family

Tryazon: Design, Wear, & Share with New Craft Kits from Cool Maker!

Abby H.

We’ve been participating in Tryazon events for three+ years. We’ve gotten to try all sorts of fun toys, games, and food.  You can learn more about Tryazon here.

Design, wear and share one-of-a-kind pieces with this Tryazon Featured Party opportunity, featuring Cool Maker craft kits from Spin Master! Learn real sewing skills with the Cool Maker Stitch ‘N Style and spin to create friendship bracelets and necklaces with the Cool Maker KumiKreator Bead & Braider. Express yourself through what you make and show your own unique style, with Cool Maker!

Tryazon has 250 hosting spots open for this opportunity! Those selected get to receive a party pack valued at $50+ with a selection of Cool Maker products to share with friends and family! Learn more and apply here.

 

Dream Dinners: Earn Free Dinners & Special Offer for your Friends!

Abby H.

Dream Dinners in La Mesa has a new Meal Prep Workshop program.  This is an exciting new twist on the in-store party and it’s a great opportunity for you to introduce your friends to Dream Dinners and earn fun rewards!

Here’s how it works:
As the host, you attend the workshop for free! You also have the opportunity to earn up to $75 in host rewards!

Your friends pay $50 to attend and learn about Dream Dinners. This includes three pre-prepped medium-size meals, and everyone will get to assemble the Campfire Cobbler Trio, at this private, in-store event with your friends. They’ll enjoy delicious samples of our food. They also have some exciting perks for them if they place an order at the workshop!

Call/Text 619-460-6800 to learn more and schedule your event!
If you’ve never tried Dream Dinners, it is a great meal prep company with locations all over the US. I love Marsi and her staff at the La Mesa Location. When compared to other meal prep/meal plan programs, the prices and freshness are out of this world. For more about why Dream Dinners is tops in my book, check out this post.

San Diego International Children’s Film Festival: Aug. 13

Abby H.

The San Diego International Children’s Film Festival is coming up on August 13, 2022. There will be short films from around the world in several categories: animation, narrative, & documentary.

  • 10 am to 5 pm Saturday, 8/13/22
  • Neil Morgan Auditorium at the San Diego Central Library downtown, 330 Park Blvd.
  • Free admission
  • Filmmaker and animator appearances!
  • Film schedule at www.childrensfilmsd.org
  • Register here

Tea Collection: Tees, Shorts & Skirts $10 & Up?!?!

Abby H.

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. 

Tea Collection is making summer wardrobe stock up easy peasy! Tees, shorts, and skirts start at just $10 now through Friday, June 17, 2022.

I love the Tea Collection for kid’s clothes! They are sturdy, well-made, and last through several rounds of hand-me-downs!

6/13/2022 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgSummer break is here! We’ve got all sorts of adventures planned, you can check out some of our adventures here.

We’re headed to the library in Santee today to get started on our summer reading journey.

I did some meal prep yesterday (cooking veggies and chopping up fruit). This week we’re taking a hiatus from our CSA box to use up all of the produce that we have in the fridge/freezer.

Our veggies and fruit are delivered by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $28, 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 $28. Seriously. It’s a deal. They email a preview of what will be in the boxes over the weekend, so I can start thinking about what I’d like to make.

With the increase in food costs, we are leaning more and more on our CSA box each week as the base of most of our meals.

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. On Friday night I ran to Sprouts and picked up the monthly freebies, and redeemed all of the Social Nature Coupons I had in my wallet. We’ve got all kinds of yummy snacks and treats!

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.

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. This is really helpful for the summer when for some reason, kids are starving all the time. We’ll be hitting up the free lunch sites several times a week over the sum

Dinner: We’re still working our way through our Dream Dinners order for the month, and I’ve got two meals ready for this week.

  • Monday: Meat Loaf, Green Beans, mashed potatoes
  • Tuesday: Lasagna, roasted veggies, sliced strawberries
  • Wednesday: Chicken Sandwiches, fruit salad
  • Thursday: Breakfast for dinner- Pancakes, protein shakes, fruit salad
  • Friday: Takeout night!
  • Saturday:  Leftovers
  • Sunday: 

Tryazon: Host a P.Lushes Pets Secret Garden Party!

Abby H.

We’ve been participating in Tryazon events for three+ years. We’ve gotten to try all sorts of fun toys, games, and food.  You can learn more about Tryazon here.

