children

Rockin’ Jump San Diego: 90% Savings are Back!

Abby H.

This deal just came through on my email and I had to share. We love Rockin’ Jump SD, in fact, we were just there a few weeks ago to celebrate a friend’s birthday.

If you aren’t familiar with Rockin’ Jump, here are the deets: Rockin’ Jump is San Diego’s largest indoor trampoline park and offers something for everyone.  In addition to the huge free-jump trampoline arena, attractions include an awesome four-lane Warrior Course with Three Lane Warp Wall, two dodge-ball courts, two basketball slam dunk lanes, two-lane stunt-bag jump area, four-lane rock climbing wall, X-Beam jousting,  an all-new 18 hole mini golf course and now a new arcade with over 25 of the most popular games to play and win prizes. It is a great place to play and jump and get all the kids (and adults) wiggle out.

Rockin Jump’s popular punch card offer is back.  Huge savings for your family and great family fun for the summer!

For only $49.99, the cards include the following:

  • Two (2) – 90 Minute Jump Passes
  • One (1) – 120 Minute Jump Pass
  • One (1) – All Day Jump Pass
  • One (1) – 50% Off Any Jump Time
  • Two (2) – 60 minute Jump Add-on’s
  • One (1) – 50% Off 120 Minute Jump Time
  • One (1) – FREE Large ICEE
  • One (1) – $1 Dollar Large ICEE
  • One (1) – $10 Large Pizza
  • One (1) – $3 Cafe Cash
  • One (1) – Free 60 Minute Open Jump Campanion Pass
  • One (1) – Buy One Get One Free 90 Day Pass
  • One (1) – 30% OFF ANY Party or Group Event

Fine Print:

  • Can not be combined with any other offer
  • Punch Card is non-transferable
  • May Not be Re-sold
  • May not be redeemed for cash
  • Valid only at Rockin’ Jump San Diego
  • Lost or stolen cards will not be replaced
  • Rockin Jump reusable Grip Socks are always required and not included ($3 at the park if needed)

You only have until June 7, 2021 to purchase your card(s). To buy your card(s), click here. 

 

Looking for Swim Lessons this Summer?

Abby H.

Now that things are starting to open back up in California, and it looks like pools may be reopening on June 15th, I’ve been looking into swim lessons for Bitty Bird.

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, facilitated in part by Heartland Swim. They are NOT offering swim lessons this summer, however, the Grossmont Union High School District pools will be open for swimming. You can find the schedule and prices 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 brochure online (swim is on page 19) 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.

La Mesa has limited swim lessons. They also currently require a parent to be in the water with each student.

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!

Q-insights Feminine Product Survey Pays $40 for Ages 10-24

Abby H.
QI-logoNOslogan.png

Q-insights is another company that I do research groups, focus groups, and online surveys to earn extra money.

They have a lot of stuff in South Orange County, and less often San Diego County. These days they are doing most of their studies online via chat or online surveys.

Right now Q-Insights is currently recruiting for a Paid Study Opportunity about period products for those ages 10-24. This is a paid product test.

You would be trying a feminine product and then complete an online questionnaire. Compensation will be $40 in the form of a digital visa, physical visa, Amazon gift card, or choice from 93 other store gift cards.

If you are aged 18-24 or have a daughter between the ages of 10-17 that would be interested in participating, please complete the pre-screener survey, please click here. 

It will ask you for an ID number, please put in your 10-digit phone number without dashes. Example: 8185551212

If you are selected, you will be contacted with next steps in the coming weeks.

Drowning in Kids Artwork? Check out Artkive!

Abby H.

This is a long-running dilemma in the life of every parent. What to do with all of the art projects the kids make at school, camp, or even at home? If you save them all, you’ll have a Hoarders-esque situation in a few years, especially if you have multiple kids.

I learned about Artkive last night and I had to share. I know there are many of you in this spot, And Artkive looks like a great solution.

Preserve your kids’ artwork with Artkive. Fill the Artkive box with your kids artwork and receive high quality, hardcover, keepsake books. I think these books would make great gifts for relatives that don’t live close by.

