the doctor he had the helmet on for almost 5 months and they said that it will put him that far behind. She said there is not way that its the helmet. His other milestones were fine but the

walking she was worried about. He was standing up by himself and cruising around furniture, he just didn't know what to do next.

 

Hes looks so big when he started walking.
He is 20 months in this pic.

I got worried cause his doctor was, I talked to my mom and husband about it and they said he'll walk when he wants to. Than I thought I wasn't the only one that felt this way about my son and his milestones. I went onto babycenter.com and went onto their January 2014 birth club and I started writing about Nash. Some moms said that their kid didn't walk till he was 22 months!!! One said at least 20 months. I felt better about Nash's milestone, these other moms made me stop worrying and to stop forcing him to walk. Than I decided to wait till he wanted to walk. I didn't want to force something on him that he didn't want to do. I've seen mothers force things on their little kids like potty training and walking. Its horrible... I say if your kid doesn't want to do it don't force it. Let your kid decide when he/she is ready not you. Just encourage them and show them it can be fun to do it or make it into a game. I read that if you do force it they'll rebel later on ( I don't know if that includes the walking problem). When they are ready you will know, when Nash was ready to walk we helped him out and now he is as happy as can be. 

All Nash needed was a little help and encouragment to start walking. He couldn't quite understand what to do when he stood up. My sons aunt worked with him for a while and now he's walking everywhere. He has learned so much since he started... even when he wasn't walking he was learning to count to 3 and what the horsey says. He is so smart and will learn anything you teach him. 

This post is for those mothers with the same problem and feelings I had. I have to say if your kid isn't walking by 2 than you need to step in. At some point parents need to step in and help. 

Anyway don't blame you or how you are raising him; don't let other people tell you what to do. You know your kid better than anyone. I've had other mothers shove it in my face about their kid was crawling or walking before 12 months or at 12 months. I just ignored them and became the mom I was raised to be.  

I hope this helps other mothers and every parent who reads this. 

Nash has taught me more that I taught him.

Surviving Las Vegas

* updated 01/19/2020
When you think of Vegas what do you think?
You think of drunks, gambling and adult entertainment right.??

There is more to Vegas than you think. There are secrets to Vegas that won't break your bank.
I have been going to Vegas for years now. I can't remember when I first went Heck, I got married there. Not the Elvis, white chapel wedding, but a glamorous, beautiful wedding. A wedding all women dream about (well I did)
Here are some tips from what I experienced:

• The art galleries are amazing!! I loved the Bodies and Titanic one. Once in a while they will have famous ones. Like Picasso, National Geographic, and Leonardo Da Vinci. 
• Fear the Walking dead survival game on Fremont. Never been but want to someday.
• When walking on the strip, I like to walk on the side that has the Mirage and Caesars Palace on it. It has less naughty things and its cleaner. 
• They are cleaning up the streets and keeping them clean. No more naked girl pictures; well every once in a while you'll see one but they are censored out. 
• Go into and explore every hotel. They are beautiful and they have lots of things to see. 
• Walk the strip from beginning to end. Its long and it'll take forever but you have lots of things to do on the way. 
• Drink a lot of water!! There are stores called ABC store that have water for cheap. I know there is one in the Mile shops in Plant Hollywood. A huge bottle of water is $1. Its cheaper than going in a hotel.
• If your in the drinking mood. Take advantage of the 2 for 1 or happy hour, usually at the Rock bar at Planet Hollywood. The ABC stores have beer for cheap too. If you buy one from a hotel or club its like 6 bucks!!! yikes.
• Go shopping. You don't have to buy a lot of stuff, I like to look at things and if I see something I like I'll get it. They have a ton of malls. One is across from the Wynn and next to Treasure Island. Fashion place mall is newly updated and has a ton of cool things to look at. The outlet malls are really fun. They have a North on and South one. The North one is right before the strip starts and its an outside one. The south one is where the strip ends. Its inside and it has less shops in it. My husband likes the south
  
  one because of the Fox store. The Caesars Palace shops are so much fun, there is a Cheesecake factory in it. Also the Bazaar shops over by Bally's are pretty new.
• Find free shows. See hotel info below.
• Take the Fremont experience. The whole strip is covered in a huge screen and they do really cool light shows on it. Every summer they also do free concerts. 

  

  Fremont street. This is the big screen
  they have.

