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Free Concerts this Weekend from Mainly Mozart!

Abby H.

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Mainly Mozart has a great trilogy of concerts this weekend at Bread and Salt in San Diego. The best part is that all three concerts are FREE. You need to register here for tickets.

Cello Meets Guitar
Friday, May 3 | Bread and Salt, Logan Heights | 7:00pm – Concert

Crossing Borders
Sunday, May 5 | Bread and Salt, Logan Heights | 2:00pm – Concert

Music, Inspiration, and Autism
Sunday, June 2 | Bread and Salt, Logan Heights |7:00pm – Concert

Mainly Mozart has a great series called Mozart & the Mind- and they are having an event on June 1st featuring Key Note Speaker- Temple Grandin. If you are a Regional Center Client, click here for information on how you can attend The June 1st or June 2nd Mozart & The Mind Symposium for free.

Family Event: Queen Bee Market – Spring Shopping Expo 4/26-4/27!

Abby H.

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Looking for some fun shopping this weekend? Head up to the Del Mar Fairgrounds and get ready to shop and support local, small businesses!!

Have you ever wished Etsy was a real store, filled with talented artisans and specialty crafts you could shop for in person? North County natives and sisters, Allison Gharst and Kellie Dooley, the owners behind Queen Bee Market, take that idea and turn it into reality. The two-day shopping expo takes place at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27 and will feature nearly 100 hand-selected artisans, including local and regional crafters. And, entry is only $3!

Queen Bee Market _Sketchy Notions.jpgKellie and Allison, took over operations and ownership of Queen Bee Market in 2015 after participating as vendors for several years. Both mothers themselves, they first got their start selling products on Etsy. Now, they hand-select each of the vendors that showcase at Queen Bee Market,

A few of the standouts for the April event include Bare Naked Botanicals, a line of artisanal vegan skin and body care; Momma Pots, maker of handmade and hand-painted concrete pots; Lu+Elle, a line of handmade bags; Chalk Couture, a chalk-centric line of DIY home décor; Blessed Little Bird, maker of customizable jewelry and trinkets; and more.  A full list of vendors is available at Queen Bee Market,

Queen Bee Market_Shoppers Browse Burma Boutique.jpgBut it’s more than shopping… Aside from all the spring shopping opportunities, Queen Bee Market will also offer interactive make-and-take stations and workshops where you can learn how to create your own hand-stamped jewelry, personalized chalkboard and how to blend essential oils to keep pets healthy and pest-free, among others.

Each Queen Bee Market event selects a local charity to support. This event will support the Jacobs and Cushman San Diego Food Bank with on-site donation barrels to collect non-perishable food items and a virtual food drive where people can securely donate funds before they arrive at the market. Shoppers who donate five items will receive a Queen Bee Market shopping card worth 10 percent off their purchase at the expo. Not sure what kind of food items the food bank needs? Check out my post here with a list of items that are commonly requested.

Win two tickets to MommyCon!

Abby H.9 Comments

I posted on Sunday about MommyCon and that it’s coming to town in less than a month! I’m stoked about all the cool classes and vendors.

MommyCon 12.jpgOne super awesome thing that MommyCon does is that they have a printer that prints photos posted to Social Media with a specific hashtag or tag during the event. Staff hang them up and you can grab them to take home at the end of the day!- I’m guessing it’ll be #mommycon.

Another thing about MommyCon that is cool is that babies and kids are welcome to come along. In fact kids don’t need tickets. For age restrictions on this, please check out the MommyCon website.  A lot of photos of past events show parents with littles in ring slings and various types of carriers.

 

 

MommyCon Baby | www.mommycon.com
Look at all of these kiddos!

MommyCon Baby | www.mommycon.com And now for the best part- MommyCon is giving me the opportunity to give away TWO General Admission tickets to the fun here in San Diego, CA on Saturday, November 10th! That means two of my readers will get their chance to win!

Entering is easy-peasy. Just leave a comment below letting me know why you’d love to attend. Wanna check out the latest goodies for your child? Excited to meet other local moms in a supportive environment? Want to have a few hours alone to socialize? Whatever your reason, I want to hear it!

I’ll choose two winners on October 26th. Winners will be notified by email and provided with a one time use code for 1 free General Admission Ticket.

 

Good Luck!

MommyCon comes to San Diego, CA next month!

Abby H.1 Comment

I’m so stoked for all of my mommy friends! MommyCon is coming to San Diego, CA next Month,  Saturday, November 9-10, 2018 9:00am-4:00pm at the San Diego Marriott Mission Valley (8757 Rio San Diego Drive San Diego, CA 92108).