I will be going through my literal BOXES of each kids art over the next few weeks and finding art to send to Artkive.

  • Send us your Kids’ Art – Fill the box we send you with art and return it to us using the prepaid UPS label provided. A second payment will be due based on how much art you send back in your Artkive Box.
  • View your Art everywhere – Artkive professionally photograph your artwork and upload it to your account. View and share your pictures on any device and edit/approve your custom proofs online.
  • Receive your book – receive a high-quality, 8.5×11 inch hardcover book.
  • Get your shipping kit for just $39.

Pizza Hut: Enroll now for Camp BOOK IT!

Abby H.

Enrollment is now open for Camp BOOK IT! 2021. Enroll your children now to help fight the summer slide.

Camp BOOK IT! will run June-August, 2021, and is open to PreK-6th grade students (ages 4-12).

Set reading goals, have fun, and reward your students for their summer reading with free pizza!

Gives Kids Financial Freedom with Greenlight!

Abby H.

I love Greenlight! I recently learned about this company and I can’t wait to try it with the Big Kid.

Greenlight is all about financial education for kids. They help them learn about money management through a safe, secure app where parents manage every dollar and see every transaction.

  • The debit card for kids, managed by parents.
  • With the tap of a button, send money to your kids — anytime, anywhere. No trips to the ATM, no cash, no hassle. For our family- This is key! I hate going to the bank to get the big kids allowance each week.
  • Set flexible parental controls that are right for your family and get real-time notifications every time your kids spend money.
  • After your 30-day Trial consumers are charged a $4.99 monthly fee for the service.
  • You can upgrade to a custom debit card later and have a selfie on the card.

Pizza Hut Book It Enrollment (2021-2022) is Open!

Abby H.

BOOK-IT.pngWoo Hoo! My Kids are stoked.

Enrollment is now open for the 2021-22 BOOK IT! Program year. Homeschool parents can now enroll their children!

Enrollment is also open to all parents for Camp BOOK IT!, which will run June-August, 2021.

PreK students (age 4 by Sept. 1st, 2021) are now eligible for all BOOK IT! programs. Be sure to include those students in your enrollment!

The nice part about BOOK IT is that each teacher can choose to participate, it’s no longer a school wide program. Everything is done online, and certificates are emailed when they are earned.  With the digital program, parents can use digital certificates in person, over the phone, or online, for carryout, delivery or dine in providing even more ways for them to celebrate their child’s reading accomplishments.

Get Started here!  And remember to share this post with your teacher friends!

Everyone loves pizza- and nothing is better than FREE PIZZA!

Review of Everything’s a Deal (2 Locations in San Diego)

Abby H.

If you’re like me, you’ve been socially isolated/staying home for the better part of a year, wearing the same clothes, and it’s getting a little repetitive.

But at the same time, you don’t want to go to the mall. And as much fun as shopping on Amazon is, it’s hard to buy clothes on Amazon sometimes.

Last week, after I dropped the kids off at school and ran a couple errands, I found myself in South Bay. I remember that there used to be a discount/mark-down clothing store off of Palomar Road and interstate five, so I decided to drive down and see if it was still there. It is! And it’s even better than I remembered. It’s called Everything’s A Deal (it used to be Everything’s $5.00) and they’ve changed their store again.

The address is: 1141 Bay Blvd, Chula Vista, CA 91911

In a true wholesale try store the more you buy the cheaper the price per item becomes. If you buy between five and 10 items it’s $27.50+ tax for all 5 to 9 items. And the prices go down from there. Unlike a lot of discount clothing stores (I’m looking at a Ross) it’s not mostly trash/fast fashion/awful sweatshop crap.

Originally $44, marked down to $5.99!
I love this brand! They make such cozy sweaters and jackets. Originally sold at Nordstrom’s Rack.

Everything’s A Deal buys lots from well-known retailers (Sears, JCPenney, Nordstrom‘s Rack, or fifth Avenue, just to name a few) and they have a large warehouse-style store where everything is separated by size. All the plus sizes are together, all the small, medium, large, etc.