• On Fremont in the Golden Nugget the pool has a slide that goes through a shark tank. Ive never been in it but it looks awesome.
•  If you watch Pawn Stars, you can buy tickets to tour through the store.
• To get cheap tickets there are Tix 4 tonight stores everywhere. They have show that are up to 70% off shows. Thats where me and my husband get all our show tickets. Planet hollywood has good cheap shows that are fun for kids. 
• If you stay in a hotel on the strip they will give you deals. Depending on the hotel. You can get drink credit, 2 for 1 buffet, free buffet, or discount shows. When we stayed at MGM grand for our honeymoon they treated us like gold. We got David Copperfield tickets and they upgraded our seats and we were in the show.. twice. They gave us free buffets and other things. Some hotels treat you really well. 
• Tweet or Instagram the hotel you are staying at. Depending on the hotel they'll answer back and give you deals. 
• Take pictures!! there are a lot of beautiful things in Vegas. 
• There is a free shuttle from Excalibur to Luxor to Mandalay bay. Also one from  MGM Grand, Bally's / Paris, Flamingo, Harrah's / The LINQ, Las Vegas Convention Center, and Westgate Las Vegas. The monorail is open Monday, 7 a.m. - midnight; Tuesday - Thursday, 7 a.m. - 2 a.m.; Friday - Sunday, 7 a.m. - 3 a.m. Rates for the monorail start at $12 for an unlimited one-day pass for one person.  
• Get a rewards card. Its free and you can get points for gambling and eating. I got an Mlife card and its great. 
• There is a M&M factory and a Coca Cola factory. Its near the MGM grand hotel across from The park. Coca Cola factory has a around the world tray. You sample soda from around the world, they also have a rootbeer float one that has different flavors instead of root beer. The tray costs about $7 (a guess) and I think the root beer one costs more. The M&M factory is fun to walk through. They have 3 floors of awesome M&M stuff. Kids love this!! Also the Coca Cola factory has the Coca Cola bear, you can meet him and take pics. They have just added the Hershey store which is at the New York New York hotel. Its full of 2 floors of  Resse's and Hershey candies. Also once in a while you can catch a Hershey kiss in front of the store to take pictures with. 
• There are a lot of people that like to dress up and sit on the strip. You can take pics with them but they usually expect a tip, be careful. 
• For gambling I like to go to either Excalibur or MGM. If you gamble there are ladies that walk around and take drink orders and you give them a dollar and they'll bring you drinks. As long as you are gambling the drinks are $1. Cool huh!!
• When going on Freemont be careful with kids. It gets extremely crowded, especially during the summer. Also a lot of people half naked walking around. 
• So the buffets at the MGM and Excalibur do bottomless mimosas and champagne for lunch and bottomless beer and wine for dinner. I wasn't too impressed with MGM but Excalibur was delicious. They have a crepe station and its so yummy. When we ate at Excalibur we waited for the dinner and got all the dinner items including the beer and wine. The dinner is way more expensive than the lunch. I got 2 free buffets for booking with New York New York. 

Here are the hotels and what they offer starting from the south end:

MGM grand

Luxor

• Mandalay Bay- Shark reef ( Adults $18, children 5-12 $12) they also let you dive in with the sharks. Shops that go to the Luxor. [ Mlife card ]
• Luxor- Bodies and Titanic exhibit. They have deals for these. Its just an awesome place to stay in, its a freaking pyramid!! [ Mlife card ]
• Excalibur- Huge arcade. The bottom floor is a giant arcade for kids. Top floor has an amazing buffet and shops that lead to Luxor. Sometimes during the weekdays you can get in their pool without staying there. Its a very fun pool. Somewhat cheap to stay in rooms. Its a freaking castle!!! [ Mlife card ]

  

  Excalibur

• Tropicana- Not much here. It is fun to walk through and enjoy the decorations. [ Trop Plus card]
• MGM Grand- Buffet is meh on some days. Big golden lion on the front of the hotel is nice to go look at. Very nice to walk through and fun to look at. Stayed here on my honeymoon and they treated us very nice. Newly renovated rooms. [Mlife card]
• New York New York- Very fun to stay at. They have the Hershey and Reeses store. Also the Shake shack. I haven't been able to go there yet because its always so busy. ROLLER COASTER!!! so worth going. (passes are $14 per person or get a scream pass $25. The pass is an all day pass) The pass is so worth it me and my niece got one and we went non stop all day. It was so much fun. Go at night, its so pretty. Me and my husband stayed here and they gave us a $100 drink credit. Certain hotels do deals like this. This one does, you just have to catch it at the right time.  [Mlife card]
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



Park MGM where Monte Carlo was.
Still doing construction for entrance.
Pic taken 3/1/19

Park MGM-  Formally known as Monte Carlo. All totally renovated rooms, hotel, and outdoor shops. Recently stayed here and it was so clean and nice. I highly recommend this place. They have a little Italian market; Eataly. We went here in the one in New York and fell in love with it. You go in and there are little places to eat and shop. Good wine selection and yummy food. They have a restaurant and it is quite pricey but way worth it. The beer there is really good at the restaurant. When you go in and look around you'll see a little eat shop where they have prime rib. Go there and get the prime rib sandwich, oh so yummy. Just all out beautiful hotel. 

