kids

Family Fun this weekend at the San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering 2016!

Abby H.

SDFSE-EXPO-Day-IMG_9641-Photo by Melissa JacobsHenry informed me the other day that he wants to be a farmer scientist. We’ve started our garden of tomatoes, strawberries, bell peppers, lavender (to encourage bees to visit our garden), wild flowers, and a succulent. Henry really wanted to have a cactus garden, but I worried about Birdie being around pokey plants once she’s a little bigger and able to play outside on the patio.

I am super excited to take him and Bitty Bird to the San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering 2016 down at Petco Park on Saturday, March 5th.

The event runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., we’ll be there at 10 on the dot. Henry is excited to get hands on with all kinds of experiments and fun! There are scheduled to be more than 130 local businesses, corporations and organizations providing interactive, hands-on science, technology, engineering and math exhibits and activities to budding K-12 science lovers.

New EXPO Day Features for 2016:
  • The Recycle Challenge: Are you familiar with the phrase “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle? Are you into technology, creativity and want to help keep our planet green? Well, the blue bin isn’t the only place for your recyclables. With a little imagination and craftiness you can turn your “trash” into awesome works of art! In this Star Wars-themed challenge, students in grades 5 to 12, will convene in teams of four to design, build and present a wearable garment or innovative device out of recycled materials to wear in the Star Wars Universe! Student inventors will then present their creation and explain how they built it and/or where in the Star Wars universe it will be utilized.
  • K-Zone: Looking for a place where your youngest scientist can unleash their natural creative ability in a setting where they are free to touch, explore, and participate in whatever their developing minds can come up with? The K-Zone is a place where budding tinkerers can come and explore numerous activities guaranteed to nurture and engage their active minds. Go ahead and let them run free, they just might change the world. (this is where we’ll be for most of the day, I’m sure!)
  • TedXKids@ElCajon Take The Stage: In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. This local version will showcase the passion and potential of our children! Organized by the Cajon Valley Union School District, these students offer a unique platform to share their ideas. Connect with our future leaders, and leave inspired. Come see samplings of their talks throughout the day on the Dugout Stage!
  • Student Designed Merchandise: Come check out the winners of our STEM Design completion. This year we’ve got sizes for the whole family and newly featured women’s racerback tank tops! Pay tribute to our local student artists. The Festival continues to work hard to keep all items very family affordable with nothing over $10! The merchandise tent is located inside Park at the Park – check it out and get your awesome Festival gear to wear all year long!
  • Star Wars – Steampunk Universe: The two fastest expanding creative universes, Star Wars and Steampunk, will converge at the Star Wars – Steampunk Universe booth, just inside the Gaslamp Gate entrance. Learn how to salvage your everyday watch and bicycle gears, vintage brass plumbing parts, industrial revolution steam era antiques, old leather and lace into personal visual expressions of your love of the Star Wars saga. Come by and take photos with the Star Wars – Steampunk Universe crew. Kids will also be able to participate in a fun coloring activity. Booth attendees will also learn how Star Wars – Steampunk Universe turns “Cosplay into Cause-play,” combining their love of dressing up and participating in charity and community events.
  • Bright Idea Society Alley – Powered By ViaSat: No need to scour the map, our Bright Idea Society winners this year will all be gathered together in their own row inside park at the park! The three winning schools include Olive Elementary, Feaster Engineering Charter, and Dragons 5229 Boys & Girls Clubs. Come be fascinated by these young minds and let them teach you!

If you are looking for a fun, free event to take your kids to this weekend, check out the Festival! I hope to see you there!

9 Fun, Frugal things to do this Spring Break in San Diego!

Abby H.

Spring break is just a few weeks away for most of us. We get two weeks, and I know some schools get three (you have my condolences).  If you are looking for some fun, frugal stuff to do to pass the time, here are a few adventures we’ll be having:

Santee Lakes Splash Pad should be open. They are re-surfacing the ground there right now!IMG_0931_2

Shell Hunting at the beach: Low tide is the best time to go. Check the tide charts here.