The nice thing is that the sale prices are for everything. Shoes, accessories, purses, close. They have kids’ clothes in men’s clothes too. So conceivably you could read your entire family there and some really cute outfits and not break the bank. Everything is new with tags. I bought five items and spent $29.99 after tax out the door. I got a jacket, address, two new T-shirts, and a really cute vest that I’m going to tie-dye.

All five items are name brand, and the jacket is a brand that is sold at Nordstrom rack. I googled the RN number and discovered that the original price of my brand new coat was $89.99. My two shirts had the tags still attached, my vest is from a brand I remember seeing at Macy’s, and my new dress, which is adorable, is from a brand that target sells.

Super Cute Sweater from A.N.A. a JCPenney Brand
This sweater, originally from JCPenney started out life at $47, and is now $5.00! Such an amazing deal!

There’s another location on Broadway in Lemon Grove (7696 Broadway Lemon Grove, CA) if South Bay is too far of a jog for you. Honestly, the stores are a great help for us, they help me stretch our clothing budget for new items. I’m able to afford better quality items for the same price that I would be paying at Walmart. And because the clothing swaps are going to be not happening for probably the next year or two, we won’t be able to pick up hand-me-downs or other secondhand clothing and household goods.

Clothing swaps are one of the ways that we are able to save a lot of money and keep the kids’ clothes. The kids are starting to grow out of the clothing that they have been wearing, and because there’s been no clothing swap this year, I don’t have clothing in the next size ready. I am going to have to purchase clothes.

I have been doing buying clothes and replacing our wardrobes little by little when I find stuff on sale and clearance that kids and I will like. This is mostly through jcp.com because they have such great sales and coupons. And I can combine those with cashback deals from online aggregators like top cashback, MyPoints, and Honey.

4/26/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpg

The CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes each week, and that really gives me an upper hand when it comes to meal planning for the week.

Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.

Over the weekend, I did some meal prep: I made a batch of potato cheese soup on Saturday evening, and yesterday I cooked rice, made a big salad, cooked marinated chicken thighs, and refilled the snack/school lunch box to make morning lunch prep even easier.

I’m planning on making a couple batches of soup today or tomorrow. I’ll freeze half, and the other half will go into the fridge for my lunch throughout the week. Broccoli Cheese Soup and Copycat Zuppa Toscana are planned (most of the ingredients will be coming in the CSA box today).

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (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. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

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.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: Kids take lunch to school. I eat leftovers. Everyone rejoices.

Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday: Leftovers and roasted veggies (it was Brussels Sprouts and onions with bacon)
  • Monday:  Chef Salad, Grilled Croissants (halved, buttered and cooked on the flat top), smoothies
  • Tuesday:   Steak, Potatoes, Fruit, Roasted Veggies (probably broccoli)
  • Wednesday:  Nugget night (nuggets, fruit, crackers, milk)
  • Thursday: Dream Dinners and Roasted Veg
  • Friday:  Pizza/Takeout Night
  • Saturday: Meal o’ Snacks and /or leftovers

Please stay safe you guys!

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

4/18/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgThe CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes on Monday, so that’s helped me be able to meal prep.

The kids and I went to the store this morning and picked up milk and some stuff for their school lunches. OH YEAH- School starts full-time TOMORROW!!!

This past week we didn’t follow the meal plan because a mystery illness swept the household. Everyone is better, so hopefully, this week will easier. and also now with 50% more SCHOOL!

Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (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. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

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.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: Kids take lunch to school. I eat leftovers. Everyone rejoices.

Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday: Leftovers and roasted veggies
  • Monday:  Breakfast for Dinner (Sausage, eggs, pancakes)
  • Tuesday:   Dream Dinners Meal and Salad
  • Wednesday:  Soup and Snacks!
  • Thursday: Dream Dinners and veggies
  • Friday:  Pizza/Takeout Night
  • Saturday: Meal o’ Snacks and Protein Shakes

Please stay safe you guys!

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?