Screen Shot 2018-10-06 at 10.14.53 AM.pngMommyCon is the largest natural parenting convention and we are headed to San Diego! While attending MommyCon, you’ll experience the feeling of community while learning about birth, baby-wearing, cloth diapering, breastfeeding, and feel confident in your parenting
decisions.

This two day convention has a lot of great, informative classes about all aspects of parenting- feeding, sleep, diapering, child-wearing, and of course, connecting with your spouse!

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The amazing class line up!

If you purchase a VIP or Premium admission, you score a sweet swag bag full of goodies, in addition to access to all the great classes and the vendor floor. If you’d like to attend, use code “FAMILYFUN18” for 10% off of tickets. To view the complete schedule, buy tickets and get more info go to their website.

I hope to see you there!

 

 

 

Freebie & Deals Round Up!

Abby H.

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I check out each one of these before posting. Yes, I do get a lot of mail! I  broke it down into three categories to make it easier to navigate.

 

Samples:

 

Magazines:

 

Events:

 

6 Tips for Getting Ready for Back to School!

Abby H.

back-to-school.jpgIt’s coming… For some of us, back to school is NEXT WEEK! For others it’s later in August, and some lucky folks, have until Labor Day in September. Regardless of when your kids go back, it’s nice to be prepared and save money.

 

Here are a few ideas to help you prepare and stay on budget!

Packing an Awesome School Lunch.

Shop Online to Save Big-  I love shopping online, especially at JCPenney and Kohls. Lots of great deals to be had, coupons, and ship to store to save even more!

There is a backpack and school supply giveaway in Santee on August 19th. More info here.  If you need school supplies sooner, Assemblywoman Dr. Shirley Weber is sponsoring a Back to School Kick off and Community Health Fair on 8/11/18.

If you are worried about being able to provide a nutritious, healthy lunch for your kiddos, The San Diego Food Bank sponsors Neighborhood Distributions throughout the month all over the county. You can go and get free, fresh produce- usually between 10-30 lbs. per family.  No proof of need- Just grab your reusable shopping bags and go!

a72904da152a0795ba05aaecba3a28bc.jpgAdjusting back to the school-year schedule can be a little tough- That’s why we start to get the kids back to bed at their regular time starting the beginning of August. For our kiddos, keeping them busy and active all day, really helps. Trips to the playground, beach, zoo, and pool really help.

We’ll be hitting up the night time zoo this week!

And one last back to school tip: Let your kids play and hang out with friends as much as possible before they go back, especially if they aren’t able to see some of their friends at school. We’re hosting a K’Nex Play Time Party with Tryazon this Wednesday at Shadow Hill Park in Santee! If you and your gang will be in the area, please stop by! There will bea chance to win prizes, yummy snacks, and cool toys!

 

San Diego Families: In Need of School Supplies?

Abby H.

apple and books.jpgBack to school approaches! For us, school starts on August 23rd. For some families, back to school is a hard time because the cost of backpacks, school supplies, new clothes and shoes can really add up.

For those in need, the SMOAC (That’s Santee Mobilehome Owner’s Action Committee) is helping out families in need. On August 19th at the Santee Library, starting at 10am, SMOAC will be handing out backpacks with supplies to families in need.

SMOAC is looking for donations too- if you aren’t in need and want to help, there are lots of ways to help out!

Screen Shot 2018-07-25 at 8.32.01 AM.pngOn August 11th from 5-9pm Chipotle in Santee is hosting a fundraiser.

Screen Shot 2018-07-25 at 8.21.30 AM.pngDonations of items such as: backpacks, #2 pencils, paper, pens, glue sticks, rulers, pencil sharpeners, white glue, notebooks, scientific calculators, crayons, safety scissors are requested. Most of these items can be picked up at Target, Walmart, Office Depot, or 99 Cents Only fairly cheap.

Donations can be dropped off at Santee Library, Cameron YMCA, Mission Realty Group in Santee, Santee Lakes General Store, El Cajon Toyota, Oggi’s Pizza in Santee, and the Santee Chamber of Commerce. If you are busy and can’t make it to the store and drop off locations, You can buy a gift card for a teacher or send a check to SMOAC.  The mailing address can be found in the photo above.

The goal this year to to help 1500 East County families in need!

No Proof of need is required, just show up at the Santee Library on August 19th. The event starts at 10am, but you may want to get there a little early to beat the rush.

San Diego STEAM Camp- Learning and Fun!

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2018-04-24 at 10.03.42 PM.pngMy friends Annie and Christine are hosting an awesome STEAM camp this summer, and Registration JUST OPENED!