Balboa Park offers Free Tuesdays at various museums in the park.

Hiking and a picnic at Old Mission Dam

Gillespie Field Duck Pond: Located on Billie Mitchell Drive in El Cajon, it’s a great place to stop, check out ducks and turtles and explore a little nature in the big city. Plus afterwards, you can stop by the Aerospace Museum Hangar on Kenney Road. It where the Aerospace museum keeps their place that are off exhibit or are being restored. It’s donation suggested, but you can pop by for free. The guys who work there are excited to have kids stop by. If you are feeling peckish, stop by the Gillespie Cafe and have a bite on the patio and watch the planes take off and land.

Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve: Lots of fun trails and paths, and if you’ve got it in you, there is a trail that leads down to some cool, hidden waterfalls! Don’t forget water and a snack!

The playground and Waterfront Park downtown are always fun. However, the water park area will be closed for maintenance for most of March. However the playground is RAD!!

Looking to enjoy a little bit of history? The Missions in San Diego are fun and educational. There are three in San Diego County: San Diego de Alcala (in Mission Valley), San Luis Rey (in Oceanside), and the Santa Ysabel Asistencia (in Santa Ysabel). If you go up to Santa Ysabel, stop for pie and bread at Dudley’s!

It’s wild Flower season out in Borrego Springs! Head down and check out the flowers, the funIMG_1520(and free) museum, and don’t forget to check out Galleta Meadows! The awesome metal sculptures in the Borrego Springs area by artist Ricardo Breceda. Check out a printable map here, and here is a video about the awesome sculptures. This is one of Henry’s favorite things to do!IMG_1501

If you are looking for other fun stuff, here is an article I wrote last summer about summer fun!

a2 Milk: .29 at Sprouts!

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2016-02-20 at 9.04.55 PMWho doesn’t love almost free milk?

Right now, you can score a 1/2 gallon of of a2 milk at Sprouts for just .29 after rebate!

Here’s the deal:

  • 1/2 Gallon a2 Milk (any variety): $4.29
  • Use $1/1 printable here, or some local Sprouts have $1/1 Peelies
  • Submit $1/1 Ibotta Rebate
  • Submit $2/1 Shopmium Rebate (Sign up here- please use Code YHFAYCTP to score an extra $2 in your account!).
  • Total after rebates: .29!

Lil’ Man sometimes has tummy troubles with  regular milk, so any time I can pick up a@ milk at a discount, I’m on it!

 

Cutting the Cord: Going without Cable

Abby H.

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Disclaimer: This money saving strategy isn’t for everyone- I’ll admit it. If you HAVE to watch “your shows” or sports games and they aren’t available to stream on the TV channel’s website (FOX, CBS, NBC, and AMC have tons of their shows streaming on their site), this won’t work for you.

We don’t have cable.  Never have. Mr. C watches sports over Antenna TV or he’ll go to the gym and spend time on the treadmill or StairMaster while he watches football!

In my area, cable tv (with Cox Cable) is $61.99/mo for the cheap-o plan.  It’s usually on special for less, or you may get a discount if you bundle it with your home phone (we don’t have one!), but after any introductory rates have expired, the monthly price is $61.99/mo at a minimum.

So, in the 10 years we’ve lived together, we’ve saved roughly $7500 by not having cable. That’s A LOT of money.

There are a few things to consider:

If you want to cut the cord, before you call your cable company and tell them to shove it consider this. How old is your TV?  If it’s older than 3 or 4 years old, you’ll need a digital convertor box.

Why?  In 2009, the FCC made the switch from analog (over the air) TV to digital TV to free up analog airwaves for emergencies.

