family

Toddler and Child Wearing with Freeloader!

Abby H.

freeloaderYa’ll know I love to baby wear…. Well, Itty Bittums isn’t so bitty anymore and we have had to pass along some of our smaller carriers to new homes. I am sooo looking forward to checking out the new Freeloader!

freeloader3The Freeloader is the First Child Carrier Built Specifically for Toddlers! It is a new, better child carrier. Compact, lightweight and portable, the Freeloader child carrier uses advanced materials and design to create a better experience for parents who love spending time with their kids. Whether you are traveling by air, going to the zoo, or hiking with your little ones, the Freeloader is ready to help carry the load. When not in use, the Freeloader’s integrated aluminum seat folds up neatly to the size of a daypack. The Freeloader is a perfect fit for parents that want a lighter, more versatile carrier. The Freeloader features an easy-to-use, 5-point safety harness. The safety harness is specially designed to fasten securely and safely out-of-reach of your child.
11063893_436296996539685_3379109432765157363_nThe Freeloader provides wide, ergonomic shoulder and waist straps to evenly distribute your child’s weight to your hips and core. The contoured shoulder straps are adjustable and provide extra padding for comfort and support. Padding in the back panel and seat offers extended comfort for your child.
The Freeloader is small enough to carry-on and stows away neatly, making it perfect for air travel, road trips and more! See more at http://www.myfreeloader.com/ and find Freeloader on facebook.

Thanks to Freeloader and the great folks at USFG, you can save on your Freeloader! Freeloader FUN with the Family – 10% off your Freeloader Child Carrier when you enter the code “freeloaderfun” Take your children on the adventures of their dreams!

I’ll be receiving my Freeloader in a few weeks, testing it out, and I’ll report back with my thoughts, as well as some pictures and even a video or two!

 
@usfg

Friday Freebie Round Up!

Abby H.

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Yee-Haw! It’s back! I haven’t done a weekly freebie round-up in a while, but there have been too many good ones lately, so I’m bringing it back, complete with cheesy cowboy clipart!

Don’t forget the free admission to Seaworld for active military and veterans too!

Free Admission to Sea World for Active Duty Military & Veterans!

Abby H.1 Comment

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Did you know that active duty military and veterans can receive up to four free passes to Sea World (also selected Busch Gardens and Sesame Place)? It’s true!

Screen Shot 2017-07-06 at 7.19.30 PM.pngSea World has a program called Waves of Honor. Waves of Honor permits any qualified active or former U.S. military service member to one complimentary admission per year for military personnel and as many as three guests.

This isn’t available at the park, so you’ll have to sign up here and fill out all the forms before you go.

Parking isn’t included in this offer and starts at $17, depending on which park you visit and what level of parking you select.

This offer is limited in time. Offer available online through September 30, 2017. Visitation must take place by December 30, 2017. If you qualify and want to take advantage, do it sooner rather than later!

 

Be Series Shirts from Cents of Style!

Abby H.

(**Disclosure, I received my shirt free to facilitate my review and story, however all thoughts and opinions are my own. I may receive a commission if you click on the links below and make a purchase.**)

You know when you were a kid and adults told you that it didn’t matter what other people thought, that you should be who you are, and who cares about what others say or think?

Well, I tell my kids that all the time, especially the bigger one. Because really, Shakespeare was right. “To Thine own self be true”.  Be you. If others don’t understand, it is their loss.

That brings me to my point- When I was a kid (like Junior High Age), I wasn’t popular. I didn’t like the same things that other kids did. I read a lot (my grandmother was a librarian!), I did crafts, I liked school. I was weird, but  I tried so hard to fit in. It was hard, and it sucked.

As I got older, I realized that there was so much more to life than just the little bubble of “popular kids”. In High school I met friends who loved me and were like me. And those friends were the ones I had in mind when I donned my “Be Weird” shirt the other day. I wore it with a pair of leggings (these to be exact).

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Me and the littlest weirdo snuggling. (photo taken by the big kid)

I want my two little weirdos to know that it’s ok to be who you are, enjoy your hobbies, read, play, be a good person! It doesn’t matter if you like the same stuff as everyone else, you will find friends and they will love you for who you are!

If you aren’t “weird”, it’s ok! Cents of Style has a great line of “Be” Shirts! This weekend the  Be Series Graphic Tees are only $15.95 + FREE SHIPPING w/code BESTORY


My shirt is so comfy, I even wore it to the Y to work out a few days later!

 

I got lot of compliments on it, both times I wore it! You can celebrate your “Be”! Still, Brave, Just, Uncommon, True, You, Strong, etc.! This weeks installment of Fashion Friday from Cents of Style are these awesome BE shirts! You can check out the deal here. These shirts would make a great gift!

Legoland for only $30 on 4/29/17!

Abby H.

img_1693Looking for a good deal on Legoland Tickets?

Check this out!

The Carlsbad Education Foundation (CEF) is hosting their annual ‘Celebrate Carlsbad Day™’ at LEGOLAND® California Resort.

  • What: Specially-priced $30 LEGOLAND tickets
  • When: Saturday, April 29
  • Time: Enjoy extended Park hours 12pm-8pm

LEGOLAND will donate a portion of the event proceeds to the Foundation to support district-wide science initiatives for students at all CUSD Schools.

 To purchase tickets online, visit www.CarlsbadEd.org

This event happens once a year! If you are looking to do a frugal trip at Legoland, check out this post about doing Legoland on a Budget here.

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!