It’s fashion. It’s designer. It’s a Tryazon Featured Party opportunity featuring P.Lushes Pets from Spin Master! This stylish squad of fabulously fashionable friends serves up chic looks with a sprinkle of attitude and a whole lot of sparkle. Luxe, premium fabric, and a sparkling collar enhance their fashion-inspired looks! Everywhere is your personal runway with P.Lushes Pets!

Tryazon has 250 hosting spots open for this opportunity! Those selected get to receive a party pack with a variety of P.Lushes Pets to sample and share with friends and family, valued at $160+ in total!

Learn more and apply here.

2022- Summer Fun on a Budget

Abby H.3 Comments

681517ea18b6760354438c6a7f6190f1.jpgIt’s time for kids to finish up school, and be let loose on the world. But, instead of hours of screen time and endless whining, let’s fill the summer with some fun stuff!

If you are looking to beat the heat and need something free, check out the Waterfront Park downtown. They have a great splash pad area for kids, a really fun playground, and a big grassy area for picnics. Only downside- no shade trees.

 

Info on Free Summer lunches is rolling in very slowly. A lot of the sources for information (211 and the USDA) sites have not been updated with summer information. I’ll keep updating this post as new info is available on more sites throughout the county.

Secret Shop and have fun with Amusement Advantage!

Abby H.

Y’all know I love to secret shop!

I learned about Amusement Advantage from Brooke and Christine. They have all sorts of fun shops: movie theatres, amusement parks, museums, and more!

From their website: “We only evaluate attractions, amusement locations, and entertainment facilities.  Our shops give you the opportunity to have fun with friendly and family and include reimbursement for you some of your guests expenses and in most cases a little extra cash profit or extra free tickets for your time and efforts.  Click here to see a list of locations we are currently shopping.  Curious what others shoppers say about our company?  Click here to see reviews from other shoppers just like you!”

If you want to Check out Amusement Advantage and see if there are opportunities near you, click here. If you decide to sign up, use my email akeen02037@gmail.com as a referral. We’ll each get a little something extra.

Summer Movies for Kids!

Abby H.1 Comment

One of the kid’s favorite summer activities is to hit up the local theater for a showing of one of their favorite movies.

Big buckets of popcorn, snuck in candy (shhhh), and a drink and they are ready for 2 hours of fun in the Air Conditioning.

In my search for theater chains offering this fun this summer, several of our old friends are not participating as of the writing of this post.

Select Reading Cinemas will have the Reel Kids program, where throughout the summer (June 21-August 9) there will be kid-approved movies for the reduced price of $2/ticket!

And perhaps my kids’ favorite, 2022 Regal Summer Movie Express is back! Express tickets are just $2 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays featuring summer movies the whole family will enjoy. Availability varies by location. My kids are excited to see Lego Movie 2, Lego Batman, Scoob, and Shrek.

AMC has information about their $5 Fan Favorites on their site, but no information or schedules for the summer.

Cinemark (No locations near us) has 8 weeks of Movie Fun planned. More Details can be found here.

Talk Back: What summer movies are you looking forward to seeing?

 

6/6/22 Weekly Meal Plan!

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgIt’s Monday Morning, and that means Meal Plan time! Can you tell I’ve had my coffee already?

I shopped over the weekend and did some meal prep as well. We should be set for the week!

School is over on Wednesday, and we’ve got two weeks off before summer school starts. I’ve got two lazy days planned for the end of this week, but after that, we are starting fun activities and we’ll be out and about!

Saturday is Bitty’s Birthday Party and we are having a fairy themed affair. Snacks, wands, and wings (fairy wings that is).

Our veggies and fruit are delivered by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $28, 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 $28. Seriously. It’s a deal. They email a preview of what will be in the boxes over the weekend, so I can start thinking about what I’d like to make.

With the increase in food costs, we are leaning more and more on our CSA box each week as the base of most of our meals.

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. On Friday night I ran to Sprouts and picked up the monthly freebies, and redeemed all of the Social Nature Coupons I had in my wallet. We’ve got all kinds of yummy snacks and treats!

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.

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. I’m back to packing lunches again. However, school lunches are free this year- Little Bit has been buying her lunch and expanding her palate.  The big kid still brings lunch from home.

Dinner: We’re still working our way through our Dream Dinners order for the month, and I’ve got two meals ready for this week.