They are very excited to be offering four summer day-camp sessions this year. Camp will be open for children age 5-10. We will be holding camp at two different locations in Clairemont and Kearny Mesa. Camps will be Mon-Fri from 9:00am-3:00pm and include free lunch. Lunches are provided by the San Diego City.

Screen Shot 2018-04-24 at 9.54.50 PM.pngCampers will do daily art and science around a fun weekly theme. In addition to art and science, our days will also include interactive games, STEAM inspired stories, outside play time, free lunch and more. We will have an underlying focus on kindness and helping others. Each camper will put together a care package for Cali Kids Medical Foundation to give to a family with a child admitted in the hospital and will also make cards for kids in the hospital.

Be sure to submit your complete your child’s registration form.  You can learn more on their Facebook page.

Not only will your kiddos enjoy STEAM activities, but they’ll be helping a family and child during a tough time! I’ve known both ladies for many years and they love kids and they are passionate about STEAM education.

Helping Neighbors with Blessing Boxes

Abby H.6 Comments
So for those of you that live in San Diego, one of our local Methodist Churches (The one in Santee-8964 Magnolia Ave, Santee, CA 92071) has a Blessing Box where neighbors can put food, toiletries, diapers, formula, etc. to share with neighbors who are in need but can’t make it to the local food bank for whatever reason. It was started last year. You can read more about it here and see some pictures.
I try to stop by every few weeks and put some stuff from our pantry in it. I pick up a few extra items at the grocery store (or 99 Cents Only or Grocery Outlet) when I shop each week. Instant oatmeal, canned soup, tuna, or beans with a pop-top (in case someone doesn’t have access to a can opener).
When I walked to the blessing box this AM there were 4 packets of oatmeal, some citrus fruit, and a fleece blanket (in the grocery bag).
I quickly scoured my car for everything I had. I didn’t have a lot extra in my trunk, but I emptied it of all of the food I had- I even went through the kid’s Snack bag that is for “emergency car snacks”.
IMG_8728.jpgHere is what it looked like after I put in my donation. I picked up a package of wipes from Huggies at a bloggers summit a few weeks back. I hadn’t yet opened it, so I added it to the Blessing Box.  I know that this box gets utilized by a lot of locals with great frequency. I will be back to add more groceries tonight.
Some of you may have Little Free Pantries or Free Food Boxes in your area too. If not, it’s easy to start one! Many local schools also have a food pantry for kids whose families face food insecurity. Santana High School has one!
My call to action for you is this:
  1. Look into your pantry and pick out 5 things you can live without. They must be in date and something someone actually wants to eat (I’m looking at you, jar of cocktail onions).
  2. Find someone in need. Add it to your local Little Free Pantry, post it on a neighborhood forum, a local parents group, or donate it to your local school food pantry.
  3. Give freely and with love.
  4. Repeat.
I know that most of us have grocery budgets. Imagine if we all cut $5 out of our budget and bought 5 (or more) items to share with a neighbor in need- That would go really far to help hungry families!
If you aren’t sure what to donate, here are a few suggestions:
  • Canned Meats
  • Canned Vegetables
  • Canned Fruits
  • Canned Soup
  • Peanut Butter
  • Cereal & Oatmeal
  • Rice & Pasta
  • Powdered Milk, beverage mixes (like shelf stable juice concentrate, instant coffee, hot cocoa pouches)
  • Infant Formula (The sample sized canisters or sample pouches that you may have received free in the mail are perfect donations!)
  • Toiletries and hygiene items
 I can’t wait to hear about how you’ve helping a neighbor!

Getting Ready for Influential Summit!

Abby H.
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I’m hoping this is the view I’ll see tomorrow from the hotel the conference is being held at!

If you follow me on Instagram, I just posted a picture with the two makeup looks I am contemplating for tomorrow.  Tomorrow a bunch of bloggers, social media influencers, and brands are getting together in Carlsbad, CA (home of Legoland) to meet, learn, and chill at Influential Summit.

I’m looking forward to a day of learning and ADULT CONVERSATION!!  For those of you who don’t work from home, being a work at home or stay at home parent can be very quiet. Well, you’re frequently not quiet (“Put down the cat”, “No, we aren’t watching Octonauts for 6 hours today!”, “Do you have to go potty?”, etc.), but what’s lacking is adult conversation.

I won’t be posting much tomorrow blog-wise, but check me out on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for pictures and posts about everything I’m up to! And I’ll be hanging with Brooke from Crying Out Loud.  By the way, if you haven’t checked out her latest post on ways to score free and cheap grub at Chick-Fil-A, you need to get over there and start reading tout suite.