It’s the first day of Summer Break here, and I’ve already got a list of the fun stuff we can do to get the kids off devices and out of the house. I do not want to hear about boredom at all!
This list is very San Diego County-centered, but with a little bit of googling, I’m sure you’ll be able to find fun freebies and adventures near you.
Free summer concerts are all over the place! Santee has them on Thursdays. To find them close to you google “your city name +free summer concerts 2023”.
Check with your local shopping mall, many of them offer free events for kids and families during the summer. For those of us in San Diego, Parkway Plaza in El Cajon has a twice-monthly event.
Kids Night Out
Jun 23rd, 2023
05:00 pm – 06:30 pm
Kids Night Out is back and better than ever! The party continues right outside of Ulta Beauty every 2nd and 4th Friday from 5pm-6:30pm, starting in February.
There will be free crafting for kids, dancing, games, giveaways, and more!
Registered guests will be entered to win rotating prize packages. Register here.
In La Mesa, Grossmont Center Mall has events for the entire family from summer concerts to Free Lego Building events.
If you are like me, you’ve got a little free time this summer. Sitting on the pool deck while the kids swim, sitting at their martial arts classes weekly, and those quiet early mornings when the cat wakes you up for food but everyone else is asleep. I think the last one may just be me.
Regardless, there are tons of way to make a little extra money this summer. Enough for an extra trip to Starbucks, or a browse through the dollar spot at Target, or maybe more, depending on how much time and energy you wish to invest.
Receive cash back from Kashkick when you read emails, complete surveys, take quizzes, referring your friend, and subscribing to special promotions. It’s super simple!
LifePoints is one of my favorites. It’s so easy! Join one of the largest influencer communities in the world. We’ve rewarded over $20 million to our members in the last year alone.
Share your opinions on numerous products and popular brands. Complete surveys and get paid for it!
Earn points that can be redeemed for rewards of your choice. Join today and get 10 LifePoints to kick off your earnings!
I’ve been using MyPoints since 2011, and I’ve earned a lot of cashback just by doing my normal online shopping, completing surveys, and using their magic receipts cash back program- all through MyPoints.
If you are looking for some more ways to make some extra money, check out my side hustle post here. And if you want to earn cashback and save money on your shopping, check out my complete list of smartphone apps here.
Summer is here, or will be soon. The kids need to brush up on their skills-I can’t be the only parent looking for information on swim lessons and getting kids’ water ready.
My usual go-to is the swim lessons held at our local high school district, Grossmont Unified High School District. They have lessons for kids ages 3 and up. Schedules and pricing can be seen here.
The City of San Diego has private, semi-private, and group swim lessons at several of its pools. The prices are pretty decent. The prices and more info can be found here.
If you live in El Cajon, you’ve got some really excellent swim lesson options. Visit the Rec Center online here and take a look at all of the classes. Anyone can take classes, but El Cajon residents (of the incorporated city) can get killer discounts.
The Kroc Center offers swim lessons. Information can be found here.
The YMCA offers swim lessons at many of its facilities. Currently, they are offering private/semi-private lessons only. You do not need to be a YMCA member to take lessons there, however, the rate is cheaper if you are. The list of San Diego, CA area YMCAs that offer swim lessons can be found here.
I also did some digging for parents of kids on the Autism Spectrum. Aqua Pros offers classes specially designed for kids on the spectrum! More information and class prices can be found on their website.
These are just a few of the options available. There are of course private swim instructors and private companies that offer private or small group lessons. The ones listed above are for more of the price-conscious in mind.
Talk Back: If you or your kids have had great swim lessons, leave a comment and let us know where! The more options, the better!
There are 6 days of school left for my kids, and maybe your’s too. And you know what that means- keeping kids occupied so we don’t have to hear choruses of, “I’M BORED!” And how do we do that?