So if you have an old tv, plug it in and flip the channels, you’ll get static because your TV can’t access the digital airwaves without a convertor box. Convertor boxes run between $40-$60 and can be purchased anywhere that sells electronics. You need one convertor box PER television in your house that is over 3-4 years old.  If you are unsure if your TV has the convertor internally, check online or call the company that manufactured your TV.

Pick up a convertor box.  But you’ll still need one more thing.

An Antenna.  Not a pair of rabbit ears.  Newer antennas plug into your television, and the wall (yup they have an amplified signal, so you’ll get more channels!), and they hang on the wall. You’ll need one for each TV in the house.

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This is what ours look like, it’s a slim, shiny back box that hangs on the wall. They run anywhere from $45-$90 (depending on what type you get)

OK, so Convertor box (if needed)-Check!

Antenna– Check!

Now your are all set.

The directions that come with the antenna will tell you how to set it all up and find your local channels.

Now, you can call the cable company! Remember to return the cable boxes and remotes so you aren’t charged any extra.

Now the next question I get is: How many channels will  I get?

Depending on how strong the signals in your area are, you should be able to receive:

  • ABC
  • CBS
  • NBC
  • CW
  • Fox
  • PBS
  • V-me (Spanish PBS)

There are additional networks that are available in various areas of the county.  Here in So Cal, we also get:

Plus we get a few more spanish language channels.

So- the take away is this: depending on how many TV’s you have in your house, and their age, you may spend a few hundred dollars up front to get all set up, but you may be paying a few hundred dollars a month on cable or the dish.  It will pay for itself in just a few months.

You won’t get ESPN or MTV or any of the other eight million other channels. But, you’ll get more quality time as a family.

We’ve never had cable. We’ve lived together for 10 years, and we’ve lived with broadcast TV (over the air with an antenna and converter box), Netflix- Streaming only (a gift from hubby’s parents!), and we have a HuluPlus subscription (at a whopping $7.99/month).

We’re not addicted to TV.  We watch Netflix or a show or two on Hulu at night, and Little Man and I watch PBS in the morning for Sesame Street and many other educational cartoons. We read, talk, or play games while most people are glued to the tube each night for 4-5 hours. We go for to the gym, or for a walk as a family.

 What would you do with an extra $700+ per year? What would you do with the extra time you could have not being glued to the TV each night?

 

 

Looking for some new digs? Check out the Grand Opening of Nickel Creek Townhomes in Ramona!

Abby H.

NickelCreek-logoColorSome of you may know that we moved into a condo last January. We house hunted for over 6 months, looking at listings online and driving all over the place. It was nuts. The awesome folks at KirE builders are proud to present the Grand Opening of Nickel Creek Townhomes in Ramona on February 27th. Just in time for those of you starting your house hunt in Eastern San Diego County.

There are so many things I love about living in East County:

  • Great Parks: including parks with cheap or free water fixtures for the kids to play in during the hot months.
  • Small Town Feel: most Eastern San Diego County cities and towns average about 60k residents or less each, but most have a great small town vibe with local activities sponsored by chambers of commerce, civic organizations, and local parks and rec commissions.
  • Many opportunities to Get Into Nature: We love discovering nature!  San Diego has a ton of great trails and ecological preserves, several of them are in Eastern San Diego County, and are family friendly!

Even though we’re not in the market for a new home, I’ll be checking out the Grand Opening of Nickel Creek Townhomes in Ramona. We’ve got some friends that are looking to buy in East County and I’ll be doing leg work for them!

I’m pretty excited! Besides the tours of the new townhomes, there will be lunch, a gourmet dessert truck, face painting, and music will be complimentary for all in attendance starting at 11am!

Bring your kids and they can flex their creative muscle and enter to win! Check out the coloring sheet below that kids can color and turn in that day at Nickel Creek, to win 2 tickets to Disneyland, a Kindle Fire, or a $50 gift card!

coloring sheet FINAL FINAL

 

If you can’t make it, but would like more info, check out the  Nickel Creek Interest List.

