family

It’s Spring!

Abby H.

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It’s Spring and we’ve been busy!

Spring break starts on Monday for us, and that’s two weeks of fun! To keep us busy I’v planned a trip to the San Diego Zoo and a Scavenger Hunt at a local park. Those event are open to anyone who wants to come, so if you’re in San Diego and you’d like to join us, check out the event pages on Facebook!

In addition, we’re doing a tie dye day (using clothing I picked up at two recent local clothing swaps), beach day, trip to the local splash pad, and daily trips to the YMCA for child watch (and so I can exercise!).

Besides spring break planning, Lil’ Man and I have been planning out our spring garden. We love growing strawberries, and thankfully one of our plants survived last year.  Using a Lowe’s gift card I earned from our American Express Rewards card, I picked up some planters and soil.

We’re going to plant carrots, radishes and peas from seeds. I’ve gotten some free seeds in the mail (poppies-our state flower) that we’ll be planting too. Lil’ Man loves Cacti, we’re planning on getting some different types of “spiky plants”.

I’m also doing some spring cleaning and sharing some treasures with my local Buy Nothing Group. I love that I’m able to share with my neighbors and keep the stuff that’s still in good repair out of landfills!

So What are you up to this spring?

Our Buy Nothing Week- The Results

Abby H.

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Our first Buy Nothing week was a success. I wrote about my plans here, and they went well. We managed to eat at home all week, pack snacks, and find all kinds of free fun.

I managed to inventory the pantry, clear out and donate some food that we weren’t going to eat, and did a toy purge and gave away some toys that no longer held the kids attention.

We tried it again this week, and well, it didn’t go so well.

Failures:

Wednesday night we went to the Lego Store at Fashion Valley for a free Lego Build (it was a cute platypus), but while we were there, we picked up a few blind bags and Lil’ Man’s Birthday gift. Mr. is part of the Lego Club, where you earn points for every purchase. It is double points month, so we earned enough points for $5.00 off. Since Legos seldom if ever go on sale, we took advantage. Then we had dinner at CPK. I used some money I had earned selling some stuff on Craigslist.

I also had to go buy milk, but I had figured that I would need to, so I set pulled out a few dollars in change from our change jar.

 

But then again, I had a few successes:

We tried some new recipes and improvised using what we had on-hand.

I ran out of tape while packing up a box to mail, so I borrowed some packing tape from my parents.

We played a lot, and did some fun crafts. We also discussed how we could have fun at home and in the neighborhood without spending money.

Yesterday a friend shared her food Co-op bounty with us, so that helps keep me out of the store for a few more days.

Overall, I am pleased with how the week turned out. We were more conscious of spending money and used work arounds and more careful thinking to use what we had, relied on neighbors and family when we needed help.

We’ll be doing it again, but probably not for a month or so. This next week is Lil’ Man’s birthday, and we need to prep for his birthday party. We’re doing a Lego themed party, and I’ll be posting about it next week.

 

Lego Batman Days at LegoLand California!

Abby H.
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Ahoy, Building Adventures AHEAD!!

One of Henry’s favorite things to do on a Buddy/Mommy date is go to LegoLand! And, lucky for him, LegoLand hosted us yesterday to experience the fun of Lego Batman days!

img_1694There was so much to do, that we only went on ONE RIDE!!

We did the Mosaic build, which was super fun (We left before it was finished), and it was fun to sort through legos and build something that was going to be part of a project that was so big!

We got to Meet Lego Batman, but by that point my phone battery had died. Henry didn’t care, he was just so excited to meet Batman and tell him how much he loved his movie.

We did the scavenger hunt and built and raced our own Batmobile creation. That was probably the most fun. Henry won two races! It was so much fun watching the kids (and adults) build cars, sharing Legos, swapping, and helping each other.

And of course, no trip to LegoLand is complete without building and racing boats!

 

llc-batman-logo-small.jpgIf you’ve got little friends that love Lego Batman, you’ve still got one more weekend to check out Lego Batman Days! Next weekend, the 25-26th, there will be tons of fun to be had!

We also picked up a few blind bags at the Big Store on our way out. The newest series (series 20, for anyone counting) is all characters from The Lego Batman movie.

I got March Harriet, Henry got Harley Quinn, and hubs got Ballet Batman. We always bring hubs home a blind bag mini-fig… And a key chain.

Frugal Tip: If you are looking for a way to save on admission, most San Diego area Denny’s locations have kids get in free with the purchase of any adult admission coupons.

Thanks to LegoLand for Hosting Henry and I yesterday, as always we had a blast, building and exploring!

Free Samples!

Abby H.

file7261245785846.jpgEveryone loves a full mailbox, at least when it’s not full of bills! I’ve been stalking a few sites online looking for some samples of products I’d like to try, and I thought I’d share them with you!