 Also on the very top of the hotel there is another hotel. Its a hotel in a hotel; with its own front desk and check in. Heard that this was very pricey. I've only gone in here a couple of times. Its worth going in and checking it out. They have a Minus 5 bar and its like in ice (I heard). I've looked it up and it looks pretty fun. [Mlife card]

• Vdara, Mandarin Oriental, Aria, and Cosmopolitan- So these are kinda all hooked together. The Aria is beautiful and they have a tea store and have tea time. The Crystals shopping is in here and its fun to walk through. The Cosmopolitan has a bar that look like a chandelier and a art exhibit that has about the lucky cat. My mom stayed there and said it was so-so. The others not much but beautiful. 
• Planet Hollywood- Miracle mile shops are here. So worth going and fun to look at. They have a Brazilian grill here. Me and my husband went and it was just like Rodizios. Also for free shows they have a little water show over by the V theater. The V theater has lots of fun shows, Marc Savard is way funny and it was fun. They also have a thing you can go to to learn to pole dance. I haven't gone yet but I've heard its way fun. They have a little rain storm show in the middle of the shops. Also in the shops there is a restaurant called Ocean one bar and grill over by the small rain storm show. Its cheap when you want it and they always have 3 for 1 drinks. Only on mixed not beer or

  

  They changed it up a bit. Here is
  the menu that was outside the resturant. 

  straight up alcohol. Stayed here for the first time and had an amazing time. The room was beautiful and clean. Shower and bathroom were huge! Although, the pool you have to pay and reserve for everything. Chairs, cabanas and lounging beds. The ones not by the pool are up for grabs. Cabanas cost $150 a day and I cant remember what the chairs and beds cost. They have a adult pool and children pool and a cafe and a pool table. Its way spacious and big, lots of room. Beautiful decor and nice clean areas. Also there is a flo rider which is a surfing simulator. Actual good price on this.  Check it out. [Total rewards card]
• Paris- Big Eiffel tower, cant miss it. Inside this one its like your walking in Paris. So beautiful. They have a Eiffel tower experience. They have a restaurant at the tippy top of the Eiffel tower. Its $14 to ride up the elevator and look at the strip. Never been but I heard its worth it. Also shops that lead to Bally's. I loved it, it really feels like your in Paris.  [Total rewards card]  

  

  Paris                                  The ramen from Bally's
                       grand bazzar

• Bally's- Grand Bazzar shops are here. They are pretty new. Its fun to walk through the tiny shops. Ate at the ramen shop here and it was quite expensive but it was amazing and big portions. I highly recommend it.  [Total rewards card]
• Bellagio- The fountain show is beautiful. It starts every hour. The conservatory gardens is beautiful. They have a lot of art gallery's and beautiful things to look at.  [Mlife card]
• Caesars Palace- Forum shops are here. So much fun here and so much to look at. Cheesecake Factory, big huge aquarium, beautiful structures. Also a free show, the fall of Atlantis. So worth watching, I think its over by the cheesecake factory. [Total rewards card]

  

  Caesars Palace

  

  Bellagio

• The Cromwell- Its very nice, Not much here, mainly night clubs and bars. [Total rewards club]
• Flamingo- The wildlife habitat is here. So beautiful to look at. This is where I held 2 huge parrots, it was so cool. Margaritaville is located here, good food and fun. Buffet is good priced and pretty good.  [Total rewards card]
• The Linq- Home of the high roller farris wheel. New hotel. On Tuesdays they have free music and entertainment.

  

  Between The Linq and Flamingo
  going to the high roller.

  Discount tickets and half off to the high roller ride. They have a auto collections show its free, starts at 10. They have shops here between the Flamingo that lead to the high roller. There is a little fountain and artwork throughout the shops. Newest addition to this is the zip line. Day prices: $20 for seated $30 for superhero. Night prices: $25 for seated $35 for superhero.   [Total rewards card]
• Harrah's- This hotel is pretty old. The outside of it is pretty. Some shopping and its a decent price to stay [total rewards card]
• Mirage- This hotel is so much fun to walk through and stay.