Around these parts, both kids go to summer school, but we also take advantage of free and low-cost summer programs. One of my favorites is the Summer Reading Programs that are sponsored by both the City of San Diego Library system, but also the County of San Diego Library system.
The City of San Diego Summer Reading Program started June 1st. You can find out more details here.
If you want your family to experience a multicultural world through reading, I recommend PJ Library. PJ Library sends free, award-winning books that celebrate Jewish values and culture to families with children from birth through 12 years old.
My kids love learning about faraway places and experiences different from their own. The PJ library books have opened their eyes to new holidays, customs, and ways of life.
Read Conmigo provides free books for kids by mail in Spanish and English to children ages preschool to fifth grade. They are only available to kids in CA, TX, and Florida. We used to receive the books, and they are ok, but my kids aren’t interested in learning Spanish.
Barnes and Noble have a summer reading program starting July 1st. More info here.
Dolly Parton has established the Imagination Library, it is available in select regions (sadly not available in San Diego California), and those who live in participating areas can receive one book for their kids every month via mail.
Book It has a summer program called Camp Book it, where kids can read, and earn free personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut! Book It is the FAVORITE reading program in my house. parents can enroll their kids for the summer!
This landed in my inbox last night, and I thought I’d share it. With Summer Break coming up, I’ll be leaning on Dream Dinners a few times a week to get us through the summer for those days we are busy.
I don’t get paid when school is out (surprise- teachers and school staff don’t draw a paycheck over the summer months unless they work summer school or opt to spread their paychecks out over 12 months- and some districts don’t offer this), so I really need to be cost-conscious over the summer. Dream Dinners is a great way to have restaurant-quality meals in the comfort of our home for 50% (or more) savings compared to restaurant prices.
And the June Dream Dinners Menu has a bunch of my family’s favorites- Mongolian Beef & Broccoli with White Rice (my fav), and Spinach and Artichoke Ravioli Bake (The kids’ fav) were the top two on my list.
FREE* Dream Dinners Cooking Class
Thursday, June 8th at 5:30
Learn how easy it can be to make Dream Dinners at home. During the class learn how to prepare quick, easy healthy, and delicious meals. In this class, you will learn basic cooking skills you can use to make all types of different meals at home. Save time, save money, and have fun!!
This Month’s Featured Entrée will be the Nashville Chicken served with Summer Grilled Veggies.
Call/Text 619-460-6800 for more information. La Mesa Dream Dinners will begin offering a series of cooking classes each month. To stay up to date on our classes, go to lamesadreamdinners.com.
* No Fee for class, Minimum Purchase required – 3 meals.
This is a recipe I recently made. I wanted chipotle chicken but with veggies and sauce.
I looked online for a recipe, however, there was nothing that fit the bill. I headed to the kitchen and started cooking.
This meal turned out AMAZING.
Chipotle Chicken Thighs
Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Chipotle sauce from a small tin of adobo pepper in chipotle sauce
1 cup salsa
3T. Hot honey
1 medium onion, diced
2 large bell peppers or 3 medium bell peppers, cleaned and sliced into bite-sized pieces
Dash cumin
Dash salt and pepper
Juice of 2 limes
2T. Corn starch
1/3 cup water
Directions:
In a crockpot, combine all ingredients but corn starch and water.
Cook on low for 5 hours, or high for 3 hours.
Strain sauce into a saucepan, and heat over medium until boiling. While sauce is heating, mix water and corn starch and slowly pour into boiling sauce. Stir until thickened, add back into meat and veggies.
Serve with rice, beans, and tortillas.
If you want extra smokiness, chop 1-2 chipotle peppers and add to the sauce while it thickens on the stovetop.
Over Spring Break we had guests. While our house is clean, it was definitely disorganized. I had reorganized the pantry and kitchen drawers not long ago, so it was my mission to organize some of the other areas of our home including the kids’ rooms, the front bathroom, and the living room.
The wallpaper I chose.