Here are just a few of the freebies I’ve recently signed up for!

Legoland on a budget: It can be done!

Abby H.2 Comments

DSC06398.JPGWe love Legoland, but it can get to be pricey. Here are a few tips that we personally use that can keep our trips more affordable!

Tickets:

  • Look for coupons savings. A quick search of Google is a good place to start. Frequently fast food or quick service restaurants will have Buy and adult pass, get a kids ticket free. Recently Denny’s had coupons up front near the register.
  • Sometimes schools and libraries also have these coupons. Our school had some in the front office last year, all you had to do was ask!
  • A few times a year, Legoland will have buy one day, get a second day free for the same price as a 1 day pass. That’s the perfect chance to enjoy two days to play and explore!
  • Don’t forget to check Costco or Sam’s Club! They frequently have discount 1 day, multi-day, or annual passes.

Snacks:

  • Take water bottles or travel cups with straws. Most restaurants with fountain drinks will fill your bottles or cups with filtered water for free. There are also tons of drinking fountains in the park.
  • There are lots of picnic areas, and places to sit and eat. We always bring our snack backpack (it’s this one) stuffed with applesauce cups, granola bars, dried fruit, popchips, 100% juice pouches, and other yummy snacks.
  • 180s.jpgSplurge on one snack or treat. Our favorite treat in the park are Granny’s Apple Fries! They are soooo good. It’s a batter dipped apple slice that’s flash fried and served with vanilla whipped cream. They are heavenly.
  • There are so many places to eat in the park too! Check eat location for specials like Kids Eat Free (last time we were there, the pizza and pasta buffet was having a promo after 3pm).

 

Souvenirs:

  • Our tradition is to buy a new min-figure keychain on every trip. I let Lil’ Man chose. He also gets to spend $20 on whatever he wants in the main gift shop. He earns money helping around the house and also when we do secret shops (he loves it, he thinks he’s being a secret agent).
  • Unlike Disney and other companies with theme parks, you can’t really get deals on Legos or buy them at discount shops and give the kids the goodies once in the park (that’s what we do with Disneyland). You can however bring in your own glow sticks and glow necklaces if you’ll be there after dark to save some money.

Etc:

  • There are tons of play areas in the park. If you are tired from waiting in line for rides, stop by a play and build area. There is a great Duplo themed one in Heartlake, and large play area in Castle Hill, complete with slides and tunnels! Take time to play and let your kids build and use their imagination!
  • Bring towels if you’ll be in the park when it’s hot. There are multiple water fixtures and splash pads for the kids to cool down. No need to pay to get into the water park (which is only open seasonally).
  • Bring a mini-figure or two to trade! Most Park employees have min-figs on their name tags and they will trade.

I’d love to hear your tips and tricks for saving at Legoland!

Ring in the New Years at LEGOLAND!

Abby H.

Ya’ll know how much our family LOVES Legoland, right? Well if you are looking for a family friendly way to ring in the new year and have the kids to bed before the real big ball drops, consider spending the day at Legoland!

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The grand finale of Holidays at LEGOLAND® California Resort is the annual Kids’ New Year’s Eve party! This lively party begins with special musical performances from kid favorite groups Twinkle Time and Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band on Fun Town Stage and in Heartlake City.

Then, for the first time, the party moves to San Francisco in Miniland U.S.A. where like the famous Times Square party, guests gather for the countdown followed by a huge LEGO® brick dropping 22 feet into 2017 and spectacular fireworks at 6 p.m. to end the night(with plenty of time to spare to get home for bed!).

And right now, the deal gets sweeter!!

LEGOLAND California Resort is offering a gift for holiday guests: From Nov. 21, 2016 through Jan. 1, 2017, buy a one day admission to LEGOLAND California and return a second day to LEGOLAND California and SEA LIFE® Aquarium for free between Jan. 2, 2017 and March 1, 2017.

All Holidays at LEGOLAND California Resort activities located inside the Park are included with regular Park admission (Kids 3–12 $89; Adults $95; Parking $15).

For more Holidays information, visit www.LEGOLAND.com or call (760) 918-LEGO (5346).

I’ve had such a great year being a Legoland Blogger, and I hope to continue next year, bringing you great promotions and sharing news straight from Legoland!  I’ll be sharing some tips on how to save money when planning your Legoland trip in the next few days, just in time for NYE!

Wanna Save Money in 2017?

Abby H.1 Comment

8f235f4422591a09bd341f17958e172c.jpgOne of the most common New Years Resolutions is to to save money. And it’s a good one!

Last year I wrote a series with the top ten resolutions:

 

If you feel like you are too busy to “deal with” coupons:

I hope these tips and articles help!

Have an awesome time at Medieval Times!

Abby H.