NickelCreek-Flyer_Back What I like about Nickel Creek is that even though it’s in Ramona, which is know for being pretty east in East County, it’s near the center of town: Tons of opportunities to shop and dine. Oh, and Ramona has a Dunkin’ Donuts. SHHHH- don’t tell my husband!

NickelCreek-Flyer_Front

 

I’ll be live tweeting and Instagramming from the event, make sure to check it out! And I’ll report back with photos and details!

 

 

Take 5% off Schoola and get $5 Starbucks GC!!

Abby H.

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By this time, you know my love of Schoola! Great gently worn clothes for kids (and women) at a decent price, and they give 40% of each item’s purchase price to local schools!

Right now, they’ve got a great deal! Because you’ve helped us raise money for so many schools, Schoola is treating you to 5% off and $5 to Starbucks! Use the code below now until 2/14 and we’ll email you a Starbucks gift card.

Spend $20, take 5% off  + Free Shipping and Get $5 to Starbucks
Use Code LATTELOVE

Please note, codes are not valid on new-with-tags items. Limited one code per order. Offer for a limited time. Must spend $20 with the code to qualify for the Starbucks gift certificate.

And if you are new to Schoola, when you sign up here, you’ll get $20 in credit to spend (which you can use with the coupon code to save even more!!)

DIY Fairy Jar (No Glow Sticks needed!)

Abby H.1 Comment

Screen Shot 2016-02-01 at 12.51.22 PMEveryone has seen the Fairy jars on Pinterest that glow in the dark. In fact, you may seen them on Pinterest fail lists too, because, well, the directions don’t work.

Not familiar? Ok, it goes like this: Take a Mason Jar (because after all 90% of crafts/stuff on pinterest involve a Mason Jar), open 2-3 glow sticks, dump them into the mason jar, screw the lid on and shake. OOOH, it’s supposed to look like a magical Fairy Jar. What it really looks like it a fairy vomited into a jar. And glow sticks glowiness only lasts one night (or so).

So here is the deal on how to make a legit, serious, awesomely cool fairy jar in less than 10 minutes, no glow sticks or scissors needed.

You need two things:

A jar with a screw on lid. I used an Anchor Hocking jar that my mom gave me (she got it here). You could also use a wide mouth quart Mason Jar.

A string of these cool LED battery operated lights on a copper wire. You get two for $7.99, so really, you could make two if you had another jar.

Here are the totally simple directions:

  1. Wash and dry the jar.
  2. Loosely coil the string of lights around your hand, put hand into jar. let go of the lights.
  3. Leave the end of the string with the switch dangle over the lip of the jar.
  4. Screw on lid (the wire is so thin, you’ll be able to screw on the lid with the wire coming up over the top of the jar).
  5. Turn lights on.

That’s it. REALLY! The batteries last a while, especially if you aren’t leaving the lights on 24/7. If you wanted to get a little fancier, you could spray paint the inside of the jar, allow it to dry, then continue with steps 2-5. I am doing that with my second string of lights. Watch my Instagram feed for photos of that when it’s done later today.

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I can’t wait to share this with Henry when he gets home from school.

 

Thanks to Tomoson and #OakleafLEDLight for the opportunity to try these cool little lights for free. I was not financially compensated for this review, however I only review items that I think area good fit for my family. All opinions are my own!

It’s BACK! Free FroYo Day!

Abby H.

Is it wrong that I look forward to this every year?

Screen Shot 2016-01-25 at 10.37.39 AMFebruary 1st is National Frozen Yogurt Day and that means free Fro Yo at Menchie’s!

It’s from 4-7pm on Monday, February 1st!

Fine Print: The first 6 ounces are free on February 1, 2016 from 4pm – 7pm. Additional ounces are at cost to the consumer. Limit one cup per guest while supplies last. Flavors are available at participating locations, while supplies last.

This is going to be a great after school treat for our family! As more Free Fro Yo offers are announced for other fro yo companies, I’ll post!