I headed over to Dollar Tree to grab some organizational items. If you haven’t checked out Dollar Tree lately, they have a great selection of baskets, totes, and boxes with lids to help with organizing your space.
I picked up a few square frames, removed the artwork, covered it with the peel and stick, and placed it back into the frames. It took less than ten minutes and it was super easy. The best part: they look really cute.
I also bought a small two-drawer container to corral all of my hair ties and for Qtips. I decorated the top with decals meant for a glass jar. I think it turned out great.
I placed a basket on top of the toilet tank and filled it with an extra roll of toilet paper, wipes, and new washcloths. I scrubbed out the shower, placed down a shower mat (from Ross), and restocked the front bathroom shower with shampoo, conditioner, 2 body washes, a new pouf, a new back scrub brush, exfoliating gloves, and my absolute favorite body scrub from Tree Hut: Moroccan Rose (which does not smell like roses). I also spent time organizing the HBA stockpile under the front bathroom sink, condensing boxes, and half-filled bottles, and removing unnecessary packaging to make storage easier. I also went through the first aid kit and discarded all of the old, expired meds, ointments, and bandages that are no longer adhesive.
The kids love to draw and there are pencils and pens all over the house. I picked up a three-pack of small baskets and placed 2 of them on the kitchen tables, filling one with pencils, and the second one with ballpoint pens. Hopefully that will solve the “MOOOOOOM, where are the pencils???” Quandary.
Heading into the kids’ rooms, I reorganized Margaret’s room with a few baskets and plastic boxes with lids. The headband/hairbow situation had gotten out of hand, but it was easily wrangled with a plastic box with a lid. Now everything is all in one place. Same with underwear and socks. Separated into two baskets and stored on top of her dresser, which has been upgraded and moved into her larger closet. Yes, her room has two closets- one is very small, and basically is only used to hold clothes that need to be hung up.
Back in the living room, I needed better storage options for our fidget/stim basket and masks. I upgraded to black woven baskets. We still have masks at home (for use when we go to crowded places or when we are feeling under the weather and need to leave home- Target Drive up, anyone?). These weren’t from Dollar Tree, but Dollar Tree Plus and Family Dollar both sell them. And yes, that’s a plastic shoe box with a lid from Dollar Tree next to them- Full of crayons.
So that’s how I spent the 1st three days of my Spring Break. Getting my home organized- It has made finding things a lot easier.
This weekend was so busy. Birthday Party, clothing swap, meal prep, making cookies, laundry, house cleaning, and yes… meal planning.
The freezer and fridge is organized and the meals are planned for the upcoming week and beyond.
Our Yasukochi Family Farms CSA box is usually delivered on Mondays, but we’re taking a break for the next month to eat up what we’ve got. I’ve been stashing the extra fruits and veggies in the freezer over the past 2 months. When I do veggie prep each week, I make up bags of vegetables to use at a later time.
We’ve been trying a lot of new foods lately, thanks to the really great freebies from Social Nature lately too. It’s fun to try new foods.
I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste.
I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.
Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2 for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. They are also into fruit and bagels for breakfast. Lately, the big kid has been digging protein shakes in the morning. This is his favorite kind.
Lunch: I have a plastic tote in the cupboard full of self-serve snacks. I buy treats and snacks in bulk and fill up snack-sized zip-top bags. The big kid brings his lunch every day, and the little one buys her lunch about half the time.
Dinner: I’m making sure to start our meals with lots of veggies. Now that I’m back in the gym and the kids are both in Martial Arts, we need to fuel our bodies properly.
Sunday: Chicken Strips, Mac and cheese, orange and apple slices
Monday: Breakfast sandwiches (eggs, cheese, onions and peppers, and sausage on ciabatta rolls), fruit salad
Tuesday: Cauliflower & broccoli cheese soup and rolls
Wednesday: Split Pea and Ham Soup, fruit salad, cheese toast
Thursday: Protein shakes, fruit, cheese, and crackers