  

  Going to the High Roller. 

  I stayed here for my birthday and they were really nice. We got 2 for 1 buffet, and it was pretty decent. When we went to Vegas again we came here and they had breakfast, lunch, and dinner and the bar was included. Just mimosas, beer and wine. It was great but it was like $80 each person. Can't believe the price but we had fun. This is home to the famous Terry Fator. Haven't seen his show yet but one day I will. They have a giant aquarium where you check in/out, its awesome. They have a huge volcano show in the front of the hotel, worth watching, really cool. The Siegfried and

  

  Mirage

  Roy's secret garden. Never have been cause its too expensive, but one day I will. You walk through  the garden that has tigers, white lions and leopards and the dolphin habitat. Also you can swim with the dolphins, be a trainer for a day, do yoga with the dolphins, and paint with them ($199). Its all separate. You'll have to do some research on them to find out more info.
• Casino Royale- Very old hotel. Not much here, decent price to stay. Worth walking through, the outside is very pretty. 
• Venetian- My all time favorite hotel. You want to know why? its where I got married. I think this place is so beautiful!!! The inside, the outside, and everything about it. They have gondola rides, lots of shops and they do very beautiful weddings. I love walking through this hotel. It always brings back very good memories. Home of the famous Carlos Bakery, from Cake Boss. My mom and sister stayed here and they said it was the best they have ever had. It is very expensive, but worth it. 
  
  
  

  

  Gondola rides inside

  
  
• The Palazzo- Sister to the Venetian. Beautiful!!! Worth the walk through.
  
  
  
  
• Treasure Island- Like a pirate themed hotel. Its awesome!! They have so much to look at. They use to have a show out front of the hotel where the ships are, I don't know if they still do. 
• Wynn & Encore- This place is also very beautiful. The outside had an amazing waterfall. They've got a golf course, shopping, and a garden. So fun to walk through. 
  
   
• Rivera- shut down and demolished. Rebuilding but ran out of funds. Don't know what they are replacing it with yet.
• Circus circus- They have an adventure dome. Full of roller coasters. This one is way North of the strip. Its very old, needs a serious update or tear down and rebuild. Never been inside but I heard the rides are fun.
• SLS-  This hotel is built where Sahara was. It is beautiful. Didn't have time to look around here nor take pictures. It is pretty close to the Strat; within walking distance. 
• Stratosphere/The Strat- This one is the tall one that looks like the space needle in Seattle, WA. I actually went to the tippy top of the tower and it was beautiful. You can see all of the strip, so worth

View from the bar. The restaurant is the
only thing that rotates.
View facing Fremont street (north of vegas)

going. Also at the top of the tower they have rides. There's the x-scream this hangs you off the edge, 109 stories. Insanity, a mechanical arm that hangs you over the strip and spins you. 900 ft high of the ground. Big shot, this ride is on the needle at the top of the tower. Ya crazy huh. Finally the sky jump, you just bungee jump the tower. 829 ft fall. I'm too much of a baby to go on these rides but one day I will. They also have a restaurant that rotates on the tower. Stayed here for the first time and was super impressed. They Got new owners and they are totally remodeling the whole hotel; rooms and all. Stayed in a remodeled room and it was super nice. They give you a bunch of discounts for staying there, including discounts for the rides. Well worth staying... but you have to get an Uber to get anywhere. The new owners are also slowly calling it The Strat. Also buffet here was super impressive!!! Loved the brunch bottomless mimosas



Here is some info about the hotels off the strip:

South point- way south of the strip, like way out by the south outlet mall. Steak n' Shake is here; delicious and good price for food. The movie theater is nice, $5.25 movies on Tuesdays. Not a whole lot to see in this hotel. We do get coupon books for staying at the grandview across the street. Like free beer, cocktails, free popcorn, free nightly show, 20% off specialty show ect. The buffet is very expensive if you don't have a club card. You can sign up for free and get deals. Dinner buffet is 35$ with membership its 25$ and you get a free glass of wine and its usually prime rib and seafood. Also the coupon book has a free bottle of wine with a purchase of 2 dinner buffets. The entertainment was pretty good. Me and my husband saw Motown here and it was quite fun. Very clean and nice hotel.