DIY Frozen Pizzas!

Abby H.8 Comments

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A cheese pizza baking away (and a calzone)!

We love Pizza. Probably too much. About 6 months ago, hubs bought How to Cook Everything: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food,10th Anniversary Edition by Mark Bittman. It’s amazing. We’ve cooked a lot of stuff out of it, but the best is probably the pizza crust recipe.

It’s easy -only three ingredients, but I usually add a few extra!  You can make a few batches, put a ball of dough in the freezer, and save it for when you want pizza, but are feeling lazy. OR- You can make a couple frozen pizzas (which I do once a month), and when you are feeling really lazy, you’ll have no need to call Noid or Cesar (wow, both of those totally date me, right?)

DIY Frozen Pizza

Makes 1 pizza

Crust (recipe adapted from Mark Bittman’s):

  • 3 c flour, plus extra for kneading
  • 2 t. yeast
  • 1 c. very warm water (90-100 degrees)
  • 2 T parmesan cheese (it’s ok to use the Kraft in a green canister stuff)-OMIT IF YOU ARE VEGAN!
  • 1 T Olive Oil
  • dash salt
  • dash pepper

 

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Mix all of the ingredients together until a soft sticky dough ball forms.
  3. Turn out onto a floured board or counter top and knead briefly.
  4. smooth a round ball of dough into a clean bowl. Cover bowl with a cool, damp cloth and allow to rise someplace undisturbed for 1 hour.
  5. After an hour, punch the dough, and turn out onto a floured board or counter top and knead for 2-3 minutes. At this time, you can roll the dough out and move onto the next step, or you can do a secondary rise (makes the crust extra crispy and chewy). If you elect to do a second rise, repeat step 3 and 4.
  6. After dough is rolled out to your preferred size and shape, lift into well greased cookie sheet or pizza pan. pierce the crust with a fork several times. This keeps the crust from getting weird bumps and lumps during the par-baking.
  7. Par-bake crust for 3-5 minutes. Allow crust to cool completely.

Now that you have cooled par-baked crust, it’s time to get topping! Transfer the pizza to a large piece of aluminum foil.

  • 1 cup or so of sauce, your choice
  • 1-2 c. cheese
  • Assorted toppings (precooked meats, veggies, fruit, herbs, etc)

Top the pizza as you like,, wrap the foil around the pizza, loosely around the top of the pizza so you don’t squash the toppings. Place in a large freezer zip top bag (don’t forget to label what kind of pizza it is) and freeze. pizzas should freeze at least 24 hours before cooking.

To heat, bake pizzas at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes

IMG_2938Some of our favorite pizzas include:

  • Gyro (Sprouts sells it wit hthe pre-sliced deli meat!), feta, and spinach
  • Caramelized onions and peppers and sliced meatballs with cheese
  • whatever veggies we have in the house (broccoli, spinach, onions, peppers) topped  with cheese
  • chicken, bacon, and pepper jack cheese

 

You can substitute in whatever your fav crust is, whatever sauce, cheese, and toppings you like! And because the pizzas are room temp/cooled when you top them, it’s a great opportunity for kids to help assemble pizzas. These pizzas are a frugal way to have a yummy dinner- Each pizza costs about $3.00 and feeds the three of us!

 

 

Schoola: $20 for You. $20 for your Friend. + $25 Gift Card to Amazon

Abby H.

I love Schoola, so I’m stoked to hear about their latest promotion!unspecified

Check it:  $20 for You. $20 for your Friend. 40% to Schools. + $25 Gift Card to Amazon

In the month of January 2016, refer at least 3 friends and Schoola email you a $25 gift card to Amazon. WOOO HOOO!!

To get started, click here. New to Schoola- that’s cool too. Sign up here and score $20 in new to you clothes for you, or your kiddos!

Here is a photo of Birdie in her latest Schoola outfit (and her forever photo bombing brother):

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