 

Ok, so a few weeks ago, I wrote about Medieval Times.  Right now, they have an incredible deal, CLICK HERE and use this exclusive promo code MT3629 through 2/17/17 and receive Adults for just $36.95 and children (12 and under) only $29.95.

That’s an incredible deal! Dinner at Medieval Times would make a great gift for the little knights or maiden on your gift giving list!

Lil’ Man and I headed up on Sunday with our friends, and we had a great time!

IMG_0694.jpgWhen you enter the King and his chancellor speak and knight the birthday kids, you can grab a drink at the bar (they have non-alcoholic drinks too!), and check out the horses while you wait for your show to start. Here we are sitting on the Royal thrones! Lil’ Man loves making goofy faces!

(BTW, yes, his shirt says Property of One Awesome Mom)

IMG_0703.jpgThe food was cool! You eat off metal plates and bowl with handle, no silverware (I snuck plastic spoons in- I didn’t want the kids to melt down because they couldn’t eat their soup).

We sat in the Red & Yellow Knight’s section, hence the weird orange tint to the photo of our dishes!

The show starts after you are seated (You are “sorted” into cheering sections as you enter the castle). The knights are introduced and food service begins.

The King’s feast includes garlic bread, tomato bisque soup, roasted chicken, sweet buttered corn, herb-basted potato, pastry of the Castle (Lemon pound cake for us!) and beverages. It was great! Our server was so cool.

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Overall, the show was great- so much excitement and drama. The kids were riveted for the entire show. They almost didn’t eat because of how much they enjoyed the show.

There were a lot of people celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, and other special events.

But really, no one ever needs a reason (or excuse) to visit the King’s Castle at Medieval Times!

If you don’t live in Southern CA, fret not! There are locations all over the country!

 

Help kids play with Ikea’s Let’s Play for Change!

Abby H.

play_for_changeIf you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you saw all of my crazy posts this morning from Ikea San Diego. A group of bloggers (and our kids) enjoyed breakfast in their cafe and learned out Ikea’s winter Good Cause Campaign, Let’s Play for Change, which highlights the benefits of play for all Children.

Honestly, the best part of being a kid is free time to play and learn. Children learn through play: social skills, emotional development, and so much more. Anyone shopping for the holidays at Ikea stores world wide can help the cause! For every children’s book and toy sold through November 20- December 24, 2016, the IKEA Foundation will make a donation of €1 (that’s about $1.10 USD) to projects in some of the poorest communities in the world. And you can help twice- Each store has a drop box where you can drop off purchased toys. If you buy toys at Ikea, that’s a double dip for the cause!

You can learn about the campaign by watching the video:

Ikea has partnered with Handicap International Federation, Room to Read, Save the Children, Special Olympics, UNICEF, and War Child. You can learn more about the Ikea Foundation by visiting their website.

And if you hasn’t visited Ikea lately, check out their awesome Ikea Family savings card! It’s free to sign up and you score all kinds of great deals and perks every day!

screen-shot-2016-11-20-at-3-50-18-pmIn addition to those perks, you score family only prices on tons of items each month. It’s definitely worth signing up. It’s free and easy to do.

Fun and Excitement at Medieval Times!

Abby H.1 Comment

Ok, ever since I was a kid, whenever we’d go up to Orange County to go to Knott’s Berry Farm or Disneyland, I’d beg for my parents to take us to Medieval Times. It always looked like so much fun. Welllllll, guess what? I’m excited to share this awesome promotion with you.

My Readers save at Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament.  CLICK HERE and use this exclusive promo code MT3629 through 2/17/17 and receive Adults for just $36.95 and children (12 and under) only $29.95.

I’ll be taking Lil’ Man and a couple friends up to Buena Park to check out the show (and of course, enjoy dinner!), and I’ll reporting back, as well as live tweeting (and snapping pics) when I get a chance during our visit.

Lil’ Man has already informed me that he wants to be a “knight in shiny armor” next year for Halloween, so I’m sure this will solidify it!

Did you know:

* All Knights begin their training as Squires – just as they did in the Middle Ages – learning horse care, sword fighting, and weaponry. It takes a minimum of six months of training to become a Knight.

* Knights perform with real metal weapons and wear authentic armor. During battle scenes, real titanium swords create sparks.

* Every shield must be repainted after every show.

* When jousting, the Knights charge at speeds of approximately 15 to 20 miles per hour and reach an impact velocity speed of about 30 to 40 miles per hour.

* Each year, 25 foals are born at Chapel Creek Ranch, where they spend two years training.

* Our horses enjoy retirement at the ranch after 15 to 20 years of performing.

* 125,000 gallons of soup are served each year.

* Each arena is filled with about 4,455 cubic feet of sand – about the load of 10 dump trucks.

* Medieval Times is the #1 breeder of pure Spanish horses in North America.
(More information about their horses here)