Silverton-  Ok this place is really cool and worth going to visit or even stay. They have a HUGE aquarium and sometimes they'll have mermaids in it. Buffet wasn't to impressive, but worth trying. Bass pro shop is here and it is HUMONGOUS!!!! So cool to go see all the taxidermy and other aquariums. ( bass pro shop pictured below)

Rio- Havent really been in this hotel. Its right off the strip west on flamingo from the strip coming south. Penn and Teller and the Chippendale's are here. If your feeling daring go to the Voodoo zipline. This is nuts everyone. You literally zipline through the buildings of Rio. 400 ft in the air, 33 MPH of high speed excitement. I haven't been able to go on this because no on will ride it with me. Has a rooftop nightclub. You are better off driving to this one or taking a shuttle.

The Orleans- If your in the mood for a masquerade every night. Orleans is your place. From the theaters to the arena, there is always something going on. Bowling ally and a kids zone.  I went to a motocross here and it was way fun. Worth seeing and looking around. Lots to eat, I ate a place called Bailiwick... best burger ever!! so fresh and the beer wasn't half bad either. Large portions but a little pricey. Located on West Tropicana from the strip coming south.

Gold Coast- Located West Flamingo from the strip coming south. Not much here but the buffet is cheap and good. I went here after I got married and we were all satisfied.

The Palms- Haven't been here either. This one is right by The Gold Coast, the one with a giant playboy bunny on it. I noticed that the Playboy night club is gone. Don't know much about this one.


Fremont street:

You can’t do this on the Strip: Party inside with Dancing Dealers and take a few easy steps outside onto Las Vegas’ most dynamic street. Look ten stories up at fantastic light shows on the world’s biggest video monster (yes, it’s gigantic). The Fremont Street Experience is four neon blocks of party action with 3 stages, dancing DJ’s, tribute bands, a zip-line overhead and bars everywhere. And it’s free. Really.

We’ve hosted some of the biggest names in music-from Lady Antebellum to Kid Rock—along with NASCAR drivers, bull riders and the most beautiful girls in the world competing for the title of Miss Universe. So grab a cold beer at OneBar and join the crowd cruising the street … where Las Vegas started!

Forget the Strip mega-hassle. Spend less time walking and more time dancing in the street! [vegasexperiance.com]

• Main street station- One of the hotels that are off Fremont, but close enough to walk to. Has a brewery inside. We went to the buffet here and it was decent price and very delicious. Walked around; first time in this hotel. Pretty run down has a saloon feel to it but pretty nice. This hotel is connected to California. 
• The California- The California is your connection to the Islands right here in Downtown Las Vegas.  Known as the 9th Island, the California is where you can experience the feeling of Aloha. [vegasexperiance.com] Took a walkway to this hotel to check it out. It is nice but we didn't see anything to do except gambling. Look very clean and nice. These 2 hotels are good to stay in if you don't want all the crowds and bustle of Fremont street. 

Pic from Golden Nugget website.

• Golden Nugget- The Tank, a $30 million award-winning pool. Fun-filled, sun-filled, it features a 200,000 gallon shark tank aquarium, three-story complex and 17 private cabanas. Climb 300 feet in the air, close your eyes and rush down through The Tank on the one-of-a-kind water slide. Experience the thrill of swimming right next to sharks. [Golden nugget website] Haven't done much here. We like to look around, haven't tried the food yet, but heard its amazing. Have to stay in the hotel to use the pool.
• Golden gate- Opened in 1906. Very busy hotel. Right next to it is a stage with loud music playing. Never stayed here and haven't heard anything about hearing music in the rooms. Rooms look fairly decent. 
• Circa- Still being built. Will finish in 2020. 777 hotel was here and was torn down to build Circa.
• 4 Queens- No resort fee. Right smack dab in the middle of Fremont so its always packed. Right next to the center stage. This is where the famous people play. We saw Diamond Rio play on this stage and its always free. 
• The D hotel- We actually stayed here and it was very nice. I really liked this hotel. Very clean and good food. 
• Binions- This is just a gambling hall. This is not a hotel. 
• Fremont Hotel- Ate at Paradise Buffet here. It was $15.99 for the prime rib buffet. It wasn't bad.... not a huge selection and wasn't to impressed with the food. Its meh. Would rather go to Main street station buffet than this. Place was packed all the time. 
• Plaza hotel- Actually not part of Fremont. It is at the very end of Fremont right across the street from Golden gate. Really nice hotel. Gets less crowded during big events on Fremont. 

 Well that's all I have for info and fun. I will probably be updating once in a while so keep checking.
Thank you for reading, be safe and have fun.

All info is from personal experience and some info from the hotel websites.